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NEW  TESTAMENT  COMMENTARY 


FOR 


EN'GLISH     EEADERS. 


BY    VARIOUS     WRITERS. 


EDITED    BY 

CHARLES    JOHN     ELLICOTT,     D.D. 

LORD   BISHOP   OF   GLOUCESTER  AND    BRISTOL. 


VOL.     III. 


EVERY   SCRIBE   WHICH    IS   INSTRUCTED   UNTO   THE   KINGDOM   OP   HEAVEN   IS  LIKE   UNTO  A   MAN   THAT   IS  AN    HOLSEHOLDKK. 
WHICH   BRTNGETH   FORTH   OUT  OK  HIS  TREASURE  THINGS  NEW  AND  OLD." 


NEW     YORK: 

E.       P.      D  U  T  T  O  N     c^     C  o. 

713,      BROADWAY. 


8r()c  ©ptfitlcg   to  t'oe  Cp5c6tnit6,  P()iUpptnns, 
anil  Colossiang. 


THE   EEV.  ALFRED  BARRY,  D.D., 

Principal  of  King's  College,  London,  and  CMon  of  Worcester  Cathedral. 


(K\)t  ^ptfitlcfi  to  tf)e  CbcfiBaloniang. 

BY 

THE    REV.    A.    J.    MASON,    M.A., 

Canon  Missioner  of  Truro  Cathedral. 


C!)c  ©pifitUjs  to  Ctmotljp  anti  CitttS. 

BY 

THE    REV.    H.    D.    M.    S PENCE,    M.A., 

Vicar  of  St.  Pancras,  and  Hon.  Canon  of  Gloucester  Cathedral. 


Cjje  ©pistle  to  Philemon. 

BY 

THE  EEV.  ALFRED  BAKRY,  D.D., 

Principal  of  King's  College,  London,  and  Canon  of  Worcester  Cathedral. 


Cl^c  ©ptstle  to  t^e  |)cbrctofi. 

BY 

THE    REV.    W.   F.    MOULTON,    D.D., 

Principal  of  the  Wesleyan  College,  Tlie  Leys,  Cambridge. 


Cfje  (Kpifitic  of  :§)t.  gramcB. 

BY 

THE   REV  E.  G.  PUNCH ARD,  MA., 

Late  FelloK  of  St.  Augustine's  College,  Canterhury. 


CI)c*  ifirfit  epistle  of  g^t.  Ipctcr. 

JtY 

THE    REV.    A.    J.    MASON,    M.A., 

Canon  Missioner  of  Truro  Cathedral. 


Cf)c  §econli  Cptfitlc  of  g't.  J3ctfr. 

BY 

THE   REV.  ALFRED  PLUMMER,  M.A., 

Principal  of  University  College,  Durham. 


Ci)e  epifitles  of  ^t.  3ro()n. 

BT 

THE  REV.  W.  M.  SINCLAIR,  M.A., 

Eisiient  Chaplain  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London. 


Cfic  Cptctlc  of  i<t.  Sfutif. 

BY 

THE  REV.  ALFRED  PLUMMER,  M.A., 

Principal  of  University  College,  Durham. 


C^e  Hcijclation  of  §«t.  3fo()n. 


THE   REV.   \V.  BOYD   CARPENTER,  M.A., 

Vicar  of  St.  James',  Holloviay. 


CONTENTS. 


Ornbral  Introdcctiox  to  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul's  Fiust  C 

I\TRODICTIOX    to    the    EiMSTLE    to    the    El'HESlANS 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians     .... 
Introduction  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippiaxs 
The  Epistle  to  the  Philippiaxs 

IXTRODUCTIOX    TO    THE    EpISTLE    TO    THE    CoLOSSIAXS 

The  Epistle  to  the  Colossiax-i    .... 

Excursus  to  the  Epistle 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessaloxiaxs 
The  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessaloxiaxs 
Ixtroductiox  to  the  Secoxd  Epistle  to  the  Thessaloxiaxs 
The  Secoxd  Epistle  to  the  Thess.aloxi.vxs 

Excursus  to  the  Epistle 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  P.\stor.\.l  Epistles 
I.xtroductiox  to  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy 
The  First  Epistle  to  Timothy     .... 
Excursus  to  the  Epistle       ..... 
Ixtroductiox  to  the  Secoxd  Epistle  to  Tlmuthy 
The  Secoxd  Epistle  to  Timothy 
Excursus  to  the  Epistle      ..... 
Ixtroductiox  to  the  Epistle  to  Titus 

The  Epistle  to  Titus 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  Epistle  to  Philemon 
The  Epistle  to  Philemox     ..... 
Ixtroductiox  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  . 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews       .... 
Ixtroductiox  to  the  Gexer.vl  Epistle  of  St.  Jame.> 
The  Gexeral  Epistle  of  St.  James 

IXTRODUCTIO.X    TO    THE    FiRST    EpiSTLE    GeXEKAL    OF    St.  PeTEU 

The  First  Epistle  Gexer.u,  of  St.  Peter 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  Secoxd  Epistle  Gexeral  of  St.  Peter 

The  Secoxd  Epistle  Gexeral  of  St.  Peter 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  First  Epistle  Gexeral  or  St.  .Tohx 

The  First  Epistle  Gexeral  of  St.  Johx 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  Secoxd  axd  Third  Epistles  of  St.  Johx 

The  Second  Epistlb  of  St.  Joux 

The  Third  Epi.stlb  of  St.  Johx 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  Gexeral  Epistle  of  St.  Jude 

The  General  Epi.stlb  of  St.  Jude 

Excuiwus  to  the  Epistle 

Ixtroductiox  to  the  Uevelatiox 

The  Uevelatiox      .... 

Excursus  to  the  Uevelatiox 


FAOK 

3 
9 
15 
Gl 
Co 
91 
96 
120 
127 
130 
149 
151 
166 
173 
176 
178 
216 
217 
218 
245 
247 
249 
2C7 
271 
277 
283 
351 
355 
385 
387 
437 
443 
467 
474 
495 
497 
500 
605 
508 
516 
523 
533 
G38 


THE    EPISTLES    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

EPHESIA]!fS,    PHILIPPIANS,    AND   COLOSSIAIfS, 


67 


GENERAL    INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE    EPISTLES   OF  ST.  PAULS   FIRST  CAPTIVITY 


The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul's  captivity — to  the  Ephesians, 
Philippiaus,  Colossians,  and  Philemon — form  a  distinct 
group,  distinguished  by  certain  marked  characteristics 
both  of  style  and  subject,  in  the  series  of  the  writings 
of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Just  as,  in  com- 
parison \\'ith  the  Thessalonian  Epistles,  belonging  to  the 
second  missionary  journey,  the  four  great  Epistles  to 
the  Corinthians,  Galatians,  and  Romans,  written  at  the 
close  of  the  third  missionary  journey,  show  a  "  second 
manner,"  with  exactly  that  union  of  similarity  and 
diversity  which  marks  a  true  development  of  thought 
and  circumstance — so,  in  comparison  with  this  latter 
group  the  Epistles,  of  the  Captivity  present  a  "  third 
iiiauuer,"  itself  again  markedly  distinct  from  that  of 
1  he  Pastoral  Epistles,  of  still  later  date.  In  those  early 
days  of  Chi-istianity  events  moved  fa.st ;  under  the 
liA'ing  Apostolic  inspiration  and  the  rapidity  of  the 
Apostolic  mission,  successive  years  marked  changes  as 
great  as  would  have  indicated  the  lapse  of  generations 
in  more  ordinarj^  times.  When  we  compare  the  mar- 
vellous growth  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  thirty 
years  (or  thereabouts)  of  St.  Paul's  own  Apostolate — 
from  a  smaU  sect  limited  to  Palestine,  hardly  as  yet 
completely  distinguished  from  the  Judaic  system,  to  a 
community  which  had  its  branches  in  every  province  of 
the  Roman  world,  and  which  was  obviously  advancing 
to  a  world-wide  dominion — we  may  be  prepared  to  find 
obvious  and  important  developments,  both  of  teaching 
and  of  circumstance,  even  in  the  various  periods  of  his 
Apostolic  ministry. 

I.  The  Period  to  which  they  belong. — In  ac- 
cordance with  the  great  majority  of  commentators, 
aucient  and  modern,  I  take  these  Epistles  to  belong  to 
the  Roman  captivity,  in  which  the  history  of  the  Acts 
loaves  St.  PauL  and  to  which  he  was  consigned  about 
the  year  a.d.  61.  It  has,  indeed,  been  proposed  by 
Meyer  and  otlier  Grerman  commentators  to  refer  them 
to  the  Caesarean  captivity  of  Acts  xxiv. — xxvi.  The 
reasons  on  which  this  proposal  is  based  may  be  seen 
in  Meyer's  edition  of  the  "  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  " 
{Introduction,  sect.  2).  They  prove,  however,  on  ex- 
amination, to  be  not  only  trivial,  even  if  maintained, 
but  in  themselves  uncertain,  resting  largely  on  mere 
supposition,  and  certainly  incapable  of  standing  against 
the  powerful  arguments  which  may  be  brought  on  the 
other  side.  These  are  of  two  kinds — general  and  special. 
Of  the  first  kind  is  the  whole  style  and  tone  of  the 
Epistles,  indicating  a  transition  to  an  entirely  different 
and  most  important  sphere  of  missionary  labour,  such 
as  could  not  possilily  bo  found  in  the  comparatively  un- 
important town  of  Csesarea;  and,  moreover,  the  ob\-ious 
expectation  by  the  ^vriter  (see  Phil.  ii.  24:  Philem. 
verse  22)  of  a  speedy  release  from  captivity,  which  wouhl 
enable  him  to  ^-isit,  not  Rome  and  Spain,  as  was  his 
iutcutiou  at  the  time  when  ho  was  taken  prisoner  at 


Jerusalem  (Acts  xix.  21 ;  Rom.  xv.  24,  25\  but 
Macedonia  and  the  Eastern  churches,  where  at  the 
earlier  time  he  declared  that  he  had  '"  no  longer  any 
place"  (Hom.  xv.  23;  comp.  Acts  xx.  25'.  Of  the 
latter  kind  are  the  references  found — especially  in 
the  most  personal  of  all  the  Epistles,  the  Epistle  to 
his  beloved  Church  at  Philippi — to  the  manifestation 
of  his  bonds  "  in  the  whole  Praetorium  "  (Phil.  i.  13 — a 
phrase  which  (in  spite  of  the  verbal  coincidence  with  Acts 
xxiii.  35)  could  not  well  be  used  of  his  prison  at  Caesarea  ; 
to  the  converts  made  from  '"Caesar's  household,"  which 
must  surely  have  belonged  to  Rome  (Phil.  iv.  22  ;  to 
the  circumstances  of  his  captivity,  which  describe  with 
an  almost  technical  accuracy  (see  Xote  on  Eph.  vi.  20 1 
the  imprisonment  at  Rome  "  in  his  own  hired  house 
with  the  soldier  that  kept  him."  and  the  freedom  which 
he  then  had  (Acts  xxviii.  16.  3u.  31  ,  but  which  at 
Caesarea.  especially  considering  the  especial  object 
contemplated  by  Felix  in  prolonging  his  captivity  (Acts 
xxiv.  26),  was  eminently  improbable. 

In  accordance,  also,  with  the  general  opinion,  I 
should  designate  this  as  St.  Paul's  "  First  Roman 
Captivity  ;  "  though  it  will  be.  perhaps,  more  appropriate 
that  the  evidence  for  the  common  belief  that  St.  Paul 
was  set  at  liberty  from  his  capti^-ity,  and  that,  after  a 
period  of  freedom,  he  underwent  a  second  imprisonment, 
which  was  only  closed  by  his  death,  shoiild  be  con- 
sidered in  relation  to  the  Pastorai,  Epistles.  For 
with  this  belief  the  acceptance  of  these  Epistles  as 
genuine  is  closely,  if  not  inseparably,  connected.  On 
the  general  character  and  circumstances  of  both  cap- 
ti\'ities  see  Excursus  (at  the  close  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles)  on  the  Later  Tears  of  St.  Paul's  Life. 

II.  The  Genuineness  of  these  Epistles.— On 
this  point  external  evidence  is  strong  and  unvarying. 
It  will  be  suflBcient  here  to  notice  that  all  were  in- 
cluded unhesitatingly  in  all  the  catalogTies  and  versions 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and  placed  by  Eusebius  (as  by 
others  before  mm)  in  the  list  of  the  New  Testament 
books  "  acknowledged  by  aU."  More  detailed  evidence 
wUl  be  with  more  advantage  given  in  the  Introduction 
to  each  Epistle. 

It  is  true  that,  as  in  the  case  of  many  other  New 
Testament  books,  their  genuineness  lias  been  cliallenged, 
on  supposed  internal  eWdence.  even  by  critics  who  are 
ready  to  acknowledge  the  four  Epistles  of  the  preced- 
ing group.  Tliis  adverse  criticism  has  lieen  advanced 
^^-ith  different  degrees  of  positiveness  against  diffen>nt 
Epistles  of  this  group.  Thus,  the  Epistle  to  the  Philip- 
piaus has  been  but  little  doubted ;  and.  indeed,  the 
similarities  to  St.  Paul's  earlier  Epistles,  and  especially 
to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  are  so  striking  that  it 
requires  singular  j)erversity  to  discover  or  imagine 
dissonance  with  them.  Tlie  beautiful  little  Epistle  to 
PhilexuoB,  again,   can   hardly   bo  said   to    Lave   been 


INTRODUCTION. 


queBtioned,  except  in  the  mere  wantonness  of  arbitrary 
criticism.  On  the  otlior  huml,  flio  two  Epistlfs  Mliicli 
bear  most  distinctly  tht>  jx-culiar  impress  of  St.  Paul's 
"  later  manner  " — tli<>  Epistles  to  tlio  Epliesians  ami  the 
Colossians — liave  Ix-eii  far  more  seriously  attackiil  on 
that  very  fjrountl ;  the  Ejdslh'  to  the  (jolossians,  more- 
over, oji  the  supijosition  tlwit  it  involves  references  to 
a  Gn(»stieisin  of  later  date;  and  tlie  E])istlo  to  tho 
Ei>hesians,  on  the  supposition— wliich  it  mij^lit  liavo 
been  tlioutjht  that  an  attentive  study  of  these  two 
Epistles  would  have  soon  shown  to  he  untenable — that 
it  is  a  mere  <'opy  and  ex))ansion  of  tlie  Ej)istlo  to  tho 
Colossians.  On  the  itecidiar  grounds  of  scepticism  in 
oacli  cas(>  it  will  he  more  convenient  to  speak  in  connec- 
tion witii  each  Ejiistle  se])arately  ;  hut  on  the  general 
question  of  the  relation  of  these  Ejiistles  to  tho  earlier 
group  it  will  Ik>  best  to  dw<'ll  licre,  not  merely  with  a 
view  to  show  the  liollowness  of  this  destructive  criti- 
ci.sm,  l)ut  with  the  more  important  object  of  sketching 
out  the  main  characteristics  of  this  group  of  Epistles 
as  a  whole. 

Now  it  must  bo  considered  exactly  what  is  the  nature 
of  tho  question.  We  have  not  hero  an  anonymous 
document,  like  the  Epistle  to  tho  Hebrews,  as  to  which 
we  have  to  inquire  into  tho  degree  of  its  likeness  or 
uulikeness  to  St.  Paul's  acknowledged  Epistles.  Wo 
have  Epistles  which  not  only  bear  his  name,  but  pre- 
sent vanous  indications  marking  them  as  his  ;  and  these 
Epistles  are  received  as  his  at  a  very  early  date — 
alluded  to  by  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycaq), 
formally  included  in  the  Muratorian  Canon  about  tlie 
year  170.  Accordingly,  they  are  either  his  genuine 
Epistles,  or  Ej)istlos  written  in  his  name  at  an  early 

Seriod  by  some  adherent  of  the  "  Pauline  School " 
esiring  to  claim  a  forged  authority  from  his  great 
master.  Now,  in  the  case  of  forgery,  we  should  expect 
to  find  substantial  inferiority  of  power  and  ins2)iration. 
and  possil)ly  some  discrepance  of  the  inner  reality,  as 
contrasted  with  the  outward  form,  of  doctrine;  but 
certainly  no  marked  ditference  of  style,  no  peculiar 
words  and  phrases  previously  unknown,  no  change  of 
expressions,  which  had  become  markedly  characteristic 
of  St.  Paul  in  tho  acknowledged  Ejiistles  of  the  earlier 
group.  In  the  case  of  genuineness,  on  the  other  hand, 
wo  should  look  for  substantial  identity  of  thcmght  and 
teadiing,  coupled  with  free  variation  of  expression  an<l 
style,  aiul  with  indications  of  a  development  of  doctrin(>. 
corresponding  to  progress  of  time,  change  of  scene  and 
circumstance,  increa.se  of  tho  ])ower  of  (Jhristiauity  ovi'r 
thought  and  society,  as  exem|)]ified  in  tho  develoj>meiit 
of  the  Christian  Church.  It  is  all  but  impossil)le  for 
any  careful  student  to  doubt  that  it  isalwaysthe  latter — 
never  tiie  former — condition  which  is  distinctly  realised 
in  these  Epistles.  This  will  l)e  .seen  clearly  on  examina- 
tion both  of  their  stylo  and  of  their  substance. 

III.  The  Style  of  the  Epistles.— Tliere  is  un- 
questionably a  marked  difference  of  style,  altlumgh  in 
various  degrees— the  Philippian  Epistle  showing  such 
difference  far  less  than  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians 
and  Colossian.s.  Now  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that 
the  nature  of  this  acknowli-dged  diange  of  style  singu- 
Lirly  corresponds  with  thi*  historical  change  in  St. 
Paul's  circumstances.  AVhen  lie  wrote  the  foriii<>r 
Epi.stles  he  was  in  tlie  full  tidt>  of  liis  Ajxistolie  work  ;  at 
periods,  moreover,  of  marked  excitement  and  interest  — 

S.st  after  tlie  tumult  at  r:pliesiis,or  on  his  circuit  through 
accdonia  "  round  about  into  lllyricum,"  or  at  Corinth 
in  the  very  heat  of  the  Judaising'controversy,  He  was 
then  emphatically  the  preacher  and  the  churcli-founder. 
His  Letters,  written  in  tho  intervals  of  his  busy  work, 


would  be  like  fragments  of  his  preaching,  marked  by 
the  incisive  earnestness,  the  close  argument,  the  im- 
pressive abruptness,  of  a  pleader  for  God.  When  ho 
wroti'  these  later  Epistles  he  was  in  the  enforced  in- 
a<'tivity  and  the  comparative  rest  of  iin[»risonmeut.  aud 
this  imprisonment  (as,  indeed,  we  miglit  have  expected) 
appears  to  have  been  to  him  a  tinii'  of  study,  in  those 
"many  writings  "  which  Festus  thought  at  that  timo 
to  liavo  "made  him  mad"  (Acts  xxvi.  24),  with  such 
"  books  and  parchments  "  round  him  as  those  which  ho 
asked  for  even  in  the  greater  severity  of  his  second  im- 
pri.sonment  (2  Tim.  iv.  l'.i).  He  is  now  not  so  much  tho 
worker  as  the  thinker.  The  impassioned  emjihasis  of  the 
preacher  might  naturally  be  exchanged  for  the  quiet,  de- 
liberate teaching  of  the  Christian  sage;  sounding  the 
lowest  depths  of  thought ;  wandering,  as  it  might  seem, 
l)ut  with  subtle  links  of  connection,  from  one  idea  to 
another;  rising  constantly  in  secret  meditation  from 
trutiis  embodied  in  the  practical  forms  of  earthly  life, 
to  truths  as  tliey  exist  above  in  the  calm  perfection  of 
heaven.  Who  can  doubt  tliat  this  is  exactly  the  change 
of  style  which  we  trace  in  these  Epistles  of  the  Cap- 
tivity ?  The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  has  least  of  it : 
for  there  his  remembrance  of  earlier  times  would  Iw 
strongest,  aud  would  tend  most  to  reproduce  the  earlier 
tone  of  thought.  But  in  the  Colossian  Epistle,  written 
to  a  Church  which  he  had  never  seen — knowing  it, 
indeed,  well,  but  only  by  hearsay — stiU  more  in  the 
Epistle  to  tho  Ephesians,  probably  an  encyclical 
letter,  certainly  approaching  more  nearly  to  the  nature 
of  abstract  general  teaching,  this  characteristic  dif- 
ference is  most  vividly  marked. 

It  manifests  itself  in  the  appearance  of  many  words 
used  in  no  other  Epistles,  and  these  frequently  words 
compounded  with  a  thoughtful  felicity  of  compressed 
meaning.  It  manifests  itself  in  .sentences  which,  un- 
like the  terse  and  often  abrupt  incisiveness  of  his 
earlier  Letters,  flow  on  without  grammatical  break,  some- 
times not  without  grammatical  har.shuess  and  obscu- 
rity, but  with  an  unfailing  connection  and  evolution 
of  thought,  a  singular  and  (so  to  .speak'*  philosophical 
com])leteness  of  doctrine,  a  sustained  perfection  of 
meditative  and  devotional  beauty.  It  manifests  itself, 
again,  in  a  constant  looking  upward  to  "  the  heavenly 
jtlaces  "  of  the  Eidiesian  Epistle;  sometimes,  as  in  tho 
opening  of  that  Epistle,  to  the  source  of  all  Christian 
life  in  the  election  of  the  divine  love;  sometimes  to  the 
angelic  "  princi])alities  and  powers,"  invisibly  fighting 
for  or  against  th;it  love  of  Gnd  in  salvation  ;  sometimes 
to  tho  life  of  Christians  "  hid  with  Christ  in  God,"  in 
virtue  of  which  we  sit  with  Him  in  heaven  even  now ; 
most  often,  perhajis,  of  all,  to  Christ  in  His  heavenly 
glory,  seen  now  by  tho  eye  of  faith,  ready  to  reveal 
Himself  in  the  Epiphany  of  the  great  day.  Yet,  with 
all  tliis  difTerenc<>  of  style,  the  detailed  links  of  connec- 
tion, holli  in  word  and  thought,  are  (as  tho  Notes  on  the 
Ejiistles  will  show)  simply  numberless — mostly  showing 
similarity,  not  absolute  identity,  of  expression;  an  in- 
dependent likeness,  not  an  artificial  coj)yism.  Above  all, 
the  general  impress  of  the  mind  and  character  of  St. 
Paul  comes  out  more  and  more  clearly  as  we  pursue 
tilt!  detailed  study  of  the  Ei)istl(>s.  Thus,  the  charac- 
ter which  paints  it.self  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philiji- 
l)iaiis  is  obviously  the  same  as  tliat  which  we  know  in 
the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  or  in  that  yet  earlier 
Epistle  to  the  oth(>r  Macedonian  Church  at  Thessa- 
loniea.  which  jiresents  som(>  striking  similarities  in 
detail.  But  there  is  a  greater  calmness  and  maturity, 
sometimes  of  peacefulness,  .sometimes  of  .sadness:  it  is 
the  picture  of  an  older  man.  Again,  the  notion  that 
the    teaching   of   the  Ephesiau   or    Colossian   Epistle 


EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL'S  FIEST  CAPTIVITY. 


could  possibly  have  come  from  the  weaker  hand  of 
a  disciple  Avnll  seem  fairly  iucredible  to  auy  who  have 
ever  glauced  at  tlio  writiiii^s  of  Clement  of  Rome,  of 
Ignatius,  or  of  Polyearj).  the  scholars  of  St.  Paul  and 
St.  John.  The  inspired  hand  of  the  Apostle  is  trace- 
able in  every  lino ;  the  very  change  of  style  argues  at 
once  identity  and  development.  It  is  a  strong  internal 
evidence  of  the  Apostolic  authorship ;  it  is  iu  itself  full 
of  deep  interest  and  significance. 

IV.  The  Substance  of  the  Epistles.— Still 
more  striking  is  tlio  corresponding  phenomenon  in 
relation  to  substance.  In  the  doctrine  of  these  Epistles 
there  is  the  same  indication  of  a  true  development. 

(1)  The  Doctrine  of  Salvation. — Thus,  for  example, 
it  is  profoundly  instructive  to  examine  the  relation  of 
tliese  Epistles  to  tliat  primary  doctrine  of  "justifica- 
tion by  faith  "  which  had  been  the  one  all-important  sub- 
ject of  the  Galatian  and  Roman  Epistles.  It  is  touched 
on  here  with  the  same  master  hand.  "  By  grace  are 
ye  saved  through  faith  ;  and  that  not  of  yourselves  :  it 
is  the  gift  of  God :  not  of  woi-ks,  lest  any  man  should 
boast"  (Eph.  ii.  8,  9).  "That  I  may  be  found  in  Him, 
not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  Law, 
but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the 
righteousness  wliich  is  of  God  by  faith  "  (Phil.  iii.  9). 
But  it  is  no  longer  the  one  subject  to  which  all  else 
leads  up.  It  is  treated  as  a  thing  known  and  ac- 
cepted, with  a  quiet  calmness  utterly  unlike  the  im- 
passioned and  exhaustive  earnestness  of  St.  Paul's 
pleading  for  it  in  the  crisis  of  the  Judaistic  contro- 
versy. The  emphasis  on  faith  is  less  vivid  and  less 
constant.  "  Salvation  by  grace "  takes  the  place  of 
"  justification  by  faith,"  and  leads  the  thoughts  on  from 
tlie  first  acceptance  in  Christ  to  the  continuous  work  of 
grace,  of  which  such  acceptance  is  the  first  beginning. 
The  Law,  which  before  its  idolaters  iu  Galatia  or  at 
Rome  was  resolutely  thrust  down  to  its  right  secondary 
position,  described  as  the  servile  "  pedagogue  to  bring 
men"  to  tlio  true  Teacher,  depreciated  as  the  mere 
subsidiary  guard  of  the  covenant  of  promise,  is  now 
less  often  touched  upon,  and  less  unreservedly  con- 
demned. It  has  obviously  lost  the  dangerous  fasci- 
nation with  which  such  idolatry  invested  it.  It  is  oidy 
"  as  contained  in  ordinances  "  that  it  is  now  viewed  as  a 
separation  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  or  between  man 
and  God,  or  considered  as  cancelled  by  "  nailing  it  to 
the  cross  "  of  Christ.  We  feel  that  St.  Paul  is  already 
passing  on  from  tlie  earnest  pleading  of  advocacy  of  the 
freedom  of  tlie  gospel  to  the  judicial  calmness  which 
was  hereafter  to  tell  liow  "  the  law  is  good  if  a  man 
use  it  lawfully"  (1  Tim.  i.  8).  Judaism  has,  in  great 
measure,  at  least  in  the  Eastern  churches,  changed  its 
character.  St.  Paul's  earnest  pleading  for  Christ  as  all 
ill  all  has  similarly  clianged  its  direction  and  its  tone. 
Against  new  idolatries  it  is  still  necessary  to  fight 
to  the  death.  But  tlie  old  battle  is  substantially  won ; 
on  the  old  field  no  more  is  needed  than  to  maintain 
the  victory. 

(2)  The  Doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church. — Nor  is 
it  less  interesting  to  note  liow  in  these  Epistles,  and 
especially  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  the  promi- 
nence of  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  has  marvel- 
lously increased.  The  Galatian  and  Roman  Epistles  (as 
the  history  of  the  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century 
showed)  are  the  treasure-house  of  the  truths  of  ]>er- 
sonal  Christianity;  for  the  very  thought  of  justifica- 
tion, dominant  in  them,  brings  each  soul  face  to  face  with 
its  own  sin  and  its  own  salvation,  in  that  supremo  crisis 
of  life  and  death  in  which  it  is  conscious  of  but  two 
existences — God  and  itself.     These  later  Epistles  are 


equally  the  storehouse  of  the  less  vivid,  yet  grander, 
conception  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  The  central 
idea  is  of  Christ  the  Head,  and  the  whole  collective 
Christianity  of  the  Church  as  His  Body.  He  is  con- 
ceived not  solely  or  mainly  as  the  Saviour  of  each 
individual  soul,  but  rather  as  "  gathering  up "  all 
humanity,  or  even  all  created  being,  ''in  Himself."  The 
two  conceptions  are,  of  course,  inseparable.  In  the 
earlier  Epistles  the  Church  is  constantly  recognised;  in 
these  the  individual  relationship  to  God  in  Christ  is 
never  for  a  moment  ignored.  But  the  proportion  (so 
to  speak)  of  the  two  truths  is  changed.  What  is  primary 
in  the  one  case  is  secondary  in  the  other. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  is  the  natural  order.  The 
Christian  unity  is  directly  the  unity  of  each  soul  with 
Christ,  the  Head  ;  indirectly  the  unity  of  the  various 
members  in  one  Body.  When  the  gospel  of  salvation 
first  speaks,  it  must  speak  to  the  individual.  When  the 
grace  of  Clirist  draws  all  men  unto  Him,  each  individual 
must  move  along  the  line  of  his  own  spiritual  gravita- 
tion. But  when  the  truth  has  been  accepted  in  a  faith 
necessarily  individual;  when  the  Saviour  has  been  found 
by  each  as  the  Christ  who  "  Hveth  in  me  " — then  the 
question  ai'ises,  What  are  His  truth  and  His  grace  to 
that  great  human  society,  to  which  we  are  bound  by  a 
network  of  unseen  spiritual  ties  ?  The  first  and  projier 
answer  to  that  question  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church.  There  is  a  second  answer,  larger,  but 
less  distinct,  which  goes  even  beyond  this,  to  contemplate 
om-  Lord  as  the  Head  of  all  created  being.  The  relation, 
therefore,  of  these  Epistles  to  the  earlier  group  is  pro- 
foundly natural,  even  on  the  consideration  of  the  right 
and  necessary  course  of  idea. 

But  here,  again,  it  is  imjiossible  not  to  trace  in  these 
Epistles  a  special  appropriateness  to  this  period  of  St. 
Paul's  life  and  work.  Of  the  three  great  threads  of 
ancient  ci^Tllisation — the  Hebrew,  the  Greek,  and  the 
Roman — two  had  already  been  laid  hold  of  by  Apostolic 
hands,  and  fastened  to  the  cross  of  Clirist.  Now,  as 
"  ambassador  for  Christ,"  although  "  in  bonds,"  St. 
Paul  had  been  pei-mitted  to  "  see  Rome  ;  "  the  circum- 
stances of  his  imprisonment  had  placed  him  in  the 
Prcetorium,  in  the  very  citadel  of  the  Imperial  gran- 
deur, and  had  given  him  access  to  "  those  of  Caesar's 
household."  The  Epistles  of  the  former  group  had 
been  written  from  cities  where  Greek  thought  reigned 
suj)reme — from  Ephesus,  from  Philijipi,  from  Corinth. 
These  later  Ei)istles  came  from  the  centre  of  Imperial 
Rome.  Now,  it  is  a  common-place  to  remark  that  tlie 
main  element  of  all  Greek  thought  was  the  freedom 
and  sacredness  of  the  individual,  whether  in  the  realm 
of  thought,  or  of  imagination,  or  of  action.  But  the 
mission  of  the  Roman  (as  \'irgil  has.  with  a  true 
insight,  declared  in  well-known  lines)  was  to  teach 
the  greatness  of  the  community — the  family,  the  state, 
the  whole  race  of  humanity ;  to  give  laws,  which  were 
to  be  the  basis  of  the  "  law  of  nations ; "  to  unite  all 
peoples  in  one  great  empire,  and,  perhaps  by  an  inevit- 
able inference,  to  deify  its  head.  It  can  hardly  be 
accidental  that,  wliile  the  former  Epistles  dealt  Avith 
the  individual,  pointing  him  to  the  true  freedom  and 
the  true  wisdom,  which  Greek  philosophy  sought  for  in 
vain,  these  Epistles  should  similarly  face  the  great 
Roman  problem,  and  sketch  out  that  jjicture  which 
was  hereafter  to  be  wrought  into  the  chief  masterpiece 
of  Latin  theology — the  picture  of  "the  city  of  God." 
We  note  in  the  E])istle  to  the  Ephesians  the  emphatic 
reference  to  the  three  great  social  relationships,  so 
jealously  and  sternly  guarded  by  Roman  law--the 
relations  of  parents  and  children,  husbands  and  wives, 
masters  and  servants— as  deriving  a  higher  spiritual 


INTRODUCTION. 


sacrediiess,  above  all  law  and  convention,  from  the  fact 
that  they  are  typos  of  the  relations  of  man  to  God  in 
the  great  unity  in  tlie  Lonl  Jesus  Clirist.  We  read  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Phiiippians  of  the  '"city  in  lieaven  " 
— not  now  the  "  lieavenly  Jerusalem  "  of  Jewish  aspi- 
ration, but  simply  the  city  of  whieli  all  are  citizens, 
whether  "Jew  or  Greek,  barl)ariaii,  Scythian,  bond  or 
free."  We  find,  both  in  the  Ei)hesian  and  Colossian 
Epistles,  a  constant  recurrence  to  the  thought  of  all  as 
"one  body"  or  "one  temple"  in  Jesus  Christ — supply- 
ing that  supremo  personal  relation,  which  changes  the 
shadowy  dream  of  a  divine  repul)lic.  where  the  in- 
dividiuil  is  lost,  to  the  solid  reality  of  a  well-centred 
Kingdom  of  God,  preserving  at  once  perfect  indi- 
viduality and  perfect  unity.  We  are  reminded  at  every 
step  of  the  "lifth  empire" — "a  stone  cut  out  without 
hands  "  from  the  mou7itain  of  the  Lord,  and  gi'o.ving  till 
it  displaced  the  artificial  fabrics  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  filled  the  whole  earth.  We  contrast  the 
inevitable  idolatry  of  tlio  Roman  emperor — reniem  cring 
that,  by  a  strange  irony  of  circumstance,  that  em  eror 
was  now  a  Nero — with  the  worship  of  the  true  Son  of 
Man  and  Son  of  God,  of  which  all  such  idolatries  are 
perverted  anticipations.  I  pass  over  minor  points 
of  coincidence  between  idea  and  circumstance — such  as 
the  remarkable  metaphor  of  the  Christian  armour, 
working  out  a  figure  previously  touched  by  St.  Paul, 
with  an  obvious  detailed  reference  to  the  armour  of 
his  Roman  jailor;  or  the  adaptation  of  Stoic  ideas  and 
phrases  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  bearing  (as 
Dr.  Lightfoot  has  shown)  peculiar  resemblances  to 
the  later  Stoicism  of  Seneca,  then  the  leader  of 
Roman  thought.  But  taking  only  the  main  idea 
of  these  Epistles^  and  comparing  it  with  the  main 
principle  of  Roman  greatness,  it  is  impossible  again 
not  to  bo  strnck  with  a  coincidence — which  must 
surely  be  more  than  mere  coincidence — between  the 
teaching  and  the  circumstances  of  this  period  of  the 
Apostle's  life. 

(3)  The  advanced  Chridology. — There  is  another 
true  development,  of  infinitely  greater  importance 
and  deeper  interest,  in  respect  of  what  is  called 
the  "  Christology  "  of  these  Epistles.  At  all  times  the 
preaching  of,  Christianity  is  the  pi-eaching  of  "  God  in 
Christ."  But  attentive  study  of  the  New  Testament 
shows  that  gradually,  line  by  line,  step  by  step,  the  full 
truth  was  revealed  as  the  world  was  able  to  bear  it — 
passing,  according  to  the  true  order  of  teaching,  from 
visible  manifestations  to  invisible  realities — guarding  at 
every  step  the  supreme  truth  of  the  unity  of  the  Godhead, 
80  jealously  cherished  by  the  Jew,  so  laxly  disregarded 
in  the  elastic  Polytheisms  of  the  Gentile  world.  The 
manifestation  of  Christ  in  the  Incarnation,  the  Atone- 
ment, the  Resurrection,  and  Ascension,  is,  of  course, 
really  one.  Yet  at  different  times  each  of  tlie  different 
steps  of  tiiat  one  manifestation  appears  to  have  assumed 
greater  prominence  in  Christian  teaching;  and  it  may 
be  noted,  that  as,  when  we  dig  through  the  strata  of 
the  earth,  wo  uncover  first  wliat  is  latest,  and  come 
only  at  last  to  what  is  earliest  in  deposition,  so  in  the 
realisation  of  gospel  truth,  the  order  of  preaching  is  tlie 
reverse  of  the  order  of  actual  occurrence  of  the  great 
facts  of  tlie  divine  manifestation.  First,  as  is  natural, 
came  the  preaching  of  "Christ  risen;"  for  the  Resur- 
rection— the  great  miracle  of  miracles — was  the  seal  of 
our  Lord's  Messiahship,  declaring  Him  who  was  "  of 
the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh"  to  be  "  the 
Son  of  God  with  power."  As  risen  and  exalted  to  tlie 
right  hand  of  God,  in  fulfilment  of  oft-repeated  ancient 
prophecy.  He  was  declared  to  be  both  "  Lord  and 
Christ."     Even  clear-sighted  heathen  ignorance  could 


declare  that  the  great  question  between  Christian  and 
unbeliever  was  then — as,  indeed,  it  is  now — "  of  one 
Jesus  who  was  dead,  whom  Paul  affirmed  to  be  alive." 
But  then,  when  men  were  called  to  receive  in  the  risen 
Christ  remission  of  sins,  to  see  in  His  resurrection  the 
I)ledge  of  a  spiritual  resurrection  for  themselves  here, 
a  resurrection  of  body  and  spirit  in  the  hereafter,  camo 
the  question.  How  can  this  be  ?  To  that  question  tlio 
answer  is  found  in  the  one  truth  which  St.  Paul  de- 
clariul  that  in  his  teaching  at  Corinth,  and  (.we  may 
add)  in  his  teaching  to  tlie  Galatians  and  Romans,  he 
cared  to  know — the  truth  of  "  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  as 
crucified."  The  Resurrection,  in  itself,  was  accepted  as 
known ;  to  unfold  its  meaning  it  was  necessary  to  go 
back  to  the  Atonement.  Hence  the  great  teaching  of 
these  Epistles  is  of  Christ  as  the  one  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  the  countless  souls  which  He  has  made. 
That  mediation  is  described  sometimes  in  the  phrase 
"  through  Christ,"  bringing  out  the  access  through  His 
atonement  to  the  Father  who  sent  Him ;  sometimes  in 
the  phrase  "  in  Christ,"  dwelling  not  so  much  on  our 
justification  as  on  our  regeneration  in  Him  to  the  new 
life.  Perhaps  in  the  great  struggle  for  Justification 
by  Faith  the  former  idea  was  the  more  prominent.  In 
either  phase,  however,  it  is  the  sole  and  universal 
mediation  of  Christ  which  is  the  one  leading  conception 
of  Apostolic  teaching.  But,  again,  the  question  arises, 
Who  is  He  who  thus  is — what  siu-ely  no  merely  ci-eated 
being  can  claim  to  be — a  mediator  between  God  and  all 
human  souls,  in  all  lands  and  in  all  ages  of  the  woi'ld  ? 
To  answer  that  question  it  was  needful  to  go  back  once 
more  to  "  Christ  Incarnate  :  "  i.e.,  ultimately,  to  Christ 
as  He  is,  not  in  manifestation,  but  in  His  own  true 
being,  before  He  was  pleased  to  stoop  to  earth,  and 
since  He  has  ascended  again  to  His  own  glory  in 
heaven.  It  is  on  this  last  phase  of  thought  that  the 
Epistles  of  the  Captivity  appear  to  enter,  standing  in 
tliis  respect  parallel  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
leading  on  to  the  yet  fuller  teaching  of  the  Epistles 
and  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

We  notice  that  it  is  always  through  the  knowledge  of 
His  mediation  that  they  lead  us  into  the  region  of  yet 
higher  truth.  St.  Paul,  in  brief  yet  exhaustive  descrip- 
tion of  that  mediation,  tells  us  of  Christ,  as  One  "  in 
whom  we  lun^e  redenqttion  through  His  blood,  even  the 
remission  of  sins."  We  notice,  also,  that  the  phrase 
"in  Christ,"  rather  than  "through  Christ,"  is  the  donii- 
nant  note  in  these  Epistles.  As  Ave  have  seen  already 
in  relati(m  to  justification  and  sanctification,  so  we  find 
in  relation  to  the  oV)jective  truths  corresponding  to 
them,  tliat  it  is  not  so  much  on  "  Christ  crucified  "  as 
on  "  Christ  living  in  ns  "  that  he  emphatically  dwells. 
But  the  especial  point  of  transcendent  importance  is 
that  he  leads  ns  on  from  the  fact  of  this  nuuliation  to 
draw  out  explicitly  what  such  mediation  implies.  The 
Philippian  Epistle,  simple  and  practical  as  its  purpose  is, 
i-ecites.  in  the  great  passage  of  its  second  chapter  (chap, 
ii.  5 — 11)  the  whole  creed  of  onr  Lord's  Nature  and 
Office — the  distinctive  creed  of  Christianity.  It  marks 
the  two-fold  humility  of  His  mediation  for  us  :  first,  the 
"taking  on  Him  the  form  of  a  servant;"  next,  the 
"  humbling  Himself  to  the  death  of  the  cross."  It 
turns  next  to  the  corresponding  exaltation  of  His  human 
nature  in  the  Mediatorial  kingdom  i described  in  1  Cor. 
XV.  20 — 28).  so  that  "in  the  name  of  J(>sus  every  knee 
should  bow."  But  it  does  more  than  this.  It  speaks 
of  Him  Jis  being  essentially  "  in  the  form,"  that  is, 
in  the  nature,  "of  God,"  in  the  eternal  glory  of 
which  "  He  stripped  Himself  "  for  us  ;  it  tells  us  that 
to  Him  is  given  "  the  name  which  is  above  evei"y 
name" — the    awful    and    incomraunicable    name    of 


EPISTLES   OF  ST.   PAUL'S  FIRST  CAPTIVITY. 


Jehovah.  In  that  deeper  teaching  it  tells  us,  not  of  His 
office,  but  of  Himself;  not  of  His  mediation,  but  of  the 
divine  nature  which  alone  made  such  mediation  possi- 
ble. Again,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  starting 
from  "  the  redemption  in  His  blood,  the  remission  of 
sins,"  the  idea  of  our  Lord's  mediation  is  infinitely  en- 
larged and  exalted  in  the  conception,  that  "  in  Him  all 
things  are  gathered  in  one  head,  both  which  are  in 
heaven  and  which  are  on  earth;  "  that  "  He  filleth  all  in 
all ;  "  "  ascending  above  all  lieavens,"  "  descending  into 
the  lower  parts  of  the  earth,"  "  that  He  might  thus 
fill  all  things."  That  He  is,  indeed,  the  Head  of  the 
Church  we  are  told  again  and  again  in  various  forms  of 
expression  ;  but  He  is  more.  In  Him  all  created  being 
is  summed  up ;  He  is,  in  all  that  relates  to  it,  the 
manifestation  of  God.  As  in  the  unity  of  the  Church, 
60  in  the  wider  unity  of  all  creation,  we  have,  co-ordinate 
with  one  another,  the  "  one  Spirit,"  the  "  one  Lord,"  the 
"  one  God  and  Father  of  all."  But  far  even  beyond  this, 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  carries  the  same  higher 
teaching.  Standing  face  to  face  with  an  incipient  Gnos- 
ticism, stiffened  to  some  degree  into  a  Jewish  type,  but 
presenting  all  the  essential  features  of  the  Gnostic  idea 
- — of  one  supreme  God  and  many  emanations,  all  real  and 
all  imperfect,  from  the  divine  fulness — St.  Paul  declares 
explicitly  all  that  the  earlier  teaching  had  implied  with 
ever  increasing  clearness.  Our  Lord  is  not  only  "  the 
fii-stborn  of  God  before  all  creation,"  "in  whom," 
"  through  whom,"  "  for  whom,"  "  all  things  in  heaven 
and  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  were  created,"  and  in 
whom  "  all  things  consist."  In  this  the  Colossian 
Epistle  would  but  draw  out  more  forcibly  the  truth 
taught  to  the  Ephesians  of  His  relation  to  aU  created 
being.  But  what  is  He  in  Himself  ?  St.  Paul  answers, 
"  the  image  " — the  substantial  manifestation — "  of  the 
invisible  God,"  in  whom  "  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head dwelleth  bodily."  The  jiarallel  is  singularly  close 
with  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which,  in  similar  con- 
nection with  the  gi'eat  mediation  of  His  one  priesthood 
and  one  sacrifice,  declares  Him  (chap  i.  3)  to  be  "  the 
brightness  of  the  glory  of  the  Father,  and  the  express 
image  of  His  person  "  (the  "  substance,"  or  essence,  of 
the  Godhead).  There  remains  little  beyond  this  to 
bring  us  to  the  full  declaration  of  "  the  Word "  who 
"  was  in  the  beginning,"  who  "  was  with  God,  and  was 
God."  These  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  correspond,  with 
marvellous  appropriateness,  to  that  intermediate  period, 
when  his  great  evangelising  work  was  almost  done, 
and  the  time  was  coming  for  the  gi-owth  of  the  school 
of  deep  thought  on  a  now  acknowledged  Christianity, 
which  was  to  surround  the  old  age  of  "  St.  John  the 
Divine." 

(4)  The  Condition  and  Trials  of  the  Church. — The 
examination  of  the  substance  of  the  Epistles  would 
not  be  complete  without  some  brief  reference  to  the 
condition  of  the  Church  which  they  disclose. 

In  this  view,  also,  we  trace  the  same  coincidence  with 
the  natural  gi-owth  of  events.  The  whole  tenor  of  the 
Epistles  indicates  that  the  Church  had  reached  a  con- 
dition in  which  the  consideration,  not  so  nnich  of  its 
extension,  as  of  its  unity,  became  the  prominent  idea. 
With  but  little  hyperbole,  St.  Paul  could  say  that  the 
gospel  had  come  into  "all  the  world"  of  the  Roman 
empire.  His  own  career  of  active  evangelisation  had 
been  stopped ;  in  his  prison  at  Rome,  the  centre  of 
communication  with  all  nations,  he  would,  no  doubt,  hear 
of  the  growth  and  the  trials  of  other  churches,  as  we 
know  that  he  heard  of  Philippi  and  Colossa);  he 
looked  eagerly,  as  from  a  distance,  on  the  building  iip 
of  the  Temple  of  God,  which  was  going  on  by  many 
hands  and  under  many  conditions.     The  one  thought 


and  prayer  of  his  captivity  was  that  it  shoidd  grow 
as  one,  "fitly  framed  and  joined  together,"  on  the  one 
foundation  and  in  the  one  corner-stone.  To  the  Philip- 
pian  Church  the  burden  of  his  exhortation  is  to  unity 
of  spirit.  In  the  Ephesiau  Epistle  the  great  central 
passage  is  that  which  brings  out,  with  all  the  incisive 
empliasis  of  a  creed,  the  description  of  the  "  one 
body  "  and  the  "  one  Spirit  "  ;  and  the  fundamental  con- 
ception of  the  gospel,  as  the  reconciliation  of  the  soul 
to  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  carries  with  it  as  a  perpetual 
undertone,  the  union  of  Jew  and  Gentile  in  the  covenant 
of  God.  Even  in  the  Colossian  Epistle,  although  there 
the  main  idea  of  the  sole  headship  of  Christ  assumes 
a  more  absolute  predominance,  yet  the  great  anxiety  of 
St.  Paid  for  Colossse  and  its  sister  churches  was  that 
their  hearts  might  be  "  knit  together  in  love  "  and  the 
"  full  assurance  of  the  knowledge  "  of  a  common  gospel. 
The  whole  tenor  of  these  Epistles,  standing  in  contrast 
with  those  of  the  earlier  group,  thus  corresponds  with 
the  needs  of  the  more  advanced  period  of  Chui-ch 
history. 

Nor  is  this  coincidence  less  evident  in  relation  to  the 
forms  of  danger,  by  which  the  progress  of  the  Church 
is  here  seen  to  be  menaced.  The  old  leaven  of  Judaism 
still  works  in  the  "  so-called  circumcision,"  which 
now  deserves,  in  St.  Paul's  eyes,  only  the  name  of 
"  concision,"  or  self-mutilation.  But  it  has  changed  its 
character.  The  Pharisaic  idolatry  of  the  Law,  as  a  law 
by  obedience  to  which  man  might  work  out,  if  not  his 
own  salvation,  at  least  his  own  perfection,  has  passed 
away  in  the  East,  though  it  lingers  in  the  simple, 
unspeculative  Christianity  of  Macedonia.  Perhaps  by 
the  very  extension  of  the  Church  the  providence  of 
God  had  clenched  the  victorious  argument  of  St.  Paul. 
A  church  truly  catholic  could  hardly  rest  on  a  rigid 
code  of  law,  or  find  the  spring  of  a  world-wide  salvation 
anywhere,  except  in  the  grace  of  God  accepted  by  faith. 
But  now,  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  shows, 
Judaism  had  allied  itself  with  those  wild  speculations, 
weaving  the  gospel  into  philosophical  or  mystic  theories 
of  religion,  which  arose  inevitably,  when  Christianity, 
assuming  to  be  the  religion  of  humanity,  naturally  came 
in  contact  with  the  various  philosophies  and  religious 
of  all  mankind.  Dr.  Lightfoot  has  shown,  with  much 
probability,  that  one  form  in  which  it  adapted  itself 
to  the  new  condition  of  things  was  the  form  of  the 
old  Essenic  mysticism.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
suggests  that,  on  the  other  hand,  it  had  also  fixed  its 
faith  on  the  ritual  and  sacrifice  from  which  the  Essenes 
shrank — doubtless  as  having  in  themselves  a  mystic 
efficacy,  perhaps  as  enabling  men  to  enter  into  the 
region  of  mystic  speculation,  where  they  might  learn 
the  secrets  hidden  from  the  mass  of  Christians,  and 
revealed  only  to  the  perfect.  In  both  forms  it  is  seen 
as  gradually  dissolving  its  old  rigidity  and  carnality, 
and  claiming,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  age, the 
title  of  spirituality  and  mystic  i)erfection. 

Still  more  is  the  progress  of  the  times  shown  in  tliis 
very  tendency,  to  whidi  Judaism  so  strangely  and 
incongruously  allied  itself.  Gnosticism,  in  later  days, 
marked  the  attempts — sometimes  serious,  sometimes 
fantastic— to  weave  Christianity  into  systems  designed 
to  solve  the  insoluble  problem  of  the  relation  of 
the  infinite  God,  both  in  creation  and  manifestation,  to 
His  finite  creatures  ;  to  fix  the  place  to  be  assigned 
to  matter  and  spirit  in  the  universe;  to  answer  the 
question  how  far  evil  is  necessarily  associated  with 
matter;  and  in  contemplation  of  the  gospel  itself, 
to  determine  the  relation  between  the  Old  and  New 
Covenant,  and  to  defiiui  or  explain  away  the  mystery 
of  the   Incarnation.      To   what  wild  developments   it 


INTRODUCTION. 


ran  is  told  iu  the  true,  but  almost  incredible,  record 
of  a  subsequent  chapter  of  Church  history.  But 
it  showed  itself — we  may  almost  say  that  it  could  not 
but  have  shown  itself — at  the  close  of  the  Apostolic 
ago  :  as  soon  as  the  gospel  showed  itself  to  be  not  only 
a  divine  life,  but  a  divine  philosophy,  to  an  age 
ratliciilly  sceptical,  both  in  its  eagerness  of  inquiry  and 
its  discontent  with  all  the  answers  hitherto  found.  Wo 
find  traces  of  it — easily  read  by  those  who  have  studied 
its  aftor-dovelopment — in  the  "  endless  genealogies," 
the  false  asceticism,  or  still  falser  antinomiauism  of  the 
later  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  John,  in  the  denial 
that  "  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the  iiesh,"  and  the 
idea  that  "the  Resurrection  was  passed  already."  In 
these  Epistles  of  the  Captivity  there  are  similar  traces, 
but  less  fully  developed,  especially  in  the  Colossian 
Epistle.  The  spurious  claims  to  spiritual  "  perfection ;" 
the  "  deceits  by  vain  woi'ds;"  the  "  systematic  plan  of 
deceit  "  of  a  specious  antinomiauism,  for  which  St.  Paul 
can  hardly  find  language  of  adequate  condemnation; 
tho  "  i)liil(isophy  and  vain  deceit  "  of  the  traditions  of 
men,  with  its  mere  "  show  of  wisdom "  and  its 
"  intrusion  "  into  tho  regions  of  the  invisible;  the  sup- 
posed emanations  from  the  Godhead  taking  the  angelic 
lorms  of  "thrones  and  principalities  and  powers" — 
all  these  mark  tho  first  beginning  of  that  strange 
progress  which  ran  its  pretentious  course  iu  later 
times.  To  this  time  of  St.  Paul's  history  they  belong, 
and  to  no  other. 

Thus,  as  it  seems  every  way,  a  careful  study  of  the 
style  and  substance  of  these  Epistles  not  only  confirms 
the  external  testimony  which  refers  them  to  St.  Paul, 
but  illustrates  to  us  the  course  of  the  development  of 
the  gospel,  the  progress  and  the  trials  of  the  Church. 
They  light  up  the  historical  darkness  in  which  the 
abrupt  close  of  the  record  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
leaves  us ;  they  are  full  of  those  lessons  for  our  own 
days  in  which  the  close  of  the  Apostolic  age  is  especially 
fruitful. 

y.  The  Order  of  the  Epistles.  —  That  the 
Epistles  to  tho  Ephesians,  to  tho  Colossians,  and  to 
Philemon  belong  to  the  same  time,  and  were  sent  by 
tho  same  messengers,  is  tolerably  clear.  The  one 
question   is,  whether   the  Epistle   to  the   Philippiaus 

E recedes  or  follows  them ;  and  this  question  can  only 
e  answered  by  probable  conjecture.  It  is  obvious,  from 
the  progress  already  made  (Phil.  i.  12 — 18),  from  the 
whole  description  of  the  mission  and  the  sickness  of 
Epaphroditus  (Phil.  ii.  25—30),  from  the  anticipation 
of  release  (Phil.  ii.  24),  that  some  time  must  have 


elapsed  between  St.  Paul's  arrival  at  Rome  and  the 
writing  of  this  Epistle.  It  has  also  been  noticed,  as  at 
least  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  Aristarchus  and 
St.  Luke,  who  accompanied  the  Apostle  to  Rome  (Acts 
xxvii.  2),  are  named  in  tho  Epistles  to  the  Colossians 
and  Philemon  (Col.  iv.  10,  1-i;  Philem.  verso  24),  and 
not  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  But  this  last 
may  be  a  mere  coincidence ;  and  the  fact  that  the 
Philippian  Epistle  was  not  written  early  in  the  im- 
prisonment determines  nothing  as  to  its  priority  or 
posteriority  to  the  other  Epistles.  The  only  strong 
argument  on  tho  subject — which  has  been  admirably 
worked  out  by  Dr.  Lightfoot  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  sect.  ii. — is  the  remarkable 
similarity  in  word  and  style  between  it  and  the  Epistle 
to  tlie  Romans,  its  position  as  a  link  between  the 
strong  individuality  of  the  earlier  teaching  and  the 
characteristic  universality  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephe- 
sians and  Colossians,  and  its  dealing  with  trials  and 
difficulties  more  nearly  resembling  those  of  an  earlier 
time.  The  argument  is  strong,  yet  not  necessarily 
conclusive ;  for  much  in  aU  these  points  depends  on 
the  character,  and  even  the  geographical  position,  of  the 
Church  addressed.  To  it,  however,  in  the  absence  o£ 
any  solid  controverting  e^ddence,  we  may  give  consider- 
able weight  and  perhaps  incline,  without  absolute 
decision,  to  place  the  Philippian  Epistle  before  the 
other  group  in  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity. 

[In  relation  to  the  treatment  of  the  Epistles  of  the 
Captivity,  it  seems  right  to  acknowledge  the  deep  ob- 
ligation of  the  writer  to  the  Commentaries  of  Ellicott, 
Alford,  Wordsworth,  Meyer,  Harless,  and,  above  all, 
to  the  admirable  and  exhaustive  treatment  by  Dr. 
Lightfoot  of  the  Epistles  to  the  Philippians,  Colos- 
sians, and  Philemon ;  to  Conybeare  and  Howson,  and 
Lewin,  for  their  full  and  learned  summaries  of  all  that 
illustrates  tho  life  and,  in  less  degree,  the  vsritings  of 
St.  Paul;  but  perhaps  not  least  to  the  Homilies  of 
St.  Chrysostom — simply  invaluable  as  a  commentary, 
A'enerable  in  its  preservation  of  ancient  tradition,  criti- 
cally precious  as  dealing  with  the  Greek  as  still  a  living 
language,  and  yet  modern  in  that  breadth  and  simplicity 
of  treatment,  which  contrast  with  the  frequent  mysti- 
cism of  great  ancient  commentators.  The  writer  desires 
also  to  add  that,  while  he  has  not  generally  thought  it 
desirable  to  confuse  tho  reader  by  the  enumeration  of 
various  translations  and  interpretations,  he  has  yet,  to 
tho  best  of  his  ability,  studied  all  these  carefully,  and 
has  endeavoured  to  give  in  the  Notes  the  result,  rather 
than  the  process,  of  such  study.] 


INTEODUCTION 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  PAUL  THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE 


EPHESIANS. 


I.  The  Date  and  Place  of  Writing,— Tins 
Epistle,  for  reasons  hereafter  to  be  considered,  has  few 
detailed  indications,  either  of  the  pei-sonal  condition  of 
the  writer  or  of  the  circnmstances  of  those  to  whom 
it  is  addressed.  But  one  point  is  made  perfectly  clear, 
that  it  was  written  by  St.  Paul  when  he  was  the  "  prisoner 
of  Jesus  Christ"  (chaps,  iii.  1;  iv.  1),  suifering  some 
special  "  tribulations  for  them,"  which  he  bade  them 
consider  as  "their  glory"  (chap.  iii.  13),  and  being  an 
"  ambassador  for  Christ  in  a  chain  "  (chap.  vi.  20) — the 
word  here  used  being  the  same  as  in  Acts  xxviii.  20,  and 
being  a  word  almost  technically  describing  the  imprison- 
ment "  with  a  soldier  that  kept  him  "  (Acts  xxviii.  16). 
All  these  things  point  unmistakably  to  what  we  have 
spoken  of  in  the  General  Introduction  as  the  first  Ro- 
man captivity.  That  captivity  began  about  A.D.  61,  and 
lasted,  without  change,  for  at  least  "  two  full  years." 
In  the  Letter  to  Philemon,  sent  by  Onesimus,  who  is 
associated  with  Tychicus,  the  bearer  of  this  Epistle,  in 
Col.  iv.  7 — 9,  St.  Paul  prays  him  to  "  prepare  him  a 
lodging"  against  the  speedy  arrival,  which  he  then 
confidently  expected.  Hence  our  Epistle  must  be 
placed  late  in  the  cai^tivity — not  earlier  than  A.D.  63. 

II.  The  Church  to  which  it  is  addressed.— 
The  Epistle  has  borne  from  time  immemorial  the  name 
of  the  "  Epistle  to  the  Ephesiaus."  To  the  Church  at 
Ephesus  most  certainly,  whether  solely  or  among  others, 
it  is  addressed. 

Ephesus. — Of  St.  Paul's  preaching  at  Ephesus  we 
have  a  detailed  account  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
At  the  close  of  his  second  missionary  circuit  he  had 
touched  at  Ephesus,  and  " entered  the  synagogue"  to 
"  reason  with  the  Jews."  In  spite  of  their  entreaty,  he 
could  not  then  remain  with  them,  but  left  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  there.  From  them,  probably,  with  the  aid  of 
their  convert  ApoUos,  the  Chi-istianity  of  Ephesus 
began  its  actual  rise.  It  is  not,  indeed,  impossible 
that  there  may  have  been  some  previous  preparation 
through  the  disciples  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The 
emphatic  allusion  to  him  and  to  the  simply  preparatory 
character  of  his  work  in  St.  Paul's  sermon  at  Antioch 
in  Pisidia  (Acts  xiii.  24-,  25),  seems  to  point  to  know- 
ledge of  him  in  Asia  Minor.  Wo  know  that  afterwards 
St.  Paul  found  some  disciples  at  Ephesus.  baptised  only 
with  St.  John's  baptism  (Acts  xix.  3)  ;  and  wo  note 
that  Apollos,  Avhile  "  knowing  only  the  baptism  of 
John,"  yet  still  "  teaching  the  things  of  the  Lord." 
found  a  ready  acceptance  at  Ephesus  (Acts  x%'iii.  24,  25). 
But  however  this  may  ha,  the  full  development  of  the 
Christianity  of  Ephesus  was  made  under  St.  Paul's 
charge  in  liis  third  missionary  circuit.  His  first 
circuit  had  been  an  extension  of  that  Asiatic  Gentile 


Christianity  which  began  from  Antioch;  his  second  was 
notable  as  the  first  planting  of  European  Christianity, 
having  its  chief  centre  at  Corinth ;  now  his  head- 
quarters for  the  evangelisation  of  the  Roman  pro\'ince 
of  Asia  were  fixed  for  three  years  at  Ephesus,  a  city 
specially  fit  for  the  welding  together  of  Asiatic  and. 
European  Christianity — for  there  Greek  civilisation  met 
face  to  face  with  Oriental  superstition  and  magical 
pretensions,  in  that  which  was  made  by  Rome  the  official 
metropolis  of  pro- consular  Asia  ;  and  the  strange  union 
is  curiously  symbolised  by  the  enshrining  in  a  temple 
which  was  the  world-famed  masterpiece  of  Greek  art 
of  an  idol — probably,  some  half- shapeless  meteoric  stone 
— "  which  fell  down  from  Jupiter."  The  summary  of 
his  work  there — his  re-baptism  with  the  miraculous 
gifts  of  the  disciples  of  St.  John  Baptist ;  the  "  special 
miracles  "  wrought  by  his  hands ;  the  utter  confusion 
both  of  Jewish  exorcists  and  of  the  professors  of 
those  "  curious  arts"  for  which  Ephesus  was  notorious  ; 
the  sudden  tumult,  so  skilfully  appeased  by  the  "  town  . 
clerk,"  who  must  surely  have  been  half  a  Christian—  I 
make  up  (in  Acts  xix.)  one  of  the  most  vivid  scenes  inl 
St.  Paul's  Apostolic  history. 

Another — not  less  striking,  and  infinitely  pathetic — • 
is  drawn  in  Acts  xx.  16 — 38,  in  the  farewell  visit 
and  address  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Ephcsian  presbyters  at 
Miletus,  iudicating,  alike  by  its  testimony  and  by  its 
wai'nings.  a  fully-organised  and  widely-spread  Chris- 
tianity— the  fruit  of  his  three  years'  labour.  "Wliat 
had  been  the  extent  of  the  sphere  of  that  labour  we 
know  not.  We  gather,  with  some  surprise  (Col.  ii.  1), 
that  the  churches  of  the  valley  of  the  Lycus — Laodicea, 
Hierapolis,  Colossse — had  not  been  visited  by  him 
personally.  Yet,  whether  by  his  own  presence,  or 
through  such  delegates  as  Epaphras  (Col.  i.  7).  "all 
which  dwelt  in  Asia  had  heard  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
both  Jews  and  Greeks"  (Acts  xix.  10 K  They  might 
well  "  sorrow  "  and  "  weep  sore  "  at  the  thought  that 
they  should  "  see  his  face  no  more." 

Now.  in  his  captivity,  certainlv  to  Ephesus,  and  las 
we  shall  see  hereafter)  probably  to  the  other  churches 
of  Asia,  he  writes  this  Epistle — itself  a  representative 
Epistle,  almost  a  treatise,  bearing  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church  a  relatiim  not  unlike  that 
wliich  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  bears  to  the  fimda- 
mental  truths  of  personal  Christianity. 

After  this,  in  the  interval  bt^tween  the  first  and 
second  captivity,  we  find  (see  1  Tim.  i.  1 ;  2  Tim.  i.  18) 
that  St.  Paul  did  revisit  Ephesus  at  least  once ;  that, 
in  his  deep  anxiety  for  its  welfare,  he  placed  it  under 
the  quasi-episcopal  charge  of  his  "  own  son  Timothy  ;" 
and  that,  in  his  la.st  captivitv.  ho  sent  Tycliicus.  the 
bearer  of  this  Epistle,  to  Ephesus  again  (,2  Tim.  iv.  12), 


EPHESIANS. 


porhaps  in  view  of  tlio  comiiif?  absence  of  Timothy  in 
obediL-nce  to  tlio  Apostle's  sunimons. 

From  tliat  tinio  Epliesus  passed  into  tlie  charge  of 
St.  John,  as  tl)e  first  of  the  seven  eliurehes  of  Asia 
(Rev.  ii.  1),  connnended  for  its  steadfastness,  but  yet 
rebuked  as  "  liaviiig  fallen  from  its  first  lovo."  Of 
this  piiast'  of  its  Cliristianity,  and  its  subsequent  im- 
portance in  the  future  history  of  the  Chureh,  espeeially 
as  the  scene  of  the  Tliird  great  Council  and  the  previous 
Latrociniitm,  it  would  be  out  of  place  h(>re  to  dwell. 

The  Churches  of  Asia. — But  while  there  is  no 
doul)t  that  the  Epistle  was  addressed  to  Ephesus,  there 
seems  very  strong  reason  for  the  opinion,  now  held  by 
many  commentators,  that  it  was  an  encyclical  letter 
to  tlie  churches  of  Asia,  of  which  Ephesus  was  the 
natural  head. 

The  evidence  of  this  opinion  may  be  thus  sum- 
manscd : — 

Direct  Evidence. — Taking  first  the  direct  evidence, 
we  observe  (1)  that  in  the  opening  salutation,  which  in 
the  ordinary  reading  is  addressed  to  "  the  saints  which 
are  at  Ephesus,  being  also  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus," 
the  words  "  at  Ephesus  "  are  omitted  in  our  two  oldest 
MSS.  (the  Vatican  and  the  Simiitic),  and  in  l)oth  sup- 
plied by  a  later  hand.  This  omission  is  exceptional,  all 
other  MSS.  and  versions  inserting  the  words.  But 
it  agrees  with  two  remarkable  ancient  testimonies. 
Origen,  the  first  great  Biblical  critic  in  the  early 
Church  (a.d.  186 — -54),  (as  appears  from  a  fragment 
quoted    in    Cramer's   "  Catenae    in    Pauli    Epistola;," 

S1U2,  Oxford  edition,  1842),  noticed  that  in  the 
phesiau  Epistle  alone  there  was  the  "  singular  inscrip- 
tion," "  to  the  saints  who  are,  being  also  faithful." 
Basil  of  Cacsarea  (A.D.  329 — 379)  expressly  says  (in  his 
treatise  against  Eunomius,  Book  ii.,  c.  19),  "  this  reading 
was  handed  down  by  those  who  have  gone  before  us, 
and  we  ourselves  have  found  it  in  the  ancient  MSS." 

Now  (2)  the  effect  of  this  omission  is  to  make  the 
passage  obscure,  if  not  unintelligible;  for  the  only 
simple  rendering  of  the  Greek  would  be  to  "  the  saints 
who  are  also  faithful,"  and  this  would  give  an  im- 
possible vagueness  and  generality  to  the  address. 
Accordingly,  ancient  criticism  (perhaps  derived  fi-om 
Origen  in  the  first  instance)  actually  faced  the  difficulty 
by  giving  a  mystic  sense  to  the  passage.  St.  Basil,  in 
the  passage  above  quoted,  explains  it  thus  : — "  But, 
moreover,  writing  to  the  Ephesians  as  to  those  trxily 
united  by  full  knowledge  to  HiM  WHO  IS,  he  gives  them 
the  peculiar  title  of  the  'saints  who  are.'"  To  this 
interpretation,  also,  St.  Jerome  refers  thus  (in  his 
Commentary  on  Ephesians  i.  1): — "Some,  with  more 
subtlety  than  is  necessary,  hold  that,  according  to  the 
sjiying  to  Moses,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  to  the  children  of 
Israel,  He  who  is  hath  sent  me  unto  you,  tho.so  who  at 
Ephesus  are  holy  and  faitliful  are  designated  by  the 
name  of  essential  being,  so  tiiat  from  Him  who  IS  those 
are  called  They  wiio  are;"'  and  adds,  with  his  usual 
strong  critical  good  sense,  "  others  more  simply  hold 
that  the  address  is  not  to  Those  who  are.  but  to  Those 
•who  are  at  Ephesus."  Certainly,  nothing  could  show  a 
firmer  conviction  that  the  omission  of  the  words  "at 
Ephesus"  was  necessitated  by  MS.  authority,  tliau 
the  desperate  attempt  to  meet  the  difficulty  of  rendering 
by  this  marveUous  interpretation. 

But  (3)  we  also  find  that  Marcion  the  heretic,  by 
TertuUian's  twice-repeated  testimony  (in  his  work 
against  Marcion,  Book  v.,  cc.  11,  1(>),  entitled  this 
Epistle  "  The  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceaus."  "I  omit," 
he  says,  "  here  notice  of  another  Epistle,  which  we  hold 
to  have  been  writt<?u  to  the  Ephesians,  but  the  heretics 


to  the  Laodiceans ; "  and  he  then  proceeds  to  refer  to 
our  Epistle.  In  another  place  : — "  In  the  true  view  of 
the  Church,  we  hold  that  Letter  to  have  been  sent  to 
the  Ephesians,  not  to  the  Laodiceans;  but  Marcion  has 
made  it  his  business  to  interj)olate  an  address  in  it,  to 
show  that  on  this  point  also  he  is  a  most  painstaking 
critic."  Now  (as  Tertullian  adds)  the  question  of  the 
address  was  of  no  doctrinal  importance;  accordingly, 
Marcion  could  not  have  been  tempted  in  this  respect 
to  falsify  or  invent.  He  gave  the  address  on  critical 
grounds  ;  and  Tertullian  says  that  he  "  interpolated  " 
it,  presumably  where  there  was  a  blank.  Epiphanius, 
also  (320? — 402),  in  his  notice  of  Marcion  {adv.  Hcer., 
Lib.  I.,  Toni.  III.,  xii.),  after  quoting  "one  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism,"  &c.,  adds: — "For  the  miserable 
Marcion  was  pleased  to  quote  this  testimony,  not  from 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  but  from  the  Epistle  to 
the  Laodiceans,  which  is  not  in  the  Apostle's  writings," 
He  apparently  refers  to  an  ajjocraphal  letter,  of  which 
he  says  elsewhere  that  "  Marcion  received  fragments  ;  " 
and  such  a  letter  is  noticed  in  the  Muratorian  Canon. 
But  looking  to  Tertullian's  clear  declaration,  we  may, 
perhaps,  see  here  a  confused  reminiscence  of  this  same 
critical  achievement  of  Marcion.  Marcion,  no  doubt, 
was  led  to  it  by  a  consideration  of  the  well-known 
passage  in  the  Colossian  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  16)  speaking 
of  the  "  letter  from  Laodicea,"  which  he  (it  would 
seem,  correctly)  identified  with  our  Epistle. 

(4)  Now,  all  these  things  lead  plainly  to  one  conclu- 
sion— that,  while  an  unvarying  tradition  declared  that 
the  Letter  was  "  to  the  Ephesians,"  yet  there  was  a  blank 
in  the  oldest  MSS.  after  the  words  "  which  ai-e,"  gene- 
rally filled  up  (as  in  most  of  our  later  MSS.)  with  the 
words  "  in  Ephesus ; "  but  by  Marcion,  with  no  MS. 
authority,  simply  on  grounds  of  critical  inference,  with 
the  words  "in  Laodicea."  That  this  insertion  of 
Marcion,  if  intended  to  infer  that  the  Letter  was 
addressed  specially  to  the  Laodicean  Church,  was 
unwarrantable,  appears  obvious,  from  the  whole  stream 
of  ancient  tradition  assigning  the  Letter  to  the  Ephe- 
sians, and  the  absence  of  any  vestige  of  such  a  reading 
in  the  existing  MSS.  But  if  the  Epistle  were  a  circular 
letter,  of  which  many  copies  were  sent  at  one  time,  it 
would  be  at  least  probable  that  blanks  might  be  left, 
to  be  filled  up  in  each  case  with  the  proper  name  of 
the  Church ;  and  this  supposition,  which  lias  been 
adopted  by  many,  would  furnish  a  very  simple  expla- 
nation— indeed,  the  only  simple  explanation — of  this 
perplexing  MS.  phenomenon. 

Imlirect  Evidence. — This  being  the  state  of  the  case 
in  relation  to  direct  evidence,  we  naturally  pass  on  to 
consider  what  may  be  gathered  indirectly,  either  to 
confirm  or  to  confute  this  supposition,  from  the  Epistle 
itself. 

Now,  the  study  of  the  Epistle,  as  a  whole,  must  surely 
convey  to  the  mind  the  impression  of  a  certain  gene- 
rality and  abstractness  of  character.  It  approaches 
closely— at  least,  as  closely  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
— to  the  character  of  a  treatise,  dealing,  with  a  singular 
completeness,  accuracy,  ami  symmetry  of  handling, 
with  a  graiul  spiritual  truth — the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church.  The  very  opening — strongly  remind- 
ing us  in  form,  though  not  in  substance,  of  the  opening 
of  tlio  General  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  to  these  churches 
and  other  churches  of  Asia  Minor  (1  Pet.  i.  3 — 7) — is  a 
complete  and  exhaustive  statement  of  the  mysterious 
truth  of  the  election  of  the  whole  Church,  as  gathered  up 
in  Christ  and  redeemed  by  Him,  in  the  eternal  counsels 
of  God.  The  celebrated  passage  (chap.  iv.  4 — 6)  on  the 
unity  of  the  Church,  while  it  is  full  of  an  almost  poetic 


10 


EPHESIANS. 


beauty,  has  all  the  fuluess  and  precision  of  a  creed. 
Tlio  practical  exhortations  of  the  Epistle  arc  dniwii, 
with  a  philosophic  generality,  from  the  fuudameutal 
conception  of  religious  unity.  Nor  can  we  fail  to  notice 
that  the  Epistle  is  entirely  destitute  of  any  reference 
— such  as  is  invariable  in  St.  Paul's  other  Epistles — 
to  the  particular  condition,  blessings,  trials,  graces,  or 
defects,  of  those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  They  are 
simply  spoken  of  as  "  you  Gentiles,"  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  children  of  the  old  covenant.  Tlie  sins 
against  which  they  are  warned,  are  the  tyi)ical  sins 
forbidden  in  the  Second  Table,  or  the  sins  specially  rife 
in  the  heathen  society  of  that  time  in  general. 

The  comparison  in  this  respect  with  the  Colossian 
Epistle  is  most  instructive.  Everywhere  the  Ephesiau 
Epistle  is  general  and  (so  to  speak )  philosophical  in  treat- 
ment ;  while  in  the  parallel  passages  the  other  Epistle  is 
particular  and  practical.  Now  it  so  happens  that  in  the 
Epistles  of  this  period  we  have  the  Philipiiian,  written 
to  a  Church  personally  known  and,  loved,  while  the 
Colossian  is  addressed  to  a  Church  known  perhaps  well, 
but  indirectly,  and  not  by  personal  intercourse.  The 
former  Epistle  is  pervaded  from  beginning  to  end  with 
the  personality  of  the  writer,  as  fully  as  the  Corinthian 
or  Galatian.  Epistles  themselves.  The  latter  is  more 
distant  and  more  general,  introducing  the  special 
warnings  of  the  second  chapter  with  a  half -apologetic 
reference  to  the  deep  anxiety  felt  "  for  them,  and  for 
the  Laodiceaus,  and  for  those  who  had  not  seen  his 
face  in  the  flesh."  The  Church  of  Epliesus  must  have 
been  even  more  intimately  known  and  bound  to  St. 
Paul  than  the  Church  at  Philippi.  How  near  it  lay  to 
his  heart  we  know  by  the  pathetic  beauty  and  yearning 
tenderness  of  his  address  to  the  elders  at  Miletus.  An 
Epistle  written  to  this  Church  should  surely  have  had 
all  the  strong  personality  of  the  Philippian  Epistle;  yet 
our  Epistle,  on  the  contrary,  is  infinitely  less  direct, 
))ersonal,  special,  than  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians. 
The  inference,  even  from  these  general  considerations, 
seems  unmistakable — that  it  was  not  addressed  to  any 
special  Church,  but  least  of  all  to  such  a  Church  as 
Epliesus. 

But  there  are  also  some  indications  in  detail,  looking 
in  tlio  same  dii-ection,  which  are  referred  to  in  the 
Notes  on  the  various  passages.  Such,  for  example,  is 
the  vagueness  which  has  been  noticed  in  the  two  passages 
(chaps,  i.  15  ;  iii.  2),  "  after  I  heard  of  your  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,"  and  "  if  ye  have  heard  of  the  dispensation 
of  the  grace  of  God  given  me  to  you-ward."  It  is  true 
that  the  former  may  be  explained  of  St.  Paul's  hearing 
of  them  since  he  had  left  tliem  ;  and,  if  confirmed  by  the 
parallel  case  of  the  Colossians  (Col.  i.  4),  may  be  neutral- 
ised by  comparison  with  Philem.  verse  5  ("  Hearing  of 
thy  love  and  faith").  It  is  also  true  that  in  the  latter 
case  the  "  if "  of  the  original  is  not,  except  in  form. 
h)-pothetical,  and  the  verb  may  be  "heard,"  not  "heard 
of."  But,  making  all  reservation,  there  still  remains 
a  vagueness,  hardly  conceivable  in  reference  to  such  a 
Cliurch  as  Ephesus,  especially  when  we  remendjer  how 
St.  Paul  in  parallel  cases  refers  to  his  former  preaching. 
(See,  for  example,  I  Cor.  ii.  1—4;  2  Cor.  i.  12—19; 
xi.  6—9;  xiii.  2;  Gal.  iv.  13;  Phil.  iv.  9;  1  Thess.  ii. 
1 — 12  ;  iii.  4 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  5.)  Such,  again,  is  the 
generality,  absolutely  witliout  parallel  elsewhere,  in 
the  salutation  "  which  is  the  token  in  every  Epistle  " — 
"  Grace  be  to  all  them  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  sincerity" — compared  witli  the  "Grace  be  with  you" 
or  "  witii  your  spirit  "  of  the  other  Epistles.  The  con- 
clusions, again,  of  tiie  Ephesian  and  Colossian  Epi-stles 
may  be  compared.     I  do  not  lay  stress  on  the  simple 


absence  of  greetings:  for  it  has  been  shown  (by  Alford), 
by  comparison  with  other  Epistles,  that  this  argument 
is  precarious.  But  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck 
with  tlio  vague  generality  of  the  one,  as  compared  with 
the  fuluess  of  detail  and  strong  personality  of  the 
other.  They  coincide  verbally  in  the  quasi-oificial 
commendation  of  Tychicus,  and  in  this  alone. 

These  indications  may  be  thought  to  be  slight,  but 
they  all  point  one  M'ay,  and  their  combined  force  is 
not  to  be  lightly  put  aside. 

The  indirect  evidence,  therefore,  appears  strongly 
to  confirm  the  supjiosition  which  alone  gives  any  simple 
explanation  of  the  MSS.  phenomena.  But  is  there  any 
trace  of  such  an  encyclical  letter  ?  That  there  was  an 
"  Epistle  from  Laodicea"  to  be  read  by  the  Colossians, 
we  know  ;  and  the  context  shows  conclusively  that  this 
was  an  Epistle'of  St.  Paul  himself.  Laodicea  was  near 
Colossaj,  and  evidently  in  close  union  with  it.  The 
special  warnings  of  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Colossian 
Church  were  probably  applicable  to  it  also,  and 
accordingly  it  was  to  be  read  there.  But  why  should 
ColossEe  read  the  "Epistle  from  Laodicea  r"  Had 
it  dealt  with  the  peculiar  needs  of  that  sister  church 
this  would  be  inexplicable  ;  but  if  it  were  what  our 
Epistle  is — general  in  character,  and  dealing  with  a 
truth  not  identical  with  the  main  truth  of  the  Colossian 
Epistle,  but  supplementary  to  it — then  the  direction  is 
intelligible  at  once.  It  is  not  (it  will  be  observed)  an 
"  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans,"  but  an  Epistle  "  comuig 
from  Laodicea,"  which  would  be  reached  from  Ephesus 
before  Colossal,  and  which,  being  the  larger  and  more 
important  town,  might  naturally  be  made  the  recipient 
of  a  letter  intended  for  it  and  Colossae,  and  perhaps 
Hierapolis. 

It  may  be  asked,  If  this  be  so,  why  have  no  MSS.  any 
other  address  than  to  the  "  saints  at  Ejdiesus  ?  "  and 
why  has  tradition  invariably  called  this  "  The  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians,"  and  nothing  else  ?  The  answer  which 
has  been  often  given  appears  to  be  entirely  sufficient. 
Ephesus  was,  as  the  metropolis  of  Asia,  the  natural 
centre  of  the  Apostolic  ministry,  and  the  natural  loader 
of  the  Asiatic  churches  :  standing,  as  in  the  apocalyptic 
epistles  (Rev.  i.  11),  at  the  head  of  all.  There  the 
Epistle  would  be  first  read ;  thence  it  would  go  out  to 
the  other  Asiatic  churches;  there  it  would  be  best 
treasured  uj),  and  copies  of  it  multiplied;  and 
through  these  it  would  be  likely  to  become  known  to 
the  European  churches  also.  It  must  have  IxHm 
quoted  by  some  title.  What  title  so  natural  as  "  To  the 
Ephesians?"  The  use  of  this  title  ovid.rxly  preceded 
the  insertion  of  the  words  "  in  Ei)hesus  '  in  the  text. 
This  is  natural.  We  i-ememlK»r  that  no  extant  MS., 
except  the  Vatican  and  Sinaitic.  is  earlier  than  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  century.  By  that  time  most  of 
the  Asiatic  churches  had  sunk  into  insignificance. 
The  tradition  already  prevalent  of  the  address  to  tlio 
Ephesians  would  naturally  express  itself  by  the  inser- 
tion of  the  words,  without  which  the  context  of  the 
opening  pa.ssage  is  hardly  intelligible. 

This  supposition  seems  also  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  occasional  appropriation  to  Laodicea.  For,  though 
after  a  long  interval.  Laodicea  comes  next  after 
Ephesus  in  importance  in  Church  histor}-.  On  that 
ground  St.  Paul  made  it  the  centre  of  the  churchfs 
of  the  Lycus  valley.  On  that  ground,  also,  some  claim 
to  the  Epistle,  as  an  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans,  may 
have  survived  till  the  time  of  Marcion.  It  is  curious 
that  the  Muratorian  Canon  (A.D.  170  :-).  after  noting  the 
Epistle  to  tlie  Ephesians  among  St.  Paul's  Epistles, 
adds :  "  Tliere  is  in  circiUation  also  an  Epistle  to  the 


11 


EPHESIAXS. 


Laodiceaus  .  .  .  forged  lii  tlie  namo  of  Paul,  to  aid  tlio 
heresy  of  Marciou  .  .  .  wliieli  c-auuot  be  received  iuto 
the  Catholic  Church."  Now  the  Apocryplial  Epistle 
to  the  Laodiceaus.  still  extant,  is  clearly  of  later  date, 
made  up  of  (juotations  or  iuiitatious  of  various  passages 
of  St.  Pauls  Epistles,  and  iu  uo  way  bearing  ou 
Marciouism.  It  may  perhaps  be  conjectured  that 
Marciou,  not  content  with  altering  the  title  of  our 
Epistle,  tampered  with  it  and  mutilated  it,  as  we  know 
that  he  did  iu  the  case  of  other  New  Testament  books. 
There  maybe  iu  the  Canon  (as  afterwards  in  Epiphanius) 
a  reference  to  this  corrui)ted  form  of  our  Epistle,  as  a 
separate  work  ;  and  this  woidd  l)e  a  kind  of  survival  of 
the  designation  of  it  as  au  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceaus. 

On  all  tliese  grouuds,  therefore,  we  must  hold  it  at 
least  highly  probable  that  we  have  iu  it  au  encyclical 
letter  to  Ephesus  and  the  sister  churches  of  Asia, 

III.  The  Genuineness  of  the  Epistle. —jEojfernaZ 
Ev'ulence. — The  external  evidence,  as  has  been  already 
said  (seo  Introduction  to  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity), 
is  strong — as  strong  as  for  auy  other  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistles. 

Among  the  Apostolic  fathers  there  seem  to  be  un- 
questionable allusions  to  jiassages  iu  it :  as  in  Clement 
of  Rome,  chap.  xlvi..  dwelling  on  '"  the  one  God,  one 
Christ,  oue  spirit  of  grace  .  .  .  one  calling "  (comp. 
Eph.  iv.  4 — b);  and  iu  Polycai-p,  chap,  xii.,  uniting  the 
two  quotations  :  '"  Be  ye  angry  and  sin  not,"  "  Let  not 
the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath  "  (comp.  Eph.  iv.  26, 
27).  In  Ignatius  (^to  the  Ephesiaus,  chap,  xii.)  we 
have  a  remarkable  reference  to  the  Ephesiaus  as 
"  fellow-mystics  "  with  St.  Paul,  sharing  the  mystery 
of  the  gospel  with  him  (comp.  Eph.  i.  9;  iii.  4 — 9;  vi. 
19) ;  and  he  adds  of  St.  Paul  that,  "  in  all  his  letter 
he  is  mindful  of  you  in  Christ  Jesus."  In  the  "  longer 
Greek  "  version  of  the  same  Epistle — interpolated  at  a 
later  date — there  is  in  cliap.  vi.  a  direct  quotation.  "  as 
Paul  wrote  to  you — oue  body  and  oue  Spirit  "  (Eph. 
iv.  4 — 6;,  and  a  clear  reference  to  the  address  (Eph.  i. 
1)  in  chap.  ix. 

Passing  on  to  a  later  date,  we  have  the  Epistle 
formally  recognised  in  the  Muratoriau  Canon  (a.d.  170), 
apparently  represeuting  the  tradition  of  the  Church 
of  Rome :  quoted  repeatedly,  and  in  some  cases  un- 
mistakably, by  Irenaeus  in  the  Church  of  Gaul  (about 
A.D.  130 — 200) ;  quoted  also  by  Clement  of  Alexandria 
(about  A.D.  1.50—210),  and  Tertullian  (a.d.  IGO— 2l0t. 
representing  the  opposite  school  of  Carthage.  It  is 
found  in  all  ancient  versions;  and  henceforth  held  with- 
out doul)t  among  tlie  acknowledged  books  in  the  Church. 

Dr.  Westcott  has  also  .shown  ("  Canon  of  the  New 
Testament,"  pp.  314,  323,  338)  that  it  is  quoted  by  the 
heretical  and  Gnostic  writers — the  Ophites,  Basilides. 
Valentinus,  and  others.  Marciou's  recognition  and 
criticism  of  it  we  have  already  seen. 

Internal  Evidence. — The  doubts  of  its  genuineness 
which  have  been  advanced  in  our  own  times  turn 
entirely  on  internal  evidence. 

(1)  The  differences  in  style  and  sulistance  between 
these  Epistles  of  the  Captivity  and  the  earlier  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul  have  been  already  discussed.  I  have  ventured 
to  urge  that,  corresponding  as  they  do  to  the  time  and 
circumstances  of  the  captivity,  marking  a  true  and 
natural  development  of  doctrine,  abounding  in  points 
both  of  similarity  and  independent  originality,  these 
differences  are  decisive  against  the  idea  of  imitation, 
and  strongly  confirmatory  of  Apostolic  authorship. 
To  the  Epistle  of  the  Ephesiaus  these  remarks  bear  a 
special  application,  for   this   Epistle   bears   most  dis- 


tinctly of  all  the  marks  of  St.  Paul's  later  manner.  I 
may  add,  also,  that  in  a  very  special  degree  the 
grandeur  and  profoundness  of  treatment,  which  make 
it  one  of  the  great  typical  Epistles  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, speak  for  themselves  as  to  its  Apostolic  origin. 
To  lose  it  would  be  to  leave  a  strange  gap  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Christian  doctrine,  and  to  mar  the 
harmony  of  the  individual  and  corporate  elements  iu 
the  Scriptural  exposition  of  the  concrete  Christian  life. 
To  ascribe  it  to  the  wi'aker  hand  of  a  mere  disciple  of 
St.  Paul  might,  but  for  actual  experieuce,  have  well 
been  thought  impossible. 

(2)  But  this  Epistle  in  particular  has  been  described 
as  simply  an  elaborate  reproduction  of  the  Colossian 
Epistle,  and  accordingly  represented  as  of  doubtful 
origiuality.  It  is,  of  course,  obvious  (as  will  be  shown 
in  the  Introduction  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians) 
that  there  is  a  very  marked  similarity,  sometimes  in 
idea,  sometimes  iu  actual  expression,  between  the  two 
Epistles.  But  the  more  both  are  studied,  the  more  it 
must  be  seen  that  this  similarity  is  exactly  such  as 
belongs  to  coutemijoraneousuess,  aud  is  utterly  incom- 
patible with  dependence  of  either  upon  the  other. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  fouud  that  tliere  are  sections  of 
the  Colossian  Epistle  to  which  there  is  nothing  to  cor- 
respond iu  the  Ephesiau  Epistle,  and  that  these  sections 
are  principal  aud  not  subordinate.  Such  are,  for 
example,  Col.  i.  15 — 17  (on  the  nature  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ),  Col.  ii.  8 — 18  (the  warning  against 
mingled  Judaism  aud  Guosticism),  and  Col.  iv.  9 — 17 
(the  special  salutations  aud  cautions).  The  absence 
of  these  iu  the  one  case,  and  their  presence  in  the 
other,  are  perfectly  intelligible  on  the  theory  of  cou- 
temporaneousness,  entirely  inexplicable  on  the  theory 
of  dependence. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  sections  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesiaus  of  the  most  emphatic  originality,  which 
have  no  counterpart  iu  the  other  Epistle.  Such  are 
the  great  opening  ou  the  '"  election  of  God  and  the 
gathering  up  of  all  in  Christ"  (Eph.  i.  3 — 14);  the 
sublime  Apostolic  pi*ayer  in  Eph.  iii.  14 — 21  ;  the  cele- 
brated and  exliaustive  passage  ou  the  unity  of  the 
Church  iu  God  (Eph.  iv.  4 — 6)  ;  the  profound  com- 
jjarison  of  marriage  to  the  union  of  Christ  with  the 
Church  iu  Epli.  v.  23 — 33  ;  the  maguificent  description 
of  the  Christian  armour  (Eph.  vi.  13 — 17).  To  these 
the  same  remark  must  apply :  to  suppose  these  the 
work  of  a  copyist  appears  all  but  preposterous. 

Next,  a  careful  study  shows  repeatedly  and  unmis- 
takably that  these  differences  are  not  accidental ;  they 
ainse  from  a  fundamental  distinction  between  the  lead- 
ing ideas  in  the  two  Epistles.  The  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesiaus  is  the  exposition  of  the  reality,  the  blessing, 
aud  the  glory,  of  the  Catholic  Church  as  the  body 
of  Christ.  The  famous  image  of  the  spiritual  temple 
(in  ^^hich,  perhaps,  we  may  trace  some  recollection  of 
that  magnificent  Teui])le  of  Artemis,  "  which  all  Asia 
and  the  world  worshijjped")  belongs  to  this  Epistle 
(chap.  ii.  20 — 22),  and  has  no  place  in  the  other.  The 
passixge  to  which  all  else  works  up  as  a  climax  is 
chap.  iv.  4 — 6.  on  the  "  one  Body  and  the  one  Spirit." 
Even  the  ordinary  moral  duties  and  social  relations  of 
life  are  treated  iu  chaps,  iv.  and  v.  with  a  characteristic 
reference  to  this  great  principle  of  unity  with  man  in 
Christ,  which  is  wanting  iu  the  i)arallel  passages  of  the 
Colossian  Epistle.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Colossian 
Epistle,  having  to  deal  \vith  an  incipient  Gnosticism, 
is  specially  emphatic  on  the  sole  headship  and  the  true 
Godhead  of  Clirist.  Its  great  teadiing  is  of  Him,  as 
"the  image  of  the  invisible   God,"  "in  whom  all  the 


12 


EPHESIANS. 


fulness  (the  pleroma)  of  the  Godhead  dwells  bodily  " 
(Col.  i.  15—17 ;  ii.  3—8,  10).  The  passage  wliic-li 
occupies  the  chief  place,  corresponding  to  the  great 
passage  on  Unity  in  the  Epliesian  Epistle,  is  that  wiiich 
dwells  on  our  life  as  risen  with  Christ,  and  liid  in 
God  with  Him,  who  Himself  "  is  our  life "  (Col.  iii. 
1—4). 

But  besides  this,  it  will  be  seen  in  the  Notes  on  various 
passages  that,  on  the  one  hand,  in  detailed  passages 
parallel  to  each  other,  the  similarity  is  almost  alwaj's 
mingled  Avith  clear  and  characteristic  difference,  mark- 
ing an  independent  coincidence  ;  and  on  the  other,  that 
identical  expressions  occur  again  and  again  in  entirely 
different  contexts,  and  in  different  degrees  of  promi- 
nence. These  are  exactly  the  j)henomena  which  we 
may  expect  when  two  letters  ai-e  written  at  the  same 
time  to  clnirches  neither  wholly  identical  nor  wholly 
dissimilar  in  character,  and  under  the  guidance  of 
distinct,  yet  cnmplementaiy,  ideas.  They  are  wholly 
incompatible  with  dependence  or  deliberate  copyism. 

On  this  particular  subject,  therefore,  I  cannot  but 
draw  the  same  conclusion  as  on  the  general  subject  of 
the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity,  viz.,  that  the  indirect 
evidence  which  has  been  thought  to  weaken,  will  be 
actually  found  to  confirra  the  strong  external  evidence 
for  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle. 

IV.  The  Contents  of  the  Epistle. — Tlie  general 
character  and  substance  of  the  Epistle  have  been 
already  glanced  at,  both  in  the  General  Introduction 
and  in  the  preceding  sections  of  the  Special  Intro- 
duction, and  they  wiU  be  found  to  be  treated  in  detail 
in  the  Notes  on  the  chief  passages  of  the  Epistle  it- 
self. Full  analyses,  moreover,  are  given  in  each 
chajiter. 

It  will  be  sufficient  here  simply  to  repeat  that  the 
Epistle  falls  into  two  great  sections :  Doctrinal  and 
Practical.  In  both  the  one  great  subject  is  the  Unity 
IN  Christ,  in  some  sense  of  all  created  being,  in  a 
closer  sense  of  humanity,  in  the  closest  and  most  sacred 
sense  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 

In  the  doctrinal  section  (chaps,  i.  1 — iv.  16).  we  find 
this  unity  noticed  in  the  first  chapter  as  ordained  in 
the  eternal  predestination  of  God's  love,  and  mani- 
fested in  the  actual  communication  to  His  members 
of  the  Resurrection,  the  Ascension,  and  glorification  of 
Christ,  their  head.  Next  it  is  shown  (in  chap,  ii.)  how 
the  Gentiles  are  called  into  this  regenerating  unity 
oiit  of  the  deadness  of  their  old  life ;  and  thus  at  once 
brought  into  the  covenant  of  God,  and  so  united  with 
His  chosen  people  of  Israel,  that  all  alike,  as  living 
stones,  are  built  into  tlie  great  Temple  of  God.  Then 
(in  chap,  iii.),  after  an  emphatic  declaration  of  the  new- 
ness of  this  mystery  of  grace,  and  of  the  special  com- 
mission for  the  revelation  of  it  entrusted  to  St.  Paul, 
there  follows  a  solemn  and  fervent  Apostolic  pi'ayer  for 
their  knowledge  of  tlie  mystery,  not  by  human  wisdom 
or  thought,  but  by  tlie  indwelling  light  and  grace  of 
Christ.  Finally,  the  whole  is  summed  up  in  a 
gi'and  passage  (chap.   iv.   ] — 16),  whicli  brings  out  in 

Eerfect  completeness  the  whole  doctrine  of  tiiis  unity 
rst  in  its  grounds,  its  means,  and  its  conditions ;  next 
in  its  variety  of  spiritual  gifts;  lastly,  in  the  oneness  of 
the  object  of  all.  in  the  reproduction  of  the  life  of 
Christ  in  the  indi\-idual  and  tlie  Church. 

The  practical  section  (chaps,  iv.  17 — vi.  24')  opens 
with  an  unique  treatment  of  morality  and  of  human 
relationship,  as  dependent  upon  the  mysterious  unity 
of  man  with  man  and  of  man  with  God.  First 
(chaps,    iv.  17 — v.  21),  that  unity  is  made  the  basis 


of  ordinary  moral  duties  towards  man,  and  the  safe- 
guard against  the  besetting  sins  of  heathen  society 
— bitterness,  impurity,  and  reckless  excess.  Next 
(chajjs.  V.  22 — vi.  9),  it  is  shown  as  the  secret  of 
the  sacredness  of  earthly  relations  of  marriage,  of 
fatlierhood,  and  of  mastership.  In  the  fii'st  case 
this  idea  is  worked  out  with  a  transcendent  beauty 
and  solemnity,  whicli  have  beyond  all  else  hallowed 
Christian  marriage ;  in  the  others  it  is  more  briefly 
touched  upon,  with  a  view  chiefly  to  temper  and 
soften  the  sternness  of  a  recognised  authority.  Finally 
(chap.  vi.  10 — 24),  this  portion  of  the  Epistle  is  wound 
up  by  a  magnificent  and  elaborate  description  of  the 
full  panoply  of  God ;  and  the  Epistle  then  ends,  briefly 
and  rather  vaguely,  Avith  commendation  of  Tychicus 
and  a  genei-al  form  of  salutation. 

The  general  sketch  of  this  wonderful  Epistle 
will,  perhaps,  be  best  explained  by  the  analysis  here 
subjoined,  shortened  from  the  analyses  of  the  various 
chapters. 

1.  Doctrinal  Section. 

(1)  The  Introduction  (chap,  i) : 
(a)  Salutation  (chap.  i.  1,  2) ; 

(6)  TJianksgiving  for  the  election  of  the  whole 
Church  in  God's  love,  given  through 
redemption  hy  unity  v:ith  Clirist,  shown 
in  the  calling  and  faith  both  of  Jew 
and  Gentile  (chap.  i.  3 — 14) ; 

(c)  Prayer  for  their  fuller  knowledge  of  this 
unity  xoith  the  risen  and  ascended 
Christ,  the  Head  of  the  whole  Church 
(chap.  i.  15—23). 

(2)  The   Call  of  the   Gentiles   (chap,  ii.): 

(a)  Out  of  the  deadness  of  sin  and  power  of 

Satan  into  the  new  life  of  the  risen 
Christ,  accepted  in  simj)le  faith,  wrought 
out  in  good  works  (chap.  ii.  1 — 10) ; 

(b)  Out  of  alienation  from  the  covenant,  into 

perfect  unity  with  God's  chosen  people, 
all  division  being  broken  down,  and  full 
access  given  to  the  Father ;  so  that  Jeio 
and  Gentile  alike,  built  on  the  one 
foundation,  grow  into  the  living  Temple 
of  God  (chap.  ii.  11—22^. 

(3)  Prayer  for  their  Fuller  Knowledge 

(chap,  iii.)  : 

(a)  Tlie  mystery  of  the  universal  call,  netc  in 
revelation,  sp)ecially  intnisted  to  St.  Paul 
(chap.  iii.  1 — 13) ; 

(6)  Prayer  for  their  full  knmvledge  of  it 
(though  passing  knoicledge)  through  the 
indtcelling  of  Christ,  accepted  in  faith 
and  love  (chap.  iii.  14 — 19) ; 

(c)  Doxology    to     the   Father    through    Christ 

Jesus  (chap.  iii.  20.  21). 

(4)  Final  Summary  of  Doctrine  (chap,  iv.) : 
(a)  The   unity   of  the   Church  in  one  Spirit, 

one  Lord,  one  God  and  Father  of  all 

(chap.  iv.  1 — 6"*  ; 
(5)   Tlie  diversity  of  gifts  in  the  glorified  Christ 

(chap.  iv.  7 — 11) ; 
(c)   TJie  unity  of  the  puipose  of  all.  viz.,  the 

individual  and   corporate   regeneration 

(chap.  iv.  12—16). 

2.  Practical  Section. 

(1)  The  New  Life:  learning  Christ  and  growing 
unto  His   image   (cliap.   iv.  17—24). 


13 


EPHESIANS. 


(2)  Conquest  op  Sin  : 

(a)  The  conquest  of  sin  in  general  in  virtue  of 

the  soise  of  %niity  with  man  in  Chritit 

(chap.  iv.  25 — 30) ; 
(6)  Conquest  of  special  besetting  sins  of  malice, 

impurity,  recklessness   of  excess  (chaps. 

iv.  31 ;  V.  21). 

(3)  Eeokneration  of  Social  Relations  : 

(a)  The  relation  of  husbands  and  wives  con- 

secrated  as  a  type  of  union  of  Christ 
with  His  Church  icliap.  v.  22,  23); 

(b)  The    relation    of    parents    and    children 

hallowed    as    in    the   Lord    (chap.   vi. 
1—4); 

(c)  The  relation  of  masters  and  servants  made 

a  brotherhood  of  service  to  one  Master 
(chap.  \i.  5 — 9). 

(4)  Final  Exhortation  : 

2'he  armour  of  God  and  the  fight  against 
the  poivers  of  evil  (chap.  vi.  10 — 17). 

3.  Conclusion. 

(a)  Special  desire  of  their  prayers  for  Mm  in 
his  captivity  (chap.  vi.  18 — 20) ; 

(6)  Commendation  of  Tychicus  (chap.  vi. 
21,  22) ; 

(c)  Salutation  and  blessing  (chap,  vi,  23,  24). 


In  conclusion  I  may  add  tliat  it  does  not  appear 
to  nio  fanciful  to  suppose  tliat  the  teaching  of  this 
Epistle  has  as  special  an  ai)plicability  to  our  age 
as  the  teacliiug  of  the  Galatian  or  Konian  Epistles 
had  to  the  sixteenth  century.  For  in  all  spheres  of 
life — the  political,  the  social,  and  the  ecclesiastical 
alike — it  would  seem  that  our  prominent  questions  aro 
not  those  of  inilividualisni,  l)ut  of  socialism  in  the 
true  sense  of  the  word.  Society  is  contemplated  in 
its  corporate  life  ;  in  its  rights  over  the  individual ;  in 
the  great  eternal  principles  which  it  truly  embodies 
and  partially  represents  ;  and,  moreover,  this  con- 
templation has  a  Ijreadth  of  scope  which  refuses  to  be 
contined  within  the  limits  of  family,  or  nation,  or  age. 
Hunuuiity  itself  is  considered,  both  historically  and 
philosophically,  as  only  the  highest  element  in  the 
order  of  the  universe,  which  is  itself  bound  together  in 
a  unity  of  unbroken  connection  and  continuous  develop- 
ment. It  is  asked.  What  has  Christianity  to  declare  as 
a  gospel  to  society  at  large,  and  as  a  key  to  the 
mysterious  relation  of  humanity  with  creation,  and  so 
with  Him  who  created  it  ?  To  that  question,  perhaps, 
the  answer  is  nowhere  more  truly  given  than  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  We  need  a  real  and  living 
unity ;  but  it  must  be  such  as  wiU  preserve  the  equally 
sacred  individuality  of  freedom.  This  Epistle  presents 
it  to  us  in  its  magnificent  conception  of  the  unity  of  all 
with  God  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Cluist. 


14 


THE    EPISTLE    OP   PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

EPHESIANS. 


CHAPTER  I.— (1)  Paul,  an  apostle  of 
Chap.  i.  1,  2.  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will  of 
Salutation.  God,  to  the  saints  which 
are  at  Ephesus,  and  to  the  faithful  in 


Christ  Jesus  :  grace  he  to  you,  and 
peace,  from  God  our  Father,  and  from 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  ('^>  Blessed  he 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


[1.  Introductian  to  the  Epistle  (chap.  i.  1 — 23). 

(1)  Salutation  (verses  1,  2). 

(2)  Thanksgiving  to  God  for — 

(a)  The  election  of  the  whole  Church  before  the 
world  began,  brj  the  predestinating  love  of 
the  Father,  to  holiness,  grace,  and  glory 
(verses  3 — 6); 

(6)  this  election  depending  on  Redemption,  in 
virtue  of  unity  with  Christ  as  the  Head 
of  all  created  Being  (verses  7 — 10) ; 

(c)  and  being  manifested  doubly,  in  the  calling 
and  faith,  first  of  the  Jewish,  then  of  the 
Gentile  Christians  (verses  11 — 14). 

(3)  Prayer   for  their  fuller  knowledge   of  the 

hope,  gloiy,  and  spiritual  reality  of  their 
inheritance,  manifested  in  the  Resui-rection, 
Ascension,  and  Royalty  of  Christ,  the  Head 
of  the  Church  (verses  15 — 23).] 

(1)  (1)  By  the  will  of  God.— This  phrase,  used  in 
1  Cor.  i.  1  ;  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Col.  i.  1 ;  2  Tim.  i.  1  (comp.  the 
equivalent  expression  of  1  Tim.  i.  1),  appears  to  be 
St.  Paul's  ordinary  designation  of  the  source  of  his 
apostolic  mission  and  authority;  used  whenever  there 
was  nothing  peculiar  in  the  occasion  of  the  Epistle,  or 
tlie  circumstances  of  the  Church  to  which  it  was  ad- 
dressed. It  may  be  contrasted,  on  the  one  hand, 
with  the  more  formal  enunciation  of  his  commission, 
addressed  to  the  Roman  Church  (Rom.  i.  1 — 5),  and 
the  indignant  and  emphatic  abruptness  of  the  opening  of 
the  Galatian  Epistle — "  an  apostle  not  of  men,  neither 
by  man,  but  by  Jesus  Christ"  (Gal.  i.  1).  On  the 
other  hand,  to  the  Thessalonian  churches,  in  the  Epistles 
written  shortly  after  their  conversion,  he  uses  no  de- 
scription of  himself  wliatever  (1  Tliess.  i.  1 ;  2  Thess. 
i.  1) ,'  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Philippians  and  to  Titus 
he  is  simply  "  the  sen^ant  of  Jesus  Christ "  (Phil.  i. 
1;  Tit.  i.  1);  to  Philemon  (for  special  reasons)  "the 
prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ."  Tlie  phrase  in  the  text 
stands  midway  between  the  empliasis  of  the  one  class 
of  Epistles  and  the  more  familiar  simplicity  of  the  other. 

To  the  saints  ....  and  to  the  faithful  in 
Christ  Jesus.— Here,  as  in  Col.  i.  2  ("  the  saints  and 
faithful  l)rethrcu  ")  the  same  persons  are  described  l)y 
both  epithets.  Tliey  are  "saints,"  as  "called"  (see 
Rom.  i.  7;  1  Cor.  i.  2)  into  "the  communion  of  saints" 
by  the  grace  of  God;  they  are  "faitliful."  as  by  their 
own  act  believing  in  Christ  and  holding  fast  that  faith. 


15 


The  two  epithets  are  coiTclative  to  each  other.  Without 
the  call  and  the  grace  of  God,  men  cannot  believe ; 
without  the  energy  of  faith  they  cannot  be,  in  effect  as 
well  as  in  opportunity,  "  saints."  Both  epithets  belong 
in  capacity  and  profession  to  all  members  of  the  Church 
militant ;  and  St.  Paul  applies  them  accordingly  to  the 
whole  body  of  any  church  which  he  addresses,  without 
hesitation  or  distinction.  In  li%'ing  reality  they  belong 
only  to  the  "  Invisible  Church  "  of  the  present,  which 
shall  form  the  "  Church  triimiphant "  of  the  hereafter. 
It  has  been  noted  that  the  use  of  tlie  word  "  saints,"  as 
the  regular  and  ordinary  name  of  Christians,  is  more 
especially  traceable  in  the  later  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 
So  m  his  speech  before  Agrippa  he  says,  "  Many  of  the 
saints  did  I  shut  up  in  prison "  (Acts  xxvii.  10). 
The  phrase,  "  in  Christ  Jesus,"  belongs  to  botli  the 
words  "saints"  and  "faithful;"  but  it  is  here  more 
closely  connected  with  the  latter. 

Which  are  at  Ephesus. — On  these  words,  omitted 
in  the  oldest  MSS.,  see  the  Introduction. 

(2)  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace.— On  this,  St. 
Paul's  all  but  invariable  salutation  in  every  Epistle 
(found  also  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Peter,  2  John,  and 
Apocalypse),  see  Note  on  Rom.  i.  7. 

(2  a.)  In  verses  3 — 6,  the  first  section  of  the  In- 
troduction, the  Epistle  ascends  at  once  into  "  the 
heavenly  places,"  naturally  catching  therefrom  tlie 
tone  of  adoration  and  thanksginng.  It  dwells  on  the 
election  of  the  children  of  God  by  His  predestinating 
love — an  election  based  on  His  will,  designed  for  His 
glory,  and  cariying  with  it  the  blessings  of  the  Spirit, 
through  whicli  they  become  holy  and  unblamable  before 
Him.     On  the  whole  section  comp.  Rom.  -v-iii.  28 — 30. 

(3)  It  may  be  noted,  as  bearing  on  the  question  of 
the  general  or  special  character  of  this  Epistle,  that 
(with  the  single  exception  of  the  Second  Epistle  to  tlio 
Corinthians,  which  may  be  looked  upon  as  virtually 
a  continuation  of  the  First  Epistle)  all  St.  Paul's 
Epi-stles  addressed  to  particular  churclies  pass  at 
once  from  the  salutation  to  refer  to  the  particular 
circumstances,  gifts,  and  needs  of  the  Churdi, 
genei-ally  in  the  form  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer, 
sometimes  (as  in  Gal.  i.  6)  in  rebuke.  In  St.  Peters 
First  Epi.stlo,  on  tlie  other  liand.  addressed  to  those 
"scattered"  through  many  churches,  wo  liave  an 
opening  exactly  similar  to  the  opening  of  this  Epistlo. 


Thanhsyiving  for  Election 


EPHESIANS,   I. 


in  Christ 


Clirist,  who  hath  blessed  us  -svitli  all 
Chap.  i.  3—6.  spiritual  blessings  in  hea- 
The  election  yenlv  li/flces^  in  Christ: 
Church:''''''^'  ^'^    according   as   he   hath 


1  Or,  things. 


chosen  us  in  him  before  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,  that  we  should  be 
holy  and  without  blame  before  him 
in   love :    (^^  having    predestinated    us 


Tlioro  is,  indeed,  hero  a  thanksgiving  below  (verses 
15 — 'I'l^,  bnt  it  is  entirely  general,  belonging  to  the 
whole  Church. 

Tho  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.— On  this  pln-a-se  (used  in  Rom.  xv.  6;  2  Cor. 
i.  3;  xi.  31  ;  1  Pet.  i.  3)  see  Note  on  Rom.  xv.  6. 
It  is.  liowever,  to  be  noted  liere,  that  in  tlie  Vatican 
MS.  tho  words  "and  Father"  ai-e  omitted,  and  that 
the  plirase  "  the  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Clirist "  occurs 
beliw  in  verso  17. 

Blessed  be  .  .  .  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings. — Tlie  frequent  phi-aso  "  Blessed 
be  God  "  (Luke  i.  t)8;  Rom.  i.  25  ;  ix.  5  ;  2  Cor.  i.  3 ; 
xi.  31 ;  1  Pet.  i.  3)  is  here  used  with  an  unique  anti- 
thesis. We  can  "  bless  "  God  only  in  thanksgiving  of 
lieart  and  voice,  with  which  He  deigns  to  be  pleased, 
as  Ho  "  rejoices  over  tho  works  of  His  hands."  God 
blesses  us  in  real  and  life-giving  "  spiritual  blessing," 
i.e.,  blessing  of  the  gift  of  tho  Spirit,  for  Avhich  Ave  can 
return  nothing  except  thanksgiving.  So  in  Ps.  cxvi. 
12.  13,  tho  natural  question  of  the  thoughtful  soul — 
"  What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  His  benefits 
towards  mo  ?  " — is  answered  .simply  by  the  words,  "I 
will  receive  tlie  cup  of  salvation,  aud  call  ou  the  name 
of  tlio  Lord." 

Who  hath  blessed  us  ...  in  heavenly 
places. — It  sliould  be,  who  blessed  us  (once  for  all),  in 
the  election  aud  predestination  spoken  of  in  the  next 
verso.  If  this  be  noted,  the  sense  of  the  phrase  "  in 
lioavenly  places "  becomes  far  clearer.  It  has  been 
doubted  whether  we  ought  to  supply  tho  word  "  places  " 
or  "  things "  (as  in  John  iii.  12)  in  rendering  this 
phra.so,  which  is  peculiar  to  this  Epistle,  and  u.sed  in  it 
no  less  than  five  times.  In  three  out  of  the  other  four 
places  (chaps,  i.  20  ;  ii.  6;  iii.  10)  the  local  sense  is  mani- 
fest; in  the  fourth  (chap.  vi.  12)  and  in  this  it  might  be 
doul)tful.  But  (1)  it  is  altogether  unlikely  that  so 
unique  a  phrase  would  bo  used  in  two  different  senses ; 
(2)  tlio  original  word  for  "heaAenly"  has  most  pro- 
perly and  most  usually  a  local  moaning  ;  (3)  the  trans- 
ference of  tlie  thoughts  to  heaven  above  suits  especially 
tho  whole  tone  of  this  Epistle  and  tho  parallel  Epistlo 
to  tlio  Colossians;  and  (4)  the  local  sense  agrees  best 
with  tho  context  here,  for  the  Apostle  is  speaking  of 
the  election  "  before  the  foundation  of  tho  world  "  as 
made  by  the  foreknowledge  of  God  in  heaven,  where 
Christ  is  "  in  tho  beginning  with  God." 

It  has  been  noticed  here  that  we  have  one  of  those 
implicit  references  to  the  Holv  Trinity — the  blessing 
from  God  the  Father,  in  Christ,  and  by  the  Spirit — 
with  which  St.  Paul's  Epistles  abound. 

In  Christ— i.e.,  in  the  unity  with  Christ,  wliich  is 
"tiio  life  eternal,"  ordained  for  us  in  tho  foreknow- 
ledge of  God,  and  viewed  as  already  existing.  (See 
tho  whole  of  .Tohn  xvii.,  especially  verses  21 — 2  k) 

W  According  as  {i.e..  itid.^mHch  as)  he  hath 
chosen  us  in  him  before  tho  foundation  of 
the  world.— Again  it  should  l)e.  He  cliose  us  for  Him- 
self. The  eternal  election  of  God  is  inseparably  con- 
nected with  the  blessing  of  the  Spirit.  Tliis  passage 
stands  alone  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles  in  its  uso  of  tliis 
word  "  chosen  "  in  connection  with  God's  eternal  pur- 
pose, "before  the  foundation  of  tho  world" — a  phrase 


only  applied  elsewhere  to  the  eternal  communion  of 
the  Son  with  the  Father  (John  x\-ii.  24' ),  and  to  the 
foreordaining  of  His  sacrifice  in  the  divine  counsels 
(1  Pet.  i.  20).  The  word  "  cliosen  "  itself  is  used  by 
our  Lord  of  His  choice  of  the  Apostles  (John  vi.  70 ; 
xiii.  18;  XV.  16 — 19);  but  in  one  case  with  tho  signi- 
ficant addition,  "  one  of  you  is  a  devil,"  showing  that 
the  election  was  not  final.  It  is  similarly  used  in  the 
Acts  (chaps,  i.  2,  24;  vi.  5 ;  xv.  7,  22,  25)  of  His  choice 
or  the  choice  of  the  Apostles ;  and  once  (chap,  xiiii  7) 
of  the  national  election  of  Israel.  In  1  Cor.  i.  27,  28 
(the  only  other  place  whore  it  is  used  by  St.  Paul),  and 
in  Jas.  ii.  5  it  refers  to  choice  of  men  by  God's  calling  in 
this  world.  Clearly  in  all  these  cases  it  is  applied  to  the 
election  of  men  to  privilege  by  an  act  of  God's  mercy 
here.  In  this  passage,  ou  the  contrary,  the  whole 
reference  is  to  the  election  "in  Christ,"  by  the  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  of  those  who  should  hereafter  be 
made  His  members.  From  this  examination  of  Scrip- 
tural usage  it  is  clear  that  the  visible  election  to 
privilege  is  constantly  and  invariably  urged  upon  men ; 
the  election  in  God's  eternal  counsels  only  dwelt  upon 
in  passages  which  (like  this  or  Rom.  ix.,  xi.)  have  to 
ascend  in  thought  to  the  fountain-head  of  all  being  in 
God's  mysterious  will.  It  will  be  observed  that  even 
here  it  clearly  refers  to  all  members  of  the  Church, 
without  distinction. 

That  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame 
before  him. — In  these  words  we  have  the  object  of 
the  divine  election  declared,  and  the  co-operation  of 
the  elect  implied,  by  the  inseparable  connection  of 
holiness  with  election.  There  is  an  instructive  parallel 
in  Col.  i.  22 : — "  He  hath  reconciled  you  in  the  body 
of  His  flesh  through  death,  to  present  yon  holy  and 
unblamable,  and  uureprovable  in  His  sight."  Tho 
woi-d  "  without  blame,"  or  "  unblamable,"  is  properly 
lolthout  blemish;  and  the  word  " unreprovablo" 
more  nearly  corresponds  to  onr  idea  of  one  unblam- 
able— i.e.,  one  against  whom  no  charge  can  be 
brought.  Here  God  is  said  to  have  "  chosen  "  us,  in  the 
other  passage  to  have  "  presented"  us  (comp.  the 
sacrificial  use  of  the  word  in  Rom.  xii.  1),  in  Christ,  to 
bo  "  holy  and  without  blemish."  It  seems  clear  that 
the  words  refer  not  to  justification  in  Christ,  but  to 
saiictification  in  Him.  They  express  the  positive  and 
negative  aspects  of  holiness ;  tho  positive  in  the  spirit 
of  purity,  the  negative  in  tho  absence  of  spot  or 
blemish.  Tho  key  to  their  interpretation  is  to  be 
found  in  the  idea  of  Rom.  Anii.  29,  "whom  He  did 
foroknoAv,  He  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the 
image  of  His  Son."  The  Avord  "  without  blame "  is 
applied  to  our  Lord  (in  Hob.  ix.  14 ;  1  Pet.  i.  19)  as  a 
lamb  "  without  blemish."  To  Hira  alone  it  applies 
perfectly;  to  us,  in  proportion  to  that  conformity  to 
His  imago.  Tho  Avords  "  liefore  Him"  refer  us  to 
God's  unerring  judgment  as  contrasted  with  the  judg- 
ment of  men,  and  even  our  nvn\  judgment  on  ourselves. 
(Comp.  1  Cor.  iv.  3,  4 ;  1  John  iii.  20,  21.) 

In  love. — If  these  words  are  connected  with  the 
previous  verso,  they  must  bo  taken  Avith  "  He  hath 
chosen  us,"  in  spite  of  the  awkwardness  of  tho  dislo- 
cation of  order.  But  it  is  best  to  connect  them  Avith 
the  verse  folloAving,  "  HaA-ing  predestinated  ns  in  love." 

(5)  Having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adop- 


10 


throuyh  His  AtonemeiLt 


EPHESIANS,   I. 


and  Grace. 


iinto  the  adoption  of  children  by  Jesus 
Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  will,  (^^  to  the  praise  of 
the  glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he  hath 
made  us  accepted  in  the  beloved.     ^^^  In 


whom    we    have    redemption   through 
his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  according  to  the  riches  as  ^^redeenjed 
of    his    grace ;    ^^^  wherein  througli  unity 
he  hath  abounded  toward  ^'ith  Christ ; 


tion  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself.— 
The  idea  of  Election  depends  on  the  union  of  the  sense 
of  actual  difference  between  men,  as  to  priWlege  and 
spiritual  life,  with  the  conviction  of  God's  universal 
sovereignty.  Hence,  in  all  cases,  it  leads  back  to  the 
idea  of  Predestination,  that  is,  of  the  conception  of 
the  divine  purpose  in  the  mind  of  God,  before  its 
realisation  in  actual  fact.  On  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination see  Rom.  ix.  It  will  suffice  to  note  that 
here  (1)  its  source  is  placed  in  God's  love;  (2)  its 
meritorious  cause  is  the  mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  (3)  its  result  is  adoption,  so  that  He  is  (see 
Rom.  viii.  29)  "the  firstborn  of  many  brethren,"  who 
are  conformed  to  His  image,  and  redeemed  by  Him 
from  bondage  to  sonship  (Gal.  iv.  5).  (It  is  clear  that 
the  adoption  here  is  not  the  final  adoption  of  Rom. 
viii.  23;  but  the  present  adoption  into  the  Chi-istian 
covenant,  there  c<alled  " the  firstfruits  of  the  Spirit;") 
(4)  it  is  in  itself  the  expression  of  "  the  good  plea- 
sure of  His  -will "  on  which  all  ultimately  depends  ; 
and  (5)  its  final  purpose  is  to  show  forth  God's  glory 
in  the  gift  of  His  grace.  In  a  few  words  the  whole 
doctrine  is  summed  up,  with  that  absolute  completeness, 
so  eminently  characteristic  of  this  Epistle. 

According  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will. — In  our  version,  "  good  pleasure,"  there  is  an 
ambiguity,  reproducing  the  ambiguity  of  the  original. 
The  word  used  may  signify  (as  in  Matt.  xi.  26 ;  Luke  x. 
21;  Phd.  ii.  13)  simply  God's  free  will,  to  which  this  or 
that  "  seemeth  good,"  or  (as  in  Luke  xi.  14;  Rom.  x.  1; 
Phil.  i.  15)  "  His  good  will  towards  us."  Even  the 
old  Greek  intei-pretei-s  were  divided  upon  it,  and  either 
sense  will  suit  tliis  passage.  But  the  close  parallel 
in  verse  11,  "according  to  the  counsel  {deliberate 
purpose)  of  His  will,"  turns  the  balance  in  favour  of 
the  former  rendering. 

(6)  To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace.— 
That  is,  for  the  acknowledgment  by  all  God's  creatures 
of  the  gloriousness  of  His  grace;  or,  in  other  words, 
for  the  acknowledgment  that  God's  essential  glory  is 
best  manifested  in  His  grace — that  He  "  declares  His 
almighty  power  most  chiefly  in  showing  mercy  and 
l)ity."  So  in  Ex.  xxxiii.  18,  19,  to  the  request,  "  Show 
me  Thy  glory,"  the  answer  is,  "  I  wiU  make  my 
goodness  to  pass  before  thee  .  .  .  and  wiU  be 
gracious  to  whom  I  will  be  gracious."  (Comp.  Ex. 
xxxiv.  5 — 7.)  He  is  pleased  to  consider  His  glory 
best  realised  in  the  spectacle  of  souls  redeemed  and 
regenerate  by  His  grace,  and  to  decree  that  it  should 
be  thus  realised  for  our  sakes.  "  Wherefore  would 
He  have  us  praise  and  glorify  Him  ?  It  is  that  our 
love  to  Him  may  bo  kindled  more  fervently.  He 
desires  not  our  service,  nor  our  praise,  nor  anything 
else  except  our  salvation  "  (Chrysostom's  First  Homily 
on  tlie  Ephesians). 

"Wherein  he  hath  made  us  accepted  in  the 
beloved. — The  verb  here  rendered  "  made  us  ac- 
cepted," is  the  same  verb  used  in  Luke  i.  28  (and 
nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament),  where  wo  trans- 
late "  highly  favoured."  Etymologically  it  means  to 
"  bestow  grace  upon  ;  "  the  tense  here  is  the  past  tense, 
not  the  perfect.  Hence  the  meaning  is  (in  connection 
with  the  previous  clause),  "  His  grace,  which  He  be-  ' 
68  17 


stowed  upon  us  in  the  Beloved  " — in  virtue  of  our 
unity  witli  "  His  beloved  Son,  in  whom  He  is  well 
pleased"  (Matt.  iii.  17).  This  special  title  is  given  to 
our  Lord  to  mark  a  connection  with  the  "  love  "  de- 
clared in  the  last  verse  to  be  the  source  of  God's  pre- 
destination. It  is  a  love  to  all  mankind,  as  in  God's 
foreknowledge  already  made  one  with  His  beloved 
Son.  (See  John  xvii.  23,  25,  "  Thou  hast  loved  them, 
as  Thou  hast  loved  Me  ...  for  Thou  lovedst  Me 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world.") 

(2  b.)  Yerses  7 — 10  form  the  second  section  of  this 
Introduction  to  the  Epistle,  linked  to  the  former  by 
the  words,  "in  the  Beloved."  From  the  declaration  in 
the  former  section  of  the  source  of  salvation  in  God's 
love,  it  leads  us  on  to  the  mystery  of  the  Mediation  of 
Jesus  Christ,  in  Whom  all  Being  is  gathered  up  for 
redemption. 

(")  In  whom  we  have  redemption  through 
his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins.— This  pas- 
sage is  identical  in  sense  and  expression  with  Col.  i. 
14,  except  that  the  word  here  used  for  "  sins  "  means, 
pi'operly,  "  separate  acts  of  transgression,"  whUe  the 
word  there  is  the  more  general  word  for  sin  in  the 
abstract.  (In  chap.  ii.  1,  both  are  used.)  In  both 
passages  we  have  imited,  as  correspondent  to  each 
other,  the  two  expressions  under  which  our  Lord 
Himself  describes  His  atonement — in  Matt.  xx.  28,  as 
the  "  giying  His  fife  a  ransom  for  many,"  in  Matt.  xx\i. 
2S,  as  "  the  shedding  of  His  blood  for  the  forgiveness 
of  sins."  These  two  expressions  appear  to  be  com- 
plementary to  each  other,  rather  than  identical.  (1)  Tlie 
primary  idea  in  "  redemption "  is  deliverance  from  a 
bondage,  mostly  the  bondage  of  sin  itself  (see  Rom. 
viii.  23;  Tit.  ii.  14;  Heb.  ix.  15;  1  Pet.  i.  18—21); 
occasionally  (and  in  this  sense  with  a  different  Greek 
word),  the  bondage  under  sentence  of  punishment  for 
sin  (Gal.  iii.  13;  iv.  5).  Into  that  bondage  man  has 
plunged  himself;  God's  mercy  redeems  him  from  it 
at  an  unspeakable  price  (John  iii.  16;  Rom.  vii.  24,  25). 
(2)  The  primary  idea  in  "  the  forgiveness  of  sins  through 
His  blood''  is  propitiation,  that  is,  the  offering  to  God 
"  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice "  for  sin,  by 
One  who  is  the  Head  and  Representative  of  the  human 
race  (Rom,  iii.  25 ;  1  John  ii.  2 ;  iv.  10).  So  St.  Paul 
interprets  our  Lord's  words  by  the  declaration  that 
"  Christ  our  Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us"  (1  Cor.  v. 
7) ;  and  it  is  notable  that  exactly  in  His  words  is  the 
Atonement  designated  in  the  earliest  apostolic  preaching 
(Acts  ii.  38;  v.  31;  x.  43;  xiii  38;  xx^-i.  18).  Hence 
the  former  phrase  looks  at  the  Atonement  from  the  side 
of  God,  the  latter  from  the  side  of  man ;  both  being 
wrought  by  Him  who  is  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  Man  at 
once.     Together  they  represent  the  whole  tnith. 

According  to  the  riches  of  his  grace.— As 
above,  in  relation  to  praise,  stress  is  laid  on  the 
gloriousness  of  God's  grace,  so  here,  in  relation  to 
enjoyment  of  it,  on  its  overflowing  richness.  (See 
chaps,  ii.  7;  iii.  8.  16  ;  and  Rom.  iii.  24;  ix.  23.) 

(»)  "WTierein  he  hath  abounded  toward  vlb 
in  all  wisdom  and  prudence.— It  should  be, 
whi^:h   He   made    to   oveijiow   to    us    in    all    wisdom 


The  Mystery  of 


EPHESIANS,   T. 


Unity  in  Christ, 


US  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence  ;  ^^^  having 
ni:ide  known  unto  Us  the  mystery  of  his 
will,  accordinjjf  to  his  p;ood  pleasure 
which    he    hatli   puri^oscd   in   himself: 


1  Or.  ike  heavens. 


(i*^'  that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  ful- 
ness of  times  he  might  gather  together 
in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which 
are  in  heaven,^  and  which  are  on  earth  ; 


and  priulence  —  the  word  "  ovorHow  "  having  an 
emphasis  whic-li  our  word  "  abound "  has  lost,  and 
siijiiifying  hero  tliat  tlie  rielinoss  oi  God's  grace  not 
only  fills  tlio  soul  with  the  blessing  of  salvation,  but 
overtlows  into  the  additional  gifts  of  "all  wisdom  and 
prudence  "  in  us,  which  gifts  an;  h(>re  dwelt  upon  in 
anticipation  of  the  declaraticm  of  the  next  verse.  Of 
these  two  gifts,  wisdom  is  clearly  the  higher  gift,  signi- 
fying (as  in  the  Old  Testament)  the  knowledge  of  the 
tr\u!  end  of  life,  which  can  only  come  from  some 
knoAvledge  of  the  "  wisdom  of  God,"  that  is,  the  divine 
purpose  of  His  dispensation.  (See  especially  Prov. 
viii.  'I'l — 31.)  Such  knowledge  is  revealed  tons  through 
the  '■  mind  of  Christ,"  who  is  Himself  the  true  wisdom 
or  "  Word  of  God."  (See  1  Cor.  i.  24,  30 ;  ii.  6—10, 16.) 
Hence  wisdom  is  spoken  of  in  connection  with  various 
other  gifts,  which  ai-e  but  partial  manifestations  of  it. 
Here  with  "  prudence,"  that  is,  wisdom  in  action ;  in 
Col.  i.  9,  ^\'ith  "  intelligence,"  that  is,  wisdom  in  judg- 
ment ;  in  1  Cor.  xii.  8,  Col.  ii.  3,  with  "  knowledge,"  that 
is.  wisdom  in  perception;  in  verso  17  of  this  chapter, 
with  "  revelation,"  the  means  by  which  wisdom  is 
gained. 

(■•'  Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mystery 
of  his  will. — In  the  same  connection  we  read  in  1  Cor. 
ii.  7,  "  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery." 
The  word  "  mystery  "  properly  signifies  a  thing  which 
(see  clwp.  iii.  5  ;  Col.  i.  27)  "  was  hid  from  all  ages,  but 
is  now  mad(^  manifest."  So  our  Lord  evidently  uses  it 
(in  Matt.  xiii.  11;  Mark  iv.  11;  Luke  \-iii.  10).  For  the 
rest,  except  in  four  passages  of  the  Apocalypse  {Rev. 
i.  20;  X.  7;  x\ii.  5,  7),  it  is  used  by  St.  Paul  alone,  and 
by  him  no  less  than  twenty-one  times,  of  which  ten 
belong  to  this  Epistle  and  the  parallel  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians — always  in  connection  with  such  Avords  as 
"knowledge,"  "declaration,"  "dispensation."  The 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word  "  mystery  " — a  thing  of 
wliicli  we  kiujw  that  it  is,  though  how  it  is  wo  know  not 
— is  not  implied  in  the  original  meaning  of  the  word ; 
but  it  is  a  natural  derivative  from  it.  Reason  can 
apprehend,  when  revealed,  that  which  it  cannot  dis- 
cover ;  but  seldom  or  never  can  it  comprehend  it  per- 
fectly. In  this  verse  the  mystery  is  declared  to  bo 
accordant  to  the  good  pleasure  of  God"s  will,  which  (it 
is  added)  "  Ho  purposed  in  Himself."  In  this  seems 
to  be  implied  that  (see  chap.  iii.  19)  though  in  some 
sense  wo  can  know  it,  yet  ui  its  fuLucss  "  it  passeth 
knowledge." 

(10)  That  in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of 
times. — The  connection  marked  in  our  version  seems 
certainly  erroneous.  The  words  should  be  connected 
with  the  previous  verse,  and  translated  thus  :  rvhich 
He  2)urpo.^id  in  Himself  for  administration  (or  dis- 
posal) of  the  fulness  of  the  [appointed]  seasons,  to 
gather,  &c.  We  note  (1)  that  the  word  "  dispensation  " 
is  usually  applied  to  the  action  of  the  servants  of  God, 
as  "  dispensers  of  His  mysteries."  (See  chap.  iii.  2 ; 
1  Cor.  ix.  17;  Col.  i.  25.)  Here,  however,  and  in  chap, 
iii.  10,  it  is  applied  to  the  disposal  of  all  by  God  Him- 
self, according  to  "  the  law  which  He  has  set  Himself 
to  do  all  things  by."  Next  (2)  that  the  word  "  fulness," 
or  completeness,  frequently  used  by  St.  Paul,  is  only 
found  in  connection  with  time  in  this  i)assage,  and  in 


18 


Gal.  iv.  4  ("  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come  "). 
There,  however,  the  reference  is  to  a  point  of  time, 
markhig  the  completion  of  the  preparation  for  our  Lord's 
coming ;  here,  apparently,  to  a  scries  of  "  seasons," 
"  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power  "  (Acts 
i.  7)  for  the  completion  of  the  acts  of  the  Mediatorial 
kingdom  described  in  the  words  following.  (Comp. 
Matt.  xvi.  3 ;  Luke  xxi.  24 ;  1  Thess.  v.  1 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  6 ; 
iv.  1 ;  vi.  1.5  ;  Tit.  i.  3.) 

That  he  might  gather  together  in  one  all 
things  in  Christ.— In  these  words  St.  Paul  strikes 
the  great  keynote  of  the  whole  Epistle,  the  Unity  op 
ALL  IN  Christ.  Th(!  expression  "  to  gather  together 
in  one  "  is  the  same  which  is  used  in  Rom.  xiii.  9  (^ where 
all  commandments  are  said  to  be  "  briefly  compre- 
hended," or  suinmed  up,  "  in  the  one  saying.  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself  ").  Here,  however, 
there  is  the  additional  idea  that  this  gathering  up  is 
"  for  Himself."  The  full  meaning  of  this  expression  is 
"  to  gather  again  under  one  head  "  things  which  had  been 
originally  one,  but  had  since  been  separated.  Tlie  best 
comment  upon  the  truth  hero  briefly  summed  up  is 
found  in  tho  full  exposition  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Colossians  (Col.  i.  16 — 20),  "  In  Him  were  all  things 
created,  that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth  .  .  . 
all  things  were  created  by  Him  and  for  Him  .  .  .  and 
in  Him  all  tilings  consist.  It  pleas(>d  the  Father  that 
in  Him  should  all  fulness  dwell,  and  ...  by  Him 
to  reconcile  all  things  to  Himself  .  .  .  whether  things 
on  earth  or  things  in  heaven."  In  Christ,  as  tho  Word 
of  God  in  the  beginning,  all  created  things  are  con- 
sidered as  gathered  up,  through  Him  actually  made, 
and  in  Him  continuing  to  exist.  This  unity,  broken  by 
sin,  under  the  effect  of  which  "  all  creation  groans " 
(Rom.  viii.  22),  is  restored  in  the  Incarnation  and  Atone- 
ment of  the  Son  of  God.  By  this,  therefore,  all  things 
are  again  summed  up  in  Him,  and  again  made  one  in 
Him  with  the  Father.  In  both  passages  St.  Paid  uses 
expressions  which  extend  beyond  humanity  itself — 
"  things  in  heaven  and  things  in  earth,"  "  things  visible 
and  things  invisible,"  "  thrones  and  principalities  and 
powers."  In  both  ho  immediately  proceeds  from  the 
grand  outline  of  this  wider  unity,  to  draw  out  in  detail 
the  nearer,  and  to  us  more  comprehensible,  unity  of  all 
mankind  in  Christ.  (Comp.  Col.  i.  18,  21.)  So  also 
writes  St.  John  (John  i.  3,  4,  12),  passing  from  the 
thought  that  "  all  things  were  made  by  Him,"  first  to  the 
declaration,  "  In  Him  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light 
of  men,"  and  next  to  the  power  given  to  those  who  be- 
lieved on  Him  to  become  sons  of  God.  The  lesser  part 
of  this  truth,  setting  forth  the  unity  of  all  mankind  in 
the  Second  Adam,  forms  the  basis  of  the  argument  of 
1  Cor.  XV.,  that  "  in  Christ  all  shall  be  nuid(>  alive,"  in 
the  course  of  which  tlie  existence  of  the  Mediatorial 
kingdom  of  Christ  is  described,  and  its  continuance  till 
the  final  triumph,  when  it  "shall  be  delivered  up  to 
God,  even  tho  Father,"  "  that  God  may  be  all  in  all " 
(1  Cor.  XV.  24,  28).  In  -vnrtuo  of  it,  those  who  are  His 
are  pai-takers  of  His  death  and  resurrection.  His 
ascension,  even  His  judgment  (chap.  ii.  6 ;  Matt.  xix. 
28;  Rom  vi.  3—10;  1  Cor.  vi.  2,  3;  Col.  iii.  1—3). 

(2  c.)  Verses   11 — 14  form  the  third  part  of  tho 


both  of  Jews 


EPHESIANS,   I. 


and  Gentiles. 


even  in  him  :  (^^^  in  whom  also  we  have 
obtained  an  inheritance, 
gran^ted  ^k1^  ^eing  predestinated  ac- 
to  Jews  and  cording  to  the  purpose  of 
Gentiles.  j^-^^      ^j^^      worketh       all 

thinofs  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will : 


1  Or,  hoped. 


(^2)  that  we  should  be  to  the  praise  of 
his  glory,  who  first  trusted^  in  Christ. 
{Vi)  In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that 
ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel 
of  your  salvation  :  in  whom  also  after 
that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with 


lutroductiou,  applying  tho  general  truth  of  election  by 
God's  predestination  in  Christ,  first  to  the  original 
believers  (the  Jews),  and  then  to  the  subsequent 
beUevers  (the  Gentiles). 

(10,  11)  Even  in  him :  in  whom  also  we  have 
obtained  an  inheritance.— We  liave  here  (in  tho 
repetition,  "  even  in  Him '')  an  emphatic  transition  to 
the  truth  most  closely  concerning  the  Apostle  and  his 
readers.  The  word  "  we  "  is  not  here  emijhatic,  and 
the  statement  might  be  a  general  statement  apj)licable 
to  all  Christians ;  but  the  succeeding  verse  seems  to 
limit  it  to  the  original  Jewish  believers — the  true 
Israel,  who  (like  the  whole  of  Israel  in  ancient  days) 
have  become  "  a  people  of  inheritance  "  (Dent.  iv.  20 ; 
ix.  29 ;  xxxii.  9),  so  succeeding  to  the  privileges  (Rom. 
xi.  7)  which  their  brethren  in  bhudness  rejected.  Pos- 
sibly this  suggests  the  peculiar  word  here  (and  here 
only)  used,  meaning  either  "  we  were  made  partakers 
of  a  lot "  in  God's  kingdbra  (to  which  Col.  i.  12,  "  who 
has  made  us  meet  for  a  part  of  the  lot  of  the  saints," 
closely  corresponds),  or  *'  we  were  made  His  lot  or 
inheritance ; "  which  perhaps  suits  the  Greek  better, 
certainly  accords  better  with  the  Old  Testament  idea, 
and  gives  a  more  emphatic  sense.  A  third  possi- 
ble sense  is  "  were  chosen  by  lot."  This  is  adopted 
by  the  Vulgate,  supported  by  the  only  use  of  the  word 
in  the  Septuagiut  (1  Sam.  xiv.  41),  and  exj^lained  by 
Chrysostom  and  Augustine  as  signifying  the  freedom 
of  election  without  human  merit,  while  by  the  succeed- 
ing words  it  is  shown  not  to  be  really  by  chance,  but 
by  God's  secret  will.  But  this  seems  quite  foreign  to 
the  genius  of  the  passage. 

Being  predestinated  .  .  .  that  we  should 
be  to  the  praise  of  his  glory.— This  is  an  applica- 
tion of  the  general  truth  before  declared  (verses  5,  6) 
that  the  source  of  election  is  God's  predestination,  and 
the  object  of  it  the  manifestation  of  His  glory. 

After  the  counsel  of  his  own  will.— The  ex- 
pression evidently  denotes  not  only  the  deliberate 
exercise  of  God's  will  by  "  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  "  (Acts  ii.  2.3),  but  also  the  guidance  of 
that  will  by  wisdom  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law 
Eternal  of  God's  righteous  dispensation.  Hooker,  in 
a  well-known  passage  [Eccl.  Pol.  i.  2),  quotes  it  as 
excluding  the  notion  of  an  arbitrary  will  of  God, 
"  They  eiT,  who  think  tliat  of  God's  will  there  is  no 
reason  except  His  will." 

(12)  That  we  .  .  .  who  first  trusted  in  Christ. 
— Tliat  tho  reference  here  is  to  the  first  Christians,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  Gentiles  of  the  next  verse,  is 
clear.  But  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  "  who  fii"st 
hoped "  (or,  more  properly,  who  have  hoped  before- 
hand) is  less  obvious.  Our  version  seems  to  interjiret 
it  simply  of  "  believing  before  "  the  Gentiles,  i.e.,  of 
being  tho  "  first  believers ;  "  and  this  iuterin-ctation 
may  bo  defended  by  tho  analogy  of  certain  cases  in 
wliich  the  same  prefix  signifying  "  beforehand "  has 
this  sense  {e.g.,  Acts  xx.  5,  13 ;  Rom.  iii.  9 ;  xii.  10 ; 
1  Cor.  xi.  21).  But  tho  more  general  analogy  strongly 
supports  tho  other  intoq)retatiou,  "  who  have  hoi)ed  iu 


tlio  Christ  before  He  came  " — that  is,  who,  taught  by 
prophecy,  entering  into  that  vision  of  a  great  future 
whicli  pervades  the  older  Covenant,  looked  forward 
"to  the  hope  of  Israel,"  and  "  waited  for  the  consola- 
tion of  Israel ; "  and  who  accordingly  in  due  time 
became,  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  the  lirstfruits  of  His 
salvation. 

ii')  In  whom  ye  also  trusted  ...  in  whom 
also  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed.— 
The  insertion  of  the  word  "trusted  "  (suggested  by  the 
word  "trusted"  in  the  previous  verse)  is  probably 
erroneous,  nor  is  it  easy  to  find  any  good  substitute  for 
it.  It  is  far  better  to  refer  the  wliole  to  the  one  verb, 
"ye  were  sealed."  The  irregularity  of  consti-uction 
(arising  from  the  addition  to  "hearing"  of  its  proper 
accessory  of  "faith,"  Rom.  x.  17)  will  surprise  no  one 
who  studies  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and  especially  these 
Epistles  of  his  Captivity,  remembering  that  they  were 
dictated,  and  in  all  probability  read  over  again  to 
the  Apostle  for  adtlition  or  correction. 

After  that  ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the 
gospel  of  your  salvation.— There  is  a  C(mtrast  here 
between  the  Jewish  believers,  looking  on  in  hope  and 
gladly  embracing  its  fulfilment,  and  the  Gentiles,  who 
had  no  such  hope,  and  who  therefore  waited  "  for  the 
word  of  the  truth  "  (the  full  truth,  not  veiled  in  type  or 
symbol),  the  glad  tidings  of  a  present  salvation.  Tlio 
greater  emphasis  laid  on  the  latter  process  seems 
intended  to  impress  on  the  Gentiles  a  sense  of  tlie 
simpler  and  fuller  means  by  which  they  were  led  to 
Christ. 

After  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with 
that  holy  Spirit  of  promise.- The  order  is  to  be 
noted,  and  compared  with  the  experience  of  the  Day  of 
Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  38).  First,  the  fight  of  the  gospel 
shines  before  men;  next,  by  faith  they  open  tlieir  eyes 
to  see  it ;  then  they  are  sealed  by  a  special  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Such  faith  is,  of  course,  the  gift  of  God 
by  the  Spirit;  but  our  Lord  teaches  us  (John  xvi. 
8 — 13)  to  distinguisli  between  the  pleading  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  "  the  woi'ld  "  "  to  convince  of  sin,  because 
they  believe  not  in  Christ,"  and  the  special  gift  of  His 
presence  in  tho  Church  and  the  believuig  soul  "  to 
guide  unto  all  tJio  truth."  This  fuller  presence  is  the 
seal  of  tlie  new  covenant. 

Ye  were  sealed  with  that  holy  Spirit  of 
promise.— This  word  "sealed"  is  found  in  exactly 
tho  same  connection  iu  2  Cor.  i.  22.  The  original  idea 
of  this  sealing  (which,  it  should  be  observed,  is  not  of 
documents,  but  of  men)  is  best  seen  in  tho  "  scaling  of 
the  servants  of  God  in  their  foreheads,"  in  Rev.  \\i. 
3~S.  In  that  passiige,  and  in  the  passage  of  Ezekiel 
which  it  recalls  (Ezek.  ix.  4),  the  sealing  is  simply  an 
outward  badge,  to  be  at  once  a  pledge  and  means  of 
sjifety  amidst  the  destruction  coming  on  tlie  earth.  In 
like  sense,  circumcision  appears  to  bo  called  "  a  seal " 
of  pre\'iously  existing  righteousness  of  faith,  in  Rom. 
iv.  11;  and  the  conversion  of  the  Corinthians  "a  seal" 
of  St.  Paul's  apostleship.  in  1  Cor.  ix.  2.  (Comp.  also 
John  iii.  33;  Rom.  xv.  38;  2  Tim.  ii.  19.)  But  the 
word  is  used  in  a  deeper  sense  whenever  it  is  connected 


19 


iS'^.  Paul's  T}ianhs(jiviag 


EPHESIANS. 


S^S,   I. 


aiul  Prayer  for  them. 


that  holy  Spirit  of  promise,  (^^)  which 
is  the  earnest  of  our  inheritance  until 
the  redemption  of  the  purchased  pos- 
session, unto  the  praise  of  his  glory. 
Wherefore  I  also,  after  I   heard  of 


(\b) 


your  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
love  unto  all  the  saints,  chap.  i.  15-19. 
(i«)  cease  not  to  srive  thanks  Prayer  for  full 

P  I  •  i-  L-  knowledge     of 

tor  you,  making  mention  of  this  divine 
you  in  my  prayers  ;  ^^-"^  that  blessing ; 


with  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Then  it  corresponds 
to  tlie  "  circumcision  not  niade  witli  liauds  "  (Rom.  ii.  29; 
Col.  ii.  11);  it  has  the  character  of  a  sacrament,  and  is 
not  a  mere  badge,  but  a  true  means  of  grace.  In  this 
connection  we  read  first  of  our  Lord,  "  Him  God  tlie 
Father  sealed"  (John  \\.  27),  with  a  clear  reference  to 
the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  His  baptism 
(comp.  John  i.  33;  v.  37;  x.  33) ;  next  of  His  people  (as 
here,  in  chap.  iv.  30,  and  in  2  Cor.  i.  22)  as  being,  like 
Himself,  baptised  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  this 
passage  the  very  title  given  to  tlie  Spirit  is  significant. 
He  is  called  (in  the  curious  order  of  the  original)  "the 
Spirit  of  the  Promise,  the  Holy  One."  "  The  promise  " 
is  clearly  the  promise  in  the  Old  Testament  (as  in 
Jer.  xxxi.  31 — 34 ;  Joel  ii.  28—33)  of  the  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  on  all  God's  people  in  "the  latter  days." 
The  emphatic  position  of  the  epithet  "  Holy  One " 
seems  to  point  to  the  effect  of  His  indwelling  in  the 
actual  sanctification  of  the  soul  thus  sealed.  From  this 
passage  was  probably  derived  the  ecclesiastical  applica- 
tion of  the  name  '•  seal  "  to  the  sacrament  of  baptism, 
wliich  is  undoubtedly  made  the  seal  of  conversion  in 
Acts  ii.  3S. 

(11)  Which  is  the  earnest  of  omt  inheritance. 
— On  the  word  "earnest"  (arrhabon),  a  precious  gift, 
as  surety  for  a  fuller  gift  hereafter,  see  2  Cor.  i.  22. 
The  word  "  inheritance  "  has  a  correspondent  meaning. 
It  is  a  present  possession  (as  in  Acts  vii.  5),  which  shall 
be  developed  into  a  more  precious  future.  "  We  are 
very  members,  incorj)orate  in  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ,  and  also  heirs  through  hope  of  His  everlasting 
kingdom." 

Until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  pos- 
session.—The  "  redemption  "  here  is  the  complete  and 
final  salvation  from  sin  and  death  (as  in  Rom.  \-iii.  23). 
The  original  word  liere  rendered  "purchased  po.s,session" 
properly  means  "  tlio  act  of  jjurcliase  or  acquisition," 
and  is  so  used  ia  1  Tliess.  v.  9 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  14 ;  Heb. 
x.  39.  But  it  seems  clear  that  it  is  here  used  (in  the 
sense  of  our  version)  with  that  confusion  of  idea,  com- 
mon in  English,  though  rare  in  Greek,  under  which  the 
i-esult  of  an  action  is  understood  instead  of  the  action 
itself,  so  that  the  woi'd  "  purcha-ses  "  is  used  for  "  things 
purchased,"  ""acquisitions  "  for  "  tilings  acquired  "  and 
the  like.  The  transition  is  marked  in  relation  to  this 
same  word  in  Mai.  iii.  17  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  where  the  Israel- 
ites are  spoken  of  a.s  "  a  people  for  acquisition,"  that  is, 
as  a  people  acquired  or  purchased. 

(3)  In  verses  15 — 23,  tliis  introductory  chapter  ends 
in  a  prayer  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  readers  of  this 
Epistle,  that  they  may  understand  all  the  fulness  of  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel.  In  accordance  with  the 
heavenward  direction  of  the  thought  of  the  whole 
Epistle,  these  blessings  are  \'iewed  in  their  future  com- 
pleteness of  glor}-  and  power,  of  which  the  present 
exaltation  of  tlie  risen  Lord  to  the  right  hand  of  God, 
as  the  Lord  of  all  creatures,  and  the  Head  of  the 
Church  His  body,  is  the  earnest  and  assurance. 

(15)  After  I  heard  of  your  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  love  unto  all  the  saints.— Tlicse 
words  have  an   almost    ex;ict    parallel  in   Col.  i.  4,  ad- 


dressed there  to  a  church  which  St.  Paul  had  not  seen, 
and  have  been  quoted  in  support  of  the  belief  that  this 
Epistle  cannot  have  been  addressed,  properly  and 
solely,  to  the  well-known  Ephesian  Church.  They  are 
not,  however,  decisive,  for  we  have  a  similar  expression 
to  Pliilemon  (verse  5),  St.  Paul's  own  convert. 

We  may  note  a  distinction  between  "  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  "  and  "  faith  towards  the  Lord  Jesus  "  (like 
"  the  love  towards  the  saints  ").  Comp.  2  Tim.  i.  13 
("  faith  and  love  in  Chri^-t  Jesus  ").  "  Faith  in  Christ  " 
is  a  faith  which,  centred  in  Christ,  nevertheless  rests 
through  Him  on  the  Father ;  recognising  a  "  life  hid 
with  him  in  God"  (Col.  iii.  3)  and  a  souship  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus  (Gal.  iii.  26).  The  connection  of  the  two 
clauses  here  shows  that  such  a  faith  abounds  (i.e.  over- 
flows) unto  love,  first  necessarily  to  God,  so  being 
made  perfect  (Gal.  v.  6),  but  next  towards  aU  His 
children.  For  '"  this  commandment  we  have  from  Him, 
that  he  who  loveth  God,  love  his  brother  also  "  (1  John 
iv.  21). 

(I'^J  Cease  not  to  give  thanks  for  you,  making 
mention  of  you  in  my  prayers.— Almost  all  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  are  introduced  by  this  union  of  thanks- 
giving and  prayer,  which  is.  indeed,  characteristic  of  the 
right  harmony  of  all  Christian  worship.  (See  Rom.  i. 
8,  9;  Phil.  i.  3,  4;  Col.  i.  3,  4;  1  Thess.  i.  2.  3;  2  Tim. 
i.  3;  Philem.  verse  4.)  In  the  Galatian  Epistle  the 
omission  of  both  is  characteristic  ;  in  the  two  Epistles 
to  the  Corinthians  thanksgi\ing  alone  is  explicit, 
though  prayer  may  be  implied.  But  the  proportion 
of  the  two  elements  varies.  Here  the  thanksgiving 
has  already  been  offered,  although  in  the  widest  gene- 
rality. Accordingly  all  that  follows  is  prayer.  In 
the  parallel  Colossian  Epistle  (Col.  i.  3 — 13),  which  has 
no  coiTespondiug  preface  of  thanksgiving,  both  ele- 
ments are  co-ordinate,  with  perhaps  a  slight  predo- 
minance of  thanksgiving. 

(17)  The  God  of  otir  Lord  Jesus  Christ.— 
See  John  xx.  17,  "I  ascend  unto  My  Father  and  your 
Father ;  and  to  My  God  and  your  God."  It  has  been 
noted  that,  while  on  the  cross,  our  Lord,  in  tlie  cry, 
"  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me  ?  "  adopted 
the  common  human  language  of  the  Psalmist,  He 
here,  after  His  resurrection,  distinguished  emphati- 
cally between  His  peculiar  relation  to  God  the  Father 
and  that  relation  in  which  we  His  members  call  God 
"our  Father."  St.  Paul's  usual  phrase  (see  above, 
verse  3)  is  "  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ; "  the  phrase  here  used  is  unique,  prolmbly 
substituted  for  the  other  on  account  of  the  use  of  the 
word  "  Father "  In  the  next  clause.  It  refers,  of 
course,  entirely  to  our  Lord's  nature  as  the  true  Son 
of  Man.  In  that  respect  God  is  in  the  fidl  sense 
(which  in  us  is  interrupted  by  sin)  His  God,  in  whom 
He  lived  and  had  His  beiug.  In  proportion  as  we  are 
conformed  to  His  likeness,  "  God  is  our  God  for  ever 
and  ever." 

The  Father  of  glory.— Better,  of  the  glory.  Tliis 
phrase  is  again  unique.  We  have,  indeed,  such  phrases 
as  "Father  of  Mercies"  (2  Cor.  i  3),  "Father  of 
Lights"  (Jas.  i.  17);  and.  on  the  other  hand,  "the 
King  of  Glory"  (Ps.  xxviii.  5),  "  the  God  of  Glory" 
(Acts  vii.  2),  "the  Lord  of  Glory"  (1  Cor.  ii.  8;  Jas. 


20 


Tlie,  Glory  of  our  Inheritance. 


EPHESIANS,   I. 


The  Exaltation  of  Christ. 


tlie  God  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Father  of  glorj,  may  give  unto  you  the 
spu'it  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  ^  of  him  :  (^^^  the  e^'es  of  your 
understanding  being  enlightened ;  that 
ye  may  know  what  is  the  hojje  of  his 
calling,  and  what  the  riches  of  the  glory 
of  his  inheritance  in  the  saints,  (^^^  and 


2  Gr.     of     the 
might  of  hiK 
pi'wer. 
1  Or,  for    the   ac- 
kituwledgment 


what  is  the  exceeding  greatness  of  his 
power  to  us-ward  who  believe,  accordin<y 
to  the  working  of  his  mighty  power,^ 
(20)  -which  he  wrought  in  Christ,  when 
he  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  and  set  him  at  his 
own  right  hand 
heavenly    i^laces. 


in 

(21) 


Chap.  i.  20—23. 

given  through 
the  the  headship 
far  ^^  Christ. 


ii.  1).  lu  all  these  last  instauccs  "  the  glory  "  seems 
oertaiuly  to  be  the  Shechinah  of  God's  mauifested  pre- 
sence, and  in  all  oases  l)nt  one  is  ascribed  to  our  Lord. 
But  "  the  Father  of  the  glory."  seems  a  phrase  different 
from  all  tliese.  I  cannot  help  connecting  it  with  the 
missing  element  in  the  preceding  clause,  and  believing 
(with  some  old  interpreters),  in  spite  of  the  strange- 
ness of  expression,  that  God  is  liere  called  "  the 
Father  of  the  glory  "  of  the  incarnate  Deity  in  Jesus 
Christ  (see  John  i.  14),  called  in  2  Cor.  iv.  6,  "  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  face  (or  2Jerson)  of  Jesus  Christ." 
(See  Excursus  A  to  St.  John's  Gospel:  On  tlie  Doctrine 
of  the  Word ;  dealing  with  tlie  identification  of  "  the 
Word  "  with  the  Slieohiuah  by  the  Jewish  interpreters). 
The  prayer  which  foUows  connects  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  our  inheritance  with  the  exaltation  of  our 
Lord  in  glory. 

The  knowledge  of  him.— Tlie  word  here  ren- 
dered '•  knowledge  "  signifies  "  perfect  and  thorough 
knowledge  ;  "  and  the  verb  corresponding  to  it  is  used 
distinctively  in  this  sense  in  Luke  i.  4 ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  12. 
It  is  employed  by  St.  Paul  more  especially  in  his  later 
Epistles  (chap.  iv.  13 ;  Pliil.  i.  9 ;  Col.  i.  9,  10 ;  ii.  2 ; 
iii.  10),  dealing  as  they  do  with  the  deeper  things  of 
God,  and  assuming  more  of  a  contemplative  tone.  It 
is  represented  here  as  coming  from  distinct  "  revela- 
tion." 

(18)  The  eyes  of  your  understanding.— The 
true  reading  is  of  your  heart,  for  which  the  words  "  of 
your  understanding  "  have  been  substituted,  so  as  to 
yield  a  simpler  and  easier  expression.  The  heart  is 
similarly  spoken  of  in  relation  to  spiritual  perception  in 
Rom.  i.  21 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  9 ;  iv.  5 ;  it  signifies  the  inner 
man  in  his  entirety  ;  and  the  phrase  here  used  seems  to 
convey  the  all-important  truth,  that  for  the  knowledge 
of  God  all  tlie  faculties  of  understanding,  conscience, 
and  affection  must  be  called  into  energy  by  the  gift 
of  the  light  of  God. 

That  ye  may  know.— The  knowledge  which  St. 
Paul  liere  desires  for  the  Ephesians,  in  accordance  vrith 
the  whole  tone  of  this  Epistle,  is  a  knowledge  of  heavenly 
things,  only  experienced  in  part  upon  earth — with  an 
experience,  however,  sufficient  to  be  an  earnest  of  tlie 
hereafter.  The  succession  of  ideas  follows  the  order  of 
conversion — fii'st,  "calling;"  then  acceptance  to  "in- 
heritance ;  "  lastly,  "  inward  woi-kiug  of  divine  power  " 
in  the  accepted.  To  each  the  conception  of  looking 
onward  is  attached ;  to  the  "  calling  "  "  hope,"  to  the 
"inheritance  "  "glory,"  to  the  "power"  the  exaltation 
of  Christ  (and  of  us  with  Him ;  see  chap.  ii.  6)  to  the 
right  hand  of  God. 

The  hope  of  his  calling.— (See  chap.  iv.  4.)  Tliat 
is.  probably,  "  the  tiling  hoped  for,"  becjinse  promised, 
at  our  calling  (as  in  Gal.  v.  5  ;  Col.  i.  5  ;  Tit.  ii.  3  ;  Heb. 
vi.  18;  and  perhaps  1  Tim.  i.  1),  for  the  other  objects 
of  knowledge  with  which  it  is  here  joined  are  certainly 
objective  or  external  to  ourselves.  This  liope  is  of  the 
perfection  of  all,  which  we  are  called  to  enjoy  really, 
out  imperfectly,  here. 


21 


The  riches  of  the  glory  of  his  inheritance 
in  the  saints.— Comp.  Col.  i.  27,  "  the  riclies  of  the 
glory  of  this  mystery  .  .  .  which  is  Christ  in  you,  the 
hope  of  glory."  The  inheritance  of  God  is  the  unity 
with  Christ,  in  which  lies  the  earnest  and  hope  of  glory. 
"Among  the  saints"  is  best  connected  with  the  word 
"  inheritance,"  showing  that  our  personal  inheritance 
of  Christ  gives  us  a  place  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
here  and  hereafter. 

(19)  According  to  the  working  of  his  mighty 
power. — More  correctly  (see  margin),  the  working  of 
the  might  of  His  strength.  The  word  "  power  "  is  a 
general  word  for  force,  which  may  be  latent,  and,  in  fact, 
often  describes  force  which  is  latent,  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  the  word  here  used  for  working  or  energy.  St. 
Paul,  therefore,  adds  that  this  power  of  God  is  not 
latent ;  it  actually  works  "  according  to,"  that  is,  up  to 
the  full  measure  of  "the  might  of  the  strength"  of 
God — of  that  strength  which  is  a  part  of  His  nature. 
The  whole  phrase  forms  a  glorious  climax,  in  which  the 
Apostle  accumulates  words  ever  stronger  and  stronger 
to  approach  to  the  description  of  the  omnipotence  of 
the  Spirit.  It  is  a  "  force  of  exceeding  greatness;"  it  is 
an  ever  energetic  force ;  its  only  measure  is  the  im- 
measurable might  of  the  divine  nature.  (Comp.  chap, 
iii.  7;  Phil.  iii.  21;  Col.  i.  29;  ii.  12.) 

(2')  Which  he  wrought  in  Christ.— The  reality 
of  the  Avork  of  God  upon  us  is  insured  by  the  reality 
of  that  work  upon  the  true  Son  of  Man,  whose  members 
we  are,  in  His  resurrection,  His  ascension.  His  exalta- 
tion over  all  things  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  and  His 
headshij)  of  the  Church.  It  is  notable  that,  while  it  is 
on  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
that  the  chief  stress  is  laid  in  the  earlier  Epistles  (as  in 
Rom.  vi.  4—11;  1  Cor.  xv.  12— 22,  oO— 57),  in  these 
later  Epistles  the  Apostle  passes  on  beyond  this,  as 
taken  for  granted  (see  Col.  iii.  1).  and  dwells  on  ''  Christ 
in  heaven,"  exalted  far  above  all  created  things,  but  yet 
vouchsafing  to  be  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  head  and 
life  of  the  Church  on  earth.  See,  for  example.  Phil.  ii. 
9 — 11 ;  Col.  i.  14 — 19  ;  and  compare  the  pervading  con- 
ception of  the  Apocalyjise.  In  this  advance  of  thought 
he  approaches  to  the  idea  of  our  Lord's  own  great  inter- 
cession (John  xy\i.  5  et  seq.),  constantly  connecting  tlie 
unity  of  His  Church  in  Him  with  the  glory  wliicli  was 
His  from  all  eternity,  and  to  ^vhich  He  was  to  return — 
"  Xow,  O  Father,  glorify  Tliou  Me  with  Thine  own  self 
with  the  glory  which  I  liad  with  Thee  before  the  world 
was.  ...  I  will  that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast 
given  Me,  be  with  Me  where  I  am,  that  tlicy  may 
behold  My  glory;" 

(21)  Far  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion.— Tlu-  words  here  used 
are  intended  to  include  all  })ossible  forms  of  power,  cor- 
responding to  the  exhaustive  enumeration  in  PliiL  ii.  10, 
"of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth."  The  words  rendered  "  princiijality 
and  power"  (more  properly  signifying  ''government 
and  the  authority  committed  to  it  ")  are  used  in  Luke 


Xhe  Headship  of  Christ 


EPHESIANS,   I. 


over  His  Church. 


above  all  principality,  and  power,  and 
might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name 
that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world, 
but    also    in    that    which   is   to    come : 


(-'  and  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet, 
and  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,  (-^^  which  is  his  body, 
the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 


xii.  11;  XX.  20;  Tit.  iii.  1,  distinctively  for  earthly 
powers;  iu  1  Cor.  xv.  2-4,  generally  for  all  created  powers 
whatever.  But  St.  Paul  mostly  employs  this  whole 
group  of  words,  especially  iu  the  Epistles  of  the  Cap- 
tivity, with  a  manifest  reference  to  angelic  powers  of 
good  or  evil.  Thus  in  Rom.  viii.  38  we  read,  of 
"  angels,  and  principalities,  and  powers  "  (as  in  1  Pet. 
iii.  22,  "  angels,  and  authorities,  and  powers") ;  iu  chap, 
iii.  10  of  this  Epistle,  of  '•  principalities  and  powers  in 
the  heavenly  places  ;"  and  iu  chaj).  vi.  12,  of  "  wrestling 
not  agaiiist  Jle-^h  and  blood,  but  against  principalities 
and  powers,"  Slc.  ;  and  in  Col  i.  16,  of  "  things  in  heaven 
and  earth,  A-isible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones, 
or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers."  It  is  likely 
that  he  Wi»s  iuduced  so  to  do  by  the  half-Gnostic  specu- 
lation on  the  nature  and  worship  of  angels,  prevalent 
in  the  later  Judaism,  of  whicli  we  have  a  specimen  at 
Colossae  (Col.  ii.  18) — in  the  same  spirit  which  leads  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  to  dwell  so  em- 
phatically (in  chaps,  i.  and  ii.)  ou  the  infinite  superiority 
of  the  Son  of  God  to  all  angels.  We  observe  that  his 
references  to  these  orders  or  aspects  of  the  angelic 
hierarchy  vary  both  in  fulness  and  iu  order.  (Comp.,  for 
instance,  this  passage  with  Col.  i.  16.)  Hence  we  gain 
no  encouragement  for  the  elaborate  speculation  in  which 
men  have  indulged  as  to  the  right  succession  and  relation 
of  the  hosts  of  heaven.  In  this  pas.sage  the  names 
rather  point  to  different  aspects,  than  to  different  orders, 
of  superhuman  power.  The  first  two  words  signify 
appointed  government  and  the  authority  which  is  com- 
mitted to  it ;  the  last  two  the  actual  force  and  the  moral 
force  of  dignity  or  lordship  in  which  it  is  clothed.  In 
the  Colossian  passage  the  words  here  placed  first  come 
last,  though  in  the  same  mutual  connection,  and  the 
words  •'  dignities  or  lordships  "  is  connected  with  the 
word  "  thrones,"  not  here  found.  His  pui-pose  is,  indeed, 
better  served  by  this  comparative  vagueness ;  for  that 
purpose  is  to  exalt  the  majesty  of  our  Lord  over  all 
other,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  whatever  name  it  may 
wear. 

Not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that 
which  is  to  come. — The  word  "world"  is  here  age, 
and  the  antithesis  is  exactly  that  of  our  Lord's  words  in 
Matt.  vii.  32  (see  Note  there).  Manifestly,  however,  it 
hero  signifies  "this  life"  (or  dispensation)  and  "the 
future  life,"  that  is,  the  life  on  this  side,  and  on  the 
other  side,  of  the  Second  Coming  of  Christ. 

(22)  And  hath  put  all  things  under  his  feet.— 
See  1  Cor.  xv.  25— 2S,  where  St.  Paul  deals  with  the 
quotation  from  Ps.  viii.  6,  in  application  to  our  Lord's 
Mediatorial  kingdom.  In  this  pas.sage  these  words  fill 
up  the  picture  of  our  Lord's  transcendent  dignity,  by  the 
declaration  of  the  actual  subjugation  of  all  the  powers 
of  sin  and  death,  rising  up  against  Him.  in  the  spiritual 
war  which  is  to  go  on  till  the  ajjpointed  end.  They 
therefore  form  a  natural  link  between  the  descripticm 
of  His  lordship  over  all  created  lieing,  and  of  His 
headship  over  the  Church,  militant  ou  earth,  as  well  as 
triumphant  in  heaven. 

And  gave  him  to  be  the  head  over  all  things 
to  the  church,  which  is  his  body.— This  is  the 
first  time  that  this  celebrated  ])hrase  is  used,  describing 
Christ  as  the  Head,  and  ^^e^viug  the  Church  as  a 
whole  as  His  body.     It  is  characteristic  that  in  1  Cor. 


22 


xi.  3,  Christ  is  called  "  the  Head  of  each  man,"  as  "  the 
man  of  the  woman ;"  whereas  in  this  Epistle  Christ  is 
the  Head  of  the  whole  Church,  ou  occasion  of  the 
Sivme  comparison  (see  v.  23).  The  consideration  of  all 
Christians  as  the  "  body  of  Christ "  is  indeed  found  in 
Eom.  xii.  4;  1  Cor.  xii.  12 — 27 :  but  it  is  notable  that  in 
these  passages  the  leading  idea  is,  first,  of  the  indivi- 
duality of  each  member,  and  then,  secondarily,  of  their 
union  in  one  body  ;  and  in  1  Cor.  xii.  21, ''  the  head  and 
the  foot,"  just  as  much  as  "  the  eye  and  the  hand,"  are 
simply  looked  upon  as  members.  (Comp.  also  1  Cor. 
vi.  15  ;  X.  17.)  Here,  in  accordjince  with  the  great  doc- 
trine of  this  Epistle — the  unity  of  the  whole  of  humanity 
and  of  the  whole  Church,  ideally  co-extensive  with 
that  humanity,  with  Christ— the  metaphor  is  changed. 
The  body  is  looked  upon  as  a  whole,  Christ  as  its 
Head.  The  idea  is  wrought  out  again  and  again  (see 
chaps,  iv.  15.  16  ;  v.  28 ;  Col.  i.  18 ;  ii.  19)  in  these 
Epistles  of  the  Captivity.  It  is  from  these  that  it  has 
become  a  household  word  in  all  Christian  theology. 
With  some  variation  it  is  expressed  also  in  other  meta- 
phors— the  building  and  the  corner-stone,  the  bride  and 
the  bridegroom.  But  under  the  title  of  the  "  Head " 
Christ  is  looked  upon  especially  in  His  ruling,  guiding, 
originating  power  over  the  Church.  Probably  the  idea 
of  His  being  the  seat  of  its  life,  though  not  excluded,  is 
secondary;  whereas  in  His  own  figure  of  the  vine  and 
the  branches  (John  x\-i.  6)  it  is  primaiy. 

(23)  The  fulness  of  him  that  fllleth  aU  in  all. 
— The  word  pleroma,  "  fulness,"  is  used  in  a  definite  and 
almost  technical  sense  in  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity, 
and  especially  in  the  Einstle  to  the  Colossians,  having 
clear  reference  to  the  speculations  as  to  the  Di^nno 
Nature  and  the  eniaiuitions  from  it,  already  anticipating 
the  future  Gnosticism.  The  word  itself  is  derived  from 
a  verb  signifj-ing.  first,  to  "  fill; "  next  (more  frequently 
in  the  New  Testament),  to  "  fulfil  "  or  complete.  It 
is  foimd  (1)  in  a  physical  sense  of  the  "full  contents" 
of  the  baskets,  in  Mark  vi.  43,  viii.  20 ;  and  of  the  earth, 
iu  1  Cor.  X.  26—28 ;  and  in  Matt.  ix.  16,  Mark  ii.  21,  it 
is  applied  to  the  patch  of  new  cloth  on  an  old  garment. 
It  is  used  next  (2)  of  fulness,  in  sense  of  the  "  complete 
tale  or  number,"  "of  time"  and  "seasons,"  in  chap, 
i.  10,  Gal.  iv.  4 ;  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  Rom.  xi. 
12,  25.  In  the  third  place  (3)  it  is  applied  to  the  full 
essence,  including  all  the  attributes,  of  a  thing  or 
person  ;  as  of  the  Law  (Rom.  xiii.  10),  and  of  the  bless- 
ing of  Christ  (Rom.  xv.  29).  Lastly  (4),  iu  these 
Ei)istles  it  is  applied,  almost  technically,  to  the  fulness 
of  the  Divine  Nature.  Thus,  in  Col.  i.  19  we  have,  "It 
pleased  the  Father  that  iu  Christ  all  the  fulness  " — i.e., 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Divine  Nature — "  should  dwell;  " 
or  (to  take  an  admissible  but  less  probable  construction) 
"  In  Him  all  the  fulness  is  pleased  to  dwell ; "  and 
this  is  explained  in  chap.  ii.  9,  "  In  Him  dwelt  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  Similarly,  though  less 
strikingly,  we  read  in  this  Epistle,  that  those  who  are  in 
Christ  are  said  (in  chaps,  iii.  19;  iv.  13)  "to  be  filled 
up  to  all  the  fulness  of  God,"  and  "  to  come  to  the 
mi^asure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.  In 
which  of  these  last  senses  is  the  Church  here  said  to  be 
the  "  fulness  of  Christ  ?  "  If  in  any,  probably  in  the 
last  of  all.  As  the  individual,  so  the  Church,  by  the 
presence  "of  Him  who  fiUeth  up  all  things  for  Him- 


God^s  Quickening  of 


EPHESIANS,   II. 


the  Spiritually  Dead, 


CHAPTER  n.--(i)  And  you  hath  he 

Chap.  ii.  1—7.   God's  quick-   qwickeyied,         who 

f  }lY:„  ^^:}K'l:'''}IZ  were  dead  in  tres- 
passes  and  sins; 


t'nin_ 

iluad    by    iinity 

glorified  Christ. 


with    the 


(-)  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked 
according  to  the  course  of  this  world, 
according  to  the  j^rince  of  the  power  of 
the   air,  the   spuit   that   now  worketh 


self  iu  all,"  comes  to  be  "  His  fulness,"  the  complete 
image  of  Him  iu  all  His  gloritiecl  humauity.  But  it 
luay  be  questioned  whether  it  is  not  better  to  take  here 
a  (liti'ereut  sense,  corresponding  to  the  ''  patch "  iu 
Matt.  ix.  16,  and  signifying  the  "  complement."  Iu  the 
original  Greek  of  Euclid  (in  Book  i.,  Prop.  4),  the  cog- 
nate word,  parapleroma,  is  used  of  "  the  complements." 
In  this  compound  word  tlie  idea  is,  no  d<jubt,  more 
unequivocally  expressed.  But  of  the  simple  word  here 
employed  it  may  be  reasonably  contended  that,  if  one 
thing  or  person  alone  is  contemplated,  the  pleroma 
must  be  the  fulness  of  the  one  nature ;  if,  as  here,  two 
are  brought  in,  each  will  be  the  "  complement"  to  the 
other — as  the  jiatch  to  the  garment,  and  the  garment 
to  the  patch.  So  here  (says  Chrysostom)  "  the  com- 
plement of  the  Head  is  the  Body,  and  the  complement 
of  the  Body  is  the  Head."  Thus  by  a  daring  expres- 
sion, St.  Paul  describes  our  Lord  .as  conceiving  His 
glorified  humanity  incomplete  without  His  Church; 
and  tlien,  lest  this  should  seem  to  derogate  even  for  a 
moment  from  His  dignity,  he  adds  the  strongest  de- 
claration of  His  transcendent  power,  ''  to  fill  up  for 
Himself  all  things  iu  all,"  iu  order  to  show  that  we 
are  infinitely  more  incomplete  without  Him  than  He 
without  us.  This  sense,  bold  as  it  is,  certainly  suits  ex- 
actly the  great  idea  of  this  Epistle,  which  difiiers  from  the 
parallel  Colossian  Epistle  in  this — that  while  both  dwell 
emphatically  on  Christ  the  Head,  and  the  Church  as  His 
Body,  there  the  chief  stress  is  laid  on  the  true  Deity  of 
the  Head,  here  on  the  glory  and  privileges  of  the  Body. 

n. 

[2.    The  unity  of  all  in  Christ  (chap.  ii.  1—22). 
(1) — (a)  The   Quickening  of  Men   from   the 
Death    of    Sin    and    Bondage    op 
Satan,  by  a  personal  union  with  Chi-ist, 
making  them  partakers  of  His  resurrec- 
tion.  His    ascension,   His   endless    glory 
(verses  1 — 7). 
(6)  All  this  not  of  themselves,  but  by  the  free 
grace  of  God,  accejjted  in  faith  and  wrought 
out  iu  good  works  (verses  8 — 10). 
(2)  Hence    the    Drawing    op    the    Gentiles 
out    op    Hopeless    and    Godless    Es- 
trangement to— 

(a)  Nearness  to  God  in  Christ  (verses  11 — 13) : 

(b)  Union  with  Israel  in  Christ  (verses  14 — 18) ; 

(c)  A  place,  as  living  stones,  in  the  great  fabric 

of  His  Church  (verses  19—22).] 

(1  a.)  Verses  1 — 7  begin  the  fuller  exposition  of  the 
doctrine  implied  in  the  thanksgiving  and  prayer  of  the 
previous  chapter;  starting  from  the  individual  and 
])ersonal  union  of  all  with  Christ,  in  virtue  of  which  they 
j)artake  of  His  spiritual  life.  His  conquest  of  death, 
and  the  exaltation  of  His  glorified  humauity  to  heaven. 

(1)  And  you  hath  he  quickened.— ^n<Z  you  aho. 
St.  Paul  hero  begins  the  particular  application  to  the 
Ephesians,  which  is  the  main  subject  of  this  chajjter, 
l)roken  off  in  verses  3 — 10,  and  resumed  iu  verse  11. 
The  words  "  liath  He  quickened  "  (or,  properly,  did  He 
quicken)  are  supplied  hero  fx-om  verse  5 — rightly,  as 


expressing  the  true  sense  and  tending  to  greater  clear- 
ness, but  perhaps  not  necessarily. 

Trespasses  and  sins. — These  two  words,  more 
ofteu  used  separately,  are  here  brought  together,  to 
form  a  climax.  The  word  rendered  "trespass"  signifies 
a  "  swerving  aside  and  falling " ;  the  word  rendered 
"  sins  "  is  generally  used  by  St.  Paul  iu  the  singular 
to  denote  "  sin "  in  the  abstract,  and  signifies  an 
entire  "  missing  of  the  mark  "  of  life.  Heuce,  even  in 
the  plural,  it  denotes  universal  and  positive  principles 
of  evil  doing,  while  "trespass"  rather  points  to  failm-e 
in  \-isible  and  special  acts  of  those  not  necessarily 
out  of  the  right  way. 

('■^)  The  course  (or,  age)  of  this  world.- Here 
again  are  united  the  two  words  ofteu  rendered  by 
"  world,"  the  former  signifying  simply  "  the  age,"  or 
appointed  period  of  this  visible  universe,  the  latter  its 
material  and  sensuous  character.  When  we  are  warned 
against  the  one  (as  iu  Rom.  xii.  2,  "  Be  not  conformed 
to  this  world;  "  see  also  1  Coi-.  i.  20;  ii.  6;  2  Tim.  iv. 
10).  it  is  against  the  "  vauity  " — that  is,  the  transitoriuess 
and  unreality — of  the  present  life ;  when  against  the 
other  (see  Gal.  iv.  3;  \i.  14;  Col.  ii.  8—10),  it  is 
against  its  "  pomp,"  its  carnal,  material,  unspiritual 
splendour.  Here  the  former  life  of  the  Ephesians  is 
described  as  at  once  transitory  and  carnal. 

The  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air.— The  con- 
nection of  the  "world"  with  the  Evil  Oue  as  its 
"  prince "  is  not  uncommon  in  Holy  Scripture  (see 
John  xii.  31;  xiv.  30;  x^^.  11);  and  the  "power"  of 
this  passage  is  exactly  that  which  Satan  claims  as 
"  committed  "  to  him  iu  Luke  iv.  32.  But  the  phrase 
"  the  power  of  the  air  "  is  imique  and  diflBcult.  We 
note  (l)that  this  phrase  signifies  not  "a  power  over 
the  air,"  but  "  a  power  dwelling  iu  the  region  of  the 
air."  Now,  the  word  "  power  "  (see  Xote  on  chap.  i. 
21),  both  iu  the  singular  and  the  plural,  is  used  in  this 
Epistle,  almost  technically,  of  superhumau  power. 
Here,  therefore,  the  Evil  Oue  is  described  as  "the 
prince,"  or  ruler,  of  such  superhuman  power — considered 
here  collectively  as  a  single  power,  prevailing  over  the 
world,  and  working  in  the  children  of  disobedience — in 
the  same  sense  iu  which  he  is  called  the  "  prince  of  the 
de\nls,"  the  indiWdual  spirits  of  ^vickeduess  (Matt,  ix.34; 
xii.  24).  Next  (2),  "WTiy  is  this  spoken  of  as  ruling  "in 
the  air  "?  There  may  possibly  be  allusion  (as  has  been 
supposed)  to  the  speculations  of  Jewish  or  Gentile 
philosophy;  but  it  seems  far  more  proljable  that  the 
"  air  "  is  here  meant  simply  to  describe  a  sphere,  and 
therefore  a  power,  below  the  heaven  and  yet  above  the 
earth.  The  "  air "  is  always  opposed  to  the  bright 
"ether,"  or  to  the  spiritual  "heaven"';  the  wortl  and 
its  derivatives  carry  with  them  the  ideas  of  cloudiness, 
mist,  and  even  darkness.  Hence  it  is  naturally  used  to 
suggest  the  conception  of  the  eWl  power,  as  allowed 
invisibly  to  encompass  and  move  above  this  world,  yet 
overruled  by  the  power  of  the  true  heaven,  which  it  vainly 
strives  to  overcloud  and  hide  from  earth.  In  chap, 
vi.  12  the  powers  of  evil  are  described  with  less  pre- 
cision of  imagery,  as  dwelling  "  iu  heavenly  places.'  the 
oppositiou  being  there  only  bL'tween  what  is  human  and 
superhuman  ;  yet  even  there  the  "  darkness  "  of  thia 
world  is  referred  to,  corresponding  to  the  conception  of 


23 


The  Lasts  of  the  Flesh. 


EPHESIANS,   ir. 


The  Grace  of  the  Spirit. 


in  the  children  of  disobedience :  ^^^ 
amon^  whom  also  we  all  had  our  con- 
versation in  times  past  in  the  lusts  of 
our  flesh,  fulfilling  the  desires^  of  the 


1  Gr.  the  wills. 


flesh  and  of  the  mind ;  and  were  by 
nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others.  <*)  But  God,  who  is  rich  in 
mercy,  for  his  great  love  wherewith  he 


clinidiuess    aud    dimness    always    attaching    to    "the 
air." 
The  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children 

of  disobedience. — Tho  Greek  hero  shows  that  the 
word  •■  s[)irit  "  must  bo  taken  in  apposition,  not  to 
"priiieis"  as  an  Eng'lish  reader  would  naturally  sup- 
pose, but  to  "  power."  As  the  individual  demons  when 
eonsidered  as  working  on  the  human  spirit  are  called 
spirits — "  unclean  spirits  "  in  the  Gospels,  "  evil  spirits  " 
in  Acts  xix.  12  (comp.  Acts  xvi.  16),  "  deceiving  spirits  " 
in  1  Tim.  iv.  1 — so  here  the  collective  power  of  evil, 
considered  as  working  in  "the  children  of  dis- 
obedience," is  called  "  a  spirit,"  like  the  "  spirit  of  the 
world,"  in  1  Cor.  ii.  12,  but  here  CA'eu  more  distinctly 
opposed  to  the  "  Spirit  of  God."  In  reference  to  this 
spiritual  power  over  tho  soul  our  Lord's  casting  out 
demons  is  described  (Acts  x.  28)  as  a  deliverance  of 
those  who  were  "  oppressed  of  the  devil ;  "  the  apostolic 
work  of  couver.sion  (Acts  xxvi.  18)  as  a  turning  "  from 
the  power  of  Satan  to  God,"  and  excommunication  as 
'•a  deliverance  to  Satan"  (1  Cor.  v.  5;  1  Tim.  i.  20); 
and  in  2  Thess.  ii.  9  exactly  tho  same  word  for  "  in- 
ward woi'king  "  is  applied  to  the  action  of  Satan  on  the 
soul.  From  this  half-pei-sonal  use  of  the  word  "  spirit  " 
it  is  easy  to  pass  to  the  more  abstract  sense  of  an  inner 
spiritual  principle  (as  in  Rom.  viii.  15 ;  xi.  8 ;  2  Tim.  i. 
7;  1  John  iv.  6). 

(^>  Among  whom  also  we  all  .  .  .—Up  to  this 
point  St.  Paul  had  addressed  himself  especially  to  the 
Ephesians  as  Gentiles  :  now  he  extends  the  description 
of  alienation  to  "  all,"  Jews  and  Gentiles  alike,  as 
formerly  reckoned  among  the  children  of  disobedience. 
It  is  indeed  the  great  object  of  this  chapter  to  bring 
out  tlie  equality  and  unity  of  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  in 
the  Church  of  Christ ;  and  this  truth  is  naturally  in- 
troduced by  a  statement  of  their  former  equality  in 
alienation  and  sin. 

In  the  lusts  of  our  flesh,  fulfilling  the  desires 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind.— Tho  parallelism  of 
these  two  clauses  illustrates  very  clearly  the  extended 
sense  in  which  the  word  "  flesh  "  is  used  by  St.  Paul, 
as  may  indeed  be  seen  by  tho  catalogue  of  the  works  of 
the  flesh  in  Gal.  v.  19,  20.  For  here  "  the  flesh,"  in  the 
first  clause,  includes  both  "  the  flesh  and  tho  mind  "  (or, 
more  properly,  tho  thoughts)  of  the  second;  that 
is,  it  includes  both  the  appetites  and  tho  passions  of 
our  fleshly  nature,  and  also  the  "  thoughts  "  of  tho 
mind  itself,  so  far  as  it  is  devoted  to  this  visible  world 
of  sense,  alienated  from  God,  and  therefore  under  the 
influence  of  the  powers  of  e\'il.  In  fact,  in  scriptural 
use  tho  sins  of  "  the  flesh,"  "  the  world,"  and  "  the 
dovil "  are  not  different  cla.sses  of  sins,  but  different 
aspects  of  sin.  and  any  one  of  the  thi-ee  great  enemies 
is  made  at  times  to  represent  all. 

And  were  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath, 
even  as  others  (or  rather,  the  others— thai  is,  the 
heathen!.— From  this  passage  the  phra.se  "  children  of 
wrath"  has  passed  into  Christian  theology  as  an  almost 
technical  description  of  the  unregenorate  state.  Hence 
it  needs  careful  examination.  (1)  Now  the  phrase 
"  children  of  wrath "  (corresponding  almost  exactly 
to  "  children  of  a  curse,"  in  2  Pet.  ii.  14)  seems  borrowed 
from  the  Hebrew  use  in  the  Old  Testament,  by  which 
(as  in  1  Sam.  xx.  30 ;  2  Sam.  xii.  5)  a  "  sou  of  death  "  is 


24 


one  under  sentence  of  death,  and  in  Isa.  hdi.  4  (the  Greek 
translation)  "  children  of  destruction  "  are  those  doomed 
to  polish.  In  this  sense  we  have,  in  John  xvii.  12,  "  tho 
son  of  perdition  ; "  and  in  Matt,  xxiii.  15,  "  tho  son  of 
hell."  It  differs,  therefore,  considerably  from  the 
phi'ase  "children  of  disobedience  "  (begotten,  as  it  were, 
of  disoljedience)  al)ove.  But  it  is  notable  that  the  word 
for  "  children  "  here  used  is  a  term  expressing  endear- 
ment and  love,  and  is  accordingly  properly,  and  almost 
invariably,  applied  to  our  relation  to  God.  When, 
therefore,  it  is  used  as  in  this  passage,  or,  still  morr 
strikingly,  in  1  John  iii.  10,  "  children  of  the  devil " 
(comp.  John  viii.  44),  there  is  clearly  an  intention  to 
arrest  the  attention  by  a  startling  and  paradoxical  ex- 
pression. "  We  wore  children,"  not  of  God,  not  of  His 
love,  but  "  of  wrath  " — that  is.  His  wrath  against  sin  ; 
"  born  (see  Gal.  iii.  10 — 22 ;  iv.  4)  under  the  law,"  and 
therefore  "  shut  up  under  sin,"  and  "  under  the  curse." 
(2)  Next,  we  have  the  phrase  "  by  nature,"  which,  in 
the  true  reading  of  the  original,  is  intei-posed,  as  a  kind 
of  limitation  or  definition,  between  "  children  "  and  "  of 
wrath."  In  the  first  instance  it  was  probably  suggested 
by  the  reference  to  Israel,  who  were  by  covenant,  not 
by  nature,  the  chosen  people  of  God.  Now  the  word 
"  nature,"  applied  to  humanity,  indicates  what  is 
common  to  all,  as  opposed  to  what  is  individual,  or 
what  is  inborn,  as  opposed  to  what  is  acquired.  But 
whether  it  refers  to  humanity  as  it  was  created  by  God, 
or  to  humanity  as  it  has  become  by  "fault  aud  corruption 
of  nature,"  must  always  be  determined  by  the  context. 
Here  the  reference  is  clearly  to  the  latter.  "  Nature  " 
is  opposed  to  "  grace  " — that  is,  the  nature  of  man  as 
alienated  from  God,  to  the  nature  of  man  as  restored  to 
his  original  birthright,  the  "  image  of  God,"  jn  Jesus 
Christ.  (See  Rom.  v.  12 — 21.)  Tho  existence  of  an 
inborn  sinfiilness  needs  no  revelation  to  make  it 
evident  to  those  who  have  eyes  to  see.  It  needs  a 
revelation — and  such  a  revelation  the  gosppl  gives — 
to  declare  to  us  that  it  is  not  man's  true  nature,  and 
that  what  is  really  original  is  not  sin,  but  righteous- 
ness. (3)  The  whole  passage,  therefore,  describes  the 
state  of  men  before  their  call  to  union  ^vith  Christ, 
as  naturally  "  under  wrath,"  and  is  well  illustrated  by 
the  full  description,  in  Rom.  i.  18.  ii.  16,  of  those  on 
whom  "the  wi-ath  of  God  is  revealed."  There  man's 
state  is  depicted  as  having  still  some  knowledge  of 
God  (Rom.  i.  19 — 21),  as  having  "tho  work  of  the  law 
written  on  the  heart "  (Rom.  ii.  14,  15),  and  accord- 
ingly as  being  still  under  a  probation  before  God 
(Rom.  ii.  6 — 11).  Elsewhere  wo  learn  that  Christ,  "the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  died  for 
all,  even  "the  ungodly"  (Rom.  v.  6 — 8;  Rev.  xiii.  1); 
and  that  none  are  wholly  excluded  from  His  atonement 
but  those  who  "  tread  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and 
count  the  blood  of  the  covenant  an  unholy  thing  "  (Hob. 
X.  29).  Hence  that  state  is  not  absolutely  lost  or  hope- 
loss.  But  yet,  when  the  comparison,  as  here,  is  with 
tho  salvation  of  the  gospel,  they  are  declared  "  children 
of  wrath  "  who  are  "  strangers  to  tiie  new  covenant  of 
promise,"  with  its  two  supernatural  gifts  of  justification 
by  faith  and  sanctification  in  the  Spirit,  and  their  con- 
dition is  described,  comparatively  but  not  absolutely, 
as  "having  no  hope,  and  without  God  in  the  world." 
W  Rich  in  mercy.— Not  only  merciful,  but  rich 


Tltt  Qiilfkuniay  and  Exaltntioii 


EPHEblANS,    II. 


of  the  Regenerate  Soul. 


loved  us,  (^'  even  when  we  were  dead 
in  sins,  bath  quickened  us  together 
with  Christ,  (by  grace  ye  are  saved ;) 
'^^^  and  bath  raised  %ts  up  together,  and 
made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  'places 


in  Christ  Jesus  :  (^^  that  in  the  ages  to 
come  he  might  shew  the  exceeding 
riches  of  his  grace  in  his  kindness 
toward  us  through  Cbrist  Jesus.  ^^>  For 
by  grace   are  ye   saved  through  faith  ; 


"  ill  the  multitude  of  mercy,"  as  attaching  eveu  to  those 
dead  iu  sin  (see  Chrysostom  on  this  passage).  Tlie 
idea  of  richness  in  grace,  glory,  mercy,  is  especially 
frequent  in  this  Epistle.  (See  chaps.  1.  7,  18  ;  ii.  7 ; 
iii.  S.  16.) 

For  his  great  love. — Again,  as  in  chap.  i.  4,  stress 
is  laid  on  the  love  of  God,  before  all  else,  as  the  one 
moving  cause  of  salvation.  (Comp.  Rom.  v.  8,  "  God 
commendeth  His  love  towards  us,  in  that,  while  we 
were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us.") 

(5)  Even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins. — These 
words  should  be  connected,  not  with  "  loved  us,"  but 
with  "  hath  quickened,"  or  rather,  quickened.  He 
brought  life  out  of  spiritual  death. 

(5,  ti)  The  thought  in  these  verses  follows  exactly  the 
same  course  as  in  chap.  i.  19,  20.  There  the  type  and 
earnest  of  the  working  of  God's  mighty  power  are 
placed  in  the  resurrection,  the  ascension,  the  glorifica- 
tion of  Christ  Himself  in  His  human  nature.  Here 
what  is  there  implied  is  worked  out — (1)  All  Christians 
are  declared  to  be  quickened  (or,  risen  again)  to  spiritual 
life  with  Christ,  according  to  His  promise,  "  Because  I 
live,  ye  shall  live  also"  (John  xiv.  19).  (See  the  exact 
imi'allel  in  Col.  ii.  13.)  But  there  is  a  promise  even 
beyond  this  :  "I  am  the  life  :  whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lievetlu  in  Me  shall  never  die  "  (John  xi.  25  ;  comp.  also 
V.  24;  xvii.  2).  Hence,  even  more  emphatically,  and  in 
full  accordance  with  this  latter  promise,  we  have  in  Col. 
iii.  4,  "  Christ  who  is  our  life ;  "  as  in  2  Cor.  iv.  10,  11, 
'"The  life  of  Jesus  is  made  manifest  in  us."  What 
this  "  life  eternal "  is  He  Himself  declares  (John  xvii. 
3) — "  to  know  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
He  has  sent."  (2)  Next,  this  partaking  of  the  life  of 
Christ  is  brought  out  in  two  striking  forms — as  a  par- 
taking, not  only  of  His  resurrection  (as  in  Eom.  vi.  5; 
1  Cor.  XV.  20—22 ;  Phil.  iii.  11),  but  also  (in  a  phase 
of  thought  peculiar  to  these  Epistles)  of  His  ascension 
"  to  the  heavenly  places."  Tliis  is  "  in  Christ  Jesus,"  in 
A'irtue  of  a  personal  and  indiA-idual  union  with  Christ. 
It  implies  blessings,  both  present  and  future,  or  rather 
one  blessing,  of  which  we  have  the  earnest  now  and  the 
fulness  hereafter — for  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of 
Christ  are  even  now  the  perfection  and  glorification  of 
humanity  in  Him.  (3)  So  far  as  we  are  really  and  vitally 
His  members,  such  perfection  and  glorification  are  ours 
now,  by  His  intercession  (that  is.  His  continued  media- 
tion for  us  in  heaven)  and  by  His  indwelling  in  us  by  the 
Spirit  on  earth.  The  proof  of  partaking  His  resurrection 
is  "  newness  of  life,"  "death  unto  sin,  and  new  birth  imto 
righteousness  "  (Rom.  vi.  5 — 11),  which  is  in  Col.  iii.  12 
expressly  connected  with  the  entrance  upon  unity  -with 
Christ  m  baptism.  The  proof  of  having  "  our  life 
hid  in  Christ  at  the  right  hand  of  God,"  is  "  the 
setting  our  afPection  on  things  above  "  (Col.  iii.  1),  by 
wliich  "  in  heart  and  mind  we  tliither  ascend,  and  with 
Him  continually  dwell."  (4)  These  proofs  are  seen  only 
in  measure  liere.  Tlirough  the  change  wliich  we  call 
death,  we  pass  at  once  to  a  still  higher  stage  of  life, 
by  fuller  union  with  Christ  (2  Cor.  v.  6 — 8),  and  at  tlie 
great  day  we  shall  have  both  in  perfection — perfect 
newness  of  life  in  "likeness  to  Hira  "  (1  John  iii.  2), 
and  perfect  glorification  in  Him  in  that  communion 

25 


with  God  which  is  heaven  (John  xvii.  5,  10,  24).  The 
one  thing  which  St.  Paul  does  not  attribute  to  us  is 
that  whicli  is  His  alone — the  place  "  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father." 

(7)  In  the  ages  to  come.— Properly,  the  ages  which 
are  coming  on — the  ages  both  of  time  and  of  eternity, 
looked  upon  in  one  great  continuity.  Here,  again,  the 
manifestation  of  the  riches  of  God's  grace  is  looked 
upon  as  His  special  delight,  and  as  His  chosen  way  of 
manifesting  His  own  self  to  His  creatures. 

In  his  kindness.— The  word  "kindness"  (pro- 
perly,/«c(7i77/,  or  readiness  to  serve  another)  is  applied 
to  that  phase  of  God's  mercy  in  which  it  shows  Him 
as  "ready  to  receive,  and  most  willing  to  pardon." 
Thus  we  find  it  in  Luke  \n.  35  used  for  His  goodness 
"  to  the  unthankful  and  evil";  in  Rom.  ii.  4  it  is  joined 
with  "  long- suffering  and  patience";  in  Rom.  xi.  22 
opposed  to  abrupt  "  severity  " ;  in  Tit.  iii.  4,  connected 
with  love  to  man,  "  philanthropy " ;  and  it  is  also  used 
in  similar  connections  when  attributed  to  man  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  4;  2Cor.  vi.  6;  Gal.  v.  22  ;  Col.  iii.  12).  Hence  in 
this  passage  it  is  especially  appropriate,  because  so  much 
stress  has  been  laid  on  the  former  sinfulness  and  god- 
lessness  of  those  to  whom  God's  mercy  waited  to  be 
gracious.  There  is  a  similar  appropriateness  in  the  re- 
petition of  the  name  of  our  Lord  "through  Christ  Jesus," 
for  this  gentle  patience  and  readiness  to  receive  sinners 
was  so  marked  a  feature  of  His  ministry  that  to  the 
Pharisees  it  seemed  an  over-facility,  weakly  condoning 
sin.  "Through  Him,"  therefore,  the  kindness  of  God 
was  both  shown  and  given. 

(1  h.)  Verses  8 — 10  (taking  up  and  working  out  the 
parenthetical  "  by  grace  ye  are  saved  "  of  verse  5)  form 
an  instructive  link  of  connection  between  these  Ejjistles 
and  those  of  the  earlier  group,  especially  the  Epistles  to 
the  Galatians  and  Romans.  (Comp.  Phil.  iii.  9.)  In  both 
there  is  the  same  doctrine  of  "  Justification  by  Faith," 
the  same  denial  of  the  merit  of  good  works,  the  same 
connection  of  good  works  with  the  grace  of  God  in  us. 
But  what  is  there  anxiously  and  passionately  contended 
for,  is  here  briefly  summarised,  and  calmly  assumed  as  a 
thing  known  and  allowed.  Even  the  technical  phrases — 
the  word  "  justification,"  and  the  declaration  of  the 
nullity  of  "  the  Law  " — are  no  longer  used. 

(8)  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through  faith.— 
Properly,  ye  have  been  saved  ;  ye  were  sjived  at  first, 
and  continue  in  a  state  of  salvation.  In  verse  5  this 
thought  is  introduced  parentLctically,  naturally  and 
irresistibly  suggested  by  the  declaration  of  the  various 
steps  of  regeneration  in  Christ.  St.  Paul  now  returns 
to  it  and  works  it  out,  before  passing  on,  in  verse  11.  to 
draw  out  by  "  wherefore  "  the  conclusion  from  verses 
1 — 7.  Remembering  how  the  Epistles  were  written 
from  dictation,  we  may  be  inclined  to  sw  in  this 
l>assago  among  others,  an  insertion  made  by  the 
Apostle,  on  a  revision  of  that  already  written. 

The  two  phrases — "  justification  by  faith  "  and  "sal- 
vation by  grace  " — are  popularly  identified,  and.  indeed, 
are  substantially  identical  in  meaning.  But  the  latter 
properly  lays  stress  on  a  more  advanced  stage  of  the 


The  Root  of  Faith. 


EPIIESIANS,   II. 


The  Fruit  of  Works. 


and  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is 
Chap.  ii.  8—  the  gift  of  God :  (^>  not 
10.  Received  ^f  ^yorks,  lest  any  man 
claimed  '  "by  should  boast.  ^^^^  For  \ve 
works.  are       his       workmanship, 

created    in     Christ    Jesus    unto    good 


1  Or,  prepared 


works,  which  God  hath  before  or- 
dained ^  that  we  should  walk  in  them. 
(ii;  Wherefore  remember,  chap.  ii.  ii— 13. 
that  ye  heinq  in  time  past  'P^^  Gentiles 
n  J.-1  •  ii  ^11  drawn  near  to 
Gentiles  in  the  tlesh,  who  God    in  Jesus 

are   called  Uncircumcision  Chiist. 


process  of  rcdiMnption  in  Christ.  Thus,  in  Rom.  v.  9, 
10  ("  having  heon  justified,"  "  having  been  reconciled," 
"wo  sliall  bo  saved"),  salvation  is  spoken  of  as 
following  on  tlio  completed  act  of  justification  (as 
the  release  of  a  ])risoner  on  liis  jjronouiiced  pardon) ; 
and  it  is  described,  here  and  elsewhere,  as  a  con- 
tinuous proci'ss — a  state  continuing  till  the  final 
juilgnuMit.  Hence  to  lay  especial  stress  on  salvation  ac- 
cords better  with  the  whole  idea  of  this  Epistle — the 
continuous  indwelling  in  Christ — than  to  bring  out,  as 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  one  complete  act  of 
justification  for  His  sake.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
expression  of  the  truth  corresponds  almost  verbally 
with  the  words  of  St.  Peter  at  the  Council  of  Jerusalem 
(Acts  XV.  11),  "Wo  believe  that  through  the  grace  of 
God  we  shall  be  (properly,  ive  ivere)  saved,"  except  that 
here  the  origiiuil  shows  that  the  salvation  is  looked  upon 
as  a  completed  act,  like  justification.  It  is  also  to  be 
noted  that  the  use  of  the  name  "  Sa\'iour,"  applied  both 
to  God  and  to  Christ,  belongs  entin^ly  to  the  later 
Epistles.  It  is  used  once  in  this  Epistle  (chap.  v.  23) 
and  once  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (chap. 
iii.  20),  but  no  less  than  ten  times  in  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  and  five  times  in  the  Second 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter.  The  phrase  in  the  text  is,  as 
always  in  this  Epistle,  theologically  exact.  Grace  is  the 
moving  cause  of  salvation;  faith  only  the  instrument 
by  which  it  is  laid  hold  of. 

And  that  not  of  yourselves :  it  is  the  gift 
of  God. — This  attribution  of  all  to  tlie  gift  of  God  seems 
to  cover  the  whole  idea- — both  the  gift  of  .salvation  and 
the  gift  of  faith  to  accept  it.  The  former  part  is  en- 
forced by  the  words  "  not  of  works,"  the  latter  by  the 
declaration,  "  we  (and  all  that  is  in  us)  are  His 
workmanship."  The  word  hei'e  rendered  "  gift "  is 
peculiar  to  this  passage  ;  the  word  employed  in  Rom.  v. 
1.5,  10,  vi.  23,  for  "  free  gift "  {chariitma)  having  been 
api)ropriated  (both  in  the  singular  and  plural)  to  special 
"  gifts  "  of  grace. 

(9)  Not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast. 
—In  this  verso  we  have  the  eclio  of  the  past  Judaising 
controversy ;  it  sums  up  briefly  the  whole  argument  of 
Rom.  iii.  27 — iv.  25.  There  is  a  similar  reminiscence, 
but  more  distinct  and  detached,  in  Phil.  iii.  2 — 9. 

(10)  We  are  his  workmanship.— This  verse,  on 
the  contrary,  is  unique  and  remarkable,  characteristic 
of  the  idea  witli  which  this  Epistle  starts — the  election 
and  })redestiuation  of  God,  making  us  wliat  wo  are — 
and  api)lying  it  very  strikingly,  not  only  to  the  first 
regeneration,  but  even  to  tho  good  works  which  follow 
it.  Tho  word  rendered  "  workmanship  "  is  only  used 
elsewhere  in  Rom.  i.  20,  where  it  is  api)lied  to  tho 
"  works  "  of  God  in  creation.  Probably  here  also  it 
docs  not  exclude  our  first  creation.  We  are  His  wholly 
and  absolutely.  But  the  next  clause  shows  that  St.  Paul 
refers  especially  to  the  "  now  creation  "  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Created  in  Christ  Jesus.— This  creation,  when 
spoken  of  distinctively,  is  the  "  new  creation  "  (2  Cor. 
v.  17 ;  Gal.  vi.  15) ;  as,  indeed,  is  the  case  below  (verse 
15),  "  to  create  in  Himself  .  .  .  one  new  man."  In 
this  passajje,  however,  St,  Paul  dwells,  not  on  distinc- 


tion from  the  old  creation,  but  rather  on  analogy  to  it ; 
in  both  we  are  simply  God's  creatures. 

Unto  good  works .  —  Projierly,  on  the  basis 
(or,  cunditiuH]  of  (jood  ivorks  (as  in  Gal.  v.  13;  1  Thess. 
iv.  17 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  14).  The  good  works,  in  them- 
selves future,  being  (as  the  next  clause  shows)  con- 
templated as  already  exi-stent  in  God's  foreknowledge, 
and  as  an  inseparable  characteristic  of  the  regenerate 
hfe. 

Which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we 
should  walk  in  them. — There  is,  jierhaps,  in  all 
Scripture,  no  stronger  expression  of  the  great  mystery 
of  God's  predestination ;  for  it  is  here  declared  in  re- 
ference, not  only  to  the  original  call  and  justification 
and  regeneration  of  the  soul,  but  also  to  the  actual  good 
works,  in  which  the  free-will  and  energy  of  man  are 
most  plainly  exercised  ;  and  in  which  even  here  we  are 
said  not  to  be  moved,  but  "  to  walk  "  by  our  own  act. 
In  much  the  same  sense  St.  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Philippians  (chap.  iii.  12,  13),  uses  the  well- 
known  paradox,  "  Work  out  your  own  salvation  .  .  , 
for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  do 
of  His  good  pleasure."  Both  truths — God's  preordi- 
nation and  man's  responsible  freedom — ai'o  emphasised. 
For  the  reconcilement  of  the  two  we  must  wait  till  we 
"  know  even  as  we  are  known." 

(2  a.)  Yerses  11 — 13,  resuming  the  thread  of  argu- 
ment from  verse  7,  dwell  on  the  drawing  of  the 
Gentiles  into  a  personal  unity  with  God  in  Christ— 
not,  however  (as  before),  out  of  the  deadness  of  sin  and 
bondage  of  Satan,  but  rather  out  of  the  condition  of 
alienation  from  God,  from  His  covenant  and  His  pro- 
mise, in  which  they  stood  contrasted  with  His  chosen 
people. 

(11)  Gentiles  in  the  flesh — i.e.,  not  having  the 
bodily  impress  of  circumcision,  sealing  the  Jewish 
covenant. 

"Who  are  called  Uncircumcision  by  that 
which  is  called  the  Circumcision.— Tho  use  of 
the  phrase  "called" — with  a  touch  of  the  contempt  im- 
])lied  in  our  phrase  "the  so-called" — simply  implies 
that  now  Circumcision  and  Uncircumcision  were  mere 
names,  virtually  "  nothing."  The  declaration  of  the 
nullity  of  circumcision  as  a  religious  distinction  is  often 
repeated,  yet  takes  various  forms.  Thus,  in  1  Cor. 
vii.  19,  it  is  contrasted  with  the  practical  reality  of 
obedience  to  God's  commandmejits  ;  in  Gal.  v.  6,  with 
the  inner  reality  of  "faith  working  by  love";  in  Gal. 
v\.  15,  with  the  divine  gift  of  the  "new  creation";  in 
Col.  iii.  11,  with  the  spiritual  unity  of  all  in  Christ. 
(Comp.  also  the  whole  ai'gument  of  Rom.  ii.  25 — iv.  12.) 

In  the  flesh  made  by  hands.— St.  Paul,  however, 
not  content  with  this,  suggests  by  the  addition  of  these 
last  words  a  contrast  between  the  false  or  carnal,  and 
the  true  or  spiritual  circumcision,  attributing  the  former 
to  the  unbelieving  Jews,  the  latter  to  all  Christians, 
This  contrast  is  expressly  announced  in  the  other 
Epistles  of  this  period.  In  Phil.  iii.  2,  3,  we  read, 
"  Beware  of  tho  concision ;  for  we  are  the  circumcision." 


26 


The  Gentiles,  once  Aliens, 


EPIIESIANS,   II. 


now  made  nigh  to  God. 


by  that  which  is  called  the  Circumcision 
ill  the  flesh  made  by  hands ;  (^-^  that^  at 
tha.t  time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being 
aliens  from  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
and   strangers   from   the   covenants   of 


promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without 
God  in  the  world:  ^^^^  but  now  in  Christ 
Jesus  ye  who  sometimes  were  far  off 
are  made  nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ. 
(It)  For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made 


In  Col.  ii.  11,  still  moro  distinctly,  in  siguificaut  con- 
nection with  tlie  appointed  means  of  entrance  into  the 
Christian  covenant,  and  siguiticant  contrast  with  the 
effete  Jewish  ordinance,  "  In  whom  also  ye  are  circum- 
cised with  the  ciivunu'ision  not  made  with  hands  .  .  . 
in  the  circumcision  of  Christ  ;  buried  with  Him  in 
baptism,  in  which  also  ye  are  risen  with  Him."  In 
that  true  circumcision  lies  the  distinction  between  the 
Cliurch,  which  is  the  spiritual  Israel,  and  the  heathen 
world  Avithout. 

(1-)  This  verse  gives  a  dark  and  terrible  picture  of 
the  former  hoatlieu  condition  of  tlio  Ephesians,  inten- 
tionally contrasted  in  every  point  with  the  description 
of  Christian  privilege  in  verses  19,  20.  That  condition 
is  first  summed  up  iu  one  expression.  They  were 
"  separate  from  Christ."  Then  from  tliis  are  drawn 
two  gloomy  consequeuces :  first  (1),  that  they  had  no 
part  in  God's  special  covenant,  "  alienated  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,"  and  so  "strangers  to  the 
(often  repeated)  covenants  of  the  promise"  of  the 
Messiah;  next  (2),  that,  thus  left  in  "  the  woi-ld,"  they 
had  "no  hope"  of  spiritual  life  and  immortality,  aud 
•wore  "  godless"  in  thought  and  act.  For  Christ  is  at 
once  the  end  and  substance  of  the  covenant  of  Israel, 
and  the  Revealer  of  God,  and  therefore  of  spiritual 
life  in  man,  to  all  mankind.  To  be  without  Him  is  to 
lose  1)otli  covenant  and  light.  On  (Ij  it  is  to  be  noted 
tliat  tlie  word  used  is  not  "  aliens,"  but  "  alienated,"  im- 
})lving — what  is  again  and  again  declared  to  us — that 
the  covenant  with  Israel,  as  it  was  held  in  trust  for  the 
])lessing  of  "  all  families  of  the  earth,"  so  also  was 
simply  the  true  birthright  of  humanity,  from  which 
mankind  had  fallen.  The  first  "  covenant  "  in  scrip- 
ture (Gen.  ix.  8 — 17)  is  with  the  whole  of  the  post- 
diluvian race,  and  is  expressly  connected  with  the 
reality  of  "tlio  image  of  God"  in  man  (Gen.  ix. 
6).  The  succeeding  covenants  (as  with  Abraham, 
Moses,  and  David)  all  contain  a  pi'omise  concerning 
the  whole  race  of  man.  Hence  the  Gentiles  (as  the 
utterances  of  prophecy  showed  mcn-e  and  more  clearly 
while  the  ages  rolled  on)  were  exiles  fi'om  what  should 
have  been  tlieir  home  ;  and  their  call  into  the  Church  of 
Christ  was  a  restoration  of  God's  wandering  children. 
In  relation  to  (2'  it  is  impossible  not  to  observe,  even  in 
the  higliest  forms  of  heathen  philosophy,  how  their 
comparative  '•  godlessness  " — the  absence  of  any  clear 
notion  of  a  real  spiritual  tie  of  nature  between  God  and 
man  —  made  their  "hope"  of  life  and  immortality, 
1  hough  still  chorislied,  shadowy  and  uncertain,  always 
stronger  in  itself  than  in  its  grounds.  But  St.  Paul's 
description  ought  to  be  apjilied  strictly,  not  to  heathen 
life  in  its  nobler  and  purer  forms,  but  to  the  heathen 
life  of  Asia  Minor  iu  his  days.  ^\liat  that  was  in 
moral  degradation  and  in  loss  of  all  spiritual  religion, 
ill  compensated  by  the  inevitable  proneness  to  various 
superstitions,  all  contemporary  literature  testifies. 
From  it  came,  as  the  Romans  declared,  tlie  corruption 
whicli  overspread  the  whole  empire,  and  which  St. 
Paul  describes  so  terribly  in  Rom.  i.  18 — 33. 

(13)  This  verse  speaks  of  the  restoration  of  the 
heathen  as  taking  place,  first,  "in  Christ  Jesus" — iu 
virtue,  that  is,  of  union  with  Him  through  all  the  acts 


27 


of  His  mediation;  and  next,  "by  the  blood  of  Christ" — 
that  is,  through  that  especial  act  of  mediation,  which  is 
emphatically  an  atonement  for  sin — such  sin  as  St. 
Paul  had  been  declaring  above  to  be  the  cause  of 
spiritual  deadness.  They  had  power  now  "to  enter 
into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  "  (Heb.  x.  19). 

(2  h.)  Verses  14 — 18  pass  on  from  the  description  of 
tlu!  call  of  the  heathen  to  personal  union  with  God  in 
Christ,  to  dwell  on  the  perfect  unity  and  equality  of 
Jew  aud  Gentile  with  each  other  in  Him,  and  the  access 
of  both  to  the  Father. 

(1^)  He  (Himself)  is  our  peace.— There  is  clearly 
allusion,  as  to  the  many  promises  iu  the  Old  Testament 
of  the  "Prince  of  Peace"  (Isa.  ix.  5,  6,  et  al.),  so  still 
more  to  the  "  Peace  of  Earth  "  of  the  angelic  song  of 
Bethlehem,  and  to  the  repeated  declarations  of  our 
Lord,  such  as,  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you :  My  peace  I 
give  unto  you."  Here,  however,  only  is  our  Lord 
called  not  the  giver  of  peace,  but  the  peace  itself — His 
own  nature  beiug  the  actual  tie  of  unity  between  God 
and  mankind,  and  between  man  and  niiui.  Tlirough 
the  whole  passage  thus  introduced  there  runs  a 
double  meaning,  a  declaration  of  peace  in  Christ 
between  Jew  aud  Gentile,  and  between  both  and  God; 
though  it  is  not  always  easy  to  tell  of  any  ]iarticular 
expression,  whether  it  belongs  to  this  or  that  branch  of 
the  meaning,  or  to  both.  It  iTs  well  to  compare  it  with  the 
obvious  parallel  in  Col.  ii.  13,  14,  where  (in  accordance 
with  the  whole  genius  of  that  Epistle)  there  is  found 
only  the  latter  laranch  of  the  meaning,  the  union  of 
all  with  the  Head,  not  the  unity  of  the  various  membere 
of  the  Body. 

Who  hath  made  both  one,  and  hath  broken 
down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between 
us. — In  this  verse  the  former  subject  is  begun.  The  i-e- 
uuion  of  Jew  and  Gentile  is  described  in  close  connectiim 
with  tlie  breaking  down  of  "  the  middle  wall  of  the 
partition"  (or,  hedge).  The  words  "between  us" 
are  not  in  the  original,  and  Chrysostom  interprets  the 
partition  as  being,  not  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  but 
between  both  and  God.  But  the  former  idea  seems 
at  any  rate  to  predominate  in  this  clause.  Whetlier 
"  the  middle  wall  of  the  hedge "  refers  to  the  wall 
separating  the  court  of  the  Gentiles  from  the  Temple 
proper  (Jos.  Ant.  xv.  §  5),  and  by  an  inscrii)tion  de- 
nouncing death  to  any  alien  who  passed  it  (see  Lewin's 
St.  Paid,  vol.  ii.,  p.  133),  or  to  the  "  hedge  "  set  abiut 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  (Isa.  v.  2;  conip.  Matt.  xxii. 
33) — to  which  probably  the  Jewish  doctors  alluded  wlien 
they  called  their  ceremonial  and  legal  subtleties  "  the 
hedge  "  of  the  Law — has  been  disputed.  It  may. however, 
be  noted  that  the  charge  of  bringing  Trophimus.  an 
Ephesian,  beyond  that  Temple  wall  had  been  the  cause 
of  St.  Paul's  apprehension  at  Jeni.salem  (Acts  xxi.  29), 
and  nearly  of  his  death.  Hence  the  Asiatic  churches 
might  we'll  be  familar  with  its  existence.  It  is  also 
notable  that  tliis  Temple-partition  suits  perfectly  the 
double  sense  of  this  passage :  for,  wliile  it  was  pri- 
marily a  separation  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  it  was 
also  the  first  of  many  partitions — of  wliich  the  "  veil 


Made  one  ivith  fsrnA. 


EPHESIANS,    IT. 


Reconciled  to  God. 


both  one,  and   hath   broken  down  the 


of    partition 
(^^^    havincr 
ciliiitiontoGoJ. 
enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments 


Chap.ii.U-18.  middle  wall 
Made  one  with  i^i,,,^^^^  ,,5 
Israel  in  recon-  •       i-      a      i     +1 

abolished    in   his  nesh  the 


contained  in  ordinances ;  for  to  make  in 
himself  of  twain  one  new  man,  so 
making  peace;  (i*')  and  that  he  might 
reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by 
the    cross,    having    slain    the    enmity 


of  the  Temple  "  was  the  last — cutting  all  men  off  from 
the  immediate  presence  of  God.  At  our  Lord's  d(!ath 
the  last  of  tliese  partitions  was  rent  in  twain ;  how 
much  more  may  that  death  bo  described  as  breaking 
down  tlio  tirst  1 

(1^)  Tlie  connection  in  the  original  is  doubtful.  The 
words  the  "  enmity  in  His  flesh  "  may  bo  in  apposition 
to  the  "  wall  of  partition  "  in  the  previous  verse  ;  or,  as 
in  our  version,  to  "  tlio  law  of  commandments."  Tlie 
general  sense,  however,  is  but  little  affected  in  either 
case. 

Having  abolished  in  his  flesh  the  enmity, 
even  the  law  of  commandments  contained  in 
ordinances.— In  this  difficult  passage  it  will  be  wtjll 
lirst  to  examine  the  particular  expressions.  (1)  Tlie 
word  rendered  "  to  abolisli  "  is  the  word  often  used  by 
St.  Paul  for  "  to  supersede  by  something  better  than 
itself  " — translated  "  to  make  void,"  in  Rora.  iii.  31 ;  to 
"  bring  to  nought,"'  in  1  Cor.  i.  28,  and  (in  the  passive)  "  to 
fail,"  "  to  vanish  away,"  "  to  be  done  away,"  in  1  Cor. 
xiii.  8,  9, 10.  Xow,  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Law, 
St.  Paul  says,  in  Rom.  iii.  31,  "  Do  we  make  void  the 
Law  ?  God  forbid  !  Yea,  wo  establisii  the  Law."  The 
Law,  therefore,  is  abolished  as  a  law  "  in  ordinances  " 
— that  is,  "in  tlio  letter" — and  is  established  in  the 
spirit.  (2)  "  The  law  of  commandments  in  ordinances." 
The  word  hero  rendered  "  ordinance  "  {dogma)  pro- 
l)erly  means  "a  decree."  It  is  used  only  in  this  sense 
in  the  New  Testament  (see  Luke  ii.  1  ;  Acts  xvi.  4  ;  xvii. 
7  ;  Heb.  xi.  23);  and  it  signifies  expressly  a  law  imposed 
and  accepted,  not  for  its  intrinsic  righteousness,  but  on 
authority;  or,  as  Butler  expresses  it  {Anal.,  Part  ii., 
chap.  1),  not  a  "  moral,"  but  "  a  positive  law."  In  Col. 
ii.  11  (the  parallel  passage)  the  word  is  connected  with 
a  '"handwriting"  that  is  a  legal  "bond";  and  the 
Colossians  are  reproved  for  subjecting  themselves  to 
"  ordinances,  which  are  but  a  shadow  of  things  to  come  " ; 
while  "  the  body."  the  truii  substance,  "  is  Christ." 
(See  verses  16,  17,  20,  21.)  (3)  Hence  the  whole 
expression  describes  explicitly  what  St.  Paul  always 
implies  in  his  proper  and  distinctive  use  of  the  word 
"  law."  It  signifies  the  will  of  God,  as  expressed  in 
formal  commandments,  and  enforced  by  penalties  on 
disobedience.  The  general  idea,  therefore,  of  the  pas- 
sage is  simply  that  whicli  is  so  often  brought  out  in 
the  earlier  Epistles  (see  Rom.  iii.  21 — 31;  vii.  1 — 4.; 
viii.  1—4;  Gal.  ii.  L5— 21,  et  al.),  but  which  (as  the 
Colossian  Epistle  more  plainly  shows)  now  needed  to 
1)0  enforced  under  a  somewhat  different  form — viz., 
that  Christ,  "  the  end  of  the  law,"  has  superseded  it 
l)y  the  free  covenant  of  the  Spirit;  and  that  He  has 
done  this  for  us  "  in  His  flesh."  especially  by  His 
death  and  resurrection.  (4)  But  in  what  sense  is  this 
Law  called  "the  enmity,"  wliich  (see  verse  \(\)  was 
"  slain  "  on  the  Cross  ?  Probal)ly  in  the  double  .sense, 
which  runs  through  the  passage:  first,  as  "an  enmity," 
a  cause  of  separation  and  hostility,  between  the  Gen- 
tiles and  those  Jews  whom  they  called  "the  enemies 
of  tlie  human  race";  neA*^,  as  "an  enmity"  a  cause  of 
alienation  and  condemnation,  between  man  and  God — 
"  tlie  commandment  which  was  ordained  to  life,  being 
found  to  be  unto  death  "  through  the  relxilliou  and  sin 


of  man.  The  former  sense  seems  to  be  the  leading 
sense  here,  where  the  idea  is  of  "  making  both  one " ; 
the  latter  in  the  next  verse,  which  speaks  of  "  recon- 
ciling both  to  God,"  all  the  jjartitions  are  broken  down, 
that  all  alike  may  have  "  access  to  the  Father." 
Comp.  Col.  i.  21,  "  You,  who  were  enemies  in  your 
mind.  He  hath  reconciled  ; "  and  Heb.  x.  19,  "  Having 
confidence  to  enter  into  the  holy  place  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  by  a  new  and  living  way,  which  He  hatii  conse- 
crated to  us,  tliroiKjh  the  veil,  that  is  to  say  His  flesh." 

For  to  make  in  himself  of  twain  one  new 
man,  so  making  peace.— In  this  clause  and  the 
following  verse  the  two  senses,  hitherto  united,  are 
now  distinguished  from  each  other.  Here  we  have  the 
former  sense  simply.  In  the  new  man  "  there  is 
neither  Jew  nor  Gentile,"  but  "  Christ  is  all  and  in 
all"  (Col.  iii.  12).  This  phrase,  "the  new  man"  (on 
which  see  chap.  iv.  24,  Col.  iii.  10),  is  peculiar  to  the.se 
Epistles ;  corresponding,  however,  to  the  "  new  crea- 
ture" of  2  Cor.  V.  17,  Gal.  vi.  1.5;  and  the  "newness 
of  life "  and  "  spirit  "  of  Rom.  vi.  4,  vii.  6.  Christ 
Himself  is  the  "second  man,  the  Lord  from  Heaven" 
(1  Cor.  XV.  47).  "As  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
first  man,  of  the  earth,  earthy,"  and  so  "  in  Adam  die," 
we  now  "  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly,"  and  not 
only  "  shall  be  made  alive,"  but  already  "  have  our  life 
hid  with  Christ  in  God"  (Col.  iii.  3).  He  is  at  once 
"  the  seed  of  the  woman  "  and  the  "  seed  of  Abraham  "; 
in  Him,  therefore,  Jew  and  Gentile  meet  in  a  common 
humanity.  Just  in  proportion  to  spirituality  or  new- 
ness of  life  is  the  sense  of  unity,  which  makes  all 
brethren.  Hence  the  new  creation  "makes  peace" — ■ 
here  probably  peace  between  Jew  and  Gentile,  rather 
than  peace  with  God,  which  belongs  to  the  next  verse. 

(^•^)  And  that  he  might  reconcile  both  unto 
God  in  one  body.— In  this  verse  the  latter  subject 
opens — the  reconciliation  of  all  to  God.  On  the  re- 
conciliation of  man  to  God.  see  the  great  passage  2  Cor. 
V.  18 — 21.  But  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  original 
the  word  used  here  and  in  Col.  i.  20,  21  (and  nowhere 
else)  is  a  compound  signifying  not  simply  to  "conciliate," 
but  properly  to  "  i-econcile," — that  is  to  reunite  those 
who  were  originally  united,  but  afterwards  separated  by 
the  sin  of  man.  This  brings  out  the  profound  idea, 
which  so  especially  characterises  these  Epistles,  of  a 
l^rimeval  unity  of  all  created  being  in  Clirist,  marred 
and  broken  by  sin.  and  restored  by  His  manifestation  in 
human  Hesh.  Note  that  the  passage  in  the  Colossians 
(on  which  see  Notes)  has  a  far  wider  scope  than  this 
passage — "  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of 
His  cross,  by  Him  to  reconcile  all  things  to  Himself;  by 
Him  (I  .say),  whether  they  be  things  on  earth  or  things 
in  heaven."  On  the  other  hand,  this  passage  charac- 
teristically still  lays  .stress  on  the  idea  "in  one  body" — 
that  is.  as  throughout,  His  mystical  body,  the  Church — ■ 
although  probably  the  phrase  is  suggested  here  by  the 
thought  of  the  natur.al  body  of  the  Lord  offered  on  the 
cross,  which  is  clearly  referred  to  in  Col.  i.  21.  There 
is  a  .similar  connection  of  thought  in  1  Cor.  x.  16,  17, 
"  The  bread  whicli  we  break,  is  it  not  the  communion 
of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  For  we  are  all  one  bread,  and 
one  body." 


2R 


Uaving  Access  hy  tJte  Spirit. 


EPHESIANS,   II. 


Fellow  Citizens  of  tlte  Saints. 


thereby :  ^  ^^''^  and  came  and  preached 
peace  to  you  which  were  afar  off,  and 
to  them  that  were  niyh.  (^^'  For  through 
him  we  both  have  access  by  one  Spirit 
unto  the  Father.     (^^^  Now  therefore  ye 


I  Or,  in  hitiise!/. 


are  no  more  strangers  and  nu„^  i^  la  oo 
foreigners,  but  fellow-  Built  into  the 
citizens  with  the  saints,  !!cfjfst'^bdn^ 
and  of  the  household  of  the  comer- 
God ;     (20)    and    are    built  stone. 


By  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity 
thereby. — lu  this  verse  (in  acooidjince  with  the  con- 
text) "tlie  enmity,"  wliieh  by  His  death  He  "  slew,"  is 
tlie  barrier  between  God  and  man,  created  by  sin,  but 
brouglit  out  by  the  Law,  as  hard  and  rigid  law,  "in 
ordinances  "  of  which  St.  Paul  does  not  liesitate  to  say 
that  "  sin  took  occasion  by  it,"  and  "  by  it  slew  "  man 
(Rom.  vii.  11).  This  is  illustrated  by  the  cognate, 
though  diifereut,  metaphor  of  Col.  ii.  14,  where  it  is 
said  of  Christ  that  He  "  blotted  out  the  handwriting  of 
ordinances  which  was  against  us,  which  was  contrary 
unto  us,  and  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  His 
cross."  Compare  also,  in  Gal.  ii.  19,  20,  the  connection 
of  spiritual  "  death  to  the  Law  "  with  our  partaking  of 
oiir  Lord's  crucifixion  :  "  I,  through  tlie  Law,  am  dead  to 
the  Law,  that  I  might  live  unto  God.  I  am  crucified 
with  Clirist,  nevertheless  I  live  ....  by  the  faith  of 
the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for 
me."  By  His  death  Christ  has  both  redeemed  us  from 
sin,  and  also  "  redeemed  (properly,  bought)  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  Law  "  (Gal.  iii.  13). 

(1")  And  came  and  preached  peace. — The  word 
"came"  certainly  carries  back  our  thoughts  to  our 
Lord's  own  preaching,  when,  after  the  Resurrection, 
He  came  "  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said, 
Peace  be  unto  you"  (Luke  xxiv.  36;  John  xx,  19,  21). 
But  we  note  that  at  that  very  time  He  repeated  the 
salutation  "  Peace  be  unto  you,"  with  the  expressive 
addition,  "  As  my  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I 
you,"  and  ■with  the  charge,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  for  the  future  mission  "to  remit  or  retain 
sins."  In  the  same  connection  we  have  in  John  xiv. 
25 — 28,  the  promise  of  the  Comforter,  and  the  words 
''Peace  I  leave  with  you;  My  peace  I  give  unto  you. 
...  I  go  away  and  come  again  to  you."  Hence  we 
cannot  limit  His  "  coming  "  to  the  appearance  after  the 
Resurrection.  At  aU  times  through  the  witness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  whether  with  or  without  the  preaching  of 
His  servants  (John  xv.  27),  He  "stands  at  the  door 
and  knocks  "  (Rev.  iii.  20)  with  the  message  of  peace. 
For  since  the  "  peacemakers  "  are  "  called  the  children 
of  God,"  He,  the  Son  of  God,  must  be  emphatically  the 
Peacemaker. 

To  you  which  were  afar  off,  and  to  them 
that  were  nigh.— As  the  enmity  was  the  enmity 
with  God,  so  the  peace  is  peace  with  God ;  but  still 
the  Apostle,  having  the  idea  of  reunion  between  Jew 
and  Gentile  present  to  his  mind,  cannot  refrain  from 
bringing  out  clearly  the  call  of  both  to  one  peace,  and 
therefore  to  unity  with  one  another.  The  passage  is  a 
quotation  from  Isa.  Ivii.  19. 

'^^>  For  through  him  wo  both  have  access 
by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father.— In  this  verso 
the  two  meanings  again  unite.  In  the  original  the  order 
is  emphatic:  "Through  Him  we  have  the  access,  both  of 
us  in  one  Spirit,  to  the  Father."  The  greater  idea  of 
access  to  God  is  still  prominent ;  but  the  lesser  idea 
of  union  with  each  other  in  that  access  is  still  traceable 
as  an  undertone.  "Access"  is  properly  "the  intro- 
duction" (used  also  in  chap.  iii.  12;  Rom.  v.  2),  a  tech- 
nical word  of  presentation  to  a  royal  presence.  So 
says  Chrysostom,  "  We  came  not  of  ourselves,  but  He 


29 


brought  us  in."  The  corresponding  verb  is  found  in 
1  Pet.  iii.  18,  "  Christ  also  suffered  for  sins — the  just 
for  the  unjust — that  He  might  bring  us  to  God."  It 
will  be  noted  that  we  have  here  one  of  the  implicit  de- 
clarations of  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  so 
frequent  in  this  Epistle.  The  unity  of  the  whole 
Church,  as  united  "  to  the  Father,"  "  through  the  Son," 
and  "  in  the  Spirit,"  is  hero  summed  uj)  in  one  sentence, 
Inxt  with  as  much  perfection  and  clearness  as  even 
when  it  is  unfolded  in  the  great  passage  below  (chap, 
iv.  4 — 6).  The  ultimate  soui'ce  of  all  doctrine  on  the 
subject  is  necessarily  in  the  words  of  tlie  Lord  Him- 
self. (See  John  xiv. — x^^i.,  especially  xiv.  6,  16 — 18, 
23—25  ;  XV.  26  ;  xvi.  13—15  ;  xvii.  20,  21.)  For  these 
are  the  " heavenly  things" ;  and  " no  man  hath  ascended 
into  heaven  but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even 
the  Son  of  Man  who  is  in  heaven  "  (John  iii.  12,  13). 

(2  c.)  Verses  19 — 22  sum  up  the  two-fold  idea  of 
this  chapter — union  of  the  Gentiles  with  God  and  with 
God's  chosen  people — in  the  metaphor  of  the  Ono 
Temple,  of  which  Jesus  Christ  is  the  chief  comer- 
stone,  and  which,  both  collectively  and  in  the  indi- 
viduality of  each  part,  grows  into  a  habitation  of  God. 

(19)  Strangers  and  foreigners.— Here  the  word 
rendered  "  stranger "  means  properly  an  alien,  or 
foreigner ;  while  the  word  translated  "  foreigners  " 
signifies  the  resident  aliens  of  an  ancient  city,  who 
were  but  half-aliens,  haxing  free  intercourse  with  the 
citizens,  although  no  rights  of  citizenship.  The  latter 
word  is  used  literally  in  Acts  vii.  6.  29  (there  rendered 
"  sojourner  "),  and  often  in  the  LXX.  version ;  perhaps 
metaphorically  in  1  Pet.  ii.  11.  Such  a  sojourner, 
though  in  some  sense  less  an  absolute  alien  than  the 
mere  "  stranger,"  was  one  on  whom  by  daily  contrast 
the  sense  of  being  an  alien,  excluded  from  power  and 
privilege,  was  more  forcibly  impressed. 

Feliowcitizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God.— In  sense  this  double  expression 
preserves  the  double  idea  running  through  the  whole 
chapter.  The  phrase  "  feliowcitizens  of  the  saints  "  is 
applied  to  the  Gi^ntiles,  as  now  united  -with  the  Israel 
of  God  in  one  "  commonwealth."  (See  above,  verse  12.) 
"  Members  of  the  household  of  God "  refers  rather 
to  the  union  with  God,  restored  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  (See  verse  13.)  As  to  the'  metaphor,  the  word 
"  stranger  "—that  is,  alien — seems  to  be  opposed  to 
"  fellowcitizen  " ;  the  word  "foreigner" — that  is.  half- 
alien — to  members  of  the  household :  for  tlie  resident 
aliens  stood  opposed  to  the  "  houses,"  the  families  or 
clans,  of  the  citizens — the  unit  in  ancient  law  being 
always  the  family,  and  not  the  individual.  The  Gentiles 
were  now  brought  into  a  "  household,"  and  that  house- 
hold the  household  of  God  Himself. 

(20-22)  In  these  verses  there  is  a  sudden  cliaugo 
from  a  political  to  a  physical  metaphor.  possil)ly 
suggested  by  the  word  "  ho'usehold."  The  metaphor 
itself,  of  the  Church  as  "a  building  of  God  "—fre- 
quently used  in  the  New  Testament— reaches  its  full 
perfection  in  this  passage.     (1)    It  starts,  of  course, 


Built  on  one  Foundation 


EPHESIANS,   II. 


in  one  Corner-stone. 


upon    the   foundation   of    the   apostles 
and    prophets,    Jesus    Christ    himself 


being    the   chief    corner   stone;    (-^^ 
whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  to 


m 


from  tho  words  of  our  Lord  (Matt.  xvi.  18),  "  On 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church;"  but  in  tlic  use  of 
it  sometimes  the  prominent  idea  is  of  tho  growtli  by 
addition  of  intlividual  stones,  sometimes  of  tlie  complex 
unity  of  tho  building  as  a  whole.  (2)  Tho  former  idea 
naturally  occurs  first,  connecting  itself,  indeed,  with  the 
still  more  personal  application  of  the  metaphor  to  the 
"  edification  "  of  tlie  individual  to  be  a  temple  of  God 
(found,  for  example,  in  1  Thess.  v.  1 1  ;  1  Cor.  viii.  1 ; 
X.  23 ;  xiv.  4  ;  2  Cor.  v.  1  ;  x.  8).  Thus  in  1  Cor.  iii.  9, 
from  "ye  are  God's  building,"  St.  Paul  passes  at  once 
to  the  building  of  individual  character  on  the  one 
foundation  ;  in  1  Cm*,  xiv.  4,  5,  12,  26,  the  edification  of 
tho  Church  has  reference  to  the  effect  of  prophecy  on 
individual  souls ;  in  1  Pet.  ii.  5,  the  emphasis  is  still  on 
the  building  up  of  "  li^^ng  stones "  upon  "  a  li^ang 
stone."  (Comp.  Acts  xx.  32.)  (3)  In  this  Epistle  tho 
other  idea — tho  idea  of  unity — is  always  prominent, 
thoTigh  not  exclusive  of  the  other  (as  here  and  in  chap, 
iv.  12 — 16).  But  that  this  conception  of  unity  is  less 
absolute  than  that  conveyed  by  the  metaphor  of  the 
body  will  be  seen  by  noting  that  it  differs  from  it  in 
three  respects ;  first,  that  it  carries  with  it  tlie  notion  of 
a  more  distinct  individuality  in  each  stone ;  next,  that 
it  conA'cys  (as  in  the  "  grafting  in  "  of  Rom.  xi.  17)  the 
idea  of  continual  growth  by  acci'etion  of  individual 
souls  drawn  to  Christ ;  lastly,  that  it  depicts  the  Church 
as  having  more  completely  a  distinct,  though  not  a 
separate,  existence  from  Him  who  dwells  in  it.  (On  this 
last  point  compare  the  metaphor  of  the  spouse  of  Christ 
in  chap.  v.  25 — 33.)  Hence  it  is  naturally  worked  out 
with  greater  completeness  in  an  Epistle  which  has  so 
especially  for  its  object  tho  evolution  of  the  doctrine  of 
"  the  one  Holy  Catholic  Church." 

20^  Built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles 
and  prophets.— In  spite  of  much  ancient  and  valu- 
able authority,  it  seems  impossible  to  take  "  tho  pro- 
phets" of  this  verse  to  be  the  prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Tho  order  of  the  two  words  and  the  com- 
parison of  chaps,  iii.  5  and  iv.  11,  appear  to  be 
decisive — to  say  nothing  of  the  emphasis  on  the  pre- 
sent, in  contrast  with  the  past,  which  runs  through  the 
wliolo  chapter.  But  it  is  more  difficult  to  determine  in 
what  sense  "  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets "  is  used.  Of  tho  throe  possible  senses,  that  (1) 
which  makes  it  equivalent  to  "  the  foundation  on  which 
apostles  and  prophets  are  built."  viz.,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  may  l)e  dismissed  as  taking  away  any  special 
force  from  the  passage,  and  as  unsuitable  to  tho  next 
clause.  The  second  (2),  "tho  foundation  laid  by 
apostles  and  prophets — still,  of  course,  Jesus  Christ 
Himself —is  rather  forced,  and  equally  fails  to  accord 
with  the  next  clause,  in  which  our  Lord  is  not  the 
foundation,  but  the  corner-stone.  The  most  natural 
interpretation  (3),  folloAved  by  most  ancient  authorities, 
which  makes  tho  apostles  and  prophets  to  be  themselves 
"  the  foundation,"  lias  been  put  aside  by  modern  com- 
mentators in  tho  true  feeling  that  ultimately  there  is 
but  "one  foundation"  (1  Cor.  iii.  11),  and  in  a  con- 
sequent reluctance  to  apply  that  name  to  any  but  Him. 
But  it  is  clear  that  in  this  passage  St.  Paul  deliberately 
varies  the  metaphor  in  relation  to  our  Lord,  making 
Him  not  the  foundation,  or  both  foundation  and  corner- 
stone, but  simply  tho  corner-stone,  '•  binding  together," 
according  to  Chrysostom's  instructive  remark,  "both 


the  walls  and  the  foundations."  Hence  the  word 
"  foundation  "  seems  to  be  applied,  in  a  true,  although 
secondary  sense,  to  the  apostles  and  prophets;  just  as 
in  the  celebrated  passage  (Matt.  xvi.  18)  our  Lord  must 
be  held  at  any  rate  to  connect  St.  Peter  with  the 
foundation  on  which  tho  Church  is  built ;  and  as  in 
Rev.  xxi.  14,  "  the  foundations  "  Ijoar  "  the  names  of  the 
twelve  apostles  of  the  Lamb."  It  is  true  that  in  this 
last  passage  we  have  the  plural  instead  of  the  singular, 
and  that  the  passage  itself,  is  not,  as  this  is,  a  dogmatic 
passage.  But  these  considerations  are  insufficient  to 
destroy  the  analogy.  The  genius  therefore  of  this  pas- 
sage itself,  supported  by  the  other  cognate  passages,  leads 
us  to  what  may  be  granted  to  be  an  unexpected  but  a 
perfectly  intelligible  expression.  The  apostles  and  pro- 
phets are  the  foundation  ;  yet,  of  course,  only  as  setting 
forth  in  word  and  grace  Him.  who  is  the  corner-stone. 

Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner 
stone. — The  metaphor  is  draAvu,  of  course,  from  Ps. 
cxviii.  22  (applied  by  our  Lord  to  Himself  in  Matt, 
xxi.  42 ;  Mark  xii.  10 ;  Luke  xx.  17 ;  and  by  St.  Peter 
fo  Him  in  Acts  iv.  11),  or  from  Isa.  xxviii.  16  (quoted 
with  the  other  passage  in  1  Pet.  ii.  6,  7) ;  in  which 
last  it  may  be  noted  that  both  the  metaphors  are  united, 
and  "  the  tried  corner-stone  "  is  also  "  the  sure  founda- 
tion." In  itself  it  does  not  convey  so  obvious  an  idea 
of  uniqueness  and  importance  as  that  suggested  by  the 
"key-stone"  of  an  arch,  or  the  "apex-stone"  of  a 
pyramid ;  but  it  appears  to  mean  a  massive  corner- 
stone, in  which  the  two  lines  of  the  wall  at  their 
foundation  met,  by  which  they  were  bonded  together, 
and  on  the  perfect  squareness  of  which  the  true 
direction  of  the  whole  walls  depended,  since  the 
sfightest  imperfection  in  the  corner-stone  would  be 
indefinitely  multiplied  along  the  course  of  the  walls. 
The  doctrine  which,  if  taken  alone,  it  would  convey, 
is  simply  the  acceptance  of  our  Lord's  perfect  teaching 
and  life,  as  the  one  determining  influence  both  of  the 
teaching  and  institutions,  which  are  the  basis  of  the 
Church,  and  of  the  superstnicture  in  the  actual  life  of 
the  members  of  the  Church  itself.  By  such  acceptance, 
both  assume  symmetry  and  "  stand  four-square  to  all 
the  winds  that  blow."  (See  Rev.  xxi.  16.)  That  this  is 
not  the  whole  truth  seems  to  be  implied  by  the  varia- 
tion from  the  metaphor  in  the  next  verse. 

(21)  In  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed 
together  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in 
the  Lord, — There  is  some  difficulty  about  the  rendering 
"  all  the  building."  Generally  the  best  MSS.  omit  the 
article  in  tho  original.  But  the  sense  seems  to  demand 
the  rendering  of  the  text,  unless,  indeed,  we  adopt  the 
only  other  possible  rendering,  "  in  whom  every  act  of 
building  " — that  is,  every  addition  to  the  building — "  is 
bonded  to  tho  rest,  and  grows,''  itc.  The  clause  agrees 
substantially,  and  almost  verbally,  with  chap.  iv.  16 — 
"  From  whom  tho  whole  body,  fitly  joined  (framed) 
together  and  compacted  .  .  .  maketh  increase  of  the 
body  unto  the  edifying  (building  up)  of  itself."  In 
this  latter  passage  the  leading  idea  is  of  the  close 
union  of  tho  body  to  the  head,  to  which,  indeed,  the 
metaphor  more  properly  applies  than  to  the  relation  of 
the  building  to  the  corner-stone.  For  we  note  that  St. 
Paul,  apparently  finding  this  relation  too  slight  to 
express  the  full  truth  of  tho  unity  of  the  Church 
with  Christ,  first  speaks  of  the  whole  building  as  com- 
pacted together  in  the   corner-stone,  and  growing — 


30 


The  Mission  of  St.  Paid 


EPHESIANS,   III. 


to  the  Gentiles. 


gether  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in 
the  Lord :  (-^^  in  whom  ye  also  are 
builded  together  for  an  habitation  of 
God  through  the  Spirit. 

CHAPTER  III.— (1)  For  this  cause  I 


Paul,     the     prisoner      of  ^,       ....    . 

»  .  ^  ^(  Chap.  111.  1—4. 

Jesus    Christ   tor   you  (jren-  The       especial 

tiles,   (2)  if  ye  have  heard  commission  to 

„   .  '       T        -^        ,.  n   J.1  St.  Paul  of  the 

01  the  dispensation  oi  tne  mystery  of  the 

grace    of    God    which    is  call  of  the  Gen- 
given     me    to    you-ward 


tiles. 


that  is,  being  gradually  built  up — in  that  closely  com- 
pacted union  ;  and  next,  calls  the  teni])le  so  built  up 
a  "temple  lioly  in  the  Lord"  {i.e.,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ),  deri\'ing',  tlierefore,  all  its  sacredness  as  a 
temple  from  a  pervading  unity  witli  Him.  The  corner- 
stone is  only  a  part,  tliough  a  dominant  jjart,  of  the 
building.  Christ  not  only  "  keeps  all  together,  whether 
you  speak  of  roof,  or  wall,  or  any  other  part  what- 
soever"  (Clirys.),  but  by  contact  with  Himself  makes 
the  building  to  be  a  temple. 

(")  In  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together 
for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit.— 
Tliis  verse  seems  primarily  intended  simply  to  empha- 
sise the  truth  already  enunciated  (in  verse  20),  that  the 
Ephesians  tliemselves  ai"e  now  lieing  made  part  of  the 
Chui-ch  of  Christ,  "being  built  up  together  in  Clirist." 
But  it  may  also  illustrate  to  us  the  character  of  the 
unity  of  tlie  Church,  as,  primarily,  a  direct  individual 
unity  with  Clirist — eacli  stone  being  itself  a  complete 
and  living  stone — and,  secondarily  and  indirectly,  an 
unity  with  others  and  witli  the  whole.  The  Ephesians 
are  said  to  be,  not  a  part  of  the  habitation  of  God,  but 
themselves  built  into  Christ  for  an  habitation  of  God — 
"  Christ  dwelling  in  their  hearts  by  faith,"  and  they 
"  therefore  being  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God " 
(chap.  iii.  17 — 19).  The  addition  of  this  clause,  therefore, 
links  the  teaching  of  this  Epistle  with  the  earlier  and 
more  individual  forms  of  teaching,  noted  on  verse  20. 

This  verse  contains,  again,  the  declaration  (as  in  verse 
18)  of  the  union  of  Christians  with  each  Person  of  the 
Holt  Tkinity.  The  soul  made  one  with  the  Son 
becomes  a  temple  for  the  indwelling  of  THE  Father 
in  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     (See  John  xiv.  23.) 

III. 

[3.  Prayer  for  the  Further  Knowledge  of  this 
Mystery  (chap.  iii.  1 — 21). 

(1)  Prefatory  Declaration  of  the  newness  of 

the  revelation  of  this  mystery  of  the  calling 
of  tlie  Gentiles,  and  of  the  special  commis- 
sion of  it  to  St.  Paul,  to  be  manifested  before 
men  and  angels,  both  by  word  and  by 
suffering  (ver.ses  1 — 13). 

(2)  Prayer  for  their  full  understanding  of  this 

mystery  (although  passing  knowledge)  by  the 
indwelling  of  Christ,  wrought  in  them  by  the 
gift  of  the  Spirit,  and  accepted  in  faith  and 
love  (verses  14 — 19). 

(3)  DoxOLOGY  TO  THE  FATHER  through  Christ 

Jesus  for  ever  and  ever  (verses  20,  21).] 

The  chapter  is  in  form  a  parenthesis  of  fervent  prayer 
and  thanksgiving  between  the  doctrinal  teaching  of 
cliap.  ii.  and  the  resumption  and  summing  up  of  that 
teaching  in  chaji.  iv.  1 — 13.  At  the  sjimc  time  it 
involves  much  profound  implicit  teaching  in  itself. 

(1)  Verses  1 — 13  contain  two  subjects  closely 
blended  together.  Tlie  first  (carrying  on  what  is 
implied  in  the  contrast  dra^vn  out  in  chap,  ii.)  is  the 
absolute  newness  of  this  dispensation  to  the  Gentiles — 
a  mystery  hidden  from  the  beginning  in  God,  but  now 


at  last  revealed.  The  second,  an  emphatic  claim  for 
St.  Paul  himself,  "  less  than  the  least "  although  he  is, 
of  a  special  apostleship  to  the  Gentiles,  proclaiming 
this  mystery  by  word  and  deed. 

(1)  For  this  cause  .  .  . — After  much  discussion  of 
the  construction  of  tliis  verse,therc  seems  little  doubt  that 
the  nominative,  "  I,  Paul,"  must  be  carried  on  beyond 
the  digression  upon  the  mysteiy  of  the  gospel,  and  his 
part  in  ministering  it,  which  follows.  Tlie  only  question 
which  can  well  be  raised  is  whether  the  resumption  takes 
place  at  verse  13.  '"  I  desire  that  ye  faint  not ;  "  or  at 
verse  14,  "  I  bow  my  knees  ; "  and  this  seems  decided 
for  the  latter  altcniative,  both  by  the  emphatic  repe- 
tition of  "for  this  cause,"  and  by  the  far  greater 
weight  and  finality  of  the  latter  sentence. 

The  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ.— The  phrase 
(repeated  in  chap.  iv.  1 ;  Philem.  verse  9  ;  2  Tim.  i.  8)  is 
dwelt  upon  with  an  emphasis,  explained  by  St.  Paul's 
conviction  that  "  his  bonds  "  tended  to  "  the  furtherance 
of  the  gosj)el " — not  merely  by  exciting  a  sympathy 
which  might  open  the  heart  to  his  words,  but  even  more 
(see  Phil.  i.  13,  14)  by  showing  the  victorious  power  of 
God's  word  and  grace — which  "  is  not  bound  " — to 
triumph  over  captivity  and  the  danger  of  death.  The 
expression  itself  is  notable.  When  St.  Paul  calls  him- 
self the  "  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ,"  he  reiiresents  our 
Lord's  own  will,  as  ordaining  his  capti-s-ity  for  His  own 
transcendent  purposes  of  good,  making  him  an  "  ambas- 
sador in  chains"  (chap.  A-i.  20),  and  these  "  the  bonds  of 
the  gospel."  (See  Philem.  verse  13 ;  and  Acts  xxviii.  20, 
"  For  the  hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  in  this  chain.") 
Hence  in  this  passage  St.  Paul  seems  to  speak  of  his 
capti^-ity  as  a  special  proof  of  the  reality  of  his  mission, 
and  a  new  step  in  its  progress  ;  and  appeals  to  it  ac- 
cordingly, just  as  in  the  final  salutation  of  the 
Colossian  Epistle,  "  Remember  my  bonds."  The  whole 
idea  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  spiritual  alcliemy 
of  faith,  tuniing  all  things  to  good — not  unlike  the 
magnificent  passage  (in  2  Cor.  xi.  23  —  30)  of  Lis 
"  glorying  in  his  infirmities. ' 

For  you  Gentiles. — This  was  literally  true  of  the 
origin  of  his  captivity,  proceeding  as  it  did  from  the 
jealousy  of  the  Jews,  excited  by  the  free  admission 
of  the  Gentiles  to  the  Church;  but  tlie  reference  is 
not  to  be  limited  to  this.  St.  Paul  regards  the  captivity 
as  only  one  incident  in  a  mission  sending  him  entirely 
to  the  Gentiles  (Acts  xxi.  21;  Rom.  xi.  13;  Gal.  ii.  9). 
From  these  words  tlie  digression  <if  verses  2 — 13  starts, 
bringing  out  the  reality  and  greatness  of  that  mission. 

(2)  If  ye  have  heard.- The  original  word  ren- 
dered "  if  "  (tlie  same  used  below,  chap.  iv.  21,  and  in 
2  Cor.  V.  3;  Gal.  iii.  4;  Col.  i.  23)  conveys,  in  such 
collocation  as  this,  a  .supposition  which  is  only  a  sup- 
position in  form — a  half-ironical  reference  to  a  thing 
not  doubtful.  The  sense  is  "  if  (tliat  is),"  or  "  if.  as  I 
suppose,"  "  ye  heard  the  dispensation."  etc.  The  passage 
bears  on  the  question  whether  the  Epistle  was  an  ency- 
clical letter,  or  one  addressed  to  the  Ephesian  Church, 
The  argument  which  has  been  drawn  from  it  in  the 
former  direction  is   not  so  strong  as  appears  in  the 


31 


The  Mystery  once  hidden, 


EPHESIANS,   III. 


hut  now  revealed. 


('>  how  that  by  revelation  he  made  known  I 

unto  me  the  mystery;  (as  I  wrote  afore  i  ^  or.amuwore. 

in  few  words,  <^^  whereby,  when  ye  read, 

ye  may  understand  my  knowledge  in  the 

Chap.  iii.  5—12.  mystery  of  Christ)  '^>  Avhich 

The     niy.story  in     other    ages    was    not 

now^eveawrj  made  known  unto  the  sons 

menandantjols.   of     men,      as      it     is       nOW 


revealed  unto  his  holy  apostles  and 
prophets  by  the  Spirit ;  e^'  that  the 
Gentiles  should  be  fellowheirs,  and  of  the 
same  body,  and  partakers  of  his  promise 
in  Christ  by  the  gospel :  ^"^1  whereof  I 
was  made  a  minister,  according  to  the 
gift  of  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me 
by  the  effectual  working  of  his  power. 


English;  for  the  origiual  implies  no  doubt  that  the 
readers  of  the  Epistle  had  heard,  and  the  hearing 
might  have  been  not  about  St.  Paul,  but  from  St.  Paul 
himself.  Still,  there  is  a  vague  generality  about  the 
expression,  wliieh  suits  well  an  address  to  the  Asiatic 
clinrches  generally,  but  could  hardly  have  been  used 
to  a  chureli  so  well  known  and  beloved  as  Ephesus, 
wh're  "the  signs  of  an  Apostle"  had  been  wrought 
abundantly. 

The  dispensation  of  the  grace  of  God  which 
is  given  me  to  you-ward. — The  descriptive  clause, 
••  which  is  given  me  to  you-ward,"  is  seen  in  the  original 
to  belong  to  the  word  "  grace,"  not  (as  our  version 
might  suggest)  to  "  dispensation."  The  grace  of  God 
is  spoken  of  as  given  to  St.  Paul,  not  so  much  for  his 
own  sake,  as  for  ministration  to  them  of  the  dispensa- 
tion described  in  the  next  verse.  We  find  there  that 
the  revelation  of  salvation  to  the  Gentiles  was  the  "dis- 
pensation," that  is  (much  as  in  chap.  i.  10),  the  peculiar 
office  in  the  ministration  of  the  grace  of  God  to  the 
world,  assigned  to  St.  Paul  by  His  wisdom.  (Comp. 
1  Cor.  i.  17 — 24',  "  God  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to 
preach  the  gospel  .  .  .  We  preach  Christ  crucified  .  .  . 
unto  them  that  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ 
the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God.") 

(3)  How  that  by  revelation  he  made  known 
unto  me  the  mystery. — The  words  "by  i-evelation" 
are  doubly  emphatic.  By  revelation,  not  by  the 
wisdom  of  man  (as  in  1  Cor.  ii.  7 — 16):  for  "  God  hath 
revealed  them  to  us  by  His  Sjiirit."  By  direct  revelation 
to  St.  Paul  himself,  as  in  Gal.  i.  12,  "  not  of  man  or  by 
man,  but  by  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  in  Eom. 
xvi.  25,  "  according  to  my  gospel,  and  the  preaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  revelation  of  the 
mystery."  (See  also  2  Cor.  xii.  17.)  This  revelation  we 
may  refer  especially  to  the  time  when,  after  his  con- 
version, he  was  "  in  a  trance  while  praying  in  the 
Temple,"  and  "  saw  Christ  Himself,"  saying  unto  him, 
*'  Depart,  for  I  will  send  thee  far  hence  unto  the 
Gentiles  "  (Acts  xxii.  17—21). 

As  I  wrote  afore  in  few  words. — The  reference 
is  to  the  brief  notice  in  chap.  i.  10 — 14,  and  to  the 
further  explanation  in  chap.  ii.  11 — 22.  Hence,  in 
English,  the  idt>a  would  be  more  clearly  expressed  by 
"  I  have  written  above."  St.  Paul  refers  them  back  to 
these  passages  as  embodying  his  "  understanding,"  or 
conception,  of  the  mystery  thus  revealed  osjiecially  to 
him.  The  reference  is  one  of  those  parenthetical  re- 
marks, whicli,  to  those  renu?nibering  how  St.  Paul's 
Epistles  were  dictated,  ahnost  irresistibly  suggest  inser- 
tion on  the  reading  over  of  the  Epi.stle. 

(5)  Which  iu  other  ages  (rather,  to  other  gene- 
rations) was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of 
men. — For  the  general  sense  comp.  Col.  i.  27.  The 
phrase  "the  sons  of  men"  (except  tliat  it  is  once 
used  in  Mai-k  iii.  28)  is  peculiar  to  the  Old  Testament, 
where  it  is  of  frequent  use  in  the  poetical  books,  and 
it  is  notable  that  in  Ezekiel  it  is  the  name  by  which 
the  prophet  himself  is  constantly  addressed.     Hence, 


although  it  is  probably  wrong  to  restrict  to  the  children 
of  Israel,  or  to  the  prophets,  words  which  by  their  very 
nature  apply  to  all  mankind,  yet  the  phrase  seems  to  be 
used  with  a  suggestion  of  the  contrast  between  the  old 
dispensation  and  the  new.  (Comp.  our  Lord's  words 
in  Matt.  xi.  11,  "  Among  them  that  are  born  of  women 
there  hath  not  risen  a  greater  than  John  the  Baptist : 
not^vithstauding  he  that  is  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  greater  than  he.") 

As  it  is  now  revealed  unto  his  holy  apostles 
and  prophets  by  the  Spirit.— The  application  of 
the  epithet  "  holy "  to  the  Apostles  has  been  thought 
strange  as  coming  from  one  of  their  number ;  and  it  is 
worth  notice  that  this  exceptional  application  is  cer- 
tainly more  appropriate  to  the  comparatively  impersonal 
style  of  an  encyclical  epistle.  But  the  epithet  (applied  to 
the  Old  Testament  prophets  in  Luke  i.  70;  Acts  iii. 
21 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  2),  like  the  frequent  use  of  it  as  the 
substantive  "  saints,"  in  application  to  all  Christians, 
refers  not  to  personal  character,  but  to  official  call  and 
privilege.  In  this  passage  it  is  clear  that  it  is  used 
thus,  in  emphatic  contrast  with  "  the  sons  of  men " 
above,  and  in  connection  w\\\\  the  following  words,  "  in 
the  Spirit."  The  contrast  here  briefly  conveyed  is 
the  same  which  is  drawn  out  in  1  Cor.  ii.  between  the 
"  msdom  of  men,"  and  the  "  wisdom  of  God,"  sancti- 
fying, and  so  enlightening,  the  Christian  soul. 

(6)  That  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellowheirs. 
— More  exactly,  a?*e/e/?OM'-/(eirs,  admitted  ah'eady  fully 
in  God's  councils,  as  partially  in  actual  fact  to  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

And  of  the  same  body,  and  [fellow-']  partakers 
of  his  promise. — These  three  words  (of  which  the 
last  two  are  peculiar  to  this  Epistle)  evidently  describe 
pi-ogressive  steps  in  the  work  of  salvation.  First  comes 
the  acceptance  by  God  to  a  share  in  the  inheritance,  as 
"  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ "  (Rom.  viii. 
17) ;  next,  incorporation  into  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ;  lastly,  the  actual  enjoyment  of  a  share  in  the 
promise — that  is,  all  the  spiritual  blessings  of  the 
covenant,  called  "  promises "  because,  though  real  in 
themselves,  they  are  only  an  earnest  of  the  hereafter. 
At  every  point  stress  is  laid  on  their  fellowsliip  with 
Israel  in  all  these  gifts.  The  shoots  of  the  wild  olive 
(Rom.  xi.  17)  are  first  chosen  out,  then  "  graffed  in,"  and 
lastly  "  partake  with  the  natural  branches  of  the  root 
and  fatness  of  the  olive  tree." 

In  Christ  by  the  gospel. — These  words  should 
be  joined  with  all  the  tluee  preceding.  Of  all  the 
privileges  of  the  new  life,  the  being  "  in  Christ "  is 
the  substance,  the  reception  of  the  gospel  in  faith  the 
instrument. 

<")  According  to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of 
God  given  unto  me  by  the  effectual  working 
of  his  power. — The  words  "  given  by  "  should  be 
rendered  yivcn  according  to.  The  Avorkiug  of  God's 
power  is  described,  not  as  the  means,  but  as  the 
measure  of  the  gift  of  His  grace.  In  fact,  what  is  a 
"  gift "  in  its  source,   is   "  effectual  working "   in   its 


32 


a^id  i^rodaimeJ,  both  to  Men 


EPHESIANS,   III. 


and  to  Angels. 


(^^  TJnto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  saiiits,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I 
should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ;  '-'^  and 
to  make  all  men  see  what  is  the  fellow- 


ship of  the  mysterj,  which  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  hath  been  hid 
in  God,  Avho  created  all  things  by  Jesus 
Christ :  '^"^  to  the  intent  that  now  unto 
the  principalities  and  j)owers  in  heavenly 


actual  uature.  On  tlio  phrase  "  effectual  workiug  of 
power  " — a  diviue  force  in  tlie  soul,  not  latent  but  ener- 
gfetic — see  chap.  i.  19.  In  tlie  Avhole  of  this  passage, 
however,  the  chief  emphasis  is  laid,  not  on  the  spiritual 
power,  but  on  the  freedom  of  God's  gift  to  the  Apostle 
of  this  high  privilege  of  preaching  the  mystery  of  the 
gospel. 

(8)  Less  than  the  least  of  all  saints.— Compare 
with  this  expression  of  deep  humility  the  well-known 
passages  1  Cor.  xv.  9,  10 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  3U ;  xii.  9 — 11  ; 
1  Tim.  i.  12 — 16.  It  may  be  noted  that  in  each  case 
his  deep  sense  of  unworthiness  is  brought  out  by  the 
thought  of  God's  especial  grace  and  favour  to  him. 
Thus  in  1  Cor.  xv.  9,  10,  the  feeling  that  he  is  "  the 
least  of  the  Apostles,  not  meet  to  be  called  an  Apostle," 
rises  out  of  the  contemplation  of  the  special  manifes- 
tation of  the  risen  Lord  to  him  as  "  one  born  out 
of  due  time;"  in  2  Cor.  xi.  80,  xii.  9 — 11,  "boast- 
ing "  has  been  forced  upon  him,  and  so,  having  been 
compelled  to  dwell  on  the  special  work  done  by  him, 
and  the  special  revelations  vouchsafed  to  him,  he 
immediately  adds,  '"though  I  am  nothing;"  in  1  Tim. 
i.  12 — 16,  as  also  here,  it  is  the  greatness  of  his 
message  of  universal  salvation  which  reminds  him 
that  he  was  "  a  pei'secutor  and  injurious,"  "  the  chief 
of  sinners,"  and  "  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints." 
Elation  in  the  sense  of  privilege — "  the  glorying  in  that 
which  we  have  received,"  so  emphatically  rebuked  in 
1  Cor.  iv.  7 — is  the  temptation  of  the  first  superficial 
enthusiasm ;  deep  sense  of  weakness  and  unworthiness, 
the  result  of  second  and  deeper  thought,  contrasting 
the  heavenly  treasure  with  the  earthen  vessels  which 
contain  it  (2  Cor.  iv.  7).  Possibly  there  is  a  "  third 
thought,"  deeper  still,  belonging  to  the  times  of  highest 
spiritual  aspiration,  which  loses  all  idea  of  self,  even 
of  weakness  and  unworthiness,  in  the  thought  of  "  the 
strength  made  perfect  in  weakness,"  and  the  conscious- 
ness (as  in  Phil.  iv.  12,  13)  that  "we  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  that  strengtheneth  us."  See  this  last 
brought  out  in  peculiar  fulness  and  freedom  in  2  Cor, 
v.  13 — vi.  10  ;  a  i)assage  almost  unique  in  its  disclosure 
of  spiritual  experience. 

The  unseai'chable  riches  of  Christ.— The  word 
''  unsearchable  "  properly  carries  with  it  the  metaphor 
(latent  in  our  word  "investigate")  of  tracking  the  foot- 
steps, but  not  tracking  them  completely  to  their 
source  or  issue — thus  gaining  an  evidence  of  a  living 
power,  but  "  not  kno^ving  whence  it  cometh  or  whither 
itgoeth."  In  this  proper  sense  it  is  used  in  Rom.  xi.  33, 
"  How  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways 
past  finding  out !  "  (as  also  in  Job  v.  9  ;  ix.  10).  Here  it 
is  used  in  a  slightly  different  sense — applied  to  that 
"wealth"  or  fulness  of  Christ  on  which  this  Epistle 
lays  such  especial  stress,  as  a  wealth  of  truth  which  we 
can  see  in  part  l)ut  cannot  wholly  measure,  and  a  wealth 
of  grace  which  we  can  enjoy  but  cannot  exhaust. 

(y)  To  make  all  men  see.— St.  Paul  speaks  here 
first  of  manifestation  to  all  men.  The  phrase  used 
in  the  original  is  at  once  stronger  aiul  weaker  than 
our  version  of  it.  It  is  stronger,  for  the  word  is,  pro- 
perly, to  enlifjhten  or  illuminate  —  the  same  word 
used  abov(>  (chap.  i.  IS),  "  the  eyes  of  vour  heart  being 
60 


enlightened."  Strictly,  Christ  alone  is  the  Light  of  the 
world,  "which  enlightens  every  man"  (John  i.  4,  5,  9; 
viii.  2) ;  but,  as  reflecting  Him,  Ho  declared  His 
servants  to  be  the  "  light  of  the  world."  Yet  it  is 
weaker,  for  while  we  can  enlighten,  it  is  our  daily 
sorrow  that  we  cannot  "make  men  see."  Even  He 
wept  over  Jeru,salem  because  His  light  was,  by  wilful 
blindness,  "hidden  from  their  eyes"  (Luke  xix.  41). 
To  "  open  the  eyes,  and  turn  men  from  darkness  to 
light,"  although  (as  in  Acts  xxvi.  18)  attributed  in 
general  terms  to  the  servants  of  God,  because  natu- 
rally following  on  their  ministry,  is  properly  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  even  in  relation  to  the  words  of 
our  Lord  Himself  (John  xiv.  26). 

The  fellowship  of  the  mystery. — Both  MS. 
authority  and  internal  evidence  point  here  to  "  the 
dUiiensaiion  of  the  mystery "  as  the  true  reading. 
Probably  here  the  reference  is  not  to  the  commission 
of  the  mystery  to  the  Apostle  (as  in  verse  2),  but  (as 
in  chap.  i.  10)  to  the  law  or  order  which  God  Himself 
has  ordained  for  the  manifestation  of  the  ti'uth,  both 
to  men  and  angels. 

Who  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ. — 
The  words  "by  Jesus  Christ"  should  be  omitted,  pro- 
bably having  crept  iu  from  a  gloss,  and  not  belonging 
to  the  original.  The  description  of  God  as  "  He  who 
created  all  things,"  material  and  spiritual,  is  here 
emphatic — designed  to  call  attention  to  the  dispensation 
of  the  gospel  as  existing  in  the  primeval  purpose  of 
the  Divine  Mind  (comp.  chap.  i.  4;  1  Cor.  i.  7),  hidden 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world  (properly,  from  the 
ages)  till  the  time  of  its  revelation  was  come.  The 
New  Testament  constantly  dwells  on  this  view  of  the 
Mediation  of  Christ,  as  belonging  in  some  form  to  the 
relation  of  humanity  to  God  in  itself,  and  not  merely  to 
that  relation  as  affected  by  the  Fall ;  but  nowhere  with 
greater  emphasis  than  in  the  profound  and  universal 
teaching  of  these  Epistles. 

(10)  In  this  verse  St.  Paul  passes  on  to  consider  the 
manifestation  of  God  in  Christ  as  brought  home  not 
only  to  the  race  of  man  but  to  the  angels — "  the  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  in  the  heavenly  places  " — who  are 
described  (1  Pet.  i.  12)  as  "desiring  to  look  into"  the 
consummation  of  the  gospel  myster}-.  In  the  same 
sense  the  Apostles,  in  their  ministration  of  the  gospel, 
are  said  to  be  a  spectacle  to  angels  and  to  men  (1  Cor. 
iv.  9);  and  in  a  magnificent  passage  iu  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  (Heb.  xii.  22),  Christians  are  encouraged 
in  their  warfare  by  knowing  it  to  go  on  before  "  the  city 
of  the  living  God  "  and  "an  innumerable  company  of 
angels."  The  angels  are.  therefore,  represented  to  us  as 
not  only  ministering  in  the  Cliurch  of  Christ,  but  learn- 
ing from  its  existence  and  fortunes  to  know  more  and 
more  of  the  wisdom  of  God.  Hence  we  gain  a  glimpse 
of  a  more  than  world-wide  purpose  in  the  supreme 
manifestation  of  God's  mercy  in  Christ,  fulfilled  towards 
higher  orders  of  God's  rational  creatures,  aiding  even 
them  in  progress  towards  the  knowledge  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ,  which  is  life  eternal.  (There  is  a  notable 
passage  on  a  kindred  idea  in  Butler's  Analoipj,  Part  i., 
c.  iii.  §  5.)  This  world,  itself  a  speck  in  the  universe, 
may  be— perhaps  as  a  scene  of   exceptional  rebeUiou 


33 


Boldness  in  Faith, 


EPHESIANS,  III. 


and  Glory  in  Tribulation. 


places  might  be  kno^vn  by  the  church 
the  manifold  wisdom  of  God,  <"'  accord- 
ing to  the  eternal  purpose  which  he 
purposed  in  Clirist  Jesus  our  Lord : 
(^-)  in  whom  we  have  boldness  and  access 
with    confidence  by  the   faith   of  him. 


(13)   Wherefore   I   desire  that   ye   faint 
not  at  my  tribulations  for  chap.  iii.  13— 

you,  which  is  your  glory.  !?• .  ^^J'^y^^"  ^or 
(\±\    T\         i\  •  T    T,  their  full  com- 

(i4j    j^'or    this    cause    i    bow   prehension     of 

my  knees  unto  the  Father  it  in  Christ, 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (^^^  of  whom 


against  God.  cei-taiiily  as  a  scene  of  God's  infinite 
goodness — a  lesson  to  utlier  splieres  of  being,  far  beyond 
our  conception.  Possil)ly  thi.s  view  of  angels  as  our 
fellow -learners  in  the  school  of  Christ  may  have  been 
specially  dwelt  upon  in  view  of  tlie  worship  of  angels 
of  which  we  read  in  Col.  ii.  18;  but  it  accords  well 
with  tlie  wide  sweep  of  thouglit  characteristic  of  this 
Epistle,  literally  '■gatliering  up  all  things  in  Christ." 

The  manifold  wisdom. — The  word  "  manifold  " 
(pi'operly,  many-coloured,  or  wroucjht  in  many  details) 
is  used  liere  (and  nowhere  else)  for  the  wisdom  of  God, 
as  "  fulfilling  itself  in  many  ways  "  (the  "  sundry  times 
and  divers  manners  "  of  Hcb.  i.  1).  It  is  manifested, 
therefore,  in  the  infinite  variety  ])oth  of  the  teaching 
and  the  life  of  the  Church — manifold,  yet  one,  as  em- 
bodying but  one  life,  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ. 

(11)  The  eternal  purpose. — Properly,  the  purpose 
of  the  ages  ;  but  the  sense  clearly  is,  of  the  purpose  of 
God  (see  chap.  i.  11),  conceived  before  the  ages  of  His 
dispensation,  and  fulfilled  throiTgh  them.  Hence  the 
rendering  of  our  version  is  substantially  correct. 

Which  he  purposed.— It  sliould  be,  which  He 
ivroiujlii,  or  made,  for  the  word  is  quite  distinct  from 
the  substantive  "  purpose,"  and  is  in  itself  ambiguous, 
capable  of  meaning  either  ordained  or  worked  out. 
Either  sense  will  suit  the  passage ;  but  the  latter 
pcrliaps  better,  since  the  idea  is  tlu'oughout  of  the 
completion  and  manifestation  of  the  mystery  of  God's 
purpose  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

(1-)  This  verse  returns  to  the  idea  of  chap.  ii.  18,  as 
though  St.  Paul,  after  the  mde  sweep  of  thought  far 
beyond  tlic  eartli  in  verses  10,  11,  desired,  as  usual,  to 
bring  his  readers  back  to  the  practical  and  personal 
as2>ects  of  their  Christianity. 

In  whom  we  have  (our)  boldness  and  (our) 
access  with  eonflidence. — "Boldness"  is,  properly, 
bohhiess  of  spcixh  (as  in  chap.  vi.  19),  though  used  in 
a  derivative  sense  for  confidence  and  frankness  gene- 
rally. Probably  liere  it  is  suggested  in  its  original 
sense  by  the  reference  in  the  jn'eceding  verse  to  the 
charge  of  proclaiming  the  mystery  of  God.  and  accord- 
ingly means  that  boldness  of  thought  and  utterance 
before  men  and  angels  which  Christians,  in  virtue  of 
tliat  charge,  ouglit  to  assume.  The  "access  (see  chap, 
ii.  18)  in  confidence  "  is,  on  the  other  hand,  that  con- 
fidence Ijcfore  God,  as  presented  to  Him  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  which  belongs  to  Christians  as  no  longer 
servants  l)ut  sons.  (On  tJiis  confid(>nc(!  see  2  Cor.  iii. 
4 — G.)  Both  tliese  gifts  depend  on  "  faitli  in  Him  :  "  in 
tlie  one  case,  faith  in  His  teaching  and  grace;  in  the  other, 
faitli  in  His  atonement  and  His  gift  of  the  new  life. 

(13)  Wherefore  I  desire  .  .  .—The  verse  is  paren- 
thetical— a  reflection  suggested  by  the  greatness  of  the 
trust  and  the  littleness  of  the  minister  dwelt  \\Y>m\  in 
verses  8 — 12.  and  inserted  as  a  warning  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  not  to  be  disheartened  at  tlio  present  "  tribula- 
tion "  of  liis  imprisonment,  as  if  it  were  a  failure  of  his 
mission.  (See  this  idea  more  fully  worked  out  in  Phil, 
i.  12—29.)  "  To  faint  "  (as  in  2  Cor.  iv.  1,  l(j ;  Gal.  vi. 
9;  2  Tliess.  iii.  13)  is  "to  play  the  coward,"  as  "think- 
ing it   (see  1  Pot.  iv.  12,  13)  a  strange  thhig "    that 


trouble  should  fall  on  him  or  them.  It  might  well  seem 
strange,  when  for  four  years  at  least,  at  Caesarea  and 
Rome,  the  marvellous  activity  of  St.  Paul's  Apostolic 
career  was  apparently  cut  short. 

At  my  tribulations  for  you,  which  is  your 
glory. — There  is  a  peculiar  beauty  in  the  thouglit 
suggested  by  the  words  "  which  is  your  glory."  The 
sutfering,  triumphantly  borne  and  actually  turned  to 
the  furtlierance  of  the  gospel,  is  certainly  a  "  glory," 
in  the  proof  which  it  gives  of  the  power  of  the  truth 
and  the  grace  of  Christ.  But  the  more  obvious  idea 
would  have  been  to  comfort  the  Ephesians  by  the 
declaration  that  St.  Paul's  tribulations  were  to  himself 
a  cause,  not  of  pain,  but  of  joy  and  glory — as  is,  in 
fact,  done  in  Col.  i.  24,  and  in  the  celebrated  passage, 
2  Cor.  xi.  23 — 31.  Here,  however,  instead  of  so  doing, 
St.  Paul  pursues  the  same  line  of  thought  as  in  1  Cor. 
iv.  10  —  there  half  ironically,  here  seriously — that, 
while  the  suffering  falls  on  himself,  the  glory  passe.s 
to  the  Church,  for  which  he  suifers,  and  in  which  he 
is  content  to  sink  himself.  Hence  he  bids  the  Ephe- 
sians find  encouragement  and  glory  for  themselves, 
instead  of  a  cause  for  "  fainting,"  in  the  afflictions 
endured  on  their  behalf  and  overcome  in  Christ.  As 
he  identifies  himself  with  them,  so  he  would  have  them 
take  what  might  bo  his  glory  to  be  their  own. 

(2)  Verses  14 — 19  contain  a  prayer,  addressed  with 
special  emphasis  to  the  Father  of  all,  that  by  the 
strengthening  grace  of  the  Spirit  and  the  indwelling  of 
Christ,  accepted  in  faith  and  deepened  by  love,  they 
may,  first,  know  the  mystery  already  described  in  all  its 
greatness  ;  and,  next,  learn  by  experience  the  unsearch- 
able love  of  Christ,  as  dwelling  in  them,  and  so  filling 
them  up  to  "  the  fulness  of  God." 

(14)  Unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

— The  words  "  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ "  appear,  by 
both  external  and  internal  evidence,  to  bo  an  interpola- 
tion— probably  from  a  gloss  indicating  (in  the  true 
spirit  of  the  Epistle)  tliat  the  universal  Fatherhood  liero 
spoken  of  is  derived  from  the  fatherly  relation  to  Him 
in  whom  "  all  tilings  are  gathered  up." 

(15)  Of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and 
earth  is  named. — The  original  word  [patria)  hero 
rendered  "  family "  is  literally  derived  from  the  word 
"father "  (^j(jft'r).  It  has  been  proposed  to  render  it 
fatherhood,  and  translate,  from  ichom  all  fatherhood 
whatever  derives  its  name — all  lower  fatherhood  being, 
in  fact,  a  shadow  and  derivative  fnmi  tlie  Fatherhood 
of  God.  The  translation  is  tempting,  yielding  a  grand 
sense,  and  one  thoroughly  accordant  with  the  treatment 
of  the  earthly  relationship  below  (chap.  vi.  1 — 4).  But 
the  usage  of  the  word  is  clearly  against  it ;  and  we 
must  render  it  every  family — that  is.  evciy  body  of 
rational  beings  in  earth  or  heaven  united  under  one 
common  fatherhood,  and  bearing  the  name  (as  in  a 
family  or  clan)  of  the  common  ancestor.  Such  bodies 
are  certainly  the  first  germs  or  units  of  human  society; 
what  their  lieavenly  count(>rparts  may  be,  who  can  tell? 
The  A]iostle  looks  upon  the  fathers  whose  names  they 


34 


Prayer  that  they  m'ljJd  know 


EPHESIANS,   III. 


what  ixisscd  knowleJye- 


the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is 
named,  ^^'^^  that  he  would  grant  you, 
according  to  the  riches  of  his  glory,  to  be 
strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit 
in  the  inner  man ;  (^''J  that  Christ  may 
dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith;  that  ye, 


being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love, 
(^^^  may  be  able  to  comprehend  with 
all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and 
length,  and  depth,  and  height ;  <^''')  and 
to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth 
knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with 


delight  to  bear  as  tlie  imperfect  representatives  of 
God,  and  u[)ou  the  family  itself,  with  its  head,  as  tlio 
type  ill  miniaturo  of  the  whole  society  of  spiritual 
beings  united  in  sonship  to  the  Father  in  heaven. 
Hence  he  declares  that  it  is  ultimately  from  Him 
tliat  every  fanaily  derives  the  name  of  j^atria,  and  by 
that  very  name  bears  witness  to  the  Divine  Fatherhood, 
on  which  he  desires  here  to  lay  especial  stress. 

(16)  To  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his 
Spirit  in  the  inner  man.— From  the  Father,  as  the 
source  of  all  life  and  being,  St.  Paul  passes  on  to  the 
Spirit,  "proceeding  from  the  Father,"  as  the  giver  of 
life  to  men.  His  prayer  here,  as  in  chap.  i.  17,  is  for 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  but  under  some  difference  of 
aspect.  There  the  prayer  is  for  illumination,  liere  for 
strength  to  grasp  the  mystery,  to  be  rooted  in  love, 
and  be  filled  up  to  the  fulness  of  God.  Accoi'dingly, 
there  tlie  inner  man  is  represented  only  by  the  "  eyes 
of  the  heart;  "  here  (as  in  Rom.  vii.  22  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  16) 
we  hear  of  the  "  inner  man  "  in  his  eutu'ety,  including 
all  faculties — intellectual,  emotional,  moral — which 
make  up  his  spiritual  nature.  And  St.  Paul  empha- 
sises this  prayer  very  strikingly  by  asking  that  the 
gift  may  be  "  according  to  the  riches  of  His  glory," 
unlimited  as  the  illimitable  glory  of  the  Divine  Nature 
itself.  Moreover,  a  greater  closeness  of  communion  is 
clearly  indicated  here.  For  light  is  a  gift  from  without; 
strength  comes  from  an  indwelling  power,  making  itself 
perfect  in  weakness,  and  continually  growing  from 
grace  to  grace. 

(1')  That  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts 
by  faith. — Wliat  that  indwelling  power  is  he  now 
indicates,  so  passing  to  another  Person  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  It  is  (see  Col.  i.  27)  "  Christ  in  you,  the  hope 
of  glory."  The  indwelling  of  Christ  (as  here  the  con- 
struction of  the  original  plainly  shows)  is  not  a  OQUse- 
queuce  of  the  gift  of  the  Spirit ;  it  is  identical  with  it, 
for  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  implant  and  work 
out  in  us  the  likeness  of  Christ.  So  in  John  xiv. 
16 — 20,  in  immediate  connection  with  tlie  promise  of 
the  Comforter,  we  read :  "  I  will  not  leave  you  orphaned; 
I  will  come  to  you."  "Te  shall  know  that  ...  ye 
are  in  mo  and  I  in  you."  Hence  the  life  in  the  Spirit 
is  described  as  "  To  me  to  live  is  Christ  "  (Phil.  i.  21) ; 
"  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  ii.  20). 
Faith  is  simply  the  condition  of  that  indwelling  of 
Christ  (comp.  chap.  ii.  8),  the  opening  of  the  door  to  Him 
that  He  may  enter  in. 

The  prayer  is  here  complete,  all  that  follows  being 
but  coiisi'(pient  from  it.  In  accordance  with  the  uni- 
versal law  of  revelation,  all  js  from  the  Father,  all  is 
through  the  Sou  vouchsafing  to  tabernacle  in  our 
humanity,  all  is  by  the  Spirit  effecting  that  indwelling 
of  Christ  in  each  individual  soul. 

That  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love, 
— The  ])lirase  ''ye,  bring,"  &c.,  stands  in  1  lie  original 
before  the  word  "  that,"  as  a  kind  of  link  between  the 
previous  clausci  and  this,  which  seems  to  describe  the 
consequence  of  the  indwelling  of  Christ  — viz.,  first 
li)ve,  next  comprehension,  and  finally  growth  into  the 
fulness  of  God. 


The  expression  "rooted  and  grounded"  {i.e.,  founded) 
contains  the  same  mixture  of  metaphor  as  in  1  Cor.  iii. 
'J,  of  the  tree  and  the  building — a  mixture  so  natural  as 
to  pass  into  common  usage.  (Comp.  Col.  ii.  7,  "rooted 
and  being  built  up  in  Him.")  The  idea  implied  in 
"  rooted  "  is  of  the  striking  down  deeper  and  spreading 
wider  into  the  soil;  in  "founded"  of  the  firm  basis  on 
which  ultimately  we  rest.  "  In  love : "  Love  is  not 
itself  the  root  or  foundation  (for  this  is  Jesus  Christ 
Himself),  but  the  condition  under  Avhich  growth  takes 
place.  Generally  that  growth  is  upward,  as  in  1  Cor. 
viii.  1:  "Knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  love  buildeth  up;" 
or,  as  in  chap.  iv.  l6,  whcire  the  body  is  said  "  to  Ijuild 
itself  up  in  love."  Here  that  growth  is  downward, 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  communion  with  God  in 
Christ,  as  "  faith  is  made  perfect  (or,  efficient)  by  love." 
As  in  relation  to  man,  so  also  to  God,  love  is  at  once 
the  recognition  of  an  existing  unity  between  spirit 
and  spirit,  and  a  meau.s — probably  the  only  means — of 
making  that  unity  energetic  and  deepening  it  con- 
tinually. Hence  love  is  the  first  consequence  of  the 
indwelling  of  Christ  in  the  soul;  and  by  it  the  soul 
becomes  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  unity,  given  by 
that  indwelling,  with  man  and  God. 

(18)  May  be  able  to  comprehend  with  all 
saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth,  and  height.— It  has  been  a~sked.  Of  what? 
Various  answers  have  been  given ;  but  as  St.  Paul  has 
obviously  of  set  jjurpose  omitted  all  definition,  leaving 
the  phrase  incomplete  in  absolute  generality,  no  answer 
can  be  perfectly  satisfactory.  The  early  fathers  de- 
lighted to  refer  it  to  the  cross,  and  to  trace  in  the  four 
dimensions  of  the  cross  a  symbol  of  this  four- fold 
extension  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ.  The  clause 
following,  "  to  knoAV  the  love  of  Christ,"  though  partly 
explanatory  of  this,  hardly  seems  to  be  identical  or 
co-extensive  with  it.  The  knowledge  there  described  is 
a  part — perhaps  the  chief  part,  Ijut  not  the  Avhole — of 
the  comprehension  here  prayed  for.  If  anytliing  is  to 
be  suijplied,  it  should  probably  be  "  of  the  mystery  " — 
i.e.,  of  the  whole  mystery  on  which  St.  Paul  had  been 
dwelling,  including  the  predestination,  the  redemption, 
the  call  and  union  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.  The  prayer 
is  that  we  may  know  it  every  way,  in  every  direction  in 
which  the  soul  can  go  forth  towards  God. 

It  may  be  noted  that  comi)reliension  is  placed  after 
love,  just  as  in  Phil.  i.  9.  "  1  pray  that  your  love  may 
abound  (that  is,  overjlow)  in  knowledge  and  in  all 
judgment."  The  spiritind  ordc-  of  revelation  differs 
from  that  of  the  "wisdom  of  the  world."  It  has  first 
faith,  next  love,  and  finally  knowledge,  because  its 
object  is  a  person,  not  an  abstract  principle.  That 
knowledge  must,  even  here,  "'  grow  from  more  to 
more;''  but  St.  Paul's  prayer  can  never  be  perfectly 
Vealisci]  tjll  we  "know  even  as  we  are  known." 

(19)  To  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which 
passeth  knowledge.— The  intentional  paradox  of 
tliis  exi)ression  is  weakened  if  (with  many  interpre- 
tations) we  suppose  that  there  is  opposition  in  kind 
between  knowledge  referred  to  in  the  two  clauses:  as 
if  "to  know"  meant  to  know  by  faith  and  spiritual 


3j 


Final  Doxolo'ji/. 


ephesia:^s,  IV. 


Exhortation  to  Unity. 


all  tlie  fulness  of  God.  (^o)  j^qw  unto 
Chap,  iii.20,21.  liiui  that  is  able  to  do  ex- 
Doxology.  cecding   abundantly  above 

all  that  Ave  ask  or  think,  according  to 
the  power  that  -svorketh  in  us,  (-^>  unto 
him  he   glory  in  the  church  by  Christ 


1  Or,  ill  the  Lord. 


Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without 
end.     Amen. 


CHAPTER  IV.— (1)  I  therefore,  the 
prisoner  of  the  Lord,i  chap.  iv.  1-3.  Eihor- 
beseech  you  that  ye  tation  to  unity. 


exporieucc,  while  the  "  kuowledge,"  which  the  love  of 
Christ  "  passes."  is  mere  "  Iminaii  kuowledgo  " — head- 
knowledgo.  and  the  like.  Of  such  opposition  there  is 
no  trace  (contrast  1  Cor.  ii.  6 — 16).  In  the  origiual, 
the  word  "to  know"  is  in  a  tense  whicli  expresses  cog- 
nition in  a  particular  case;  hence  the  meaning  of  St. 
Paul's  prayer  seems  to  be  that  they  may  know  from 
time  to  time,  as  each  opportunity  offers,  what  must  in 
its  entirety  pass  all  human  knowledge,  either  to  dis- 
cover or  fully  to  understand,  even  when  revealing 
itself;  so  that  they  may  always  go  on  from  faith  to 
faith,  from  knowledge  to  knowledge,  and  yet  find  new 
depths  still  to  be  fathomed.  The  '"  love  of  Christ '"  is 
the  love  which  He  bears  to  us,  and  which  is  the  motive 
of  His  sacrifice  for  our  redemption.  It  is  known  only 
by  those  who  are  rooted  in  love  to  Him ;  such  love 
being  at  once  the  consequence  of  the  first  knowledge 
of  His  love  to  us  (1  John  iv.  19)  and  the  condition  of 
entering  more  deeply  into  that  knowledge. 

That  ye  might  "be  filled  with  (or,  rather,  np  to) 
all  the  fulness  of  God.—  This  clause  must  be  taken 
as  dependent,  not  merely  on  the  clause  immediately 
preceding,  but  on  the  whole  sentence.  It  describes  the 
final  and  glorious  consequence  of  the  indwelling  of 
Christ  in  the  heart,  viz.,  the  "  being  filled"  with  grace 
"  up  to  the  fulness  of  God."  The  meaning  is  more 
clearly  seen  in  the  fuller  expression  below  (chap.  iv.  13) : 
"  till  we  all  come  ...  to  tlie  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ."  It  is  simply  perfect  conformation 
to  the  image  of  Him  in  whom  "  dwells  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily  "  (Col.  ii.  9),  and  whose  fulness  is 
therefore  the  "  fulness  of  God,"  manifesting  all  the  at- 
tributes of  the  divine  nature.  The  process  is  described 
in  2  Cor.  iii.  18,  "  We  all.  with  open  face  beholding  as 
in  a  glass  the  gloi-y  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the 
same  image  from  glory  to  gloi-y;'*  its  consummation  in 
1  John  iii.  2,  "  When  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  (Comp.  Phil, 
iii.  20,  L'l.)  Here  it  completes  the  climax.  When  Christ 
dwells  in  the  heart  we  have  first,  love  perfecting  the 
faith  which  roots  the  life  in  Him  ;  next,  a  tlioughtl'ul 
knowledge,  entering  by  degrees  into  the  unsearcliablo 
riches  of  His  hne  to  us ;  and,  lastly,  tlie  filling  the 
soul,  itself  weak  and  emptj',  up  to  the  perfection  of 
likeness  to  Him,  so  renewing  and  deepening  through 
all  time  and  eternity  the  image  of  God  in  our 
humanity. 

(3)  Yerses  20,  21  sum  np  tlie  whole  in  a  doxology  to 
God  the  Father  through  Christ  Jesus.  It  may  be  com- 
pared with  tlie  other  more  solemn  doxologies  in  the 
New  Testament:  as  Rom.  xvi.  25;  1  Tim.  v.  L"),  16; 
Jude,  verses  24,  2.") ;  Rev.  i.  6.  Each  lias  its  distinc- 
tive character.  Here  the  prevailing  idea  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapters  is  the  wonder  and  the  mystery  of  God's 
fore-ordaining  love,  overflowing  in  the  riches  of  His 
grace  to  those  who  are  made  one  with  Him  and  with 
each  other  in  Christ  Jesus.  Hence,  God  is  here  de- 
scribed as  He  "who  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly 
above  all  that  we  a.sk  or  think,"  and  to  do  aU  "  by  His 
power  dwelling  "  and  working  in  us. 


(21)  Unto  him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  (pro- 
perly, in)  Christ  Jesus. — In  the  parallelism  of  these 
clauses  is  implied  the  great  idea  of  the  Epistle — the 
imity  of  the  Church  in  Christ.  Hence  all  that  is  "  in 
the  Church "  is  "  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  visible  unity 
of  the  Church  represents,  as  it  depends  on,  the  invisible 
unity  with  God  in  Him. 

TJiroughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.— 
The  origiual  expression  is  emphatic  and  peculiar : 
to  all  the  generations  of  tlie  age  of  the  ages;  that  is, 
in  each  successive  generation  of  that  age  (or,  dispensa- 
tion) which  includes  in  itself  all  the  ages  which  we  can 
reckon  or  conceive.  The  conception  represents  to  us 
each  generation,  as  adding  its  own  peculiar  thanks- 
gi\'ing  to  the  great  chorus  of  praise  which  fills  eternity. 

IV. 

[4.  Final  Summary  of  Doctrine  (chap.  iv.  1 — 16). 
(Ij  The   Unity  of  the   Chukch    of    Cheist 
(verses  1 — 6). 

(a)  Its  ground  in  the  unity  of  the  Holy  Trinity ; 

(b)  Its  means  in  the  one  baptism  ; 

(c)  Its  conditions  and  effects  in  one  faith,  one 

hope,  one  charity. 

(2)  The  Diversity  of  Gifts  and  Offices  in 

THE  Church  through  the  mediation  of  her 
glorified  Lord  (verses  7 — 11). 

(3)  The  Direction  of  all  to  one  Object — 

the  individual  and  corporate  growth  of  all 
into  the  likeness  and  image  of  Clirist  the 
Head  (verses  12—16).! 

(1)  Yerses  1 — 6,  altliough  cast  in  a  liortatoi'y  form, 
contain  the  final  summary  of  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
Epistle — the  Unity  of  the  Catholic  Church — in 
words  which  have  all  the  glowing  freedom  of  spiritual 
enthusiasm,  and  all  the  clear-cut  precision  of  a 
creed. 

Thus  (a)  the  ground  of  that  unity  is  laid  in  that  spiri- 
tual communion  of  each  soul  with  the  "  one  Spirit,"  the 
"  one  Lord,"  and  tlie  '*  one  God  and  Father  of  all,"  which 
underlies  all  outward  ordinance,  and  which  no  power  of 
man  can  either  give  or  take  away,  {h)  The  means  of 
entering  that  unity  is  the  "  one  baptism,"  ordained 
by  Christ  Himself,  nniver.sal  in  the  Christian  world, 
capable  of  being  ministered  (though  irregularly)  by  any 
Christian  han(l.  (c)  The  graces,  which  in  germ  are 
conditions,  and  in  full  growth  are  effects,  of  such 
unity  are  the  '*  one  hope."  the  "one  faith,"  the  one  "bond 
of  peace  "  or  charity.  These  last  most  of  all  depend 
on  the  "  follow- working  "  of  man — primarily  in  the  soul 
receiving  them,  and  .secondarily  in  all  who  can  influence 
it  for  good  and  for  evil. 

We  have  here  a  ]>erfect  and  exhaustive  exposition  of  the 
unity  of  the  Church,  on  whicli  depend  the  other  quali- 
ties of  "Holiness,"  "Catholicity,"  and  "Apostolicity" 
ascribed  to  it  in  the  Creed.  In  o+her  passages  the  essential 
life  of  the  Church  is  attrilmted,  now  to  the  revelation 
of  the  Father  (Matt.  xvi.  17,  18),  now  to  the  indwelling 
presence  of  the  Son  (Matt,  xxviii.  20),  now  to  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  ii.  38,  39).    Here  all  are  united 


36 


The  Unity  of  the  Church. 


EPHESIAiSrS,    IV.       Its  Ground,  Means,  and  Conditions. 


walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  where- 
with ye  are  called,  (-^  Avith  all  lowli- 
ness and  meekness,  with  longsuffering, 
forbearing  one  another  in  love ;  ^^^ 
endeavouring  to  keep  the  unit}^  of  the 


Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.     (^)  There 
is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit,  ^hap.  iv.  4^6. 
even  as   ye   are  called   in  The   unity   of 
one  hoj)e  of  your  calling;  the  Chm-ch. 
(^^  one   Lord,    one   faith,    one   baptism, 


in  one  comprelicusive  view.  The  order,  however,  is 
natural,  not  artificial.  The  exhortation  to  peace 
naturally  loads  to  the  conception  of  one  Body,  animated 
by  the  "one  Spirit";  next,  the  remembrance  of  their 
calling  leads  to  the  "  one  Lord,"  who  called  them  to 
Him  in  one  faith  and  by  one  baptism ;  and  all  ends  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  "  one  God  and  Father,"  who  is 
not  only  above  all  and  through  all  His  creation,  but 
specially  in  those  who  are  adopted  to  a  new  sonship  in 
Christ.  (See  John  xiv\  22,  23.)  In  its  completeness 
and  depth  this  passage  stands  alone.  It  is  interesting 
to  compare  and  contrast  with  it  the  eqi;ally  celebrated 
passage  occupying  the  corresponding  place  in  the  Colos- 
sian  Epistle  (Col.  iii.  1 — i),  and  to  gather  from  this 
the  mingled  similai-ity  and  ditfereuce  in  the  main  idea 
of  those  two  Epistles — the  Ephesian  Epistle  dwelling 
especially  on  the  unity  and  regeneration  of  the  Avhole 
body,  the  Colossian  Epistle  on  the  sole  Headsliip  and 
Deity  of  Christ. 

(1)  Worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye 
are  called.— This  "  being  worthy  of  the  Christian 
calling  "  may  obviously  show  itself  in  any  of  the  graces 
of  regenerate  Immanity,  all  being  features  of  the  image 
of  Christ.  Thus  iu  1  Pet.  i.  15  it  expresses  itself 
in  "  holiness "  (as  in  the  frequent  phrase  "  called 
to  be  saints ") ;  in  Phil.  i.  27 — 30,  in  steadfastness 
of  faith.  But  in  this  jjassage  the  especial  point 
which  has  been  dwelt  upon  in  their  calling  is  the 
fact  that  they  were  aliens,  helpless  and  miserable, 
and  that  they  are  now  united  in  one  body  with  the 
ancient  people  of  God.  Hence,  naturally,  the  graces 
declared  to  correspond  with  their  calling,  so  A'iewed,  are 
the  graces  of  humility  and  gentleness,  teaching  them  to 
sink  all  thought  of  self  in  '•  the  unity  of  the  Spirit." 

(-)  With  all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with 
longsu5ering.— See  Col.  iii.  12,  where  the  same 
three  qualities  are  dwelt  upon,  but  there  introduced 
by  "  compassion  and  kindness."  They  seem  to  cor- 
respond almost  exactly  to  the  first,  third,  and  fifth 
beatitudes  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  in  Avhich  the 
principle  of  love  is  wrought  out  in  A'arious  forms  (as  in 
the  other  beatitudes  the  principle  of  righteousness): 
'■  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ; "  "  Blessed  are  the 
meek ;"  "  Blessed  are  the  merciful."  The  word  "lowli- 
ness of  mind  "  is  used  by  St.  Paul  only  in  the  Epistles 
of  the  Captivity  (Pliil.  ii.  3;  Col.  ii.  18, 23;  iii.  12)  and  in 
the  ad(bess  to  the  Ephesian  presbyters  (Acts  xx.  19).  It 
is,  indeed,  a  Avord  new  coined  in  Christian  terminologA', 
and  even  the  root  from  which  it  comes  is  mostly  used  by 
the  heathen  moralists  in  a  bad  sense  (of  meanness  and 
slaA'ishness),  of  Avhich  there  is  still  a  trace  in  Col.  ii.  18. 
"  Meekness  "  is  mostly  "  gentleness  " — "  the  meek  and 
quiet  spirit"  (1  Pet.  iii.  4) — the  natural,  tliougli  not  the 
invariable,  fruit  of  humility,  winning  souls  by  its  very 
absence  of  bitter  self-assertion,  and  so  "  inheriting  the 
earth."  "  Longsufferiug "  is  the  manifestation  of 
such  meekness,  Avith  something  of  especial  efEort  and 
struggle,  in  the  beai-ing  of  injury. 

(~.  '■i)  Forbearing  one  another  in  love  .  .  .  . — 
Tlie  Avord  rendered  "  endeavouring  "  is,  in  tlie  original, 
a  word    expressing   "  earnestness "    of    thought    and 


37 


exertion  to  secure  a  thing  not  lightly  obtained.  (See 
2  Tim.  iv.  9—21 ;  Heb.  iv.  11 ;  2  Pet.  i.  10.)  It  shows 
that  St.  Paul  here  passes  from  the  negative  aspects  of 
love,  summed  up  in  foi-bearance,  to  the  more  jjositive 
and  energetic  enthusiasm  for  unity  and  peace.  Love  is 
in  both  aspects,  the  "  uniting  bond  "  of  peace.  In  the 
parallel  passage  of  Col.  iii.  14,  it  is  "put  on  over"  all 
else,  and  is  the  uniting  "  bond  of  perfectness."  In  the 
celebrated  thirteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to 
Corinthians  (verses  4 — 7)  it  is  made  to  include  "  long- 
suffering  ■'  and  "  kindness,"  and  all  forms  of  humility 
and  gentleness.  But,  if  it  be  real,  it  must  necessarily 
pass  into  actiA'e  energy;  if  it  is  to  win  the  final 
beatitude  of  "  blessing  to  the  peacemakers,"  it  must 
"  labour  for  peace,"  and  "  follow  after  the  things  which 
make  for  peace  "  (Ps.  cxx.  7  ;  Rom.  xiv.  19). 

The  unity  of  the  Spirit  is  certainly  the  unity 
given  by  the  indAvelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  we 
cannot  create,  for  it  is  the  gift  of  God ;  but  we  can 
"  keep  "  it :  that  is,  cherish  it,  guard  it,  and  make  it 
eifectiial  by  love  ;  and  all  experience  proves  that,  if  we 
woidd  so  keeii  it,  we  need  the  positive  earnestness  of 
exertion  against  CA^ils  without  and  within. 

W  There  is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit,— The 
Avords  "There  is"  are  not  iu  the  original,  Avhich  starts 
with  a  striking  abruption,  and  Avith  that  terse  concen- 
tration of  thought  and  word  which  marks  out  an 
embiyo  creed. 

The  "  one  body  "  is  the  Body  of  Christ,  "  from  whom 
it  is  fitly  framed,  joined  together,  and  compacted,"  so 
that  in  every  part  "  it  grows  up  into  Him."  But  this 
communion  Avith  God  in  Christ  being  "the  life  eternal," 
the  Holy  Ghost,  by  making  it  effectual  alike  to  the 
Chui'ch  aiul  to  the  indiA'idual  soul,  is  the  "  Lord  and 
Giver  of  Life."  Hence,  His  i^reseuce  is  sjioken  of  as 
being  to  the  body  of  Christ  Avhat  the  spirit  is  to  the 
natural  body — the  uniting  and  vivifying  power  for  all 
its  members.  Under  the  same  idea  we  have  (in  1  Cor. 
xii.  13),  as  a  description  of  tlie  first  entrance  into  tlie 
Church  of  Christ,  "  By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  bjiptised 
into  one  body  .  .  .  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink 
into  one  Spirit." 

Even  as  ye  are  for  rather,  loere)  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling.— The  connection,  though  not 
at  first  obA'ious,  is  clear  on  consideration.  Since  the 
gi'ace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  only  the  "  seal "  of 
regenei'ation,  but  also  the  "  earnest "  (chap.  i.  14)  of 
future  perfection,  the  mention  of  the  one  Si)irit 
suggests  naturally  the  "hope  of  our  calling"  (i.e.,  the 
perfect  unity  of  lieaveu).  In  ihis,  in  spite  of  all 
natural  and  spiritual  inequalities,  and  in  spite  even  of 
our  dixnsions  and  strifes  upon  earth,  all  Christians  are 
still  actually  one.  Hence  the  communion  of  saints  is 
perliaps  most  clearly  realised  in  the  times  of  high 
spiritual  aspiration,  and  in  the  near  presence  of  death. 

(5)  One  Lord,  one  faith.— From  the  idea  of  "  the 
calling,"  the  Apostle  passes  naturally  to  Him  who  calls — 
the  "  one  Lord"— and  to  the  method  of  His  calling  to 
Himself,  first,  by  tlie  "  one  faith."  and  then  liy  the  "  one 
baptism  "  at  Avhich  profession  of  that  one  faith  is  made. 
It  is  on  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  each  heart  by  faith 
that  the  spiritual  unity  of  all  Christians— primarily  with 


Variety  of  Gifts  throiigh  the 


EPIIESIANS,   IV. 


One  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


<»)  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above 
all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all.  (^' 
But  unto  every  one  of  us  is  given 
irrace  according  to  the  measure  of  the 


I  Or,  a  mnltitiuh 
of  captives. 


gift  of  Christ.  ^^^  Wherefore     .       .     _^^ 
he  saith,When  he  ascended  Tho^vark-ty  of 
up  on  high,  he  led  capti-  gifts  and  func- 
vity  ^  captive,  and  gave  gifts    ^°^^' 


Him,  socondarily  with  oiio  another — depends;  and  that 
spiritvial  unity  is  "  put  on  "  in  baptism  (Gal.  iii.  27).  in 
^vhi^•h  wo  are  "  Iniried  witli  Him  and  risen  again  "  (Col. 
ii.  12),  growing  into  the  likeness  of  His  death  and 
resun-eetiou  (Rom.  ^■i.  3,  4,  5).  Again  we  note  that, 
with  but  few  exceptions,  all  Christians,  even  in  the 
divided  condition  of  the  Church,  arc  still  united  in  the 
"  one  baptism  ; "  and  if  we  look  to  such  expressions  of 
the  one  faith  as  are  contained  in  the  baptismal  pro- 
fessi(m  (e.r/.,  of  the  Apostles'  Creed),  it  is  clear  that  our 
divisions,  great  as  they  are,  turn  mainly  on  the  fourth 
subsidiary  Article  on  the  "Holy  Catholic  Church,"  and 
not  on  the  three  primaiy  Articles  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  these  the  mass  of 
Chiistondom  has  still  one  faith. 

(8)  One  God  and  Father  of  all.— Necessarily, 
through  the  Son,  we  jiass  to  the  Father  (as  the  Lord 
Himself  invariably  teaches  us  to  do),  since  He  is  (to  use 
the  old  Greek  expression)  "  the  fount  of  Deity."  He 
is  said  to  be  the  "  Father  of  all."  We  cannot  limit  this 
universal  Fatherhood;  although,  undoul)tedly,  the  con- 
text shows  that  the  immediate  reference  is  to  those  who 
are  His  children  1)y  adojjtion  in  Jesus  Christ.  The 
Church  is  essentially  Catholic,  inheriting  by  special 
gift  wliat  is  tlie  l)irthright  of  all  humanity ;  inca- 
pable of  perfection  till  all  be  drawn  into  that  closer 
sonship.  yet  having  neither  right  nor  desire  to  deny 
that  outside  her  pale  at  any  moment  the  wider  Father- 
hood of  God  extends. 

Who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in 
you  all. — The  woi-d  "you"  lias  little  authority;  many 
MSS.  and  commentaries  have  "us."  But  the  best  MSS. 
and  authorities  <miit  lioth,  as  pro1)ably  early  glosses 
of  explanation  which  have  crept  into  the  text.  Accord- 
ingly, the  word  "all"  throughout  must  be  taken,  as  above, 
as  applying  to  all  God's  rational  creatures,  made  in  His 
image  (and  indeed,  in  a  lower  sense,  even  to  all  His  crea- 
tures), but  especially  and  properly  to  the  members  of 
Christ's  Church.  In  the  three-fold  sentence  many 
ancient  and  modern  interpreters  trace  a  reference  to  the 
Holy  Trinity.  But,  strictly  speaking,  this  cannot  be,  as 
the  passage  expressly  points  to  the  Father;  although,  in 
virtue  of  the  eternal  unity  of  the  Godhead,  it  may  bo  true 
that  in  the  expression  "  through  all "  and  "  in  all"  we  trace 
those  manifestations  of  the  FatluM-  whicli  are  especially 
made  through  the  Son  and  l)y  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence  we 
must  refer  all  properly  to  the  ultimate  conception  of 
God  the  Father;  as  "above  all"  in  the  sovereignty  of 
His  will,  since  to  work  out  "  His  pleasure  they  are  and 
were  created,"  and  His  will  becomes  to  them  tlio  "  law 
eternal;"  as  "through  all"  in  the  diffusive  power  of 
the  forces — physical,  moral,  and  spiritual — liy  which 
the  world  of  natun^,  still  more  the  world  of  man,  most 
of  all  the  society  of  Christians,  are  swaj-ed  as  wholes; 
and  "in  all  "  by  the  indwelling  of  God  in  the  individual 
for  creati(m.  sustentation,  regeneration,  which  is  the 
breath  of  lif(>— both  the  physical  and  spiritual  life. 
(This  individuality,  and  the  especial  reference  to 
Christians,  are  marked  by  the  very  natural  gloss  "us," 
or  "  you,"  in  this  clause.) 

(2)  Verses  7 — 11  pass  from  the  unity  of  the  Church 
to  the  diversity  of  graces  and  offices  in  its  members, 


38 


all  being  gifts  of  the  ascended  Lord,  and  results  of 
that  universal  mediation  which  fills  all  things. 

(7)  But  unto  every  one  of  us  is  given  grace.— 
This  verse  should  be  rendered.  To  every  one  of  us 
the  grace  (the  one  "  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ") 
was  given — that  is,  given  in  the  Divine  purpose  in  the 
regeneration  of  the  whole  body,  although  it  has  to  be 
received  and  made  our  own.  separately  in  each  soul,  and 
gradually  in  the  course  of  life.  It  was  and  is  given 
"  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Chi-ist."  ( See 
below,  verses  13 — 16.)  In  Him  it  dwells  "without 
measure  "  (see  John  iii.  34) ;  He  gives  it  to  each  ac- 
cording to  the  measure  of  his  capacity  to  receive  it  in 
faith  (called  in  Rom.  xii.  3  the  "  measure  of  faith  "). 
Compare  with  this  verse  the  fuller  description  of 
the  differences  of  "gifts,"  "ministries,"  and  "opera- 
tions "  in  1  Cor.  xii.  4 — 6,  in  which  passage  there  is  the 
same  general  reference  to  the  Three  Persons  of  the 
Holy  Ti-inity ;  but  the  pai-ticular  reference  is  there  to 
the  Holy  Spirit,  while  here  it  is  to  the  Son. 

(8)  Wherefore  he  saith.— The  reference  is  to  Ps. 
Ixviii. — a  psalm  which  (as  the  quotation  from  Num.  x. 
35,  in  the  first  verse,  shows)  is  a  psalm  celebrating  some 
moving  of  the  ark,  traditionally  (and  most  probably) 
connected  with  Dand's  bringing  up  of  the  ark  (2  Sam. 
vi.)  to  Mount  Zion.  The  very  change  from  the  second 
person  to  the  third  person  shows  it  to  be  a  free  quota- 
tion ;  and  this  is  made  far  more  evident  by  the  re- 
markable variation  from  the  text  of  the  original,  which 
runs.  Thou  receivedst  gifts  in  man — i.e.,  probably, 
"  among  men  ;  "  and  adds,  "  even  tlie  rebellious,  that 
the  Lord  God  might  dwell  among  them " — a  clause 
which  (from  verses  29 — 31)  we  may  suppose  to  refer  to 
the  homage  of  the  heathen  to  the  Lord  Jehovah. 
Now,  it  has  been  noted  that  the  word  "received"  is 
used  constantly  for  "  receiving,"  or  "  fetching,"  for 
another  (Gen.  xv.  9;  xviii.  5;  xxvii.  13,  ei  «/.);  and  it 
appears  that  the  Chaldee  Targum  actually  has  here,  as  a 
gloss  :  "  Thou  hast  giA-en  gifts  to  the  sons  of  men,"  in- 
terpreting the  words,  curiously  enough,  of  Moses  as  a 
mediator  between  God  and  man.  The  psalm  also  was 
recognised  as  a  Messianic  psalm,  foreshadowing  the 
dwelling  of  "  God  with  us  "  in  the  universal  kingdom 
of  the  true  Mediator.  St.  Paul  accordingly  uses  it 
with  a  bold  variation  suiting  his  context.  The  key  to 
this  use  is  found  in  the  truth  enunciated  of  our  Lord 
in  Acts  ii.  33,  that  "being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
exalted,  and  hniung  received  of  the  Father  the  promise 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  He  hath  shed  forth  this."  Our 
Lord,  as  the  H(>ad  of  humanity,  receives  only  in  order 
to  give.  From  the  means,  therefore,  the  Apostle  passes 
to  the  end. 

He  led  captivity  captive.— Tlio  modem  use  of 
these  words  as  describing  our  Tjord's  triumph  over  the 
power  of  evil,  hitherto  triunii)hant  over  man.  and  so 
giving  freedom  by  leading  captive  the  jiower  of  capti\-ity, 
although  in  itself  profoundly  true,  is  not  supported  l)y 
the  original,  in  which  it  is  simply  used  for  "a  body 
of  caiitivos."  St.  Paul's  use  of  it  here  is  probably 
best  interpreted  by  Col.  ii.  15,  where  it  is  said  of 
the  "  principalities  and  powei's  " — the  powers  of  sin 
and  death — that   "He  made  a  show  of  them  openly, 


Ascended  into  Heaven. 


EPHESIANS,   IV. 


Thence  sendhifj  Ills  Ministers. 


unto  men."  (^)  (Now  that  he  ascended, 
Avhat  is  it  but  that  he  also  descended 
first  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth? 
<^o^  He  that  descended  is  the  same  also 


1  Or,  fulfil, 
b  1  Cor.  12.  28. 


that  ascended  ujd  far  above  all  heavens, 
that  he  might  fill  i  all  things.)  (ii)  And 
he  gave  some,  apostles ;  *  and  some, 
prophets;    and  some,  evangelists;    and 


triuinphiug  over  them  in  tlie  cross."  (See  Note  on 
this  passage.) 

(9,  10)  These  verses  form  a  parenthesis,  designed  to 
bring  out  the  pervading  idea  of  this  and  the  parallel 
Epistle — the  Divine  humanity  of  Christ  as  "  filling  all 
in  all"  and  "  gatheiiug  all  things  "  into  Himself. 

('»)  The  lower  parts  of  the  earth.— This  may 
mean  either  the  regions  of  the  earth,  as  "  lower  "  than 
heaven,  or  the  regions  beneath  the  earth.  The  reason- 
ing of  the  text  in  itself  would  be  satisfied  by  the 
former.  For  St.  Paul  is  simply  arguing  that  the  use  of 
the  phrase  "  ascended  "  from  earth  to  heaven  implies  a 

{)revious  corresponding  descent,  which  must  be  from 
leaven  to  earth ;  exactly  as  in  .John  iii.  13,  "  No  man 
hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but  He  that  came  down  from 
heaven."  But  form  and  usage  of  the  phrase  itself  seem 
to  point  to  the  other  meaning,  which  is  held  by  almost 
all  ancient  interpreters  and  most  moderns.  It  agrees 
with  the  strong  expression  of  "  filling  all  things,"  in 
verse  10,  and  is  possibly  suggested  by  the  leading 
captive  of  the  powers  of  hell  and  death.  Though, 
perhaps,  injurious  to  the  strictness  of  the  antithesis,  it 
is  quite  accordant  with  St.  Paul's  manner  to  introduce 
thus  a  fresh  idea  beyond  the  simple  idea  of  descent, 
which  is  sufficient  for  his  argument :  "  He  descended — 
yea,  even  to  the  realms  below."  For  this  idea  is  most 
apposite  to  that  frequent  reference  to  spiritual  powers 
of  evil  found  in  this  Epistle,  and  it  may  be  thought  to 
correspond  by  antithesis  to  the  "  far  above  all  heavens  " 
of  the  next  verse. 

(I'J)  That  he  might  fill  all  things.— Compare  the 
description  in  chap.  i.  23  of  the  Lord  as  '"  filling  all  in 
all."  In  both  cases  the  reference  is  more  particularly  to 
the  gift  of  the  fulness  of  His  grace,  flowing  from  His 
glorified  humanity  to  all  His  members.  But  the  words 
are  too  wide  for  any  limitation.  In  hea^-en  and  earth, 
and  the  realms  under  the  earth,  His  presence  and 
sovereignty  extends,  by  whatever  means  and  over 
whatever  beings  He  wills.  In  Rev.  v.  13,  accordingly, 
we  read  the  ascription  by  "  every  creature  in  heaven,  and 
on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth  .  .  .,  of  blessing, 
honour,  glory,  and  power  to  .  .  .  the  Lamb  for  ever 
and  ever." 

(11)  He  gave.— In  the  original  "  He "  is  em- 
phatic— He  and  He  alone,  as  the  ascended  Head  of 
humanity.  Tlie  woi-d  "gave,"  instead  of  the  more 
obvious  word  set,  or  appointed  (used  in  1  Cor.  xii. 
28),  is,  of  course,  suggested  by  verse  8.  They  who  are 
ministers  of  His  gifts  are  themselves  gifts  from  Him 
to  the  Church. 

Some,  apostles;  and  some,  prophets  .  .  . 
— With  this  passage  we  must  compare  1  Cor. 
xii.  28,  "  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first 
apostles,  secondarily  prophets,  thirdly  teachers,  after 
that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healings,"  &c. ;  and,  perhaps, 
Rom.  xii.  6 — 8,  "  Having  then  gifts  .  .  .  whether 
prophecy  ...  or  ministry  ...  or  teaching  ...  or 
exliortation  .  .  .,"  although  this  last  passage  is  less 
formally  apposite.  In  all  three  cases  there  is  the 
same  general  idea,  first  of  the  one  body,  and  then  of 
the  one  Spirit,  guiding  and  animating  it  through 
various  ministries.  The  parallel  between  this 
passage  and  the  passage  in  1  Cor.  is  very  close ;  for 


in  the  latter  all  that  follows  the  words  "  after  that " 
may  be  put  aside,  as  describing,  not  special  offices  or 
ministries,  but  special  gifts.  We  have,  therefore,  iji 
both,  "  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets."  Then  come, 
in  the  earlier  Epistle,  "  teachers  ;  "  and  this  class,  in  our 
own  later  Epistle,  is  subdivided  into  "  evangelists  "  and 
"  pastors,"  both  being  teachers — the  one  in  conversion 
of  those  still  aliens  from  Clirist,  the  other  in  edifica- 
tion of  those  already  brought  into  His  Hock. 

Som.e,  apostles. — The  name  "  apostles  "  is  certainly 
used  here  in  its  teclmical  and  restricted  sense,  as 
applying  to  the  Twelve,  whom  ''  the  Apostle  "  of  God 
Himself  (Heb.  iii.  1)  named  as  His  Apostles  (Luke  \\. 
13),  and  Avith  whom  St.  Paul  claims  equality  (see 
1  Cor.  ix.  1;  XV.  9 — 11 ;  Gal.  i.  1)  on  the  ground  of  his 
own  special  mission  and  revelation  from  the  same  Lord. 
It  is,  indeed,  used  in  a  wider  sense  ;  sometimes  with 
words  cfistinctly  implying  a  derivation  and  human  mis- 
sion, as  in  2  Cor.  viii.  23,  " apostles  (or,  mes.'^enrjers)  of 
the  churches ; "  Phil.  ii.  25,  "  Epaphroditus,  your 
apostle  (or,  messenger);"  sometimes  without  such 
qualification,  as  in  2  Cor.  xi.  5,  13;  xii.  11,  12 ;  1  Tliess. 
ii.  7 ;  and,  perhaps,  Rom.  xvi.  7.  But  such  use  is  rare, 
and  cannot  be  applied  to  a  passage  like  this,  which  is  dis- 
tinctive of  a  special  and  primary  class.  In  direct  charge 
from  the  Lord,  universal  scope  of  mission,  special  in- 
spiration and  power  of  miracle,  which  are  '"  the  signs  of 
an  apostle"  (2  Cor.  xii.  12),  the  Apostles,  properly  so 
called,  stood  out  in  office  absolutely  tmique  and  supreme. 
W^hat  was  said  of  the  first  age  of  the  Church  is  true 
of  aU  ages — '"  of  the  rest  durst  no  man  join  himself 
unto  them  "  (Acts  v.  13 1. 

Some,  prophets.— For  the  nature  and  function  of 
prophecy  in  the  Church,  see  the  detailed  treatment  of 
the  subject  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  It  is  sufficient 
here  to  note  (1)  that  from  very  early  tiiues  the  ''pro- 
phets "  are  mentioned  as  a  separate  class  (see  Acts  xi. 
27 ;  XV.  32 ;  xxi.  10),  distinguished  from  teachers 
(Acts  xiii.  1),  and  that,  in  this  Epistle  especially,  they 
are  spoken  of,  in  connection  ^vith  the  Apostles,  as 
receiWng  the  revealed  mystery  of  the  gospel  i^cliap.  iii. 
5),  and  being  (or,  layiug)  "the  foundation  of  the 
Church ;  "  (2)  that  their  office,  like  the  Apostolate,  is 
clearly  extraordinary,  distinct  from  the  ordinary  and 
permanent  teaching  of  the  evangelists  and  pastors, 
and,  prol)ably,  best  described  by  the  two  pln-ases  so 
constantly  applied  to  the  prophets  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment— "the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  me;"  "the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  me."  As  all  God's  extra- 
ordinary gifts  and  workings  are  closely  correlated  >vith 
His  ordinary  laws  of  operation,  so  in  this  case  the 
apostolic  and  prophetic  offices  gradually  melt  away 
into  the  regular  functions  of  government  and  teaching, 
belonging  in  all  times  to  the  ministry  of  tiie  Cliurch. 

Some,  evangelists;  and  some,  pastors  and 
teachers. — In  these  two  i)hrases  (corresponding  to  the 
simple  word  "  teachers  "  in  1  Cor.  xii.  28 1  we  find  described 
the  two-fold  office  of  the  regular  ministry  of  the  Ciiurch 
— first,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  ht-atlien  or  tlie  un- 
converted, and  next,  to  fulfil  our  Lord's  pastoral  charge 
(John  xxi.  15 — 17)  of  feeding  and  sliepherding  those 
who  are  already  His  sheep.  It  is  dear  that  the  same 
person  may  be  "invested  with  the  two  offices,  as  Timothy, 


39 


For  perfectinfj  of  the  Saints. 


EPIIESIAXS,   IV. 


For  hu'ddlufj  up  the  Church. 


some,  pastors  and  teachers ;  ( 
iG.^Devotod"to  ^'-^  for  the  perfecting  of  the  ^ 
the  one  object  saints,  for  the  -svork  of  the 
of  edification.  •    •   j.         x>        xi  tx-  • 

mmistry,  tor  the  ediiying 


of  the  body  of   Christ :    ^'^^  till  we  all 
or.inu,v>eunity.\  ^^^^  -^  ^^^^  Unity ^  of  the  faith,  and  of 

the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto 
a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 


when  in  pastoral  cliarge  at  Eiiliosus,  is  bidden  "  to  do 
the  work  of  an  evanj^eiist"  (2  Tim.  iv.  5) ;  and  that  iu 
some  deforce  the  two  offices  must  always  be  nnited,  for 
the  evangelist,  like  tlie  apostle,  is  generally  called  upon 
to  organise  and  "  confirm  the  churches  "  (Acts  xiv.  1*2,  23 ; 
XV.  41 1,  and  the  ^lastor  must  always  find  men  uncon- 
verted, to  whom  lie  must  be  an  evangelist.  But  the 
two  elonents  of  duty  will  co-exist  in  dilferent  projior- 
tions  in  ditl'eront  persons.  Some  were  then,  and  are  now, 
especially  called  to  be  "evangelists" — that  is,  as  is 
shown  by  the  career  of  Philip,  to  whom  the  name  is 
first  given  (Acts  xxi.  8\  to  be,  under  the  apostolic 
guidance,  missionaries  to  the  unconverted ;  others  to  be 
"pastors  aiul  teachers,"  feeding  now  with  "  pure  milk 
of  the  word,"  now  with  "  solid  meat  "  (see  1  Cor.  iii.  2, 
and  Heb.  v.  12),  those  already  gathered  into  the  fold, 
and  exercising  over  them  the  pastoral  authority  solemnly 
committed  by  our  Lord  to  His  ministers.  Yet  b.>th 
can  discharge  only  under  limitation  the  functions 
which  in  the  Apostles  were  practically  unlimited. 

On  the  question  whether  this  celebrated  passage 
describes  the  regular  orders  or  the  functions,  ordinary 
and  extraordinary,  of  the  ministry,  we  may  fairly  say 
tliat  while  no  doubt  the  very  genius  of  the  passage 
points  to  the  latter  alternative,  yet  the  ultimate  appeal 
must  be  made  to  history.  It  is  clear,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  that  none  could  inherit  the  direct  and  uni- 
versal commission  from  Christ  held  by  the  Apostles ; 
it  is  certain  historically  that  the  supernatural  gifts  of 
prophecy  and  miracle  passed  away ;  it  is  hardly  less  in- 
disputable that  the  two  functions  of  evangelism  and 
pastorate  were  always  shared  among  the  three  orders  of 
bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  after  the  close  of  the 
Apostolic  age. 

(3)  Verses  12 — 16  return  from  diversity  of  functions 
to  sing'eness  of  object — \\z.,  the  perfecting  individual 
souls  in  the  likeness  of  Christ,  and  so  building  up  of 
the  whole  Church  iu  unity  vrith  Him. 

(12)  For  the  perfecting  .  .  .— Tlie  parallelism 
of  the  three  clauses  of  our  version  of  this  verse  does  not 
exactly  coiTcspond  to  the  original,  though  we  notice  that 
Chrysostom  su[)ports  it,  and  therefore  endently  saw  no- 
thing in  the  Greek  to  contradict  it.  The  preposition 
{eis)  used  in  the  two  latter  clauses  (which  should  be  unto 
work  of  ministration,  unto  edification  of  the  body  of 
Christ)  properly  signifies  "  contact  with  a  thing,"  and 
the  preposition  \pros)  usediu  the  first  clause,  "direction 
towards  a  thing."  The  two  are  often  apparently  inter- 
changed;  but  in  close  juxtaposition  hero  can  hardly  bo 
intended  to  be  identical  or  exactly  parallel;  and,  if 
distinction  is  to  be  drawn,  the  former  must  signify 
immediate  consequence,  and  the  other  the  remoter 
object  to  which  such  immediate  consequence  is  designed 
to  minister.  The  construction  would  be  greatly  simpli- 
fied, if  inversion  of  the  first  two  clauses  could  be 
allowed.  For  it  would  then  run.  "  unto  work  of  minis- 
tration with  a  view  to  perfecting  of  saints,  unto  building 
up  of  the  body  of  Christ ; "  and  so  would  plainly 
represent  the  two-fold  operation  of  the  ministry :  first. 
its  work  iu  its  various  offices  for  the  perfecting  of 
individual  souls ;  and  next,  its  general  direction  to  the 


building  up  of  the  whole  body.  But  whether  this  con- 
struction be  grammatically  possible  or  not,  this  appears 
to  be  in  any  case  the  general  sense  of  the  passage. 

The  perfecting  of  the  saints.— The  word  ren- 
dered "  perfecting  "  (akin  to  the  "  perfection  "  of  2  Cor. 
xiii.  9)  is  derived  from  a  root  which  signifies  either  to 
"mend"  what  is  broken  (as  iu  Matt.  iv.  21),  or  to 
"  complete"  what  is  unfinished  (as  in  Luke  vi.  40;  Rom. 
ix.  22) ;  and  hence  is  used  spiritually  for  to  "  restore  " 
the  fallen  (Gal.  vi.  1),  or  to  "perfect"  the  imperfect 
Christian  (Heb.  xiii.  21  ;  1  Thess.  iii.  10).  Both  pro- 
cesses are  necessarily  implied  in  that  perfection  of  the 
individual  saints  here  spoken  of,  and  more  fully 
described  in  the  next  verses. 

The  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ.— Tliis  is 
that  part  of  tlie  work  of  the  ministry  (as  in  preaching 
and  ministering  iu  public  worship)  which  tells  upon  the 
Church  or  congregation  as  a  whole.  It  is  here  re- 
presented as  subsequeut,  perhaps  as  subordinate,  to  the 
individual  pastoral  dealing  with  souls.  But  each  has 
his  own  gift.  Some  ministries  are  more  blessed  to  the 
individual  jierfecting  of  the  saints  ;  others  to  the  build- 
ing up  of  the  whole  Church. 

(I3j  rpi2l  -we  all  come. — The  marginal  rendering  is 
correct:  till  ice  ail  arrive  at  the  tinitij  of  the  faith. 
The  "  one  faith  "  has  been  spoken  of  above ;  the  full 
grasp  of  that  faith  by  each  and  all  is  the  first  object 
of  all  the  ministries  of  the  Church,  since  by  it  both 
the  individual  perfection  and  the  corporate  unity  begin 
to  be  secured.  Such  faith  always  goes  on  to  knowledge, 
that  is  (as  in  chap.  i.  17)  "  full  knowledge"  of  Him  in 
whom  we  have  believed.  So  in  2  Pet.  i.  17,  "  Add 
to  your  faith  virtue  "  (that  is.  energy  in  well-doing), 
"and  to  virtue  knowledge."  This  knowledge  (see  chap. 
iii.  17 — 19)  is  gained  mainly  through  the  love  in  which 
faith  is  made  perfect. 

Of  the  Son  of  God.— These  words  should  be  con- 
nected with  the  word  "  faith  "  (as  in  Gal.  ii.  20)  as  well 
as  "  knowledge."  They  are  probably  to  be  considered 
as  a  distinctive  phrase,  designating  our  Lord  especially 
as  glorified  and  exalted  to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father 
in  •'  the  gloiy  which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the 
world  was."  So  in  Rom.  i.  4,  He  is  "  declared  to  be  the 
Son  of  God  by  the  Resurrection  ;  "  and  in  Heb.  iv.  14, 
"  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  "  is  ''  the  High  Priest  ascended 
into  the  heavens."  Compare  also  our  Lord's  declaration 
that  "  if  any  man  speaks  against  the  Son  of  Man  it 
shall  be  forgiven  him  "  (Matt.  xii.  32)  with  the  declara- 
tion of  the  certain  vengeance  on  him  who  "  treads 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God  "  (Heb.  x.  29).  Note  again,  in 
St.  John's  First  Epistle,  the  constant  reference  to  the 
belief  in  and  confession  of  Jesus  as  "  the  Son  of  God  " 
as  the  one  thing  needful  (chaps,  iv.  15;  v.  5, 10 — 12,  20). 
For  on  the  belief  not  only  of  what  He  was  on  earth,  but 
of  what  He  is  iu  heaven,  all  distinctive  Christianity 
depends.  If  He  is  only  "  Son  of  Man  "  He  cannot  be 
the  universal  Sa\'iour. 

Unto  a  perfect  (that  is.  fnll-grou-u)  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ. — In  these  words  are  described  the  second 
great  object  of  the  ministries  of  the  Church — not 
only  the  production  of  faith  and  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of   God,   but  the  formation  of    Christ  in  the  soxil,  as 


40 


The  Growth  into  tJie  Image  of  Christ.        EPxIESlArs  k5,    I  V  .  The  Development  of  the  ichole  Body. 


stature  ^  of  the  fulness  of  Christ :  (^^^ 
that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children, 
tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of 
men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby 
they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive ;  (^^^  but 
speaking  the  truth-  in  love,  may  grow 


1  Or,  age. 


up  into  him  in  all  things,  which  is  the 
head,  even  Christ :  (^'^^  from  whom  the 
whole  body  titly  joined  together  and 
compacted  by  that  which  every  joint 
supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual 
working  in  the  measure  of  every  part, 
OT.being nncere:^  maketh  iucrcase  of  the  body  unto  the 


"dwelliug  in  the  heart  through  faith."  Tliis  image  of 
Christ  iu  "  fuluess  "  is  the  aljsohitely  perfect  huraauitj, 
sliomng  forth  the  image  of  God.  Each  cau  partake  of 
it  ouly  up  to  "  the  measure  "  whidi  God  gives  him. 
(See  verse  7.)  Wlieu  he  so  partakes  of  it  to  the  utmost, 
ho  is  "  full-gi'ovvn "  (relatively,  uot  absolutely,  per- 
fect) up  to  the  spiritual  "  stature  "  assigned  to  him, 
although  (as  in  the  body)  that  stature  may  vary  iu 
different  persons,  and  iu  none  cau  perfectly  attain 
to  the  whole  "  fulness "  of  Christ.  The  rendering, 
"stature"  is  preferable  to  age,  as  suiting  better  the 
context,  though  both  are  fully  admissible  under  New 
Testament  usage.  On  the  woi-d  "fulness,"  see  Note 
to  chap.  i.  23. 

(\i)  That  we  be  no  more  children. — Here  the 
process  of  gi-owth  is  described  negatively;  in  the 
next  verse  positively.  We  are  to  he  no  more  children. 
Tlie  word  used  here  and  in  1  Cor.  iii.  1 ;  xiii.  11 ; 
Gal.  iv.  1,  3;  Heb.  v.  13  (often  rendered  "babes"), 
is  a  word  almost  always  applied  iu  a  bad  sense,  like 
our  word  "childish" — uot  to  the  guilelessness,  the 
trustfulness,  or  the  humility  of  chUdren,  which  ova- 
Lord  emphatically  blessed  (Matt,  xviii.  2 — 4),  but  to 
their  uuforeseeing  and  unthinking  impulsiveness.  The 
distinction  is  marked  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  20,  "  Be  uot  children 
in  understanding  :  howbeit,  iu  malice  be  ye  children,  but 
iu  understanding  be  men."  Thus,  in  1  Cor.  iii.  1,  xiii.  11, 
Heb.  V.  13,  it  describes  crudeness  and  shallowness  of 
conception;  in  Gal.  iv.  1,3,  incapability  of  free  seK- 
direction  ;  here.  liabiUty  to  disturbance  and  change  by 
every  external  impression  from  without,  so  as  to  be 
"everything  by  turns  and  nothing  long." 

Tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine.— The  metaphor  is  of  a  ship 
drifting  at  the  mercy  of  a  storm,  tossed  by  the  waves,  and 
carried  round  from  time  to  time  by  every  blast.  The 
Avord  "  tossed  "  is  moi'e  properly  used  of  the  waves  (com- 
pare Jas.  i.  6)  themselves,  but  the  following  words  seem 
to  show  that  liei'e  it  is  applied  to  the  sliip  rising  and  fall- 
ing with  them.  The  word  "  doctrine,"  as  usual,  is  a 
general  word  for  aU  deliberate  "  teaching,"  whether 
acting  on  the  understanding  or  the  heart.  It  includes, 
iu  fact,  aU  influence  consciously  exercised  to  a  definite 
end. 

The  metaphor  is  then  dropped,  and  the  evil  influences 
to  which  childish  instability  is  a  prey  are  described — first, 
as  the  "sleight,"  I.e.,  the  sleight  of  hand  of  the  dice- 
thrower,  describing  quick,  sudden  deceit  of  detail ; 
next  (to  substitute  an  accurate  translation  for  the  un- 
usually paraphrastic  rendering  of  our  version),  as  a 
"craftiness  devoted  to  the  systematic  plan  of  deceit," 
tlnis  referring  to  deeper  and  subtler  forms  of  delusion. 
This  reference  is  so  definite  in  the  original,  that  we  are 
tempted  to  believe  St.  Paul  to  have  liad  in  view  some 
particular  scheme  of  erroneous  teacliing.  which  liad 
already  struck  root  in  the  .soil  of  Asia  Minor.  The 
Epi.stle  to  the  Colossiaus  shows  that  such  false  teach- 
ing had  appeared  itself  at  Colossae ;  it  was,  perhaps, 
the  germ  of  the  more  full-growu  Gnosticism  noted  iu 
the  Pastoral  Epistles. 


(i3)  But  speaking  the  truth  in  love.— It  lias 
been  doubted  whellier  the  words  •'  in  love  "  should  not 
be  connected  with  "  may  grow  up,"  &c.,  exactly  as  in 
verse  Itj,  "  maketh  increase  of  the  body  .  .  .  iu  love." 
But  both  order  and  sense  seem  to  point  to  the  con- 
nection given  in  our  version.  The  correct  rendering 
is,  being  true  in  love;  including  in  this  the  "being 
true"  to  others,  by  speaking  truly  and  acting  honestly 
towards  them  (as  in  Gal.  iv.  16),  but  including  also  the 
"  being  true  "  absolutely — that  is,  the  loving  the  truth, 
and  clinging  to  it  at  all  costs.  The  latter  element,  in- 
deed, is  the  one  which  stands  here  more  properly  in 
antithesis  to  the  childish  instability  dcscrilied  in  the 
preceding  verse ;  as  it  is  in  itself  the  more  important, 
and  is,  in  fact,  the  only  basis  for  the  other. 

"  To  thine  own  self  be  true. 
And  it  will  follow,  as  the  night  the  day. 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

Tliis  "  being  true  "  is  expressed  in  many  forms.  Some- 
times as  "  being  of  the  truth"  (John  xviii.  37;  1  John 
ii.  21;  iii.  19);  sometimes  as  "abiding  in  the  truth" 
(John  viii.  44'),  or  "  having  the  truth  in  us  "  (1  John  i.  8); 
sometimes  as  "  doing  the  truth  "  (John  iii.  21),  and 
"  walking  iu  the  trtith "  (2  John,  verse  4 ;  3  John, 
verse  4).  Iu  all  cases  it  is  closely  connected  with  the 
idea  of  unity  with  Him  who  is  Himself  "the  Truth" 
(John  xiv.  6). 

AVitli  the  phrase  "  being  true  iu  love  "  we  may  com- 
pare the  corresponding  phrase  of  "loving  in  truth  .  . .  for 
the  truth's  sake,  which  dwelleth  in  us  ''(2  Jolm,  verse  1; 
see  also  verse  3,  and  3  John,  verse  1 ).  In  both  we  recognise 
the  harmony  of  the  two  great  principles  of  iudi\"iduality 
and  tmity,  on  which  true  humanity,  and  therefore  like- 
ness to  God,  depends.  In  the  contemplation  and  love 
of  truth  each  of  us  is  alone ;  even  in  the  speaking  and 
doing  truth  towards  others  we  have  to  consult  only  God 
and  our  own  conscience,  which  is  His  voice  ^vithin.  In 
love,  on  the  contrary,  we  deny  and  sacrifice  self,  merging 
our  imlividtial  being  in  huuutuity  or  in  God.  Taking 
the  first  alone,  we  have  a  hard,  almost  stoical,  self-con- 
centration ;  taking  the  other  alone,  it  may  become  to- 
wards man  an  idolatry,  to  which  both  truth  and  freedom 
are  sacrificed,  and  even  towards  God  may  pass  into  a 
mysticism,  in  which  all  active  energy  is  lost.  Uniting 
both,  we  have  the  perfect  hiunanity,  at  once  individual 
and  social,  at  once  free  before  God  and  lost  in  God. 
Accordingly,  it  is  thus  that  we  "  grow  uj)  into  Him  who 
is  the  Head,  even  Christ,"  whu,  by  perfect  truth  and 
perfect  love,  manifested  to  us  in  His  humanity  all  the 
fulness  of  God. 

The  head,  even  Christ. — In  this  name  of  our 
Lord  we  have  the  link  of  connection  between  the  indi- 
vidual perfection  and  corjjorato  unity.  He  is  (as  iu 
1  Cor.  xi.  3)  the  Head  of  each  man.  He  is  also  the 
Head  of  the  whole  Church. 

(i'5)  From  whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined 
together  and  compacted.— The  wonl  rendered 
"  fitly  joined  together"  is  the  same  used  in  chap.  ii.  21, 
with  more  technical  accuracy,  of  a  building — "  damped  " 
or  "  bonded  together."    Here  the  two  words  are  applied 


41 


Warning  against  the  old  Heathen  Life        EPHESIANb,     Iv. 


darkened  in  Mind  and  Heart. 


edifying  of  itseli  in  love."  (^^^  This  I  say- 
Chap,  iv.  17—  therefore,  and  testify  in 
24.      Contrast  the  Lord,  that  ye  hence- 

oi  heatlien  and    /.     . ,  ,i  .  •'  . , 

Christian  lite.     lorth  walk    not   as    other 


Gentiles  walk,  in  the  vanity  of  their 
mind,  (^^^  having  the  understanding 
darkened,  being  alienated  from  the 
life    of    God    throuo-h    the    ignorance 


to  tho  union  of  the  limbs  of  the  body,  as  being  "  jointed," 
and  so  '*  bruuglit  into  close  contact."  The  latter  word 
is  used  in  Col.  ii.  19. 

By  that  which  every  joint  supplieth.— A  pai-a- 
phrastic  and  inaccurate  rendering.  It  should  be,  by 
evenj  contact  icith  the  siqyjjhj  (of  nutriment)  from  the 
head.  The  word  employed  lias  commonly  the  meaning 
of  "  joint "  (as  in  the  parallel  passage,  Col.  ii.  19),  and 
is  so  used  by  Greek  physiologists ;  but  its  original  sense 
is  abstract — the  "  joining  "  or  "  touching  " — and  this 
appears  the  simi^lest  here.  The  supply  (comp.  Phil.  i. 
19,  "tho  supply  of  the  Spirit")  is  again  almo-st  a 
technical  word  for  the  abundant  outflow  of  strength 
and  nervous  energy  from  the  head.  (The  correspond- 
ing verb  is  used  in  2  Cor.  ix.  10  ;  Gal.  iii.  5  ;  Col.  ii.  19 ; 
2  Pet.  i.  5,  11.)  Hence  the  phrase  seems  to  stand  in 
closer  connection  with  the  "  maketh  increase  "below  than 
the  "  compacted  together  "  above.  The  body  grows,  in 
every  part  of  its  complex  unity,  through  contact  with 
the  divine  supply  of  gi-ace  tlirough  the  head. 

According  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part.— In  these  words  is  described 
the  method,  as  in  the  preceding  word  the  source,  of  the 
growth.  The  '•  effectiveness  "  of  every  jiart "  in  measure  " 
{according,  that  is,  to  its  right  capacity  and  function) 
is  the  condition  of  corporate  growth.  Such  effectiveness 
comes  from  direct  contact  with  the  central  energy. 

Maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edify- 
ing {the  huildbuj  ttp)  of  itself  in  love.— Here,  lastly, 
wo  have  the  function  of  the  body  itself.  It  is  knit 
together  by  its  divine  organisation;  it  is  sustained  ])y 
the  supply  from  the  bead;  its  several  parts  are  kept  in 
life  l)y  that  supply ;  but  it  grows  as  a  whole  and  builds 
itself  up  by  the  uniting  and  vivifying  power  of  love, 
which  is  the  "  bond  of  perfectness."  (Just  so  St.  Paul 
says  of  the  individual,  in  1  Cor.  viii.  1,  "  Charity 
edifieth.")  Truth  is,  no  doubt,  the  basis  of  unity ;  l)ut 
love  is  its  vital  power,  at  once  keeping  together  all  who 
are  united,  and  drawing  in  those  who  are  as  yet 
separated. 

[5.  Practical  Exhortation  (chap.  iv.  17—21). 

(1)  The  New  Life  ;   first,  taught  in  Christ  and 

learning   Christ;    and    secondly,   regenerate 
in  Him  to  the  imago  of  God  (versos  17 — 2-i). 

(2)  Hence  the  Poweh  op  Conquest  of  Sin 

generally — 

(a)  Falsehood  {verse  25) : 

(b)  Passionate  anger  (verses  26,  27); 

(c)  Dishonestxj  (verso  28) ; 

(d)  Foulness  of  to  or d  (verses  29,  30); 

(3)  Hence  its  Power  against  the  Special 

Besetting  Sins  of — 
(a)  Bitterness   and   malice,   unworthy    of   tho 

love  of  Christ  (verses  31,  32,  and  chap. 

V.  1,  2); 
(fc)  Fornication   and    lust,    unworthy   of    the 

light  of  Christ  (chap.  v.  3— U) ; 
(c)  Recklessness  and  drunken  excitement  (chap. 

V.  15—21).] 

(1)  In  verses  17 — 24^  we  enter  on  the  practical 
section  of  the  Epistle,  which,  indeed,  appears  to  begin 


42 


in  verse  1,  but  is  broken  in  upon  by  the  magnificent 
digression  of  the  doctrinal  summary  of  verses  4 — 16. 
It  opens  with  a  striking  contrast  of  the  past  and  the 
present — the  life  of  the  heathen  in  its  "  vanity,"  with 
the  two-fold  result  of  blindness  and  callousness  of  soul ; 
and  the  Christian  life,  which  has  in  learning  Christ 
found  the  secret  of  regeneration. 

(17)  This  I  say  therefore.- Tlie  phrase  "  This  I 
say"  seems  to  be  used  by  St.  Paul  in  returning  (so  to 
speak)  from  some  lofty  aspiration  or  pi'of  ound  reasoning, 
in  which  some  might  not  be  able  to  follow  him,  to  a 
solid,  practical  ground,  which  all  may  tread.  (See,  for 
example,  1  Cor.  xv.  50.)  Here  he  is  not  content  to  use 
this  phrase  simply,  l)ut  he  enforces  it  by  the  solemnity 
of  tlie  adjuration  "I  testify"  (comp.  Acts  xx.  26; 
Gal.  V.  3),  which  properly  means,  "  I  call  God  to  witness 
the  truth  of  what  I  say  " — a  phrase  found  in  express 
terms  in  Rom.  i.  9;  2  Cor.  i.  23;  Phil.  i.  8;  1  Thess.  ii. 
5.  Nor  was  even  this  enough,  for  he  adds  "  in  the 
Lord" — that  is,  in  the  name,  authority,  and  spirit  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  The  whole  form  is 
therefore  one  of  peculiar  force  and  solemnity. 

The  vanity  of  their  mind,— In  these  words  St. 
Paul  describes  the  fundamental  condition  of  heathenism. 
The  "  mind,"  that  is  (as  in  Rom.  A'ii.  23,  25),  the 
"inner  man" — the  spiritual  intuition  of  invisible  prin- 
ciples of  truth  and  right,  which  is  the  true  humanity 
— has  become  "  subject  to  vanity"  (Rom.  viii.  20), — the 
vanity  of  which  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  so  often 
speaks.  In  losing  the  living  conception  of  a  living  God, 
it  has  lost  also  the  coiiception  of  the  true  objeet  and 
perfection  of  human  life ;  and  so  wanders  on  aimless, 
hopeless,  reckless,  as  in  a  dream.  With  what  absolute 
fidelity  St.  Paul  describes  the  heathen  world  of  his  day, 
its  history  and  its  literature  alike  testify.  Compare  with 
the  whole  passage  the  pictiu-e  drawn  in  Rom.  i.  21 — 32, 
''  They  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their 
foolish  heart  was  dai-kened,"  &c.  The  difference  is 
that  in  the  latter  passage  the  prominent  idea  is  mainly 
of  "judicial  blindness,"  sent  by  God  as  a  penalty  on 
wilful  apostasy  from  Him,  Avhereas  here  St.  Paul  rather 
dwells  on  self-chosen  blindness  and  hardness  of  heart. 

(18)  Having  the  understanding  darkened.— 
Of  this  vanity  tho  first  result  noted  is  the  intellectual. 
They  are  "  darkened  in  the  xinderstanding."  and  so, 
"  by  the  ignorance  in  them  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God."  The  phrase  "  the  life  of  God  "  is  unique.  It 
may.  however,  be  interpreted  ])y  a  similar  phrase,  tho 
"  righteousness  of  God  "  (Rom.  i.  7),  i.e.,  the  righteous- 
ness given  by  God.  What  the  life  given  by  God  is,  we 
know  by  our  Lord's  own  Avords  (John  xvii.  3).  "This 
is  the  life  eternal,  to  know  Thee  the  only  tnie  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  Tliou  has  sent."  So  far  as  the 
understanding  is  concerned,  this  alienation  signifies 
the  loss  of  the  central  light  of  Truth  in  God,  and  with 
it  the  loss,  partial  or  complete,  of  the  A-ision  of  other 
truths  in  their  right  proportion  and  harmony. 

But  the  second  result  is  moral.  St.  Paul  attributes 
the  alienation  from  God,  or  (possibly,  though  less  pro- 
bably) "  the  ignorance  which  is  in  them,"  to  the  hardness 
of  their  heart— for  the  marginal  reading  iscon-ect;  the 
word  used  signifies,  almost  technically,  "  callousness  " 


The  New  Life,  learning  Christ, 


EPHESIANS,   IV. 


and  taught  in  Christ. 


that  is  in  them,  because  of  the  blind- 
ness ^  of  their  heart:"  ('^^  who  being 
past  feeling  have  given  themselves 
over  unto  lasciviousness,  to  work  all 
uncleanness  with  greediness.     (-^^  But 


1   Or,  hardness. 
a  Uuiu.  1.  '21. 


ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ ;  <2i)  if  gQ 
be  that  ye  have  heard  him,  and  have 
been  taught  by  him,  as  the  truth  is  in 
Jesus  :  (--^  that  ye  jDut  off  concerning 
the  former  conversation  the  old  man. 


and  insensibility.  To  make  his  meaning  clearer  still 
he  adds,  "  who  (or,  inasmuch  as  they)  being  past 
feeling,  have  given  themselves  over  to  lasciviousness." 
There  is  jirecisely  a  simihir  current  of  thought  (noting, 
however,  the  characteristic  diifereuce  referred  to  above) 
in  Rom.  i.  24 — 32,  where  St.  Paul  draws  out,  as  con- 
sequences of  the  same  vanity,  first  lusts  of  uncleanness, 
next  unnatural  sin,  and  at  last  breaks  out  into  a  fearful 
enumeration  of  the  signs  of  the  reprobate  mind.  On 
this  side,  therefore,  "the  alienation  from  the  life  of  God  " 
is  the  loss  of  the  grace  by  which  He  dwells  in  the  soul, 
and  by  indwelling  gives  it  tlie  moi'al  and  spiritual  life. 

(19)  Who  being  past  feeling  .  .  .—We  note  that 
St.  Paul,  passing  lightly  over  the  intellectual  loss,  dwells 
on  the  moral  with  intense  and  terrible  emphasis.  They 
are  (he  says)  "  past  feeling  " ;  or,  literally,  carrying  on 
the  metaphor  of  callousness,  they  have  lost  the  capa- 
city of  fain — the  moral  pain  which  is  the  natm-al 
and  healthful  consequence  of  sin  against  our  true 
natures.  Consequently,  losing  in  this  their  true  hu- 
manity, they  give  themselves  over  to  "lasciviousness." 
The  word  used  here  (as  also  in  Mark  vii.  22  ;  Rom.  xiii. 
13 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  21 ;  Gal.  v.  19)  signifies  a  lust  devoid 
of  all  sense  of  decency,  recklessly  and  grossly  animal. 
Hence  its  result  is  not  only  to  work  out  uncleanness 
of  every  kind,  but  to  do  so  "  with  greediness,"  with  a 
reckless  delight  in  foulness  for  its  own  sake.  The 
union  of  this  brutality  of  sensual  sin  with  intellec- 
tual acuteness  and  aesthetic  culture  was  the  most 
horrible  feature  of  that  corrupt  Greek  civilisation, 
tainted  with  Oriental  grossness,  of  which  he  was 
esjiecially  writing. 

(^0)  Ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ. — Better, 
ye  did  not  so  learn  the  Christ.  To  "learn  Christ" 
is  a  phrase  not  used  elsewhei-e ;  but  easily  inter- 
preted by  the  commoner  phrase  to  "know  Christ"  (see 
John  xiv.  7,  9;  2  Cor.  v.  16  ;  Phil.  iii.  10),  which  is 
still  nearer  to  it  in  the  original,  for  the  word  used  for 
"  to  know "  propei-ly  means  to  perceive  or  "  come  to 
know."  It  would  seem  that  the  name  "  the  Christ  "  is 
here  used  emphatically,  in  distinction  from  the  "  Jesus  " 
of  the  next  verse.  "  To  learn  the  Christ "  is  to  enter 
into  the  true  meaning  of  His  office  as  the  Anointed 
Priest,  Prophet,  and  King,  or,  in  one  word,  as  the 
Mediator,  in  Avhom  we  as  Christians  escape  from  the 
guilt  and  bondage  of  the  sins  described  above.  Such 
learning— like  the  "  knowing  "  of  2  Cor.  v.  14 — is  not 
"  after  the  flesh."  by  the  mere  hearing  of  the  ear,  but 
"  after  the  Spirit,"  writincr  Christ  upon  the  heart. 

('-^)  If  SO  be  that. — The  word  is  the  same  which  is 
need  in  chap.  iii.  2,  Col.  i.  23.  indicating  no  real  doubt, 
l)ut  only  that  rhetorical  doubt  which  is  strong  affirma- 
tion. 

Ye  have  heard  him  .  .  .—The  true  rendering 
here  is.  ye  heard  Him,  and  tvere  taught  in  Him.  St. 
Paul  begins  with  the  first  means  oi  knowledge,  the 
"  hearing  "  His  voice,  directly  or  through  His  mini.sters  ; 
and  then  proceeds  to  describe  the  fuller  and  more 
systematic  process  of  "  being  taught."  not  "  by  Him  " 
(as  in  our  version),  but  "  in  Him,"  that  is.  in  tliat  unity 
with  Him  which  embraces  both  teachers  and  taught  as 
with  an  atmosphere  of  His  presence. 


43 


As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus.— Here  by  the  name 
"  Jesus,"  the  personal  and  proper  name  of  the  Lord,  St. 
Paul  leads  us  on  from  the  conception  of  "  learning  the 
Christ,"  to  understand  the  method  of  that  learning,  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  "  truth  "  in  the  person  of  Jesus 
Himself,  who  declares  Himself  to  be  the  Truth  (John 
xiv.  6).  By  a  loving  study  and  knowledge  of  His 
person,  as  set  forth  to  us  in  the  gosi^el,  and  brought 
home  to  us  by  His  grace,  rather  than  by  abstract 
musing  on  the  office  and  attributes  of  "  the  Christ,"  we 
come  to  learn  the  Christ  also.  The  use  of  the  simple 
name  Jesus,  so  common  in  the  Gospelo.  is  rare  indeed 
in  the  Epistles,  where  we  constantly  find  the  fuller 
description  "  Jesus  Christ,"  "  the  Lord  Jesus,"  "  Jesus 
the  Son  of  God."  Wlierever  it  occurs,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  distinctive  or  emphatic.  This  distinc- 
tiveness is  most  strikingly  evident  in  Rom.  viii.  11  : 
"  If  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  raised  up  Jesus  from  the 
dead  dwell  in  you,  He  that  raised  uji  [the]  Christ 
from  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies." 
The  "  raising  up  of  Jesus,"  is  the  historical  resun-ection 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  the  "  raising  up  the  Christ " 
points  to  the  mysterious  effect  of  that  resurrection  on 
those  for  whom  He  is  the  Mediator.  Of  the  few  other 
passages  in  which  the  simple  name  occurs,  some  (as 
Rom.  iii.  26 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  10,  11 ;  1  Thess.  i.  10;  Heb.  x. 
10)  are  mere  reiterations  of  the  name  occurring  above 
with  the  due  title  of  honour;  others  are  quasi-recitals 
of  a  creed  declaring  the  historic  Jesus  (1  Cor.  xii.  3; 
1  Thess.  iv.  14  ;  comp.  2  Cor.  xi.  4^.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  whei'e,  in  accordance  with  one  main  purpose 
of  the  Epistle,  this  usage  is  least  rare  (see  chaps,  ii.  9; 
vi.  20  ;  vii.  22  ;  xii.  2,  24  ;  xiii.  12),  it  ^^•ill  be  found  that  in 
all  cases,  either  special  stress  is  laid  on  the  lowly  and 
suffering  humanity  of  the  Lord,  or  the  historic  facts 
of  His  ministry  on  earth  are  referred  to.  The  modem 
familiarity  of  use  of  the  simple  name  "  Jesus "  has 
little  authority  in  apostolic  usage. 

(22—24)  These  verses  explain  the  substance  of  the  teach- 
ing of  verse  21.  The  original  may  be  interpreted  either 
of  the  teaching  of  a  fact,  "  that  ye  did  put  off  .  .  . 
and  are  being  renewed,"  &.Q..  or  of  a  duty,  "  that  ye  put 
off  .  .  .  and  be  renewed."  The  latter  is,  on  the  whole, 
the  more  probable,  although  the  former  would  yield  a 
simpler  sense.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  words  "  put 
off"  and  "put  on"  in  the  original  denote  a  distinct 
and  complete  act ;  the  word  "  be  renewed."'  a  continuous 
and  still  incomplete  process.  The  complete  act  is 
consummated,  and  the  contirnons  process  begun,  by 
the  practical  "  learning  "  of  Christ — that  is,  by  growth 
in  spiritual  communit)n  with  Him. 

(2-)  Concerning  the  former  conversation. — 
So  far,  that  is,  as  concerns  the  conversjxtion  or  mode  of 
life  described  aboVo  (verses  17 — 19)  as  the  moral  con- 
dition of  heathenism.  It  is  in  relation  to  this,  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  true  humanity,  and  not  in  relation  to 
the  tnie  humanity  itst>lf ,  that  "the  "  old  man  "  is  put  off. 

The  phrase  "  the  old  man"  (found  also  in  Rom.  vi.  6; 
Col.  iii.  9)  is  here  illustrated  by  the  description  follow- 
ing :  ichich  is  being  marred  in  virtue  of  the  lusts  of 
deceit.  Tlie  word  rendered  "  corrupt  "  expresses  not  so 
much  pollution  as  disintegration  and  decay,  much  as  in 


WarniiKj  (ujaliiit  Falsehood 


EPHESIANS,   IV. 


and  ^orathful  Anger. 


which  is  corrupt  according-  to  tlie  de- 
ceitful hists ;  <-'^'  and  be  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  your  mind;  <-^*  and  that  ye  put 
on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is 
created  in  riy^hteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness.^   ^-''^  Wherefore  putting  away  lying, 


I  Or,    holiness    of 


speak     every     man     truth    with     his 

neighbour :      for    we    are  ^, 

°  1  p  XI  Chap.    IV.   25— 

members   one   of  another.  30.  'in  respc-ct 
(26)  gg   jQ  angry,   and    sin  of  sins  against 
not:    let   not    the   sun    —  ^^^ 
down  upon  your  wrath 


go 

(-7)  neither  give 


2  Cor.  iv.  IG  ;  and  so  carries  out  the  idea  implied  in 
tlie  epithet  "  ohl."  The  unregenerato  nature,  subject 
to  "  the  lusts  of  deceit  " — the  lusts,  tliat  is,  of  the 
spirit  of  delusion,  blind  themselves,  and  blinding  the 
soul  which  yields  to  them — is  gradually  sinking  into 
the  spiritual  decay  which  nuist  become  spiritual  death, 
unless  by  tiie  effort  of  faith,  entering  into  the  com- 
munion with  Christ,  it  be,  once  for  all,  "put  oif."  The 
various  qualili(>s  of  the  nature  thus  stripped  off  are 
variously  described :  in  Rom.  xiii.  22,  as  the  "  works  of 
darkness;  in  Heb.  xii.  1,  as  simply  "encumbrance;" 
in  Jas.  i.  21,  as  "  filthiness  and  excess  of  evil;"  in 
1  Pet.  ii.  1,  as  "  malice,  and  craft,  and  hypocrisies,  and 
envies."     All  these  are  the  "  lusts  of  deceit." 

(-5)  And  be  renewed,  ia  the  spirit  of  your 
mind. — The  word  translated  "  renewed  "  is  not  the 
same  as  tlio  word  "  new  "  below.  It  is  properly  "  to 
bo  made  young  again,"  and  the  process  of  recovery  is 
described  as  the  natural  effect  of  puttiug  off  the 
decrepitude  of  the  old  man,  and  the  decay  engendered 
by  (lesldy  lusts.  Tho  effect  is  seen  in  "  the  spirit  of 
the  mind" — that  is,  "iii  the  spiritual  nature  of  the 
inner  man."  Tho  "spirit"  of  man  is  the  mind  or 
inner  man,  considered  in  its  true  relation  as  quickened 
aud  sustained  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  (See  Rom.  viii.,  and 
especi  dly  verse  10.)  We  note,  in  Col.  ii.  18,  tho  opposite 
condition  of  "the  mind  of  the  flesh,"  in  those  who  do 
]iot  "hold  tho  Head."  This  spirit  is  spoken  of  as 
iTgaining  its  undying  youtli,  as  it  wei-e,  naturally,  when 
"  the  muddy  vesture  of  decay"  is  cast  off. 

(-y  And  that  ye  put  on  .  .  .—But  this  effect 
of  "the  putting  off  of  tho  old  man"  is  at  once 
absorbed  in  tho  stronger  idea  of  "  putting  on  tho 
new  man."  In  tho  "now  man"  here  is  inqjlied  not 
merely  youthfidness,  but  the  freshness  of  a  higher 
nature  (as  in  chap.  ii.  15).  To  "  put  on  the  new 
man"  is,  therefore,  to  "  jiut  on  tho  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  by  that  divine  process  of  which  we  have  the 
beginning  in  Gal.  iii.  27,  the  continuation  in  Rom. 
xiii.  Ii,  and  the  completion  in  1  Cor.  xv.  .53,  54;  2  Cor. 
V.  3.  For  Ho  is  "  tho  new  man,"  "  the  second  Adam," 
"  formed  after  God,  in  righteousness  and  holiness  of 
tho  truth." 

Holiness  (used  only  here  and  in  Luke  i.  75)  is 
"purity"  consecrated  to  God  in  His  "Holy One"  (Acts 
ii.  27).  It  describes  the  "purity  of  Ix-art"  of  which 
our  Lord  Himself  speaks  as  a  still  higher  grace,  gifted 
with  a  higher  reward,  than  even  "  hunger  aud  thir.st 
after  righteousness"  (Matt.  v.  6,  8).  "Righteousness" 
is  goodness  shown  to  others,  to  man  and  to  God : 
"  holiness  "  is  goodness  in  itself,  as  it  is  in  "  the  High 
and  Holy  One  who  inhabiteth  eternity."  Stress  is  laid 
upon  it  here  in  contrast  with  the  lusts  and  unclean- 
noss  described  above. 

Truth  is  similarly  opposed  to  the  "deceit"  of  verse 
22.  Christ  is  Himself  "tho  Truth,"  as  being  the 
manifestation  of  "  the  fulness  of  the  Godhcnid."  As 
the  corrupting  aud  beguiling  lusts  belong  to  the  spirit 
of  Deceit,  so  righteousness  and  holiness  to  the  Truth. 

(2)  From  this  general  description  of  the  regeneration 


of  tho  soul  out  of  the  death  of  sin,  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  St.  Paul  now  passes  on  to  deal  with  special  moral 
duties  (verses  25 — 30) — tiie  casting  out  of  falsehood, 
wrath,  dishonesty,  and  impurity,  which  are  the  four 
typical  sins  forbidden  in  the  four  general  Command- 
ments of  the  Second  Table — the  Ninth,  the  Sixth,  the 
Eighth,  and  the  Seventh.  But  he  treats  all  with  a 
marked  and  striking  peculiarityof  treatment — in  relation 
to  the  great  principle  of  unity  in  Christ,  rather  than 
in  relation  to  a  man's  own  nature  or  his  individual 
responsibility  to  God.  In  this  treatment  he  shows  tho 
vivid  practical  application  of  the  characteristic  doctrine 
of  this  Epistle. 

(-5)  For  we  are  members.  —  Accordingly  the 
reason  given  for  "putting  away  lying"  is  that  "we 
are  members  one  of  another."  Truth  is  the  first  con- 
dition of  tho  mutual  confidence  which  is  the  basis  of 
all  unity.  Hence  it  is  the  first  duty  of  that  "  mem- 
bership one  of  another,"  which  follows  from  our  being 
"one  body  in  Christ"  (Rom.  xii.  5;  1  Cor.  xii.  27). 
No  doubt  it  is  also  the  first  duty  to  our  own  humanity, 
and  to  the  God  "who  hateth  a  lie."  But  these  views, 
though  true  in  themselves,  would  not  bo  relevant  to 
St.  Paul's  great  subject  here. 

(^6)  Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not. — A  quotation 
from  tho  LXX.  version  of  Ps.  iv.  4.  Anger  itself 
is  not  sin,  for  our  Lord  Himself  felt  it  (Mark  iii.  5)  at 
tho  "  hardness  of  men's  hearts ; "  and  it  is  again  and 
again  attributed  to  God  Himself,  in  language  no  doubt 
of  human  accommodation,  but,  of  course,  accommoda- 
tion to  what  is  siidess  in  humanity.  In  the  form  of 
resentment,  and  above  all  of  the  resentment  of  righteous 
indignation,  it  performs  (as  Butler  has  shown  in  his 
sermon  on  "  Rosoutment  ")  a  stimulating  and  inspiring 
function  in  the  strife  against  evil.  But  it  is  a 
dangerous  and  exceptional  weapon :  and  hence  the  ex- 
hortation "sin  not,"  and  the  practical  enforcement  of 
that  exhortation  in  the  next  clause. 

Let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath. — 
In  this  command  (for  which  a  Pythagorean  parallel  may 
be  found)  St.  Paul  gives  a  two-fold  safeguard  against 
abuse  of  even  righteous  anger.  (1  )Itisnot  to  be  prolonged 
beyond  the  sunset — beyond  the  sleep  which  ends  the  old 
day  and  leads  in  the  freshness  of  the  new,  and  which 
by  any  godly  man  must  be  prepared  for  in  commenda- 
tion of  himself  to  God,  aiul  in  pi-ayer  for  His  forgiveness, 
"  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us."  (2)  It  is 
not  to  be  brooded  over  and  stimulated ;  for  the  word 
"  wrath  "  is  propm'ly  self -exasperation,  being  similar 
to  the  "contention"  of  Acts  xv.  30,  described  as  alien 
to  the  spirit  of  love  in  1  Cor.  xiii.  5.  It  is  that  "  nursing 
of  wrath  to  keep  it  Avai-m,"  which  can  be  checked  even  by 
those  who  cannot  control  i\w  first  outburst,  and  which 
constantly  corru])ts  righteous  indignation  into  selfish 
personal  anger,  if  not  into  malignity. 

(-")  Neither  give  place  [i.e.,  scope)  to  the  devil. 
— The  name  "  Devil  "  is  used  by  St.  Paul  only  in  his 
later  Epistles  (see  chap.  vi.  11  ;  1  Tim.  iii.  6,  7;  vi.  9; 
2  Tim.  ii.  26 ;  Tit.  ii.  3)  ;  in  the  earlier  Epistles  (Rom, 
xvi.  20 ;  1  Cor.  v.  5 ;  vii.  5 ;    2  Cor,  ii.  11 ;  xi.  14 ;  xii. 


44 


Against  Dishonesty  and  Foulness. 


EPHESIANS,    IV. 


Special  warning  against  Malice. 


place  to  the  devil.  <-*^'  Let  liim  that  stole 
steal  no  more :  but  rather  let  him  labour, 
working  with  his  hands  the  thing  which 
is  good,  that  he  may  have  to  give  ^  to  him 
that  needeth.  (-*')  Let  no  corrupt  com- 
munication proceed  out  of  your  mouth, 
but  that  which  is  good  to  the  use  of 
edifying,"  that   it  may   minister  grace 


1  Ov.todistrihide. 


2  Or,  to  edify  pro- 
fiUibly. 


unto  the  hearers.  (^'^^  And  grieve  not 
the  holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye 
are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion. '^^^  Let  all  bitterness,  and 
wrath,  and  anger,  and 
clamour,  and  evil  speak- 
ing, be  put  away  from 
you,      with     all      malice : 


Chap.  iv.  31 — v. 
2.  Specialwarn- 
ing  against  bit- 
terness. 


7 ;  1  Tliess.  ii.  18 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  9)  we  have  the  name 
"  Satan,"  which  is  also  found,  less  frequently,  in  the 
later  also  (1  lim.  i.  20;  v.  15).  The  latter  name  simply 
describes  him  as  "  the  enemy  "  ;  the  former  describes 
one  method  of  his  enmity  (as  "the  Tempter"  another), 
for  it  signifies  "  one  who  sets  at  variance,"  man  with 
God,  and  man  with  man.  Since  this  fiendish  work  is 
mostly  contemplated  as  wrought  by  slander,  the  name 
is  commonly  taken  to  mean  "  the  slanderer  ;  "  and  when 
applied  to  human  beings  (as  in  1  Tim.  iii.  11;  2  Tim. 
iii.  3 ;  Tit.  ii.  3)  it  seems  to  convey  some  such  meaning. 
But  here  the  original  sense  suits  the  distinctive  idea  of 
the  passage.  In  accordance  with  the  general  principle 
noted  above,  excess  of  wrath  is  forbidden,  as  giving 
opportunity  to  the  enemy,  who  desires  to  break  up 
unity,  and  "  set  at  variance  "  those  who  should  be  one 
in  Jesus  Christ. 

(28)  Let  him  that  stole  (properly,  the  stealer) 
steal  no  more  .  .  .  .—In  this  verse  St.  Paul 
treats  dishonesty,  virtually,  although  less  distinctly, 
from  the  same  point  of  view  as  before.  For  lie  is  not 
content  with  forbidding  it,  or  even  with  forbidding  it  as 
fatal  to  society  ;  but  he  directs  that  it  be  superseded  by 
the  opposite  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  working  in  order  to 
give  to  others  what  is  honestly  our  own,  as  the  fruit  of 
the  labour  of  "  our  own  hands.'"  In  that  direction  there 
is  a  profound  wisdom,  in  striking  at  the  root  of  that 
exclusive  selfishness  which  so  often  and  so  naturally 
exhibits  itself  in  dishonesty.  But  we  note  in  it  also  a 
peculiar  harmony  with  the  great  doctrine  of  unity ; 
for  the  sense  of  unity  Avill  always  exhibit  itself  in 
working  what  is  "  good,"  that  is,  gracious,  for  the  sake 
of  "  him  that  needs." 

(29)  Let  no  corrupt  communication  .  .  .— Tlie 
word  rendered  "  corrupt,"  is  a  strong  Avord,  signifying 
"  rotten  "  ;  used  in  Matt.  vii.  17, 18,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
literal  sense,  here  alone  in  the  metaphorical.  By  the 
corrupt  word,  proba])ly,  here  is  meant  especially  the 
foul  word,  which  is  rotten  in  itself,  and  spreads  rotten- 
ness in  othci's. 

The  use  of  edifying.— This  is  a  mistranslation, 
by  inversion,  of  a  difficult  expression,  "the  building 
up  of  the  need" — that  is,  the  sup])lying  by  suggestion 
of  good  the  peculiar  "  need  "  or  defect  of  the  hearer's 
spiritual  state.  Perhaps,  as  before,  the  word  "  good  " 
may  be  taken  for  gntcinus  and  full  of  sympathy, 
noting  by  the  quick  insight  of  love  what  each  man's 
need  is,  and  liastening  to  speak  accordingly,  so  as  to 
"  give  grace  "  or  blessing  to  meet  that  peculiar  need. 
Tlie  same  use  of  the  word  "  grace  "  is  fcmnd  in  2  Cor. 
i.  15  C'tliat  yo  might  have  a  second  benefit").  The 
same  idea  is  found  in  1  Tliess.  iii.  10,  "  to  perfect  that 
which  is  lacking  in  your  faith." 

Here  again  we  have  a  similar  treatment  of  moral 
duty.  The  corrupt  word  is  forliidden,  not  because  it 
defiles  the  speaker's  own  soul,  and  is  an  offence  in  the 
pure  eyes  of  God.  but  because  it  is  a  sin  against  others, 
pulling  doAvn  instead  of  building  them  up,  and  aggra- 


vating, instead  of  suppljang,  their  moral  defects.  Like 
tlie  falsehood,  and  wrath,  and  dishonesty,  forbidden 
above,  it  sins  against  the  unity  of  all  in  God. 

(•^0)  And  grieve  not  the  holy  Spirit.— Tliis 
verse  refers  to  all  the  practical  commands  given  above. 
The  four  cardinal  sins  forbidden  are  regarded  as 
"grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God."  In  that  expres- 
sion, even  more  than  in  the  cognate  expressions  of 
"quenching  the  Spirit"  (1  Thess.  v.  19),  and  "resisting 
the  Holy  Ghost "  (Acts  vii.  51),  there  is  implied  a 
personal  relation  to  a  Divine  Person,  capable  of  being 
"  grieved  "  by  our  transgressions,  partly  as  sins  against 
His  perfect  holiness,  partly  as  suicidal  rejections  of 
His  unfailing  love.  In  the  description  of  this  effect 
of  sin  we  have  the  needful  complement  to  the  view 
hitherto  taken  of  its  effect,  as  marring  our  unity  with 
men  ;  for  that  unity  is  always  in  God,  through  the  Holy 
Spirit  working  out  in  each  soul  the  image  of  Christ. 
"  There  is  one  Body "  only  because  "  there  is  one 
Si^irit."     Sin  vexes  the  one,  but  grieves  the  other. 

Whereby  ye  are  sealed. — Properly,  in  u-hom  ye 
ivere  sealed.  See  the  fuller  expression  of  the  same 
truth  in  chap.  i.  13,  14,  and  the  Notes  there.  The 
reference  to  it  is  here  emphatic.  The  "  sealing  unto  the 
day  of  redemption  "  reminds  us  of  the  glorious  con- 
summation to  which  we  are  destined,  and  from  which 
every  sin  is  a  falling  off.  The  very  thought  of  this 
perfection,  with  all  its  associations  of  purity  and  love, 
should  shame  us  fi'oni  sin. 

This  general  exliortation  seems  fitly  to  close  the  warn- 
ing against  the  series  of  tyi)ical  sins,  which  is  itself 
exhaustive  of  the  general  sins  against  men.  In  the 
passage  which  follows  (chap.  iv.  31 — v.  21)  St.  Paul  does 
not  indeed  traverse  new  ground,  but  dwells  with  special 
emphasis  on  some  of  these  sins,  which  especially  beset 
the  society  to  which  he  wrote,  viz.  :  (in  chap.  iv.  31 — ■ 
V.  2)  bitterness,  (in  chap.  v.  3^14)  impurity,  (iu  chap. 
V.  15 — 21)  reckless  excess. 

{3a)  In  chap.  iv.  31 — v.  2,  he  deals  witli  malignity, 
as  utterly  unworthy  of  the  lovo  of  God  manifested  to 
us  in  Jesus  Christ. 

(31)  Let  all  bitterness.— There  is  a  similar  enumera- 
tion in  the  parallel  pass.nge,  Col.  iii.  8;  and  in  all  such 
catalogues  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  while  it  is  vain  to 
seek  for  foruial  and  elaborate  system,  there  is  always 
profound  method  and  connection  of  idea.  Here  the 
first  .symptom  of  the  temper  forbidden  is  "  bitterness," 
or  sharpiicis — a  -Word  seldom  used,  and  genenilly  in 
half-po(>tical  passages  (see  Acts  viii.  23;  llom.  iii.  14; 
Heb.  xii.  15) — that  is.  an  acerbity  of  temper,  ready  to 
take  offence  and  break  out  in  anger.  The  next  stage  is 
"wrath  and  anger,"  that  is,  passionate  outburst,  and 
the  deeper  ansrer  of  which  it  is  at  once  effect  and  cause. 
(Comp.  Rom.  ii.  8;  Col.  iii.  8;  Rev.  xix.  15.)  In  these 
the  smouldering  bitterness  kindles  into  flame.  The 
last  stage  is  "  clamour  and  evil  speaking  " — "  clamour  " 


\ 


TJte  foUowing  of  God's  Love 


EPHESIANS,   V. 


and  Christ's  Self-sacrifice. 


(32)  and   be   ye    kind    one   to    another,"  "^coi--^-"^ 
tenderhearted,    fortjiving   one   another, 
even    as    God   for   Christ's    sake    hath 
forgiven  you. 


CHAPTER  Y.— (') 
followers    of    God,   as 


Be   ye   therefore 
dear    children ; 


(2)  and  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath 
loved  us,  and  hath  given  himself  for  us 
an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a 
sweet-smelling  savour.  <^^  But  fornica- 
tion, and  all  uncleanness,  or  Chap.  V.  3—5. 

Covetousness,  let  it  not  be   Special     warn- 
T  ing     against 

once  named  among  you,  as  lusts. 


(used  in  this  sense  only  here")  being-  the  loud  fury  of 
the  first  burst  of  wrath,  passing  into  tlie  more  deliberate 
evil-speaking,  as  the  temper  cools  down  without  losing 
its  settled  angi'r. 

With  all  malice. — All  are  various  exhibitions  of 
"  malice  "—that  is,  evil  mindedness  or  malignity — the 
general  disposition  which  is  the  opposite  of  goodness, 
graciousness,  and  svmpathy.  (Comp.  Rom.  i.  29;  1  Cor. 
V.  8  ;  xiv.  20;  Jas."  i.  21  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  1.)  By  the  law  of 
human  nature  they  rise  out  of  this  temper,  and  react 
upon  it  so  as  to  intensify  its  bitterness.  Both  it  gene- 
rally, and  they  in  particular,  must  be  resisted  and  cast 
out. 

(3-')  Kind  .  .  .  tenderhearted.— "  Kindness "  is 
gentleness  in  bearing  with  wrong  'Luke  vi.  3-5 ;  Rom. 
xi.  22;  Eph.  ii.  7  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  3).  "Tenderheartedness" 
(see  1  Pet.  iii.  8)  is  more  positive  warmth  of  sympathy 
and  love.  Both  issue  in  free  "  forgiveness,"  after  the 
model  of  the  universal  and  unfailing  forgiveness  "  of 
God  in  Christ  "  to  us — the  only  model  we  dare  to  foUow, 
suggested  by  our  Saviour  Himself  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  expressly  enjoined  in  Luke  vi.  36.  It  is  a 
forgiveness  wliich  in  us,  as  in  Him,  does  not  imply 
condonation  of  e^nl,  or  even  the  withholding  of  needful 
chastisement,  but  which  absolutely  ignores  self,  con- 
quers man's  selfish  anger,  and  knows  no  limit,  even 
up  to  "  seventy  times  seven." 

V. 

(^.  2)  These  verses  are  an  expansion  and  enforcement 
of  the  last  ver.se  of  chap.  iv.  There  the  forgiveness  of 
"God  in  Christ"  is  .set  forth  in  one  pregnant  phrase. 
Here  the  two  parts  of  tliis  idea  are  divided ;  and  there 
is  put  before  us,  first,  the  free  universal  love  of  God 
as  our  Fatlier,  and  next,  the  self-sacrificing  love  of 
Christ,  as  the   Son  of  God  and  man. 

(1)  Followers  of  God.— Tlie  phrase  is  unique  and 
verj-  striking ;  literally,  imitators  of  God  :  and  the  word 
"  therefore  "  implies  that  this  imitation  of  God  must  be 
chiefly  in  His  essential  attribute  of  love.  It  is  instruc- 
tive to  ol)serve  that  our  Lord's  startling  command,  "  Be 
ye  therefore  perfect,  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is 
perfect  "  (Matt.  v.  48),  is  explained  both  by  the  context 
and  the  parallel  passage  in  St.  Lidce  (chap.  vi.  36)  to 
mean,  "  Be  ye  tliereforo  merciful,  as  your  Father  in 
heaven  is  merciful."  See  in  Hooker's  Ecc.  Pol.,  i.  5,  a 
striking  passage  on  the  imitati(m  of  God  as  tlie  law  of 
all  moral  i)rogress  in  man.  In  this  idea,  indeed,  lies 
tlie  essential  and  distinctive  principle  of  a  religious 
morality  as  such. 

As  dear  children.— Literally,  a,s  c/n7rf/-m  beloved 
of  Him.  The  knowledge  of  the  love  of  God  to  us  is  the 
first  source,  as  of  our  love  to  Him  1 1  John  iv.  19).  so 
also  of  our  love  to  men  as  brethren  under  His 
fatlierhood  (1  John  iv.  Ill  As  being  His  "children," 
and  therefore  partakers  of  the  divine  nature  (2  Pet.  i.  i), 
we  can  imitate  Him  ;  as  His  "  beloved  children "  we 
imitate  Him  most  naturally  in  love,  and  especially  in 
that  form  of  love  which  we  call  "  mercy,"  and  which,  as 


being  ourselves  sinners,  we  especially  crave  and  receive 
from  Him. 

(-)  As  Christ  also  hath  loved  us.— To  this  idea 
of  the  ■'  imitation  of  God,"  essential  to  all  true  religion, 
St.  Paul  now  adds  an  exliortation  to  follow  the  examjjlo 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  that  especial  exhibition  of 
love  by  sutfering  and  self-sacrifice,  which  is  impossible 
to  the  Godhead  in  itself,  but  which  belongs  to  the  incar- 
nate Son  of  God,  and  was  the  ultimate  purjjo.se  of  His 
incarnation.  There  is  a  similar  connection  of  idea  in 
John  XA".  12, 13,  "  This  is  My  commandment.  That  ye  love 
one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you.  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
friends."  The  imitation  of  God  is  in  free  and  natural 
beneficence ;  tlie  imitation  of  Christ  is  in  that  power  of 
showing  mercy,  which  is  bought  by  suffering  and 
sacrifice.  He  not  only  "  loved  us,"  but  "  gave  Himself 
for  us." 

An  ofifering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God.— The 
.same  words,  *"  sacrifice  and  offering,"  are  found  in 
close  connection  in  Heb.  x.  5,  which  is  a  quotation  from 
Ps.  xl.  7.  Comparing  these  with  the  Hebrew  words 
which  they  represent,  and  looking  also  to  the  etymology 
of  the  Greek  words  themselves,  we  see  that  the  word 
"  offering  "  signifies  simply  a  gift  offered  to  God,  and 
is  applied  especially,  though  not  exclusively,  to  un- 
Idoody  sacrifices ;  while  the  word  "  sacrifice  "  distinctly 
implies  the  shedding  of  blood.  Each  word,  when  used 
alone,  lias  constantly  a  more  general  sense.  Thus 
"  offering  "  is  used  in  Heb.  x.  10, 14, 18,  for  the  sacrifice 
on  the  cross;  wliile  "  sacrifice,"  in  Acts  vii.  42.  is  made 
to  translate  the  word  commonly  rendered  as  '"  offering." 
But  when  placed  in  juxtaposition  they  must  be  held 
distinctive  ;  and  hence  we  may  conclude  that  our  Lord 
made  Himself  "  an  offering  "  in  the  perfect  obedience 
of  His  great  humility,  "coming  to  do  God's  will" 
'according  to  the  prophetic  anticipation  of  Ps.  xl.  7,  8), 
and  gave  Himself  a  "  sacrifice,"  when  He  completed 
that  offering  by  shedding  His  blood  on  the  cross.  Both 
are  said  to  be  offered  "  for  us,"  i.e.,  on  our  Ix'half.  "We 
have,  therefore,  here  a  complete  summary — all  the  more 
striking  and  characteristic  because  incidental — of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Atonement. 

For  a  sweet-smelling  savour. — Tlie  sense  of  this 
phrase  is  explained  in  Phil.  iv.  18  by  the  addition  of 
the  words  "  a  sacrifice  acceptable,  well-pleasing  to 
God."  It  is  the  translation  of  an  expression,  frequent  in 
the  Old  Testament  (as  in  Gen.  viii.  21 ;  Ex.  xxix.  18 ;  et 
ol.),  signif}-ing  "  a  smell  of  acfiuicsccnce  "  or  "  satis- 
faction." It  describes  the  atomng  sacrifice  as  already 
accepted  by  God. 

(36)  Yerses  3 — 14  warn,  with  even  greater  fulness 
and  emphasis,  against  the  sins  of  impurity  and  lust,  as 
incompatible  with  nieml)ersliip  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  as  works  of  darkness,  impossible  to  those  who 
are  children  of  light. 

(3)  But  fornication,  and  aU  uncleanness,  or 


46 


Wat'nhig  against  Uncleanness, 


EPHESIANS,    V. 


as  xL'ortJiy  of  the  Wrath  of  God. 


becometh  saints ;  (^)  neither  filthiness, 
nor  foolish  talking,  nor  jesting,  which 
are  not  convenient :  but  rather 
giving  of  thanks.  (^^  For  this  ye 
know,  that  no  whoremonger,  nor 
unclean  person,  nor  covetous  man,  who 
is  an  idolater,  hath  any  inheritance  in 


1  Or,  unbelief. 


the    kingdom   of   Christ   and    of  God. 

(''^  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with 

words :  for  because  of  these 

things   cometh  the   wrath 

of  God  upon  the  children 

of   disobedience.  1       ('^  Be 

not  ye  therefore  partakers 


vain 

Chap.  V.  6—21. 
As  a  work  of 
darkness,  un- 
worthy of 
Christian  light. 


covetousness. — "  Fomicatiou  "  is  closely  joined  (as 
iu  2  Cor.  xii.  '21 ;  Gal.  v.  19;  Col.  iii.  5)  with  "  uneleau- 
ness,"  of  wliicli  general  sin  it  is  a  flagrant  species.  It 
is  distinguished  (as  also  in  Col.  iii.  5)  from  "  covetous- 
ness," or  greediness.  "  Uncleanness  "  is  a  sin  against 
our  own  body  and  soul  (sec  1  Cor.  vi.  18) ;  "  covetous- 
ness" (literally,  the  insatiable  desire  for  inore)  is  a 
sin  against  our  neighbour.  At  the  same  time,  the  con- 
stant connection  of  the  two  words  suggests  the  truth 
which  is  conveyed  by  the  union  of  the  two  kinds 
of  "coveting"  iu  the  Tenth  Commandment,  viz.,  that 
the  temper  of  selfish  and  unbridled  concupiscence  has 
a  two-fold  direction — to  the  covetousness  of  lust,  and  to 
the  -covetousness  of  avarice — the  one  perhaps  especially 
a  vice  of  youth,  and  the  other  of  old  age. 

(+)  Neither  filthiness,  nor  foolish  talking,  nor 
jesting. — The  word  '■  filtliinoss  "  (unlike  the  "  filthy 
communication  "  of  the  parallel  passage  in  Col.  iii.  8) 
is  ui  itself  a  general  word.  But  the  connection  with 
the  words  followiug,  and  the  distinction  from  those 
going  before,  appear  to  show  that  St.  Paul  here  uses  it 
for  "  filthy  talking."  He  is  passing  from  impurity  of 
the  inward  soul  to  impurity  iu  outward  expression. 
Of  such  foul  speaking  he  appears  to  distinguish  two 
forms.  There  is,  first  of  all,  "  foolish  talking,"  or  the 
talk  of  "  the  fool,"  in  the  worst  sense  in  which  that  word 
is  used  in  Scripture  (Matt.  v.  22;  xxiii.  17),  as  implying 
something  worse  than  mere  emptiness  or  blindness — 
describing  the  condition  of  the  soul  which  has  '"  lost  its 
savour"  (Matt.  v.  13),  i.e.,  has  ceased  to  distinguish 
what  is  right  or  wrong,  wise  or  foolish,  noble  or  base. 
Tliere  is  then  "  jesting,"  i.e.,  properly,  the  more  polished 
"  versatility."  which  wUl  find  occasion  for  wit  or  levity 
in  anything,  however  sacred,  fearing  nothing  so  much 
as  to  be  diiU,  and  mistaking  all  seriousness  and  reserve 
for  didness.  It  is  notaljle  that  in  classical  Greek  the 
word  is  somethnes  used  in  a  good  sense,  as  a  mean 
between  "  churlishness  "  and  "  obsequiousness,"  but  yet 
hovers  on  the  border  of  that  condemnation  which 
Christian  gravity  here  pronounces  unhesitatingly.  The 
former  kind  of  foul  talking  is  coarse  and  brutal ;  the 
latter  refined  and  deadly.  Of  both  kinds  Greek  and 
Roman  literature  furnish  specimens  only  too  many 
and  too  sti'iking. 

Which  are  not  convenient,— That  is,  "which 
are  out  oi  cliaracter"  in  a  Christian — a  milder  repeti- 
tion (perhaps  suggested  by  the  amluguous  meaning  of 
"jesting"  noted  above)  of  the  indignant  declaration  in 
verse  3,  that  it  "  becomes  not  saints  tliat  these  foul 
things  shoidd  be  even  named  among  tliem."  They 
I)ollute  the  Christian  mind  and  tongue  even  in  con- 
demning tliem. 

But  rather  giving  of  thanks.— Tlie  opposition  is 
striking.  "  The  foolish  talking  and  jesting "  aim  at 
mirth  ;  -d  play  of  mind;  St.  Paul  will  not  austerely 
condema  sucli  liglit-heartcdness.  but  ho  finds  a  whole- 
some and  spiritual  vent  for  it  in  the  habitual  expression 
of  thankfulness  to  God,  which  proceeds  from  a  natural 
and  childlike  cheerfulness.  Exactly  in  the  same  spirit 
below  (verses  18 — 20)  ho  contrasts  the  excitement  of 


47 


drunkenness  with  the  being  "  filled  with  the  Spirit  .  .  . 
giving  thanks  always  f(jr  all  things." 

(••5)  For  this  ye  know, — The  true  reading  of  tho 
original  is  curiously  emphatic.  It  runs  thus :  For 
tJds  ye  know,  knowing  .  .  .  But,  as  it  uses  two 
different  words,  in  the  former  clause  properly  "ye 
know  "  and  the  latter  "  learning  to  know,"  the  sense 
seems  to  be :  "  For  this  ye  know,  learning  it  afresh  so 
as  to  know  it  better."  Whatever  else  is  doubtful,  this 
is  certain;  yet  it  admits  of  an  ever  growing  cer- 
tainty. 

Covetous  man,  who  is  an  idolater.— Comp. 
Col.  iii.  5,  "  Covetousness,  which  is  idolatry."  What- 
ever becomes  the  chief  object  of  our  desire,  so  as  to 
claim  our  chief  fear  and  love,  is,  of  course,  an  idol ; 
for  "  ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon."  Perhaps  in 
this  metaphorical  idolatry,  as  in  the  literal,  there  are 
two  distinct  stages,  passing,  however,  by  imnsiblo 
gradations  into  each  other — first,  the  resting  on  some 
Ansible  blessing  of  God,  as  the  one  thing  in  which  and 
for  which  we  serve  Him,  and  so  by  degrees  losing  Him 
in  His  own  gifts ;  next,  the  absolute  forgetfulness  of 
Him,  and  the  setting  up,  as  is  inevitable,  of  some  other 
object  of  worship  to  fill  the  vacant  throne. 

Hath  any  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  [of]  God. — The  phrase  '•  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  God,"  though  probably  it  does  not  iu 
strict  technicality  declare  the  identity  of  '"  Christ  "  and 
"  God,"  yet  implies  that  the  "  kingdom  of  the  Christ  " 
is,  as  a  matter  of  course,  "  the  kingdom  of  God,"  for 
"  the  Christ "  is  by  prophetic  definition  "  Emmanuel," 
i.e.,  "  God  with  us."  The  unworthy  Christian  has 
indeed  "an  inheritance"  in  it,  to  his  ovni  awful  i-espon- 
sibility  ;  but  in  the  true  spiritual  sense  he  is  one  '"  who 
hath  not."  "  from  whom  shall  be  taken  that  which  he 
hath"  (Matt.  xiii.  12). 

(6)  Let  no  man  deceive  you  with  vain 
words,— It  seems  likely  that  St.  Paul  has  in  A-iew.  not 
mere  worldly  condonation  of  evil  or  low  heathen 
morality,  but  some  anticipation  of  that  Antinomian 
form  of  Gnosticism  which  held  that  the  things  done  in 
the  body,  l>eing  evil  only  by  the  irresistible,  inevitable 
gravitation  of  matter  to  evil,  could  not  toudi  the  soul. 
We  know  that  in  the  Colossiau  Church  there  was  an 
anticipation  of  the  more  ascetic  Gnosticism  (Col.  ii.  21; 
comp.  also  1  Tim.  iv.  1 — 5).  As  tJie  earlier  Judaistic 
rigour  had  assumed  this  later  form,  so  the  earlier  Anti- 
nomianism  (of  Rom.  vi.  1)  may  {'robably  luive  passed 
into  the  more  systematic  and  speculative  Antinomianism 
of  the  Gnostic  type.  (Comp.  Phil.  iii.  18.  19.)  In  this 
same  spirit  St.  John,  himself  familiar  with  the  life  of 
Ephesus.  writes  earnestly :  "  Let  no  man  deceive  you ; 
he  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righte(uis"  (1  John  iii. 
7).  Here  the  Apostle  warns  them  that  it  is  for  these 
sins  that  "  the  wrath  of  God  is  coming  on  tlie  children  of 
disobedience."  i.e.  (see  chap.  ii.  2).  on  the  heathen;  and 
urges  the  Christians  not  to  fall  back,  by  being  "  par- 
takers with  them"  botli  of  their  sin  and  their  punish- 
ment, into  tlie  gross  heathen  darkness  out  of  which 
they  had  been  saved. 


The  constant  Antagonism 


EPHESIANS,   V. 


hetioeen  Darkness  and  Light. 


■with  them.  ^^^  For  ye  were  sometimes 
darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the 
Lord :  walk  as  children  of  light : 
(^>  (for  the  fruit  of  the  Sjiirit  is  in  all 
goodness  and  righteousness  and  truth  ;) 
(10)   proving    what    is    acceptable    unto 


the  Lord.  (^^^  And  have  no  fellowship 
with  the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness, 
but  rather  reprove  them.  (^-^  For  it 
is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those 
things  which  are  done  of  them  in 
secret.     ^^^^  But  all  thing's  that  are  re- 


(8)  Ye  were  sometimes  darkness,  but  now 
are  ye  light  in  the  Lord. — This  expression  is 
iiiiiqiio,  and  far  nioro  cmpliatic  than  the  more  common 
plu-ases  of  "  being,''  or  "  walking,"  "  in  darkness  "  and 
"in  light."  (See  Rom.  ii.  9;  Col.  i.  2 ;  1  Thess.  v.  4; 
1  John  i.  6,  7;  ii.  9,  10.)  For  liero  the  outward  ele- 
ment of  light  or  darkness  is  said  to  pervade  the  inner 
nature  of  the  soul.  (1)  Christ  is  the  "■true  Light,"  tlie 
"  Sun  of  Righteousness"  (John  i.  4 — 9  ;  iii.  19  ;  viii.  12  ; 
ix.  5;  xii.  4tj).  His  servants  are  sometimes  mere 
secondary  lights  (or  "candles")  (Luke  xi.  33,  34,  86; 
John  V.  35 ;  2  Pet.  i.  19),  kindled  from  His  rays ;  some- 
times, like  the  moou  or  planets,  they  are  said,  as  re- 
flecting His  light,  or  as  having  His  light  in  them  (John 
xii.  35),  to  be  actually  "the  liglit  of  the  world  "  {Matt. 
V.  14),  which,  however,  shines  as  a  mere  reflected  light, 
so  that  "men  glorify"  not  it,  but  "the  Father  wliich 
is  in  heaven"  (Matt.  v.  16).  They  thus  become  light, 
but  only  "  in  the  Lord: "  that  is,  as  being  made  one  \\\\\x 
Him.  (2)  So,  on  the  other  hand,  they  who  walk  in  dark- 
ness are  said  to  be  themselves  darkness — new  sources, 
so  to  speak,  of  the  darkness  which  hates  and  quenches 
liglit,  l)oth  to  themselves  and  to  others.  "  The  light  " 
wliich  is  in  them  "  becomes  darkness ;  "  "  and  how  great 
is  that  darkness  !"  (Matt.  vi.  23.)  As  there  is  a  natural 
delight  in  giving  light,  so  the  reprobate  state  is  distin- 
guished by  a  horrible  pleasure  in  spreading  the  cloud 
of  delusion,  sin,  or  unbelief,  by  which  to  hide  God  from 
man. 

Walk  as  children  of  light.— So  our  Lord 
teaches,  "  While  ye  have  the  light,  believe  in  the  light, 
that  ye  may  become  children  of  liglit"  (John  xii.  36; 
comp.  1  Thess.  v.  5).  "  Children  of  light  "  are  they  who 
not  only  love  the  light,  but  also  manifest  the  likeness 
of  the  one  true  Light,  "  the  Father  of  Lights  "  ( Jas. 
i.  17),  being  His  children  in  Jesus  Christ. 

('')  For  the  fruit  .  .  .— The  true  reading  is,  o/f/ie 
Ligld,  for  which  the  easier  phrase,  "  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit,"  has  been  substituted,  to  the  great  detriment  of 
th(5  force  and  coherency  of  the  whole  passage.  Light 
has  its  fruits  ;  darkne-ss  (see  verse  11)  is  "unfruitful." 
The  metaphor  is  striking,  but  literally  correct,  inas- 
much as  light  is  the  necessary  condition  of  that  vege- 
tative life  which  grows  and  yields  fruit,  while  darkness 
is  the  destruction,  if  not  of  life,  at  any  i-ate  of  fruit- 
bearing  perfection. 

Goodness  and  righteousness  and  truth.— 
These  are  practical  exliil)itions  of  the  "  l)eing  true  in 
love,"  described  in  chap.  iv.  15  as  the  characteristic  of 
the  Christ-like  soul.  For  "  goodness  "  is  love  in  prac- 
tical benevolence,  forming,  in  Gal.  v.  22,  a  climax  to 
"  longsuffering  "  and  "  kindness,"  and,  in  2  Thess.  i. 
11,  distinguished  as  i)ractical  from  the  "faith  "which 
underlies  practice.  The  other  two  qualities,  "righteous- 
ness "  and  "truth" — that  is,  probably,  truthfulness — 
are  both  parts  of  the  great  princi])le  of  "  l)t>ing  true." 

(io)  Proving  what  is  acceptable  unto  the 
Lord. — So  in  Rom.  xii.  2,  the  "  proving  what  is  the 
good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God,"  is  the 
fruit  of  transformation  "  in  the  renewing  of  the 
mind."     "  To  prove  "  is  to  try  in  each  case,  by  the  full 


light  of  God.  what  is  accordant  to  His  will ;  it  is  a 
work  partly  of  thought,  partly  of  practical  experience ; 
and  it  always  implies  a  searching  examination  of  heart 
and  action  by  the  touchstone  of  God's  word. 

(11)  Have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful 
works  of  darkness. — To  "  have  no  fellowship " 
with  such  works  is  not  to  refuse  to  take  part  in  them 
(for  this  surely  might  be  taken  for  granted),  but  to  keep 
no  terms  with  them,  to  have  no  sympathy  or  indulgence 
or  excuse  for  them.  So  the  word  is  used,  in  Phil.  iv. 
14,  of  "  communicating  with  my  affliction ; "  and  in 
Rev.  xviii.  4,  of  "  being  partakers  with  the  sins "  of 
Babylon.  It  is  through  such  weak  or  cowardly  in- 
dulgence, more  than  the  actual  love  of  evil,  that  siu  is 
suffered  to  prevail.  Hence  St.  Paul  adds,  "  rather  re- 
prove them."  Our  Lord  Himself  has  declared  in  all 
such  cases,  "  He  that  is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me." 

The  unfruitful  works  of  darkness.  —St.  Paul 
has  a  similar  antithesis  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
(chap.  vi.  19 — 22).  They  who  are  in  sin  "yield  their 
members  servants  to  iniquity  unto  iniquity."  Iniquity 
has  no  result  but  iniquity ;  and  hence  he  goes  on  to 
ask,  "  What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  of  which 
ye  are  now  ashamed  F ''  This  weary  fruitlessness  is  at 
once  the  sign  and  the  penalty  of  sin,  so  that  men  have 
fancied  it  to  be  one  chief  element  of  the  suffering  of  the 
lost.  But  they  who  are  in  Christ  "  yield  their  members 
servants  to  righteousness  unto  holiness."  "  They  have," 
he  says,  "  their  fruit  unto  holiness  "  now,  and  "  in  the 
end  the  everlasting  life,"  which  is  everlasting  holiness. 
Similarly,  in  Gal.  v.  20 — 22,  we  have  "  the  works  of  the 
flesh,"  but  "  the  fruit  of  the  Siiirit."  Rarely,  indeed, 
does  Scripture  speak  of  "  evil  fruit  "  (Matt.  \{\.  17  ;  xii. 
33).  Generally, '*  to  be  unfruitful"  is  an  all-sufficient 
condemnation.  "  Every  branch  that  beareth  not  fruit 
he  taketh  away  "  (John  xv.  2). 

Rather  reprove  them. — In  the  word  "  reprove," 
whether  in  its  application  to  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  (John  xvi.  8),  or  to  the  witness  of  men  (as  iu 
1  Cor.  xiv.  24  ;  1  Tim.  v.  20 ;  Tit.  i.  9—13.  et  cd.),  there 
is  described  a  double  function — to  "  convince,"  if  it 
may  be,  the  .sinner  in  himself ;  to  "  convict "  him,  if 
the  other  function  fails,  before  men  and  angels.  Both 
these  functions  St.  Paul  urges  here.  It  is  not  enough 
to  "  have  no  fellowship  with  them."  To  this  tacit 
reproof  open  reproof  in  word  and  deed  is  to  be  added ; 
only  in  such  reproof  it  should  be  remembered  that  it 
would  be  disgraceful  "  even  to  speak  "  iu  detail  of  the 
actual  "  things  done  in  secret." 

(12)  It  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  .  .  . — Comp. 
verse  3.  Sin  may  be  plainly  indicated,  and  perhaps 
most  effectually  branded,  without  polluting  the  tongue 
by  describing  its  actual  developnu'uts.  The  need  of 
St.  Paul's  caution  is  only  too  obvious  when  wo  read 
some  satires  and  denunciations  against  sin,  or  some 
manuals  of  self-examination. 

(13)  But  all  things  that  are  reproved  are  made 
manifest  by  the  light. — This  shoiild  properly  be 
rendered.  But  all  things,  when  reproved,  are  illuminated 
by  the  lif/ht.  The  translation  "are  made  manifest"  is 
indeed  fullv  in  accordance  with  the  common  usage  of 


48 


The  New  Life,  kindled 


EPHESIANS,   V. 


by  the  Light  of  Christ. 


proved  1  are  made  manifest  by  the  light:  i'  <»■. ''«'^^»'"='-«<' 
for  whatsoever  doth  make  manifest  is  !  "isasai. 
hght.     (^^^  Wherefore  he  saith,  Awake       &C01.4.5. 


thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light." 
(^^^  See  then  that  ye  walk  circumspectly,* 


the  word.  But  the  whole  context  shows  that  St.  Paul 
is  liere  usiiig  it  in  what  is  indeed  its  more  proper  et  jtiio- 
logical  sense,  for  "  are  iUuniined."  For  the  mere  "  being 
made  manifest"  is  implied  in  the  "  being  reproved  ;  " 
whei-eas  he  is  certainly  passing  ou  here  to  a  fresh  idea, 
and,  moreover,  to  one  which  will  bear  the  inference  of 
the  last  clause  of  the  verse.  To  "reprove"  after  the 
Christian  manner  is  to  bring  into  the  full  light  of 
Christ's  truth ;  and  tlie  effect  of  this  is  not  merely  to 
reprove,  but  to  illumine  by  the  inherent  power  of  the 
light.  Exactly  with  the  same  distinction  of  sense  St. 
John  uses  both  words  (John  iii.  20,  21). 

For  whatsoever  doth  make  manifest  is 
light. — That  tliis  translation  (suggested,  perhai)s,  hy 
the  difficulty  of  the  passage  when  rightly  rendered)  is 
nevertheless  certainly  wrong,  is  shown  both  by  the 
usage  of  the  original  word  and  by  the  genius  of  the 
whole  context.  It  should  be,  for  everytliing  ivhich  is 
ilhiminated  is  light.  St.  Paul  hei-e  explains  still  more 
clearly  what  he  means  by  illumination.  It  implies  the 
catching  the  light  and  reflecting  it,  so  as  to  become  a 
new  source  of  light.  It  must  be  noted  that  the  subject 
of  the  sentence  is  not  "  the  works  of  darkness,"  but 
'■  all  things  "  in  general.  Hence  the  whole  process  is 
described,  with  almost  scientific  accuracy,  as  three-fold. 
First,  the  things,  or  persons,  are  dragged  out  of  dark- 
ness into  light ;  then  they  are  illuminated  ;  lastly,  they 
become  light  in  themselves  and  to  others.  There  are, 
no  doubt,  exceptions  to  this,  the  right  and  normal  pro- 
cess, in  the  case  of  the  utterly  reprobate,  who  have  lost 
all  power  of  reflecting  light,  and  are  therefore  dark 
still  in  the  blaze  of  noon ;  but  the  next  verse  shows  that 
St.  Paul  is  not  contemplating  these ;  and  even  these 
may  be  beacons  of  warning  to  othei's.  The  whole 
metaphor  is  more  and  more  striking  to  us  as  modern 
science  enlarges  our  knowledge  of  the  manifold  effects 
of  light,  not  only  to  illuminate,  but  to  change  and  to 
^•ivify. 

(^■i)  Wherefore  he  (or.  it)  saith. — This  phrase  is 
used  (as  also  in  Jas.  iv.  6)  in  chap.  iv.  8  to  introduce 
a  scriptural  quotation  ;  and  the  most  natural  completion 
of  the  elliptical  expi-essi(m  is  by  the  supply  of  the 
nominative,  "  God,"  or  "  the  scripture."  from  the  ordi- 
nary phrase  of  quotation  or  citation.  But  no  scriptural 
passage  can  be  adduced  which,  with  the  fullest  allow- 
ance for  the  apostolic  freedom  of  quotation,  comes  near 
enough  to  be  a  satisfactoiy  oi'iginal  of  this  passage. 
The  nearest  is  Isa.  Ix.  1,  "  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is 
come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee ;  " 
and  this  is  c(>rtainly  veiy  far  off  indeed.  Nor  is  the 
case  much  helped  by  blending  other  passages  (as,  for 
exajnple,  Isa.  xxvi.  19)  witli  this.  Soipo  additional 
A'erbal  coincidences  may  be  gained,  but  at  the  expense 
of  still  greater  diversity  ivom  the  spirit  of  the  passjige 
as  a  whole.  Hence  we  are  driven  to  conclude  that  the 
C[Uotation  is  not  from  Holy  Scripture.  Yet  the  very 
form  sliows  that  it  is  from  sometliing  weU  knowni. 
An  apocryplial  quotation  is  imagined  by  some,  but  with 
no  knowledge  of  any  quotation  at  all  res(Mnbling  it. 
Others  liave  snp])oscd  it  a  traditional  saying  of  our  Lord 
(like  Acts  xx.  3.5) ;  but  the  form  seiMus  decisive  against 
this.  On  the  whole,  it  seems  most  likely  that  it  is  from 
some  well-known  Christian  hymn.  In  tlie  original  a 
rhythmical  character,  rough,  but  l)y  no  nutans  indistinct, 
strikes  us  at  once.  The  growth  of  defined  and  formal 
70 


expressions — mostly,  it  is  true,  of  embryo  creeds  of 
Christian  faith,  as  in  1  Cor.  xv.  3,  4;  Heb.  vi.  1,  2; 
1  Tim.  iii.  16,  in  the  last  of  which  the  acknowledged 
difficulty  of  etymological  construction  in  the  true 
reading  may  perhaps  be  best  explained  by  the  suppo- 
sition of  quotation — is  notable  in  the  later  Epistles, 
and  especially  in  the  "  faithful  sayings  "  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles.  The  use  of  some  liturgical  forms  is  traced 
with  high  probability  to  a  very  early  date.  The  em- 
bodiment of  popular  faith  in  hymns,  always  natural, 
was  peculiarly  uatui'al  as  adapted  to  the  imperfect 
education  of  many  early  converts,  and  to  the  practice  of 
trusting  so  much  to  memory,  and  so  comparatively  little 
to  writing.  Some  such  usage  certainly  appears  to  be 
referred  to  in  the  celebrated  letter  of  Pliny  to  Trajan, 
the  first  heathen  description  of  Christian  worship. 

Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from 
the  dead. — The  word  "  awake  "  is  iised  in  our  version 
to  render  two  different  words :  one  which  properly 
means  "to  wake,"  or  "be  awake,"  or  "watch,"  as  in 
1  Cor.  XV.  34.;  1  Thess.  v.  6,  8 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  5 ;  1  Pet.  i.  12; 
iv.  7 ;  V.  8) ;  the  other,  as  here,  which  properly  means 
"  Up  ! "  "  Rouse  thyself  ! "  preparatory  to  "  arising  "  and 
coming  forth.  The  exhortation  in  both  forms  is  common 
enough  (see  especially  the  famous  passage  in  Rom. 
xiii.  11 — 14) ;  but  the  following  words,  "  Arise  from 
the  dead,"  are  a  bold  and  unique  exhortation.  Generally 
we  are  said  to  be  raised  up  from  the  death  of  sin  by 
God,  as  in  Rom.  viii.  11,  "  He  that  raised  \i])  Chiist 
from  the  dead  shall  quicken  your  mortal  bodies ; "  or 
Rom.  "sa.  11,  "  Reckon  yourseh-es  to  be  dead  unto  sin, 
but  alive  unto  God;"  or  Col.  iii.  1,  "If  ye  are  risen 
in  Christ."  Here  the  soul  is  described  as  hearing  the 
Saviour's  call,  "  Come  forth,"  and  as  itself  rising  at 
that  call  from  the  grave.  If  distinction  between  the 
two  clauses  is  to  be  drawn,  we  may  be  rightly  said  to 
"  awake "  out  of  lethargy  and  carelessness,  and  to 
"arise "  out  of  the  deaduess  of  sin. 

Christ  shall  give  thee  light.— Properly,  Christ 
shall  daivn  upon  thee.  The  word  is  ^-irtually  the  same 
which  is  used  for  the  literal  daAvn  in  Matt.  xx\-iii.  1, 
Luke  xxiii.  54.  The  same  idea  is  strikingly  entmciated 
in  2  Pet.  i.  19,  where  prophecy,  looking  forward  to  Christ, 
is  compared  to  "a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place,"  '"tUl 
the  day  dawn,  and  the  Day-star  arise  in  your  hearts" — 
He,  that  is,  who  is  "  the  bright  and  morning  star  "  (Rev. 
xxii.  16).  Christ,  as  the  "  Day-star,"  or  as  the  "  Sun 
of  Righteousness,"  is  already  risen.  The  soul  needs 
only  to  come  out  of  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  and  the 
new  I'ays  shine  do\vn  upon  it,  till  (.see  verse  7)  they 
pervade  it  and  transfigure  it  into  light. 

(3  c.>  In  verses  15 — 21  the  Apostle  passes  from  lost 
and  impurity  to  the  cognate  spii-it  01  reckless  leWty, 
and  the  love  of  excitement,  of  which  drunkenness  is  the 
commonest  expression.  He  opposes  to  this  the  united 
forces  of  soberness  and  sacrecl  enthusiasm,  each  tem- 
pering and  yet  .sti-engtlienuig  the  other. 

(15)  See  then  that  ye  walk  (properlv,  how  ye 
v'(dk)  circumspectly.— The  word  rendered  "  circum- 
spectly "  is  properly  ^ttricthj.  or  accurately — generally 
used  of  intellectual  accuracy  or  thoroughness  (as  in 
Matt.  ii.  8:  Luke  i.  3;  Acts  xviii.  25,  28;  1  Thess. 
v.  2) ;  only  here  aod  iu  Acts  xxvi.  5  ("  the  straitest  sect 


49 


Warning  against  Recldessness 


EPHESIANS,   V. 


a)td  Drunken  Excitement. 


not  as  fools,  but  as  wise,  ^^^^  redeeming 
the  time,  because  the  days  are  evil. 
(17)  Wherefore  be  ye  not  unwise,  but 
understandiuir  what  the  Avill  of  the  Lord 


is.  (^®)  And  be  not  drunk  with  wine, 
wherein  is  excess ;  but  be  filled  with 
the  Spirit ;  (^^^  speaking  to  yourselves  in 
psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs, 


of  our  religion")  of  moral  strictness.  Tlie  idea,  there- 
fore, is  not  of  looking  round  watchfully  against  dangei-s, 
but  of  "seeing,"  tiiat  is,  being  careful,  "how  we  walk 
strictly ;  "  of  tiuding  out  the  clear  line  of  right,  and 
then  keeping  to  it  strictly,  so  as  not  "  to  run  uncer- 
tainly." In  the  corresponding  passage  in  the  Colossian 
Epistle  (Col.  iv.  5)  a  similar  admonition  has  especial 
reference  "  to  those  without,"  and  bids  us  have  a  reso- 
hite  unity  of  aim,  a  distinct  religious  profession,  amidst 
all  the  bewildering  temptations  of  the  world.  Here 
it  is  more  general  ;  it  bids  men  not  to  trust  wholly  to 
general  rightness  of  heart,  in  which  "the  spirit  is 
willing,"  but  to  be  watchful  over  themselves,  and  to  bo 
a  law  to  themselves,  "  because  the  flesh  is  weak." 

Not  as  fools,  but  as  wise. — This  still  further 
explains  the  " strictness,"  for  "wisdom"  is  the  practical 
knowledge  of  the  true  end  and  purpose  of  life.  (See 
above,  chap.  i.  8.)  He  who  has  it  not,  whatever  his 
intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts,  is  "  unwise." 

(16)  Redeeming  the  time.— Or  rather,  the  oppor- 
tunity, whenever  it  arises.  The  meaning  of  this 
phrase  (used  also  in  Col.  iv.  5)  is  clearly  illustrated  by 
its  use  (although  in  a  bad  sense)  in  Dan.  ii.  8,  "  I 
know  that  you  would  gain  the  time  " — i.e.,  catch  the 
opportunity  to  escape  from  difficulty.  To  "  redeem  " 
is  "  to  buy  up  for  oneself  " — not  ha\ang  essentially  the 
idea  of  ransom  or  I'edemption,  which  attaches  to  the  use 
of  the  word  in  Gal.  iii.  13,  iv.  5,  only  from  the  nature 
of  the  context.  As  applied  to  opportunity,  it  carries 
with  it  the  idea,  first  of  making  sacrifice  for  it,  then 
quickness  in  seizing  it,  and  sagacity  in  using  it  to  the 
utmost,  whether  by  silence  or  by  speech,  by  facing  or 
avoiding  danger,  by  yielding  to  a  crisis  (see  Rom. 
xii.  11)  or  conquering  it.  The  reason  given  that  "the 
days  are  evil  "  must  h&  taken  in  the  widest  sense,  of  all 
that  induces  temptation  to  swerve  out  of  the  "  strict- 
ness "  of  the  right  Avay.  The  general  lesson  is  that 
which  is  drawn  by  our  Lord  in  the  parable  of  the 
Unjust  Steward — to  apply  the  >visdom  of  the  buyers 
and  sellers  of  the  world  to  the  work  of  "  the  children 
of  light." 

(17)  Be  ye  not  unwise.— The  word  here  is  stronger 
than  in  verse  15  ;  it  is  properly  senseless,  used  of 
"the  fool"  (in  Luke  xi.  40;  xii.  20;  1  Cor.  xv.  36; 
2  Cor.  xi.  16,  19;  xii.  6,  11).  By  it  St.  Paul  empha- 
sises his  previous  warning ;  then  he  adds  the  explana- 
tion that  to  bo  "  wise "  is  to  "  understand  what  the 
will  of  the  Lord  is  " — to  know  His  purpose  towards  us 
and  towards  the  world,  and  so  to  know  the  true  purpose 
of  our  life.  Hence  wo  are  told  in  Job  xxviii.  28,  that 
"  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  wisdom,"  or,  more  precisely, 
in  Prov.  ix.  10,  that  it  is  "  the  beginning  of  wisdom." 

(i«)  Be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is 
excess. — From  the  general  idea  of  reckless  levity, 
St.  Paul  passes  on  to  the  si)ecial  sin  of  drunkenness, 
as  not  (like  gluttony)  primarily  a  gratification  of  the 
appetite,  but  as  a  reckless  pursuit  of  excitement  at  all 
costs — glorified  as  an  excitement  of  emotion,  and  even 
of  wit  and  intellect,  in  such  contemporary  writers  as 
Horace,  and  actually  confused,  as  in  the  Dionysiac  or 
Bacchanalian  frenzy,  with  a  divine  inspiration.  How 
necessary  the  admonition  was  we  see  by  the  directions 
as  to   the   choice  of  clergy  hi  the  Pastoral  Epistles 


(1  Tim.  iii.  28  ;  Tit.  i.  7 ;  ii.  3) ;  the  more  necessary, 
because  (as  1  Tim.  v.  23  shows)  the  right  use  of  wino 
was  recognised.  Hence  St.  Paul  emphatically  brands 
drunkenness  as  "  excess,"  a  word  properly  signifying 
"  recklessness  " — "  incapable  of  saving,"  or  denying 
itself  anything,  and  naturally  passing  through  this 
want  of  self-restraint  into  profligacy — rightly  trans- 
lated "  riot "  in  Tit.  i.  6,  1  Pet.  iv.  4,  as  the  correspond- 
ing adverb  is  rendered  "  riotous  living  "  in  Liike  xv. 
13.  For  drunkenness  is  at  once  the  effect  and  cause 
of  utter  recklessness.  It  is  the  effect  of  a  self-abandon- 
ment, by  Avhich  the  sensual  or  passionate  elements  of 
the  nature  are  stimulated  to  frenzy,  while  the  self- 
controlling  judgment  is  drugged  to  sleep.  It  is  the 
cause  of  yet  greater  recklessness  :  for  as  these  passions 
and  appetites  become  jaded,  they  need  stronger  and 
stronger  stimulants,  till  the  w-hole  nature,  bodily  and 
mental,  is  lost  in  delirium  or  stupor. 

But  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.— The  antithesis  is 
startling,  but  profoundly  instructive.  To  the  artificial 
and  degrading  excitement  of  drunkenness  St.  Paul 
boldly  opposes  the  divine  enthusiasm  of  the  Spirit,  one 
form  of  which  Avas  scotfingly  compared  to  it  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  13).  He  is  not  content  with 
warning  us  of  its  ruinous  excess,  or  urging  the  strictness 
of  stern  self-restraint.  Drunkenness  comes  from  an  un- 
natural craving  for  excitement,  stimulated  by  unwhole- 
some conditions  of  life,  physical  and  mental.  He  would 
satisfy  the  craving,  so  far  as  it  is  natural,  by  a  divini^ 
enthusiasm,  brighter  and  stronger  than  even  duty  to  God 
and  man,  breaking  out  in  thanksgiving,  adoration,  and 
love. 

(19)  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and 
hymns  and  spirit.ual  songs.— The  same  words  aro 
found  in  Col.  iii.  16,  with  a  notable  difference  of  appli- 
cation. There  the  idea  i^  of  teaching:  "  teaching  and  ad- 
monishing one  another  ;"  here,  simply  of  a  natural  vent 
for  emotion,  especially  of  thanksgiving,  although  pro- 
bably here  also  "  to  yourselves  "  means ''  to  one  another," 
and  refers,  perhaps,  chiefly  to  public  worship.  The 
well-known  passage  in  Pliny,  "  Carmen  dicere  inter  se 
iuvicem,"  describes  alternate,  possibly  autiphonal,  sing- 
ing of  such  sacred  music.  Of  the  various  kinds  of  this 
music,  the  '•  psalms  "  and  "  hjanns  "  are  easily  distin- 
guished. The  "  psalm,"  as  the  word  itself  impfies,  is 
music  Avith  instrumental  accompaniment,  and  can 
hardly  fail  to  refer  to  the  Old  Testament  psalms, 
familiar  in  Jewish  Avor.ship,  and  as  Ave  know,  used  in  the 
first  instance  Ave  have  of  apostolic  worship  (Acts  iv.  24). 
On  their  frequent  use  see  1  Cor.  xiv.  26;  Jas.  v.  12. 
The  "  hymn "  is  purely  A'ocal  music,  apparently  of 
the  whole  company  (see  Matt.  xxvi.  30;  Acts  xvi.  25), 
more  especially  directed  to  praise  of  God,  and  pro- 
bably designating  the  ncAV  utterances  of  the  Christian 
Church  itself.  But  the  interpretation  of  the  "  spiritual 
song,"  or  "  ode,"  is  more  difficult.  It  is  often  considered 
as  inclusive  of  the  other  two  (as  etymologically  it 
might  well  bo),  but  the  genius  of  the  passage  apjiears 
to  make  it  co-ordinate,  and  so  distinct  from  them. 
From  the  use  of  the  Avord  "  song,"  or  "  ode,"  as  applied 
to  lyric  poetry,  it  may  perhaps  l)e  conjectured  that  it 
describes  more  Aaried  and  elaborate  music,  sung  by  one 
;  person  only — a  spiritual  utterance  of  one  for  the  Avhole 
50 


Tlie  EnUiUtilasin  of  Thankigioinrj. 


EPHESIA^S,   V. 


TIlh  Soberness  of  Self-rtatraint. 


singing  and  making  melody  in  your 
lieart  to  the  Lord ;  ^-'^^  giving  thanks 
always  for  all  things  unto  God  and  the 
Father  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


Christ ;  (^i)  submitting  yourselves  one  to 
another    in    the    fear    of  pj^         2'>—'>- 

God.         <2-'    Wives,     submit    Duty  of  wives 

yourselves   unto  your  own  ^'^^  husbands. 


cougrcgation.  lu  a  passage  of  Philo  (ii.  p.  476) — quoted 
by  Dr.  Lig'htfoot  on  Col.  iii.  16 — on  Jowiisli  sacred  music, 
we  read,  "  He  who  stands  up  slugs  a  hymn  composed 
in  praise  of  God,  either  haviuij  made  a  new  one  for  }iim- 
self,  or  using  an  ancient  one  of  the  poets  of  days  gone 
by."  The  Christian  counterpart  of  this  might  well  be 
the  "  spiritual  song."  To  some  such  utterance,  under 
the  name  of  "  psalm,"  St.  Paul  seems  to  allude  in 
1  Cor.  xiv.  26,  a  passage  dealing  expressly  with  special 
spiritual  gifts.  "  Each  one  of  you  has  a  psalm." 
Evidently  it  might  be  strictly  a  "  hymu  "  or  "  psalm," 
though  in  common  usage  (as  here)  it  would  be  dis- 
tinguished from  both. 

Singing  and  making  m,elody  in  your  heart.— 
The  word  rendered  "  making  melody "  is  the  verb 
corresponding  to  the  "  psalm  "  above,  as  singing  to  the 
"  song."  This  clause  is  not  identical  but  co-ordinate 
with  the  last.  That  described  audible  and  public 
melody  ;  this,  the  secret  utterance  of  music  in  the  soul, 
whether  accompanying  the  other  or  distinct  from  it. 

(20)  Giving  thanks  always  for  all  things. — 
This  temper  of  universal  and  pervading  thankfulness 
is  dwelt  upon  in  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians 
(V.  18)  as  indissolubly  united  with  unceasing  joy  and 
prayer  (*'  Rejoice  evermore ;  pray  without  ceasing ;  in 
evei-ything  give  thanks.")  Since  thanksgiving  is  for 
what  God  lias  given  us,  and  prayer  for  what  we 
still  need,  both  must  be  united  in  our  imperfect  con- 
dition here.  In  Col.  iii.  17  it  is  associated  with 
action  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Chi-ist."  Here 
it  is  dealt  with  alone,  as  the  basis  of  the  praises,  public 
and  private,  coi^jorate  and  individual,-described  above. 
In  regard  to  the  former,  St.  Paul  marks  thanksgiving  as 
the  fundamental  and  invariable  element  of  all  Christian 
worship,  clothing  itself  naturally  in  al|  variety  of 
music  ;  in  regard  to  the  latter,  he  describes  the  habitual 
spirit  of  thankfulness,  prevailing  alike  iu  joy  and 
sorrow,  undisturbed  even  by  penitent  sense  of  sin, 
as  the  inner  music  of  all  Christian  life. 

Unto  God  and  the  Father  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. — Both  these  expressions  ai'e  em- 
phatic. To  all  consciousness  of  God  belong  fear  and 
rcvoi-ence;  to  the  belief  in  Him  as  "our  Father"  (see 
Kom.  viii.  14 — 17;  Gal.  iv.  4 — 6)  specially  belong  love 
and  thanksgiving.  But  it  is  "  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  " — that  is,  as  identified  in  'perfect  unity 
with  Him — that  we  have  the  adoption  to  sonship  which 
is  the  ground  of  such  thanksgiving.  So  also  in  the 
same  unity  (see  John  xiv.  13;  xv.  16;  x\'i.  23,  24)  we 
have  tlie  ground  of  perfect  confidence  in  prayer. 

(21)  Submitting  yourselves  one  to  another  in 
the  fear  of  God. — In  grammatical  construction  this 
••lause  is  connected  with  the  pi'eceding  versos ;  in  point 
of  idea  it  leads  on  to  the  next  section,  which  tn^ats  of 
the  three-fold  submission  of  wives  to  husbands,  children 
to  parents,  slaves  to  masters.  There  is,  however,  a 
certain  connection  of  idea  with  the  preceding  section 
also,  and  especially  with  the  encouragement  of  a 
Cliristian  enthusiasm  in  the  hist  clause.  The  strong  and 
frequent  emphasis  laid  in  the  New  Testament  on  sub- 
jection, whetlier  (as  in  Rom.  xiii.  1 — 7;  1  Pet.  ii.  13 — 
17)  to  the  civil  power.s.  or  (as  here,  in  Col.  iii.  18 — iv.  1, 
and  1  Pet.  ii.  18 — iii.  7)  to  domestic  authority,  or  (as  in 


1  Thess.  V.  12,  13;  2  Tliess.  iii.  6,  14,  15)  to  ecclesias- 
tical authority,  probably  indicates  some  tendency,  in  the 
first  exuberance  of  Christian  liberty  and  enthusiasm, 
to  disregard  the  wholesome  restraints,  laws,  and  con- 
ventions of  outward  life.  Hence  St.  Paul's  general 
caution  here,  prefatory  to  the  more  detailed  teaching 
of  subjection  which  follows. 

[5.  Practical  Exhortation  continued  (chaps,  v. 
22— vi.  9). 
(4)  The  Bearing  of  the  Truth  of  Unity  on 
THE  Three  Great  Relations  of  Life. 
(a)  Between   husbands   and   wives — a    relation 
which    is    a    type    of   the  unity  between 
Christ  and  His  Church  (verses  22 — 33). 
{b)  Between  parents  and  children — a  relation 
hallowed  as  existing  "  in  the  Lord  "  (chap, 
vi.  1 — 4). 
(c)  Between  masters  and  servants — a  relation 
softened  and  deepened  by  common  service 
to  the  one  Master  (chap.  vi.  5 — 9).] 

(4  a.)  In  verses  22 — 33  St.  Paul  passes  from  warn- 
ing against  special  sins  to  consider  the  three  gi-eat 
relations  of  life,  first  considered  as  "  subjections,"  and 
so  illustrating  the  general  precept  of  submission  in 
verse  21,  but  ultimately  viewed  iu  their  reciprocity  of 
mutual  obligations  and  rights.  First,  accordingly,  he 
dwells  on  the  relation  of  mamage,  declaring  it  to  be 
hallowed  as  a  type  of  the  unity  of  Christ  Avith  His 
Church,  and  hence  drawing  the  inference  of  the  duty 
of  free  obedience  in  the  wife,  and  of  self-sacrificing 
love  in  the  husband.  This  passage  may  be  held  to 
contain  the  complete  and  normal  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament  on  this  great  question,  written  at  a  time 
when  Christianity  had  ah-eady  begun  to  exalt  and  purify 
the  nuptial  tie ;  and  it  is  instructive  to  compare  it  with 
1  Cor  vii.,  written  for  "the  ^jresent  distress,"  glanc- 
ing not  obscurely  at  marriage  with  unbelievers,  and 
adapted  to  the  condition  of  a  proverbially  profligate 
society,  as  yet  scarcely  raised  above  the  low  heathen 
ideas  of  marriage. 

(22)  Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own 
husbands. — The  same  exhortation  is  found  in  CoL 
iii.  18;  Tit.  ii.  5;  1  Pet.  iii.  1—6;  and  besides 
these  formal  exhortations  there  is  distinct  and 
emphatic  declaration  of  the  "subjection  of  women"  in 
1  Cor.  xi.  3,  7,  8,  9  ;  xiv.  34,  35 ;  1  Tim.  ii.  11,  12. 
Probably  the  sense  of  that  fimJamental  equality  in 
Christ,  in  which  (see  Col.  iii.  28)  "  there  is  neither 
bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  7ior  female,"  while 
it  was  rightly  accepted  as  showing  that  tliere  is  no 
spiritual  inferiority  in  woman — such  as  Oriental  theory 
asserted,  and  even  Greek  and  corrupt  Roman  practice 
implied  —  was  perverted  to  tlie  denial  of  the  greater 
natural  weakness  of  woman,  from  which  subordination 
comes,  and  to  the  foolish  and  reckless  disregard 
of  all  social  conventions.  St.  Paul,  as  usual,  brings  out 
the  simple  truth  of  principle,  sanctioning  whatever  is 
fiuidamental  and  natural  in  woman's  subordination, 
and  leanug  the  artificial  enactments  of  law  or 
custom  to  grow  liy  degrees   into  accordance  with  it. 


51 


Marriage  tlie  Type  of  Unity 


EPHESIANS,    V. 


between  Clirist  and  His  Church. 


husbands,  as  unto  the  Lord.  <23)  por  the 
husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  even 
as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church: 
and  he  is  the  saviour  of  the  body. 
(24)  Therefore  as  the  church  is  subject 
unto  Christ,  so  let  the  wives  he  to  their 


own  husbands  in  every  thing.  <^'  Hus- 
bands, love  your  wives,  chap.  v.  26-33. 
even  as  Christ  also  loved  Marriage  is  a 
the  church,  and  gave  him-  Si^-onof  ChS 
self  for  it;  <2«'  that  he  with  His 
might  sanctify  and  cleanse  Church. 


The  principle  of  suljordiiiation  is  permanent ;  the 
special  regulations  of  it  in  the  world  or  in  the  Church 
must  vary  as  circumstances  change. 

As  unto  the  Lord.— These  words  are  explained 
by  the  next  verse.  In  Col.  iii.  18  we  have  the  less 
emphatic  pln-ase.  "  as  it  is  fitting  in  the  Lord." 

(iij  For  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife, 
even. as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church.— It  is 
instructive  to  compare  this  with  the  partly  similar 
passage  in  1  Cor.  xi.  3.  There  "  the  head  of  the  woman 
is  the  man,"  as  here;  but  "the  head  of  every  man 
(individually)  is  Christ,"  considered  in  His  human 
nature ;  aud  finally,  "  the  Head  of  Christ,"  as  the 
Son  of  Man,  "  is  God."  There,  accordingly,  "  head- 
ship"  is  simple  lordship;  the  woman  is  subject  to  the 
man,  the  man  is  subject  to  Christ  alone ;  Christ  as  the 
Son  is  subject  to  the  Father.  Here,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  note,  first,  that  in  accordance  with  the  general  idea 
of  the  Epistle,  the  headship  of  Christ  over  the  Church 
at  large  takes  the  place  of  His  headship  over  the 
individual ;  next,  that  from  the  idea  of  His  headship  so 
conceived  is  derived  the  further  idea  of  a  spiritual 
unity,  involving  self-sacrifice  in  the  head,  as  well  as 
obedience  to  the  head  ;  and,  lastly,  that  since  the  very 
idea  of  unity  in  Christ  is  unity  with  God,  there  is 
nothing  to  correspond  to  the  third  clause  in  the  former 
Epistle. 

;23, 2t)  And  he  is  the  saviour  of  the  body. 
Therefore  .  .  . — The  words  "aud"  and  "is" 
are  wrongly  inserted,  and  the  word  "  therefore "  is 
absolutely  an  error,  evading  the  difficulty  of  the  pas- 
sage. It  should  be,  He  Himself  being  the  Saviour 
(f  the  Body.  But  .  .  .  This  clause,  in  which  the 
words  "He  Himself"  are  emphatic,  notes  (sls  if  in 
order  to  guard  against  too  literal  acceptation  of  the 
comparison)  that  "Christ"  land  He  alone)  is  not  only 
Head,  but  "  Saviour  of  the  Body,"  i.e.,  "  of  His  body 
the  Church,"  not  only  teaching  and  ruling  it,  but  by 
His  unity  infusing  into  it  the  new  life  of  justification 
and  sanctification.  Here  no  husband  can  be  like  Him, 
and  therefore  none  can  claim  the  al)solute  dependence 
of  faitli  which  is  His  of  right.  Accordingly  St.  Paul 
adds  the  word  "  But."  Though  "this  is  so,'  yet  "still 
let  the  wives,"  &c. 

As  the  chiirch  is  subject  unto  Christ,  so  let 
the  wives  be  to  their  own  husbands  in  every 
thing. — The  .subjection  of  the  Church  of  Christ  is  a 
free  subjection,  arising  out  of  faith  in  His  absolute 
wisdom  aud  goodness,  and  of  love  for  His  unspeakable 
love.  Hence  we  gather  (1)  that  the  subordination  of 
the  wife  is  not  that  of  the  slave,  by  compulsion  and 
fear,  but  one  which  arises  from  and  preserves  freedom  ; 
next  (2),  that  it  can  exist,  or  at  any  rate  can  endui-e, 
only  on  condition  of  superior  wisdom  and  goodness  and 
love  in  the  husband;  thirdly  (3),  that  while  it  is  like 
the  higher  subordination  in  kind,  it  cannot  be  equally 
perfect  in  degree — while  it  is  real  "in  everything,"  it 
can  be  absolute  in  nothing.  The  antitype  is,  as  usual, 
greater  than  the  type. 

(25)  Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ 
also  loved  the  church.— The  love  of  Christ  for  His 


Church  is  such  that  He  counts  Himself  incomplete 
without  her  (chap.  i.  23),  and  raises  her  to  be  one  with 
Himself ;  that  He  bears  with  her  weakness  and  frailty  ; 
that  He  draws  her  on  by  the  cords  of  love;  and  that 
He  gives  up  Himself  for  her.  Only  so  far  as  the 
husband  shows  the  like  love  in  perfect  sympathy,  in 
chivalrous  forbearance,  in  abhorrence  of  tyranny,  in 
willingness  to  self-sacrifice,  has  he  any  right  to  claim 
lordship. 

And  gave  himself  for  it. — Here,  as  before,  the 
antitype  transcends  the  type.  In  the  character  of  our 
Lord's  sacrifice,  as  an  atonement  offered  "for"  the 
Church,  and  in  the  regenerating  and  cleansing  effect  of 
that  sacrifice  (see  next  verse),  none  can  approach  Him. 
The  husband  may  be  said  to  give  himself  for  his  wife, 
but  it  cannot  be  in  any  higher  sense  than  as  taking  the 
chief  shai-e  of  the  burden,  and  if  possible  the  pain,  of 
life  for  her.  He  may  follow  Christ  in  love,  and  in  that 
alone.  Compare  St.  Paul's  words  in  Col.  i.  24,  "  I  fill 
up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afilictions  of  Chi-ist  for 
His  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church"  (where  see 
Note). 

(25-27)  In  these  verses  we  trace,  under  the  luiptial 
metaphor,  a  clear  description  of  the  three  great 
stages  in  salvation — justification  in  His  "  giving  Him- 
self for  us,  sanctification  iu  the  "  cleansing  by  water  in 
the  Word,"  glorification  in  the  final  "  presentation  "  to 
Christ  in  glory.  The  metaphor  is  cei'tainly  preserved 
in  the  last  two  clauses,  which  correspond  to  the  bath  of 
purification  of  the  bride,  and  the  festal  presentation  of 
her  (usually  by  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom,  John 
iii.  29),  in  all  her  beauty  and  adornment,  to  her  husband 
at  his  own  home ;  perhaps  even  in  the  first  also,  for  the 
husband  used  to  give  a  dowry,  which  was  held  in  the 
rude  simplicity  of  ancient  times  to  purchase  his  wife, 
and  here  that  which  Christ  gives  is  the  un.speakable 
jii-ice  of  His  own  Self.  Throughout,  in  accordance 
with  the  whole  tenor  of  the  Epistle,  it  is  the  Church  as 
a  whole,  not  the  indiA-idual  soul,  which  is  "  the  Spouse 
of  Christ." 

(^i^)  That  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  .  . 
— The  true  rendering  is,  that  He  might  sanctifij  it, 
having  cleansed  it  in  the  laver  of  the  water  in  [</je]  Word. 
The  reference  in  "  the  laver  of  the  water  "  to  baptism, 
is  even  more  unquestionable  than  in  "the  laver  of  regene- 
ration" of  Tit.  iii.  5.  Hence  we  must  conclude  that  the 
phrase  "iu  the  Word"  is  in  some  way  connected  with  that 
sacrament.  Of  the  two  Greek  words  translated  "  word," 
the  one  here  used  is  that  which  .signifies not  "  tlie  word" 
exi.sting  as  a  definite  thought  iu  the  mind,  but  "the 
word "  as  audibly  spoken.  It  has.  indeed,  in  the 
original  no  article,  but  this  is  probably  because  it  had 
assumed  so  technical  a  sense  as  to  resemble  a  proper 
name  ;  and  it  is  be.st  connected  with  the  phrase  "  having 
cleansed  it,"  thus  being  co-ordinated,  not  subordinated, 
to  the  "  laver  of  the  water."  Accoi-dingly  it  would 
seem  to  signify  all  that  element  of  l)aptism  which  is  "  in 
word  " — tliat  is,  the  question  of  faitli,  "  the  answer  of  a 
good  conscience  "  (1  Pet.  iii.  21),  and,  lastly,  the  solemn 
formula  of  baptism  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."   If  we  are  to  single 


52 


Hence  the  IInsha)id\^  Duly 


EPHESIANS,   V. 


of  Love  aiul  Self-sacrifice. 


it  witli  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
word,  ("'''that  he  might  present  it  to  him- 
self a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot, 
or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish.  ^^^  So  ought  men  to  love 
their  wives  as  their  own  bodies.      He 


that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself. 
(29)  Yov  no  man  ever  yet  hated  his  own 
flesh  ;  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it, 
even  as  the  Lord  the  church  :  (^^)  for  we 
are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh, 
and  of  his  bones.  *^^'  For  this  cause 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 


out  any  of  these,  we  must  surely  (with  Ohrysostoin) 
take  the  last.  But  it  is  better  to  embrace  the  Avliole, 
and  so  iuclude  tlie  whole  spiritual  element  of  baptism, 
both  the  acceptance  of  faith  on  the  part  of  man,  and  the 
grace-giving  blessing  of  God. 

To ''  sanctify"  is  here  to  consecrate  to  Himself  (comp. 
John  x^^i.  17,  19)  after  purification.  In  the  same  con- 
nection we  have  in  1  Cor.  vi.  11,  "Ye  were  washed,  ye 
were  sanctified,  ye  were  justified."  In  virtue  of  such 
consecration  the  Church  visible  is  "  holy  "  in  idea  and 
in  capacity — the  Church  invisible  here  (which  will  be 
the  Church  triumphant  hereafter),  holy  in  the  actual 
purity  which  becomes  a  consecrated  nature.  Of  such 
consecration  baptism  is  unquestionably  the  means  ;  as 
we  see  in  command  in  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  and  in  fact  in 
Acts  ii.  38,  41. 

(27)  That  he  might  present  it  to  himself.— 
The  original  is  more  emphatic — that  He  vdglit  Hiinaelf 
2}resent  it  to  Hma^elf.  This  presentation  belonged 
usually  to  the  "  paranymph,"  or  "  friend  of  the  bride- 
groom, to  whom  St.  John  Baptist  compares  himself  in 
John  iii.  29  (where  see  Note) ;  St.  Paul  himself  assumes 
that  office  in  2  Cor.  xi.  2,  "I  have  espoused  (or  rather, 
betrothed)  you  to  one  husband,  that  I  may  present 
you  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ."  Here,  however,  all 
is  of  Christ.  He,  as  Paranymph,  comes  down  to  seek 
and  to  save  His  Bride  ;  He,  as  Bridegroom,  receives 
her  in  His  heavenly  home. 

A  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle  .  .  . — Properly,  {that  He  might  present) 
the  Church  as  glorious,  not  having  a  spot  (i.e.,  a  stain 
on  its  purity),  or  a  wrinkle  {i.e.,  a  defect  in  its  beauty 
and  freshness  of  life) ;  but  that  it  may  be  holy  (not 
merely  consecrated  to  holiness)  and  without  blemish 
(as  He  is  without  blemish).  On  these  last  words  see 
Note  on  chap.  i.  4.  They  are  most  commonly  sacri- 
ficial, corresponding  (see  Col.  i.  22)  to  the  sacrificial 
use  of  the  word  "  present."  Here,  however,  they  are 
seen  clearly  to  have  reference  to  the  nuptial  metaphor 
by  what  goes  before. 

In  all  this  we  have  a  picture  which  properly  belongs 
to  the  Church  in  glory,  and  which  is  fully  drawn  out 
under  the  same  metaphor  as  Rev.  xix.  7 — 9,  xxi.  2,  9.  10; 
for  only  in  it  can  the  description  be  fully  realised.  In 
capacity  and  promise  it  belongs  to  the  whole  Church 
militant ;  in  reality,  but  in  imperfection,  to  the  Cliurch 
invisible  on  earth ;  in  absolute  perfection  to  the  Church 
triumphant  in  heaven. 

(28)  So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  .  .  . 
— From  this  glorious  digression,  applying  only  to 
the  di\"ine  Antitype,  St.  Paul  comes  back  to  the  one 
point,  in  which  the  type  may  imitate  it — that  is,  a 
deep  and  unfailing  love.  "  So  "  refers  to  the  previous 
verse,  describing  the  lovo  of  Christ,  not  to  the  "  as  " 
following;  otherwise  the  want  of  connection  would  be 
strangely  abrupt.  Moreover,  from  this  idea  of  tlie 
love  of  Christ  as  the  pattern,  the  latter  part  of  this 
verse  and  tlie  following  verses  naturally  arise.  Christ 
loves  the  Clmrch  as  His  body,  a  part  of  Himself. 
Hence  the  idea  that  the  husband  is  "  tlie  head  of  the 


wife "  gives  place  to  the  absolute  identification  of 
himself  with  his  wife,  as  "  one  flesh." 

He  that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself— 
All  riglit  "love  of  our  neighbour"  is  directed  to  bo 
given  to  him  "  as  to  ourselves."  It  is  to  be  of  the 
same  kind  as  the  love  of  self— that  is,  first,  an  instinct 
(as  of  self-preservation)  ;  and  next  a  rational  and 
settled  principle  (as  of  reasonable  self-love,  seeking 
our  own  perfection,  which  is  our  happiness).  Here, 
however,  this  love  to  our  neighljour  is  actually  identi- 
fied with  self-love.  The  wife  is  the  husband's  very 
self ;  he  can  no  more  fail  to  love  her  than  to  love  him- 
self, though  (again  to  follow  the  example  of  Christ) 
he  may  love  her  better  than  himself.  We  may  note 
that  this  identification  of  husband  and  wife  is  the  basis 
of  all  ecclesiastical,  and,  in  great  degree,  of  all  ci^al, 
law  of  Christian  nations  as  to  marriage. 

(^■')  His  own  flesh — i.e.,  as  above  (verse  28),  his 
ouui  body.  There  are  two  parts  of  the  natural  care  for 
our  own  bodies  ;  first,  "  to  nourish  "  (properly,  to  rear 
them  up  from  childhood,  as  in  chap.  vi.  4),  and  then 
"to  cherish  "  (literally,  to  keep  them  icarm).  to  provide 
all  they  need  for  health,  and  comfort,  and  life.  In  all 
that  corresponds  to  both,  the  husband  is  to  show  love  to 
the  wife,  not  only  as  a  self,  but  as  a  weaker  self,  for 
Avhom  he  is  bound  to  think  and  to  act.  It  may  bo 
noted  in  passing  that  the  very  comparison  accords  with 
the  Christian  idea  of  the  body  as  a  part  of  the  true  self, 
redeemed  to  be  a  temple  of  God;  and  is  utterly  incon- 
gruous with  the  Gnostic  conceptions  (already  beginning 
at  Colossee,  probably  not  unknown  in  other  Asiatic 
churches)  of  all  matter  as  the  source  of  evil,  and  of  the 
body  as  that  for  which  the  spirit  should  not  deign  to 
care. 

(29, 30)  Even  as  the  Lord  the  church :  for 
we  .  .  . — Again  St.  Paul  escapes  from  the  type  to  rest 
on  the  Antitype  (see  verse  32).  The  idea  of  the  natural 
rearing  and  cherishing  the  body  suggests  the  thought 
of  the  tender  care  of  Christ,  in  which  He  "  rears  up  " 
His  Church  from  weak  infancy  to  full  maturity  in 
heaven,  and  all  the  while  "  cherishes  it  (comp.  1  Thcss. 
ii.  7.  spoken  of  His  servants)  as  a  nurse  cherisheth 
her  children,"  "  carrying  it  in  His  bosom  "  (Isa.  xl.  11), 
comforting  and  cheering  its  childlike  weakness.  Hence 
lie  goes  back  again  to  speak  with  great  and  special 
emphasis  of  onr  unity  with  Him. 

Of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones.— Literally,  made 
out  of  His  flesh  and  bones — parts,  that  is.  of  His 
glorified  body,  having  "  fiesh  and  bones"  (Luke  xxiv. 
39).  The  expression  is  unique,  suggested,  of  cour.se,  by 
Gen.  ii.  23,  "  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of 
my  flesh,"  but  designed  to  bring  out  in  a  startling 
emphasis  the  true  meaning  of  the  familiar  phrase,  "the 
members  of  His  body."  We  are  grafted  into  Him. 
What  we  grow  to  be  is.  so  to  speak,  the  product  of  His 
divine  substance,  proceeding  from  the  indwelling  life 
which  gradually  forms  the  organised  limbs. 

(31)  For  this  cause.— In  spite  of  much  authority, 
it  seems  far  simpler  to  consider  the  words  "  Even  as 
the  Lord  .  .  .  His  bones "  as  parenthetical,  and  refer 


53 


The  Suhm'ission  of  the  Wife. 


EPHESIAXS,   YI. 


The  Dutjj  of  Children. 


and  shall  be  joined  unto  liis  wife,  and 
they  two  shall  be  one  flesh.  (-'2)  This  is 
a  great  mystery :  but  I  speak  concerning 
Christ  and  the  church.  ^•^■"  Nevertheless 
let  every  one  of  you  in  particular  so 
love  his  wife  even  as  himself;  and  the 
wife  see  that  she  reverence  her  husband. 


CHAPTER  YL  — (1)  Children,  obey 
your  parents  in  the  Lord :  Chap.  vi.  i— 
for  this  is  right.  (^)Hon-  ^Id^^.^^,^! 
our  thy  father  and  mother;  parents, 
which  is  the  first  commandment  with 
promise ;  <'^'  that  it  may  be  well  with 
thee,  and  thou  mayest  live  long  on  the 


back  to  versos  28,  29.  In  exactly  tlio  same  way  our 
Lord  quotes  tlie  same  verse  of  Genesis  (chap.  ii.  24)  to 
show  tlie  indissohible  character  of  the  marriage  tie. 
Here  the  similarity  of  connection  with  that  of  the 
orif^inal  passage  is  even  stronger.  Because  a  man's 
wife  is  as  liis  own  body,  "  for  this  cause  shall  a  man," 
&c.  To  connect  these  words  with  tiioso  going  before 
is  indeed  possible,  but  somewhat  too  mystical  even  for 
this  passage. 

Shall  a  man  leave  his  father  .  .  .—The  relation 
of  parentage  is  one  of  common  flesh  and  blood,  and 
stands  at  the  head  of  those  natural  relations  wliich  we 
do  not  make,  but  into  which  we  are  born.  The  relation 
of  marriage  is  the  most  sacred  of  all  the  ties  into  which 
we  are  not  born,  aiul  which  we  do  make  for  ourselves, 
in  accordance  with  a  true  or  supposed  harmony  of 
nature.  It  becomes,  says  Holy  Scripture,  a  relation,  not 
of  common  flesh  and  blood,  but  of  "  one  flesh."  Itself 
originally  vohmtary,  it  supersedes  all  natural  ties.  Our 
Lord  therefore  adds,  "  They  are  no  more  twain,  but  one 
flesh.  What  God  hath  joined  together  let  not  man  put 
asunder  "  (Matt.  xix.  6).  Hence  it  strikingly  represents 
that  unity  with  Christ — voluntarily  initiated  by  Him, 
voluntarily  accepted  by  us — which  yet  so  supersedes 
all  natural  ties  that  it  is  said  to  oblige  a  man  to  "  hate 
his  father  and  mother  .  .  .  and  his  own  life  also" 
(Luke  xiv.  26). 

(32)  This  is  a  great  mystery.— Rather,  This 
mystery  is  a  great  one.  The  words  apply  to  the  type, 
as  well  as  to  the  Antitype.  (1)  The  indissoluble  and 
paramount  sacredness  of  marriage,  as  all  history  shows, 
is  "  a  mystery  " — that  is  (see  chap.  i.  9),  a  secret  of  God's 
law,  fully  revealed  in  Christ  alone.  For  in  heathen,  and, 
to  some  extent,  even  in  Jewish  thought,  man-iage  was 
a  contract  far  less  sacred  than  the  indissoluble  tie  of 
blood ;  and  wherever  Oliristian  principle  is  renounced 
or  obscui'ed,  tliat  ancient  idea  recurs  in  modern  times. 
It  may  bo  noted  that  from  the  translation  here  of  the 
word  "  mystery,"  by  sacramentmn  in  the  Latin  versions, 
the  application  of  the  word  "  sacrament  "  to  marriage 
arose.  (2)  But  the  following  words,  "  But  I  "  (the  word 
"  I  "  being  emphatic)  "  speak  conceraing  Christ  and  the 
Church,"  show — what  indeed  the  whole  passage  has 
already  shown — that  St.  Paul's  chief  thought  lias  passed 
from  the  type  to  the  Antityi^e.  Ho  has  constantly  dwelt 
on  points  wliich  suit  only  Christ's  relation  to  tbe  Church, 
and  to  that  relation  he  has,  by  an  irresistible  gra^-ita- 
tion  of  thought,  been  brought  back  again  and  again. 
(3)  Yet  the  two  cannot  be  separate.  Tlie  tj^ie  brings 
out  some  features  of  the  Antityi)e  which  no  other  com- 
parison makes  clear ;  and  history  shows  that  the  sacred- 
ness of  the  type  in  the  Church  has  depended  on  this 
great  passage — bearing,  as  it  does,  omphalic  witness 
against  the  ascetic  tendency  to  look  on  marriage  as 
simply  a  concession  to  weakness,  and  as  leading  to  a 
life  necessarilj'  lower  than  the  celibate  life. 

(3.3)  Nevertheless. — Although,  i.e.,  the  primary  and 
perfect  application  is  to  Christ  alone,  let  the  teach- 
ing be  80  far  applied  to  marriage  as  that  practically 
"  the  husband  love  his  wife  as  himself,"  and  "  the  wife  ' 


reverence  (properly,  fear)  the  husband."  This  return 
to  homely,  practical  duty  after  high  and  mysterious 
teaching  is  characteristic  of  St.  Paul.  (See,  for 
example,  1  Cor.  xv.  58.) 

YI. 

(4  b.)  In  verses  1 — 4  St.  Paul  passes  from  the 
detailed  exposition  of  the  true  relation  of  husbands 
and  wives,  to  deal  with  the  relation  of  pai'ents  and 
children,  far  more  cursorily  and  simply,  but  under  the 
light  of  the  same  idea.  It  is  to  be  thought  of  as  exist- 
ing "  in  the  Lord,"  i.e.,  within  the  unity  binding  all  to 
Christ,  in  virtue  of  which  the  parental  authority  and 
the  right  freedom  of  the  child  are  both  hallowed. 

(1)  In  the  Lord. — The  phrase  itself,  though  familiar 
in  St.  Paul's  writings  generally,  is  sijecially  frequent  in 
the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity,  where  it  occurs  in  various 
connections  no  loss  than  twenty-one  times.  (See,  for 
example,  chaps,  ii.  21;  iii.  11;  iv.  1,  17;  v.  8;  vi.  10, 
21.)  It  is,  in  fact,  a  brief  indication  of  their  great 
subject — unity  with  and  in  Christ.  Here  to  "  obey  in 
tlie  Lord  "  is  to  ol)oy  under  the  light  and  grace  of  that 
unity,  as  already  belonging  both  to  parents  and  children, 
and  transfiguring  all  natural  relations  to  a  diviner 
glory. 

This  is  right. — Right,  i.e.,  by  fundamental  laws  of 
humanity,  recognised  in  all  races  and  all  ages,  declared 
and  sanctioned  in  God's  commandments  (verses 
2,  3),  which  are  at  once  both  old  and  new  "  in  the 
Lord." 

(2)  The  first  commandment  with  promise.— 
It  is,  indeed,  in  the  Decalogue  "  the  only  commandment 
with  promise  "  distinctly  attached  to  it.  But  it  is  still 
the  first;  the  Decalogue  being  itself  the  introduction 
to  the  Law,  in  which  similar  promises  are  repeated 
again  and  again. 

(3)  That  it  may  be  well  with  thee  .  .  . — The 
quotation  is  but  slightly  varied  from  Ex.  xx.  12; 
Deut.  V.  16.  But  by  the  omission  of  the  limiting 
words,  "  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  given  thee," 
St.  Paul  at  once  generalises  the  api^lication  and  deter- 
mines it  to  the  earth,  and  not  to  "  the  good  land  "  of 
heaven.  The  words  so  interpreted  are,  therefore,  a 
promise  that  obedience  "  in  the  Lord "  to  the  great 
natural  law  on  which  society  rests,  shall  bring  with  it 
reward  on  earth ;  just  as  our  Lord  tells  us  of  "  meekness" 
that  it  shall  "  inherit  the  oartli  "  (Matt.  v.  5),  and  St. 
Paul  of  "godliness"  that  it  "  has  the  promise  of  the  life 
that  now  is.  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  come  "  (1  Tim. 
iv.  8).  The  visible  exemplification  of  this  law  is, 
indeed,  as  in  all  other  cases,  obscured  by  the  disorder 
brought  in  by  sin,  and,  moreover,  is  aA'ectod  by  the 
consideration  that  this  life,  being  a  discipline  for 
lieaven,  must  present,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
"  imperfection  "  or  incompleteness,  if  viewed  alone.  But 
it  is  still  a  natural  law,  and  is  still  accordingly 
fulfilled  in  actual  experience.  The  promise  is  not 
to  us  so  important  as  to  them  of  old  j  but  it  is  ours 
still. 


54 


The  Duty  of  Parents. 


EPHESIANS,   VI. 


The  Duty  of  Servants. 


earth.     (^^  And,  ye  fatliers,  provoke  not 

your  children  to  wrath :  but  bring  them 

up     in     the    nurture    and 
Chap.  VI.  5 — 9.       1  •,•  V     J.^        t       j 

Duty    of    ser-  admonition   01    the   Lord, 
vants  and  mas-  (5)  Servants,  be  obedient  to 
®^^'  them  that    are  yo^ir  mas- 

ters according  to  the  flesh,  with  fear  and 


trembling,  in  singleness  of  your  heart, 
as  unto  Christ;  (''^  not  with  eyeservice,  as 
menpleasers ;  but  as  the  servants  of 
Christ,  doing  the  will  of  God  from  the 
heart ;  ^''^  with  good  will  doing  service,  as 
to  the  Lord,  and  not  to  men  :  ^^^  knowing 
that  whatsoever  good   thing    any  man 


(^)  Provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath. — The 
word  is  tlio  same  as  iu  chap.  iv.  26.  It  denotes  tlie 
exasperation  produced  by  arbitrary  and  uusympatlietic 
rule. 

Nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.— In 
this  phrase  we  have  the  two  elements  of  education. 
"Nurture"  is  a  word  signifying  generally  "the  treat- 
ment due  to  a  child,"  but  by  usage  appropriated  to 
practical  training,  or  teaching  by  discipline ;  while 
"  admonition  "  is  the  "  putting  children  in  mind  "  by 
word  of  instruction.  It  may  be  noted  that  in  accordance 
with  the  charactei-istic  stei-nness  of  ancient  education, 
both  words  have  a  tinge  of  severity  in  them.  The 
"  nui'ture"  of  this  passage  is  the  same  as  the  "chasten- 
ing" of  the  famous  jjassage  in  Heb.  xii.  4 — 11.  (Com- 
pare the  cognate  verb  in  Luke  xxiii.  16 ;  1  Cor.  xi.  32 ; 
2  Cor.  vi.  9 ;  1  Tim.  i.  20 ;  Rev.  iii.  19.)  The  "  admoni- 
tion "  is  used  in  Tit.  iii.  10  for  rebuke,  and,  inasmuch  as 
it  implies  warning,  is  distinguished  from  teaching  iu  Col. 
iii.  16.  In  this,  as  in  other  cases,  Christianity  gradually 
softened  this  stern  authority  of  the  father — so  strikingly 
exemplified  in  the  old  Roman  law — by  the  idea  suggested 
in  the  addition  of  the  phrase  "  of  the  Lord."  The 
children  belong  not  to  the  parent  only,  but  to  Christ, 
taken  into  His  arms  in  baptism,  and  sealed  as  His 
little  ones.  Hence  the  "  rererence,"  which  Juvenal 
enforced  in  theory  as  due  to  children's  natural  purity, 
became  realised  iu  Christian  practice,  and  gradually 
transformed  all  Christian  education  to  greater  gentle- 
ness, forbeai-auce,  and  love. 

(4  c.)  In  verses  5 — 9  the  hardest  form  of  subjection, 
that  of  slaves  to  masters,  is  dealt  with,  still  under  the 
same  idea  tliat  botli  are  "  in  Christ."  The  slave  is  the 
servant  of  Christ  in  obeying  his  master,  the  master  is 
a  fellow-servant  with  his  slave  to  the  same  Divine 
Lord.  We  notice  on  this  particular  subject  a  remark- 
able emphasis,  and  a  singular  closeness  of  parallelism 
between  this  Epistle  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians ; 
pi'obably  to  be  accounted  for  l)y  the  presence  of  Onesi- 
mus  with  St.  Paul  at  the  time,  which  would  naturally 
jiress  on  him  some  special  consideration  of  the  relation 
of  Christianity  to  slavery.  Accordingly  St.  Paul's 
general  attitude  towards  slavery  will  be  best  considered 
in  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  (which  see).  Hero  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  note  tliat  while  the  institution,  unnatural 
as  it  is,  is  left  untouched,  the  declaration  of  a  common 
fellowship  in  Christ  enunciates  a  principle  absolutely 
incompatible  with  slavery,  and  destined  to  destroy  it. 

(5)  Your  masters  according  to  the  flesh.— This 
phrase  (used  also  in  Col.  iii.  12)  at  once  implies  the 
necessary  limitation  of  all  linman  slavery.  It  can  sub- 
jugate and  even  kill  the  body,  but  it  cannot  touch 
the  spirit;  and  it  belongs  only  to  the  visible  life 
of  this  world,  not  to  the  world  to  come.  The  slave  is 
a  man  in  spiritual  and  immortal  being,  not  a  "  living 
tool  "  or  "  cliattol,"  as  even  philosophy  called  liim. 

With  fear  and  trembling.  —  Tlie  phrase  is  a 
favourite  one  with  St.  Paul.     (Sec  1  Cor.  ii.  3 ;  2  Cor. 


vii.  15  ;  Phil.  ii.  12,  in  all  which  cases  it  is  applied  to 
tke  condition  of  man  as  man  under  the  weight  of 
solemn  responsibility  before  God.)  It  recognises  the 
"  spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear  "  (Rom.  viii.  1-5)  necessarily 
belonging  to  all  who  ai-e  "  under  law,"  i.e.,  under 
obedience  to  the  will  of  another,  as  enforced  upon  them 
by  compulsion ;  and  this  fear,  moi*eover,  is  viewed  as 
showing  itself  in  "  trembling  "  anxiety  to  obey.  So  St. 
Peter  commands  (1  Pet.  ii.  18),  "Servants,  be  subject 
to  your  masters  witli  all  fear,  not  only  to  the  good  and 
gentle,  but  also-  to  the  froward ;  "  and  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  he  describes  the  suffering  herein  implied  as  a 
fellowship  with  the  sufferings  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
(verses  21—24). 

Singleness  of  your  heart,  as  unto  Christ.— 
The  phrase  "  singleness  of  heart,"  is  here  used  in  its 
proper  sense,  from  which  all  others  (see  Rom.  xii.  8 ; 
2  Cor.  viii.  2;  ix.  11,  13)  may  be  derived.  It  means 
having  but  one  aim,  and  that  the  one  which  we  profess 
to  have,  with  no  duplicity  of  reservation  or  hypocrisy. 
Such  singleness  of  heart  cannot  be  given  perfectly  to 
any  merely  human  ser^dce,  because  no  such  service  has  a 
right  to  our  whole  heart ;  hence  St.  Paul  adds,  "  as  unto 
Christ,"  bidding  them  look  on  their  service  as  a  part 
of  the  service  to  Him  who  can  claim  absolute  devotion. 

(6)  Not  with  eyeservice,  as  menpleasers. — 
This  verse  is  merely  an  expansion  of  the  idea  of 
singleness  of  heart.  The  word  "  eyeservice "  (used 
here,  and  in  Col.  iii.  22)  is  peculiar  to  St.  Paul,  and  to 
these  passages  ;  the  word  "  meni)leasers  "  is  not  foimd 
elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament,  but  is  used  in  tlie 
LXX. ;  and  the  antithesis  of  "  pleasing  men "  and 
"pleasing  God  "  is  not  unfrequent  with  St.  Paul.  (See 
Gal.  i.  10,  11  ;  1  Tliess.  ii.  4.)  To  a  slave,  looking  on 
his  master's  authority  as  mere  power  imposed  by  the 
cruel  laws  of  man.  this  "  eyeservice  "  is  found  to  be  an 
all  but  irresistible  temptation.  It  is  only  when  he  looks 
on  himself  as  "  the  slave  of  Christ  " — who  Himself 
"  took  on  Him  the  form  of  a  slave  "  (Phil.  ii.  7)  in  order 
to  work  out  the  will  of  God  in  a  sinful  world,  and  to 
redeem  all  men  from  bondage — that  he  can  possibly 
serve  from  the  heart. 

(")  With  good  will  doing  service,  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  to  men.— Here  we  ascend  to  a  stiU 
higher  quality  than  "singleness  of  heart."  To  do 
service  "  with  good  will,"  that  is,  gladly  and  cheerfully, 
"  counting  it  joy  to  spend  and  to  be  spent  "  in  the 
service,  is  really  to  serve,  not  as  a  slave,  but  as  a  free- 
man. Only  so  far  as  in  the  relation  of  slaves  to 
masters  there  is.  or  has  been,  any  shadow  of  the  filial 
and  parental  relation,  is  this  possible  on  merely  human 
grounds.  But  St.  Paul  urges,  in  1  Cor.  vii.  22.  that  the 
slave  "  when  called  in  tlio  Lord,  becomes  the  Lord's 
freeman,"  entering  a  "  ser\nce  which  is  perfect  freedom." 
That  conception,  logically  worked  out,  has  ultimately 
destroyed  slavery.  Meanwhile  it  gave  to  the  slave  in 
his  slavery — lightened  though  not  yet  removed — the 
power  of  service  "  with  good  will,  as  to  the  Lord." 

(8)  The  same  shall  he  receive  of  the  Lord.^ 
Tliis  verse    clenches    the    previous    exhortations    by 


65 


Dttty  of  A  falters. 


EPHESIANS,   VI. 


Final  Exhortation. 


doetli,  the  same  shall  he  receive  of  the 
Lord,  ^vhether  he  he  bond  or  free.  (^^And, 
yemastei'Sjdothc  same  things  unto  them, 
forbearing  ^  threatening  :  knowing  that 
your  Master  also  -  is  in  heaven  ;  neither 
is  there  respect  of  i)ersons  with    him. 


1  Or,  moderating. 

2  Sdiui'  read,  both 
yuur  MaaUr  and 
theirs. 


(10)  Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  ^, 

n     -,  ■            •    1  i.  Mii-Di  Chap.vi.lO— 12. 

of     his     might.  (llJ      Put  Exhortation  to 

on     the      whole  armour  ^tflit  the   spi- 

of  God,   that   ye  may    ^-  ^'^^"'^^  ^'^"^^^^ 


able    to    stand 


be 
against    the 


wiles    of 


the  inculcation  of  a  sense  of  responsihility  and  hope. 
The  pliraso  itself  is  emphatic — not  "  he  shall  receive 
the  reward  of  his  deed,"  but  "  he  shall  receive  the 
deed  itself,"  considered  as  a  thing  still  living  and 
returning  on  his  head,  both  in  the  judgments  of  life 
and  in  what  wo  riglitly  call  the  "  Last  Judgment  "  of 
the  Great  Day.  A  slave  in  the  eye  of  the  law  liad  no 
rights,  and  therefore  no  responsibility  or  hope.  St. 
Paul  therefore  bids  him,  as  a  Christian,  lift  his  thoughts 
to  a  region  in  which  all,  bond  and  free  alike,  may 
hear  the  blessing,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant." 

(9)  Do  the  same  things  unto  them— i.e.,  treat 
them  as  tlesh  and  blood  like  yourselves,  having,  as  men, 
the  same  claims  on  you  as  you  on  them ;  "  do  unto  them 
as  ye  would  that  they  should  do  unto  you."  The  parallel 
passage  in  the  Colossiau  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  1)  is  the  best 
comment  on  this,  "  Give  unto  your  servants  what  is  just 
and  equal."  "  To  forbear  threatening,"  or,  as  in  the 
original,  "  the  threatening,"  which  is  so  common,  is  one 
example  of  this  sense  of  sympathy.  For  threatening 
implies  at  every  moment  compulsion  and  coercion  from 
a  position  of  tyrannical  superiority ;  dealing  Avith  the 
slave  as  one  who  has  in  him  no  free  energy  and  no 
sense  of  duty,  and  who  must  bo  driven  like  a  brute- 
beast,  not  led  or  guided  as  a  man. 

Your  Master  also.— The  stronger  marginal  read- 
ing is  perhaps  l)etter,  their  Master  and  yours. 

Respect  of  persons.— In  this  phrase  the  word 
"  person  "  is  used  in  its  original  sense  (still  lingering 
in  our  modern  use  of  "person"  and  "personal," 
for  "  body  "  and  "  l)odily,")  of  the  2^^'''^ona,  i.e., 
"  the  mask  "  of  outward  condition,  circumstance,  and 
privilege.  In  tliis  general  sense  our  Lord  (Matt.  xxii. 
16)  is  said  "to  regard  not,"  and  (Luke  xx.  21)  "to 
accept  not "  the  person  of  man,  because  "  He  teaches 
the  way  of  God  in  truth."  This  sense  is  illustrated 
in  different  forms  by  the  other  uses  of  the  word 
"respect  of  persons,"  and  the  corresponding  verb  in 
the  New  Testament.  Thus  in  Acts  x.  '3i,  Rom.  ii.  ]1, 
it  is  used  of  the  distinction  of  privilege  between  Jew 
and  Gentile,  circumcision  and  uncircumcision  ;  in  Gal. 
ii.  6,  of  apostolic  dignity  in  the  eyes  of  men ;  in 
Jjis.  ii.  1,  9,  of  distinction  of  social  rank;  liero  and  in 
Col.  iii.  25,  of  the  difference  between  the  slave  and  the 
freeman.  In  the  modern  sense  of  "  person,"  as  signi- 
fying the  real  man,  there  is,  and  must  be,  "  respect  of 
persons"  in  all  rigliteous  judgment,  wliether  of  God 
or  man. 

[6.  Conclusion  (chap.  vi.  10—24). 

(1)  Final   Exhortation   to  put  on  the  whole 

armour  of  God,  in  order  to  stand  fast  in  the 
struggle,  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  unearthly  powers  of  evil  (verses 
10—17). 

(2)  Special  Desire   op   their  Prayers,  as 

for  themselves  and  for  all  men,  so  especially 
for  St.  Paul  himself  (verses  18—20). 

(3)  Commendation  of  Tychicus  (verses  21, 22). 

(4)  Closing  Salutation  (verses  23,  24).] 


56 


(I)  In  verses  10 — 17  St.  Paul  sums  up  his  practical 
exhortation  in  that  magnificent  description  which  has 
ever  since  laid  hold  of  Christian  imagination,  both  in 
metaphor  and  in  allegory.  He  paints  the  Christian  life 
as  a  battle  against  spiritual  powers  of  evil,  waged  in 
the  strength  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  panoply  of  God. 
We  trace  the  germ  of  this  great  passage  first  in  St. 
Paul's  earliest  Epistle  (1  Thess.  v.  8,  9),  and  then 
in  the  later  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (chap.  xiii.  12). 
In  both  these  cases  the  image  is  of  soldiers  starting 
from  sleep  at  day-break  to  arm  for  the  fray  in 
the  morning  light.  But  it  is  characteristic  of  tlie 
more  elaborate  and  thoughtful  style  of  this  Epistle, 
and  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written 
(in  the  watchful  presence  of  the  full- armed  Roman 
"  soldiers  that  kept "  St.  Paiil),  that  the  image  there 
briefly  touched  is  here  worked  out  in  full  beauty  of 
detail. 

(10)  Finally,  my  brethren,  be  strong  in 
the  Lord. — The  address  "  my  brethren  "  appears  to 
be  an  interpolation  (probably  from  Phil.  iii.  1).  Fre- 
quent as  it  is  from  St.  Paul,  it  is  not  found  cither  in  this 
or  in  the  Colossiau  Epistle. 

Be  strong. — Properly,  be  strengthened  in  the  inner 
man  ;  go  on  from  strength  to  strength  (as  in  Acts  ix.  22 ; 
2  Tim.  ii.  1).  So  in  Phil.  iv.  13  we  have  the  cog- 
nate expression,  "  Christ  that  strengtheneth  me,"  in 
whom  "  1  cau  do  all  things."  The  conception  is  nearly 
that  of  chap.  iii.  16 ;  except  that  there  the  idea  is  rather 
of  passive  strength  and  firmness,  here  of  active  power 
to  fight  "  in  the  power  of  God's  might,"  working  in  us, 
because  it  works  in  our  Master.  (Comp.  chap.  i.  19, 
20.)  It  differs  also  from  that  which  follows.  '"  Christ 
in  us  "  is  here  our  life  and  indwelling  strength  ;  in 
the  next  verses  the  likeness  of  Christ,  as  manifested 
in  various  graces,  is  the  armour  "  put  on "  for  tlie 
battle. 

(II)  Put  on  the  whole  armour. — The  special 
emphasis  in  this  verse  is  on  "  the  whole  armour," 
or  "panoply"  ;a  word  only  used  here  and  in  Luke 
xi.  22) ;  not  mainly  on  its  strength  or  its  bright- 
ness, as  "  armour  of  light "  (comp.  Rom.  xiii.  12), 
but  on  its  completeness,  providing  against  all  "  the 
wiles"  and  "all  the  fiery  darts"  of  the  Evil  One, 
leaving  no  one  })oiiit  unguarded  l)ya  carelessness  which 
may  be  fatal  on  all.  In  this  it  accords  well  ^vith  the 
general  com])leteness  and  harmony  of  idea  so  charac- 
teristic of  this  Epistle. 

To  put  on  the  "armour  of  God  " — given  us,  that  is, 
by  God — is  declared  (by  comparison  of  Rom.  xiii.  12  and 
14)  to  be  to  "  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Hence 
its  completeness  corres])onds  to  the  divine  perfection  of 
His  true  humanity.  Wo  are  "  to  grow  up  unto  Him 
in  all  things"  (chap.  iv.  15).  to  put  on  His  image  in 
all  the  harmony  of  "truth"  and  "righteousness," 
of  "peace"  and  "faith,"  to  receive  and  use  His 
"  salvation "  and  wield  the  spiritual  energy  of  His 
"  Word." 

The  wiles  of  the  devil.— The  word  "  wiles  "  (used 
only  here  and  in  chap.  iv.  14)  is  an  almost  technical 


The  Spiritual  Battle. 


EPHESIANS,   VT. 


7^/te  A  nnoiir  of  (loJ. 


the    devil.      (^^^  For    we     wrestle     not  i  i  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may 

against   flesh   and    blood,   but   against,  be    able    to   withstand  in  iq    i- 

jprincipalities,   against    powers,   against  the    evil    day,    and    hav-  ii/tho^full  pei-l 

the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,       ^  oL'rcomfuil   '^^^    done    all,'^    to    stand,  faction  of   the 
against  spiritual  wickedness  i  in  high  2  ^"offi^^^^^^^^^^^  armour  of  God. 

2)laces.      (^^^   Wherefore   take   unto  you  I  I  your     loins     girt    about     with     truth, 


word  for  the  stratagems  of  a  skilful  leader.  It  is  nota- 
ble that  these  "  wiles  "  are  ascribed  to  the  devil,  the 
"  prince  of  the  evil  spirits  "  directing  his  hosts  against 
the  army  of  Christ ;  the  actual  "  wrestling  "  of  hand- 
io-hand  struggle  is  witli  these  evil  spirits  themselves. 
The  word  "  wrestling "  is,  of  course,  not  used  tech- 
nically, otherwise  the  counsel  must  have  boon  (as  in 
Heb.  xii.  1)  to  divest  oneself  of  all  encumbrance.  It 
is  the  personal  grapple  with  the  foe.  Still  it  is 
possible  that  there  may  be  some  allusion  to  the 
"  wrestling  with  the  angel  "  of  Gen.  xxxii.  24 — 29, 
tliough  with  a  wholly  diverse  application. 

(12)  For  we  wrestle. — Properly,  For  our  wrestling 
is.  That  there  is  a  struggle,  a  "  battle  of  life,"  must 
be  assumed  at  once  by  all  who  look  at  the  world  as  it 
is  ;  the  question  is  whether  it  is  against  flesh  and  blood, 
or  against  a  more  unearthly  power  of  evil. 

Flesh  and  blood.— Or  rather  (as  perhaps  also  in 
Heb.  ii.  14),  blood  and  flesh.  So  in  John  i.  13,  "  Not 
of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh."  In  Matt.  xvi. 
17,  1  Cor.  XV.  50,  we  have  "  flesh  and  blood."  The 
sense  is  clearly,  as  the  comparison  of  all  these 
passages  shows,  "  mere  human  power."  Possibly  the 
word  "  blood "  is  here  put  first  to  prevent  even  a 
moment's  confusion  with  the  idea  of  wrestling  against 
"  the  flesh "  as  an  evil  power  within  ourselves.  In 
many  passages  of  this  Epistle  St.  Paul  had  dwelt 
on  the  opposition  of  the  Christian  to  the  heathen 
life,  and  the  duty  of  rebuking  and  putting  to  shame 
the  works  of  darkness ;  but  here  he  warns  us 
Ihat  the  struggle  is  not  a  struggle  with  the  "flesh 
and  blood"  of  Avicked  men  —  a  struggle  which 
may  still  admit  of  some  reserve  of  sympathy — but 
a  truceless  war  with  the  spiritual  powers  of  evil 
themselves. 

Against  principalities,  against  powers.— See 
Note  on  chap.  i.  21. 

Against  the  rulers  .  .  .—  "  Principalities  "  and 
"powers"  describe  simply  angelic  powers,  whether  of 
good  or  CA-il.  But  in  the  following  clauses  St.  Paul 
defines  them  as  powers  of  evil,  and  appears  to  indicate 
two  different  aspects  of  this  evil  power.  The  original 
phrase  is  striking  and  powerful,  "against  the  world- 
rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual  powers  of 
wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places.  ' 

The  rulers  of  the  darkness. — Properly,  the 
wnrld-rulers  of  thi>i  darkness.  Ihis  phrase  is  simply 
a  poetical  expression  of  the  idea  conveyed  by  the 
title  ''the  prince  of  this  world,"  ap])lied  to  Satan  in 
John  xii.  31 ;  xiv.  30  ;  xvi.  11  (on  which  see  Notes).  For 
'•  this  darkness"  is  obviously  (as  our  version  renders  it. 
following  an  early  gloss  on  the  passage)  "  the  darkness 
of  this  present  world,"  as  a  world  oversliadowed  by 
sin,  and  so  kept,  wholly  or  partially,  from  the  light 
of  God.  The  title  "  the  prince  of  this  world,"  was 
applied  by  the  Jews  to  Satan,  especially  in  reference 
to  his  power  over  the  heathen,  as  lying  outside  the 
.safety  of  the  covenant.  St.  Paul  applies  it  in  a  cor- 
responding sense  hero  to  those  outside  tlie  wider 
covenant  of  the  gospel ;  just  as  in  1  Cor.  v.  5,  1  Tim.  i. 
20,  he  speaks  of  excommunication  from  the  Clnirch  as 


a  '•  delivery  to  Satan."  The  spirits  of  evil  are  there- 
fore spoken  of  as  wielding  the  power  which  the 
Tempter  claims  for  himself  (in  Luke  iv.  6)  over  such 
souls  as  are  still  in  darkness  and  alienation  from 
God.  This  is  a  power  real,  but  limited  and 
transitory,  able  only  to  enslave  those  who  "  yield 
themselves "  to  it,  and  destined  to  be  overcome ; 
and  it  seems  to  refer  especially  to  the  concrete 
power  of  evil,  exercised  through  physical  and  liuman 
agency. 

Spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places.— The 
"  spiritual  powers "  are  not  spiritual  principles,  but 
"  spiritual  hosts  "  of  wickedness ;  and  the  phrase  "  in 
the  heavenly  places,"  corresponding  to  "  the  power  of 
the  air  "  in  chap.  ii.  2  (where  see  Note),  stands  ob- 
viously in  antithesis  to  "  the  darkness  of  this  world." 
The  sense,  as  in  all  other  cases,  seems  to  be  local.  (See 
Note  on  cliap.  i.  3.)  The  spiritual  hosts  of  evil  are 
described  as  fighting  in  the  region  above  the  earth. 
But  the  meaning  underlying  this  figure  surely  points  to 
the  power  of  evil  as  directly  spiritual,  not  acting 
through  physical  and  human  agency,  but  attacking 
the  spirit  in  that  higher  aspect,  in  which  it  contem- 
plates heavenly  things  and  ascends  to  the  com- 
munion with  God.  As  the  former  idea  corresponds  to 
the  gross  work  of  temptation  on  the  high  mountain, 
so  this  to  the  subtler  spiritual  temptation  on  the 
pinnacle  of  the  temple. 

(13)  In  the  evil  day.— Comp.  chap.  v.  1.5,  "  Because 
the  days  are  evil."  The  evil  day  is  any  day  of  which  it 
may  be  said  in  our  Lord's  words,  '"  This  is  your  hour, 
and  the  power  of  darkness"  (Luke  xxii.  53).  In  this 
life  all  days  may  be  evil,  but,  except  to  the  repi'obate, 
none  wholly  evil ;  for  out  of  evil  '"  all  things  work 
together  for  good." 

Having  done  all,  to  stand. — The  rendering  (see 
Chrysostom)  "having  overcome  all''  is  tempting,  but 
does  not  accord  with  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  original  word. 
The  exliortation  is  first  "to  withstand,"  i.e.,  to  resist 
all  di.stinct  attacks ;  then,  when  in  this  we  have  "  done 
all"  that  we  are  from  time  to  time  called  to  do,  "to 
stand,"  i.e..  to  plant  our  feet  firmly  on  the  rock,  being 
"  steadfast  and  uumovable  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  58).  The  one 
conveys  the  idea  of  bravery  and  activity ;  the  other  of 
calm,  well-balanced  steadfastness. 

(14—17)  111  (liis  magnificent  passage,  while  it  Avould 
be  uni'casonable  to  look  for  formal  and  systematic 
exactness,  it  is  clear  that  (as  usual  in  St.  Paul's  most 
figurative  passages)  there  runs  through  the  whole  a  dis- 
tinct method  of  idea.  Thus  (1)  the  order  in  which  the 
armour  in  enumerated  is  clearly  the  order  in  which  the 
armour  of  the  Roman  soldier  was  actually  put  on.  It 
nearly  corresponds  with  the  invariable  order  in 
which  Homer  describes  over  and  over  again  tlie 
arming  of  his  heroes.  First  the  belt  and  tlie  corf^elef, 
which  met  and  together  formed  the  body  armour;  tlieji 
the  .sandals  ;  next  the  shield,  and  after  this  ifor  the  strap 
of  the  great  shield  could  hardly  pass  over  the  helmet) 
the  helmet  itself  ;  then  the  soldier  wa.s  armed,  and  only 
had  to  take  up  the  sword  ami  spear.  It  is  curious  to 
note  that  St.  Paul  omits  the  spear  (^the  pihnn  of  the 


R'tijJiteousness,  Peace,  Faith. 


EPHESIANS,  YI. 


The  SicorJ  of  the  Spirit. 


and  having  on  the  breastplate  of 
righteousness;  ^^^^  and  your  feet  shod 
with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of 
peace ;    ^^''^  above  all,  taking  the  shield 


of  faith,  wherewith  ye  shall  be  able  to 
quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked. 
(^''^  And  take  the  helmet  of  salvation, 
and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is 


Roman  soldier) — exactly  that  part  of  his  equipment 
wliich,  wlieu  ou  guard  within,  the  soldier  would  not  be 
likely  to  assume.  (2)  Again,  since  "  to  put  on  the  ar- 
mour of  light  "  is  to  "  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  it 
follows  that  the  various  parts  of  the  defensive  ai-mour 
are  the  various  parts  of  the  image  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  hence  they  are  properly  His,  and  are  through 
His  gift  appropriated  by  us.  Thus  the  "  righteous- 
ness "  is  clearl}'  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  realised  in 
ns  (comp.  Phil.  iii.  9)  ;  the  sandals,  which  give  firm 
footing,  are  the  gospel  of  our  peace  in  Him ;  the  salva- 
tion is  His  salvation  worked  out  in  us.  Only  the  sword 
is  in  no  sense  our  own :  it  is  the  "  Word  of  God " 
wielded  by  us,  but  in  itself  "  living  and  powerful  and 
sharp"  (Heb.  iv.  12). 

(11)  Your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and 
having  on  the  breastplate  of  righteousness.— 
There  is  here  an  obvious  reference  to  two  passages  of 
Isaiah  (xi.  5;  lix.  17),  '"  Rigliteousness  shall  be  the 
girdle  of  his  loins,"  "  He  put  on  righteousness  as  a 
breastplate."  Truth  and  righteousness  are  virtually 
identical,  or,  at  least,  inseparable.  Hence  they  are 
compared  to  the  strong  belt,  and  the  breastplate  con- 
tinuous with  it,  forming  together  the  armour  of  the 
body.  Perhaps  ''  truth  "  is  taken  as  the  belt  because 
it  is  the  one  bond  both  of  society  and  of  individual 
character.  But  it  is  in  the  two  together  that  men 
stand  "armed  strong  in  honesty."  In  1  Thess.  v.  8, 
the  metaphor  is  different  and  perhaps  less  exact.  There 
the  breastplate  is  the  "  breastplate  of  faith  and  love" 
— that  which  here  is  the  shield. 

(15)  Shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel 
of  peace. — This  passage  is  one  which  even  to  the  Greek 
interpreters  (see  Chrysostom)  was  obscure.  What  is 
"the  preparation  of  the  gosjjel  of  peace"  ?  (1)  It  has 
seemed  to  many  natural  to  illustrate  this  phrase  by  the 
celebrated  passage  (Isa.  Iii.  7 ;  Rom.  x.  15),  "  How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the  gospel  of 
peace";  and  to  interpret,  "  shod  in  (or, /or)  preparing  the 
way  of  the  gospel  of  peace."  But  this  is  inajipropriate 
to  the  whole  context ;  for  each  piece  of  armour  is  a 
quality,  and  not  a  function.  (2)  Again,  the  word 
rendered  "  preparation,"  is  found  nowhere  else  in  the 
New  Testament  ;  in  the  LXX.  we  find  it  used  in  its  most 
obvious  sense  of  "  preparedness  "  or  "  readiness  "  (as  in 
Ps.  X.  17,  "preparedness  of  heart,"  and  Neh.  ii.  3); 
but  this  sense  will  not  suit  the  passage,  for  "  readiness 
of  the  gospel  of  peace"  is  hardly  intelligible,  and 
certainly  is  not  a  quality  of  the  soul.  (3)  We  come 
therefore,  at  last,  to  a  derivative  and  improper  sense, 
which,  however,  is  most  frequently  used  in  tiie  LXX., 
\-iz.,  "  foundation  "  or  "  base,"  as  in  Dan.  xi.  7 ;  Ezra 
ii.  6,  and  iii.  3 ;  Zech.  v.  10 ;  Ps.  Ixxx^-iii.  14.  The  con- 
text certainly  suggests  that  we  should  explain  the  word 
here  by  this  last  Hellenistic  use,  as  signifying  simply 
the  "  footing  "  or  "  basis."  The  caligae.  or  sandals,  of 
the  Roman  soldiers  were  heavy  sandals  studded  with 
hobnails,  to  give  a  secure  foothold  to  those  who  would 
stand  firm.  St.  Paul  identifies  these  with  the  firm 
"footing  of  the  gospel  of  peace."  Clearly  the  word 
"  peace  "  is  here  emphatic.  The  gospel  is  looked  upon  as 
the  declaration  of  "peace  on  earth,  goodwill  towards 
men."     The  firm  stand  on  this  message  is  the  firm 


assurance  of  God's  love.  In  this,  and  this  alone,  wo 
stand.  No  doul)t,  this  is  in  some  sense  faith,  but  faith 
of  a  wholly  different  character  from  the  defensive 
faith  of  the  next  verse. 

(16)  Above  all.— Properly,  over  all,  or  besides  all 
else.  The  shield  here  is  the  large  heavy  shield 
covering  the  whole  body,  in  which  the  "  fiery  darts  " 
— that  is,  the  arrows,  with  the  points  made  red  hot,  or 
wrapped  in  with  burning  tow  (comp.Ps.  vii.  14 ;  cxx.  4) 
— may  fix  and  bum  themselves  out  without  harm.  St. 
Paul  likens  it  to  "  faith."  Tliis,  however,  is  neither  the 
"  faith  in  which  we  stand  "  (2  Cor.  i.  24),  nor  the  ener- 
getic faith  of  Heb.  xi.  It  is  the  faith  cf  patience  and 
endurance,  the  almost  passive  faith,  trusting  in  God's 
pi'otection  and  submissive  to  His  will,  on  which  the 
(tarts  of  temptation,  whether  from  fear,  or  from  lust, 
or  from  doubt,  fall  harmless.  The  best  commentary 
after  all,  on  the  words  is  found  in  Christian's  conflict 
with  Apollyon  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress. 

(17)  And  take. — There  is  a  break  here.  We  are 
said  not  to  put  on,  but  to  "take"  (or  rather,  receive) — 
a  word  specially  approjiriate  to  "  salvation." 

The  helmet  of  salvation. — The  word  here  (as  ia 
Luke  ii.  30 ;  iii.  6 ;  Acts  xxviii.  28)  rendered  "salva- 
tion," is  not  the  word  commonly  so  rendered  in  the 
New  Testament.  It  is,  indeed,  not  "  salvation  "  in  the 
abstract,  but  a  general  expression  for  "that  which  tends 
to  salvation."  But  it  occurs  in  the  LXX.  version  of  Isa. 
lix.  17,  which  seems  obviously  referred  to,  "  He  put "  a 
helmet  of  salvation  upon  his  head."  In  1  Thess.  v.  8, 
Avhere  the  breastplate  is  "  of  faith  and  love,"  the  helmet 
supplies  the  third  member  of  the  triad  of  Christian 
graces  in  ''the  hope  of  salvation."  Here  the  metaphor 
is  probably  somewhat  different.  The  helmet  guarding 
the  head,  the  most  noble  and  vital  part,  is  "salvation" 
in  the  concrete — all  that  is  of  the  Saviour,  all  that 
makes  up  our  "state  of  salvation"  by  His  atonement 
and  grace — received  in  earnest  now,  hoped  for  in 
perfection  hereafter. 

The  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God. — In  this  we  pass  to  the  one  offensive  weapon 
of  the  Christian,  "the  sword  of  the  Spirit" — i.e..  given 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  —  which,  like  the  helmet,  but 
unlike  the  rest  of  the  defensive  armour,  does  not 
become  a  part  of  himself,  but  is  absolutely  of  God. 
The  passage  reminds  us  at  once  of  Heb.  iv.  12 :  "The 
word  of  God  is  living  and  powerful,  and  sharper 
than  any  two-edged  sword."  But  there  (as  in  1  Cor. 
xiv.  26;  2  Cor.  ii.  17;  Col.  i.  25 ;  2  Tim.ii.  29)  the  original 
word  is  the  larger  and  deeper  word  (Logos),  signifying 
the  truth  of  God  in  itself,  and  gradually  leading  up  to 
the  ultimate  sense  in  which  our  Lord  Himself  is  the 
"  Word  of  God,"  revealing  the  Godhead  to  man. 
Accordingly  the  work  of  the  Word  there,  is  that  of  the 
"  engrafted  Word,"  "  to  divide  asunder  the  soul  and 
the  spirit"  within.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  we  have 
another  expression  (Rhema).  signifying  the  Word  as 
spoken;  and  St.  Peter  (in  1  Pet.  i.  25)  defines  it 
exactly :  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever ; 
and  this  is  the  word  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached 
unto  you."  We  cannot,  of  course,  limit  it  to  Holy 
Scripture,  though  we  naturally  remember  that  our 
Lord  used  the  Scriptures  as  His  only  weapon  in  tho 


68 


Request  for  their  Prayers. 


EPHESIANS,   YI. 


Commendation  of  Tjchlcus, 


the  ■word 


of  God :    (IS) 
with  all 


praying  always 

Chap.  vi.  18-  "^^^'^  '^'^  prayer  and  sup- 
20.  Bequest  for  plication  in  the  Spirit,  and 
theii- prayers,  matching  thereunto  with 
all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all 
saints ;  (^^)  and  for  me,  that  utterance 
may  be  given  unto  me,  that  I  may  open 
my  mouth  boldly,  to  make  known  the 


1  Or,  in  a  chain. 

2  Or,  thereof. 


mystery  of  the  gospel,  <20)  for  which  I 
am  an  ambassador  in  bonds :  ^  that 
therein  -  I  may  speak  boldly,  as  I  ought 
to  speak.  ^^^^  But  that  ye  also  may 
know  my  affairs,  aiid  how  p,  „„  ■  „,  „o 
i  do,  iychlCUS,  a  beloved  Commendation 
brother  and  faithful  minis-  "^  'i'ychicus. 
ter  in  the  Lord,  shall  make  known  to  you 


Temptation.  It  is  the  {gospel  of  Christ,  however  and 
wlierever  spoken,  able  to  put  to  shame  and  to  tiiglit  the 
powers  of  evil. 

(2)  (18)  Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication. — In  this  verse  tlio  metaplior  gives  place 
to  direct  exhortation,  unless,  indeed,  in  tlie  word  "watch" 
there  still  lingers  some  reference  to  the  soldier  on  guard. 
"Prayer"  is  the  general  word  for  "worship,"  appro- 
priated to  God  alone  ;  "  supplication,"  used  also  towards 
man,  is  one  element  of  such  worship — the  asking  what 
■we  need  from  God.  In  Phil.  iv.  6  we  have  first  the 
general  word  "  prayer,"  and  then  the  two  chief  elements 
of  worship,  "  supplication  with  tlianksgiA-ing."  It  is  by 
prayer  that  a\\  the  heavenly  armour  is  put  on. 

In  the  Spirit. — That  is,  "  in  the  Spirit  of  God  "  (as 
in  verse  18).  Compare  the  relation  of  prayer  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Rom.  viii.  26.  27. 

And  watching  thereunto  with  all  persever- 
ance.— These  words  in  themselves  obviously  supply 
the  other  part  of  our  Lord's  command,  "  Watch  and 
j>ray,"  naturally  apposite  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Christian  warfare.  "  Perseverance  "  implies  exertion, 
holding  out  against  fatigue  and  difficulty.  The  corre- 
sponding verb  is  used  in  relation  to  all  kinds  of 
spiritual  labour  (see  Acts  ii.  42;vi.  4;  viii.  13);  but 
especially  in  connection  with  prayer  (Acts  i.  14 ;  Rom. 
xii.  12 ;  Col.  iv.  2).  Perhaps  from  this  frequent  con- 
nection St.  Paul  is  induced  to  add  to  it  "  supplication." 
and  this  time  "for  all  saints,"  so  leading  on  to  his 
usual  request  for  the  prayers  of  his  brethren.  For 
this  he  is  willing  to  sacrifice  some  part  of  the  perfect 
appropriateness  of  idea ;  since  the  wliolo  picture 
hitherto  has  been  of  the  fight,  waged  by  each  for  him- 
self (although  side  by  side  with  others),  in  the  combined 
power  of  watchfulness  and  prayer  for  God's  help. 

(18, 19)  And  supplication  for  all  saints  ;  and  for 
me. — It  is  curious,  and  probably  not  accidental,  that 
the  prepositions  in  these  two  clauses  are  different.  The 
first  is  properly  "  touching  all  saints,"  and  the  second 
"  on  behalf  of  me."  Both  are  often  interchanged  ;  but 
there  is,  perhaps,  here  a  touch  of  greater  earnestness 
in  the  request  of  their  prayers  for  himself,  in  especial 
reference  to  the  need  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  next  words. 

(19)  That  utterance  may  be  given  me,  that  I 
may  open  my  mouth  .  .  .— Tiiis  hardly  renders 
the  original  "  that  word  may  be  given  me  in  opening 
my  mouth."  The  "  opening  tlie  mouth" — an  expression 
always  used  of  solemn  and  deliberate  utterance — seems 
taken  for  granted.  What  the  Apostle  desires  them  to 
pray  for  is  that  "  word  may  be  given  him  " — "  the 
word  of  wisdom  and  the  word  of  knowledge,  by  tlie 
Spirit"  (1  Cor.  xii.  8),  according  to  our  Lord's 
promise  (Matt.  x.  19.  20),  "  It  shall  be  given  you  in  the 
same  hour  what  you  shall  speak ;  for  it  is  not  ye 
that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  spoaketh 
in  you.'  Then  he  adds  as  a  consequence  of  this— #o 
make  knoivn  in  plainness  of  speech  tlie  mystery  of  tlie 
gospel.     For  to  make  known  a  mystery  in  simplicity 


needs  not  only  boldness  to  speak,  but  also  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  word  of  God. 

The  mystery  of  the  gospel.— The  word  "  gospel  " 
])eing  used  empliatically  is,  of  course,  the  mystery  of 
the  new  and  universal  grace  of  God  to  the  Gentiles, 
of  which  he  speaks  at  large  in  chap.  iii.  1 — lO.  This 
was  "made  known  to  him;  "  he  desires  inspiration  "to 
make  it  known  "  to  others. 

(-^)  In  bonds. — Rightly,  as  in  the  margin,  in  a 
chain.  The  word  is  the  same  which  is  used  in  Acts 
xxviii.  20,  "  For  the  hope  of  Israel  1  am  bound  in  this 
chain."  It  occurs  also  in  Mark  v.  4,  Luke  viii.  29, 
where  it  is  distinguished  from  a  "  fetter "  properly 
so  called,  as  binding  the  feet,  and  therefoi-e  obviously 
signifies  a  "  manacle  "  binding  the  hand.  Both  are 
included  (see  Luke  viii.  29)  in  the  general  word  "bonds." 
The  allusion  is  imdoubtedly  to  the  custom  of  chaining 
the  prisoner  by  the  hand  to  the  soldier  who  kept  him. 
Thus  in  Acts  xii.  6  we  read  that  Peter  "  was  sleeping 
between  two  soldiers,"  and  therefore  "  bound  with  two 
manacles;"  and  in  Acts  xxi.  33  that  a  similar  pre- 
caution was  used  on  the  first  apprehension  of  St.  Paid. 
Here  the  singular  number  is  probably  to  be  understood 
literally.  St.  Paul  was  free  except  for  the  one  chain, 
which  the  soldier  was  responsible  for  holding,  and 
perhaps  did  not  always  think  it  needful  to  hold.  That 
chain  he  seems  to  speak  of  as  the  badge  of  his  am- 
bassadorial dignity.  To  ambassadors,  indeed,  it  belongs 
to  be  safe  from  imprisonment ;  but  it  was  his  greater 
glory  to  wear  the  chain  for  Christ. 

That  therein  .  .  .—This  is  simply  an  enforcement 
of  the  previous  phrase,  in  "  plainness  of  speech."  The 
same  word  is  used,  and  with  the  same  signification  of 
simplicity,  as  well  as  boldness,  which  (St.  Paul  here 
adds)  alone  befits  his  oflSce. 

(3, 4)  Yerses  21 — 24  form  the  conclusion  of  the  Epistle, 
in  commendation  of  Tychicus"  salutation  and  blessing. 
The  extreme  brevity  and  generality  of  this  section 
here — in  contrast  with  St.  Paul's  practice  in  every 
other  Epistle,  except  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians and  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  (both  of  which 
have  the  abruptness  of  indignation)  and  especially 
with  the  parallel  Epistle  to  the  Colossians — seem  to 
bear  on  the  question  of  the  encyclical  character  of  this 
Epistle. 

(21)  That  ye  also— i.e..  ye  as  well  as  others.  Tliere 
is  evidently  an  allusion  to  Tychicus'  similar  mission  to 
Colossae ;  and  we  may.  perhaps,  also  trace  some  indi- 
cation of  a  generality  of  scope  in  this  Epistle. 

Tychicus  is  first  mentioned  with  Trophimns  in 
Acts  XX.  4,  as  being  "  of  Asia,''  and  accompainnng 
St.  Paul  on  his  last  journey  from  Corinth  to  Asia, 
although  he  is  not,  like  Trophimns,  actually  named  as 
with  tlie  Apostle  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  hlHily  probable 
that  lie  was  one  of  the  "  messengers  of  the  churches  " 
spoken  of  in  2  Cor.  viii.  18 — 23,  as  sent  to  bear  the 
alms   to   Jerusalem.      We  now  find    him    again   with 


69 


Final  Siihitatlon 


EPHESIANS,   VI. 


ami  Blessing. 


all  things :  (--^  whom  I  have  sent  unto 
you  for  the  same  purpose,  that  ye  might 
know  our  affairs,  and  that  he  might 
Chap  vi  "3  comfort  your  hearts.  (-^^ 
24.  Conciudiu^'  Peace  he  to  the  brethren, 
blessing.  a^j^j  Iq^q  y^-^^^  f^ith,  from 


I  God    the  Father   and  the  Lord    Jesus 
)  Christ.    (24)  (ji-ace  he  with  all  them  that 
'  nl^ti"',""  """"^1  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.^ 
Amen. 

1[  Written  from  Rome  unto  the  Ephesians  by 
Tychicus. 


St.  Paul,  and  niado  by  him  tlio  bearer  of  tliis  Epistle 
and  tlie  Epistlo  to  the  Colossians.  Lastly,  ho  is 
alludi'd  to  as  still  his  companion  in  the  interval  between 
the  first  and  second  captivity  (Tit.  iii.  2),  and  in  the 
second  captivity  is  despatched  once  more  to  Ephesus 
(2  Tim.  iv.  12).  It  is  evident  that  he  well  deserved 
the  title  of  a  "faithful  minister"  to  the  Apostle  ;  and 
we  note  (in  2  Tim.  iv.  11,  12)  that  the  command  to 
bring  Mark,  as  being  "'  profitable  for  ministration,"  is 
immediately  connected  with  the  remark,  "  Tychicus 
liave  1  sent  to  Ephesns." 

A  faithful  minister. — The  word  "minister"  is 
diaconua ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  tliink  that  it  is 
used  technically  to  describe  Tychicus  as  a  deacon.  In 
the  Colossian  Epistle  the  words  '"and  fellowservaut " 
are  added,  showing  clearly  that  the  word  "  minister  " 
refers  only  to  ministration  to  St.  Paul. 

(-2)  Whom  I  have  sent  unto  you.— This  verse 
corresponds  woi-d  for  word  with  Col.  iv.  8,  being  a 
(piasi-ofiicial  statement  of  Tychicus'  commission.  The 
words  '■  tliat  he  might  comfort  (or,  eiicourage) 
your  hearts,"  although  they  might  apply  generally 
to  all  messengers  from  an  Apostle,  may  probably 
bo  best  explained  by  reference  to  the  tone  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians — in  which  St.  Paul  shows  so 
much  affectionate  anxiety  lest  his  converts  should  be 
disheartened  by  his  continued  imprisonment — and  to  the 
exhortation  in  this  Epistlo  not  "  to  faint  at  his  tribu- 
lations for  them"  (chap.  iii.  13). 

(23^  Peace  be  to  the  brethren  .  .  .—In  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Epistle,  as  at  the  beginning,  St.  Paul 
gives  the  double  benediction,  "  Peace  and  grace  be 
with  you  all."  But  it  is  impossible  not  to  notice  the 
difference  between  the  generality  of  the  terms  here 
used  (''the  brethren,"  and  "all  who  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ ")   and  the  personal    "  you "    of  aU   the 


other  Epistles — a  difference  which  would  be  inexpli- 
cable if  this  Epistle  were  addressed  to  the  well-known 
and  loved  Church  of  Ephesus  alone. 

Peace  seems  especially  dwelt  upon  in  the  Epistles  of 
the  Captivity,  of  which  the  Epistle  to  Philippi  contains 
(in  chap.  iv.  7)  the  fullest  description  of  the  "  peace  of 
God  which  passeth  all  understanding."  It  is  naturally 
connected  here  with  love  (as  in  2  Cor.  xiii.  11 ;  Col.  iii. 
15,  16) — a  "love  with  faith,"  "making  perfect"  (as  in 
Gal.  V.  6)  the  faith  which  St.  Paul  takes  for  granted 
as  being  in  them.  For  peace  is  first  with  God,  in  the 
thankful  receiving  of  His  mercy ;  from  this  naturally 
arises  "  love  with  faith  "  towards  Him  ;  and  out  of  this, 
again,  peace  and  love  towards  men,  in  the  conviction 
that,  "  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  oue 
another"  (1  John  iv.  11).  All  these  are  gifts  from 
"  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

(21)  Grace  be  with  all  them  .  .  .—The  saluta- 
tion, "  Grace  be  with  you,"  in  various  forms,  is,  as  St. 
Paul  himself  says  in  2  Thess.  iii.  17,  "  the  token,"  or 
characteristic  signature,  in  every  one  of  his  Epistles, 
written  with  his  own  hand.  It  may  be  noted  that  it  is 
not  foimd  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  James,  St.  Peter,  St. 
Jude  and  St.  John,  and  that  it  is  found  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews.  Here,  however,  it  is  at  once  general 
and  conditional,  "  to  all  them  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  So  in  1  Cor.  xvi.  22,  "  If  any  mau  love  not 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema." 

In  sincerity. — The  original  is  far  stronger,  "  in 
incorruptibility,''''  a  word  usually  applied  to  the  im- 
mortality of  heaven  (as  in  Rom.  ii.  7 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  42. 
50,  53.  54 ;  2  Tim.  i.  10) ;  only  here  and  in  Tit.  ii.  7, 
applied  to  human  character  on  earth.  Here  it  evidently 
means  "with  a  love  immortal  and  imperishable,"  in- 
capable either  of  corruption  or  of  decay,  a  foretaste  of 
the  eternal  communion  in  heaven. 


60 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

PHILIPPIANS. 


I.  Time,  Place,  and  Occasion  of  the  Epistle.— 

The  iudicatious  of  the  time  aud  place  of  this  Epistle  are 
uuusiially  clear.  It  is  -writteu  by  St.  Paul  "  iu  bonds" 
(chap.  i.  7 — 13)  ;  in  the  Prcetorium  (chap.  i.  13),  that  is, 
under  the  charge  of  the  Pra;torian  guard ;  it  sends  greet- 
ing from  the  "  saints  of  Caesar's  household  "  (chap.  iv.  21) ; 
it  expresses  an  expectation  of  some  crisis  in  his  impri- 
sonment (chaj).  i.  20 — 20),  and  a  confident  hope  or 
re-visiting  Philippi  (chap.  i.  26;  ii.  24).  All  these 
indications  place  it  in  the  Roman  imprisonment  of  St. 
Paul — which  we  know  (Acts  xxviii.  30)  to  have  lasted 
without  trial  or  release  for  "  two  whole  years,"  and  which 
certainly  began  about  A.D.  61.  The  date  of  the  Epistle 
must  therefore  be  fixed  about  the  year  A.D.  62  or  63. 

Nor  is  the  occasion  of  tlie  Epistle  less  obvious.  The 
Church  at  Philippi  now,  as  at  an  earlier  time  (chap.  iv. 
10 — 19),  had  sent  contributions  to  St.  Paul's  necessities, 
under  the  distress  and  destitution  of  imprisonment,  when 
he  was  unable  to  maintain  himself  by  the  labour  of  his 
own  hands,  as  he  had  formerly  done  at  Thessalonica, 
Corinth,  and  Ephesus.  Epai^hroditus,  their  messenger, 
through  his  affectionate  exertions  on  St.  Paul's  behalf, 
had  fallen  into  dangerous  illness,  and  on  his  con- 
valescence had  been  seized  with  home-sickness,  aggra- 
vated by  the  uneasiness  of  knowing  that  his  danger  had 
been  reported  to  his  friends  at  home  (chap.  ii.  25 — 30). 
St.  Paul,  therefore,  sent  liim  back  with  this  Letter, 
the  immediate  object  of  which  was  to  convey  his  thanks 
and  blessing  for  the  generosity  of  the  Philippians.  and 
to  commend  warmly  the  devotion  of  Epaphroditus, 
which  liad  been  in  great  degree  the  cause  of  his  iUness. 

II.  The  Church  to  which  it  was  written.— 
Of  the  first  preaching  at  Philippi  we  have  a  full  and 
graphic  account  in  Acts  xvi.,  where  a  description  of  j 
the  liistory  and  character  of  the  city  itself  will  be  found  j 
in  the  Notes.  The  preaching  began,  as  usual,  from  a  ; 
Jewish  centre,  but  this  was  only  a  proseuclie,  or  oratory  ! 
(Acts  xvi.  13)— not,  as  at  Thessalonica,  a  synagogue 
(Acts  xvii.  1);  and  the  whole  history  shows  no  indica- 
tion of  any  strong  Jewish  influence.  The  first  convert 
named  is  Lydia,  an  Asiatic  of  Thyatira,  not  a  Jewess, 
but  "one  who  worshijjped  God" — a  "  pi'oselyte  of  the 
gate."  Tlie  first  opposition  came  not  from  the  Jews,  as  at 
Thessalonica  (Acts  xvii.  5,  6,  13).  but  from  tlie  masters 
of  the  "  damsel  possessed  with  a  spirit  of  divination," 
simply  because  by  the  exorcism  of  the  Apostle  the 
"hope  of  their  gain  was  gone."  The  accusation 
levelled  against  St.  Paul  and  liis  companion  was  one 
which  was  intimately  connected  with  the  peculiar 
position  of  Philippi  as  a  Roman  colony — a  fragment 
(as  it  were)  of  the  imperial  city  itself.  We  note, 
indeed,  that  at  this  very  time  (Acts  xviii.  2)  "  Claudius 


had  commanded  all  Jews  to  depart  from  Rome,"  and  it 
is  at  least  probable  that  this  decree  of  banishment 
might  extend  to  the  Roman  colonies,  as  distinguished 
from  the  ordinary  proA-incial  cities.  Accordingly,  in 
the  accusation  itself  stress  was  laid  on  the  fact  that  the 
accused  were  "  Jews,"  and  the  charge  was  that  they 
preached  a  religio  illicita,  involving  customs  which  it 
was  "  not  lawful  for  the  Philippians  to  receive,  being 
Romans"  (Acts  xvi.  21).  The  Church  was  therefore, 
mainly  a  Gentile  Church — the  firstfruits  of  European 
Christianity — and  its  attachment  to  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  was  especially  strong  and  fervent.  The  Phi- 
lippians alone,  it  appears,  offered — certainly  from  them 
alone  St.  Paul  consented  to  receive— those  contributions 
to  his  necessities,  which  elsewhere  (see  Acts  xx.  33 — 35 ; 
2  Cor.  xi.  7—12  ;  1  Thess.  i.  9;  2  Thess.  iii.  8)  he  thought 
it  best  to  refuse  for  the  gospel's  sake. 

The  foundation  of  the  Church  had  been  laid  amidst  a 
persecution,  in  which  the  Roman  magistrates,  with  a 
characteristic  dislike  of  all  foreign  superstitions  likely  to 
lead  to  uproar,  and  a  characteristic  clisregard  of  justice 
towards  two  or  three  obscure  Jews,  simjily  played  into 
the  hands  of  mol)  Anolence.  The  step  which  St.  Paul 
afterwards  took  of  asserting  his  citizenship  and  forcing 
the  magistrates  to  confess  their  wrong-doing  (Acts 
x^-i.  37.  38)  looks  like  a  precaution  to  render  the  recur- 
rence of  arbitraiy  persecution  less  likely  after  his 
departure.  But  we  gather  from  this  Epistle  (chap.  i. 
27 — 30)  that  the  Church  had  still,  like  the  sister  Church 
at  Thessalonica  (1  Thess.  i.  6;  ii.  14)  and  the  other 
Macedonian  churches  (2  Cor.  v\\i.  2\  to  undergo  "  tlie 
same  conflict"  of  suffering  from  "their  adversaries." 
"  which  they  had  seen  in  him."  It  grew  up  under  the 
bracing  air  of  trial,  with  a  peculiar  steadfastness,  warm- 
heartedness, and  simplicity,  apparently  uuvexed  by  tlio 
.speculative  way  wardness  of  Corinth  or  the  wild  heresies 
of  Ejjhesus  or  Colossae.  Again  like  the  Tliessalonian 
Church,  its  dangers  were  mainly  practical  (see  chap. 
iii.)  ;  the  Judaising  influence  was  probably  foreign) 
and  not  very  formidable  ;  the  tendencies  to  Antinomian 
profligacy  (chap.  iii.  17 — 21).  to  some  division  by 
I^arty  spirit  (chaps,  ii.  1 — 4;  iv.  2.  3).  to  occasional  des- 
pondency under  trial  (chap.  i.  25>\  liardly  appear  to 
have  affected  the  Church  widely  or  seriously.  In  its 
condition,  accordingly.  St.  Paul  could  rejoice  almost 
without  I'cserve  of  sorrow  or  anxiet)'. 

Of  St.  Paul's  subsequent  -v-isits  to  Philippi  we  have 
no  full  record.  We  cannot  doubt  that  lie  visit.ul  the  city 
on  liis  way  from  Ephesus  to  Macedonia  and  Greece,  ou 
the  third  missionary  circuit  (Acts  xx.  3\  The  common 
tradition,  exceedin'glv  probal)le  in  itself,  dates  the 
Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  from  Philippi  ou 


61 


PHILIPPIANS. 


that  occasion.  "We  know  (Acts  xx.  6)  that  it  was  from 
Pliilippi  that  ho  started,  some  months  after,  on  liis  last 
journey  to  Jerusalem.  At  a  period  subsequent  to  this 
Epistle,  we  learn  (1  Tim.  i.  :<)  that  St.  Paul,  apparently- 
after  a  visit  to  Ephesus,  "went  into  Macedonia"  after 
his  first  captivity,  and  so,  no  doubt,  fultilled  his  hope 
of  re-visitini,'-  tliis  well-loved  Chureli.  After  this  we 
have  no  u'ltice  of  the  Churcii  in  history  till  we  read  of 
their  kindly  reception  of  I<,niatiuson  his  way  to  martyr- 
dom, and  study  the  Ejnstle  of  Polyearp  to  tliem,  written 
shortly  after,  mainly  practical  and  hortatory,  and  imply- 
ing, with  but  slight  reservation,  a  still  strong  and  vigor- 
ous Christianity,  and  a  constant  grateful  memory  of  the 
great  Apostle.  (See,  for  example,  chap.  i. — "  I  rejoiced 
greatly  witli  you  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  because  ye 
liave  adopted  the  imitation  of  true  lovo  ....  because 
the  firm  root  of  your  faith,  celebrated  from  ancient 
times,  remains  even  until  now,  and  bears  fruit  unto  the 
Lord  Jesus  Ciirist ;"  chap.  iii. — "  Neither  I  nor  any 
like  me  can  follow  out  fully  the  wisdom  of  the  blessed 
and  glorious  Paul,  who,  when  he  came  among  you,  taught 
accurately  and  durably  the  word  of  truth.")  Ter- 
tullian  also  alludes  to  it  {de  Prcescr.  xxxvi.)  as  one 
of  tlio  churches  where  the  "authentic  letters  of  the 
Apostles" — no  doubt,  this  Epistle  itself — were  read. 
Afterwards  we  have  little  reference  to  it  in  Church 
history.     Like  CoIosslc.  it  sank  into  insignificance. 

IIL  The  Genuineness  of  the  Epistle.— ^^^erjiai 
Evidence. — The  evidence  for  the  genuineness  of  the 
Epistle  is  very  strong.  In  all  ancient  catalogues,  from 
the  Muratorian  Fragment  (a.d.  170)  downwards,  in  all 
ancient  versions,  beginning  \vith  the  Peschito  and  the 
old  Latin,  it  is  placed  among  the  undoubted  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul.  In  Christian  writings,  before  the  end  of 
the  second  centur3%  knowledge  of  it  may  bo  distinctly 
traced  ;  after  that  time  it  is  quoted  continually. 

Thus,  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  to  say  nothing  of 
slighter  indiciitious  which  have  been  noted  (as  by  Dr. 
Westcott,  Canonof  the  New  Testament,  chap,  i.,  and  Dr. 
Lightfoot,  in  his  Introduction  to  this  Epistle),  St.  Poly- 
carp,  in  his  Epistle  to  thoPhilippians  (chap,  iii.),  expressly 
declares  that  St.  Paul,  "  when  absent,  wrote  letters 
to  them,  by  searching  into  which  they  can  still  be  built 
up  in  the  faith,"  and  speaks  of  them  as  "  praised  in  the 
begiiming  of  his  Epistle"  (chap.  xi.).  Nor  are  there 
wanting  expressions  in  his  letter  (such  as  the  "  using  our 
citizenship  worthily  of  Christ,"  "  the  enemies  of  the 
cross,"  the  "I'cjoicing  Avith  them  in  the  Lord,"  the  "not 
running  in  vain,"  &e.)  which  not  obscurely  indicate 
reference  to  the  text  of  our  Epistle  itself.  Again,  Dr. 
Lightfoot  quotes  from  the  Testaments  of  the  Twelve 
Patriarchs,  a  Judajo-Christian  work,  dating  early  in 
the  second  century,  certain  expressions — "  the  form 
of  God"  and  the  "fashion  of  men"  (see  Phil.  ii.  6), 
the  "luminaries"  of  lieaven  (see  Phil.  ii.  15),  and, 
above  all,  the  unique  phrase  "  the  bowels  [heart]  of  the 
Son  of  God"  (see  Phil.  i.  8) — which  indicate  unmis- 
takably knowledge  of  this  Epistle. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  direct  quotation  of  it  is  in  the 
celebrated  Epistles  of  the  Churclies  of  Lyons  and 
Vienno  (A.D.  1771,  on  the  martyrdoms  in  the  persecution 
of  Marcus  Aurelius  (Eusebius,  Ecclesiastical  History, 
v.  2)— where  we  find  the  great  passage:  "He  being 
in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,"  &q.  Tlien,  as  in  other  cases,  the 
habit  of  quotation  begins  in  Irenanis,  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  and  TertuUian,  and  continues  afterwards 
unbroken.  TertuUian,  as  wo  have  already  seen,  ap- 
parently speaks  of  the  Letter  as  beijig  read  as  an 
Apostolic  letter  in  the  Philippiau  Churcli ;  and  in  his 


controver.sy  witli  Marcion  (v.  20)  so  quotes  it  as  to 
show  that  it  had  escaped  the  destructive  criticism  and 
arbitrary  mutilation  in  which  Marcion  so  constantly 
anticipated  the  critical  .scepticism  of  later  times. 

Internal  Evidence. —  But,  strong  as  external 
evidence  is,  it  is  in  this  case  far  weaker  than  the 
internal,  which  may  be  said  to  rise  almost  to  demon- 
stration. The  strong  marks  of  personality  which  we 
trace  in  every  line,  the  unstudied  frequency  of  histo- 
rical allusion  and  of  undesigned  coincidences  wiih 
historical  records,  the  simple  and  natural  occasion 
of  writing,  in  the  reception  of  the  ofierings  and 
the  illness  of  Epaphroditus,  the  absence  pf  all 
formal  doctrinal  or  ecclesia-stical  purpose,  the  fulness 
and  warmth  of  personal  affection, — all  are  unmistak- 
able marks  of  genuineness,  all  are  fairly  inconceivable 
on  the  supposition  of  imitation  or  forgery.  The 
character  of  St.  Paul,  as  unconsciously  drawn  in  it,  is 
unquestionably  the  same  character  which  lives  and 
glows  in  the  Corinthian  and  Galatian  Epistles ;  and 
yet  there  is  in  it  an  indescribable  growth  into  greater 
calmness  and  gentleness,  which  corresponds  remarkably 
with  advance  of  age  and  change  of  circumstances. 
There  are  also  marked  similarities,  both  of  style  and 
expression,  with  the  earlier  Epistles,  and,  above  all,  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  last  of  the  earlier  group, 
which  will  be  found  noted  in  detail  on  the  various 
jjassages.*  There  is  also  that  mingling  of  identity 
and  development  of  idea  which  is  notable  in  all  the 
Epistles  of  the  Captivity.  But  in  this  case,  perhaps, 
the  similarity  is  greater,  and  the  diversity  less,  than 
in  the  other  Epistles  of  the  same  period. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that,  even  in  the  freest 
speculation  of  the  higher  criticism,  there  are  but  few 
examples  of  scepticism  as  to  the  genuineness  of  this 
Epistle. 

IV.  The  main  Substance  of  the  Epistle.— 
(1)  The  Picture  of  the  Writer  and  the  Receivers. — The 
tii'st  and  simplest  impression  made  by  this  Epistle  is 
the  vivid  portraiture  which  it  gives  us  of  St.  Paul  himself 
— esi:)ecially  in  the  conflict  of  desire  for  the  death  which 
is  the  entrance  to  the  nearer  presence  of  Christ,  and  for 
the  longer  life,  wliieh  ^vill  enable  him  to  gather  a  fuller 
harvest  for  Christ — in  the  striking  union  of  affection 
and  thankfulness  towai'ds  the  Philippians,  with  a  dig- 
nified independence  and  a  tone  of  plenary  authority — 
in  the  sensitiveness  to  the  sorrow  and  inactivity  of 
imprisonment,  overcome  and  finally  absorbed  into  an 
almost  unequalled  fulness  of  joy  in  the  Lord.  Side  by 
side  with  this,  we  are  next  struck  with  the  picture  which 
it  gives  us  of  the  Macedonian  Christianity  at  Philippi — 
not  unlike  that  of  Thessalonica,  though,  it  would  seem, 
less  chequered  l)y  fanaticism  or  disorder,  and  certainly 
singularly  accordant  with  the  Macedonian  character,  as 
it  paints  itself  at  once  speculatively  inferior  and 
practically  superior  to  the  Gi'eek,  in  the  pages  of  history. 
The  Philippian  Christianity  is  pre-eminently  vigorous, 
loyal,  and  warm-hearted,  courageous  and  patient,  little 
disturbed  either  by  speculative  refinements  or  specidative 
iuA'entions,  hardly  needing  any  warning,  except  against 
the  self-assertion  which  is  the  natural  excrescence  of 
earnestness,   or  any   exhortation,  except   to  a   deeper 


•  Perhaps  the.  most  notable  are  :— 

(a)  Phil.  ii.  10.  11,  compared  witli  Rom.  xiv.  H. 

(b)  Pliil.  iii.  10.  11,  compared  with  Kom.  vi.  5. 
(r)  Phil.  iii.  19,  compared  with  Rom.  xvi.  18. 
(d)  Phil.  iv.  18,  compared  willi  Rom.  xii.  1. 

(c)  Phil.  iii.  .5,  6,  compared  with  2  Cor.  xi.  22,  Rom.  xi.  1.  It 
may  be  noted  that  in  all  these  cases  there  is  similarity  with 
ditfercnce— the  characteristic  of  independent  coincidence,  not 
of  imitation. 


PHILIPPIANS. 


thouglitfulness,  wliicli  might  "  overflow  iuto  know- 
ledge," and  prove  "  the  things  which  arc  really  excel- 
lent." There  is  no  letter  of  St.  Paul's  so  absolutely 
free  from  the  necessity  of  rebuke,  and,  accordingly, 
there  is  none  so  full  of  joy,  in  spite  of  all  the  circum- 
stances of  sufliering  and  anxiety  under  which  it  was 
written. 

(2)  The  Condition  of  the  Church  at  Borne. — The  next 
great  subject  of  interest  is  the  light  thrown  by  this 
Epistle  on  the  progress  of  the  Cliurch  at  Rome  during 
St.  Paul's  imprisunment.  Of  his  preaching  to  the  Jews, 
tlie  Asiatic  Gentiles,  and  the  Greeks,  we  have  plain 
historical  record  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  That 
record  "fails  us  at  the  moment  when  he  reaches  the  great 
centre  of  heathen  civilisation  at  Rome,  simply  telling 
us  that  his  imprisonment  was  not  allowed  to  be  a  hin- 
drance to  his  preaching,  first  (as  always)  with  the  Jews, 
then,  on  their  rejection  of  the  gospel,  to  the  Gentiles 
who  were  "  willing  to  hear  it."  Now,  we  know  by  the 
historj'  of  the  Neroniau  persecution  in  Tacitus  that, 
less  than  ten  years  after  St.  Paul's  arrival  in  Rome, 
the  Christians  were  already  "  a  vast  multitude,"  not 
only  in  the  Eastern  home  of  their  religion,  but  in  the 
metropolis  itself.  While  we  perceive  from  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  that,  before  that  arrival  Chris- 
tianity was  firmly  established  in  Rome,  and  suspect 
that  the  ignorance  of  the  Jemsli  leaders  concerning 
"  the  sect  everywhere  spoken  against "  (Acts  xxviii.  22) 
was  in  great  degree  affected,  yet  we  cannot  but  see 
that  these  ten  years  must  have  been  years  of  rapid  pro- 
gress, in  order  to  justify,  even  approximately,  the 
description  of  the  Roman  historian.  Naturally,  we 
conclude  that  St.  Paul's  presence,  even  in  his  prison, 
must  have  given  the  chief  new  impulse  to  such  progress, 
and  inquire  eagerly  fur  any  indications  of  his  actual  dis- 
charge to  the  Romans  of  the  debt  of  gospel  preaching 
which  he  had  long  ago  acknowledged  as  due  to  them 
(Rom.  i.  14, 15).  To  this  inquiry  almost  the  only  answer 
is  foimd  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians. 

There  we  learn  that,  as  we  might  have  expected,  St. 
Paul's  bonds  "  turned  out  "  to  the  great  "  furtherance 
of  the  gospel."  Wherever  liis  prison  actually  was,  it 
gave  him  opportunity  of  influence  over  the  Prtetorian 
guards,  and  aU  the  rest  of  the  world,  civilian  or 
military,  who  frequented  their  quarters ;  it  gave  him 
access,  moreover,  to  those  of  Caesar's  household — that 
large  community  of  the  domus  Augusta  which  included 
all  varieties  of  occupation,  character,  and  rank.  That 
the  earlier  Christianity  of  Rome  was  largely  under 
Jewish  influence  we  learn  from  the  whole  argument  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans ;  and  it  has  been  often  re- 
marked that  the  names  included  in  the  long  list  of 
salutations  in  the  last  chapter  show  a  preponderance  of 
Greek  nationality  in  the  converts  themselves.  But  of 
those  who  came  under  the  spell  of  St.  Paul's  presence, 
probably  comparatively  few  would  bo  Jews,  altliough 
indeed  at  this  time,  through  the  influence  of  Poppsea, 
the  Jewish  element  might  be  more  than  usually  prominent 
in  Cicsar's  household  ;  and  while  the  greater  number  of 
that  household  who  came  in  contact  with  him  would  be 
slavesof  various  nationalities,  still,  in  the  higher  officers 
and  among  the  Praetorian  soldiery,  many  would  be  of 
true  Roman  origin.  Remembering  the  friendship  of 
Seneca  for  Burrhus,  the  Pra?torian  Prefect  at  the  time 
of  St.  Paul's  arrival,  and  the  former  conduct  of  Gallio. 
Seneca's  brother,  towards  the  Apostle  at  Corinth,  many 
have  delighted  to  speculate  on  the  probability  of  some 
direct  intercourse*  between  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  and 
the  philosopher  of  the  later  and  more  religious  Stoicism, 
who  was  then   tlie   leader  of  higher  Roman  thougfht. 


But,  however  this  may  be,  and  whatever  may  be  the 
real  Aveight  of  the  apparent  similarities  to  familiar 
Stoic  phraseology  traceable  in  the  Epistle  (see  chap.  iv. 
11 — 13,  and  Notes  thereon),  those  who  remember  the 
eagerness  of  Roman  society  at  this  time  for  new  reli- 
gions, new  mysteries,  and  even  new  superstitions,  from 
the  East,  will  find  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  one 
who  was  placed,  by  the  circumstance  of  his  imprison- 
ment, in  the  imjjerial  court  itself,  might  easily  have 
produced  a  deep  impression  on  men  of  Roman  birth, 
perhaps  of  high  Roman  rank. 

This  new  Christianity  would  therefore  probably  be  of  a 
ty^je,  more  purely  Gentile,  less  predominantly  Oriental, 
than  the  Christianity  to  which  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
was  addressed.  Of  the  diA-ision  between  the  old  and  the 
new  the  Epistle  shows  traces,  in  the  description  of  those 
who  pi-eached  Christ  "  of  good  will "  to  St.  Paul,  and 
those  who  preached  in  "  factiousness  and  vain-glory ;  " 
for  it  seems  clear,  from  his  rejoicing  that  "  every  way 
Christ  was  preached,"  that  the  division  was  as  yet  one 
of  mere  faction  and  party,  not  of  the  contrast  of  false 
with  ti'ue  doctrine,  Avhich  we  know  that  he  treated  mth 
stern,  uncompromising  severity.  (See  2  Cor.  xi.  1 — 4  ; 
Gal.  i.  G — 9.)  Like  aU  such  divisions,  it  probably  marked 
and  justified  itself  by  some  differences  in  religious 
teaching  and  religious  life :  but  if  these  existed,  they 
did  not  go  down  to  the  foundation.  The  time,  indeed, 
was  not  far  distant,  when  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  obvious  passing  away  of  the  whole  Jemsh  dispen- 
sation, struck  the  final  blow  to  the  existence  of  Judaism 
in  the  Christian  Church.  In  spite,  therefore,  of  this 
division,  it  seems  clear  that  at  the  time  of  the  Philip- 
pian  Epistle  Christianity  had  advanced,  and  was  ad- 
vancing, with  rapid  strides.  "  The  city  which  is  in 
heaven  "  was  already  beginning  to  rise  from  its  foun- 
dations in  the  "  great  Babylon  of  the  Seven  Hills," 
now  the  very  tj-pe  of  the  kingdom  of  the  earth,  des- 
tined hereafter  to  be,  even  visibly,  the  metropolis  of 
Western  Christianity. 

(3)  The  main  Subjects  of  the  Epistle. — Turning  to 
the  teaching  of  the  Einstle  itself,  the  main  interest 
centres  round  the  great  passage  in  the  second  chapter 
(ii.  5 — 11),  which  is  the  very  creed  of  the  Incarnation, 
Passion,  and  Exaltation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  has  been  noticed  already  in  the  General  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Ejnstles  of  the  Captivity,  and  is  dealt  with 
in  detail  in  the  Notes  on  the  passage.  Here  it  need 
only  be  remarked  that  its  advanced  Christology  is 
made  the  more  striking  by  the  occasion  of  its  occur- 
rence, which  is,  in  point  of  form,  simply  incidental,  in 
enforcement  of  the  familiar  exhortation  to  follow  the 
mind  of  Christ  Jesus  in  humility  and  self-sacrifice; 
and  that  the  singular  simplicity  and  clearness  of  its 
enunciation  of  truth  stand  to  the  profoimder  and  more 
mystei-ious  teaching  on  the  same  subject  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  much  as,  in  later  times,  the  simplicity 
of  a  Western  creed  stands  to  the  greater  subtlety  of 
an  Eastern.  Next  in  interest,  though  after  a  long 
interval,  is  the  light  thrown  tin  chap,  iii.)  on  the  obsti- 
nate persistence  in  Macedonia  of  the  old  Judaising 
influence,  elsewhere  decapng  or  passing  into  new 
forms;  and  the  appearance  both  of  the  pretensions  to 
perfection  (chap.  iii.  12 — 16)  and  of  the  Autinomiau 
recklessness  (chap.  iii.  17 — 21) — sometimes  associated 
with  these  pretensions,  sometimes  in  revolt  against 
them — mth  wliich  wo  are  but  too  familiar  in  subse- 
quent Churcli  history. 

(i)  Analysis  of  the  Ejjistlc.—A  full  analy.sis  mil  be 
found  in  each  chapter.  A  shortened  general  sketch  of 
these  analyses  we  have  subjoined  as  usual. 


63 


PHILIPPIAXS. 


The  First  Section  (original  Letter?). 

(1)  Introduction. 

(a)  Salutation  (t-liap.  i.  1,  2); 

(b)  Thanhsgiving  for  their  "fellowship  "  in  the 

ivork  of  the  f/o.sjiel,  specialhj   shown  to- 
wards  himself  {c\vA]i.  i.  3 — 8) ; 

(c)  Prayer  for  their  fuller  knowledge  and  in- 

crease of  fruitfulness  to  the  end  (chap.  i. 
9—11). 

(2)  Declaration  of  the  Position  at  Rome. 
(a)  The  progress  of  the  gospel  through  his  bonds, 

stimulating  preaching  of  the  gospel,  partly 
in  good  will,  partly  in  strife,  but  in  any 
case  a  cause  of  joy  (chap.  i.  12 — 18) ; 
(6)  His  own  division  of  feeling,  between  desire 
to  depart,  and  a  toillingness  to  remain 
for  their  salces,  which  he  knows  will  be 
realised  (chap.  i.  19 — 26). 

(3)  Exhortation  : 

(a)  To    steadfast    boldness    under   persecution, 

now  present  or  imminent  (chap.  i.   27 — 
30); 

(b)  To  unity  of  spirit  in  the  h-umility  and  self- 

sacrifice  of  "  the  mind  of  Christ  Jesus  " 
(chap.  ii.  1 — i). 

(4)  The  Doctrine  op  Christ. 

(a)  His  humility  in  the  Incarnation:  stooping 
from  the  form  of  God  to  the  form  of  man 
(chap.  ii.  5 — 7) ; 

{b)  His  second  humility  in  the  Passion  (chap.  ii. 

(c)  His  exaltation  above  all  created  being  (chap. 

ii.  9— 11). 


(5)  Original  Conclusion  of  the  Epistle. 
(a)  Final   exhortation    to    obedience,    quietness, 

purity,  joy  with  him  in  sacrifice  (chap. 

ii.  12— 18); 
{b)  Mission  and  commendation  of  Tim^theus  cw 

St.  PauVs  forerunner  (chap.  ii.  19 — 24'); 

(c)  Mission  and  commendation  of  Epaphroditus 

(chap.  ii.  25—30) ; 

(d)  Final  "farewell  in  the  Lord  "  (chap.  iii.  1). 

2.  The  Second  Section  (Postscript?). 

(1)  Practical  Warnings  : 

(o)  Against  Judaism,  by  the  example  of  Ms  otvn 

renunciation    of    all    Jewish    privilege 

(chap.  iii.  2—10) ; 
(6)  Against  claim  of  perfection,  again  enforced 

by  his  own  example  (<'hap.  iii.  11 — 16); 
(c)  Against  Antinomian  profligacy ,  as  unworthy 

of  the   "  citizens   of  heaven "  (chap.  iii. 

17—21). 

(2)  Exhortations  Renewed: 

(a)  To  ^lnity  (chap.  iv.  1 — 3) ; 

(6)  To  joy,  thankfulness,  and  peace  (chap.  iv. 

4 — 7); 
(c)  To  follouiing  of  all  good,  in  the  fulness  in 

which  he  had  taught  it  (chap.  iv.  8,  9). 

(3)  Acknowledgment  of  Offerings. 

(rt)  Rejoicing   in   their   renewed   care  for   him 
(chap.  iv.  10—14) ; 

(b)  Remembrance    of    their    former    liberality 

(chap.  iv.  15 — 17); 

(c)  Thanks  and  blessing  (chap.  iv.  18 — 20). 

(4)  Concluding  Salutation  and  Blessing. 


64 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

PHILIPPIANS. 


CHAPTER   I.— (1)  Paul   and  Timo- 
Chap.  i.    1,  2.  tlieus,     the     servants      of 
Jesus    Christ,   to    all    the 


Salutation. 


saints  in  Christ  Jesus  which  are  at 
Philipj)i,  with  the  bishops  and  dea- 
cons :     (^)    grace     he    unto     you,     and 


[1.  Introduction  (chap.  i.  1 — 11). 

(1)  Salutation  (verses  1,  2). 

(2)  Thanksgiving  for  their  "fellowshij)  in  the 

gospel,"  uttered  in  perfect  coufideuce  and 
in  deep  personal  aifection  (verses  3 — 8). 

(3)  Pkayer  for  their  growth  in  knowledge  and 

judgment,  which  may  gviard  them  from 
'*  offence,"  and  keep  them  in  the  things  that 
are  excellent  (^verses  9 — 11).] 

(1)  Paul  and  Timotheus,  (the)  servants  of 
Jesus  Christ. — To  the  Philippian,  as  to  the  Thessa- 
louian  Church  (see  1  Tliess.  i.  1;  2  Thess.  i.  1),  St.  Paul 
does  not  think  it  needful  to  assert  his  apostleship ;  but 
writes,  in  a  tone  of  affectionate  and  confident  fami- 
liarity, as  to  those  whom  lie  could  thoroughly  trust. 
Here  he  and  Timotheus  are  simply  "  servants"  (not,  as 
in  our  version,  "the  servants"  iu  any  position  of  special 
eminence)  "  of  Jesus  Christ  " — a  title  of  humility  as- 
sumed by  St.  James  and  St.  Jude  ( Jas.  i.  1 ;  Jude,  verse 
1),  but  nowhere  else  by  St.  Paul  without  the  adchtion 
of  some  title  of  apostolic  authority.  (Comp.  Rom.  i.  1 ; 
Tit.  i.  1.)  Even  in  Gal.  i.  10  he  declares  tliat  he  is 
"  the  servant  of  Christ,"  chiefly  to  show  that  he  cannot 
and  need  not  "  please  men."  It  is  to  be  noted  also  that 
here,  as  again  (with  Silas)  in  the  Thessalouiau  Epistles, 
Timotheus  is  joined  with  St.  Paul  almost  on  a  footing 
of  equality ;  whereas  iu  other  Epistles  (see  2  Cor.  i.  1  ; 
Col.  i.  1;  Philem.  verse  1),  he  is  separated  from  the 
Apostle  and  distinguished  as  "  Timotheus  the  brotlier." 
This  is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  partly  by  the 
absence  of  all  necessity  for  assertion  of  his  own 
apostlesliip,  partly  also  by  the  fact  that  (with  Silas) 
Timotlieus  was  St.  Paul's  fellow-worker  in  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Macedonian  Churches,  and  accordingly  his 
chosen  messenger  to  them  from  time  to  time  (Acts  xix. 
22 ;  XX.  5). 

The  saints  in  Christ  Jesus.— The  same  expres- 
sion is  used  iu  the  salutations  wliicli  commence  other 
Epistles  of  this  period  (see  Eph.  i.  1;  Col.  i.  1):  "the 
saints  and  faithful  iu  Christ  Jesus." 

With  the  bishops  and  deacons. — In  tliis  pas- 
sage the  word  "  lushop  "  is,  for  the  first  time,  used  as  a 
title,  although  iu  Acts  xx.  28  ("over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers  ")  it  is  employed  as  a 
description  of  duty,  with  a  distinct  reference  to  its  etymo- 
logical m(>aning  and  origin.  In  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
we  find  it  similarly  used  (as  1  Tim.  iii.  2 ;  Tit.  i.  7). 
There  is  now  no  question — and  but  for  supposed  eccle- 
siastical necessities  tliere  never  could  liave  beeu  any 
question — that  in  Holy  Scripture,  as  also  iu  the  First 
71  65 


Epistle  of  an  Apostolical  Father  {St.  Clement  to  the 
Corinthians,  chap,  xix.),  the  two  titles  of  "bishop" 
and  "presbyter  "  are  applied  to  the  same  pei'sons — the 
latter,  however,  being  iu  St.  Paul's  Epistles  the  more 
frequent  and  conventional  term,  while  the  former 
seems  almost  always  used  with  reference  to  its  actual 
meaning.  The  two  titles  are  of  diver.se  origin.  The 
"presbyter,"  or  "elder,"  is  a  Jewish  title,  ^o  directly 
descended  from  the  synagogue  that  the  iustitution  of  the 
presbyterate  is  not,  like  that  of  the  diaconate,  recorded 
as  a  historical  creation  iu  the  Cluirch.  Ihe  title  of 
"bishop,"  or  "overseer,"  is  of  heathen  origin,  used  in 
classical  Greek  for  a  commissioner  from  head-quari  ers, 
applied  in  the  LXX.  to  various  secular  offices  ['J,  Kings 
xi.  19;  2  Chron.  xxiv.  12—17;  Neh.  xi.  9,  U,  22;  Isa. 
Ix.  17).  The  former  is  simply  a  title  of  dignity,  like 
the  many  derivations  from  the  Latin  senior  which 
have  passed  into  modern  language.  The  latter  is  a  title  of 
official  duty.  Like  the  word  "  pastor  "  and  "  apostle," 
it  belongs  properly  only  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
is  the  "Apostle  of  God"  (Heb.  iii.  1),  and  "the  Shep- 
herd and  Bishop  of  our  souls  "  (1  Pet.  ii.  25) ;  but  de- 
rivatively to  His  ministers,  as  having  the  oversight  of 
His  Church.  This  is  directly  shown  in  the  aijplication 
of  the  title  to  the  Ephesiau  presbyters  (Acts  xx.  28; 
see  also  1  Pet.  v.  1,  2),  and  the  idea  of  responsible 
oversight  is  broiight  out  clearly  in  the  description  of 
the  office  of  the  "bishop"  in  1  Tim.  iii.  1 — 7.  The  in- 
different use  of  the  two  names  is  made  absolutely  clear 
in  Tit.  i.  5 — 7  :  "  Ordain  elders  in  every  city  ...  if  any 
bo  blameless  .  .  .  For  a  bishop  mu.st  be  blameless  as  a 
steward  of  God."  It  is  only  necessary  to  remark  briefly 
that  this  identification  of  the  two  titles  (of  which  St. 
Clement's  Epistle  is  the  last  example)  in  \in  way 
weakens  the  significance  of  the  undoubted  liistorical 
fact  of  the  development  of  what  we  call  tlie  Episcopate 
in  the  early  part  of  the  second  century,  and  the  over- 
whelming probability  of  its  oriijination.  uuder  the 
sanction  of  St.  John,  when  the  re])resentatives  of  the 
higher  order  of  the  Apostolate  passed  away. 

The  name  "  deacon  "  is  also  used  for  tlie  first  time, 
unless,  indeed,  as  is  probable,  it  is  a])plied  officially  to 
Phoebe  in  Rom.  xvi.  1.  Althougli  the  office  of  the 
Seven,  iu  Acts  vi.  1 — 7,  is  undoubtedly  the  germ  of  the 
diaconate,  and  altliough  the  cognate  words  ("  ministra- 
tion "  and  "  serve  ")  are  used  in  connection  with  tliem 
(see  verses  1,  2).  yet  the  actual  title  of  deacons  is 
nowhere  given  to  them. 

This  nuMitiou  of  the  ministers  as  distinct  from 
the  Church  in  salutation  is  unique.  It  lias  been  con- 
jectured, with  great  probability,  that  iu  the  Letter  of 


TJianksfjlciiifj  fur  their 


PHILIPPIANS,   T. 


Fellowship  in  the  Gospel. 


peace,  from  God  our  Fatlier,  and  froTn, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  ^^^  I  thank  my 
Ciiap.  i.  3—8.  God  upon  Gveiy  remem- 
Thauksfiving  brance  ^  of  you,  <•*>  always 
ship  in  the  gos-  m  every  prayer  of  mine 
pol.  for    you    all    making    re- 

quest -vvitli  joy,  (^^  for  your  fellowship 
in  the  gospel  from  the  first  day  until 


it. 
1  Or,  mention. 


3  Or,  you  have 
me  hi  your 
heart. 


now ;  (6)  being  confident  of  this  very 
thing,  that  he  "which  hath  begun  a 
good  ^vork  in  you  will  perform  it  ^ 
until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ.  <^^  Even 
as  it  is  meet  for  me  to  think  this 
of  you  all,  because  I  have  you  in 
my  heart ;  ^  inasmuch  as  both  in  my 
bonds,  and  in  the  defence  and  confirm  a- 


tho  Philipnian  Church,  wliich  no  doubt  accompanied  the 
mission  oi  ahns  by  Epaphroditus,  the  presbyters  and 
deacons  were  so  distini]fuislied ;  {is  in  the  letter  of  the 
Council  at  Jerusalem,  according  to  the  ordinary  reading 
of  Acts  XV.  23  ("the  apostles  and  elders  and  brethren"). 
Some  ancient  authorities  held  that  Epaphroditus  was 
"the  apostle"  (or  what  we  should  call  tlie  bislioj))  of 
the  Ciiurch  at  Philippi,  and  that  he  is  not  named  here 
simply  because  he  was  with  St.  Paul :  so  that  in  the 
Phiiippian  Church  the  three  orders  were  already  repre- 
sented.    (But  on  this  see  chap.  ii.  25.) 

(3—8)  111  these  verses  St.  Paul  strikes  that  keynote 
of  joy  and  confidence,  which  is  domirajit  throughout 
tlie  wliolo  Epistle,  and  which  is  singularly  remarkable 
when  we  remem])er  that  it  was  wi-itten  in  captivity,  in 
enforced  absence  from  the  familiar  and  well-loved 
scenes  of  his  apostolic  labour,  and  with  the  knowledge 
of  faction  and  jealousy,  taking  advantage  of  that 
absence.  The  words  "joy"  and  "rejoice"  occur  no 
less  than  thirieen  times  in  this  short  Epistle;  they 
express  what  his  own  feeling  is,  and  what  he  desires 
that  theirs  should  be. 

(3.  -i)  I  thank  my  God  .  .  .—These  verses  more 
accurately  rendered  will  run  thus  :  I  thank  my  God 
KpoH  all  mij  retnembrance  of  you  at  all  times,  in  every 
prayer  of  mine  for  you  all,  uttering  that  prayer  with 
joy — i.e.,  with  joyful  confidence.  The  sense,  however, 
is  not  nuiterially  altered.  The  emphatic  earnestness 
of  thanksgiviTig  is  seen  in  the  reiteration  which 
runs  througli  the  jjassage,  and  its  aljsolute  universality 
of  scojjc  is  no  less  clearly  mai-ked.  The  closest  pai-allel 
is  again  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians  (see 
1  Tiicf-s.  i.  2;  2  Thess.  ii.  3),  although  in  every  Epistle, 
ex('f])t  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  there  is  an  opening 
of  thanksgiving. 

(^1  For  your  fellowship  in  the  gospel.— More 
properly,  towards  the  gospel,  or,  as  affecting  the  gospd. 
Tile  constiniction  iis  illustrated  by  the  more  limited  use 
of  the  same  Greek  word  (as  in  Rom.  xv.  26 ;  2  Cor.  ix. 
13)  in  the  sense  of  "  contribution  " ;  in  which  case  the 
word  •' towards ''  introduces  the  objects  of  the  alms- 
giving there  specified.  Accordingly  St.  Paul  nnist  be 
taken  here  to  mean  the  fellow- working  of  the  Philippians 
in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  of  which  he  s))eaks  still 
more  distinctly  in  verse  7.  That  fellow-working  had 
l)een  shown  (see  chap.  iv.  15)  even  "in  the  Ix'ginning 
of  the  gospel,"  by  a  contribution  to  St.  Paul's  needs— 
not  ])erhaps  his  personal  needs  only — which  from  them, 
and  (so  far  as  we  knowj  from  them  only,  he  consented 
to  accept. 

(t^)  That  he  who  hath  begun  for  rath<>r.  who 
hrgan)  a  good  work  in  you  will  also  (see  margin) 
finish  it.— The  ground  of  St.  Paid"s  confidence  in 
their  perseverance  is  the  belief  that  it  was  God's  grace 
which  began  the  good  work  in  them,  and  that,  not  being 
resisted  (as  was  obvious  by  then-  enthusiasm  for  good), 


He  would  complete  what  He  had  begun.  In  his  view, 
God's  grace  is  the  beginning  and  the  end ;  man's  co- 
operation lies  in  the  intermediate  process  linking  both 
together.     This  is  made  still  plainer  in  chap.  ii.  12,  13. 

The  day  of  Jesus  Christ.— So  also  in  chaps,  i.  lu, 
ii.  16,  "  the  day  of  Clirist ;"  and  in  1  Cor.  i.  8,  "  the  day 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  "  in  all  other  Epistles  "  tlie  day 
of  our  Lord  "  (as  in  1  Cor.  v.  5 ;  2  Cor.  i.  14  ;  1  Thess. 
V.  2;  2  Thess.  ii.  2);  or,  still  more  commonly,  both  in 
Gospels  and  Epistles,  "  that  day."  As  is  usual  in  the 
Epistles,  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  spoken  of  as  if  it  were 
near  at  hand.  St.  Paul,  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the 
I'hessalonians  (chap.  ii.  2,  et  setp),  declines  to  pronounce 
that  it  is  near;  yet  does  not  say  that  it  is  far  away,  and 
only  teaches  that  there  is  much  to  be  done,  even  in  the 
development  of  Anti-Christian  power,  before  it  does 
come.  It  is  of  course  clear  that,  in  respect  of  the 
confidence  here  expressed,  it  makes  no  difference 
whether  it  be  near  or  far  away.  The  reality  of  the 
judgment  as  final  and  complete  is  the  one  point  impor- 
tant ;  "  the  times  and  seasons  "  matter  not  to  us. 

(7)  It  is  meet. — Rather,  it  is  but  right,  or  just ;  it 
is  but  your  due. 

To  think  this  of  you  all.— Rather,  to  be  in  this 
mind;  to  have  this  feeling  on  behalf  of  you  all.  The 
word  here  rendered  "to  think  "  is  used  mth  especial 
frequency  in  this  Epistle  (see  chaps,  ii.  2,  5;  iii.  15, 
19 ;  iv.  2,  10),  as  also  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
(chaps,  viii.  5  ;  xi.  20 ;  xii.  3,  16  ;  xiv.  16 ;  xv.  5).  It 
is  variously  rendered;  but  it  always  refers,  not  to  a 
single  definite  opinion,  but  to  an  habitual  conviction  or 
feeling. 

I  have  you  in  my  heart.— This  (and  not  the 
marginal  reading)  is  to  be  taken.  The  original  is, 
grammatically  speaking,  ambiguous,  but  both  the  order 
and  the  context  are  decisive.  Compare,  for  the_  sense, 
2  Cor.  iii.  2,  "  Ye  are  our  epistle,  written  in  our 
hearts." 

Both  in  my  bonds,  and  in  the  defence  and 
confirmation  of  the  gospel.— Those  words  are 
certainly  to  be  connected,  as  in  our  version.  St.  Paul 
unites  his  bonds  with  "the  defence  and  confirmation  of 
the  gospel " — that  is.  witii  his  pleading  for  it  against 
objections,  and  establishment  of  it  by  positive  teaching 
— on  the  ground  stated  in  verses  12.  13,  that  these,  his 
bonds,  had  tended  "  to  tlu^  furtherance  of  the  gospel.'' 
He  accepts  the  help  sent  hini  by  the  Philippians,  in 
which  they  had  (see  chap.  iv.  14)  "  comnnmicated  "'  (in 
the  original  the  word  used  is  the  same  as  here)  "with 
his  affliction,"  as  a  means  of  fellowship  with  him  in  tlio 
whole  of  this  work  of  evangelisation.  It  is  true  that 
in  verse  30  he  speaks  of  the  Pliilippians  as  having 
themselves  to  undergo  "  the  same  conflict  "  as  his 
own  ;  but  the  expression  "  in  my  bonds,  &c.,"  can 
hardly  be  satisfied  simply  by  this  kind  of  fellowship. 

Ye  all  are  partakers  of  my  grace.— Here,  on 
the  contrary,  the  marginal  reading  is  preferable.  Ye 
are  all  partakers  with  me  of  the  grace — i.e.,  of  the 


66 


Prayer  for  their  fuller 


PHILIPPIANS,   I. 


Knowledge  and  Steadfastness. 


tion  of  the  gospel,  ye  all  are  partakers 
of  my  grace.  ^  (^'  For  God  is  my  record, 
how  greatly  I  long  after  you  all  in 
the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ.  ^'■^'^  And  this 
I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet 
more  and  more  in  knowledge  and  in  all 


2  Or,  sense. 

3  Or,  try. 

Or,      partukera 
Kith  me  u/i/race. 
■i  Or,  dcjjrcr. 


judgment;  2  m  ^j^^t  ye  may  approve  ^ 
things  that  are  excellent;^  chap.  i.  9— n. 
that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  l*iayer  for 
without  offence  till  the  ^lli'^Ldio^nd 
day  of  Christ;  (^^^  being  steadfastness. 
filled  with  the  fruits  of  righteousness. 


privilege  described  in  Epli.  iii.  8.  "  Unto  me,  who 
am  loss  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given, 
tliat  1  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearch- 
able riclies  of  Christ."  See  below,  verse  29  ;  "  To  you 
it  is  given" — that  is  (in  the  original),  "given  as  a 
grace" — not  only  to  believe  on  Him,  but  also  to  suffer 
for  His  sake." 

(8)  God  is  my  record.— We  have  a  similar  adjura- 
tion in  Rom.  i,  9 ;  2  Cor.  i.  23 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  5,  10. 
Tliese  instances  show  in  what  sense  St.  Paul  inter- 
preted such  commands  as  the  "  swear  not  at  all " 
of  Matt.  V.  34. 

In  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ, — The  use  of  the 
word,  which  we  translate  (not  very  happily  or  correctly) 
by  "  bowels,"  is  common  with  St.  Paul.  (See  2  Cor.  vi. 
12;  vii.  15;  Col.  iii.  12;  Philem.  verses  7,  12,  20.) 
It  corresponds  to  our  use  of  "  heart  "  as  the  seat  of 
affection— the  word  "heart"  itself  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment being  employed,  in  a  wider  sense,  to  signify  the 
"whole  inner  man.  (See  Eph.  i.  18  :  "  the  eyes  of  your 
heart  being  enlightened,"  and  Note  there.)  But  the 
phrase  hero  is  striking  and  even  startling.  "  I  long 
after  you"  (says  St.  Paul)  "in  the  heart  of  Jesus 
Christ."  He  can  say  (as  in  Gal.  ii.  20),  "I  live,  yet  not 
I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  Hence  the  deep  yearning 
of  love  which  he  feels  for  them  he  knows  to  be  an 
emanation,  faint  indeed,  but  true,  from  the  "  heart  of 
Jesus  Christ  "  dwelling  in  him. 

(9, 10)  If  -yye  study  carefully  the  opening  thanksgivings 
and  prayers  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  we  may  note  that 
he  always  thanks  God  for  what  is  strong  in  the  Church 
to  which  he  writes,  and  prays  God  for  the  supply  of 
that  in  which  it  is  weak.  Here  he  tliauks  God  for  the 
characteristic  enthusiasm  and  large-hoartedness  of  the 
Philipjjians  ;  he  prays  for  their  advance  in  knowledge, 
perception,  judgment  —  the  more  intellectual  and 
thouglitful  side  of  the  Christian  character — in  which 
they,  and  perhaps  the  Macedonian  Churches  generally, 
were  less  conspicuous.  In  the  opposite  case  of  the 
Corinthian  Church  (see  1  Cor.  i.  4—10),  he  thanks  God 
for  tlioir  richness  in  all  utterance  and  all  knowledge, 
but  he  bids  them  "wait "for  Him  who  shall  "estab- 
lish them  as  blameless,"  and  exhorts  them  to  unity  and 
humility. 

(9—11)  In  f]ijg  sentence,  the  original  shows  that  there 
is  not  the  tliree-fold  parallelism  which  our  version  would 
suggest.  St.  Paul's  immediate  prayer  is  that  "  their 
love  may  abound  in  knowledge  and  all  judgment."  To 
this  is  subjoined,  as  an  immediate  conseciuence,  "  tlie 
proving  the  things  that  are  excellent."  The  final  result 
of  the  knowledge  and  judgment  so  applied,  is  "  that 
they  may  be  sincere  and  without  offence." 

f^)  That  your  love  may  abound  more  and  more 

in  knowledge.— The  drigiual  verb  here  signifies  to 
"ovi'rilow."  a  sense  which  our  word  "  ab()un<l  "'  properly 
has.  l)ut  lias  in  general  usage  partially  lost ;  and  St. 
Paul's  meaning  clearly  is  that  love  shall  not  only 
primarily  fill  the  heart,  but  "overflow"  in  secondary  in- 


fluence on  the  spiritual  understanding.  (1)  Tiie  '"know- 
ledge "  here  spoken  of  is  the  knowledge  gradually  rising 
to  perfection,  so  constantly  alluded  to  in  the.se  Epistles. 
(See  Eph.  i.  17,  and  Note  there.)  Since  it  is  clearly  a 
personal  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ,  it  maybe  gained, 
under  His  inspiration,  by  one  of  many  processes,  by 
thought,  by  practice,  by  love,  by  devotion,  or,  perhaps 
more  properly,  by  some  or  all  of  these  combined.  Here 
St.  Paul  singles  out  the  way  of  love — the  enthusiasm 
of  love  to  God  and  man  which  he  knew  that  the 
Philippiaus  had — and  prays  that  it  may  overflow  from 
the  emotional  to  the  intellectual  element  of  their  nature, 
and  become,  as  we  constantly  see  tliat  it  does  become 
in  simple  and  loving  characters,  a  means  of  spiritual 
insight,  in  "  knowledge  and  all  judgment,"'  or  rather, 
all  percei^tion.  (2)  Ihe  word  "  peix-eption  "  properly 
applies  to  the  senses,  and  seems  here  to  signify  the 
insight  which  recognises  a  truth  as  the  eye  recognises 
an  object.  In  the  same  sense  (Heb.  v.  14)  Holy  Scrip- 
ture speaks  of  those  who  "  by  use  have  their  senses 
exercised  to  discern  good  and  evil."  In  fact,  the 
"  perception "  here  spoken  of  differs  from  knowledge 
in  dealing  not  with  general  princiijles.  but  with  eonci-ete 
examples  and  questions.  (3)  Accordingly  he  connects 
with  it,  as  a  direct  consequence,  the  power  of 
"approving"  or  "testing"  the  things  that  are  ex- 
cellent. Now  the  word  here  translated  "excellent" 
carries  with  it  the  idea  of  distinctive  and  relative 
excellence,  conspicuous  amidst  what  is  either  evil  or 
defective.  To  "  test  "  is  obviously  first  to  distinguish 
what  is  the  best,  and  then  by  trial  to  prove  its  al)solute 
goodness.  Clearly  the  process  may  be  ajjplied  either 
speculatively  to  truths  or  practically  to  duties.  In 
Rom.  ii.  18,  where  exactly  the  same  jjlirase  is  used, 
the  latter  application  is  made. 

(10;  That  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without 
oflfence. — This  St.  Paul  contemplates  as  the  result 
of  thoughtful  and  discriminating  judgment.  Tho 
word  "  sincere "  (used  only  liere  and  in  2  Pet.  i.  3), 
and  the  corresponding  substantive,  "sincerity" 
(1  Cor.  v.  8;  2  Cor.  i.  12;  ii.  17),  although  there  is 
some  uncertainty  as  to  their  derivation,  undoubtedly 
signify  purity  tested  and  found  clear  of  all  base 
admixtures.  Tho  word  "without  offence"  is  used  in 
Acts  xxiv.  16  ("a  conscience  Anid  of  offence")  for 
that  which  is  free  from  the  stumbling  of  error;  and  in 
1  Cor.  X.  32  ("giving  none  offence  ")  for  that  at  which 
none  will  stumble.  Ihe  latter  sense  (nearly  equivalent 
to  the  "  unreprovable '' of  Col.  i.  22)  better  suits  this 
passage.  For  "  sincere  "  describes  tlie  positive  asj)ect 
of  purity  ;  "  without  offence  "  the  more  negative  aspect, 
in  wliich  it  is  found  to  present  no  excuse  for  faidt- 
finding  or  scandal.  It  is,  tlierefore,  tlie  "  sincerity." 
not  of  unconscious  innocence,  but  of  well-tried  and 
tboughtful  purity,  proof  even  against  suspicion,  which 
St.  I'aul  dese;il)es  as  the  perfect  fruit  of  love  "  over- 
flowing in  knowlrdge." 

(Ill  The  fruits  of  righteousness  is  an  Old  Testa- 
ment ])hr;i.se  (see  Prov.  xi.  30:  Amos  vi.  12).  used  also  in 
Jas.  iii.  18;  Heb.  xii.  11.  It  may  mean  (as  in  the.se 
last  two  passages)  "  righteousness  as  a  result,"  or  (in 


The  Progress  of  the  Gospel 


PHILIPPIA^NS,     I.  throuyh  himself  and  through  others. 


■which   are   by  Jesus   Christ,  unto   the 
<^lory    and    praise  of  God. 
Chap,  i  12-18    (U)  j3^^{.  J  vvould  ye  should  .'.^'.■■•/'"■.f''"'"-., 
the  progrrcss  of  Understand,  brethren,  that  \:soiXau  other,. 
the   gospol    at  the     thin«;s      which    hap- 

Koiuc,   and  his  ,  .^  i  <?  n 

joy  thereat.       ])ened  uuto  me  have  lallen 


out  rather  unto  the  furtherance  of 
the  gospel;  (^'^^  so  that  my  bonds  in 
Christ  ^  are  manifest  in  all  the  palace,- 
and  in  all  other  jAaccs;^  (^■^^  and  many  of 
the  brethren  in  the  Lord,  waxing  confi- 
dent by  my  bonds,  are  much  more  bold 


the  eomiuou  sense  of  "'  fruit  ")  the  "  result  of  righteous- 
ness." As  tlio  inirticiple  is  properly  "  liaviiig  been 
filled,"  thus  referring,  not  to  the  future  day  of  Christ, 
but  to  the  wliole  time  which  tliat  day  shall  complete, 
the  former  sense  seems  i^referable.  The  righteousness 
which  is  "  through  Jesus  Christ,"  "  not "  (as  St.  Paul 
says  below,  cliap.  iii.  9)  "our  owii  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  Law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  rigliteonsness  which  is  of  God,"  is  clearly 
the  likeness  of  Christ,  and  the  eforo  in  itself  an  all- 
sufficient  fruit.  Filled  witli  it,  we  are  (see  Epli.  iii.  19) 
"  filled  with  all  tlie  fulness  of  God." 

Unto  the  glory  and  praise  of  God.— (Comp  Eph. 
i.  6, 12,  It.)  In  accordance  with  our  Lord's  own  teaching: 
"  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven."     (See  also  1  Cor.  x.  31.) 

[2.  Statement  of  St.  Patil's  condition  at  Rome 

(verses  12 — 26). 

(1)  The    Rapid   Progress    of   the    Gospel 

through  his  bonds,  and  through  the  preaching 
of  others,  whether  in  strife  or  in  goodwill 
(verses  12—18). 

(2)  His    Rejoicing    thereat  ;    his    desire    to 

depart  and  be  with  Christ,  and  his  confidence, 
neverth(>less,  that  he  will  abide  in  the  fiesh 
and  see  them  again  (verses  19 — 26).] 

(12—18)  In  these  verses  St.  Paul,  evidently  anxious 
that  the  Philippians  should  not  "faint  at  his  tribu- 
lations for  them  "  (coinp.  Eph.  iii.  13),  points  out  that 
his  imprisonment  tended  to  further  the  gospel :  first, 
directly,  I)y  the  opportunity  which  it  afforded  him  of 
preaching,  and  next,  indirectly,  by  the  stimulus  which 
it  gave  to  the  preaching  of  others,  whether  "  of  envy 
and  strife  "  or  "  of  good  will." 

(12)  The  things  which  happened  unto  me— 
viz.,  since  he  parted  from  them  (see  Acts  xx.  6) — his 
arrest  at  Jerusalem,  and  the  long  captivity  of  years, 
first  at  Caesarea,  then  at  Rome.  Nothing  could  liave 
appeared  to  bo  a  more  fatal  ])Iow  to  the  progress  of  the 
gospel  ;  but  St.  Paul  assures  them  that  "rather"  (i.e., 
on  the  contrary)  all  these  things  tended  to  its  furtlier- 
ance.  Ho  had  intended  to  see  Rome  (Acts  xix.  21 ; 
Rom.  XV.  23,  24),  since  his  work  in  Greece  and  Asia 
was  now  over.  Ho  did  visit  it,  although  in  chains ; 
and  his  acquaintance  with  the  Roman  soldiers  at 
Cajsarea  probably  prepared  for  him  an  opening  at 
Rome,  which  he  could  not  otherwise  have  found,  even 
into  Ciesar's  household. 

(1  i)  My  bonds  in  Christ  are  manifest.- Properly, 
3fy  bonda  are  made  manifest  as  in  Christ  —  i.e., 
my  captivity  is  uiulcrstood  as  being  a  part  of  my 
Christian  life  and  work,  and  so  becomes  a  starting- 
point  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  So  St.  Paul 
made  it  to  the  Jews  (Acts  xxviii.  20),  "  For  the  hope  of 
Israel  am  1  bound  in  this  chain."  (Comp.  Eph.  vi.  20, 
"I  am  an  ambassador  in  bonds.") 

In  all  the  palace,  and  in  all  other  places. 
— The  word  "  palace  "  is  prcetorium.     It  is  elsewhere 


68 


used  in  the  New  Testament :  first,  of  the  palace  of 
Pilate ;  in  Matt,  xxvii.  27,  Mark  xv.  16,  apparently,  of 
the  soldiers'  guardroom,  or  barrack  ;  in  John  xviii.  28, 
33,  xix.  9,  of  "  the  hall  of  judgment ;  "  and  next  in  Acts 
xxiii.  35,  of  the  "  judgment  hall  of  Herod,"  e\'idently 
forming  a  part  of  the  palace  of  Felix.  (It  may  be 
noted  that  coincidence  with  tliis  last  passage  is  the 
chief,  and  almost  the  sole,  argument  for  the  untenable 
idea  that  this  Ei)istle  belongs  to  the  Csesarean  and  not 
the  Roman  captivity.)  Its  sense  here  has  been  disputed. 
It  has  been  variously  interpreted  as  the  emperor's 
palace,  or  the  praetorian  barrack  attached  to  it,  or  the 
praetorian  camp  outside  the  walls.  Its  original  meaning 
of  "  the  head-quarters  of  a  general "  would  lend  itself 
well  enough  to  any  of  these,  as  a  derivative  sense. 
The  first  or  the  second  sense  (which  is  virtually  the 
same)  is  the  interpretation  of  all  ancient  commentators, 
and  suits  best  with  the  mention  of  "  Caesar's  house- 
hold "  in  chap.  iv.  22,  but  not  very  well  with  the  his- 
torical statement  in  Acts  xxviii.  16 — 30,  that  St.  Paul 
dwelt  "  in  his  own  hired  house,"  "  with  a  soldier  that 
kept  him."  The  other  sense  suits  better  with  this 
last  statement,  and  also  with  the  deliveiy  of  the 
prisoner  "  to  the  captain  of  the  guard,"  i.e.,  literally, 
the  commander  of  the  camp,  or  prcetorian  prefect,  and 
perhaps  with  abstract  probability  in  the  case  of  an 
obscure  Jewish  prisoner.  But  the  difficulty  is  that, 
although  the  word  might  be  applied  to  any  of  these 
places,  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  not  found  to  be  so 
applied.  Moreover,  we  notice  here  that  the  words  "  in 
all  other  places "  are  an  inaccurate  rendering  of  a 
phrase  really  meaning  "  to  all  the  rest "  (see  marginal 
reading).  The  connection  therefore  seems  even  in 
itself  to  suggest  that  the  "  praetorium "  may  more 
properly  refer  to  a  body  of  men  than  to  a  place. 
Accordingly  (following  Dr.  Lightfoot),  since  the 
word  "  praetorium "  is  undoubtedly  used  for  the 
"pi-setorian  guard,"  it  seems  best  to  take  that  sense 
here.  "My  bonds  "  (says  the  Apostle)  "are  known  in 
all  the  praetorian  regiments " — for  the  soldiers,  no 
doubt,  guarded  him  by  turns — "  and  to  all  the  rest  of 
the  world,  whether  of  soldiers  or  of  citizens."  This 
would  leave  it  an  open  question  where  St.  Paul  was 
imprisoned,  only  telling  us  that  it  was  under  prastorian 
surveillance. 

(i-t)  And  many  (properly,  the  greater  mtmher)  of 
the  brethren  in  the  Lord.— The  words  "  in  the 
Lord  "  should  be  connected  with  "  trusting,"  as  in  ehaj). 
ii.  24;  Gal.  v.  10 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  4.  As  connected  with 
the  word  "brethren,"  they  are  unmeaning;  whereas  St. 
Paul  constantly  uses  them  (especially  in  these  Epistles), 
generally  with  a  verb  or  verbal  adjective,  and  always 
to  convey  some  distinct  idea.  Tliat  the  words  "  in  my 
bonds  "  follow  constitutes  no  difficulty.  "  In  the  Lord 
expresses  the  ground  of  confidence;  "in  my  bonds" 
sim])ly  the  occasion  and  circumstances. 

Waxing  confident  by  my  bonds. — Tliere  is  a 
two-fold  sense  here,  corresponding  to  the  two-fold 
division  of  preachers  made  below.  Those  who  preached 
Christ  "of  contention"  trusted  in  St.  Paul's  captivity 
as  giving  them  scope ;  those  who  preached  "  of  good 


Through  different  Motives 


PHILIPPIANS,   I. 


Christ  is  every  way  i/reuched. 


to  speak  the  word  without  fear.  <^^^  Some 
indeed  preach  Christ  even  of  envy  and 
strife ;  and  some  also  of  good  will : 
(1^)  the  one  preach  Christ  of  contention, 
not  sincerely,  supposing  to  add  affliction 
to  my  bonds :  ♦^''^  but  the  other  of  love, 


knowing  that  I  am  set  for  the  defence 
of  the  gospel.  ^^^^  What  then  ?  not- 
withstanding, every  Avay,  w^hether  in 
pretence,  or  in  truth,  Christ  is  preached ; 
and  I  therein  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  will 
rejoice.     (^^^  For  I  know  that  this  shall 


will  "  fcrand  in  it  a  striking  example  of  evil  overruled 
to  good,  and  so  gained  from  it  fresh  encouragement. 

(15)  Of  envy  and  strife.— Explained  below  as  of 
"  contention,"  or,  more  properly  (as  in  chap.  ii.  3,  and 
in  Rom.  ii.  8;  2  Cor.  xii.  20;  Gal.  v.  20),  oi  factious- 
ness, or  "  jjarty  spirit."  It  seems  impossible  to  doubt 
that  this  refers  to  the  Judaising  party,  St.  Paul's  old 
antagonists.  The  whole  tenor  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  shows  how  strong  a  Judaic  element  there 
was  in  Roman  Christianity.  Even  in  approaching 
Rome,  we  may  gather  from  Acts  xxviii.  15,  that  the 
Apostle  had  felt  doubtful  of  his  reception  there  by  the 
Church.  His  formal  renunciation  of  the  obstinate 
Jews,  and  proclamation  that  the  Gentiles  would  hear 
what  they  had  rejected,  might  excite  against  him  not 
only  the  unbelieving  Jews,  but  the  Jewish  and  still  more 
the  Judaising  Christians.  The  party  "  of  Cephas  "  and 
the  party  "  of  Paid  "  might  be  placed  in  strong  an- 
tagonism more  easily  than  CA^en  at  Corinth. 

(16)  Not  sincerely. — This  version  conveys  an  in- 
correct impression.  The  original  is  "  not  purely,"  i.e., 
not  with  unmixed  and  single-minded  entlnisiasm  for 
Christ.  St.  Paul  does  not  imjiute  to  them  hypocrisy, 
but  an  admixture  of  partisanship,  and  therefore  of  a 
narrow-minded  hostility  to  him. 

To  add  affliction. — The  true  reading,  to  stir  up 
ajiiction,  or  oppressive  severity  (properly,  presstire,  or 
galling),  perhaps  suggests  as  most  probable  the  mean- 
ing (adopted  by  Chrysostom  here)  of  "  stirring  "  the 
minds  of  St.  Paul's  jailors  to  an  increased  severity, 
which  might  prevent  liis  preaching  to  all  "  ^vithout 
liindrance."  The  uneasiness  of  the  Government  in 
relation  to  the  Jewish  population  at  Rome  is  well 
known.  The  growth  of  a  secret  society  (for  such 
Christianity  was  held  to  be)  among  them  might  easily 
induce  greater  severity  towards  a  leader  of  the  sect. 
(Compare  verses  19,  20,  in  which  St.  Paul  states  his 
confidence  that  this  malignant  jjolicy  would  be  dis- 
appointed.) 

(^8)  The  contrast  of  this  verse  with  such  pa.ssagos  as 
2  Cor.  xii.  4 — where  the  Judaisers  at  Corinth  are  said  to 
preach  "  another  Jesus  and  a  different  gospel ; "  with 
Gal.  i.  6 — where  their  gospel  is  declared  to  be  "a 
different  gospel,"  and  not  merely  a  variety  of  the  same 
(see  Note  there);  and  even  Avith  the  emphatic  warning 
as  to  Philippi,  in  chap.  iii.  2 — 16,  is  singularly  instruc- 
tive. St.  Paul,  in  the  words  "  in  pretence  "  and  "  in 
truth,"  is  speaking  of  the  motives  of  the  preachers,  not 
of  the  substance  of  their  preaching.  For  the  latter 
lie  cares  much ;  for  the  former  nothing.  When  (as  at 
Corinth)  the  rejection  of  his  personal  authority  was 
bound  up  with  rejection  of  his  apostolic  docti-ine,  lie 
rebukes  it  vehemently ;  when  (as  here)  there  was  no 
such  connection,  it  is  to  him  a  very  small  thing.  But 
we  may  also  gather  from  this  that,  whatever  might  be 
the  case  at  Philippi,  at  Rome  St.  Paid's  Epistle  had  done 
its  work,  and  the  battle  of  principle  was  won  ;  even  at 
Colossge  it  had  wholly  changed  its  character  (see  Col.  ii. 
16 — 23),  and  its  old  phases  had  passed  away.  The 
differences    between    the    parties   at  Rome    were    no 


longer  fundamental,  although,  as  so  often  is  the  case, 
the  bitterness  of  division  might  remain.  "  Every  way 
Christ  was  preached,"  and  accepted  as  justifying 
through  faith.  This  being  so,  St.  Paul  could  rejoice. 
Even  an  imperfect  Christianity,  with  something  of 
narrowness,  and  perhaps  of  superstitious  formalism, 
cleaving  to  it,  was  as  different  from  the  gross 
heathenism  which  it  superseded,  as  light  from  dark- 
ness. 

Yea,  and  will  rejoice. — Properly,  I  shall  rejoice 
to  the  end.  The  words  lead  on  to  the  next  verse, 
which  gives  the  reason  of  this  persistent  rejoicing. 

(19-24)  In  these  verses,  under  the  power  of  that 
feeling  of  joy  of  which  he  speaks  above,  St.  Paul 
unveils  to  the  Philippians  his  most  sacred  aspirations 
and  convictions,  and  the  division  of  feeling  in  his  own 
soul  between  longing  for  rest  and  consciousness  of 
work  yet  to  be  done.  There  is  a  still  fuller  disclosure 
of  a  similar  "  spiritual  experience  "  in  2  Cor.  iv.  8  ; 
V.  15.  It  is  rare  in  the  apostolic  writings.  St.  Paul 
seems,  in  2  Cor.  \i.  11,  almost  to  apologise  for  disclosing 
what  is  usually  kept,  in  delicacy  and  reverence,  for  God 
alone. 

(W)  Shall  turn  to  my  salvation.— Or,  literally, 
shall  issue  in  salvation  to  me.  The  word  "  salvation  " 
does  not  appear  to  be  used  here  in  its  ordinary  sense, 
that  is,  of  primary  or  idtimate  salvation  from  sin  in 
Christ,  but  in  the  sense  of  "  safety."  The  enemies  of 
the  Apostle  thought  to  stir  up  fresh  danger  and  diffi- 
culty for  St.  Paul;  but  the  attempt  (he  says)  will  only 
turn  out  to  his  safety — a  safety  which  he  believes  (see 
vei'ses  25,  26)  will  be  shown  '"in  life,"  by  his  actual 
release  and  return  to  his  beloved  churches,  but  which, 
if  God  so  wills  it,  \\-ill  be  at  least  equally  manifested 
in  the  "  death,"  which  would  bring  him  safe  home  to 
Christ.  In  either  case  he  will  be  safe  from  all  the 
enmity  both  of  open  sin  and  of  malignant  jealousy. 

Through  your  prayer,  and  the  supply  of 
the  Spirit.— This  overruling  of  all  enmity  to  liis 
safety  ho  hopes  for  through  the  intercession  of  the 
Philippian  Church  (comp.  Philem.  verse  23),  and 
the  fresh  supply  of  grace  which,  through  such  interces- 
sion, may  be  given  to  him.  For  the  word  "  supply  "  in 
this  sense  see  Eph.  iv.  15 ;  and  comp.  Gal.  iii.  5 ;  CoL 
ii.  19. 

The  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.— Of  the  application 
of  this  name  to  the  Holy  Ghost  Nve  have  instances  in 
Rom.  viii.  9 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  17  ;  Gal.  iv.  6 ;  1  Pet.  i.  11.  Of 
these  the  first  is  the  most  notable,  since  in  two  clauses 
of  the  same  sentence  we  have  first  "  the  Spirit  of  God," 
and  then  "  the  Spirit  of  Christ."  He  who  is  "  sent  by 
the  Father  in  the  name  of  the  Son  "  (John  xiv.  26),  and 
whoso  regeneration  of  tlie  soul  is  the  working  out 
the  iiaage  of  Christ  in  it.  may  well  be  called  "the 
Spirit  of  Christ."  But  the  name  has  always  some 
speciality  of  emphasis.  Tlius  here,  the  whole  concep- 
tion of  the  passage  is  of  Christ — "  to  me  to  live  is 
Christ ; "  hence  the  use  of  this  special  and  compara- 
tively rare  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


69 


St.  PauVs  Confidence. 


PHILIPPIANS,   I. 


His  Desire  to  Depart. 


turn  to  my  salvation  tlirongli  your 
prayer,  and  the  supply  of 
And^  hi' ofn  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ, 
division  of  feel-  (^0)  according  to  my  earnest 
d^sires'^trde"  expectation  and  my  hope 
part  and  to  that  in  nothing  I  shall 
coutiime.  itjg  ashamed,  but  that  with 

all   boldness,    as   always,    so   now   also 


Christ  shall  be  magnified  in  my  body, 
whether  it  he  by  life,  or  by  death. 
(21)  j^or  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to 
die  is  gain.  (^2)  gut  if  I  live  in  the 
flesh,  this  is  the  fruit  of  my  labour  :  yet 
what  I  shall  choose  I  Avot  not.  (^3)  j^qj. 
I  am  in  a  strait  bet^vixt  two,  having  a 
desire  to  dejjart,  and  to  be  with  Christ ; 


(20)  My  earnest  expectation.— Tlie  word  is  ouly 
found  hero  and  in  Rom.  viii.  I'd  (where  see  Note).  It 
implies  an  inteu.se  and  almost  paiufui  longing  for  some 
crisis,  a  dulness  of  suspense  liglited  up  with  hope.  Tlie 
phrase  is  one  of  the  many  indications  that  the  joj'ful 
and  confident  tone  so  often  noticed  in  this  Epistle 
came  not  from  tlie  abseuce  of  yearniug  for  the  freedom 
and  activity  of  apostolic  life,  but  fnnn  the  victory  over 
such  longings  through  faith.  Whatever  the  crisis 
miglit  be,  St.  Paul  looked  eagerly  for  it. 

In  nothing  I  shall  be  ashamed.— The  plirase  is 
elsewhere  used  by  St.  Paul  with  especial  reference  to  the 
shame  whicli  comes  from  hopes  disappointed  and 
professions  unfulfilled.  (See  2  Cor.  vii.  14 ;  ix.  4 ;  x.  8. 
Compare  also  the  quotation  from  Isa.  xxviii.  16  in 
Rom.  ix.  3:5 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  6.)  For  (he  says)  "  hope  (ful- 
filled) maketh  not  ashamed"  (Rom.  v.  5).  So  probably 
here ;  he  ti'usts  that  in  the  hour  of  trial  the  confidence 
which  he  has  felt  and  professed  of  being  "able  to  do 
all  things  tlirough  Clirist  who  streno^theneth  him  "  (see 
chap.  iv.  13)  may  not  come  to  shameful  failure,  but  may 
"  magnify  Christ  in  all  boldness  of  speech."  There  is 
a  subtle  toucli  of  true  Christian  feeling  in  the  fact  that, 
wlicn  he  speaks  of  tlie  chance  of  failure,  he  uses  the 
first  person :  "  I  shall  be  ashamed ; "  but  when  of 
triumpli,  it  is  "  Christ  shall  be  magnified  "  in  me.  If 
lie  fails,  it  must  be  through  his  own  fault ;  if  be 
triumphs,  it  will  be  througli  his  Master's  .strength. 

la  my  body,  whether  it  be  by  life,  or  by 
death. — "'In  my  body:"  The  phrase  is,  no  doubt, 
suggested  mainly  l)y  the  idea  of  death — the  death  of  a 
martyr  in  bodily  torture  or  shame.  Tiiere  is  the  same 
connection  of  idea  in  2  Cor.  iv.  10 :  "  always  bearing 
about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  so  that 
the  life  also  of  Jesus  may  be  made  manifest  in  our 
body."  But  while  the  word  "  flesh  "  is  used  in  tlie 
New  Testament  in  .a  bad  sense,  the  "  body  "  is  always 
regarded  as  that  in  which  we  may  "  glorify  God " 
(1  Cor.  vi.  20)  by  word  and  deed.  It  is  not  merely  a 
vestui'e  of  the  soul,  but  a  part  of  the  true  man  (1  Thess. 
V.  23),  having  mcmbersliip  of  Christ,  and  being  the 
temple  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost  (1  Cor.  vi.  15 — 19).  In 
this  passage  the  wliole  idea  is  of  Chriat  in  him ; 
hence  his  body  is  spoken  of  as  simply  the  tabernacle 
of  the  indwelling  presence  of  Christ,  and  devoted  only 
to  '•  matinify"  Him. 

(-1)  To  live  is  Christ. — This,  of  course,  means  ''Christ 
is  my  life."'  yet  not  in  the  sense  that  He  is  tlio  source 
and  principle  of  life  in  us,  })ut  that  the  whole  concrete 
state  of  life  is  so  lived  in  Him  that  it  becomes  a  simple 
manifestation  of  His  presence.  The  opposition  in  the 
pass.age  is  between  the  states  of  living  and  dying  (or 
being  dead),  not  between  the  principles  of  life  and  death. 
It  is,  therefore,  in  some  sense  distinct  from  the  cognate 
passages — Col.  iii.  3,  4,  "  Ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God.  .  .  .  Christ  is  our  life;"  and 
Gal.  ii.  2U,  "  I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 
Those  passages  set  forth  the  cause ;    this   the  result. 


If  Christ  be  the  principle  of  life  in  us,  then  whatever 
we  think  and  say  and  do,  exhibiting  visibly  that  inner 
life,  must  be  the  manifestation  of  Clirist. 

To  die  is  gain.— This  follows  from  the  other. 
Death  is  a  new  stage  in  the  progi-ess  of  union  with 
Christ.  So  we  read  in  2  Cor.  v.  6,  7,  "  Knowing  that, 
whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from 
the  Lord  .  .  .  we  are  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord."  '•  To 
depart "  (see  verse  23)  is,  in  a  higher  sense  than  can  be 
realised  her«,  "  to  be  with  Christ." 

(2ii)  But  if  I  live  in  the  flesh  .  .  .—The  trans- 
lation of  this  verse  in  the  Authorised  version  is  in- 
accurate, and  perhaps  a  gloss  to  soften  the  difficulty 
of  the  original.  The  exact  translation  is.  But  if  to 
live  in  the  flesh  this  is  to  me  a  fruit  of  work,  and  what 
(or,  what  also)  I  shall  choose  I  know  not.  The  con- 
struction is  clearly  broken  by  emotion  or  absorption  in 
thought ;  it  can  only  be  su[)plied  by  conjecture.  If  (as 
in  2  Cor.  ii.  2)  the  word  "  and,"  or  "  also,"  can  be  used 
to  introduce  the  principal  clause  ("'what  then  I  shall 
choose,"  &c.),  the  construction  will  be  correct,  though 
harsh.  If  otherwise,  we  must  suppose  either  that  the 
sentence  is  broken  at  the  word  '"  work,"  or  that  the 
whole  should  run,  But  what  if  to  live  in  tlie  flesh 
is  a  part  of  work  ?  Ami  what  I  shall  choose,  I 
know  not,  &c.  But  though  the  construction  is 
obscure,  the  sense  is  plain.  St.  Paul  had  said,  "  to 
die  is  gain."  But  the  thouglit  crosses  him  that  to  live 
still  in  the  flesh,  this  and  tliis  only  is  (i.e.,  carries  with 
it)  a  fruit  of  apostolical  labour,  in  souls  brought  to 
Christ  or  built  up  in  Him.  Accordingly  what  to 
choose  he  knows  not.  For  in  .such  a  harvest  there  is  a 
gain,  which  outweighs  his  own  personal  gain  on  the 
other  side. 

I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  (the)  two.— The  word 
here  used  signifies  "  to  be  hemmed  in," or  "  confined,"  and 
is  generally  associated  with  some  idea  of  distress  (as  iu 
Luke  viii.  4.5 ;  xix.  43),  not  unfrequently  with  the 
pressure  of  disease  (Matt.  iv.  24 ;  Luke  iv.  38 ;  Acts 
xx^nii.  8).  Our  Lord  uses  it  of  mental  distress  in 
Himself  (Luke  xii.  50)  :  "How  am  I  straitened  till 
it  be  accomplished!"  Here  the  sense  is  clear.  St. 
Paul's  mind  is  "  hemmed  iu  "  between  two  opposing 
considerations,  till  it  knows  not  which  way  to  move, 
even  in  desire. 

(23)  Having  a  desire  .  .  .—Properly,  having  my 
oion  desire  for  departure.  Tlie  verb  "depart"  corre- 
sponds exactly  to  the  substantive  used  in  2  Tim.  iv.  6, 
"  The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  It  is  itself 
used  o|ily  here  and  in  Luke  xii.  36,  "  Wlien  he  shall 
return  {break  np)  frojn  the  wedding."  The  metaphor 
is  drawn  cither  from  "  loosing  "  from  the  sliore  of  life, 
or  (perhaps  better)  from  striking  tents  and  breaking 
up  a  camp.  Tlie  body  (as  in  2  Cor.  v.  1)  is  looked 
upon  as  a  mere  tabernacle.  Each  day  is  a  march 
nearer  home,  and  death  is  the  last  striking  of  the  tent 
on  arrival. 


70 


His  confidence  that 


PHILIPPIANS,   I. 


he  will  continue  with  them. 


wliicli  is  far  better :  (^^^  nevertheless  to 
abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for 
you.  (-^)  And  having  this  confidence,  I 
know  that  I  shall  abide  and  continue 
with  yon  all  for  your  furtherance  and 
joy  of  faith ;  (^^)  that  your  rejoicing  may 
be  more  abundant  in  Jesus  Christ  for  me 


by  my  coming  to  you  again.     (2'')  Only 

let    your   conversation    be  ^,,         . 

as  it  becometh  the  gospel  30.      Exborta- 

of  Christ:  that  whether  I  ^ipn     to     un- 
T  I        ninchmg      and 

come  and  see  you,  or  else  joyful  stead- 
be  absent,  I  may  hear  of  fastness  in  suf- 
your  affairs,  that  ye  stand    ^"'^^' 


To  be  with  Christ. — This  is  contemplated  by  St. 
Paul  as  the  immediate  consequence  of  deatli,  even 
wliile  still  ''  out  of  the  body,"  and  )ief  ore  the  great  day. 
The  state  of  the  faithful  departed  is  usually  spoken  of 
as  one  of  "  rest"  (1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52;  1  Thess.  iv.  14 — 
16;  Rev.  xiv.  13),  although  not  without  expectation 
and  longing  for  the  consummation  of  all  things  ( Rev. 
vi.  10,  11).  Such  a  condition  of  rest,  and  .suspen- 
sion of  conscious  exercise  of  spiritual  energy,  is,  in- 
deed, that  which  human  reason  and  analogy  would 
suggest,  so  far  as  they  can  suggest  anything  on  this 
mysterious  subject.  But  such  passages  as  this  seem 
certainly  to  imply  that  this  rest  is  empliatically  a  "  rest 
in  the  Lord,"  having  an  inner  consciousness  of  com- 
munion with  Christ.  His  "descent  unto  Hades,"  not 
only  brings  out  the  reality  of  the  unseen  world  of 
souls,  but  also  claims  it  as  His.  As  on  earth  and  in 
heaven,  so  also  in  the  iutei'mediate  state,  we  are  "  ever 
witli  the  Lord;  "  and  that  state,  though  not  yet  made 
perfect,  is  spiritually  far  higher  than  this  earthly  life. 
The  original  here  is  an  emphatic  double  comparative, 
"far, far  better." 

(25)  I  know. — The  word  is  not  to  be  pressed  too  far. 
It  is  simply,  "  I  feel  certain ;  "  and  it  is  obvious  to 
remark  that  in  Acts  xx.  "15  it  is  used  by  St.  Pavd  of  a 
conviction  (that  he  would  "  see  the  face "  of  the 
Ephesians  "  no  more  ")  which,  so  far  as  we  can  follow 
out  the  history,  was  not  verified.  The  apostolic  in- 
spiration, like  the  apostolic  poAver  of  miracle,  was  a 
gift  relative  to  the  apostolic  work,  not  necessarily 
extending  beyond  it. 

Abide  and  continue  with  you.— The  latter 
verb  is  in  the  original  a  compound  of  the  former,  "  I 
shall  abide,"  and  "  sliall  abide  side  by  side  with  yon." 
It  Avas  for  their  sakes  that  it  was  needful  for  him  to 
live.  Hence  to  the  simple  idea  "  I  shall  abide,"  it  was 
natural  to  add  at  once  the  phrase  "  with  you,"  or 
"  for  you,"  as  explaining  the  very  object  of  his 
abiding  in  the  flesh. 

For  your  furtherance  and  joy  of  faith.— In 
these  words  St.  Paul's  presence  with  them  is  spciken 
of,  first,  as  in  some  degree  necessary  for  their  spiritual 
advance ;  next,  as  being  to  them  a  gift  of  God  for 
their  joy  and  comfort,  even  beyond  what  was  actually 
necessary.     (See  the  next  verse.) 

(26)  That  your  rejoicing  may  be  more  abun- 
dant.—The  word  translated  "  rejoicing  "  is  tliat 
favourite  wcn-d  of  St.  Paul,  wliich  signifies  a  ground  of 
"  boasting,"  or  exultation.  It  is  used  both  of  blessing 
beyond  strict  necessity,  and  of  semce  beyond  legal 
duty  ;  in  both  of  which  tliere  is  ground  for  joy  and 
thankfulness.  This  is,  pc^rhaps,  best  seen  in  1  Cor. 
ix.  1") — 18,  wliere  he  declares  that  the  simple  preaching 
of  the  gospel  is  "  notliing  to  boast  of,"  but  that  tJie 
preacliing  it  without  cost  is  "  the  boasting,"  of  which 
he  says  that  lie  would  '•  ratlier  die  tlian  tliat  iiny  man 
should  make  it  void."  (Comp.  also  the  use  of  the  same 
word  in  chap.  ii.  16,  and  in  Rom.  iv.  2;  1  Cor.  v.  6; 
2  Cor.  i.  14. ;  v.  12;  ix.  3.)  Here,  therefore,  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  them  as  having  in  him,  and  in  their  connection 


with  him,  a  cause  of  boasting,  or  rejoicing,  just  as  in 
2  Cor.  i.  14  ("  We  are  your  rejoicing,  even  as  ye  also 
are  ours  "),  and  declares  that  this  will  become  "  more 
abundant  "  by  his  coming  to  them  again. 

In  Jesus  Christ  for  me.— The  original  runs,  "  in 
Christ  Jesus  in  me."  The  parallelism  is  instructive  : 
all  Christian  rejoicing,  or  confidence,  is  primarily  '•  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  even  if  it  be  secondarily  "  in "  His 
servants.  Tlie  suggestion  of  this  idea  here  softens  the 
apparent  self-consciousness  of  tlie  previous  words. 
Comp.,  in  2  Cor.  xi.,  xii.,  his  declaration  of  reluctance  and 
distaste  for  tlie  "  boasting  "  of  his  apostolic  authority 
and  work,  which  was  forced  upon  him. 

By  my  coming  to  you  again.— See  in  1  Tim. 
i.  3  the  e^-idence  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  confident 
expectation. 

[3.  Exhortation  (chaps,  i.  27 — ii.  4). 

(i)  To     Steadfastness     and     Confidence 

UNDER  Persecution  (verses  27 — 30 1. 
(2)  To  Unity  of  Spirit,  based  on  humility  and 
self-forgetfuLness  (chap,  ii,  1 — 4).] 

(27-30)  In  these  verses  St.  Paul  exhorts  the  Philip- 
pians  to  unanimous  boldness  and  steadfastness,  under 
some  conflict  of  antagonism  or  persecution  which 
threatened  them  at  this  time.  Of  the  history  of  the 
Church  at  Philippi  we  have  no  historical  record  after 
the  notice  of  St.  Paul's  first  visit,  and  of  the  violence 
which  he  then  had  to  endure  (Acts  xat.  12—40).  But 
in  2  Cor.  vii.  5.  written  certainly  from  Macedonia,  pro- 
bably from  Philippi,  towards  the  close  of  tlie  tliii'd 
missionary  journey,  we  find  St.  Paul  saying,  "  When 
we  were  come  to  Macedonia  our  flesh  had  no  rest.  .  . 
Without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears."  (Comp. 
also  chap.  viii.  2  of  the  same  Epistle.)  It  would  seem, 
tlierefore,  that  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Philip- 
pian  Church  corresponded  only  too  well  to  the  circum- 
stances under  which  its  Christianity  first  began. 

(27)  Let  your  conversation  .  .  .—The  original  is 
here  (as  in  the  famous  iiassage,  chap.  iii.  20),  Use  yorir 
citizenship  (that  is,  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven)  wvthihj 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  same  word  is  employed 
by  St.  Paul  in  Acts  xxiii.  1  ("  I  have  walked  in  all 
good  conscience  before  God"),  wnith  an  obvious  reference 
to  his  citizenship  in  the  chosen  nation  of  Israel.  Its 
use  in  this  Epistle  is  suggestive— botli  as  natural  to 
one  contemplating  tlie  great  imperial  city,  and  writing 
to  the  people  of  a  Roman  colony  proud  of  their  full 
citizenship,  and  also  as  leading  on  to  that  g.-eat  con- 
ception of  the  unity  of  the  Church  in  eaitli  and  in 
heaven,  which  is  tlie  main  subject  of  the  Ephesian,  and 
in  some  degree  of  the  Colossian.  Epistle. 

In  one  spirit,  with  one  mind.— Rather,  in 
one  sjjirit.  one  sord.  The  phrase  "in  one  spirit "  may 
refer  to  tlie  spirit  of  man,  or  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  If 
it  be  intended  to  be  strictly  paralltd  to  the  "one  soul  " 
(which  has  no  separate  pr(>position  in  the  Greek),  the 
former  sense  is  manifestly  suggested.  If.  however, 
the  words  "  with  one  soul"'   be  connected,   as  is  not 


71 


Exhortation  to  Fortitude, 


PHILIPPIANS,  II. 


ami  to  Unity  of  Spirit. 


fast  in  one  spirit,  with  one  mind  striv- 
ing together  lor  the  faith  of  the  gospel ; 
<2«)  and  in  nothing  terrified  by  your  ad- 
versaries :  Avhic'h  is  to  them  an  evident 
token  of  perdition,  but  to  you  of  sah'a- 
tion,  and  that  of  God.  (^o)  Yoy  unto  you 
it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of  Christ,  not 
only  to  believe  on  him,  but  also  to  sulfer 


for  his  sake ;  ^^^^  having  the  same  conflict 
which  ye  saw  in  me,  and  now  hear  to  he 
in  me. 


CHAPTER  II.  —  (1)  If  Chap.  ii.  1-4. 
there  he  therefore  any  con-  Exhortation  to 

1    , .  .       n\i     •   i      -n  unity  or   spirit 

solation  m  Christ,  if  any  in  humility  and 
comfort    of   love,    if    any  sympathy. 


unnatural,  witli  "  striving  together,"  this  suggestion  falls 
to  the  ground;  and  the  usage  of  this  Epistle  (see 
especially  chap.  ii.  1 — 7),  and  the  other  Epistles  of  the 
same  period  (Eph.  ii.  18 — 22;  iii.  5;  v.  18;  vi.  18; 
Col.  i.  8),  certainly  favours  the  latter  interpretation. 
In  either  case  "the  soul"  (as  in  the  famous  three-fold 
division  of  men's  nature  in  1  Thess.  v.  23)  is  that 
element  of  humanity  which  is  the  seat  of  emotion  and 
passion.  (Comp.  the  "  one  heart  and  one  soul  "  of 
Acts  iv.  32.)  This  clement  the  Christianity  of  the  New 
Testament,  unlike  Stoicism  or  asceticism,  will  not  crush, 
but  enlist,  as  it  enlists  the  body  also,  in  the  free  service 
of  God. 

Striving  together  for  the  faith.— Properly,  ivith 
the  faith.  The  faith  of  the  gospel — the  power  of 
Christianity — is  personified.  The  Philippians  are  to 
be  combatants  on  the  same  side  against  the  same  foes 
(compare  the  use  of  the  same  word  in  chap.  iv.  3). 
The  metaphor  seems  drawn  from  the  games,  as  is  seen 
by  the  use  of  the  simple  verb  in  2  Tim.  ii.  8,  "  If  a 
man  strive  ...  he  is  not  crowned,  except  he  strive 
lawfully."  In  the  exhortation  to  stand  fast  (comp.  Eph. 
vi.  13,  14)  we  have  the  clement  of  passive  endurance, 
here  of  active  and  aggressive  energy. 

(-»)  Terrified. — The  original  word  is  strong — 
start  iiir/,  or  flinching,  like  a  scared  animal. 

Which  yihui  is,  your  fearlessness)  is  .  .—This  fear- 
lessness, in  the  absence  of  all  earthly  means  of  pro- 
tection or  victory,  is  a  sign  of  a  divane  "  strength 
made  perfect  in  weakness "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  9) — not  a 
complete  and  infallible  sign  (for  it  has  often  accompanied 
mere  fanatic  delusion),  but  a  sign  real  as  far  as  it  goes, 
having  its  right  force  in  harmony  with  others.  The 
effect  which  it  had  on  the  heathen  themselves  is 
shoAvn  even  l)y  the  affected  contempt  with  which  the 
Stoics  spoke  of  it,  as  a  kind  of  "  madness,"  a  morbid 
"  habit,"  a  sheer  "  obstinacy."  (See  Epictetus,  iv.  7  ; 
Marc.  Aurelius.  Med.  xi.  3.) 

And  that  of  G-od,— These  words  apply  to  the  word 
"  token,"  and  so  derivatively  both  to  "  perdition  "  and 
"salvation."  The  sign  is  of  God,  because  the  gift 
of  spiritual  strength  is  of  God,  but  it  may  be  read  by 
both  sides.  Like  the  pillar  of  God's  presence,  it  is  "  a 
cloud  and  darkness"  to  the  one,  but  "  light  by  night" 
to  tlie  other. 

(-0)  Tor  (or,  because)  unto  you  it  is  given  in  the 
behalf  of  Christ.- The  force  lies,  first,  in  the  phrase 
'•  it  is  given"  (ratlier,  it  was  given,  from  the  beginning) 
— for  the  original  signifies  "  it  was  granted  as  a 
privilege  "  or  "  favour  "  (as  in  Acts  xxvii.  24 ;  1  Cor. 
ii.  12;  Gal.  iii.  18) — and  next  in  the  words  "on  behalf 
of  Christ."  The  fearlessness  of  the  Christian  is  a  gift 
of  God,  not  an  inherent  stoic  self-sufficiencj'.  It  rests 
indeed  npon  tlie  sense  that  it  is  a  privilege  to  suffer 
(see  Acts  v.  41)  in  the  cause  of  truth,  yet  still  more  on 
the  belief  that  such  suffering  is  for  no  abstract  principle, 
but  on  behalf  of  Christ  and  ^vith  Christ.  (See  chap.  ii. 
17,  18.) 


Not  only  to  believe  .  .  .—The  original  shows 
that  St.  Paul  speaks  as  if  he  originally  intended  simply 
to  say  "  it  is  given  on  behalf  of  Christ  to  suffer."  But 
to  show  whence  the  impulse  of  that  brave  willingness  to 
suffer  proceeds,  he  inserts  "  not  only  to  believe  on 
Him,"  and  then  finishes  the  sentence, "  but  on  His  behalf 
to  suffer." 

(30)  Having  the  same  conflict,  which  ye  saw  in 
me. — The  allusion  is,  of  course,  to  the  lawless  scourging 
and  imprisonment  of  Acts  xvi.  22 — 24.  How  deeply 
this  outrage  impressed  itseK  on  the  Apostle's  own  mind 
we  see,  both  by  his  conduct  to  the  magistrates  at  the 
moment,  and  also  by  the  allusion  in  1  Thess.  ii.  2,  to  the 
time,  Avhen  "  we  had  suffered  befoi'e  and  were  shame- 
fully entreated,  as  ye  know,  at  Philipjii."  Here  he 
uses  the  remembrance  to  suggest  to  the  Philippians  that 
their  struggle  was  only  the  same  which  he  had  borne, 
and  borne  successfully.  Similarly  in  2  Tim.  iii.  10 
(going  back  on  the  eve  of  death  to  the  very  beginning 
of  his  ministry  to  the  Gentiles)  he  reminds  Timothy  of 
the  persecutions  "  at  Antioch,  at  Iconium.  at  Lystra — 
what  persecutions  I  endured,  but  out  of  them  all  the 
Lord  delivered  me." 

IL 

(1^*)  In  this  section  the  hint  given  above,  in  tho 
allusion  to  ''  one  spirit  "  and  "  one  soul,"  is  expanded 
into  a  direct  exhortation  to  unity  of  spirit,  as  shown 
both  by  absence  of  self-assertion  and  by  presence  of 
a  genial  sympathy. 

(1)  If  there  be  therefore  any  consolation  .  .  . 
— In  the  four-fold  division  of  this  verse  we  ti'ace,  first, 
a  reference  to  unity  -with  Christ,  and  to  a  spiritual 
effect  following  from  it ;  next,  a  similar  reference  to 
communion  witli  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  a  coin-esponding 
spiritual  result.  (1)  "Consolation"  is  properly  en- 
couragement— tho  stiiTing  up  of  spiritual  activity — 
ascribed  in  Acts  ix.  31  to  the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  here  viewed  as  a  practical  manifestation  of  the  life 
flowing  from  union  with  Christ.  Out  of  it  comes 
natxirally  the  "  comfort  of  love,"  that  is,  as  always,  tho 
deep  and  thankful  sense  of  comfort  in  His  love,  over- 
flowing into  comfort,  lovingly  given  to  our  brethren. 
On  this  "  encouragement "  in  Christ,  both  received  and 
given  out  to  others,  St.  Paul  dAvells  at  length  (2  Cor. 
i.  3 — 7).  (2)  Next,  he  speaks  of  "communion  of  the 
Spirit "  (tho  very  word  used  in  2  Cor.  xiii.  13), 
by  which,  indeed,  wo  are  brought  into  that  unity 
\vith  Christ;  and  of  this,  still  keeping  to  the  main 
idea  of  love,  he  makes  the  nianitVstation  to  be  in 
"  bowels  and  mercies  " — that  is.  both  in  strong  affection, 
and  in  that  ])eculiar  form  of  affection  which  is  directed 
towards  suffering,  viz.,  compassion  or  pity.  The  whole 
passage  (like  chap.  iv.  8,  9)  is  full  of  a  grave  and  jjer- 
suasive  eloquence  characteristic  of  this  Epistle.  No 
absolute  distinction  is  to  be  drawn  between  the  two 
elements   of  the  sentence ;   but  it  may  be  noted  that 


72 


The  Duty  of  Self-sacrifice. 


PHILIPPIANS,   II. 


The  Mind  of  Christ  Jesun. 


fellowship  of  the  Sph-it,  if  any  bowels 
and  mercies,  (-^  fulfil  ye  my  joy,  that  ye 
be  likeminded,  havin<^  the  same  love, 
being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind.  ^^^  Let 
nothing'  he  done  through  strife  or  vain- 
glory; but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let  each 
esteem   other   better    than  themselves. 


(•■)  Look  not  ever}^  man  on  his  own  things, 

but  every  man  also  on  the  ^i,       ■■   ^   -,^ 
,1  •  '^n      n  /-,    T    >    Chap.  u.  5—11. 

things  of  others.      ('^^  Let  The     twofold 

this  mind  be  in  you,  which  liumility     and 

1         •       r^^     •   1    -r  thocorresponu- 

was  also  m  Christ  J  esus :  ing  exaltation 
(^^  who,  beino^  in  the  form  %^  ^l^e  Lord 
^^    r*     1      XI  1  i.     -J.  J.    Jesus  Chnst. 

01    (jrod,    thought    it    not 


tliG  "consolation  in  Christ"  is  exhibited  in  the  action 
which  \'isibly  follows  His  divine  example,  "  the  coni- 
muniou  Avilli  the  Holy  Spirit "  is  shown  by  the  inner 
emotion,  not  seen,  but  felt. 

(-)  That  ye  be  likeminded,  having  the  same 
love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind. — In  this 
verse  there  is  again  a  four-fold  division ;  but  of  a 
different  kind.  St.  Paul  begins  with  the  exhortation 
not  uncommon  from  him,  to  be  likeminded,"  that  is, 
to  have  true  sjTiipathy  (as  in  Rom.  xii.  16  ;  xv.  5 ;  2  Cor. 
xiii.  11;  also  chap.  iii.  10;  iv.  2);  which  he  naturally 
strengthens  l)y  the  addition  of  "ha\-ing  the  same  love  " 
(that  is,  a  mutual  love),  to  show  that  the  sympathy  is 
to  be  one  not  only  of  mind  but  of  heart.  But  this 
does  not  satisfy  him  :  he  rises  to  the  further  exhorta- 
ti(m  to  perfect  "  union  of  soul  "  (which  is  the  proper 
rendering  for  "  being  of  one  accord  ")  in  which  they 
sliall  not  only  be  likeminded,  but  (in  a  phrase 
peculiar  to  this  passage)  be  actually  "■  of  one  mind," 
living  in  one  another,  each  sinking  his  individuality 
in  the  enthusiasm  of  a  common  love. 

(^)  This  verse  expresses  the  negative  result  of  this 
iinity  of  soul — that  nothing  will  be  done  in  "  strife,"  that 
is,  factiousness  (the  word  used  in  chap.  i.  17),  or 
"vainglory" — nothing,  that  is,  witli  the  desire  either 
of  personal  influence  or  of  personal  glory.  "  For,"  he 
adds,  "  each  will  esteem  other  better  than  himself,"  or, 
rather,  will  hold  that  his  neighbour  js  worthy  of  higher 
consideration  and  a  higlier  place  of  dignity  than 
himself  (comp.  the  use  of  the  word  in  Rom.  xiii.  1 ; 
1  Pet.  ii.  13,  of  temporal  dignity) ;  for  the  idea  is  of 
the  ascription  to  others,  not  of  moral  superiority,  but 
of  higlier  place  and  honour.  Self-assertion  will  be 
entirely  overborne.  So  he  teaches  us  elsewhere  that 
"  charity  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not 
behave  itself  uuseeml}',  seeketh  not  her  own  "  (1  Cor. 
xiii.  4,  5). 

<^)  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things.— 
Tliis  verso  similai'ly  describes  the  positive  effect  of  this 
'■  being  of  one  mind  "  as  consisting  in  power  of  under- 
standing and  sympathy  towards  "  the  things  of  others  " 
— not  merely  the  interests,  but  also  the  ideas  and 
feelings  of  otliers.  To  "  look  upon  "  here  is  something 
more  tlian  "to  seek  "(as  in  verse  21).  It  expresses 
that  insight  into  the  thoughts,  hopes,  aspirations  of 
others,  which  only  a  self -forgetting  love  can  give,  as 
well  as  the  cai-e  to  consider  their  welfare  and  happiness. 
Yet  by  the  word  "  also  "  wo  see  that  St.  Paul  does  not, 
in  the  spirit  of  some  forms  of  modern  transcendentalism, 
denounce  all  self-consciousness  and  self-love,  as  in  a 
bad  sense  "  selfish."  For  man  is  individual  as  well  as 
social ;  lie  c:in  subordinate  "  his  own  tilings  "  to  "  the 
things  of  others,"  but  cannot  ignore  tlicni. 

[4.  The   Doctrine    of   the   Great  Humility  of 
Christ  (verses  5 — 11). 
(1)  The  Voluntary  Humiliation    of    the 
Lord,  first  in  His  incarnation,  next  La  His 
passion  (verses  5 — 8). 


73 


(2)  The  Corresponding  Exaltation  of  His 
Humanity,  to  bear  "  the  Name  above  every 
name,"  which  all  creation  must  adore  (verses 
9-11).] 

(5—8)  From  a  pi-actical  introduction,  in  the  familiar 
exhortation  to  follow  the  example  of  our  Lord,  St. 
Paul  passes  on  to  what  is.  perhaps,  the  most  complete 
and  formal  statement  in  all  his  Epistles  of  the  doctrine 
of  His  "  great  humility."  In  this  he  marks  out,  first, 
the  Incarnation,  in  which,  "  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
He  took  on  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,"  assuming  a 
sinless  but  finite  humanity ;  and  next,  the  Passion, 
which  was  made  needful  by  the  sins  of  men,  and  in 
which  His  human  nature  was  humiliated  to  the  shame 
and  agony  of  the  cross.  Inseparable  in  themselves, 
these  two  great  acts  of  His  self-sacrificing  love  must 
be  di.stinguished.  Ancient  speculat'.on  delighted  to 
suggest  that  the  first  might  have  been,  even  if 
humanity  had  remained  sinless,  while  the  second  was 
added  because  of  the  fall  and  its  consequences.  Sucli 
speculations  are,  indeed,  thoroughly  precarious  and 
unsubstantial — for  we  cannot  ask  what  might  have  been 
in  a.  different  dispensation  from  our  own  ;  and,  more- 
over, we  read  of  our  Lord  as  "  the  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world  "  (Rev.  xiii.  8 ;  see  also 
1  Pet.  i.  19) — but  they  at  least  point  to  a  true  distinc- 
tion. As  "  the  Word  of  God  "  manifested  in  the 
Incarnation,  our  Lord  is  the  treasure  of  all  humanity 
as  such ;  as  the  Saviour  through  death,  He  is  the 
especial  treasure  of  us  as  sinners. 

(6)  Being  in  the  form  of  God.— (1)  Tlie  word 
"  being  "  is  here  the  more  emphatic  of  the  two  words 
so  ti'anslated,  which  lays  stress  on  the  reality  of  exist- 
ence (as  in  Acts  x^i.  2U;  xvii.  28;  1  Cor.  xi.  7;  Gal.  ii. 
14).  Hence  it  calls  attention  to  the  essential  being  of 
Christ,  eoiTespouding  to  the  idea  embodied  in  the  name 
Jehovah,  and  thus  implying  wliat  is  more  fully  exjiressed 
in  John  i.  1.  (2)  The  word  "  form  "  (which,  except  for  a 
casual  use  in  Mark  xvi.  12,  is  found  only  in  this  passage 
of  tlie  New  Testament)  is  to  be  carefully  distinguished 
from  "  fashion."  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  classi- 
cal Greek  it  describes  the  actual  specific  character, 
which  (like  the  structure  of  a  material  substance)  makes 
each  being  what  it  is  ;  and  this  same  idea  is  always  con- 
veyed in  the  New  Testament  by  the  compound  words 
in  which  the  root  "form"  is  found  (Rom.  viii.  29; 
xii.  2 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  18;  Gal.  iv.  19).  (3)  On  the  other  hand, 
the  word  "  fashion,"  as  in  1  Cor.  vii.  31  ("  the  fashion 
of  this  world  passoth  away  "),  denotes  the  mere  out- 
ward appearance  (wliich  we  frequently  designate  as 
"  form  "),  as  will  be  seen  also  in  its  compounds  i2  Cor. 
xi.  13.  Ii;  1  Pet.  i.  14).  The  two  words  are  seen  in 
.iuxtaposition  in  Rom.  xii.  2 ;  Phil.  iii.  21  (where  see 
Notes).  Hence,  in  tliis  passage  the  "  being  in  tlie  form 
of  God,"  describes  our  Lords  essential,  and  therefore 
eternal,  being  in  tlie  true  nature  of  God;  wliile  the 
"taking  on   Him  the  form  of   a    servant"   similarly 


Tlie  Humility  of  the  Incarnation.  PHILIPPIANS,    II. 


TJi£  Ilumilitij  of  the  Cross. 


robbery  to  be  equal  -witli  God :  (^^  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and 
took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  ser- 
vant, and  was  made  in  the  like- 
ness ^  of  men  :    <^)  and  beinj?  found  in 


1  Or, habit. 


fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself, 
and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross.  <^^  Where- 
fore God  also  hath  highly  exalted  him, 
and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 


refers  to  His  voluntary  assumption  of  the  true  nature 
of  man. 

It  should  be  noticed  that,  whoroas  in  St.  Paul's 
earlier  Epistles,  in  which  he  cared  not  "  to  know  any- 
thing save  Jesus  Christ,"  and  '•  Ilim  as  cnicified,"  the 
main  idea  is  always  of  our  Lord  as  tlie  mediator  between 
man  and  God,  yet  in  the  later  Epistles  (as  here,  and  in 
Eph.  i.  10,  20—23;  Col.  i.  15-19;  ii.  9—11 ;  to  which 
■\re  may  add  Heb.  i.  2 — 4)  stress  is  laid,  sometimes  (as  in 
Eph.  i.  10 ^  on  His  gathering  all  things  in  heaven  and 
earth  unto  Himself  ;  sometimes,  even  more  explicitly,  on 
His  partaking  of  the  divine  nature,  and  (as  in  Col.  i.  17) 
of  His  possessing  tlie  divine  attribute  of  creation.  All 
this  naturally  leads  up  to  the  great  declaration  of  His 
true  and  perfect  Godhead  in  Jolui  i.  1 — 13. 

Thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God. — There  are  two  main  interpretations  of  this 
passage  ;  first,  the  interpretation  given  in  our  version, 
which  makes  it  simply  an  explanation  and  enforcement 
of  the  words  "being  in  the  form  of  God";  secondly, 
the  translation  tliorujht  it  not  a  prize  to  be  grasped  at 
to  he  equal  with  God,  which  begins  in  it  the  statement  of 
our  Lord's  voluntaiy  self-humiliation,  to  be  completed 
in  the  words,  "but  emptied  Himself  of  glory."  The 
former  preserves  the  literal  translation  of  the  original 
word  "  robbery ; "  the  latter,  in  accordance  with  a  not 
uncommon  usage,  makes  it  equivalent  to  "  the  thing 
snatched  at,"  and  if  this  be  allowed,  has  abundant 
examples  in  other  writings  to  support  the  meaning 
thus  given  to  the  whole  phrase.  Either  intei-pretation 
yields  good  sense  and  sound  doctrine ;  neither  does 
violence  to  the  general  context.  But  the  latter  is  to  be 
preferred;  first  (1)  because  it  suits  better  the  idea  of 
the  passage,  which  is  to  empliasise  the  reality  of  our 
Lord's  humility,  and  preserves  the  opposition  implied  in 
the  "  but "  following;  (2)  because  it  has  the  great  pre- 
ponderance of  the  ancient  Greek  interpreters  in  its 
favour;  (S)  because  it  can,  on  the  whole,  appeal  more 
confidently  to  ordinary  u.sage  of  the  phrase.  Tlie  sense 
is  that,  being  in  tlie  form  of  God,  and  therefore  ha^-ing 
equality  with  God,  He  set  no  store  on  that  equality,  as 
a  glory  to  Himself,  compared  with  the  power  of  giving 
salvation  to  all  men,  which  He  is  pleased  to  consider  a 
new  joy  and  glory. 

(7)  But  made  himself  .  .  .— Tliis  verse  needs 
more  exact  translation.  It  should  be.  But  emptied  (or, 
stripped)  Himself  of  His  glonj  by  having  taken  on 
Him  the  form  of  a  slave  and  having  bepu  made 
(or,  born)  in  likeness  of  men.  Tlie  "glory"  is  the 
"glory  which  He  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world 
was"  (John  xvii.  5;  comp.  chap.  i.  14),  clearly  corre- 
sponding to  tlie  Shechinah  of  the  Divine  Presence.  Of 
this  He  stripped  Himself  in  the  Incarnation,  taking  on 
Him  the  "  form  (or,  nature)  of  a  servant  "  of  God.  He 
resumed  it  for  a  moment  in  the  Transfiguration;  He 
was  crowned  with  it  anew  at  the  Ascension. 

Made  in  the  likeness  of  man.— This  clause,  at 
first  sight,  seems  to  weaken  the  previous  clause,  for  it 
does  not  distinctly  express  our  Lord's  time  humanity. 
But  we  note  that  the  phrase  is  "  the  likeness  of  men'" 
i.e.,  of  men  in  general,  men  as  tliey  actually  are. 
Hence  the  key  to  the  meaning  is  to  be  found  iii  such 


passages  as  Rom.  viii.  3,  God  sent  His  own  Son  in  "  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh ;  "  or  Heb.  ii.  17 ;  iv.  15,  "  It 
behoved  Him  to  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren,"  "  in 
all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."  It 
would  liave  been  an  infinite  humiliation  to  have 
assumed  humanity,  even  in  unique  and  visible  glory ; 
but  our  Lord  went  beyond  this,  by  deigning  to  seem 
like  other  men  in  all  things,  one  only  of  the  multitude, 
and  that,  too,  in  a  station,  which  confused  Him  with 
the  commoner  tjiies  of  niankiud.  The  truth  of  His 
humanity  is  expressed  in  the  phrase  "form  of  a  servant;  " 
its  unique  and  ideal  character  is  glanced  at  when  it  is 
said  to  have  worn  only  the  "  likeness  of  men." 

(8J  And  being  found  .  .  .—This  should  be.  And 
after  having  been  found  (or,  recognised)  in  fashion  as 
a  man,  He  [i/ie/i]  humbled  Himself,  having  become 
obedient  even  to  death.  "After  having  been  found," 
&.C.,  clearly  refers  to  the  manifestation  of  Himself  to 
the  world  in  all  the  weakness  of  humanity  :  the  "  out- 
ward fashion "  was  all  that  men  could  see  ;  and  in  it 
they  found  "no  form  or  comeliness,"  or  "  beauty,  that 
they  should  desire  Him"  (Isa.  liii.  2,  3).  From  this 
St.  Paul  proceeds  to  the  last  act  of  His  self-humiliation 
in  death :  "  He  became  obedient,"  that  is,  to  God's 
will,  "  even  up  to  death."  His  death  is  not  here 
regarded  as  an  atonement,  for  in  that  light  it  could  be  no 
pattern  to  us;  but  as  the  completion  of  the  obedience 
of  His  life.  (See  Rom.  v.  19.1  Of  that  life  as  a  whole 
He  said,  "  I  came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  My  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me  "  (John  vi.  38) ; 
and  the  doing  that  Avill  (see  Heb.  x.  9, 10  i  ended  in  "  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all."  In 
this  light  Hlj  aeath  is  the  perfection  of  the  suffering 
which,  in  consequence  of  the  power  of  sin  in  the 
world,  must  be  faced  in  doing  the  will  of  God  (see 
2  Tim.  iii.  12);  in  this  light  we  can  follow  it,  and  even 
"  fill  up  what  is  lacking  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ " 
(Col.  i.  24). 

Even  the  death  of  the  cross.— Properly,  and 
that  too,  the  death  of  the  cross  ;  empliasising  its 
peculiar  shame  and  humiliation  as  an  "  accursed " 
death.     (See  Gal.  iii.  13.) 

(9)  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted 
him. — The  exaltation,  like  the  humiliation,  belongs  to 
Him,  as  Son  of  Man ;  for  He  was  "  lifted  up,"  as  on  tho 
cross,  so  in  the  Ascension.  It  raises  Him  to  the  throne 
of  the  Mediatorial  kingdom,  on  which  He  entered  by  the 
Ascension,  sitting  at  the  riglit  hand  of  God  till  He 
has  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet,  and  then  ready  "  to 
deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  the  Father,  that  God  may  be 
all  in  all."  (See  1  Cor.  xv.  24—28.)  For  it  is  the  "  Son 
of  Man  "  who  "  cometh  in  tlie  clouds  of  heaven  "  (Dan. 
vii.  13  ;  Matt.  xxvi.  6i),  and  has  "  authority  to  execute 
judgmiMit  "  (John  v.  27). 

Hath  given  him  a  name.— Or.  rather,  the  Name 
above  every  name.  "  The  Name"  (for  this  seems  to  be 
the  best  reading)  is  clearly  "  the  Name  "  of  God.  It  is 
properly  the  name  Jeliovali,  held  in  the  extremest 
literal  reverence  liy  the  Jews,  and  it  came  to  signify 
(almost  like  "  the  Word  ")  the  revelation  of  the  presence 
of  God.  See  Rev.  xix.  12,  13.  where  "the  name  which 
no  man  knew  but  Hunself "  is  the  "  Word  of  God." 


74 


The  Exaltation  to  Glory. 


PHILIPPIANS,  II. 


Exhortation  to  Perseverance. 


every  name :  (^*^'  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of 
thirujs  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth, 
and  things  under  the  earth ;  ^^^^  and 
that  every  tongue  should  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of 
God   the   Father.      <^-)  Wherefore,   my 


Tliis  is,  indeed,  made  clear  by  the  followiug  verse  ;  for 
the  adoration  there  described  is  in  the  original  passage 
(Isa.  xlv.  23 ;  comp.  Rom.  xiv.  11),  claimed  as  the  sole 
due  of  God  Himself.  The  name  Jesus,  "  Jehovah 
the  Saviour  "  (like  "  Jehovah  our  Righteousness,"  in 
Jer.  xxiii.  6),  does  contain,  as  an  integral  element,  the 
incommunicable  name  of  God,  while  the  addition 
of  "  Saviour  "  points  to  the  true  humanity.  Therefore 
in  that  Is'ame,  of  Him  who  is  at  once  (iod  and  Man, 
'■  every  knee  is  to  bow  "  with  direct  worship  to  Him. 

UO;  At  (properly,  in)  the  name  of  Jesus  every 
knee  should  bow.— This  is  an  instance  of  the 
signiticant  practice,  by  which  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament  speaking  of  God  are,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
applied  in  the  New  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  In  the 
Kame"  is  the  phrase  constantly  used  forworshipof  God. 
'•  I  will  lift  up  my  hajuls  in  Thy  Name"  (Ps.  Ixiii.  4). 
It  denotes  worship  to  Christ,  not  through  Him. 

Of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth, 
and  things  under  the  earth. — For  "  things  "  we 
may  better  suljstitute  beinys,  for  the  reference  is 
properly  to  personal  beings  ;  although  in  some  sense 
"  All  the  works  of  tlie  Lord  bless  the  Lord,  praise  Him 
and  magnify  Him  for  ever."  (Comp.  here  Rev.  v.  13, 
"  Every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  under  the  earth  .  .  .  heard  I  saying.  Blessing,  and 
lionour,  and  glory,  and  power  be  unto  Him  tliat  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever." 
See  also  Eph.  i.  2U,  21,  and  Notes  there.) 

(11)  That  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord.— The  word 
"  Lord  "  is  the  word  constantly  used  ia  +he  LXX.  to 
translate,  though  inadequately,  the  name  Jeliovah. 
The  context  would  suggest  that  meaning  here,  for  the 
worship  paid  is  obviously  the  worsliip  done  to  God. 
But.  though  less  perfectly,  the  acknowledgment  of 
universal  lordsliip  and  majesty  (such  as  He  claimed  in 
Matt,  xxviii.  is — 20)  would  satisfy  the  necessities  of 
the  passage.  For,  after  all,  to  what  created  being  can 
it  be  due  r*  (On  this  confession  of  Jesus  as  Lord,  see 
Actsii.  36;  Rom.  x.  9.) 

To  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.- Tlie  acknow- 
ledgment of  tlie  glory  of  Christ  is  tlie  acknowledgment 
of  tlic  glory  of  tl>e  Father,  as  the  Source  of  Deity, 
manifested  perfectly  in  Him.  (See  John  i.  18;  xiv.  9). 
Note  in  .John  v.  19 — 30,  our  Lord's  repeated  profes- 
sion that  His  work  on  earth  was  to  manifest  the  Father ; 
in  chap.  xvii.  4,  His  declaration  that  He  had  so  done; 
and  in  chap.  xvii.  24.  the  truth  that  His  glory  is  the 
glory  given  of  the  Father. 

[5.  Exhortation  and  Commendation  (verses  12 — 
30). 

(1)  Exhortation  to  Work  out  their  Sal- 

vation tlirough  tlie  inworking  of  God,  and 
so  to  be  lights  in  the  world,  and  the  glory  of 
the  Apostle,  even  in  the  hour  of  martyrdom 
(verses  12—18). 

(2)  St.  Paul's  Intention  to  send  Timothy, 

AND  Hope  to  come  himself  shortly 
(verses  19—24). 


beloved,  as  ye  have  always  obeyed,  not 

as   in    my  presence    only, 

but  now  much  more  in  my 

absence,    Avork    out    your 

own     salvation    Avith    fear 

and  trembling.    (^^^  For  it  is 

God  which  worketh  in  you 


Chap.  ii.  12- 18. 
Exhortation  to 
work  out  tliL'ir 
salvation  under 
God's  grace,  in 
earnestness, 
peace,  and 
purity. 


(3)  Present  Mission  of  Epaphroditus,  now 
recovered  from  his  late  sickness,  and  strong 
commendation  of  his  zeal  (verses  25 — 30).] 

(12—18)  By  the  word  "  wherefore  "  St.  Paul  connects 
this  exhortation  with  the  great  passage  above.  For  the 
main  idea  is  here  of  the  presence  of  God  in  theui, 
working  out  glory  through  a  condition  of  humiliation, 
on  condition  of  their  fellow- working  with  Him;  so  tliat 
they  shall  appear  as  the  "  sons  of  God''  and  as  "  lights 
in  the  world."  In  all  this  there  is  clearly  the  imperfect 
but  true  likeness  of  the  indwelling  of  Godhead  in  our 
Lord's  humanity,  exalting  it  through  the  two-fold 
humiliation  to  the  unspeakable  glory. 

(12)  As  ye  have  always  obeyed.— It  is  notable 
that  this  Epistle  is  the  only  one  wliich  contains  no 
direct  rebuke.  The  Philippian  Church  has  the  glory  of 
having  "always  obeyed,''  not  (like  the  Galatian  Church) 
"  as  in  his  presence  only,  but  now  much  more  in  his 
absence."  This  "  obedience"  was  to  the  will  of  God  as 
set  forth  by  him.  In  referring  to  it,  there  is  an  allusion 
to  the  "  obedience  "  of  Christ  (in  verse  b) ;  hence  iheir 
obedience  includes  also  that  willingness  to  suffer  which 
He  Himself  has  shown.  (See  chap.  i.  29,  30.)  To 
this,  perhaps,  there  is  a  further  allusion  in  the  "  fear 
and  trembling  "  spoken  of  below.  (See  2  Cor.  vii.  15 ; 
Eph.  vi.  5.) 

Work  out  your  own  salvation.— To  "work 
out"  is  (as  in  Eph.  vi.  13)  to  carry  out  to  completion 
what  is  begun.  This  is  the  function  of  man.  as 
fellow-worker  with  God,  first  in  his  own  soul,  and  then 
among  his  brethren.  God  is  the  "  beginner  and  per- 
fecter  "  of  every  "good  work"  (see  chap.  i.  6);  man's 
co-(>peration  is  secondary  and  intermediate. 

(13)  For  it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both 
to  will  and  to  do- — In  this  famous  paradox  St.  Paul 
calls  on  men  to  work  by  their  own  will,  just  because 
oidy  God  can  gi-ant  them  power  both  to  will  and  to  do. 
The  origination  of  all  in  God.  and  the  free  action 
(which  is  in  some  sense  origination)  of  man,  are  both 
truths  recognised  by  our  deepest  consciousness,  but  to 
our  logic  irreconcilable.  In  one  passage  only  (Rom. 
ix.  14—24)  does  St.  Paul  touch,  and  that  slightly  and 
suggestively,  on  their  reconcilement :  generally  Holy 
Scripture — in  this  confirming  human  reason — brings 
out  each  vividly  and  profoundly  in  turn,  and  leaves 
the  problem  of  their  reconcilement  untouched.  Here 
the  paradoxical  form  of  the  sentence  forces  on  the  mind 
the  recognition  of  the  co-existence  of  both.  If  that 
recognition  be  accepted,  the  force  of  the  reasoning  is 
clear.  The  only  encouragement  to  work,  in  a  being 
weak  and  finite  like  man,  is  the  conviction  that  tlie 
Almighty  power  is  working  in  him,  both  as  to  will  and 
deed. 

Tlie  word  "  worketh  in  you  "  is  constantly  applied  to 
the  divine  operation  in  the  soul  '.sec  1  Cor.  xii.  6.  11 ;  Gal. 
ii.  8;  Eph.  i.  11,  20;  ii.  2);  rarely,  as  here  (in  the  word 
rendered  "to  do  ")  to  the  action  of  men.    It  must  neces- 

I  sarily  extend  to  the  will  as  well  as  the  action ;  otherwise 

75 


Exhortation  to  Peace. 


PHILIPPIANS,    11. 


St.  Paul's  Joy  at  tlielr  Faith. 


both  to  -will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure.  <^^^  Do  all  things  without 
murmurings  and  disjiutings :  <^^^  that 
ye  may  be  blameless  and  harmless,'  the 
sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the 
midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation. 


2  Or,  shine  ye. 


1  Or,  Sincere. 


3   fir.     pored 
forth. 


among  whom  ye  shine  -  as  lights  in  the 
world;  (^^^  holding  forth  the  word  of 
life ;  that  I  may  rejoice  in  the  day  of 
Christ,  that  I  have  not  run  in  vain, 
neither  laboured  in  vain.  *^"^  Yea,  and 
if  I  be  offered^  upon  the  sacrifice  and 


God  would  not  be  sovereign  iu  the  inner  realm  of  mind 
(as,  indeed.  Stoic  philosophy  denied  that  He  was).  We 
are  familiar  with  the  intluenee  of  one  created  will  over 
auotlier — an  influence  real,  though  limited,  yet  in  no 
sense  compulsive.  From  this  experience  we  may  catch 
a  faint  glimpse  of  the  inner  working  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  on  the  spirit  of  man.  Hence,  while  we  cannot 
even  conceive  the  existence  of  freedom  under  an  un- 
bending impersonal  law  or  force,  the  harmony  of  our 
will  with  a  Supreme  Personal  Will  is  mysterious,  indeed, 
but  not  inconceivable. 

Of  his  good  pleasure.— Literally,  on  behalf  of  His 
good  2)leasnre ;  that  is,  in  liarmouy  with  it.  On  the 
double  sense  of  "  good  pleasure  "  see  Note  on  Eph.  i.  5. 
Here,  probably,  the  meaning  is  His  "gracious  will" 
for  our  salvation. 

(1^)  Without  murmurings  and  disputings.— 
St.  Paul  seems  puri)osely  to  leave  this  precept  in  per- 
fect generality,  so  as  to  apply  to  their  relations  both 
to  God  and  man.  We  observe,  however,  that  the  word 
"  disputings  "  is  mostly  used  of  objections  and  cavils  in 
word  (see  Matt.  xv.  19 ;  Luke  v.  22 ;  vi.  8 ;  Rom. 
i.  21;  xiv.  1);  although  in  Luke  ix.  47,  xxiv.  38,  and 
perhaps  1  Tim.  ii.  8,  it  is  applied  to  the  inner  strife  of 
the  heart.  In  either  case  it  seems  mainly  to  indicate 
intellectual  questionings.  Similarly,  tlie  word  "  mur- 
muring "  is  used  of  outward  wranglings  of  discontent 
(Matt.  XX.  11;  Liike  v.  30;  John  vi.  41,  43,  61;  vii.  12; 
Acts  vi.  1 ;  1  Cor.  x.  10;  1  Pet.  iv.  9),  proceeding  not 
so  much  from  the  mind,  as  from  the  heart.  The  object, 
moreover,  contemplated  in  verse  15  is  chiefly  good 
example  before  men.  Hence  the  primary  reference 
would  seem  to  be  to  their  relation  towards  men,  in  spite 
of  the  close  connection  with  the  i)receding  verse.  Nor 
can  we  forget  that  it  is  on  unity  among  themselves  that 
the  main  stress  of  the  exhortation  of  this  chapter  turns. 
Of  course  it  is  obvious  that  the  disposition  rebuked  is 
sure  to  show  itself  in  both  relations;  and  that,  if  checked 
in  one,  the  chock  will  react  on  the  other. 

(15)  Blameless  and  harmless.—"  Blameless"  as  to 
external  law  and  judgment  (as  iu  Luke  i.  6;  1  Tliess. 
ii.  10) ;  '■  harmless  "  in  internal  purity  and  simplicity 
(as  in  Matt.  x.  16,  "  harmless  as  doves ; "  and  Rom. 
xvi.  19). 

The  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke.— The  word 
"  \vithout  r(>buke  "  is,  according  to  the  best  MSS.,  the 
same  as  that  whicli  is  used  in  Eph.  i.  4  (where  see 
Note),  and  elsewhere,  to  signify  "  unblemislied."  The 
whole  passage  seems  certainly  a  reminiscence  of  Dent, 
xxxii.  5,  as  it  runs  in  the  Greek  version,  speaking  of 
the  Israelites  as  "  no  children  of  God,  full  of  blemish,  a 
crooked  and  perverse  generation."  The  word  "  crooked" 
is  similarly  applied  to  the  unbelie^-ing  Jews  by  St. 
Peter  in  Acts  ii.  40,  and  the  epithet  "  faitidess  and 
perverse  generation  "  used  by  our  Lord  iu  Matt.  xvii. 
17:  Luke  ix.  41. 

Lights. — Properly,  luminaries ;  so  used  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  probably  in  Rev.  xxi.  11.  Christians 
are  as  the  lesser  liijhts  of  heaven,  dim  in  comparison 
with  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  perhaps  shining  by 
His  reflected  light,  and  seen  only  in  the  night  of  this 


life,  till  He  shall  rise  on  us  again  in  the  "  day  of 
Christ  "  sjioken  of  in  the  next  verse.  The  word,  there- 
fore, stands  half-way  between  "  light  "  itself,  as  in  Matt. 
V.  14,  and  the  merely  artificial  "  light "  (or,  candle)  of 
John  V.  35. 

(16)  Holding  forth  the  word  of  life.  — This 
translation  seems  correct,  and  the  reference  is  to  the 
comparison  above.  There  may,  indeed,  be  (as  has  been 
sujiposed)  a  reference,  involving  a  change  of  metaphor, 
to  the  holding  forth  of  a  torch,  for  guidance,  or  for 
transmission,  as  in  the  celebrated  torch  race  of  ancient 
times.  But  this  su^jposed  change  of  metaphor  is  un- 
necessary. The  "  luminaries "  hold  forth  their  light 
to  men,  and  that  light  is  the  "  word  of  life."  Note 
the  same  connection  in  John  i.  4,  "  In  Him  was  life, 
and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men." 

The  word  of  life. — The  phrase  "  the  word  of  life  " 
is  remarkable.  Here  it  signifies,  of  course,  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  But  the  gradual  progress  of  this  expression 
should  be  noted.  Of  Him  His  disciples  declared  that 
He  "  has  the  words  "  (i.e.,  the  expressed  words ;  see 
Note  on  Ej)h.  vi.  17)  "  of  eternal  life  "  (John  vi.  68) ; 
He  Himself  goes  further,  and  declares  that  His  words 
are  themselves  jipirit.  and . Jife  (John  vi.  63)  ;  here  the 
gospel,  as'^i\'ing  that  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus 
Christ  which  is  "eternal  life"  (John  xvii.  3),  is  a 
"  word  of  life ; "  and  all  these  lead  up  to  the  final 
declaration  that  He  Himself  is  "the  Word  of  life" 
(1  John  i.  1). 

Run  in  vain,  neither  laboured  in  vain. — 
St.  Paul's  usual  metaphor  includes  the  "  race  "  and  the 
"  sti-uggle  "  of  wrestling  or  boxing  (as  in  1  Cor.  ix. 
24 — 26 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  7).  In  Gal.  ii.  2  he  speaks  only  of 
the  "  running  in  vain."  Here,  perhaps,  the  more 
general  word  "  labour "  (united  in  Col.  i.  29  with  the 
word  "struggling")  may  be  taken  to  express  at  any 
rate  that  element  of  endurance  and  watchfulness  which 
the  struggle  in  the  arena  represents. 

(17)  If  I  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and 
service  of  your  faith. — The  striking  metaphor  of 
the  original  is  here  imperfectly  represented.  It  is.  If  I 
am  being  poured  out — if  my  life-blood  is  poured  out — 
over  the  sacrifice  and  religious  ministration  of  your 
faith.  The  same  word  is  used  in  2  Tim.  iv.  6,  where 
our  version  has,  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered."  The 
allusion  is  to  the  practice  of  pouring  out  libations  or 
drink-offerings  (usually  of  wine)  over  sacrifices,  both 
Jewish  and  heathen.  Such  libation  was  held  to  bo  a 
subsidiary  or  preparatoiy  element  of  the  sacrifice.  In 
that  light  St.  Paul  regards  his  own  possible  martyrdom, 
not  so  much  as  having  a  purpose  and  value  in  itself, 
but  rather  as  conducing  to  the  self-sacrifice  of  the 
Philippians  by  faith — a  sacrifice  apparently  contem- 
])lated  as  likely  to  be  offered  in  life  rather  than  by 
death. 

The  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith.— The 
word  here  rendered  "  service,"  with  its  kindred  words, 
properly  means  any  .service  rendered  Viy  an  individual  for 
the  community;  and  it  retains  something  of  this  mean- 
ing in  2  Cor.  ix.  12,  where  it  is  applied  to  the  collection 
and  transmission  of  alms  to  Jerusalem  (comp.  Rom. 


76 


Mission  of  Timotheiis. 


PHILIPPIANS,  II.  Commendation  of/iii  Faithfulness. 


service  of  your  faith,  I  joy,  and  rejoice 
with  you  all.  (^^^  For  the  same  cause 
also  do  ye  joy,  and  rejoice  with  me. 
(^^)  But^  I  trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
send  Timotheus  shortly  unto  you,  that 
I  also  may  be  of  good  comfort,  when  I 
know   your    state.       ^-^^  For  I  have  no 


2  Or,   so   dear 
unto  me. 


1  Or,  Moreover. 


man   likeminded,^^  who    will   naturally 

care  for  your  state.    ^-^^  For   „,       ..  ,.    „„ 
1,  1       ^1     •  ,     Chap.  11. 19— 23. 

all    seek    their   own,    not  Mission      of 
the    things      which      are  g7'^°*^j^yf  ^^ 

Jesus     Christ's.  <-2)    But   runner,^  and 

ye  know  the  proof  of  him,   commendation 
li     ,  •,!       ,1        or  liiiu to tiieui. 

that,  as    a    sou    with    the 


XV.  27 ;  and  see  below,  chap.  ii.  25,  30),  and  in  Rom. 
xiii.  6  and  Heb.  i.  7,  where  "  the  powers  that  bo  "  and 
the  angels  are  respectively  called  "  ministers  of  God." 
But  the  gi-eat  preponderance  of  New  Testament  usage 
appropriates  it  to  priestly  serA'ice  (see  Luke  i.  23;  Rom. 
XV.  16;  Heb.  viii.  2,  6;  ix.  21;  x.  11),  which  is  obviously 
its  sense  here.  The  simplest  interpretation  of  the 
whole  passage  would  be  to  consider  the  Pliilippiaus 
merely  as  priests,  and  to  suppose  "sacrifice"  to  describe 
the  chief  function,  and  "  ministration "  the  general 
function,  of  their  priesthood.  But  the  word  "  sacrifice," 
though  it  might  etymologically  mean  the  act  of  sacrifice, 
has  universally  in  the  New  Testament  the  sense,  not 
of  the  act,  but  of  the  thing  sacrificed.  Accordingly, 
here  it  would  seem  that,  following  afar  off  the  example 
of  the  great  high  priest,  the  Christian  is  described  as 
at  once  sacrifice  and  priest,  "  offering "  (see  Rom.  xii. 
1)  "his  own  body  as  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable 
to  God,"  and  witli  it  the  "  sacrifice  of  praise  "  and  the 
"sacrifice  of  doing  good  and  communicating"  (Heb. 
xiii.  15,  16,  and  below,  chap.  iv.  18).  This  union  of 
sacrifice  and  ministration,  being  the  work  "  of  faith," 
is  in  St.  Paul's  view  the  thing  really  precious ;  his  own 
death  the  mere  preparation  for  it,  in  which  he  rejoices 
"  to  spend  and  be  spent "  for  tliem. 

I  joy,  and  rejoice  with  you  all.— That  is,  Ijo7j, 
and  that  in  sympathy  icifh  you.  Fu'st,  "I  joy" 
absolutely,  in  the  feeling  that  "  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ,"  following  Him  in  His  own  way  of  suffering,  is 
far  better.  Next,  "  I  joy  in  sympathy  with  you,"  in 
the  sense  of  community  of  sacrifice,  and  brotherhood  in 
suffering,  for  the  sake  of  the  one  Lord.  The  emphasis 
laid  on  the  latter  clause  harmonises  with  the  old 
proverb,  that  sorrow  is  halved,  and  joy  doubled,  when  it 
is  sliared  with  otliers. 

(1^)  Do  ye  joy  .  .  .—The  Epistle  lays  great  stress 
on  joy.  not  only  as  a  pri^nlege,  but  as  a  duty,  following 
from  Christian  faith  and  proving  its  reality.  Joy  is  in 
itself  natural  in  the  first  thoughts  of  childhood  and 
youth ;  it  is  apt  to  be  chequered  or  even  destroyed  by 
the  second  thoughts  of  fuller  experience  of  life,  as 
darkened  by  suffering,  sin,  and  death  ;  but  in  the  third 
and  deepest  thoughts  of  tlie  Christian,  recognising 
these  darker  elements  of  life,  but  knowing  that  tliey 
were  not  in  the  beginning,  and  shall  not  be  in  the  end, 
joy  comes  back,  solemnised  but  deepened  into  thankful- 
ness. A  Christianity  which  has  no  jiower  to  rejoice, 
eitlier  in  flashes  of  joy  amidst  tribulation,  or,  ])etter 
still,  in  the  calm  .steady  light  of  cheerfulness,  may  be 
true.  Init  is  imperfect.  It  has  not  yet  entered  into  the 
promise  given  bj-  our  Lord  Himself  of  the  "  joy  which 
no  man  takcth  from  us  "  (John  xvi.  22). 

(19—24)  gt.  Paul  takes  occasion  of  a  promise  to  send 
Timothy  shortly,  to  give  an  emphatic  commendation  of 
liim.  and  adds  a  hope  that  he  may  soon  come  to 
Philippi  himself. 

(19)  "VVe  note  that  liere  Timothy  is  spoken  of  in 
the  third  person ;  hence,  though  ho  is  joined  with  St. 


77 


Paul  in  the  salutation  (see  chap.  i.  1),  the  Epistle  is  the 
Apostle's,  and  his  alone.  The  same  is  the  case  in  the 
First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  (comp.  chap.  i.  1  with 
chap.  iii.  2,  6). 

That  I  also  may  be  of  good  comfort.— The 
words  express  some  anxiety,  1)ut  greater  confidence,  as 
to  the  news  which  Timothy  on  returning  was  likely  to 
bring.  We  have  instances  of  a  similar  but  far  stronger 
anxiety  of  affection  in  2  Cor.  ii.  13;  vii.  6,  7,  and 
1  Thess.  iii.  1 — 9.  In  regard  to  the  Philippians  it 
might  exist  in  detail,  but  was  swallowed  up  in  con- 
fidence on  all  main  points. 

(20)  For  I  have  no  man  likeminded. — That  is, 
probably,  Uke-vd)idcd  u-it]i  my.-?elf.  St.  Paul  calls 
Timothy  his  "genuine  (or,  true]  son  in  the  faith" 
(1  Tim.  i.  2),  a  son  who  in  spirit  and  affection  was  like 
his  father.  The  word  "  naturally  "  in  this  verse  is  the 
same  word,  and  should  be  translated  geiudnely, 
without  either  counterfeit  or  duplicity  of  aim  ;  and  the 
word  "  care  "  impUes  something  of  the  same  absorbing 
anxiety  which  is  expressed  on  St.  Paul's  part  in  this 
passage. 

(21)  For  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things 
which  are  Jesus  Christ's.— Compare  our  Lord's 
words,  "  Ye  shall  be  scattered  every  man  to  his  o\vn 
(things),  and  shall  leave  Me  alone  "  (John  xvi.  32).  St. 
Paul's  declaration  is  startling;  for  he  had  certainly 
some  "brethren  with  him"  (chap.  iv.  21).  But  the 
scanty  notice  of  them  in  the  close  of  this  Epistle 
contrasts  strongly  with  the  detailed  and  affectionate 
mention  of  his  companions  l)y  name  in  Col.  iv.  7  — 
14 ;  Philem.  verses  23,  2-1.  It  would  seem  as  if  at  this 
time  he  was  either  separated  accidentally  from  his 
most  tnisty  disciples,  or  that  there  had  been  a  tem- 
porary falling  away  from  him.  in  some  degree  like  that 
which  he  descril)es  with  so  nuich  s:idness  in  2  Tim.  iv. 
9,  10,  16.  His  words  need  not  be  taken  as  accusing  all 
of  absolute  selfishness  and  unfaithfulness,  but  they  are 
nevertheless  startling  enough. 

(-2)  The  proof  of  him.— The  allusion  is  justified  by 
their  intimate  personal  knowledge.  Timothy  was  at 
Philippi  with  St.  Paul  on  his  first  visit  (Acts  xvi. 
12 — 10) ;  we  find  him  sent  to  Thessalonica  shortly  after 
(1  Tliess.  iii.  2),  and  he  probably  then  paid  a  second  visit 
to  Philippi;  from  Ephesus  (Actsxix.  22)  he  is  sent  again 
to  Macedonia;  and  with  St.  Paul  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem 
he  was  at  Philippi  once  more  (Acts  xx.  4—6). 

As  a  son  with  the  father.— The  original  con- 
struction is  curiously  broken  here.  It  runs.  As  a  son  to 
a  father — as  though  St.  Paul  was  going  to  speak  of 
Timothy's  dutiful  ministration  aiul  following  of  liis 
example  ;  but  then  the  sentence  changes,  in  a  charac- 
teristic humility,  and  makes  Timothy  and  himself 
merely  fellow-servants — he  served  icith  me  in  the 
gospel.  If  we  may  judge  of  Timotliy's  character 
from  the  general  character  of  St.  Pauls  directions  to 
him  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  and  especially  the  signi- 
ficant exhortation,  "Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth, 
(1  Tim.  iv.  12\  it  would  seem  to  have  been  gentle 
and  warm-hearted  rather  than  commanding.     Hence, 


Mission  of  EpapUrodltus. 


PHILIPPIANS,   II. 


His  Sickness  and  Recovery. 


father,  he  hath  served  with  me  in  the 
gosjicl.  (-^^  Him  therefore  I  hope  to 
send  presently,  so  soon  as  I  shall  see 
how  it  will  go  with  me.  <-^'  But  I  trust 
in  the  Lord  that  I  also  myself  shall 
come  shortly.  <-^>  Yet  I  supposed  it 
Chap.  ii.  25— 30.  necessary  to  send  to  you 
Mission  and  Epaphroditus,  my  brother, 
com  men  elation  i  •  •       i    i 

of   Epaplirodi-  '^^d  companion  in   labour, 

tii=i-  and  fellowsoldier,  but  your 


messenger,  and  he  that  ministered  to 
my  wants.  ("^)  For  he  longed  after 
you  all,  and  was  full  of  heaviness, 
because  that  ye  had  heard  that  he 
had  been  sick.  <27;  pyj.  indeed  he 
was  sick  nigh  unto  death :  but  God 
had  mercy  on  him ;  and  not  on  him 
only,  but  on  me  also,  lest  I  should 
have  sorrow  uiDon  sorrow.  ^^^1  I 
sent  him  therefore  the  more  carefully, 


pi'fhap.s,  the  necessity  for  this  singularly  emphatic 
coinuii'nilation  of  him.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  xvi.  10,  "  If 
Timotlii'us  come,  see  that  lie  bo  with  yon  without  fear.") 

(-^)  How  it  will  go  with  me.— An  explanatory 
paraplirase,  tliougli  pi-oljaI)ly  correct,  of  the  original, 
the  tkiiigs  conceniiiu/  me.  Proljably  some  crisis  in  the 
imprisonment  was  at  hand,  with  which  the  expectation 
of  release  implied  in  the  next  A'erse  was  connected. 

i'^i)  But  I  trust.  .  .—Compare  Philein.  verse  22, 
"  Prepare  me  a  lodging,  for  1  trust  that  through  your 
prayers  I  shall  be  given  to  you,"  where  the  expecta- 
tion seems  even  more  immediate.  The  interval 
between  the  Letters  is  unknown.  The  received  belief 
of  St.  Paul's  release,  aud  subsequent  re-imprisonment 
(resting  on  unvarying  tradition,  aud  on  the  evidence 
of  tlio  Pastoral  Epistles),  supposes  this  expectation  to 
have  been  fultilled  in  due  time. 

In  the  Lord. — So  above,  verse  19.  The  expression, 
connected  in  botli  cases  with  matters  of  practical  life 
and  even  of  detail,  is  one  which  (like  "  the  bowels  of 
Jesus  Christ  "  in  chap.  i.  8)  belongs  to  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  life  so  absorbed  in  Christ,  that  it  cannot 
think  or  live  in  liope  except  "  in  the  Lord."  But  it 
carries  with  it,  perhaps,  also  the  idea  suggested  by  St. 
James  (chap.  iv.  15)  "If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  do  this 
or  that."  Just  so  far  as  a  hope  or  prayer  is  really  "  in 
the  Lord,"  it  will  be  accordant  with  the  Divine  will, 
and  will  therefore  be  i-ealised. 

Verses  25 — 30  contain  the  immediate  mission  and 
commendation  of  Epir^jhroditus,  who  had  been  sent 
from  Philippi  with  supplies,  liad  fallen  sick,  aud  now 
in  convalescence  was  longing  for  home,  and  fearful  lest 
the  report  of  his  sickness  should  cause  them  anxiety. 

(25)  Epaphroditus.— The  name  was  often  shortened 
into  Epaphras.  But  it  was  a  common  name;  hence 
any  identitication  with  the  Epaphras  of  Col.  i.  7;  iv. 
12  ;  Phileni.  verse  23,  is,  to  say  the  least,  extremely 
precarious.  It  is  liardly  likely  that  one  who  was  a 
native  Colossian  would  lie  a  resident  and  chosen 
messenger  of  Philippi.  The  three  titles  liere  given 
him  are  closely  joined  together  in  tlie  original,  aud 
form  a  kind  of  climax — "  brother "  in  a  common 
Christianity,  "  fellow-woi-ker  "  in  tlie  service  of  Cluist, 
"  fellow-soldier  "  in  tlie  '•  liardness  "  of  daring  and 
suffering,  which  the  warfare  of  the  Cross  implies. 
(See  2  Tim.  ii.  3.  4.) 

Your  messenger.— Tlie  original  word  is  aposUe; 
and  by  some  interpreters,  ancient  and  modern,  it  lias 
been  thought  that  it  is  intended  here  to  designate  the 
chief  i)astor — or,  in  the  modern  sense,  the  bishop — of 
the  Philippiau  Church  (as  probably  is  the  case  with  the 
"angels"  of  the  churches  in  tlie  Apocalypse);  and 
the  word  '•  your  "  is  then  explained  in  the  same  sense 
as  the  words  "  of  the  Gentiles"  in  Rom.  xi.  13.  But  this 
is  very  unlikely,  (1)   because  there   seems  to  be  no 


78 


example  to  confirm  the  statement  tliat  the  chief  pastor 
of  a  church  was  ever  called  its  "apostle;  "  (2)  because 
the  character  of  the  apostolate,  being  general  and 
evangelistic,  was  very  different  from  that  of  the  local 
and  pastoral  episcopate  ;  (3)  because  in  this  passage  the 
word  is  inseparably  connected  wdth  the  following  "  and 
minister  to  my  needs,"  showing  the  latter  jjlirase  to  be 
explanatory  of  the  previous  word;  (-i)  because  the 
style  of  commendation  in  verse  29  is  hardly  suitable  as 
applied  to  one  whose  office  alone  should  have  com- 
manded respect.  Our  version  is,  therefore,  correct  in 
rendering  it  "messenger,"  just  as  in  2  Cor.  viii.  23 
("the  messengers  of  the  churches"),  where  there  is  a 
similar  reference  to  the  transmission  of  alms. 

(-ti)  For  he  longed  after  you  all  .  .  .  . — 
The  two  clauses  of  the  verse  are  distinct  from 
each  other.  St.  Paul's  first  reason  for  sending 
Epaphroditus  was  in  itself  a  sufficient  one,  that  in  his 
convalescence  he  yearned  for  home,  aud  needed  a 
change  thither.  The  original  is  strong,  because  he 
was  continually  longing  (see  chap.  i.  S;  iv.  1)  for 
you  all.  But  besides  this  he  was  "  full  of  heaviness," 
or  more  properly,  distressed'  and  uneasy,  because  of 
the  effect  which  the  news  of  his  apparently  fatal  illness 
might  cause  at  home. 

(27)  God  had  mercy  on  him  .  .  .  and  on  me 
also. — The  passage,  over  aud  above  its  interest  as  an 
example  of  the  strong  personal  affection  Avhich  belonged 
to  St.  Paul's  nature,  aud  harmonised  with  his  wide  scope 
of  Christian  love,  is  notable  as  showing  clearly  that  the 
Ajoostle's  power  of  miracle,  great  as  it  was,  was  not  his 
own,  to  use  at  his  o^vii  will.  When  it  was  needed  to  be 
"  the  sign  of  an  Apostle  "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  12)  it  was  given  ; 
aud  at  special  times,  as  at  Ephesus,  it  was  given  in 
"  special"  fulness  (Acts  xix.  11).  As  we  note,  both  in 
the  Old  Testament  aud  in  the  New.  special  epochs  of 
miracles  in  the  history  of  the  Church  ;  so  it  would 
seem  there  were  special  occasions  on  which  miracle  came 
out  prominently  in  the  Apostle's  preaching.  We  may, 
perhaps,  infer  from  certain  points  in  the  descrij)tions  of 
the  healing  of  the  cripple  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  (Acts 
iii.  4),  and  at  Lystra  (Acts  xiv.  8)  that  sinue  spiritual 
intimation  warned  tliem  when  the  hour  of  miracle  was 
come.  But  an  Apostle  could  not.  as  our  Lord  would 
not,  work  miracles  for  his  own  needs.  Thus  in  this 
case,  deeply  as  lie  sorrowed  for  Epapliroditus.  there  is 
no  hint  of  liis  exercising  that  power  on  his  behalf.  He 
could  only  pray  that  God  would  have  mercy  on  him, 
and  thank  (iod  when  that  ])rayer  was  heard. 

Sorrow  upon  sorrow.— That  is,  probably,  upon 
the  sorrow  of  captivity  the  sorrow  of  losing  one  who 
had  (see  verse  30)  risked  his  life  in  the  ardour  of 
service  to  the  captive. 

(28)  I  sent  him  therefore  the  more  carefully.— 
That  is,  I  ivas  the  more  earnest  and  anvious  to  send 
him.      In    any  case    the  Apostle  would    have    been 


Commendation  of  Ids  Zc(d. 


PHILIPPIANS,   III. 


Conclusion  and  Resumption. 


tliat,  when  ye  see  him  again,  ye  may 
rejoice,  and  that  I  may  be  the  less 
soiTOwfuL  (-^^  Receive  him  therefore 
in  the  Lord  with  all  g-ladness ;  and 
hold  such  in  reputation:^  ('^^^  because 
for  the  work  of  Christ  he  was  nigh 
unto  death,  not  regarding  his  life,  to 


A.D.  (11. 
I  Oi',  Iwitoar  such. 


supply    your    lack    of    service   toward 
me. 

CHAPTEE  III.  — (1)  Finally,  my 
brethren,  rejoice  in  the  ^-^  --j  j 
Lord.  To  write  the  same  Original  con- 
things  to  you,  to  me  indeed  elusion. 


desirous  to  express  liis  tlianks  and  send  news  by 
Epapbroditus.  But  tlio  circunistauces  of  his  illucss 
incivasod  that  desire  to  greater  earnestness. 

I  may  be  the  less  sorrowful. — There  is  a 
l^eouliar  pathos  in  tliis  expression,  as  contrasted  with 
the  couipleteuess  of  joy  descri))ed  above  in  verses 
17,18.  Epaphroditus' recovery  aud  safe  return  would 
take  away  the  "  sorrow  upon  sorrow  ;  "  but  the  old 
sorrow  of  captivity,  enforced  inactivity,  and  anxiety 
for  tlie  condition  of  the  gospel,  would  remain.  The 
expression  of  perfect  joy  belongs  to  the  "  spirit  whicli 
was  willing"  indeed;  the  hint  of  au  unspoken  sorrow 
marks  tlie  weakness  of  the  flesli. 

(3^)  Not  regarding  his  life. — According  to  the  true 
reading,  the  sense  is  "having  hazarded  liis  life";  lite- 
rally, liKving  (jamhled  with  Jus  life,  not  merely  having 
staked  it,  but  staked  it  recklessly.  It  is  possible  that  (as 
Bishop  Wordsworth  suggests)  there  may  be  allusion  to 
the  caution  money,  staked  in  a  cause  to  show  that  it  was 
not  frivolous  and  A'exatious,  and  forfeited  in  case  of 
loss ;  and  that  Epaphroditus,  risking  his  life  through 
over-exertion  in  the  cause  of  St.  Paul,  as  a  prisoner 
awaiting  trial,  is  therefore  said  to  have  gambled  with 
Ills  life.  This  wovild  give  a  special  appropriateness 
to  tlie  allusion.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  too  artificial,  aud 
the  figure  is  in  itself  intelligible  and  striking. 

To  supply  your  lack  of  service.— There  is  not 
in  the  original  the  touch  of  reproach  which  our  version 
may  seem  to  imply.  Epajjhroditus'  presence  and 
activity  are  said  to  have  "  filled  up  the  one  thing 
wanting "  to  make  the  service  of  the  Philippiaus 
effective  for  its  purpose. 

III. 

[6.  Original  Conclusion  of  the  Epistle  (chap, 
iii.  1). 
"Finally    Beethren,    Farewell    in     the 

Lord."] 

(1)  Finally.— The  same  word  is  used  in  2  Cor. 
xiii.  11;  Eph.  vi.  10;  2  Thess.  iii.  1  (as  also  in  tliis 
Epistle,  chap.  iv.  8),  to  usher  in  the  conclusion.  Here, 
on  the  contrary,  it  stands  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the 
Ejtistle.  Moreover,  the  commendation  above  of  Timotliy 
and  Epajihroditus  is  exactly  that  wliich,  according  to 
St.  Paul's  custom,  Avould  mark  the  tinal  sentences  of 
the  whole.  Again,  the  wcn-ds  "  rejoice  in  tlie  Lord  " 
may,  according  to  the  common  usage  of  the  time 
(althongli  oertaitdy  that  usage  is  not  adopted  in  otlier 
Letters  of  St.  Paul),  not  improbalily  9.\gnUy  farcioell  in 
the  Lord  ;  and  even  if  not  used  in  this  formal  and 
conventional  sense,  yet  certainly  hold  tlie  ])Osition  of 
final  good  wishes,  which  that  sense  implies.  The 
resumption  of  tliem  in  chap.  iv.  4,  where  the  actual 
C(mclusinn  now  begins,  is  striking.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, liigldy  prol)al)le,  that  in  this  ])]aco  the  Letter 
was  originally  drawing  to  an  end,  and  tliat  some  news 
was  at  that  moment  brought  which  induced  the 
Apostle  to  adtl  a  second  part,  couched  in  language 
of  equal  affection,  bnt   of  greater  anxiety  and  more 


emphatic  warning.  Of  such  a  break,  and  resumption 
Avitli  a  far  more  complete  change  of  style,  -wo  Ik-ivc  a 
notable  instance  at  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  chapter 
of  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  ;  as  also  of 
the  addition  of  postscript  after  postscript  in  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

[7.  Words  of  Warning  (chaps,  iii.  1 — iv.  3). 

(1)  Against  the  Judaisees. 

(a)  Warning  agahist  confidence  "in  the  flesh," 
illustrated  by  his  own  renunciation  of  all 
Jewish  jirivileges  and  hopes,  in  order  to 
have  "the  righteousness  of  Christ" 
(verses  1 — 9). 

(h)  Warning  against  confidence  in  perfection  as 
already  attained,  again  illustrated  by  his 
own  sense  of  imperfection  and  hope  of 
continual  jJi-ogi-ess  (verses  10 — 16). 

(2)  Against  the  Antinomian  Party. 
Contrast   of  tlie  sensual   and  corrvpt    life   of 

the  flesh  with  the  spiritwdltg  and  hope 
of  future  perfection  which  become  citizens 
of  heaven  (verses  17 — 21). 

(3)  Against  all  tendency  to  Schism  (cliap. 

iv.  1—3). 

To  write  the  same  things  to  you.— Those 
words  may  refer  to  what  goes  before,  in  which  case  the 
reference  must  be  to  "  rejoice  in  the  Lord."  Kow,  it  is 
true  tliat  this  is  the  burden  of  the  Epistle;  but  this 
iuterpretati(m  suits  ill  the  following  woids,  "for  you  it 
is  safe,"  which  obviously  refer  to  some  warning  against 
danger  or  temptation.  Hence  it  is  far  better  to  refer 
them  to  the  abrupt  and  incisive  warnings  that  follow. 

Tliese,  then,  are  said  to  be  a  repetition;  but  of 
what  ?  Hardly  of  the  former  part  of  this  Epistle,  for 
it  is  difficult  there  to  find  anything  corresponding  to 
them.  If  not,  then  it  must  be  of  St.  Paul's  previous 
teaching,  by  word  or  by  letter.  For  the  use  liere  of 
the  word  "  to  "VNTite,"'  though  it  suits  l)etter  the  idea  of 
former  communication  by  writing,  cannot  exclude  oral 
teaching.  That  there  was  more  than  one  Epistle  to 
Philippi  has  been  infei-red  (probably,  but  not  certainly) 
from  an  expression  in  Polycarp's  letter  to  the  Pliilip- 
pians  (sect.  3),  speaking  of  "  the  Ejiistles ''  of  St.  Paul 
to  tliem.  It  is  not  in  itself  unlikely  that  another 
Epistle  should  have  been  written  ;  nor  liave  we  any 
right  to  argue  decisividy  against  it,  on  the  ground  that 
no  sucli  Epistle  is  found  in  the  canon  of  Scripture. 
But  however  this  may  be.  it  seems  natural  to  refer  to 
St.  Paul's  former  teadiing  as  a  whole.  Now.  wlien 
St.  Paul  first  preached  at  Philippi,  he  liad  not  long 
before  carried  to  Antioch  the  decree  of  the  council 
against  the  contention  of  "  them  of  the  circumcision  ;  " 
and.  as  it  was  addressed  to  the  churches  "  of  Syria  and 
Cilicia."  he  can  liardly  have  failed  to  communicate  it, 
when  lie  passed  through  both  regions  "confirming  the 
diurches"  (Acts  xv.  41l  At  Thessalonica.  not  long 
after,  the  jealousy  of  the  Jews  at  his  preaching  the 
freedom  of  the  gospel  drove  him  fi-om  the  city  (Acta 


Warning  arjninst  Jtnhiism 


riilLlPPIANS,   III. 


1)1/  St.  Paal'^  Example. 


is  not  grievous,  but  for  you  it  is  safe. 
Chap  iii  2-  ^"'Bewareofdogs,  beware  of 
11.      Warning  evil  -Nvorkers,  beware  of  the 

against    Juda-  coiicisiou.  (^^"For  we  are  the 

ising    sell-con-  .               .   .              i  •   i 

fidence,     con-  circuuicision,   whicli    wor- 

trasted     with  gj^jp  Q^jj  iu  the  spirit,  and 

the    seli-aban-  .^.          .        /^i     •   .       t 

donment    of  rejoice    m    Christ     Jesus, 

faith.  and  have  no  confidence  in 


the  flesh.  (^^  Though  I  might  also 
have  confidence  in  the  flesh.  If  any 
other  man  thinketh  that  he  hath 
whereof  he  might  trust  in  the  flesh, 
I  more :  <^J  circumcised  the  eighth 
day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin,  an  Hebrew  of 
the  Hebrews :    as  touching:  the  law,  a 


xvii.  5).  Whea  he  came  to  Macedonia  on  his  next 
journey,  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  written 
there  and  probably  at  Philippi,  marks  the  first  out- 
burst of  the  JudaisiujT  controversy ;  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  Pliilippi,  on  his  way  back,  he  had  just 
written  the  Epistles  to  the  Galatiaus  and  Romans, 
wliieh  deal  exhaustively  with  the  whole  question. 
Nothinfif  i.s  more  likely  than  that  his  teixching  at 
Pliilippi  had  largely  dealt  with  the  warning  against  the 
Judaisers.  What,  then,  more  natural  than  to  introduce 
H  new  warning  on  the  subject— shown  to  be  necessary 
by  news  received — with  tlie  courteous  half-apology,  "  To 
write  the  same  things  to  you,  to  me  is  not  grievous 
(or,  tedious)  but  for  you  it  is  safe,"'  making  assm-ance 
doubly  sure  ? 

(-)  Beware  of  (the)  dogs. — In  Rev.  xxii.  15  "  the 
dogs  "  excluded  from  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  seem  to 
be  those  who  are  impure.  In  that  sense  the  Jews 
applied  the  word  to  the  heathen,  as  our  Lord,  for  a 
moment  appearing  to  follow  the  Jewish  usage,  does  to 
the  Syro- Phoenician  woman  in  Matt.  xv.  26.  But  here 
the  context  appropriates  the  word  to  the  Judaisiug 
party,  who  claimed  special  purity,  ceremonial  and 
moral,  and  who  probably  were  not  characterised  by 
peculiar  impurity  — such  as,  indeed,  below  (verses  17 — 
21)  would  seem  rather  to  attach  to  the  Antinomian 
party,  probably  the  extreme  on  the  other  side.  Chi-y- 
sostom's  hint  that  the  Apostle  means  to  retort  the 
name  upon  them,  as  now  by  their  owu  wilful  apostasy 
occupying  the  place  outside  the  spiritual  Israel  whicli 
once  belonged  to  the  despised  Gentiles,  is  probably 
right.  Yet  perhaps  tliere  may  be  some  allusion  to  tlie 
dogs,  not  as  unclean,  but  as,  especially  in  their  half-wild 
state  in  tlie  East,  snarling  and  .savage,  dri^'ing  off  as 
interlopers  all  who  approach  what  they  consider  their 
ground.  Nothing  could  better  describe  the  narrow 
Judaising  spirit. 

Of  evil  workers,— Comp.  2  Cor.  xi.  13.  describing 
the  Judaisers  as  "  deceitful  workers."  Here  the  idea 
is  of  their  energy  in  work,  but  work  for  evil. 

The  concision. — By  an  ironical  play  upon  words 
St.  Paul  declares  his  refusal  to  call  the  circumcision, 
on  which  the  Judaisers  prided  themselves,  by  that 
time-honoured  name  ;  for  "  we,"  he  says,  "are  tlie  true 
circumcision,"  the  true  Israel  of  the  new  covenant. 
In  Eph.  ii.  11  (wliere  see  Note)  he  had  denoted  it  as  the 
'•so-called  circumcision  in  the  flesh  made  by  hands." 
Here  he  speaks  more  strongly,  and  calls  it  a  '"  con- 
cision," a  mere  outward  mutilation,  no  longer,  as  it 
had  been,  a  "seal"  of  the  covenant  (Rom.  iv.  11). 
There  is  a  still  more  startling  attack  on  the  advocates 
of  circumcision  in  Gal.  v.  12  (where  see  Note). 

W  We  are  the  circumcision.— So  in  Col.  ii.  11, 12, 
evidently  alluding  to  baptism  as  the  spiritual  circum- 
cision, he  says,  "  In  whom  ye  were  circumcised  with 
the  circumcision  made  without  hands."  Comp.  Rom. 
ii.  20,  "  Circumcisian  is  tliat  of  the  heart,  iu  the  spirit, 
and   not   in  the  letter ; "  and  passages  of  a   similar 


character  in  the  Old  Testament,  such  as  Dent.  x.  16, 
"  Circumcise  therefore  the  foreskin  of  your  hearts  ; " 
chap.  XXX.  6,  "  The  Lord  God  will  circumcise  thine 
heart."  Hence  the  spirit  of  St.  Steijhen's  reproach, 
"  Ye  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears"  (Acts  vii.  51). 

Which  worship  G-od  in  the  spirit  .  .  .—The 
true  reading  here  is,  xrho  tcorsJiij)  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  the  word  '"  worship,"  or  service,  being  that  which 
is  almost  technically  applied  to  the  worship  of  the 
Israelites  as  God's  chosen  people  (Acts  xxvi.  7; 
Rom.  ix.  4;  Heb.  ix.  1,  6),  and  which,  with  the 
addition  of  the  epithet  "  reasonable,"  is  claimed  for  the 
Christian  devotion  to  God  iu  Christ  (see  Rom.  xii.  1). 
Such  "  worship  by  the  Spirit  of  God "  St.  Paul  de- 
scribes in  detail  in  Eom.  viii.,  especially  in  verses  26,  27. 

And  rejoice  (or  rather,  glory }  in  Christ  Jesus. — 
Comp.  Rom.  xv.  17,  "  I  have  therefore  whereof  I 
may  glory  in  the  Loi'd  Jesus  Christ,"  and  the  Old 
Testament  quotation  (from  Jer.  ix.  23,  2-i)  twice  applied 
to  our  Lord,  "  He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  iu  the 
Lord  "  (1  Cor.  i.  31 ;  2  Cor.  x.  17).  In  Gal.  vi.  14  we 
have  a  still  moi-e  distinctive  expression,  "  God  forbid 
that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  To  glory  iu  Christ  is  something  more  than 
even  to  believe  and  to  trust  iu  Him;  it  expresses  a  deep 
seuse  of  privilege,  both  in  preseut  thankfulness  and  iu 
future  hope. 

In  the  flesh.— The  phrase  is  used  here,  as  not  un- 
frequeutly.  for  the  preseut  and  visible  world,  to  which 
we  are  linked  by  our  flesh  (see  John  viii.  15.  "  to  judge 
after  the  flesh ;  "  2  Cor.  v.  10,  "  to  know  Christ  after 
the  flesh,"  &c.)  We  have  an  equivalent  phrase  iu  an 
earlier  passage,  which  is  throughout  parallel  to  this 
(2  Cor.  xi.  Is),  "Many  glory  after  the  flesh."  The 
particular  form  of  expression  is  probably  suggested 
by  the  constant  reference  to  the  cii'cumcision,  which 
is  literally  "  in  the  flesh." 

(5,  6)  The  comparison  with  the  celebrated  passage  in 
2  Cor.  xi.  18 — 23  is  striking,  in  respect  uot  only  of 
similarity  of  substance,  but  of  the  change  of  tone  from 
the  indignant  and  impassioned  abruptness  of  the  earlier 
Epistle  to  the  calm  impressivcness  of  this.  The  first 
belongs  to  tlie  crisis  of  the  struggle,  the  other  to  its 
close.  We  have  also  a  parallel,  though  less  complete, 
in  Rom.  xi.  1,  "I  also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  stock  of 
Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin." 

(5)  Circumcised  the  eighth  day— ?.e.,  a  Jew 
born,  not  a  prosel^'te. 

Of  the  stock  of  Israel— /.<?..  emphatically,  a  true 
scion  of  the  covenanted  stock,  the  royal  race  of  the 
"  Prince  of  God." 

Of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin— ?.p.,  the  tribe  of  the 
first  king,  whose  name  the  Apostle  bore;  the  tribe  to 
whom  belonged  the  holy  city  ;  the  one  tribe  faitliful 
to  the  house  of  Judah  in  the  apostasy  of  the  rest. 

An  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.— Properly,  a 
Hebrew  descended  from  Hebrews.     The  Hebrew  Jew, 


80 


Ills  surrender  of  all 


PHILIPPIANS,   IIT. 


for  the  Righteousness  of  Faith. 


Pharisee;  (^)  concerning  zeal,  persecuting 
the  church ;  touching-  the  righteousness 
which  is  in  the  law,  blameless.  ^''^  But 
what  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I 
counted  loss  for  Christ.  (^)  Yea  doubt- 
less, and  I  count  all  things  hut  loss  for 


the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus  mj  Lord :  for  whom  I 
have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and 
do  count  them  hid  dung,  that  I  may 
win  Christ,  '^^  and  be  found  in  him,  not 
having  mine  own  righteousness,  Avhich 


who  retained,  wherever  born,  the  old  tongue,  education, 
and  customs  of  his  fathers,  held  himself  superior  to 
the  Grecian  or  H(>llenist,  who  had  to  assimilate  him- 
self, as  to  the  language,  so  to  the  thoughts  and  habits, 
of  the  heathen  around  him.  St.  Paul  united  the  ad- 
A'antages  both  of  the  true  Hebrew,  brought  up  at  the 
feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  of  the  Hellenist  of  Tarsus, 
familiar  with  Greek  language,  literature,  and  thouglit. 
Compare  his  own  words  to  his  countrymen  from  the 
steps  of  the  Temple  as  illustrating  the  whole  passage  : 
'"I  verily  am  a  Jew,  born  in  Tarsus,  a  city  in  Cilicia, 
yet  brought  iip  in  this  city  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and 
taught  according  to  the  perfect  manner  of  the  law  of 
the  fathers,  and  was  zealous  before  God  .  .  .  and  I 
persecuted  this  way  unto  the  death"  (Acts  xxii.  3,  4). 

As  touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee.— Comp. 
Acts  xxiii.  6,  '"  I  am  a  Pharisee,  and  the  son  of 
Pharisees;"  and  xx\d.  5,  "according  to  the  straitest 
sect  of  our  religion  I  lived  a  Pharisee."  In  these 
words  St.  Paul  passes  from  his  inherited  Judaic 
privileges,  to  the  intense  Judaism  of  his  own  personal 
life. 

(6)  Concerning  zeal,  persecuting  the  church. 
— The  word  "  zeal "  (as  in  Acts  xxii.  3)  is  probably  used 
almost  technically  to  describe  his  adhesion  to  the 
principles  of  the  "  Zealots,"  who,  follo^ving  the 
example  of  Phinohas,  were  for  "  executing  judgment  " 
at  once  on  all  heathens  as  traitors,  ready  alike  to  slay  or 
to  be  slain  for  the  Law.  He  shows  how  in  this  he 
departed  from  the  teaching  of  Gamaliel,  when  he  was 
"exceedingly  mad  against"  the  Clu-istians,  and  "per- 
secuted them  even  unto  strange  cities." 

Touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in 
the  law,  blameless.— The  "  righteousness  in  Law," 
whicli  our  Lord  called  "the  righteousness  of  the  scribes 
and  Pluirisees"  (Matt.  v.  20),  is  the  righteousness  accord- 
ing to  rule,  in  which  a  man,  like  the  rich  young  ruler, 
niigjit  think  liimself  "  blameless,"  and  even  hojje  to  go 
beyond  it  in  "  counsels  of  perfection  " — not  the  righte- 
ousness according  to  principle,  wliich  can  never  fulfil 
or  satisfy  itself.  While  St.  Paul  confined  himself  to 
the  lower  form  of  rigliteousness,  he  could  feel  himself 
"  blameless ; "  but  when  he  began  to  discern  this 
liiglier  rigliteousness  in  the  Law,  then  he  felt  tlie 
terrible  ccmdemnation  of  the  Law,  on  which  he  dwells 
so  empliatically  in  Rom.  vii.  7 — 12. 

(")  I  counted  loss  .  .  .—Not  merely  worthless, 
but  w()rs(>  tlian  worthless  ;  because  preventing  the  sense 
of  spiritual  need  and  helplessness  whicli  should  bring 
to  Christ,  and  so,  while  "gaining  all  the  woi'ld,"  tend- 
ing to  the  "  loss  of  his  own  soul."  St.  Paul  first 
applies  this  declaration  to  tlie  Jewish  privilege  and 
dignity  of  which  he  had  spoken.  Then,  not  content 
with  this,  he  extends  it  to  "  all  things  "  which  were  his 
to  sacrifice  for  Clirist. 

C^)  For  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge.— Tlio 
word  "excellency"  is  here  strictly  used  to  indicate  (as 
in  2  Cor.  iii.  1>,  1(),  11)  that  tlie  knowledge  of  Clirist  so 
surpasses  all  other  knowledge,  and,  indeed,  all  other 
blessings  wliatever,  as  to  make  them  less  than  notliing. 
As  Chrysostom  says  here,  "  When  the  sun  hath 
72  81 


appeared,  it  is  loss  to  sit  by  a  candle."  The  light  of 
the  candle  in  the  sunlight  actually  casts  a  shadow. 
How  that  knowledge  is  gained  we  learn  in  Eph.  iii.  17, 
18,  "  That  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith  : 
that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  .  .  . 
know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passetii  knowledge." 

Dung. — The  word  appears  to  mean  "  refuse  "  of  any 
kind.  The  sense  adopted  in  our  version  is  common. 
Dr.  Lightfoot,  however,  quotes  instances  of  its  use  for 
the  fragments  fi'oin  a  feast,  and  remarks  on  the  old 
derivation  of  tlie  word  fi-om  that  which  is  "  thrown  to 
dogs,"  which,  however  etymologically  questionable, 
shows  the  idea  attached  to  the  word.  This  use  would 
suit  well  enough  with  the  ideas  suggested  by  the  retort 
of  the  name  "  dogs  "  on  the  Judaisers. 

I  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things.— There  seems 
to  be  here  a  l)lay  on  words.  Tliese  things  were  (he 
has  said)  loss ;  he  suffered  the  loss  of  them :  and  the 
loss  of  a  loss  is  a  "  gain." 

That  I  may  win  (properly,  gain)  Christ,  and 
be  found  in  him.— The  line  of  thought  in  these 
two  clauses  is  like  that  of  Gal.  iv.  9,  "  Now  that  yo 
have  known  God,  or  rather  are  known  of  God."  The 
first  idea  suggested  by  the  context  is  that  of  "  gain- 
ing Christ,"  finding  Him  and  laying  hold  of  Hiin  by 
faith ;  but  this,  if  taken  alone,  is  unsatisfactory,  as 
resting  too  much  on  the  action  of  man.  Hence 
St.  Paul  adds,  and  "be  found  (of  God)  in  Him," 
drawn  into  union  with  Him  by  the  grace  of  G(jd,  so  that 
we  may  "dwell  in  Him,  and  He  in  us,"  and  be*"  found" 
abiding  in  Him  in  each  day  of  God's  visitation. 

(y)  Not  having  mine  own  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  law. — This  is  not  the  same  as  "  righteous- 
ness in  the  Law,"  that  is,  defined  bylaw.  It  is  a  righte- 
ousness resulting  from  the  works  of  the  Law  (Gal.  ii. 
16),  earned  by  an  obedience  to  the  Law,  which  is 
"  mine  own  '' — "  not  of  grace,  but  of  debt "  (Rom.  iv.  4) 
— such  as  St.  Paul  declares  (in  Rom.  x.  3 — ♦ij  to  have 
been  blindly  sought  by  Israel,  which  he  there  defines 
as  "  life  by  doing  the  things  of  the  Law."  We  have 
here,  and  in  the  following  words,  a  remarkable  link  of 
connection  witli  the  earlier  Epistles  of  the  Judaising 
controversy,  corresponding  to  Eph.  ii.  8 — 10.  but  cast 
more  nearly  in  tlie  ancient  mould.  Yet  it  is.  after  all, 
only  the  last  echo  of  the  old  controversy,  which  we 
trace  so  clearly  in  the  Galatian  and  Roman  Epistles. 
The  battle  is  now  virtually  won,  and  it  only  needs  to 
complete  the  victory. 

But  .  .  .  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God 
by  (on  condition  of)  faith. — This  verse  is  notable,  as 
describing  the  true  righteousness ;  first  imperfectly, 
as  coming  "  tlirough  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,"  a  descrip- 
tion which  discloses  to  us  only  its  means,  and  not  its 
oi-igin;  next,  completely,  as  "  a  righteousness  coming 
from  God  on  the  sole  condition  of  faith  " — faith  being 
liere  viewed  not  as  tlie  means,  but  as  tlie  condition, 
of  recei\-ing  the  divine  gift  (as  in  Acts  iii.  lt>).  It  may 
be  noted  that  in  the  Epistle  to  tlie  Romans,  we  have 
rigliteousness  "through  faith.'"  "from  faith,"  "of 
faith;"  for  there  it  was  needful  to  bring  out  in  various 
forms  the   importance  of  faith.     Here,  now  that  the 


His  Desire  to  he  like  Christ, 


PHILIPPIANS,   III. 


and  so  attain  Perfection. 


is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  throug-h 
the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  God  by  faith  :  <^"^  that  I  may 
know  him,  and  the  power  of  his  resur- 
rection, and  the  fellowship  of  his  suffer- 
ings, being  made  conformable  unto  his 
death ;  ^^^^  if  by  any  means  I  might 
attain  unto  the  resuri-ectiou  of  the  dead. 


(12)  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained, 
either  were  already  perfect :  chap.  iii.  12— 

but   I   follow  after,  if  that   16-    Disclaimer 

I  may  apprehend  that  for  "^^^"^^^^ 
which  also  I  am  aj^pre-  perfection  al- 
hended    of    Christ   Jesus,  ready  attained. 

(13)  Brethren,  I  count  not  myself  to 
have  apprehended :    but  this  one  thing 


ni'gent  necessity  has  passed,  we  have  the  stress  laid 
simi)ly  on  tlio  opposition  of  the  gift  of  God  through 
Christ  to  the  merit  of  the  works  of  the  Law ;  and  faith 
occupies  a  less  prominent,  though  not  less  indispensable, 
position.     (See  Eph.  ii.  8 — 10,  and  Note  thereon.) 

(10)  Inseparably  connected  with  the  possession  of 
this  "  righteousness  of  God  "  is  the  knowledge  of  Christ, 
or  more  exactly,  the  gaining  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
(see  verse  8),  by  conformity  botli  to  His  suffering  and 
death,  and  also  to  His  resurrection.  This  "  conformity 
to  the  image  of  Christ"  (Rom.  viii.  29,  30) — with  which 
compare  the  lla^^ug  "  Christ  formed  within  us "  of 
Gal.  iv.  19) — is  made  by  St.  Paul  the  substance  of  the 
gracious  predestination  of  God,  preceding  the  call,  the 
justification,  the  glorification,  which  mark  the  various 
epochs  of  Christian  life. 

(10, 11)  The  order  of  these  verses  is  notable  and 
instructive.  (1)  First  comes  the  knowledge  of  "the 
power  of  the  Resurrection."  What  this  is  we  see  by 
examining  it  as  historically  the  main  subject  of  the 
fii-st  ai^ostolic  preaching.  There  it  is  considered,  as 
in  St.  Peter's  first  sermons,  as  giving  the  earnest 
of  "forgiveness,"  or  "blotting  out  of  sins,"  and  the 
"gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts  ii.  38;  iii.  13,  26),  or, 
as  St.  Paul  expresses  it,  of  "justification  from  all 
things  "  (Acts  xiii.  38,  39).  This  same  idea  is  wrouglit 
out  fully  in  his  Epistles.  Thus,  for  example,  without  it 
(1  Cor.  XV.  17)  "  we  are  still  in  our  sins."  It  is  the 
pledge  of  our  justification  (Rom.  v.  1),  and  the  means 
of  our  being  "alive  unto  God"  (Rom.  vi.  11).  Hence 
"  the  power,"  or  ejjicacy,  "  of  His  resurrection  "  is  the 
justification,  and  regeneration  inseparable  from  it,  wliich 
lie  at  the  entrance  of  Chn.stian  life.  (2)  Next  comes 
the  "  partaking  of  His  sutferiugs  "  and  "  conformity  to 
His  death,"  which  are  the  "  taking  up  the  cross,  and 
following  Him,"  in  the  obedience  even  unto  death. 
This  "  fellowship  of  sufferings,"  coming  partly  from 
the  sin  of  others,  partly  from  our  own,  is  tlie  constant 
theme  of  the  New  Testament.  (See  1  Pet.  iv.  13; 
Rom.  viii.  17;  2  Cor.  i.  5;  Col.  i.  24;  2  Tim.  ii.  11.) 
The  "  conformity  to  His  death "  is  the  completion  of 
the  death  unto  sin,  described  as  "  mortification  "  of  sin 
(Col.  iii.  5) ;  "  as  bearing  about  in  the  boily  the  dying 
(or,  properly,  inortijicaiion)  of  the  Lord  Jesus " 
(2  Cor.  iv.  10);  or  more  frequently  as  being  "  crucified 
with  Christ,"  "  the  world  to  us  and  we  to  the  world  " 
(Gal.  ii.  20;  v.  24;  vi.  14).  (3)  Lastly  comes  the 
"  attainment  to  tlie  resurrection  of  the  dead,"  properly, 
"the  resurrection  from  the  dead,"  which  is  (see  Luke 
XX.  35)  the  resurrection  unto  life  and  the  glorification 
in  Him,  so  nobly  described  below  (verses  20,  21). 
"  If  we  have  been  planted  together  in  tlie  likeness  of 
His  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  His 
resurrection "  (Rom.  vi.  5).  For  of  our  resurrection 
(see  1  Cor.  xv.  12 — 23)  His  resurrection  is  not  only  the 
pledge,   but  the   earnest.     Note  how  in  1  Thess.  iv. 


14 — 18,  and  1  Cor.  xv.  51 — 57,  the  whole  description 
I  is  only  of  the  resurrection  unto  life,  and  compare  the 
first  resurrection  of  Rev.  xx.  6.  This  is  the  completion 
of  all ;  St.  Paul  dared  not  as  yet  anticipate  it  with  tlie 
confidence  which  hereafter  soothed  lus  dying  hour 
(2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8). 

Yerses  12 — 16  lead  us  from  the  warning  against 
trust  in  human  merit  to  deprecate  the  supposition  of 
a  perfection  here  attained  even  in  Christ.  The  tran- 
sition is  natural.  The  same  spirit  which  shows  itself 
undisguisedly  in  the  one  pretension,  comes  out  haK- 
concealed  in  the  other. 

(12)  Not  as  though  .  .  .—The  tenses  are  here  varied. 
Not  as  though  I  ever  yet  attained,  or  have  been  already 
made  perfect.  To  "  attain,"  or  receive  (probably  the 
prize,  see  verse  14),  is  a  single  act ;  "  to  be  perfected  " 
a  continuous  process.  Clearly  St.  Paul  has  no  belic.'f, 
either  in  any  indefectible  grasp  of  salvation,  or  in  any 
attainment  of  full  spiritual  perfection  on  this  side  of 
the  grave.  We  may  note  our  Lord's  use  of  the  word  "  to 
be  perfected  "  to  signify  His  death  (Luke  xiii.  32),  and  a 
similar  application  of  the  word  to  Him  in  Heb.  ii.  10 ; 
V.  9  ;  also  the  use  of  the  words  "  made  ])erfect "  to 
signify  the  condition  of  the  glorified  (Heb.  xi.  40 ;  xii. 
23). 

If  that  I  may  apprehend  that  for  which  also 
I  am  (rather,  xvus )  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus. — 
The  metaphor  througliout  is  of  the  race,  in  which  he,  like 
an  eager  runner,  stretches  out  continually  to  "  grasp  " 
the  prize.  But  (following  out  the  same  line  of  thought 
as  in  verses  7,  8)  he  is  unwilling  to  lay  too  much  stress 
on  his  own  exertions,  and  so  breaks  in  on  the  metaphor, 
by  the  remembrance  that  he  himself  was  once  grasped, 
at  his  conversion,  by  the  saving  hand  of  Clirist,  and  so 
only  put  in  a  condition  to  grasp  the  prize.  The  exact 
translation  of  the  words  which  we  render  "  that  for 
which,"  &c.,  is  doubtful.  Our  version  supplies  an  object 
after  the  verb  "apprehend,"  whereas  the  cognate  verb 
"  attained  "  is  used  absolutely ;  and  the  expression  as  it 
here  stands  is  rather  cumbrous.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
simpler  to  render  "inasmuch  as"  or  "seeing  that" 
(as  in  Rom.  v.  12 ;  2  Cor.  v.  4).  The  hope  to  apprehend 
i-ests  on  the  knowledge  that  he  had  been  apprehended 
by  One  "  out  of  whose  hand  no  man  could  pluck  "  him. 

(13)  I  count  not  myself  .  .  . — Tlie  "  I "  is  em- 
phatic, evidently  in  contrast  with  some  of  those  who 
thought  themselves  "perfect."  (See  verse  15.)  Not 
only  does  St.  Paul  refuse  to  count  that  he  has  ever  yet 
"  attained;  "  he  will  not  allow  that  he  is  yet  in  a  posi- 
tion even  to  grasp  at  the  prize.      (Comp.  1  Cor.  ix.  27.) 

Forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind  .  .  . 
— Tlie  pi-ecept  is  absolutely  general,  applying  to  past 
blessings,  past  achievements,  even  past  sins.  The 
ineradicable  instinct  of  liope,  which  the  wisdom  of  the 
world  (not  unreasonably  if  this  life  be  all)  holds  to  be  a 
delusion,  or  at  best  a  condescension  to  weakness,  is 


82 


Perfection  not  yet  reached. 


PHILIPPIANS,   III. 


Unity  our  pj'esoit  Blessing- 


I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those 
tilings  which  are  before,  (^^^  I  press 
toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the 
hiffh  caHincf  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 
(^^^  Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  be 
perfect,  be  thus  minded :  and  if  in  any 
thing  ye  be  otherwise  minded,  God  shall 
reveal  even  this  unto  you.     (^"^  Never- 


theless, whereto  we  have  already  at- 
tained, let  us  walk  by  the  same  rule,  let 
us  mind  the  same  thing."  (^''^  Brethren, 
be  followers  together  of  „,  ... 
me,  and  mark  them  which  21.  Warning 
walk  so  as  ye  have  us  for  an  tigainst     Anti- 

1  nsi    /-TTi  nonuan    proni- 

ensample.      (i«^  (For  many  gacy,unWorthy 

walk,     of     whom      I     have   of   the  citizen- 
told   you    often,   and    now  -^^p  oi  heaven. 


sanctioned  in  the  gospel  as  an  anticipation  of  im- 
mortality. Accordingly  hope  is  made  a  rational 
principle,    and  is  always    declared  to    be,  not   only  a 

Erivilege,  but  a  high  Christian  duty,  co-ordinate  Avitli 
uth  and  love  (as  in  1  Cor.  xiii.  13 ;  Eph.  iv.  4).  St. 
Paid  does  not  scruple  to  say  that,  if  we  have  it  not,  for 
the  next  life  as  well  as  this,  we  Christians  are  "  of 
all  men  most  miserable"  (1  Cor.  xv.  19).  Hence  past 
blessing  is  but  an  earnest  of  the  future ;  past  achieve- 
ments of  good  are  steppiug-.stones  to  greater  things  ; 
past  sins  are  viewed  in  that  true  repentance  which 
differs  from  remorse  — "  the  sorrow  of  this  world 
which  worketh  death  "  (2  Cor.  vii.  lOj — in  having  a  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  the  final  conquest  of  all  sin.  The 
"  eternal  life  "  in  Christ  is  a  present  gift,  but  one  test 
of  its  reality  in  the  present  is  its  possession  of  the 
promise  of  the  future. 

(U)  The  high  calling  of  God. — Properly,  the  call- 
ing ivhich  is  above— -i.e.  (much  as  in  Col.  iii.  12),  "the 
heavenly  calling," — which  is  "  of  God,"  proceeding  from 
His  will,  for  "  whom  He  predestinated,  them  He  also 
called"  (Rom.  viii.  30);  and  is  "in  Christ  Jesus"  in 
virtue  of  the  unity  with  Him,  in  which  we  are  at  once 
justified  and  sanctified. 

(15)  Perfect. — The  word  is  apparently  used  with  a 
touch  of  irony  (as  perhaps  the  word  "spiritual"  in 
Gal.  vi.  1),  in  reference  to  those  who  hold  themselves 
"  to  have  already  attained,  to  be  already  perfect."  It 
is,  indeed,  mostly  used  of  such  maturity  in  faith  and 
grace  as  may  be,  and  ought  to  be,  attained  here  (Matt, 
v.  48  ;  1  Cor.  ii.  6  ;  xiv.  20 ;  Eph.  iv.  13 ;  Col.  i.  28  ;  iv. 
12  ;  Heb.  V.  14).  But,  strictly  speaking,  this  life,  as  St. 
Paul  urges  in  1  Cor.  xiii.  10,  11,  is  but  childhood,  prepar- 
ing for  the  full  manhood,  or  "perfection"  of  the  next; 
and  his  disclaimer  of  perfection  above  suggests  that  this 
higher  meaning  should  in  this  passage  be  kept  in  view. 
The  prospect  of  being  "  perfect "  in  indefectible  faith 
or  grace  is  the  Christian's  hope ;  tlie  claim  to  be  already 
"perfect"  is  alw^ays  recurring  in  various  forms — all 
natural  but  unwarrantable  anticipations  of  heaven  on 
earth.  St.  Paul,  by  a  striking  paradox,  bids  those  who 
hold  themselves  perfect  to  prove  that  tliey  are  so  by  a 
consciousness  of  imperfection.  If  they  have  it  not,  he 
says,  they  have  something  yet  to  learn.  "  God  will 
reveal  even  this  unto  them."  The  conviction  of  the 
H(dy  Ghost  unites  inseparably  the  "  conviction  of  sin  " 
and  the  "  conviction  of  righteousness."  The  "judg- 
ment "  of  absolute  decision  between  them  is  not  yet. 

(l**)  Let  us  walk  .  .  . — In  this  verso  the  last  words 
appear  to  be  an  explanatory  gloss.  The  original  runs 
thus :  Nevertheless — as  to  that  to  which  we  did  attain 
— let  us  ivalk  by  the  savie.  The  word  "walk"  is 
always  used  of  pursuing"  a  course  deliberatelv  chosen. 
(See  Acts  xxi.  24;  Rom.  iv.  12;  Gal.  v.  2.5.)  The 
nearest  parallel  (from  which  the  gloss  is  partly  taken) 
is  Gal.  vi.  16,  "  As  many  as  walk  by  this  rule,  peace  bo 
upon  them."     In  this  passage  there  seems  to  be  the 


same  double  reference  which  has  pervaded  all  St.  Paul's 
practical  teaching.  He  is  anxious  for  two  things — that 
they  should  keep  on  in  one  course,  and  that  all  should 
keep  on  together.  In  both  senses  he  addresses  the 
"  perfect ;  "  he  will  have  them  understand  that  they 
have  attained  only  one  thing — to  be  iu  tlie  right  path, 
and  that  it  is  for  them  to  continue  in  it ;  he  also 
bids  them  refrain  from  setting  themselves  up  above 
"the  imperfect  ;"  for  the  very  fact  of  division  would 
mark  them  as  still  "  carnal,"  mere  "  babes  in  Christ " 
(1  Cor.  iii.  1—4). 

(17—21)  In  these  verses  St.  Paul  turns  from  the  party 
of  Pharisaic  perfection  to  the  opposite  party  of  Anti- 
uomian  profligacy,  claiming,  no  doubt,  to  walk  in  the 
way  of  Christian  liberty  which  he  preached.  The  co- 
existence of  these  two  ])arties  was.  it  may  be  remarked, 
a  feature  of  the  Gnosticism  already  l)eginning  to  show 
itself  in  the  Church.  He  deals  with  this  perversion 
of  liberty  into  licentiousness  in  exactly  the  same  spirit 
as  in  Rom.  vi.,  but  with  greater  brevity;  with  less  of 
argument  and  more  of  grave  condemnation.  It  stands, 
indeed,  he  says,  self-condemned,  by  the  very  fact  of 
our  present  citizenship  in  heaven,  and  our  growth 
towards  the  future  perfection  of  likeness  to  Christ  in 
glory. 

(1")  Followers  together  of  me.— The  word  is 
peculiar.  It  signifies  unite  in  foUoicing  me.  In  ac- 
cordance ^vith  the  genius  of  the  whole  Epistle,  St.  Paul 
oilers  his  example  as  a  help  not  only  to  rectitude  but 
to  ixnity.  For  the  simple  phrase  "  followers  of  me," 
see  1  Cor.  iv.  16 ;  xi.  1 ;  1  Thess.  i.  6  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  9. 
In  1  Cor.  xi.  1,  a  passage  dealing  with  the  right  re- 
straints of  Christian  liberty,  we  have  the  ground  on 
which  the  exhortation  is  based,  "  Be  ye  followers  of 
me.  even  as  I  also  am  of  Christ."  In  that  conscious- 
ness, knowing  the  peculiar  power  of  example,  both  for 
teaching  aiul  for  encouragement.  St.  Paul  will  not  allow 
even  humility  to  prevent  his  bringing  it  to  Ix^ar  upon 
them.  Yet  even  then  we  note  how  gladly  he  escapes 
from  "  followers  of  me  "  to  the  "  ha\"ing  us  for  an 
example." 

(1^)  Even  weeping.— The  especial  sorrow,  we  can- 
not doubt,  lay  in  this,  that  the  Antiuomian  profligacy 
sheltered  itself  under  his  own  preaching  of  liberty  and 
of  the  .superiority  of  the  Spirit  to  the  Law. 

The  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ,— Here 
again  (as  iu  the  application  of  the  einthet  "dogs"  in 
verse  2)  St.  Paul  seems  to  retort  on  those  whom  he  re- 
buked a  name  which  they  may  probably  have  given  to 
their  opponents.  The  Judaising  tenets  were,  indeed, 
in  a  true  sense,  an  enmity  to  that  cross,  which  was  "  to 
the  Jews  a  stuuibling-ldock."  because,  as  St.  Paul 
shows  at  large  in  the  Galatian  and  Roman  Epistles, 
they  trenched  upon  faith  in  the  all-sufficient  atonement, 
and  so  (as  he  expresses  it  with  startling  emphasis)  made 
Christ  to  "  be  dead  in  vain."     But  the  doctrine  of  the 


S3 


Warning  against  Projligacy. 


PHILIPPIANS,   III. 


Our  Citizenship  of  Heaven. 


tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the 
enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ :  ^^'-'^  whose 
end  is  destruction,  whose  God  is  their 
belly,  and  whose  glory  is  in  their  shame, 


who  mind  earthly  things.)  ^^^^  For  our 
conversation  is  in  heaven ;  from  whence 
also  we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ :   ^-^^  who  shall  chaufje  our 


Cross  has  two  parts,  distinct,  yet  iiiscparal)lo.  There  is 
the  cross  whicli  Ho  alouo  bore  for  us,  of  which  it  is 
our  comfort  to  know  tlmt  wo  need  only  believe  in  it, 
and  cannot  share  it.  There  is  also  the  cross  which  we 
are  "to  take  up  and  follow  Him"  (Matt.  x.  oS;  xvi. 
24),  in  the  "  fellowship  of  His  sufferings  and  conformity 
to  His  death,"  descrilx-d  above  (verses  10,  11).  St.  Paul 
unites  both  in  the  strikintr  passage  which  closes  his 
Galatian  Epistle  (vi.  14).  He  says,  "  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ !  "  but  he  adds,  '"  whereby  the  world  is  crucified 
unto  me,  and  I  to  the  world."  Under  cover,  perhaps, 
of  absolute  acceptance  of  the  one  form  of  this  great 
doctrine,  the  Antinomian  party,  "  continuing  in  sin  that 
grace  might  aljound,"  were,  in  respect  of  the  othei', 
"  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ." 

(19)  Whose  end  is  destruction  .  .  .  .—The 
intense  severity  of  this  verse  is  only  paralleled  by 
such  passages  as  2  Tim.  ii.  1 — 5 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  12 — 22 ; 
Judo,  verses  4,  8,  12,  13.  All  express  the  burning 
indignation  of  a  true  servant  of  Christ  against  those 
who  "  turn  the  grace  of  God  into  lasciviousness,"  and 
"after  escaping  the  pollutions  of  the  world  through  the 
knowledge  of  tlie  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  are 
again  entangled  therein  and  overcome." 

Whose  God  is  their  belly.  —  A  stronger  re- 
iteration of  Rom.  xW.  18,  "  They  serve  not  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  their  own  belly."  Note  the  emphasis 
laid  on  "  feasting  and  rioting  "  hi  2  Pet.  ii.  13 ;  Jude, 
verse  12. 

"Whose  glory  is  in  their  shame.— As  the  pre- 
ceding clause  refers  chiefly  to  self-indulgence,  so  this  to 
impurity.  Comp.  Eph.  v.  12,  '•  It  is  a  shame  even  to 
siJeakof  those  things  which  are  done  of  them  in  secret." 
"  To  glory  in  their  sliame  " — to  boast,  as  a  mark  of 
spirituality,  the  unljridled  license  which  is  to  all  pure 
spirits  a  shame — is  the  hopeless  condition  of  tlie  rejiro- 
bate,  who  "  not  only  do  these  things,  but  have  pleasure 
in  those  who  do  them"  (Rom.  i.  32). 

Who  mind  earthly  things.— This  last  phrase, 
which  in  itself  might  seem  hardly  strong  enough  for  a 
climax  to  a  passage  so  terribly  emphatic,  may  perhaps 
be  designed  to  bring  out  by  contrast  the  glorious  pas- 
sage which  follows.  But  it  clearly  marks  the  o])posi- 
tion  between  the  high  pretension  to  enlightened 
spirituality  and  the  gross  CJirual  temper  which  it 
covers,  grovelling  (so  to  speak)  on  earth,  incapable  of 
rising  to  heaven. 

(-0)  Our  conversation.— The  original  may  signify 
either  "  our  city  ''  or  "  our  citizenship  "  is  in  heaven. 
But  both  the  grammatical  form  and  the  ordinary  usage 
of  the  word  (not  elsewhere  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment) point  to  the  former  sense ;  which  is  also  far 
better  accordant  with  the  general  wording  of  the  pas- 
sage. For  the  word  "  is  "  is  the  emphatic  word,  which 
signifies  "  actually  exists  " ;  and  the  reference  to  the 
appearance  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  oliviously  sug- 
gested by  the  thought  that  -with  it  will  also  come  the 
manifestation  of  the  "  Jerusfilem  which  is  above  .  .  . 
the  mother  of  us  all"  (Gal.  iv.  20) ;  as  in  Rev.  xxi.  2, 
"  I  saw  the  holy  cit}',  the  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down 
from  heaven."  The  force  of  the  passage  would,  how- 
ever, in  either  case  be  much  the  same.     "  Their  mind 


is  on  earth;  our  countiy  is  in  lieaven,"  and  to  it  our 
affections  cling,  even  during  our  earthly  pilgrimage. 
It  is  impossible  not  to  remember  the  famous  words  of 
Plato  of  his  Divine  Republic,  "  In  heaven,  perhaps,  the 
embodiment  of  it  is  stored  up  for  any  one  who  wills  to 
see  it,  and  seeing  it,  to  claim  his  place  therein"  {Rep. 
ix.,  p.  592b).  But  the  infinite  difference  between  the 
shadowy  republic  of  the  philosopher,  to  which  each 
has  to  rise,  if  he  can,  by  his  own  spiritual  power,  and 
the  well-centred  "kingdom  of  God,"  is  suggested  by 
the  very  words  that  follow  here.  The  kingdom  is  real, 
because  there  is  a  real  King,  who  has  given  us  a  place 
there,  who  will  one  day  be  manifested  to  take  us  home. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  city  is  spoken  of  as  ours 
already.  As  all  the  citizens  of  Philippi,  the  Roman 
colony,  were  citizens  of  the  far  distant  imperial  city,  so 
the  Philippian  Christians  even  now  were  citizens  of  the 
better  country  in  heaven.     (See  Eph.  ii.  19.) 

We  look  for. — Properly,  toe  eagerly  ivuitfcr.  The 
word  is  a  peculiar  and  striking  expression  of  longing, 
found  also  in  Rom.  viii.  19,  2tJ,  25,  "  The  earnest  ex- 
pectation of  the  creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation 
of  the  sous  of  God  "  (where  see  Note). 

The  Saviour. — The  title  is  emphatic  in  relation  to 
the  hope  of  perfected  salvation  which  follows.  But  we 
note  that  the  use  of  the  word  "  Saviour  "  by  St.  Paul 
is  peculiar  to  the  later  Epistles,  and  especially  frequent 
in  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  It  is  found  also  again  and 
again  in  the  Second  Epistie  of  Peter. 

(21)  Who  shall  change  .  .  .—This  passage  needs 
more  accurate  translation.  It  should  be,  ivho  shall 
change  the  fashion  of  the  body  of  our  humiliation,  to 
he  conformed  to  the  body  of  His  glory.  (1)  On  the  dif- 
ference between  "  fashion  "  and  "  form,"  see  chap.  ii.  7,  8. 
The  contrast  here  signifies  that  humiliation  is  but  the 
outward  fashion  or  vesture  of  the  body ;  the  likeness 
to  Christ  is,  and  will  be  seen  to  be,  its  essential  and 
characteristic  nature.  This  "  humiliation  "  marks  our 
condition  in  this  life,  as  fallen  from  our  true  humanity 
under  the  bondage  of  sin  and  death.  The  body  is  not 
really  "  vile,"  tliough  it  is  fallen  and  degraded. 
(2)  "  His  glory  "  is  His  glorified  human  nature,  as  it  was 
after  the  Resurrection,  as  it  is  now  in  His  ascended 
majesty,  as  it  shall  be  seen  at  His  second  coming. 
What  it  is  and  will  be  we  gather  from  the  sublime  de- 
scriptions of  Rev.  i.  13 — 16;  xix.  12 — 16;  xx.  11. 
What  is  here  briefly  described  as  change  to  conformity 
with  that  glory  is  worked  out  in  1  Cor.  xv.  42 — 
44,  53,  54,  into  the  contrast  between  corruption  and 
incoiTuption,  dishonour  and  glory,  weakness  and  power, 
the  natural  (animal)  body  and  the  spiritual  body.  In 
2  Cor.  iii.  18,  iv.  16,  wo  read  of  the  beginning  of 
glorification  in  the  spirit  here;  in  2  Coi\  iv.  17,  18, 
V.  1 — 4,  of  the  completion  of  "  the  exceeding  weight  of 
glory  "  in  the  hereafter,  as  glorifying  also  "  our  liouse 
which  is  in  heaven.  St.  John  describes  that  glorifica- 
tion with  brief  emphatic  solemnity,  "  Wo  shall  be  like 
Him.  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is,"  and  draws  out 
explicitly  the  moral  which  St.  Paul  here  implies, 
"  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  purifieth  himself, 
even  as  He  is  pure." 

According  to  the  working  .  .  .-Properly,  in 
virtue  of  the  effectual  loorlcing  of  His  power  to  subject 


84 


Our  Uope  of  Glory  in  Christ. 


PHILIPPIANS,   lY. 


Exhortation  to  Unity. 


vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the 
working-  whereby  he  is  able  even  to 
subdue  all  things  unto  himself. 

CHAPTER  IV.  — (1)  Therefore,  my 
brethren  dearly  beloved  and  longed  for, 
my  joy  and  crown,  so  stand  fast  in  the 


Lord,  7???/  dearly  beloved.  (2)  I  beseech 
Euodias,  and  beseech  Syn- 
tyche,  that  they  be  of  Eencwed  "^x- 
the  same  mind  in  the  hortation,  first. 
Lord.  (3)  And  I  intreat  ^"^  "^'^^• 
thee  also,  true  yokefellow,  help  those 
women  which  laboured  with  me  in  the 
gospel,    with   Clement    also,    and  with 


all  tilings  to  Himself.  Coiiip.  Epli.  i.  19 ;  iii.  7,  and 
Notes  there.  Here,  as  there,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  His 
power  as  not  dormant  or  existin<^  in  mere  capacity,  but 
as  enerjSfetic  iu  working,  unhasting  and  unresting. 
Here  briefly,  as  more  fully  iu  tlie  celebrated  passage  of 
tlie  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  (chap.  xv.  2-4  —28) 
he  describes  it  as  "  subduing  all  things  uuto  Himself," 
till  the  consummation  of  this  universal  conquest  iu  the 
Last  Judgment  and  the  delivery  of  "  the  kingdom  to 
God,  even  the  Father  .  .  .  that  God  may  be  all  in 
all."  Of  tliat  power  the  primai-y  exhibition,  in  which 
He  is  pleased  to  delight,  is  iu  salvation,  gradually  pre- 
paring His  own  for  heaven ;  the  secondary  exhibition, 
uudertakeu  under  a  moral  necessity,  is  in  retributive 
judgment.  It  is  of  the  former  only  that  St.  Paul 
speaks  here,  as  it  shall  be  made  perfect  in  the  resur- 
rection unto  eternal  life. 

IV. 

[8.  Conclusion  of  the  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  1 — 23). 
Final  Exhortation — 

(a)  To  unity,  with  esjjecial  mention  of  Euodia, 

Syutyche,  and  others  (verses  1 — 3). 

(b)  To  joy,  confident  in  the  power  of  prayer, 

and  resting  in  the  peace  of  God  (verses 
4—7). 

(c)  To  conformity  with  all  that  is  good  after 

the  apostolic  model  (verses  8 — 9). 
Thanks  for  the  Philippian  Offerings. 
(a)  Declaration  that  he  could  not  claim  them 

of  necessitij  (verses  10 — 13). 
(6)  Grratefid  remembrance  of  their  former  libe- 
rality (verses  14 — 17). 
(c)  Blessing  on   their  present  sacrifice  offered 
through  him  to  God  (verses  18 — 20). 
Greeting  and  Blessing  (verses  21 — 23).] 

(1)  Therefore. — By  this  word,  just  as  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  description  of  the  "  depth  of  the  riches 
of  the  wisdom  of  God  "  (in  Rom.  xi.  33 — 36),  or  of  the 
glorious  climax  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  (in 
1  Cor.  IV.  50 — 57),  St.  Paul  makes  the  vision  of  future 
glory  to  be  an  inspiring  force,  giving  life  to  the  sober, 
practical  duties  of  the  present  time.  For  the  faith, 
which  is  the  root  of  good  works,  is  not  only  "  the 
evidence  of  tilings  not  seen,"  although  already  existing 
as  spiritual  realities,  but  also  "  the  substantiation  of 
things  hoped  for"  iHeb.  xi.  1). 

Dearly  beloved  and  longed  for  .  .  .—Tlie 
peculiar  affectionateness  of  this  verse  is  notal)le.  It  is 
curiously  coincident  with  the  words  addressed  years 
before  to  Thessalonica  (1  Thess.  ii.  19),  "What  is  our 
hope  and  joy  and  crown  of  rejoicing?  Are  not  ye  iu 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  .  .  ?  Ye  are 
our  glory  and  our  joy."  But  it  lias  just  the  addition 
natural  to  the  yearnings  of  captivity  :  they  are  "  longed 
for,"  and  that  (see  chap.  i.  8)  "  in  the  heart  of  Jesus 
Christ."     The  "  crown  "  is  hero  tlie  garland,  the  sign 


85 


of  victory  in  the  apostolic  race  and  struggle  of  which 
he  had  spoken  above  (chap.  iii.  12 — 14-).  The  crown  of 
glory,  of  righteousness,  and  of  life,  is  usually  described 
as  future  (see  2  Tim.  iv.  8;  Jas.  i.  12  ;  1  Pet.  v.  4; 
Rev.  ii.  10),  and  tliis  is  the  case  in  the  Thessalonian 
Einstle.  Here,  without  excluding  that  completer 
sense,  the  reference  is  also  to  the  present.  The 
Philippians  are  St.  Paul's  crown,  as  the  Corinthians 
are  his  "seal"  (1  Cor.  ix.  2) — at  once  the  proof  of  His 
apostolic  mission  and  the  reward  of  his  apostolic 
labour.  In  both  aspects  the  present  is  the  earnest  of 
the  future. 

(2)  Euodias.— The  name  should  be  Euodia,  as  is 
seen  by  verse  3.  Of  Euodia  and  Spityche  nothing  is 
known.  Many  strange  attempts  have  been  made  to 
find  symbolism  in  these  names.  Evidently  they  were 
women  of  note,  leaders  at  Philippi,  where,  we  may 
remember,  the  gospel  was  first  preached  to  women 
(Acts  xvi.  13),  and  the  church  first  formed  in  a 
woman's  house  (Acts  xvi.  14,  40).  We  may  note  the 
many  female  names — Phoebe,  Priscilla,  Mary,  Tryjihena, 
Tryphosa,  Persis,  Julia,  the  mother  of  Rufus,  the  sister 
of  Nereus — iu  the  long  list  of  greetings  to  the  Church 
of  Rome  (Rom.  xvi.). 

(3)  I  intreat. — This  rendering  is  too  strong.  It  is, 
I  ash,  or  request.  The  word  means  properly,  to  ask  a 
question ;  secondai'ily,  to  make  a  request  on  equal 
terms,  as  of  right.  Hence  never  used  (except,  perhaps, 
in  1  John  y.  It))  of  prayer  from  us  to  God. 

True  yokefellow.— This  obscure  pkrasehas  greatly 
exercised  conjecture.  (I)  It  is  curious  historically 
to  note  the  opinion,  as  old  as  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
that  St.  Paul  referred  to  his  own  wife ;  but  the 
opinion  is  clearly  untenable  in  the  face  of  1  Cor. 
vii.  8;  ix.  5.  (2)  The  word  is  never  elsewhere  applied 
by  St.  Paul  to  a  fellow- Christian,  and  must  denote 
some  peculiar  fellowship.  Many  guesses  as  to  its  mean- 
ing have  been  made.  Some  refer  it  to  St.  Luke,  who 
seems  to  be  in  the  history  closely  connected  with 
Philippi ;  others  to  Lydia.  the  first-fruits  of  tlie 
gospel  in  that  city.  Perhaps  the  most  likely  suppo- 
sition is  that  it  may  refer  to  Epaphroditus,  the 
bearer,  perhaps  the  amanuensis,  of  the  EpisHe,  who 
had  certainly  come  to  help  St.  Paul  to  bear  his 
yoke  of  suffering,  and  in  whose  case  the  sudden 
address  in  the  second  person  "would  cause  no  ambi- 
guity. (3)  But  a  not  improbable  conjecture  is  that 
the  word  is  a  pro2)er  name — "' Syzygus  " — a  name,  it 
is  true,  not  actually  known — and  that  the  word  "  true  " 
(properly,  genuine]  means  "Syzygus,  rightly  so-called." 
It  is  obvious  to  compare  the  play  on  the  name  "  Onesi- 
mus,"  in  Pliilem.  verse  11. 

Those  women  .  .  .—It  should  be.  lulp  them 
(Euodia  and  Synlycho),  inasmuch  as  thcij  laboured 
with  me.  Tlio  word  "  laboured  "  signifies  "  joined 
with  me  in  my  struggle,"  and  probably  refers  to  some- 
thing more  than  ordinary  labour,  iu  the  critical  times 
of  suffering  at  Philippi. 


Exliortation  to  Joij. 


PHILIPPIANS,   IV. 


Prom  (i^e  of  God's  Peace. 


other  my  fellowlabourers,  whose  names 
p.        .  are    in   the    book    of    life. 

7.^  next,  to  ^*^  Rejoice  in  the  Lord 
joy,  resting  on  alway :  and  airain  I  say, 
the  coniidenco    -r»    •    •  ca  t    i. 

of  pray.'i-  and  Bejoice.  ^'>  Let  your  mo- 
hope  of  the  deration  be  known  unto  all 
peace  of  God;     ^^^^^    The  Lord /s  at  hand. 


f"^'  Be  careful  for  nothing ;  but  in  every 
thing  by  prayer  and  supplication 
with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests 
be  made  known  unto  God.  (^'  And 
the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all 
understanding,  shall  keep  your  hearts 
and     minds     through     Christ     Jesus. 


Clement.— From  tlio  time  of  Origeu  downwards 
this  Clement  has  been  identitied  with  the  famous 
Clement,  bisliop  of  Rome,  and  author  of  the  well- 
known  Epistle  to  the  Church  at  Corinth,  of  whom 
Irenajus  expressly  says  that  ho  had  seen  and  been  in 
company  with  "  the  blessed  Apostles,"  and  who  in  his 
Epistle  refers  emphatically  to  the  examples  both  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  as  belonging  to  the  times 
"  very  near  at  hand;  "  but  dwells  especially  on  St.  Paul, 
"as  seven  times  a  prisoner  in  chains,  exiled,  stoned," 
"  a  hei'ald  of  tlio  gospel  in  the  East  and  the  West,"  "  a 
teacher  of  righteousness  to  the  whole  world,"  and 
one  who  "  penetrated  to  tlie  farthest  border  of  the 
West."     (See  his  Epistle,  chap,  v.) 

Tlie  fact  tliat  he  was  at  tliis  time  working  at  Philippi 
— considei'ing  that  Philippi,  as  a  Roman  colony,  was 
virtually  a  part  of  Rome — is  no  objection  to  this  iden- 
tificatiou  ;  nor  is  the  chronology  decisive  against  it, 
though  it  would  make  Clement  an  old  man  when  he 
wrote  liis  Epistle.  The  identification  may  stand  as 
Hot  improbabl<>,  while  the  commonness  of  the  name 
Clemens  makes  it  far  from  certain. 

Whose  names  are  in  the  book  of  life.— 
For  "the  Book  of  Life,"  see  Dan.  xii.  1;  Rev.  iii. 
5;  xiii.  8;  x%ii.  8;  xx.  12;  xxi.  27.  From  that  Book 
the  name  may  be  blotted  out  now  (Rev.  iii.  5  ;  comp. 
Ex.  xxxii.  33)  till  the  end  fixes  it  for  ever.  There  is  (as 
has  been  always  noticed)  a  peculiar  beauty  in  the  allu- 
sion here.  The  Apostle  does  not  mention  his  fellow- 
labourers  by  name,  but  it  matters  not ;  the  names  are 
written  befoi-e  God  in  the  Book  of  Life.  If  they  con- 
tinue in  His  service,  those  names  shall  shine  out  here- 
after, when  the  gi-eat  names  of  the  earth  fade  into 
nothingness. 

(4—7)  St.  Paul  returns  once  more  to  the  exhortation 
to  joy  so  characteristic  of  this  Epistle.  But  it  is  a  joy 
in  the  sense  of  the  Lord's  being  at  hand.  Hence  it 
turns  at  once  to  thanksgiving  and  prayer,  and  finally  is 
calmed  and  deepened  into  peace. 

W  Bejoice  in  the  Lord  .  .  .  and  again  I  say, 
Rejoice.— The  original  word  is  the  word  always  used 
in  classical  Greek  (see  the  corresponding  word  in  Latin) 
for  "  farewell  "  (i.e.,  "Joy  bo  witli  you  !  "),  and  this  verse 
is  obviously  a  resumption  of  chap.  iii.  1,  after  the  di- 
gression of  warning.  But  the  emphasis  laid  on  it  liere, 
coupled  witli  the  constant  references  to  joy  in  the 
Epistle,  sliow  that  St.  Paul  designed  to  call  attention 
to  its  strict  moaning,  and  to  enforce,  again  and  again, 
the  Christian  duty  of  joy.  It  is.  of  course,  a  "  joy  in 
the  Lord  :"  for  only  in  the  Lord  is  joy  possible  to  any 
thoughtful  mind  or  feeling  heart  in  such  a  world  as 
this. 

(5)  Your  moderation.— The  word  hero  rendered 
"  moderation."  properly  denotes  a  sense  of  what  is 
seemly,  or  equitable,  as  distinct  from  what  is  required 
by  strict  duty  or  formal  law.  Such  distinction  the 
world  recognises  when  it  speaks  of  what  is  enjoined,  not 
so  much  by  duty  as  by  "  good  taste,  or  "  right  feeling," 


or  (with  some  peculiarity  of  application)  by  "  chival- 
rous "  feeling,  or  the  "  spii'it  of  a  gentleman."  Here  it 
denotes  the  general  sense  of  wliat  is  seemly  in  a 
Christian  tone  of  character.  In  2  Cor.  x.  1  (where  it  is 
translated  "  gentleness  ")  it  is  ascribed  emphatically  to 
our  Lord  Himself.  But  the  usage  of  the  New  Testament 
appropriates  it  especially  to  the  "  sweet  reasonableness  " 
which  "  gentleness "  may  well  designate.  Thus,  in 
Acts  xxiv.  4  it  clearly  signifies  patience,  or  forbearance ; 
in  2  Cor.  x.  1  it  is  associated  with  meekness ;  in 
1  Tim.  iii.  3,  Tit.  iii.  2,  with  peaceableness ;  in  1  Pet. 
ii.  8,  with  kindness;  in  Jas.  iii.  17  the  word  "gentle"  is 
placed  between  "peaceable  "  and  "  easy  to  be  entreated  " 
(or  rather,  jjcrs!ifKiefZ).  This  spirit  is,  no  doubt,  "  mode- 
ration ;  "  but  it  is  something  more.  It  may  refer  here 
both  to  the  exhortation  to  unity  in  verses  1 — 3,  and  to 
the  exhortation  to  joy  immediately  preceding.  It  would 
help  the  one  and  chasten  the  other. 

The  Lord  is  at  hand. — A  translation  of  the  Syriac 
"  Maran-atha  "  of  1  Cor.  xvi.  22 — obviously  a  Christian 
watchword,  probably  referring  to  the  Second  Advent, 
as  near  at  hand ;  although,  of  course,  not  excluding  the 
larger  idea  of  that  presence  of  Christ  in  His  Church 
of  which  that  Seco'id  Advent  is  the  consummation. 

(6)  Be  careful  for  nothing.— An  exact  repetition 
of  our  Lord's  command,  "  Take  no  thought "  (in 
Matt.  vi.  25,  31).  The  prohilntion  is  of  that  painful 
anxiety  which  is  inevitable  in  all  Avho  feel  themselves 
alone  in  mere  self-dependence  amidst  the  difficulties 
and  dangers  of  life.  It  is  possible  to  sink  below  this 
anxiety  in  mere  levity  and  thoughtlessness ;  it  is  pos- 
sible to  rise  above  it  by  "  casting  our  care  on  Him  who 
careth  for  us,"  and  knowing  that  we  are  simply 
"fellow-workers  with  Him"  (1  Pet.  v.  7  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  1). 
Hence  the  Apostle  passes  on  at  once  to  speak  of  the 
trustfulness  of  praj-er. 

Prayer  and  supplication  with  thanksgiving. 
— By  "  prayer  "  is  meant  worship  generally,  so  called 
(as  in  common  parlance  now)  because  in  this  state  of 
imperfection  prayer  mxist  bo  its  leading  element,  as 
praise  will  be  in  the  perfection  of  the  future.  (See 
Acts  ii.  42,  where  "  the  prayers  "  are  among  the  es- 
sential marks  of  church  nuMubership.)  To  this  general 
word  is  sul)joined  the  distinction  of  the  two  great 
elements  of  worship,  "  supplication  with  thanksgiving." 
The  very  expression,  however,  shows  that,  though 
distinct,  they  are  inseparable.  (See  Eph.  vi.  18,  and 
Note  there.)  Both  words  "prayer"  and  "supplica- 
tion "  have  tlie  article  in  the  original,  and  may  probably 
refer  to  the  recognised  worship  of  the  Church. 

(7)  The  peace  of  God— i.e.  (like  the  "  righteous- 
ness of  God,"  "  tlio  life  of  God"),  the  peace  which  God 
gives  to  every  soul  which  rests  on  Him  in  prayer.  It 
is  peace — the  sense  of  unity  in  the  largest  sense — the 
"  peace  on  earth  "  proclaimed  at  our  Lord's  birth,  left 
as  His  last  legacy  to  His  disciples,  and  pronoTinced  at 
His  first  coming  back  to  them  from  the  grave  (Luke  ii. 
14  ;  John  xiv.  27).  Hence  it  includes  peace  with  God, 
peace  with  men,  peace  with  self.  It  keeps — that  is, 
watches   over   with  the    watclif ulness  that    "  neither 


86 


Exhortation  to  Steadfastness  in  Good.     PHILIPPIANS,    IV. 


Thanks  for  tJieir  Offerings. 


(^)  Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things 
Chap.  iv.  8—  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
9.     lastly,    to  are     honest,^     whatsoever 

steacliastness    ,i  •  .       ,  ,      . 

in  aU  the  per-  things    are   just,    whatso- 

fect  goodness  ever  thing^s  are  pure,  wliat- 
of  the    gospel,  ,? •  i        i 

preached      to  soever    things  _  are   lovelj, 

them.  whatsoever   things    are   of 

good  report ;  if  there  he  any  virtue,  and 

if  there  he  any  praise,  think  on  these 

things.     (^)  Those  things,  which  ye  have 


I  Or,  venerable. 


2  Or,  is  revived. 


both  learned,  and  received,  and  heard, 
and  seen  in  me,  do :  and  the  God  of 
peace  shall  be  with  you.  ^^^>  But  I  re- 
joiced in  the  Lord  greatly,  ^hap.  iv.  10- 
tliat  now  at  the  last  your  14.  Thanks 
care  of  me  hath  flourished  and  commenda- 

„        ,  .  tion    lor    their 

again ;  ^   wherein  ye   were  liberality      to 
also  careful,  but  ye  lacked  ^^°^- 
opportunity.       *ii>   Not    that    I    speak 
in  respect  of  want :   for  I  have  learned, 


slumbers  uor  sleeps  " — both  "  the  hearts  and  minds  " 
(or,  more  properly,  the  soids  and  the  thoughts  formed 
in  them),  guarding  our  whole  spiritual  action,  both  in  its 
source  and  its  developments.  It  is  "through  Christ 
Jesus,"  for  " He  is  our  peace  (Eph.  ii.  14),  as '"making  all 
one,"  and  "reconciling  all  to  God."  The  comprehensive- 
ness and  beauty  of  the  passage  has  naturally  made  it 
(with  the  characteristic  change  from  the  "  shall "  of 
promise  to  the  "  may "  of  benediction)  the  closing 
blessing  of  our  most  soleum  church  service  of  "  Holy 
Communion  "  with  God  and  man. 

(8.  9)  Here,  repeating  the  word  "  Finally,"  the  Apostle 
again  draws  to  a  conclusion,  in  a  comprehensive  exhor- 
tation to  stand  fast  in  all  tliat  is  good  on  the  foundation 
which  he  had  laid  in  the  name  of  Christ.  The  ex- 
hortation is  marked  by  the  reiteration  of  affectionate 
earnestness,  in  which,  however,  we  may  (as  always) 
trace  an  underlying  method.  In  each  pair  of  epithets 
there  seems  to  be  reference  both  to  an  inner  reality  and 
to  the  outward  development,  by  which  it  is  at  once 
manifested  and  perfected.  In  both  St.  Paul  would 
have  them  grow  up  to  perfection. 

(8)  True  .  .  .  honest  (better,  venerable;  see 
margin). — Truth  is  the  inherent  likeness  to  God,  who 
is  Truth.  Whatever  is  true  in  itself  is  also  "  vener- 
able"— i.e.,  as  the  original  word,  usually  x'endered 
"  grave "  (as  in  1  Tim.  iii.  8,  11 ;  Tit.  ii.  2)  etymo- 
logicaUy  signifies,  it  claims  a  share  of  the  reverence 
due  primarily  to  God;  it  has  in  it  a  certain  majesty 
commanding  worship. 

Just  .  .  .  pure. — "  Just "  is  (as  St.  Paul's  habitual 
usage  of  "  justify  "  shows)  righteous  in  act  and  woi-d, 
as  tested  by  the  declared  will  of  man  or  God.  "  Pure  " 
is  righteous  in  essence,  in  the  thought,  which  cannot  be 
thus  tested — shomng  itself  in  what  is  just  and  indeed 
perfected  thereby,  but  in  itself  something  holier  still. 

Lovely  ...  of  good  report.— Both  words  are 
peculiar  to  this  passage  :  in  both  we  ptiss  from  truth 
and  righteousness  to  love.  "Lovely"  is  that  which 
deserves  love.  The  phrase  "  of  good  report "  repre- 
sents a  Greek  word  which  is  commonly  used  for  "  fair- 
soimding,"  or  "auspicious"  and  "acceptable."  It  is 
therefore  the  outward  expression  of  what  is  "  lovely," 
winning  the  acceptance  wliich  loveliness  deserves. 

If  there  be  any  virtue,  and  .  .  .  praise.— Still 
there  is  the  same  antithesis — "  \'irtue"  is  the  inherent 
quality ;  "  praise "  is  virtue's  due.  But  the  word 
"  virtue,"  so  frequent  in  human  morality,  is  hardly  ever 
used  in  Scripture.  In  fact,  the  only  other  case  of  appli- 
cation to  man  is  in  2  Pet.  i>  5,  where  it  stands  between 
"  faith "  and  "  knowledge,"  and  seems  specially  to 
signify  the  energy  of  practice  by  which  faith  grows 
into  knowledge.  The  reason  of  this  is  clear.  To  the 
very  name  of  "  \-irttie  "  clings  the  idea  of  self-reliance — 
snch  self-reliance  as  the  Stoic  philosophy  (then  the  only 


dominant  system  of  Roman  oinnion  wliich  had  any 
nobleness  in  it)  made  its  essential  characteristic  ;  and 
that  idea  is,  of  course,  foreign  to  tlie  wliole  conception 
of  Christian  morality.  The  occurrence,  therefore,  here 
of  an  appeal  to  "  virtue "  and  to  "  praise "  seems 
strange.  We  notice,  however,  that  it  is  introduced  by 
a  new  phrase  of  mere  hypothesis  ("  if  there  be,"  &.C.), 
which  may  be  taken  to  mark  it  as  an  outlying  conside- 
ration, occupying  a  less  firm  and  important  ground. 
Probably,  therefore,  it  is  an  appeal  to  the  lower  con- 
ceptions of  the  society,  so  characteristically  Roman, 
around  them  :  "  Nay,  even  if  there  be  any  truth  in  the 
virtue  and  praise  of  mere  human  morality,"  &.c. 

(9)  Ye  have  both  learned,  and  received.— The 
reference  is  here  to  St.  Paul's  teaching,  which  he  "  de- 
livered" to  them  (see  1  Cor.  xv.  1 — 3;  Gal.  i.  12 1  as  a 
message,  "  received  "  by  revelation  of  God,  and  which 
they  "  received  "  accordingly. 

Heard,  and  seen  in  me.— Here  the  reference  is 
to  his  example,  as  subsidiary  to  his  teaching  and  con- 
firmatory of  its  truth. 

The  God  of  peace. — The  inversion  (compared  with 
verse  7)  is  striking.  To  have  the  "  peace  of  God " 
with  us  is  much;  to  have  "the  God  of  Peace"  Him- 
self with  us  is  more.  With  this  promise  the  Letter 
itself  ends.     What  follows  is  but  postscript. 

(10—20)  These  verses  form  a  singularly  graceful  and 
dignified  postscript,  acknowledging  the  offerings  of  the 
Philippians  sent  by  Epaphroditus,  in  a  tone  mingling 
apostolic  commendation  and  blessing  with  a  true 
brotherly  thankfulness. 

(10)  Now  at  the  last.— There  is  in  these  words  an 
expression  of  some  hitherto  disappointed  expectation, 
not  wholly  unlike  the  stronger  expression  of  wounded 
feeling  in  2  Tim.  iv.  9,  10,  16.  At  Caesarea  St.  Paul 
would  have  been  necessarily  cut  off  from  the  European 
churches ;  at  Rome,  the  metropolis  of  universal  con- 
course, he  may  have  expected  some  earlier  communi- 
cation. But,  fearing  to  wound  the  PhUippians  by  even 
the  semblance  of  reproof,  in  their  case  undeserved,  he 
adds  at  once,  "  In  which  ye  were  also  careful  (before), 
but  ye  lacked  opportunity."  Epaphroditus  would 
seem  to  have  arrived  early,  almost  as  soon  as  St. 
Paul's  arrival  at  Rome  gave  them  the  opportunity 
which  they  pre^nously  lacked. 

(11)  I  have  learned.- The  "I"  is  here  emphatic. 
Tliere  is  evident  reference  to  the  liabit  peculiar  to  St. 
Paul,  and  made  by  him  his  especial  "  glory  "  ^1  Cor.  ix. 
14),  of  refusing  that  maintenance  from  tlie  churches 
which  was  his  of  right.  Compare  his  words  to  the 
Ephesian  presbyters,  "  I  have  coveted  no  man's  silver, 
or  gold,  or  aj^parel.  Yea.  ye  yourselves  know,  that  these 
hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities"  (^Acts  \x 
33,  34). 


87 


His  present  Contentment. 


PHILIPPIANS,   IV. 


His  Gratitude  for  tJie  i^cist. 


in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith 
to  be  content.  <^-'  I  know  both  how 
to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to 
abound :  every  where  and  in  all 
things  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  full 
and  to  be  hun^rry,  both  to  abound  and 
to  suffer  need.  ^^-^^  I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me.     (^^^  Notwithstanding  ye  have  well 


done,  that  ye  did  communicate  with  my 
affliction.  (^^^  Now  ye  Philippians  know 
also,  that  in  the  beginning  (j^ap.  iv.  15- 
of  the  gospel,  when  I  de-  is.  as  worthy 
parted     from    Macedonia,  ^L^il^ify.Tnd 


communicated   blessed  in  God's 
name. 


no    church 

with     me    as    concerning 

giving    and    receiving,    but    ye    only. 

(16)  Yov    even   in   Thessalonica   ye  sent 


Content. — Tho  word  (like  tlie  corresponding  sub- 
stantive in  '1  Cor.  ix.  8  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  (J)  properly  means, 
self-aujjicinfj.  Siic-li  self-sutiicieney  was  the  especial 
characteristic  claimed  by  the  tStoics  for  the  ideal  wise 
man  of  their  philosophy — a  characteristic  full  of  noble- 
ness, So  far  as  it  involved  the  sitting  loose  to  all  the 
things  of  the  world,  but  inhuman  in  relation  to  human 
affections,  and  ^-irtually  atheistic  if  it  described  tho 
attitude  of  the  soul  towards  the  Supi-eme  Power.  Only 
in  the  first  relation  does  St.  Paul  claim  it  here.  It  is 
difficult  not  to  suppose  that  he  does  so  with  some 
reference  to  a  philosophy  so  essentially  Roman  in 
practical  development. 

(12^  Every  where  and  in  all  things.  —  The 
original  has  no  such  distinction  of  the  two  words.  It 
is,  in  all  and  ev'njthuKj  ;  in  life  as  a  whole,  and  in  all 
its  separate  incidents. 

I  am.  instructed.— The  word  again  is  a  peculiar 
and  almost  technical  word.  It  is,  I  have  been  instructed ; 
I  have  learnt  the  secret — a  phrase  properly  applied  to 
men  admitted  into  such  mysteries  as  the  Eleusiuian, 
enshrining  a  secret  unknown  except  to  tlie  initiated; 
secondarily,  as  tho  context  woiild  seem  to  suggest,  to 
tho.se  who  entered  the  inner  circle  of  an  exclusive  philo- 
sophy, learning  there  what  the  common  herd  could 
neither  understand  nor  care  for.  A  Stoic  might  well 
have  used  these  words.  There  is  even  a  touch  of  tlie 
Stoical  contempt  in  the  word  "  to  bo  full,"  which 
properly  applies  to  cattle,  though  frequently  used  of 
men  in  tho  New  Testament.  Perhaps,  like  all 
ascetics,  they  mo.stly  knew  how  "  to  suffer  need,"  better 
than  how  "  to  abouiui."  But  a  Marcus  Aurelius  might 
have  boldly  claimed  the  knowledge  of  both. 

(13)  I  can  do  all  things.— Properly,  I  have  strength 
in  all  thinfj!i,  rather  (according  to  tho  context)  to  bear 
than  to  do.  But  the  univer.sal  extension  of  the  maxim 
beyond  tho  immediate  occasion  and  context  is  not  inad- 
missible. It  represents  the  ultimate  and  ideal  conscious- 
ness of  the  Christian.  The  first  thing  needful  is  to 
throw  off  mere  self-sufficiency,  to  know  our  weakness 
and  sin,  and  accept  the  salvation  of  God's  free  grace  in 
Christ;  tho  next,  to  find  the  "  strength  made  perfect  in 
weakness,"  and  in  that  to  be  strong. 

Through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me.— 
The  word  "Christ"  is  not  f(mn(l  in  the  l)est  MSS. ;  it  is 
a  gloss,  perhaps  .suggested  by  1  Tim.  i.  12,  where  we  have 
exactly  the  .same  phrase,  "  Christ  Jesus,  our  Lord,  who 
hath  enabled  me."  The  same  word  is  used  in  Eph.  vi. 
10,  "Be  strong  {strvufjthcnrd  tvifliin)  in  the  Lord." 
In  this  sentence  we  have  tlie  world-wide  distinction 
between  the  Stoic  and  the  Christian.  Each  teaches 
respect  for  the  higher  humanity  in  the  soul;  l)ut  to  the 
one  that  Immanity  is  our  own,  to  the  other  it  is  "  tho 
Christ  within,"  dwelling  in  the  heart,  regenerating  and 
conforming  it  to  Himself.  The  words  of  St.  Paul  are 
but  a  practical  corollary  to  the  higher  truth  (comp.  chap, 
i.  21)  "  To  me  to  live  is  Christ."     In  this  consciousness 


88 


alone  is  any  thoughtful  teaching  of  "  self-reverence, 
self-knowledge,  self-distrust,"  intelligible  and  coherent. 
(1^)  Ye  have  weU  done.— Properly,  Ye  did  well, 
in  sending  the  offerings.  In  this,  says  St.  Paul,  they 
"  did  communicate  with  his  affliction,"  that  is  (see  chap, 
i.  7),  they  made  it  their  own,  helping  him  to  bear  it,  by 
sympathy  and  sacrifice  for  his  sake.  The  whole  is  an 
illustration  of  his  own  words  (Acts  xx.  35),  "  It  is 
blessed  to  receive  "  what  is  lovingly  given ;  but  it  is 
"  rather  blessed  to  give."  He  had  the  lower  blessedness, 
they  the  higher;  and  he  rejoiced  that  it  was  so. 

(15)  Now  ye  Philippians  know  also.— Properly, 
But  ye  also  ijourselves  knorv.  The  mention  of  the  proper 
name  is  always  emphatic  (comp.  2  Cor.  vi.  11) ;  here  it 
evidently  marks  the  dignity  of  their  exclusive  position 
of  benefaction. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  gospel.— At  the  be- 
ginning (that  is)  of  the  gospel  to  them  and  their  sister 
churches  in  Macedonia.  The*  time  referred  to  is  his 
leaving  Macedonia  for  Athens  and  Corinth  (Acts  xvii. 
14).  At  Corinth  we  know  that  he  received  offerings 
from  Macedonia  :  "That  which  was  lacking  to  me  the 
brethren  who  came  {when  they  came)  from  Mace- 
donia supplied  "  (2  Cor.  xi.  9).  His  language  to  the 
Thessalonian  Church  (1  Thess.  ii.  9 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  8) 
pi'ecludes  all  idea  that  any  part  of  this  contrilnitiou  was 
from  Thessalonica  ;  we  learn  here  that  it  was  from  no 
other  Church  than  Philij)])!.  It  is  probably  to  this  gift 
that  reference  is  made ;  though  it  is  of  course  possible 
that  some  contribution  may  have  reached  him  at  the 
time  of  his  actual  departure  in  haste  after  the  persecu- 
tion at  Beroea. 

Communicated  with  me  as  concerning  .  .  . — 
The  metaphor  here  is  drawn  from  commercial  trans- 
action. Literally  the  passage  runs,  Jiad  dealings  with 
me  on  account  of  giving  and  receiving ;  "opened  (so  to 
si)eak)  an  account  with  mo,"  not  of  debit  and  credit,  but 
"of  free  giving  and  recei\-ing."  There  is  possibly  an 
allusion  (as  Chrysostom  suggests)  to  the  idea  embodied 
in  I  Cor.  ix.  11,  "  If  we  have  sown  unto  you  spiritual 
things,  is  it  a  great  matter  if  we  shall  reap  your  carnal 
things.P  "  (Comp.  Rom.  xv.  27.)  In  the  one  respect  he 
had  all  to  give,  and  they  to  receive ;  in  the  other  tho 
relations  were  reversed.  But  if  there  be  such  allusion, 
it  is  kept  in  the  background.  The  prominent  idea  is  of 
the  Philippians,  and  of  them  alone,  as  givers. 

(16)  Even  in  Thessalonica.— Not  only  after  he 
left  Macedonia,  but  (>ven  before  that  time,  when  he  had 
ju.st  passed  from  Philijipi  to  Thessahmica.  At  Thessa- 
lonica, as  at  Corinth— both  very  rich  and  luxui-ious  com- 
munities— he  refused  maintenance,  and  lived  mainly  by 
the  labour  of  his  own  hands  (1  Thess.  ii.  9;  2  Thess. 
iii.  8).  But  it  appears  from  this  passage  that  even  then 
he  received  "once  and  again"  (that  i.s,  occasionally, 
"once  or  t^vico")  some  aid  from  Philippi  "to  supply  his 
need  " — that  is  (as  in  all  right  exercise  of  liberality),  to 
supplement,  and  not  to  supersede,  his  own  resources. 


His  Blessing  and  their  Bounly. 


PIIILIPPIANS,   IV. 


Concluding/  Salutations. 


once  and  again  unto  mj  necessity. 
(^"^  Not  because  I  desire  a  gift :  but  I 
desire  fruit  that  may  abound  to  your 
account.  *^^^  But  I  have  all,^  and 
abound :  I  am  full,  having  received  of 
Epaphroditus  the  things  ivhich  ivere 
sent  from  you,  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell, 
a  sacrifice  accejitable,  wellpleasing  to 
God.     (^^^  But  my  God  shall  supply  all 


1  Or, I  have  received 
all. 


your  need  according  to  his  riches  in 
glory  by  Christ  Jesus.  '^-^'>  Now  unto 
God  and  our  Father  he  glory  for  ever 
and  ever.  Amen.  (-^^  Salute  every 
saint  in  Christ  Jesus.  The 
brethren   which    are   with  23^T""onciuding 

me      greet     you.         (^2)    ^\[   salutations  and 

the     saints      salute     3'ou,      ^'^s^^^s- 
chiefly  they  that  are  of  Cajsar's  house- 


(17)  Fruit  that  may  abound  (rather,  abounds) 
to  your  account. — The  metaphor  is  still  kept,  hardly 
disturbed  by  tlie  introduction  of  the  word  "fruit,"  since 
this  is  so  constantly  used  in  the  sense  of  "  recompense  " 
that  it  readily  lends  itself  to  pecuniary  associations. 
There  is,  says  St.  Paul,  "  the  fruit "  of  reward,  which  "  is 
over  "  as  a  surplus,  or  rather  a  balance,  "  placed  to  their 
account."  Their  gift  is  a  token  of  love  and  gratitude  to 
him  ;  but,  as  Christian  almsgiving,  it  is  something  more, 
and  what  tliat  something  more  is  will  be  seen  hei-eafter, 
■when  all  accounts  shall  be  finally  taken.  The  idea  is 
uot  unlike  tliat  of  Prov.  xix.  17,  "  He  that  hath  pity  on 
the  poor  lendeth  unto  the  Lord ;  and  behold,  what  he 
layeth  out  it  shall  be  paid  him  again." 

(18)  I  have  all,  and  abound.— The  original  is 
stronger,  /  have  all  to  the  fidl  (as  in  Matt.  vi.  2,  5,  16), 
and  more  than  to  the  Jull.  "I  have  all,  and  more  than 
all,  I  need."  Yet  not  content  with  this,  lie  adds,  "  I 
am  full,"  thoroughly  complete  in  all  things.  The 
exuberance  of  courtesy  and  gratitude  is  sti'ongly 
marked. 

An  odour  of  a  sweet  smell.— See  Eph.  v.  2, 
and  Note  there.  Here  St.  Paul  adds  at  once  an  explana- 
tion of  the  meaning  of  this  metaphorical  phrase,  in  the 
words,  "  a  sacrifice  acceptable,  well-i^leasing  to  God." 
Comp.  Rom.  xii.  2,  "  a  sacrifice  holy,  acceptable  to 
God."  The  word  "  sacrifice  "  used  in  both  cases  is  the 
one  which  properly  signifies  a  "bloody  sacrifice,"  and 
in  relation  to  such  sacrifices  the  idea  of  propitiation 
naturally  occui's  to  our  minds;  since  wo  know  that 
"  without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission."  But  it 
is  clear  tliat  here  it  belongs  to  the  class  of  Eucharistic 
or  free-will  offerings  ;  for  it  is  simply  an  offering  made 
freely,  in  gi-atcful  love  to  Gotl  and  man  ;  and  exactly  in 
this  sense  we  find,  in  Heb.  xiii.  16  (in  close  connection 
with  "  we  have  an  altar  "),  ''  To  do  good,  and  to  com- 
municate forget  uot ;  for  with  such  sacrifices  God  is 
well  pleased."  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  it  is,  on 
the  other  hand,  used  for  that  which  tlio  burnt  offering 
tji)ified — the  absolute  self-dedication  of  the  sacrifioer, 
body  and  soul,  to  God.  (See  Note  on  Rom.  xii.  2.)  To 
1  Pet.  ii.  5,  where  all  Christians  are  called  "  a  holy 
priesthood  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices  acceptable  to 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,"  lioth  senses  may  be  fairly  applied. 
It  may  be  noted  tliat  most  superstitions  in  the  Cluirch 
as  to  the  spiritual  value  of  either  of  these  forms  of 
sacrifice,  have  come  from  confusion  between  them  and 
the  true  or  ]irnpitiatory  sacrifice. 

(19)  My  God. — The  expression  is  emphatic.  St. 
Paul  had  accepted  the  offerings  as  made,  not  to  himself, 
but  to  the  God  whose  minister  he  was.  Hence  ho 
adds,  "  my  God  " — the  God,  whom  ye  serve  in  serving 
me. 

All  your  need.— Properly,  every  need  of  yours, 
spiritual  and  temporal. 

In  glory.— We  liave  already  noticed  the  constant 
reference  to  "  glory  "  in  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity. 


"Where  the  word  relates  to  God  in  Himself,  His 
"  glory "  is  His  true  nature  as  manifested  to  His 
creatures ;  where  it  refers  to  man,  "  gloiy "  is  the 
perfection  of  man's  nature  in  the  communion  with 
God  in  Heaven.  Here  the  latter  sense  is  obviously 
to  be  taken.  The  "  supplying  of  every  need  out  of  the 
riches  "  of  God's  love  can  only  have  its  consummation  in 
the  "  glory "  of  the  future.  Tliat  it  is  "  in  Christ 
Jesus  "  is  a  matter  of  coiu'se ;  for  He  is  to  "  change 
even  our  body  of  humiliation  to  be  fashioned  like  unto 
the  body  of  His  glory  "  (chap.  iii.  21 ). 

(20)  Now  unto  God  and  our  Father  .  .  . — 
Tlie  doxology  of  this  verse  seems  suggested  by  the 
very  use  of  "glory"  in  the  previous  verse.  "  Glory" 
may  be  derivatively  the  privilege  of  man ;  but  "  the 
glory "  (for  the  original  has  the  article  here) — the 
essential  and  incommunicable  glory — must  be  ascribed 
to  God  alone.  Whether  we  supply  here  the  word  "  is" 
or  "  be "  matters  not.  His  it  is ;  to  Him  let  it  be 
ascribed.  Such  doxologies  are  common  with  St.  Paul 
(see  Rom.  xvi.  27;  Gal.  i.  5  ;  Eph.  iii.  21 ;  1  Tim.  i.  17; 
2  Tim.  iv.  18j ;  always  with  the  addition  of  "for  ever 
and  ever,"  or  literally,  for  the  aijes  of  the  ages, 
throughout  every  age  till  time  shall  be  no  more ; 
always  in  close  connection  with  some  declaration,  not 
so  much  of  the  majesty,  as  of  the  wisdom,  and  stiU 
more  the  goodness,  of  the  Father. 

Yerses  21 — 23  contain  the  salutation  and  blessing. 
The  salutation  is  very  brief,  as  compared,  for  example, 
with  the  corresponding  passage  in  tlie  Colossian 
Epistle  (chap.  iv.  10 — 15).  naming  none,  either  of  those 
saluted  or  those  joining  with  St.  Paul  in  the  salutation. 
The  omission  in  the  latter  case  may  perhaps  be 
accounted  for  by  the  words  above  (chap.  ii.  20,  21),  in 
which,  with  the  single  exception  of  Timotheus,  St. 
Paul  declares  dissatisfaction  with  those  near  him, 
because  "all  seek  their  own,  and  not  the  things  which 
are  Jesus  Christ's. 

(21)  The  brethren,  which  are  with  me.— The 
list  of  tho.se  who  were  with  St.  Paul  at  one  time  or 
another  during  his  imprisonment  may  be  gatliered 
from  the  Epistles  to  tlie  Colossians  (cliap.  iv.  10 — 15) 
and  Philemon  (^verses  23,  24) ;  where  see  Notes.  How 
many  of  these  where  with  him  at  this  particular 
time  we  cannot  tell.  They  are  distinguished  from  "  all 
the  saints  " — the  body  of  the  Cliurch  in  general. 

(22)  Of  Cseaar's  household.— Tlie  '•  household  of 
Cassar"  included  a  multitude  of  jiersous  of  all  ages 
and  ranks  and  occupations.  Dr.  Lightfoot,  in  a  very 
interesting  excursus  on  this  verse,  remarking  that  these 
Cliristians  of  Cesar's  household  are  alluded  to  as  if 
well  known  to  the  Philippians,  has  examined  the 
various  names  mentioned  in  Bom.  xvi.  (three  years 
before  this  time),  and  finds  many  of  them  iilentical 
witli  names  actually  found  in  sepulchral  inscriptions,  as 


89 


Tlie  Apostles 


PHILIPPIANS,   IV. 


final  Blessing. 


hold.     (23)  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  he  with  you  all.     Amen. 


^  It   was   vrritten   to   the   Pliilippians  from 
Rome  by  Epapliroditus. 


bolonpfing  to  mombers  of  the  "  donuis  Augusta,"  or 
imperial  liousoliold.  These  were  earHer  converts ; 
but,  wherever  St.  Paul's  prison  was,  he  can  hardly 
liavo  failed  to  gain  through  tlie  praetorians  some  com- 
munication with  the  houseliold  of  the  emperor,  whose 
body-guard  they  were ;  and  the  allusion  here  seems  to 
show  that  for  some  reason  these  Christians  of  Caesar's 
household  were  in  an  especial  familiarity  of  inter- 
course with  liim.  Probably,  therefore,  ho  liad  added 
from  that  Imusehokl  new  converts  to  Christ ;  and  he 
mentions  tliis  liere,  as  he  had  before  spoken  of  his 
bonds  being  made  manifest  in  the  "  praetorium  "  (chap. 
i.  13),  in  order  to  show  the  Philippians  that  his  very 


imprisonment  had  given   special  opportunity  for  the 
sjjread  of  the  gospel. 

(23)  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  all. — The  true  reading  is,  he  with  your 
spirit  (as  in  Gal.  vi.  18;  Philem.  verse  25;  2  Tim  iv. 
22).  The  reading  of  our  version  is  the  more  ordinary 
form  of  salutation.  In  one  form  or  another  it 
is  "  the  token  in  eveiy  Epistle "  (2  Thess.  iii.  17). 
The  grace  given  by  the  Spirit  of  God  is  received 
in  "the  spirit"  of  man,  but  in  order  that  the 
whole  man.  "  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  be  preserved 
blameless  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus  "  (1  Thess. 
V.  23). 


90 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 


COLOSSIAJ^S. 


I.  The  Time,  Place,  and  Occasion  of  Writing. 
— There  are  in  tliis  Epistle  indications  of  the  time 
and  place  of  writing  similar  to  those  already  noticed 
in  the  Epistles  to  the  Eplu'sians  and  Pliilippiaus.  It 
is  written  in  prison  :  for  St.  Paul  bids  the  Colossians 
"remember  his  bonds"  (cliap.  iv.  18).  and  designates 
Aristarchus  as  his  "  fellow-prisoner "  (chap.  iv.  10). 
Like  tlie  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  it  is  sent  by  Tychicus, 
with  precisely  the  same  official  commendation  of  him 
as  in  that  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  7,  8;  comp.  Eph.  yi.  21, 
22) ;  but  with  him  is  joined  Onesimns.  the  Colossian 
slave,  the  bearer  of  the  Epistle  to  Philemon.  The 
persons  named  in  the  concluding  salutations  (chap.  iv. 
7 — 1-i) — Aristarchus,  Marcus,  Epaphras,  Luke,  Demas, 
and  "  Jesus,  called  Justus  " — are  all,  except  the  last, 
named  in  the  corresponding  part  of  the  Epistle  to 
Philemon  (versos  23,  24) ;  two  of  them,  Aristarchus 
and  St.  Luke,  are  known  to  have  accompanied  the 
Apostle  on  his  voyage,  as  a  ca,ptive,  to  Rome  (Acts 
xxvii.  2) :  and  another,  Tychicus,  to  have  been  his  com- 
panion on  the  journey  to  Jerusalem,  whicli  preceded 
the  beginning  of  that  captivity  at  Cassai-ea  (Acts  xx.  4). 
A  direction  is  given  to  forward  this  Epistle  to  Laodicea, 
and  to  obtain  and  read  a  letter  from  Laodicea  (chap. 
iv.  16),  which  (as  will  be  seen  by  the  Note  on  the  pas- 
sage) is,  in  all  probability,  our  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
— an  Epistle  (see  the  Introduction  to  it)  addressed,  in- 
deed, primarily  to  Ephesus,  but  apparently  also  an  En- 
cyclical Letter  to  the  sister  Churches  of  Asia.  All  these 
indications  point  to  one  conclusion — not  only  that  the 
Epistle  is  one  of  the  Epistles  of  tlie  Roman  captivity 
(about  A.D.  61 — 63),  but  that  it  is  a  twin  Epistle  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  sent  at  the  same  time 
and  by  the  same  hand,  and  designed  to  be  interchanged 
with  it  in  the  Churches  of  Colossae  and  Laodicea. 
These  indications  are  confirmed  most  decisively  by  the 
Ru])stance  of  the  Epistle  itself,  which  (as  will  be  seen 
below)  presents,  on  the  one  hand,  the  most  striking 
similarities  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  and,  on  the 
other,  differences  almost  equally  striking  and  chai'ac- 
tei-istic — thus  contradicting  all  theories  of  derivation  of 
one  from  the  other,  and  supporting  very  strongly  tlie 
idea  of  independent  contemporaneousness  and  coinci- 
dence of  thought. 

The  occasion  of  writing  seems  evndently  to  have  been 
a  visit  to  the  Apostle  from  Epaphras,  the  first  preacher 
of  the  gospel  at  Colossai,  and  tlie  profound  anxiety 
caused  both  to  him  and  to  St.  Paul  (chaps,  ii.  1 ;  iv.  12, 
13)  l)y  the  news  which  he  brought  of  the  rise  among 
the  Colossians  (and  probably  the  Christians  of  Laodicea 
and  Hierapolis  also)  of  a  peculiar  form  of  error,  half 
Jewish,  half  Gnostic,  which  tlireatened  to  beguile  them 
from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  into  certain  curious 


mazes  of  speculation  as  to  the  Godhead  and  the  out- 
growth of  various  emanations  from  it :  to  create  a 
separation  between  those  who  believed  themselves 
perfect  in  this  higher  knowledge  and  the  mass  of  their 
brethren :  and,  above  all,  to  obscure  or  obliterate  tho 
sole  divine  mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Chri.st.  To 
warn  them  against  these  forms  of  error — the  last 
development  of  the  Judaism  which  had  been  so  for- 
midable an  enemy  in  time  past,  and  the  first  anticipa- 
tion of  an  intellectual  and  spiritual  bewilderment  which 
was  to  be  still  more  formidable  in  the  future — St.  Paul 
writes  this  Letter.  The  Colossian  Cluirch  was  indeed 
to  receive  a  co^iy  from  Laodicea  of  our  Epistle  to  tho 
Ephesians;  but  in  an  Encyclical  Letter  this  peculiar 
form  of  heresy  could  not  well  bo  touched  upon. 
Epaphras  was  for  the  present  to  continue  at  Rome, 
and  (see  Pliilcm.  verse  24)  to  share  St.  Paul's  imprison- 
ment. Mark,  the  nephew  of  Barnabas,  then  with  St. 
Paul,  was  perhaps  coming  to  Colossce  (chap.  iv.  10),  but 
'  not  yet.  Accordingly,  by  Tychicus,  the  bearer  of  tho 
Encyclical  Letter,  and  Onesimus,  a  fugitive  Colossian 
slave,  whom  the  Apostle  was  about  to  send  back  to 
Philemon,  his  master,  this  Letter  is  despatched.  Partly 
it  repeats  and  enforces  the  teaching  of  the  other  Epis- 
tle, but  regards  these  common  truths  from  a  different 
point  of  \\QVf,  designed  tacitly  to  correct  the  errors  rife 
at  Colossse ;  partly  it  deals  directly  with  those  errors 
themselves,  imploring  the  Colossians  to  break  through 
the  delusions  of  their  new  "philosophy  and  vain  deceit." 
and  to  return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel,  in  which 
they  had  all  been  one  in  the  one  mediation  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

II.  The  Church  to  which  it  is  addressed.— 
The  Church  of  Colosste,  unlike  the  Churches  of  Ei)he- 
sus  and  PJiilippi.  finds  no  record  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  ;  for,  although  this  citj'  is  not  very  far  from 
Ephesus,  we  gather  that  it  was  not  one  of  the  churches 
founded  or  previously  visited  by  St.  Paul  pei*soually 
(chap.  ii.  1 ;  comp.  chap.  i.  4).  But  it  appears,  from 
what  is  apparently  the  true  reading  of  chaii.  i.  7.  that 
Epaphras,  named  as  its  first  evangelist,  and  still,  to 
some  extent,  in  charge  of  it  and  the  neighbouring 
Churclies  of  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis  (chap.  iv.  12,  13), 
was  not  only  a  fellow-servant,  but  a  representative  of 
St.  Paul  in  his  mission  to  Colossir.  We  can,  therefore, 
hardly  bo  Avroug  in  referring  the  conversion  of  tlio 
Colos.sians  to  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  three  years'  stay  at 
Eplicsns,  during  which  we  are  expressly  told  that  "  all 
they  which  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
botli  Jews  and  Greeks  "  (Acts  xix.  10),  and  supposuig 
that  indirectly  through  Epaphras  tho  Christianity  of 
the  Colossians  Avas  due  to  the  influence  of  that  great 
91 


COLOSSIANS. 


Apostolic  proacliinfj  undor  wliu-h  '•  the  word  of  God 
grew  luiglitily  and  pri-vailed."  We  find  also  tliat  St. 
Paul  liad  intimate  personal  acquaintance,  and  wliat  he 
calls  emi)haticnlly  '' partnershij),"  with  Pliilcmon  (see 
Phileni.  verse  17),  ajjparently  a  Icadinj;  member  of  the 
Church  at  Colossa).  It  is  not  unlikely  that  through  him 
also  the  Apostle  had  been  aVjle  to  influence  the  founda- 
tion or  growth  of  that  Church.  These  circumstances 
explain  the  style  and  tone  of  this  Letter,  which  seems  to 
stand  midway  l)et ween  the  jtersonal  familiarity  and  un- 
hesitating authority  of  such  Epistles  as  the  Epistles  to 
the  Thessalonians,  Corinthians,  Galatians.  and  Philip- 
pians,  addressed  to  churches  founded  directly  liy  St. 
Paul,  aiul  the  courteous  reserve  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  addressed  to  a  Church  over  which  he  could 
claim  none  of  the  authority  of  a  founder.  Tliis  is, 
perhaps,  especially  notable  in  chap,  ii.,  where  St.  Paul 
j)refaces  his  definite  and  authoritative  denunciation  of 
the  peculiar  errors  Ix^setting  the  Colossian  Church  with 
the  half-apologetic  introduction :  '"  I  would  that  ye 
know  ■^vhat  great  conflict  I  have  for  you,  and  for 
th.'m  at  Laodicea,  and  for  as  many  as  liave  not  seen  my 
face  in  the  flesh." 

The  position  and  history  of  Colossse  are  admirably 
described  by  Dr.  Lightfoot  in  his  Introduction  to  this 
Epistle,  sect.  1.  It  lay  in  the  valley  of  the  Lycus,  a 
trilmtary  of  the  Mseauder,  near  Laodicea  and  Hiera- 
polis.  These  two  cities  stand  face  to  face,  about  six 
miles  from  each  other  on  opposite  sides  of  the  valley, 
and  ten  or  twelve  miles  further  up,  on  the  river  itself, 
lies  Colossse,  so  that  any  one  approaching  it  from 
Ephesus  or  from  the  sea-coast  would  pass  by  Lao- 
dicea. The  three  cities  thus  form  a  group,  so  that 
they  might  naturally  receive  the  gospel  at  the  same 
time,  and  the  Christian  communities  in  them  might 
_  ca.sily  be  under  the  same  general  charge.  They  seem 
to  have  been  politically  united  under  the  Roman 
Government,  and  to  have  been  distinguished  by  a 
commvjn  trade;  like  Thyatira,  they  were  known  for 
their  manufacture  of  dyes,  especially  purple  dyes,  and 
derived  considerable  wealth  therefrom.  Colossa?  had 
been  once  a  ]>lace  of  importance.  It  is  described  by 
Herodotus  (chap.  vii.  20)  as  being,  at  the  time  of 
Xerxes'  invasion  of  Greece,  "  a  great  city  of  Phrygia," 
the  site  of  which  is  marked  by  a  subterranean  dis- 
appearance of  the  river  Lycus ;  and  by  Xenophon  (Anab. 
i.  '1,  §  6),  about  a  century  lat«r,  as  "a  city  great  and 
prosperous."  But  at  the  time  at  which  this  Epistle 
was  written  Colossse  was  of  far  less  note  than  the 
wealthy  Laodicea.  tlie  metropolis  of  the  district,  or 
Hierapolis,  wi'U  known  as  a  place  of  resort  for  medici- 
nal baths,  and  consecrated  both  to  the  Greek  Apollo 
and  the  Phrygian  Cybele.  In  the  Apocalyjjtic  letters 
to  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia  it  finds  no  mention, 
being  probably  looked  npon  as  a  dependency  of  the 
proud  and  wealthy  Church  of  LaocUcea.  After  the 
Apostolic  age,  while  Laodicea  and,  in  less  degree, 
Hierajtolis  are  well-kno^^ni,  Colossae  sinks  into  utter 
insignificance.  It  may  possibly  have  been  laid  in  ruins 
by  one  of  the  earthquakes  wliich  are  known  to  have 
been  common  in  these  regions.  Comparatively  few 
remains  of  it  are  now  found,  and  the  very  orthograi)hy 
of  the  name  {Cnlnsuce,  or  Cohiftacr)  has.  it  appears, 
been  matter  of  dispute.  It  is  notable  that  a  Church  so 
much  honoured  and  cared  for  by  St.  Paul  should  have 
had  hereafter  so  obscure  and  so  adverse  a  future.* 


•  Views  of  the  country  near  the  supposed  site  of  Colossflp, 
and  of  the  ruins  of  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis,  arc  given  in 
Lewin's  St.  Paul,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  357—360. 


92 


III.  The  Genuineness  of  the  'Epiatle.— Exter- 
nal Evidence. — Speaking  generally,  the  condition  of 
the  external  evidence  is  much  the  same  with  this  as 
with  the  other  two  Epistles.  It  is  included  imhesi- 
tatingly  in  all  canons,  from  the  Muratoriau  Canon 
(A.D.  170"')  downwards,  and  in  all  versions,  beginning 
with  the  Pe.schito  and  the  Old  Latin  in  the  second 
century.  Quotations  or  references  to  it  have  not,  how- 
ever, been  traced  in  any  of  the  Apostolic  fathers.  The 
first  distinct  allusion  to  it  is  in  Justin  Martyr  (a.d. 
11(J — 170.^),  who  says  (Apol.  i.  48,  ii.  6;  Dial.  c. 
Tryph.  c.  lOO) :— "  We  were  taught  that  Christ  is  the 
first-bom  of  God ;  "  "  We  have  acknowledged  Him  as 
the  first-born  of  God,  and  before  all  creatures;" 
"Through  Him  God  set  all  things  in  order."  (Comp. 
chap.  i.  1.5 — 17.)  The  next  is  Theophilus  of  Autioch, 
who  died  about  A.D.  180  : — "  God  begat  the  Word,  the 
first-born  before  all  creation."  After  this,  in  Irenaeus, 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  TertuUian,  direct  quotation 
begins,  and  continues  uninterruptedly  in  all  Christian 
writings.  (See  Westcott,  Canon  of  the  New  Testament.) 
The  external  e^^dence  is  therefore  strong.  Never  until 
these  later  days  of  arbitrary  criticism  has  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  Epistle  been  questioned. 

Internal  Evidence. — This  Epistle,  far  more  than  the 
Epistle  to  the  Pliilippiaus,  perhaps  a  little  less  than 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  bears  traces  of  what  I 
have  ventured  to  call  St.  Paul's  "  third  manner."  To 
the  correspondence  of  the  change,  both  in  style  and 
substance,  traceable  in  these  Epistles,  to  the  alteration 
of  St.  Paul's  circumstances,  and  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  the  gospel  and  of  the  Church,  I  have  already 
referred  in  the  General  Introduction  to  the  Epiiitlef!  oj 
the  Captivity,  and  given  reasons  for'raaintaining  that 
this  change,  which  has  been  often  made  an  argument 
<1gainst  the  genuineness  of  these  Epistles,  presents  to 
uV^jhenomena  inexplicable  on  ^nj'  supi)osition  of  imita- 
tion or  forgery,  but  perfectly  intelligible  if  we  accept 
the  Apostolic  authorship. 

Some  critics,  however — of  whom  Dr.  Holtzmann  (in 
his  Kritik  der  Epheser^  und  Kolosser-  hriefe)  may  be 
taken  as  the  chief  representative — insist  on  tracing 
extensive  intei-polations  (almost  amounting  to  a  Anrtual 
reconstruction)  in  what  they  believe  themselves  able  to 
discover  as  the  originals  both  of  this  Epistle  and  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  Except  so  far  as  these 
hypotheses  depend  on  the  supposed  traces  of  a  later 
Gnosticism  in  both  Epistles,  but  especially  in  this  (on 
which  see  Excursus  at  the  clo.se  of  this  Epistle),  they 
seem  to  resolve  themselves  into  the  idea  that  every  pas- 
sage bearing  strong  similarity  to  the  teaching  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  John  must  have  been  altered  or  interpolated 
with  a  view  to  accommodation.  Without  any  substantial 
historical  evidence,  ignoring  both  the  probabilities  of 
the  ca.se  and  the  indirect  evidence  of  Holy  Scripture, 
and  disregarding  the  utter  absence  of  any  support 
whatever  in  the  witness  of  Christian  antiquity,  they 
assume  an  absolute  antagonism  between  St.  Paul  and 
the  Apostles  of  the  Circumcision,  a  1  pronounce  every 
indication  of  an  underlying  unity,  and  a  true  develop- 
ment of  common  doctriue,  which  contradicts  this 
assinnption.  to  be  a  mark  of  interpolation  or  falsification 
l)y  a  later  hand.  With  the  rejection  of  this  arbitrary 
assumption,  the  greater  part  of  the  ingeniously-con- 
stnfcted  fabric  of  destructive  criticism  falls  to  the 
ground. 

But,  indeed,  it  appears  difficult  to  conceive  how  any 
one  attentively  studying  either  of  these  Epistles,  with- 
out any  preconceived  hypothesis,  can  fail  to  recognise 
the  intenial  consistency  and  unity— all  the  more  strUiing 


COLOSSIAXS. 


because  indicating  a  free  method,  as  distinct  from  a 
well-squared  artificial  system — which  runs  through  the 
wliole,  and  makes  the  theory  of  interpolation  even  more 
iniprobaljle  than  the  theory  of  imitation  or  forgery. 
Nothing,  for  example,  is  more  notable  in  this  Epistle 
'tlian  the  substantial  unity,  under  marked  dilferenee  of 
form,  wliicli  connects  the  positive  statement  of  doctrine 
in  the  first  chapter  (verses  14 — 23)  with  the  polemical 
>re-statement  in  the  seeond  chapter.  In  the  former 
we  trace  anticipation  of  the  latter,  and  (so  to  speak) 
preparation  for  the  more  explicit  development  of  the 
attack  on  doctrinal  error;  in  the  latter,  the  very  repe- 
titions, with  variations,  of  passages  in  the  first  chapter 
ai'e  indicative  of  a  free  treatment  of  the  truths  pre- 
viously dealt  with  by  the  same  hand,  and  are  utterly 
unlike  the  tame  reproductions  or  artificial  modifications 
of  a  mere  copyist.  The  remarkable  indications,  again, 
of  the  co-existence  of  similarity  and  distinctness 
between  this  Epistle  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ejdiesians 
(noticed  in  the  Introduction  to  that  Epistle),  as  they 
preclude  the  theory  of  dependence  or  imitation  in 
eitlier,  so  are  equally  fatal  to  the  idea  of  an  artificial 
interpolation  and  reconstruction  by  later  hands.  They 
indicate  at  every  point  a  free,  almost  unconscious, 
coincidence,  omitting  or  preserving  the  parallelisms  of 
idea  and  expression  by  a  kind  of  natural  selection. 
Tliey  mark  a  likeness  of  li^-ing  organic  growths,  not  of 
artificial  and  heterogeneous  fabrics.  Nor  should  we 
omit  to  notice  tlie  sustained  power  of  these  Epistles, 
differing  as  to  the  peculiar  style  of  each,  but  equally 
conspicuous  in  both.  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 
has  about  it  a  certain  calm  and  almost  mystic  elo- 
quence, a  beauty  of  meditative  completeness  of  idea, 
unbroken  by  necessities  of  special  teacliing  or  special 
warning,  which  well  suits  a  general  Apostolic  message 
to  Christians  as  Christians,  in  which  we  seem  almost 
to  hear  the  utterance  of  an  inspired  mind,  simply  con- 
templating the  divine  truth  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  speaking  out,  so  far  as  they  can  bo  spoken, 
the  thoughts  which  it  stu-s  within — conscious  of  God 
and  itself,  only  half  conscious  of  those  to  whom  the 
utterance  is  addressed.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians,  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  a  far  greater  abrupt- 
ness, force,  and  earnestness.  The  free  course  of  the 
Apostolic  thought,  which  occasionally,  perhaps,  rises 
to  an  even  greater  height,  is,  on  the  whole,  checked 
and  modified  by  the  constant  remendu'ance  of  pressing 
needs  and  pressing  dangers — accoi'dingly  developing 
some  elements  and  leaving  others  comparatively  unde- 
veloped :  and  so,  while  perhaps  increasing  intensity, 
certainly  interfering  to  some  extent  with  the  majestic 
symmetry  of  the  universal  revelation.  Each  Epistle 
lias  its  marked  characteristics ;  and  these,  unquestion- 
ably, so  run  through  the  Avhole  as  to  destroy  even  any 
sh(jw  of  plausibility  in  the  theory  of  interpolation. 

The  supposed  anachronisms  in  the  references  to  what.- 
afterwards  became  peculiarities  of  the  Gnostic  system 
will  be  treated  of  in  the  Excursus  (at  the  close  of  the 

y      Epistle)  on  the  lie'  tion  of  the  Epistle  to  Gnosticism. 

I  Here  it  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that,  on  more  attentive 
examination,  not  only  do  the  supposed  objections  to 
the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle  disappear,  but  the  jdie- 
nomena  of  the  "  philosopliy  and  vain  deceit "  touched 
upon  in  this  Epistle,  wlien  compared  with  the  opinions 
either  of  the  past  or  of  the  future,  accord  so  remarkably 
with  the  characteristics  of  the  period  to  which  the 
Epistle  claims  to  belong,  as  to  add  a  fresh  confirmation 
of  the  conclusions  already  derived  from  a  consideration 
of  the  external  evidence,  and  by  the  study  of  the 
coherence  and  vigour  of  the  Epistlo  itself. 


In  this  case,  therefore,  as  in  the  others,  we  may 
unhesitatingly  dismiss  the  questions  which  have  been 
ingeniously  raised,  and  witli  undisturbed  confidence 
draw  from  the  Epistle  the  rich  treasures  of  Apostolic 
teaching. 

IV.  The  main  Substance  of  the  Epistle.— In 
considering  the  substance  of  the  Epistle,  we  must  dis- 
tinguish between  the  large  amount  of  matter  common 
to  it  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  and  the  portion 
which  is  peculiar  to  this  Epistle  alone. 

In  regard  of  the  common  matter,  it  may  be  said 
generally  that  it  is  found  treated  with  a  greater 
width  of  scope  and  completeness  of  handling  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  It  is  best  studied 
there  in  the  first  instance  (see,  accordingly,  the  Intro- 
duction and  Analysis  of  that  Epistle),  and  then 
illustrated  by  comjiarison  and  contrast  with  the  corre- 
sponding passages  in  this  Epistle.  It  will  be  seen  (as 
is  explained  in  the  Notes  on  various  passjiges)  that 
this  illustration  is  at  every  point  full  of  suggestiveness 
and  variety.  Literal  identities  are  exceedingly  rare;  in 
almost  every  set  of  parallel  passages  the  treatment  in 
the  two  Epistles  presents  some  points  of  characteristic 
variety,  either  in  expression  or  in  meaning.  Speaking 
generally,  this  variety  depends  on  two  causes.  The 
first  turns  on  the  speciality  of  the  Epistle,  addressed  to 
a  single  Church,  thoroughly,  thoufjh  indirectly,  known  to 
St.  Paul,  and  the  generality  of  the  other,  approaching 
nearly  to  the  character  of  a  treatise  rather  than  a  letter. 
The  second  and  the  more  important  cause  of  this 
variety  is  the  subtle  adaptation  even  of  details  to  the 
characteristic  doctrines  which  stand  out  in  the  two 
Epistles  respectively. 

This  last  consideration  leads  on  naturally  to  the 
examination  of  the  portions  of  the  Epistle  to  which 
there  is  nothing  to  con-espond  in  the  Ephcsian  Epistle. 

(«)  We  have  the  passages  in  the  first  and  last  chap- 
ters which  refer  to  the  foundation  of  the  Colossian 
Church  by  Epaphras,  the  declaration  to  them  of  the 
''  truth  of  the  gospel,"  and  the  practical  fruitfulness  of 
that  teaching  (chap.  i.  6 — II) ;  next,  to  the  deep  anxiety 
felt  by  Epaphras  and  St.  Paid  himself  for  their  stead- 
fastness in  the  simple  truths  of  the  gospel,  against  the 
speculations  of  a  wild  philosophy  and  the  allurements 
of  a  mystic  perfection  in  practice  (chaps,  i.  23,  24;  ii. 
I— 4,  8—10,  16—23;  iv.  12,  13);  lastly,  tlie  particu- 
larity and  strong  personality  of  the  salutations,  direc- 
tions, and  blessing  at  the  close  of  this  Epistle  (chap, 
iv.  7 — 18),  singularly  contrasting  with  the  brief  gene- 
rality of  the  other  (Eph.  vi.  21 — 24).  All  these  cor- 
respond to  the  former  of  the  causes  above  named. 
They  mark  the  difference  between  a  special  and  an 
Encyclical  Epistle. 

(6)  Of  infinitely  greater  moment  is  the  special  pro- 
minence which  is  given  in  this  Epistle  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  sole  Headship  of  Christ.  The  references  to  the 
Church  as  His  body,  though  not  unfrequent.  are  Virief, 
secondary,  unemphatic ;  and  thus  stand  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  vivid  and  magnificent  descriptions  in 
the  Ephcsian  Ejnstle  of  the  predestination  and  election 
of  the  whole  body  of  the  Church  in  the  eternal  counsels 
"of  the  heavenly  places"  (Eph.  i.  3 — 14)  :  of  the  union 
of  Jew  and  Gentile  in  the  divine  "  commonwealth,"  all 
divisions  being  broken  down  which  separated  each  from 
the  other  and  both  from  God  (cliap.  ii.  11 — 18):  of 
the  great  Temple,  '"  built  on  the  foundation  of  the 
apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  being  tlie  cliief 
corner-stone"  (chap.  ii.  19 — 24):  of  the  "one  body" 
and  "  the  one  Spirit,"  the  "  one    Lord,  the  one  God 


83 


COLOSSIAXS. 


Hud  Father  of  all "  (chap.  iv.  4 — 10).  It  is  especially 
notable  that  to  the  last-naiued  passajre.  which  is  tlie 
climax  of  the  doctriual  teaching  of  the  Ephesiau 
Epistle,  there  corresponds  iu  this  the  equally  cele- 
brated but  wholly  different  passage  (Col.  iii.  1 — 4), 
which  addresses  tlio  Colossiaus  as  "  risen  with  Christ," 
having  their  "  life  hid  with  Him  in  God,"  looking 
for  the  time  "  when  He  who  is  their  life  shall  appear, 
and  they  with  Him  in  glory."  The  reason  of  the  dis- 
tinction is  made  clear  at  once  by  the  indications  of  the 
presence  at  Colossa)  of  a  tendency  to  vain  speculations, 
to  obsolete  Jewish  forms,  and  to  half  idolatrous  super- 
stitions, all  of  which  alike  prevented  them  from  '"holding 
the  Head,"  from  "  being  dead  'vvith  Christ  "  to  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  world,  from  being  "risen  with  Him"  to 
a  comnnmion  with  heaven  (chap  ii.  8 — 23).  Accordingly, 
the  sole  Headship  of  Christ  is  dwelt  upon  —  first 
positively,  (chap.  i.  18—20),  next  polemically,  iu  warning 
against  error  (chap.  ii.  8,  16, 18).  Both  passages  are 
peculiar  to  this  Epistle,  as  compared  with  the  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians.  They  deal  with  a  subject  on  which 
the  needs  of  Colossse  and  its  sister  Churches  forced  St. 
Paul  to  lay  very  special  emphasis. 

(c)  But  this  emphasis  does  but  bring  out  with 
greater  force  what  may  be  found  elsewhere.  The 
great  characteristic  feature  of  this  Epistle  is  the  de- 
claration of  the  nature  of  Christ  in  Himself  as  the 
"image  of  the  invisible  God ;  "  "firstborn  before  all 
creation  ;  "  "  by  whom,"  "  for  whom,"  "  in  whom,"  "  all 
beings  were  created  in  heaven  and  earth  "  and  "  all 
things  consist ;  "  "  in  whom  dwells  all  the  fidness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily"  (chaps,  i.  15 — 17,  19;  ii.  9).  In 
this  the  Epistle  may  be  compared  with  the  Epistle  to 
the  Philippiaus  (chap.  ii.  6,  7).  But  the  simple  decla- 
ration there  made  of  Christ  as  "  being  in  the  form  of 
God  "  is  here  worked  out  into  a  magnificent  elaboration, 
ascribing  to  Him  the  "  fidness  of  Godhead  "  and  the 
essential  divine  attributes  of  universal  creation.  It 
may  bo  even  more  closely  compared  with  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  which  not  only  describes  Him  as  "the 
express  image  of  the  essence  of  Godhead,"  but  with  an  em- 
phasis which  reminds  us  of  the  Judaistic  angel-wor.sliip 
condenmed  in  this  Epistle,  exalts  His  absolute  superiority 
overall  who,  however  glorious,  are  but  creatures  of  God 
and  ministering  spirits  (Heb.  i.  1 ;  ii.  4).  It  is  e\-ideut, 
again,  that  it  anticipates,  yet  with  characteristic  differ- 
ence of  expression,  tlie  doctrine  of  the  "  Word  of  God  " 
taught  by  St.  John,  and  the  ascription  to  Him  of 
essential  eternity  and  Godhead,  and  both  of  physical 
and  spiritual  creation  (John  i.  1 — 5,  14).  It  is  this 
which  gives  to  our  Epistle  an  unique  doctrinal  signifi- 
cance and  value.  Called  out  by  one  of  the  changeful 
phases  of  a  pretentious,  but  trausitoiy  error,  it  remains 
to  us  an  imperishable  treasure.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
till  the  end  of  time  it  will  have  fresh  force  of  siwcial 
api)lication,  as  ancient  forms  of  eri-or  recur  ^vith  more 
or  less  of  variety  of  outward  aspect,  and  in  their  con- 
stant changes,  developments,  and  antagonisms,  staud  in 
significant  contrast  with  the  unchanging  gospel. 

y.  Analysis  of  the  Epistle.— To  this  general  de- 
scription is  subjoined,  as  before,  an  analy.sis  of  the 
Epistle,  shortened  from  the  analyses  iu  the  various 
cliapters. 

1.  Doctrinal  Section. 

(1)  Salutation  (chap.  i.  1,  2). 

(a)  Thanksgiving  for  their  faith,  love,  and  hope, 
the  worthy  fruits  of  the  tntth  of  the 
gospel  taught  by  Epaphras  (chap.  i.  3—8) ; 


94 


(b)  Prayer  for  their  fuller  knowledge,  fruitful- 

oiess,  and 2)atience  (chap.  i.  9 — 12). 

(2)  The    Doctrine    op    Christ    (stated  posi- 

tively), 
(a)  His  mediation  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins 

(chap.  i.  13,  14) ; 
(h)  His  divine  nature  as  the  image  of  God  and 

tlie  Creator  of  all  things  (chap.  i.  15 — 17) ; 

(c)  His  Headship  over  the  Churcli  and  over  all 

created  being  (chap.  i.  18 — 20) ; 

(d)  Special  application  of  His  mediation  to  the 

Colossiaus,  and  declaration  of  the  com- 
mission of  the  preaching  of  this  mystei-y 
to  St.  Paul  himself  {chill),  i-  21—29). 

(3)  The  Doctrine  of  Christ  (stated  i^olemi- 

cally). 

(a)  Declaration  of  St.  Paul's  anxiety  for  them 

that  they  should  remain  rooted  and  stab- 
lished  in  tlie  old  truth  of  the  gospel 
(chap.  ii.  1 — 7) ; 

(b)  Warning  against  speculative  error,  denying 

or  obscuring  the  truth — 

(o)  Of  Christ's  true  Godhead; 

($)  Of    the    regeneration  of    spiritual 

circumcision  in  Him ; 
(7)  Of  His  sole  atonement  and  triumph 

over  the  powers  of  evil  (chap.  ii. 

8—15). 

(c)  Warning  against  practical  superstition — 

(a)  Of  trust  in  obsolete  Jewish  ordi- 
nances and  mystic  asceticism ; 

(/3)  Of  superstitious  worship  of  angels, 
trenching  on  the  sole  Headship  of 
Christ  (chap.  ii.  16—19). 
{d)  Exhortation  to  be — 

(a)  Dead  with  Christ  to  the  rudiments 
of  the  world  ; 

(j3)  Risen  with  Christ  to  the  communion 
with  God  in  heaven  (chaps,  ii.  20 — 
iii.  4). 

2.  Practical  Section. 

(1)  General  Exhortation — 

(a)  To  mortification  of  the  flesh  in  all  the  sins 
of  the  old  unregenerate  nature  (chap.  iii. 
5—9) ; 

(6)  To  putting  on  the  new  man  in  all  the  graces 
of  the  image  of  Christ,  receiving  the 
peace  of  God  and  doing  all  to  His  glory 
(chap.  iii.  10—17). 

(2)  Special    Duties    of   Human   Relation- 

ship— 
(a)   Wives  and  husbands  (chap.  iii.  18,  19); 
(6)  Children  and  parents  (chap.  iii.  20,  21) ; 
(c)    Slaves  and  masters  (chap.  iii.  22 — iv.  1). 

(3)  Conclusion. 

(a)  Exhortation   to   prayer   and   watchfulness 

(chap.  iv.  2 — 6); 
(fc)  Mission  of  Tychicus  and  Onesimus  (chap. 

iv.  7-9) ; 
(c)  Salutations   from   St.  PauVs    companions 

(chap.  iv.  10—14) ; 
{d)  Charge  to  exchange  Epistles  with  Laodicea 

(chap.  iv.  15 — 17); 

(e)  Final  salutation  (chap.  iv.  18). 

YI.  Comparison  with  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians.— To  this  outline  of  the  Epistle  may  also  be  added 
a  tabular  comparison  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
noting  the  general  lines  of  loarallelism  and  peculiarity. 


EPHESIANS    AND    COLOSSIANS. 


[In  this  Table  whatever  is  common  to  the  two  Epistles  is  printed  in  ordinary  type,  and  whatever  is 

peculiar  to  each  in  italics.] 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    EPHESLINS.  EPISTLE    TO    THE    COLOSSIAIfS. 


Doctrinal  Section. 

I.  (a)  Salutation  (diap.  i.  1,  2). 

(6)  Doxology  and  tJuuilcsyiving  for  the  divine 

election  (chap.  i.  3 — 6). 
(c)  Prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  them  (chap.  i. 

15—18). 


2.  (a)  Declaration  of  the  "  gathering  np  of  all  in 

Christ,"  of  His  universal  mediation  for 
Jew  and  Gentile,  and  His  hoadsliip  over 
the  Church,  which  is  His  Body,  "  the  ful- 
ness of  Him  who  filleth  all  in  all "  (chap. 
i.  7—14,  19—23). 

(b)  Fuller  declaration  of  the  union  of  Jew  and 

Gentile  in  one  covenant  and  temple,  on 
sole  condition  of  faith  in  Christ  (chap.  ii. 
1—20).  _ 

(c)  The  commission  to  St.  Paul  of  the  mystery 

of  the  calling  in  of  the  Gentiles,  once 
hidden,  now  revealed  to  men  and  angels 
(chap.  iii.  1 — 13). 
((Z)  Prayer  that  they  may  Tcnow  that  ivhich 
passeth  knoivledge,  by  the  indwelling  of 
Christ,  and  he  filled  to  the  fulness  of  God 
(chap.  iii.  14—21). 

3.  Summary  of  Doctrine  : 

(a)  The  unity  of  the  Church  in  God; 
{b)  The  diversity  of  gifts ; 
(c)  The  one  object  of  all — personal  and  corpo- 
rate edification  (chap.  iv.  1 — 16). 

2.  Practical  Section. 

1.  (a)  General  exliortation  to  put  off  the  old  man 
and  put  on  the  new,  by  learning  Christ 
and  being  taught  in  Christ  (chap.  iv. 
17—24). 
(6)  Warniug  against  various  sins,  as  breaking 
tuiity  with  man  (chap.  iv.  25 — 30). 

(c)  Special  warnings  against  bitterness,  against 
impurity  and  lust,  and  against  reckless 
excess  and  drunkenness  (chap.  iv.  31 — 
V.  21). 

2.  Human  Relationships: 

(a)  Wives  and  husbands  (chap,  v,  22 — 33). 
{The  sacredness  of  marriage  as  a  type  of 
the  union  between  Christ  and  the  Church.) 

(h)  Children  and  parents  (chap.  vi.  1 — 4). 

(c)  Slaves  and  masters  (chap.  \i.  5 — 9). 

3.  Conclusion. 

(a)  Exhortation  to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of 

God  (chap.  vi.  10—17). 
(6)  Request  for  their  prayers  (chap.  vi.  18 — 20). 
(c)  Commendation  of  Tychicus  (chap.  vi.  21, 22). 


{d)  "Peace  be  to  the  brethren."  "Grace  be 
with  all  them  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Cluist  in  sincerity  "  (chap.  \\.  23,  24). 


1.  Doctrinal  Section. 

1.  [ci)  Salutation  (chap.  i.  1,  2). 


(6)  Prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  them  (chap.  i. 

3—5,  9—12). 
(c)  Special  reference  to  the  teaching  of  Epaphras 

and  its  effect  (chap.  i.  6 — 8). 
2,  (a)  Declaration  of  the  universal  mediation  of 

Christ,  and  His  headship  over  the  Churcli 

and  over  all  created  being  (chap.  i.  13, 

14,  18—22). 


(b)  Declaration  of  the  true  Godhead  and  crett' 
tive  power  of  Christ  (chap.  i.  15 — 17). 


(c)  The  commission  to  St.  Paul  of  the  preaching 
of  tlie  mystery  once  hidden,  now  revealed, 
"  ivhich  is  Christ  hi  you  the  hope  of 
glory  "  (chap.  i.  23 — 29). 

(fZ)  Special  warnings  against  peculiar  forms 
of  speculative  error  and  practical  sujicr- 
stition,  draxving  them  from  Christ,  and 
obscuring  His  sole  mediation  and  true 
Godhead  (chap.  ii.  1 — 23). 
3.  Summary  of  Doctrine  : 

The  unity  of  the  soid  ivith  Christ,  in  which 
it  is  risen  and  exalted  to  heaven  in  Him 
(chap.  iii.  1 — 8 ;  comp.  Eph.  ii.  5,  G). 


2.  Practical  Section. 

1.  (a)  General  exhortation  to  mortify  our  earthly 
members,  to  put  off  tlie  old  man  and  put 
on  the  new  (chap.  iii.  5 — 11). 

(6)  Warning  against  various  sins,  as  unwortliy 
of  "  the  elect  of  God  "  (chap.  iii.  5,  8,  9, 
13—17). 


2.  Human  Relationships: 

(a)  Wives  and  husbands  (chap.  iii.  18,  19), 


[b)  Children  and  parents  (chap.  iii.  20,  21). 

(c)  Slaves  and  masters  (chap.  iii.  22— iv.  1). 
3.  Conclusion. 


(rt)  Request  for  their  prayers  (chap.  iv.  2—6). 
(6)  Commendation  of  Tj'chicus  and  Onesimus 
(chap.  iv.  7 — 9). 

(c)  Salutations  from  the  brethren  (chap.  iv.  10 

—14).  ■ 

(d)  Message  to  Laodicea  and  Archippus,  and 

direction  as  to  the  Letter  from  Laodicea 
(chap.  iv.  15 — 17). 

(e)  "Remember  my  bonds.    Grace  be  witli  you" 

(chap.  iv.  IS). 


95 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 


COLOSSIANS. 


CHAPTER  I.— (1)  Paul,  an  apostle  of 
Chap.  i.  1—2.  Jesus  Christ  by  the  will 
Salutation.  of  Gocl,  and  Tiiuotlicus  our 
brother,  ('^^  to  the  saints  and  faithful 
brethren  in  Christ  which  are  at  Co- 
losse :  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace, 
from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord 
Jesus   Christ.     (^^  We  give   thanks    to 


God  and  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 

Clirist,  praying  always  for  q-^^ 

you,     (•*)  since    we    heard    ""' 

of    your    faith    in    Christ 

Jesus,    and     of  the    love 

xolvich  ye   have   to    all  the 

saints,   '^^  for  the  hope   which  is   laid 

up    for    you    in    heaven,    whereof    ye 


3-8. 

Thanksgiving 
for  their  faith, 
love,  and  hope, 
in  the  truth  of 
the  go.spel. 


[1.  Introduction. 

(1)  Salutation  (verses  1,  2). 

(2)  Thanksgiving,  for  their  faith  and  love  and 

hope,  Avith  an  emphatic  reference  to  the 
"  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel"  as  first 
preached  unto  thoni  in  all  faithfulness  by 
Epapliras,  tlio  fellow- servant  and  representa- 
tive of  the  Apostle  (verses  3—8). 

(3)  PliAYER  that  tliey  may  have  further   know- 

ledge, and  fruitfuluess  in  good  works,  being 
strengthened  to  endurance,  and  encouraged 
by  the  hope  of  heaven  (verses  9 — 12).] 

This  chapter  contains  the  main  substance  of  the 
characteristic  doctrine  of  the  Epistle ;  to  which,  how- 
ever, St.  Paul  i-etnrns  in  the  next  chajjler,  enforcing 
it  with  special  application  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  Colossian  cliurcli,  and  special  warning  against  a 
peculiar  form  of  lialf-Judaic  and  Iialf-Gnostic  error. 
It  should  be  compared  tliroughout  Avith  Eph.  i.,  ii.,  iii. 
On  sucli  comi)arison,  we  find,  on  the  one  hand,  a 
strong  general  similarity  both  of  thought  and  ex- 
pression; on  the  other  hand,  a  marked  difference  in 
tlio  su1)ject  to  wliich  main  prominence  is  given.  Tlie 
first  glance  discovers  that  both  Epistles  dwell  em- 
phatically on  Cln-ist  tlie  Head,  and  tlie  unity  of  all  as 
one  Body  in  Him.  But  a  more  thoughtfid  consideration 
will  show  tliat  in  this  Epistle  tlie  main  stress  is  on 
the  hcad.ship  of  Christ ;  in  tlie  Ephesian  Epistle,  on  the 
unity  and  glory  of  the  Church  as  His  body. 

(1)  Timotheus  our  brother.— Except  in  the 
mention  of  Timotheus  (as  in  the  other  Epistles  of  the 
captivity;  see  Pliil.  i.  1;  Pliilcm.  verse  1\  the  salutation 
is  almost  verl)ally  coincident  witli  the  opening  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Eplicsiaiis  (wliero  .see  Note).  Tlie 
mention  of  Timotlieus  here,  and  the  oniissi(m  of  his 
name  there,  mark  tlie  difference  in  character  between 
the  two  Epistles.  In  a  special  Epistle  like  this 
Timotheus  would  be  joined  with  St.  Paul  as  usual.  In 
a  general  Episth^  to  the  churches  of  Asia,  the  Apostle 
alone  could  rightly  speak. 

(-)  From  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.— The  ))est  MSS.  show  here,  that  the  salutation 
should    run    simply    "  from    God    the    Father,"    thus 


varying  from  St.  Paul's  otherwise  universal  phraseology. 
Such  variation  can  hardly  be  accidental.  Could  it  have 
been  suggested  to  St.  Paul's  mind,  in  connection  with  his 
special  desire  to  emphasize  the  triie  Godhead  of  Christ, 
so  obvious  in  this  Epistle,  by  an  instinctive  reluctance 
to  use  in  this  case  any  phrase,  hoAvcver  customary  Avith 
him,  which  might  e\'en  seem  to  distinguish  His  nature 
from  the  Godliead  ?  It  is  certainly  notable  that  in  the 
true  reading  of  chap.  ii.  2  Christ  is  called  "  the  mystery 
of  God,  even  the  Father" — an  unique  and  remarkable 
expression,  Avhich  marks  a  preparation  for  the  full  under- 
standing of  the  teaching  of  our  Lord,  •'  He  that  hath 
seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father  "  (John  xiv.  9). 

(3—8)  Jji  this  expression  of  St.  Paul's  thanksgiving 
for  them  there  is  as  xisual  a  peculiar  corres[)ondcnce  to 
their  circumstances.  They  had  been  full  of  faith,  Ioa'O, 
and  hope,  the  fruit  of  a  true  gospel  preached  by 
Epapliras;  there  Avas  fear  noAV  lest  they  should  be 
beguiled  from  it,  although  that  fear  Avas  obviously  not 
yet  realised,  as  had  been  formerly  the  case  with 
the  Galatians.  Hence  St.  Paid's  emphasis  on  their 
hearing,  knowing,  and  learning  the  truth,  and  on  the 
faithfulness  of  Epapliras  as  a  minister  of  Christ. 

(3,  4)  Comp.  Eph.  i.  15,  16.  Avhere  there  is  an  almost 
exact  A'erbal  coincidence.  Whatever  may  be  the  force 
there  of  the  AA'ords  "  having  heard  of  your  faith."  clearly 
here  they  liarmonisc  with  many  indications  that  tlio 
Colossian  Church,  though  well  known  to  St.  Paul,  Avas 
not  knoAvn  l)y  ])ersonal  knowledge. 

(5)  For  the  hope  which  is  laid  up  for  you  in 
heaven. — Tlie  union  of  hope  Avitli  faith  and  love  is 
natural  enough.  Compare  the  fuller  expression  of 
1  Thess.  i.  3,  "  your  Avork  of  faith,  and  labour  of  love, 
and  patience  of  hope."  But  the  place  assigned  to  hope 
in  this  passage  is  notable.  "  For  the  hope  "  is  really 
"  on  account  of  the  hope."  Hence  faith  and  loA'e 
aro  spoken  of,  not  merely  as  leading  up  to  hope,  but 
as  being  actually  kindled  by  it.  Similarly  in  Eph. 
i.  18  Ave  find  that,  Avhile  faith  and  loA'e  aro  taken  for 
granted,  there  is  a  special  prayer  that  they  may  be 
enliglitened  "to  knoAV  the  hope  of  His  calling"  as  the 
one  thing  yet  needful.  The  prominence  giA-en  to  the 
thought  of  "  the  heavenly  places  "  in  the  Epistles  of 
96 


Thanhsgiving  for  tJieir  Faith. 


COLOSSIANS,  I. 


The  Teaching  of  Ejmphras. 


heard  before  in  the  word  of  the  truth 
of  the  gospel;  (""^  which  is  come  unto 
you,  as  it  is  in  all  the  world ;  and 
bringeth  forth  fruit,  as  it  doth  also  in 
you,  since  the  day  ye  heard  of  it,  and 


knew  the  grace  of  God  in  truth :  (^)  as 
ye  also  learned  of  Epaphras  our  dear 
fellowservant,  who  is  for  you  a  faithful 
minister  of  Christ ;  '^^  who  also  declared 
unto  us  your  love  in  the  Spirit.     (^^  For 


tlie  captivity,  and  therefore  to  Christ  in  heaven,  even 
more  than  to  Christ  risen,  is  evident  to  any  careful 
student.  Accordingly,  the  hope,  which  is  the  instinct 
of  perfection  in  man,  and  which  becomes  realisation 
of  heaven  in  the  Christian,  naturally  comes  out  with 
corresponding  emphasis. 

Ye  heard  before. — That  is,  at  their  first  conversion. 
There  is  an  implied  warning  against  the  new  doctrines, 
which  are  moi-e  f  uUy  noticed  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  truth  of  the  gospel.— This  expression  (as  in 
Gal.  ii.  14)  is  emphatic.  It  refers  to  the  gospel,  not 
chiefly  as  a  message  of  graciousness  and  mercy,  but 
rather  as  a  revelation  of  eternal  truths,  itself  changeless 
as  the  truth  it  reveals.  There  is  a  corresponding 
emphasis,  but  stronger  still,  in  St.  John.  (See,  for  ex- 
ample, 1  John  ii.  27 ;  V.  20 ;  2  John  1 — 4  ;  3  John,  verses 
2, 3.)  The  gospel  was  now  winning  its  way  to  supremacy 
over  civilised  thought.  Hence  the  need  of  warning 
against  the  sudden  growth  of  wild  specidations,  con- 
trasted with  the  unchanging  simplicity  of  its  main  truths. 

(6)  Which  is  come  unto  you  .  .  . — There  is 
much  variety  of  reading  here,  but  the  text  followed  by 
our  version  is  certainly  incorrect.  The  probable 
reading  is,  which  is  come  unto  you,  just  as  in  all  the 
world  it  is  now  bringing  forth  fruit  and  growing,  as 
also  it  does  in  you.  In  this  sentence  there  are  two 
lessons  implied.  First,  the  universality  of  the  gospel, 
in  which  it  stands  contrasted,  as  with  all  local  and 
national  religions,  whether  of  Judaism  or  of  Paganism, 
60  also  with  the  secret  doctrines  of  Gnostic  speculation, 
intelligible  only  to  the  initiated  few.  Next,  the  test  of 
its  reality  both  by  practical  fruit  of  action,  and  by  the 
spiritual  gi-owth  connected  therewith.  In  relation  to 
the  former,  "faith  withoiit  works"  is  "dead";  in 
relation  to  the  other  it  is  "  imperfect,"  needing  to  be 
developed  into  maturity  (Jas.  ii.  20,  22).  Both  these 
lessons  were  evidently  needed,  in  consequence  of  the 
appearance  at  CoIosseb  of  the  occult  mysticism  and  the 
unpractical  speculation  noted  in  chap.  ii.  8, 10,  18.  But 
the  Church  itself  was  still  faithful.  Hence  the  last  words, 
"  as  also  it  does  in  you,"  turning  back  again  to  Colossae 
in  particular,  are  an  insertion  of  kindly  courtesy — one 
of  the  insertions  of  apparent  afterthought  not  un- 
frequent  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles — intended  to  show  that 
the  implied  Avarning  is  by  no  means  a  condemnation. 

(7)  Ye  also  learned  of  Epaphras.— Of  Epa- 
phras we  know  notluug,  except  what  we  gather  from 
this  passage,  and  from  chap.  iv.  12 ;  Philcm.  verse  23. 
The  name  is  a  shortened  form  of  Epaphroditus,  but  it  is 
most  unlikely  that  he  is  the  same  as  the  Epaphroditus 
of  Phil.  ii.  25 ;  iv.  18.  Being,  it  seems,  a  native  of 
Colossse  itself,  he  was  apparently  its  first  evangelist, 
and  is  afterwards  described  as  feeling  some  responsi- 
bility for  it  and  its  neighbouring  cities,  Laodicea  and 
Hierapolis  (chap.  iv.  13).  His  work  could  not  have 
been  transient,  for  under  him  the  Colossians  are  said 
not  only  to  have  "  heard,"  but  also  to  have  "  known  " 
(come  to  know  perfectly)  "  the  grace  of  God."  St.  Paul 
here  gives  emphatic  testimony  to  his  faithfulness,  and 
to  his  preaching  to  them  "  in  truth."  That  he  was,  then 
or  afterwards.  Bishop  of  Colossae  is  probably  a  mere 
guess  of  tradition.     But  ho  may  have  had  some  such 

73 


charge  as  that  which  was  afterwards  more  formally 
committed  to  Timotliy  at  Ephesus,  and  Titus  in  Crete. 
At  this  time,  however,  he  remained  with  St.  Paul  (chap, 
iv.  12,  13),  and  apparently  shared  his  capti^aty,  for  he 
is  called  (in  Philem.  verse  23)  his  "  fellow-prisoner." 

Who  is  for  you  a  faithful  minister  of 
Christ. — (1)  "For  you"  is,  properly,  on  your  behalf. 
This  has  been  supposed  to  mean  that  Epaphras,  like 
his  Philippian  namesake,  had  been  a  represent<ative  of 
the  Colossian  Church,  in  miuistiy  to  the  Apostle ;  but 
this  is  hardly  compatible  with  the  entire  absence  of 
any  personal  reference  in  the  sentence.  Contrast 
Philem.  verse  13,  "  that  on  thy  behalf  ho  might  minister 
to  me."  If  this  reading,  therefore,  is  to  stand,  "  on  your 
behalf  "  must  be  taken  to  signify  generally  "  for  your 
benefit,"  which  is  doubtless  the  meaning  of  our  version. 
(2)  But  there  is  considerable,  perhaps  preponderating, 
MS.  authority  for  the  reading  "  on  our  behalf,"  that  is, 
in  our  stead.  Tliis  makes  Epaphras  a  representative, 
perhaps  an  actual  messenger,  of  St.  Paul,  for  the  con- 
version of  the  church  at  Colossse;  sent  probably  at  the 
time  when  the  Apostle  had  his  head-quarters  at 
Ephesus,  and  when  "  all  that  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the 
word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  "  (Acts  xix.  10).  This  inter- 
pretation not  only  gives  greater  force  to  this  passage, 
but  explains  also  the  attitude  of  aiithority  here  assume  1 
by  St.  Paul  toward  a  church  which  he  had  not  seen, 
difEering  so  markedly  from  the  tone  of  his  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  in  a  like  case. 

(8)  Who  also  declared  unto  us. — This  refers  to 
news  recently  brought  by  Epaphras  to  St.  Paul  at 
Rome.  He  had  been  a  minister  in  St.  Paul's  stead ; 
he  now,  like  Timothy  afterwards,  visited  him  to  give 
accomit  of  his  deputed  work. 

Your  love  in  the  Spirit.—"  In  the  Spirit "  is  "  in 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost  " — the  Spirit  of  love.  The 
love  here  would  seem  to  be  especially  love  towards  St. 
Paul,  a  part  of  the  "  love  towards  all  the  saints " 
ascribed  to  them  above  (verse  4). 

(9—12)  From  thanksgiving  St.  Paul  passes,  as  always, 
to  pray  for  them.  The  prayer  is  for  their  full  and 
perfect  knowledge  of  God's  will ;  but  this  is  emphatic- 
ally connected  with  practical  "  walking  "  in  that  will, 
first  by  fruitfulness  in  good  work,  next  by  showing 
themselves  strong  in  Christ  to  endure  suffei'ings,  lastly 
by  thankful  acceptance  of  God's  call  to  inheritance 
among  the  saints  in  light.  There  is  a  hearty  recognition 
of  the  blessing  of  knowledge  (on  which  the  incipient 
Gnosticism  of  the  day  was  so  eloquent) ;  but  it  is  to  be 
tried  by  the  three  tests  of  practiciU  goodness,  patience, 
and  thankful  humility. 

(9)  Do  not  cease  to  pray  for  you.— Comp.  Eph, 
i.  16.  "To  pray"  (see  Eph.  \\.  IS;  Pliil.  iv.  6)  is  the 
general  word  for  "  to  worship  " ;  "  to  desire  "  indicates 
prayer,  properly  so  called,  asking  from  God  what  is 
requisite  and  necessary  for  ourselves  or  for  others. 

The  knowledge  of  his  will.— The  "  knowledge  " 
here  spoken  of  is  the  "  fuU  knowledge,"  to  be  attained 
in  measure  liere,  to  be  made  perfect  in  heaven.  See 
1  Cor.  xiii.  12,  "  Now  I  know  in  part ;  but  then  shall  I 


97 


Prayer  for  their  fuller  Knowledge, 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


yood  Works,  and  Patience. 


this  cause  we  also,  since  the  day  we 
CI  •  9-10  heard  it,  do  not  cease  to 
Prayer  for  their  pray  for  you,  and  to  de- 
fuller  know-  sire  that  ye  mi^'ht  be  filled 
ledge,     good       .,,       xi  i  i    i  n 

works,   and  With    the      knowledge     or 
patient  endur-  \^{^  ^vill  in  all  wisdom  and 
spiritual      understanding ; 
(^^^  that  ye  might  walk  worthy  of  the 


Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being  fruitful  in 
every  good  work,  and  increasing  in  the 
knowledge  of  God ;  (^^^  strengthened 
with  all  might,  according  to  his  glorious 
power,  unto  all  patience  and  longsuffer- 
ing  with  joyfulness ;  (^-^  giving  thanks 
unto  the  Father,  which  hath  made  us 
meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance 


know  (perfectly)  even  as  I  am  known. "  On  this  word, 
especially  frequent  in  the  Epistles  of  the  captivity,  see 
Kote  on  Eph.  i.  17.  It  should  be  noted  tliat  tlie 
knowledge  here  prayed  for  is  "  the  knowledge  of  God's 
will," — not  speculation  as  to  the  nature  of  God,  or  as  to 
emanations  from  Deity,  or  even  as  to  the  reasons  of 
God's  mysterious  counsels,  but  knowledge  of  what 
actually  is  His^vill,  both  in  the  dispensation  which  is  to 
be  accepted  in  faith,  and  in  the  commandments  to  be 
obeyed  in  love.  So  St.  Paul  (in  1  Tim.  i.  4-.  5)  contrasts 
with  the  "  fables  and  endless  genealogies  "  of  Gnostic 
speculation,  "  the  end  of  the  commandment,"  "  charity 
out  of  a  pure  heart  and  a  good  conscience,  and  faith 
unfeigned." 

In  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding.— 
This  " knowledge  of  Gods  will  "  is  man's  "  wisdom." 
For  "  wisdom "  is  the  knowledge  of  the  true  end  of 
life ;  which  is  (as  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  so  tragically 
shows)  vainly  sought,  if  contemplated  apart  from  God's 
will,  but  found  (see  Eccles.  xiii.  14  ;  Job  xxWii.  29  ;  Prov. 
i.  7)  in  the  "  fear  of  the  Lord"  and  the  "  keeping  of 
His  commandments."  (On  the  relation  of  the  supreme 
gift  of  ^visdom  to  lesser  cognate  gifts,  see  Note  on 
Eph.  i.  8. )  "  Understanding "  here  is  properly  the 
faculty  of  .spiritual  insight  or  judgment,  the  specu- 
lative exercise  of  wisdom,  as  the  "  prudence  "  of  Eph. 
i.  8  is  the  practical.  Hence  St.  Paul  subjoins  the 
practical  element  at  once  in  the  next  verse. 

(10)  Walk  worthy  {icorthihj)  of  the  Lord.— 
Here  St.  Paul  begins  to  dwell  on  the  practical  life, 
much  in  the  same  spirit  in  which,  in  Eph.  iv.  1,  he 
returns  from  the  profound  thought  of  diiips.  ii.  and  iii. 
to  the  entreaty  "  to  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  with 
which  they  are  called."  ''  The  Lord  "  is  here,  as  usual, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  to  walk  worthy  of  Him  is  to 
have  His  life  reproduced  in  us,  to  follow  His  example, 
to  have  "  the  mind  of  Christ  Jesus."  The  '"  worthi- 
ness "  is,  of  course,  relative  to  our  capacity,  not  absolute. 

All  pleasing.— The  word  here  used'  is  not  found 
elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament,  but  is  employed  in 
classic  and  Hellenistic  Greek  to  mean  "  a  general  dis- 
position to  please  " — a  constant  preference  of  tlie  will 
of  others  before  our  own.  It  is  here  used  witli  tacit 
reference  to  God,  since  towards  Him  alone  c.ui  it  lie  a 
safe  guide  of  action.  Otherwise  it  must  have  the  bad 
sense  which  in  general  usage  was  attached  to  it. 
St.  Paul  emphatically  disowns  and  condemns  the 
temper  of  "  men-pleasing  "  (see  Gal.  i.  10  ;  Epli.  vi.  6; 
Col.  iii.  22  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  4),  as  incompatible  with  being 
•'the  servant  of  Christ."  He  could,  indeed,  "be  all 
things  to  all  men"  (1  Cor.  ix.  22) ;  he  could  bid  each 
man  "please  his  neighbour  for  his  edification"  (Kom. 
XV.  12).  But  the  only  "pleasing  "  to  Avliich  tlie  whole 
life  can  be  conformed  is  (see  1  Tliess.  iv.  1)  the  con- 
sidei'ation  '"how  we  ought  to  walk  and  to  please  God." 
Only  in  subordination  to  this  can  we  safely  act  on  the 
desire  of  "  all  pleasing  "  towards  men. 

Increasing  in  (or,  6?/)  the  knowledge  of  God.— 
The  context  evidently  shows  that  the  path  towards  the  i 

98 


knowledge  of  God  here  indicated  is  not  the  path  of 
thoughtful  speculation,  or  of  meditative  devotion,  but 
the  third  path  co-ordinate  with  these — the  path  of 
earnest  practice,  of  which  the  watchword  is,  "Do  and 
thou  shalt  know." 

(11)  His  glorious  power.— Properly,  the  strength 
of  His  glory,  His  glory  being  His  manifestation  of 
Himself  in  love  to  man.  (Comp.  Eph.  iii.  16,  "  Accord- 
ing to  the  riches  of  His  gloiy,  to  be  strengthened  with 
might  by  His  spirit  in  the  inner  man.")  On  this  use 
of  "  the  glory  "  of  God.  frequent  in  these  Epistles,  see 
Eph.  i.  6,  12,  14,  and  Notes  there.  The  prayer,  how- 
ever, in  the  Ephesian  Epistle  looks  to  "knowledge  of 
the  love  of  Christ "  as  its  object :  the  prayer  here  to 
power  of  endurance  of  trial  and  suffering. 

Patience  and  longsuffering  with  joyfulness. 
— (1)  "Patience  "  is  here  "  endurance,"  rather  than  what 
we  usually  call  patience.  It  is  spoken  of  by  St.  James 
(chap.  i.  8)  as  the  result  of  the  bracing  effect  of  trial,  and 
is  illustrated  by  the  tj^iieal  example  of  Job  (Jas.  v.  11), 
Now  a  glance  at  the  Book  of  Job  will  show  that,  while 
in  respect  of  physical  trial  he  is  resignation  itself 
(Job  i.  21;  ii.  10),  yet  that  under  the  spiritual  trial, 
which  is  the  great  subject  of  the  book,  he  is  tlie 
reverse  of  what  is  commonly  called  patient.  He 
endures  and  conquers,  but  it  is  not  without  vehement 
passion  and  sjnritual  struggles,  occasionally  verging  ou 
a  reinning  and  rebellion,  of  wliicli  he  bitterly  repents 
(xli.  6).  (2)  To  this  "  patience,"  tlierefore,  here  as  else- 
where (2  Tim.  iii.  10),  St.  Paul  adds  "  longsuft'ering  " 
— a  word  generally  connected  (as  in  1  Cor.  xiii.  4) 
with  the  temper  of  gentleness  and  love,  and  coming 
much  nearer  to  the  description  of  our  ordinary  idea  of 
a  "  patient  "  temper,  which,  in  its  calm  sweetness  and 
gentleness,  hardly  feels  to  the  utmost  such  spiritual 
trials  as  vexed  the  righteous  soul  of  Job.  Of  such 
longsuffering  our  Lord's  bearing  of  the  insults  of  the 
Condemnation  and  the  cruelties  of  the  Passion,  when 
"He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,"  is  the  perfect 
tyx)e.  (3)  Yet  even  then  St.  Paul  is  not  content  witliout 
"  joyfulness,"  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  our 
Master  (Matt.  v.  12),  fulfilled  in  Himself  on  the  cross 
(Heb.  xii.  2).  Tlie  ground  of  such  joy,  so  often  sliown 
in  Christian  martyrdom,  is  given  by  St.  Peter  (1  Pet.  iv. 
13).  "  Rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Clirist's 
sufferings,  that  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye 
may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy."  Of  that  joy  St. 
Paul  liimself  was  a  bright  example  in  his  present 
captivity.  (See  Phil.  i.  18,  19  ;  ii.  17,  18.)  The  words 
therefore  form  a  climax.  "  Patience  "  struggles  and 
endures  ;  ''  long-suffering"  endures  without  a  struggle ; 
"  jovfulness  "  endures  and  glories  in  suft'ering. 

(1-*  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father.— These 
words  naturally  follow  the  words  "  with  joyfulness," 
with  which,  indeed,  they  may  be  grammatically  con- 
nected. But  the  "thankfulness"  here  is.  as  the  context 
shows,  the  thankfulness  of  humility,  sensible  that  from 
the  Fathers  love  we  have  received  aU,  and  can  but 
receive. 


Salvation  from  Sin 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


in  Christ  the  Redeemer, 


of  the  saints  in  light :  (^^)  who  hath 
delivered  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness,  and  hath  trans- 
lated lis  into  the  kingdom 


Chap.  i.  13 
Christ  the  Ke 
deemer. 


\ 


1  Gr.  the  Son  of  his 
luce. 


of  his  dear  Son  :  ^   (i^)  in  whom  we  have 
redemption     throug-h     his  -^i       •  i?;    t, 

i  1-,        ry      *^-  Chap.  1.  15—17. 

blood,  evetl  the   lorgiveness   Christ  the  true 

of  sins:  (^^^  who  is  the  image  image  of  God. 


Which  hath  made  us  meet.— The  same  word  is 
u.sed  ill  2  Cor  iii.  6,  "  wlio  liath  made  us  able  miuisters 
of  the  new  covenant,"  aud  correspouds  to  the  word 
"sufficieut"  iu  St.  Paul's  previous  question  (2  Co:*, 
ii.  16),  "  Who  is  sufficieut  for  these  thuigs  ?  "  The 
reference  is  clearly  to  God's  foreknowledge  and  call 
(as  in  Rom.  viii.  29,  30),  in  \drtue  of  which  "  we  are 
more  than  conquerors,"  and  "  cannot  be  separated  from 
His  love  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

To  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints. — Literally,  for  the  part  (appointed  to  us)  of  the 
lot  of  the  saints.  (Comp.  Ejih.  i.  11,  where,  however, 
the  sense  is  slightly  different).  The  "  lot  "  (like  the  Old 
Testament  type  of  the  share  iu  the  land  of  Canaan,  "  the 
lot  of  their  iulieritance  ")  is  the  place  assigned  to  the 
saints  primarily  hj  the  grace  of  God.  It  may  have,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  type,  to  bo  fought  for;  but  it  is  wou 
not  by  our  own  arm,  but  by  "  God's  liaud  and  His  arm, 
and  the  light  of  His  countenauce,  because  He  lias  a 
favour  unto  us"  (Ps.  xliv.  3).  Hence,  in  accordance  with 
St.  Paul's  usual  teaching  (especially  emphatic  in  this 
and  tlie  Ephesian  Epistle),  the  whole  stress  is  laid  on 
God's  grace,  giving  us  our  lot,  and  "  making  us  meet " 
to  accept  it. 

In  light.— Properly,  in  the  light.  See  Eph.  iv.  8 — 14 
— a  passage  dwelling  on  the  idea  of  the  kingdom  of 
light,  almost  as  strongly  and  exhaustively  as  St.  John 
himself  (1  Jolm  i.  5 — 7,  et  al.).  "In  the  light" 
(opposed  to  "  the  power  of  darkness  "  of  the  next  Averse) 
is  in  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  revealed  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

[2.  The  Doctrine  of  Christ. 

(1)  His  Salvation  and  Redemption  of  us  all 

(verses  13,  14). 

(2)  His  Nature  as  the  Image  of  the  In- 

visible God,  the  creator  and  sustainer  of  all 
things  heavenly  and  earthly  (verses  15 — 17). 

(3)  His  Headship  op  the  Church  (verse  18). 

(4)  His  Mediation,  reconciling  all  to  God,  first 

generally  stated,  then  applied  especially  to 
the  Colossians  (verses  19 — 23).] 

(13—23)  In  this  we  liave  the  great  characteristic 
section  of  this  Epistle,  distinguished  from  corre- 
sponding parts  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  by  the 
explicit  aud  emphatic  stress  laid  upon  the  diA-ine 
majesty  of  Christ.  It  corresponds  very  closely  with 
the  remarkable  passage  opening  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews.  In  the  Epistles  of  the  preceding  group, 
to  the  Corinthians,  Galatians,  aud  Romans,  cliief  and 
almost  exclusive  prominence  is  given  to  the  universal 
mediation  of  Christ,  as  justifying  and  sanctifying  all 
the  souls  of  men.  In  these  Epistles  (tliis  truth  being 
accepted)  we  pass  on  to  that  wliich  such  universal 
mediation  necessitates — the  conception  of  Christ  as  the 
Head  of  all  created  being,  and  as  tlie  perfect  mani- 
festation of  the  Godhead.  The  former  is  tlie  key-note 
of  the  Ephesian  Epistle ;  the  latter  is  dominant  here, 
although  tlie  former  remains  as  an  undertone  ;  as  also  iu 
the  great  passage  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Pliilippians  (chap, 
ii.  6 — 11),  speaking  of  Him  as  "in  the  form  of  God," 
and  having  "  the  Name  which  is  above  every  name." 


The  especial  reason  for  St.  Paul's  emphatic  assertion 
of  the  great  truth  here  we  see  in  the  next  chapter. 
But  it  is  clear  that  it  comes  naturally  in  the  order 
of  revelation,  leading  up  to  the  full  doctrine  of  '•  the 
Word  "  in  St.  John.  As  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the 
Resurrection,  the  great  subject  of  the  first  preaching, 
had  to  be  sought  in  the  Atonement,  so  the  inquiry  into 
the  possibility  of  an  universal  Atonement  led  back  to 
the  lucai-nation,  and  to  Christ  as pre-existeut  from  "the 
beginuiug  "  in  God. 

(13, 14)  "\(Ve  enter  on  this  great  passage,  as  is  natural, 
aud  accordant  with  St.  Paul's  universal  practice,  through 
that  living  and  practical  truth  of  our  redemption  in 
Christ  Jesus,  which  in  the  earlier  Epistles  he  liad. 
taught  as  the  one  thing  needful  (1  Cor.  il  2). 

(13)  Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power 
of  darkness. — "  Delivered  "  is  "  rescued,"  i^roperly 
applied  to  dragging  a  person  out  of  battle  or  the  jaws 
of  danger.  "  The  power  of  darkness  "  (see  Luke  xxii. 
53)  is,  of  course,  the  power  of  evil,  permitted  (see 
Luke  iv.  6)  to  exist,  but  in  itself  a  usurped  tyranny 
(as  Chrysostom  expresses  it),  not  a  true  "  kingdom." 
Salvation  is,  first  of  all,  rescue  from  the  guilt  and 
bondage  of  sin,  to  which  man  has  given  occasion  by 
his  own  choice,  but  which,  once  admitted,  he  cannot 
himself  break.  It  is  here  described  in  its  first  origina- 
tion from  the  love  of  the  Father.  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son." 

And  hath  translated  us  .  .  .—The  word  "  trans- 
lated "  is  a  word  properly  applied  to  the  transplanting 
of  races,  and  the  settlement  of  them  iu  a  new  home. 
Salvation,  begun  by  rescue,  is  comjileted  by  the  settle- 
ment of  the  rescued  captives  in  the  new  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  two  acts,  indeed,  are  distinct,  but  in- 
separable. Tlius  baptism  is  at  once  "  for  the  remission 
of  sins  "  and  an  "  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

His  dear  Son.— The  original  is  far  more  striking 
and  beautiful.  It  is.  "Tlie  Son  of  His  love,"  corre- 
sponding to  "the  beloved"  of  the  parallel  passage 
in  the  Ephesian  Epistle  (chap.  i.  6),  but  i>erhaps  going 
beyond  it.  God  is  love ;  the  Sou  of  God  is,  therefore, 
the  '•  Son  of  His  love."  partaking  of  and  manifesting 
this  His  essential  attribute. 

In  whom  we  have  .  .  . — This  verse  corresponds 
verbally  with  Eph.  i.  7,  where  see  Note.  From  the 
love  of  the  Father,  the  first  cause  of  salvation,  we 
pass  to  the  efficient  cause  in  the  redemption  and  pro- 
pitiation of  the  Son. 

Yerses  15—17  pass  from  Clirist  as  our  Mediator  to 
Christ  as  He  is  in  Himself  from  aU  eternity,  "  the 
image  of  the  invisible  God,"  and  as  He  is  from  the 
beginning  of  time,  the  creator  and  sustainer  of  all 
things  in  heaven  aud  earth.  Wliat  was  before  implied 
is  now  explicitly  asserted;  what  was  before  emphatic- 
ally asserted  is  now  taken  for  granted,  and  made  the 
stepping-stone  to  yet  higher  and  more  mysterious 
truth. 


99 


(15)  The  image  of  the  invisible  God.— This  all- 
important  clause  needs  the  most  careful  examination. 


Christ  the  Image  of  God, 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


the  Creator  of  all  Things, 


of  the  invisible  God,  the  firstborn  of 
every  creature :  <^^^  for  by  him  were  all 
things  created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and 


that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible, 
whether  they  he  thrones,  or  dominions, 
or  principalities,  or  powers :  all  things 


We  note  accordm<i^ly  (1)  that  tlie  word  "  imago  "  (like 
the  word  "  foriii,"<PliiL  ii.  (j,  7)  is  usecj  iu  the  New 
Testament  for  real  and  essential  embodinieut"  as  dis- 
tinguished from  mere  likeness.  Thus  hi  Heb.  x.  1  we 
read,  "  The  law,  having  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come,  and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things  ;  "  we  note 
also  in  Kom.  i.  23  the  distinction  between  the  mei'e  out- 
ward "  likeness  "  and  the  "  image  "  which  it  represented ; 
we  find  in  1  Cor.  xv.  49  that  the  "  imago  of  the  earthy  " 
and  "  the  image  of  the  heavenly  "  Adam  denote  actual 
id(!ntity  of  nature  with  both ;  and  in  2  Cor.  iii.  18  the 
actual  work  of  the  S^jirit  in  the  heart  is  described  as 
"changing  us  from  glory  to  glory"  into  '"the  image  " 
of  the  glorified  Christ.  (2)  Next  we  observe  that 
although,  speaking  popularly,  St.  Paul  in  1  Cor.  xi.  7 
calls  man  "  the  image  and  glory  of  God,"  yet  the 
allusion  is  to  Gen.  i.  26,  28,  where  man  is  said,  with 
stricter  accuracy,  to  be  made  "after  the  image  of  God  " 
(as  in  Eph.  iv.  24,  "  created  after  God  "),  and  this  more 
accurate  expression  is  used  in  chap.  iii.  10  of  this  Epistle, 
"  renewed  after  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him." 
Who  then,  or  what,  is  the  "  image  of  God,"  after  which 
man  is  created  ?  St.  Paul  here  emphatically  (as  in 
2  Cor.  iv.  4  parenthetically)  answers  "  Christ,"  as  the 
Son  of  God,  "first-born  before  aU  creation."  The 
same  truth  is  conveyed  in  a  different  form,  clearer  (if 
possible)  even  than  this,  in  Heb.  i.  3,  where  "the  Son" 
is  said  to  be  not  only  "  the  brightness  of  the  glory  of 
the  Father,"  but  "  the  express  image  of  His  Person." 
For  the  word  "  express  image  "  is  character  in  the  ori- 
ginal, used  here  (as  when  we  speak  of  the  alphabetical 
"characters")  to  signify  the  visible  drawn  image,  and 
the  word  "  Person  "  is  substance  or  essence.  (3)  It  is 
not  to  be  forgotten  that  at  this  time  in  the  Platonising 
Judaism  of  Philo,  "  the  Word  "  was  called  the  eternal 
"  image  of  God."  (See  passages  quoted  in  Dr.  Light- 
foot's  note  on  this  passage.)  This  expression  was  not 
pecidiar  to  him ;  it  was  but  a  working  out  of  that  per- 
sonification of  the  "  wisdom  of  God,"  of  which  we  have 
a  magnificent  example  in  Prov.  viii.  22 — 30,  and  of 
which  we  trace  the  effect  in  the  Alexandrine  Book  of 
"Wisdom"  (to.  25,  26).  "Wisdom  is  the  breath  of  the 
power  of  God.  and  a  pure  stream  from  the  glory  of  the 
Most  High — the  brightness  of  the  everlasting  light,  the 
unsputted  mirror  of  the  power  of  God,  and  the  image 
of  His  goodness."  It  seems  to  have  represented  iu  the 
Jewish  schools  the  idea  com))lementai-y  to  the  ordinary 
idea  of  the  Messiah  in  the  Jewish  world.  Just  as  St. 
John  took  up  the  vague  idea  of  "  the  Word,"  and  gave 
it  a  clear  divine  personality  in  Christ,  so  St.  Paul  seems 
U)  act  here  in  relation  to  the  other  phrase,  used  as  a 
description  of  the  Word.  In  Christ  he  fixes  in  solid 
reality  the  floating  vision  of  the  "  image  of  God." 
(4)  There  is  an  emphasis  on  the  words  "  of  the  invisible 
God."  Now,  since  the  whole  context  shows  that  the 
reference  is  to  the  eternal  pre-existence  of  Christ, 
ancient  interpreters  (of  whom  Chrysostom  may  be 
taken  as  the  tyjio)  argued  that  tlie  image  of  the  in- 
nsible  must  bo  also  invisi])le.  But  this  seems  opposed 
to  the  whole  idea  of  the  word  "  image,"  and  to  its  use 
in  the  New  Testament  and  elsewhere.  The  true  key 
to  this  passage  is  in  our  Lord's  own  words  in  John  i.  8, 
"  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  the  only  begotten 
Son  "  (here  is  the  remarkable  reading,  "  the  only  be- 
gotten God  "),  "  who  is  in  tho  bosom  of  the  Father,  He 


hath  revealed  Him."  In  anticipation  of  the  future 
revelation  of  Godhead,  Christ,  even  as  pre-existent,  is 
called  •'  The  image  of  the  invisible  God." 

The  firstborn  of  every  creature  {of  all  crea- 
tion).— (1)  As  to  the  sense  of  this  clause.  The  gram- 
matical construction  here  will  bear  either  the  rendering 
of  our  version,  or  the  rendering  "  begotten  before  all 
creation,"  whence  comes  the  "  begotten  before  all 
worlds  "  of  the  Nicene  creed.  But  the  whole  context 
shows  that  the  latter  is  unquestionaldy  the  true  render- 
ing. For,  as  has  been  remarked  from  ancient  times, 
He  is  said  to  be  "  begotten"  and  not  "  created  ;  "  next, 
he  is  emphatically  spoken  of  below  as  He  "  by  whom 
all  things  were  created,"  who  is  "  before  all  things," 
and  "  in  whom  all  things  consist."  (2)  As  to  the  order 
of  idea.  In  Himself  He  is  "the  image  of  God"  from 
all  eternity.  From  this  essential  conception,  by  a  natural 
contrast,  the  thought  immediately  passes  on  to  distinc- 
tion from,  and  priority  to,  all  ci-eated  being.  Exactly 
in  this  same  order  of  idea,  we  have  in  Heb.  i.  2.  3,  "  By 
whom  also  He  made  the  worlds  .  .  .  upholding  all 
things  by  the  word  of  His  power  ;  "  and  in  John  i.  3, 
"  All  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was 
not  anything  made  which  was  made.  Here  St.  Paul 
indicates  this  idea  in  the  words  "  fii'stbom  before  all 
creation,"  and   works   it  out  in  the  verses   folloAving. 

(3)  As  to  the  name  ''firstborn  "  itself.  It  is  used  of  the 
Messiah  as  an  almost  technical  name  (derived  from 
Pss.  ii.  7 ;  Ixxxix.  28),  as  is  shown  in  Heb.  i.  6,  "  when 
He  bringetli  the  first  begotten  into  the  world."  In 
tracing  the  Messianic  line  of  jjromise  we  notice  that, 
while  the  Messiah  is  always  true  man.  "  the  seed  of 
Abraham,"  "  the  son  of  David,"  yet  on  him  are  accumu- 
lated attributes  too  high  for  any  created  being  (as  in  Isa. 
ix.  6).  He  is  declared  to  be  an  "  Emmanuel "  God  with 
us ;  and  His  kingdom  a  visible  manifestation  of  God. 
Hence  the  idea  contained  in  the  word  "firstborn"  is 
not  only  sovereignty  "  above  all  the  kings  of  the 
earth"  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  28;  comp.  Dan.  viii.  13,  14),  but  also 
likeness   to  God   and   priority    to    all    created   being. 

(4)  As  to  the  union  of  the  ttvo  clauses.  In  the  first  we 
have  the  declaration  of  His  eternal  unitj-  with  God — 
all  that  was  completely  embodied  in  the  declaration  of 
the  "Word  who  is  God,"  up  to  which  all  the  higher 
Jewish  speculations  had  led;  in  the  second  we  trace 
the  distinctness  of  His  Person,  as  the  "  begotten 
of  the  Father,"  the  true  Messiah  of  Jewish  hopes, 
and  the  subordination  of  the  co-eternal  Son  to  the 
Father.  The  union  of  the  two  marks  the  assertion  of 
Christian  mystery,  as  against  rationalising  systems,  of 
the  type  of  Arianism  on  one  side,  of  Sabelliauism  on 
the  other. 

(16)  For  by  him  .  .  .  all  things  were  created  by 
(through)  him,  and  for  (^t-)  him.— Carrying  out  the 
idea  of  the  preceding  clause  with  accumulated  emphasis, 
St.  Paul  speaks  of  all  creation  as  having  taken  place  "  by 
Him."  "through  Him,"  and  "for  Him."  Now  we  note 
that  in  Rom.  ix.  36.  St.  Paul,  iu  a  burst  of  adoration, 
declares  of  the  Father  that  "  from  Him,  and  through 
Him,  and  to  Him  are  all  things ;  "  and  iu  Heb.  ii.  10  the 
Father  is  spoken  of  as  One  "  by  whom  are  all  things, 
and  for  wlumi  are  all  thiugs"  (the  word  "  for  whom  " 
being  different  from  the  word  so  rendered  here,  but 
virtually  equivalent  to  it).  Hence  we  observe  that 
the  Apostle  hero  takes  up  a  phrase  belonging  only  to 


100 


Christ  the  Head  of  the  Church, 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


in  Whom  all  Fulness  dwells. 


were  created  by  him,  and  for  liim : 
(^')  and  he  is  before  all  things,"  and 
by  him  all  things  consist.  ^^^^  And 
he  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the 
church :     who    is    the     beginning,    the 


a  1  Cor.  a  6 ;  John 

1.3. 
1  Or,  among  all. 


firstborn  from  the  dead ;  that  in 
alP  tilings  he  might  have  chap.  i.  18— 
the  preeminence.  '^^^  For  20.  Christ  the 
it  pleased  the  Father  church  and 
that    in   him     should    all  Mediator. 


Godhead  and  usually  applied  to  the  Father,  and  dis- 
tinctly applies  it  to  Christ,  but  with  the  significant 
change  of  "'  from  whom"  into  "  in  whom."  The  usual 
language  of  holy  Scripture  as  to  the  Father  is  "  from 
whom,"  and  as  to  the  Sou  "  through  whom,"  are  all 
things.  Thus  we  have  in  Heb.  i.  2,  "  through  whom 
Ho  made  the  world ; "  and  in  John  i.  3—10,  "  All 
things  were  made  "  —  "  the  world  was  made  " — - 
"  through  Hiiu."  Here,  however,  St.  Paul  twice  adds 
"  in  whom,"  just  as  he  had  used  "  in  whom  "  of  God  in 
his  sermon  at  Athens  (Acts  xvii.  28),  probably  con- 
veying the  idea,  foreshadowed  in  the  Old  Testament 
description  of  the  divine  "  Wisdom,"  that  in  His  divine 
mind  lay  the  germ  of  the  creative  design  and  work, 
aud  indirectly  condemning  by  anticipation  the  fancy 
of  incipient  Gnosticism,  that  He  was  but  an  inferior 
emanation  or  agent  of  the  Supreme  God. 

In  heaven  and. .  . .  earth  .  .  . — Here  again  there  is 
a  reiteration  of  earnest  emphasis.  "  All  things  in  heaven 
and  earth  "  is  the  ancient  phrase  for  all  creation.  Then, 
lest  this  phrase  should  be  restricted  to  the  sublunary 
sphere,  he  adds,  "  visible  and  invisible."  Lastly,  in 
accordance  with  the  general  tone  of  these  Epistles,  and 
with  special  reference  to  the  worship  of  angels  intro- 
duced into  Colossse,  he  dwells,  like  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  on  the  superiority  of  our  Lord 
to  all  angelic  natures,  whether  they  bo  "  thrones,  or 
dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers."  (Comp.  Eph. 
i.  21;  Phil.  ii.  9,  10.) 

Thrones,  or  dominions  .  .  . — Comj)are  the  enu- 
meration in  Eph.  i.  21.  The  word  peculiar  to  this  pas- 
sage is  "thrones,"  which  in  all  the  various  speculations 
as  to  the  hierarchy  of  heaven,  naturally  represents  the 
first  place  of  dignity  and  nearness  to  the  Throne  of 
God.  (Comp.  Rev.  iv.  4,  "  Round  about  the  throne 
four-and-twenty  thrones.")  But  it  seems  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  attach  distinctive  meanings  to  those 
titles,  and  trace  out  their  order.  If  St.  Paul  alludes 
at  all  to  the  Rabbinical  hierarchies,  he  (probably  with 
deliberate  intention)  takes  their  titles  without  attending 
to  their  fanciful  orders  and  meanings.  Whatever  they 
mean,  if  they  mean  anything,  all  are  infinitely  below 
the  glory  of  Christ.    (See  Note  on  Eph.  i.  21.) 

(17)  He  is  before  all  things.— The  words  "He 
is  "  are  both  emphatic.  He,  and  He  only,  is ;  all  else  is 
created.  It  is  impossible  not  to  refer  to  the  "  I  am  "  of 
Eternal  existence,  as  claimed  hj  our  Lord  for  Himself. 
"Before  Abraham  was,  I  am"  (John  viii.  58;  comp. 
also  John  i.  1.5).  Hence  the  word  "  before  "  should  be 
taken,  not  of  supremo  dignity,  but  of  pre-existence. 
.  By  him  all  things  consist. — That  is.  Iwld  to- 
gether in  unity,  obeying  the  primroA'al  law  of  their  being. 
In  tliis  clause  is  attributecl  to  our  Lord,  not  only  the 
creative  act,  but  also  the  constant  siistaining  power,  "in 
which  all  lives  and  moves  and  has  its  being,"  ami  which, 
even  less  than  the  creative  agency,  can  be  supposed  to 
be  a  derivative  and  finite  power,  such  as  that  of  the 
Demiurgus  of  Gnostic  speculation. 

(18-20)  In  these  verses  St.  Paul  returns  from  dwelling 
on  the  eternal  nature  of  the  Son  of  God  to  descrilie 
Him  in  His  mediatorial  office  as  Sou  of  Man,  becoming 


the  "  Head  "  of  all  humanity,  as  called  into  "  His  Body, 
the  Church."  In  this  he  touches  on  a  doctrine  more 
fully  developed  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  (See 
Eph.  i.  10,  20,  22 ;  ii.  19,  21 ;  iv.  15,  16.)  But  still,  as 
has  been  already  noted,  there  is  in  this  Epistle  more 
stress  on  the  supreme  dignity  of  the  Head,  as  in  the 
other  more  on  the  unity,  and  blessing,  and  glory  of  the 
Body.  It  should  be  observed  that  in  this.  His  media- 
torial office,  there  is  throughout  a  mysterious  analogy  to 
His  eternal  sonship.  In  both  He  is  "  tho  Head,"  tirst, 
of  universal  creation,  next,  of  the  new  ci'eation  in  His 
Church  ;  He  is  "  the  beginning,"  in  the  one  case  in  eter- 
nity, in  the  other  iu  time  ;  He  is  "  the  firstborn,"  now  in 
Eternal  Sonship,  now  in  the  Resurrection  making  Him 
the  new  life  of  mankind. 

(18)  He  is  the  head. — "  He "  is  again  emphatic. 
"  He  who  is  the  image  of  God,  He  also  is  the  Head." 
(On  the  title  itself,  see  Eph.  i.  22.) 

The  beginning.  —  Chrysostom  reads  here  a  kin- 
dred word,  the  first-fruits.  The  reading  is  no  doubt 
a  gloss,  but  an  instructive  one.  It  shows  that  the 
reference  is  to  Christ,  as  being  in  His  humanity  "  the 
first  principle"  of  the  new  life  to  us — the  "first- 
fruits"  from  the  dead  (1  Cor.  xv.  20,  23),  and  "the 
briuger  of  life  and  immortality  to  light"  (2  Tim.  i.  10). 

The  firstborn  from  the  dead.— The  same  title 
is  given  to  Him  in  Rev.  i.  5.  In  his  sermon  at  Antioch 
in  Pisidia  (Acts  xiii.  33),  St.  Paul  quotes  the  passage, 
"  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee,"  as 
fulfilled  in  that  "  He  raised  up  Jesus  again."  (Comp. 
Heb.  V.  5.)  In  Rom.  i.  3,  he  speaks  of  Christ  as 
"  declared "  (or,  defined)  "  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  The  Resur- 
rection is  (so  to  speak)  His  second  birth,  the  beginning 
of  that  exaltation,  which  is  contrasted  with  His  first 
birth  on  earth  in  great  Immility.  and  of  His  entrance 
on  the  gloiy  of  His  mediatorial  kingdom.  (See  Eph. 
i.  20 — 23,  where  the  starting-point  of  aU  His  exaltation 
is  again  placed  in  the  Resurrection.) 

That  in  all  things  he  might  .  .  .—Literally, 
That  in  all  things  He  might  become  pre-eminent.  The 
words  "He  might  become,"'  areopiiosed  to  the  "He  is" 
above.  They  refer  to  the  exaltation  of  His  humanity, 
so  gloriously  described  in  Phil.  ii.  9 — 11.  Thus  abso- 
lutely in  His  diAnne  nature,  relatively  to  the  mediatorial 
kingdom  in  His  humanity.  He  is  "  the  Alpha  aud 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  aud  the 
last"  I  Rev.  i.  8,11,  17.  18). 

(19)  For  it  pleased  the  Father.- (1)  The  construc- 
tion is  doubtful.  There  is  nothing  corresponding  to 
"  the  Father  "  iu  the  original.  Our  rendering  involves 
the  supply  of  the  nominative  God,  i.e.,  "  the  Fatlier," 
or  Chri.^t  to  the  verli,  so  that  the  sentence  may  rnn,  the 
Father  or  Chri.-it  determined  of  His  good  pleai^iire  that, 
etc.  The  supply  of  tho  nominative  "  Christ "  is  easier 
grammatically;  but  it  accords  ill  with  the  invariable 
reference  of  all  things,  both  by  our  Lord  Himself  and 
His  Apostles,  ultimately  to  the  good  pleasure  of  the 
Father.  Moreover,  tho  verb  is  so  constantly  used  of 
God  that  the  supply  of  the  nominative  "  God,"  though 
unexampled,  is  far  from  inadmissible.      The  simplest 


101 


Tlie  sure  Salvation 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


if  Steadfast  in  the  Faith. 


fulness  dwell ;  ('-^^  and,  having  made 
peace  ^  through  the  blood  of  his 
cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things 
unto  himself;  by  him,  I  say,  whether 
they  he  things  in  earth,  or  things  in 
heaven.  <2'^  And  you,  that  were 
Chap.  i.  21—23.  sometime  alienated  and 
of^^hT^c^iVos^  enemies  in  yo^w  mind  by 
siansinHim.     wicked    works,"    yet    now 


I  Or.making peace. 


2  Or,  ft^yonr  mind 
ill  wicked  icorke. 


hath  he  reconciled  ^--^  in  the  body 
of  his  flesh  through  death,  to  pre- 
sent you  holy  and  unblameable  and 
unreproveable  in  his  sight :  (^^^  if  ye 
continue  in  the  faith  grounded  and 
settled,  and  he  not  moved  away  from 
the  hoj)e  of  the  gospel,  which  ye  have 
heard,  and  which  was  preached  to  every 
creature  which  is  under  heaven;  whereof 


grammatical  construction  would,  indeed,  be  to  take 
"  the  fulness "  as  the  nominative,  and  render  for  in 
Him  all  the  fulness  {of  God)  was  pleased  to  dwell. 
But  the  personification  of  "the  fulness,"  common  in 
Gnostic  speculation,  is  liardly  after  the  manner  of  St. 
Paul.  Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the  rendeiing  of  our 
version  (which  is  usually  adopted)  is  to  be  preferred ; 
especially  as  it  suits  better  with  the  following  A'erse. 
(2)  The  sense  is,  however,  quite  clear,  and  is  enfoi'ced 
by  chap.  ii.  9,  "  In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily."  On  the  word  "fulness" 
{pleroma),  see  Note  on  Eph.  i.  23.  The  "  fulness 
of  the  Godhead"  is  the  essential  nature,  comprising 
all  the  attributes,  of  Godhead.  The  indwelling  of 
such  Deity  in  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  the  ground 
of  all  His  exaltation  as  the  "Head,"  "the  beginning," 
the  "  firstborn  from  the  dead,"  and  the  triumphant 
King,  on  which  St.  Paul  liad  already  dwelt.  By 
it  alone  can  He  be  the  true  Mediator  between  God  and 
man. 

(20)  Having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of 
his  cross. — On  this  verse,  where  St.  Paul  returns  to 
the  subject  of  the  Atonement,  with  which  he  began, 
comp.  Eph.  ii.  13 — 18,  and  Notes  there.  In  the 
Ephesiani  Epistle  the  treatment  of  the  subject  is  fuller, 
and  in  one  point  more  comprehensive,  viz.,  in  bringing 
out  emphatically  the  unity  of  all,  Jews  and  Gentiles 
alike,  with  one  another,  as  well  as  their  unity  with  Cluist. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  this  passage  involves  deeper 
and  more  mysterious  teaching  in  this — that  it  includes 
in  the  reconciliation  by  tlie  blood  of  Christ,  not  merely 
all  humanity,  but  "all  things,  whether  things  on  earth 
or  things  in  heaven."  This  is,  indeed,  only  a  fuller 
exposition  of  the  truth  that  "  God  was  in  Christ  recon- 
ciling the  world  (the  Tcosmos)  to  Himself"  (2  Cor. 
V.  19);  and  that  "the  whole  creation  waitcth,"  "in 
constant  expectation,"  "  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
fions  of  God,"  and  "shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage 
of  corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God  "  (Rom.  viii.  19 — 21).  But  it  is  couched  in  more 
distinct  and  striking  terms,  opening  to  us  a  glimpse 
of  the  infinite  scope,  not  merely  of  our  Lord's  Mediator- 
ship,  but  of  His  Atonement,  which,  while  it  almost 
bewilders,  yet  satisfies  tlie  thoughtful  understanding, 
and  more  than  satisfies  an  adoring  faith.  As  there 
seems  to  be  a  physical  unity  in  the  universe,  if  we 
may  believe  the  guesses  of  science,  so,  says  Holy 
Scripture,  there  is  a  moral  and  spiritual  unity  also  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

Yerses  21 — 23  apply  this  truth  of  the  ]\rediatorial 
work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  especial  case  of 
the  Colossian.s.  The  subject  here  touched  is  more 
fully  worked  out  in  Eph.  ii.  1,  2,  11 — 18  ;  tlie  alienation 
is  there  described  as  not  only  from  God,  but  from 
His  covenanted  people  ;  the  reconciliation  is  with  God 
and  man  in  cue  great  unity.  ' 

102 


(21)  Alienated. — Not  naturally  aliens,  but  estranged. 
(See  Note  on  Eph.  ii.  12.) 

By  wicked  works. — Properly,  in  your  wiclced 
ivories.  Tlie  enmity  of  heart  is  not  properly  caused 
by  wicked  works,  but  shown  in  them,  and  probably 
intensified  hj  reflex  action  tlirough  them. 

(")  In  the  body  of  his  flesh.— There  seems  to  be 
some  emphasis  on  the  word  "flesh:"  just  as  in  the 
parallel  of  Eph.  ii.  16,  the  expression  is  "  in  one  body," 
with  a  characteristic  emphasis  on  the  word  "  one," 
suiting  the  genius  of  the  passage.  The  meaning  is,  of 
course,  His  natural  body,  as  distinguished  from  His 
mystic  Body,  spoken  of  above  (verse  18).  But  this  is 
no  sufficient  reason  for  the  use  of  this  phra=e,  for  there 
could  be  no  confusion  between  them  in  tliis  passage. 
Hence,  witliout  ascribing  to  the  word  "flesh"  a  dis- 
tinctly polemical  intention,  we  may  not  unnaturally 
suppose  that  there  was  present  to  St.  Paul's  mind  the 
thouglit  of  the  Gnosticism,  which  depreciated  the  body 
as  evil,  and  which  must  have  always  inclined  to  the 
idea  that  "  Jesus  Christ  had  not  come  in  the  flesh ' ' 
( 1  John  iv.  2,  3) ;  and  that  the  presence  of  this  thought 
induct^l  some  special  emphasis  in  his  language. 

Holy  and  unblameable  and  unreproveable.— 
See  Note  on  Eph.  i.  4.  The  word  "  to  present"  is  used 
both  in  a  sacrificial  sense  (as  in  Rom.  xii.  1)  and  in  the 
sense  of  introduction  and  presentation  (as  of  a  bride, 
see  Eph.  v.  27).  The  words,  "holy  and  unblameable," 
i.e.,  "without  blemish,"  suit  the  former  sense.  But 
"  unreproveable "  is  incongruous  with  it,  and  the 
parallel  passage  (Eph.  ii.  18)  speaks  of  "access"  or 
introduction  to  the  Father. 

(23)  If. — The  word,  as  in  Eph.  iii.  2,  iv.  21  (where 
see  Notes),  conveys  a  supposition  hardly  hyi>otheticaI — ■ 
"  If,  as  I  presume ;  "  "  If,  as  I  trust."  St.  Paul  cannot 
refrain  from  needful  warning,  but  he  refuses  to  antici- 
pate failure. 

Grounded. — Built  on  the  foundation.  Comp. 
Eph.  ii.  20,  "built  on  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles 
and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone." 

Settled. — The  result  of  being  so  gi-ounded.  Tlio 
word  is  used  in  the  same  sense,  but  without  meta- 
phorical association,  in  1  Cor.  xv.  58,  "  stedfast,  unmove- 
able,"  as  here  "settled  and  not  being  moved." 

The  hope. — See  Note  on  verse  5.  Here,  as  tliere, 
great  emphasis  is  laid  on  "  hope."  But  here  there 
may  possibly  be  reference  to  some  ideas  (like  those 
spoken  of  in  2  Tim.  ii.  181  that  "  the  resurrection  was 
past  already,"  and  that  the  hope  of  a  true  resurrection 
and  a  real  heaven  was  either  a  delusion  or  a  metaphor. 

Every  creature  which  is  under  heaven. — 
Comp.  our  Lord's  command,  "Preach  the  gospel  to  eveiy 
creature"  (Mark  xvi.  15).  In  idea  and  capacity  the 
gospel  is  literally  universal ;  although  in  actual  reality 
such  universality  can  only  be  claimed  by  a  natural 
hyperbole. 


Tlie  Mission  of  St.  Paul 


COLOSSIANS,   I. 


as  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 


I  Paul  am  made  a  minister;  (-*)  who 
Chap.  i.  24-26.  ^^^^^  rejoice  in  my  suffer- 
The  mission  of  ing's  for  joii,  and    fill   up 

^lileiS-'^' and  *^^'^*  ^^\x\c\\  is  behind  of 
preaoliing,  to  the  afflictions  of  Christ 
tiie  Gentiles,  j^  my  flesh  for  his  body's 
sake,  which  is  the  church :  (-^^  where- 
of I   am   made   a   minister,  according 


1  Or,  fully  to 
preach  the  word 
vf  Ovd,  Koiu.  16. 


to  the  dispensation  of  God  which  is 
given  to  me  for  you,  to  fulfil  the  word 
of  God ;  1  (-^)  even  the  mystery  which 
hath  been  hid  from  ages  and  from  gene- 
rations, but  now  is  made  manifest  to  his 
saints  :  (-^^  to  whom  God  would  make 
known  what  is  the  riches  of  the  glory 
of  this  mystery  among   the  Gentiles  ; 


[3.  The  Mission  of  St.  Paul. 

As  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  a  minister  of  tbe 
newly  revealed  mystery  of  their  salvation, 
testifying  to  all  alike  by  suffering  and  by 
preaching,  in  order  "  to  present  all  perfect  in 
Christ  Jesus"  (_ verses  2-f — 29).] 

(24—29)  Hei'e  (as  in  Epli.  iii.,  in  the  same  conuecti'an) 
St.  Paul  dwells  on  his  own  mission  to  set  fortl;  the 
universal  gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  In  the  Ephesiau 
Epistle  this  declaration  is  made  a  direct  introduction 
to  practical  exhortation  (comp.  chaps,  iv.,  v.,  vi.) ;  here  it 
leads  up  to  the  earnest  remonstrance  against  specula- 
tive eiTors  in  chap,  ii.,  which  precedes  a  similar  prac- 
tical exhortation.  In  both  cases  he  dwells  on  the  com- 
mittal to  him  of  a  special  disi^ensation ;  in  both  he 
rejoices  in  suffering  as  a  means  of  spiritual  influence ; 
in  both  cases  he  declares  the  one  object  to  be  the  pre- 
sentation of  each  man  perfect  before  Christ. 

(24)  "W"ho  now  rejoice. — In  the  true  reading  of  the 
original  there  is  no  relative  prouoim.  The  sentence 
starts  with  emphatic  abruptness,  '"  Now  (at  this 
moment)  I  rejoice"  (just  as  in  2  Cor.  vii.  9).  In  all 
the  three  Epistles  of  the  Captivity  this  same  rejoicing 
is  declared  in  himself  and  urged  on  his  brethren. 
In  Eph.  iii.  13,  "  I  desire  that  ye  faint  not  at  my  tribu- 
lati(ms  for  you,  which  is  your  gloiy;  "  in  Pliil.  ii.  11, 
"  Yea,  if  I  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and  service 
of  your  faith.  I  joy,  and  rejoice  with  you  all.  FAr  ^he 
same  cause  do  ye  also  joy,  and  rejoice  with  me." 
Tliere,  as  here,  the  rejoicing  is  in  silifering,  not  in 
itself,  not  solely  because  it  is  borne  with  and  for 
Christ,  but  also  because  it  is  for  the  sake  of  the  Church.  * 
Here,  however,  this  idea  is  expi'essed  with  fai*  greater 
emphasis. 

i'ill  up  that  which  ig  behind  of  the  afflictions 
of  Christ. — The  sense  o£-  this  passage  is  at  first  sight 
start  Ung.  1)ut  it  could  not  have  been  tlumght  difficult 
or  doubtful,  liad  not  false  inferences  from  it  tempted 
men  to  .shrink  from  the  obvious  meaning.  Now.  (1) 
the  "  afflictions  of  Christ "  is  a  phrase  not  used  else- 
where;  for  "affliction"  (properly,  hard  and  galling 
pressure)  is  the  ordinary  burden  of  life,  and  is  gener- 
ally spoken  of  only  as  coming  on  His  servants.  But. 
like  the  common  phrase  '*  the  sufferings  of  Christ " 
(2  Cor.  i.  5;  Phil.  iii.  10;  1  Pet.  iv.  15;  v.  1),  it  must 
mean  the  afflictions  which  He  endured.  It  is  true,  as 
has  been  thoughtfully  suggested  (see  Chrysosfom  and 
otliers  on  the  ])assage|  that  we  are  to  count  as  His  the 
afflictions  of  His  Church;  but  still,  even  if  we  are  to 
include  these  indirect  afflictions,  we  cannot  jiossibly 
exclude  the  direct.  Next,  (2)  St.  Piiul  expressly  says 
(in  the  full  force  of  the  (U-igin.al)  that  "  lie  fills  up 
instead"  of  his  Master,  what  is  still  left  nnfini.shed  of 
liis  Master's  afflictions.  (See  the  passages  quoted  by 
Dr,  Lightfoot  in  liis  note  on  this  verse.)  He  declares, 
i.e.,  tliat,  succeeding  to  the  suffering  of  Christ,  lie 
carries   it  out   for  the  sake  of  His  body  the  Church. 


This  is,  indeed,  nothing  but  a  clearer  and  more  striking 
ex2)ressiou  of  the  truth  conveyed  in  2  Cor.  i.  5,  "  The 
sufferings  of  Christ  overflow  to  us,"  .so  that  we  bear  our 
part,  in  addition  to  the  full  measure  which  He  bore ; 
and  even  in  the  c«nimouer  expression,  to  be  "  partaker 
of  Christ's  sufferings "  (Phil.  iii.  10  ;  1  Pet.  iv.  13), 
or  "  to  drink  of  His  cup  and  be  baptised  with  His 
baptism  "  (Matt.  xx.  22,  23).  But,  (3)  looking  to  the 
meaning  and  use  of  the  word  "  afflictions,"  wo  note 
that  "  the  afflictions  of  Christ "  must  be  His  suffer- 
ings on  earth  considered  simply  as  a  part — though 
immeasurably  the  chief  part— of  the  Ijurden  of 
humanity  in  a  sinful  world.  They  represent,  not  the 
Cross  of  Atonement,  on  which  He  alone  could  suffer 
— and  in  which  any  reader  of  St.  Paul  must  find  it 
absurd  to  suppose  that  he  would  claim  the  slightest 
share — but  the  Cross  of  struggle  against  sin  even 
to  death,  which  He  expressly  bade  us  "  take  up  if 
we  would  follow  Him."  This  Ho  has  stiU  left 
"  behind ;  "  this  in  His  strength  every  one  of  His 
servants  bears,  partly  for  himself,  partly  also  for 
others.  In  the  former  light  St.  Paul  says,  "  The  world 
is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  to  the  world  "  (Gal.  vi.  14)  ;  in 
the  latter  he  claims  it  as  his  highest  privilege  "  to  fill 
up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  for 
His  Body  which  is  the  Church." 

In  my  flesh  for  his  body's  sake.— Tliere  is 
obviously  an  antithesis  here.  St.  Paul  suffers  in  his 
natural  body  for  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ. 

(25)  Whereof  I  am  made  (or,  became)  a  minister. 
— Above  (in  verse  23)  St.  Paul  describes  himself  as  a 
"  minister  of  the  gospel,"  here  as  a  "  minister  (or, 
servant)  of  the  Church."  Elsewhere  he  is  always  the 
"  minister  of  God "  and  "  of  Christ " ;  here  of  the 
Church,  as  the  Body  of  Chi-ist,  and  so  iudissolubly 
united  with  Christ. 

The  dispensation  of  God.— See  Eph.  iii.  2 — 9, 
and  Notes  there.  The  reference  is  to  his  peculiar 
"  Apost lesliip  of  the  Gentiles." 

To  fulfil. — The  marginal  reading  and  reference  to 
Rom.  XV.  19  give  the  explanation  of  the  word,  •'  fully 
to  preach  the  Woi-d  of  God  " — to  be  a  messenger  of  the 
perfect  revelation,  which  had  now  unfolded  what  was 
previously  a  hidden  "  mystery." 

(26)  The  mystery.— On  the  Scriptural  sense  of  the 
woi'd  "mystery,"  and  its  relation  to  the  modern  use  of 
the  word*  see  Note  on  Eph.  i.  9.  In  this  passage, 
perhaps,  most  of  all.  it  is  defined  with  perfect  clear- 
ness, as  "  a  secret  long  hidden,  and  now  revealed." 

(27)  To  whom  God  would-  i.e.,  God  iciUed.  Tlie 
expression  is  emphatic.  It  was  of  God's  own  i)leasure, 
inscrutable  to  man.  So  in  Eph.  i.  9,  we  read  "  the 
mystery  of  His  will."  Note  also,  in  Eph.  i.  4 — 6.  the 
r(>peated  reference  to  the  predestination  of  God  in  His 
love. 

The  riches  of  the  glory.— See  Eph.  i.  18  ;  iii. 
16  ;  and  Notes  there. 

Which  is  Christ  in  you.— This  mystery  specially 
committ«d  to  St.  Paul  to  declare  is,  in  Eph.  iii.  6,  defined 


103 


His  Preaching  to  tJiem, 


COLOSSIANS,   II. 


and  his  Striving  for  them. 


wliicli  is  Christ  in  you,^  the  hope  of 
glory:  ^^^  whom  we  preach,  warning 
every  man,  and  teaching  every  man  in 
all  wisdom  ;  that  we  may  present  every 
man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus  :  (^^  where- 
unto  I  also  labour,  striving  according 


1  Or,  among  you.    to  his  working,  wMch  worketh  in  me 
mightily. 


A.D.  &1. 
2  Or,  fear,  or,  care. 


CHAPTEE  n.— (1)  For  I  would  that 
ye  knew  what  great  conflict  ^  I  have 
for   you,    and  for   them    at   Laodicea, 


thns,  "  Tliat  the  Gontilcs  slioukl  be  (or,  are)  fellowheirs, 
and  of  the  same  body,  aud  partakers  of  His  promise  in 
Christ  ))y  the  gospel  "  ;  and  the  nature  of  this  promise 
is  explained  below,  "  That  Chi-ist  may  dwell  in  yonr 
hearts  by  faith."  Hero  the  mystery  itself  is  boldly 
defined  as  "  Christ  in  you  ;  "  just  as  in  1  Tim.  iii.  16, 17, 
aceordingtooneinteri^retatiou  of  that  difficult  passage, 
"  the  mystery  of  godliness  "  is  Christ  Himself,  "  who 
was  manifest,"  &c.  Here  we  have  again  a  significant 
illustration  of  the  difference  between  the  characteristic 
ideas  of  the  two  Epistles.  In  the  Ephesian  Epistle  the 
unity  of  all  in  God's  covenant  is  first  put  forth,  and 
then  explained  as  deijendeut  on  the  indwelling  of 
Christ  in  the  lieart.  Here  the  "  Christ  in  you  "  is  all 
in  all :  the  unity  of  all  men  in  Him  is  an  inference,  but 
one  which  the  readers  of  the  Epistle  are  left  to  draw 
for  themselves.  On  the  great  idea  itself,  in  the  purely 
individual  relation,  see  Phil.  i.  21,  and  also  Gal.  ii.  20; 
in  the  moi*e  general  form,  see  Rom.  viii.  10;  2  Cor. 
xiii.  5;   Gal.  iv.  19. 

The  hope  of  (the)  glory.— So  in  1  Tim.  i.  1,  "  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  our  hope."  "  The  glory  " 
is  the  glorified  state  of  perfection  in  heaven,  wrapt  in 
the  communion  with  God,  and  so  "  changed  from  glory 
to  glory."  Again  we  note  (as  in  verses  5,  23)  the 
special  emphasis  laid  on  the  hope  of  heaven.  Christ 
is  "  our  hope,"  as  He  is  "  our  life,"  i.e.,  the  ground  of 
our  sure  aud  certain  hope  of  the  future,  as  of  our 
spiritual  life  in  the  present. 

(28)  Warning  every  man,  and  teaching.— In 
"  warning "  is  implied  the  idea  of  reproof  of  folly  or 
sin.  (See  1  Thess.  v.  14 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  5.)  "  Teaching  " 
is  simply  instruction — including,  of  course,  practical 
exhortation — of  those  already  warned. 

Perfect.— See  Eph.  iv.  13 ;  Phil.  iii.  15,  and  Notes 
there.  Here,  however,  as  in  1  Cor.  ii.  6,  7,  the  re- 
ference may  be  to  the  sense  of  "  perfect  "as  "  initiated 
in  mystery."  St.  Paul,  in  opposition  to  the  exclusive 
claim  of  "  perfection "  by  the  speculators  in  mystic 
knowledge  ('•  falsely  so  called  ")  would  present  "  every 
man,"  learned  or  ignorant,  "  perfect  before  God."  In 
this  universality  of  pri^-ilege  lies  the  glorious  distinc- 
tion between  the  gospel  and  all  schools  of  philosophy, 
whether  they  reject  or  assume  its  name. 

(29)  Whei-eunto  I  also  labour.— In  this  verse  St. 
Paul  passes  from  the  plural  to  the  singular,  e\ddently 
in  preparation  for  the  strong  personal  remonstrance  of 
chap.  ii.  1 — 7. 

His  working  .  .  .—See  Eph.  i.  12,  and  Note 
there.  Perhaps,  as  in  Gal.  ii.  8  ("  Ho  that  wrought 
effectually  in  Peter  to  the  Apostleshij)  of  the  Circum- 
cision, the  same  was  mighty  in  me  towards  the  Gen- 
tiles"), there  is  special  allusion  to  the  grace  given  to 
him  for  his  Apostleship  of  the  Gentiles. 

II. 

[4.  Special  Enforcement  of  Doctrinal  Teach- 
ing (chap.  ii.  1— iii.  4). 
(1)  Exhortation    to    Stand    Fast    in   the 
Faith,  dictated  by  special  anxiety  for  them 
and  the  sister  churches,  urging  them  to  seek 


104 


all  wisdom  in  Christ  alone,  and  to  keep  to 
the  old  simplicity  of  the  gospel  (verses  1 — 7). 

(2)  Warning  against   Speculative  Error, 

turning  them  "to  philosophy  and  vain  de- 
ceit "  from  Christ. 

(a)  For  in  Him  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the 

Godhead. 

(b)  In  Him  they  have  the  true  spiritual  circum- 

cision of  the  New  Covenant. 

(c)  From  Him,  and  from  Him  alone,  can  they 

receive  justification  from  sin,  and  the  new 
life  of  grace  (verses  8 — 15). 

(3)  Warning  against  Practical  Supersti- 

tion. 
(a)  In  relation  to  obsolete  Jewish  ordinances 

(verses  16 — 17). 
(fc)  In  worship  of  angels,  sinning  against  the 

sole  Headship  of  Christ  (verses  18,  19). 

(4)  Declaration   of    the    True   Christian 

State. 

(a)  As  dead  with  Christ,  and  so  dead  to  all  the 
vain  and  carnal  ordinances,  which  have  a 
show  of  wisdom  but  no  reality  (verses 
20—23).  _ 

(6)  As  risen  with  Christ,  and  so  bound  to  seek 
the  things  above,  and  have  a  life  hid  with 
Christ  in  God  (chap.  iii.  1 — 4).] 

(!—'')  In  these  verses  St.  Paul  declares  his  deep 
anxiety  for  the  Colossians  and  Laodiceans  and  others 
who  had  not  seen  his  face,  that  they  might  seek,  not 
the  false,  but  the  true  knowledge,  finding  "  the  mystery 
of  God  "  in  Christ  alone.  The  reason  of  that  anxiety  is 
found  in  the  "  beguiUng  and  enticing  words  "  of  an 
incipient  Gnosticism.  But  "though  absent  in  the 
body  "  he  rejoices  in  the  steadfastness  of  their  faith, 
and  only  exhorts  them  to  continue  in  it,  deepening  and 
enlarging  it,  but  never  changing  its  essence. 

(1)  What  great  conflict.— The  word  is  here  re- 
peated from  the  "  striving "  of  the  previous  verse, 
which  is,  in  the  original,  the  cognate  verb.  It  is  the 
same  word  which  is  used  in  Phil.  i.  30  ("  conflict "),  in 
1  Thess.  ii.  2  ("contention  "),  in  1  Tim.  vi.  12,  2  Tim. 
iv.  7  ("  the  good  fight  of  faith  ").  Evidently  it  de- 
scribes the  intense  earnestness  of  the  whole  struggle 
against  evil  which  he  was  undergoing  for  them ;  but 
perhaps,  looking  at  chap.  iv.  12,  we  may  refer  it 
especially  to  "  striving  in  prayer "  for  them.  It  is 
probably  dwelt  upon  hero  to  show  why,  although  un- 
known to  them  personally,  ho  yet  writes  so  urgently  to 
them. 

And  for  them  at  Laodicea.— Comp.  chap, 
iv.  13,  "  For  you,  and  for  them  that  are  in  Laodicea, 
and  for  them  in  Hierapolis."  These  three  cities  lay 
near  together  in  the  valley  of  Lycus,  a  tributary  of  the 
Mffiander ;  probably  they  were  converted  at  one  time, 
and  are  evidently  regarded  as  forming  one  Christian 
community,  for  which  Epaphras,  the  evangelist  of 
Colossse,  felt  himself  responsible.  Colossae  and  Lao- 
dicea are  actually  directed  to  exchange  the  apostolic 


His  Anxiety  for  Colossm 


COLOSSIANS,   II. 


and  the  Sister  Churches. 


and  for  as  many  as  have  not  seen  my 
Chap.  ii.  1—4.  face  in  the  flesh ;  (^^  that 
St.  Raul's  a-n^^  their  hearts  might  be  com- 
lossiansandthe  forted,  being  knit  together 
sister  churches,  jj-^  Iq^q^  ^nd  unto  all  riches 

of  the  full  assuj-ance  of  understanding,  to 


1  Or,  Tl'ftcrcin. 


the  acknowledgement  of  the  mystery  of 
God,  and  of  the  Father,  and  of  Christ ; 
(•^)  in  whom  ^  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge.  ^^^  And  this  I 
say,  lest  any  man  should  beguile  you 
with  enticinor  words.     (^)  For  though  I 


Lottcrs  sent  to  them  (see  chap.  iv.  16,  and  Note  there), 
and  to  read  both  alike  in  the  churches.  (See  Dr. 
Lighifoot's  adniira])lo  description  of  "The  Churches 
of  the  Lycus,"  prefixed  to  his  commentary  on  this 
Epistle.)  Of  Laodicea,  the  greatest  and  richest  of  the 
three  cities,  we  have  no  further  notice  in  Scripture, 
except  that  stern  apocalyptic  letter  (Rev.  iii.  14 — 22), 
•which  has  made  its  name  provci'bial  for  spiritual  luke- 
warmness  and  presumptuous  self-reliance.  It  has  been 
noticed  that  in  this  Letter  our  Lord  is  called  "  the  be- 
ginning of  the  creation  of  God."  (See  chap.  i.  15 — ■ 
18  of  this  Epistle.)  Of  Colossge  and  Hierapolis  we 
read  only  in  this  Ei^istle.  It  is  notable  (see  Dr.  Light- 
foot's  Essay)  that  while  Hierapolis  and  Laodicea  play 
a  prominent  part  in  the  sub.sequent  history  of  Chris- 
tianity in  Asia  Minor,  Colossse  never  attains  import- 
ance, and  has  left  but  "few  and  meagre"  remains, 
compared  with  the  magnificent  ruins  of  the  other  cities. 

As  many  as  have  not  seen  my  face.— This 
description  doubtless  indicates  Hierapolis;  but  the 
whole  context  shows  that  it  also  includes  Colossae.  If 
the  reading  taken  in  chap.  ifi&  is  correct,  Epaphras  had 
been  commissioned  by  St.  Paul,  and  thus,  indirectly, 
the  Apostle  might  be  held  to  be  the  founder  of  Colossae. 
Accordingly  this  Letter  stands,  so  to  speak,  midway 
between  the  unreserved  familiarity  of  the  Epistles  to 
Corinth  or  Philippi,  and  the  more  formal  reserve  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

(2)  Comforted — i.e.,  encouraged,  or  strengthened, 
both  to  stand  fast  and  to  advance  in  the  faith. 

Knit  together. — The  word  here  used  has  two 
senses  ;  first,  "  to  bring,  or  knit,  together  "  (as  in  verse 
19,  and  Eph.  iv.  16) ;  next,  "  to  carry  with  us"  in  argu- 
ment— i.e.,  to  "  instruct,"  or  "  convince  "  (as  in  Acts  ix. 
22;  xvi.  10;  1  Cor.  ii.  16).  Either  would  give  good 
sense  here;  but  the  usage  in  this  and  the  Ephesian 
Epistle,  and  the  addition  of  the  words  "  in  love,"  are 
decisive  for  the  former  sense. 

And  unto  .  .  .  the  full  assurance  of  under- 
standing (or,  rather,  intelligence,  as  in  chap.  i.  9). — 
The  idea  of  the  passage  is  precisely  that  of  Phil.  i.  9, 
"  I  pray  that  your  love  may  abound  (or,  overflow)  more 
and  more  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  judgment  (or, 
perception)."  St.  Paul  bids  them  seek  the  fulness  of 
intelligence  which  they  were  taught  to  crave  for,  not 
through  the  rashness  of  speculation,  but  through  the 
insight  of  love.  So  in  Eph.  iii.  17 — 19  he  prays  that 
"  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  they  may  know 
.  .  .  that  whidi  passeth  knowledge ; "  for  Christian 
knowledge  is  the  knowledge  of  a  personal  Saviour,  and 
in  all  personal  knowledge  ho  knows  best  who  loves  best. 

The  acknowledgement .  .  . — This  clause — which 
explains  what  the  "  fulness  of  intelligence "  is — is 
altogether  obscured  in  our  version.  It  should  be  ren- 
dered, to  the  full  knoivledge  of  the  mystery  of  God, 
which  is  Christ.  Above  wo  read  (chap.  i.  27),  "this 
mystery,  which  is  Christ  in  you."  There  Christ,  as 
indwelling  in  man,  is  tlie  mystery  which  alone  solves 
the  problem  of  liumanity — what  it  is,  and  wliitlier  it 
tends.  Here  Christ  is  the  "mystery  of  God" — i.e. 
(according   to  the   Scriptural   meaning    of    the    word 


"  mystery  "),  He  in  whom  the  inscrutable  nature  of  God, 
rich  in  the  "  hidden  treasure  of  wisdom  and  knowledge," 
is  revealed  to  us.  The  name  again  leads  up  to  the 
doctrine  of  "  the  Word  of  God." 

(3)  In  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures.— The 
order  of  the  original  is  curious :  "  in  whom  are  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  as  hidden  trea- 
sures." The  word  "  hidden"  (apocryj:>hi)  is  an  almost 
technical  word  for  secret  teaching  given  only  to  the 
initiated ;  used  originally  as  a  term  of  honour  (as  the 
participle  of  the  kindred  verb  is  used  in  1  Cor.  ii.  7,  8, 
"the  wisdom  of  God  in  mystery,  even  the  hidden  wisdom 
.  .  .  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew  "), 
afterwards,  from  the  character  of  these  "  apocryphal " 
books,  coming  to  signify  spurious  and  heretical.  St. 
Paul  evidently  takes  up  here  a  word,  used  by  the  pre- 
tenders to  a  special  and  abstruse  knowledge,  and  ap- 
plies it  to  the  "  heavenly  things  "  which  He  alone  knows 
"  who  is  in  heaven  "  (John  iii.  12,13).  From  our  full 
comprehension  they  are  hidden ;  if  ever  we  know  them, 
it  wiU  not  be  till  "  we  know  even  as  we  are  known." 
But  the  previous  words  show  that  we  can  have  full 
practical  apprehension  of  them  by  our  knowledofe  of 
Christ,  who  knows  them — a  knowledge  begun  in  faith, 
and  perfected  chiefly  in  love. 

Wisdom  and  knowledge.— Comp.  Rom.  xi.  33 
and  1  Cor.  xii.  8  ("  the  word  of  wisdom"  ..."  the 
word  of  knowledge  ").  On  the  true  sense  of  "  wisdom  " 
and  its  relation  to  other  less  perfect  gifts,  as  "  pradence," 
"intelligence,"  "knowledge,"  see  Note  on  Eph.  i.  8. 
"  Knowledge  "  is  clearly  the  development  of  wisdom  in 
spiritual  perception,  as  "  intelligence "  in  testing  and 
harmonising  such  perception,  and  "prudence"  in 
making  them,  so  tested,  the  guide  of  life.  The  word 
"  knowledge "  (gnosis)  was  the  word  which,  certainly 
afterwards,  probably  even  then,  was  the  watchwoi'd  of 
"  Gnosticism  " — the  unbridled  and  fantastic  spirit  of 
metaphysical  and  religious  speculation  then  beginning 
to  infest  all  Christian  thought.  It  can  hardly  be  acci- 
dental that  St.  Paul  here,  as  elsewhere,  subordinates  it 
to  the  higher  gift  of  wisdom. 

W  Beguile  you.—"  To  beguile  "  here  is  to  reason 
into  error  ;  and  "  enticing  words  "  are  words  of  per- 
snasio7i  rather  than  of  reason  or  revelation.  Both 
words  are  used  by  St.  Paul  only  in  this  passage.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  describe  more  accurately  tlie  mar- 
vellous fabrics  of  Gnostic  speculation,  each  step  claiming 
to  be  based  on  some  fancied  probability  or  metaphysical 
propriety,  but  the  whole  as  artificial  as  the  cycles  and 
epicycles  of  the  old  Ptolemaic  astronomy.  We  know 
these  in  all  the  elaborate  monstrosity  of  full  growth ; 
St.  Paul  doubtless  saw  them  as  yet  only  in  embryo. 

(5)  Absent  in  the  flesh.— Comp.  1  Cor.  v.  3,  "  I 
as  absent  in  body  and  present  in  spirit." 

Your  orderj  and  the  stedfastness.— The  word 
"  order  "  is  used  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  40;  tlio  word  "  stedfast- 
ness," or  solidity,  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  New 
Testament,  though  the  verb  from  which  it  is  derived  is 
found  in  Acts  iii.  7,  16.  xvi.  5.  and  the  original  adjec- 
tive, from  which  tlie  verb  is  derived,  in  1  Pet.  v.  9, 
"  stedfast  in  the  faith."     From  the  days  of  the  ancient 


105 


y 


Exhortation  to  the  Old  Faith. 


COLOSSIANS,     II.  Waiming  against  False  Philosojihy. 


be  absent  in  the  flesh,  yet  am  I  with 

Chap  ii  5-7  ^'^^  "^  *^^®  ^P^^^*'  J^y^"^ 
Exhortation  to  and  beholdiiiii:  your  order, 
kc^p  to  the  old  and  the  stedfastness  of 
your  faith  in  Christ. 
<^)  As  ye  have  therefore  received  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  him : 
("^  rooted  and  built  up  in  him,  and 
stablished  in  the  faith,  as  ye  have  been 


1  Or,  elements. 


taught,  abounding  therein  with  thanks- 
giving. (^^  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil 
you  through  philosophy  ^hap.  ii.  8- 
and  vain  deceit,  after  the  15.  Warning 
tradition  of  men,  after  the  ^^;^'"st  false 
T  J-    1       r    XT  11     P  li  1 1  o  s  o  p  h  y 

rudiments  ^    OI    the    world,    drawing    them 

and  not  after  Christ.  ("^For  aS*if\"r?it 
in  him  dwelleth  all  the  ful-  and  the  new  lite 
ness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  ^^  Him. 


Greek  interpreters  dowinvards,  it  has  been  noted  that 
hoth  words  liave  military  associations — the  one  being 
nsed  for  disciphne  generally,  and  the  other  for  tlie  firm 
comjiaet  solidity  of  the  phalanx ;  and  (as  in  Eph.  vi. 
11 — 17)  tliat  the  use  of  them  may  have  been  suggested 
by  St.  Paul's  captivity  under  military  guard.  If  both 
words  be  referred  to  their  "  faith,"  the  Apostle  obviously 
characterises  it  as  having  riglit  "  order  "  (or,  harmony) 
in  its  various  j)arts,  aud  a  strong  "  solidity  "  against  all 
trials. 

C^)  As  ye  have  therefore  received.— Comp.  tho 
more  emphatic  language  of  chap.  i.  5 — 7,  23.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  Corinthians  and  Galatians  (2  Cor.  xi.  4  and  Gal. 
i.  6),  he  entreats  them  not  to  be  turned  aside  to  "  another 
Jesus."  or  "  another  gospel,  which  is  not  another." 

(7)  Rooted  and  built  up  in  him.— There  is  a 
significant  change  of  tense  in  the  original,  having  been 
rooted — i.e.  (as  in  Eph.  iii.  17),  "  rooted  and  grounded" 
in  Him  once  for  all,  and  being  bnilt  up  continually 
on  that  Foimdation.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  iii.  9 — 15.)  St.  Paul 
bids  them  seek  not  only  the  first  basis  of  their  faith, 
but  their  continual  growth,  in  Christ  alone,  by  continual 
"strengthening  in  tlie  faith  "  which  rests  in  Him.  We 
may  remember  that  in  the  Gnostic  teaching  faith  was 
held  good  for  the  beginner  or  the  common  herd,  "  know- 
ledge "  was  the  bright  particular  jewel  of  those  who 
went  on  to  perfection. 

Abounding  (or,  overfioimng)  therein  with 
thanksgiving.— The  metjiphor  is  changed.  The  cup 
of  faith,  filled  to  the  full,  runs  over  in  that  thanksgiving 
which  is  the  expression  both  of  faith  and  love. 

(8—15)  The  general  exhortation  of  the  previous  verses 
is  now  emphasised  by  a  solemn  waniing  against  deadly 
speculative  error.  Now,  (1)  the  character  of  that  error 
in  itself  is  dcscrilied  with  apparently  intentional  vague- 
ness, as  "  a  philosophy  of  vain  deceit,"  "  after  tradi- 
tion of  men,"  after  "the  rudiments  of  this  world." 
Even  its  Judaic  origin,  which  is  made  clear  below 
(verses  16,  17),  is  here  only  hinted  at  in  the  significant 
allusion  to  Circumcision,  and  perhaps  in  the  phrase 
"  tlie  rudiments  of  the  world,"  which  is  also  used  of  the 
Judaism  of  Galatia  (Gal.  iv.  3,  9).  (2)  What  is  brought 
out  vividly  and  emphatically  is  tlie  triifJi  wliicli  it  con- 
tradicts or  obscures.  First,  the  full  indwelling  God- 
head of  Christ  and  His  headship  over  all  created  being  ; 
and  next,  as  derived  from  this,  our  own  "sjjiritual  cir- 
cumcision in  Him,  i.e.,  the  true  "  death  unto  sin  and  new 
life  imto  righteousness''  in  Him  who  is  the  One  Atone- 
ment for  all  sin,  and  the  One  Conqueror  of  all  tho 
powers  of  evil.  On  the  relation  of  tho  Epistle  to 
Gnosticism  see  Excursus  A. 

(S)  Spoil  you. — Properly,  lead  ynu  away  as  a  spoil, 
triumph  over  you  as  a  captive,  and  make  you  a  slave. 
Comp.  St.  Paul's  language  as  to  the  older  Judaism  at 
Coi-inth  (2  Cor.  xi.  20),  "Ye  suifer,  if  a  man  bring  you 
into  bondage,  if  a  man  devour  you,  if  a  man  exalt  him- 
self, if  a  man  smite  you  on  the  face." 


Philosophy  and  vain  deceit  — i.e.  (like  '-the 
knowledge  falsely  so  called  "  of  1  Tim.  vi.  20),  a  philo- 
sophy which  is  inseparably  connected  with  vain  deceit. 
The  warning  implied  liere  seems  to  be  twofold: — (1) 
First,  against  considering  Cluistianity  primarily  as  a 
"  philosophy,"  i.e.,  a  search  for  and  knowledge  of  .specu- 
lative truth,  even  tho  highest.  That  it  involves  philo- 
sophy is  obvious,  for  it  claims  to  solve  for  us  the  great 
prol)lem  of  Being,  in  Nature,  in  Man,  and  in  God.  St.  Paul, 
while  he  depreciates  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  dwells  em- 
phatically on  the  gospel  as  the  "  wisdom  of  God."  (See 
especially  1  Cor.  ii.  6 — 16.)  In  this  Epistle  in  particu- 
lar he  .speaks  of  "  wisdom  "  again  and  again  (chaps,  i. 
9,  28  ;  ii.  3  ;  iii.  16  ;  iv.  6)  as  one  great  characteristic  of 
Christian  life.  Nor  is  it  less  clear  (as  the  ancient  Greek 
commentators  here  earnestly  remind  us)  that  Christianity 
fiuds  a  place  and  a  blessing  for  all  true  philosophy  of  men, 
and  makes  it,  as  St.  Paul  made  it  at  Athens,  an  intro- 
duction to  the  higher  wisdom.  But  Christianity  is  not 
a  philosophy,  but  a  life — not  a  knowledge  of  abstract 
principles,  but  a  personal  knowledge  of  faith  and  love 
of  God  in  Christ.  (2)  Next,  against  accepting  in  philo- 
sophy the  "vain  deceit"  of  mere  speculation  and 
imagination  instead  of  the  modest,  laborious  investiga- 
tion of  facts.  This  is  the  "  knowledge  falsely  so 
called  " ;  of  this  it  may  be  said  (as  in  1  Cor.  Anii.  1)  that 
it  "  pufPs  up,"  and  does  not  "  build  up."  In  ancient 
and  modern  times  it  has  always  confused  brilliant 
theory  with  solid  discovery,  delighting  especially  to 
dissolve  the  great  facts  of  the  gospel  into  abs-tractious, 
Avhich  may  float  in  its  cloudland  of  imagination. 

After  the  tradition  of  men.— This  is  the  keynote 
of  our  Lord's  condemnation  of  the  old  Phai'isaic  ex- 
clusiveness  and  formalism  (Matt.  xv.  2,  3,  6  ;  Mark  vii. 
8,  9)  ;  it  is  equally  the  condemnation  of  the  later 
Jewish,  or  half- Jewish,  mysticism  which  St.  Paul  attacks 
here.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark  that  the  Apostle 
often  claims  reverence  for  "traditions"  (1  Cor.  xi.  2; 
2  Thess.  ii.  15 ;  iii.  6 ;  see  also  1  Cor.  xv.  3 ;  2  Pet.  ii. 
21),  but  they  are  traditions  having  their  starting  point 
in  direct  revelation  of  God  (Gal.  i.  12),  and,  moreover, 
traditions  freely  given  to  all,  as  being  His.  Tho 
"  traditions  of  men  "  liere  condemned  had  their  origin 
in  human  speculation,  and  were  secretly  transmitted 
to  the  initiated  only. 

The  rudiments  of  the  world.— See  Gal.  iv.  2, 
and  Note  there.  This  niai-ks  the  chief  point  of  contact 
wnth  the  earlier  Judaism,  in  the  stress  still  laid,  perhaps 
with  less  consistency,  on  matters  of  ritual,  law,  ascetic 
ol)sorvance.  and  the  like.  These  ai-o  "  of  the  world,"  i.e., 
behmging  to  the  visible  sphere;  and  they  are  "rudi- 
ments," fit  only  for  the  elementary  education  of  those 
who  are  as  children,  and  intended  simply  as  preparation 
for  a  higher  teaching. 

(9)  In  him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily.— Here  almost  every  word  is  omi)hatic. 
First,  "  All  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  " — not  a  mere 
emanation  from  the  Supreme  Being.     Next,  "  dwells  " 


106 


llie  Circumcision  without  Hands. 


COLOSSIANS,   II. 


The  Resurrection  in  BaptisTU. 


(io>  And  ye  are  complete  in  liim,  wliicli  is 
the  head  of  all  princiiDality  and  power : 
(11)  ill  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised  with 
the  circumcision  made  without  hands, 
puttinpf  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of 


in 


the  flesh  by  the  circumcision  of  Christ : 


(^2)  buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein 
also  ye  are  risen  with  him  through  the 
faith  of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath 
raised  him  from  the  dead,  (i'^*  And  you, 
being  dead  in  your  sins  and  the  un- 
circumcision    of    your    flesh,   hath    he 


aiul  remains  for  ever — not  descending  on  Him  for  a  time 
and  leaving  Him  again.  Lastly,  "  bodily,"  i.e.,  as  incar- 
nate in  His  Imuiauity.  The  whole  is  an  extension  and 
enforcement  of  cliap.  i.  19,  "  God  was  pleased  that  in 
Him  all  the  fulness  should  dwell."  The  horror  of  all 
that  was  material,  as  having  in  it  the  seed  of  evil,  in- 
duced denial  either  of  the  reality  of  our  Lord's  body, 
or  of  its  insepai-able  connectiou  with  the  Godhead 
in  Him.  Hence  the  emphasis  here ;  as  also  we  tind 
(somewliat  later)  in  St.  John,  "  The  Word  was  made 
flesh  "  (John  i.  14) ;  "  The  spirit  which  conf esseth  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  ...  is  the 
spirit  of  autichrist "  (1  John  iv.  3). 

On  the  meaning  of  "  fulness  "  (pleroma),  see  chaj). 
i.  10 ;  Eph.  i.  3  ;  iii.  19 ;  iv.  13.  Here  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  add,  that,  as  in  the  later  Gnosticism,  so  probably 
in  its  earlier  forms,  the  word  was  used  for  the  infinite 
nature  of  the  Supreme  Deity,  out  of  which  all  the  ema- 
nations (afterwards  called  JE'ans)  received  in  various 
degrees  of  imperfection,  according  to  their  capacity. 
Probably  for  that  reason  St.  Paul  uses  it  so  emphati- 
cally here.  In  the  same  spirit,  St.  John  declares  (John 
i.  16),  "  Out  of  His  (Christ's)  fulness  have  all  we 
received."  It  is  not  finite,  but  infinitely  perfect ;  hence 
we  all  can  draw  from  it,  yet  leave  it  unimpaired. 

(10)  Ye  are  coniplete. — Literally,  rje  have  been  filled 
rip  in  His  fulness,  as  in  John  i.  16.  So  St.  Paul  had 
pi-ayed  for  the  Ephesians  that  they  might  be  "  filled 
^vitll  (or  rather,  up  to)  all  the  fulness  of  God,"  and 
"  grow  into  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ  "  (Eph.  iii.  19 ;  iv.  13).  To  partake  of  the 
di-vnne  pleroma  is  not  the  special  privilege  of  the 
initiated  ;  it  belongs  to  all  who  are  united  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Principality  and  power.— See  chap.  i.  16.  His 
headship  over  all  angelic  natures  is  dwelt  upon  (as 
in  Heb.  i.  1 — 14)  with  obvious  reference  to  the  wor- 
shipping of  angels.  They  are  our  fcllowservants  under 
the  same  Head.     (See  Rev.  xxii.  8,  9.) 

(11)  The  circunicision  made  without  hands.— 
This  abrupt  introduction  of  the  idea  of  circumcision 
woidd  be  difficult  to  imdorstand,  were  it  not  for  the 
knowledge  of  the  enforcement  of  Jo\vish  obsen-ance 
so  strangely  mixed  with  this  "  philosoiihy"  at  Colossse. 
(Comp.  Epli.  ii.  11,  "  Te  who  are  called  Uncircumcision 
Ijy  that  which  is  called  Circumcision  in  the  flesh  made 
with  hands.")  The  phrase  "  made  without  hands  "  is 
so  constantly  used  of  heavenly  realities  (as  in  Mark  xiv. 
68;  2  Cor.  V.  1;  Heb.  ix.  11,  24),  as  opposed  to 
earthly  symbols,  that  it  comes  to  have  the  positive 
sense  of  "spiritual."  It  is  defined  below  as  "  the  cir- 
cumcision of  Christ  " — that  Avhich  Christ  has  given  us 
in  Himself— in  contradistinction  to  the  old  circumcisi(m 
which  is  now  "nothing."  (On  the  treat mcnt  of  this 
subject  in  the  Epistles  of  this  period,  comp.  with  this 
])assago  Ej)h.  ii.  11,  12 ;  Phil.  iii.  2,  3,  and  see  Notes 
there.) 

In  putting  off  the  body  .  .  .—The  words  "of 
tlie  sins  "  are  not  found  in  the  best  MSS.  They  arc, 
no  doubt,  an  explanatory  gloss  to  soften  the  harshness 
of  the  phrase  "  the  body  of  the  flesh."    (1)  What  "  the 


body  of  the  flesh  "  is  we  see  clearly  by  chap.  iii.  9, 
"  having  jjut  ofE  the  old  man."  It  is.  like  the  "  body 
of  sin"  (in  Rom.  vi.  6)  and  the  "body  of  death"  (in 
Rom.  vii.  24),  the  body  so  far  as  it  is,  in  the  bad  sense 
of  the  word  "flesh,"  fleshly.  The  body  itself  is  not 
"put  off:  "  for  it  is  not  evil;  it  is  a  part  of  the  true 
man,  and  becomes  the  temple  of  God.  It  is  only  so 
far  as  in  it  tlie  flesh  rebels  against  the  spirit,  and  the 
"  old  man  is  gradually  corrupted  by  the  lusts  of 
deceit"  (Eph.  iv.  22),  that  it  is  to  be  "put  off." 
(2)  But  why  the  "body  of  the  flesh,"  and  not  the 
"  flesh  "  simply  ?  The  answer  is,  no  doubt,  that  which 
Chrysostom  here  gives,  that  the  bodily  circumcision 
was  but  of  one  member,  in  mere  symbolism  of  one 
form  of  purity;  the  spiritual  circumcision  is  the 
putting  away  of  the  whole  of  the  power  of  the  flesh, 
and  that,  too.  not  in  symbol,  but  in  reality. 

(1-)  Buried  with  him  in  baptism  .  .  .—It  is 
veiy  interesting  to  compare  this  passage  with  Rom. 
vi.  4,  "  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  Him  in  baptism 
unto  death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from  the 
dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should 
walk  in  newness  of  life."  In  the  former  clause  both 
are  identical.  In  the  latter  clause  this  Epistle  is 
stronger.  What  in  the  earlier  Epistle  is  the  "  likeness 
of  His  Resurrectio7i "  is  here  the  participation  of  it, 
"  Ye  are  risen  with  Him."  Similarly,  instead  of  the 
simple  allusion  to  "  Christ's  being  raised  from  the 
dead,"  we  have  here  "  through  faith  in  the  operation  of 
God,  who  raised  Him  from  the  dead."  Here,  as  in  the 
more  detailed  passage  of  the  Ephesian  Epistle  (chaps, 
i.  19 — 23 ;  ii.  5 — 7),  the  "  operation,"  the  energy  of 
"  the  mighty  power  of  God,"  is  conceiA'ed  as  actually 
working  both  in  the  Head  and  in  the  Body,  so  that  we 
through  it  jjartake  of  the  resurrection,  the  ascension, 
and  the  glorified  majesty  of  Christ.  The  comparison 
shows  an  instructive  development  in  this  Epistle  of 
the  consequences  of  the  unity  with  Christ. 

This  passage  is  also  notable  for  the  obvious  contrast 
of  baptism,  as  a  spiritual  reality,  with  circumcision  as  a 
symbolic  form.  Each  is  the  entrance  into  a  covenant 
with  God  ;  but  the  one  into  a  covenant  of  "  the  letter," 
and  the  other  into  a  covenant  of  "  the  spirit."  (See  the 
contrast  between  the  covenants  drawn  out  in  2  Cor. 
iii.  6—18;  Heb.  viii.  6;  ix.  28.)  In  the  earher 
Epistles  circumcision  is  contrasted  with  spiritual 
regeneration  (Gal.  vi.  15),  as  shown  by  various  signs, 
such  as  "faith  working  by  love"  (Rom.  iv.  9 — 12; 
Gal.  V.  6),  or  "  keeping  the  commandments  of  God " 
(1  Cor.  vii.  19).  Here  this  contrast  is  still  as  strong  as 
ever;  but  baptism  being  (as  always)  looked  upon  as 
the  means  of  such  spiritual  regeneration,  is  broiight  out 
emphatically  as  "  the  circumcision  of  the  Spirit."  As 
baptised  into  Christ,  "  we  are  the  circumcision,  who 
worship  God  in  the  Spirit"  (Phil.  iii.  3). 

(13)  And  you  .  .  .—Here,  exactly  as  in  Eph. 
ii.  1 — 18.  there  is  a  remarkable  intermixture  of  the 
word  "wo"  and  the  word  "you."  the  former  con- 
veying the  univer.sal  statement  of  the  gospel  message 
of  mercy,  the  other  applying  it  emphatically  to  tlio 
Gentiles,  as  Gentiles.     The'  two  passages  sliould  Ijo  read 


107 


TliA  Atonement  of  Christ. 


COLOSSIANS,   II. 


Hla  Triumph  over  Evil. 


quickened  together  with  him,  having 
forgiven  you  all  trespasses ;  (^^^  blotting 
out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that 
was  against  us,  w^hich  was  contrary  to  us. 


and  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to 
his  cross ;  (^^^  and  having  spoiled  prin- 
cipalities and  powers,  he  made  a  shew 
of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them 


side  ])y  side.  Tliere  is,  as  ahvays,  strong  similarity,  yet 
complete  independence.  Through  tlie  passage  of  the 
Ephesiau  Epistle  there  runs  a  two-fold  idea,  the  recon- 
cilement of  Jew  and  Gentile  to  God,  and  the  union  of 
botli  in  one  Catliolic  Church.  In  tliis  Epistle  it  is 
only  on  the  reconcilement  to  God  in  Christ  that  stress 
is  laid.  Even  the  detailed  expressions  of  the  two 
passages  illustrate  each  other  at  once  by  likeness  and 
by  variety. 

Dead  in  your  sins  and  the  uncircumcision  of 
your  flesh. — See  Eph.  ii.  1,  "  Tou  who  were  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins  .  .  .  who  are  called  Uncircumcision 
by  that  wliich  is  called  Circumcision  in  the  flesh."  Here 
the  "  deaduess  "  is  spoken  of,  as  coming  both  from  the 
actual  power  of  ''sins"  {transgressions),  an^ivom.  the 
alienation  from  God  marked  by  uncircumcision.  In 
the  other  passage  the  uncircumcision  is  looked  upon 
only  as  a  name  of  reproach. 

Hath  he  quickened.— It  is  difficult  to  determine 
what  is  the  subject  in  this  sentence.  According  to  all 
analogy  it  should  be  "  God,"  yet  in  the  latter  clauses 
(as  in  verses  14,  1.5)  it  must  surely  be  "  Christ."  Now, 
when  we  turn  to  the  fuller  parallel  passage,  we  see  an 
overt  change  of  subject.  It  is  said  (Ejih.  ii.  5),  "  God 
quickened  us  together  with  Christ  "  ;  '"  God  in  Christ 
forgave  us"  (Eph.  iv.  32) ;  but  "  Christ  abolished  the 
Law,"  "  reconciled  us  to  God  on  the  cross."  This  sug- 
gests a  similar  change  of  subject  here  also,  which  must 
bo  at  the  words  "  and  took  it  away,"  or  (for  the  tense 
here  is  changed)  "and  He  (Christ)  hath  taken  it  away." 
This,  speaking  grammatically,  introduces  an  anomaly ; 
but  such  anomalies  are  not  uncommon  in  St.  Paul, 
especially  in  passages  of  high  spiritual  teaching. 

Having  forgiven  you  .  .  . — There  is  no  corre- 
sponding clause  in  tlie  parallel  passage ;  but  in  a 
different  context  (corresponding  to  chap.  iii.  13  of  this 
Epistle)  we  read,  "forgi\dng  one  another,  even  as  God 
in  Christ  forgave  you  "  (Eph.  iv.  32). 

(14)  Blotting  out  the  handwriting — i.e.,  cancel- 
ling the  bond  ichich  stood  against  us  in  its  ordinances. 
The  "  handwriting  "  is  tlie  bond,  exacting  payment  or 
penalty  in  default.  (Comp.  Philem.  verse  19,  "  I  Paul 
have  ivritten  it  with  mine  own  hand ;  I  will  repay  it.") 
What  this  bond  is  we  see  by  Eph.  ii.  15,  Avhich  speaks 
of  "  the  law  of  commandments  in  ordinances,"  there 
called  "  the  enmity  slain  by  the  cross."  On  the 
meaning  of  "ordinances"  see  Note  on  that  passage. 
The  metaphor,  however,  here  is  different,  and  especially 
notable  as  the  first  anticipation  of  those  many 
metaphors  of  later  theolog)',  from  Tertullian  do^\ai- 
■wards,  in  whicli  the  idea  of  a  debt  to  God,  paid  for  us 
liy  the  l)lood  of  Christ,  as  "  a  satisfaction,"  is  brouglit 
out.  Tlie  Law  is  a  bond,  "  Do  tliis  and  tliou  shalt  live."' 
"  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  On  failure  to  do  our 
part  it  "  stands  against  us."  But  God  for  Christ's  sake 
forgives  our  transgressions  and  cancels  the  bond.  It 
is  a  striking  nietaplior,  full  of  graphic  expressiveness  ; 
it  is  misleading  only  when  (as  in  some  later  theologies) 
we  hold  it  to  bo  not  only  the  truth,  but  the  wliole 
truth,  forgetting  that  legal  and  forensic  metaphors  can 
but  imperfectly  represent  inner  spiritual  realities. 

And  took  it,— Properly,  and  He  (Christ)  hath  fal-en 
it  away.  The  change  of  tense  is  significant.  The  act 
of  atonement  is  over :  its  effect  remains. 


Nailing  it  to  his  cross.— At  this  point  the  idea 
of  atonement  comes  in.  Hitherto  we  have  heard 
simply  of  free  forgiveness  and  love  of  God.  Now  the 
bond  is  viewed,  not  as  cancelled  by  a  simple  act  of 
divine  mercy,  but  as  absolutely  destroyed  by  Christ,  by 
"  nailing  it  to  His  cross."  It  luis  lieen  supposed  (as  by 
Bishop  Pearson)  that  there  is  allusion  to  some  custom  of 
cancelling  documents  by  the  striking  of  a  nail  through 
tliem.  But  the  custom  is  doubtful,  and  the  supposition 
unnecessary.  Our  Lord  "  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  Law,"  by  His  death,  "  being  made  a  curse  for 
us"  (Gal.  iii.  13).  St.  Paul  boldly  sjieaks  of  that  curse 
as  a  penalty  standing  against  us,  and  as  nailed  to 
the  cross  with  Himself,  so  to  be  for  ever  cancelled 
in  the  great  declaration,  "  It  is  finished."  If  any 
more  definite  allusion  is  to  be  sought  for,  we  might 
be  inclined  to  refer  to  the  "title"  on  the  cross, 
probably  nailed  to  it.  Such  title  declared  the  explana- 
tion of  the  sufferer's  death.  The  cancelled  curse  of  the 
Law  was  just  such  an  explanation  of  the  great  atoning 
death,  and  the  title,  declaring  His  mediatorial  kingdom, 
showed  the  curse  cancelled  thereby. 

(15)  Having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers 
.  .  . — This  verse  is  one  of  great  difficulty.  Not,  indeed, 
in  the  main  idea.  The  cross,  as  usual,  is  identified  with 
the  triumph  over  the  powers  of  evil  which  it  won. 
The  very  phrase  "  made  a  show,"  is  cognate  to  the 
words  "  put  Him  to  open  shame  "  applied  to  the  Cruci- 
fixion (Heb.  vi.  6).  The  apparent  triumph  of  the 
"  power  of  darkness "  over  Him  was  His  real  and 
glorious  triumph  over  them.  The  general  idea  is 
familiar  to  us,  telling,  as  in  the  noble  old  hymn  Vexilla 
Regis — 

"  How  of  the  Cross  He  made  a  throne 
On  which  He  reigns,  a  gloi-ious  king." 

His  forgiveness  of  the  penitent  thief  was  the  first  act 
of  His  all-saraig  royalty.  Accordingly,  taking  (as  in 
2  Cor.  ii.  14 — 16)  his  metaphor  from  a  Roman  triumph, 
St.  Paul  represents  Him  as  passing  in  triumphal  majesty 
up  the  sacred  way  to  the  eternal  gates,  with  all  the 
powers  of  evil  bound  as  captives  behind  His  chariot 
before  the  eyes  of  men  and  angels.  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  to  this  clause,  so  characteristic  of  the  constant 
dwelling  on  the  sole  glory  of  Christ  in  this  Epistle, 
there  is  nothing  to  correspond  in  the  parallel  passage 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephcsians,  which  dwells  simply 
on  Christ  as  "  our  peace,"  and  as  the  head  of  the 
Church. 

The  difficulty  lies  in  the  word  hero  translated 
"  having  spoiled."  Now  this  translation  (as  old  as 
St.  Jerome's  Vulgate),  makes  all  simple  and  easy ;  but 
the  original  word  certainly  means  "  having  stripped 
Himself" — as  in  chap.  iii.  9,  "having  put  off  (strijyjyed 
off  from  ourselves)  the  old  man."  It  is  a  word  used 
by  St.  Paul  alone  in  the  Ncav  Testament,  and  by  him 
only  in  these  two  passages,  the  latter  of  whicli  makes 
the  sense  perfectly  clear.  Being  forced,  then,  to  adopt 
this  translation,  we  see  that  tlie  words  admit  of  two 
renderings.  (1)  First,  "having  stripped  from  Himself 
the  principalities  and  powers,"  that  is.  having  stripped 
off  tliat  condition  of  the  earthly  life  wliich  gave  them  a 
grasp  or  occasion  against  Him.  But  this,  though 
adopted  by  many  old  Greek  commentators  (Chry- 
sostoin   among   the   rest),  seems   singularly  harsh   in 


108 


Warning  against  Jewish  Forms 


COLOSSIANS,   II. 


and  Superstitious  Angel-worship. 


in  it,^  (^^^  Let  no  man  therefore  judge 
you  in  meat,  or  in  drink," 
S''^' WarniJig  ^r  iu  respect  ^^  of  an  holy- 
against  obso-  day.  Or  of  tlie  new  moon, 
lete    Jewish  f   ^j^      sabbatli    days: 

ordinances.  i      i  x" 

^^'>  wlncli  are  a  shadow  oi 
things   to   come ;    but   the   body  is   of 


1  Or,  in  ft  imself. 

4  Or,  j«(({/c 
against  ijoii. 

2  Or,    for    eating 
and  drinking. 

3  Or,  m  part. 

a  Gr.  being  ii 
voluntary  in 
humility. 


Christ.     (1^)  Let  no  man  beguile   you* 

of     your     reward     in     a 

voluntary    humility  5     and  g^PVamiS 

worshipj)ing  of  angels,  in-  against   super- 

trudiug  into  those  things  ^^^^^^j^^^  ^''°''^' 

which   he  hath    not    seen, 

vainly  puffed   up    by  his    fleshly  mind, 


expression  and  far-fetched  in  idea,  needing  too  much 
explanation  to  make  it  in  any  sense  clear.  (2)  Next, 
"  having  unclotlied  Himself,  He  made  a  show  of 
principalities  and  powers."  On  the  whole  this  ren- 
dering, although  not  free  from  difficulty,  on  account  of 
the  apparent  want  of  connection  of  the  phrase  "  ha^-ing 
stripped  Himself  "  with  the  context,  seems  the  easiest. 
For  we  note  that  a  cognate  word,  strictly  analogous,  is 
used  thus  (without  an  object  following)  iu  2  Cor.  v.  4, 
"  Not  that  we  desire  to  unclothe  ourselves,  but  to 
clothe  ourselves  over  our  earthly  vesture."  The  context 
shows  that  the  meaning  there  is  "  to  put  off  the 
flesh."  This  is  suggested  still  more  naturally  in  the 
passage  before  us  by  the  j)recediug  phrase,  "  in  the 
putting  off  of  the  body  of  the  flesh  " — a  plirase  there 
used  of  the  flesh  as  evil,  but  found  ia  chap.  i.  22  of  the 
natural  body  of  Christ.  Accordingly  many  Latin 
fathers  (among  others  Augustine)  rendered  ''stripping 
Himself  of  the  flesh,"  and  there  is  some  trace  of  this 
as  a  reading  or  a  gloss  in  the  Greek  of  this  passage. 
Perhaps,  however,  St.  Paid  purposely  omitted  the 
object  after  the  verb,  in  order  to  show  that  it  was 
by  "  stripping  Himself  of  all "  that  He  conquered  by 
becoming  a  show  in  absolute  humiliation,  He  made  the 
powers  of  evil  a  show  in  His  triumph. 

(16-19)  To  the  warning  against  speculative  error 
succeeds  a  warning  against  two  practical  superstitions. 
The  first  is  simply  the  trust  in  obsolete  Jewish 
ordinances  (the  mere  shadow  of  Chi-ist)  with  which 
we  are  familiar  in  the  earlier  forms  of  Judaism.  But 
tlie  second  presents  much  strangeness  and  novelty.  It 
is  the  "  worship  of  angels  "  in  a  "  voluntary  humility," 
inconsistent  with  the  belief  in  au  intimate  and  direct 
union  with  Christ  our  Head. 

(16)  Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you.— That  is, 
impose  Ids  own  ?«;/•.•*  iq)0)i  you.  See  verse  8.  (Comp. 
Rom.  xiv.  3,  10,  "  Why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  " 
in  this  same  connection.) 

In  meat,  or  in  drink.— Or  rather,  in  eating  and 
drinking.  We  see  by  tlie  context  that  the  immediate 
reference  is  to  the  distinctions  of  meats  under  the 
Jewish  law,  now  done  away,  because  the  distinction 
of  those  within  and  without  the  covenant  was  also 
done  away  (Acts  x.  11).  (Comp.  on  this  subject 
the  half-ironical  description  of  Heb.  ix.  10.)  But 
a  study  of  Rom.  xiv.  2,  20,  21,  written  before  this 
Epistle,  and  1  Tim.  iv.  3,  written  after  it — to  .say 
notliiug  of  the  tone  of  this  passage  itself,  or  of  the 
known  characteristics  of  the  later  Gnosticism  of  the 
ascetic  tyi)e — show  that  these  laws  about  eating  and 
drinking  were  not  mere  matters  of  law,  but  formed 
significant  parts  of  a  rigid  mystic  asceticism.  Of 
such,  St.  Paul  declares  imlignantly  (Rora.  xiv.  17), 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  eating  and  drinking,  but 
rigliteousno.ss  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

An  holyday  (feast),  or  of  the  new'moon,  or 
of  the  sabbath.— Comp.  Isa.  i.  13,  It,  "  the  new  moons 
and  sabbaths    .    .    .   the  new  moons  and  the  appointed 


feasts  My  soul  hateth  ;  "  also  Ezek.  xiv.  17  ;  Hos.  ii.  13. 
The  "feast "  would  seem  to  be  one  of  the  great  festivals ; 
the  "  new  moon "  the  monthly,  and  the  sabbath  the 
weekly  solemnity.  With  this  passage  it  is  natural  to 
compare  the  similar  passage  in  Gal.  iv.  10,  "  Ye  observe 
days  and  months  and  times  {special  seasons)  and 
years."  But  there  the  specially  Judaic  character  is  not 
so  expressly  marked;  and,  in  fact,  the  passage  has  a 
wider  meaning  (like  Rom.  xiv.  56),  showing  the  dif- 
ferent position  which  even  Christian  festivals  held  in 
Apostolic  days.  Here  it  is  the  Jewish  festivals,  and  they 
alone,  which  are  noted.  It  is  obvious  tliat  St.  Paul 
gives  no  hint  of  any  succession  of  the  Lord's  Day  to  be, 
in  any  strict  sense,  a  "  Christian  Sabbath."  We  know, 
indeed,  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath  itself  lingered  in  the 
Church,  as  having  a  kind  of  sacredness,  kept  sometimes 
as  a  fast,  sometimes  as  a  festival.  But  its  observance 
was  not  of  obligation.  No  man  was  to  ''  judge"  others 
in  respect  of  it. 

(1")  Which  are  a  shadow  .  .  .  but  the  body 
[the  substance)  is  of  Christ. — The  spirit  of  the  pas- 
sage is  precisely  that  of  the  argument  which  runs 
through  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  "  The  Law  had  a 
shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  not  the  very  image 
(or,  substance)  of  the  things"  (Heb.  x.  1).  W^hen  St. 
Paul  deals  with  the  legal  and  coercive  aspect  of  the 
Law,  he  calls  it  "the  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ." 
(See  Gal.  iii.  24,  and  Note  there.)  When  he  turns  to 
its  ritual  aspect,  he  describes  it  as  simply  foreshadow- 
ing or  typifying  the  substance ;  and  therefore  useful 
before  the  revelation  of  the  substance,  useless  or  (if 
trusted  in)  worse  than  useless,  after  it.  In  every  way 
"  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  Law  "  (Rom.  x.  4). 

(18)  Beguile  you  of  your  reward.— The  original 
is  a  word  used,  almost  technically,  for  an  unfair  judg- 
ment in  the  stadium,  robbing  the  Aactor  of  his  prize. 
The  prize  here  (as  in  1  Cor.  ix.  24  ;  Phil.  iii.  14)  is  the 
heavenly  reward  of  the  Chi-istian  course.  In  St.  Raid's 
exhortation  there  seems  to  be  a  reference  back  to  verse 
16.  There  he  says,  "  Let  no  man  arrogate  judgment  over 
you;  "  here,  ''Let  no  man  use  that  arrogated  judgment 
so  as  to  cheat  you  of  your  prize.  Tliere  is  one  Judge, 
who  has  right  and  who  is  righteous;  look  to  Him 
alone." 

In  a  voluntary  humility  and  worship.— This 
rendering  seems  virtually  correct,  though  other  renderings 
are  proposed.  The  original  is,  ivilling  in  hmnility  and 
ivorship,  and  the  phrase  "willing  in"  is  often  used 
in  the  LXX.  for  "delightuig  in."  Other  translations 
are  here  possible,  though  not  without  some  harshness. 
But  the  true  sense  is  shown  l)eyond  all  doubt  to  be 
that  given  in  our  version,  by  the  words  used  below  to 
describe  the  same  process,  "will-worship  and  humility." 

In  this  passage  alone  in  the  New  Testament  "humi- 
lity" is  spoken  of  vrith  something  of  the  condemnation 
accorded  to  it  in  heathen  morality.  The  reason  of  this 
is  ob\-ious  and  instructive.  Humility  is  a  grace,  of 
which  the  very  essence  is  unconsciousness,  and  which, 
being  itself  negative,  cannot  live,  except  by  resting  on 
some   more    positive    quality,  such  as  faith  or  love. 


109 


Christ  the  sole  Head. 


COLOSSIANS,  II. 


Death  with  Christ. 


<i^)  and  not  holding  the  Head,  from 
"vvhich  all  the  body  by  joints  and  bands 
having    nourishment    ministered,    and 


1  Or,  elementt. 


knit  together,  increaseth  -with  the  in- 
crease of  God.  <-^)  Wherefore  if  ye  be 
dead  with  Christ  from  the  rudiments  ^ 


Whenever  it  is  consciously  cultivated  and  "  delighted 
in,"  it  loses  all  its  grace ;  it  becomes  either  unreal, 
"  the  pride  that  apes  humility,"  or  it  turns  to  abject 
slavishiioss  and  meanness.  Of  such  depravations 
Church  history  is  unliappily  full. 

Worshipping  of  angels.— This  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  '■  voluntary  luimility  "  above.  The  link 
of  connection  is  supplied  by  the  notice  in  the  ancient 
interpreters,  of  the  early  growth  of  that  unhappy  idea, 
which  has  always  lain  at  the  root  of  saint-worship  and 
angel -worshii)  in  the  Church — "  that  we  must  be  brought 
near  by  angels  and  not  by  Christ,  for  that  were  too 
high  a  thing  for  us  "  (Chrysostom).  With  this  passage  it 
is  ob\-ious  to  connect  the  emphasis  laid  (in  Heb.  i.,  ii.) 
on  the  absolute  superiority  of  our  Lord  to  all  angels, 
who  are  but  "  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister 
to  them  who  are  heirs  of  salvation ;  "  and  the  prohibi- 
tion of  angel-worship  in  Rev.  xxii.  9,  "  See  thou  do  it 
not ;  for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant    .    .    .  worship  God." 

It  might  seem  strange  that  on  the  rigid  monotheism 
of  Judaism  this  incongruous  creature-worship  should 
have  been  engrafted.  But  here  also  the  link  is  easily 
supplied.  The  worship  of  the  augels  of  which  the 
Essenic  system  bore  traces,  was  excused  on  the  ground 
that  the  Law  had  been  given  through  the  "  ministration 
of  angels"  (see  Acts  vii.  53;  Gal.  iii.  19),  and  that  the 
tutelary  guardianship  of  angels  had  been  revealed  in 
the  later  prophecy.  (See  Dan.  x.  10 — 21.)  For  this  reason 
it  was  held  that  angels  might  be  worshijiped,  probably 
with  the  same  subtle  distinctions  between  this  and  that 
kind  of  worship  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the 
ordinary  pleas  for  the  veneration  of  saints.  It  has  been 
noticed  that  in  the  Coimcil  of  Laodicea,  held  in  the 
fourth  century,  several  canons  were  passed  against 
Judaising,  and  that  in  close  connection  with  these  it 
was  forbidden  "  to  leave  the  Church  of  God  and  go 
away  to  invoke  angels  "  ;  and  we  are  told  by  Theodoret 
(in  the  next  century)  that  "oratories  to  St.  Michael 
(the  '  prince  '  of  the  Jewish  people)  were  still  to  be 
seen."  The  "angels  "  in  this  half- Jewish  system  h3ld 
the  same  intermediate  position  between  the  Divine  and 
the  human  which  in  the  ordinary  Gnostic  theories  was 
held  by  the  less  personal  ^ons,  or  supposed  emana- 
tions from  the  Godhead. 

Intruding  into  those  things  which  he  hath  not 
seen. — (1)  There  is  a  remarkalile  division  here,  both  of 
MSS.  and  ancient  versions  and  commentators,  as  to  the 
insertion  or  omission  of  the  negative.  But  the  balance 
of  MS.  authority  is  against  the  negative,  and  certainly 
it  is  easier  to  suppose  it  to  have  been  inserted  mtli  a 
view  to  make  an  ea.sier  sense,  than  to  have  been  omitted 
if  it  had  been  originally  there.  (2)  The  general  meaning, 
however,  of  the  passage  is  tolerably  clear,  and,  curiously 
enough,  little  affected  by  either  alternative.  It  cer- 
tainly refers  to  pretensions  to  supernatural  knowledge 
by  which  (just  as  in  1  Cor.  viii.  1)  the  mind  is  said  to 
be  "  puifed  up."  We  note  that,  even  in  true  visions  of 
heavenly  things,  there  was  danger  lest  the  mind  "should 
be  exalted  above  measure  "  (2  Cor.  xii.  7).  Now  the 
knowledge  here  pretended  to  is  that  favourite  know- 
ledge, claimed  by  Jewish  and  Christian  mystics,  of  the 
secrets  of  the  heavenly  ])laces  and  es])i'cially  of  the 
grades  and  functions  of  the  hierarchy  of  heaven.  St. 
Paul  brands  it  as  belonging  to  the  mind,  not  of  the  j 
spirit,  but  "of  the  flesh;"  for  indeed   it   was  really 

110 


superstitions,  resting  not  on  faith,  but  on  supposed 
Aasions  and  supernatural  manifestations.  It  "  intruded  " 
(or,  according  to  another  rendering,  it  "  took  its  stand  ") 
upon  the  secrets  of  a  region  which  it  said  that  it  "  had 
seen,"  but  which,  in  truth,  it  "  had  not  seen."  If  we 
omit  the  negative,  the  Apostle  is  cpioting  its  claims;  if 
we  insert  it,  he  is  denying  their  justice. 

(19)  Not  holding  the  Head.— In  this  lay  the  fatal 
error.  All  these  speculations  and  superstitions  inter- 
fered with  the  direct  hold  of  the  soul  on  the  mediation 
of  Chri.st,  as  the  Head,  from  whom  alone,  as  being  "  the 
image  of  the  invisible  God,"  come  all  spiritual  life 
and  growth.  Therefore  they  had  a  practical  and 
t-piritual  importance. 

From  which  all  the  body  .  .  .— Comp  Eph.  iv. 
15,  16,  and  see  Note  there.  The  agreement  is  nearly 
verbal,  but  the  characteristic  difference  of  idea, 
so  often  noted,  is  still  traceable.  There  the  body 
"  maketh  increase  unto  the  building  up  of  itself  in 
love ; "  here  the  increase  is  simply  "  the  increase  of 
God  " — the  increase  which  God  gives,  and  which  grows 
into  His  likeness.  In  this  passage  there  is  also  a 
greater  scientific  exactness  :  the  "  joints  and  bands  " 
are  the  "  articulations  and  ligaments ; "  the  two  fimc- 
tious  thereof  are  the  diffusion  of  nom-ishment  and  the 
knitting  together  of  organic  unity. 

(20—23)  In  this  and  the  succeeding  section,  St.  Paul, 
starting  from  the  idea  of  union  with  the  Head,  draws 
out  the  practical  consequences  of  partaking  of  the 
death  of  Christ  and  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  In 
A-irtue  of  the  former  participation,  he  exhorts  them  to 
be  dead  to  the  law  of  outward  ordinances ;  in  virtue  of 
the  latter,  to  have  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

(20)  If  ye  be  dead  with  Christ.— The  whole  idea 
of  the  death  with  Christ  and  resurrection  with  Him  is 
summed  up  by  St.  Paul  in  Rom.  vi.  3 — 9,  in  direct  con- 
nection (as  also  here,  see  verse  12)  with  the  entrance 
iTpon  christian  life  in  baptism,  "  We  are  buried  with 
Him  by  baptism  unto  death  .  .  .  we  are  dead  with 
Christ  .  .  .  we  are  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of 
His  death  .  .  .  that  like  as  Christ  was  i-aised  from  the 
dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  we  also  should  walk 
in  newness  of  life  .  .  .  planted  together  in  the  likeness 
of  His  resurrection  .  .  .  alive  to  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  The  death  with  Christ  is  a  death 
unto  "  the  life  of  the  flesh."  But  this  may  be  (as  in 
Rom.  y\.  1,  2,  6,  7,  11)  '"  the  life  of  sin  ";  or  it  may  be 
the  outward  and  visible  life  "  of  the  world."  The 
latter  is  the  sense  to  be  taken  here.  This  outward  life 
is  under  "  ordinances  "  (see  verse  1),  under  the  "  rudi- 
ments of  the  world  "  (see  verse  8),  or.  generally,  "  under 
law."  Of  such  a  life  St.  Paul  says  (in  Gal.  ii.  19),  "  I 
through  the  Law  died  to  the  Law,  that  I  might  live 
unto  God."  There  (Gal.  iv.  9),  as  here,  he  brands  as 
unspiritual  the  subjection  to  the  "  weak  and  beggarly 
elements  "  of  mere  ordinances.  Of  course  it  is  clear 
that  in  their  place  such  ordinances  have  their  value,  both 
as  means  to  an  end.  and  as  symbols  of  an  inner  reality 
of  self-devotion.  The  true  teaching  as  to  these  is  foimd 
in  our  Lord's  declaration  to  the  Pharisees  as  to  spiritual 
things  and  outward  ordinances,  "  These  things  (the 
spiritual  things)  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to 
leave  the  others   (the   outward  observances)  undone" 


The  Vanity  of  mere  Ordinances 


COLOSSIANS,   III. 


Pretentious  hut  Unreal. 


of  the  world,  why,  as  though  living  in 
the  Avorld,  are  ye  subject 
to  ordinances,  ^-^^  (touch 
not ;  taste  not ;  handle 
Christ  to  mere  ^^^  (22)  ^hich  all  are  to 
ordinances.  .'  . 

perish    with    the     using) ; 

after  the  conimandmeuts  and  doctrines 


Chap.  ii.  20-23. 
Appeal  to  their 
deadness    in 


1  Or,    punishing. 
or,  nut  sparing. 


of  men  ?  (^3)  Which  things  have  indeed  a 
shew  of  wisdom  in  will  worship,  and 
humility,  and  neglecting  ^  of  the  body ; 
not  ill  any  honour  to  the  satisfying  of 
the  flesh. 

CHAPTER    III.— (1)  K  ye   then  be 


(Matt,  xxiii.  23).  In  later  times  St.  Paul  declared  with 
judicial  calmness,  "  The  Law  is  good  if  a  man  use  it 
lawfully"  (,1  Tim.  i.  8).  But  to  exalt  these  things  to 
the  first  place  was  a  fatal  superstition,  which,  both  in 
its  earlier  and  later  phases,  he  denounces  unspaiingly. 

(-1)  Touch  not;  taste  not;  handle  not.— The 
first  and  last  of  these  renderings  should  be  inverted. 
There  is  in  the  commands  a  climax,  of  strictness. 
"  Handle  not "  (the  unclean  thing),  "  taste  it  not," 
"  touch  it  not "  with  one  of  your  fingers.  It  will  be 
noted  that  all  these  commands  are  negative,  not  jjositive. 
Tliey  are  marked  by  the  ordinary  ascetic  preference  of 
spiritual  restraint  to  spiritual  energy. 
y  (22)  Which  all  are  to  perish  with  the  using.— 
It  has  been  doubted  whether  these  words  (which  are 
literally,  all  which  things  go  to  corruption,  or  destruc- 
tion, in  the  using)  are  the  continuation  of  the  ascetic 
ordinance,  or  the  comment  of  the  Apostle.  But  the 
last  word — which  signifies,  not  only  "  using,"  but 
"  using  up  " — seems  to  decide  for  the  latter  alternative. 
The  things  are  things  which  go  to  destruction  and 
are  used  up.  What  permanent  eifect  can  tliey  leave 
behind  ?  See  1  Cor.  viii.  8  (whether  the  words  of  St. 
Paul,  or  the  words  of  the  Corinthians,  accepted  as  tme 
by  him),  "  Meat  commendeth  us  not  to  God  :  for  neither, 
if  we  cat,  are  we  the  better ;  neither,  if  we  eat  not,  are 
we  the  worse."  It  is  but  an  echo  of  our  Lord's  own 
teaching  as  to  that  which  goeth  into  the  mouth  (Matt. 
XV.  1(),  17  ;  Mark  xiii.  18,  19). 

After  the  commandments  .  .  .—  See  verse  8,  and 
Xote  there.  There  seems  to  be  an  allusion  to  Isa.  xxix. 
13,  quoted  by  our  Lord  (Matt.  xv.  7,  8 ;  Mark  vii.  6,  7) 
in  relation  to  these  ceremonial  obsen^ances. 

(- ')  Will  worship,  and  humility  .  .  . — It  seems 
difficult  to  connect  these  words  with  the  merely  cere- 
monial observances  immediately  above  ;  and,  in  fact, 
they  ai-e  almost  an  exact  repetition  of  the  description  of 
the  superstitious  worship  of  the  angels  given  in  verse  18. 
"  Will  worship  "  is,  indeed,  nearly  what  we  call  super- 
stition— the  constant  craving  for  objects  to  which  we 
may  find  some  excuse  for  paying  reverence.  Tlie  prefix 
applies  in  sense,  though  not  in  grammatical  form,  to  the 
"  humility  "  also  ;  a  studied  humility  being  either  a  pre- 
tence or  a  self-dcgi'adatiou.  But  in  the  words  "neglect- 
ing of  the  body"  (properly,  being  tinsparing  of  it  in 
hardship,  and  generally  careless  of  it)  we  pass  to  the 
ceremonial  ordinances.  It  is  more  than  likely  that 
the  superstition  and  false  asceticism  were  connected 
together — tlie  latter  l)eing  the  condition  of  the  sup- 
posed spiritual  insight  of  the  former. 

Which  things  .  .  .  flesh.— Tliis  passage  is 
difficult.  (1)  Our  version  translates  literally,  and  would 
seem  to  regard  tlie  last  words  as  simply  an  explanation, 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  false  teachers,  of  ••neglect- 
ing of  the  body."  as  "  not  honouring  it  for  the  satis- 
faction, or  surfeiting  of  the  fi(>sh  ;  "  and  we  certainly 
find  that  the  Jewish  ascetics  did  brand  the  most  neces- 
sary satisfaction  of  appetite  as»  a  ••  surfeiting  of  the 
flesli."  But  there  is  a  fatal  o})jection  to  this  interpreta- 
tion— that,  in  that  case,  St.  Paul  would  leave  the  false 


pretension  without  a  word  of  contradiction,  which  is 
almost  incredible.  Hence  ("2)  we  must  regard  the  "  not 
in  any  honour  "  as  antithetical  to  "  the  show  of  wisdom." 
The  ordinances,  says  St.  Paul,  have  "  a  show  of  wisdom," 
but  "are  in  no  honour,"  i.e.,  are  "of  no  value.'  The 
common  use  of  the  word  rendered  "  honour,"  for 
"  price,"  or  "  pay  "  (see  Matt,  xxvii.  G ;  Acts  vi.  34 ; 
vii.  16;  xix.  19;  1  Cor.  vi.  20;  vii.  23;  1  Tim.  v.  17), 
would  readily  lend  itself  to  this  sense.  The  only  doubt- 
ful point  (3)  is  the  interpretation  of  the  last  words,  "  for 
the  satisfying  of  the  flesh."  There  seems  little  doubt 
that  the  phrase  is  used  in  a  bad  sense.  Hence  we  must 
dismiss  all  reference  to  a  right  honouring  of  the  body 
by  innocent  satisfaction  of  its  needs.  We  have  there- 
foi*e  to  choose  between  two  interpretations.  Some  in- 
terpret "  of  no  value  against  the  satisfaction  of  the 
flesli."  But,  though  the  Greek  will  bear  this  sense,  it  is 
certainly  not  the  common  sense  of  the  preposition  used; 
and  its  adoption  would  expose  the  whole  phrase  to  the 
charge  of  ambiguity  and  obscurity.  The  other  inter- 
pretation is  "  of  no  real  value  "  (tending)  "  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  flesh."  This  is  abrupt,  but  suits  well 
the  indignant  and  abrupt  terseness  of  the  passage.  It 
gives  (quite  after  St.  Paul's  manner)  not  only  a  denial 
of  the  "  neglecting  of  the  body,"  but  a  retort  on  the 
false  teachers  of  the  very  charge  they  made  against 
their  opponents.  (Comp.  the  use  of  the  word  "  dogs," 
in  Phil.  iii.  2.)  It  conveys  a  most  important  truth. 
That  '•extremes  meet"  we  know  well;  and  that  there 
is  a  satisfaction  of  the  fleshly  temper  (see  above,  verse 
18)  in  the  attempt  over  much  to  curb  the  flesh,  the  whole 
history  of  asceticism  bears  witness.  Moreover,  this  in- 
terpretation alone  gives  a  completeness  of  antithesis. 
To  "  the  show  of  wisdom  "  it  opposes  the  "  no  real 
value;"  to  the  pretended  '•neglecting  of  the  body" 
the  real  "  satisfaction  of  the  flesh." 

III. 

(1—1)  As  the  partaking  of  the  death  of  Christ  taught 
the  negative  lesson  of  death  to  the  Law,  so  the  par- 
taking of  His  resuri-ectiou  teaches  the  positive  lesson 
of  the  spiritual  life.  We  observe  that  this  celebrated 
passage  occupies  a  place  at  the  close  of  the  doctrinal 
portion  of  the  Epistle,  exactly  correspomling  to  the 
even  greater  passage  on  the  unity  of  the  Church  iu 
God  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (iv.  1 — IG).  It 
is  unlike  that  passage,  because,  summing  up  the  main 
teaching  of  this  Epistle,  it  dwells  simply  on  the  close 
personal  relation  of  all  souls  to  God  in  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  at  once  •'  the  image  of  God.'"  and  the  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  man.  It  is  like  it  land  like  other 
passages  of  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity)  because  it 
passes  on  from  Christ  risen  to  Christ  in  heaven :  it 
takes  for  granted  our  being  risen  >\4th  Christ,  and 
bids  us  in  heart  to  ascend  to  heaven  now,  and  look 
forward  to  the  bliss  of  heaven  iu  the  hereafter. 

(i>  If  ye  then  be  risen  i  rather,  ye  rose)  with 
Christ.- In  these  words  is  marked  the  beginning  of 
the  spiritual  life,  referred  evidently  to  baptism.     (See 


111 


Resurrection  with  Christ. 


COLOSSIANS,   III. 


TJie  Life  hid  in  God. 


risen  "witli  Christ,  seek  those  things 
which  are  above,  where 
Christ  sitteth  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  <^^  Set  you 
affection^  on  things  above, 
not     on     thinffs     on     the 


Chap.  iii.  1 — 4. 
Appeal  to  their 
resurrection 
with  Christ  to 
the  higher  spi- 
ritual life. 


1  Or,  mind. 


earth.  (3)  j^qj.  jq  ^^q  dead,  and  your 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 
(^^  When  Christ,  tvho  is  our  life,  shall  .^ 
appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with 
him  in  glory.  (^''  Mortify  therefore 
your    members    which    are    upon    the 


chap.  ii.  12.)  It  is  a  "  resurrection  with  Christ  "  aud 
in  Christ ;  as  such  it  is  dwelt  upon  in  detail  in  Rom.  vi. 
1 — 14.  Wo  may  note  that  this  phrase,  implying  a 
sudden  passing  from  death  unto  life,  accords  more 
exactly  with  the  idea  of  adult  baptism,  accepted  in  con- 
scious faith,  aud  leading  at  once  to  a  new  life  ;  while 
the  later  phrase,  "regeneration"  (Tit.  iii.  5),  which 
speaks  of  the  soul  as  passing,  indeed,  at  once  into  a 
new  condition,  but  as  having  only  the  undeveloped  germ 
of  the  new  life,  corresponds  more  closely  with  the 
idea  of  the  infant  baptism,  which  gradually  superseded 
the  other.  Here  this  spiritual  resurrection  is  taken  for 
granted,  and  the  Apostle  goes  on  at  once  to  the  next 
stage  of  the  spiritual  life. 

Christ. — The  name,  four  times  repeated,  has  in  all 
cases  the  article  prefixed  to  it.  Evidently  it  used 
emphatically  to  refer  to  our  Lord,  as  our  Mediator — our 
Prophet,  Priest,  aud  King. 

Seek  those  things  which  are  above  .  .  .  set 
your  affection  on  things  above. — Here  we  liave 
the  spiritual  life  in  its  continuance.  It  is  described, 
(1)  first,  as  "seeking  the  things  above" — that  is, 
looking,  aud  so  growing,  to  perfection.  This  charac- 
teristic is  dwelt  upon  with  great  fulness  and  beauty 
in  Phil.  iii.  12 — 16.  (2)  Next,  in  a  still  higher  strain, 
as  "  setting  our  affection  on  the  things  above,"  or, 
more  properly,  catching  the  spirit  of  the  things 
above,  being  "  heavenly-minded  "  already — anticipating 
heaven,  not  only  in  hope,  but  in  tone  and  temper, 
seeing  things  as  God  sees  them,  and  seeing  all  in 
relation  to  Him.  On  tliis  we  may  again  compare  the 
great  passage  in  Phil.  iii.  20,  21,  on  our  "citizenship  of 
heaven."  Of  such  heavenly-mindedness  we  have, 
pei-haps,  the  most  perfect  specimen  in  the  calm  and 
loving  certainty  of  St.  John's  Epistles.  (3)  These  two 
graces  must  be  united  In  the  one  is  the  secret  of 
growth,  iu  tlie  other  the  present  earnest  of  perfection. 
Moreover,  the  higher  grace  must  follow  from  tlie 
former ;  "  for,  where  our  treasure  is,  there  wiU  our 
heart  be  also." 

Where  Christ  sitteth  on  the  right  hand  of 
God.— The  allusion  is  emphatic.  Heaven  is  to  us,  in 
itself,  a  vague  expression  of  unknown  bliss.  It  is 
inado  definite  to  the  Christian  by  the  thouglit  of  Christ. 
in  His  glorified  humanity,  there  enthroned  in  majesty, 
"  preparing  a  i)lace  for  us."  and  drawing  us  to  l)o 
with  Him.  (Note  a  similar  emphatic  reference  iu 
Phil.  iii.  21 ;  and  comp.  Epli.  ii.  6,  "  He  raised  us  up, 
and  made  us  to  sit  iu  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus.") 

This  glorious  idea  of  Christ  in  heaven,  and  lieaven  in 
Christ,  runs  through  the  whole  book  of  the  Revelation 
of  St.  John,  from  the  oi^ning  Epistles  to  the  last  vision 
of  glory. 

(3)  Ye  are  dead.— Properly,  ye  died.  See  chap.  ii. 
20,  and  Note  there.  The  ])hrase  here  is  to  be  taken  in 
its  whole  sense,  both  of  "  death  to  sin  "  and  "  death  to 
the  visible  world." 

Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God  .  .  . 
Christ  who  is  our  life.— In  tliese  two  phrases,  again, 
we  pass  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  expression  of  the 
same  truth.     (1)  First,  "  our  life  is  Md  with  Christ  iu 


God."  The  spiritual  life  in  man  is  a  "hidden  life," 
having  its  source  in  God  ;  the  full  con\action  of  it,  as 
distinct  from  the  mere  instinctive  consciousness  of  it  in 
the  mind  itself,  comes  ouly  from  the  belief  that  it  is  the 
image  of  God  in  us,  and  is  sustained  by  constant  com- 
nmniou  with  Him.  If  God  be  our  God  at  all,  we  must 
live ;  for  "  He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
li\dng  "  (Matt.  xxii.  32).  It  is  also  "  hid  with  Christ." 
Our  Lord's  ascent  to  His  glory  in  heaven  is  at  once  the 
pledge  and  the  means  of  this  our  spiritual  communion 
with  God.  It  is  "  with  Him  "  that  we  can  "  in  heart 
and  mind  ascend ;  "  it  is  "  with  Him "  that  we  can 
"  continually  dwell."  (2)  But  this  is  not  all.  "  Christ 
is  our  life  "  now  as  well  as  hereafter.  This  is  simjjly  a 
summary  of  the  two  truths ;  "  Christ  liveth  in  me  "  (see 
Gal.  ii.  20),  as  the  source  of  life  ;  and  "  To  me  to  live 
(the  actual  condition  of  life)  is  Christ "  (Phil.  i.  21). 
It  is  but  a  brief  expression  of  faith  in  the  truth  which 
our  Lord  Himself  declared  (John  xi.  25),  "  I  am  the 
Life ;  whoso  liveth  and  belie veth  in  Me  shall  never  die." 
(Comp.  John  xiv.  6.)  Hence  our  spiritual  life  is  not 
only  a  being  "  with  Christ ; "  it  is  also  unity  with 
Christ  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 

W  When  Christ  .  .  .  shall  appear,  then  shall 
ye  also  appear  with  him  in  glory.— Tliis  describes 
the  last  stage  of  the  spiritual  life — the  gloiificatiou  with 
Christ  in  heaven,  manifesting  what  now  is  hidden,  and 
perfecting  what  exists  only  in  germ.  (Comp.  1  John 
iii.  1,  2,  "  Now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not 
yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but  we  know  that,  when 
He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him ;  for  we  shall  see 
Him  as  He  is.")  This  same  conclusion  ends  the  corre- 
sponding passage  in  Phil.  iii.  21. 

In  all  these  Epistles  we  note  how  constant  a  reference 
there  is  to  the  "glory  of  God,"  aud  to  the  share  in  it 
reserved  for  us.  So  we  also  note  the  especial  reference  to 
the  "apjiearance  of  Christ"  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  (see 
1  Tim.  vi.  14 ;  2  Tim.  i.  10 ;  iv.  1,  8 ;  Tit.  ii.  13),  and 
the  constant  revelation  of  it  in  the  Apocalypse. 

The  whole  passage  forms  a  complete  and  magnificeut 
picture  of  the  spiritual  life  iu  Christ — the  means  of  its 
beginning,  tlie  signs  of  its  presence,  and  the  hope  of  its 
close.  It  may  be  compared  with  the  fuller  yet  hardly 
completer  picture  of  Rom.  viii. 

[5.  Practical  Exhortation,  General. 

(1)  Negative. — To  Moktify  the   Old  Man, 

by  fleeing  from — 

(a)  Uncleanness  and  lust  (verses  5 — 7) ; 

(b)  Wrath  and  malice  (verse  8); 

(c)  Falsehood  (verse  9). 

(2)  Positive. — To    Put    on    the  New  Man, 

making  Chi-ist  our  "  all  in  all." 
(a)  In   love   and  peace,  as   shown  in  mercy, 
humility,     patience,      and     forgiveness 
(verses  10 — 15) ; 
{b)  In  thanksgiving  (verse  16) ; 
(c)  In  living  to  the  glory  of  God  (verse  17)  ; 
(Tlio  whole  of  this  section  stands  in  close  parallelism, 
f  recpieutly  iu  verbal  coincidence,  with  Eph.  iv.  20 — vi.  9. 
There  are,  however,  constantly  emerging  indications 


112 


Warning  to  put  off"  the  Old  Man 


COLOSSIAXS,  III. 


a7id  put  on  the  New. 


earth ;    fornication,   uncleanness,   inor- 
dinate affection,  evil  con- 
Genera"  wlVn-  cupiscence,  and  covetous- 
ing  against  the  ness,   which    is    idolatry  : 

rrenlratlufe"  ^^^  ^^^  which  things'  sake 
the  wrath  of  God  cometh 
on  the  children  of  disobedience :  '^^  in  the 
which  ye  also  walked  some  time,  when 
ye  lived  in  them.  (^)  But  now  ye  also 
put  off  all  these ;  anger,  wrath,  malice, 
blasphemy,  filthy  communication  out  of 


your  mouth.  (^^  Lie  not  one  to  another, 
seeing-  that  ye  have  put  off  the  old  man 
with  his  deeds ;  <^^'^  and  have  put  on  the 
new  maw,  which  is  renewed  p,  ... 
in  knowledge  after  the  17.  General 
image  of  him  that  created  exhortation  to 
■I  •  ni\        1  j_i  •      the    graces    or 

him  :    ^'■^f   where    there   is  t  h  e      "new 

neither    Greek    nor    Jew,  many  regene- 
.   .  •  rate  in  Christ. 

Circumcision  nor  uncircum- 

cision.   Barbarian,    Scythian,   bond  nor 

free :    but   Christ    is   all,    and    in   all. 


of  independence  of  handling.  Generally  speaking, 
the  Ephesiau  Epistle  is  fuller  and  deeper  in  treatment ; 
and,  moreover,  it  constantly  brings  out,  in  relation 
both  to  moral  duty  and  to  the  observation  of  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  the  great  characteristic  doctrine  of  the 
universal  unity  in  Christ.  This  Epistle,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  briefer  and  more  incisive,  and  has  only  slight, 
though  clear,  indications  of  the  idea  so  powerfully 
worked  out  in  the  other  Epistle.)] 

Verses  5 — 9  contain  the  negative  section  of  St.^Paul's 
practical  appeal,  drawing  out  the  consequences  of  the 
"  death  witli  Christ,"  in  the  mortification  of  all  ten- 
dencies to  impurity,  malice,  and  falsehood.  For  these 
are  the  opposites  to  purity,  love,  and  truth — the  three 
great  attributes  of  God,  and  therefore  the  three  chief 
graces  of  man. 

(5)  Mortify  therefore  your  members  which 
are  upon  the  earth. — The  expression  is  doubly 
unique.  It  is  the  only  passage  where  "  mortification  " 
— the  killing  of  anything  in  us — is  enjoined ;  and  it  is 
also  notable,  as  not  explicitly  distinguishing  between  the 
members  themselves,  and  the  evil  of  which  they  are  made 
the  instruments.  The  sense  is,  of  course,  clear  enough. 
It  corresponds  to  the  "  crucifying  the  flesh  "  of  Gal.  v. 
24 ;  and  the  idea  of  evil,  mostly  expressed  plainly  in  the 
word  "  flesh,"  is  here  hinted  in  the  phrase  "  which  are 
on  the  earth,"  that  is,  which  ai'e  busied  with  earth  and 
bind  us  down  to  the  earthly  life.  The  particular  word 
"  membei's  "  is  perhaps  suggested  by  our  Lord's  com- 
mand to  "  cut  off  the  right  hand  "  and  "  pluck  out  the 
right  eye  "  if  they  cause  us  to  offend  (Matt.  v.  29,  30). 
But,  as  a  rule,  Scripture  more  clearly  marks  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  members  and  "  the  law  of  sin  in  the 
members  "  (Rom.  vii.  5, 23) ;  and  we  are  usually  bidden 
not  to  "  kill  our  members,"  but  to  turn  them 
from  "  instruments  of  unrighteousness  "  to  be  "  instru- 
ments of  righteousness  unto  God  "  (Rom.  vi.  13).  The 
fact  is  that  this  passage  contains  only  half  the  truth, 
corresponding  to  the  death  with  Christ,  and  not  the 
whole  truth,  including  also  the  resurrection  to  the 
new  life.  Accordingly,  as  the  next  verse  shows,  the 
members  to  be  mortified  are  actually  identified  with 
the  vices  of  the  old  man  residing  in  them. 

Fornication,  uncleanness  .  .  .  covetous- 
ness,  which  is  idolatry.— See  Eph.  v.  3,  and  Note 
there. 

Inordinate  affection,  evil  concupiscence.— 
These  words  are  not  found  in  the  parallel  passage. 
The  word  rendered  "inordinate  affection  "  is  the  general 
word  for  "passion"  (pnfhos).  It  is  found  united  to 
"  concupiscence  "  in  1  Thoss.  iv.  5,  "  the  lust  of  con- 
cupiscence." Both  words  here  are  general  words, 
denoting  the  condition  of  soul,  of  which  "  fornication  " 

74  113 


and  "  covetousness  "  are  both  exemplifications.  This  is 
the  condition  of  unrestrained  passion  and  desire,  the 
former  word  implying  a  passive  receptiveness  of  im- 
pression from  without,  the  other  the  positive  energy  of 
desire  to  seek  gratification.  Comp.  Gal.  v.  24,  "  the 
affections"  {j)assions)  and  "lusts."  Of  such  a  temper 
Article  iX.  of  the  Church  of  England  declares  with 
singular  accuracy,  not  that  it  is  sin,  but  that  it  ha.s 
in  itself  rationem  peccati,  that  is,  the  initial  principle 
of  sin. 

(7)  In  the  which  ye  also  walked  some  time, 
when  ye  lived  {were  living)  in  them.— The  former 
condition  of  heathenism  was  that  in  which  "  they  were 
living,"  with  contagion  of  evil  on  every  side.  But 
St.  Paul  is  not  content  without  noting  their  own  active 
participation — "  ye  walked  in  them."  (Comp.  Eph.  iv. 
17—20.) 

(8)  Anger,  wrath,  malice,  blasphemy  {slander — 
see  Eph.  iv.  31  and  Notes  there),  filthy  communica- 
tion.— The  word  is  "  foul,"  and  the  context  here  seems 
to  show  that  it  refers  to  grossness  of  insult  and  abuse, 
rather  than  (as  ui  the  cognate  word  of  Eph.  iv.  4)  to 
"  filthiness." 

(9)  Lie  not  one  to  another.— Comp.  Eph.  iv.  2.5, 
and  note  the  characteristic  insertion  there  of  a  clause 
to  which  there  is  nothing  here  to  correspond,  "  for  we 
are  members  one  of  auotlier." 

Seeing  that  ye  (have)  put  off  the  old  man.— 
Comp.  the  fuller  description  of  Eph.  iv.  22 — 24. 

(10—17)  In  these  verses  we  have  the  corresponding 
positive  exhortation,  connected  with  the  idea  of  re- 
surrection with  Christ,  through  which  we  put  on  the 
new  man,  holding  Christ  to  he  our  all  in  all.  Of  the 
new  nature  there  are  two  marks — towards  man  love  in 
all  its  various  forms,  towards  God  thanksgiving  and 
living  to  His  glory. 

(10)  The  new  man,  which  is  (being)  renewed. 
— There  are  here  the  same  two  different  words  which 
are  found  in  the  parallel  passage.  (See  Notes  on  Eph.  iv. 
22 — 24).  "  The  new  man  "  is  here  properly  the  youth- 
fid  man  "  which  is  renewed,"  that  is,  to  which  is  given 
a  nature  really  fresh  and  new. 

(11)  Where  there  is  neither  .  .  .— Tliis  passage 
naturally  suggests  comparison  with  Gal.  iii.  28.  ''  There 
is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek;  there  is  neither  bond  nor 
free ;  there  is  neither  male  nor  female  :  for  ye  are  all  one 
in  Jesus  Christ."  In  comparing  the  passages  (passing 
by  the  insertion  here  of  "circumcision  nor  uncircmn- 
cision,"  which  is  simply  explanatory  of  "Jew  nor 
Greek")  we  notice  in  this — (1)  The  insertion  of  "bar- 
barian,  Scythian."  This  insertion  is  clearly  intended 
to  rebuke  that  pride  of  intellect,  contemptuous  of  the 
unlearned,    which    lay    at    the    root    of    Gnosticism- 


The  New  Life  sliovm  in  Charity 


COLOSSIANS,   III. 


and  in  Thankful  Devotion. 


(^->  Put  on  therefore,  as  the  elect  of 
God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels  of  mer- 
cies, kindness,  humbleness  of  mind, 
meekness,  longsuft'ering  ;  <i3)  forbear- 
ing one  another,  and  forgiving  one 
another,  if  any  man  have  a  quarrel  ^ 
against  any:  even  as  Christ  forgave 
you,  so  also  do  ye.     (^^^  And  above  all 


1  Or,  complaint. 


these  things  put  on  charity,  which  is 
the  bond  of  perfeetness.  (^^)  And  let 
the  peace  of  God  rule  in  your  hearts, 
to  the  which  also  ye  are  called  in  one 
body ;  and  be  ye  thankful.  (^^>  Let  the 
word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in 
all  wisdom ;  teaching  and  admonishing 
one  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and 


The  "  barbarian "  was  simply  the  foreigner  (comp. 
1  Cor.  xiv.  11);  the  "Scythian"  was  the  savage, 
towards  wliom  the  contempt  implied  for  the  "  barbarian  " 
assumed  cxpHcitness,  and  reached  its  climax.  (2)  The 
omission  of  "  male  nor  female."  In  the  Oriental  society, 
as  in  Galatia,  the  dignity  of  women  needed  to  be  asserted 
against  supposed  inferiority.  In  Greek  or  Grsecised 
society^  as  at  Corinth,  Ephcsus,  and  Colossae,  the  new 
"  freedom  "  of  the  gospel  was  apt  to  be  abused  to  license; 
hence  it  was  rather  the  "  subjection  "  of  women  which 
needed  to  be  suggested.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  xi.  3 — 16; 
xiv.  34,  35;  Eph.  v.  22—24;  and  1  Tim.  ii.  11—15.) 
(3)  Whereas  in  the  Galatian  Epistle  the  stress  is  laid  on 
the  unity  of  all  with  one  another  in  Christ,  here  (as  usual) 
the  great  truth  is  that  "  Clirist  is  all  things  and  in 
all."  _  In  1  Cor.  xv.  28  we  have  this  phrase  applied  to 
Cod,  in  contradistinction  to  the  office  of  the  Son  in  His 
mediatorial  kingdom.  Hero  it  is  in  reference  to  that 
kingdom  that  it  is  used.  In  it  Clirist  (see  EjA.  i.  23) 
•'  tills  all  in  all ;  "  and  by  His  universal  mediation  all 
"  life  is  hid  with  Him  in  God."  He  is  all  that  can  be 
needed,  and  that  both  "in  all  things"  and  "in  all 
persons."  But  under  both  aspects  the  catholicity  of 
tlie  gospel  is  equally  brouglit  out ;  here  by  the  direct 
union  of  all  alike  with  Christ,  there  by  the  resulting 
unity  of  all  witli  one  another. 

(1-)  Elect  of  God.— For  the  description  of  the 
election  here  signified  see  Eph.  i.  4,  5,  6.  The  name  is 
obviously  applied  to  the  whole  Church,  as  "  elect  to 
privilege  "  ;  it  is  not  opposed  to  "  called  "  (as  in  Matt. 
XX.  16),  but  coincident  with  it,  representing,  indeed,  the 
secret  act  of  God's  gracious  wiU,  which  is  openly  mani- 
fested in  calling.  (Comp.  the  other  instances  of  the 
word  in  the  Epistles,  Rom.  viii.  33 ;  xvi.  13 ;  1  Tim.  v. 
21 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  10  ;  Tit.  i.  1 ;    1  Pet.  i.  1 ;  Rev.  xvii.  14.) 

Holy  and  beloved.— Of  such  election  there  are 
here  two  signs.  The  elect  are  "  holy,"  consecrated  to 
God  in  thought  and  life ;  and  "  beloved,"  accepted 
and  sustained  in  their  consecration  by  His  love.  Both 
epithets  belong  to  them  as  conformed  to  the  image 
of  Christ  (Rev.  viii.  29);  for  He  is  "the  Holy  One  of 
God"  (Mark  i.  21;  Lnke  iv.  31),  who  "  sanctities  Him- 
self for  us,  that  wo  also  may  be  sanctified  in  truth " 
(John  xvii.  19);  and  He  is  also  the  "Beloved."  the 
"Son of  God's  love"  (chap.  i.  13;  Matt.  iii.  17;  Eph.  i. 
16),  and  we  are  accepted  in  Him.  The  two  epithets  here 
seem  intended  to  prepare  for  the  two-fold  exhortation 
following.  They  are  "beloved,"  therefore  they  should 
love  one  another  (verses  12 — 15) ;  they  are  holy,  there- 
fore they  should  thank  God  and  live  to  His  glory 
(verses  16,  17). 

(12,  13)  Comp.  Eph.  iv.  2,  31 ;  V.  1,  2.  The  word 
"  tenderhearted "  in  those  passages  corresponds  to 
the  "  bowels  (or,  heart)  of  mercies "  here ;  "  kind- 
ness "  and  "  forgiveness,"  "  humility,"  "  gentleness," 
"forbearance,"  appear  in  both.  But  the  enumera- 
tion here  is  more  exact  in  order  of  idea.  St.  Paul 
starts  with  the  natural  and  universal  instinct  of  com- 
passion or  sympathy;   he  next  dwells  on  "kindliness 


and  lowliness  of  mind,"  which  are  closely  akin,  since 
readiness  to  oblige  others  grows  naturally  out  of  a  self- 
neglectful  humility ;  from  these  he  passes  to  "  gentle- 
ness and  long-suffering  "  in  case  of  injury,  ready  "  to 
forbear  and  to  forgive  ;  "  lastly,  from  these  particulars 
he  rises  to  the  general  spirit  of  "  love,"  ruling  under 
"  the  peace  of  God." 

(13)  Even  as  Clirist  forgave  you.— The  MS.  au- 
thority is  in  favour  of  the  word  "  Lord "  instead  of 
Christ ;  but  since  the  name  "  Lord  "  is  specially  applied 
to  Christ  ill  these  Epistles  (see,  for  example,  Eph.  iv.  5) 
there  is  no  real  difference.  In  Eph.  iv.  31  we  have  "God 
ill  Christ  forgave  you,"  because  there  the  example  of 
Christ,  as  Son  of  Man,  is  afterwards  to  be  set  forth  em- 
phatically as  an  example  of  self-sacrifice  (verse  2),  and 
hence  the  free  mercy  of  forgiveness  is  naturally  attri- 
buted to  "  God  in  Christ."  Here,  in  accordance  with  the 
emphatic  exaltation  of  Christ,  as  all  in  all,  the  simijler 
phrase  "  Christ  (or,  the  Lord)  forgave  you "  is  em- 
ployed. 

(1*)  Above  all. — Properly,  over  all — as  a  bond  or 
cincture  to  keep  all  together.  Love  is  the  general  prin- 
ciple, harmonising  all  the  special  graces  named  above. 

The  bond  of  perfeetness.- The  bond  of  that 
harmony  of  character  which  is  perfection.  The  phrase 
is  remarkable,  ajjparently  suggested  by  the  claim  to 
perfection,  set  up  by  the  Gnostic  teachers.  They 
sought  such  perfection  in  knowledge  peculiar  to  the 
few  ;  St.  Paul  in  the  love  which  is  possible  to  all.  For 
as  he  elsewhere  urges  (1  Cor.  viii.  1),  "  Knowledge  puffs 
up,  charity  builds  up  ;"  knowledge  gains  a  fancied  per- 
fection, charity  a  real  perfection. 

(15)  The  peace  of  God.— The  true  reading  is  the 
peace  of  Christ — that  which  He  gives  (John  xiv.  27), 
that  which  He  is  (see  Eph.  ii.  14).  The  ordinary  read- 
ing is,  no  doubt,  borrowed  from  Phil.  iv.  7.  This  verse 
forms  a  link  between  the  preceding  exhortation  to  love 
of  man,  and  the  following  exhortation  to  a  lovdng  and 
thankful  service  of  God.  The  "  peace  of  Christ  "  is  the 
sense  of  unity  in  Him,  with  our  fellow-men  and  with 
God.  We  are  "  called  to  it  in  one  Body,"  of  which  He  is 
the  Head.  (Comp.  the  fuller  treatment  of  this  subject 
in  Eph.  ii.  14 — 22;  where,  in  accordance  with  the 
whole  character  of  that  Epistle,  the  unity  "  in  one 
Body,"  here  only  alluded  to,  is  worked  out  in  vividness 
and  detail.) 

(16)  The  word  of  Christ.— Here  again  the  definite 
phrase,  "  the  word  of  Christ,"  takes  the  place  of  the 
commoner  phrase,  "  the  word  of  the  Lord,"  "  the  word 
of  God."  It  is  to  "  dwell  in  their  hearts."  Hence  it 
is  the  engi'afted  word"  (Jas.  i.  21) — the  truth  of  Christ 
conceived  in  the  heart,  striking  root  into  it,  and  making 
it  its  dwelling-place.  It  will  be  observed  how  all  such 
phrases  prepare*  for  the  full  conception  of  Him  as  Him- 
self "the  Word  of  God." 

In  all  wisdom. — The  symmetry  of  the  original,  "  in 
all  Avisdom  teaching  ...  in  grace  singing,"  sug- 
gests the  connection  of  the  words  with  those  following, 
not,  as  in  our  version,  with  those  going  before.     The 


114 


The,  Three  great  Social  Iielations 


COLOSSIANS,   III. 


hallowed  in  the  Lord. 


spiritual  songs,  singing  with  grace  in 
your  hearts  to  the  Lord.  <^'')  And  what- 
soever ye  do  in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  giving 
thanks  to  God  and  the  Father  by 
him.  (^^^  Wives,  submit  yourselves  unto 
your  own  husbands,  as  it  is 
Chap.  iii.  18,19.  fit  in  the  Lord,     d^)  Hus- 

Duty  or   wives   i         i      i  •  -i 

and  husbands,    bands,  love  your  wives,  and 

be  not  bitter  against  them. 

(20)  Children,  obey  your   parents  in  all 

...    „„    things :    for    this    is    well 
Chap.    HI.    20,      1      ^.  J.       A.-L.       T       1 

21.      Duty   of  pleasing    unto    the    Lord. 

children     and  (21)    Fathers,    provoke    not 
fathers.  i  -i  i  ^ 

your     children    to     anger, 


lest  they  be  discouraged.     (^2)  Servants, 
obey    in    all    things    your  ...   ^^_ 

masters  according   to  the  iv.  i.    Duty  of 
flesh  ;  not  with  eveservice,  servants     and 

1  V     i.     •       masters. 

as  menpleasers ;  but  m 
singleness  of  heart,  fearing  God  : 
(-^)  and  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily, 
as  to  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men ; 
(2^)  knowing  that  of  the  Lord  ye  shall 
receive  the  reward  of  the  inheri- 
tance :  for  ye  serve  the  Lord  Christ. 
^^^  But  he  that  doeth  wrong  shall 
receive  for  the  wrong  which  he  hath 
done :  and  there  is  no  respect  of 
persons. 


indwelling'  Word  o£  God  is  described  as  manifesting 
itself,  first,  in  the  wisdom  of  mutual  teaching,  next,  in 
the  grace  of  hearty  thanksgiving. 

Teaching  and  admonishing  .  .  .—Here  again 
we  have  at  once  general  identity  and  special  distinc- 
tion between  this  and  the  parallel  passage  in  Eph.  v. 
19,  20.  There,  as  here,  we  have  the  "  speaking  to  one 
another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs," 
"  the  singing  in  the  hearts  to  the  Lord,"  and  the  spirit 
of  "  thankfulness."  But  there  the  whole  is  described 
as  a  consequence  of  "  being  filled  vrith  the  Spirit,"  and, 
as  an  outburst  of  that  spiritual  enthusiasm,  of  which  the 
spurious  excitement  of  drunkenness  is  the  morbid  carica- 
ture. Here  the  thought  starts  from  "  the  word  of  Christ 
in  the  soul,"  realised  through  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  by  all 
our  faculties ;  and  it  divides  itself  accordingly  into  the 
function  of  teaching,  which  bears  on  the  mind;  "the 
singing  in  grace  "  of  thankfulness,  which  comes  from 
and  goes  to  the  heart ;  and  the  "  doing  all  in  the  name 
of  Christ,"  which  belongs  to  the  outer  sphere  of  action. 

Psalms  and  hymns. — The  ascription  to  these  of 
an  office  of  "  teaching  and  admonition  "  describes  what 
is  their  i*eal,  though  indii'ect,  efi^ect.  In  the  Church,  as  in 
the  world,  he  who  "  makes  a  people's  songs"  really  guides 
their  minds  as  well  as  their  hearts.  For  good  and  for 
evil  the  hjrnins  of  the  Christian  Church  have  largely 
influenced  her  theology. 

(17)  All  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.— 
Comp.  here  the  more  general  exhortation  of  1  Cor.  x. 
31,  "  Whetlior  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God."  This  is  the  first  principle 
of  all  godly  life.  The  main  object  of  all  life,  speculative 
or  practical,  is  declared  to  be,  not  our  own  liappiness  or 
perfection,  not  the  good  of  our  fellow-men,  but  the 
"  glory  of  God  " — the  carrying  out  of  His  will,  and  so 
manifesting  His  moral  attributes.  We  are  taught  that 
if  we  "  seek  tliis  first,  all  the  other  things  shall  be  added 
unto  us."  But  here  we  have  the  principle,  not  only  of 
godly  life,  but  of  Christian  life.  It  does  all  "  in  the 
name  of  Christ,"  that  is,  as  conformed  to  His  image, 
and  so  beiTig  His  representative  ;  it  looks  up  thankfully 
to  God  our  Fatlier,  but  it  is  through  Him,  "  having  our 
Bonship  by  adoption  "  througli  His  all-sufficient  media- 
tion. Its  desire  is,  not  only  that  God  may  bo  glorified, 
but  that  "  He  may  be  glorified  through  Jesus  Christ " 
(1  Pet.  iv.  11).  Once  more  we  trace  hero  the  special 
and  emphatic  purpose  of  the  Epistle. 

Chap.  iii.  18 — iv.  1  deals  with  the  three  great  rela- 
tions of  life — between  wives  and  husbands,   children 


and  parents,  servants  and  masters.  In  this  section  we 
have  the  closest  parallelism  with  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  (chaps,  v.  22 — vi.  9).  But  the  treatment  of 
the  first  relation  is  far  briefer,  having  nothing  to 
correspond  to  the  grand  and  characteristic  comparison 
of  marriage  to  the  union  between  Christ  and  the 
Church.  Even  in  the  second  there  is  somewhat  greater 
brevity  and  simplicity.  The  third  is  dwelt  upon  with 
marked  coincidence  of  language,  and  at  least  equal 
emphasis.  We  can  hardly  doubt  that  the  presence  of 
Onesimus,  the  runaway  slave,  suggested  this  peculiar 
emphasis  on  the  right  relation  between  the  slave  and 
his  master. 

[It  will  only  be  necessary  to  note  the  few  points  in 
which  this  section  differs  notably  from  the  parallel 
passage.] 

[6.  Special   Exhortation   as   to  the   relations 
of  life. 

(1)  The  Duty  of  Wives  and  Husbands  (verses 

18,  19). 

(2)  The  Duty  of    Children  and    Paeents 

(verses  20,  21). 

(3)  The  Duty  op  Slaves  and  Masters  (chaps. 

iu.  22— iv.  1).] 

(18)  As  it  is  fit  in  the  Lord. — For  the  explanation 
of  this  special  fitness  "  in  the  Lord,"  i.e.,  in  virtue  of 
Christian  unity,  see  the  gi'and  description  of  Eph.  v. 
23,  24,  32,  33. 

(19)  Be  not  bitter. — Properly,  grow  not  hitter,  suffer 
not  yourselves  to  be  exasperated.  The  word  is  used 
metaphorically  only  in  this  passage,  literally  in  Rev.  viii. 
11 ;  X.  9,  10. 

(21)  Provoke  not  ...  to  anger.- Tliis,  in  the 
text  followed  by  our  version,  is  borrowed  from  Eph.  vi.  4. 
The  true  reading  is  provoke  to  emulation,  as  in  2  Cor. 
ix.  2.  What  is  forbidden  is  a  constant  and  restless 
stimulation,  "  spurring  the  willing  horse ; "  wliich  will 
end  in  failure  and  despondency. 

(22-25)  Compare  throughout  Eph.  vi.  5—9.  The  only 
peculiarity  of  this  passage  is  the  sti-ong  emphasis  laid 
on  "  the  reward  of  the  inheritance."  "  The  reward  "  is  in 
the  original,  a  perfect  recompense  or  requital.  The  "  in- 
heritance "  is  exactly  that  wliich  no  slave  could  receive ; 
only  a  son  could  bo  an  heir  (Gal.  iv.  7).  Hence  the 
slave  on  earth  is  recognised  as  a  son  in  heaven.  He 
"  serves  the  Lord,"  but  his  ser^^ce  is  the  perfect 
freedom  of  sonshiji. 

(25)  He    that    doeth  wrong   is   clearly   here   the 


llj 


Exiiortation  to  Prayer 


COLOSSIAXS,   IV. 


and  Watchfulness. 


CHAPTER  IV.  — (1)  Masters,  gfive 
unto  your  servants  that  wbicli  is  just 
and  equal ;  knowing  that  ye  also  have 
a  Master  in  heaven.  <^^  Continue  in 
prayer,  and  watch  in  the 
M  exhoi^f:  same  with  thanksgiving; 
tion  to  prayer  <^'  Withal  praying  also  tor 
and    watchlul-   ^g     ^}^^^    Qq^    would   open 

unto  us  a  door  of  utter- 
ance, to  speak  the  mystery  of  Christ, 
for  which  I  am  also  in  bonds :  <^^  that 
I  may  make  it  manifest,  as  I  ought 
to  speak.  <^)  Walk  in  wisdom  toward 
them  that  are  without,  redeeming  the 
time.  '•'^  Let  your  speech  he  ahvay 
with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt,  that  ye 


may  know  how  ye  ought  to  answer  every 
man.  '^^  All  my  state  shall  Tychicus 
declare   unto   you,  who   is  . 

a  beloved  brother,  and  a  ConfmendatTon 
faithful  minister  and  fel-  ofTychicusand 
lowservant  in  the  Lord:  '^^^^^'^^s- 
(^^  whom  I  have  sent  unto  you  for  the 
same  purpose,  that  he  might  know  your 
estate,  and  comfort  your  hearts ;  '^^  with 
Onesimus,  a  faithful  and  beloved 
brother,  who  is  one  of  you.  They  shall 
make  known  unto  you  all  things  which 
are  clone  here.  ^^"^^  Aristarchus  my  fel- 
lowprisoner  saluteth  you,  Chap.  iv.  lo— 
and  Marcus,  sister's  son  to  ]^-    ^^^J^tf*^?,^ 

T^  ,  /,         1  •  1  irom  fet.  Taul  s 

rJarnabas,  (touching  whom  fellow-workers. 


master  (see  Eph.  vi.  9),  though,  of  course,  the  phrase 
cauuot  be  limited  to  him. 

lY. 

(1)  Just  and  equal.— The  -vrord  "  equal,"  or,  rather, 
the  substautive  so  trauslated,  has  the  seuse  either  of 
"  equity  "  or  "  equality."  The  former  is  far  commoner 
(especially  in  counectiou  with  justice),  aud  probably  all 
that  is  intended  here.  At  the  same  time,  the  idea  run- 
ning through  the  passage  is  of  a  common  feUow-service  to 
Christ  of  all  alike,  and  in  ciiap.  iii.  11  we  are  reminded 
that  "  in  Christ  Jesus  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free." 
Perhaps,  therefore,  St.  Paul  desired  that  his  readers 
should  remember  that  iu  some  points  all  ai'e  literally 
equal  before  God. 

[7.  Conclusion  of  the  Epistle. 

(1)  Final  Exhortation  to  prayer  (especially  for 

St.  Paul  himself),  and  to  wisdom  towards  tliose 
without,  both  in  deed  and  in  word  (verses 
2—6). 

(2)  Commendation   of  Tychicus  and   Onesimus 

(verses  7 — 9). 

(3)  Salutation  from  Aristarchus,  Marcus,  Jus- 

tus, Epaphras,  Luke,  Demas  (verses  10 — 14). 

(4)  Charge  to  this  Church  to  exchange  greetings 

and  letters  with  the  Laodicean  Church,  and 
special  charge  to  Archippus  (verses  15 — 17). 

(5)  Final  Salutation  (verse  18).] 

(2—4)  Comp.  the  almost  exact  parallel  in  Eph.  vi. 
18 — 20,  and  see  Notes  there. 

(3)  A  door  of  utterance. — Comp.  a  similar  phrase 
in  1  Cor.  xvi.  9  ;  2  Cor.  ii.  12.  There,  however,  the 
opened  door  is  the  door  of  external  opportunity ;  here 
the  "  door  of  utterance  "  is  the  removal  of  all  internal 
impediments  to  preadiing. 

(3)  Walk  in  wisdom  .  .  .  redeeming  the 
time. — In  tlie  parallel  passage  (Eph.  v.  15)  we  have 
"  walk  strictly,  not  as  fools,  but  as  wise,"  aud  the 
limitation  "  towards  them  that  are  without "  is  omitted, 
although  it  is  added  that  "the  days  are  evil."  The 
context,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference,  is  different,  and 
the  idea  also  somewhat  different.  There  tlie  "  strict- 
ness "  and  "  wisdom  "  are  to  guard  against  excess  or 
recklessness  within ;  here  the  "  wisdom  "  is  to  watch 
against  external  dangers  and  make  full  use  of  external 
opportunities. 

(<5)  Seasoned  with  salt.— It  seems  impossible  not 
to  trace  here  a  reference  to  our  Lord's  words  in  Mark 


ix.  50,  "  Salt  is  good :  but  if  the  salt  have  lost  his  salt- 
ness,  wherewith  will  ye  season  it  ?  Have  salt  in 
yourselves."  There  the  salt  is  spoken  of  as  the 
preservative  from  corruption,  and  the  warning  against 
"  corrupt "  words  in  Eph.  iv.  29  has  been  thought  to 
point  in  the  same  direction.  But  the  context  appeal's 
certainly  to  suggest  that  the  use  of  the  salt  is  to  teach 
"  how  to  answer  eveiy  man,"  aud  that  this  answer  (like 
the  "reason,"  or  defence,  of  1  Pet.  iii.  15)  is  to  be 
given  to  "  those  without."  Probably,  therefore,  the 
"  seasoning  with  salt "  is  to  provide  against  insii)idity 
(thus  according  to  some  extent  with  the  classic  usage  of 
the  word).  Their  speech  is  to  be  primarily  "  with  grace,'' 
kindled  by  the  true  life  of  Christian  grace  in  it ;  secon- 
darily, however,  it  is  to  have  good  sense  and  point,  so 
as  to  be  effective  for  the  inquirer  or  against  the 
scoffer. 

(7,  8)  These  verses  present  an  almost  exact  verbal 
coincidence  with  Eph.  vi.  21,  22,  on  which  see  Notes.  In 
the  verses,  liowever,  which  follow,  the  particularity  and 
detail  of  this  Epistle  stand  in  marked  contrast  Avith 
the  brief  generality  of  Eph.  vi.  23,  24.  Remembering 
that  the  two  Epistles  were  sent  at  the  same  time,  and 
that  Ephesus  was  a  church  far  better  known  than 
Colossse,  we  cannot  but  regard  this  as  supportmg  tlie 
idea  of  an  encyclical  character  iu  our  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians. 

(9)  Onesimus.— See  Philem.  verses  10 — 17.  The 
emphatic  reference  to  him  as  being  "  faithful  and  be- 
loved "  like  Tychicus,  and  "one  of  you  "  like  Epaphras, 
is  a  remarkable  commentary  on  St.  Paul's  exhortation 
as  to  slaves  and  masters  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

(10)  Aristarchus  my  fellowprisoner.  — Ap- 
parently a  Jew,  one  "  of  the  circumcision."  But  he  is 
"  of  Thessalonica,"  and  is  first  named  (in  Acts  xix.  22) 
as  dragged  with  Gains  into  the  theatre  in  tlie  tumult  at 
Ephesus ;  thence  he  accompanied  St.  Paul  (Acts  xx.  4), 
at  any  rate  as  far  as  Asia,  (m  his  journey  to  Jerusalem. 
Wlien,  after  two  years'  captivity,  the  Apostle  starts 
from  Caesarea  on  his  voyage  to  Rome,  Aristarchus  is 
again  named  by  St.  Luke  as  "  being  with  us  "  (Acts 
xxvii.  2).  From  this  fact,  and  from  his  being  called 
here  "  my  fellow-prisoner  "  (a  name  wliich  there  seems 
no  adequate  reason  to  consider  as  metaphorical),  it  would 
appear  that,  whetlier  voluntarily  or  involuntarily, 
Aristarchus  really  shared  his  captivity.  It  is  certainly 
not  a  little  curious  that  in  the  Epistle  to  Pliilemon 
(verses  23.  24),  sent  at  the  same  time,  it  is  Epaphras 
who  is  called  the  fellow-prisoner."  while  Aristarchus  is 


116 


Salutations  from  the  Brethren, 


COLOSSIANS,   IV. 


specialhj  from  Epaphras. 


ye  received  commandments :  if  lie 
come  unto  you,  receive  him ;)  (^^^  and 
Jesus,  which  is  called  Justus,  who  are 
of  the  circumcision.  These  only  are  my 
fellow- workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God, 
which  have  been  a  comfort  unto  me. 
<^2)  Epaphras,  who  is  07ie  of  you,  a  servant 
of  Christ,  saluteth  you,  always  labour- 


1  Or,  striving. 

2  Or,  fllled. 


ing  ^  fervently  for  you  in  prayers,  that 
ye  may  stand  perfect  and  complete  ^  in 
all  the  will  of  God.  <^3^  For  1  bear  him 
record,  that  he  hath  a  great  zeal  for 
you,  and  them  that  are  in  Laodicea,  and 
them  in  Hierapolis.  (^"^^  Luke,  the  be- 
loved physician,  and  Demas,  greet  you. 
(^^^  Salute   the  brethren  Avhich   are   in 


simply  classed  among  the  fellow-labourers."  This 
variation  is  iuterestiug  to  us  as  one  of  the  cliaracteristic 
marks  of  independence  and  genuineness  in  the  Epistles  ; 
but  it  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  mere  conjectui'e, 
sucli  as  that  of  their  alternately  sharing  the  Apostle's 
captivity. 

Marcus,  sister's  son  to  Barnabas. — The  notices 
of  John  Mai"k  in  the  New  Testament  are  full  of 
interest.  Tliis  is  the  first  notice  of  him  since  the  day 
when  St.  Paul  rejected  him  from  his  function  of 
"  ministration,"  because  on  the  former  journey  he  had 
'■  deserted "  tliem  at  Perga,  and  had  "  not  gone  with 
them  to  the  work  "  (Acts  XV.  38).  Then  he  had  gone 
with  Barnabas  to  Cyprus,  to  take  part  in  an  easier 
work,  nearer  home  and  under  the  kindly  guardianship 
of  liis  uncle.  Now  the  formal  charge  to  the  Colossian 
Churcli  to  "receive  him" — a  kind  of  "letter  of  com- 
mendat'on"  (2  Cor.  iii.  1) — evidently  shows  that 
they  had  known  of  him  as  under  St.  Paul's  displeasure, 
and  were  now  to  learn  that  he  had  seen  reason  to  restore 
him  to  his  confidence.  In  the  Epistle  to  Philemon 
Mark  is  named,  as  of  course  (verse  24),  among  his 
"  fellow-lal)ourers."  In  St.  Paul's  last  Epistle,  written 
almost  witli  a  dying  hand  (2  Tim.  iv.  11),  there  is  a 
touch  of  peculiar  pathos  in  the  charge  which  he,  left 
alone  in  prison  with  his  old  companion  St.  Luke,  gives 
to  Timothy  to  bring  Mark,  as  now  being  right  service- 
able for  the  "  ministration "  from  which  he  had  once 
rejected  him.  Evidently  St.  Paul's  old  rebuke  had 
done  its  work,  and,  if  Mark  did  join  him  in  his  last 
hours,  he  probably  thanked  him  for  nothing  so  much 
as  for  the  lovnng  sternness  of  days  gone  by.  Before 
this,  if  (as  seems  likely)  he  is  the  "  Marcus,  my  sou  " 
of  1  Pet.  v.  13,  he  was  with  St.  Peter,  and  must  be 
identified  with  St.  Mark  the  Evangelist,  subsequently, 
as  tradition  has  it,  bishop  and  martyr  at  Alexandria. 

(11)  Jesus,  which  is  called  Justus. — The  surname 
"  Justus  "  is  found  in  Acts  i.  23  ;  xviii.  7  ;  we  learn 
from  tradition  that  by  it,  or  by  its  eqnivalent,  St. 
James,  "  the  Lord's  brother,"  was  known.  In  this  case 
it  is  curious  that  one  who  bore  our  Lord's  name  should 
also  have  been  known  by  a  surname  which  was  His 
peculiar  title,  "the  Just  One."  (See  Acts  xxii.  14  ;  and 
comp.  Luke  xxiii.  47.)  Of  this  Justus  there  is  no  other 
notice,  not  even  in  the  Epistle  to  Philemon,  in  which 
all  the  other  names  recur. 

Who  are  of  the  circumcision.  These  only 
.  .  . — The  juxtaposition  of  the  two  notices  seems  to 
indicate — what  is  in  itself  likely — that  the  brethren  who 
held  aloof  f.-om  St.  Paul  in  "  strife  and  envy,"  and 
whose  conduct  produced  that  sense  of  isolation  of 
which  he  speaks  so  pathetically  in  Phil.  ii.  20,  were  "  of 
the  circumcision."  Out  of  thoin,  only  Aristarchus, 
Mark,  and  Justus  were  true  fellow-workers,  and  as 
such  "  a  comfort  "  to  the  Apostolic  labourer. 

(1-)  Epaphras.— See  Note  on  chap.  i.  7. 

Servant  of  Christ.— A  title  assumed  by  St.  James 
and  St.  Judo,  as  well  as  by  St.  Paul  himself,  but  given 
by  him  only  to  Timothy  (Phil.  i.  1)  and  to  Epaphras 


here.  Of  course,  all  Christians  are  "  servants  of 
Christ."  But  the  name,  as  applied  here,  is  no  doubt 
distinctive  of  some  peculiar  character  of  service. 

Labouring  fervently. — Properly,  wrestling  in 
agoiuj  of  prinjer.     (See  Rom.  xv.  30.) 

Perfect  and  complete. — The  word  here  found  in 
the  best  MSS.  for  "  complete "  is  used  in  Rom. 
iv.  21,  xiv.  5,  for  "  fully  convinced"  or  "persuaded." 
This  is  probably,  though  not  perhaps  necessarily,  its 
meaning  here.  In  the  two  epithets — perfect  and  fully 
established  in  conviction  —  we  may  again  trace,  as 
before,  reference  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Gnostic 
teachers  to  exclusive  perfection  in  wisdom.  St.  Paul's 
true  fellow-worker,  like  himself,  prays  that  this 
perfection  may  belong  to  all.  and  that  it  may  have  its 
basis  not  in  the  secrets  of  heavenly  knowledge,  but  in 
the  revealed  "  will  of  God." 

(1^)  On  the  natural  union  of  Laodicea  and  Hierapolis 
with  Colossse,  partly  local  and  historical,  partly,  no 
doubt,  having  reference  to  their  conversion  by  the  same 
instrumentality  (of  Epaphras),  see  Note  on  chap.  ii.  1 
and  Introduction.  Epaphras  is  said  to  have  great 
"  zeal "  (properly,  great  labour)  of  anxiety — finding  vent 
in  the  wrestling  in  prayer  noted  above — for  all  three 
cities,  for  which  he  evidently  still  felthimself  responsible. 
In  such  responsibility,  as  in  the  charges  of  Timothy  and 
Titus,  we  see  the  link  between  the  apostolate  of  this 
period  and  the  episcopacy  of  the  future. 

(1^)  Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  and  Demas.— 
Comp.  Philem.  verse  24.  The  original  is  even  more 
emphatic,  "  Luke  the  physician,  the  beloved  one." 
Demas,  on  the  contrary,  is  barely  named.  It  is  impos- 
sible not  to  pass  on  in  thought  to  the  last  notice  of  the 
two  by  St.  Paul  (2  Tim.  iv.  10),  "  Demas  hath  forsaken 
me,  hav-iug  loved  this  present  world  ....  only  Luke 
is  with  me." 

On  the  relation  of  St.  Luke  to  St.  Paul,  see  Intro- 
duction to  the  Acts.  Here  we  need  only  remark  that 
the  emphatic  mention  of  liim  as  "  the  beloved  ]»hysician  " 
suggests  the  idea  that  it  was  both  as  physician  and  as 
friend  that  St.  Luke,  now,  as  in  the  last  capti^-ity,  was 
with  the  Apostle.  Though  the  cajjtivity  was  not,  ac- 
cording to  ancient  ideas,  severe,  it  must  have  told  upon 
his  weak  and  shattered  health. 

(15)  The  brethren  which  are  in  Laodicea.— 
The  comparison  of  this  phrase  with  the  more  general 
"  church  of  the  Laodiceans  "  below  has  led  to  the  idea 
that  some  special  body  of  Christians — Dr.  Lightfoot 
suggests  a  "  family  of  Colossian  Christians " — at 
Laodicea  is  here  referred  to.  But  more  probably  the 
whole  of  the  Laodicean  Christians  are  meant  in  both 
passages.  In  their  individual  chai-acter  they  are  "  the 
brethren  in  Laodicea;  "  when  they  are  gathered  to  hear 
the  Epistles  they  are  the  "Church  (literally,  the 
Christian  assembly)  of  Laodicea." 

And  Nymphas.— There   is  a   cnrions   variety  of 

reading  here.     Some  MSS.   have,   as   in  our   version, 

"the  church  in  his  hou.se;"  some,   "in  her  house;' 

the  best  reading  seems  to  be  "in  their  house."     The 

117 


Message  to  Laodicea. 


COLOSSIAXS,   IV. 


The  Letter  from  Laodicea. 


Laodicea,  and  Njmplias,  and  the 
Chap.  iv.  15—  churcli  -vvhich  is  in  bis 
17.    Charge  to  house.     C^"^  And  Tvhen  this 

the  Church  and         .    ,,      .  , 

to  Archippus.     epistle  IS  read  among  you, 


cause  that  it  be  read  also  in  the  church 
of  the  Laodiceans ;  and  that  ye  like- 
wise read  the  epistle  from  Laodicea. 
<!'')  And  say  to  Archippus,  Take  heed  to 


second  of  these  rea(linj!f.s  would  make  the  name 
"  Xynipha,"  instead  of  "  N}^nphas,"  with  which  the 
form  of  the  original  hardly  agrees.  The  last  readiug 
(from  wliich  tlie  common  reading  of  our  version  is  pro- 
bably a  correction)  must  refer,  in  the  word  "  their,"  to 
Nyniphas  and  his  family.  Of  NjTuplias  we  know 
nothing,  except  from  this  passage.  He  is  obviously  a 
man  of  importance,  a  centre  of  Church  life,  in  the 
Christian  community  at  Laodicea. 

The  church  which  is  in  his  house.— Tliis 
phrase  is  foimd  elsewhere  only  as  applied  to  '•  Aquila 
and  Priscilla"  (Rom.  xvi.  5;  1  Cor.  x^■i.  19),  and  to 
Pliilemou  (Philem.  verse  2).  Of  these  Aquila  and 
Priscilla  are  notable  Christian  teachers  (as  of 
Ajiostles.  Acts  xviii.  26)  and  confessors  (Rom.  xvi.  4); 
and  Philemon  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  beloved  fellow- 
labourer,"  and  one  in  whom  "  the  saints  are  refreshed  " 
(Philem.  verses  1,  7).  Hence  this  "  church  in  the  house  " 
is  seen  to  have  gathered  only  round  persons  of  some 
mark  and  leadership.  The  houses  sanctified  by  such 
gatherings  were  the  parents  of  the  material  churches 
of  the  futm*e. 

Since  the  word  "  church  "  means  nothing  more  than 
"  general  assembly,"  it  is  obviously  capable  of  definition 
only  by  the  context.  If  undefined  it  is  universal — the 
whole  Catholic  Church  of  Christ — otherwise  it  is  civic, 
as  is  most  common  ;  or  domestic,  as  here.  Since  the 
units  of  society  were  then  the  family  and  the  city — not 
the  counti-y,  or  province — we  read  not  of  the  church, 
but  of  the  "  churches  "  of  Achaia.  or  Galatia,  or  Mace- 
donia. National  chiu-ches  there  could  not  be;  for  nations, 
as  we  understand  the  term,  did  not  exist.  Afterwards, 
when  the  Church  was  fully  organised,  it  is  well  known 
that  the  ecclesiastical  divisions  ("parish,"  "diocese," 
&c.,)  still  followed  the  civil. 

(16)  When  this  epistle.— In  the  implied  direction 
to  read  this  Epistle  in  the  Church — a  direction  ex- 
pressly given  under  like  circumstances  to  the  Church 
at  Thessalonica  (1  The.ss.  v.  27) — we  discern  the  method 
of  first  publication  of  the  Apostolic  Epistles;  in  the 
direction  to  interchange  Epistles  with  the  Laodicean 
Church,  we  trace  the  way  in  which  these  Epistles  became 
more  widely  diifused,  and  recognised  as  authoritative  in 
the  Church  at  large.  Thus  it  was  that  they  were 
"  canonised,"  i.e.,  accepted  as  a  part  of  the  "  canon  "  or 
rule  of  divine  truth.  The  likelihood,  or  unlikehhood, 
of  this  public  reading  has  an  important  bearing  on  the 
question  of  the  autlienticity  of  some  of  the  books, 
wliich  were  placed  among  the  "  doubtful  "  by  Eusebius 
and  other  ancient  authorities.  The  fact  that  other 
books  (such  as  our  so-called  Apocryphal  books)  were 
also  publicly  read  was  the  cause  of  their  being  wrongly 
confused  with  the  books  of  Holy  Scripture. 

The  epistle  from  Laodicea.— Tlie  question, 
What  was  this  "Epistle  from  Laodicea  "  ?  has  given  birth 
to  a  crowd  of  conjectures,  of  which  an  admirable  and 
exhaustive  examination  mil  be  found  in  Dr.  Liglitfoot's 
Excursus  on  this  verse.  But  many  of  tliese  may  be  at 
once  dismissed.  It  seems  perfectly  clear,  from  the 
obvious  parallelism  of  this  Epistle  from  Laodicea 
with  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  itself,  that  it  was  a 
letter  not  from  the  Laodicean  Church,  not  from  any 
other  Apostle,  or  Apostolic  writer,  but  from  St.  Paul 
liimself,   either  written  at   Laodicea,   or  (as  is  more 


likely)  written  to  the  Laodicean  Clmrch.  and  to  be  sent 
"  from  Laodicea  "  to  Colossse.  Hence  the  question  is 
narrowed  to  a  single  alternative — (1)  Is  it  an  Epistle 
which  has  been  lost,  or,  at  any  rate,  not  found  in  the 
canon  ?  This  is,  of  course,  possible ;  it  cannot  be 
necessary,  as  it  is  certainly  difficult,  to  suppose  that  all 
St.  Paul's  Epistles  have  been  preserved  to  us  in  Holy 
Scripture.  Now,  there  is  extant  an  "  Epistle  to  the 
Laodiceans,"  circulated  in  the  West,  and  known  only 
in  the  Latin,  although  it  has  been  thought  to  Ijear 
traces  of  translation  from  a  Greek  original.  Tliis 
letter  (for  which  see  Excursus  B.)  is  obviously  a 
forgery,  probably  not  of  early  date,  being  little  more 
than  a  tame  compilation  of  phrases  from  St.  Paul's 
Epistles.  Putting  this  unhesitatingly  aside,  we  may 
suppose  the  letter  to  have  been  lost.  But  this  is  a 
supposition  merely  arbitrary,  and  not  to  be  adopted, 
except  in  default  of  something  which  has  a  better 
claim  to  attention.  (2)  Is  it  some  other  of  St.  Paul's 
known  Epistles  ?  The  only  letter  which  is  noticed  in 
our  ordinary  copies  of  the  Greek  Testament  as  written 
from  Laodicea  is  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy ;  but 
this  is  put  out  of  the  question,  both  in  date  and 
character ;  and,  moreover,  the  very  idea  of  a  letter 
written  from  Laodicea  at  this  time  is  negatived  by  St. 
Paul's  declaration  (chaj).  ii.  1)  that  the  Laodiceans 
had  not  seen  his  face  ui  the  flesh.  A  fourth  century 
tradition  declares  our  "  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews "  to 
have  been  written  to  the  Laodiceans ;  but  (setting 
aside  all  question  of  the  authorship)  the  whole 
character  and  argument  of  the  Epistle  make  this 
extremely  unlikely.  Far  the  most  probable  supj)osition 
identifies  it  vrith  our  "  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians."  For 
the  reasons  for  supposing  this  an  encyclical  letter,  see 
Introduction  to  that  Epistle.  In  particular  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  Marcion  expressly  calls  it  an 
"  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans."  Laodicea  lay  lower  down 
the  valley,  and  was  the  larger  town  :  an  encyclical  letter 
might  well  be  left  there  to  be  sent  on  to  Colossro.  The 
two  Epistles,  as  we  have  seen,  have  both  strong  likeness 
and  marked  distinction.  Nothing  could  be  more  natural 
than  that  they  should  be  interchanged,  accoi'ding  to  the 
direction  of  the  text. 

(1")  Say  to  Archippus.— Archippus  is  included  in 
the  salutation  of  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  (verse  1)  ap- 
parently as  a  member  of  his  family,  and  is  geneially 
thought  to  have  been  his  son.  He  held  a  "ministry  ' 
in  the  Church.  The  word  is  the  same  as  the  word 
"  diaconate,"  but  it  is  obviously  used  in  a  more  general 
sense,  precisely  as  in  the  charge  to  Timothy  (2  Tim.  iv. 
5),  "  Make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry  ;  "  and  the  whole 
tone  of  the  pas.sage  here  suggests  that,  like  Timet liy"s, 
it  was  a  ministry  of  some  prominence  in  the  Church. 
Tradition  makes  him  afterwards  a  bishop  of  Laodicea; 
it  is  likely  enough  that  he  had  that  leadership  among 
the  presb)-ters,  from  which  the  episcopate  was  dovelojied 
at  tlie  close  of  tlie  Apostolic  period.  Whether  this 
was  at  ColossaB — hisfatlier's  native  place — or  Laodicea, 
cannot  be  gathered  with  any  certainty  from  the  context. 
The  exhortation  comes  in  close  connection  with  Lao- 
dicea ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  seems  strange  to  send 
through  one  church  a  message  to  a  chief  pastor  of 
another.  In  any  case  this  indirect  transmission  of 
a  charge  is  curious,  standing  in  marked  couti-ast  with 


118 


Charge  to  Arcldj^jnis. 


COLOSSIANS,   IV. 


Final  Salutation. 


the  ministry  -which  thou  hast  received 

in   the    Lord,     that    thou 

Chap,    iv     18.  fulfil  it.     (18)  The  salutation 

l-mal      saluta-   1,111^  -r->      i 

tioii.  by  the  hand  01  me  Paul. 


Remember  my  bonds.      Grace   he  with 
you.     Amen. 

i[  Written  from  Rome  to  tlie  Colossians  by 
Tyeliiciis  aud  Ouesimus. 


the  direct  personal  addresses  of  the  Philippian  Epistle 
(Phil.  iv.  2,  3). 

Which  thou  hast  received  in  the  Lord.— 
Properly,  which  thoih  dost  receive.  The  probability 
seems  to  bo  that  ho  received  it  from  St.  Paul,  or 
perhaps  Epaphras.  The  phrase  is  "  in  the  Lord,"  not 
'■  from  the  Lord."  Contrast  Gal.  i.  12,  "  I  received  it 
not  from  man,  neither  Avas  I  taught  but  by  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

(18)  The  salutation  by  the  hand  of  me  Paul.— 
Comp.  2  Thess.  iii.  17,  "  The  salutation  by  the  hand  of 
me  Paul,  which  is  the  token  in  every  Epistle."  This 
invariable  autograph  salutation  was  "  Grace  be  with 
you  "  in  various  forms,  from  the  brevity  of  the  text 
here  to  the  fulness  of  2  Cor.  xiii.  15,  whicli  has  become 
the  universal  Christian  blessing.  In  different  epistles 
it  is  associated  Avith  different  phrases  of  blessing,,  or 
charge.     Thus  we  read  in  1  Cor.  xvi.  22,  "  If  any  man 


love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema." 
In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  the  autograph  conclusion 
is  expanded  into  a  long  postscript  (chap.  \\.  11 — 18). 
This  may  have  been  the  case  in  the  cognate  conclusion 
(chaps.  X.  —  xiii.)  of  the  Second  iii^jistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  possibly  from  the  words,  "  Now  I 
Paul  myself,"  &c.  Here  there  is  the  simple  and 
touching  addition — 

Remember  my  bonds.— In  what  spirit  they  were 
to  be  remembered  we  may  gather  from  Eph.  iii.  13 ; 
vi.  20;  Phil.  i.  13;  ii.  17.  St.  Paul  evidently  does  not 
disdain  to  use  his  captivity  as  an  appeal  for  sympathy 
(see  Philem.  verse  9) ;  but  mainly  he  dwells  on  it  as 
a  "  glory "  both  to  himself  and  to  his  converts.  In 
both  these  different  aspects  it  may  be  that  he  regarded 
it  himself,  according  as  he  looked  upon  it  "  after  the 
flesh  "  in  the  natural  feeling  of  humanity,  or  "  after  the 
spirit,"  in  the  higher  power  of  the  grace  of  GiDd. 


119 


EXCURSUS    ON    NOTES    TO    COLOSSIANS. 


EXCURSUS    A:    RELATION    OF    THE    EPISTLE   TO   THE    COLOSSIANS   TO   GNOSTICISM. 


It  is  not  intended  in  this  Excursus  to  attempt  any 
(Icsfription  of  tlio  actual  liistorical  developments  of 
those  singular  phases  of  opinion,  classed  roughly  under 
tlio  name  of  "  Gnosticism "  (on  which  see  Nean- 
der's  Chtirch  Historrj,  Sect.  IV.),  or  any  imitation  of 
Dr.  Lightfoot's  exhaustive  and  scholarly  investigation 
of  the  connections  in  detail,  between  the  form  of  specu- 
lative and  practical  heresy  denounced  by  St.  Paul  at 
Colossae,  and  the  tenets  of  the  various  Gnostic  systems. 
For  the  purposes  of  this  Commentary  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  inquire  generally — 

(1)  What  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  Gnos- 
ticism ? 

(2)  What  were  the  chief  problems  with  which  it 
dealt  ? 

(3)  How  far  it  could,  in  its  early  stages,  reasonably 
ally  itself  with  the  Judaic  system  ? 

(4)  What  was  its  early  relation  to  Christianity  ? 

(1)  Gnosticism,  as  the  name  implies,  is  the  absolute 
devotion  to  Gnosis,  or  "  knowledge."  It  is,  of  course, 
ol)vious  that  "  knowledge,"  as  it  is  the  natural  delight 
of  man  as  man,  so  also  is  sanctioned  by  the  Apostles 
themselves — by  none  more  emphatically  than  St.  Paul, 
and  nowhere  more  emphatically  by  him  than  in 
the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity — as  one  of  the  signs  and 
means  of  the  growth  of  the  spiritual  life  in  the  image 
of  Clu-ist.  In  every  one  of  the  Epistles  of  this  period 
St.  Paul  earnestly  desires  for  his  converts  progress  in 
knowledge.  (See  for  example  Eph.  i.  17  ;  Phil.  i.  9 ; 
Col.  i.  y.)  It  was,  therefore,  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  Apostolic  teacliiug  that  Clement  of  Alexandria 
and  his  school  extolled  the  "  true  Gnostic,"  as  repre- 
senting some  of  the  higher  phrases  of  spiritual  life,  and 
reflecting  in  some  senses,  more  distinctly  than  others, 
the  likeness  of  the  miud  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  But 
St.  Paid,  while  he  thus  delights  in  true  knowledge,  also 
speaks  (1  Tim.  vi.  20)  of  a  "  knowledge  falsely  so 
called,"  and  by  this  expression  appears  to  b!-and  with 
condemnation  tlio  spirit  of  what  is  commonly  called 
Gnosticism.  Where  then  lay  the  distinction  between 
the  false  and  the  true  "  knowledge  ?  " 

In  two  points  especi.ally.  First,  Gnosticism  exalted 
knowledge  to  an  unwarranted  supremacy  in  the  Chris- 
tian life.  It  made  Christianity  a  philosophy,  ratlier 
than  a  religion ;  as  if  its  chief  internal  effect  was 
enlightenment  of  the  understanding  rather  than  re- 
generation of  the  life,  and  its  chief  desire,  in  rising  above 
self,  was  to  discover  abstract  truths  about  God  and  man, 
rather  than  to  know  God  Himself,  with  "  all  the  heart, 
all  the  soul,  and  all  the  strength,"  as  well  as  "  all  the 
mind."  Thus  it  fatally  disturl)ed  the  true  harmony  of 
tlie  speculative,  the  practical,  and  the  devotional 
elements  of  the  spiritual  life.  Energy  in  practical 
service,  and  love  in  devotion,  it  considered  as  good 
enough  for  the  mass  of  men.  but  knowledge  as  the  one 
mark  of  "  the  perfect."  Like  all  philosophies,  it  was 
aristocratic;  for  in  work  and  iu  worship  all  might  take 


their  place,  but  only  the  few  thinkers  could  "burst  into 
the  silent  sea  "  of  the  higher  speculation.  There,  by 
the  esoteric  doctrine,  known  only  to  the  initiated,  they 
believed  themselves  to  be  set  apart  from  the  ordinary 
Christians,  for  whom  the  exoteric  or  popular  and  im- 
perfect teaching  might  suffice ;  and  sometimes  conceived 
that,  with  the  higher  mystic  knowledge,  they  might 
gain  also  mysterious  powers,  and  mysterious  means  of 
approach  to  a  divine  communion,  unknown  to  others. 

Secondly,  Gnosticism  also  disparted  from  the  Apos- 
tolic teaching  in  relation  to  its  method  of  knowledge. 
St.  Paul  describes,  in  a  celebrated  passage  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  the  jjrocess  of  the  true  know- 
ledge of  God.  He  prays  for  the  Ephesians  thus  :  "  that 
Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith,  that  ye, 
being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to 
comprehend  .  .  .  and  know  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passeth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with  (or 
rather,  up  to)  all  the  fulness  of  God."  The  order 
is  here  profoundly  significant.  The  knowledge,  being  a 
knowledge  of  a  Personal  God.  revealed  to  us  iu  Jesus 
Christ,  begins  in  faith — a  faith  which  knows  indeed  in 
whom  it  believes,  but  then  believes  on  Him,  as  having 
"  the  words  of  eternal  life."  It  is  next  deepened  by 
love,  called  out  by  the  infinite  love  of  God  in  Christ, 
naturally  manifesting  itself,  partly  in  adoration,  partly 
in  active  service,  and  by  both  coming  to  know  more  and 
more  what  still  passes  complete  knowledge.  Finally, 
even  in  its  ultimate  growth,  it  is  still  in  some  sense  the 
receiving  of  a  divine  light,  which  pours  in,  and  fills 
the  soul  with  the  revelation  of  God.  It  does  not  fill 
itself,  but  it  "  is  filled  up  to  all  the  fulness  of  God." 
Doubtless  in  all  this  the  energy  of  the  soul  itself  is  im- 
plied— first  to  believe,  then  to  love  and  to  work,  lastly 
to  open  itself  to  the  divine  truth  :  but  it  is  throughout 
subordinate.  If  ever  St.  Paul  allows  it  to  be  said,  "  Ye 
have  known  God,"  he  adds  the  correction  at  once,  "  or 
rather  are  known  of  God."  The  process  of  Gnosticism 
was  fundamentally  different.  Faith  (it  thought)  was 
well  for  the  vulgar;  love,  especially  as  s1io>\ti  iu 
practice,  was  all  they  could  hope  to  add  to  faith.  But 
the  Gnostic,  accepting  perhaps  the  vantage  ground  of 
ordinary  gosjiel  truth,  took  his  stand  on  it,  first  to  gaze, 
then  to  speculate,  then  to  invent,  in  his  own  intellectual 
strength — now  by  profound  thouglit,  now  by  wild  in- 
genuity of  fancy,  now  bj'  supposed  mystic  visions.  As 
usual  in  sucli  cases,  he  mixed  u^)  what  he  thought  he  saw 
with  what  he  went  on  to  infer  by  pure  speculation,  and 
turned  what  were  simple  speculations,  probable  or  im- 
probable, into  professed  discoveries  of  truth.  Nothing 
is  more  notable  in  the  full-grown  Gnostic  theories  than 
the  extraordinary  luxuriance  and  arbitrariness  of  specu- 
lations, which,  like  the  cycles  and  epicycles  of  the  old 
Ptolemaic  astronomy,  stand  self-condemned  by  their 
artificial  ingenuity. 

Now,  it  is  clear  that  Gnosticism  so  \-icwed.  although 
its  full  development  waited  for  a  later  period,  belongs  in 


120 


COLOSSIANS. 


essence  to  all  times.  It  arose  again  and  again,  in  con- 
nection with  Cbristianity,  whenever  the  gospel  liad  won 
its  way  to  a  position  of  such  supremacy  over  actual  life 
as  to  cliallenge  specuhition.  Tiiis  it  had  certainly  done 
at  tlie  close  of  St.  Paul's  Apostolic  career,  in  all  the 
civilised  world  of  Asiatic,  Greek,  and  Roman  thouglit ; 
but  perliaps  nowhere  more  strikingly  than  in  the 
provinces  of  Asia  Minor,  the  ancient  home  of  Greek 
speculation,  and  now  the  common  mieting-ground  of 
Western  philosophy  and  Eastern  mysticism,  and  in  the 
famous  city  of  Alexandria,  where  Greek  and  Jewish 
ideas  had  long  been  inextricably  blended  together.  As 
we  may  trace  its  modern  counterpart  in  much  of  the 
scientitic  and  metaphysical  speculation  of  our  own  day, 
so  also  it  is  but  natui-al  that  it  should  emerge  even  in 
the  earliest  times,  when  the  gospel  confronted  a  highly 
cultivated  and  inquisitive  civilisation.  Whatever  trutli 
there  may  be  in  the  old  traditions  that  Simon  Magus 
was  the  first  Gnostic,  it  is,  at  least,  clear  that  the  germs 
of  Gnosticism  lay  in  his  view  of  Christianity,  recog- 
nising in  it  a  mystic  power  and  wisdom  greater  than 
his  own,  but  ignoring  its  moral  and  spiritual  regeneration 
of  the  soul. 

(2)  The  great  subjects  of  Gnostic  speculation,  under 
all  its  strange  and  fantastic  varieties,  were  again  the 
two  great  questions  which  at  all  times  occupy  the 
human  mind.  The  first  is  speculative.  What  is  the 
relation  between  the  Infinite  and  the  Finite,  the  Abso- 
lute and  the  Phenomenal,  the  First  Cause  and  the 
actual  Universe  ?  The  second  is  moral.  Wliat  is  the 
nature  and  origin  of  the  Evil,  both  physical  and  moral, 
•which  forces  itself  upon  our  notice,  as  a  disturbing  ele- 
ment in  a  world  essentially  good  and  beautiful  ?  and  how 
can  we  explain  its  permitted  antagonism  to  the  First 
Cause,  which  is  presumably  good?  To  tliese  two 
fundamental  questions,  belonging  to  all  time,  were 
added  two  others  belonging  to  the  centuries  just  before 
and  just  after  the  manifestation  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  What  place  is  to  be  assigned  to  the  Jewish 
dispensation  in  the  philosophy  of  God  and  Man  ? 
What  are  the  character  and  signiticance  of  the  Incar- 
nation, which  is  the  central  Christian  mystery  ? 

With  regard  to  the  first  question.  Gnosticism  uni- 
versally accepted  the  conception  of  an  Eternal  God, 
sometimes  I'ecognised,  whether  vividly  or  dimly,  as  a 
Person,  sometimes  looked  on  as  a  mere  depth  {Bythos) 
or  abyss  of  Impersonal  Being.  But  it  insisted  that. 
in  respect  of  the  work  of  Creation  of  the  world  and  of 
humanity,  in  the  government  of  the  world  and  in  the 
manifestation  of  Himself  to  Man,  God  was  pleased,  or 
was  by  His  Nature  forced,  to  act  through  inferior  beings, 
all  receiving  of  His  Pleroma  (or,  "  fulness  ")  in  different 
degrees  of  imperfection,  and  connected  with  Him  in 
different  degrees  of  nearness  through  "endless  gene- 
alogies." These  emanations  might  be  regarded  as  per- 
sonal, such  as  the  "Angels  of  God,"  the  "Word  of 
God,"  the  "Spirit  of  God";  they  might  be  half- 
personal,  like  the  ^ons  of  later  speculation  ;  they 
might  be,  where  Platonism  was  strong,  even  the  Ideas 
or  Attributes  of  God,  gathered  up  in  the  Logos.  But 
it  was  tlirongh  these  emanations  that  the  Supreme  God 
made  and  sustained  tlie  world,  created  man  as  at  once 
material,  animal  {psychic),  and  spiritual,  and  manifested 
Himself  to  man  in  different  ages. 

Next,  in  relation  to  tlie  Moral  Problem  of  the  Exis- 
tence of  Evil,  Gnosticism  seems  to  have  oscillated 
between  the  idea  of  a  direct  Dualism,  wherever  the 
Persian  influence  predominated,  and  tlie  conception  of 
a  dead-weight  of  resistance  to  the  Will  of  God,  where- 
ever  Monotheistic  influence,  especially  Jewish  influence, 


drove  out  the  more  pronounced  conceptions  of  Dualism. 
But  almost,  if  not  quite,  universally  it  traced  the  origin 
of  evil  to  matter,  conceived  probably  as  eternal,  certainly 
as  independent,  if  not  of  the  Supreme  God,  at  any  rate 
of  the  Creative  Emanations,  or  of  tlie  One  Being  called 
the  Demiurgus,  or  "  Great  Workman,"  to  whom  the 
Creative  was  in  most  cases  assigned.  Those  who  were, 
or  continued  to  be,  "  material,"  enslaved  to  matter,  were 
hopelessly  evil;  those  who  were  '"psychical,"  having, 
that  is,  the  soul  of  emotion  and  lower  understanding  as 
distinct  from  the  spirit,  were  in  a  condition  of  imper- 
fection, but  with  hope  of  rising  to  spirituality;  those 
who  were  spiritual,  and  they  only,  were  free  from  all 
evil,  capable  of  communion  with  the  Supreme  God. 
The  first  class  were  the  world ;  the  second  the  mass 
of  the  religious ;  the  last  were  the  possessors  of  the 
higher  knowledge.  On  what  should  be  the  end  of  this 
condition  of  imperfection  and  conflict,  there  was  di^•^sion 
of  opinion.  But  a  consummation  either  of  conquest  of 
evil,  or  of  absorption  into  the  Divine  Pleroma,  was 
looked  for  by  all.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Demiurgiis, 
or  the  Creative  powers  of  the  world,  were  regarded, 
sometimes  as  rebellious,  sometimes  as  blinded  by  igno- 
rance, sometimes  as  simply  finite  and  therefore  imper- 
fect ;  and  to  these  qualities  in  them  were  traced  the 
sin,  the  blindness,  or  the  imperfection  of  the  present 
dispensation. 

From  this  conception  of  matter  as  the  source  of  evil, 
and  therefore  of  the  body  as  the  evil  element  in  our 
nature,  followed  two  rival  and  directly  antagonistic 
conclusions  as  to  the  appetites  and  passions,  and  the 
view  which  the  spiritual  man  should  take  of  them  and 
of  the  objects  by  which  they  were  satisfied.  The  nobler 
conclusion  was,  in  accordance  with  the  purer  Oriental 
religions,  and  the  highest  Platonic  philosophy,  that  the 
body  was  simply  a  hindrance,  a  prison-house,  a  dead 
weight,  a  cause  of  blindness  or  dimness  to  the  spiritual 
eye ;  and  hence  was  to  be  kept  under  by  a  rigid  asceti- 
cism, mortifying  all  its  desires,  and  preserving  the 
spiritual  man,  as  much  as  possible,  from  any  contact  with 
the  material.  The  other — perhaps  the  more  common, 
certainly  the  ignobler — conclusion  was  that  the  indul- 
gence of  the  body  could  not  pollute  any  spirit,  which  was 
sustained  by  the  higher  knowledge,  and.  therefore,  that 
what  common  opinion  held  to  be  "  a  shame  "  was  to  the 
spiritual  man  "  a  glory,"  showing  that  the  most  sensual 
and  reckless  profligacy  was  to  him  a  thing  absolutely 
trivial  and  indifferent.  It  is  obvious  that  these  two 
rival  theories  would  take  up,  and  invest  with  a  philo- 
sophical completeness,  the  ordinary  tendencies  repre- 
sented by  Pharisaism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  Anti- 
nomianism  on  the  other.  Possibly  by  the  natural  law 
of  reaction,  the  two  extremes  might  often  meet,  in  the 
same  system,  and  even  in  the  same  individual. 

A  glance  at  these  subjects  will  again  show  that 
Gnosticism,  as  in  its  principles,  so  in  its  chief  problems, 
belongs  to  all  times,  and  is  essentially  independent 
both  of  Judaism  and  Christianity.  It  was  most 
natural  that  the  claim  of  these  problems  to  attention 
should  assert  itself  in  the  later  periods  of  the  first 
centur}',  even  in  reaction  against  the  prosaic  and  prac- 
tical systems  of  Stoicism  and  Epicureanism,  then  domi- 
nant in  ordinary  Roman  thought,  and,  however  opposed  to 
each  other,  at  least  united  in  a  contemptuous  discourag'*- 
ment  of  all  abstract  speculation,  especially  in  things 
di\'ino.  No  home  could  be  more  congenial  to  such 
inquiries  than  the  classic  soil  of  philosophic  siieculatiou 
in  Ephesus  and  the  other  cities  of  Asia,  or  the  leam<'d 
atmosphere  of  eclecticism  which  pervaded  the  Alexan- 
drine school. 


121 


COLOSSIANS. 


(31  Bnt  there  were,  as  has  heen  said  ahove,  two 
questious  whieli  presented  tliemselves  to  the  special 
forms  of  Gnosticism  dominant  at  tliis  period,  and  of 
these  tlie  first  was  of  tlie  rehition  of  Gnostic  theories 
to  the  Old  Testament  and  the  Jewish  disiiensation. 

Now,  in  Judaism  there  was,  on  the  one  hand,  much 
to  attract  the  Gnostic.  In  it  lie  found  the  one  great 
living  system  of  Monotheism,  setting  forth  the  absolute 
and  infinite  Godhead  as  the  Eternal  Source  of  being, 
invisible  and  incomprehensible  to  man ;  so  infinitely 
above  all  creatures  that  His  very  Name  was  too  sacred 
to  be  pronounced  by  human  lips.  In  it  he  also  found, 
or  could  easily  develop,  the  doctrine  of  angelic  inter- 
vention, in  the  creation  and  the  guidance  of  nature,  in 
the  intercourse  of  God  with  man,  even  in  the  govern- 
ment of  human  history,  and  the  protection  both  of 
indi\-iduals  and  of  races.  The  peculiar  privilege  of 
a  chosen  people,  easily  represented  as  belonging  to 
them  simply  through  a  higher  knowledge,  and  not  less 
easily  transferred  as  an  inheritance  to  a  spiritual  Israel 
of  the  enlightened  and  perfect,  supplied  the  element  of 
exclusiveness  inherent  in  all  Gnostic  systems ;  and 
all  the  ordinances  of  ritual,  of  tyjjical  sacrifices,  and 
ceremonial  purity,  readily  lent  themselves  to  the  con- 
ception of  a  certain  mystic  consecration  of  the  pri^d- 
leged,  who  might  be  a  "  royal  priesthood,"  a  prophetic 
and  saintly  order,  before  God,  as  distinct  from  "the 
people,  who  knew  not  the  mystic  law,"  and  were 
"  accursed."  Nor  would  he  omit  to  notice  in  the 
Sapiential  books  of  the  Old  Testament — such  as  Job, 
Proverbs,  and  Ecclesiastes — the  exaltation  of  Wisdom, 
as  distinct  from  faith  and  holiness,  to  a  supreme 
place  ;  and  he  would  find  that  round  the  memory  of 
the  Wise  Man  had  grown  up  a  whole  crowd  of  legends 
of  mystic  lore,  of  supernatural  insight,  and  of  an  equally 
supernatural  power  over  the  world  of  angels  and  of 
demons.  So  far,  the  Gnostic  might  find  in  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  freely  handled  after  the  manner  of  Alex- 
andria, much  tiiat  would  give  a  kind  of  backbone  of 
solidity  to  his  vague  and  artificial  speculations. 

On  the  other  hand,  Gnosticism  was  repelled  from  all 
that  element  in  the  Jewish  dispensation  which  is 
ordinarily  called  the  "  Theocracy,"  jjlacing  God  in 
direct  relation  to  the  ordinary  life  of  Israel,  manifest- 
ing Him  in  the  local  sanctity  of  the  Tabernacle  or  the 
Temple,  honouring  Him  with  physical  sacrifice,  setting 
forth  His  will  in  the  clear  and  prosaic  ordinances  of 
the  Law,  dealing  with  all  the  people  as  a  bod}',  and  as  in 
many  points  equal  before  Him.  For  all  this  placed 
the  Infinite  Godhead  in  a  direct,  and,  as  it  seemed  to 
the  Gnostic,  an  unworthy  or  an  impossible  contact,  not 
only  with  man,  but  with  that  common  life,  that  visible 
and  tangible  sphere  of  man's  being,  which  he  utterly 
despised.  To  some  extent  it  could  be  got  rid  of.  as  at 
Alexandria,  by  allegorical  interpretations,  and  by  the 
impositions  on  the  most  prosaic  text  of  mystic  mean- 
ings, kno\vn  only  to  the  initiated,  and  handed  do\vn  in 
secret  "  traditions  of  men."  But  where  these  failed. 
Gnosticism  had  a  more  sweeping  remedy.  It  was  to 
ascril>e  the  whole  .system  literallj-  to  the  "  disposition  of 
angels."  to  attribute  all  that  was  canial  in  Judaism  to 
the  inferior  Daniurgus,  perhaps  imperfectly  minister- 
ing the  will  of  the  Supreme  God,  perhaps  becoming 
himself  the  God  of  the  Jewish  nation  and  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  in  either  case,  giving  a  dispensation  fit 
only  in  itself  for  the  lower  psychical  life,  needing  to  be 
STiblimed  by  the  sjnrittial  into  a  hidden  wisdom,  "  a 
secret  treasure  of  wisdom  and  knowledge."  Hereafter, 
when  the  Demiurgus  came  to  be  considered  as  antago- 
nistic to  the  spiritual  will  of  the  Supreme  God,  this 


conception  (as  in  the  hands,  for  example,  of  Marcion) 
developed  into  an  al)solute  hatred  of  Judaism,  as  a 
system  entirely  carnal,  idolatrous,  antagonistic  to 
spiritual  trutli,  and  to  the  gospel  so  far  as  it  was 
spiritual.  But  for  this,  in  the  first  century,  the  time 
was  not  come.  As  yet,  the  growing  power  of  Gnos- 
ticism treated  Judaism  as  an  ally,  though  perhaps  in 
some  degree  a  subject  ally,  in  the  victorious  advance  of 
its  daring  speculation. 

Now,  it  has  been  shown,  as  with  remarkable  clearness 
by  Dr.  Lightfoot  (in  his  Introduction  to  the  Colossian 
Upistle,  §  2),  that  some  such  alliance  is  actually  trace- 
able in  the  strange  Jewish  brotherhood  of  the  Essenes — 
marked  as  it  was  (by  consent  of  all  authorities)  by  a 
rigid  asceticism,  "  forbidding  to  marry,  and  commanding 
to  abstain  from  meats;  "  by  a  denial  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  as  being  a  mere  hindrance  to  the  spiritual 
condition  of  the  hereafter ;  b}'  an  abstinence  from  all 
sacrifices,  as  involving  polhition,  and  perhaps  as  mere 
carnal  ordinances ;  by  mystic  speculations  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  Godhead,  and  "the  names  of  the  angels," 
and  by  occasional  claim  of  supernatural  powers  of 
magic  ;  by  the  jealous  preservation  of  secret  traditions, 
and  by  a  careful  separation  of  the  initiated  from  the 
mass  of  their  fellow- Israelites. 

The  chosen  home  of  the  Essenes,  of  whom  we  have 
detailed  accounts,  was  in  Palestine,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Dead  Sea.  But  it  is  hardly  likely  that  so  remark- 
able a  movement  should  have  confined  itself  to  any 
single  locality.  Certainly  in  Alexandria,  in  the  tenets 
of  the  sect  of  the  Therapeutce,  and  in  the  teaching  of 
Alexandrian  Judaism,  there  was  much  of  essential 
similarity  to  the  Essenic  system.  Now,  in  close  con- 
nection with  our  Epistle  we  notice  the  presence  in  Asia 
Minor  of  disciples  of  St.  John  Baptist,  adhering,  in- 
deed, to  "  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  but  knowing  nothing 
of  the  "  baptism  of  the  Lord  Jesus  "  (Acts  xix.  1 — 7). 
These  would  come  naturally  from  Palestine,  perhaps 
from  "  the  wilderness  of  Judsea,"  where  John  had  bap- 
tised, near  the  chosen  home  of  Essenism.  We  find, 
moreover,  that  a  great  Alexandrian  teacher  (Apollos), 
also  "knowing  only  the  baptism  of  John,"  had  come 
down  in  the  early  part  of  the  gospel  to  teach  with  sin- 
gular power  at  Ephesus.  That  St.  John  himself,  though 
probably  quite  erroneously,  has  been  claimed  as  an 
Essene  is  well  known.  But  in  any  case  his  ascetic  and 
salutarj'  life,  his  stern  denunciation  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  his  very  baptism  of  repentance,  his  declara- 
tion of  the  nullity  of  mere  sonship  of  Abraham,  would 
certainly  be  congenial  to  the  Essene  mind.  Josephus' 
celebrated  picture  of  his  Essene  teacher  (quoted  by  Dr. 
Lightfoot,  p.  161),  reminds  us,  again  and  again,  though 
with  difference,  of  St.  John  Baptist  himself.  Cer- 
tainly his  disciples,  when  they  had  lost  their  master, 
clinging  to  his  name  in  spite  of  his  own  warning 
of  the  transitoriness  of  his  mission,  might  easily  find 
in  the  Essenic  system  the  rallying  point  which  they 
needed,  in  order  to  preserve  their  distinctive  character. 
Nor  can  we  well  forget  the  "  vagabond  Jews,  exorcists," 
seeking  to  cast  out  evil  .spirits  by  the  mere  charm  of  a 
sacred  Name  of  One  in  whom  they  did  not  believe,  but 
a  Name  which  they,  like  Simon  Magus,  in  Samaria, 
recognised  as  having  in  it  a  supernatural  power  of 
miracle;  and  the  mystic  "books"  of  "curious  arts" 
burnt  publicly  at  Ejdiesus.  The  Essenic  ideas  might 
easily  spread  beyond  the  limits  of  the  strict  Essenic 
brotherhood.  If  once  planted  in  the  prolific  soil  of 
Asia  Minor,  they  could  hardly  fail  to  attain  a  rapid 
development. 

Now,  it  is  certainly  with  a  form  of  Judaeo-Gnos- 
122 


COLOSSIANS. 


ticism  that  St.  Paul  has  to  deal  in  his  Colossian 
Epistle,  and  one,  moreover,  whicli  bears  some  marked 
similarities  to  tlie  Essenic  type  of  thought.  On  the 
one  liand,  he  denounces  the  enforcement  of  tlie  Jewisli 
festivals  (diap.  ii.  16),  and  probably  of  the  rite  of  cir- 
cumcision (chap.  ii.  11)  :  on  the  other,  he  warns 
against  the  "  traditions  of  men  "  (chap.  ii.  8),  containing 
"a  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,"  and  alludes  signifi- 
cantly to  "  the  treasure,  the  hidden  treasure  of  wisdom 
and  knowledge."  He  describes,  again,  a  "worship  of 
angels,"  and  an  "  intrusion  into  the  things  not  seen,"  at 
least  by  the  ordinary  eye  (chap.  ii.  18,  where  see  Note) ; 
and  a  rigid  asceticism  going  beyond  Pharisaic  observance 
of  the  Law,  and  crying  out  at  every  point,  "  Touch  not, 
taste  not,  handle  not"  (chap.  ii.  21).  Indirectly,  but 
very  emphatically,  he  protests  against  exclusive  pre- 
tensions, and  would  present  "  every  man  as  perfect 
before  Christ  "  (chap.  i.  22,  28).  All  these  features 
belong  unequivocally  to  Gnosticism,  but  to  Gnosticism 
in  its  early  stages,  while  still  allied  to  Judaism,  before  it 
had  attained  to  the  independent  luxuriance  of  later 
days.  Nothing,  for  instance,  is  more  striking  than  the 
refei'once  to  angelic  natures,  "  thrones,  dominions,  prin- 
cipalities, and  powers,"  as  intervening  between  man  and 
God,  and  the  want  of  any  vestige  of  allusion  to  the 
^ons  of  the  later  Gnosticism,  even  such  as  may  perhaps 
be  traced  in  the  "  oppositions  "  and  "  genealogies  "  of 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  (1  Tim.  i.  4;  vi.  20;  Tit.  iii.  9). 
St.  Paul  uses  the  word  ^on  again  and  again  (see  Eph. 
i.  21;  ii.  2,  7;  iii.  9,  11,  21;  Phil.  iv.  20;  Col.  i.  26), 
but  always  in  its  proper  sense  of  "  age,"  without  a 
shadow  of  the  strange  haK-personification  of  the  later 
Gnostic  use.  Throughout  there  is  a  distinct  appro- 
priateness to  the  time  of  the  imprisonment  at  Rome, 
and  just  that  union  of  similarity  and  dissimilarity 
to  the  later  growths  of  Gnosticism  which  might  be 
expected  at  this  early  date. 

(4)  But  still  more  important  and  interesting  is  the 
question  of  the  relation  of  Gnosticism  to  Christianity 
indicated  by  the  Colossian  Epistle.  In  the  full-grown 
development  of  Gnosticism  there  were  evidently  two 
phases  of  this  relation.  In  some  cases  the  Gnostic 
theor)%as  a  whole,  stands  out  independent  of  Christianity, 
simply  weaving  some  ideas  derived  from  the  gospel 
into  the  complexity  of  its  comprehensive  system. 
Such  seems  to  have  been,  for  example,  the  attitude 
towards  Christianity  of  Basilides  and  Valentinus.  In 
otlier  cases,  of  which  Marcion  may  be  taken  as  a  type, 
it  identified  itself  in  the  main  with  Christianity,  striA'- 
ing  to  mould  it  by  free  handling  to  its  own  purpose,  and 
appealed  to  tlie  Christian  Scriptures,  expurgated  and 
falsified  in  its  own  peculiar  sense.  Moreover,  in  the 
same  advanced  stages  Christianity  was  clearly  distin- 
guished by  it  from  Judaism  ;  "  the  Christ  "  was  inde- 
pendent of  the  Demiurgus,  the  supposed  author  of  the 
Jewish  dispensation,  and  stood  in  far  closer  union  with 
the  Supreme  Deity.  Sometimes,  as  again  notably  in 
the  system  of  Marcion,  Christianity  was  charactorisod 
in  a  series  of  antitheses,  as  opposed  to  Judaism,  and  the 
salvation  of  the  Christ  was  represented  as  a  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  the  God  of  the  Jew.  But  a  glance 
at  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  will  show  that  of  these 
things  tliere  is  as  yet  no  trace.  Christianity  had 
already  broken  through  the  narrow  limits  of  Jewish 
legalism ;  the  struggle  marked  in  the  Galatian  and 
Roman  Epistles  liad  terminated  in  the  comi)lf'te  victory 
of  the  freedom  of  the  gospel.  But,  just  as  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  shows  that  there  was  still  need  to  assert 
the  transitoriness  of  the  Je^vish  Ritual,  Priesthood,  and 
Sacrifice,  so  in   this   Eiiistle  we  observe  tkat  Jewish 


mysticism  still  claimed  some  dominion  over  the  infant 
Church.  Not  till  the  hand  of  Providence  had  cut  the 
knot  of  entanglement  by  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
various  manifestations  of  the  bitter  hostility  of  the  Jews 
towards  Christianity,  was  the  dissociation  complete. 

In  the  eyes  of  Gnostic  speculation  of  the  East, 
Christianity  probably  as  yet  .showed  itself  only  as  a 
sublimated  and  spiiitualised  Judaism,  still  presenting 
all  the  features  which  had  excited  sympathy,  and  simply 
crowning  the  hierarchy  of  angels  by  the  manifestation 
of  Him,  who  was  emphatically  "  the  Angel  of  the 
Lord ; "  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  eliminated  the 
narrowness  of  legalism,  the  carnality  of  ritual,  and 
the  close  connection  of  the  divine  kingdom  with 
common-place  political  and  social  life,  which  in  Judaism 
had  been  an  oifence.  Hence,  in  the  phase  already 
described  at  Colossse,  without  throwing  off  its  connec- 
tion with  Judaism,  Gnosticism  eagerly  sought  to  lay 
hold  of  the  new  religion,  to  accept  it  in  all  its  simplicity 
for  the  vulgar,  and  to  mysticise  it  for  the  perfect  into  a 
higher  knowledge.  The  error  which  vexed  the  Church 
at  Colossse  appears  still  to  approach  it  from  witliout, 
much  as  the  earlier  Judaism  had  approached  the 
Churches  of  Antioch  or  Galatia.  Perhaps  St.  Paul's 
foreboding  words  at  Miletus  had  been  justified  by  the 
rise  "  among  their  own  selves  of  men  speaking  perverse 
things  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them  ;  "  but  the  body 
of  the  Church  seems  still  untouched,  and  is  bidden  to 
beware  lest  any  man  should  "spoil"  them,  "judge" 
them,  or  "beguile  them  of  their  reward,"  by  drawing 
them  to  this  new  phase  of  error. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Neander  that  Cerinthus, 
born  at  Alexandria,  and  certainly  in  the  days  of 
St.  John  at  Ephesus  a  propagator  of  his  doctrine  in  tho 
Churches  of  Asia  Minor,  is  the  Gnostic,  whose  system 
is  a  link  between  Judaism  and  Gnosticism  proi>or. 
Certainly  what  can  be  traced  as  to  his  speculations 
on  the  function  of  the  Angels,  or  of  one  Supreme 
Angel,  in  the  Creation  of  the  world  and  in  the  giving 
of  the  Mosaic  laws,  agrees  well  enough  with  the  indi- 
cations of  the  Colossian  heresy.  But  of  the  distinctive 
points  of  his  treatment  of  Christ^ — namely,  his  con- 
ception that  the  Demiurgus  was  ignorant  of  the  will  of 
the  Supreme  Deity,  which  was  revealed  by  the  Christ ; 
his  distinction  between  the  man  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and 
"  the  Christ,"  descending  upon  Him  in  the  form  of  the 
dove  at  His  baptism,  and  leaving  Him  before  the  Pas- 
sion— wo  find  no  trace  in  the  Colossian  Epistle.  The 
direct  warnings  of  St.  Paul  refer  only  to  tlie  errors  of 
the  Judseo- Gnosticism.  It  is  rather  by  the  declaration 
of  the  positive  truth  of  the  true  Godhead  of  tlie  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  His  creative  fimction.  His  infinite  exalta- 
tion above  all  principality  and  power,  and  above  all,  the 
weighty  declaration  that  in  Him  "  all  tlie  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  dwells  bodily,"  thnt.  as  in  a  prophetic 
jealousy,  he  guards  against  the  developments  oi  Gnostic 
heresy  in  the  future.  We  trace  here  a  distinction  from 
the  more  direct  warnings  even  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles — 
against  the  teaching  in  the  Church  of  "  other  doctrines," 
of  "  fables  and  endless  genealogies  "  of  Gnostic  emana- 
tion ;  the  explaining  away  of  the  future  resurrection; 
the  "seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  demons" — i.e., 
of  beings  intermediate  between  God  and  man;  wliich 
were  united  with  the  a.sceticism  "forbidding  to  niarrA*, 
and  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats";  "the  ques- 
tions and  strifes  of  words,"  and  the  "oppositions" 
(Gnostic  antitheses)  "of  knowledge  falsely  so  called"; 
the  aposta.sy  "of  all  which  are  in  Asia."  and  the  heresy 
"  eating  like  a  canker "  into  the  very  lieart  of  tho 
'•  Church,  which  will  no  longer  "  endure  sound  doctrine." 
23 


COLOSSIANS. 


(1  Tim.  i.  3,  4;  iv.  1-3;  vi.  4,  20;  2  Tim.  ii.  17; 
iv.  3).  There  is  a  still  more  marked  distiuctiou 
from  the  explicit  warnings  of  St.  John,  protesting 
empliatieally  against  the  distinctive  assertion  of 
Gnostic  heresy,  tiiat  "Jesus  Christ  liad  not  come  in 
the  Hesh,"  and  dwelling  on  the  Incarnation  of  "  the 
Word  of  Life,"  the  Son,  "  to  have  wiiom  is  to  have  the 
Father,"  in  those  weighty  declarations,  every  word  of 
which  seems  charged  with  reference  to  Gnostic  error. 
Everything  shows  that  the  heresy  noted  at  Colossse 
belongs  to  an  earlier  stage  than  even  the  Gnosticism  of 
Ceriuthus.  In  contemplating  it,  we  see  the  last  expiring 
struggle  of  Judaism,  and  can  just  trace,  inextricably 
entwined  with  it,  the  yet  deadlier  error,  which  was  here- 


after to  separate  from  it,  and  even  to  trample  on  it,  and 
to  advance  over  its  dead  body  to  the  attack  on  the 
living  energy  of  Christianity. 

These  considerations  may  suffice  to  mark  with  tole- 
rable clearness  the  relation  of  the  Epistle  to  Gnosticism. 
They  certainly  appear  to  show  how  entirely  erroneous 
and  inconsistent  with  the  facts  of  the  case  is  the  idea, 
so  confidently  advanced,  that  the  Epistle  indicates  a 
knowledge  of  full-grown  Gnosticism  fatal  to  its  Apos- 
tolic origin.  But  they  have  far  greater  value,  as 
enabling  us  better  to  understand  its  deeply  interesting 
picture  of  the  development,  alike  of  Christian  truth, 
and  of  the  heresy,  destined  hereafter  to  assail  or  under- 
mine it,  in  the  closing  years  of  the  ministry  of  St.  Paul. 


EXCURSUS    B:    THE    APOCRYPHAL    EPISTLE    TO    THE    LAODICEANS. 


Tlie  translation  of  this  Epistle  here  given  is  taken 
from  the  Latin  (in  which  alone  it  is  found),  quoted 
by  Dr.  Lightfoot  in  the  Appendix  to  his  edition  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossiaus,  with  a  coujectiu'al  ren- 
dering back  into  the  Greek  (which  he  thinks  may  huve 
been  the  original)  and  two  old  English  versions  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  He  also  giA^es  a  full  description 
of  the  various  Latin  MSS.,  from  which  it  appears 
that  the  earliest  (the  Codex  Fiddensis)  is  a  Vulgate 
New  Testament  of  A.D.  546,  in  which  the  Epistle 
occurs  between  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  and 
the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy.  A  glance  at  it  will 
show  that  it  is  little  more  than  a  tame  compilation  of 
phrases,  which,  however,  are  taken  not  from  the 
Ephesiaus  or  Colossians,  liut  mostly  from  the  Philip- 
pians,  and  that  it  has  no  bias  or  evidence  of  distinctive 
purpose  whether  for  good  or  for  evil.  It  certainly  is  not 
the  E))istle  spoken  of  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment,  as 
"  in  Marcionis  hert  sim  conficta."  Its  very  simplicity 
induces  a  charitable  hope  that  originally  it  may  have 
been  only  "  a  pious  imagination,"  made  without  idea 
of  forgery,  which  subsequently  was  accepted  as  claim- 
ing to  be  a  genuine  Epistle  of  St.  Paul. 

It  runs  thus  : — 

"  Paul  an  Apostle,  not  of  men.  nor  through  man,  but 
through  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  brethren  who  are  in  Lao- 
dicea;  grace  be  unto  you  and  peace,  from  God  our 
Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  I  thank  Christ  in  all  my  supplications  that  ye  are 
abiding  in  Him,  and  continuing  steadfast  in  His  works, 
waiting  for  the  promise  even  unto  the  Day  of  Judg- 


ment. Neither  let  the  vain  words  of  some  who  teach 
beguile  you,  that  they  should  turn  you  away  from  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  which  was  preached  unto  you  by 
me.  And  now  shall  God  bi-ing  it  to  pass  that  they 
which  are  from  me  be  serving  to  the  furthei-ance  of  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  and  doing  all  goocbiess  in  the 
works  of  salvation  (and)  of  eternal  life. 

"  And  now  my  bonds  which  I  suffer  in  Christ  are 
manifest ;  in  which  I  am  glad  and  rejoice ;  and  this 
shall  turn  to  my  everlasting  salvation,  which  also  itself 
is  wi'ought  by  your  prayers,  and  the  supply  of  tlie  Holy 
Ghost,  whether  it  be  by  life  or  by  death.  For  to  me 
both  to  live  in  Christ  and  to  die  is  joy ;  and  His  mercy 
shall  work  out  the  same  thing  in  you,  that  ye  may  have 
the  same  love,  and  be  of  one  mind. 

"  Therefore,  my  dearly  beloved,  as  ye  heard  in  my 
presence  with  you,  so  hold  fast  and  work  in  the  fear  of 
God,  and  it  shall  be  to  you  unto  everlasting  life.  For 
it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you.  And  do  without 
drawing  back,  whatsoever  ye  do. 

"  Finally,  my  dearly  beloved,  rejoice  in  Christ,  and 
beware  of  those  who  are  greedy  of  filthy  lucre.  Let  all 
your  petitions  be  made  known  unto  God,  and  be  stead- 
fast in  the  mind  of  Christ.  Whatsoever  things  are 
sound,  and  true,  and  pure,  and  righteous,  and  lovely, 
do ;  and  what  ye  have  heard  and  received  keep  in  your 
heart.     And  peace  shall  be  with  you. 

"  The  saints  salute  you.  The  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  be  with  your  spirit.  Cause  this  Epistle  to  be 
read  to  the  Colossians,  and  that  the  Letter  of  the 
Colossians  be  read  also  to  you." 


124 


THE    EPISTLES    OP    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

THESSALONIANS. 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

THESSALONIANS. 


In  the  earlier  part  of  the  year  52,  St.  Paul,  in  the 
course  of  his  second  journey,  arrived  at  Thessalonica, 
the  modern  Saloniki — then,  as  now,  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  important  cities  of  the  Levant.  The  wounds 
which  the  converted  gaoler  of  Philippi  and  St.  Lydia 
had  tended  (Acts  xvi.  33,  4U)  can  hardly  have  been 
healed,  when  the  Apostles  Paul,  Silas  or  Silvauus,  and 
Timothy,*  journeying  rapidly  through  Amphipolis  and 
ApoUonia,  came  to  found  their  second  European  Church 
(1  Thess.  ii.  2).  The  Jews  (who  to  this  day  form,  it  is 
believed,  a  moiety  of  the  population  of  Salotiiki)  were 
massed  there  in  great  numbers,  and  had  there  "  their 
synagogue," — a  kind  of  metropolitan  church,  contrasted 
with  the  mere  chapels  or  "  prayer-houses  "  of  Philipjii 
and  other  Macedonian  towns.  (See  Note  on  Acts  xvii. 
1.)  To  this  sj'nagogue  St.  Paul  repaired,  and  for  "  three 
Sabbath-days  "  reasoned,  as  usual,  with  the  Jews  (1)  on 
the  scriptural  necessity  for  a  suffering  Messiah  ;  (2)  for 
a  resurrection  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  (3)  on  the  claim  of 
Jesus  to  the  Messiahship.  We  are  not  informed  how 
long  the  missionaries  stayed  at  Thessalonica  :  probably 
a  good  deal  more  than  the  tlii-ee  weeks  during  which 
the  preaching  at  the  synagogue  continued. t  Their 
converts  from  among  the  Jews  of  the  synagogue  were 
few,  though  the  proselytes  and  the  ladies  in  connection 
with  it  joined  tliem  in  large  numbers. 

We  can  di-aw  from  the  Epistles,  in  connection  with 
the  Acts,  a  clear  picture  of  the  Apostles'  manner  of 
life  and  preaching  at  Thessalonica.  They  lodged  in  the 
house  of  a  believing  Jew  of  the  name  of  Joshua,  or 
(in  the  Grsecised  form)  Jason  (Acts  xvii.  5  ;  Rom.  xvi. 
21),  but  accepted  nothing  from  him  but  their  lodging. 
To  none  of  the  Thessalonians  would  they  be  indebted 
(1  Thess.  ii.  9;  2  Tliess.  iii.  8),  but  maintained  them- 
selves, partly  by  the  contributions  t^vice  forwarded  to 
them  from  Philippi  (Phil.  iv.  16),  but  chiefly  by  hard 
manual  labour,  wliioh  occupied  not  the  day  only  but 
extended  far  into  the  niglit  to  make  up  for  daylight 
hours  devoted  to  preaching.  They  were  determined  to 
bo  model  operatives  (2  Thess.  iii.  9),  and  not  merely 
eloquent  preachers.  And  this  was  not  all ;  besides  the 
work  of  public  preaching  and  teaching,  the  Apostles 


*  Timothy's  presence  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts,  but 
seems  implied  hy  cliaps.  xvi.  3,  4  ;  xvii.  It,  and  made  absohitely 
certain  Vjy  the  Kpistle,  where  the  "we"  always  includes  him. 
Howson,  nevertheless,  concludes  from  Phil.  ii.  22  that  he  had 
been  left  behind  at  Philippi. 

t  Several  facts  indicate  this :  The  pjood  organisation  of 
the  Thessalonian  Church  (though  this  might  be  partly  owing 
to  St.  Timothy's  subserjuent  visit)  ;  the  fact  that  St.  Paid  had 
time  to  get  regular  artisan's  work  ;  the  repeated  contributions 
from  Piiilippi  that  reached  him  there  (Phd.  iv.  16);  the  way  in 
which  St.  Paul  speaks  of  his  habitual  conduct  among  them, 
and  of  what  he  Used  to  say  "  (e.g.,  1  Thess.  ii.  9, 11 ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  5). 


followed  their  usual  method  of  dealing  individually 
with  the  converts'  souls.  The  Thessalonian  Christians — 
"  every  one  "  in  his  turn — thus  received  the  encourage- 
ments and  warnings  of  their  ghostly  fathers  (1  Tliess. 
ii.  11).  If  the  presbyters  whom  they  left  to  carry  on 
this  work  of  admonition  (see  Notes  on  1  Thess.  v.  12, 
Ii)  continued  it  with  the  Apostles'  zeal,  they  might 
indeed  well  be  described  as  "  labouring  among  them." 
The  preaching  no  doubt  went  on,  not  only  on  the 
Sabbaths,  but  on  the  week-days;  for  though  tlie  Acts 
tell  us  nothing  of  evangelistic  efforts  among  the 
Gentiles,  except  among  the  "  devout "  (i.e.,  the  pro- 
selytes), the  whole  tone  of  the  Epistles  proves 
that  the  Thessalonian  Church  was  almost  wholly 
Gentile.  Besides  which,  the  account  in  the  Acts 
of  the  subjects  of  the  three  sermons  preached  on  the 
three  successive  Sabbaths  does  not  by  any  means 
include  all  that  we  find  mentioned  as  the  staple  of  the 
Apostles'  preaching  there.  Thus,  it  is  clear  that  they 
had  spoken  strongly  of  the  regal  aspect  of  our  Lord's 
work.  The  charge  on  which  they  were  arraigned  was 
the  charge  of  proclaiming  "  another  king "  (or  em- 
peror, for  the  word  is  the  same  in  Greek),  "  one 
Jesus."  It  was,  in  fact,  the  proclamation  of  what  is 
sj)ecially  distinguished  as  the  "  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom" (Matt.  iv.  23;  ix.  35;  xiii.  19;  xxiv.  14;  Luke 
viii.  1,  Greek  ;  xvi.  16),  that  is,  not  only  the  good  news 
of  Jesus  Christ's  complete  empire  over  the  individual 
soul,  but  the  good  news  that  He  has  organised  us  all 
into  a  well-disciplined  Church  (Rev.  1.  6,  Greek ;  comp. 
John  xi.  52),  which  was  to  form  an  imperium  in  im- 
perio  within  the  Roman  dominions.  And  accordingly 
we  find  the  Thessalonians  reminded  tliat  one  of  the 
best  blessings  which  God  had  bestowed  upon  them  was 
His  calling  them  into  "  His  kingdom  "  (1  Thess.  ii.  12), 
and  encouraged  by  the  thought  of  God's  counting 
them  "  worthv  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  for  which  they 
suffered  "  (2  'Thess.  i.  5).  Thr  full  development  of 
this  "  kingdom,"  at  the  King's  return,  was  indeed 
very  probably  the  main  subject  of  the  preaching.  On 
this  point  the  Thessalonians  ajjpear  to  have  had  the 
most  accurate  iuformatiou  (1  Thess.  v.  2).  St.  Paul 
assumes  that  they  thoroughly  believed  the  doctrine 
(1  Thess.  iv.  14).  They  not  only  knew  the  very  form 
in  wliich  our  Lord  Himself  had  taught  (see  Note  on 
1  Thess.  V.  2)  the  impossibility  of  forecasting  the  date, 
but  they  had  been  told  again  and  again  (2  Thess.  ii.  5) 
what  changes  must  take  place  before  the  Advent  of  the 
kingdom  was  to  be  expected.  At  every  turn  in  the 
Epistle  it  is  mentioned.  And  the  moral  laws  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  had  been  taught  in  the  most  explicit 
manner  (1  Thess.  ii.  11),  not  only  with  regard  to  sins 
which  the  Gentile  world  permitted  freely  1,1  Thess.  iv. 


127 


THESSALOXIANS. 


1.  2),  but  also  with  rcfifard  to  strenuous  industry 
(2  Thess.  iii.  6,  10).  And  as  in  Galatia  (Acts  xiv.  22) 
so  here,  the  suiferiM<,'s  that  fenced  the  entrance  of 
that  kinj^doni  were  fully  prophesied  il  Thess.  iii.  3,  4). 

This  teaching,  delivered  with  all  the  tenderness  of  a 
nursing  mother,  and  all  the  authority  of  a  father,  and 
all  the  devotion  of  a  friend  (1  Thess.  ii.  7,  8,  11),  yet 
sternly  and  unHatteringly  (1  Thess.  ii.  5),  told  upon  the 
Thessalonians  with  great  effect.  The  Apostles  them- 
selves were  in  the  most  exalted  and  confident  frame  of 
mind  (1  Thess.  i.  5),  and  their  hearers,  in  spite  of  many 
difficulties  (1  Thess.  i.  0;  ii.  2,  14),  received  with  en- 
thusiasm the  instruction  as  proceeding  from  God  and 
not  from  man  (1  Thess.  ii.  13).  The  difficulties,  how- 
ever, soon  increased.  The  Jews  gi-ew  jealous  of  the 
work  going  on  among  the  Gentiles,  especially  among 
their  proselytes  (Acts  xvii.  5),  and  vehemently  set 
themselves  to  forbid  such  preaching  (1  Thess.  ii.  16). 
They  stiiTed  up  the  abandoned  Greeks  who  idled  in  the 
market-place  to  make  a  riot  against  these  disturbers  of 
the  world.  The  Greeks,  with  the  passionate  ser\iiity 
which  usually  marked  what  was  called  under  the 
empire  a  free  Greek  town,*  took  up  eagerly  the  cry 
that  to  preach  Jesus  as  emperor  was  treason  to 
Claudius,  and  began  a  prosecution  of  Jason  before  the 
politarchs.  The  prosecution  only  resulted  in  Jason's 
being  bound  over  to  keep  the  peace  ;  but  the  irritation 
was  so  great  that  it  was  judged  expedient  for  the 
Ajiostlos  to  leave  the  city  and  proceed  southward. 

From  Tliessalonica  St.  Paul  travelled  to  Bercea,  from 
Beroea  to  Athens,  and  from  Athens  to  Corinth.  But 
though  he  had  quitted  Thossalonica.  he  had  not  for- 
gotten his  infant  Church,  and  had  not  intended  to  be 
absent  from  it  long.  Twice  at  least  (1  Thess.  ii.  18)  he 
had  seriously  endeavoured  to  make  his  way  back,  "  but 
Satan  hindered  "  him.  The  persecution  of  the  Church 
had  by  no  means  been  appeased  (as  they  had  hoped)  by 
the  expulsion  (see  Note  on  1  Thess.  ii.  15)  of  the  mis- 
sionaries;  and  St.  Paul  dreaded  lest  the  temptation 
should  have  been  too  fiery  for  Christians  so  imperfectly 
taught  and  organised  ( 1  Thess.  iii.  10).  In  his  extreme 
agony  of  mind  for  them,  unable  himself  to  travel  north- 
ward, he  determined,  at  the  cost  of  utter  loneliness  in 
a  strange  and  most  unsympathising  town  (Acts  xvii.  16; 
1  Thess.  iii.  1).  to  send  St.  Timothy  to  see  how  they 
fared,  and  to  help  them.  To  St.  Paid's  great  relief,  the 
younger  Apostle  brought  back,  on  the  whole,  an  ex- 
cellent report.  True,  there  were  several  most  grave 
faults  to  be  found  with  the  Thessalonian  Church,  which 
will  be  best  understood  from  the  table  of  the  Epistle's 
contents,  but  the  practical  St.  Paul  had  evidently  not 
expected  even  so  much  progress  as  luid  been  made, 
and  was  overjoyed  (1  Thess.  iii.  8).  And  this  Epistle 
— the  earliest  of  all  that  are  preserved  of  its  author, 
perhaps  the  earliest  book  of  the  New  Testament- 
contains  St.  Paul's  comments  on  Timothy's  report. 

The  question  now  occurs.  At  what  point  of  the  nar- 
rative in  the  Acts  is  the  writing  of  this  Epistle  to  be 
placed  ?  Was  it  wTitten  at  Athens,  or  at  Corinth  ? 
Almost  all  critics  agree  that  it  was  written  at  Corinth.f 


The  city  of  Thessalonica  had  been  made  a  libera  civitas 
because  of  the  support  it  had  given  in  the  civil  wars  to  the 
cause  of  Octavian  and  Anthony.  Such  cities  were  e.\empt  from 
the  interference  of  the  provincial  government,  and  had  their 
own  forms  of  administration.  Thessalonica  had  her  popular 
assembly,  and  for  siipretne  officers  certain  niatristrates  called 
politarchs— a  name  elsewhere  unknown.  On  the  testimony 
given  by  this  word  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  Acts,  see  Note  on 
Acts  xvii.  8. 

t  The  subscription  at  the  end  of  the  Epistle  has  no  weierht 
whatever,  not  representing  even  a  tradition,  but  being  merely 
an  \mcritical  inierence  from  chap.  iii.  1.    The  only  way  in 


The  question  will  be  found  discussed  in  the  Notes,  but 
it  may  be  here  stated  that  the  difficulty  consists  in 
identifying  the  return  of  St.  Timothy  with  his  report 
(1  Thess.  iii.  6j,  with  the  coming  of  Silas  and  Timotheus 
in  Acts  xviii.  5.  The  narrative  of  the  Acts  seems,  at 
first  sight,  to  exclude  the  supposition  that  Silas  or 
Timothy  had  paid  a  visit  to  St.  Paul  between  the  time 
of  his  leaving  Beroea  and  the  time  for  their  rejoining 
him  at  Corinth ;  while  the  words  of  1  Thess.  iii.  1 — 5 
seem  as  urgently  to  require  that  Timothy  at  all  events 
should  have  been  with  St.  Paul  at  Athens.  But  ou 
closer  inspection,  the  Acts  prove  rather  to  favour  this 
supposition  ;  they  tell  us  that  St.  Paul  sent  a  peremp- 
tory and  immediate  summons  to  his  two  colleagues 
whom  he  had  left  in  Macedonia  (xWi.  15),  which  sum- 
mons they  probably  obeyed,  and  if  so,  would  no  doubt 
reach  him  long  before  the  meeting  at  Corinth  mentioned 
in  Acts  x\'iii.  5 ;  besides  which,  the  very  words, 
"  while  Paul  waited  for  them  at  Athens,"  seem  to 
imply  that  they  ccune  to  that  city.  A  few  other  points 
may  be  mentioned  which  help  to  fix  the  date.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  letter  cannot  be  placed  later  than  the  de- 
parture from  Corinth,  for  we  never  read  of  St.  Silas 
being  with  St.  Paul  after  that  time.  For  the  same 
reason  it  must  have  been  written  some  ivhile  before  the 
departure  from  Corinth,  as  the  Second  Epistle  (which 
equally  bears  Silvauus'  name)  was  also  written  thence. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  placed  too  early. 
For  (1)  the  Thessalonian  Church  had  had  time  to  extend 
its  missionary  zeal  over  all  Macedonia,  and  indeed  over 
a'l  Greece;  (2)  the  Jewish  persecutions  had  had  time 
to  gain  crushing  force  and  consistency  ;  (3)  errors  and 
disorders  had  had  time  to  spoil  the  faitli  and  morals  of 
the  community ;  (4)  at  any  rate,  a  few  of  the  believers 
had  fallen  asleep,  which,  considering  the  probable 
numbers  and  nature  of  the  members  of  that  young 
Church,  requires  a  probable  lapse  of  some  months. 

The  contents  of  the  Epistle  bear  every  sign  of  an 
early  date.  None  of  the  great  doctrines  wJiich  are 
considered  specially  Pauline  are  touched  upon  in  it, 
such  as  "  faith,"  in  its  special  sense,  or  "  justification." 
There  is  no  Judaic  legalism  to  oppose,  as  in  Galatians ; 
St.  Paul  '■  can  still  point  to  them  " — the  churches  of 
Judaea — "  as  examples  to  his  converts  at  Thessalonica  " 
(chap.  ii.  14).  There  is  no  Gnosticism  to  confront,  as  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  or  to  St.  Timothy.  Again, 
the  great  prominence  given  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Advent  seems  an  indication  of  what  St.  Paul  calls 
"  the  beginning  of  the  gospel "  (Phil.  iv.  15).  The 
earliest  gospel  must  needs  consist  in  teaching  that 
Christ  was  alive  from  the  dead,  and  giving  each 
Christian  a  vital  interest  in  His  present  life,  and  tliis 
cannot  be  effected  without  much  preaching  of  the 
Advent. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  Thessalonian 
Church  consisted  almost  wholly  of  Gentiles.  This 
may  bo  easily  seen  from  the  Epistle.  There  are  no 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament,  nor  arguments 
founded  upon  it.     The  name  of  Satan  (1  Thess.  ii.  18) 


which  any  case  can  be  made  out  for  the  Athenian  date  is  to 
suppose  that  the  past  tenses  in  iii.  1,  2.  5,  are  what  is  called  in 
Greek  the  epistolary  aorist.  equivalent  to  our  present,  as  e.g., 
where  St.  Jude  (verse  .3)  says,  "I  gave  all  diligence,"  "it  was 
needful."  or  St  John  (1  John  ii.  14),  "I  have  written,"  literally, 
I  icrotr.  Thus  it  would  mean  that  Timothv  has  just  obeyed  St. 
Paul's  hasty  summons,  and  arrived  at  Athens  by  way  of  Thes- 
salonica, as  (from  Bernea)  he  naturally  might.  "  Being  no 
longer  able  to  forbear,  I  am  determined  to  be  left  at  Athens 
alone,  and  I  send  Timothy :  I  send  to  know  your  faith,  lest 
through  the  tempter's  temptation  of  you  our  labour  should 
prove  in  vain."  The  following  verse  will  then  mean—"  Not 
that  I  seriously  distrust  you ;  for  the  other  day  when  Timotheus 
came,"  &c. 


128 


I.     THESSALONIAXS. 


is  the  only  approach  to  a  reference  to  Scriptural 
kuowledfi^e.  The  earliest  revelation  \vith  which  the 
Church  is  supposed  to  be  acquainted,  and  wliich 
forms  the  canonical  standard  of  reference,  is  the  tradi- 
tion which  the  Thessaloniaus  have  received  from  their 
founders  by  word  of  mouth  (2  Tliess.  ii.  5).  The 
Tliessalonians  are  never  credited  with  any  experience 
like  "  turning  from  dead  works,"  but,  on  the  contrary, 
tliey  had  "  turned  to  God  from  idols  "  (1  Thess.  i.  9). 
The  fierce  and  bitter  invective  against  the  Jews  is  far 
different  in  its  language  from  what  it  would  have  been 
had  any  large  proportion  of  the  Church  been  but 
neophytes  from  Judaism ;  and,  indeed,  the  Jews  are 
clearly  distinguished  from  "  your  own  countrymen " 
(cluip.  ii.  li).  The  difficulty  mth  which  the  young 
Church  accepted  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  also 
points  in  that  direction,  as  well  as  the  dulness  of  con- 
science with  regard  to  the  sinfulness  of  fornication 
(chap.  iv.  5). 

The  Epistle,  which  is  entirely  practical  throughout, 
divides  itself  more  clearly  into  its  component  sections 
than  perhaps  any  other  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles.  There 
are  two  main  portions.  The  first  (chaps,  i.,  ii.,  iii.) 
is  narrative  and  personal,  designed  to  attach  the 
Thessaloniaus  more  closely  to  the  writers'  persons  by 
the  ties  of  common  memories,  of  imparted  informa- 
tion, and  of  sympathy  over  the  news  which  had  been 
brought  from  Tliessalonica.  Attention  having  been 
thus  secured,  the  two  remaining  chapters  are  occupied 
with  instructions  upon  special  points  in  wliich  the 
Church  was  deficient.  The  contents  (after  the  saluta- 
tion) may  be  tabulated  thus  : — 

I.  The  Narrative  Portion  (chajis.  i.  2 — iii.  13). 

A.  Containing    reminiscences    of    the    apostolic 

sojourn  at  Thessalonica  (chaps,  i.  2 — ii. 
16). 

(1)  Thanksgiving   for    the    display   of  God's 

power  and  love  both  in  the  mis- 
sionaries and  in  the  converts  (chap, 
i.  2— 10). 

(2)  Reminder    of    the    missionaries'    conduct 

there  (chap.  ii.  1 — 12). 

(3)  Acknowledgment    of    the     Thessaloniaus' 

hearty  response  (chap.  ii.  13 — 16). 

B.  Containing     an    account     of    the    Apostles' 

(especially  St.  Paul's)  anxieties  and  efforts 
for  the  Thessaloniaus  since  they  left  them 
(chaps,  ii.  17— iii.  10). 

Then  follows  a  prayer  for  them,  which 
connects  the  first  portion  naturally  with 
the  first  subject  of  instruction  in — 


II.  The  Educational  Portion  (chai>s.  i v.  1 — v.  28.) 

(1)  The  necessity  of  abstaining  from  fornica- 

tion (chap.  iv.  1 — 8). 

(2)  The    extension    of    sober    chiu'ch    feeling 

(chap.  iv.  8—12). 

(3)  Discussion    of    certain    points    connected 

with  the  Advent : — 

(a)  The  respective  part  therein  of  the  quick 
and  the  dead  (chap.  iv.  13 — 18). 

(&)  The  uncertainty  of  its  date,  and  con- 
sequent need  of  ^-igi  lance  (chap.  v. 
1-11). 

(4)  Duty  to  the  Presbyters  (chap.  v.  11—13), 

who    are    charged   to   see   that    orderly 
discipline  is  enforced  (chap.  v.  14 — 15). 

(5)  Various   spiritual   directions,  chiefly  with 

regard  to  public  worshij)  ( cliap.  v.  16—28). 
The  genuineness  of  the  Epistle  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  been  ever  seriously  doubted.  Though  there  are 
no  certain  patristic  quotations  from  it,  or  allusions  to 
it,  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  second  century,  it  has 
passed  unchallenged  (even  by  Marcion)  until  the  pre- 
sent century.  Schrader  and  Baur  in  this  century  have 
argued  against  its  Pauline  authorship,  alleging  the 
absence  of  "  Pauline  "  theology,  contradictious  to  the 
account  in  Acts,  marks  of  date  which  they  suppose  to 
be  subsequent  to  the  fall  of  Jenisalem,  &.c.  But  the 
internal  evidence  is  so  convincing  that  even  such  a 
sceptical  critic  as  M.  Kenan  has  no  hesitation  in  ad- 
mitting both  Epistles  to  the  Thessaloniaus  into  his 
second  class  of  Epistles,  which  he  calls  "  Undoubted 
Epistles,  although  some  objections  have  been  made 
to  them,"  and  his  words  are  as  follows :  — "  The 
difficulties  which  certain  moderns  have  raised  against 
them  are  but  those  light  suspicions  which  it  is  the  duty 
of  criticism  to  express  freely,  but  without  being  stopped 
by  them  when  there  are  more  powerful  reasons  to  draw 
one  on.  And  these  three  Epistles  (i.e.,  1  and  2  Thess. 
and  Phil.)  have  a  character  of  authenticity  which 
overbears  every  other  consideration."  The  attack  upon 
the  Epistles  was  i-enewed  in  the  summer  of  1877  by 
Holsten,  in  the  German  Annual  of  Protestant  Theology, 
but  the  present  writer  has  not  seen  the  critique. 

[The  principal  works  which  have  been  made  use  of 
in  commenting  upon  these  two  Epistles  are  the  Com- 
mentaries of  Liinemann  and  his  English  follower 
Ellicott.  of  Hammond,  and  of  "Wordsworth,  together 
with  such  works  as  Kenan's  and  Howson's  accounts  of 
St.  Paul,  and  MS.  notes  from  lectures  of  Professor 
Lightfoot.] 


75 


129 


THE    FIEST    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

THESSALONIAI^S. 


CHAPTER  L— (1)  Paul,  and  Silvanus, 

and  Timotlieus,"  unto  the 

salutaiion.^^'^  church    of   the    Thessalo- 

nians  which  is  in  God  the 

Father  and  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 

Grace  he  unto  you,  and  jjeace,  from  God 

our  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

(2)  \Ye  give  thanks  to  God  always  for 


A.D.  54. 
t  Thess.  1.  1. 


1  Or,  beloved  of  God, 
your  election. 


you  all,  making  mention  of  you  in  our 

praj'ers ;    ^^^   remembering 

without  ceasing  your  work  Tfeksg^7ing 

of    faith,*    and    labour  of  for  the  success 

love,  and  patience  of  hope  ^iS^^^l 

m  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

in  the  sight  of  God  and  our  Father; 

(^^    knowing,    brethren    beloved,^    your 


(1)  "  The  founders  of  the  Church  of  Thessalouica, 
who  have  so  recently  left  it,  greet  the  Church  in  the 
common  Father  in  whom  they  are  united." 

Paid,  and  Silvanus,  and  Time theus.— There 
was  no  need  to  add  "  Apostle  "  to  the  name  of  Paul,  in 
wnting  to  a  Church  with  which  his  relations  were  so 
familiar  and  so  cordial :  it  is  probably  omitted  for  the 
same  reason  in  tlie  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  and  in  that 
to  Philemon.  Some  see  in  the  omission  a  mark  of  the 
early  date  of  the  letter,  before  St.  Paul  had  assumed 
the  title ;  others  think  he  omits  it  in  courtesy  to  his 
companions,  to  whom  it  could  not  be  given.  Both 
theories  are  disproved  by  chap.  ii.  6.  Silas  takes  pre- 
cedence of  Timothy  (comp.  Acts  xra.  14,  15 ;  xviii.  5 ; 
2  Tht'ss.  i.  1)  as  a  man  of  higher  standing.  (See  Acts 
XV.  12.  and  1  Tim.  iv.  12.) 

In  God. — Other  Thessalonians  were  "  in  the  world," 
"  in  darkness,"  "  in  their  sins."  The  distinctive  mark 
of  these  was  that  they  were  re-united  to  the  Father  of 
all  men;  and  more,  i-e-united  in  Christ.  Tlie  words 
following  "  peace "  should  be  struck  out,  not  being 
found  in  the  best  text. 

(2)  ""We  never  set  ourselves  to  prayer  without  re- 
membering your  faithful  activity,  lovmg  laboriousness, 
cheerful  and  persevering  endurance,  and  thanking:  God 
for  it."  i-  5  ' 

We. — All  tliree  are  regarded  as  the  writers,  and  no 
doubt  the  sentiments  of  all  are  expressed,  though  the 
letter  is  St.  Paul's  own  composition.  In  chap.  ii.  18  he 
corrects  himself  for  using  "  we"  where  it  was  only  true 
of  himself.  It  may  be  noticed  that  St.  Paul  never  speaks 
of  himself  alone  in  the  plural  in  any  of  the  other  Epistles. 

To  God. — None  of  the  success  is  due  either  to  the 
preachers  or  to  the  converts. 

Always. — Not  as  meaning  "without  ceasing,"  but 
"  on  every  occasion  that  reminds  us  of  you  ;  "  the  words 
"  in  our  prayers "  specify  the  happy  occasions. 
Christians  like  best  to  be  remembered  then. 

For  you  all. — "  There  is  not  one  of  you  that  we 
know  of  for  whom  wo  cannot  give  thanks  :  the  whole 
church  is  what  it  should  be." 

(3)  Faith  .  .  .  love  .  .  .  hope.— In  this  first  of  his 
writings,  St.  Paul  has  already  fixod  upon  the  three  groat 
abiding  principles  (1  Cor.  xiii.  13)  of  the  Christian  life. 


and  the  forms  in  which  they  mainly  exhibit  themselves. 
The  genitive  in  such  phrases  as  "  work  of  faith,"  etc.,  is 
almost  eqtiivaleut  to  a  very  emphatic  adjective — "  faith- 
ful acti^-ity,"  i.e.,  a  work  characterised  by  faith  and 
prompted  by  faith,  such  as  faith  alone  could  have 
enabled  you  to  accomplisli ;  so  '"  labour  of  love "  is 
similarly  equivalent  to  "  loinng  labour,"  laborious  toil 
undertaken  for  love's  sake,  and  done  in  the  spirit  of 
love ;  and  "  patience  of  hope  "  to  "  hopeful  endurance  of 
trials."  a  steadfast  endurance  which  is  grounded  upon 
and  cheered  by  hope. 

In  our  Lord. — More  correctly,  of.  The  words  in  the 
Greek  go  with  all  three  clauses :  He  is  the  object  of 
the  faith  and  love,  as  well  as  of  the  hope.  This  "  hope 
of  our  Lord  "  includes,  but  is  not  limited  to,  the  hope 
of  His  second  Advent. 

In  the  sight  of  God  goes  closely  with  "  remem- 
bering," and  is  equivalent  to  "in  prayer." 

(4)  (i  ipjjg  reason  why  the  sight  delights  us  is  because 
it  proves  that  God  loves  you,  and  has  set  His  heart 
upon  you." 

Beloved.  —  Tlie  proper  translation  is,  knowing, 
brethren  ivho  have  been  so  beloved  of  God,  your 
election,  as  in  the  mai-gin :  the  Greek  idiom  cannot 
allow  of  the  Authorised  rendering.  The  tense  of  the 
word  "  beloved  "  represents  not  only  God's  attitude  to 
them  in  the  present,  but  the  long  continuance  of  it  in 
the  past,  especially  as  proved  by  His  election  of  them. 
(Comp.  Rom.  viii.  28,  29,  30,  and  2  Thess.  ii.  13.) 

Election,  in  the  language  of  (at  any  rate)  St.  Paul 
and  St.  Peter,  seems  primarily  to  refer  to  a  gracious 
admission  into  religious  privileges  in  this  life.  The 
word  implies  nothing  as  to  the  final  condition  of  the 
person  thus  elected  (see  2  Pet.  i.  10.  and  .comp.  Eph.  i. 
4  with  Eph.  V.  5,  6,  7).  God  elects  us  to  become 
members  of  the  Holy  Church,  and  all  baptised  persons 
are  elect,  with  heaven  in  reversion  (1  Pet.  i.  2 — 5) ;  but 
they  may,  according  as  they  please,  unsettle  their  elec- 
tion, or  make  it  sure.  St.  Paul  rejoices,  because  the 
continued  possession  of  spiritual  pri^nleges,  used  or 
abused,  is  an  assurance  of  God's  continued  ''  favour  and 
goodness  towards  us."  Of  course,  however,  this  obser- 
vation does  not  much  affect  the  mysterious  doctrine  of 
predestination.     The  question  must   still  remain  why 


130 


T'ne  Apostle's  remembrance 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   IT. 


of  the  TJiessalonians, 


election  of  God.  (^^  For  our  gospel  came 
not  unto  you  in  word  only,"  but  also 
in  power,  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
in  much  assurance ;  as  ye  know  what 
manner  of  men  Ave  were  among-  you  for 
your  sake.  ^^^  And  ye  became  followers 
of  us,*  and  of  the  Lord,  having  received 
the  Avord  in  much  affliction,  with  joy  of 
the  Holy  Ghost :  '^  ^''>  so  that  ye  were 
ensamples  to  all  that  believe  in  Mace- 
donia and  Acliaia.  (^>  For  from  you 
sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord  not 
only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia,  but 
also  in  every  place  your  faith  to  God- 


a  1  Cor.  2.  4 ;  4.  20. 


d  Acts  17.  29. 
c  Ps.   45.  7 ;  Itom. 


wai-d  is  spread  abroad ;  so  that  we 
need  not  to  speak  any  thing.  (^)  For 
they  themselves  shew  of  iis  what 
manner  of  entering  in  we  had  unto 
you,  and  how  ye  tm^ned  to  God  from 
idols  to  serve  the  living  and  true 
God ;  '^  <^o^  and  to  wait  for  his  Son  from 
heaven,  whom  he  raised  from  the  dead, 
eve7i  Jesus,  Avhich  delivered  us  from  the 
wrath  to  come. 

CHAPTER  IL— (1)  For  Chap.  ii.  1-12. 
yourselves,  bretlu-en,  know  ^f ^^  a^TlT^^^^^a! 
our  entrance  in  unto  you,  lonica. 


God  brings  some  iu  this  life  to  the  knowledge  of  His  truth, 
and  others  not;  but  the  observatiou,  at  any  rate,  destroys 
the  notion  of  an  arbitrary  damnation  and  salvation. 

(5)  "If  God  had  not  set  His  heart  ii'jon  you,  we  never 
could  have  been  as  successful  among  you  as  we  were. " 

Our  gospel  came  not  unto  you.— Or  rather,  the 
glad  tidings  which  ive  brought  did  not  prove  among 
you,  in  its  action  upon  you. 

In  word  only.— Comp.  1  Cor.  ii.  4;  iv.  20.  "  It  did 
not  consist  merely  of  so  much  eloquent  instruction,  but 
also  we  found  we  were  speaking  with  a  conscious  power 
— indeed  with  all  the  force  of  the  Holy  Ghost — and 
with  an  overmastering  conviction  that  we  were  right 
and  should  prevail."  That  by  the  "  power,"  "  assurance," 
etc.,  are  meant  the  preachers'  own,  and  not  the  people's, 
is  proved  by  the  next  clause,  "as  ye  know." 

In  the  Holy  Ghost.— The  Greek  here  omits  the 
definite  article.  In  such  cases  attention  is  not  so  much 
called  to  the  Blessed  Person  Himself,  as  to  the  exalted, 
inspired  enthusiasm  with  which  He  fills  us.  The  union 
of  the  diWue  and  human  spirit  is  so  close  (see  1  Cor. 
vi.  17)  that  it  is  often  hard  in  the  New  Testament  to 
distinguisli  which  is  meant. 

As  ye  know  sums  up  with  an  appeal  to  their 
memory :  "  In  fact,  you  recollect  what  God  made  us 
like  among  you." 

For  your  sake  gives  not  their  own  purpose,  but 
God's,  carrying  on  the  thought  of  the  "  election." 

(0)  And  ye  became  followers.— Not  so  much  a 
separate  reason  for  believing  them  elected  of  God, 
because  of  their  receptiveness,  but  an  evidence  of  the 
power  given  by  God  to  the  jireachers  for  the  winning  of 
them.  "  So  much  so.  tliat,  in  spite  of  persecution,  you 
became  Christians  with  enthusiasm." 

Followers.— Not  "  disciples,"  but  imitators.  The 
three  p(jiuts  in  which  the  Lord  and  His  Apostles  were 
imitated  are  then  expressed — (1)  meek  reception  (Ps.  xl. 
6 ;  Isa.  1.  5) ;  (2)  cost  what  it  might ;  (3)  rejoicing  all  the 
while  (Pss.  xxii.  22;  xlv.  71 

In  much  affliction.— For  examples  of  troubles  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Thcssalonian  Church,  see  Acts  XA-ii.  5,  8. 

Holy  Ghost  is  used  in  the  same  Avay  as  it  is  in 
verso  5.  "  Joy  Avliich  is  the  natural  outcome  of  a  spirit 
united  with  the  Holy  Spirit." 

(7)  "  Your  zeal  was  so  great  and  sincere  that  you.  in 
your  tuni.  became  a  model :  for  oven  in  far-away  countries 
the  tale  of  your  conversion  is  told  with  Avonder." 

Ensamples.— Probably  the  singular  should  be  read: 
tlie  Avhole  ciiurcli  became  a  model  churcli. 

1 


To  all  that  believe — i.e.,  noiv ;  not  to  those  that 
then  believed  ;  Phiiippi  was  the  only  such  church. 

Macedonia  and  Achaia.— These  tAvo  provinces 
comprised  all  Roman  Greece.  The  influence  of  the 
Thessaloniaus  spreads  far  beyond  their  own  country. 

(8)  For. — "For,infact,"  (supporting  and  exceeding  the 
statement  of  verse  7  about  Greece)  "  you  form  the  centre 
from  which  the  doctrine  of  Christ  has  rung  (not  rang) 
out  like  a  trumpet  through  those  countries  ;  and  ca'cu 
beyond,  your  faith  is  well  known."  The  clauses  are  not 
quite  logically  balanced. 

Your  faith  does  not  mean  "  your  creed,"  but  "  the 
report  of  your  extraordinary  faith." 

To  say  anything— i.e.,  about  our  success  at  Thes- 
salonica. 

(9)  They  themselves  —  i.e.,  the  inhabitants  of 
those  countries.  "  Wherever  we  go  we  find  our  own 
story  told  us." 

Shew. — Rather,  announce.  Both  sides  of  the  story 
are  told  :  (1)  of  us — Avhat  kind  of  entry  we  made  among 
you,  explained  in  chap.  ii.  1 — 12  to  mean  Avith  "the  Avord 
of  truth,  of  meekness,  and  righteousness  "  (Ps.  xlv.  5) ; 
(2)  of  you — how  truly  couA'crted  you  were,  as  he  pro- 
ceeds to  show  further  in  chaps,  ii.  13 — iii.  13. 

Living  and  true  God.  —In  contrast  to  the  lifeless 
and  false  idols.  The  Thessalonians  had  been  Gentiles. 
Perhaps  St.  Paul  was  thinking  of  his  own  speech  on 
Mars  Hill,  Avhich  had  been  recently  uttered. 

(10)  And  to  wait. — The  idea  of  tlie  Advent  is  that 
which  both  here  and  throughout  the  Ei)istle  occupies 
the  foreground  in  the  minds  of  St.  Paul  and  liis 
friends.  These  two  infinitives.  "  to  serve  "  and  "  to 
Avait,"  express  not  so  much  the  intention  of  the  Thessa- 
lonians in  turning,  as  the  condition  into  which  they 
came  by  turning. 

Whom  he  raised. — Not  only  proA'es  His  Sonship 
(Rom.  i.  4).  l)ut  also  gives  a  kind  of  explanation  of  the 
"  aAvaiting  Him /Vow  heaven." 

Delivered. — Better,  delivereth. 

To  come.— Belter,  ichich  is  already  coming.  Tlie 
wrath  is  on  its  Avay  to  the  world,  to  ajipear  with  Christ 
from  lieaven  (2  Thess.  i.  7,  8\  and  He  is  day  by  day 
Avorking  to  save  us  from  it  (Heb.  vii.  2-3). 

II. 

(1)  For  yourselves  brethren,  know. —The 
writers'  purpose  is  practical,  not  didactic;  they  tliere- 
fore  animate  their  converts  Avith  the  stirring  memories 
of  tluMr  conversion.  "  We  need  not  go  to  tliese  foreign 
Avitnesses  for  the  tale  of  liow  we  came  to  yon ;  for  yi>u 

!   recollect  it  as  if  it  were  yesterday."     Tlie  "for''  (as  iu 

31 


nis  Life  and  Mi'orh 


I.   THESSALONIAXS,   11. 


lohlh  among  them. 


that  it  was  not  in  vain  :  (-'  but  even 
after  that  Ave  had  suft'ered  before,  and 
were  shamefully  entreated,  as  ye  know, 
at  Philippi,"  we  were  bold  in  our  God 
to  speak  unto  you  the  gospel  of  God 
with  much  contention.  ^^'  For  our  ex- 
hortation was  not  of  deceit,*  nor  of  un- 
cleanness,  nor  in  g-uile:''  ^^*  but  as  we 
were  allowed  of  God  to  be  put  in  trust 
with  the  gospel,''  even  so  we  speak ;  not 


b  2  Cor.  6.  8. 

c  a  Cor.  4.  2. 

1  Or,  used  au- 
thority, 
f  1  Cor.  9.  1. 
g  Arts  la  IS. 
d  Gal.  2.  7  ;  1  Tim. 
1.  11 ;  Tit.  1.  3. 


as  pleasing  men,"  but  God,  which  trieth 
our  hearts.  ^^^  For  neither  at  any  time 
used  we  flattering  words,  as  ye  know, 
nor  a  cloke  of  covetousness ;  God  is 
witness  :  (^^  nor  of  men  sought  we 
glory,  neither  of  you,  nor  yet  of  others, 
when  we  might  have  been  burden- 
some, ^  as  the  apostles  of  Chi-ist./ 
(^>  But  we  were  gentle  among  you,  even 
as    a  nurse   cherisheth   her  children :  a 


fliap.  i.  8)  implies  "for  in  fact,"  "for  after  all."  The 
tliouglit  of  chap.  i.  5,  9  is  here  resumed,  but  with  a 
(lifFereut  purfjose :  there  it  was  to  prove  that  the 
work  was  God's  work  ;  here,  "  to  stir  up  their  pure 
uiiuds  by  way  of  rememljrauce." 

Not  in  vain  draws  a  little  too  much  attention  to 
the  result  of  their  coming.  It  should  be,  not  vain — 
i.e.,  not  purposeless  and  idle.  This  may  be  seen  from 
the  contrast  drawn  in  the  following  words. 

(-)  Even  after  "  what  was  enough  to  hare  seared 
others"  (Bongel).  Such  men  were  not  likely  to  be 
"  vain."  The  marks  of  their  ill-treatment  at  Philippi 
were  fresh  upon  them  at  Thessalouica  {as  ye  know). 
See  Acts  xvi.  and  xvii.  1. 

In  our  God, — These  words  give  the  ground  of  their 
boldness — "  iu  reliance  on  the  God  whom  we  felt  to  be 
in  union  with  us." 

With  much  contention. — Rather,  in  the  midst  of 
much  conjlict  arising  from  persecution. 

(3)  <<  The  reason  that  we  were  able  to  endure  so  much 
was  our  consciousness  of  the  sincerity  and  purity  of  our 
intention." 

Exhortation. — Exhortation  is  an  attempt  to  make 
men  take  a  particular  line  of  action.  "  Our  efforts  to 
get  men  to  act  as  we  wish,"  St.  Paul  says,  "  do  not 
spring  from  a  desire  to  dupe  them,"  etc.  It  is  a 
question  whether  "  of  deceit "  is  the  right  rendering,  or 
"of  error,"  "all  a  mistake."  If  the  latter,  the  argu- 
ment would  be  that  of  Paley's  Evidences,  i.e.,  to 
deduce  the  truth  of  the  revelation  from  the  sufferings 
of  its  prophets.  But  the  points  raised  in  contrast,  in 
verses  4 — 12,  seem  to  preclude  this  meaning,  which 
would  be  more  likdj'  to  introduce  some  substantiation 
of  the  gospel  truths,  as  in  2  Pet.  i.  16. 

Of  uncleanness. — It  is  possible  that  the  word  only 
means  "  Avith  impure  (or  covetous)  motives ;  "  but  it 
proV)ably  refers  to  the  subtle  forms  of  temptation  which 
often  accompany  spiritual  work.  See,  for  example,  the 
Greek  of  1  Tim.  i.  5 ;  also  v.  1.  2 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  4—7. 

In  guile. — The  preposition  is  changed;  "nor  yet  by 
tlie  use  of  irii-ks."  Not  only  were  their  motives  sincere 
and  pure.  ))ut  their  manner  of  dealing  straightforward. 

I  »  Were  allowed.  —  Rither.  have  been,  and  in 
verse  3  is,  nut  "was."  St.  Paul  is  arguing  from 
his  habitual  practice.  "  But  we  speak  after  the 
manner  of  men  who  remember  that  God  Himself  has 
tried  them,  and  has  been  satisfied  to  entrust  the  gospel 
to  them,  making  it  our  business  to  please,  not  men,  but 
God  who  thus  tries  our  hearts"  (1  Cor.  iv.  1.  2).  The 
word  translated  "  allowed  "  implies  examining  and  ap- 
proving (as  in  Luke  xiv.  19 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  10 ;  1  Pet. 
i.  7  ;  1  John  iv.  1),  and  is  repeated  emphatically  (trans- 
lated "  trieth  ") :  "  being  examined  and  approved  by 
God.  we  study  to  please  Him  who  constantly  examines 
and  approves  us,  not  to  court  those  to  whom  we  are 


sent."  St.  Paul  expresses  here,  as  elsewhere,  a  total 
disregard  of  men's  opinions  about  him  (1  Cor.  iv.  3 ; 
Gal.  i.  10). 

(5)  At  any  time.— Not  only  during  the  stay  at 
Thessalonica,  but  neither  at  Thessalonica  nor  elsewhere, 
as  the  next  verse  shows.  But  as  the  Thessalonians  can 
only  be  appealed  to  as  evidence  for  their  own  ex- 
perience, the  writers  therefore  call  God  Himself  to 
witness.  At  the  same  time,  the  absence  of  flattering 
words  was  a  thing  of  which  human  witnesses  could 
judge  ;  the  freedom  from  covetous  designs  was  known 
to  God  alone. 

Cloke  of  covetousness — i.e.,  some  specious  pre- 
text, under  cover  of  which  we  might  gain  a  worldly 
advantage ;  so  (though  the  Greek  word  is  difl'erent) 
1  Pet.  ii.  16,  "  a  cloke  of  maliciousness." 

(6)  Glory — i.e.,  recognition  of  our  splendid  position, 
as  ia  the  phrase  "  giA'ing  glory  to  God,"  i.e.,  "  recog- 
nising Him  for  what  He  is,"  John  v.  44.  (Comp. 
John  xii.  43  ;  Rom.  ii.  29  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  5.) 

Been  burdensome.— The  marginal  reading  is  on 
the  whole  pi'eferable.  The  original  is,  might  have  been 
in  weight— i.e.,  "  have  dealt  lieaAnly  with  you,"  in  all 
the  pomp  of  apostolic  dignity,  making  people  acknow- 
ledge our  "glory."  Although,  no  doubt,  one  means  of 
asserting  their  authority  would  have  been  to  claim  their 
maintenance  from  the  Church  (comp.  1  Cor.  ix.  1 — 6), 
more  is  meant  than  the  mere  oljfaining  of  money. 

Apostles  of  Christ. — The  title  seems  here  to  be 
bestowed  on  St.  Silas  and  St.  Timothy  just  as  in  Acts 
xiv.  14  upon  St.  Barnabas.  As  official  dignity  is  here 
the  point,  it  cannot  simply  (according  to  the  etymology 
of  the  word)  mean  "Christ's  missionaries,"  as  we  speak 
of  "  the  Apostle  of  England."  &c.,  i.e.,  the  earUest  great 
preacher  of  the  gospel  there.  Tlie  episcopal  office 
(which  St.  Timothy,  at  any  rate,  held  somewhat  later) 
may  pei-liaps  be  hei-e  ranked  with  the  apostolate.  Thus, 
in  Gal.  i.  19,  St.  James,  the  Bishop  of  Jerusalem,  wears 
the  title,  though  it  is  scai'cely  probable  that  he  was  one  of 
the  Twelve.  Andronicus  and  Junias,  in  Rom.  xvi.  7 ; 
Epaphroditus,  in  Phil.  ii.  25  (where  it  is  wrongly  trans- 
lated "  messenger,"  as  also  in  2  Cor.  viii.  23),  are  called 
Apostles.  In  1  Cor.  xii.  28,  Eph.  iv.  11,  probably  also 
in  Eph.  ii.  20.  Rev.  ii.  2.  the  first  rank  in  the  threefold 
ministry  of  the  Church  seems  to  be  meant,  for  the 
reference  is  to  the  orderly  Organisjition  of  the  Society. 
However,  in  our  jiresent  passage  it  may  conceivably  bo 
stretched  to  mean  "  as  an  Apostle  and  his  following." 
The  definite  article  should  be  struck  out. 

(7)  Among  you.— Rather,  in  the  midst  of  you, 
making  the  gentleness  still  more  marked.  "  Her, '  in 
the  Greek  emphatically  her  oicn.  The  contrast  is  drawn 
between  the  charlatan,  licentious,  sophistical,  fawning, 
greedy,  vainglorious  teachers,  to  whom  Greeks  were 
well  accustomed,  and  the  Apostles,  sitting  familiarly 
like  mothers  amidst  a  group  of  their  ovni  children, 
folding  them  for  warmth  to  their  bosoms.     "  Keep  a 


132 


His  Teetimony  to  their  Acceptance  I.    THESSALONIANS,    11. 


of  kin  Preaclunj. 


(^)  SO  being  affectionately  desirous  of  yon, 
we  were  willing  to  have  imparted  unto 
you,  not  the  gospel  of  God  only,  but  also 
our  own  souls,"  because  ye  were  dear  unto 
us.  ^^"^  For  ye  remember,  brethren,  our 
labour  and  travail :  for  labouring  night 
and  day,  because  we  would  not  be 
chargeable  unto  any  of  you,  we  preached 
unto  you  the  gospel  of  God.  (^^^  Ye 
are  Avitnesses,  and  God  ctZ.so,  how  holily 
and  justly  and  unblameably  we  behaved 
ourselves  among  you  that  believe  :  *^^^  as 
ye  know  how  we  exhorted  and  com- 
forted and  charged  every  one  of  you,  as 
a  father  doth  his  children,*  (^-'  that  ye 
would  walk  worthy  of  God,  who  hath 


called  you  unto  his  kingdom  and  glory. 
(13)  For  this  cause  also  chap.ii.i3-i(5. 
thank  we  God  without  The  converu' 
ceasing,  because,  when  ye  acceptauce  of 
received  the  word  of  God  persecution  by 
which  ye  heard  of  us,  ye  ^^"^  Jews, 
received  it  not  as  the  word  of  men,  but 
as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God, 
which  effectually  worketh"^  also  in  you 
that  believe.  (i*)  For  ye,  brethren, 
became  followers  of  the  churches  of 
God  which  in  Judsea  are  in  Christ 
Jesus  :  for  ye  also  have  suffered  like 
things  of  your  own  countrymen,  even  as 
they  have  of  the  Jews  :  '^^^  who  both 
killed  the  Lord  Jesus,  and   their  own 


mother's  heart  for  meu,"  was  the  advice  which  made 
Henri  Perreyve's  Hfe  so  winning  (Meditations,  p.  87). 

(S)  So  means  here  eve>i  so,  confirming  the  simile, 
and  is  not  to  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  therefore." 

Not  the  gospel  of  God  only.— The  gospel  was, 
as  it  were,  tlie  milk  given  to  the  yoimg  converts;  but 
the  nursing  mothers  were  ready  to  let  them  tU-aw  their 
very  life  away,  so  dearly  did  they  love  them. 

(9)  For. — As  in  verse  1,  the  general  principles  of  the 
foregoing  verses  are  supported  by  facts  which  the 
Tliessalonmns  will  remember.  If  the  word  attaches 
itself  to  any  pai-ticular  phrase,  it  is  to  "  imjiart  our  own 
souls,"  "  we  were  ready  to  die  for  you ;  indeed,  you  re- 
member how  we  worked  ourselves  almost  to  death." 

Labour  and.  travail^uot  mere  synonyms  here : 
the  first  describes  the  kind  of  work  ;  the  second,  the 
intensity  of  it :  "  our  manual  labour,  and  how  hard 
we  worked  at  that." 

(10)  Ye  are  witnesses. — Abruptly,  without  con- 
jvmctiou,  the  writers  add  a  summary  description  of 
their  conduct  at  Tliessalouica ;  before,  they  had  dwelt 
on  details,  now,  on  the  broad  characteristics.  As  in 
verse  5,  God  is  appealed  to,  because  the  readers 
could  only  judge  of  the  outward  propriety  of  their 
teachers'  conduct ;  and  it  is  a  moral  law  tliat  (as  Aris- 
totle says)  "  the  rigliteous  man  is  not  he  tliat  does  acts 
which  in  themselves  are  righteous,  but  he  that  does 
those  acts  in  such  a  mind  as  befits  righteous  men." 

Holily,  of  the  inner.  "  justly,"  of  the  outer  life. 
Among  you  that  believe — where  (if  anywhere) 
we  might  liave  been  tempted  to  be  lax  or  exorbitant. 

(11)  As  (emphatic):  "toe  lived  holily — just  (in  fact)  as 
you  remember  we  tried  to  induce  each  one  of  ijou  to  live." 

Every  one. — Now  th(>y  appeal  to  the  individual 
recollection  of  the  Thessalonians.  It  giA^es  us  an  inci- 
dental glimpse  of  the  apostolic  method. — which  was, 
to  deal  with  individual  soids.  (Comp.  Acts  xx.  20,  31 ; 
Col.  i.  21.)  St.  Chrysostom  exclaims:  "Fancy!  not 
one  in  all  that  multitvule  passed  over  !  "  The  image  is 
changed  from  that  of  motherly  tenderness  to  that  of 
fatherly  direction. 

Comforted  is  here  iised  as  almost  equivalent  to 
"  exhorted,"  or,  rather,  oicouraged,  when  the  moral 
aspirations  were  beginning  to  flag. 

Charged.— Better,  adjured  ;   so  Gal.  v.  3. 

(1-*  Hath  called.— The  right  reading  is,  was  caUing, 
which  lias  Ix-eu  altered  because  of  the  slight  tlieological 
difficulty,  on  the  analogy  of  Gal.  i.  (>.  etc.  The  call  is 
not  simply  a  momentary  act,  but  a  continual  beckoning 


upwards,  until  the  privileges  offered  are  actually 
attained.  The  Thessalonians  at  that  time,  thougli 
already  by  baptism  members  of  the  kingdom  (Col.  i. 
13),  were  not  yet  so  assured  in  their  new  allegiance 
as  to  be  certain  of  reaching  the  full-developed  (jlunj  of 
that  kingdom,     Note  again  the  thought  of  the  Advent. 

(1^)  The  first  part  of  this  chapter  draws  attention  to 
the  Apostles^  part  in  the  conversion  of  Thessalonica. 
From  this  point  (roughly  speaking)  to  the  end  of  chap, 
iii.,  the  action  of  the  converts  is  the  chief  subject. 

This  verse  differs  from  the  original  in  several  par- 
ticulai's  of  more  or  less  importance.  Literally  trans- 
lated, it  wotild  run  thus :  And  for  this  cause  we  too 
thank  God  unceasingly,  that,  on  receiving  a  word  of 
heai-ing  at  our  lips  of  God,  ye  loelcomed,  not  a  word 
of  inen,  but  {as  it  is  in  truth)  a  word  of  God,  which 
also,  etc. 

For  this  cause— viz.,  because  of  the  labours  we 
went  through  to  teach  you,  which  we  are  tliankful  were 
not  wasted.  We  too,  as  well  as  you.  The  two  words 
rendered  "  received  "  are  not  the  same ;  the  first  meaning 
merely  an  outwai'd  reception,  the  second  the  welcome 
given.  The  words  '"  it  "  and  '•  as  "  (as  the  italics  show) 
do  not  stand  in  the  Greek.  St.  Paid  is  not  expressing 
so  much  his  gratitude  for  the  manner  in  which  the 
word  was  greeted,  as  for  the  essential  character  of 
what  wius  greeted. 

The  word  of  God  which  ye  heard  of  us.— 
The  same  phrase  as  in  Heb.  \\.  2.  which  is  there  ren- 
dered, "  the  word  preached."  "  The  word  might  have 
been,  so  far  as  you  knew,  a  mere  word  svoken  by  us — 
ordinary  men — but  it  was  in  reality  a  word  of  God, 
and  so  you  found  when  you  embraced  it." 

You  that  believe.— It  could  have  no  efEect  with- 
out this  condition.     (See  Heb.  iv.  2.) 

(14)  For  ye.— "The  effectual  power  of  this  word 
upon  YOU  is  shown  in  youi*  joining  the  Church  in  spite 
of  such  difficulties."  . 

Followers.- Better,  imitators.  Tlie  churches  of 
Judiea  are  ]»rol)iibly  selected  for  example,  not  oidy  as 
behig  the  oldest  and  best -organised  churches,  but  the 
most  afflicted,  both  by  want  (Acts  xi.  2i»;  xxiv.  17  ;  Roni. 
XV.  2t)),  and  (chiefly)  by  ])ersecution  from  the  "  Jews." 

Your  own  countrymen.— See  Acts  xvii.  8.  9. 
It  was  always  tlie  Jewisli  policy  to  persei-ute  by  means 
of  others.  Evidently  the  Thessalouiau  Church  is  almost 
eutirelv  Gontile. 

(15)  Who  both  killed.— A  tn>mondons  invective 
against  the  Jews,  the  purpose  of  which  is  (1)  to  show 


133 


His  Aiixiety 


I.   THESSALOXIANS,   II. 


to  Visit  tJiem  arjnin. 


prophets,  and  have  persecuted  ^  us  ;  and 
they  i^lease  not  God,  and  are  contrary  to 
all  men  :  <^'^^  forbidding  us  to  speak  to  the 
Gentiles  that  they  mig'ht  be  saved,  to  fill 
up  their  sins  alway:  for  the  wrath  is 
come  upon  them  to  the  uttermost, 

<i7)  But  we,  brethren,  being  taken 
from  you  for  a  short  time  in  presence, 
not   in   heart,"  endeavoured  the    more 


1  Or,  chased  lis  out. 


2  Or,  glorying, 
a  1  Cor.  5.  3;  Col. 


abundantly  to  see  your  face  with 
great  desire,  (^s)  Where-  ^haps.  ii.  i/- 
fore  we  would  have  come  iii.  lo.  Hopes 
unto  you,  even  I  Paul,  Lt-ingTIor^'e^ 
once  and  again ;  but  newai  of  inter- 
Satan  hindered  us.  d^'  For  co^'^^- 
what  is  our  hope,  or  joy,  or  crown 
of  rejoicing  ?  ^  Are  not  even  ye  in 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


the  deep  sympathy  of  St.  Paul  with  the  persecuted 
Tliessaloiiiaus,  autl  his  iudiguatiou  agaiust  the  per- 
secutors ;  {•!]  to  make  them  see  still  more  deeply  the 
value  of  their  faith  by  the  efforts  made  to  keep  it 
from  them.  Objection  is  often  made  to  St.  John's 
Gospel  on  the  ground  that  no  bora  Jew  could  have 
written  of  "  the  Jews  "  in  the  bitter  way  so  common 
in  that  book,  or  viewed  them  so  completely  as  a 
separate  body  from  himself.  This  passage,  in  an 
indubitable  epistle  of  "a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews," 
seems  a  satisfactoiy  answer.  The  memories  of  St. 
Stephen's  speech  (Acts  vii.  52)  seem  to  be  waking  in  the 
mind  of  him  who  was  once  a  persecuting  Jew  himself. 

Have  persecuted. — Take  the  marginal  version, 
"chased"  (not  " /laue  chased")  "us  violently  out  of 
Thessaloniea." 

They  please  not  God — (though  to  sen*e  and  please 
Him  was  the  special  purpose  for  which  the  nation  was 
set  .part,)  "and  are  at  cross  purposes  with  all  man- 
kind." The  historian  Tacitus  gives,  as  a  characteristic 
of  the  race,  "  an  attitude  of  hostility  and  hatred  towards 
all  others."     Juvenal  makes  the  same  accusation. 

(1-3)  Forbidding  us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles,— 
The  Apostle  indicates  the  special  way  in  which  their 
contrariety  showed  itself. 

To  fill  up,— Literally,  unto  the  filling  up.  Not 
exactly  tlieir  intention  in  forbidding,  but  the  end  to 
which  such  conduct  was  steadily  ("alway")  tending. 
(Again  comp.  Acts  \'ii.  51,  and  Matt,  xxiii.  32.)  St. 
Paul  seems  to  mean  that  there  may  be  a  certain  sum  of 
wickedness  wliich  God  will  allow  a  nation,  a  church,  a 
person,  to  complete,  before  cutting  them  off  from  all 
spiritual  help ;  the  Jews  were  industriously  labom-ing 
to  complete  the  sum. 

For.— The  Greek  woi'd  is  but ;  and  the  point  is 
this  : — "  The  Jews  have  been  working  up  to  the  rounded 
perfection  of  their  sin  ;  but  (they  had  not  much  left  to 
do)  the  wrath  burst  suddenly  upon  them  to  its  utter- 
most." The  word  for  "  is  come  "  (which  should  be  the 
simple  preterite  "came")  is  the  same  as  that  used 
in  5latt.  xii.  28,  Luke  xi.  20,  of  a  sudden,  unexpected 
apparition.  "  The  wrath  "  is  the  wratli  from  which 
Jesus  is  delivering  us  fchap.  i.  10).  and  it  had  already 
come  upon  the  Jews,  thougli  its  outward  manifestation 
in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  was  not  to  come  yet 
awhile.  Tlie  particular  moment  at  wliich  St.  Paul 
means  that  the  wrath  "  came "  must  have  been  the 
moment  of  their  final  rejection  of  the  Messiah. 

(1")  But  we,  brethren. — Now  comes  a  change  of 
subject :  no  longer  the  memories  of  the  time  when 
St.  Paul  was  among  them,  but  his  hopes  and  fears 
about  them  since  he  left. 

"  But  while  you  were  being  persecuted  by  these 
reprobate  Jews,  we,  who  were  driven  away  from  yon, 
were  longing  to  come  back  to  see  wlietlier  your  faith 
was  such  an  effectual  working  faith  as  to  support  you 
throuffh  it  all." 


134 


Taken  from  you. — Literally,  bereaved  from  you — ■ 
i.e.,  bereaved  by  being  torn  from  you ;  a  return  to  the 
simile  of  the  mother  (ii.  7),  or  father  (ii.  11). 

The  more  abundantly, — "  So  far  were  we  from 
the  proverb,  '  out  of  sight,  out  of  mind,'  that  our  very 
absence  gave  us  a  gi-eater  yearning  after  your  pre- 
sence "  (1  Cor.  V.  3). 

(18)  We  would.— Not  merely  a  conditional  tense,  but 
"  we  were  ready  to  come — meant  to  come." 

Even  I  Paul,—  Rather,  that  is  to  say,  I,  Paul,  not 
as  if  it  were  a  great  thing  that  one  like  him  should  have 
such  a  wish,  but  showing  that  Silas  and  Timothy  had 
not  shared  his  iutention.  Why  had  they  not .''  The 
answer  shows  the  minute  truthfubiess  of  the  Acts. 
Timothy,  apparently,  did  not  at  first  leave  Thessaloniea 
with  St.  Paid  (Acts  xvii.  10,  where  the  Greek  seems 
detiuitely  to  exclude  him).  Both  Silas  and  Timothy 
were  left  at  Bercea  (Acts  xvii.  14).  It  was  during  this 
period  that  St.  Paul  felt  so  eager  a  desire  to  return  to 
his  persecuted  children.  We  cannot  tell  on  what  two 
definite  occasions  the  desire  was  almost  taking  shape  ; 
but  possibly  his  longing  may  have  been  stimuLited  by 
seeing  his  messengers  start  for  the  north,  first  when  he 
sent  for  his  two  companions  (Acts  xvii.  15),  and 
secondly  when  he  despatched  Timothy  himself  to  Thes- 
saloniea (chap.  iii.  2). 

But  Satan  hindered. — How,  cannot  be  decided; 
but  St.  Paul  has  no  doul)t  that  his  disappointment  was 
a  direct  manifestation  of  tlie  work  of  eWl,  not  a  leading 
of  God  to  stay  where  he  was.  Elsewhere  he  is  quite  as 
clear  that  the  obstruction  of  his  own  plans  is  owing  to 
God.  (See  Acts  xvi.  6,  7;  1  Cor.  xvi.  12,  where  tho 
will  spoken  of  is  not  Apollos'  will,  but  God's.)  Tlie 
difficulty  is  to  tell  in  each  case  whether  God  is  directly 
sa\-iiig  us  from  a  worse  coui-se,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  or 
permitting  a  momentary,  and  yet  if  rightly  used  a  dis- 
cipUuary,  triumph  of  evil. 

Satan. — The  Thessalonians,  though  originally  Gen- 
tdes,  had  doubtless  been  taught  enough  at  their  con- 
version to  recognise  the  word.  Though  it  is  quite 
clear  from  other  passages  [e.g.,  1  Cor.  vii.  5 ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  9;  1  Tim.  iii.  7)  that  St.  Paul  believed  in  the 
existence  of  personal  fallen  spirits,  it  cannot  be  posi- 
tively affirmed  that  he  here  means  anything  more  than 
a  personification  of  all  that  is  opposed  to  God — the 
hostility  of  wicked  men.  &c. 

(19)  "  We  were  most  anxioiis  to  come  and  stablish  you, 
for  we  should  lose  all  our  hope  and  joj'  and  honours  if 
Christ  should  come  and  wo  should  have  lost  you." 

Our  hope — i.e.,  the  object  on  which  our  hopes  aro 
centered. 

Crown  of  rejoicing.— Or,  of  boasting -,  "crown 
that  we  are  proud  to  wear,"  like  victors  in  the  games. 
For  the  meaning  of  such  phrases,  see  Note  on  chap.  i.  3. 

Even  ye — (not  necessarily  excluding  other  con- 
verts) just  yoii,  and  others  lihe  you. 

In  the  presence.—"  It  is  the  thought  of  presenting 
you  to  Him  that  thrills  us  with  hope,  joy,  pride — the 


The  Mission  of  Timotheus 


I.   THESSALOXIAKS,   III. 


to  Comfort  tliem. 


at  his  coming?" 
glory  and  joy. 


(20)  YoY  ye    are   our 


CHAPTER  III.-(i)  Wherefore  when 
we  could  no  longer  foi'bear,  we  thought 
it  good  to  be  left  at  Athens  alone ; 
(-)  and  sent  Timotheus,  our  brother, 
and  minister  of  God,  and  our  fellow- 
labourer  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  to 
establish  you,  and  to  comfort  you  con- 


a  2  Cor.  1. 14  ;  Phil. 
4.  1. 

A.D.  M. 

6  Acts  14.    23; 
2  Tim.  a  12 

c  .lobn   13.   19; 
IS.  1,4. 

d  Matt.  4.  a 

ceming  your  faith :  ^^^  that  no  man 
should  be  moved  by  these  afflictions : 
for  yourselves  know  that  we  are  ap- 
pointed thereunto.*  (^^  For  verily,  when 
we  were  with  you,  we  told  you  before 
that  we  should  suffer  tribulation  -,'=  even 
as  it  came  to  pass,  and  ye  know.  <^)  For 
this  cause,  when  I  could  no  longer  for- 
bear, I  sent  to  know  your  faith,  lest  by 
some  means  the  tempter'^  have  tempted 


thought  of   -wearing   such  a  docoratiou  before  Him." 
(Comp.  2  Cor.  xi.  2.) 

III. 

(1)  We  could  no  longer  forbear. — The  Greek 
word  contains  the  metaphor  o£  a  vessel  over-full  and 
bursting  with  its  contents.  "  We  "  must  be  understood 
here  by  the  limitation  of  chap.  ii.  18,  and  by  the  direct  sin- 
gular of  verse  5,  to  mean  St.  Paul  alone,  not  him  and  Silas. 

To  be  left  at  Athens  alone.— The  ditficulty  of 
interpreting  this  passage  so  as  to  agree  with  Acts  xvii. 
15,  16  ;  xviii.  5,  is  not  a  light  one.  From  those  pas- 
sages it  would  appear  that  immediately  upon  reaching 
Athens,  St.  Paul  sent  word  back  to  Macedonia,  by  the 
friends  who  had  escorted  him,  that  St.  SUas  and  St. 
Timothy  should  join  him  at  once ;  but  that  some  delay 
took  place,  and  that  St.  Paul  had  arrived  at  Corinth 
before  his  companions  reached  him ;  that  they  conse- 
quently never  were  with  him  at  Athens.  In  that  case, 
"to  be  left  alone"  must  mean,  "We  resolved  not  to 
keep  with  us  the  brethren  who  escorted  us ;"  and  the 
"  sent "  of  verse  2  will  mean  that  he  gave  them  a 
message  to  Timothy  that  he  should  go  back  to  Thessa- 
lonica  (pi'esumably  from  Bercea),  before  joining  St.  Paul 
at  Athens  ;  for  the  tense  of  the  Greek  verb  "to  be  left  " 
absolutely  necessitates  an  act  of  parting  with  some 
one  :  it  cannot  mean,  "  We  were  willing  to  endure  lone- 
liness a  little  longer."  But  such  an  interpretation  suits 
ill  with  Acts  xvii.  15 ;  it  is  hard  to  identify  an  urgent 
message  to  "  come  with  all  speed "  with  a  command 
to  make  such  a  detour.  It  seems,  therefore,  most 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  Silas  and  Timothy  joined 
St.  Paul  forthwitli  at  Athens,  and  were  almost  as  soon 
sent  back  into  Macedonia, — Silas  to  Beroea  or  Philippi, 
and  Timothy  to  Thessalonica.  This  would  explain  St. 
Paul's  being  left  alone,  an  expression  which  would 
hardly  have  been  used  had  Silas  remained  with  him  at 
Athens,  as  some  (misled  by  the  word  "  we  ")  have  sup- 
posed; and  also  it  explains  how  in  Acts  xviii.  5  both 
Timothy  and  Silas  come  from  Macedonia  to  Corinth. 
The  despatching  of  Silas  from  Athens  is  not  mentioned 
here,  simply  because  it  had  no  particular  interest  for 
the  Tliessalonians.  If  the  two  men  did  not  reach  St. 
Paul  at  all  during  the  time  he  was  at  Athens,  after 
recei\'ing  so  imperative  a  message,  they  must  have  been 
very  slow,  for  a  week  would  have  allowed  ample  time 
for  their  j<mrney  from  Beroea,  and  Acts  xvii.  17,  xvnii.  1 
certainly  imply  a  much  longer  period  of  residence  there. 
"  To  bo  left  alone "  was  a  great  trial  to  St.  Paul's 
affectionate  nature:  such  a  sacrifice  may  well  impress 
tlie  Thessaloniaus  with  the  strength  of  his  love  for 
them. 

<-)  Sent. — It  may  possibly  mean  that  a  message  was 
dcspatdiod  to  liiin  at  Beroea,  orderiug  him  to  go.  but  is 
far  more  naturally  imderstood  if  Timothy  were  at 
Athens  at  the  time. 


And  minister  .  .  . — The  text  here,  according  to  the 
judgment  of  most  of  the  best  editors  (though  Tischen- 
dorf  in  his  last  edition  has  modified  his  opinion),  is  in- 
teiijolated,  and  the  verse  should  run :  "  our  brother, 
and  God's  fellow-worker  in  the  gospel  of  Christ." 
Timothy  being  a  person  so  well  known  at  Thessalonica, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  why  he  should  be  thus  particularised, 
unless  he  was  the  bearer  of  the  letter,  and  St.  Paul 
wished  to  insist  upon  their  paying  him  due  deference 
in  spite  of  his  youth. 

To  establish,  perhaps  in  the  sense  of  perfecting 
their  organisation. 

To  comfort  is  here  equivalent  to  "  to  encourage." 

(3)  Moved,  or  more  literally,  seduced.  The  very 
peculiar  word  in  the  original  means,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, the  fawning  of  an  animal  upon  its  master:  then, 
through  the  intermediate  sense  of  "  wheedling,"  it 
comes  to  mean  the  gradual  detachment  of  a  person 
from  his  resolution  by  any  insinuating  representations, 
whether  of  flattery  or  (as  here)  of  fear.  The  next  word 
should  be  in  or  in  the  midst  of,  rather  than  "  by  "  ; 
therefore  (though  both  may  be  included)  their  own 
"afflictions"  are  chiefly  meant,  not  St.  Paul's. 

For  yourselves.  —  "  Your  pre\"ious  expectation 
that  Christianity  involved  the  suffering  of  persecution 
ought  to  be  enough  to  prevent  you  now  from  losing 
your  faith." 

We  are  appointed  thereunto. — The  "  we " 
means  all  Christian  people:  tlieir  election  into  the 
Church  must  needs  be  an  election  to  suffering  (see 
marg.  refs.).     "  Xo  cross,  no  crown." 

i-i)  For  verily,  when  .  .  . — To  appreciate  the 
nature  of  the  argument,  see  the  passages  referred  to  in 
the  margin. 

(5)  For  this  cause.—"  Because  I  knew  that  tempta- 
tion was  sure  to  overtake  you,  I  sent  to  see  whether 
our  work  still  lived,  and  was  likely  to  live,  in  spite 
of  it." 

To  know  your  faith. — "  To  ascertain  whether  you 
still  believed:"  only  the  form  courteously  implies  that 
the  faith  was  certainly  there,  and  St.  Paid  only  sent  to 
"  make  assurance  doubly  sure." 

The  tempter.— See  Matt.  iv.  3.  The  word  and  the 
tense  in  the  Greek  imply,  not  only  that  it  is  his  charac- 
ter to  tempt,  but  that  it  is  liis  constant  occupation. 

Have  tempted  you  .  .  .  . — The  original  implies 
no  doubt  on  the  writer's  part  that  tlie  Tliessalonians 
had  been  tempted ;  the  only  doubt  was.  how  tliey  had 
borne  it.  The  striking  out  of  the  comma  after  "  teini>ted 
you,"  and  reading  the  clauses  quickly  togetlier.  will  give 
a  fair  notion  of  the  purport.  It  might  be  pan\i)Iini.-<ed, 
"  Lest,  in  consequence  of  the  temptations  which  the 
tempter  brouglit  against  yon,  our  toil  should  prove  in 
vain."  The  "  temptations'"  were  those  of  pers«'cution, 
and  the  time  at  wiiich  they  befell,  the  same  as  in  N^erse 
4,  "  it  came  to  pass." 


Return  of  Timothens. 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   III. 


Joy  over  their  wellrheinj. 


you,  and  our  labour  be  in  vain."  (^^  But 
now  when  Tiuiotlieus  came  from  you 
unto  us,*  and  brought  us  good  tidings 
of  your  faith  and  charity,  and  that  ye 
have  good  remembrance  of  us  always, 
desiring  greatlv  to  see  us,  as  we  also 
to  see  you :  <''^  therefore,  brethren,  we 
were  comforted  over  you  in  all  our 
affliction  and  distress  by  your  faith : 
<^>  for  now  we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in 
the  Lord.  <^^  For  what  thanks  can  we 
render"^  to  God  again  for  you,  for  all  the 


a  Oal.  4.  11 ;  Plill. 


b  Acts  18.  5. 

d  Uom.  15. 30, 32. 


1  Or,  guide. 


joy  wherewith  we  joy  for  your  sakes 
before  our  God ;  <^*^>  night  and  day 
praying  exceedingly  that  we  might  see 
your  face,''  and  might  perfect  that 
which  is  lacking  in  your  faith  ? 

*^^*  Now  God  himself  and  our  Father, 
and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

T        4.1  4.  '    Chap. iii. 11-13. 

direct  1  our  way  unto  you.  p,.afer    jnti-o. 
(12^    And    the    Lord    make  ductory  to  the 
you  to  increase  and  abound  instruction. 
in  love  one  toward  another,  and  toward 
all   men,  even    as  we    do  toward  you: 


(6)  "  We  wore  in  great  anxiety,  for  fear  you  should 
have  fallen  away,  and  sent  Timothy  to  see  if  all  was 
well ;  but  now,  all  anxiety  is  over." 

Timotheus  came.— According  to  the  usual  inter- 
pretation of  versos  1,  2,  adopted  above,  this  will  mean 
that  Timothy  had  already  returned  from  his  mission 
to  Thessalouica,  as  related  in  Acts  xviii.  5,  and  the 
occasion  of  this  present  letter  will  be  St.  Paul's  relief 
at  the  news  brought  by  him. 

Brought  us  good  tidings. — An  enthusiastic  word, 
generally  rendered,  "  preached  us  the  gospel." 

Faith  and  charity. — The  first  signifies  the  con- 
fidence in  God  which  enabled  them  to  endure  ("  that 
in  all  our  troubles  we  may  put  our  whole  trust  and 
confidence  in  Thy  mercy '')  ;  the  second,  the  tenderness 
with  wliich  tJiey  lielped  one  another  through. 

Good  remembrance. — Not  merely  "clear,  vivid 
remembrance"  (as  we  say,  "to  remember  well"),  but 
"  a  good,  kind  remembrance,"  as  the  explanation  in 
"desiring,"  &c.,  shows.  The  word  "  good  "  bears  the 
same  significance  in  Matt.  xx.  15;  Rom.  v.  7;  1  Pet. 
ii.  18.  If  the  Thessalouians  had  been  beginning  to  fall 
away,  they  would  not  have  cared  to  see  their  teachers. 

(7)  In  all  otir  affliction  and  distress.— The 
words  give  no  decisive  indication  whether  the  distress 
came  from  within  or  from  without,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  specify  in  wliat  it  consisted ;  but  either  way  it  suits 
very  well  with  Acts  xviii.  5 — 17;  1  Cor.  ii.  3. 

(«)  Now  we  live,  if. — "  Now  "  contrasts  the  new 
life  and  vigour  wliich  the  "  gospel  of  their  faith  and 
charity  "  had  infused  into  the  Apostle,  with  the  deadly 
sinking  he  liad  felt  at  the  thought  of  tlieir  possible 
apostacy.  At  the  same  time  the  "if"  has  the  half, 
future  sense,  as  though  St.  Paul  meant  that  the  con- 
tinuaiic(>  of  this  "  life "  was  contingent  upon  their 
continued  steadfastness.  Another  interpretation  has 
been  suggested,  according  to  which  botli  the  "  we  "  and 
"ye"  are  perf(>ctly  general,  and  therefore  interchange- 
able, and  the  sense  is  made  to  be  a  vague  proposition, 
"  for  standing  fast  in  tlie  Lord  is  a  sine  qua  non  of  life" 
— life  in  the  theological  sense  :  and  parts  of  Rom.  vii. 
and  viii.  are  compared.  This  interpretation,  however, 
suits  tlie  Greek  as  little  as  the  context. 

(9)  For  what  thanks  can  we  render.  —  An 
apology  for  tlie  entlmsiastic  expressions  used  in  the 
thr(>e  foregoing  verses.  "  I  may  call  it  a  gospel,  a 
balm  for  all  anxieties,  a  new  life,  for  what  mode  of 
thanksgi\ang  could  be  deemed  extravagai^t  ip  such  a 
case  of  joy?" 

Before  our  God. — As  in  chap.  i.  3,  the  occasion  on 
which  the  joy  and  thankfulness  bursts  out  is  "  in 
prayer ; "    perhaps,   in   connection  with   thanksgiving, 


especially  at.the  great  Eucharistic  Thanksgiving  (1  Cor. 
xiv.  16),  when  he  "  stood  before  the  Lord  "  in  a  special 
manner  (Acts  xiii.  2  ;   comp.  Lev.  i.  3,  11 ;  iii.  1,  et  al ). 

(10)  See  your  face.— Seeing  them  by  proxy  might 
satisfy  for  the  while,  but  not  for  long.  This  exceeding 
importunate  prayer  is  caused  by  the  feeling  that  it  was 
Satan's  hindrance  (chap.  ii.  18),  not  God  s  will,  which 
forbad  the  meeting.  He  would  not  so  have  prayed  to 
go  into  Bithynia  (Acts  's.vi.  7 ),  for  the  essence  of  prayer 
is  to  conform  the  will  to  God's  vrill. 

That  which  is  lacking  in  your  faith.— Bishop 
Wordsworth  points  out  the  imflattering  faithfulness  of 
St.  Paul's  dealing  with  his  converts.  What  the  de- 
ficiencies were  is  unknown,  but  they  certainly  include 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  dead  and  con- 
cerning the  Advent. 

(11)  God  himself  and  our  Father.— Better,  our 
God  and  Father  Himself.  If  we  are  to  find  any  special 
person  with  whom  the  word  "  Himself  "  is  intended  to 
enforce  a  contrast,  the  contrast  is  probably  not  so 
much  with  the  baffled  efforts  of  St.  Paul,  as  with 
Satan,  who  had  hindered  the  journey.  But  the  word  is 
probably  added  without  such  specific  reference  :  "  May 
God  Himself  direct  us ;  for  in  that  case  who  could 
hinder  ?  " 

And  our  Lord  .  .  . — An  important  theological  pas- 
sage. From  the  use  of  the  singular  in  the  verb 
"  direct  "  (which  of  course  the  English  cannot  express), 
some  divines  argue  in  favour  of  the  Catholic  doctrine 
of  "  homoiision,"  or  substantial  unity  of  the  Son  with 
the  Father :  it  must  not,  however,  be  too  strongly 
pressed,  or  it  might  otherwise  lead  to  the  false  notion 
of  a  personal  unity  between  Them.  Nevertheless,  we 
may  admit  that  the  prayer  (or,  rather,  ivish)  implies 
the  equality  of  the  two  Persons,  and  that  it  would  liave 
been  inconceivable  for  a  Catholic  Christian  to  have  used 
the  verb  in  the  plural.     (See  2  Thess.  ii.  17.) 

(12)  And  the  Lord  make  you.— The  word  yon  in 
the  Greek  is  emphatic  and  stands  first.  The  wish  in 
the  previous  verse  concerned  the  writers  :  "  But  you 
(whether  wo  come  or  not)  may  the  Lord  make,"  &c. 
By  "  the  Lord  "  liere  St.  Paul  seems  to  moan  not 
only  the  Son  :  the  word  appears  to  be  an  equivalent  for 
the  name  of  God. 

Increase  and  abound.— These  words  make  the 
readers  tliink  first  of  progress  and  then  of  the  state  to 
wliich  the  progress  will  bring  thorn — "  Multiply  you  in 
love  until  you  have  enough  and  to  spare  of  it  " — and  the 
same  progress  is  oxpr(>ssod  l)y  the  objects  of  the  swell- 
ing charity:  "  So  that  you  may  not  only  love  one  another 
abundantly,  but  all  mankind ' — missionary  efforts  being 
the  supi-eiiio  work  of  Christian  love — "  such  loving 
missionary  work  "  (the  writers  go  on  to  say)  "  as  ours 
among  you.^' 


136 


Practical  Instruction 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   IV. 


071  PuritTf. 


(13)  to  the  end  he  may  stablish  your 
hearts  uiiblaiiieable  in  holiness  before 
God,  even  our  Father,  at  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with  all  his  saints." 

CHAPTEE  IV.— (1)  Furthermore  then 

~,  •  1  Q  we  beseech  1  you,  brethren. 
Chap.  IV.  1-8.  1       ^  /  1        4.1 

On  the  duty  of  and  exhort  ■^  you  by  the 
chastity.  Lord  Jesus,  that  as  ye  have 


c  Rom.  12.   2 
Epli.  .■).  17. 

1  Or,  request. 

2  Or,  beseech 

d  1  Sam.  21.  5. 


received  of  us  how  ye  ought  to  walk* 
and  to  please  God,  so  ye  would  abound 
more  and  more.  ^^^  For  ye  know  what 
commandments  we  gave  you  by  the 
Lord  Jesus.  '^^  For  this  is  the  will  of 
God,''  even  your  sanctification,  that  ye 
should  abstain  from  fornication  :  (^^  that 
every  one  of  you  should  know  how  to 
possess  his  vessel ''  in  sanctification  and 


(13)  To  the  end. — A  beautiful  conuectiou  of  thought. 
Perfect  aud  settled  sauctitieatiou  iii  the  eyes  of  God  is 
the  object  in  view,  aud  the  meaus  by  which  it  is  to  bo 
attained  is  growing  and  overflowing  love  toward  man- 
kind. (See  Col.  iii.  14.)  St.  Paul  is  already  thinking, 
probably,  how  he  shall  treat  the  subject  of  chastity  in 
the  next  chapter.    (See  Note  on  chap.  iv.  6.) 

Before  God  ...  at  the  coming.— The  hearts 
are  to  be  unblamably  holy  before  God  —  not  only  all 
through  life,  but  also  at  the  Judgment  Day,  when  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  judge  us  in  the  Father's  j)reseuce,  Though 
He  has  "  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son " 
(John  V.  22),  yet  the  judgment  is  His  own,  and  the  Son 
is  the  agent  by  whom  He  judges,  just  as  He  is  the 
agent  by  whom  He  creates  (see  Acts  xvii.  31): 
therefore  in  that  day  it  is  in  the  Father's  sight  rather 
than  in  the  Sou's  (though  there  can  be  no  divergence 
between  Them)  that  we  are  to  be  able  to  clear  ourselves. 

With  all  his  saints— i.e.,  attended  by  them  :— 

"  Thousand,  thousand  saints  attending. 
Swell  the  triumph  of  His  train." 

The  word  might  possibly  be  stretched  to  include  the 
holy  angels  (Deut.  xxxiii.  2 ;  Dan.  iv.  13,  et  al.)  ;  but 
here  we  may  more  probably  suppose  that  St.  Paul  is 
anticipating  his  teaching  of  chap.  iv.  14,  and  besides, 
the  Greek  seems  almost  to  iudicate  that  these  "  saints  " 
are  to  be  assessors  in  the  judgment — an  honour  to  be 
given  only  to  holy  men.  (Comp.  Luke  xxii.  30 ;  John 
V.  28 ;  1  Cor.  vi.  3,  et  al.) 

ly. 

(1)  We  now  approach  the  practical  portion  of  the 
Epistle.  The  first  point  on  which  the  Thessalonians 
need  instruction  is  in  the  matter  of  social  purity  (verses 
1—8). 

Furthermore  hardly  expresses  the  original.  St. 
Paul  is  not  adding  a  further  injunction,  for  lie  has  as 
yet  given  none.  It  is  literally.  For  the  rest,  then  ;  and 
serves  to  introduce  the  conclusion  of  the  letter. 

Beseech. — The  marginal  requed  is  better,  the  word 
being  one  of  calm  and  friendly  asking,  implying  that 
the  person  so  addressed  wiU  recognise  the  propriety  of 
complying. 

Exhort  is  correct,  though  "  encourage "  suits  the 
context  a  little  better,  as  assuming  that  they  are 
already  so  acting,  but  not  with  enough  heart. 

By  the  Lord.— Better,  in  the  Lord.  It  is  not 
an  adjuration,  as  in  Rom.  xii.  1,  but  states  the  authori- 
tative ground  of  his  request.  "  We  encourage  you.  on 
the  strength  of  our  union  in  the  Lord  Jesus."  (Comp. 
chap.  i.  1.) 

How  ye  ought  to  walk.— Literally,  the  how.  It 
indicates  lliat  part  of  tlie  apostolic  tradition  was  a 
systematic  moral  code,  almost  as  if  it  were  the  title  of  a 
well-known  book.  "  We  gave  you  the  '  How  ye  ouglit  to 
walk,  so  as  to  please  God.' "  The  best  texts  add  imme- 
diately after,  "  even  as  also  ye  walk." 


Abound  more  and  more.— Or,  still  more.  "You 
did  receive  of  us  the  rules  of  a  holy  life  ;  you  are  living 
by  them,  and  that  to  a  very  large  degree  ;  but  we  beg 
you  and  encourage  you,  on  the  faith  of  Christians,  to  be 
still  more  lavish  in  your  self-denial." 

(2)  For  ye  know. — He  calls  on  the  The.ssalonians' 
memory  to  support  his  statement,  "  ye  received  ;  "  at  the 
same  time  awakening  their  interest  to  catch  the  special 
point  next  to  come,  by  laying  stress  on  "  what  command- 
ments." 

By  the  Lord  Jesus. — Not  as  if  the  Lord  were  the 
person  who  took  the  commandments  from  St.  Paul  to 
the  Thessalonians,  but  the  person  by  means  of  whoso 
inspiration  St.  Paul  was  enabled  to  give  such  com- 
mandments. 

(3)  For. — The  word  further  enforces  the  appeal  to 
their  memory  :  ''  Ye  knoiv  what  commandments  .  .  . 
for  this  (you  will  recollect)  is  what  God  wants;"  "a 
commandment  given  through  the  Lord  Jesus,"  being, 
of  course,  identical  with  "  God's  will." 

Your  sanctiflcation. — In  apposition  to  the  word 
this.  The  mere  conver.sion,  justification,  salvation  of 
us  are  not  the  aim  of  God  :  He  would  have  us  hoi)'. 
The  general  idea  of  sanctification  passes  however  here, 
as  the  foUowiug  clauses  show,  into  the  more  limited 
sense  of  purification. 

Fornication. — The  word  is  often  used  in  late  Greek 
for  any  kind  of  impurity,  as.  e.g.,  1  Cor.  v.  1,  of  incest ; 
but  here  it  must  be  understood  in  its  strict  sense.  To 
the  GeutUe  mind,  while  the  wickedness  of  adultery  or 
incest  was  fully  recognised,  it  was  a  novelty  to  be  told 
that  fornication  was  a  "  deadly  sin ;  "  hence  the  strange 
connection  in  which  it  stands  in  the  Svnodal  letter  to 
the  Gentile  churches  (Acts  xv.  20,  29 ;  xxi.  25).  This 
consideration  also  makes  it  easier  to  understand  how 
St.  Paul  can  praise  these  Gentile  Thessalonians  so 
heartily,  although  they  need  earnest  correction  on  this 
vital  point.  It  is  a  tnie  instance  of  the  sa<"erdotal 
metriojjathy  (or,  com2mssionate  consideration)  towards 
the  ignorant  and  deceived.    (See  Heb.  v.  1,  2.) 

W  Should  know.— The  clause  is  simply  parallel 
to  the  last,  and.  with  it,  exjilains  the  word  "  sancti- 
fication." Tlie  Bulgarian  Father,  Tlieophylact.  says 
pointedly  in  reference  to  the  word  "  to  know "  or 
"  understand,"  "  He  indicates  that  chastity  is  a  matter 
that  requires  self-discipline  and  study."  (Comp.  Epli. 
v.  17.) 

To  possess  his  vessel. — Tlie  word  rendered  "  to 
possess  "  should  rather  be  translated,  to  procure,  win, 
gain  possession  of.  Tlie  word  "  vessel"  here  lias  been 
interpreted  in  two  wajs:  (1)  "his  ^\-ife ;  "  (2)  "Ins 
body."  In  favour  of  (1)  it  is  argued  that  (while 
"gaining  possession  of  one's  own  body"  is  unintelli- 
gible), "acquiring  a  wife  of  one's  own  "  is  an  ordinary 
Greek  expres.sion ;  that  in  tliis  context,  "a  vessel." 
or  "instnunent."  is  an  expressive  and  natural  meta- 
phor; that  the  word  was  familiar  to  Hel)re\v  speakers 
in  that  sense  {e.g.,  Ahasuerus  says  of  Vasbti,  in  one 


137 


Exliortation  to  live 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   IV. 


in  Holiness  and  Purity. 


honour ;  (^^  not  in  tlie  lust  of  con- 
cupiscence, even  as  the  Gentiles  which 
know  not  God :  (*^>  that  no  man  go 
beyond  and  defraud  ^  his  brother  in  any 
matter :  -  because  that  the  Loi'd  is  the 


j  avenger  of  all  such,  as  we  also  have 
forewarned  you  and  testified.  ('')  For 
God  hath  not  called  us  unto  unclean- 
1  Or,,  wjjfiss,  or,  j  ness,  but  unto  holiness.  (^J  He  there- 
fore that  despiseth,^  despiseth  not  man, 


of  the  Targunis,  "  My  vessel  wliich  I  use  is  ncitlior 
Median  nor  Persian,  but  Chaldoo "  )  ;  that  St.  Peter 
(1  Pot.  iii.  7)  uses  the  word  of  the  wife.  But  it  may  be 
answered  tliat  tliis  interpretation  does  not  suit  our 
context;  tirst,  boeaus(>  it  would  be  laying  an  emphatic  and 
binding  veto  upon  celibacy,  if  "eacli  one"  is  "to  acquire 
a  wife  of  his  own ;  "  secondly,  because  of  the  verb  "  to 
know,"  it  certainly  being  no  part  of  a  religious  man's 
duty  "to  hnoio  how  to  procui-e  a  wife;"  thirdly, because 
the  Greek  cannot  be  translated  "a  vessel  (or  wife)  of  his 
own,"  but  '•  his  oivn  vessel "  (or  wife) — literally,  the 
vessel  of  himself — and  to  speak  of  "procuring"  the 
wife  who  is  already  one's  own  seems  unmeaning. 
Furthermore,  although  the  quotations  from  the  Targums 
are  certainly  to  the  point,  that  from  St.  Peter  distinctly 
points  tlie  other  way,  inasmucli  as  the  wife  is  called 
"  the  weaker  vessel  of  the  two,"  evidently  meaning 
that  tlie  husband  is  also  "  a  vessel,"  Tims  we  are 
driven  to  suppose  that  (2)  the  "vessel"  is  the  man's  own 
self.  This  usage  also  is  well  suppoi'ted.  In  1  Sam. 
xxi.  5,  it  is  used  in  precisely  this  sense,  and  in  the  same 
context,  as  well  as  in  1  Pet.  iii.  7.  The  passages,  how- 
ever, usually  quoted  in  support  of  this  interpretation 
from  2  Cor.  iv.  7,  Philo,  Barnabas,  Lucretius,  &c.,  do 
not  seem  quite  parallel;  for  there  the  word  siguifies  a 
"  vessel,"  in  tlie  sense  of  a  receptacle  for  containing 
something ;  here  it  is  rather  "  an  instrument "  or  "  im- 
plement "  for  doing  something.  Hence  it  approaches 
more  nearly  to  tlie  use  in  such  phrases  as  Acts  ix.  15, 
'■  a  vessel  of  choice,"  or  even  (though  the  Greek  word  is 
ditfeivmtl  to  Kcmi.  vi.  13.  "The  vessel  of  himself" 
(tlie  "  liiniself "  l)eing  in  the  Greek  strongly  empha- 
sised) moans,  not  "the  vessel  which  is  his  own,"  but 
"the  vessel  or  instrument  which  consists  of  himself." 
Thus  tlu!  ])ody,  which  of  course  is  chietly  meant  here, 
is  not  dissociated  from  the  man's  personality,  as  in 
the  fanciful  Platonism  of  Philo.  Imt  almost  identified 
with  it :  tlie  Incarnaiion  has  taught  us  the  true  dignity 
of  the  body.  Thus  it  becomes  easy  to  understand  what 
is  meant  l)y  "  knowing  how  to  gain  possession  of"  such 
an  instrument  as  the  body  with  its  many  faculties, 
rescuing  it  from  its  vile  prostitution,  and  wielding  it 
wisely  for  its  proper  uses.  So  the  same  Greek  verb 
is  used,  and  mistranslated  in  our  version,  in  Luke 
xxi.  19,  "  In  your  patience  possess  ye  your  souls." 

In  sanctiflcation  and  honour.— The  circum- 
stances in  which — almost  the  means  hy  which — the  man 
may  acquire  and  keep  this  skilful  })()werover  his  instru- 
ment:— "  i/i  a  course  of  self-puritication  and  of  self-re- 
verence." The  reverence  due  to  the  instrumc^nt  is 
bi'ouglit  out  in  a  passage  of  St.  Peter  evidently  modelled 
upon  this  (1  Pet.  iii.  7).  (Comp.  also  2  Tim.  ii.  21,  "  an  in- 
strument for  honourable  j)urposes.  and  to  be  honourably 
treated,  consecrated,  and  handy  for  its  owner's  use.") 

(5)  Not  in  the  lust  of  concupiscence,  for  such  a 
method  of  using  one's  faculties,  such  an  attempt  to 
acquire  mastery  of  vital  powers,  is  really  to  abandon 
them  altogether  to  others.  This  notion  is  involved  in 
the  very  woi'd  here  translated  "  lust,"  which  is  more 
often  rendered  "passion,"  and  implies  something  wliich 
befalls  a  man,  something  done  to  him:  "Not  in  the 
helpless  passinty  of  concupiscence "  or  uncontrolled 
desire. 


The   Gentiles  which   know  not  God.— Mind 

the  punctuation.  The  readers  of  the  letter  were  "  Gen- 
tiles which  Icneiv  God."  Their  brother  Thessalouians 
are  hekl  up  to  them  as  melancholy  examples  of  men 
who  are  trying  in  the  wrong  way  to  show  their  powiu* 
over  themselves.  Remark  that  this  is  not  one  of  the 
crimes  which  he  alleges  against  Jews. 

(0)  That  no  man.— The  form  of  the  Greek  shows 
that  this  is  not  exactly  imrallel  with  the  preceding 
clauses,  as  if  it  ran,  "  this  is  God's  will,  your  sanctifl- 
cation, for  you  to  abstain,  for  you  to  know  how  to 
possess,  for  you  not  to  go  beyond,"  &c.  It  is  a  final 
clause,  expressing  the  2^urpose  of  such  continence  as 
has  just  been  described.  Men  are  to  be  chaste  and 
self-j)ossessed,  not  only  for  their  own  salvation's  sake, 
but  in  justice  to  their  brethren.  In  chap.  iii.  12,  13, 
they  were  to  love  for  the  sake  of  becoming  holy ;  here 
they  are  to  be  hoi}'  for  the  sake  of  charity — a  blessed 
action  and  reaction. 

Defraud  his  brother. — The  original  word  implies 
a  rapacious  dishonesty,  of  which  any  person  is  guilty 
who  gives  the  rein  to  his  lusts,  especially  the  adulterer. 
The  substantive  formed  from  it  is  usually  translated 
covetoiisness,  and  is  generally  thought  to  be  used  in 
this  special  sense  in  Eph.  v.  3  ;  Col.  iii.  5.  When  all 
men  are  brethren  the  sin  becomes  worse. 

In  any  matter  should  imdoubtedly  be  in  the 
matter.  St.  Paul  chooses  the  phrase  for  delicacy's  sake, 
both  here  and  in  2  Cor.  vii.  11. 

Because  that  the  Lord. —  Again  an  anticipation 
of  the  Advent,  for  the  vengeance  meant  is  that  of  the 
Judgment  Day,  not  the  natural  retribution  which  carnal 
sin  brings  with  it.  The  "  Lord,"  therefore,  in  this  context 
probably  means  more  particularly  the  Incarnate  Son, 
who  has  a  special  claim  upon  men's  bodies  (1  Cor.  \i.  13). 

Have  forewarned.— Rather,  did  forewarn.  It 
was  part  of  the  Apostles'  original  teaching  at  Thessa- 
loiiica. 

(7)  For  God. — This  gives  the  reason  for  stating  that 
the  Lord  will  take  A^engeanceon  such  sins;  because  they 
are  not  part  of  the  terms  on  which  His  Father  called  us. 
It  should  be  "  did  not  call."  Tiiese  verses  7,  8,  sum 
up  the  little  disquisition,  returning  to  the  principle 
announced  in  verse  3. 

Unto  uncleanness,  but  unto  holiness. —  The 
preposition  translated  "  unto  "  has  the  same  force  in 
Gal.  v.  13,  "Called  unto  liberty,"  and  Eph.  ii.  10, 
"  Created  unto  good  works."  It  im])lies  not  so  much  the 
definite  end  to  which  we  are^  invited,  as  the  terms  on 
which  the  invitation  will  still  stand;  for  the  call  is  not 
yet  accomjilished.  (See  Note  on  chap.  ii.  12.)  The  second 
"  unto  "  in  the  Greek  is  simply  "  in,"  used  in  tlie  same 
sense  as  in  verse  4.  Paraphrase,  "  For  God  did  not  call 
us  on  the  understanding  that  we  might  be  unclean,  but 
by  the  way  of  sanctification." 

Holiness  is  a  mistranslation  for  sanctification. 
The  process,  not  the  quality,  is  meant. 

(8)  "  So  you  see  that  to  act  contumcliously  in  the 
matter  is  to  act  contuuKdiously  not  only  towards  your 
neighbour,  but  towards  God  Himself,  and  that,  too,  after 
He  has  given  you  a  gift  wliich  should  have  preserved 
you  from  these  coiTuptions." 


138 


Directions  concern'mg 


I.   TIIESSALONIAXS,   IV. 


Brotherly  Love. 


but  God,  wlio  liatli  also  given  unto  us 

liis  holy  Spirit. 

(9)  But    as   touching   brotherly    love 

ye  need   not    that  I  write 
Chap.  iv.  9— 12.    -^     ,  ..  , 

On   regulating  uuto  you : « lor  ye  yourselves 

Christian     fel-   are     taught     of     God*     to 
low-feoling.        j^^,g  Q^^g  another,     d^)  And 


a  ch.  5.  1. 

b  .Ter.    31.    33,  ai ; 
.idlin  6.  45;  Hell. 
8.  10,  11. 
c  2  Thess.  a  10. 


indeed  ye  do  it  toward  all  the  brethren 
which  are  in  all  Macedonia :  but  we 
beseech  you,  brethren,  that  ye  in- 
crease more  and  more ;  (^^'  and  that 
ye  study  to  be  quiet,  and  to  do  your 
own  business,  and  to  work  with  your 
own    hands,   as    we    commanded   you;"^ 


He  .  .  .  that  despiseth. — The  verb  means  to  treat 
as  insignificant  citlicr  persons  or  things.  Hero  the  object 
is  not  snpplied  in  the  first  instance,  in  order  to  heighten 
the  effect  of  the  second  chiuse.  If  we  were  to  supply- 
it,  it  would  include  all  the  rights  which  the  unclean 
liver  spurns,  "  the  commandments  which  we  (mere  men 
as  you  thought  us)  gave  you,"  the  "  brother "  whoso 
domestic  happiness  has  been  invaded,  the  unfortunate 
victim  herself,  and,  finally,  the  "  honour "  due  to  the 
sinner's  own  body.  Since  it  was  God  who  ordered  the 
relations  in  which  we  all  stand  to  one  another,  contempt 
for  these  relations  is  contempt  for  Him, 

Who  hath  also  given. — Mistranslated  for  "  who 
also  gave.'"  St.  Paul  is  looking  back  to  the  day  when 
he  confirmed  them;  for  the  right  reading  is  not  "imto 
tt.s,"  but  "  unto  you,"  or  moro  correctly  "  into  you  " — i.e., 
''  to  enter  into  you,  and  dwell  there "  (John  xiv.  17, 
and  many  other  places).  The  word  "holy"  in  the 
original  is  very  emphatically  put :  "  Who  also  gave 
His  Spirit — His  Holy  Spirit — to  enter  you,"  thus 
bi-inging  out  the  startling  contrast  between  such  foul 
lives  and  the  holiness  which  befitted  and  was  possible 
(Rom.  vi.  14 ;  viii.  3,  4)  for  men  in  whom  the  Holy 
Ghost,  communicated  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  vouch- 
safed to  dwell. 

(9)  But  .  ;  . — This  forms  the  second  subject  of  in- 
struction, following  naturally  on  the  first.  "  We  are 
very  glad  to  hear  of  so  strong  a  Christian  feeling  of 
brotherhood  among  you,  and  think  it  almost  unne- 
cessary to  say  anything  more  to  you  about  it ;  still 
your  charity  is  hardly  catholic  enough,  nor  have  you 
exercised  it  with  sufficient  sobriety  and  thrift." 

Brotherly  love. — Not  love  of  men  at  large,  but  of 
Christians  in  particular  :  in  fact,  pretty  nearly  what  we 
call  "  Church  feeling."  It  is  the  natural  affection  of 
those  who  feel  that  they  are  children  of  the  same  Father 
and  the  same  mother  (Gal.  iv.  26),  members  of  the  same 
"  household  of  faith  "  (Gal.  vi.  10).  In  itself,  it  is  not 
the  most  exalted  of  graces,  being  to  some  extent  the 
outcome  of  community  of  interests ;  therefore  St.  Peter 
exhorts  his  readers  to  make  it  a  means  of  obtaining 
the  higher  grace  of  charity  (1  Pet.  i.  22  ;  2  Pet.  i.  7). 
St.  Paul  in  this  place  does  mean  the  sentiment  rather 
than  the  practice,  but  has  specially  in  view  the  exercise 
of  liberality  towards  fellow-Cliristians.  The  feeling 
of  community  can  only  be  known  by  acts  that  prove  it. 

Ye  need  not.— A  sweet  rhetorical  figure,  by  which 
men  are  encouraged  to  the  performance  of  a  duty  in 
wliioh  they  are  not  perfect,  by  tlio  praising  of  their 
imperfect  attempts  :  a  specimen  of  that  "  courtesy " 
which  is  a  part  of  "  brotherly  love."  (See  1  Pet. 
iii.  8.)     "  I  "  should  bo  we,  or  anij. 

Ye  yourselves. — It  seems  as  if  St.  Paul  had  in- 
tended at  first  to  say,  "  For  ye  yourselves  know  without 
any  instruction,"  but  suddenly  inserts  the  source  of 
their  knowledge  instead :  "  For  ye  yourselves  are 
divinely  taught  already."  This  seems  more  natural 
to  the  context  (though  grammatically  less  easy)  than  to 
understand :  "  For  ye  yourselves  (as  well  as  we)  are 
taught  of  God.'      (Coinp.,   however,    the    references.) 


God's  teaching  here  comes  (though  perhaps  other  modes 
are  not  excluded)  by  the  direct  contact  with  the  in- 
dwelling Sijirit.     (See  1  John  ii.  27.) 

To  love. — In  the  Greek  this  is  not  the  simple  infini- 
tive after  "  taught ;  "  it  expresses  rather  the  result  and 
issue  of  God's  teaching :  "  have  been  so  schooled  by 
God  as  to  love  one  another."  This  love  is  not  actually 
contrasted  with  the  ''  brotherly  kindness "  above,  but 
means  more. 

(It))  And  indeed  ye  do  it — i.e.,  ''love  one  another; " 
but  the  words  seem  to  imply  a  very  practical  form  of 
love.  This  fact  justifies  St.  Paul  in  saying  that  the 
Thossalonians  were  so  taught  of  God. 

Toward. — Hather,  even  unto  ;  as  far  a.i  unto.  The 
Thessalonians'  charity  has  travelled  already  a  long 
way  from  its  starting-point  at  home,  extending  over  all 
northern  Greece.  As  Thessalonica  had  been  the  centre 
of  evangelisation  (chap.  i.  8),  so  also  of  the  maintenance 
of  the  Churches.  The  words  need  not  necessarily 
(though  tliey  do  probably)  imply  a  number  of  missionary 
stations  besides  the  thi-ee  j)laces  where  the  Apostles 
had  preached. 

Increase  more  and  more. — A  little  too  emphatic : 
abound  (or,  overfioic)  still  more.  The  words  are 
identical  with  those  in  verse  1.  The  brotherly  kindness 
of  the  Thessalonians  did  not  spread  over  a  wide  enough 
area  in  merely  traversing  Macedonia,  nor  was  it  so  unos- 
tentatious as  true  love  should  be. 

(11)  And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiet.— The  word 
means  more  than  '•  study ;  "  '•  and  that  ye  make  it 
your  aml)iti()n  to  keep  quiet" — their  ambitiim  hanng 
formerly  been  to  make  a  stir  among  the  Churches.  It 
is  a  strong  use  of  the  rhetorical  figure  called  o.vymoron, 
or  combining  words  of  contraiy  meaning  in  order  to  give 
force  and  point  to  the  style.  The  warnings  in  this  verse 
are  not  directed  against  defiance  of  the  law  of  brotherly 
love,  but  against  a  thoroughly  wrong  mode  of  .^howinj 
that  love  :  the  unquietness,  meddlesomeness,  desultori- 
ness  Avith  which  it  was  accompanied  are  not  so  much 
instances  of  xmkindness  to  the  brotherhood  as  scandals 
to  the  heathen.  Hence  the  conjunction  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  verse  has  something  of  an  adversative  force: 
"  We  beg  you  to  be  even  more  abundantly  liberal, 
and  (yet)  at  the  same  time  to  agitate  for  perfect 
calmness  about  it."  It  is  ommonly  supposed  (but 
proof  is  impossible)  that  the  unsettlement  arose  from 
belief  in  the  nearness  of  tlie  Advent. 

Do  your  owa  business.— Not  merely  was  each 
individual  to  do  his  own  work,  but  the  whole  Church 
was  to  refrain  from  interfering  ostentatiously  with 
other  Churches.  In  all  languages.  "  to  mind  one's  own 
business  "  signifies  rather  the  negative  idea  of  ceasing 
to  meddle  than  the  positive  idea  of  industry. 

Work  with  your  own  hands.— Apparently  tlie 
Thessalonians  had  been  so  lousy  in  organising  away 
from  home  that  thev  bad  had  no  time  to  see  to  their 
own  industry,  and  sJ  (see  end  of  next  verse^  were  be- 
ginning  to  fall  into  difficulties.  The  words  "with 
your  own  hands  "  are  supposed  to  indicate  that  most  of 
the  Thcssalonian  Christians  were  of  the  artisan  class. 


139 


They  are.  not  to  sorrow 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   IV. 


hojielessly  for  the  dead. 


(^2)  that  ye  may  walk  honestly  toward 
them  that  are  without,"  and  tliat 
Chap.iv.13-18.  ye     ni'vy     liave     lack     of 

Ontlieoquahiy    nothing. ^ 

of     quick    and  (13)     B^t      I      would       UOt 

deadatChrist  8   ,  ,       i        •  j  a 

Coming.  have  you  to  be  ignorant,* 


0  1  Pet.  i.  12. 

c  Eph.  2, 12. 

1  Or,  of  no  man. 

d  Rev.  14.  IS. 

h  Rom  1. 13;  II.-': 

1  for.  1".  I ;  12.  : 

2  for.  1.  a 


brethren,  concerning  them  which  are 
asleep,  tliat  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as 
others  which  have  no  hope/  (^^^  For 
if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose 
again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep 
in    Jesus  '^  will   God    bring   with   him. 


(1-)  Honestly. — Not  in  our  modern  sense  of  the 
word,  but  "  honourably,"  "  creditably." 

Toward— i.e.,  '•  in  reference  to,"  '■  in  j'our  connection 
with."  The  heathen  were  certain  to  be  watching  the 
conduct  of  tlie  members  of  the  new  religion,  and  it 
would  l)ring  down  political  suspicion  if  they  were  seen 
to  be  acting  more  like  agitators  for  a  secret  society 
than  honest  citizens  who  worked  at  their  handicraft 
and  calling. 

Of  nothing.  —  Right :  the  marginal  version  is 
hardly  consistent  with  the  Greek.  Two  pur[)oses  will 
be  fulfilled  by  their  industry  ;  (1)  to  allay  heathen  sus- 
picion; (2)  to  be  well  supplied  themselves.  It  seems 
as  if  they  had  been  reduced  to  begging  of  other 
Churches  in  return  for  their  own  expensive  charities. 

(13)  But.  —  We  pass  to  the  third  clearly-marked 
point :  the  share  of  the  Christian  dead  in  the  Coming 
of  Christ.  Possibly  an  association  of  ideas  may  have 
caused  St.  Paul  to  join  these  two  subjects,  of  quietude 
and  the  Advent,  so  closely  ( see  Note  on  verse  11 ).  "  You 
need  liave  no  distress  about  your  dead :  when  Christ 
comes,  they  will  be  there  too ;  they  will  come  with 
Him,  and  we  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet  them." 

I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant. — The 
right  reatliiig  is  we.  St.  Paul  is  still  speaking  in  the 
name  of  his  companions  as  well  as  his  own.  The 
phrase  is  very  weighty,  and  marks  how  lamentable  such 
a  piece  of  ignorance  would  be.  (See  references  in  the 
margin.) 

Which  are  asleep. — The  best  reading  is  rather, 
which  fall  nxh'fp  ;  the  grief  renewed  itself  over  each 
successive  death-lj(  d.  The  image  of  sleep  is  a  mere 
metaphor,  drawn  from  the  outward  phenomena  of 
death,  and  is  used  as  an  euphemism  for  death ;  there- 
fore no  doctrine  can  be  deduced  with  precision  from 
it.  It  cannot  be  said  (for  instance)  on  the  strength  of 
such  pas.sages  alone,  tliat  only  the  hody  sleeps,  and  not 
the  soul ;  -or,  again,  that  the  soul  sleeps  while  the  body 
remains  in  the  grave.  That  the  soul,  or  at  any  rate  the 
spirit,  still  retains  consciousness  after  dissolution  is 
clear  from  other  places ;  but  when  the  metaphor  of 
sleep  is  used,  it  is  used  of  the  tchole  man  (e.g.,  John 
xi.  11,  "  Lazarus  " — not  "  Lazarus'  body  " — "  sleepeth"), 
the  explanati(m  being  either  tliat  stated  above — i.e., 
that  the  word  is  simply  j^'ctxre-'^que,  describing  the 
peaceful  appearance  of  the  dead — or  that  the  reference 
is  to  rest  from  labour  (Rt>v.  xiv.  13).  At  the  same  time, 
the  metaphor  suggi»sts  (otherwise  it  Avould  l)e  mis- 
leading, and  St.  Paul  would  not  have  used  it)  a  con- 
tinued (even  if  partly  unconscious)  existence,  and  the 
possibility  of  a  reawakening.  Again,  for  the  same 
reason — i.e.,  because  the  word  is  metaphorical,  not 
doctrinal — it  cannot  be  limited  to  the  Christian  dead : 
when  the  writers  need  to  mark  specially  the  departed 
Christians  they  annex  qualifying  words,  as  in  verse  14. 
Of  course,  on  the  mention  of  "  the  dead,"  the  Tlies- 
salonians  will  at  once  think  of  their  own  brethren 
departed,  so  that  there  is  no  ambiguity. 

That  ye  sorrow  not.— The  words  express  St. 
Paul's  object  in  wishing  them  to  know  the  truth.     He 


140 


wants  them  7iot  to  sorrow  at  all  over  the  dead ;  sorrow 
is  only  fit  for  Gentiles  who  have  no  hope.  He  docs 
not  mean  that  they  are  not  to  sorrow  to  the  same  degree 
as  tJiose  outside  the  Church,  but  that  to  Christians, 
who  have  a  hope,  and  such  a  hope,  death  ouglit  to  have 
no  sorrows.  The  Office  of  Burial  in  the  Prayer-book 
is  as  joyous  as  the  Eucharistic  Office  itself. 

Others. — The  Greek  word  is  "  the  others,  those  who 
have  no  hope,"  and  includes  all  who  were  not  members 
of  the  Church  :  "  That  ye  mourn  not  like  the  rest, 
which  have  no  hope."  The  having  no  hope  does  not 
mean  that  there  is  no  hope  for  them,  but  that  they  are 
not  cheered  by  hope. 

(1^)  For  if  .  .  . — A  reason  for  thinking  that  if  the 
Thessalonians  know  and  believed  the  truth,  they  ought 
not  to  be  so  miserable.  Tlie  "  if  "  implies  no  doubt  : 
"  if  we  believe  (as  we  do),  then,"  &c. — merely  clearing 
the  ground  for  a  logical  deduction.  The  writer  does 
not  care  to  prove  so  well-known  a  fact  as  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ ;  he  only  argues  from  the  clear  faith 
of  the  Thessalonians  with  regard  to  it. 

Jesus  died  and  rose  again.— Notice  the  human 
name ;  for  though  it  is  true  that  as  God  He  raised 
Himself  (John  x.  18),  as  man  He  was  no  less  dependent 
upou  the  Father  than  we  are  (Acts  xvii.  31) :  therefore 
His  resurrection  is  a  real  argument  for  ours.  And  the 
two  verbs  are  put  together  because  of  their  contrariety 
— "  really  died  a  human  death,  and  yet  rose  again." 

Even  so. — The  structure  of  the  clauses  is  not  quite 
regular.  We  should  have  expected  either  the  omission 
of  "  we  believe  that"  in  the  first,  or  the  insertion  of  it 
in  the  second :  it  makes  the  statement  of  the  second, 
however,  more  direct  or  authoritative. 

Which  sleep  in  Jesus.— Rjither,  which  were  laid 
to  sleep  through  Jesus.  The  meaning  of  the  preposi- 
tion, however,  is  not  widely  diiferent  from  "in."  The 
simpler  words  in  Eev.  xiv.  l3  mean  '"  djnng  in  full  com- 
munion still  with  Him."  Our  present  phrase  makes 
Him,  as  it  were,  the  way,  or  door,  by  which  they 
journeyed  to  death  :  He  surrounded  them  as  they  sank 
to  rest.  (Comp.  John  x.  9.)  Additional  sweetness 
is  imparted  to  the  phrase  by  the  use  of  the  metaphor 
of  sleep  ;  but  it  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  say,  as  Dean 
Alford  does,  that  "  falling  asleep  "  is  here  contrasted 
with  "dying,"  in  this  sense: — "  Wlio  through  the 
power  of  Jesus  fell  asleep  instead  of  djnng  " — for  the 
word  is  even  used  of  a.  judicial  puiiishment  of  death  in 
1  Cor.  xi.  30. 

Will  God  bring  with  him— i.e.,  with  Jesus.  In 
the  Greek  the  word  God  stands  in  an  unemphatic  posi- 
tion— '*  Even  so  will  God  bring,''  implyingthat  it  was  God 
also  who  had  raised  Jesus  from  the  dead.  But  St.  Paul 
is  not  content  witli  sajnng.  "  Even  so  will  God  raise  those 
who  passed  through  Christ  to  death."  The  thought  of 
the  Advent  is  so  supreme  with  him  that  he  passes 
at  once  to  a  moment  l)eyond  resurrection.  If  the  ques- 
tion be  asked  from  ichence  God  Avill  bring  the  dead 
along  with  Christ,  it  must  be  answered,  from  Paradise, 
and  the  persons  brought  must  be  the  disembodied 
spirits  ;  for  in  verse  Iti  this  coming  of  the  Lord  with 
the  saints  is  the  signal  for  the  dead — i.e.,  the  bodies — to 


The  Resurrection, 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   IV 


and  Christ's  Coining. 


(15)  YoT  this  Ave  say  unto  you  by  the 
word  of  the  Lord,"  that  we  *  which  are 
alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  shall  not  prevent  them  which 
are  asleep.  (^'^^  For  the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout, 


a  1  Klnirs  13. 1 ;  17. 

18 :  •-•0.  :a. 
6  1  C'lir.  15.51,52. 
C  MaU.  24.  31. 


d  .Vets    8.    39 

2  Cor.  12.  4. 
e  Matt.  25.  6. 


with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and 
with  the  trump  of  God : '  and  the  dead 
in  Christ  shall  rise  first :  (^"^  then  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be 
caught  up  '^  together  with  them  in  the 
clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord '  in  the  air : 


rise.  It  must  be  owned,  liowever,  tliat  this  luauuor  of 
speaking  is  nuusiml.  Jesus  is  no  louger  iu  Paradise, 
for  the  spirits  to  be  brouglit  tlieueo  ivitli  Him  ;  aud 
one  would  liave  expected  sometliing  more  like  "  bring- 
ing up  "  (Heb.  xiii.  20),  as  it  is  always  considered  a 
descent  into  "  liell "  or  Paradise.  Because  of  this 
difficulty  (which  however  is  more  iu  form  than  reality), 
some  take  the  words  to  mean,  "  God  will  lead  them  by 
the  same  path  with  Chri.st  " — i.e.,  will  make  their  whole 
career  (including  resurrection)  conform  with  His,  com- 
paring tlie  same  verb  in  Horn.  viii.  14 ;  Heb.  ii.  10. 

(15)  By  the  word  of  the  Lord. — Literally,  in.  A 
most  direct  claim  to  plenaiy  inspiration  (see  references). 
It  does  not  mean  "  According  to  certain  words  which 
Christ  spoke,"  nor  yet  ''  Bij  means  oi  a  revelation  from 
the  Lord  to  me,"  but  ''^  By  ivay  of  a  di\'ine  revelation  :  " 
"  I  tell  you  this  as  a  message  straight  from  God." 
In  what  way  apostles  and  prophets  became  conscious 
of  supernatural  inspiration  we  Ciiunot  tell ;  but  else- 
where also  St.  Paul  speaks  of  possessing  the  conscious- 
ness sometimes  and  not  at  others.  (See  1  Cor.  vii. 
10,  12,  25,  40.)  He  means  this  declaration  here  to 
hold  good  of  the  details,  which  are  such  as  no  one 
would  invent  and  teach  with  sucli  solemnity ;  at  the 
same  time  it  must  be  remembered,  with  regard  to  the 
details,  that  it  is  the  very  idiom  of  prophecy  (which 
St.  Paul  here  uses)  to  express  by  material  imagery 
sijiritual  facts. 

We  which  are  alive  and  remain. — Literally, 
We,  (that  is)  the  quick,  those  who  are  left  over.  There 
is  not  the  least  neces.sity  for  supposing  from  tliese 
words  that  St.  Paul  confidently  expected  the  Advent 
before  his  death.  Very  likely  he  did,  but  it  cannot  be 
proved  from  this  passage.  Had  the  "we"  stood  alone, 
without  the  explanatory  participles,  it  might  have 
amounted  to  a  proof,  but  not  so  now.  His  converts 
are  strongly  under  the  impression  that  they  will  be  alive 
at  the  Coming,  and  that  it  will  be  the  worse  for  the 
departed:  therefore,  St.  Paul  (becoming  all  things  to 
all  men)  identifies  himself  with  them — assumes  that 
it  will  be  as  they  expected  —  aud  proves  the  more 
vividly  the  fallacy  of  the  Thessaloniaus'  fears.  It 
would  have  been  impossible,  on  the  contrary,  for  St. 
Paul  to  have  said  "  we  which  are  dead "  without 
definitely  abandoning  the  hope  of  seeing  the  Return. 
Besides  which,  St.  Paul  is  on\y  picturing  io  imagination 
tlie  scene  of  the  Advent ;  and  for  any  man  it  is  far 
easier  to  imagine  himself  among  the  quick  than  among 
the  dead  at  that  moment. 

Shall  not  prevent — i.e.,  "  be  before,"  "  get  the 
start  of."  If  it  wore  not  for  these  words,  we  might 
liave  fancied  that  the  Tliessalonians  had  not  been 
taught  to  believe  in  a  resurrection  at  all ;  which  would 
liave  l)een  a  strange  departure  from  the  usual  apostolic 
gospel  (I  Cor.  xv.  1.  et  .<9eq.).  We  here  leani  what  was 
tlie  exact  nature  of  the  Thessaloniaus'  anxiety  concerning 
the  dead.  They  were  full  of  excited  hoiws  of  the  coming 
of  that  kingdom  which  had  fonned  so  i»roininent  a  part 
of  rhe  Apostles'  ]>reaching  there  (Acts  xvii.  7) ;  and  were 
afraid  that  the  highest  glories  in  that  kingdom  would 
bo  engrossed  by  those  who  were  alive  to  receive  them  ; 


and  thi't  the  dead,  not  being  to  rise  till  aftei-wards, 
would  have  less  blessed  pri\-ileges.  This  would  make 
them  not  only  sorry  for  their  dead  friends,  but  also 
reluctant  to  die  themselves.  The  negative  in  this  clause 
is  very  emphatic  in  the  Greek,  and  throws  all  its  force 
upon  the  verb  :  "  We  shall  certainly  not  get  the  start  of 
them  that  sleep ; "  i.e.,  "  if  anything,  we  shall  be 
behind  them;  they  will  rise  first." 

(16)  For. — A  justification  of  the  statement  that  we 
shall  certainly  not  prevent  the  dead ;  therefore,  the 
words  as  far  as  '•  trump  of  Gt>d  "  are  logically  |jare/i- 
thetical ;  and  the  proof  only  begins  at  "  They  shall  rise 
first :  then  we  shall  be  caught  up." 

With  a  shout.— The  Greek  word  means  a  shout  of 
command  or  encouragement,  such  as  a  captain  gives  to 
his  soldiers,  or  a  boatswain  to  his  crew.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  inquire  icliat  the  command  may  be,  or  to 
ivhom  issued,  inasmuch  as  the  word  does  not  always 
imply  any  particular  orders ;  nor  icho  is  represented  as 
uttering  it :  the  intention  is  only  to  ccmvey  the  notion 
of  tlio  stirring  noise,  in  the  midst  of  which  (for  the 
original  has  "  iu,"  not  "  with  ")  the  Lord  will  descend. 
It  is,  however,  somewhat  particularised  by  what  foUows  : 
two  notes  amid  those  sounds  of  mystery  strike  the  ear 
— the  archangel's  voice,  and  the  trump  of  God.  Pro- 
bably, therefoi'e,  the  "shout  of  command"  is  uttered 
by  the  "  leader  of  the  angels;"  and  the  trump  (called 
"  the  trump  of  God  "  because  used  for  God's  purposes) 
is  blown  to  summon  the  mustering  hosts.  In  favour  of 
supposing  the  Lord  Himself  to  utter  the  cry,  niay  be 
adduced  John  v.  25;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  suits 
the  dignity  of  the  scene  better  to  imagine  the  loud 
sound  to  come  rather  from  one  of  the  heralds  of  the 
great  army.  The  preposition  "  in "  is  more  eifective 
tliau  "  with  :  "  it  calls  attention  to  the  long  blast. 
(Comp.  Ex.  xix.  19.) 

Shall  rise  first. — Not  as  meaning  "  shall  be  the 
first  to  rise,"  as  contrasted  with  non-members  of  the 
Cliurch  who  are  to  rise  later ;  though  that  is  a  scrip- 
tural thought  (Rev.  xx.  5,  6),  the  Greek  hei-e  refuses 
to  be  so  explained.  Rather,  "the  first  thing  will  l>e 
the  rising  of  the  dead  in  Christ."  contrasted  with  what 
follows — •'  then,  a.ud  not  till  then,  shall  we  \)0  caught  up." 
The  same  order  is  carefully  observed  in  1  Cor.  xv.  52. 

(17)  Shall  be  caught  up.— "  Our  Assumption,"  as 
Bishop  EUicott  well  calls  it.  The  spiritualising  of  our 
natural  bodies  without  death,  us  described  iu  1  Cor  xv. 
50,  et  seq.,  will  enable  us  to  be  "caught  up  "equally 
well  with,  and  in  company  with  (both  of  which  thouglits 
are  included  in  "  together  with  "),  the  resurgent  dead. 
"  Clouds  "  and  "  air  "  will  be  support  enougli  for  ma- 
terial so  immaterial.  Theodoret  says.  "  He  showeth 
the  greatness  of  the  honour  :  as  the  Ma-stcr  Himself 
was  taken  up  upon  a  shining  cloud,  so  also  they  tliat 
have  believed  in  Him."  The  absolute  equality,  then,  of 
quick  and  dead  is  proved. 

To  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air.— St.  Chrysostom 
says  :  "  Wlien  the  King  cometh  into  a  city,  tbey  that 
are  honourable  proceed  forth  to  meet  him.  but  the 
guilty  await  their  judge  within."  Tlie  phrase  "  in  the 
air  "  certAiuly  does  not  mean  "  heaven."  The  word  "  air  " 


141 


The.  Suddenness  of 


I.   THESSALONIANS,   Y. 


the  Day  of  the  Lord. 


and  so  sliall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord. 
(isj  Wherefore  comfort-  oue  another 
with  these  words. 

CHAPTER  v.— (1)  But  of  the  times 
Cha  V  1-11  ^^^^  ^^^^  seasons,"  brethren, 
On  the  date  of  ye    have   no   need   that   I 

the  Advent  aud  ^y^ite  unto  you.*  1-)  For 
its  practical  ,  ,  ■'  n     ,^ 

lessons.  yourselves  know  perfectly 


c  Joel  2.  1. 

d  Mutt.  24 

43: 

Luke  12. 

at: 

2   ret.  3. 

id; 

Itev.  a  3 

iti. 

Ij. 

e  Kzek.  13. 

a 

A.D.  54. 

a 

D.in.  2.  21  ;  Arts 

h 

(11.4.9. 

/  Uom.  la 

11, 

12,  la 

a  rh.  1.  2. 
h  Luke   16 

«; 

J()Iin  12. 

:t>>; 

Epli.  a.  8. 

'  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  so  cometh '  as 
a  thief  in  the  night.''  (^^  For  when  they 
shall  say,  Peace '  and  safety ;  then 
sudden  destruction  cometh  upon  them, 
as  travail  upon  a  Avoman  with  child ; 
and  they  shall  not  escape.  (^^  But  ye, 
brethren,  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that 
day/  should  overtake  you  as  a  thief. 
(^^  Ye  are  all^  the  children  of  light,''  and 


ill  itself  projierly  signifies  the  lower,  denser,  grosser  | 
atmosphere,  in  which  the  jjowers  of  darkness  reign 
(Eph.  ii.  2);  but  here  it  is  only  used  in  contrast  with 
tlie  ground,  and  nieaus  "on  the  way  from  Heaven 
whence  He  comes,"  of  course  not  to  dwell  there,  but 
to  accompany  Him  to  His  Judgment-seat  on  the  earth. 

And  so. — Xow  that  St.  Paul  has  settled  the  ques- 
ti^jn  of  disparity  between  the  dead  aud  the  li\'iug,  ho 
does  not  think  it  necessary  to  describe  what  is  imme- 
diately to  follow ;  thut,i\\ii  Thessalouiaus  w^ere  sure  to 
know  (see  Heb.  vi.  2):  it  only  remains  to  say  that  having 
once  rejoined  the  Lord,  they  would  never  bo  parted 
from  Him. 

(isi)  Comfort  one  another. — Here  is  a  balm  for 
the  "  sorrow  "  of  verse  13.  Bather,  "  in  these  words  " 
than  "  Kith  ;"  "  Repeat  these  veiy  words  to  one  another, 
and  you  will  find  the  comfort."  What  bereaved  Christian 
has  not  found  this  true  ? 

Y. 

(1)  But  of  the  times.— Tlie  fourth  subject  of  in- 
struction ;  tlie  bearing  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Advent 
upon  the  Christian's  own  life.  "  Times  and  seasons  " 
is  a  Hebraism,  and  in  the  original,  the  second  word,  not 
the  first,  is  the  more  explicit  :  we  should  say,  "  About 
day  and  hour."  The  plural  seems  to  mean  the  different 
periods  at  which  men  might  conceive  the  Advent  likely 
to  come. 

Ye  have  no  need. — The  next  verse  shows  that  this 
paragmph  is  not  so  much  intended  for  an  answer  to  a 
false  theory  about  the  time  of  the  Advent,  as  practically 
to  cure  the  restlessness  common  at  Thessalonica. 

(2)  Know  perfectly.— Or,  accurately.  There  is 
something  of  an  oxymoron  (see  Note  on  chap.  iv.  11) 
here.  "  1  need  not  tell  you  about  the  time,  for  you 
know  to  a  nicety — not  the  hour  of  Christ's  coining,  but 
— the  utter  uncertainty  respecting  it."  The  word 
shows  at  the  same  time  with  what  scrupulous  care  St. 
Paul  had  instnicted  them  on  this  topic. 

The  day  of  the  Lord.— Here  "the  Lord"  (as 
usual  in  the  Xew  Testament)  means  Jesus  Christ;  and 
this  day  can  mean  nothing  else  than  the  great  day  of  His 
return  to  judgment.  Tlie  expression  is  taken  from  the 
Old  Testament,  where,  of  couree,  it  does  not  primarily 
mean  what  we  call  "  the  Day  of  Judgment,"  but  the 
set  time  which  God  has  fixed  for  any  great  visitation. 
Thus  in  Joel  ii.  1,  et  secj.,  it  means  the  time  appointed  for 
the  plague  of  locusts ;  in  Ezek.  xiii.  5,  generally,  any 
day  when  God  visits  His  peojjle ;  in  Joel  iii.  14,  the  fixed 
time  for  vengeance  to  bo  taken  upon  the  heathen  for 
persecuting  the  Church ;  which,  in  Isa.  ii.  12  (a  passage 
largely  intluonced  l)y  recollections  of  Joel),  seems  to 
widen  into  a  general  day  of  judgment  for  mankind. 

Cometh. — Xot  merely,  vill  come  ;  it  is  an  absolute 
Ci-rtainty  that  the  time  is  on  its  way  to  come.  (See  Note 
on  chap.  i.  10.) 

As  a  thief  in  the  night  — ne.  unexpectedly 
(Matt.  xxiv.  43),  and  under  cover  of  darkness.     The 

U: 


frequency  of  the  simile  (see  references)  throws  light  on 
the  words  "  know  perfectly,"  making  it  apparent  that 
it  was  the  ordinary  formula  in  which  the  doctrine  was 
universally  taught  by  the  Apostles. 

(3)  They. — Quite  vague  and  general,  like  the  French 
on.  The  plural  is  so  used  frequently  in  St.  Luke  (xii.  11, 
20,  margin;  xvi.  9,  probably;  xxiii.  29,  30,  31).  Of 
course,  however,  no  Christian  could  say  so,  for  they 
are  ever  on  the  watch,  so  that  "  they  "  ^vill  mean  "  the 
world."  The  word  "for"  at  the  beginning  of  the  verse 
should  (according  to  the  best  MSS.)  be  struck  out — the 
abruptness  helps  to  enforce  the  lesson. 

Peace  and  safety. — Carrj-iug  on  the  thought 
suggested  by  the  word  "  night ;  "  they  are  taking  their 
repose  in  security,  ^vithout  dreaming  of  any  interrup- 
tion to  their  slumbers.  Is  it  possible  that  there  may 
here  be  a  faint  recollection  of  the  parable  related  in 
Matt.  XXV.  1—13  ? 

Destruction  cometh  upon  them.— Literally, 
stands  over  them;  or  takes  its  stand  over  them;  presents 
itself.  The  present  tense  is  used  for  the  sake  of  a  more 
A-ivid  effect.  The  extreme  similarity  of  this  passage  to 
Luke  xxi.  34  (with  other  indications)  inclines  Bishop 
Wordsworth  to  think  that  the  Thessalonians  had  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Luke  to  refer  to. 

As  travail. — A  common  Oriental  simile  to  express 
not  only  suddenness,  but  horror  also.  Theodoret  fairly 
says,  "  The  woman  with  child  knows  that  she  has  the 
child  to  bear,  but  knows  not  the  exact  time  for  her 
pangs ;  so  we  also  know  that  the  Lord  of  all  will 
appear,  but  the  moment  itself  we  have  by  no  means 
been  cxjilicitly  taught."  The  comment,  however, 
hardly  suits  this  passage,  as  the  persons  on  whom  the 
destruction  vrill  thus  burst  are  not  iiersons  who  live  in 
any  expectati(m  of  such  a  judgment. 

(^)  But  ye. — "  Though  the  world  (which  lieth  in 
darkness )  may  be  surprised  at  the  coming  of  the  Day, 
you,  members  of  the  Church,  liA-ing  in  the  light,  cannot 
be  sui-prised."  The  words  "  in  darkness  "  seem  to  be 
suggested  by  the  mention  of  "  night  "  in  verse  2  ;  and 
the  chief  thought  (as  the  succeeding  verses  show)  is 
that  of  sui)ineuess,  inattention,  torpoi',  not  so  much 
cither  ignorance  or  sin. 

That  day. — Literally,  the  day :  so  that  it  does  not 
mean  the  Judgment  Day  simply  as  a  point  of  time,  but 
brings  out  its  characteristic  of  being  a  day  indeed. 
(Coinp.  1  Cor.  iii.  13.) 

As  a  thief. — There  is  another  reading  which  has  two 
of  the  best  MSS.  and  he  Cojitic  version  in  its  favour, 
and  the  judgment  of  Lachmanu  and  Dr.  Lightfoot,  "  As 
thieves."  Jint  not  only  is  the  evidence  from  the  MSS. 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  Received  text.  Init  the  Avhole 
context  shows  that  St.  Paul  was  not  thinking  of  the 
day  as  catcliing  them  at  evil  practices,  but  as  catching 
them  in  inadvertence. 

(5)  Ye  are  all.— St.  Paul  recognises  no  exceptions, 
no  inner  distinctions,  among  the  mombers  of  the  Church : 
all  stand  alike  so  far  as  grace,  privileges,  and  duties 


Instructions  as  to 


I.   THESSALONIANS,  Y. 


Watchfulness  and  Sobriety. 


the  children  of  the  day :  we  are  not  of 
the  night,  nor  of  darkness.  (*^^  Therefore 
let  us  not  sleep,  as  do  others  ;  but  let 
us  -vvatch  and  be  sober."  ("^  For  they 
that  sleej)  sleep  in  the  night ;  and  they 
that  be  drunken  are  drunken  in  the 
niffht.     (^^  But  let  us,  who  are  of  the 


b  Isa.   59.    1 
Kph.  6. 17. 


a  1  Pet.  5.  a 
c  I  I'ct.  2.  a 

d  2  Tliess.  2. 14. 


e  Rom.  14.  & 


day,  be  sober,  putting  on  the  breastplate 
of  faith  and  love ;  and  for  an  helmet,* 
the  hope  of  salvation.  (^)  For  God 
hath  not  appointed  us  to  wrath,*"  but  to 
obtain  salvation''  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  (^"^  who  died  for  us,  that, 
whether  we  wake  or  sleep,"  we  should 


are  concerned.  The  following'  exhortation  shows  that  it 
was  a  matter  of  each  man's  free  will  whether  he  would 
sustain  his  oharaeter  as  a  *'  child  of  light  "  or  not. 

Children  of  light. — The  expression  is  an  enthu- 
siastic Hebrew  pnetical  turn  for  intimate  vital  con- 
nection with  anything;  thus,  e.g.,  "children  of  this 
world"  (Luke  xvi.  8;  xx.  34)  =  "  mere  products  of  this 
age,"  with  a  family  likeness  for  other  worldly  people ; 
'•  the  son  of  peace"  (Luke  x.  6)  =  a  person  with  whom 
peace  has  a  natural  affinity,  to  whom  the  "  peace  "  pi"o- 
nounced  will  cleave  naturally.  So  '"  children  of  the 
light "  are  persons  to  whom  darknt^s  is  an  alien  thing, 
whose  natures  have  a  kinship,  an  intuitive  responsive- 
ness for  whatever  may  be  called  "  light."  To  such 
persons  the  "  light,"  the  "  day,"  can  never  come  as  an 
unwelcome,  startling  apparition. 

We. — Notice  St.  Paul's  courtesy  again :  he  suddenly 
includes  himself  in  his  exliortation. 

('')  Let  us  not  sleep. — The  metaphor  here  expresses 
not  so  much  actual  sin  (Eph.  v.  1-i)  as  carelessness  in 
spiritual  and  moral  things.  "  Let  us  not  say,  '  Peace 
and  safety,'  and  resign  arselves  to  indifference  about 
Christ's  coming."  St.  Paul  (as  always)  indicates  that  it 
was  possible  for  "  children  of  light "  to  be  converted 
back  into  "  children  of  darkness." 

Others. — Rather,  the  rest,  as  in  chap.  iv.  13  :  so 
al  so  Rom.  xi.  7 ;  Eph.  ii.  3. 

Watch  and  be  sober.— The  comparison  of  night 
now  suggests  to  the  writer  another  thought  besides 
that  of  sloth,  namely,  that  of  dissipation.  Christians 
are  not  to  turn  day  into  night  by  debaucheiy  any  more 
than  by  sleep. 

(7)  They  that  sleep  .  .  .  . — As  the  connection  of 
sleep  with  night  has  ah-eady  been  sufficiently  worked 
out,  and  is  not  touched  upon  again  in  verse  8,  the  first 
clause  seems  only  to  be  inserted  for  the  sake  of  bringing 
out  the  second,  and  to  justify  the  sudden  introduetiou 
of  the  words,  "  and  be  sober."  It  may  thus  he  para- 
phrased :  "  I  say,  '  and  be  sober  too,'  for  as  they  that 
sleep  sleep  in  the  night,  so  they  that  be  drunken  are 
drunken  in  the  night."  It  is  implied  that  the  streets 
even  of  heathen  Thessalonica  were  seldom  affronted 
•svith  the  common  English  siiectacle  of  drunken  men  by 
daylight ;  while  among  the  Jews  it  was  proof  positive 
of  sobriety  to  say,  "  It  is  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day" 
(Acts  ii.  15).  In  St.  Cy|)rian's  time,  Christians  were 
knoNvn  from  other  men  because  their  breath  smelt  of 
wine  in  the  early  morning  through  attending  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  (EpMe  Ixiii.  15):  no  heathens  would  have 
touched  wine  by  tliat  time. 

(8)  Putting  on. — A  curiously  abrupt  transition, 
suggested  by  the  sober  vigilance  just  advocated.  The 
Cliristian  must  be  careful  to  watch,  not  only  because 
the  Lord  is  coming  back  at  some  unexpected  liour,  but 
also  because  there  are  enemies  all  round.  He  is  not 
only  the  porter,  sitting  up  to  let  liis  Lord  in  at  any 
hour  when  He  may  return  from  the  wedding  (Mark 
xiii.  34 ;  Luke  xii.  3tl).  l)Ht  the  soldier  standing  sentry, 
liable  to  be  sur^jrised  by  tlie  foe. 

Breastplate  of  faith  and  love.— "\Vc  have  not  to 


do  with  the  Christian  soldier  as  aggressive  and  going 
forth  to  conquer,  which  idea  is  developed  in  Eph.  vi. 
11  ct  seq.,  but  only  as  defensive,  and  protected  in  breast 
and  head  against  sudden  blows.  The  three  "  theological 
virtues  "  are  the  Christian's  defence.  (Comp.  chap.  i.  3  ; 
1  Cor.  xiii.  13.)  The  "breastplate  "  is  a  cuirass  fitting 
close  to  the  body,  and  in  Ephesians  this  cuirass  is  com- 
posed of  righteousness,  wliile  faith  becomes  the  shield, 
and  love  disappears  from  tlie  panoply.  The  "faith" 
here  is  a  general  trust  in  God's  presence  and  goodness ; 
the  "  love  "  is  the  love  both  of  God  and  men.  Perhaps 
it  is  unnecessary  to  inquire  particularly  why  faith  and 
love  are  represented  as  covering  the  body,  and  hope  as 
covering  the  head.  It  seems  far-fetched  to  consider  the 
first  two  as  keeping  the  heart,  i.e.,  the  affections,  from 
injury ;  the  third  as  preserving  the  brain,  i.e.,  keeping 
us  from  miscalcidating  the  dangers  and  so  falling  into 
despair.  In  th*^  passage  of  Isaiah  which  St.  Paul  here 
imitates,  the  "  hehnet  of  salvation "  appears  to  mean 
little  more  than  a  helmet  which  .secures  safety ;  but  as 
one  of  the  chief  benefits  which  such  armour  confers  is 
the  confident  hope  of  coming  oft'  unhurt,  St.  Paul  fairly 
describes  that  hope  itself  as  being  a  protection.  In 
tlie  forefront  of  the  lost  (Rev.  xxi.  8)  stand  those  who 
have  had  no  "  hope  "  or  "  trust." 

(p)  For. — This  is  not  the  reason  for  being  watchful, 
but  for  being  hoiieful  of  salvation.  The  image  of 
the  soldier  is  abandoned  as  suddenly  as  it  was  intro- 
duced. 

Hath  not  appointed.— Rather,  did  not  appoint, 
referring  to  some  mysterious  moment  of  God's  eternal 
counsels,  when  He  fixed  His  predestination  of  us — 
whether  the  moment  of  creative  thought,  or  of  sending 
the  gospel  to  us.  The  "  wrath  "  is  that  which  is  to 
come  upim  the  "  children  of  wrath "  at  the  Second 
Advent,  as  in  chaps,  i.  10;  ii.  16.  (Comp.  1  Pet.  ii.  8.) 
We  may  well  be  confident  then,  for  we  ourselves  are  the 
only  persons  that  can  defeat  God's  predestinations. 

To  obtain  salvation. — More  than  "  obtain  ; "  the 
Greek  means  "  acquire  ''  by  one's  o\vn  efforts  :  "  earn  and 
make  our  own  ;  "  being  the  same  word  as  is  used  in  1  Tim. 
iii.  13  and  Acts  xx.  28  in  the  verb ;  and  in  the  substantive 
in  Eph.  i.  14  (where  it  is  translated  "purchased  pos- 
session"); 2  Thess.  ii.  14;  Heb.  x.  39  (translated 
"saving");  and  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  where  see  Note.  It 
will  be  seen  that  God  does  not  predestinate  men  to 
"  salvation "  without  laborious  acquisition  on  their 
part,  but  predestinates  them  to  occupy  a  position  in 
which  they  will  be  able  to  "  work  out  tiieir  own  salva- 
tion "  by  placing  them  "  under  grace  "  in  the  Church. 
The  very  same  word  is  us<*d  of  the  Christian's  way  of 
securing  salvation,  and  of  Christ's  way  of  securing  it  for 
him  (see  references^ ;  both  are  "  purchasing."  "  earning." 
But  mark  that  the  Christian  can  only  so  purchase  sjilva- 
tion  "  through  our  Lord  Jesus  ChVist :  '  apart  from 
Him  a  man  can  do  nothing  to  redeem  himself,  but 
through  union  vriih  Him  tlie  believer  can  pay  the 
whole  ])rice  of  his  salvation  (see  e.g.  John  xv.  5). 

(10)  Who  died  for  us.— Not  a  mere  pious  recollec- 
tion of  a  fact  which  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  context^ 


Hi 


Tlueij  are  to  esteem  those 


I.   THESSALOXIANS,  V. 


who  labour  among  litem. 


live  together  with  him.     (^'^  Wlierefore 
comfort^  yourselves  together,  and  edify 
one  another,  even  as  also  ye  do. 
Chap.  V.  12—15.       ^^"^  And  we  beseech  you, 
Exhortation  to  brethren,   to    know "  them 

discipliuo    and       i  •    i     i    i  i, 

u:iity.  which  labour*  among  you. 


c  Heb.  la  17. 


2  Or,  beneech. 
a  1  Cor.  16.  la 


6  1  Tira.  .5.  17. 
3  Or,  disorderly. 


and  are  over  you*^  in  the  Lord,  and 
admonish  you ;  (^^^  and  to  esteem  them 
very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's 
sake.  And  be  at  peace  among  your- 
selves. (^^>  Now  we  exhort  2  you, 
brethren,  warn  them  that  are  unruly,^ 


Tint  an  account  of  the  way  by  wliicli  Christ  made  it 
possilile  for  us  to  sot  aliout  earniufif  salvation.  What  a 
hlessod  privilege  a  Cliristian's  life  of  labour  must  be, 
if  it  alone — to  say  nothing  of  the  "  salvation '"'  at  the 
end — cost  such  a  price  ! 

Whether  we  wake  or  sleep. — The  mention  of 
Christ's  death  at  once  brings  back  the  recollection  of 
the  Advent  and  the  questions  concerning  the  dead  in 
their  relation  to  it.  The  woi'ds  "  wake  or  sleep  "  seem 
distinctly  suggested  by  the  metaplior  used  from  verse 
2  to  verse  8,  being  different  in  the  Greek  from  the 
terms  used  in  chap,  iv.,  but  abruptly  take  a  much  altered 
meaning.  They  here,  no  doubt,  signify  "  life  and 
death :  " — "  Let  us  arm  ourselves  with  a  brave  hope 
of  our  salvation,  for  it  will  be  against  God's  will  if  we 
should  perish  :  He  means  us  to  save  ourselves  by  union 
with  Him  who  put  an  end  to  death  for  us  by  dying, 
and  made  all  who  wait  for  His  coming  to  live,  whether 
tliey  l)e  in  the  world's  sense  dead  or  alive." 

We  should  live.— In  sharp  contrast  with  "  who 
died  for  us."  Christ's  dying  destroyed  the  power  of 
death  (He]),  ii.  l-i);  henceforth  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
liciug  awake  or  asleep ;  tliose  who  sleep  cpiite  as  truly 
live,  and  live  with  Him,  as  we  who  wake  (see  Luke  xx. 
8S ;  and  compare  the  more  developed  passage  in  Rom. 
xiv.  8).  Tlie  word  "  together  "  (as  the  Greek  clearly 
shows)  must  be  separated  from  the  "  with ; "  rather, 
"  we  should  live  with  Him  together,"  i.e.,  we  quick,  and 
our  brethren  the  dead ;  for  St.  Paul  has  entirely  reverted 
from  the  effect  of  the  Advent-doctrine  upon  Cliristian 
life  to  the  subject  of  the  last  chapter — the  equality  of 
the  two  classes  at  Christ's  coming.  Bengel,  thinking 
that  St.  Paul  is  still  applying  liimself  to  the  discussion 
of  the  date  of  tlie  Advent  (which  in  fact  was  scarcely 
raised),  tries  to  make  out  tlie  meaning,  "  That  we  sliould 
there  and  then  live  witli  Him." 

(11)  Comfort.— Riglitly  translated.  St.  Paul  is  here 
catcliing  up  once  more  the  tliouglit  of  chap.  iv.  18.  They 
are  to  comfort  one  another  about  their  communion  with 
tlie  dead  who  live  in  Christ ;  but  perhaps  the  word  also 
involves  the  comfort  to  be  imparted  by  tlie  thought 
of  predestination  to  earn  salvation.  The  command  to 
"Edify  one  another"  certainly  refers  to  the  instruc- 
tion given  in  verses  1 — 10  :  "  Build  one  another  up  "  in 
these  settled  purposes  of  holy  living.  This  metaphor 
of  building  is  one  which  St.  Paul  uses  frequently  in  his 
later  writings,  and  which  St.  Peter  (who  uses  the 
same)  may  have  adopted  from  liis  brother  Apostle. 
St.  Paul  considers  not  only  tlie  whole  Catholic  Church 
to  be  a  great  Temple  of  the  Spirit,  the  stones  of  which 
are  individual  souls  (1  Pet.  ii.  5;  1  Cor.  iii.  16),  but  each 
believer  is  a  temple  too,  complete  in  himself,  or,  rather, 
in  continual  process  of  completion  (1  Cor.  vi.  19). 

(12)  "We  Ilo^v  come  to  minor  details  of  instruction, 
no  doubt  suggested  by  observation  of  manifest  defects 
in  the  Thessalonian  Church.  These  details  show  us 
still  furtlier  the  mixture  of  restless  ungoverned  zeal 
witli  gloomy  forebodings  and  discontents. 

To  know  them  which  labour.- A  command  to 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  ecclesiastical  discipline.  The 
persons  meant  are  not  simply  the  hard-working  laity, 


contrasted  with  the  idlers  of  chap.  iv.  11  and  2  Tliess. 
iii.  11,  but  those  who  performed  the  laborious  office  of 
the  priesthood,  as  the  words  subsequent  show.  And 
"  knowing  "  them  is  liardly  to  be  limited  either  to  the 
sense  of  "recognising  their  position,"  i.e.,  "not  ignoring 
them,"  or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  sense  of  "  being  on 
terms  of  familiar  intercourse  with  them."  The  Greek 
word  indicates  appreciation ;  they  are  bidden  to  acquaint 
themselves  thoroughly  with  the  presbyter  and  his  work, 
and  to  endeavour  to  understand  his  teaching,  and  to 
value  his  example.  The  logical  connection  of  this  verse 
with  the  preceding  is  that  of  course  the  main  endeavours 
to  "  edify  "  the  brethren  wei-e  made  by  the  presbytei-y ; 
and  the  command  to  edify  involves  the  command  to 
accept  edification. 

Are  over  you  in  the  Lord. — This  is  the  primi- 
tive idea  of  the  priest  in  the  Church  :  he  is  not  a  member 
of  a  sacerdotal  caste,  ministering  to  an  outer  world,  but 
a  superior  officer  in  a  spiritual  society  consisting  of 
nothing  but  priests  (Rev.  i.  6,  where  the  right  reading 
is,  "  Made  us  a  kingdom  of  priests  ").  It  is  specially 
interesting  to  notice  how  muoh  poiver  is  given  to  the 
presbytery  in  this  earliest  writing  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  how  carefully  St.  Paul  seems  to  have  organised  his 
churches,  and  that  at  the  very  foundation  of  them. 
It  is  only  "  in  tlie  Lord  "  that  the  presbytery  are  over 
men,  that  is,  in  spiritual  matters. 

Admonish  you.— The  presbytery  are  not  only 
organisers,  managers  of  the  corporate  affairs  of  their 
Church,  but  also  spiritual  guides  to  give  practical  advice 
to  individual  Christians.  These  are  the  two  senses  in 
which  they  are  "  over  you." 

(13)  Very  highly  in  love.— The  original  here  is 
difficult ;  but  it  seems  best,  with  most  good  commen- 
tators, ancient  aud  modern,  to  construe  "  in  love  "  with 
"  esteem,"  and  to  make  "  veiy  highly  "  (a  very  enthusi- 
astic word  in  the  Greek)  an  expletive  attached  to  "  in 
love,"  implying  "  hold  in  a  most  extraordinary  degree 
of  love."  The  Ijoiid  wliich  binds  the  Christian  com- 
munity to  their  directors  is  not  to  be  one  of  "  recogni- 
tion "  aud  obedience  only  (verse  12),  but  of  holy  affection 
above  all. 

For  their  work's  sake.— Our  love  is  to  be  paid 
them  not  for  any  social  or  intellectual  qualities  they 
may  have  in  themselves ;  it  is  the  work  which  they  have 
to  do  that  should  attract  our  sympathy.  The  original 
seems  to  mean  that  we  are  to  love  them,  not  only  be- 
cause they  do  such  work,  but  also  "for  the  sake  o/ their 
work,"  i.e.,  to  help  it  forward. 

Be  at  peace  among  yourselves.- Discipline  to 
be  observed  towards  equals,  as  well  as  superiors. 

(1^)  Now  we  exhort  you,  brethren.— Rather 
and  than  noiv.  Tlie  writers  turn  to  the  presbyteiy,  and 
explain  their  duty  in  tlie  administration  of  discipline  to 
the  flock.  The  flock  will  be  more  apt  to  receive  the 
discipline  when  they  see  with  what  apostolic  authority 
their  pastors  are  anned.  Several  special  parts  of  the 
clerical  office  are  then  enumerated. 

Warn. — The  same  Greek  word  as  "  admonish  "  in 
verse  12,  and  selected  for  that  very  reason.  The 
"  unruly  "  or  "  disorderly  "  are  those  who  infringe  good 


144 


Final  Precepts  to 


T.   THESSALONIANS,   V 


tlie  Thessalonimis. 


comfort  the  feebleminded,  support  tlie 
weak,  be  patient  toward  all  men.  (^^^  See 
that  none  render  evil  for  evil"  unto 
any  man;  but  ever  follow  that  which 
is  good,  both  among  yourselves,  and  to 
all  men. 


a  Rom.      12.       1 
1   ret.  3.9. 
C  Phil.     4. 

Kph.  5.  20. 
d  c'l.  4.  a 


(1^^  Rejoice  evermore.*    (^''^  Pray  with- 
out ceasing.     ('^>  In  every  ^  ^^_^., 

thing  give  thanks :<^  for  this   Exhortations 

is  the  will  of  God  in  Christ'^  to  use  the  Spirit 

T  •  aright. 

Jesus       concerning      you. 

(^'^^  Quench  not  the  Spirit.'     (-'^^  Despise 


discipliue — said  of  soldiers  who  leave  their  rauks  :  hero 
uotal)ly  of  those  mentioned  in  2  Thess.  iii.  11. 

Feebleminded.  —  Or,  fainthearted,  pusillanimous. 
Such  persons,  e.g.,  as  were  overljurdened  with  sorrow 
for  the  dead,  or  afraid  of  the  persecutions,  or  the  like. 

Support  the  weak. — Or,  Iceep  hold  of  them,  to 
help  them  on.  Tlie  "  weak  "  are  not  quite  the  same  as 
the  "  feebleminded,"  but  rather  (judging  from  Rom. 
xiv.  1  et  seq.)  those  who  have  not  attained  that  robust 
common-sense  and  bre  idth  of  conscience  which  discri- 
minates between  truths  and  superstitions,  necessities 
and  expediencies ;  or  who  are  not  yet  ripe  enough 
Christians  to  be  sure  of  standing  in  persecution. 

Patient  toward  all  men.— Church  officers  are 
not  to  be  rendered  impatient  by  the  defects,  errors, 
weakness,  stupidity,  unbelief  of  any  one,  catholic, 
heretic,  or  heathen. 

(lo)  See  that.— The  exhortation  is  given  to  those  who 
have  tlie  authority  to  oversee  the  Church  (Acts  xix.  28 ; 
1  Pet.  v.  2). 

None  render  evil  for  evil. — Like  the  prohibition 
of  fornication,  abstinence  from  revenge  is  practically  a 
new  thought  for  Greeks,  among  whom  feuds  were  fre- 
quent and  undying.     (Comp.  Rom.  i.  31 ;  Tit.  iii.  3.) 

That  which  is  good— i.e.,  that  which  is  kind. 
(See  Note  on  chap.  iii.  6.)  This  duty  is  to  be  "  followed," 
i.e.,  made  an  object  to  be  pursued  eagerly,  "  toward  all 
men."  There  is  not  one  standard  of  morals  towards  the 
brethren  and  another  towards  the  world. 

(iti)  Rejoice  evermore. — The  remaining  commands 
are  more  simply  spiritual,  and  hardly  form  part  of 
the  same  paragraph  as  verses  12 — 15,  which  related 
to  discipline;  though  from  verses  19  et  seq.  we  see 
that  St.  Paul  was  still  addressing  the  Church  in  its 
corporate  capacity,  not  only  the  individual  membei's. 
The  Christian  who  remains  in  sadness  and  depression 
really  breaks  a  commandment :  in  some  direction  or 
other  he  mistrusts  God — His  power,  ])rovidence,  for- 
giveness. The  connnand  is  specially  good  for  a 
persecuted  Church  like  that  of  Thessalonica  (Matt. 
V.  10—12). 

(17)  Pray  without  ceasing.  —  Theophj-lact  well 
says,  "  Tills  shows  tlie  way  to  '  rejoice  always  ' — to  wit, 
incessant  prayer  and  eucharist,  for  he  that  has  accus- 
tometl  himself  to  hold  converse  with  God.  and  to  give 
thanks  to  Him  over  everything  that  happens  as  liap- 
poning  well,  will  evidently  have  unbroken  joy."  Thougli 
a  man  cannot  be  incessantly  praying  in  words,  the  mind 
may  be  held  continuously  in  an  attitude  of  prayer,  even 
in  sleep  (Cant.  v.  2). 

(1*^)  In  every  thing  give  thanks.  —  To  tlie 
Christian  who  really  trusts  his  Father's  providence,  and 
believes  that  his  ])rayers  are  lieard,  every  moment's 
occurrence  will  lie  just  that  which  he  lias  prayed  for — 
the  fulfilment  of  our  Father's  will.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  thanksgiving  is  so  inseparably  joined  with  prayer. 
(See  Phil.  iv.  6;   Col.  iv.  2.) 

This  is  the  will  of  God — i.e.,  that  you  should 
be  always  full  of  thanksgiving.  This  clause  hardly  en- 
forces tlianksgiviiig  as  a  duly,  "Give  thanks  always, 
for  you  recognise  the  duty  of  doing  God's  will,  and 
76  1 


this  is  His  will ; "  but  rather  encourages  the  Thessa- 
louians  to  see  that  thankfulness  is  always  j^ossible. 
"  Give  thanks  always,  for  God  has  no  wish  to  give  you 
cause  for  sorrow  :  His  will  towards  you  is  to  fill  you 
with  thankfulness."  "Towards  you"  seems  here  a 
more  exact  rendering  than  "  concerning  you." 

In  Christ  Jesus.— This  kind  and  loving  will 
of  God  for  our  good  was  most  abundantly  manifested 
in  the  life  and  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  Jesus, 
and  even  to  this  day  it  is  chietly  manifested  in  what 
Christ  Jesus  still  is  for  us  (e.g.  Heb.  vi.  19,  20). 

(19)  Quench  not  the  Spirit. —The  mention  of 
prayer  and  thanksgi^ang  (eucharistia),  by  which  public 
as  well  as  private  worship  is  intended, leads  St.  Paul  on  to 
the  mention  of  other  parts  of  the  service.  The  gloom  and 
depression  to  which  an  antidote  is  administered  in  verses 
16 — 18  had  been  such  as  almost  to  extinguish  that  fire 
of  enthusiasm  which  ought  to  have  burst  out  in  prayers, 
praises,  thanksgivings,  and  "  prophecies."  The  "  Spirit " 
here  must  not  be  taken  too  sharply  to  mean  the  Person 
of  the  Holy  Ghost :  the  Person  of  the  Holy  Ghost  may 
be  grieved  (Eph.  iv.  30),  expelled  (Ps.  li.  11),  neglected 
(1  Tim.  iv.  14),  but  (though  His  working  on  the  indi- 
vidual may  be  stopped)  He  can  never  be  extinguished. 
The  word  here  again  (as  in  chap.  i.  5)  is  in  that  interme- 
diate sense  which  expresses  the  effect  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost's 
personal  working  upon  our  spirits.  He  kindles  in  us  a 
fire  (Matt.  iii.  11),  that  is,  a  consuming  ardour  and 
enthusiasm,  of  love  to  God  and  man ;  which  ardour 
may  be  damped,  quenched,  by  not  gi\'ing  it  free  air  and 
play.  Gloom  (verse  16),  neglect  of  prayer  (verse  17) 
which  is  the  very  feeding  of  the  flame,  discontentment 
with  the  answer  which  God  chooses  to  give  to  prayer 
(verse  18),  will  in  the  end  reduce  us  to  the  condition  in 
which  we  were  before  we  were  confirmed  (Rom.  viii.  9). 
Comp.  Ecce  Homo,  p.  257  (3rd  ed.) .- — "  The  Apostles  in 
like  manner  became  sensible  that  their  inspiration  was 
liable  to  intermissions.  They  regard  it  as  possible  to 
gi-ieve  the  Divinity  who  resided  within  them,  and  even 
to  quench  His  inliuence.  But  neither  they  nor  Christ 
even  for  a  moment  sujipose  that,  if  He  should  take  His 
flight,  it  is  possible  to  do  witliout  Him  .  .  .  Christianity 
is  an  enthusiasm,  or  it  is  nothing." 

(20)  Despise  not  prophesyings.— The  highest  out- 
ward or  chari.^matic  mauifostation  of  this  inward  fire 
was  the  gift  of  "prophecy"  (1  Cor.  xii.  28;  xiv.  1, 
5,  39).  which  was  an  inspired  and  inspiring  prea<^hing. 
The  despondency  of  the  Thessalonians  led  them 
not  only  to  quench  the  fervour  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
their  own  bosoms,  but  to  turn  a  cold  and  disparaging 
ear  to  the  sanguine  "prophets  "  who  preaclied  to  them, 
the  efPect  of  which  insensibility  was  to  "  quench  the 
Si)irit  "  liy  degrees  in  the  prophets  also.  It  is  because 
of  this  double  efPect  of  gloominess,  inward  upon  them- 
selves, and  outward  upon  others,  that  the  command, 
"  Quench  not,"  occurs  between  tlie  exhortation  to  thanks- 
giving and  tlie  warning  not  to  despise  prophecy.  Tliis 
seems  to  be  the  most  natural  way  of  accounting  for  the 
present  waniing.  but  there  are  two  other  main  interpre- 
tations :— (1)  it  is  .said  that  what  tempted  the  Thessa- 
lonians to  disparage  prophecy  was  their  fascination  for 


4.5 


Final  Precepts. 


I.   THESSALOXIANS,   V. 


Concluding  Prayer, 


not  propbesyings."    <2i)  Prove  all  things ;  *  "'  ^°'-  "•  '•  *'^- 
hold  fast  that  Avhieh  is  good.    ^-^  Abstain 
from  all  appearance  of  evil. 


(2:J) 


And  the  very  God  of  chap.  v.  23-24. 

peace "^  sanctify  you  wholly;    Prayer  and  as- 
and  I  pray  God  your  whole  durance. 


tlio  more  showy  gift  of  tongues.  It  is  true  that  such 
was  the  case  at  Corintli,  anil  not  unnalurally  so;  and 
at  first  sight  it  seems  as  if,  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  1,  "  siiiritual 
gifts  "  were  contrasted  with  "  prophecy  "  as  two  separate 
cla.sses,  thus  giving  some  ground  for  Bisliop  \\  ords- 
Avorth's  interpretation  of  our  present  passage — viz.,  that 
verse  19  refers  to  the  gifts  of  tongues,  miracles,  &c.,  in 
sometliing  of  the  same  contrast  with  "  prophecy "  in 
verse  20  as  may  be  found  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  39.  But,  on  the 
other  liand,  it  seems  more  likely  that  in  1  Cor.  xiv.  1 
prophecy  is  not  contrasted  witli  the  spiritual  gifts  there 
specified  as  a  separate  class,  but  selected  from  among 
them :  "  It  is  all  very  well  to  covet  spii'itual  gifts 
as  a  whole,  but  it  would  be  better  to  aim  moi-e 
particularly  at  that  one  —  prophecy  —  which  is  the 
greatest : "  just  so  liere,  "  Do  not  quench  the  Spirit, 
in  whatever  direction  it  may  blaze  up ;  but  especially 
do  not  disparage  preaching."  Besides,  there  is  nothing 
to  prove  that  the  Thessaloniaus  were  dazzled  by 
the  more  brilliant  gifts:  and  it  accords  better  with 
the  context  to  suppose  that  the  fault  to  be  corrected 
in  tliem  was  not  a  light  sensatiouaUsm,  but  a  tendency 
to  damp  all  ardour  alike.  (2)  Others  suppose  that  the 
Thessaloniaus  had  liad  experience  of  persons  who  had 
abused  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  thei'efore  were  disposed 
to  suspect  and  dislike  prophecy  altogether.  This  view 
gains  support  from  2  Thess.  ii.  2,  and  also  from  the 
command  in  verse  21  to  test,  and  retain  only  what  stood 
the  test.  There  is  no  particular  ground  for  contradicting 
tliis  view ;  but  it  is  unnecessary,  and  does  not  carry  on 
the  thought  so  connectedly. 

(-1)  Prove  all  things.— The  right  reading  inserts  a 
"  but  "  : — "  I  bid  you  pay  all  reverence  to  the  cheering 
utterances  of  your  prophets  (comp.  Acts  xv.  32);  but 
take  care!  i)ut  everything  to  the  test."  That  the 
■warning  was  needed,  or  would  be  needed  soon,  is  shown 
by  2  Thess.  ii.  2.  It  is  couched  in  general  terms  {all 
things),  but,  of  course,  has  special  reference  to  all 
things  purporting  to  be  manifestations  of  the  Spirit. 
And  liow  were  these  revelations  to  be  tested?  If  they 
were  not  in  accordance  (I)  with  the  original  tradition 
(2  Tliess.  ii.  2),  (2)  with  the  supernatural  inspirations 
of  the  other  prophets  who  sat  as  judges  (1  Cor.  xiv.  29), 
(3)  with  enliglitened  common  sense  (1  John  iv.  1),  they 
could  not  be  "good."  The  word  "good''  here  is  not 
vague  and  general  good  in  the  moral  sense — not  the 
same  Greek  word  as  in  verse  15 — but  "good"  in  the 
sense  of  "  genuine,"  "  answering  to  the  proper  concep- 
tion of  what  it  purports  to  lie."  The  same  word  is 
used  in  the  same  sense  in  John  x.  11. 

(~)  Abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil.— 
This  translation  cannot  stand.  Possibly  it  might  be 
rendered  "every  form  of  evil,"  but  the  most  natural 
version  would  be,  "  Hold  yourselves  aloof  from  every 
evil  kind " — i.e.,  evil  kind  of  whatever  you  may  bo 
testing.  The  word  "  evW  "  is  liere  used  in  the  moral 
sense,  and  does  not  constitute  an  exact  antithesis  to  the 
"good"  of  the  preceding  verse. 

(23)  And. — The  logic  of  such  an  expression  as,  "  Do 
this,  and  may  you  be  liappy."  lies  in  the  Avriter's  own 
connection  with  both  the  command  and  the  prayer  :  "  I 
bid  you  abstain  from  every  evil  kind  of  thing,  and  I 
pray  that  God  Himself  may  enable  you  to  keep  the  com- 
mandment." 

The  very  God  of  peace.— In  more  usual  English, 


146 


"  the  God  of  peace  Himself  :"  the  contrast  is  between 
the  futile  efforts  after  holiness  of  wliich  they  in  them- 
selves were  capaljle,  and  the  almighty  power  of  sancti- 
tication  exercised  by  God.  This  sanctification  (which  is 
the  special  work  of  the  Third  Person)  is  here  ascribed 
to  the  First  Person  of  the  Holy  Tiinity,  from  whom  the 
Holy  Ghost  proceeds.  He  is  called  (as  in  Heb.  xiii.  20) 
the  "  God  of  peace,"  not  in  reference  to  any  dissensions 
between  the  Thessaloniaus  (verse  13),  but  because  of 
the  peace  which  His  sanctification  brings  into  the  soul, 
so  that  it  fears  neither  temptation's  power  nor  perse- 
cution's rage.   (Comp.  the  Second  Collect  for  Evensong). 

Sanctify  you  wholly.— Rather,  sanctify  you 
XL-hole.  The  idea  is  rather  that  of  leaving  no  part 
unsanctified.  than  that  of  doing  the  work  completely  so 
far  as  it  goes  :  thus  it  serves  to  introduce  the  next 
sentence,  which  explains  it. 

And  I  pray  God. -If  there  were  need  of  any  in- 
sertion, it  should  liave  been  "  We  pray  God  :"'  Silas  and 
Timothy  are  never  forgotten  throughout. 

Spirit  and  soul  and  body.— This  is  St.  Paul's 
fullest  and  most  scientific  psychology,  not  merely  a 
rhetorical  piling  up  of  words  without  any  particular 
meaning  being  assigned  to  them.  Elsewhere,  he  merely 
diAades  man  according  to  popular  language,  into  two 
parts,  visible  and  invisible,  "body  and  spirit"  (1  Cor. 
A'i.  20  ;  vii.  34,  et  al.) ;  the  division  into  "  body  and  soul  " 
he  never  uses.  (Comp.  Note  on  I  Cor.  ii.  14.)  The 
"  spirit "  (jmeiima)  is  the  part  by  which  we  appi'ehend 
realities  intuitively — i.e.,  without  reasoning  upon  them  ; 
with  it  we  touch,  see,  serve,  worship  God  (John  iv, 
23,  24;  Rom.  i.  9;  1  Cor.  vi.  17 ;  Rev.  i.  10,  et  al); 
it  is  the  very  inmost  consciousness  of  the  man  (see, 
e.g.,  1  Cor.  ii.  11) ;  it  is  the  part  of  him  which  survives 
death  (Heb.  xii.  23  ;  1  Pet.  iii.  19 ;  comp.  Luke  xxiii. 
46;  Acts  vii.  59).  The  "soxil"  (psyche)  includes  the 
intellect,  the  affections,  and  the  will :  and  it  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  the  gospel  to  force  sharply  upon  men 
the  distinction  between  it  and  the  spirit  (Heb.  iv.  12). 
Low-living  men  may  have  soul  [i.e.,  intellect,  affection, 
will)  in  abundance,  but  their  spirit  falls  into  complete 
abeyance  ( Jude,  19) ;  the  soul  belongs  altogether  to  the 
lower  nature,  so  that  when  St.  Paul  uses  the  two-fold 
division,  "  body  and  spirit,"  the  sonl  is  reckoned  (not, 
probably,  as  Bishop  Ellicott  says  on  our  present  passage, 
as  part  of  the  .fjji'n'f,  but)  as  part  of  the  body ;  and 
when  St.  Paul  describes  the  "  works  of  the  flesh,"  he 
includes  among  them  such  distinctly  soul-sius  as  "  here- 
sies "  (Gal.  V.  20).  Sanctification  preserves  all  these 
three  divisions  entire,  and  in  their  due  relation  to  each 
other;  without  sanctification,  the  .•t2}irit  might  be  over- 
whelmed by  the  other  parts  gaining  the  predominance, 
which  would,  of  course,  eventually  be  the  ruin  both  of 
"  soul  and  body  in  hell  "  (Matt.  x.  28.  N.B.,  that  our 
Lord  says  nothing  of  the  destruction  of  the  "  spirit " 
in  hell :  the  question  is  whether  He  there  definitely 
meant  to  exclude  "  spirit,"  or  used  "  sold  "  popularly 
as  including  it).  Where  the  New  Testament  writers 
acquired  such  a  psychology  cannot  be  determined,  but 
it  was  jjrobably  derived  from  experimental  knowledge 
of  life,  not  from  books,  and  all  experience  confirms  its 
accuracy.  Modern  science  tends  more  and  more  to 
show  tliat  "  soul''  is  a  function  of  "  body." 

Unto  the  coming.  —  A  mistranslation  for  "at 
the  coming,"  caused  by  the  slight  difficulty  in  under- 


Assurance  of  Comfort. 


I.   TIIESSALONIANS,   Y. 


Conclusion. 


spirit  and  soul  and  body  be  preserved  l 
blameless"  unto  the  comiug  of  our  Lord  jncu.  3.13. 
Jesus  Christ.     (-^)  Faithful*  is  he  that 
ealleth  you,  who  also  Avill  do  it. 
Chap.  V.  25 - 28.       ^'^  Brethren,  pray  for  us. 
Conclusion.      ("''^  Greet  all  the  brethren 


Tliess.  3.  3. 
c  Kom.  16.  16 

1  Cor.  10.  21 

2  Cor.  13.  12 
1  I'ct.  5.  U. 

1  Or,  adjure. 


with  an  holy  kiss/  (-^'  I  charge^  you  by 
the  Lord  that  this  epistle  be  read  unto  all 
the  holy  brethren.  (-^)  The  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  with  you.     Amen. 

^  The  first  epistle  unto  the  Thessaloniaus  was 
written  from  Athens. 


standing  the  true  version.  The  idea  is  not  so  much 
that  of  their  preservation  from  sin  during  the  interval, 
but  rather  the  writers  hasten  in  eager  anticipation  to 
the  Coming  itself,  and  liope  that  the  Thessaloniaus  at 
the  Coming  will  l)o  found  to  have  been  preserved. 
'•  Blameless  "  should  have  been  "  blamelessly." 

(ii)  Faithful  is  he. — A  reason  for  hoping  confidently 
that  tliey  icill  be  blamelessly  preserved.  God  would 
forfeit  His  character  for  keeping  His  promise,  if  He 
"called,"  and  did  not  enable  men  to  obey  the  call.  Of 
course  He  can  only  ''  do  it "  in  case  tlwij  continue 
willing  to  have  it  done.  On  the  present  tense,  see  Note 
on  chap.  ii.  12. 

(-5)  Pray  for  us.— Taken  in  conjunction  with  what 
follows,  this  probably  is  a  petition  for  remembrance  in 
the  great  public  service. 

(-*')  Greet  all  the  brethren.  —  It  is  concluded 
from  the  manner  in  which  some  are  told  to  greet  all, 
instead  of  all  being  told  to  greet  one  another  (as  in  the 
pai-allol  passages"),  that  the  "  brethi-en  "  to  whom  the 
letter  was  sent  specially  were  the  priesthood  of  Thes- 
salonica  (comp.  the  next  verse).  If  so,  the  "  holy  kiss  " 
had  hardly  become  the  fixed  Church  ceremony  which  it 
afterwards  was,  for  the  practice  (according  to  the  Ap)Os- 
tolical  Constitutions)  was  for  the  Church  members  to 
pass  the  kiss  from  one  to  another,  men  kissing  men, 
and  women  kissing  women,  not  for  all  the  people  to  be 
kissed  in  turn  by  the  priest.  This  kiss,  however,  is  no 
doubt  intended  by  St.  Paul  to  be  given  at  a  solemn 
assembly  of  the  Church,  i.e.,  at  the  Holy  Communion, 
Avhich  was  the  only  fixed  meeting  of  the  Primitive 
Church.     In  the  time  of  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  the 


kiss  was  given  just  before  the  Sursuni  Corda.  It  was 
not  till  the  thirteenth  century  that  the  kissing  of  the 
Pax  was  substituted  in  the  Western  Church  for  the 
kissing  of  the  l)retliren.  This  kiss  was  to  differ  from 
the  ordinary  Greek  salutation,  by  being  distinctly  a 
holy  kiss,  i.e.,  a  ceremonial,  religious  kiss. 

(-'')  I  charge  you. — Adjure  is  much  nearer  the 
original  word,  which  is  as  solemn  as  can  be.  What  is  tlie 
cause  of  such  awful  solemnity  ?  The  question  has  never 
been  very  satisfactorily  answered.  It  certainly  seems 
as  if  the  contempt  of  discipline  and  partial  alienation  of 
clergy  and  laity  implied  in  verses  12,  13,  might  suggest 
to  S^.  Paul  a  doubt  whether  his  Epistle  would  reach  all 
the  Thessalonian  Christians.  At  any  rate,  the  adjura- 
tion marks  his  sense  of  the  extreme  importance  of  the 
letter ;  and  perhaps  the  fact  that  this  was  his  first 
pastoral  letter  may  have  made  him  more  anxious  to 
ensure  its  reception  and  success.  It  amounts  to  a  claim 
to  inspiration.  (Comp.  chap.  iv.  15.)  The  emphasis  seems 
to  rest  on  the  word  '"all"  ("  holy  "  is  an  interpolation). 
The  reading  is  of  course  a  public  reading  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Communion,  at  which  we  know  from 
several  early  Fathers  that  the  writings  of  the  Apostles 
were  read  aloud.  (Comp.  Col.  iv.  10;  2  Pet.  iii.  15, 
16.)  Baur  thought  the  adjuration  a  mark  of  a 
forger,  who  wished  to  gain  authority  for  his  cento : 
Bishop  Wordsworth  well  points  out,  on  the  contrary, 
what  a  splendid  guarantee  for  the  genuineness  and 
integrity  of  the  Epistles  this  constant  recitation  con- 
stituted. 

(28)  The  grace. — St.  Paid's  autograph  to  conclude 
the  letter.     (^See  2  Thess.  iii.  17,  IS.; 


1'.; 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

THESSALONIANS. 


We  may  confidently  assert  that  this  Epistle  was 
written  by  St.  Paul  from  Coriutli  during  his  residence 
there  of  a  year-and-a-balf,  within  a  few  months  of  the 
First  Epistle :  that  is,  in  the  year  53.  Not  only  are  all 
its  main  features  so  like  those  of  the  First  as  to  suggest 
a  A'ery  close  connection  in  time,  but  it  is  despatched  by 
the  same  apostolic  group — Paul,  Silvanus,  and  Timo- 
theus ;  and,  as  we  have  remarked  in  the  Introduction 
to  the  First  Epistle,  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that 
Silvanus  was  in  St.  Paul's  company  later  than  the 
departui'e  from  Corinth  in  54.  It  suits  well  with  this 
date  that  the  Apostle  is  in  fear  of  certain  "  monstrous 
and  depraved  persons"  (chap.  iii.  2),  who  may  well  be 
the  Jews  who  brought  him  before  Gallio. 

The  circumstances  which  called  forth  the  Letter  were 
as  follows.  Since  the  First  Epistle  had  been  despatched 
St.  Paul  had  been  able  to  receive  fresh  tidings  of  the 
state  of  the  Thessalouian  Church,  concei'ning  which  he 
was  naturally  anxious,  as  it  was  so  young  when  he  had 
been  forced  to  leave  it  to  itself  and  to  God.  The 
tidings  were  both  good  and  bad.  On  the  one  hand, 
there  was  marked  progress  in  some  of  the  points  which 
had  before  caused  solicitude.  St.  Paul  uses  enthu- 
siastic language  (chap.  i.  3)  of  the  advance  made  in 
faith  (comp.  1  Thess.  iii.  10),  and  in  individual  brotherly 
charity  (comp.  1  Thess.  iv.  10),  and  also  of  their  stead- 
fastness in  persecutions  which  were  still  afflicting  them 
(chap.  i.  4)— persecutions  in  which,  apparently,  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  joined.  (See  Note  on  chap.  i.  8.)  "We 
may  also  gather,  from  the  silence  of  the  present  Letter, 
tliat  St.  Paul's  instructions  on  the  state  of  the  departed 
faithful  had  taken  good  effect :  this  being,  perhaps,  the 
special  increase  in  faith  mentioned  above.  We  find, 
moreover,  that  there  is  no  further  need  of  warnings 
on  the  subject  of  purity  or  of  submission  to  eccle- 
siastical authority.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
three  great  faults  to  find. 

(1)  The  tendency  to  disorders  and  idleness,  which 
had  been  censured  both  directly  and  indirectly  in  the 
former  letter,  had  become  stronger  instead  of  receding. 
Some  considerable  number  of  the  little  Church  had 
become  mere  "  busybodies  " — had  left  off  work,  expect- 
ing maintenance  at  the  public  expense  of  the  com- 
munity while  they  indulged  themselves,  probably,  in 
what  seemed  more  religious  pursuits. 

(2)  We  can  trace  more  clearly  in  this  Epistle  than  in 
the  former  the  doctrinal  ground  on  wJiicli  sucli  disorders 
were  justified  by  those  wlio  were  guilty  of  them.  They 
liad  been  "  shaken  from  their  reason,"  and  were  still  "  in 
trepidation  "  (chap.  ii.  2),  from  a  belief  that  "  the  day  of 


the  Lord  "  was  already  upon  them.  Panic  and  exulta- 
tion ahke  had  the  effect  of  making  the  Thessalonians 
think  it  not  worth  while  to  attend  to  the  things  of  a 
doomed  Avorld. 

(3)  This  belief  had  been,  if  not  created,  yet  con- 
firmed by  some  audacious  forgeries  and  fictions  (chap, 
ii.  2).  Even  in  the  First  Epistle  St.  Paul  gives  signs 
of  uneasiness,  as  though  he  were  not  sure  of  tlie  honesty 
of  some  of  his  correspondents  in  their  use  of  his  name 
and  writings  (1  Thess.  v.  27).  Now  it  is  clear  that,  in 
more  than  one  way,  persons  (who  might  be  only  half 
conscious  of  their  fraud)  had  attempted  to  impose  on 
their  brethren.  They  had  pretended  to  a  direct  inspi- 
ration or  angelic  visitation,  which  had  revealed  to 
them  the  immediate  nearness  of  the  Advent.  They 
had  misrepresented  the  oral  teachiug  given  by  St.  Paid 
during  his  stay  at  Thessalonica.  Tliey  had,  perhaps, 
wrested  the  words  of  his  First  Epistle,  which  had 
certainly  given  a  colourable  pretext  for  what  they  now 
taught.  More  probably  still,  from  the  precaution  given 
in  chap.  iii.  17,  they  had  actually  written  a  letter,  or 
letters,  purporting  to  be  from  the  Apostle,  in  which  the 
doctrine  was  definitely  taught. 

To  all  these  three  faults  the  writer  opposes  the 
authority  of  what  they  knew  to  have  genuinely  pro- 
ceeded from  himself.  He  has  nothing  to  unsay.  They 
are  to  "hold  fast  the  traditions"  (chap.  ii.  151  which, 
written  or  unwritten,  were  his.  (1)  He  reminds  them 
not  only  of  his  example  (as  in  the  First  Letter),  but  of 
his  teaching  levelled  at  their  dissipated  religiousness  : 
"  Withdraw  yourselves  from  every  brother  that  walketh 
disorderly,  and  not  after  the  tra;lition  which  they  re- 
ceived of  us  "  (chap.  iii.  6) ;  "  Even  when  we  were  with 
you,  this  we  commanded  you,  that  if  an)-  has  no  mind 
to  work,  neither  let  him  eat  "  (chap.  iii.  10).  (2)  He 
recalls  the  very  definite  instrri^tious  which  showed 
that  the  end  was  not  by-and-by.  Tlie  Roman  empire 
was  still  standing,  and  therefore  tlie  Man  of  Sin  could 
not  be  revealed  as  yet,  and  therefore  Christ  could  not 
be  on  the  point  of  coming.  "  Remember  ye  not.  that, 
when  I  was  yet  with  you.  I  told  you  these  things  ?  " 
(chap.  ii.  5.)  (3)  He  enforces,  against  their  forgeries, 
his  present  Letter,  even  at  the  risk  of  provoking  an 
open  rebellion :  "If  any  man  obey  not  our  word  by 
this  Epistle,  note  that  man,  and  have  no  fellowship  with 
him"  (chap.  iii.  14). 

The  style  of  the  Epistle  (except  in  the  studied 
obscurity  of  the  prophetic  passage)  is  clear  and  easy, 
like  that  of  the  First ;  and  the  structure  is  also  very 
simple,  as  will  be   seen  from  the  follo^viug  analysis, 


ll'J 


II.   THESSALONIANS. 


and  marked  by  the  same  cliaracteristic  feature  as  the 
First :  i.e.,  the  j-imijer  which  leads  ou  from  oue  section  of 
the  Letter  to  another  : — 

I.  The  Salutation  (chap.  i.  1,  2). 
II.  The  Retrospective  Portion  (chap.  i.  3 — 12). 
(«)  Thanksgiving     for     progress     made 
(chap.  i.  3,  4.). 

(b)  Hopes  thus  afforded  against  the  Ad- 

vent Day  (chap.  i.  5 — lU). 

(c)  Prayer  for  continuance  in  so  happy  a 

state  (chap.  i.  11,  12). 
III.  The  Instructive  and  Hortatory  Portion 
(_cliaps.  ii.  1 — iii.  18).- 

(Ij  On  the  date  of  the  Advent. 

(a)  Caution  against  believing  the  Advent 

close  at  hand  (chap.  ii.  1 — 3). 

(b)  What    must   happen   first   (chap.   ii. 

3—10). 

(c)  Terrible  fate  of  the  apostates  (chap.  ii. 

11,  12). 

(d)  Thanksgiving  that  the  Thessalonians' 

fate  is  so  different  (chap.  ii.  13,  14). 

(e)  Exhortation    and    prayer    (chap.    ii. 

15—17). 
(2)  On  the  necessity  of  worh. 

(a)  Request  for  prayers  for  himself, 
which  .skilfully  serves  to  predispose 
the  readers  to  obey  the  ensuing 
commands  (chai^.  iii.  1 — 4). 

(ft)  Prayoi"  for  the  same  purpose  (chap, 
iii.  5). 

(c)  Commands  to  make  all  -work,  and  to 

excommunicato  the  refractory  (chap, 
iii.  6—15). 

(d)  Prayer  for  tranquillity  (chap.  iii.  16). 

(e)  Final     benediction,     with     attention 

dravni  to  the  autogi'aph  (chap.  iii. 
17,  18). 
The  genuineness  of  this  Letter,  like  that  of  the  First, 
is  iiractically  uncontroverted.     We  seem  to  have  very 


early  testimony  to  its  use — St.  Polycarp  appearing  in 
two  places  to  quote  it,  though  anonyniuusly,  according 
to  his  custom ;  and  St.  Justin,  speaking  of  the  Man  of 
Sin  in  a  manner  which  might  indeed  be  explained  by 
saying  that  that  doctrine  was  common  to  the  Catholic 
Church  not  special  to  St.  Paul,  but  which  is  more  .simply 
referred  to  this  Epistle.  The  objections  of  a  few  modern 
scholars  (Baur,  Schrader,  &c.)  are  chietiy  drawn  from 
the  prophecy  in  chap,  ii.,  from  supposed  contradictious 
between  this  Epistle  and  the  First^ — especially  in  regard 
to  the  date  of  the  Advent ;  from  fancied  allusions  to 
the  persecution  of  Nero ;  from  a  mistaken  notion  that 
the  doctrine  of  an  Antichrist  (which  was  in  reality  pre- 
Christian)  was  only  invented  by  the  Montanists. 

Doulits  have  been  entertained  by  a  few  critics,  who 
acknowledged  the  genuineness  of  both,  which  of  these 
Letters  is  the  earlier  in  date.  Ewald,  the  greatest  of 
these  critics,  placed  the  Second  Epistle  first.  It  was, 
he  thought,  placed  second  in  the  Canon  because,  as  a 
rule,  the  shorter  letters  in  the  Canon  follow  the  longer. 
The  arguments,  however,  which  he  adduces  are  scarcely 
worth  considering,  in  face  of  the  fact  that  in  2  Thess. 
ii.  15  we  have  an  allusion  to  a  former  Epistle.  All  the 
historical  portion  of  the  First  Epistle  (especially 
1  Thess.  ii.  17 ;  iii.  11)  bears  evident  tokens  of  being 
the  earliest  communication  that  had  passed  between 
St.  Paul  and  his  spu-itual  children  since  he  had  left 
them. 

[In  preparing  the  following  Notes  the  cliief  books 
consulted  have  been  those  already  mentioned  in  1  Thes- 
salonians : — the  p.atristic  commentaries,  especially  St. 
Chrysostom;  Hammond,  Liinemaun,  Ellicott,  and 
others;  and  the  posthumous  edition  (which  appeared 
too  late  for  use  in  annotating  the  First  Epistle)  by  the 
Presbyterian  Professor  Eadie.  His  notes  are,  however, 
little  but  a  i-eproductiou  of  Bishop  EUicott's,  without 
their  concentration.  In  the  Excursus  on  the  Man  of 
Sin,  I  have  stated  my  obligations  to  Dr.  Pusey's 
Lectures  on  Daniel.'] 


150 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

THESSALONIANS. 


CHAPTEE  I.— (1)  Pcaul,  and  Silvanus,  \  ^lU^- 
Chap.  i.  1,  2.  and  Timotlieus,"  unto  the  «iTbe»s.i.  i. 
The  salutation,  chui'cli  of  the  Thessalonians 
in  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ :  <")  grace  unto  you,  and  peace, 
from  God  our  Father  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

(3)  \Yq  a.re  bound  to  thank  God  al- 
ways* for  you,  brethren,  as  it  is  meet. 


b  1  Thess.  1.  2. 


because   that   your    faith   groweth  ex- 
ceedingly, and  the  charity  chap.   i.  3,  4 

of    every    one    of     you     all    Thanksgiving 

toward  each  other  abound-  fronf^^Thess^^ 
eth ;  ("*)  so  that  we  ourselves  lonica. 
glory  in  you  in  the  churches  of  God 
for  your  patience  and  faith  in  all  your 
j)ersecutions  and  tribulations  that  ye 
endure  :    ^^^  ivhich  is  a  manifest  token 


(1)  Paul,  and  Silvanus,  and  Timotheus.— The 

company  Ayhich  despatclied  the  First  Epistle  is  not  yet 
broken  up.  This  proves  that  the  Second  Epistle  was 
written  befoi'e  the  end  of  the  second  missionary 
journey,  for  after  that  time  we  do  not  read  of  Silvanus 
being  in  the  company  of  St.  Paul.  The  salutation  is 
precisely  the  same  as  in  the  First  Epistle,  save  for  the 
last  clause  of  verse  2,  which  is  wrongly  added  in  that 
place,  but  stands  rightly  liere. 

(3)  We  are  bound  to  thank  God  always  for 
you,  brethren.— The  thanksgiving  is  regarded  as  a 
positive  debt  incurred,  which  it  would  be  a  dishonesty 
not  to  pay. 

Because.^Tlus  assigns  the  reason  for  saying  that 
it  was  "meet,"  and  does  not  merely  follow  after"  thank 
God  :"  in  which  case,  the  words  "  as  it  is  meet  "  would 
have  been  rather  weak,  as  containing  no  more  than  is 
involved  in  "  we  are  bound."  The  best  paraphrase 
would  be  :  "  We  feel  the  obligation  to  give  thanks  for 
you ;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  but  meet  that  we 
should,  because,"  Ac. 

Groweth  exceedingly.— An  enthusiastic  word  in 
tlie  original:  ''is  out-growing  all  boimds."  It  is  a 
metaphor  from  vegetable  or  animal  gi-owth.  This  was 
one  of  the  very  points  about  Avhich  St.  Paul  was 
anxious  the  last  time  that  lie  liad  written  :  then  there 
were  deficiencies  in  their  faitli  (1  Thess.  iii.  10). 

Charity. — Here,  too,  St.  Paul  remembers  wliat  he 
had  said  to  them  in  the  last  Epistle,  in  wliich  he  liad 
devoted  a  wliole  section  to  the  love  of  the  brethren 
"  toward  each  other."  "  Of  every  one  of  you  all  "  is  a 
very  noticeable  expression,  as  showing  the  individual 
solicitude  of  the  Apostles  for  their  converts.  Just  as 
tlio  apostolic  instructions  were  given  to  each  Chnstian 
privately  (1  Tliess.  ii.  11),  so  news  has  been  brousjlit 
now  each  several  Christian  is  progressing.  The  differ- 
ences which  had  called  forth  snch  passages  as  1  Thess. 
iii.  12,  iv  6 — 10,  v.  12 — 11,  liad  apparently  aU  ceased, 
and  mutual  love  was  nniltiplying. 

(^'  So  that  we  ourselves. — Why  was  it  less  likely 
that  St.  Paul  ami  Ins  companions  should  thus  glory  in 
them  tlian  other  friends  did,  or  perhaps  than  tlie 
Thessalonians  themselves  ?    Possibly,  because  it  seemed 


almost  like  self-praise  to  praise  their  own  converts ; 
but  much  more  probably,  because  the  writers  had  before 
felt  and  expressed  misgivings  on  the  point :  this  suits 
the  thought  of  verse  3  better. 

Glory  in  you  in  the  churches  of  God. — Xot 
only  in  thanksgiving  to  God  (though,  perhaps,  out- 
bursts of  praise  in  the  pul^lic  sen'ices  of  "  the 
churches "  may  be  included),  but  also  in  talking  to 
other  men,  at  Corinth  and  elsewhere  :  so,  in  return, 
St.  Paul  "  boasted  "to  the  Thessalonians  about  the 
Corinthians  (2  Cor.  ix.  2^1. 

Your  patience  and  faith.— It  was  well  proved 
that  St.  Paul  had  no  more  cause  for  misgiving,  and 
that  the  tempter's  tempting  by  persecution  had  not 
made  the  apostolic  labours  to  be  in  vain.  (See  1  Thess. 
iii.  5.)  "  Patience,"  in  the  New  Testament,  does  not 
mean  a  meek  submissiveness,  but  a  heroic  endurance. 
The  "  faith  "  here  becomes  almost  equivalent  to  "  hope," 
except  that  it  introduces  the  ground  of  such  hope:  viz., 
confidence  in  the  living  God;  it  also  includes  the  notion 
of  fidth  fulness. 

Persecutions  and  tribulations.— The  difference 
between  the  two  words  is.  that  while  "tribulation"  is 
quite  general,  and  implies  no  personal  enmities,  "per- 
secution "  means  that  a  certain  set  of  i)ersons  were 
organising  active  measures  for  the  annoyance  of  tlie 
Church.  Such  persecution  they  were  still  "enduring  " 
when  the  Letter  was  written. 

(■')  Which  is  .  .  . — In  tlie  fervid  eloquence  of  the 
original  these  connecting  words  are  omitted,  and  tlie 
clause  added  in  a  kind  of  apjiosition  to  the  words  "  in 
all  your  persecutions;"  the  effect  is  the  snine  as  when 
we  in  English  put  a  dash :  "  wliicli  ye  endure — a  mani- 
fest token,"  Sic.  The  indication  of  God's  rigliteous 
judgment  consisted  not  so  much  in  the  A-itality  and 
growth  of  the  Tlies.salonians'  faith  and  love  as  in  tlie 
very  fact  of  their  being  persecuted  ;  such  persecution 
was  an  actual  indication  how  the  fiir  judgment  of  God 
would  eo  in  the  last  day.  Xo  undue  stress  is  to  be  laid 
upon  the  epithet  "  risjliteous,"  as  if  it  were  "  a  token  of 
the  rir/hteousness  of  God's  judsrnuMit : "  the  point  is  only 

I   to  indicate  already  ichat  a  fair  judge    was    likely  to 

'   decide. 

51 


Encouragement  to  the  Believers      II.     THESSALONIANS,     I. 


under  Persecutions. 


of  tlie  righteous  judgment  of  God, 
Chap.  i.  5-10.  that  ye  may  be  counted 
Encourage-  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of 
^runder  p^r-  God,«  for  which  ye  also 
secution  by  suffer:  ^^^  seeing  it  is  a 
coming"'?etd!  righteous  thing  with  God 
butiou.  to  recompense  tribulation 

to  them  that  trouble  you  ;  ^">  and  to  you 


1  Gr. the  anoeh 

0/  his  power. 

a  Matt.  23..%!. 

2  Ur,  yielding. 

b  Acts     6.     7; 

Uoiu.  10.  16. 

who  are  troubled  rest  with  us,  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed  from 
heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,^  <^'  in 
flaming  fire  taking-  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not 
the  gosjDel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:* 
(^^  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlast- 
ing destruction  from  the  presence  of  the 


That  ye  may  be  counted  worthy.— Tliis  ex- 
presses the  result,  not  of  the  future  judgment  of  God, 
f)ut  of  the  patient  sufferings  which  reveal  what  that 
judgment  will  be.  The  "  coimtiug  worthy  "  (or  rather, 
pcriiaps,'  the  "  declaring  worthy ")  is,  in  fact,  the 
"  judgment "  or  sentence  itself.  "  You  suffer  in  such  a 
manner  tliat  we  can  forecast  the  fair  verdict  of  God  :  viz., 
so  as  to  be  then  det-larod  (the  Greek  tense  points  to  a 
distinct  mouKMit  of  forming  the  estimate)  fit  to  receive 
God's  kingdom."  The  word  "  counted  worthy  "  has  in 
this  place  nothing  to  do  with  the  theological  question  of 
merit. 

The  kingdom  of  God.— "Which  had  formed  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  first  preaching  at  Thessalouica. 
(See  Introduction  to  the  First  Epi.^tle  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians.)  Are  the  Thcssalonian  Christians,  then,  not 
yet  in  the  kingdom  of  God  ?  Yes ;  but  only  as  its 
sitbjects  :  her(>after  tliey  are  to  be  counted  worthy  not 
of  admission  into  it,  but  of  it  itself — i.e.,  to  inherit  it, 
to  become  kin?s  of  it.  (Comp.  the  parallel  argument 
in  2  Tim.  ii.  IJ.) 

For  which  ye  also  suffer. — St.  Paul  is  very  fond 
of  this  •■  also "  in  relative  clauses ;  it  tightens  the 
coupling  between  the  relative  and  antecedent  clauses, 
and  so  brings  out  more  clearly  the  vital  connection 
between  suffering  and  reigning.  They  suffer  "  for  the 
kingdom."  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  winning  it,  but  on 
its  behalf,  in  defence  of  it,  in  consequence  of  being  its 
citizens,  to  extend  its  dominion. 

('5)  Seeing  it  is.  — Literally,  if  so  be  it  is  fair  :  a 
form  very  common  in  St.  Paul,  when  he  wishes  to 
argue  from  some  fact  which  he  knows  his  readers  will 
recognise  (e.g.,  Rom.  viii.  9).  "  Your  persecution  is  a 
clear  indication  what  God's  fair  verdict  will  be — that 
He  will  ])ronounce  you  fit — unless  indeed  you  deny 
(as  you  will  not)  that  it  is  fair  to  recompense  the 
per.secutors  with  tribulation  and  the  persecuted  with 
rest."  The  context  shows  that  St.  Paul  does  not  mean 
that  oil  suffering  deserves  a  requital  with  bliss,  but  he 
does  put  it  as  a  matter  of  common  fairness  that  when 
men  have  suffered  for  the  kingdom's  sake  God  should 
80  reward  them  hereafter. 

With  God. — Such  a  system  of  requital  commends 
itself  as  fair  to  men  :  is  it  likely  to  seem  less  fair  in  the 
eyes  of  God  ?  Holy  Scripture  always  sets  forth  the 
power  of  the  liuman  conscience  to  recognise  God's 
principles  of  action  :  wliatever  ia  righteous  for  men  is 
so  for  God,  and  vice  versa. 

(7)  Rest  with  us.— Why  "with  us"?  It  shows 
sympathy  in  (heir  present  trials,  for  it  implies  that  the 
writers  themselves  had  earned  or  were  earning  (see 
Acts  xviii.  12)  that  rest  by  the  like  trials.  The  word 
"rest"  [or  relaxation)  is  the  opposite  of  the  "strain" 
at  which  the  persecution  kept  them.  Such  "  rest "  is 
not  to  be  expected  in  its  fidness  till  the  judgment  day. 

From  heaven.— St.  Paul  seems  to  delight  in  call- 
ing .attention  to  the  quarter  from  which  "  the  Lord 
Je.sus  "  (the  human  name,  to  show  His  sympathy  with 
trouble)  wall  appear.     (See  1  Thess.  i.  10 ;  iv.  16.) 


With  his  mighty  angels.— Literally,  with  the 
angels  of  His  power — i.e.,  the  angels  to  whom  His  power 
is  intru.sted  and  by  whom  it  is  administered.  The 
angels  do  not  attend  merely  for  pomp,  but  to  execute 
God's  purposes.     (See  Matt.  xiii.  41,  49;  xxiv.  31.) 

(8)  In  flaming  fire. — Most  critics  agree  to  change 
the  punctuation  here,  by  omitting  the  comma  after 
"  angels  "  and  inserting  it  after  "  fire."  The  flaming  fire 
here  is  not  the  insti-ument  of  the  vengeance — i.e.,  hell- 
fire — but  the  common  pictorial  attribute  of  the  Di^dno 
Presence  (Ex.  iii.  2;  xix.  18  ;  Dan.  vii.  9). 

Taking  vengeance. — The  expression  in  the  original 
is  one  which  is  said  to  be  found  nowhere  else  in  Greek 
literature,  save  in  Ezek.  xxv.  11  (though  in  Hebrew 
there  is  an  almost  exact  equivalent  in  Num.  xxxi.  3), 
so  that  it  is  difficult  to  assign  the  correct  meaning.  It 
certainly  does  not  mean  "  taking  vengeance "  in  the 
sense  of  "  taking  His  revenge,"  as  though  our  Lord 
had  conceived  a  personal  grudge  and  were  wreaking  it. 
What  it  does  mean  would  seem  to  be  "  assigning  re- 
tribution : "  appointing,  that  is,  to  each  mau  what 
satisfaction  of  justice  he  must  make.  The  very  word 
f or  "  vengtfauce  "  can  only  mean  vengeance  exacted  on 
some  one  else's  behalf.  (Comp.  1  Thess.  iv.  6,  and 
Ps.  Ixxix.  10.) 

On  them  that  know  not  God. — Accoi*ding  to  the 
Greek,  the  word  '•  them  "  should  be  repeated  also  in  the 
next  clause.  The  effect  will  theu  be  to  mark  off  the 
culprits  into  two  classes:  "  them  that  know  not,"  and 
"  them  that  obey  not."  A  comparison  of  Eph  iv.  17, 18, 
1  Thess.  iv.  5,  shows  that  by  the  first  class  are  meant 
Gentiles;  a  comparison  of  Hom.  x.  16,  21  (and  many 
other  passages)  will  show  disobedience  to  be  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  Jews.  The  Greek  negative  par  icle  here 
is  one  which  shows  that  the  ignorance  of  the  one  set  and 
the  disobedience  of  the  other  were  just  the  points  for 
which  they  were  to  be  punished :  therefore,  of  course, 
only  those  Gentiles  whose  ignorance  was  voluntary, 
who  chose  (Rom.  i.  28)  to  be  Gentiles  when  they 
might  have  been  joined  to  the  true  God,  are  objects  of 
wrath.  Here,  as  the  context  shows,  St.  Paul  is  think- 
ing chiefly  of  those  Gentiles  and  Jews  who  actually 
persecuted  the  truth. 

Obey  not  the  gospel. — A  noteworthy  phmse ;  see 
the  reference.  The  gospel,  the  "  glad  tidings,"  contains 
not  only  a  statement  of  facts,  but  also  a  call  to  obey  a 
law  which  is  the  outcome  of  the  facts.  Even  the  accept- 
ance of  evangelical  promises  requires  a  submission. 
(Comp.  Luke  xxiv.  47;  Acts  xi.  18;  Rev.  xxii.  3.) 
It  is  In^re  called  si)ecially  the  gospel  "  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  because  the  sin  of  the  Jews  (who  con- 
stitute this  class  of  sinners)  consisted  precisely  iu  the 
wilful  rejection  of  Jesus  as  the  Christ. 

(•')  Punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
specifies  the  "  vengeance  "  to  be  taken.  But  the  word 
"  destruction  "  does  not  stand  absolutely  and  alone  as  a 
sjnionym  for  "  annihilation."  This  passage,  in  itself, 
gives  us  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  lost  will  be 
i  "  destroyed  "  iu  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  They 
J2 


The   Veuyeance  of  the  Lord 


II.   THESSALONIANS,   I. 


at  Ills  Clvrluus  Appearing. 


Lord,"  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power ; 
(^'^^  when  he  shall  come  to  be  glorified 
in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all 
them  that  believe  (because  our  testimony 
among  you  was  believed)  in  that  day. 
(11)  "Wherefore  also  we  pray  always  for 
you,  that  our  God  would  count  ^  you 
worthy  of  this  calling,  and  fulfil  all  the 


la  Luke  13.  i& 


1  Or,  vouchsafe. 


good  pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and 
the  work  of  faith  w^ith  chap.  i.  ii,  12. 
power  :    (^^^  that   the    name    Prayer,  serving 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  practical'^^^i! 

may  be   glorified   in   you,  tion, 

and    ye     in     him,    according    to     the 

grace  of  our  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ. 


are  to  be  "  destroyed  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  from  the  glory  of  His  power  " — i.e.,  cut  olf  from  it 
for  ever.  The  "  presence  " — or,  moi'e  literally  here,  "  the 
face — of  the  Lord,"  as  well  as  "  the  glory  of  His  power," 
is  a  metaphor  from  the  courts  of  Oriental  kings,  where 
only  honoured  courtiers  are  admitted  to  spend  their 
time  in  the  immediate  and  familiar  presence  of  the 
sovereign.  Familiar  contact  with  Christ  hereafter, 
which  will  be  accorded  to  all  the  saved,  was  God's 
ideal  intention  for  the  lost  as  well,  therefore  it  is  a 
positive  "  destruction  "  to  be  banished  from  it.  But  to 
the  Jews,  who  looked  for  a  Messiah  who  should  keej) 
regal  state,  the  punishment  was  peculiarly  appropriate. 
The  word  is  used  besides  in  1  Cor.  v.  5 ;  1  Thess.  v.  3 ; 

1  Tim.  \\.  9.  As  for  the  woi-d  rendered  "  everlasting  " 
(or  eternal,  for  it  is  the  same  which  is  used,  e.g., 
Heb.  vi.  2),  it  would  certainly  convey  to  St.  Paul's 
readers  the  notion  of  incessant  duration  in  titne  ;  it  is, 
of  course,  only  an  adaptation  to  human  language  to 
speak  of  time  at  all  in  such  a  case,  as  we  cannot  tell 
what  may  take  the  place  of  time  in  the  next  dispensa- 
tion ;  however,  so  far  as  the  actual  words  go,  there  is 
nothing  in  these  ])assages  (Matt,  xviii.  8 ;  xxv.  41,  46 ; 
Mark  iii.  29;  Heb.  vi.  2;  Jude,  verse  7)  to  suggest 
any  future  alteration  in  the  state  of  the  lost.  In  this, 
as  in  some  other  doctrines,  there  seem  to  be  two  distinct 
sets  of  passages,  the  logical  reconciliation  of  which  in 
our  present  state  seems  almost  impossible. 

(10)  When  he  shall  come. — Not  simply  a  repetition 
of  the  temporal  date  which  was  mentioned  in  verse  7 — 
"  when  the  Lord,"  &c. — but  an  introduction  of  the  contrast 
which  will  be  presented  "  in  that  day  "  by  the  spectacle 
of  tlie  glory  of  the  saints.  Thus  the  penalty  of  verse  9 
is  made  to  appear  greater,  while  at  the  same  time  the 
readers'  minds  are  turned  back  to  a  more  wholesome 
subject  for  meditation. 

To  be  glorified  in  his  saints.— This  is  not 
exactly  the  inu-fose,  but  the  effect  of  His  coming.  A 
comparison  of   John  xiii.  31,  32;    xiv.   13;    xvii.   10; 

2  Thoss.  i.  12 ;  .shows  that  the  saints  are  the  objects  on 
which  and  hy  which  the  glorious  perfection  of  Christ  is 
exhibited  :  to  see  what  the  .saints  will  be  exalted  to  "  in 
that  day  "  will  make  all  ol)servers  acknowledge,  not  the 
holiness  or  greatness  of  the  men,  but  the  divine  power  of 
Him  who  Avas  able  so  to  exalt  them.  As  the  persecutors 
were  divided  into  two  classes  to  be  punished,  so  the 
siived  are  described  under  two  aspects :  in  contrast  with 
''  them  that  know  not  God  "  they  are  "  saints,"  i.e.,  fully 
consecrated  to  God ;  in  contrast  with  "  them  that  obey 
not  the  gospel"  they  are  "they  that  believed"  (for  the 
past  tense  is  the  better  reading),  i.e.,  accepted  the  gospel. 
As  the  profane  Gentiles,  looking  on  the  saints,  recognise 
the  "  glory  "  of  the  God  whom  they  knew  not,  so  the  dis- 
obedient Jews,  seeing  the  faitliful,  are  aptly  filled  with 
"wonder"  (Acts  xiii.  41),  before  they  perish,  at  the 
glory  to  be  attained  ])y  o])ediencc  to  the  law  of  suffering. 

Because  our  testimony.— Introduced  to  show 
why  the  writers  had  said  specially  "  \n  all  them  tliat 
believed  "  (the  past  tense  is  employed  because  it  looks 


back  from  the  Judgment  Day  to  the  moment  when 
the  gospel  was  offered  and  the  divergence  between 
believers  and  unbelievers  began) ;  the  reason  was, 
because  among  "  all  them  that  believed "  the  Thessa- 
louians  would  be  foimd  included. 

In  that  day. — Added  at  the  end  to  make  the  readers 
look  once  more  (as  it  were)  upon  the  wonderful  sight 
on  which  the  writer's  prophetic  eyes  were  raptly  fixed. 

(11)  Wherefore. — Literally,  ivhereunto — i.e.,  to  their 
being  found  among  the  blessed.  Tlie  "  also  "  serves  to 
emphasise  the  "  pray  "  :  we  do  not  content  ourselves 
with  merely  hoping,  but  we  direct  actual  prayer  to  that 
end.  The  word  "  Avhereunto  "  seems  grammatically  to 
depend  upon  the  word  "  calling  "  —  "  of  the  calling 
whereunto,  we  prai/  also  for  you  always,  that  our  God 
would  count  you  worthy." 

Count  you  worthy  of  this  calling.— The  word 
"this  "would,  perhaps,  have  been  better  left  out;  the 
"  calling  "  of  which  St.  Paul  is  thinking  is  the  calling 
"  in  that  day,"  such  as  is  expressed  in  Matt.  xxv.  34, 
and  the  act  is  the  same  as  that  of  verse  5.  But  had 
they  not  been  called  to  glory  already?  Yes  (1  Thess. 
iv.  7),  and  had  obeyed  the  call;  and  God  was  still 
calling  them  hourly  (see  Notes  on  1  Thess.  ii.  12 ;  v.  24) ; 
but  that  was  no  security  that  they  would  remain  worthy 
of  that  last  decisive  call.  "  Many  are  called,  but  few 
chosen."  In  the  original  there  is  some  emphasis  laid 
on  the  pronoiin  :  "  count  you." 

Fulfil  all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness. 
— Rather, /it //iZ  every  purpose  of  goodness;  or,  "every- 
thing which  beneficeuce  deems  good."  Most  modem 
commentators  take  the  "  goodness  "  to  be  the  goodness 
of  the  Thessalouians  tlienisdves,  thus  making  the  clause 
logically  antecedent  to  the  foregoing  :  "  May  count  you 
worthy  of  His  calling,  and  (for  that  purpose)  fulfil 
every  good  moral  aspiration  you  may  entertain."  But 
this  seems  unnecessary.  The  "  beneficence  "  is  used 
absolutely,  in  almost  a  personified  sense ;  it  is,  of  course, 
in  reality,  God's  beneficence,  but  is  spoken  of  as  bene- 
ficence m  the  abstract.  Thus  the  clause  preserves  its 
natural  place  as  an  explanation  of  the  preceding :  "  May 
finally  call  you,  and  there  accomplish  upon  your  persons 
all  that  beneficence  can  devise." 

And  the  work  of  faith  with  power.— This  work, 
too,  is  God's  work,  not  the  work  of  the  Thessalouians. 
It  is  used  in  the  same  sense  as  a  like  phrase  in  Cowper's 
well-known  hymn — 

"  Thou  sbnlt  sec  My  glory  soon. 
When  the  work  of  (/race  is  done." 

It  means,  not  "perfect  your  faithfid  activity,"  as  in 
1  Thess.  i.  3,  but  "  bring  to  its  mighty  consummation 
the  work  that  faith  was  able  to  effect  in  you."  Faith, 
therefore,  is  here  opposed  as  much  to  sight  a.s  to  un- 
belief. The  "beneficence"  and  the  "power"  thus 
exerted  upcm  (rather  than  through"!  the  Thessaloniau.s, 
produces  upon  all  sjx'ctators  of  the  judgment,  both 
angels  ami  men.  the  effect  described  in  the  next  verse. 

(12)  That  the  name  .  .  .—This  verse  gathers  up 


Ids 


Caution  against  Falne  Tiachiuj      II.     THESSALONIANS,    II. 


as  to  the  Second  Advent, 


CHAPTEE  II.— (1)  Now  we  beseech 
Chap.  ii.  1,  2.  y<^u,  brethren,  by  the 
Caution  against  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
forged  comum-  (jj^^-igt,  and  by  our  gather- 

nioations  toach-  .  '  -^  ,'^^• 

ingthenoarness  ing     together     UntO     hlUl," 

of  the  Advent.    (2)  that   ye    be    not    soon 
shaken      in     mind,    or    be     troubled, 


b  :Matt.  24.  A. 


c  1  Tiiu.  i.  1. 


neither  by  sj^irit,  nor  by  word,  nor 
by  letter  as  from  us,  as  that  the  dtiy 
of  Christ  is  at  hand.  <3)  Let  no  man 
deceive  you  by  any  means:*  chap.  ii.  3-5. 
for  that  day  shall  not  come,  The  Antichrist 
except  there  come  a  falling  mustcomefirst. 
away  first/    and    that  man    of  sin   be 


wliat  has  been  said  in  vei'ses  8 — 10.  Seeing  the  favours 
bestowed  upon  the  Christians  in  the  last  day,  all,  the 
lost  as  well  as  the  saved,  will  be  forced  to  acknowledge 
the  glory  [i.e.,  the  divine  perfection)  of  the  Jesus  whoso 
Christship  had  been  rejected,  and  the  gloiy  (i.e.,  the  true 
dignity)  of  the  Christians  who  had  been  despised  for 
their  allegiance  to  Him.  It  stands  to  reason  that 
Christians  must  share  Christ's  "  glory  "  {i.e.,  full  recog- 
nition ;  comp.  Note  on  1  Thess.  ii.  6)  in  that  day,  for 
when  the  lost  recognise  what  He  is,  it  is  ipso  facto 
a  recognition  that  they  were  right  and  wise  to  follow 
Him.  The  words  "  according  to  the  grace  "  belong 
only  to  "and  ye  in  Him:"  it  is  the  gracious  will  (for 
"  grace  "  here  has  hardly  its  strict  theological  sense)  of 
God,  in  which  Christ  concurs,  that  we  should  be  thus 
"  glorified  in  Him." 

II. 

The  first  chapter  had  encouraged  the  Thessalonians 
under  persecution  by  the  thought  of  the  reality  of 
the  Advent.  The  author  has  not  in  the  least  changed 
his  opinion  about  the  Advent  since  wi'iting  the  First 
Epistle.  It  is  still  a  matter  of  most  practical  comfort : 
"  a  very  present  help."  But  now,  in  clear  tones,  he 
warns  the  Thessalonians  against  supposing  that  the 
"end"  was  "  by-and-by  "  (Luke  xxi.  9).  He  had,  in 
fact,  taught  them  so  from  the  outset,  and  had  even 
then  pointed  out  to  them  a  sign,  unaccomplished  as 
yet,  wliich  they  must  see  accomplished  before  the 
Advent  should  come. 

(1)  Brethren. — The  Apostles  have  won  a  hearing  for 
the  true  Advent  doctrine  by  their  sympathetic  treat- 
ment of  it  in  the  former  chapter ;  now  they  soften  their 
correction  of  the  false  doctrine  by  using  tender  names. 

By  the  coming.— Literally,  for  the  sake  of  the 
coming,  just  as  in  English  we  adjure  persons  to  do  a 
thing  "  for  God's  sake."  It  is  a  stronger  form  of  ad- 
juration than  the  simple  "  by,"  inasmuch  as  it  implies 
that  the  thing  or  person  adjured  by  will  suffer  if  the 
action  be  left  unperformed.  The  Coming  of  Christ  and 
the  meeting  with  the  beloved  dead  would  not  bo 
80  bright,  so  perfect,  perhaps  so  soon,  if  the  Thessa- 
lonians allowed  themselves  to  be  misled  with  regard  to  it. 

Our  gathering  together.— The  peculiar  Greek 
word  is  the  same  as  that  used  in  Heb.  x.  2.5  of  the 
assembling  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  nowhere  else, 
80  that  some  have  interpreted  it  in  the  same  sense  liere. 
In  vei-b  form  it  is  thus  used  in  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  Tlie 
close  connection  between  the  two  "gatherings  together" 
may  be  seen  in  1  Cor.  xi.  26.  The  "  our "  means  the 
meeting  of  the  dead  and  the  quick  together, 

(^)  Not  soon  shaken.— The  meaning  would  be 
clearer  if  we  inserted  "so"  before  "soon,"  for  it  does 
not  mean  vaguely  tliat  they  were  for  the  future  not  to 
be  lightly  shaken,  but  (as  in  Gal.  i,  6)  that  they  had 
already  been  shaken,  and  that  in  an  unconscionably 
short  time  since  their  first  teaching  on  the  subject. 

In  mind. — In  the  original  it  is,  from  your  mind ; 
from  your  reason. 


154 


Be  troubled.— The  tense  of  the  verb  "  be  troubled  " 
difilers  in  the  Greek  from  that  of  "  be  shaken  "  ;  for 
the  "  driving  out  of  their  wits  "  is  regai'ded  as  a  single 
act ;  the  "  agitation,"  or  being  troubled,  as  a  chronic 
condition,  into  which  there  was  fear  of  their  falling. 
This  shaking  and  trouble  probably  brought  about  the 
disorders  spoken  of  in  chap,  iii.  The  instruments  by 
which  men  had  partly  driven  the  Thessalonians  out  of 
their  wits  already  were  three  : — (1)  "  Through  spirit," 
i.e.,  by  pretended  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
power,  whether  through  false  signs  or,  more  proTjably, 
through  "  prophesyings."  (See  1  Thess,  v,  20 — 22, 
where  the  fear  of  some  abuse  of  prophecy  is  clearly 
marked  already.)  (2)  "  Through  word,"  i.e.,  word  of 
mouth,  as  opposed  to  the  written  letter  next  mentioned. 
Most  modern  commentators  seem  rightly  to  take  the 
words  "  as  from  us "  with  this  claiise  as  well  as  with 
the  next ;  some  persons  misrepresented  what  they  had 
heard  the  Apostles  say  on  the  topic,  or  pretended  to 
have  been  intrusted  with  a  message  from  them. 
(3)  "  Through  letter  ;  "  apparently  forged  letters,  pur- 
porting to  be  from  (or,  literally,  tliroxujh)  St.  Paul,  had 
been  circulated.  (See  Note  on  chap.  iii.  17.)  "Word" 
and  "  letter "  occur  again  in  verse  15  as  his  ordinary 
means  of  teaching. 

As  that  the  day  of  Christ  is  at  hand — 
i.e.,  "  to  the  effect  that  it  is," — giving  the  contents 
of  the  pretended  revelation ;  for  "  as  that "  follows 
grammatically  upon  "  sjiirit,  word,  letter,"  not  upon 
"  shaken,  troubled."  The  word  for  "  is  at  hand " 
implies  a  very  close  proximity  indeed,  the  participle,  in 
fact  (like  our  word  "  instant "),  being  used  for  "  present," 
e.g..  Gal,  i,  4.  Probably  the  form  which  the  false 
doctrine  at  Thessalonica  was  beginning  to  take  was 
that  the  day  of  the  Lord  had  already  set  in,  thus  con- 
fusing the  whole  idea  of  a  personal,  visible  Advent,  just 
as,  at  a  later  period,  Hymenoeus  and  Philetus  confused 
the  true  doctrine  of  resurrection  by  affirming  that  it 
was  already  past  (2  Tim.  ii,  18),  St.  Paul  not  only 
denies  vigorously  that  the  day  is  come,  but  proceeds 
in  the  next  Averse  to  show  that  the  signs  of  its  approach 
are  not  yet  exliibited.  The  best  reading  gives  "  the 
day  of  the  Lord,"  not  "  of  Christ,"  (See  Note  on 
1  Tliess.  V,  2,) 

(3)  Let  no  man  .  .  .  by  any  means. — "What- 
ever device  they  may  adopt — spirit,  letter,  or  what  not — • 
they  are  deceivers  or  deceived;  do  not  be  duped  by 
them,"  The  form  of  warning  is  a  mark  of  St.  Paul's 
style.     (Comp,  1  Cor,  iii.  18 ;  Eph.  v.  6.) 

For  .  .  .  except. — The  words  between  are  rightly 
supplied  in  our  version.  Probably,  St.  Paul's  first 
intention  was  to  turn  verse  5  diffei-ently,  as,  for 
instance :  "  For,  except  that  Man  of  Sin,  &c„  ye  re- 
member that  I  told  you  the  day  would  not  come."  The 
length  of  the  sentence  made  him  break  off  (as  he  often 
does)  without  regard  for  grammatical  completeness. 

A  falling  a"way.— A  great  change  in  the  purpose 
of  the  sentence  will  be  felt  directly  ''the"  is  substituted 
for  "  a."  Only  one  insignificant  MS.  omits  the  definite 
article;  the  same  article  in  our  version  is  vigorously 


vjhich  is  not  to  he  till  after 


IT.   THESSALONIANS,  IL 


the  Coming  of  Antichrist. 


revealed,  the  son  of  perdition  ;"  (^)  who 
©iDposeth   and   exalteth    himself    above 


a  Jolin  17.  12. 
b  Uau.  11.  36. 


all  that  is  called  God,*  or  that  is  wor- 
shipped;   so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  iu 


rendered  "  that "  before  "  man  of  sin."  In  both  cases 
the  purpose  is  by  no  moans  to  utter  a  new,  strange 
prophecy,  or  to  add  to  the  knowledge  of  the  reath^rs, 
but  to  remind  them  of  careful  teaching  given  during 
the  first  few  weeks  after  their  conversion.  "  That 
falling  away  "  must  undoubtedly  imply  that  the  persons 
so  apostatising  had  formerly  held  (or,  perhaps,  still 
professed  to  hold)  the  Christian  faith  :  men  cannot  fall 
from  ground  which  they  never  occupied.  This  vast  and 
dreadful  Apostasy  (see  Luke  xviii.  8),  so  clearly  and 
prominently  taught  of  to  the  ancient  Church,  and  so 
mysterious  to  us,  is  further  defined  by  the  following 
words,  as  the  Apocalypse  or  Manifestation  of  the  Man 
of  Sin.  Of  this  revelation  of  Antichrist  the  same  word 
{apocahjpsis)  is  used  which  is  often  used  of  Christ,  as, 
e.g.,  chap.  i.  7 ;  Luke  xvii.  30 ;  and  thrice  in  St.  Peter ; 
so  that  we  may  expect  to  recognise  him  when  he  comes 
as  clearly  as  we  shall  recognise  Christ.  The  concep- 
tion of  the  Antichrist  is  not  merely  that  of  an  opponent 
of  the  Christ,  but  of  a  rival  Christ :  there  is  a  hideous 
parallelism  between  the  two. 

That  man  of  sin. — It  is  not  absolutely  certain  from 
the  Greek,  but  the  context  makes  it  tolerably  clear  that 
the  "  Man  of  Sin "  is  the  head  and  centre  of  the 
Apostasy  itself,  and  does  not  form  a  separate  move- 
ment from  it.  The  "  Man  of  Sin,"  then,  will  have  at 
one  time  formed  (or  will  still  profess  to  form)  part  of 
the  Christian  Church,  and  the  Apostasy  will  culminate 
iu  him.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  requirements  of  the 
passage  would  not  be  fulfilled  by  (with  Hammond) 
interpreting  the  Apostasy  to  mean  the  early  Gnostic 
movement,  followed  up  by  the  independent  appearance 
of  Nero  as  the  Man  of  Sin.  The  phrase,  "  the  Man  of 
Sin,"  might,  perhaps,  be  only  a  poetical  personification 
of  a  movement,  or  of  a  class  of  men,  or  of  a  succession 
of  men  (as,  e.g.,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  22 ;  Rev.  ii.  20 ;  xvii.  3) ; 
but  the  analogy  of  the  parallel  passages  in  Dan.  viii. 
and  xi.  leads  rather  to  the  supposition  that  St.  Paul 
looked  for  the  coming  of  some  actual  individual  man 
who  should  be  the  impersonation  of  the  movement  of 
Apostasy.  The  genitive  (see  Note  on  1  Thess.  i.  3)  is 
like  a  forcible  epithet :  "  A  man  so  wicked  that,  bad  as 
other  men  are,  wickedness  should  be  his  mark  by  which 
he  is  distinguished  from  all  others ;  a  man  who  belongs 
to  sin,  in  whom  the  ideal  of  sin  has  become  realised  and 
incarnate."  What  kind  of  sin  will  be  most  prominent 
in  him  is  not  expressed  in  the  word  itself ;  but  the 
context  points  clearly  to  that  which  is,  in  fact,  the 
cro^vning  sin — spiritual  pride  and  rebelUous  arrogaucy 
(Eph.  vi.  12). 

The  son  of  perdition. — The  phrase  which  is  used, 
in  John  xvii.  12,  of  the  false  Apostle ;  it  suits  well  with 
the  description  of  the  Man  of  Sin,  who,  like  Judas,  will 
havo  "  fallen  away "  from  high  Christian  pri^^leges : 
according  to  one  popular  intei-pretation,  like  Judas, 
from  the  privileges  of  the  Apostolate  itself.  The  expres- 
sion signifies  one  who  belongs  by  natural  ties  to  per- 
dition— who  from  his  very  birth  chooses  evil,  and  in 
such  a  sense  may  be  said  to  bo  bom  to  be  lost  (Matt. 
xxvi.  24;  2  Pet.  ii.  12).  Both  his  malignity  and  his 
doom  are  thus  implied  in  it. 

(*)  Who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself.— The 
original  continues  a  quasi-substantival  form  : — "  the 
opposer  and  exalter  of  himself  " — well-known  descrip- 
tions (doubtless)  of  the  Antichrist  ;  several  of  the 
details   are   drawn   directly   from   the   description   of 


Antiochus  in  Dan.  xi.  Being  merely  descriptiA^e  epi- 
thets, we  are  not  at  liberty  to  press  the  present  tense, 
and  say  that  the  Man  of  Sin  was  already  thus  acting  at 
the  time  St.  Paul  wi-ote.  The  word  for  "  the  opposer," 
or  "  adversary,"  is  a  pretty  close  rendering  of  the 
name  "  Satan,"  and  passed,  in  ecclesiastical  Greek  into 
a  synonym  for  it.  The  acts  here  attributed  to  tho 
Man  of  Sin  are  peculiarly  Satanic.  (Comp.  Isa.  xiv. 
12 — 14 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  6.)  Of  course,  however,  we  must 
not  confound  Satan  himself  with  his  huuian  minister. 

Above  all  that  is  called  God.— The  translation 
here  is  not  quite  exact.  The  word  "  above "  in  the 
original  is  compounded  with  "  exalteth " ;  it  should 
be,  and  super-exalteth,  or  exkalteth  himself  above 
measure  (2  Cor.  xii.  7,  where  the  same  compound  is 
used)  against  every  God  so  called.  Probably  the 
clause  "  against  every  God  "  is  to  be  taken  only  with 
"  super-exalteth  "  ;  the  description  "  who  opposeth " 
stands  absolutely :  it  is  one  characteristic  of  the 
Man  of  Sin  to  be  always  in  opposition,  and  to  have 
concord  with  no  one.  "  Every  God  so  called "  in- 
cludes the  false  gods  with  the  true  God  (comp.  1  Cor. 
viii.  5) :  true  or  false,  it  matters  not  to  jealous  Anti- 
christ, who  would  have  nothing  worsliippod  but  him- 
self. This  explains  the  addition  of  the  little  clause, 
"or  that  is  worshipped."  Many  things  received 
religious  homage  from  men  without  being  called 
gods ;  and  the  original  word  {scbasma)  may  per- 
haps be  designed  to  hint  at  one  such  worship,  viz., 
the  worship  of  the  Augustus  [Sebastos).  It  would 
be  far-fetched,  however,  to  see  in  this  a  dii-ect  pro- 
phecy of  conflict  between  Antichrist  and  the  Civil 
Power;  although  it  must  be  admitted  that  even  tho 
word  "  gods"  is  sometimes  used  of  secidar  rulers  {e.g., 
Ps.  Ixxxii.  1 — 6 ;  John  x.  34 j,  in  which  sense  some  take 
it  hei*e. 

So  that  he  as  God.— The  words  "as  God"  are 
not  part  of  the  original  text,  and  should  be  struck  out. 
In  several  other  points,  however,  our  version  does  not 
bring  out  the  profanity  of  the  act  as  clearly  as  the 
Greek.  Literally  it  would  be,  "so  as  to  seat  himself 
in  the  shrine  of  God.  showing  himself  off  that  he  is 
God."  Tlie  "  himself  "  brings  out  the  spontaneous  arro- 
gancy  of  tho  deed ;  the  Man  of  Sin  does  not  merely 
yield  to  servile  flatterers.  The  "  sitting  "  is  not  in  the 
tense  of  habitual  custom,  but  indicates  one  expressive  act 
of  taking  possession.  The  "  in  "  (literally,  into)  brings 
out  the  idea  of  actual  intrusion;  while  the  word  for 
"  temple  "  is  not  the  general  name  for  tho  whole  group 
of  buildings  with  their  courts,  but  the  sacred  house 
itself :  it  is  the  word  which  would  describe  the  Holy 
and  Holy  of  Holies  (see  Matt,  xxiii.  35 ;  xx^-ii.  5.  61 ; 
Acts  xvii.  4)  of  the  Jewish  temple ;  and  probably  it  is 
the  Mercy  Seat  that  supplies  the  image  to  St.  Paul's 
mind  (Ps.  xcix.  1). 

The  temple  of  God.— Though  the  image  isdrawu 
from  the  Jewish  temple,  we  may  say  with  some  confi- 
dence that  St.  Paul  did  not  expect  the  Antichrist  as  a 
prose  fact  to  take  his  seat  in  that  edifice.  Neither  is 
the  metaphor  to  be  pressed  into  a  more  sAniouym  of 
"  tho  Church"  (1  Cor.  iii.  17).  Tlie  words,  so  far.  need  not 
necessarily  moan  that  the  ^lan  of  Sin  will  make  special 
claims  upon  the  Christian  community  as  .'^^uch.  Eather, 
the  whole  phra.se. "  taking  jiis  .seat  in  tho  tomi)lo  of 
God."  is  a  poetical  or  prophetical  description  of  usurp- 
ing divine  prerogatives  generally  :  not  tlic  prerogatives 


loo 


Whj  Ant  if /t  rid 


II.   THESSALOXIANS,    II 


is  not  yet  rcveah'd. 


the  temj^le  of  God,  shewing  himself  that 

he  is  God."     ^^^  Eemember  ye  not,  that,  "  ''^■^•''•''• 

when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  ! 

these   things  'P      ^^^  And  now  ye  know  I 

what   withholdethi   that  he   might  be  '  f"- "'"<^"'- 


revealed  in  his  time.  (^^  For  the 
mystery  of  iniquity  doth  chap.  ii.  6,  7. 
already    work :     only     he  Before      Anti- 

1  1    XX   j-u         -11    1  I     Christ      comes, 

who    now    letteth    WlLl   Let,   ^he  Roman  em- 

until     he    be    taken    out  pire  must  go. 


of  the  true  God  alone,  liut  wliatever  prerogatives  liavo 
been  offered  to  anything  "called  God."  Though  the 
prophecy  might  be  fulfilled  without  any  symbolical 
act  {e.g.,  of  assuming  any  material  throne),  yet  the  spou- 
taneousness  ("  himself  ")  and  the  openness  ("  showing 
himself  ")  seem  so  essentially  parts  of  the  prophecy  as 
of  necessity  to  imply  that  the  Man  of  Sin  will  make 
formal  claim  to  occupy  tliat  central  scat  in  men's 
minds  and  aspirations  which  is  acknowledged  to  be  due 
to  God  alone.  The  formal  making  of  this  claim  seems 
to  be  identical  with  the  apocalypse  of  the  Man  of  Sin, 
the  act  by  which  he  is  manifested  or  revealed. 

Shewing  himself. — Or,  thus  showing  himself  off. 
It  does  not  mean  that  he  makes  any  attempt  to  prove 
that  he  is  God ;  the  word  only  carries  on  the  pictorial 
representation  of  the  Man  of  Sin  enthroning  himself 
upon  the  Mercy  Seat,  and  by  that  act  of  session  parading 
his  pretended  divinity.  As  has  been  said,  the  perform- 
ance of  a  typical  act  is  not  of  vital  consequence  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  prophecy  (as,  e.g.,  Zech.  ix.  9 
miglit  have  been  truly  accomplished  without  the  literal 
riding  of  Matt.  xxi.  7),  though  there  are  few  great 
movements  which  do  not  express  themselves  in  outward 
typical  acts ;  but  these  words  show  that  (unless  St. 
Paul  was  mistaken)  an  explicit  claim  will  be  made  for 
submission,  like  that  of  creature  to  Creator.  Even  if 
the  "  Man  of  Sin  "  only  signifies  a  tendency,  not  a  per- 
son, yet  this  "  exhibition  of  himself  as  God  "  would 
hardly  be  satisfied  by  a  social  concession,  however  wide- 
spread, to  a  general  spirit  of  (say)  fleshly  luxury  or 
atheistic  intellectualism,  without  the  claims  of  these 
ideals  being  eo  nomine  put  forward  and  consciously 
admitted.  But  it  is  Jiard  to  believe  that  anything 
avowedly  atlieistic  would  be  spoken  of  as  explicitly 
claiming  or  receiving  divine  honours.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, most  probable  that  tlie  great  Apostasy  will  not  be- 
come avowedly  atheistic,  but  will  be  an  ajiostasy  (so  to 
speak)  within  the  Church,  and  that  the  Man  of  Sin,  who 
heads  that  Apostasy,  will  make  especial  claim  upon  tlio 
Christian  Church  to  accord  consciously  the  very  honours 
which  she  pays  to  the  living  God. 

(5)  Remember  ye  not. — A  rebuke  of  the  same 
character  as  Rom.  vi.  3  ;  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  and,  like  those, 
levelled  at  ignorance  of  what  in  apostolic  days  were 
thought  the  six  fundamental  points  of  Christian  teach- 
ing (Heb.  v.  12;  vi.  1,  2).  The  doctrine  of  Antichrist 
would  naturally  fonn  part  of  the  course  on  resun-ection 
and  judgment.  This  explains  how  the  doctrine  was 
enforced  (1)  so  early  in  the  education  of  the  Christian 
churches :  "while  I  was  yet  with  you  "  (see  Introduction 
to  the  First  E^nstle  to  Thessaloniuns) ;  and  (2)  so 
emphatically  and  repeatedly :  "  my  habit  was  to  tell 
you  these  tilings" — for  tlie  word  translated  "told '"  is 
in  the  imperfect  tense,  which  means  more  than  a  single 
action.  Notice  that  in  St.  Paul's  eager  personal 
recollection  of  thus  teaching,  he  for  once  (and  no- 
where else)  forgets  Silas  and  Timothy:  not  "we," 
but  "I."  Imagine  a  forger  Avho  should  forge  with 
such  subtlety !  Mark  also  how  erroneous  is  the 
opinion  that  St.  Paul  in  this  Epistle  recedes  from  his 
former  teaching  about  the  Advent  and  its  date. 

(*5)  And  now  ye  know.— Not    "  now,  because   of 


what  I  have  just  said,"  for  nothing  has  yet  been  said  in 
the  Letter  from  which  the  Thessalouians  could  gather 
what  withheld  the  premature  manifestation  of  the  Man 
of  Sin.  The  word  "  now "  is  not  used  exactly  in  a 
temporal  sense,  but  as  introducing  another  item.  "  You 
remember  about  Antichrist  and  his  characteristics : 
very  good ;  and  now,  what  keeps  Antichrist  back  ? 
You  know  that  too."  Kuowang  not  only  that  Anti- 
christ's apocalypse  must  precede  Christ's,  but  also  that 
Antichrist  could  not  reveal  himself  yet,  because  the 
way  was  blocked  by  something  still  (as  they  saw)  un- 
remo\ed,  the  Thessalouians  were  absurd  in  acting  as  if 
the  day  of  the  Lord  was  come. 

What  withholdeth. — Rather,  thai  lohich  with- 
holdeth  :  they  did  not  merely  know  it  as  a  dogma,  but 
as  a  familiar  object.  "  You  are  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  thing  which  acts  as  a  check  upon  the  Man  of 
Sin."  Unlike  the  Man  of  Sin  himself,  who  was  a  dim 
figiu-e  in  the  mysterious  future,  the  Obstacle  was  present 
and  tangible.  They  may  have  forgotten  what  the  thing 
is,  but  St.  Paul  stirs  their  memory  by  telling  them  that 
they  well  know  the  thing  itself.  It  must  needs  be  a 
marked  and  mighty  power  which  can  prevent  the  develop- 
ment of  the  great  Antichrist.  At  the  same  time.  St. 
Paul's  doctrine  is  that  this  marked  power  is  destined 
by-and-by  to  be  removed  (verse  7).  Possibly,  then, 
St.  Paul  may  shrink  from  naming  it  in  writing,  not 
only  because  he  wishes  to  exercise  the  Thessalouians' 
memories,  but  also  for  fear  the  power  should  discover 
and  disaijprove  of  his  prophecies.  For  the  question 
what  the  withholding  power  is,  see  the  Excursus  on 
the  Interpretation  of  the  Prophecy. 

That  he  might  ...  in  his  time.— Or,  with  a 
view  to  his  being  revealed  at  his  proper  moment.  Not 
that  the  withholding  power  is  conscious  of  such  desire, 
but  God's  design  is  to  use  that  power  for  the  purpose. 

(7)  For.— Logically,  the  "  for  "  belongs  to  the  clause 
"  he  that  letteth  ;"  thus  :  "  For,  although  the  mystery  is 
already  at  work,  the  wicked  one  will  not  be  revealed 
until  he  that  now  withholds  shall  disappear." 

The  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work. 
— Both  "  mystery  "  and  "  iniquity  "  have  the  article  in 
the  Greek,  perhaps  (as  in  verse  3)  because  the  phrase 
was  well  known  to  the  Thessalouians.  Lawlessness 
is  a  more  literal  rendering  than  "iniquity";  the  same 
word  in  1  John  iii.  4  is  rendered  "  the  transgression  of 
the  law."  The  word  "  mystery  "  in  Greek  does  not 
necessarily  involve  any  notion  of  mysteriousness  in  our 
modem  sense.  It  means  a  secret  (which  may  be,  in  its 
own  nature,  quite  simple)  known  to  the  initiated,  but 
incapable  of  being  known  until  it  is  divulged.  Here 
the  wliole  emphasis  is  thrown,  by  a  veiy  peculiar  order 
of  the  Greek  words,  xipou  the  word  "  mystery."  It 
may  be  paraphrased  thus : — "  For  as  a  secret,  into 
which  the  world  is  not  yet  initiated,  that  lawlessness  is 
already  at  work."  Thus  the  word  "  mystery  "  stands 
in  sharp  contrast  with  the  word  "  revealed  "  in  verses 
6, 8  :  the  time  for  publishing,  openly  avomng,  the  secret 
is  not  yet  come.  To  whom,  then,  is  the  mystery  of 
that  lawlessness  now  known  ?  Not  to  all  those  who 
are  contributing  to  its  idtimate  manifestation,  for  most 
of  them  are  deceived  by  it  (verse  10),  and,  while  sharers 


156 


His  Destruction  declared. 


11.   THESSALOXIANS,   IT. 


His  Evil  Work 


of  the  way.  (^^  And  then  shall  that 
Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord 
shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his 
mouth,"  and  shall  destroy  with  the 
brightness  of  his  coming  :    '^^  even  him, 


whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of 
Satan  with  all  power  and  chap.  ii.  9—12. 
signs  and  lying  wonders.  Terrors  of  the 
(^•^^  and  with  all  deceivable-  falTe'^Ch'r^'si 
ness  of  unrighteousness  in  tians. 


in  the  Apostasy,  still  believe  themselves  members  of 
the  Church.  The  mystery  is  known  to  God,  and  (1) 
to  enlightened  Christians  like  St.  Paul;  (2)  to  Satan 
and  a  few  Satanic  men  who  avow  to  themselves  their 
real  object  in  joining  the  movement.  Though  the 
mystery  is  said  to  work  (the  verb  expresses  an  inward 
activity,  e.g.,  1  Tliess.  ii.  13,  Rom.  vii.  5,  like  that 
of  leaven  on  the  lump),  it  is  not  a  personal  thing,  not 
(like  "  Man  of  Sin,"  "  that  which  withholdeth,")  a  covert 
description  of  any  person  or  set  of  persons ;  it  is  solely 
the  unavowed  design  which  is  gradually  gaining  influence 
over  men's  hearts  :  it  is  the  same  movement  as  the 
"  falling  away "  of  verse  3.  In  several  places  (e.g., 
2  Pet.  ii.  1  et  seq. ;  Jude,  verse  18  et  seq.)  the  coarser 
side  of  the  "  falling  away  "  is  spoken  of,  but  here  the 
'■  lawlessness "  seems  not  so  much  to  mean  ordinary 
antinomianism  as  insubordination  to  God — rebellion. 

Only  tie  .  .  .  . — More  correctly.  Only  \_it  cannot 
he  revealed^  until  he  that  now  withholdeth  disappear 
from  the  midst.  The  English  version  has  obscured  the 
meaning  by  putting  "  letteth,"  although  the  woi'd  is 
precisely  the  same  as  in  verse  6 — the  only  difference 
being  that  there  it  was  neuter  :  "  the  thing  which  with- 
holdeth ;  "  while  here  it  is  mascidine  :  "  he."  Evidently 
to  St.  Paul's  mind  there  was  a  great  obstructive  power, 
which  was  gathered  up  in,  and  wielded  by,  the  person 
so  described  :  "  he  that  withholdeth."  How  this  poten- 
tate would  •'  disappear  out  of  our  midst "  St.  Paul  gives 
no  hint ;  but  obviously  not  by  death  :  for,  unless  the 
power  itself  was  to  disappear  with  him,  his  successor 
would  equally  be  "  he  that  now  withholdeth."  We  may 
thei-efore  say  that  the  prophecy  would  be  satisfied  if 
"  he  that  withholdeth  "  proved  to  be  a  whole  succession 
of  persons ;  we  have  hardly  the  same  right  to  say  so  of 
the  "  Lawless  One." 

(8)  And  then. — Then  at  length,  when  the  obstructor 
is  gone,  two  things  shall  happen  :  (1)  the  Lawless  One 
shall  be  revealed,  and  (2)  then  the  Lord  Avill  come  and 
destroy  him.  The  purpose  with  which  St.  Paul  began 
this  chapter  was  to  show  relatively  the  date  of  our  Lord's 
Advent ;  but  he  is  now  so  engrossed  in  describing  the 
events  which  must  precede  it,  that  when  he  does  men- 
tion the  Advent  again  he  does  so  in  a  parenthetical 
relative  clause. 

That  Wicked.— Or,  the  Lawless  One.  Tlie  English 
version  has  again  obscured  the  passage  by  not  keeping 
the  same  word  as  in  verse  7.  The  general  tendency  to 
"  lawlessness  "  or  "  rebellion  "  will  bo  brought  to  a  head 
in  the  jjerson  of  "  the  Lawless  One  "  or  "  the  "  Rebel," 
just  as  the  "  obstruction "  is  impersonated  in  "  the 
Obstructor."  The  publication  of  the  "  secret  of  rebel- 
liousness" will  be  effected  by  the  manifesto  of  the  Rebel- 
in-chief.  Of  course,  this  Rebel  is  the  same  person  with 
the  Man  of  Sin,  the  change  of  title  being  due  to  the 
particularising  of  his  sin  by  the  word  "  lawlessness  " 
in  verse  7 ;  tlie  specification  of  the  time  is  the  only 
additional  intelligence ;  all  the  emphasis  of  the  sentence, 
therefore,  rests  on  "  And  then." 

The  Lord.— The  best  text  adds  the  name  Jesus, 
which  serves  more  clearly  to  contrast  Him  with  His 
rival.  The  word  "  whom "  might  be  more  pointedly 
paraphrased  by  "  and  him." 


With  the  spirit  of  his  mouth.— St.  Paul  is 
(noting  roughly  from  Isa.  xi.  4  (comp.  Job  iv.  9 ;  Pa. 
xviii.  15  ;  Wisd.  xi.  20  :  "  might  have  fallen  down  with 
one  blast,  .  .  .  scattered  abroad  through  the  breath  of 
Thy  power  ") ;  and  therefore  we  are  to  understand  it  to 
signify  the  perfect  ease  with  which  Christ  will  destroy 
Antichrist.  Even  when  the  phrase  is  used  of  speech 
(as  it  may  perhaps  be  here),  the  absence  of  labour  is 
the  point  to  be  noticed  {e.g.,  Ps.  xxxiii.  6). 

With  the  brightness  of  his  coming.— Rather, 
with  the  appearing  of  His  presence.  Here,  again,  it  is 
the  mere  fact  of  the  true  Christ's  showing  Himself,  which 
will  reduce  to  nothingness  (such  is  the  meaning  of  the 
Greek  for  "  destroy  ")  the  false  Christ.  Wlien  they 
shall  stand  face  to  face  there  will  be  no  possibility  of 
delusion  any  more. 

(9)  Even  him,  whose  coming.— The  "  even  him  " 
does  not  stand  in  the  Greek  ;  and  '"  whose  "  might,  again, 
be  rendered  by  for  his  own,  or  perhaps  "  though  his 
own."  The  purpose  of  the  verses  following  is  not 
merely  to  describe  Antichrist  more  fully,  but  to  com- 
pare word  for  word  his  coming  with  that  which  will 
annihilate  him.  Again  is  used  of  Antichrist  a  peculiar 
word  consecrated  to  the  Christ :  "  coming "  (literally 
presence),  being  the  word  used  in  verse  8,  as  well  as 
verse  1,  and  often.  In  spite  of  the  sham  being  well 
got  up,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  a  sham. 

Is  .  .  .  with  all  power.—'*  Is  :  "  St.  Paid  sees  the 
future  as  present.  The  predicate  is  not  "  after  the 
working,"  but  "  in  all  power,"  &c.  The  advent  of 
Antichrist  will  be  in  {i.e.,  surroimded  with,  accompanied 
by)  all  kinds  of  miracles,  "  according  to  the  working  of 
Satan :  "  i.e.,  not  only  wrought  by  Satan,  but  up  to  the 
fuU  capacity  of  Satan  to  work  them.  The  word 
"lying"  (literally,  of  falsehood)  should  go  with  all 
three  names,  "  all  counterfeit  power  and  signs  and 
wonders."  The  three  words  are  piled  up  to  heighten 
the  terror  of  the  description ;  if  you  press  them  they 
mean  that  there  will  be  a  display  of  power,  to  attest 
Antichrist's  doctrine  (signs),  and  to  keep  men  spell- 
bound in  admiration  of  him  (wonders).  Antichrist,  like 
Christ  (1  Tim.  vi.  15),  has  one  to  support  him — Satan, 
instead  of  God;  he,  like  Christ  tLuke  xxi.  25),  will 
have  his  miracles — but  miracles  of  trickery,  not  of 
truth. 

(10)  And  with  all  deceivableness. —  "Deceiv- 
ableuess  "  does  not  mean  "  readiness  to  he  deceived," 
but,  according  to  old  English  usage,  has  an  active  mean- 
ing ;  the  words  include  and  expand  the  list  just  given  : 
"  in  all  sham  power  and  signs  and  wonders,  and,  in  fact, 
in  every  iniquitous  fraud." 

In  them  that  perish.- Rather,  for  them.  These 
are  not  the  persons  who  exercise  the  fraud,  but  the 
objects  of  it.  Tlie  word  depends  not  only  on  "  deceiv- 
ableness," but  on  the  whole  .sentence  :  "  his  coming  (for 
them)  is,"  &c.  St.  Paul  adds  the  words  as  a  consola- 
tion to  "  them  that  are  saved  "  :  it  will  not  be  possible 
to  seduce  the  elect  (Mark  xiii.  22).  "  They  that 
perish"  (1  Cor.  i.  18;  2  Cor.  ii.  15;  iv.  3;  comp.  also 
Acts  ii.  47)  is  a  phrase  which  contains  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  but  merely 
describes  the  class;    the  men  who  let  themselves  be 


157 


Jiulgrnent  on 


II.   THESSALOXIAXS,   II. 


false  Christians. 


them  that  perish ;  because  they  received 
not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  ! 
might  be  saved.  ^^^^  And  for  this  cause 
God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  i 
that  they  should  believe  a  lie  :  ^^"^^  that 
they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed 
not  tlie  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  un- 
ri"rhteousness. 


b  1  Thess.  1.  4. 


(^^)  But  we  are  bound  to  give  thanks 
alway  to  God  for  you," 
brethren  beloved  of  the 
Lord,*  because  God  hath 
from  the  beginning  chosen 
you  to  salvation  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit 
and   belief  of    the   truth : 


Chap.  ii.  13— 17. 
Contrast  pre- 
sented by  tho 
happy  state  of 
Thessalonian 
Church;  exhor- 
tation ;  para- 
gogic  prayer. 


tlins  duped  are,  as  a  plain  matter  of  fact,  in  course  of 
perisliin?. 

Because. — Hero  does  come  in  the  question  of  God's 
decree.  The  plirase  rendered  "  because  "  means  "  in 
rf>quital  of  the  fact  that,"  which  at  once  impHes  that 
tlieir  being  duped  by  Antichrist's  coming  is  a  judicial 
visitation.  (See  next  verse.)  "  They  did  not  receive," 
i.e.,  it  was  offered  them,  and  they  I'efused  it ;  not,  as 
Calvinism  would  teach,  because  it  was  not  given  them. 
Tlie  grace  of  love  of  the  triith  is  offered  us  along  with 
every  new  presentment  of  truth  ;  if  we  are  too  indolent 
to  examine  whether  it  be  truth,  we  are  rejecting  the 
love  of  the  truth.  This  is  a  worse  thing  than  not 
accepting  the  truth  itself  :  if  they  had  only  aspired  to 
know  what  was  tlie  truth  they  would  have  been  saved, 
even  if,  in  fact,  they  had  been  in  error. 

(11)  And  for  this  cause— i.e.,  because  they  did 
not  care  whether  things  were  tnie  or  not.  This  verse 
is  not  a  more  repetition  of  versos  9  and  10.  Tliere  we 
were  told  of  external  dangers  which  would  attend  Anti- 
christ's coming  for  them  that  perish  :  because  they  had 
not  cared  for  truth,  therefore  the  presence  of  the  Man 
of  Sin,  which  could  not  even  imperil  the  truth-lovers, 
would  for  them  be  full  of  special  marvels  and  frauds 
by  which  they  miglit  be  misled.  Here  is  set  forth  the 
effect  upon  their  own  selves  of  refusing  to  accept  God's 
gift  of  love  of  trutli :  God  takes  from  them  (by  His 
natural  law)  their  power  of  discerning  the  true  from 
the  false,  and  thus  (as  it  wei-e)  actually  deceives 
them.  Every  wilful  sin  does  this  double  mischief :  it 
strengthens  the  power  of  the  temptation  without;  it 
weakens  tho  power  to  resist  within.  For  an  illustra- 
tion, see  2  Chron.  xviii.  7,  22  :  Ahab  cares  only  for  the 
pleasant,  not  the  true,  and  the  Lord  requites  him  by 
bending  forth  a  lying  spirit  to  entice  him. 

Shall  send.— The  Greek  has  sendeth  :  so  "  is  "  in 
verse  9 :  St.  Paul  sees  it  all  going  on  before  his  eyes. 
"  A  strong  delusion  "  should  be  "  an  effectual  inward 
working  of  eiTor" — no  longer  a  mere  indifference  to  truth, 
but  a  real  influence  of  error  upon  their  hearts.  This 
inward  work  of  error  is  sent  "  with  a  ^"iew  to  their 
believing  the  lie  "  (the  Greek  has  tho  definite  article) — 
the  lie  (that  is)  which  Antichrist  would  have  them 
believe.  A  terrible  combination  when  God  and  Satan 
are  agreed  to  deceive  a  man !  Yet  what  an  encourage- 
ment to  see  God  using  Satan  for  His  own  purposes. 

(1-)  That  they  aU.— This  is  God's  purpose  in  mak- 
ing them  believe  the  lie  — "  in  order  that,  one  and  all, 
they  might  bo  judged."  He  who  dosireth  not  the  death 
of  a  sinner,  now  is  said  actually  to  lay  plans  with  the 
intention  of  judging  him :  such  are  the  lx)ld  self-con- 
tradictious of  tlie  Bible  !  It  must  not,  however,  be  for- 
gotten for  a  moment  that  God  did  not  begin  to  will 
the  sinner's  judgment  till  after  He  had  offered  him 
freely  tho  love  of  His  own  blessed  tnith,  and  had  been 
rejected.  "When  once  the  sinner  is  incurable,  the  only 
Tvay  to  vindicate  truth  and  righteousness  is  by  hasten- 
ing on  his  condemnation,  whatever  that  condemnation 
may  mean. 


Who   believed   not  the  truth  .   .    .    .—Once 

more  the  offence  for  which  they  are  condemned  is 
insisted  upon.  Theirs  is  no  fancy  sin.  What  God  wanted 
them  to  believe  was  not  some  fantastical  dogma,  some 
fiction  between  which  and  the  fictions  of  the  Man 
of  Sin  there  was  nothing  morally  to  choose,  but  the 
inviolable  truth  by  wliich  God  Himself  is  bound. 
But  had  pleas^ire  in  the  unrighteousness  (so  runs  the 
Greek) :  i.e.,  consciously  gave  their  moral  consent  to 
the  imrighteousness  of  verse  10,  the  unrighteousness 
which  sought  to  impose  itself  upon  them,  and  which 
they  would  never  have  been  led  into  had  tliey  loved 
the  truth. 

(13)  But  "we  are  bound.— This  may  be  called  a 
recurrence  to  the  subject  dropped  at  chap.  i.  3.  Tlie 
pronoun  is  somewhat  emphatic.  It  might  have  seemed 
more  natural  to  have  sharpened  the  contrast  between 
the  Thessalonian  Christians  and  the  unhappy  people 
just  mentioned  by  beginning  "  But  you."  It  is,  how- 
ever, part  of  St.  Paul's  delicacy  of  sympathy  to  describe 
rather  the  effect  upon  himself  and  his  two  companions 
of  observing  that  contrast.  He  sets  himself  to  work 
the  contrast  out. 

Beloved  of  the  Lord. — Precisely  the  same  phrase 
as  in  1  Tliess.  i.  4,  except  for  the  substitution  of  "  the 
Lord  "  for  "  God."  which  shows  the  concurrence  of  the 
Eternal  Son  in  His  Father's  predestinations.  As  in 
the  former  passage,  the  tense  ("  who  have  been  loved") 
makes  the  reader  think  of  the  everlasting  duration  of 
that  love  ( Jer.  xxxi.  3),  and  is  again  connected  with  tho 
mystery  of  election. 

"  O  love,  who  ere  life's  earliest  dawn 
On  mo  thy  choice  hast  gently  laid." 

Hath  .  .  .  chosen.— The  Greek  tense  should  be 
rendered  by  chose,  referring  to  the  definite  moment  (so 
to  speak)  in  the  di^nne  counsels  when  the  choice  was 
fixed.  This  moment  is  defined  as  "  from  the  beginning," 
i.e.,  from  the  eternity  preceding  the  origin  of  time, 
called  by  the  same  name  in  Gen.  i.  1,  John  i.  1,  and 
1  John  i.  1.  It  does  not  simply  mean  "from  the  out- 
set," i.e.,  from  the  moment  of  first  thinking  at  all 
about  you.  Tlic  identical  jjhrase  is  said  not  to  occur 
again  in  St.  Paul.  It  may  be  noticed  that  there  is  a 
striking  various-reading  in  some  of  tho  MSS.,  invohnng 
the  change  of  only  one  letter,  which  would  give  us 
(instead  of  "  chose  you  from  the  beginning  ")  "  chose 
you  as  firstf ruits."  Comp.  Jas.  i.  18 ;  but  the  reading 
in  the  text  is  bettor  supported. 

To  salvation.— This  "salvation"  is  in  contrast 
with  the  "destruction  "  (chap.  i.  9),  "perdition"  (chap, 
ii.  3).  or  "perishing"  (chap.  ii.  10),  all  of  which  repre- 
sent the  same  word  in  the  Greek.  Out  of  the  wreck 
of  a  world,  God  had  from  eternity  chosen  these  Thes- 
salonians  to  come  off  safely. 

Through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and 
belief  of  the  truth.— This  again  teaches  us  the 
apostolic  idea  of  election.  It  is  not  an  absolute  irrever- 
sible predestination  to  a  particular  state  of  happiness 


158 


Exhortation  to  standfast  hi 


II.   THESSALONIAXS,   II. 


the  Doctrine  delivered  to  them. 


(^*)  whereunto  lie  called  you  by  our 
gospel,  to  the  obtaining  of  the  glory 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     (^^^  There- 


a  1  Thess.  5.  9. 


fore,  brethren,  stand  fast,  and  hold  the 
traditions  which  ye  have  been  taught, 
whether     by    word,    or     our     epistle. 


oil  wliieh  the  elect  is  to  euter  after  death.  The  "  sal- 
vatiou  "  is  pi-es(>iit,  beguii  iu  this  life  (Eph.  ii.  5,  8), 
and  carried  oii  aloii^  fixed  lines,  uamely,  "  in  sanctifica- 
tioii  of  spirit  and  belief  of  truth  "  (such  is  the  Uteral 
rendering).  The  preposition  '*  iu  "  has  here  the  same 
force  as  iu  1  Thess.  iv.  4,  7,  namely,  "  by  way  of,"  "  by 
a  course  of."  If,  therefore,  God  chose  the  Thessa- 
loniau  Christians  to  salvation  by  a  course  of  sanctifica- 
tion  and  belief,  one  thing,  at  auy  rate,  is  clear  :  that  if 
any  of  them  should  leave  that  course,  and  fall  into  the 
errors  and  sins  denounced  in  the  foregoing  verses,  then, 
in  the  Apostle's  mind,  they  would  have  forfeited  their 
salvation,  in  spite  of  God's  choice  of  them.  Conse- 
quently, we  are  forced  to  oue  of  two  theories  :  either 
that  the  man  has  no  free  will  at  all,  the  moral  character 
of  his  actions  depending  as  entirely  upon  God  as  his 
final  destiny ;  or  else,  that  the  man  is  free,  and  that 
God  singles  him  out  to  enjoy  special  opportunities  of 
sanctificatiou  and  of  correct  belief,  which  the  man  may 
accept  or  reject  as  he  pleases.  The  first  of  these 
theories  lies  open  to  the  question,  why,  if  God  is 
responsible  for  the  moral  character  of  the  actions  of  His 
elect  and  for  their  belief,  He  does  not  sanctify  them  at 
once  and  completely,  and  make  each  one  infallible  in 
doctrine  ;  but,  in  any  case,  lax  morality  or  creed  is  as 
incompatible  with  the  hope  of  a  Calvinist  as  with  that 
of  an  orthodox  Christian.  "  Sanctificatiou  of  spirit " 
seems  to  mean  "  spiritual  sanctificatiou :"  an  inward 
process,  not  merely  outward  change  of  conduct.  This 
is,  of  course,  wi'ought  by  the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
upon  our  spirits  ;  but  the  omission  of  the  definite  article 
in  the  Greek  is  difficult  to  explain  if  the  "  spirit "  men- 
tioned be  other  than  the  spirit  acted  upon.  "  Belief  of 
truth  "  is  opposed  to  "  believing  the  He,"  of  verse  11  : 
acceptation  of  facts  as  they  are,  especially  the  deep 
facts  of  revelation,  is  always  the  great  means  of 
sanctificatiou  iu  Holy  Scripture  (John  xvii.  17). 

(U)  Whereunto. — From  the  neuter  gender  of  the 
relative  in  the  Greek  we  see  that  the  antecedent  iu 
St.  Paul's  mind  is  not  exactly  "  belief  of  truth,"  nor 
exactly  "  sanctificatiou  of  spirit,"  nor  yet  exactly 
'•salvation,"  but  the  general  state  of  life  which  is 
compounded  of  these  three  notions — "  to  which  thing 
He  called  you."  The  election  or  choice  takes  place  in 
eternity  (verse  13) ;  the  call  at  that  poiut  of  time  when 
the  men  first  hear  the  gospel.     (See  Rom.  viii.  30.) 

By  our  gospel— i.e.,  of  course,  "  by  our  bringing 
you  the  happy  message" — the  historical  delivery  of  the 
message  is  dwelt  on  rather  than  its  contents. 

To  the  obtaining  of  the  glory  of  our  Lord. — 
Almost  all  the  ancient  commentators  render  it,  "for 
oljtaining  of  glory  to  our  Lord ;  "  and  St.  Chrysostom 
says,  beautifully:  "  No  small  thing  this  either,  if  Christ 
esteems  our  salvation  His  glory.  It  is,  indeed,  a  glory 
to  the  lover  of  men  that  the  number  of  those  who  are 
being  saved  should  be  large."  But  this  voi*sion  is  not 
so  easy  grammatically  as  our  own,  nor  does  it  suit  so 
well  with  the  context.  St.  Paul  is  encouraging  his 
readers  with  the  same  thought  of  their  destiny  which 
he  has  put  forward  in  chap.  i.  11.  12 — the  identity  of 
the  joy  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  redeemed  (Matt. 
XXV.  23).  It  is  well  to  be  observed  that  God  did  not 
call  them  straight "  to  the  glory  of  our  Lord,"  but  "  to  the 
obtaining"  of  the  same.  Tliis  "obtaining"  does  not 
mean  an  otiose  receiving  of  glory  iu  the  last  day,  but  a 


laborious  course  of  "earning"  or  "purchasing"  it 
during  this  life.     The  word  is  the  same  as  that  used  iu 

1  Thess.  V.  J>,  where  see  Note. 

(13)  Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast.— Such  an 
exhortation  is,  in  it.self,  conclusive  against  a  theory  of 
irreversible  pi*edestination.  "  Because  God  chose  you 
from  eternity,  and  called  you  in  time,  therefore  stand 
your  ground."  If  it  were  impossible  for  them  to  quit 
their  ground,  it  would  be  needless  to  exhort  them  to 
maintain  it.  If  it  were  possible  for  them  to  quit  their 
ground,  and  yet  be  as  well  off  after  all,  it  would  bo 
needless  also.  At  the  same  time,  the  "  therefore  " 
draws  a  conclusion,  not  from  verse  14  alone,  but  sums 
up  the  whole  disquisition  of  the  chapter  :  '"  Now  that 
you  are  reminded  of  the  true  Advent  doctrine." 

Hold  the  traditions.— The  very  s^ime  word  as 
in  Mark  vii.  3,  4,  8,  "  holding  the  tradition  of  the 
elders ; "  also  in  the  same  metaphorical  sense  iu  Col.  ii. 
19  ;  Rev.  ii.  13.  The  action  expressed  is  a  vigorous  and 
pertinacious  gi'asp,  as  (for  instance)  of  the  lame  man 
clutching  the  Apostles  iu  Acts  iii.  ll.  St.  Chrysostom 
remarks  :  "  It  is  plain  from  hence  that  they  used  npt  to 
deliver  all  their  tradition  by  letter,  but  much  without 
writing  besides,  and  that  both  are  equally  worthy  of 
belief.  Therefore,  let  us  consider  the  Church's  tradition 
worthy  of  belief.  It  is  tradition  :  ask  no  further  ques- 
tions." What  Avere  these  "  traditions  "  which  it  was  so 
essential  to  keep  ?  The  context  shows  that  the  par- 
ticular traditions  which  were  most  consciously  iu 
St.  Paul's  mind  at  the  moment,  were  his  eschatological 
teachings,  given  to  them  while  he  was  among  them — the 
lore  of  which  he  has  been  briefly  reminding  them  in  this 
chapiter  (verses  5,  6) :  for  the  exhortation  is  practically 
a  resumption  of  that  given  iu  verses  2,  3.  "  Instead  of 
being  seduced  by  the  forgers  of  prophecies  or  of  com- 
munications from  us,  remember  the  careful  instructions 
we  gave  you  ouce  for  all."  At  the  same  time,  he  speaks 
generally,  and  we  must  not  limit  his  words  to  that  jmr- 
ticular  tradition.  Whatever  can  be  traced  to  apostolic 
origin  is  of  the  essence  of  the  faith.  They  are  to  "  hold 
tenaciously"  all  his  traditions,  and  these  would  include 
iustructions  doctrinal  (as  1  Cor.  xv.  3;  Jude,  verse  3), 
ceremonial   (1  Cor.  xi.  2,  23),  and  moral  (chap.  iii.  6; 

2  Pet.  ii.  21).  As  a  matter  of  controversy,  it  is  not 
so  remarkable  that  he  should  exhort  his  converts  to 
cling  to  his  owTi  oral  teaching  ("whether  by  word")  as 
that  he  should  at  so  early  a  period  call  their  special 
attention  to  what  was  gradually  to  supplant  lat  least,  iu 
doctrinal  matters)  all  independent  unwritten  tradition 
— the  Holy  Scripture  ("  our  Epistle  ").  St.  Paul  can 
speak  on  occasion  as  contemptuously  of  the  "  traditions 

i  of  men  "  as  our  Lord  did  (Col.  ii.  8).  Of  course,  it 
depends  entirely  on  the  individual  chanicter  of  any 
tradition  whether,  and  to  what  extent,  it  is  to  be  "  held  "' 
or  condemned  as  '•human."  In  the  Church  no  mutually 
contradictory  traditions  can  be  held  together ;  and 
therefore  any  tradition  "  by  word  "  which  is  in  disagn'c- 
ment  with  the  written  tratlition  {i.e.,  Scripture)  stands 
necessarily  condemned. 

By  word,  or  our  epistle.— Tlie  "  our  "  belongs  to 
both  :  '•  whether  by  word  or  ejiistle  of  ours."  Unless 
St.  Paul  had  written  them  some  other  letter,  now  lost, 
this  proves  that  the  "First''  Epistle  was  in  reality  the 
earlier  written.  "  Have  been  taught  "  should  be  "  were 
taught" — the  historic  tense. 


159 


m  Commends  th.m  to  Christ.        IT.     THESSALONIAXS,     ITT. 


Tieqvest  for  Prayer. 


(16)  Now  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
and  God,  even  our  Father,  which  hath 
loved  us,  and  hath  given  us  everlasting 
consolation  and  good  hope  through 
grace,  <^^'  comfort  your  hearts,  and 
stablish  you  in  every  good  word  and 
^vork. 


1  Gr.  may  run. 


CHAPTER  III.— (1)  Finally,  brethren, 
pray  for  us,  that  the  word  c-^^r,.  m.  i— 
of  the  Lord  may  have  free  3.  Request  for 
course,^  and  be  gloritied,  pr^y*^^' 
even  as  it  is  with  you :  ^^^  and  that 
we  may  be  delivered  from  unreasonable^ 
and  wicked  men  :    for  all  men  have  not 


(it>)  Now. — Better,  And,  connecting  closely  the  prayer 
■with  the  exhortation,  just  as  in  1  Thess.  v.  23. 
"  Again,"  says  St.  Chrysostom,  "  prayer  after  advice  : 
tliis  is  to  lielp  in  earnest."  The  word  "  Himself,"  as  in 
the  passage  cited,  contrasts  the  Almighty  power  of  our 
Lord  with  the  partial  instructions  and  feeble  help  which 
even  Apostles  could  give,  and  with  the  impotence  of  the 
Thessalouian  Christians  to  stand  firm  in  their  own 
btrength. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself,  and  G-od,  even 
our  Father. — The  order  of  mention  is  unusual.  (See, 
however,  2  Cor.  xiii.  3.)  It  is  not  designedly  meant  to 
show  the  equality  of  the  Blessed  Persons,  which  is  done 
only  incidentally  by  the  fact  that  the  same  aspiration 
is  directed  to  both.  Probably,  in  fact,  the  names  are 
arranged  to  form  a  climax  :  St.  Paul  having  spoken  first 
of  the  Person  whose  work  on  the  heart  is  the  more 
immediate,  and  then  jealously  watching  lest  he  should 
in  any  way  make  the  Eternal  Father  seem  less  deeply 
interested  in  our  welfare  than  the  Son  is.  All  primitive 
devotion  and  doctrine  are  markedly  opposed  to  the 
tendency  to  rest  in  the  Mediator  without  a  real  lively 
faith  in  the  Father  who  sent  Him. 

Which  hath  loved  us. — Love  to  us  is  specially  (so 
fearfully  wrong  is  much  of  the  popular  language  about 
the  Atonement)  the  characteristic  of  the  Father.  (See, 
for  instance,  John  iii.  16 ;  xvii.  23 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  3 ; 
Eph.  ii.  4  ;  1  John  iv.  10.  j  It  is  in  the  thought  of  this 
tender  love  of  God  to  us  that  the  writer  adds  im- 
mediately the  endearing  title  "  Our  Father."  This  love 
seems  to  be  mentioned  here  as  being  the  ground  on 
which  the  writer  rests  his  hope  for  the  fulfilment  of  his 
prayer.  It  should  literally  be  translated,  which  loved 
us,  and  gave — the  moment  being  apparently  (as  in 
John  iii.  Itj)  the  moment  of  providing  the  Atonement 
for  our  sins. 

Everlasting  consolation.— This  moans  "  an  ever 
present  source  of  comfort,"  of  wliich  no  persecution 
can  rob  us.  This  giving  of  comfort  is  the  proof  or 
explanation  of  the  statement  that  He  "  loved  us,"  and 
refers  to  the  same  act.  Our  unfailing  comfort  lies  in 
the  thought  of  God's  love  exemplified  in  the  Incarna- 
tion of  His  Son. 

Good  hope  through  grace.— Tliese  words  must 
be  closely  joined.  God  gave  us  not  only  a  consolation 
under  present  trials,  but  a  sweet  prospect  in  the  future ; 
but  tliis  sweet  prospect  belongs  to  us  only  "  in  grace  " 
(the  literal  version).  All  our  hope  is  based  on  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  spiritual  strength  imparted  by  the 
Father  through  the  Son  and  the  Spirit.  The  qualify- 
ing words  "  in  grace  "  are  added  to  "  hope  "  in  just  the 
same  way  as  the  words  "  in  sanctification  "  are  added  to 
"  salvation  "  in  verse  13. 

(17)  Comfort  your  hearts  .  .  .—"Comfort,"  in 
reference  to  the  "  unending  comfort "  of  verse  16 ; 
and  "stablish,"  in  reference  to  the  "good  hope  in 
gi'ace."  The  "heart"  needs  comfort  as  the  seat  of 
emotions.  "  In  every  good  word  and  work "  (it 
should  be,  ivorJc  and  word)  means  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  every  good  doctrine  (as  opposed  to  the  false 


teaching  which  had  got  abroad  about  the  Advent,  and 
to  the  lies  of  the  Apostasy),  and  in  the  performance 
of  every  good  practice  (as  opposed  to  the  lawlessness 
of  the  Apostasy,  and  to  the  disorderly  conduct  of  which 
the  next  chapter  treats :  for  here,  as  in  1  Thess.  iii.  13, 
the  prayer  forms  an  introduction  of  the  next  subject). 
The  singular  number  of  the  verbs  "  comfort "  and 
"  stablish "  (which,  of  course,  does  not  appear  in  the 
English),  may  perhaps  be  explained  as  in  1  Thess.  iii.  12, 
where  see  Note,  though  it  is  not  necessary  so  to  under- 
stand it,  inasmuch  as  the  intervening  relative  (in  the 
Greek,  participial)  clauses  have  turned  the  whole 
attention  to  the  Father,  who  may  be  considered  ex- 
clusively as  the  grammatical  subject  of  the  verbs.  It 
would,  however,  have  been  painful  to  orthodox  ears, 
however  justifiable  doctrinally,  to  have  used  a  plural 
verb.  It  is  by  these  little  incidental  touches,  still  more 
than  by  express  doctrinal  statements,  that  we  learn 
what  was  the  real  belief  of  the  Apostles  concerning  the 
Divinity  of  Christ ;  and  we  may  say  the  same  with 
regard  to  many  other  great  doctrines. 

III. 

(1)  Finally. — The  practical  portion  is  introduced  in 
the  same  manner  as  in  the  First  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  1), 
"  for  the  rest,"  "  as  to  what  I  have  yet  to  say." 

Pray  for  us. — St.  Chrysostom  remarks  :  "  Himself 
had  prayed  for  them ;  now  he  asks  them  to  pray 
for  him."  How  much  of  a  Christian  teacher's 
power,  increasing  as  time  goes  on,  comes  from  the 
accumulation  of  intercession  from  his  spiritual  children  ! 
St.  Paul  leaves  people  praying  for  huu  everywhere 
(Rom.  XV.  30;  2  Cor.  i.  11 ;  Eph.  vi.  18,  19;  Col.  iv.  3; 
1  Thess.  V.  25 ;  comp.  Heb.  xiii.  18).  In  all  these  cases 
the  request  is  for  active  help  in  his  work  of  evan- 
gelising :  "  not  that  he  may  fall  into  no  danger,"  says 
St.  Chrysostom,  "  for  that  he  was  api^ointed  unto." 
(Comp.  2  Tim.  ii.  9.)  "That"  stands  for  "in  order 
that,'"  and  does  not  introduce  merely  the  subject  of  the 
prayer. 

May  have  free  course. — Quite  literally,  as  in 
the  margin,  may  run  along.  Si^eed  and  security  are 
contained  in  this  idea  :  no  hesitation  about  the  next 
turn,  no  anxious  picking  of  the  way,  and  no  opposi- 
tion from  devils  and  hiid  men.  Bengel  compares  Ps. 
cxlvii.  15. 

And  be  glorified.— Tlie  word  does  not  mean 
merely  "obtain  applause,"  "win  distinction,"  as  a 
successful  runner ;  it  always  implies  the  recognition  or 
acknowledgment  of  inherent  admirable  qualities.  (See 
Notes  on  chap.  i.  12 ;  1  Thess.  ii.  6.) 

Even  as  it  is  with  you. — Such  praise  would  flush 
the  Thessalonians  to  pray  for  him  ^vitli  greater  fervour 
and  assurance.  "  With  you  "  means,  in  the  Greek,  "  in 
your  direction,"  "  on  turning  to  you  : "  people  had  only 
to  look  at  Thessalonica,  and  they  were  forced  to  re- 
cognise the  character  of  the  gospel. 

(2)  And  that  we  may  be  delivered.— Compare 
Rom.  XV.  31.  This  clause  is  an  amplification  of  the 
word    "  may  run  along : "    the    impediments   to    the 


160 


The  Lord  is  Faithful. 


II.   THESSALONIANS,   III. 


The  Apostle^s  Confidence. 


faith.  (3)  B^^t  the  Lord  is  faithful," 
who  shall  stablish  you,  and  keep  you 
from  evil.  ^^^  And  we  have  confidence 
in  the  Lord  touching  you,*  that  ye 
both    do     and    will     do     the      thinsrs 


a  1  Tbess.  5.  24. 


1  Or,  the  patience 
of  Christ. 


which  we  command  you.      (^)  And  the 
Lord    direct    your    hearts  chap.  iii.  4,  5. 

into   the   love   of  God,    and   Expression  '  of 

into   the    patient    waiting  pr^.pfr^tSry 

for  Christ.^  prayer. 


gospel  progress  were  (except  that  all  were  overruled 
for  good)  such  persecutions  as  these.  St.  Paul  gives 
thanks  for  such  deliverances  in  2  Cor.  i.  10;  2  Tim.  iii. 
11 ;  iv.  17.  Perhaps  (as  St.  Chrysostom  suggests)  one 
reason  for  here  inviting  their  prayers  for  himself  was 
to  nerve  the  Thessalonians  by  tlie  sense  that  they  were 
not  the  only  people  in  the  world  in  danger. 

Prom  unreasonable  and  wicked  men. — Tlie 
curious  word  rendered  "  uureasonaljle "  is  rendered 
"amiss"  in  Luke  xxiii.  41,  "wickedness"  in  Acts 
XXV.  5,  "  harm  "  in  Acts  xxviii.  6,  occurring  nowhere 
else  in  the  New  Testament.  It  properly  means  some- 
thing "misplaced  "  hence  "extravagant,"  "monstrous." 
Thus  the  dying  robber  says  that  our  Lord  had  done 
"  uotliing  so  monstrous"  as  to  deserve  crucifixion;  Festus 
ironically  in\'ites  the  priests  to  a  serious  journey  to 
St.  Paul's  trial,  "  if  there  be  something  so  monstrous  in 
him ; "  the  Maltese  bai'bai'ians  "  saw  that  nothing  so 
monstrous  happened  to  him  after  all."  So  St.  Paul 
wishes  the  Thessalonians  to  pray  for  his  deliverance 
"  from  these  monstrous  and  depraved  people."  He  is 
evidently  meaning  some  particular  foes  wliom  he  fears, 
for  the  original  has  the  definite  article.  Who,  then,  are 
"  these  monstrous  persons  ?"  If  we  tm*n  to  Acts  xviii. 
6,  9,  12,  and  observe  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
letter  was  written,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  they  are 
the  unbelieving  Jews  of  Corinth.  From  these  Jews 
he  was,  though  narrowly,  delivered.  It  was,  perhaps, 
in  direct  answer  to  the  prayers  for  which  St.  Paul  here 
asks  that  he  received  the  vision  and  assurances  of  our 
Lord,  and  that  Gallio  was  moved  to  quash  so  abruptly 
the  proceedings  of  the  Jews. 

For  all  men  have  not  faith. — This  clause  gives 
the  reason  for  the  alarm  implied  in  the  last  clause : 
"  Do  not  be  surprised  at  my  needing  help  against  bad 
men ;  for  you  know  that  it  is  not  every  one  that 
believes."  There  is  something  a  little  scornful  and 
embittered  in  the  expression  (recalling  the  invective 
against  the  same  people  in  1  Thess  ii.  15,  16;,  for  it 
suggests  the  thought  that  nothing  better  was  to  be 
expected  from  such  a  set  of  unconverted  Jews.  Tacitly, 
also,  tlie  unbelieving  Corinthians  are  contrasted  with 
the  Thessalonians  who  had  so  readily  embraced  the 
truth.  It  may,  however,  be  doubted  whether  this 
sentence  is  not  an  instance  of  a  common  Hebrew  idiom, 
occurring  more  than  twenty  times  in  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, by  which  the  combination  of  "  all "  and  "  not " 
amounts  to  "  not  any."  Thus,  "  all  flesh  shall  not  be 
justified,"  in  Rom.  iii.  20,  is  rendered  "  no  flesh  shall 
be  justified  ;"  "they  are  not  all  of  us,"  in  1  John  ii.  19, 
means  "  not  one  of  them  is  of  us."  So  here  it  may  be, 
"  for  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  believes  ;  "  and  so 
also,  again  speaking  of  the  Jews,  in  Rom.  x.  16,  "  they 
did  not  all  obey  "  may  mean  "  none  of  tliem  obeyed  " — a 
rhetorical  exaggeration,  which  the  writer  proceeds  to 
justify  by  tlie  exhaustive  question  from  Isaiah. 

(•^)  But  the  Lord  is  faithful.— It  must  not  bo 
thought  from  this  that  the  word  "  faith  "  in  the  preAnous 
verse  meant  "  fidelity."  St.  Paul,  after  his  favourite 
manner,  is  plapng  upon  two  meanings  of  the  word  : 
"  But  whether  men  have  faith  or  not,  tlie  Lord  is  faith- 
fid."     There  is  the  same  play  of  words  in  Rom.  iii.  3. 

77  161 


"The  Lord"  seems  here  to  be  used,  as  was  said  on 
1  Thess.  iii.  12,  without  distinct  reference  to  one  Person 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  rather  than  another.  This  cha- 
racteristic of  God  is  named  because  God  stands  pledged 
to  all  who  believe  in  Him. 

Who  shall  stablish  you. — How  soon  St.  Paul 
reverts  from  his  own  needs  to  theirs  !  He  does  not 
continue,  as  we  should  expect,  with  "  who  wUl  preserve 
us." 

Keep  you  from  evil.— Rather  (probably), /rom  the. 
Evil  One,  as  in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Possibly,  the  word 
is  used  not  without  a  reference  to  the  word  rendered 
"wicked"  in  verse  2,  with  which  in  the  Greek  it  is 
identical. 

(^)  We  have  confidence  in  the  Lord  touching 
you. — Rather,  We  rely  upon  you  in  the  Lord  :  the 
clause  fomis  the  counterpart  to  the  last  verse.  St. 
Chrysostom's  whole  comment  is  worth  transcription  : — 
"  God,  saith  he,  is  faithful,  and  haviug  promised  to 
save,  save  He  assuredly  will,  but  as  He  promised. 
And  hoAV  did  He  promise  ?  If  we  would  be  agreeable, 
and  would  hear  Him  ;  not  unconditionally,  nor  while 
we  remain  inactive  like  stocks  and  stones.  Yet,  well 
has  he  added  his,  '  We  rely  in  the  Lord  : '  that  is,  '  We 
trust  to  His  love  of  men.'  Once  more  he  takes  them 
down,  ascribing  the  whole  matter  to  that  quarter ;  for 
had  he  said  '  We  trust  to  you,'  it  would  have  been  a 
great  compliment  indeed,  but  woiild  not  liave  tau<rht 
them  to  ascribe  all  to  God  ;  and  had  he  said  '  We  rely 
on  the  Lord  that  He  will  keep  you,'  without  adding 
'  upon  you,'  and  '  that  ye  both  do  and  will  do  what 
things  we  command,'  he  would  have  made  them  less 
active  by  casting  the  whole  upon  the  power  of  God." 
(See  the  passage  of  Galatians  referred  to  in  the  margin.) 

Both  do  and  will  do.— The  enq)hasis  of  the  sen- 
tence is  on  the  future  tense,  the  commendation  of  the 
present  being  only  intended  to  do  away  the  re- 
buke which  might  have  lieen  conveyed  by  the  future 
alone.  How  careful  St.  Paul  is  not  to  wound  suscepti- 
bilities, though  he  never  "pleases  men"!  (See,  for 
instance,  Notes  on  1  Thess.  iv.  1,  9,  10 ;  v.  11.)  This 
expression  of  confidence  is  a  happy  rhetorical  means 
of  preparing  readers  for  the  commands  which  are  to 
follow. 

(^)  The  Lord.— See  Note  on  verse  3.  Tlie  Person 
of  the  Blessed  Trinity  to  whom  this  guidance  im- 
mediately belongs  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  So  far,  the 
Greek  exjjositors  are  right  who  are  agreed  to  consider 
tliis  a  proof  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  divinity.  Their  right 
conclusion  is,  however,  drawn  from  wrong  premisses, 
for  the  name  is  not  here  to  be  taken  as  consciously 
intending  Him.  The  ground  for  their  supposition  is 
that  the  names  "  God "  and  "  Christ "  occur  imme- 
diately after,  and  not  (as  we  might  expect)  "  His"  or 
"  for  Him."  But  in  1  Thess.  iii.  12.  13,  there  occurs 
precisely  the  same  arrangement  of  the  three  words  :  the 
Greek  equivalent  for  the  sacred  Hel)rew  Name  standing 
first,  and  then,  for  clearness'  sake,  being  explained  by 
the  personal  titles,  "  God  our  Father,''  "  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

Direct  your  hearts  into  the  love  of  God. — 
This  prayer  in    itself  implies  that    they  had   not  yet 


Special  Dlreclions  agalast 


J[.   THESSALONIANS,   III. 


Dlsturhers  and  Idlers. 


(^)  Now  we  command  you,  brethren, 
Chap.  iii.  6-16.  ill  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Instructions  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  with- 

how      to      deal     T  1  *• 

with  idlers  and  ^^iw  yourselves  from  every 
agitators.  brother  that  -walketh   dis- 


a  I  Thess,  4. 1 
b  1  TI1C88. 1.  6, 
c  1  Thi-8S.  2.  U 


US. 


orderl}',    and   not    after    the 
which    he     received     of 
yourseh'es      know     how 
to     follow     us  :  *       for 
not   ourselves   disorderly 


tradition 

(7j  For 

ye     ought  " 

"we      behaved 

among  you;* 


reached  the  point  ■which  St.  Paul  would  have  them 
reach,  and  were  perhaps  not  taking  tlio  diroctost  cour.so. 
The  same  word  is  used  in  Luke  i.  7i) ;  1  Thess.  iii.  11. 
The  "  love  of  God  "  here  meant  is  that  practical  love 
which  consists  in  keepinj?  the  commandments  (John 
xiv.  21),  as  may  be  seen  from  the  context: — "I  am 
sure  that  the  Lord  will  strengthen  you,  and  that  you 
are  doing  and  will  continue  to  do  as  you  are  bidden : 
may  God  help  you  to  the  obedience  of  true  love,  and  to 
such  per.severance  in  obedience  as  was  sho^vn  by  Christ ; 
and  it  is  in  this  hope  tliat  we  bid  you  take  steps  to 
repress  tl)e  disorders  whicli  are  prevalent  among  you." 

The  patient  waiting  for  Christ.— This  rendering 
is  so  beautiful  in  itself,  and  so  well  in  keeping  with  the 
leading  tlioughts  of  tliese  two  Epistles,  that  it  is  painful 
to  bo  forced  to  reject  it.  But  the  only  rendering  which 
is  possible  is,  Chrid's  patience  ;  and  the  simplest 
meaning  of  that  plu-ase  is  "  the  endurance  which 
characterises  Christ."  the  genitive  being,  as  in  1  Tliess. 
i.  3,  almost  a  descriptive  adjective,  "  Christ-like," 
"  Christian  endurance."  This  "  patience  "  includes 
both  the  thought  of  bearing  up  under  their  present 
persecutions  and  also  tiie  thought  of  "  patient  con- 
tinuance in  well  doing,"  as  opposed  to  the  fitful  rest- 
lessness wliich  had  begun  to  prey  upon  the  Thessalouian 
Church. 

(6)  We  command  you.— The  practical  conclusion 
of  the  letter.  Tliese  words  take  up  the  expression  in 
verse  4,  "  Ye  will  do  the  things  Avhich  (at  any  time) 
we  command  you;  now  the  thing  which  we  command 
you  is  this." 

In  the  name  of  oxir  Lord.— To  do  anything  in  a 
person's  name  seems  to  mean,  m  the  first  instance,  the 
actual  pronouncing  of  the  namo  in  the  performance  of 
the  action — to  do  it  name  on  lip,  just  as  to  "  come  in  a 
rod"  (1  Cor.  iv.  21)  literally  mean's  rod  in  hand.  Tims, 
miracles  are  commonly  said  to  be  performed  "  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord,"  viz.,  with  the  audible  repetition 
of  His  name  (for  instance.  Matt.  vii.  21^;  Mark  x\'i.  17 ; 
Luke  X.  17) ;  and  for  examples  of  the  way  in  which  the 
name  was  literally  so  used,  we  may  refer  to  Acts  iii.  6  ; 
ix.  3t;  xix.  13 — in  the  last  c:i.se  the  name  being 
employed  as  a  mere  incantation  or  charm.  See  also 
Phil.  ii.  10,  where,  as  the  adoi-ation  paid  to  Jesus  Him- 
self is  the  ]K>int,  the  plu-ase  nuist  mean,  "  mentioning 
the  name  of  Jesus,  evei-y  knee  sliall  bow."  From  tliis 
mention  of  the  name  in  performing  an  action,  our 
phrase  as.sumes,  at  any  rate,  two  distinct  meanings: 
(1)  As  in  Col.  iii.  17.  it  implies  an  invocation  or  at- 
testation of  the  person  named,  or  a  recognition  of  his 
presence  and  interest  in  the  matter,  in  which  sense  it 
has  im.s.sed  into  the  common  language  of  Christianity, 
into  legal  formulas,  &c.  (2)  Here,  and  usually,  it 
means  a  claim  to  the  authority  of  the  person  named 
— to  act  officially  as  his  representative  witli  full 
powers.  (See  Notes  on  John  xiv.  13,  26.)  Tims  the 
prophets  spoke  "in  the  namo  of  the  Lord  " — i.e.,  as  His 
authoritative  exponents  (Jas.  v.  10) ;  St.  Paul  com- 
mands (Acts  xvi.  18),  and  retains  a  man's  sins 
(1  Cor.  iv.  5)  "in  the  name  of  the  Lord" — i.e.,  as  His 
official  spokesman  or  ambassador ;  the  priests  are  to 
administer  the  uuctiou  of  the  sick  with  like  authority 


(Jas.  V.  14,  15).  So  here,  the  Thessalonians  are  not  to 
think  that  in  disobejdng  St.  Paul's  injunctions  they 
are  rebelling  against  a  mere  liuuniu  authority ;  Christ 
Himself  speaks  to  them  through  St.  Paul's  lips.  Yet, 
commanding  with  all  this  tremendous  authority,  tliey 
are  still  but  "  brethren  "  (Matt,  xxiii.  8). 

"Withdraw  yourselves.— The  striking  word  here 
used  is  (in  its  simple  form)  only  found  besides  in  2  Cor. 
\in.  20  :  "  avoiding  this."  In  a  still  more  striking  com- 
pound, it  occurs  in  Acts  xx.  20,  27 ;  Gal.  ii.  12  ;  Heb. 
X.  38.  It  is  a  metaphor  from  the  language  of  strategy : 
a  cautious  general  shrinking  from  an  encounter  and 
timidly  drawing  off  under  cover.  Perhaps  we  might 
illustrate  it  by  the  familiar  English  "fight  slnj  of  every 
brother."  A  social  excommunication  rather  than  eccle- 
siastical seems  chiefly  meant,  though  the  latter  might 
perhaps  be  involved. 

From  every  brother — i.e.,  every  Christian.  It 
was  impossible  to  be  so  strict  about  the-outside  world. 
(Comp.  1  Cor.  V.  10,  11.)  The  man  still  remains  a 
"brother"  (verse  15). 

Disorderly. — Tlie  word  is  rendered  "  unruly "  iu 
1  Thess.  v.  14,  and  is  possdjly  suggested  by  the 
military  metaphor  above.  It  means  propei'ly  "  out  of 
rank."  The  kind  of  irregularity  which  is  meant  is 
made  clear  by  verses  10,  11.  The  worthy  Bengel 
quaintly  makes  this  an  opportunity  for  denouncing  the 
Mendicant  Orders  :  "  An  order  of  mendicants,  then,  is 
not  an  order;  if  the  Thessalonians  had  bound  them- 
selves to  it  by  a  vow,  what  would  St.  Paul  have  said  ?  " 

The  tradition.— See  Note  on  chap.  ii.  15.  The 
word  must  imply  systematic  and  definite  teaching ;  and 
we  see  here  again  that  a  clear  code  of  ethics  was  part 
of  the  apostolic  catechism.    (See  Note  on  1  Thess.  iv.  1.) 

He  received. — The  best  rendering  is.  avhich  they 
received — i.e.,  all  the  brethren  who  walked  disorderly. 
The  word  "  receive "  is  the  regular  correlative  to 
"tradition"  or  "deliver."  (See,  e.g.,  Mark  vii.  4; 
I  Cor.  xi.  23;  Gal.  i.  9;  Col.  ii.  6.) 

(")  For  justifies  the  assertion  that  they  had  received 
a  better  teaching.     (Comp.  1  Thess.  ii.  1  ;  iv.  9;  v.  2.) 

To  follow  us. — The  word,  of  course,  means  "to 
imitate";  and  the  rather  compressed  expression  seems  to 
stand  for  something  fuller,  such  as,  "  Yourselves  know 
how  you  ought  to  live,  for. you  liave  but  to  imitate  us: 
you  recollect  not  only  a  tradition,  but  an  example." 
This  is  better  than  (with  St.  Clirysostom)  to  make  the 
whole  "  tradition  "  consist  of  example  without  precept, 
however  such  an  interpretation  miglit  simjilify  the  logic. 

For  '^or  becan.^c). — Historical  justification  of  tho 
statenu^nt  that  their  example  was  a  trustworthy  model, 
in  tliis  ])articular,  at  any  rate  :  see  the  same  use  of  "  for  " 
in  1  Thess.  ii.  9,  "  for  labouring,"  &c. ;  iv.  3.  It  is 
perhaps  simpler,  however,  to  translate  the  word  "  that," 
instead  of  "for"  :  "  You  know  perfectly  how  to  live — • 
how  to  imitate  our  example — that  we  never,"  &c.  Then 
follows  a  description  of  the  Apostles'  conduct  at 
Thessalonica  similar  to  that  in  the  First  Epistle,  thus 
giving  US  a  clearer  understanding  why  they  dwelt  so 
long  and  so  passionately  upon  the  topic  there — namely, 
in  oi'der  by  foive  of  tacit  contrast  to  shame  the  dis- 
orderly brethren  into  imitation. 


162 


The  Apostle^ s  Example 


II.   TIIESSALONIANS,   III. 


and  direct  Commands. 


(s)  neither  did  we  eat  any  man's  bread 
for  nougiit;  but  wrouf^ht  with  labour 
and  travail  night  and  day,  that  we 
inig-ht  not  be  chargeable  to  any  of 
you : "  (^)  not  because  we  have  not 
power,*    but     to     make    ourselves     an 


a  1  Theas.  2.  9. 
6  1  Tht'SS.  2.  0. 


ensample  unto  you  to  follow  us. 
(10)  YoY  even  when  we  were  with 
you,  this  we  commanded  you,  that  if 
any  would  not  work,  neither  should  he 
eat.  (^^)  For  we  hear  that  there  are 
some  which  walk  among  you  disorderly, 


(8)  Neither. — They  miji^ht  have  thought  it  possible 
to  live  oil  others  without  iucurriug  so  serious  a  charge 
as  "  disorderliiiess." 

Eat  any  man's  bread.— Still  more  literally,  eat 
bread  from  any  man — i.e.,  "from  any  man's  table." 
St.  Paul  always  becomes  picturesque  and  vivid  in  a 
passage  of  this  kind,  and  generally  Hebraistic  ("  eat 
bread,"  2  Sam.  ix.  7,  and  often).  "For  nought"  is 
literally  at  a  gift.  There  is  a  Havour  of  scorn  in  St. 
Paul's  disclaimer  of  such  a  parasite's  life. 

Wrought. — In  the  original  it  is  the  participle, 
"  working,"  which  better  suits  the  rapid  flow  of  the 
sentences.  The  order  also  is  slightly  more  forcible : 
"  Wo  ate  bread  from  no  man's  table  at  a  gift,  but  in  toil 
and  travail,  all  night  and  day  labouring  that  we,"  &c. 
To  "be  chargeable"  means  more  than  "to  make  you 
pay":  it  contains  the  notion  of  burdensome  expense. 

(9)  Power. — Rather,  authority,  which  is  power  2Jlus 
legitimacy.  How  jealously  St.  Paul  guards  the  rights 
of  the  Apostolate  !  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  brethren 
of  the  Lord  and  Cephas  (1  Cor.  ix.  5),  perhaps  for 
Silas  and  Timothy  (1  Thess.  ii.  6,  Note),  and  for 
futurity.  The  unbounded  claims  of  spiritual  father- 
hood seem  copied  from  the  Roman  law  of  patriapotestas. 
(Comp.  Philem.  verses  8,  19.) 

To  make. — Literally,  in  order  that  we  might  give. 
It  was  not  without  thought  and  design  that  they  had 
adopted  the  plan. 

An  ensample.— The  same  word  as  iu  1  Thess.  i.  7. 
Literally,  a  model.  The  argument  is  a  strong  a  fortiori. 
Whatever  reason  these  Thessalonians  might  have  for 
giving  up  work,  St.  Paul  had  the  same,  and  more.  He 
looked  for  the  Advent,  as  they  did ;  he  spent  his  time 
iu  going  about  among  the  brethren,  as  they  did ;  and 
over  and  above,  he  had  the  apostolic  right  to  main- 
tenance, which  they  had  not.  Why  should  not  he  have 
left  off  work,  if  they  could  justify  themselves  iu  so 
doing  ?  If  he  thought  right  to  work,  a  fortiori,  it 
must  be  their  duty  to  work  too. 

(10)  por  even.— The  sequence  of  thought  is  a  little 
difficult,  but  it  seems  best  to  regard  this  ''  for  "  as  con- 
necting its  sentence,  not  with  verse  9,  Init  rather  with 
verse  6.  It  does  not  give  the  reason  why  St.  Paul  and 
his  companions  worked  :  "  because  we  strictly  enjoined 
you  to  work,  and  therefore  could  not  be  idle  ourselves." 
Rather,  it  justifies  the  reiteration  of  the  command : 
"  We  do  not  hesitate  to  command  you  now  to  repress 
this  disorderly  conduct,  so  contrary  to  the  example  set 
you ;  for,  in  fact,  when  wo  were  with  you  wo  used  to 
lay  down  this  law."  So  Theodoret  takes  it :  "  It  is  no 
new  thing  that  we  write  to  you." 

We  commanded.— The  tense  in  the  onginal  is 
that  of  constant  re-assertion,  which  brings  out  once  more 
the  thorough  grounding  which  the  Apostles  gave  at 
once  to  their  converts.  (See  Note  on  verse  6  :  "  the 
tradition ;  "  also  the  Note  on  chap.  ii.  5.)  The  same 
definite  precept  is  referred  to  in  1  Tliess.  iv.  11. 

If  any  would  not  work.— The  -word  "would" 
stands  for  "is  not  willing,"  "refuses."  To  any  weak- 
ness or  incapacity  for  work,  except  in  himself,  St. 
Paul  would  be  very  tender;   the  vice  consists  in  the 


defective  will.  The  canon  (in  the  original)  is  laid  down 
in  the  pointed  form  of  some  old  Roman  law  like  those  of 
the  Twelve  Tables  :  "If  any  man  choose  not  to  Av<jrk, 
neither  let  him  eat."  It  does  not  mean,  "  let  him  leave 
ofH  eating,"  putting  it  to  the  man's  own  conscience  to 
see  the  necessary  connection  between  the  two  things 
(Gen.  iii.  19) ;  but,  "  let  him  not  be  fed."  The  Thessa- 
lonians are  not  to  be  misled  into  a  false  charity  :  giving 
food  in  Christ's  name  to  persons  who  are  capable  of 
working  and  able  to  get  work,  and  are  too  indolent  to 
do  so.  The  support  which  is  here  forbidden  to  bo 
given  to  these  disorderly  persons  might  come  either 
direct  from  the  private  liberality  of  intlividuals,  or 
from  some  collected  church  fund  administjrsc'.  by  the 
deacons.  It  does  not  seem  at  all  impossible  that  this 
Thessalonian  Church,  which  St.  Paul  himself  declares 
to  have  taken  the  churches  of  Judaea  for  a  model 
(1  Thess.  ii.  14),  may  have  copied  its  model  in  adopt- 
ing some  form  of  communism,  or,  at  any  rate,  some 
extensive  use  of  the  agape  which  we  see  to  have  been 
in  use  at  Corinth,  established  by  the  Apostle  at  the  very 
time  of  writing  this  Letter  (1  Cor.  xi.  21).  Such  a  sup- 
position would  give  much  more  j^oiut  to  St.  Paul's  canon, 
as  well  as  to  other  phrases  iu  both  these  Epistles,  and 
would  enable  us  to  understand  better  how  this  discii)lino 
could  be  actively  enforced.  That  the  ordinary  agape 
was  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  the  poorer 
classes  is  evident  from  1  Cor.  xi.  22. 

(11)  For  we  hear.— Explaining  how  St.  Paul  came 
to  speak  upon  the  topic  at  all.  Hitherto  he  has  only 
been  giving  directions,  without  saying  why.  News  had 
been  brought  back,  no  doubt,  by  the  bearers  of  the 
First  Epistle. 

Walk  among  you  disorderly. — A  verbal  re- 
petition of  verse  6.  It  is  not  quite  the  same  as  "  some 
among  you  which  walk  disorderly,"  for  the  words 
"  among  you  "  represent  the  vague  and  various  directions 
taken  by  those  aimless  feet,  going  about  from  house  to 
house,  workshop  to  workshop. 

Working  not  at  all,  but  are  busybodies.— 
This  is  what  the  disorderlincss  consists  in,  as  we  should 
have  seen  from  verse  10.  There  is  a  scornful  play  of 
words  here  in  the  Greek  which  is  lost  sight  of  in  the 
English  :  the  word  for  "  busybodies  jeing  merely 
a  compound  form  of  the  word  "  working."  Quito 
literally,  the  compound  means  "  working  enough  and  to 
spare,"  "being  overbusy,"  "overdoing;"  then,  as  a 
man  cannot  possi])ly  overdo  what  it  is  his  own  duty  to 
do,  it  comes  to  signify  (1)  doing  useless  things,  things 
which  concern  no  one,  and  Height  as  well  be  lei't  alone : 
as,  for  instance,  magic,  which  is  described  by  this  word 
in  Acts  xix.  19;  or  natural  sience,  which  is  so  described 
in  the  Athenians'  accusation  of  Socrates !  (2)  Meddling 
with  matters  which  do  not  concern  the  doer,  but  do 
concern  other  people :  so  used  in  1  Tim.  v.  13.  Prof. 
Lightfoot  suggests  {On  a  Fresh  Bevision,  p.  59 ;  comp. 
p.  xviii.,  2nd  ed.)  that  the  play  can  bo  kept  up 
through  the  words  "  liusiness  "  ami  "  busy  "  :  we  might 
perhaps  say,  "  not  being  business  men.  but  busybodies." 
But  which  of  tiie  two  notions  mentioned  above  is  to  be 
considered    most  prominent   here  wo   cannot  tell  for 


163 


The  Iilhr  and  Ihisi/bui/i/ 


IE.    THP:SSAL0NIANS,    III. 


to  be  jyut  to  shame, 


worlring  not  at  all,  but  are  busy  bodies. 
(12)  Now  theni  that  are  such  we  com- 
maud  and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  with  quietness  they  work, 
and  eat  their  own  bread.     (^^'  But  ye, 


1  Or, /(lint  not. 


2  Or,  siynifij  that 
iiianby  auepintle. 


brethren,  be  not  weary  ^  in  well  doing. 
(^•*^  And  if  any  man  obey  not  our  word-^ 
by  this  epistle,  note  that  man,  and  have 
no  company  with  him,  that  he  may  be 
ashamed.     ^^^^  Yet  count  him  not  as  an 


cortain.  (n)  Tho  Thessalonians  do  not  seem  to  have 
hoon  much  canicd  away  by  the  first  class  of  daiifjor — 
i(lh>  speculations,  such  as  those  of  the  Colossiau  or 
Ephcsian  Churches.  Yet  we  cauuot  altogether  exclude 
this  meaning  here.  St.  Paul's  readers  had  been  over- 
busy  in  theorising  about  tlie  position  of  the  departed  at 
Clirist's  coming  (1  Thess.  iv.  15,  Note),  and  had  been 
so  eager  over  their  idle  doctrines  of  the  Advent  as  to 
falsify,  if  not  actually  to  forge,  communications  from 
St.  Paid  (chap.  ii.  2).  Such  false  inquisitiveness  and 
gossiping  discussions  might  well  bo  described  by  tlie 
Greek  word  with  wliich  we  are  dealing,  (b)  Every- 
thing, however,  points  to  a  more  practical  form  of  the 
same  disposition  to  mask  idleness  under  cloak  of  work ; 
feverish  excitement,  which  leads  men  to  meddle  and 
interfere  with  others,  perhaps  to  spend  time  in  "  re- 
ligious "  work  which  ought  not  to  have  been  spared  from 
every-day  duties.  (See  1  Thess.  iv.  11,  12,  and  Notes.) 
There  is  nothing  to  show  definitely  how  this  l)usy  idle- 
ness arose,  but  it  may  very  probably  be  the  shaken 
and  troubled  condition  of  mind  spoken  of  in  chap, 
ii.  2. 

('-)  We  command.— The  fourth  time  the  severe 
word  is  used  in  this  very  cliapter.  Perhaps"  we  order" 
might  convey  the  meaning  still  more  sharply.  But  im- 
mediately, lest  severity  pi-ovoke  rebellion,  he  adds,  "  and 
we  beseech,"  alleging  jUso  the  grounds  on  which  lie 
rests  his  appeal :  "  in  our  Lord  " — i.e.,  "  on  the  strength 
of  our  union  in  the  Body  of  Christ."  (Comp.  1  Thess. 
iv.  1.) 

That  with  quietness  they  work.— The  opposites 
of  bustling,  and  of  idleness. 

Eat  their  own  bread.— Not  other  people's.  This 
passage  tempts  us  to  take  the  marginal  version  in 
1  The.ss.  iv.  12:  "  have  need  of  no  man."  The  ])hrase 
is  not  fatal  to  the  idea  of  there  being  a  communism 
established.  The  bread  would  still  be  "  tlieir  own  " 
— i.e.,  they  would  have  a  right  to  it,  supposing  it  had 
been  earned  for  the  community  by  hard  work : 
otherwise,  communism  or  no  communism,  tho  bread 
was  stolen.  The  commentators  aptly  compare  a  rab- 
Ijinical  saying  :  "  When  a  man  eats  his  own  bread  he  is 
composed  and  tranc|uil  in  mind ;  but  if  he  bo  eating  the 
l)read  of  his  parents  or  cliildren,  much  more  that  of 
strangers,  his  mind  is  less  tranquil." 

(13)  But  ye,  brethren.— The  last  verse  was  ad- 
dressed to  all  those  whose  consciences  would  prick 
them  on  hearing  it  read  at  the  Eucharist.  Now  the 
writer  turns  to  tho  orderly  brethren,  as  quite  a  distinct 
class.  The  rhetorical  effect  of  tliis  quick  apostrophe 
Avould  be  tlie  same  as  in  the  well-known  story  of 
Najjoleon  addressing  the  rioters,  and  requesting  the 
gentlemen  to  separate  them.selves  from  the  canaille. 
The  distinction  is  so  invidious  that  every  one  would 
hasten  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  n^sjiectable. 

Be  not  weary  in  well  doing.— This  is  an  ex- 
hortation to  "  the  patience  of  Christ,"  for  which  the 
Apostle  had  prayed.  The  i)hrase  takes  for  granted  that 
they  had  been  hitherto  engaged  in  "well  doing" — i.e., 
in  acting  Inmourably,  "  walking  honestly  towards  them 
that  are  without  "(1  Thess.  iv.  12);  and  St.  Paul  is 
anxious  to  preserve  them  from  "  fainting  "  (as  the  word 


164 


is  translated  in  Gal.  vi.  9),  and  so  slipping  into  the  like 
idleness  and  bringing  scandal  upon  the  Church. 

(iM  And  if  any  man.— An  appeal  to  the  ri^ht- 
minded,  not  only  to  persevere  themselves,  but  to  3oiu 
with  the  overseers  of  their  Church  in  enforcing  dis- 
cipline, as  in  1  Thess.  v.  12 — 15. 

By  this  epistle. — Rightly  rendered.  The  marginal 
version,  "  by  an  Epistle,"  is  impossible,  for  in  the  Greek 
the  definite  article  appears.  It  might,  if  the  context 
suited,  be  attached  to  the  following  clause,  instead  of 
the  foregoing,  and  translated,  "  by  means  of  the  Epistle 
signify  that  man,"  meaning  "  in  your  answer."  But 
there  is  nothing  to  show  that  St.  Paul  was  expecting  any 
answer;  and,  for  another  thing,  he  has  given  them  full 
directions  for  dealing  with  the  case  themselves,  so  that 
it  would  be  saperfiuous  to  send  the  particulars  to  St. 
Paul.  For  several  other  weighty  reasons  it  is  best  to 
attach  the  words  to  the  hy|)othetical  clause ;  and  the 
sense  will  be,  "  There  can  be  no  excuse  now.  It  was 
possible  to  forget  or  misintei"pret  our  verbal  tradition, 
painstaking  and  definite  though  it  was  ;  possible  also  to 
ignore  the  example  which  we  set ;  but  now  you  have  it 
in  black  and  white,  and  the  man  who  does  not  submit  to 
our  directions  in  this  form  must  be  visited  severely." 
There  are  at  least  thi-ee  places  besides  this  in  St.  Paul's 
writings  Avhere  "  the  Epistle  "  stands  absolutely  for  *'  the 
present  Epistle,"  viz.,  Rom.  xvi.  22 ;  Col.  iv.  16 ;  1  Thess. 
V.  27 ;  possibly  a  fourth  might  be  added,  1  Cor.  v.  9 ; 
only  once  in  a  very  clear  context  it  refers  to  a  former 
Letter  (2  Cor.  vii.  8). 

Note  that  man.— The  reflexive  voice  of  the  verb 
implies  mutual  warning  against  him  :  "  Agree  to  set  a 
mark  upon  him,  to  make  a  marked  man  of  him."  The 
notion  is  that  of  making  him  easily  recognisable,  so  that 
no  Christian  should  "  have  company  "  with  him  un- 
awares. (Comp.  Gen.  iv.  15.)  The  word  and  the  thought 
in  Rom.  xvi.  17  are  slightly  different.  The  best  text 
goes  on  abi'uptly,  without  conjunction :  "  Note  that 
man  ;  have  no  company  with  him."  This  social  extru- 
sion from  good  men's  conversation,  not  to  speak  of  the 
Sacraments,  would,  to  a  Christian  in  a  heathen  city,  be 
indeed  a  delivering  to  Satan,  a  thrusting  into  outer 
darkness. 

That  he  may  be  ashamed— i.e.,  put  to  shame. 
Comp.  1  Cor.  vi.  5;  xv.  34;  Tit.  ii.  8;  and  (for  the  end 
to  be  served  by  this  shame)  the  first  clause  of  the  Com- 
niination  of  Sinners. 

(l'>)  Yet. — The  original  is  simply  .4n(i.  which  is  much 
more  beautiful,  implying  that  this  very  withdrawal  from 
brotherly  intercourse  was  an  act  of  brotherly  kindness. 

An  enemy. — In  the  private,  not  tho  public,  sense. 
"Do  not  think  of  him  as  one  with  whom  you  must  be 
at  feud,  to  bo  thwarted  and  humbled  on  every  occasion." 
St.  Chrj'sostom  exclaims,  "  How  soon  the  father's  heart 
breaks  down  I  " 

Admonish  him  as  a  brother. — How  was  this  to 
be  done  without  "  having  company"  Avith  him?  Per- 
haps the  presbyters,  to  whom  the  work  of  "  admonish- 
ing," or  "  warning,"  sp(>cially  belonged  (see  1  Thess.  v. 
12,  14),  were  to  visit  them  in  private  with  that  object. 
Or  possibly,  the  admonition  was  to  consist  in  the  act  of 
separation,  and  not  in  verbal  reproof  at  all. 


and  to  he  admonis/i^d. 


II.   THESSALONIANS,   III. 


/Salutation  and  Conclusion. 


enemy,  but  admonisli  him  as  a  brother. 
(10)  Now  the  Lord  of  peace  himself  give 
you  peace  always  by  all  means.  The 
Lord  be  with  you  all. 

(!')  The     salutation     of    Paul     with 
mine  own  hand,  which  is  the  token  in 


every  epistle :    so  I  write,  chap.    iii.    17, 
(18)  r^i^Q  grace  of  our  Lord  I8.    Caution 

Jesus    Christ    he   with  you   ru;t^°and  vale- 
all.     Amen.  diction. 

T  Tlic  second  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  was 
written  from  Athens. 


(1*3)  Now.— Rather,  And,  or  But.  The  prayer  is 
joined  to  tlie  exhortations,  as  in  chap.  ii.  16  and  clse- 
■\vliore,  and  of  coiu'se  bears  upon  the  subject  of 
tlieni. 

The  Lord  of  peace.— We  had  "  the  God  of 
peace  "  at  tlio  ch>se  of  the  last  Epistle  (v.  23,  where  see 
tlie  Note).  The  "  peace  "  prayed  for  hero  has  perhaps 
a  more  immediate  refei'ence  to  external  matters  than  in 
the  parallel  passage.  St.  Chrysostom  suggests  the  dan- 
ger of  quarrels  breaking  out  owing  to  tlie  administra- 
tion of  the  preseriljed  discipline.  And  the  conduct  of 
these  restless  busybodies  was  in  itself  destructive  of  peace, 
both  for  their  own  souls  and  for  the  community.  Bnt 
the  words  "by  all  means,"  or,  more  literally,  in  every 
shape  and  form,  show  that  the  Apostle  is  extending  his 
glance  over  all  the  subjects  mentioned  in  the  Ejjistle 
now  finished  :  "  Peace  all  throughout  in  every  form," 
through  all  persecutions  and  from  all  persecutions ; 
tlirough  the  terrors  of  the  reign  of  Antichrist  and 
tlu'ough  the  Judgment  Day  ;  peace  among  themselves, 
in  their  o\yw  hearts,  with  (rod. 

The  Lord  be  with  you  all.— Another  way  of 
expressing  the  prayer  for  peace ;  for  where  He  enters 
He  says,  "Peace  be  unto  you."  The  word  "all"  is 
strongly  emphasised,  catching  up  the  "  always  "  and 
"  in  all  forms."  St.  Paul  has  spoken  with  strong 
censure  of  some  ;  but  he  wishes  to  show  that  he  bears 
no  ill-will  to  any ;  and  to  leave  off  by  blessing  all,  as 
he  began  by  givina:  thanks  for  all  (chap.  i.  3). 

(17)  The  salutation. — At  this  point  St.  Paul  takes 
the  pen  out  of  his  secretary's  hand,  and  adds  the  closing 
words  himself.  The  actual  salutation  does  not  begin 
until  the  benediction  of  the  18th  Averse,  to  which  this 
17th  is  intended  to  attract  attention. 

Which.— Namely,  the  autograph  addition  of  a 
salutation,  or  valedictory  prayer,  not  the  special  words 
in  which  it  was  couched. 

The  token. — Rather,  a  token — a  mark,  that  is,  by 
which  to  tell  an  authentic  Epistle  of  his  from  those 
forged  letters  with  which  false  brethren  had  troubled 
the  Thessalonian  Church  (chap.  ii.  2).  At  fii'st  sight, 
it  seems  to  us  too  audacious  for  any  one  to  liavo  con- 
ceived the  thought  of  wi-iting  a  letter  under  the  name  of 
St.  Paid;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  recollect 
several  points.  (1)  St.  Paul's  genuine  First  Epistle,  in 
spite  of  its  claim  to  inspii-ation  (iv.  15),  could  not  yet 
have  acquired  in  the  eyes  of  the  Thessalonians  the 
sanctity  it  wears  for  us ;  they  had  no  notion  of  such  a 
thing  as  Holy  Scriptures,  and  even  if  they  had,  St. 
Paul  was  a  familiar  figure,  a  mechanic  who  had  just 
left  ihem,  not  yet  invested  with  the  heroic  halo. 
(2)  Such  literary  forgeries  were  not  uncommon  in  that 
age.  and  scarcely  considered  reprehensible,  unless  they 
were  framed  to  inculcate  with  authority  some  heretical 
teaching.  Apocryphal  Grospcds  soon  after  abounded, 
under  false  titles,  and  works  fathered  upon  St.  Clement 


and  other  great  Church  teachers.  (3)  There  need  not 
always  have  been  a  direct  intention  to  deceive  the 
readers  as  to  the  authorship,  but  the  renowned  name 
acted  as  a  tempting  advertisement  for  the  work,  and 
the  theories  thus  shot  forth  hit  their  mark ;  whether 
the  real  authorship  were  discovered  or  not  mattered 
little  in  comparison.  Such  points  must  be  borne  in 
mind  before  we  accept  as  genuine  any  of  the  early 
Christian  writings. 

In  every  epistle. — Tliat  is,  naturally,  "in  every 
Epistle  which  I  write."  It  cannot  be  narrowly  re- 
stricted to  mean,  "  in  every  Epistle  which  I  shall  for  the 
future  write  to  you  Thessjdonians,"  though  that  is,  of 
coui'se,  the  practical  significance.  Nor  does  it  imply  a 
formed  design  of  writing  other  Epistles  toother  churciies. 
It  seems  necessary  to  suppose  that  St.  Paul  had  already 
made  a  practice  of  concluding  Letters  with  his  auto- 
graph, though  only  one  Letter  of  his  is  now  extant  of 
an  earlier  date  than  our  present  Epistle.  There  is 
no  reason  whatever  to  suppose  that  all  the  Letters  ever 
wi-itten  by  St.  Paul  have  been  preserved  to  us  (see 
Dr.  Lightfoot's  Pliilippians,  p.  136,  et  seq.),  any  more 
tlian  all  the  sayings  and  acts  of  Jesus  Christ  (John  xxi. 
25) ;  and  even  when  he  wrote  his  First  Epistle  to  Thes- 
stilonica  ho  had  seen  the  necessity  of  giving  careful 
directions  about  his  Letters  (1  Thess.  v.  27),  and  of 
I'ousing  his  correspondents  to  a  reasonable  scepticism 
{ibid.  V.  21).  The  same  solicitude  re-appears  in  1  Cor. 
xvi.  21 ;  Gal.  A-i.  11.  And  the  rule  which  St.  Paul  had 
already  made  he  always  observed,  so  far  as  we  can  test ; 
for  all  his  extant  Epistles,  as  Bishop  Wordsworth 
points  out  on  1  Thess.  v.  28,  contain  his  "salutation" 
at  the  end. 

So  I  write. — "  Such  is  my  handwriting."  It  need 
not  mean  that  the  Thessalonians  hitherto  were  un- 
acquainted with  his  hand  ;  he  only  calls  their  attention 
closely  to  it.  The  great  bold  handwriting  (comp.  Gal. 
vi.  11)  woidd  not  easily  be  mistaken. 

(18)  The  grace.— This  is  his  "salutation."  Tlie 
Greek  secular  salutation,  at  greeting  and  parting  alike, 
was  chaire  (literally,  rejoice) ;  so  St.  Paul,  alike  at 
beginning  and  ending,  uses  a  word  of  kindred  origin, 
c/iaris  ("grace").  Observe  the  word  "all"  again,  as 
in  verse  16.  St.  Chrysostom's  beautiful  comment  may 
well  be  given  :  "  What  he  calls  his  '  salutation  '  is  the 
prayer,  showing  that  the  whole  business  they  were  then 
about  was  sinritual ;  and  even  av  hen  he  must  give  a 
salutation,  there  must  go  some  benefit  along  with  it, 
and  it  must  be  a  prayer,  not  a  mere  symbol  of  friendship. 
'Twas  with  this  he  would  begin,  and  with  this  he  would 
end.  fencing  round  that  which  he  said  with  mighty 
walls  on  eitiier  side;  and  safe  were  the  foundations  ho 
laid,  and  safe  the  conclusion  that  he  laid  tliereon. 
'  Grace  to  vou,'  ho  cries,  '  and  peace  ' ;  and  once  more, 
['  Peace  always '  and]  '  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
(Christ  be  with  you  all — Amen.'  " 


165 


EXCURSUS  ON  NOTES   TO  II.  THESSALONIANS. 


EXCURSUS  ON  THE  mTERPRETATION  OF  THE  PROPHECY,  2  THESS.  ii.  3—12. 


In  order  to  deal  fairly  with  this  difficult  passage,  it 
\v\\\  bo  ueecssary  sternly  to  exclude  from  our  view  all 
other  passages  of  the  New  Testament  which  speak  of  a 
final  manifestation  of  evil,  and,  reviewing  the  words 
simply  as  tliey  stand,  to  consider  ivhat  St.  Paul  himself 
ineanty>\m\  he  so  assiduously  inverse  5,  Note)  taught  the 
Thessalonian  Church  on  the  subject,  and  what  the 
Thessalonian  Church  was  likely  to  gather  from  his 
Letter.  For  though  such  a  passage  as  Heb.  vi.  2  shows 
tliat  the  whole  Apostolic  Cliurch  was  definitely  at  one 
in  the  eschatological  instruction  given  to  its  converts  at 
a  very  early  stage  of  their  Christian  life  ;  and  thoiigh 
the  language  of  1  Tim.  iv.  1 ;  Jas.  v.  3—7 ;  2  Pet.  iii. 
1,  2;  1  John  ii.  18  ;  iv.  3;  Jude,  ver.se  17  (not  to  men- 
tion the  Apocalypse) — passages  representing  the  most 
ditforent  schools  of  thought  in  the  early  Church — fully 
])ring  out  this  agreement,  so  that  Christians  may  fairly 
use  tliose  passages  to  explain  each  other,  yet,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  need  to  put  ourselves  in  the  position  of 
the  young  Church  of  Thessalonica,  which  was  expected 
by  St.  Paul  to  make  out  the  significant  hints  of  his 
Letter  with  no  other  help  than  the  recollection  of  his 
oral  teaching  and  the  observation  of  events.  We, 
therefore,  ought  to  be  able  in  like  manner  to  catch  the 
same  significant  hints  l)y  a  like  knowledge  of  the  then 
history  of  the  world,  and  of  the  sources  from  which 
St.  Paul  was  likely  to  draw  his  doctrine  of  the  "  Last 
Things." 

I.  Sources  of  the  Apostolic  Doctrine  of  the 
Last  Things. —The  prophecy  of  St.  Paul  does  not 
appear  to  be — at  least,  exclusively — the  result  of  a 
direct  internal  revelation  of  the  Spirit.  Such  direct 
revelations  were,  when  necessary,  made  to  him,  and  wo 
have  seen  him  claim  that  kind  of  inspiration  in  1  Thess. 
iv.  15.  But  God's  ordinary  way  of  making  prophets 
seems  to  bo  different.  He  gives  to  those  who  are 
willing  to  see  an  extraordinary  insight  into  the  things 
whicli  lie  before  the  most  ordinary  eyes ;  He  throws 
liglit  upon  tlie  meaning  of  occurrences,  or  of  words, 
wliicli  are  familiar  to  cveiy  one  externally  (see  Mauric(>'s 
FropJicts  and  Kiti'/ii,  pp.  141 — 145).  Even  for  doctriiu's 
like  those  of  the  true  divinity  or  the  true  liumanity  of 
our  Lord,  or  of  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  or  tlie 
Church's  mission,  the  Apostles  do  not  rest  solely  on 
direct  revelation  made  to  their  own  consciences,  but 
rather  dwell  on  the  significance  of  historical  facts  (c.f/., 
Rom.  i.  4;  2  Pet.  i.  17),  or,  still  more  frequently  aiul 
strongly,  on  the  interpretation  of  Old  Testament  Scriji- 
tures  (C.J/.,  H.'l).  i.  8 ;  ii.  12, 13 ;  2  Pet.  i.  19).  If,  there- 
fore, we  can  find  material  in  the  Old  Testament  Avhicli, 
taken  in  conjunction  with  our  Lord's  own  words,  could 
liave  supplied  St.  Paul — or  rather,  the  catholic  consent 
of  the  early  Churcli — with  tlie  doctrine  of  tlio  Last 
Tilings  as  we  find  it  stated  in  the  apostolic  writings, 
we  shall  be  justified  in  using  those  Old  Testament 
materials  in  the  explanation  of  the  New. 

II.  The    Book    of    Daniel.— Such  materials  we 


16G 


find,  not  only  in  the  general  threatenings  of  Joel, 
Zechariah  (chap,  xiv.),  and  Malachi,  but  most  clear  and 
definite  in  the  Book  of  Daniel.  Into  the  question  of 
the  date  of  that  book  it  is  not  necessary  hero  to 
inquii'e.  It  suffices  for  the  present  purpose  to  know 
that  it  was  ranch  older  than  St.  Paul's  time,  and  was 
accepted  as  prophetic  in  the  ordinary  sense.  In  fact, 
there  was,  probably,  no  other  book  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment whicli  received  so  much  attention  among  the  Jews 
in  the  apostolic  age  (Westcott,  in  Smith's  Diet.  Bible, 
Art.  "Daniel  ").  It  was  regarded  with  full  reverence 
as  an  inspired  revelation ;  and  our  Lord  Himself 
(accoi-ding  to  Matt.  xxiv.  15  and  Mark  xiii.  14)  either 
drew  from  it  (liumanly  speaking)  His  own  doctrine  of 
the  Last  Things,  or  at  least  used  it  emphatically  for  His 
disciples'  benefit  as  a  corroboration.  The  taste  for 
apocalyptic  literature  was  at  this  time  very  strong,  and 
the  prophecies  of  Daniel  attracted  especial  attention, 
inasmuch  as  the  simplest  interjjretation  of  some  of  the 
most  explicit  of  them  pointed  unmistakably  to  the 
time  then  present.  Tacitus  (Hist.  v.  13)  and  Suetonius 
{¥6821.  chap.  4),  as  is  well  kuowu,  speak  of  the  certainty 
felt  through  the  whole  East,  about  that  time, 
that  uniA'ersal  empire  was  on  the  point  of  passing  into 
the  hands  of  men  of  Jewish  origin,  lliis  belief,  says 
Tacitus,  was  "  contained  in  the  antient  literature  of  the 
pi'iests  " — i.e.,  in  the  Scrijitures,  kept  and  expounded  by 
them ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  first  and  fore- 
most of  those  Scriptures  (for  this  purpose)  stood  the 
Book  of  Daniel.  For  every  reason,  then,  we  may  well 
try  to  find  what  a  lielicAnng  Jew  of  the  apostolic  ago 
would  make  out  of  the  visions  of  Daniel,  in  order  to 
throw  light  on  this  passage  of  St.  Paul. 

III.  The  Five  Monarchies.— Now,  in  the  Book 
of  Daniel  there  ai'e  four  main  predictions  of  what  was 
then  the  future  history  of  the  world.  These  predictions 
are  contained  in  chaps,  ii.,  ^^i..  viii.,  and  xi.  The  first 
two  visions,  vouchsafed  to  Neljuchadnezzar  and  to 
Daniel  respectively,  both  describe  Five  Monarchies, 
which  were  successively  to  arise  and  flourish  in  tho 
world.  Amidst  a  good  deal  which  is  matter  of  contro- 
versy, three  facts  remain  agi'ced  upon  by  all :  first,  that 
the  Five  Moiiarcliies  of  the  one  vision  are  intended  to 
correspond  to  the  Five  Monarchies  of  tho  other,  each 
to  each  ;  secondly,  that  the  earliest  of  these  five  repre- 
sents the  Babylonian  empire,  then  standing,  with 
Nebuchadnezzar  at  its  head ;  thirdl}',  that  the  last  of 
iho  series  portrays  the  establishment  of  the  Theocracy 
in  its  full  development — that  is.  the  "  Kingdom  of  God  " 
(which  had  been  the  main  subject  of  St.  Paul's  preach- 
ing at  Thessalonica),  or  the  visible  government  of  the 
world  by  the  Christ. 

IV.  The  Fourth  Monarchy.— But  the  question 
which  most  directly  concerns  us  now  is  how  to  identify 
the  Fourth  of  these  monarchies.  In  Nebuchadnezzai-'s 
^^sion  it  was  to  be  "in  the  days  of  these  kings" — i.e., 
the  kings  of  the  Fom-th  Monarchy,  while  the  Fourtli 


II.   THESSALONIANS. 


Monarchy  was  still  standing — that  tho  Kingdom  of 
HeaA'pn  was  to  conio  (Dan.  ii.  44).  In  Daniels  vision 
this  Fourtli  Mouarcliy  (or  rather,  its  continuation  and 
development)  was  to  exist  side  by  side  with  the  saints 
of  tho  Most  High,  and  l)etAveen  them  and  one  outgrowth 
of  the  Fourth  Monarchy  a  struggle  was  to  take  jjlace 
before  tho  final  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  tho 
Saints  (chap.  vii.  25).  Wliat,  then,  was  this  Fourth 
Monarchy  intended  by  the  beer  (or  by  "  the  Spirit  of 
the  Christ,"  1  Pet.  i.  11)  to  represent  ?  Or,  to  bo  still 
more  practical,  What  was  in  St.  Paul's  own  day,  among 
his  OAvn  countrymen,  the  received  interpretation  of  this 
part  of  Daniel's  prophecy  ?  The  question  is  not  hard 
to  answer.  "With  irrefragable  clearness  Dr.  Pusey  has 
proved,  in  the  second  of  his  Lectures  on  Daniel  the 
Prophet,  the  plausibility  and  minuteness  with  which 
the  words  concerning  the  Second  and  Third  Monarchies 
may  respectively  be  applied  to  the  Medo-Persian  and 
the  Macedonian  empires ;  and  if  even  this  point  be 
established,  there  can  be  no  hesitation  in  naming  the 
Fourth.  It  can  only  be  the  empire  of  Rome.  But 
Dr.  Pusey  shows. with  the  same  force,  how  applicable  the 
description  itself  is  to  the  Roman  empire.  Whether, 
however,  this  interpretation  has  any  ground  in  the 
original  intention  of  the  Prophet,  or  of  Him  who,  we 
believe,  spoke  by  him,  is  for  our  present  piii-pose  a 
matter  of  secondary  importance.  We  have  already 
mentioned  an. unimpeachable  piece  of  evidence  furnished 
by  two  great  Roman  historians.  It  was  in  their  days  a 
"  long-established  and  uniform  belief,"  entertained  not  in 
Judsea  oidy,  but  "  in  the  whole  of  tho  East,"  and  drawn 
from  the  Jewish  literature,  that  a  great  Jewish  empire 
was  destined  to  appear.  But  that  is  not  all.  Such  a 
belief  might  have  been  di-awn  from  Numbers  or  Isaiah. 
But  Suetonius  adds,  Eo  tempore,  "  at  that  time ;" 
Tacitus  adds,  Eo  ipso  tempore,  "at  that  very  time." 
From  what  Jewish  literature  could  the  date  have  been 
made  out,  except  from  the  calculation  of  the  Seventy 
Weeks  in  Daniel  ?  And  as  the  same  prophecy  spoke 
of  a  world-wide  empire,  in  the  days  of  whose  liimjs 
this  new  Jewish  power  was  to  arise,  that  same  "  long- 
established  and  unifonn  belief  "  must  have  recognised 
in  the  Roman  empire  the  Fourth  Monarchy  which  was 
to  be  shattered  by  it.  Hence,  doul)tless,  the  hopeful- 
ness with  which  insurgent  leaders  one  after  another 
rose  in  rebellion  against  the  Eoman  anus.  It  was  not 
only  that  they  themselves  were  the  Lord's  own  people. 
Was  not  this  vast  system,  "  dreadful  and  terrible,  and 
strong  exceedingly,"  definitely  doomed  in  Scripture  to 
utter  extinction  before  their  arms  ?  But  we  have,  besides, 
a  less  indirect  testimony  than  the  foregoing.  Tho  Jew 
Josephus  (Ant.  x.  11,  §  7)  speaks  at  length  of  the  i)i*o- 
phecies  of  Daniel,  and  how  he  himself  was  watching 
their  gradual  verification.  After  mentioning  the  prophecy 
about  Antioclms  Epiphanes  and  its  complete  fulfilment, 
he  adds  :  "  In  the  very  same  manner  Daniel  also  wrote 
concerning  the  empire  of  the  Romans,  and  that  onr 
country  should  be  made  desolate  by  them."  He  then 
passes  on  to  speak  of  the  comfort  afforded  by  seeing  so 
plainly  the  Providence  of  God,  with  true  Jewish  irony 
not  disclo.sing  that  his  comfort  lay  in  the  promised 
revenge  upon  Home  as  well  as  \ipon  Antiochus.  In 
another  place  (Ant.  x.  10,  §  4)  he  is  recording  the  ^-ision 
in  the  second  chapter  of  Daniel,  and  after  describing 
the  universal  dominion  of  the  Iron  Kingdom,  he  pro- 
ceeds :  "  Daniel  also  declared  the  meaning  of  the  Stone 
to  the  king,  l)ut  this  I  do  not  think  i)rop(>r  to  relate,  as 
I  have  undertaken  to  describe  things  past  and  present, 
not  things  that  are  future.  Yet  if  any  one  be  so  veiy 
desirous  of  kuowiu{r  truth  as  not  to  waive  such  curious 


points,  and  cannot  refrain  his  desire  to  understand  tho 
uncertain  future, and  whether  or  no  it  ^vill  come  to  pass, 
l(>t  him  give  heed  to  read  the  Book  of  Daniel,  which  he 
will  find  among  the  Holy  Scriptures."  Ko  doubt  can 
be  entertained  that  this  writer  understood  the  Fourth 
Monarchy  to  be  the  Roman  empire,  and  did  not  wish 
to  be  suspected  of  encouraging  sedition  by  si)eaking 
openly  of  its  predicted  downfall.  This,  then,  was  the 
common  interpretation  Avliich  St.  Paul  must  have  learned 
from  a  child  :  that  Daniel's  Fourth  Monarchy,  which 
was  to  break  up  befoi'e  the  Kingdom  of  God,  was  tho 
Roman  empire. 

V.  The  Fifth  Monarchy.— Wo  may  then  assume 
that  St.  Paul  believed  Daniel  to  foretell  the  coming  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  hi  the  days  of  the  kings  of  the 
Roman  emi)ire.  In  one  sense,  indeed,  the  prophecy 
was  already  fulfilled.  The  Kingdom  was  already  come. 
Heralded  by  the  Baptist  (Matt.  iii.  2,  et  seq.),  and  ex- 
pounded by  our  Lord  (Matt.  ix.  36,  et  seq.),  it  had  been 
established  by  the  Resurrection,  the  Ascension,  and  the 
Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  while  the  Roman  empire 
actually  stood  (Ps.  ii. ;  comp.  Acts  iv.  25 ;  v.  31 ;  xiii. 
33).  St.  John  regards  the  world  as  already  -s-ii-tually 
subdued  in  his  own  lifetime  (1  John  v.  4,  Note).  But 
the  Church  as  at  present  constituted  does  not  answer 
completely  to  Daniel's  prophecy  of  the  Kingdom  of 
the  Saints.  To  the  Christian  there  are  two  comings 
of  the  Kingdom,  not  only  one.  In  the  Prophets  the 
two  are  fused  into  one.  We  may  almost  say  the  same 
of  the  words  of  Christ  Himself.  Even  the  apostolic 
writers  do  not  separate  the  two  so  sharply  as  God  has 
historically  taught  subsequent  ages  of  the  Church  to 
separate  them.  The  early  Church  lived  in  a  daily  ex- 
pectation of  the  return  of  Christ.  For  thom,  therefore, 
there  was  no  difficulty  in  interpreting  Daniel's  pro- 
phecies as  applying  at  the  same  moment  to  the  First 
and  Second  Advent.  It  would  not  be  unfair,  therefore, 
to  assume  that  St.  Paul  expected  the  Second  Advent  to 
take  place,  as  the  First  had  done,  "in  the  days  of  these 
kings  "  of  the  Fourth  or  Roman  Monarchy. 

VI.  What  withholdeth.— Turning  now  to  the  state- 
ment of  St.  Paul,  we  see  that  he  is  cautioning  the 
Thessalonians  not  to  ex|iect  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ  immediately,  because,  as  they  can  see,  a  certain 
great  power  is  still  in  the  world,  which  (as  they  have 
been  carefully  taught)  must  be  removed  before  the  way 
for  Chi-ist's  return  is  open.  This  great  power — with  the 
a.spect  of  which  his  readers  are  perfectly  familiar, 
though  they  may  liave  forgotten  its  significance  ("  Ye 
know  that  ivhich  withholdeth") — is  summed  up  in  a 
person  who  wields  it.  This  person  is  "  he  which  with- 
holdeth.'' His  removal  "  out  of  the  midst "  is  still  a  matter 
of  futurity,  yet  assuredly  destined  to  take  place;  and  tho 
date,  though  unkno^vu  to  men,  is  fixed.  The  great 
opponent,  who  cannot  develop  so  long  as  "  he  that  with- 
holdeth" remains,  is  to  be  revealed  "in  his  time" — i.e., 
at  the  time  which  Divine  Proviilence  has  assigiiod  to 
him.  It  seems  impossible  to  doubt  that  this  great 
opponent  is  the  same  as  the  "Little  Horn"  of  Daniel 
(whose  "  time  "  is  very  definitely  marked  out  in  Dan. 
vii.  25),  and  that  the  power  which  Mithholds  his  de- 
velopment is  the  Fourth  Monarchy  of  Daniel,  and, 
therefore,  the  Roman  empire.  A  few  considerations 
will  make  the  latter  point  clearer : — 

(1)  There  was  only  one  power  in  the  world  at  that 
time,  rejiresented  by  a  single  person,  in  "the  midst," 
before  all  eyes,  of  sufficient  importance  to  restrain  the 
development  of  Antichrist.  It  was  the  Roman  empire 
and  the  Roman  emperor.  ^^ 

(2)  The  word  rendered  "  withholdeth,"  or  "  letteth, 


1G7 


II.   THESSALONIANS. 


docs  not  necessarily  imply  that  the  ohstruotion  actively, 
conscioufibj.  or  dcslgmiilij  obstructs  the  way.  His 
presence  in  tlic  midst  is  quite  sufficient  fur  the  require- 
ments of  the  word.  Lulced,  it  would,  perhaps,  not  1)0 
necessary  that  Antichrist's  dehiy  should  even  be 
directly  V«?/sc(i  by  the  obstruction;  St.  Paul  nii<rht 
only  mean  that  in  projihecy  the  one  thing  was  destined 
to  come  first,  and  that,  therefore,  so  long  as  the  first 
thing  existed,  it  (in  a  manner)  kept  the  second  back. 
Now  if  Antichrist  be  the  Little  Horn  of  Daniel,  and 
the  obstruction  tlie  Fourth  Monarchy,  wo  get  exactly 
what  we  want ;  for  (unless  the  prophecy  is  to  bo  falsi- 
fied) before  the  Little  Horn  can  spring  up  the  Fourth 
Monarchy  must  have  so  totally  changed  its  appearance 
as  to  have  passed  into  ten  simultaneous  kingdoms : 
therefore,  so  long  as  the  solid  empire  stood  it  was  a 
sign  that  Antichrist  must  wait. 

(3)  Notice  the  extreme  reserve  with  which  St.  Paul 
begins  to  speak  on  the  subject.  He  does  not  teach,  but 
prefers  appealing  to  their  memory  of  words  already 
si)()keu  :  •■  Remember  ye  not  ?  "  His  clauses  become 
intricate  and  ungrammatical — in  strange  contrast  with 
the  simple  structure  which  characterises  these  two 
Epistles.  He  names  nothing,  only  hints.  Nor  can  we 
account  for  this  sudden  ambiguity  by  saying  that  St. 
Paul  is  adopting  the  prophetic  style  ;  for  his  purpose  is 
entirely  practical,  and  he  wishes  not  to  awe  his  readers, 
but  to  recall  to  them  plain  facts  which  they  knew  and 
ignored.  Now  recollect  the  similar  reticence  of  Josephus 
in  speaking  of  the  destiny  of  the  Roman  empire  when 
it  cdincs  in  contact  with  the  Messianic  Kingdom,  and  it 
will  be  felt  almost  impossible  to  doubt  the  truth  of  St. 
Chrysostom's  shrewd  observations:  "A  man  may 
naturally  seek  to  know  what  'that  irhich  letfefh'  is; 
and  after  that,  what  possible  reason  St.  Paul  liad  for 
putting  it  so  indistinctly.  What,  then,  is  '  that  which 
letteth' — i.e.,  hindereth — him  from  being  revealed? 
Some  say  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  others  the  Roman 
empire.  Among  the  latter  I  class  myself.  Why  so  ? 
Because,  liad  he  meant  to  say  '  the  Spirit,'  he  would 
not  have  said  it  indistinctly,  but  straight  out;  that  now 
he  is  restrained  by  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  i.e.,  the 
suiiernatural  gifts  [presumably  that  of  discerning  of 
spirits  in  particular ;  comp.  1  John  iv.  1 — 3].  Otherwise, 
Antichrist  ought  to  have  pi-esented  himself  ere  now,  if 
he  were  to  present  himself  at  the  failure  of  those  gifts ; 
for,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  have  long  failed.  But 
seeing  that  he  says  this  of  the  Eoman  em])ire,  he 
naturally  put  it  enigmatically  and  very  obscurely,  for 
he  had  no  wish  to  subject  himself  to  unnecessary 
hostilities  and  unprofitable  perils.  For  had  he  said 
that  shortly  after  the  Roman  empire  would  be  dis- 
solved, they  would  soon  have  transfixed  him  for  a  mis- 
creant, and  all  the  believers  with  him,  as  living  and 
fighting  for  this  end."  Was  it  not,  indeed,  for  ex- 
])()undiug  this  veiy  prophecy  that  he  had  fled  for  his 
life  from  Thessalonica?  "These  all  do  contrary  to  the 
decrees  of  Coesar,  saying  that  there  is  another  emperor, 
Jesus."  Does  not  the  history  give  startling  point  to  his 
question.  "  Remember  ye  not  that  when  I  was  with 
you  I  told  you  these  things  "  ? 

VIL  The  Man  of  Sin.— Wo  have  stated  our 
b(>li(>f  that  '■  the  Man  of  Sin  "  is  not  only  to  be  identified 
with  Daniel's  "Little  Horn,"  l)ut  that  St.  Paul  con- 
sciously drew  the  doctrine  from  that  passage.  But  it 
may  be  objected  that  some  of  the  words  in  which  St. 
Paul  most  narrowly  describes  him  are  taken,  not  from 
the  description  of  the  Little  Horn  in  chap,  vii.,  l)ut 
from  that  of  the  Little  Horn  of  chap.  viii.  5,  which 
represents   quite    a    different  person,  viz.,   Antiochus 


Epiphanes.*  It  might  bo  thought,  therefore,  that  St. 
Paul  was  only  borrowing  Daniel's  language,  and  not 
adopting  his  prophecy.  The  answer  is,  that  even  those 
])ropliecies  of  Antiochus  in  many  points  do  not  suit 
Antiochus  at  all;  and  not  only  .so,  but  the  Jewish  ex- 
positors themselves  held  that  Antiochus  had  not  ex- 
hausted the  meaning  of  the  prophecy.  They  them- 
selves apijliecl  it  to  some  Antichrist,  whose  coming 
should  precede,  and  be  defeated  by  the  Christ's.  Even 
in  St.  Jerome's  time,  "  From  this  place  onwards"  (he  is 
commenting  on  Dan.  xi.  36)  "  the  Jews  think  that  Anti- 
christ is  spoken  of,  that,  after  the  little  help  (verse  3-i) 
of  Julian,  a  king  shall  arise  who  shall  do  according  to 
his  own  will,  and  lift  himself  up  against  all  which  is 
called  God,  and  speak  great  things  against  the  God  of 
gods,  so  that  he  shall  sit  in  the  Temple  of  God  and 
make  himself  god,  and  his  will  bo  performed,  until  the 
wrath  of  God  be  fulfilled  :  for  in  him  shall  the  end  be. 
Which  we,  too,  understand  of  Antichrist."  Thus, 
according  to  the  current  explanation  of  the  Jews, 
Antiochus  Avas  looked  upon  as  a  type  of  the  Antichrist, 
whom  they  expected  to  arise  (in  fulfilment  of  Dan. 
vii.  8)  at  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  empire,  whose 
coming  was  to  precede  the  Christ's.  The  only  change 
made  by  the  Christian  Church  is  to  apply  to  the  Second 
Advent  a  prophecy  which  the  Jews  apj)lied  to  the  one 
Advent  which  they  recognised.  It  is  impossible  not  to 
do  so  when,  in  Dan.  xii.  2,  we  have  the  Resurrection 
made  to  follow  close  upou  the  development  of  this 
Autiochus-Antichrist.  So  far,  then,  as  St.  Paul's 
date  is  concerned,  the  doctrine  is  drawn  from  chaps,  ii. 
and  vii. ;  traits  of  character  are  added  (in  accordance 
with  Jewish  interpretati(m)  from  chaps,  viii.  and  xi. 

VIII.  St.  Paul's  probable  Personal  Expecta- 
tion.—Dr.  Lightfoot  argues,  with  great  probability 
(Smith's  Diet.  Bible.  Art.  "II.  Thessalonians  "),  that,  as 
a  personal  matter,  St.  Paul  expected  to  witness  in  his 
own  day  the  development  of  the  Antichrist  (whose 
"  secret  working  "  was  already  visible  to  him),  and  that 
he  saw  in  the  Jews  the  makings  of  the  foe  to  be 
revealed.  Theirs  was  the  apostasy — professing  to 
cleave  to  God  and  to  Moses,  but  "  departing  from  the 
living  God,  through  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,"  and 
"  making  the  word  of  God  to  be  of  none  effect  through 
their  traditions."  Theirs  was  the  lawlessness — setting 
the  will  of  God  at  naught  in  iho  self-willed  assertion  of 
their  privilege  as  the  chosen  people,  and  using  the  most 
unscrupulous  ineans  of  checking  those  who  preached  the 
more  liberal  gospel  of  St.  Paul.  And  if  to  St.  Paul 
the  final  Antichrist  was  represented  by  the  Jews,  the 
Roman  Government,  which  had  so  often  befriended 
him,  might  well  be  called  the  withholder  or  restrainer. 
If  such  was  the  personal  expectation  of  St.  Paul,  it  was, 
indeed,  literally  f  rusti'ated ;  but  if  the  Judaic  spirit,  of 
exclusive  arrogance,  carnal  reliance  on  spiritual  pro- 
mises, innovating  tradition,  should  pass  into  the 
Christian  Church,  and  there  develop  largely,  St.  Paul's 
expectation  would  not  bo  so  far  wrong. 

IX.  The  Development  of  the  Horns.— The 
question  naturally  aris<>s  Avhether  the  prophecy  has  not 
been  falsified.  The  Roman  empire  has  disappeared, 
and  Antichrist  is  not  yet  revealed.  We  do  not  need 
to  answer  with  some  interpreters  that  Roman  law  still 
rules  the  world.  A  closer  observation  of  the  two 
passages  of  Daniel  already  mentioned  would  in  itself 
suggest  the  true  answer.  In  Nebuchadnezzar's  vision, 
indeed,  the  Roman  empire  simply  comes  into  collision 


•  See  Dan.  viii.  11, 12,  23—25,  and  more  particularly  chap.  xi. 
36,37. 


168 


II.   THESSALONIANS. 


with  the  Catholic  Church,  and  falls  hoforo  it.     Tlioro  is    I       (4)  The  movement  of  Antichrist  is  not  atheistic.    The 


no  hint  of  a  protracted  strnjjj'glo  between  them.  The 
long  duration  of  the  Roman  empire  is  per/iap.s  sug- 
gested by  the  words,  "  Thou  loast  gazing  until  that  a 
stone  "  (Dan.  ii.  34) ;  the  division  into  the  Eastern  and 
Western  empires  ')nay  be  synd)olised  by  the  two  legs  of 
the  colossal  figure;  the  ten  toes  vkiji  bear  the  same 
interpi'etation  as  the  ten  horns  of  the  later  vision  :  these 
points,  however,  are  not  the  most  obvious  or  ])romincnt 
jioiuts  of  the  dream.  But  in  Daniel's  vision  all  is  quite 
different.  There,  the  final  triumph  of  the  Church  is 
won  only  after  a  long  struggle,  and  that  struggle  is  not 
with  the  Roman  emi)iro  itself.  Though  the  Beast 
which  symbolises  the  Roman  empire  is  said  to  con- 
tinue throughout  (Dan.  vii.  11),  it  is  only  in  the  same 
sense,  apparently,  as  the  three  other  Beasts  are  said 
to  have  their  lives  prolonged  (verse  12).  The  empin; 
itself  has  altogether  changed  its  form,  and  developed 
into  ten  kingdoms,  among  which,  yet  after  which 
(verses  8,  24),  an  eleventh  has  arisen,  dissimilar  from  the 
other  kingdoms,  and  uprooting  some  of  them.  With 
this  power  it  is  that  the  struggle  which  ends  in  the 
Church's  final  victory  takes  place,  and  not  witli  the  old 
imperial  power  of  Rome.  If,  therefore,  the  dream  of 
Nebuchadnezzar  may  be  said  to  have  been  fulfilled  in 
the  first  coming  of  Christ,  in  tlie  clays  of  the  Roman 
emperors,  the  \'ision  of  Daniel  must  wait  for  its  ful- 
filment until  the  Roman  empire  has  passed  a^vay  into 
an  even  more  different  form  than  it  has  at  present 
reached. 

X.  Characteristics  of  Anticlirist.— (1)  He  is  a 
human  being.  The  title  "  Man  of  Sin  "  excludes  Satan, 
as  Chrysostom  remarks  :  Satan  acts  through  the  man 
(1  Thess.  ii.  9)  to  the  full  extent  of  his  power — "  enters 
into  him,"  as  he  entered  into  an  earlier  "  Son  of 
Perdition" — but  does  not  destroy  his  humanity. 

(2)  He  is  a  single  person.  This,  too,  is  involved  in 
the  phrase  "  Man  of  Sin,"  especially  when  followed  by 
the  "  Son  of  Perdition."  It  is  not  to  bo  denied  that 
poetically  the  first  title,  at  any  rate,  might  be  a  personi- 
fication of  a  movement,  or  (as  the  "kings"  in  Daniel 
mean  "  kingdoms  ")  the  title  of  a  wicked  power,  the 
head  of  which  might  even  be  more  innocent  than  his 
subjects.  But  not  only  is  it  simpler  to  understand  the 
phi-ases  themselves  (especially  the  second)  of  a  single 
person,  but  the  sharp  dramatic  contrast  between  the 
Christ  and  the  Antichrist  seems  to  require  a  personal 
exhibition  of  evil.  The  Antichi'ist  is  to  have  a  coming 
(A'erse  9)  and  a  manifestation  (verse  3),  so  as  to  bo 
instantly  recognised,  and  will  display  himself  by 
significant  acts  (verse  4),  which  all  r(>quire  a  person. 
Besides,  the  tyi^es  of  hun — Antiochus,  Caligula,  Nero, 
&c. — could  liardly  be  said,  according  to  Scriptural 
analogy,  to  be  "  fulfilled  "  in  a  mere  headless  move- 
ment. The  application  of  tlie  name  "Man  of  Sin  "  to 
any  succession  of  men  (as,  for  instance,  all  the  Popes  of 
Rome)  is  peremptorily  forbidden  by  the  fact  that  the 
detection  and  destruction  of  the  ]\Ian  of  Sin  by  the 
Advent  of  Christ  follows  immediately  upon  Ills  manifes- 
tation of  himself. 

(3)  Tins  person,  though  single,  heads  a  movement. 
He  is  the  captain  of  "  the  Apostasy."  Ho  has  a  large 
and  devoted  following  (verse  10).  Indeed,  though  his 
dominion  is  "  diverse  "  from  other  kingdoms,  yet  he  is 
almost  called  a  king  in  Dau.  vii.  24 :  tlie  Avord,  how- 
ever, is  (perhaps)  carefully  avoided.  The  diversity 
between  his  monarchy  and  theirs  might,  for  instance, 
consist  in  its  not  being,  like  theirs,  territorial  or 
dynastic;  it  might  be  a  spiritual  or  an  intellectual 
dominion,  interpenetrating  the  territorial  kingdoms. 


169 


Man  of  Sin  super-exalts  himself,  indeed,  against  every 
God,  true  or  false,  but  it  is  not  by  denial  of  the  Di^dne 
existence.  On  the  contrary,  ho  claims  himself  to  be 
the  true  God,  and  exacts  the  homage  duo  to  the  true 
God ;  thereby  acknowledging  the  existence  and  work- 
ing of  God,  whicli  he  avers  to  have  become  his  own. 

(5)  The  antichristian  movement  does  not  even  break 
openly  with  the  Catholic  Church.  It  is  an  "  apostasy," 
indeed,  but  the  same  Greek  word  is  used  in  Heb.  iii.  12, 
and  in  1  Tim.  iv.  1,  in  neither  of  which  cases  will  it  suit 
the  context  to  understand  the  word  of  an  outward 
leaving  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  persons  must  at 
any  rate  have  been  Christians,  or  they  could  not  be 
apostates.  And  the  apostasy  is  all  the  more  terrible  if, 
while  the  forms  of  the  Church  are  kept  to,  there  is  a 
departure  from  the  inward  spirit.  And  in  this  case 
several  points  seem  to  indicate  an  apostasy  within  the 
Church.  In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  seen  above,  the 
movement  is  distinctly  not  an  atheistic  movement,  like 
the  German  Socialism.  Then,  the  act  of  session  in  the 
"  Temple  of  God  "  cannot  mean  anything  else  than  an 
attempt  to  exact  divine  homage  from  the  Christian 
Church,  which,  of  course,  could  only  be  hoped  for  through 
adopting  Christian  forms.  The  account  of  the  Satanic 
miracles  which  the  Man  of  Sin  will  work  in  attestation 
of  his  claim  shows  that  the  persons  who  follow  him 
are  duped  into  believing  that  he  actually  is  the  Lord. 
An  atheistic  materialism  would  deny  miracles  altogether. 
Now  we  may  venture  to  say  that,  even  if  St.  Paul  had 
not  (as  Bishop  Wordsworth  supposes)  St.  Luke's 
Gospel  in  his  hands,  yet  he  was  familiar  with  the 
eschatological  discourses  of  our  Lord  contained  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels.  In  these  (whicli  so  frequently  use  the 
language  of  the  Book  of  Daniel)  our  Lord  holds  uj)  as 
the  greatest  terror  of  the  last  days,  the  constant  danger, 
waiting  even  upon  the  "  elect,"  of  being  seduced  into 
mistaking  certain  pretenders  for  Himself.  An  Anti- 
christ (in  its  full  meaning)  expresses  more  than  an 
opponent  of  Christ;  like  the  compound  Anti-Pope,  it 
im]>lies  a  rival  claimant  to  the  honours  which  he  him- 
self acknowledges  to  be  due  only  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Antichrist  ijretends  to  be  actually  Jesus.  Such  preten- 
sions would,  of  course,  be  meaningless  and  ridiculous  to 
all  except  believers  in  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Church. 
(Seo  Matt.  xxiv.  4,  5,  10—12,  23.  26,  and  the  parallel 
passages  in  Mark  and  Luke.)  The  same  would  even 
appear,  on  close  inspection,  to  be  the  teaching  of  the 
Book  of  Daniel  itself.  The  Church  is  "  given  into 
his  hand  "  (chap.  vii.  25),  a  much  more  powerful  expres- 
sion, supposing  the  Church  to  be  constitutionally  bound 
to  him,  and  not  accidentally  subject  as  to  a  Decius  or  a 
Galerius. 

(6 )  Daniel's  Antichrist  is  characterised  by  ecclesiastical 
innovation.  "  Ho  shall  wear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most 
High,  and  think  to  change  times  and  laws'' (Dan.  vii. 
25) — not  to  stamp  Christianity  out  altogether,  but  arbi- 
trarily to  alter  the  Church's  icorshij)  (see  Pusey.  p.  81) 
and  traditional  constitution.  The  .same  departure  from 
primitive  tradition  characterises  him  in  chap.  xi.  37  : 
"  Neither  shall  he  regard  the  God  of  his  fathers:  a  God 
whom  his  fathers  knew  not  shall  he  honour."  Tho 
constant  interpretation  of  "new  gods"  among  the 
primitive  Fatliers  is  "  new  doctrines  "  :  for.  as  a  inatter 
of  fact,  whatever  materially  alters  our  conception  of 
God  may  be  said  to  make  ns  worship  a  different  Being  : 
tho  God  of  the  extreme  Calvinist.  for  instance,  who 
creates  millions  of  immortal  beings  for  the  express 
purpose  of  being  glorified  by  their  endless  pains,  can 
hardly  be  called  the  same  as  tho  Father  of  our  Lord 


IT.   THESSALONIANS. 


Josns  Christ.  And  this  arbitrary  innovation  is,  in 
fact,  tlio  vory  ffatnro  whidi  St.  Panl  selects.  It 
is  tlio  "lawlessness"  or  "rebellion"  which  marks  both 
liis  movement  (2  Tliess.  ii.  7)  and  himself  (ib.  verse 
8) — which  lawlessness,  or  self-will,  is  perfectly  corn- 
pat  il)lo  with  exaggerated  external  reverence  for 
laws  and  discipline,  as  is  proved  by  Dr.  Lightfoot, 
who  thinks  tiiat  St.  Panl  had  the  Jews  si)ecially  in 
mind  (Smith's  Bible  Diet.,  Art.  "II.  Thessalonians  "). 
Other  more  obvions  kinds  of  "  sin  "  can  hardly  bo  said 
to  characterise  the  Man  of  Sin  ;  for  (not  to  mention 
1  Tim.  iv.  I,  wliich  refers  expressly  to  Daniel)  in  Dan. 
xi.  37  ho  is  given  an  ascetic  character.  This  spirit  of 
innovation  witliin  the  Chnrch.  implj'ing  as  it  does  that 
liis  fiat  is  as  good  as  God's,  which  finally  leads  him  to 
claim  divine  Jiouours  from  the  Church,  is  his  charac- 
teristic sin. 

(7)  It  may  be  added  that  the  teaching  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse is  evidently  drawn  from  Daniel,  thereby  corrobo- 
rating our  l)cliof  that  St.  Paul's  is  also,  and  that 
such  an  interpretation  as  is  here  suggested  has 
.almost  tlie  catholic  consent  of  the  early  i'athers,  who 
almost  all  teach  that  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  will 
usher  in  the  Antichrist,  and  that  the  Antichrist  will  be 
professedly  Christian.  Their  testimony  is  valuable, 
inasmuch  as  some  of  them  seem  not  merely  to  be  offer- 
ing an  exegesis  of  particular  texts  of  Scripture,  but 
recording  a  primitive  tradition  coeval  with  the  New 
Testament. 

XI.  Identification  of  the  Man  of  Sin.— It  is 
not  solely  a  Protestant  interpretation,  but  one  which 
indirectly  derives  more  or  less  'sui)port  from  several 
eminent  names  in  past  ages  in  communion  with  the 
Roman  See  (for  instance,  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  and 
Rol)ort  Grosseteste),  that  the  final  Antichrist  will  be  a 
Bishop  of  Rome.  And  the  present  writer  does  not 
licsitate  to  assert  his  con^^iction  that  no  other  interpre- 
tation will  so  well  suit  all  the  requirements  of  the  case. 
This  is  by  no  means  the  same  as  tlie  vulgar  doctrine  that 
the  Pope — i.e.,  any  and  every  Pope— is  the  Man  of  Sin. 


The  Man  of  Sin  has  not  j^et  made  liis  appearance.  But 
the  diversity  and  yet  re-cmblance  between  his  kingdom 
and  the  kingdoms  of  the  world ;  the  firm  hand  over  tho 
Church ;  tho  claims  made  upon  her  homage  ;  the  un- 
recognised movement  of  rebellion  against  God  while 
still  He  is  outwardly  acknowledged  (the  "  mystery  of 
lawlessness  ") ;  the  restless  innovation  upon  the  Church's 
apostolic  traditions ;  the  uncompromising  self-assertion : 
all  these  are  traits  which  seem  to  inclicate  a  future 
Roman  pontiff,  more  clearly  than  any  other  power  which 
we  could  at  present  point  to, — and  this,  without  having 
recourse  to  those  more  superficial  coincidences  whicli 
may  be  found  in  the  Notes  of  Bishop  Wordsworth's 
Greek  Testament,  or  Dr.  Eadie's  Commentary  on  these 
Epistles.  To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  way  in 
which  modern  Roman  dogmas  have  been  formed — 
exaggerations,  .at  first  condemned,  becoming  more  and 
more  popular,  till  they  acquired  the  consistency  of 
general  tradition,  .and  were  then  stamped  with  authori- 
tative sanction — and  who  now  watch  the  same  process 
at  work  in  the  popuLar  theology  of  Italy  and  France, 
there  would  be  nothing  surprising  in  the  literal 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  of  Antichrist  in  some 
future  Pope.  Already  one  Divine  attribute  has  been 
definitely  claimed  by  .and  conceded  to  the  occupant  of 
the  Roman  See,  in  defiance  of  primitive  tradition,  and 
yet  so  pLausibly  as  to  suggest  rather  an  implicit  faith  in 
God  th.'in  an  explicit  denial  of  Him.  Comparisons 
ex  aequo  between  the  Life  and  Passion  of  our  Lord  and 
that  of  Pius  the  Ninth  formed  a  large  proportion  of 
the  spiritu.al  diet  of  foreign  Papists  towards  the  close  of 
the  last  pontificate.  Even  eminent  prelates  of  tho 
Roman  obedience  .are  reported  not  to  have  scruj>led 
.already  to  use  of  the  Papacy  such  phrases  as  "  Third 
Incarnation  of  the  Deity  " ;  and  it  would  be  only  follow- 
ing analogies  of  "  development,"  if,  in  process  of  time, 
these  last  exaggerations  also  should  be  formulated 
into  dogma,  as  lias  been  the  case  with  the  dogma  of 
Infallibility,  and  some  Pope  to  come  should  in  some 
way  claim  to  be  actually  identified  with  Jesus  Christ. 


170 


THE  PASTORAL  EPISTLES  OF  ST.  PAUL. 


"  111  the  *  Acts  of  the  Apostles '  Luke  relates  to  Theophilus  events  of  -which 
he  was  an  eye-witness,     ......     but  [omits]  the  journey  of 

Paul  from  Rome  to  Spain. 

"  An  Epistle  to  Titus,  and  two  to  Timothy,  which,  thoug-h  written  only  from 
personal  feeling  and  a,ffection,  are  still  hallowed  in  the  respect  of  the  Cathohc 
Church,  and  in  the  arrangement  of  ecclesiastical  discipline." 

{From  the  Muratorian  Fragment  on  the  Canon  discovered  in  the 
Amhrosian  Library  at  Milan,  and  supposed  to  have  been 
written  not  later  than  a.d.  170.) 


THE    PASTORAL   EPISTLES    OF    ST.    PAUL. 


I.  Their  Nature.— The  two  Letters  of  St.  Paul 
to  Timotliy  and  tlie  one  Letter  to  Titus,  usually  kuowu 
as  tlie  Pastoral  Epistles,  differ  from  tlie  other  Epistles 
of  the  Apostle,  beiuj^  addressed  to  individuals,  and  not 
to  churches.  [There  is  another  private  Epistle  of  St. 
Paul,  addressed  to  one  Philemon,  consisting  only  of  a 
few  lines,  exclusively  confined  to  the  relations  which 
should  subsist  between  a  Christian  master  and  a 
Christian  slave.] 

These  divinely  insj^ired  compositions  were  written 
for  the  guidance  of  two  younger  men,  disciples  and 
intimate  friends  of  the  elder  Apostle.  To  these, 
Timothy  and  Titus,  St.  Paul  had  entrusted  the  govern- 
ment and  supervision  of  two  important  churches — 
Ephesus  and  Crete.  Of  one  of  these  churches,  that  of 
Ephesus,  St.  Paul  was  probably  the  founder,  and  from 
his  long  residence  in  the  city,  we  may  reasonably 
conclude  that  the  Ephesian  congregations  had  been 
built  up  mainly  under  his  teaching  and  influence ;  the 
circumstances  of  the  clmrch  of  Crete  will  be  discussed 
more  particularly  in  the  brief  special  Introduction  to 
the  Epistle  to  Titus.  Over  the  Ephesian  community, 
especially  dear  to  St.  Paul  from  his  close  and 
intimate  relation  with  Ephesus,  the  Apostle  placed  the 
disciple  he  knew  and  perhaps  loved  the  best,  the  pupil 
whom  he  had  personally  trained  from  early  youth.  Of 
all  St.  Paul's  friends  there  was  none  so  close  to  him  as 
the  one  lie  had  for  so  many  years  watched  over  and 
educated  in  the  faith  as  his  own  adopted  son.  The  two 
Letters  to  Timothy  contain  the  master's  last  charge, 
his  dying  wishes  to  the  sou  of  his  love,  who  knew  so 
well  his  mind,  his  every  thought  and  aspiration.  "We 
may  well  conceive  that  almost  every  thought  in 
these  Letters,  every  charge,  every  exhortation,  was  a 
reminiscence  of  some  bit  of  public  teaching  well  known 
to  Timothy,  of  some  solemn  conversation  between  the 
master  and  the  pupil,  of  some  grave  council  in  which 
St.  Paul  and  his  trusted  pupil  and  friend  had  shared. 
The  two  Letters  were  the  old  master's  last  words,  and 
as  the  master  wrote,  or,  more  probably,  dictated  them, 
he  was  conscious  of  this,  and  strove  to  compress  into 
the  necessai-y  short  compass  of  a  brief  Epistle  a 
summary  of  what  he  had  already  put  forth  as  his 
teaching  on  the  question  of  church  doctrine,  chui-ch 
order,  and  church  life.  This  is  the  reason  why  the 
charges  concerning  the  life  to  be  led  are  so  repeated, 
but  at  the  same  time  so  brief;  why  the  directions 
respecting  church  order  are  so  concise;  why  the 
doctrinal  statements  are  simply  urged,  and  never,  as 
was  his  old  custom  in  some  Epistles,  argued  out  and 
discussed.  "  We  see  liere,"  as  one  has  eloquently 
described  it,  "  rather  the  succession  of  bnlliant  sparks 
than  the  steady  flame  ;  burning  words  indeed,  and  dc(>p 
pathos,  but  not  the  flower  of  his  firmness,  as  in  his 
discipline  of  the  Galatians — not  the  noon  of  his  bright 
warm  eloquence,  as  in  the  inimitable  psalm  of  love  " 
(1  Cor.  xiii.). 

Many  of    the  more  doctrinal   statements   in   these 


173 


Pastoral  Epistles  are  something  more  than  "  memories  " 
of  past  conversations,  past  deliberations — more  than 
reminders  of  former  teaching— they  are  evidently 
current  and  well-known  sayhigs  among  the  Christians 
of  the  years  a.d.  65 — 67.  Now  they  are  a  well-loved 
line  or  'lines  of  a  hymn  to  the  Father,  as  in  the  First 
Epistle,  chap.  vi.  15,  16 ;  now  a  verse  from  a  metrical 
creed  sung  by  these  believers  of  the  fii'st  days,  as  in 
chap.  iii.  16  of  the  same  Epistle,  where  the  principal 
events  of  the  divine  and  human  life  of  Christ,  so  far  as 
that  life  was  connected  with  man,  are  set  forth ;  or, 
they  are  evidently  well-known  sayings  wliich  had 
become  watchwords  of  the  rapidly  growing  Church  of 
Christ,  introduced  by  the  striking  formula  "  faithful 
is  the  saying."  There  are  no  less  than  five  of  these  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles.  All  these  are  woven  into  the 
tapestry  of  the  writings,  and  contain  many  a  word,  many 
an  expression  not  found  in  any  other  of  the  known 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul ;  and  it  is  to  the  presence  of  these 
evident  quotations  from  hymn,  or  creed,  or  sacred 
utterances  of  the  faith,  that  these  last  Letters  of  St. 
Paul  owe  many  of  those  peculiarities  of  thought  and  of 
expression  which  have  suggested  to  the  critical  minds 
of  so  many  scholars  of  our  own  thougtliful  age  the 
question — were  these  Epistles  really  the  work  of  the 
great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  ? 

II.  Their  Authenticity. — For  seventeen  centuries 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  were  believed  to  have  been  written 
by  St.  Paul,  and  in  all  the  churches  were  received  among 
the  divinely  inspired  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament. 
Only  in  this  present  century,  for  certain  reasons  specified 
below,  has  their  authenticity  been  called  in  question 
by  a  school  of  German  criticism. 

From  the  very  earliest  times  wo  find  constant  refer- 
ences to  these  Pastoral  Letters  of  St.  Paul.  Although 
there  are  no  exact  quotations  in  those  few  fragments 
we  possess  of  the  writings  of  men  contemporary  with 
or  immediately  succeeding  the  Apostles,  still  the  lan- 
guage of  Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp  of  Smyrna,  and 
Ignatius  of  Antiocli  (all  three  living  and  writing  in  the 
first  century),  seems  to  show  their  familiarity  with  the 
language  and  thought  of  these  Epistles. 

Unquestioned  references  to  one  or  other  of  these 
Letters  are  found  in  Irenajus  (second  century),  Ter- 
tuUian  (second  century),  Clement  of  Alexiindria  (second 
century),  Theophilus  of  Antioch  (second  century). 
Eusebius  (a.d.  320)  without  question  includes  tlie 
three  Epistles  in  liis  catalogue,  among  the  universally 
confessed  canonical  writings.  In  addition  to  this,  in 
the  famous  Fragment  on  the  Canon  of  Scripture  edited 
liy  Muratori,  generally  ascribed  to  the  latter  half  of 
the  second  century,  wo  find  tlie.so  '"  three "  classed 
among  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

They  are  also  contained  in  the  Peschito-Syriac  version 
of  the' New  Testament,  which  was  made  in  the  second 
century.  There  never,  indeed,  seems  to  have  Ijeeu  the 
slightest  doubt  in  the  early  Christian  Church  that  the 


THE    PASTORAL    EPISTLES    OF    ST.   PAUL. 


Pastoral  Epistles  were  canonical,  and  written  hy  St. 
Paul.  Tlio  only  doubter,  in  fact,  seems  to  have  been 
the  f.iinous  Gnostic  heretic  Marcion  (second  century), 
who  for  doctrinal  reasons  omitted  these  writinffs  from 
liis  canon.  But  Marcion  arbitrarily  made  up  his  own 
volume  of  Scripture,  excluding  wiiat  was  distinctly 
adverse  to  his  peculiar  system.  He  admitted  into  his 
"canon "only  ten  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  and  a  mutilated 
Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  omitting  all  the  rest  of  tho  Now 
Testament  writings. 

Wo  possess  a  continuous  chain  of  historical  evi- 
dence for  the  authenticity  of  these  writings  from  the 
earliest  times.  We  can,  then,  aver  that  from  the  very 
days  of  tho  Apostles  down  to  tho  beginning  of  this 
century,  tho  two  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  the  one  to 
Titus  were  received  in  all  the  churches  as  undoubted 
writings  of  St.  Paul,  and  were  reverenced  as  Holy 
Scripture.  The  school  of  critics  to  which  allusion  has 
been  made  above  has  sought  to  undermine  this  testi- 
mony, stretching  over  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
years,  by  arguments  di-awu  from  tho  contents  of  these 
tlu'co  Epistles. 

The  following  are  the  main  points  they  have  en- 
deavoured to  establish : — 

(1)  A  number  of  words  and  phrases  are  found  in 
these  Letters  which  never  occur  in  any  other  of  St. 
Paul's  writings. 

(2)  An  ecclesiastical  organisation  of  a  period  long 
subsequent  to  St.  Paul's  time  apparently  existed  when 
these  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written. 

(3)  Heresies  of  a  date  later  than  the  period  included 
in  the  lifetime  of  St.  Paid  are  combated  in  the  three 
Letters. 

(4)  In  the  lifetime  of  the  Apostle  no  period  can  be 
found  which  would  suit  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  is  evident  these  Letters  were  composed. 

We  will  reply  to  these  arguments  very  briefly  : — 

(1)  As  regards  the  uinisual  words  and  phrases,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Epistles  or  groups  of 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  were  compo.sed  under  very  different 
circumstances,  and  for  varied  purposes,  and  with  long 
intervals  of  time  between  tlie  several  writings.  To  a 
certain  extent,  in  each  Epistle  or  group  of  Epistles  we 
should  expect  to  find  its  own  peculiar  vocal)ulary  :  and 
this  we  find,  for  the  number  of  verbal  peculiarities  in 
the  group  of  Letters  we  are  now  considering  does  not 
ai)pear  to  be  greater  than  that  existing  in  other  un- 
doubted Letters  of  the  Apostle.  Prof.  Van  Oosterzee, 
of  Utrecht  {Die  PaHtoralbriefe,  3rd  edit.  187i),  com- 
putes the  number  of  these  peculiar  words  in  the  three 
Epistles  at  one  hundred  and  eiglity-eight,  while  in  the 
Epistles  to  the  Pliilippians,  Epiiesians,  and  Colossians 
ho  reckons  one  hundred  and  ninisty-four  of  these  verbal 
peculiarities  not  elsewhere  found. 

But  while  verbal  peculiarities  in  this  group  of 
Epistles  do  not  appear  more  numerous  than  in  other 
special  groups  of  writings  by  tho  same  haiul,  there  are 
peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  these  Letters  to 
Timothy  and  Titus,  which  would  of  themselves  fairly 
have  explained  a  much  greater  divergence  from  the 
customary  style  and  usual  expressions  than  we  actually 
find. 

Here,  and  hero  only — with  the  exception  of  the  little 
Letter  to  Philemon — is  he  writing  to  dear  friends,  not 
to  churches.  The  official  character  of  tho  communica- 
tion is  in  great  measure  here  lost  sight  of.  Tlie  cliief 
pastor  is  addressed,  ratlicr  tlian  the  flock ;  and  the 
chief  pastor  in  each  case  is  the  pupil  and  intimate  asso- 
ciate of  the  writer.  Surely  different  expressions  might 
be  reasonably  looked  for  in  such  Letters  as  these. 


Again,  we  might  fairly  expect  that  in  this  last  period 
of  tiio  Apostle's  long  life  his  theological  vocabulary 
would  have  become  materially  enlarged.  This  would 
account  for  his  use  of  certain  new  words  when  ho 
wished  to  express  or  I'eiterate  perhaps  old  thoughts. 

It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  he  was  in  these 
Epistles  combating  new  forms  of  heresy  which  were 
rapidly  developing  themselves  in  the  various  growing 
Christian  communities.  Wiiat  moi'e  likely  than  that 
the  old  master,  the  wise  and  divinely  inspired  teacher, 
should  have  appropriated  some  of  the  favourite  sajings 
of  his  opponents,  the  false  teachers  of  Ephesus  and  the 
Asian  cities — should  have  ''  borrowed  "  from  these  un- 
happy men  their  own  words,  thus  rescuing  them  from 
the  perversions  which  false  philosophy  had  begun  to 
make  of  them  ? 

We  have  already,  in  the  first  section  of  this  short 
Introduction,  suggested  a  probable  expknation  of  the 
repeated  use  of  the  formulary  "  faithful  is  the  saying," 
and  of  other  divine  sayings  wliich  had  apparently 
grown  into  customary  use  in  the  Church. 

On  the  otlier  hand,  would  not  a  forger  who  was 
desirous  to  introduce  for  a  jjarticular  purpose  a  writing, 
or  writings,  into  the  Church,  under  the  A'enerated  name 
of  St.  Paul,  have  been  specially  careful  not  to  introduce 
into  his  composition  any  word  or  expression  foreign  to 
the  Apostle's  most  common  and  best  known  termi- 
nology ? 

(2 )  The  ecclesia.stical  organisation  to  which  reference 
is  made  in  these  Pastoral  Epistles  is,  after  all,  of  the 
simplest  description.  The  forms  of  the  govei-nmeut  of 
the  Jewish  synagogue,  only  slightly  modified  to  suit 
the  exigencies  of  the  mixed  Jewish  and  Gentile  congre- 
gations of  Christians,  are  evidently  all  that  existed  at 
the  time  when  St.  Paid  Avrote  to  Timothy  and  Titus. 

The  only  marked  innovation  is  that  provision  which 
was  being  made  in  all  the  churches  for  women's  work 
— a  provision  rendered  necessary  from  the  new  position 
which  women,  under  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  and  His 
disciples,  were  henceforth  to  occupy  in  tho  work  and 
life  of  the  world.  (This  great  and  important  question 
is  treated  of  at  some  length  in  the  commentary  on  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  which  follows.)  And  even  of  this 
female  organisation  we  see  the  germs  in  such  notices  as 
in  Acts  vi.  1;  ix.  36 — 41;  xxi.  9;  and  in  the  life  and 
work  of  one  like  Lydia  (Acts  xvi.  14),  or  PrisciUa 
(Acts  xviii.  2  and  26),  &c. 

The  presbyterate,  not  merely  in  name,  but  also  in 
the  matter  of  the  functions  assigned  to  the  office,  was 
clearly  adopted  from  the  synagogue,  of  course  with 
such  changes  and  modifications  as  the  new  and  growing 
society  required. 

The  diaconate  also,  in  some  way,  appears  to  have 
been  derived  from  Jewish  precedents.  The  very  name, 
"  LcA-ites,"  by  which  these  inferior  ministers  of  the 
Church  were  often  called,  points  to  the  origin  of  the 
"  order."  Thus  Jerome  (Ep.  27)  distinguishes  them 
from  the  presbyters,  speaking  of  the  deacons  as  "  the 
countless  number  of  Levites."  So,  too,  Salvian,  A.D. 
450,  writes  of  tho  deacons,  calling  them  "Levites." 
Fre((uently  in  the  Councils  the  term  "  Levite  "  is  used 
as  the  peculiar  title  of  the  deacon. 

But  the  diaconate — which,  although  probably  origi- 
nally a  copy  of  a  Jewish  order  of  ministers  in  the 
puljlic  services  connected  with  worship  and  religious 
instruction,  .still  may  be  looked  on  as  an  order  especially 
belonging  to  the  Christian  Cliurch — existed  long  before 
"  the  last  days  "  of  St.  Paul.  Indeed,  it  is  traceable 
liaek  to  the  very  first  years  of  the  existence  of  the  little 
Jerusalem  commiuaity  of  believers  iii  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
174 


THE    PASTORAL    EPISTLES    OF    ST.   PAUL. 


See  Acts  vi.  2 — 6,  wliore  flio  famous  Seven  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  Twelve  Apostles — diuconelii  trapczals, 
"  to  serve  tables." 

The  functions  of  tlio  "  deacons  of  Epliesus  "  alluded 
to  by  St.  Paul  were  certainly  not  very  ditt'erent  from 
the  duties  apparently  performed  by  the  "  t^even "  of 
Acts  vi.  See,  especially  verses  3,  8,  9,  10,  wliere  those 
solemnly  ordained  ones  assisted  the  Apostle  in  alms- 
givino;",  in  tlio  general  regulation  of  the  Church's 
charities,  aud  also  appear  to  have  preached  and  taught 
publicly. 

But  there  is  one  argument  for  tlie  extreme  antiquity 
of  these  Epistles  derived  exclusively  from  internal 
evidence  supplied  by  the  Epistles  tliemselves. 

At  tlie  very  co:umencement  of  the  second  century 
it  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  the  episcopal  office  was 
firndy  and  widely  established.  But  tliese  Letters  were 
written  before  any  sign  of  episcopal  government  had 
appeared  in  Gentile  Christendom.  In  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  the  Greek  words  rendered  "  bishop"  and  "  pres- 
byter" {episcopos,prcshyteros)  are  applied  indifferently 
to  the  same  person.     (See  Note  on  1  Tim.  iii.  1.) 

Too  great  stress  can  hardly  be  laid  on  the  vast 
difference  which  existed  between  the  ecclesiastical 
organisation  presented  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  and  that 
revealed  to  lis  in  the  Letters  of  Ignatius,  written  at  the 
very  commencement  of  the  second  century,  even  if  we 
only  admit  as  genuine  the  shorter  form  of  the  ver- 
sion of  the  Ignatiau  Epistles,  or  the  still  briefer 
recension  of  the  three  Syi'iac  Letters  edited  by  Dr. 
Cureton. 

No  candid  critic  would  surely  suggest  for  so  vast  a 
development  in  ecclesiastical  organisation  a  less  period 
than  thirty  to  forty  years,  placing  the  Ignatian  Epistles 
in  the  early  part  of  the  second  century.  This  would 
give  as  the  date  of  the  so-called  Pastoral  Letters,  the 
last  year  of  St.  Paul's  life. 

(3)  Heresies  of  a  later  date  appear  to  be  combated 
in  these  writings.  But  the  false  teachers  referred  to 
here  were  evidently  Judaistic  in  their  teaching  (see  for 
instance  1  Tim.  i.  7 ;  iv.  3;  Titus  i.  10—11;  iii.  9), 
while  the  Gnostic  teachers  of  the  next  century  were 
strongly  «jifi-Judaistic.  This  state  of  things  was  no 
doubt  brought  about  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  Temple,  and  the  total  ruin  of  the  Jewish 
national  system,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  70. 

In  these  Epistles  wo  have  allusion  to  schools  of 
heresies  widely  differing  from  those  wliich  opposed  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  second  century.  Here  we  find  the 
seeds,  but  only  the  seeds,  of  the  famous  Gnostic  teaching. 
Dean  Alford  (Prolegomena  to  the  Pastoral  Epistles) 
has  well,  tliougli  roughly,  painted  the  development  of 
heresy  in  the  early  days  of  Christianity.  In  the  first 
years,  the  principal  enemies  within  the  church  were 
"Jndaising  Christians,"  these  are  alluded  to  in  St. 
Paul's  earlier  Epistles.  "  Tlio  false  teachers  against 
whom  Timothy  and  Titus  were  warned  seemed  to  hold 
a  position  intermediate  to  the  Apostle's  former  Jndaising 
adversaries  and  the  subsequent  Gnostic  heretics." 

Tlie  general  characteristics  of  the  heresies  spoken 
of  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  would  certainly  not  appear 


to  belong  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  (A.D.  7U). 

(4)  As  regards  the  last  objection, — to  the  critics  who 
seriously  propose  to  throw  doubt  on  the  authenticity  of 
these  Epistles,  alleging  that  it  is  impossible  to  assign 
during  the  lifetime  (jf  St.  Paul,  as  related  in  the  Acts, 
a  period  which  would  suit  the  peculiar  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  evident  that  these  writings  Avcro 
composed,  wo  re]»ly  that  St.  Paul  lived  aud  worked 
after  the  cai)tivity  related  in  the  last  cliapter  of  the 
Acts ;  for  the  unanimous  testimony  of  the  primitive 
Church  tells  us  that  the  a^jpeal  of  St.  Paul  to  Caesar 
(Acts  XXV.  11)  terminated  successfully,  that  after  the 
imprisonment  related  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Acts, 
he  was  liberated  a.d.  63,  aud  that  he  spent  some  time 
(A.D.  63  to  A.D.  65 — 66)  in  freedom  before  he  was  again 
arrested  and  condemned. 

The  principal  evidences  for  this  are  found  in  the 
Ej)istle  of  Clement,  Bishop  of  Rome,  the  disciple  of 
St.  Paul  (Phil.  iv.  3),  to  the  I'omans,  written  in  the  last 
j'Car  of  the  first  century.  "  He,  Paul,  had  gone  to  the 
extremity  of  the  loest  before  his  martyrdom."  In  a 
Roman  writer  the  "  extremity  of  the  west"  could  only 
signify  "Spain,"  aud  we  knoAV  in  that  portion  of 
his  life  related  in  tlie  Acts  he  had  never  journeyed 
further  west  than  Italy.  In  the  fragments  of  the 
Canon  called  Muratori's,  written  about  A.D.  170,  we 
read  in  the  account  of  the  Acts  of  tlie  Apostles,  "  Luko 
relates  to  Theophilus  events  of  which  he  was  an  eye- 
witness, as  also  ill  a  separate  place  [Luke  xxii.  31 — 33] 
he  evidently  declares  the  martyrdom  of  Peter,  but 
[omits]  the  journey  of  St.  Paul  to  Spain."  Eusebius 
{H.  E.  ii.  22— A.D.  320)  writes,  "After defending  himself 
successfully  it  is  currently  reported  that  the  Apostle 
again  went  forth  to  jn-oclaim  the  gospel,  and  afterwards 
came  to  Rome  a  second  time,  and  was  martyred  under 
Nero." 

St.  Chrysostom  (A.D.  398)  mentions  as  an  undoubted 
historical  fact,  "  that  St.  Paul  after  his  residence  in 
Rome  departed  to  Spain."  St.  Jerome  (a.d.  390)  also 
relates,  "  that  St.  Paul  was  dismissed  by  Nero  that  ho 
might  preach  Christ's  gospel  in  the  West." 

Thus  in  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  East  and  "West 
during  the  three  lumdred  years  which  succeeded  the 
death  of  St.  Paul,  a  unanimous  tradition  was  cm-rent 
that  the  great  Apostle's  labours  were  continued  for  a 
period  extending  over  two  or  three  years  after  his  libe- 
ration from  that  Roman  imprisonment  related  in  Acts 
xxviii.  During  this  renewed  sciison  of  activity,  probably 
in  the  last  year  or  fifteen  months,  the  Epistles  to 
Timothy  and  Titus  were  written. 

The  last  of  the  three  Letters,  the  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  was  no  doubt  written  within  a  few  weeks  at 
most  of  the  glorious  end.  We  see,  then,  that  internal 
evidence,  when  carefully  sifted,  instead  of  contra- 
dicting, supports,  with  a  weighty  mass  of  independent 
testimony,  the  unanimous  tradition  of  the  ancient 
Churcli  which,  with  one  voice,  proceediu"^  from  the  East 
as  well  as  from  the  West,  pronounced  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  canimical,  receiving  them  as  the  word  of  tho 
Holy  Spirit  communicated  through  the  .Apostle  Paul. 


175 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    riEST    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO 


TIMOTHY. 


I.  Timothy. — Timotliy  was  a  native  of  the  province 
of  Lycaouia  iu  Asia  Minor — most  probably  of  Lystra, 
a  small  town  some  tliirty  miles  to  tlie  south  of 
Icouium,  the  modern  Konieh.  His  father  was  a 
pa^an,  but  his  mother  and  ji^randmother,  Lois  and 
Eunice,  were  Jewesses,  evidently  devout  and  earnest  iu 
the  practice  of  the  religion  of  their  forefathers.  They 
became  Chi-istians,  apparently,  at  the  time  of  St.  Paul's 
first  visit  to  Asia  Minor  in  company  with  Barnabas 
(a.d.  46),  (Acts  xiv. ;  2  Tim.  i.  5;  iii.  15). 

From  Lois  and  Eunice  Timothy  no  doubt  learned 
the  rudiments  of  the  faitli  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Some 
five  years  later,  iu  company  with  Silas  (A.D.  51),  St. 
Paul  paid  a  second  visit  to  Asia  Minor.  Moved  pro- 
bably by  the  devotion  and  earnestness  of  the  young  son 
of  Eunice,  and  seeing  in  him  the  promise  of  a  loving 
and  heroic  life,  St.  Paul  took  Timothy  in  the  place  of 
Mark,  whose  heart  had  failed  him  in  the  presence  of 
so  many  difficulties  and  dangers.  From  this  time 
(a.d.  51)  Timothy's  life  was  closely  associated  with 
that  of  his  master. 

He  was  with  the  Gentile  Apostle  in  Macedonia  and 
Corinth  (A.D.  52 — 53),  (Acts  x^^i.  14;  xviii.  5;  1  Tliess. 
i.  1);  mth  him  at  Ephesu.s,  wheuce  he  was  sent  on  a 
special  mission  to  Corintli  (A  D.  55 — 5G),  (1  Cor.  iv.  17; 
xvi.  10) ;  witli  liim  wlien  he  wrote  from  Macedonia  the 
Second  Corintliiau  Letter  (2  Cor.  i.  1);  with  him  at 
Corinth  when  ho  wrote  to  the  Roman  Church  (A.D. 
57).  (Rom.  xvi.  21);  with  him  when  he  was  returning 
to  Asia,  where  he  was  arrested  pi-ior  to  the  long 
captivity  at  Ciusarea  and  Rome  (a.d.  57 — 58),  (Acts 
XX.  4).  We  find  him  again  specially  mentioned  as  tho 
Apostle's  companion  during  that  long  Roman  im- 
prisonment (A.D.  Gl— 63).  (See  the  Epistles  written 
at  that  period — Col.  i.  1 ;   Philcm.  verse  1 ;  Phil.  i.  1.) 

After  the  Apostle's  release  from  his  first  gi'cat 
captivity  (A,D.  63),  (see  General  Introduction  to  the 
Paxtoral  Epistles),  Timothy,  still  St.  Paul's  companion 
(1  Tim.  i.  3),  was  left  in  charge  of  the  E])hcsian  Church 
(probably  about  A.D.  64).  While  fulfilling  this  work 
lie  received  the  two  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  (  a.d.  64 — ()5) 
which  bear  his  name.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
(xiii.  23)  Timothy  is  alluded  to  as  having  been  im- 
prisoned and  again  liberated.  This  solitary  notice, 
however,  throws   but  little  light   on  the  life  of  the 


Apostle's  famous  disciple,  except  that  it  seems  to  tell  us 
that  the  pupil's  life  was  fuU  of  hardship  and  danger,  as 
was  the  master's,  and  that  the  younger  man  had  well 
learned  the  lesson  of  St.  Paul,  who  bade  him  with  his 
dying  breath  (2  Tim.  ii.  3)  '"  endure  hardness  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Kicephoi-us  and  the  ancient  martyrologies  tell  us 
that  Timothy  died  by  martjTdom  under  the  Emperor 
Domitian  some  time  before  A.D.  96.  Baronius,  however, 
puts  his  martjT  death  a  little  later — A.D.  109 — when 
the  Emperor  Trajan  was  reigning. 

The  accompanying  table  will  assist  the  reader  in 
following  the  life  of  Timotliy : — 


ROJIAU 

A.D. 

Emperor 

Reigning. 

46 

Claudius. 

First  meeting  between  Paul  and 
Timothy,  still  a  child,  at  Lystra 
— probably  in  the  house  of  Eu- 
nice and  Lois. 

51 

Paul  and  SUas  take  Timothy  with 
them  from  Lj'stra. 

52 

Timothy  accompanies  Paul  in  his 
journey  through  ^Macedonia. 

.53 

Timotliy  is  with  Paul  at  Corinth. 

54—56 

Nero. 

Timothy  is  with  Paul  at  E])hesus. 

57 

Timothy  is  with  Paul  at  Corinth. 
.    Paul  writes  Epistle  to  Romans. 

58 

Timothy  is  with  Paul  in  the  jour- 
ney from  Corinth  to  Asia. 

62—63 

Timothy  is  with  I'aul  during  the 
Koman  imprisonment. 

64 

Paul  leaves  Timothy  at  Ejihesus. 

65—06 

Timothy  receives  the  two  Epistles 
from  Paul. 

Not  later  than 
96 

Domitian. 

Alleged  martjTdom  of  Timothy. 

Or,  according 

) 

to    Baronius, 

^Trajan. 

Alleged  martyrdom. 

loy 

J 

II.  Date  of  the  Epistle.— The  First  Epistle  to 
Timothy  was  written  apparently  in  the  year  65 — 66, 
while  the  Apostle  was  ])assing  through  Macedonia, 
after  a  probable  journey  into  Spain  and  a  return 
to  Ephesus,  at  which  city  he  had  left  Timothy  in  charge 
of  the  chui'ch. 


176 


I.   TIMOTHY. 


m.  General  Contents  of  the  Epistle.— No 
systematic  arrangenieut  is  followed  in  this  Epistle. 
Its  couteuts  may  be  roughly  divided  into  six  general 
divisions,  coinciding  with  the  six  chapters : — 

1. — St.  Panl  reminds  Timothy  of  his  especial  com- 
mission at  Ephesus — the  repression  of  a  school  of 
false  teachers  which  threatened  to  subvert  the 
church. 

This  leads  to  a  brief  review  of  the  Apostle's 
own  past  histoiy  (chap.  i.). 

2. — The  second  division  is  occupied  with  directions 
respecting  the  public  worship  of  Christians,  and 
the  parts  which  each  sex  should  take  in  public 
prayer  (chap.  ii.). 

3. — Treats  of  the  office-bearers  in  the  church — bishops 
(or,  elders),  deacons,  and  deaconesses  (chap.  iii.). 

4. — Again  St.  Paul  refers  to  Timothy's  commission  in 
respect  to  false  teachers.  He  dwells  upon  the 
deceptive  teaching  of  asceticism,  showing  the 
dangers  which  accompanied  such  doctrine.  The 
practical  godly  life  of  Timothy  and  his  staff 
would,  after  aU,  bo  the  best  antidote  to  the 
poison  disseminated  by  these  unreal,  untrue  men 
(chap.  iv.). 

5. — Treats  {a)  of  the  behaviour  of  the  church  officials 
to  the  flock  of  Christ;  (b)  of  the  public  charities 
of  the  Church  in  connection  with  destitute  and 
helpless  women ;  (c)  of  a  certain  order  of  pres- 
byteral  or  elder  widows,  which,  in  connection 
with  these  cliarities,  might  be  developed  in  such 


a  Christian  community  as  Ephesus  ;  (d)  rules  for 
Timothy,  as  chief  presbyter,  respecting  ordina- 
tion and  selection  of  colleagues  in  tlie  ministry, 
&c.  (chap.  v.). 
6. — A  few  plain  comments  on  the  great  social  question 
of  slavery.  How  Christian  slaves  were  to  behave 
in  their  condition.  The  false  teachers  must  be 
sternly  combated  in  their  teaching  on  this  point. 
Timothy  is  warned  with  solemn  earnestness  against 
covetousness.  This,  St.  Paul  argues,  was  the  root 
of  all  false  teaching  (chap.  vi.). 

One  golden  thread  seems  to  run  through  this,  and,  it 
may  be  said,  through  the  other  two  Pastoral  Letters. 
St.  Paul's  earnestness  in  these  last  days  of  his  life 
seems  rather  to  expend  itself  in  exhortations  to  Chris- 
tian men  and  women  to  live  a  good,  pure,  self-denying 
life.  Doctrine,  in  these  last  words  of  the  noble,  gene- 
rous toiler  for  the  Lord,  retreats  a  little  into  the  back- 
ground. It  is  tiiie  that  he  reiterates  in  several  places 
the  gi-ounds  of  a  Christian's  belief — that  he  rehearses 
in  plain  and  evidently  well-known  plirases  the  great 
articles  of  the  Christian  faitli ;  but  his  last  words 
dwell  rather  on  life  tlian  on  theology.  The  errors  of 
the  false  teachers  whose  deadly  influence  Timothy  was 
to  counteract  belonged  rather  to  an  evil  life  than  to  a 
false  belief.  The  pure  and  saintly  conduct,  the  pattern 
home  life — these  things,  Timothy  and  his  colleagues 
must  remember,  were  the  surest  antidote  against  the 
poisonous  teaching  and  the  selfish  practice  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


177 


THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO 

TIMOTHY. 


CHAPTER  I.— (1)  Paul,  an  apostle  of 
Chap.  i.  1,  2.  Jesus  Christ  by  the  com- 
The  salutation,  maudmeiit  of  God  our 
Saviour,  and  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  wliich 
is  our  hope ;  '^^  unto  Timothy,  my  own 
son  in  the  faith :  Grace,  mercy,  and 
peace,  from  God  our  Father  and  Jesus 


Christ  our  Lord.     (^^  As  I  besought  thee 
to  abide  still  at  Ephesus,  ^,        .       ,. 
when  I  went   into   Mace-  Timothy     is 
donia,  that  thou  mightest  ^irged    to    re- 
■I  ,1     j_°   .1  press    teachers 

charge     some     that    they  of  strange  doo 

teach    no   other    doctrine,  trines. 

<^)  neither  give  heed  to  fables  and  end- 


(1)  Paid,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ.— The 
letter  to  Timothy,  though  addressed  to  a  veiy  dear 
and  intimate  friend,  was  sent  with  a  two-fold  puqiose. 
It  was  an  affectionate  reminder  from  his  old  master, 
"  Paul  the  Aged,"  to  his  disciple  to  be  steadfast  in  the 
midst  of  the  many  peiils  to  which  one  in  the  position  of 
Timothy  would  be  exposed  in  the  city  of  Ephesus;  but 
it  was  also  an  ofBcial  command  to  resist  a  powerful 
school  of  false  teaching  which  had  arisen  in  the  midst 
of  that  Ephesian  Church  over  which  Timothy  was  then 
presiding.  So  St.  Paul  prefaces  his  letter  by  desig- 
nating himself  an  Apostle  according  to  the  command- 
ment of  God.  The  commandment  especially  referred 
to  is  to  be  found  in  Acts  xiii.  2 :  Separate  me  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called 
them. 

God  our  Saviour. — This  designation  is  peculiar 
to  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  but  frequently  occurs  in  the 
Septuagint.  It  is  fitly  ascribed  to  the  first  Person  of 
the  blessed  Trinity  in  reference  to  His  redeeming  love 
in  Christ. 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  our  hope.— The 
words  "  which  is,"  printed  in  italics  in  the  English 
version,  are  bettor  left  out :  Jesus  Christ,  our  hope. 
As  St.  Paul  felt  the  end  of  his  course  approaching,  he 
loved  to  dwell  on  the  thought  of  Jesus — to  whom, 
during  so  many  weary  years,  he  had  longed  to  depart 
and  be  with — as  his  hope,  his  one  glorious  hope.  The 
same  expression  is  foimd  in  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius. 

(2)  My  own  son  in  the  faith.— Timothy  was  St. 
Paul's  very  own  son.  No  fleshly  relationship  existed 
between  the  two.  but  a  closer  and  far  dearer  connection. 
St.  Paul  had  taken  him  while  yet  a  very  young  man 
to  be  his  comi)anion  and  fellow-lubourer  (Acts  xvi.  3). 
He  told  tlie  Pliilippian  Church  he  had  no  one  liko- 
miudcd  (with  Timothy)  wlio  would  care  for  their  affairs. 
He  ^v^ote  to  the  Corinthians  how  Timothy  was  his 
beloved  and  faitliful  son  in  the  Lord,  who  would  put 
them  in  remembrance  of  his  ways  in  Christ. 

Mercy.— Between  the  usual'  salutation  "  grace  and 
peace."  in  these  Pastoral  Epistles,  he  introduces 
"  mercy."  The  nearness  of  death,  the  weakness  of 
old  age.  the  dangers,  ever  increasing,  which  crowded 
round  Paul,  seem  to  have  called  forth  from  him  doejier 
expressions  of  love  and  tender  pity.  Jesus  Christ,  liis 
"  hope,"  bui-ued  before  him,  a  guiding  star  ever  brighter 


178 


and  clearer ;  and  the  "  mercy  "  of  Grod,  which  the  old 
man  felt  he  had  obtained,  he  longed  to  share  with 
others. 

(3)  That  thou  mightest  charge  some.— Some 
time  after  the  first  imprisonment  at  Rome,  and  con- 
.sequently  beyond  the  period  included  by  St.  Luke  in 
the  Acts,  St.  Paul  must  have  left  Timothy  behind  at 
Ephesus  while  he  pursued  his  journey  towards  Mace- 
donia, and  given  him  the  solemn  charge  here  referred 
to.  The  false  teachers  who  are  disturbing  the  Church 
at  Ephesus  are  not  named.  There  is,  perhaps,  a  ring 
of  contempt  in  the  expression  "  some,"  but  it  seems 
more  probable  that  the  names  were  designedly  omitted 
in  this  letter,  which  was  intended  to  be  a  public  docu- 
ment. The  chief  superintendent  of  the  Ejihesian  com- 
munity, doubtless,  knew  too  weU  who  were  the  mistaken 
men  referred  to. 

That  they  teach  no  other  doctrine, — "  Other  " 
— i.e..  other  than  the  truth.  When  the  Apostle  and 
his  disciple  Timothy  re-visited  Ephesus.  after  the  long 
Csesarean  and  Roman  imprisonment,  they  found  the 
Church  there  distracted  with  questions  raised  by  Jewish 
teachers.  The  curious  and  hair-splitting  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Mosaic  law,  the  teaching  concerning  the 
tithing  of  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  which  in  the 
days  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had  paralysed  all  real 
spiritual  life  in  Jerusalem,  had  found  its  way  during 
the  Apostle's  long  enforced  absence  into  the  restless, 
ever-changing  congregations  at  Ephesus. 

Dangerous  controversies,  disputiugs  concerning  old 
prophecies,  mingled  with  modem  traditions,  occupied 
the  attention  of  many  of  the  Christian  teacliers.     They 

E referred  to  talk  about  theology  rather  than  try  to 
ve  the  life  wliich  men  like  St.  Paul  had  told  them 
that  followers  of  Jesus  must  live  if  they  would  be  His 
servants  indeed. 

Unless  these  deadening  influences  were  removed,  the 
faith  of  the  Ephesian  Church  threatened  to  become 
utterly  impractical.  The  doctrine  those  restless  men 
were  teaching,  and  wliich  St.  Paul  so  bitterly  condemns, 
seems  to  have  been  no  settled  form  of  heresy,  but 
a  profitless  teaching,  arising  mainly,  if  not  entirely, 
from  Jewish  sources. 

(4)  Neither  give  heed  to  fables.— Tliose  fables 
were,  no  doubt,  purely  Rabbinical.  It  was  said  in  the 
Jewish  schools  that  an  oral  Law  had  been  given  on 


Teachers  of  Strange  Doctrines 


I.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


to  he  Repressed. 


less  genealogies,  -whieli  minister  ques- 
tions, rather  than  godly  edifying  which 
is  in  faith :  so  do.     ^^^  Now  the  end  of 


the  commandment  is  charity  out  of  a 
pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  conscience, 
and  of  faith  unfeigned :  ^^^  from  which 


Sinai,  and  that  this  Law,  a  succession  of  teachers,  from 
tlie  time  of  Moses,  had  handed  do\VTi.  This  '•  Law  that 
is  upon  the  Hp,"  as  it  was  termed,  was  further  ilhistrated 
and  enhirjifed  by  tlio  sayings  and  comments  of  the  more 
famous  Jemsli  Rabbis,  and  in  the  time  of  our  Lord 
constituted  a  supplement  to  the  written  Law  in  the 
Pentateuch.  For  centuries  tliis  supplementary  code 
was  preserved  by  memory  or  in  secret  rolls,  and  doubt- 
less was  c<mstantly  receiving  additions.  It  contained, 
along  with  many  wild  and  improbable  legendary  his- 
tories, some  wise  teachings.  This  strange  collection  of 
tradition  and  comment  was  committed  to  writing  in  the 
second  century  l)y  Rabbi  Jehuda,  under  the  general 
name  of  the  Mishna,  or  repetition  (of  the  Law).  Round 
this  compilation  a  complement  of  discussions  (the 
Gemara)  was  gradually  formed,  and  was  completed  at 
Babylon  somewhere  about  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  of 
our  era.  These  works — the  Mishna  and  the  Gemara, 
together  with  a  second  Gemara,  formed  somewhat  earlier 
in  Palestine — are  generally  known  as  the  Talmud.  The 
influence  of  some  of  these  traditions  is  alluded  to  by 
our  Lord  (Matt.  xv.  3). 

Endless  genealogies. — Genealogies  in  their  proper 
sense,  as  found  in  the  Book  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  to 
wliich  wild  allegorical  interpretations  had  been  assigned. 
Such  purely  fancifvd  meanings  had  been  already  de- 
veloped by  Philo,  whose  religious  writings  were 
becoming  at  this  time  known  and  popular  in  many  of 
the  Jewish  schools.  Such  teaching,  if  allowed  in  the 
Christian  churches,  St.  Paul  saw  would  effectually 
put  a  stop  to  the  growth  of  Gentile  Christendom.  It 
would  inculcate  an  undue  and  exaggerated,  and,  for  the 
ordinary  Gentile  convert,  an  impossible  reverence  for 
Jewish  forms  and  ceremonies;  it  would  separate  the 
Jewish  and  Gentile  converts  into  two  classes — placing 
the  favoured  Jew  in  an  altogether  dilfereut  position 
from  the  outcast  Gentile. 

In  the  GentUe  churches  founded  by  the  Apostles, 
for  some  years  a  life  and  death  straggle  went  on  be- 
tween the  pupils  of  St.  Paul  and  his  fellow  Apostles 
and  the  disciples  of  the  Rabbinical  schools.  In  these 
earnest  warnings  of  his  Pastoral  Epistles  the  great 
Apostle  of  Gentile  Christianity  shows  us,  how  clearly 
he  foresaw  that  if  these  Jewish  fables  and  the  com- 
ments of  the  older  Jewish  teachers  were  allowed  to 
enter  into  the  training  of  the  new-formed  congregations, 
the  Church  of  Christ  would  shrink,  in  no  long  space  of 
time,  into  the  narrow  and  exclusive  limits  of  a  Jewish 
sect.  "  Judaism,"  writes  the  anonymous  author  of 
Faid  of  Tarsus,  "was  the  cradle  of  Christianity,  and 
Judaism  very  nearly  became  its  grave." 

Which  minister  questions.— Disputings,  ques- 
tions of  mere  controversy,  inquiries,  which  could  not 
possibly  have  any  bearing  on  practical  life. 

Rather  than  godly  edifying  which  is  in 
faith. — -The  rendering  of  the  reading  in  the  more 
ancient  authorities  would  be :  rather  than  the  dis- 
pensation of  God  ivhich  is  in  faith ;  or,  in  other 
words,  the  introduction  into  Church  teaching  of  these 
Jewish  myths — these  traditions  of  the  elders,  these 
fanciful  genealogies — would  be  much  more  likely  to 
produce  bitter  and  profitless  controversy  than  to 
minister  to  God's  scheme  of  sjilvatioa,  designed  by 
God,  ami  proclaimed  by  His  Apostles. 

So  do. — The  Apostle,  in  verse  3,  begins  this  sentence 


of  earnest  exhortation,  but  in  his  fervour  forgets  to 
conclude  it.  The  closing  words  would  naturally  come  in 
here  :  "  For  remember  how  I  besought  thee  when  I  left 
thee  behind  at  Ephesus,  when  I  went  on  to  Macedonia, 
to  discourage  and  firmly  repress  all  vain  teaching,  which 
only  leads  to  useless  controversy,  so  I  do  noiv  ;  "  or,  so  I 
repeat  to  you  now.  (This  is  better  and  more  forcible 
than  the  words  supplied  in  the  English  version :  "  so 
do.") 

(5)  Now  the  end.— Tlie  Greek  word  should  be 
translated  But  the  end.  Though  Timothy  must  resist 
and  oppose  these  false  teachers  with  all  courage  and 
firmness,  still  he  must  not  forget  what  was  the  real  end, 
the  aim,  the  puq^ose  of  all  Christian  teaching,  wliich, 
the  Apostle  reminds  him,  is  Love. 

Of  the  commandment. — There  is  no  reference 
here  to  the  famous  commandments  of  the  Law  of 
Moses.  "  Commandment "  may  be  paraphrased  in 
this  x^lace  by  "  practical  teaching." 

"With  the  false  teachers'  sickly  "  fables,"  which  only 
led  to  disputing,  St.  Paul  contrasts  that  "  healthy 
practical  teaching,"  the  end  and  aim  of  which  was 
love,  or  charity. 

Charity.  —  That  love,  or  broad,  comprehensive 
charity,  towards  men,  so  nobly  described  Ln  1  Cor. 
xiii. 

Out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  con- 
science, and  of  faith  unfeigned.— This  broad,  all- 
embracing  love,  or  charity,  emanates  only  from  "a  pure 
heart:"  i.e.,  a  heart  free  from  selfish  desires  and  evil 
passions.  The  "  pure  in  heart "  alone,  said  the  Lord, 
in  the  sermon  on  the  mount  (Matt.  v.  8),  shall  enjoy 
the  beatific  vision  of  God. 

And  of  a  good  conscience.— This  "charity" 
must  also  spring  from  a  conscience  unburthened  of  its 
load  of  guilt,  from  a  conscience  sprinkled  with  the 
precious  blood,  and  so  reconciled  to  God. 

And  of  faith  unfeigned.— And.  lastly,  the  root  of 
this  "  charity  " — the  end  and  aim  of  the  practical  teaching 
of  the  gospel  preached  by  the  Apostles — must  be  sought 
in  "a  faith  unfeigned,"  in  a  faith  that  consists  in 
something  more  than  in  a  few  high-sounding  words, 
which  lay  claim  to  a  sure  confidence  that  is  not  felt. 
The  "  unfeigned  faith  "  of  St.  Paul  is  a  faith  rich  in 
works  rather  than  in  words. 

"Without  this  faith,  so  real  that  its  fraits  are  ever 
manifest,  there  can  be  no  good  conscience;  without 
this  conscience,  washed  by  the  precious  blood,  there  can 
be  no  pure  heart. 

The  error  of  the  teachers  of  whom  Timothy  was 
warned,  we  see  from  the  next  verso,  consisted  not  so 
much  in  false  doctrines  as  in  an  utter  neglect  of  incul- 
cating the  necessity  of  a  pure,  self-denying  life.  They 
preferred  curious  questions  and  speculative  incjuiries  to 
the  grave,  simple  gospel  teaching  which  led  men  to  live 
an  earnest,  lo^■^ng  life. 

(ti)  From  which  some  having  swerved  have 
turned  aside. — This  sentence  is  rendered  more  accu- 
rately:  From  which  some,  having  gone  icide  in  aim, 
have  turned  thiinselres  aside.  These  words  seem  to 
tell  us  that  these  teachers  had  once  been  in  the  right 
direction,  but  had  not  kei)t  in  it;  indeed,  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  St.  Paul's  directions  to  Timothy  it  is 
clear  that  these  persons  not  only  had  l>eon.  but  were 
still,  reckoned  among  the  Cliristian  congregations  of 


179 


The  Heal  Piayose 


I.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


of  "the  Law"  of  Hoses. 


some  having  swerved  ^  have  turned  aside 
unto  vain  jangling  ;  ^"^  desiring  to  be 
teachers  of  the  law;  understanding 
neither  what  they  sa}-,  nor  whereof  thej 
affirm.  ^^>  But  we  know  that  the  law 
is    good,    if    a    man    use    it   lawfully; 


I  OT.notaimingat.  {'J)  jaiowiug  this,  that  the  law  is  not 
made  for  a  righteous  man,  but  for  the 
lawless  and  disobedient,  for  the  ungodly 
and  for  sinners,  for  unholy  and  profane, 
for  murderers  of  fathers  and  murdei-ers 
of    mothers,    for     manslayers,    (^"^    for 


tho  Ephesiau  Cliurt-h.  TliG  presidiug  presbyter  ap- 
pointed by  St.  Paul  could  liavo  exercised  no  possible 
authority  over  any  not  reckoned  iu  tlic  Church's  pale. 

Unto  vain  jangling. — These  men,  having  missed 
ilio  time  aim  of  the  cominandmeut,  have  now  turned 
themselves  to  vain,  empty  talking,  which  could  lead  to 
nothing  except  wranglings  and  angry  disputations. 

(^)  Desiring  to  be  teachers  of  the  law. — 
"  Desiring,"  though  they  really  were  not.  They  coveted 
the  respect  and  influence  which  was  ev^er  paid  to  the 
acknowledged  teachers  of  the  Law  of  Moses ;  but  these 
men  utterly  failed  to  understand  the  real  spiritual 
meaning  of  that  Law  which  they  pretended  to  teach. 
Similar  pretenders  in  a  neighbouring  Church,  some 
years  later,  received  from  another  Apostle — St.  John — a 
stern  rebuke  for  such  pretensions.  "  I  know,"  WTote 
St.  John  to  the  Cliristians  of  Smyrna,  "  tho  blasphemy 
of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  are 
tlie  synagogue  of  Satan  "  (Rev.  ii.  9). 

Understanding  neither  what  they  say,  nor 
whereof  they  aflB.rm. — A  wise  teacher  must  under- 
stand what  ho  teaches,  and  must,  at  the  same  time,  bo 
clear  iu  his  own  mind  that  what  he  teaches  is  true. 

The  false  teachers  are  here  charged  (1)  with  not 
understanding  the  wild  fa))les  and  traditions  upon 
which  their  teaching  was  based,  and  (2)  with  not  com- 
prehending the  things  whereof  they  make  their  as- 
sertions :  that  is,  they  had  no  real  belief  in  those  great 
truths  which  really  underlie  that  Law  with  which  they 
were  meddling. 

i^)  But  we  know. — Better,  Noiv  we  Icnow  ;  a  strong 
expression  of  liis  knowledge,  leai-ned  in  the  school  of 
tlie  Holy  Ghost.  He  spoke  with  the  conscious  autho- 
rity of  an  Ajxjstle,  confident  of  tho  truth  of  what  ho 
preached  and  taught. 

That  the  law  is  good,  if  a  man  use  it  law- 
fully.—" The  Law  is  good,"  St.  Paul  declared  with 
apostolic  authoritative  knowledge,  "  should  a  man — i.e., 
a  teacher  of  the  Law — make  use  of  it  lawfully ;  if  he 
should  use  it  so  as  to  make  men  conscious  of  their  sins, 
conscious  that  of  themselves  they  deserve  no  mercy, 
only  punishment."  To  press  tliis  sorro^vf  ul  knowledge 
was  the  Law's  true  work  upon  men.  It  was  Jiever 
intended  to  supply  materials  for  casuistry  and  idle, 
profitless  arguments.  It  was  never  m(>ant  as  a  system 
out  of  which  man  might  draw  material  for  self-decep- 
tion. It  was  never  meant  as  a  system  througli  whicli  a 
man  might  imagine  that  by  a  compliance,  more  or  less 
rigid,  with  its  outer  ritual  ho  was  satisfying  all  the 
higher  requirements  of  justice  and  truth. 

('"  Knowing  this.— The  teacher  of  the  Law,  being 
aware  of  this  gre;\t  truth,  now  to  be  detailed — viz.: — 

That  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous 
man. — The  stern  Mosaic  Law  Avas  enacted  centuries 
before  the  M(>ssiah  Jesus  had  given  to  men  His  new 
Law.  The  Law  of  Moses  was  not.  then,  enacted  for  a 
"  righteous  man  " — tliat  is,  for  a  Christian  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  who  has  sought  and  fouiid  justi- 
fication by  faith  in  Jesus,  and  who,  sanctified  by  tho 
Holy  Gliost,  is  living  a  new  life.  In  other  words,  the 
"  teacher,"  Paul  says,  must  teach  tho  flock  of  Ephesus 


(1)  the  true  use  of  the  inoliibitions  of  the  Law,  viz., 
that  they  served  to  convince  a  man  of  his  hopeless 
condition;  they  showed  him  he  was  a  slave  to  sin, 
from  which  wretched  bondage,  the  Law,  which  mado 
him  bitterly  conscious  of  his  condition,  gave  him  no 
assistance  to  free  himself;  (2)  the  "teacher"  was  to 
press  home  to  the  people  that  the  Law,  good  though  it 
was,  if  used  as  a  means  to  open  men's  eyes  to  see  their 
true  condition,  was  not  made  for  them  if  they  were 
reckoned  among  the  righteous — that  is,  if  they  had 
found  acceptance  in  the  Redeemer.  In  the  case  of 
these  justified  and  sanctified  ones  the  moral  law  was 
written  in  their  heai'ts  and  was  embodied  in  their  lives. 

But  for  the  lawless.— Now  the  Law  was  not 
made  for  the  holy  and  humble  men  of  heart,  whom  St. 
Paul  trusted  formed  the  main  body  of  the  congregation 
of  believers  in  Epliesus,  and  in  every  city  where  men 
and  women  were  found  who  called  on  the  name  of  tlie 
Lord  Jesus,  and  who  struggled  to  follow  their  dear 
Master's  footsteps.  It  was  made  centuries  before  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  walked  on  earth,  as  a  gi'eat  protest  against 
the  every-day  vices  which  dishonoured  Israel  in  common 
with  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  terrible  enumeration 
of  sins  and  sinners  in  these  9t]i  and  10th  A'erses,  wdiilo 
following  the  order  of  the  ancient  Tables  of  Sinai,  seems 
to  allude  pointedly  to  the  %aces  especially  prevalent  iu 
that  day  in  the  great  centres  of  the  Roman  empire. 

And  disobedient.  —  More  accurately  rendered, 
tinrvly,  or  insvhnrdinate. 

For  the  ungodly  and  for  sinners. — These  four 
terms  with  which  the  Apostle  opens  his  sad  list  of 
those  for  whom  the  Law  was  enacted,  generally  denote 
those  who  care  nothing  for  hmnan  law,  and  who  despise 
all  obedience ;  who  to  their  careless  neglect  for  all 
constituted  authorities,  unite  ii'religiou  and  contempt 
for  all  sacred  things. 

For  unholy  and  profane. — The  persons  desig- 
nated in  these  terms  are  those  wanting  in  inner  purity 
— men  who  scoff  at  holiness  of  life  and  character  in  its 
deepest  sense.  These  six  classes  may  be  assumed  in 
general  terms  to  include  the  prohibitions  of  the  first 
four  Commandments  (the  First  Table,  as  it  is  termed), 
where  sins  against  God  are  especially  dwelt  upon. 
Tho  sins  against  man,  whicli  form  the  subject  of  tho 
prohibitions  of  the  Second  Table  (Commandments  Five 
to  Ten\  are  included  in  tlie  following  enumeration  of 
wrong-doers. 

For  murderers  of  fathers  and  murderers  of 
mothers. — Tlie  original  Greek  expressions  here  I'e- 
quire  the  milder  rendering,  sviiters  of  fatlwrs  and 
smiters  of  mothers,  and  refer  to  persons  of  various  ages 
who  refuse  all  reverence,  even  all  kindly  treatment,  to 
their  parents.  The  words  of  the  Fifth  Commandment 
exactly  explain  this  unnatural  conduct. 

(10)  For  mcnstealers. — After  enumerating  the 
transgressiM's  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Commandments 
against  murder  and  adultery,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  a  class 
well  known  in  tlie  Roman  world  of  his  day — perhaps 
the  worst  class  of  offenders  against  the  Eighth  Com- 
mandment— tho  "  slave-dealers." 

For   liars,  for  perjured  persons.— In   these 


180 


St.  PcmVs  Tlmnksfor 


I.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


Ms  ovon  Conversion. 


■whoremongers,  for  them  that  defile 
themselves  with  mankind,  for  men- 
stealers,  for  liars,  for  perjured  persons, 
and  if  there  be  any  other  thing  that  is 
contrary  to  sound  doctrine ;  (^^)  ac- 
cording to  the  glorious  gospel  of  the 
blessed  God,  which  was  committed  to 


my  trust.  (^^^  And  I  thank  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,  who  hath  enabled  chap.  i.  12—20. 
me,  for  that  he  counted  me  F^"^'^-  ^^'^'^^^ 

faitllful,  putting  me  into  the   conversion  and 
ministry ;   ^^^^  who  was  be-  commission, 
fore  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor,  and 
injurious:  but  I  obtained  mercy,  because 


inclusive  terms  St.  Paul  apparently  reckons  all  who 
break  the  solemn  Ninth  charge  given  on  Sinai,  which 
forbade  false  witness  against  a  neighbour.  Among  the 
sins  which  especially  excite  the  hot  wi-ath  of  the  first 
inspired  teachers  of  Christianity,  "  want  of  truth " 
appears  singularly  prominent.  One  after  the  other  of 
the  Apostles,  in  different  language,  express  their  deep 
abhorrence  of  this  too  common  sin,  which,  in  St.  John's 
fervid  words,  will  suflBce  to  exclude  from  the  city  of 
the  blessed  (Rev.  xxii.  15). 

And  if  there  be  any  other  thing  that  is 
contrary  to  sound  doctrine. — In  tliis  broad  and 
general  summary,  with  which  St.  Paul  concludes  his 
dreadful  catalogue,  the  prohibition  of  the  Tenth  Com- 
mandment against  "  covetousness "  is  doubtless  in- 
cluded. In  the  words  "  sound  doctrine  " — an  expres- 
sion peculiar  to  this  gi-oup  of  Epistles — a  sharp 
contrast  is  suggested  to  the  "  sickly  and  unhealthy " 
teaching  of  the  false  teachers,  with  their  foolish  legends 
and  allegories — a  teaching  which  suggested  controversy 
and  useless  disputes,  and  had  no  practical  influence  at 
all  upon  life. 

(11)  According  to  the  glorious  gospel. — All 
that  St.  Paul  had  been  sapng  concerning  the  Law — its 
true  work  and  its  only  work — was  no  mere  arbitrary 
conception  of  his  own ;  it  was  simply  a  repetition  of 
the  teaching  of  the  gospel  which  his  Master  had  in- 
trusted to  him,  the  gospel  which  taught  so  clearly  that 
the  Law  was  for  the  condemnation  of  sinners — that  it 
was  for  those  alone  who  do  not  accept  the  easy  yoke 
and  the  light  burden  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Of  the  blessed  God, — The  whole  sentence  is  more 
accurately  translated,  according  to  the  gospel  of  the 
glory  of  the  blessed  God.  (Comp.  2  Cor.  iv.  4.)  "  The 
glory  of  the  blessed  God,"  whether  as  shown  in  the 
sidferings  of  Christ  or  in  the  riches  of  His  great 
mercy,  is  that  which  is  contained  in  and  revealed  by 
the  gospel ;  in  other  words,  the  "  contents "  of  the 
gospel  is  the  glory  and  majesty  of  God.  God  is  called 
here  "  blessed,"  not  only  on  account  of  His  eternal 
and  changeless  perfection,  but  also  on  account  of  His 
blessed  gift  of  forgiveness,  offered  to  all  sinners  who 
accept  His  gospel  of  love. 

Which  was  committed  to  my  trust. — This 
precious  deposit,  this  "  trust,"  the  gospel  of  the  glory 
of  God,  was  perhaps,  in  St.  Paul's  eyes,  his  truest  title 
to  honour.  Wlien  we  inquire  more  closely  what  was 
exactly  meant  by  "  the  gospel  committed  to  his  trust," 
something  more  definite  seems  to  be  required  than  the 
general  answer  that  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Church, 
intrusted  with  the  proclamation  of  his  Master's  blessed 
message.  If  this  were  all,  St.  Paul's  loved  title  to 
honour  would  have  been  by  no  means  peculiar  to  him, 
but  would  have  been  shared  by  many  another  in  that 
great  company  of  prophets,  teachers,  and  evangelists 
of  the  Church  of  the  first  days.  St.  Paul  rather  seems 
to  have  gloried  in  some  peculiar  and  most  jirecious 
trust.  Was  it  not  possibly  in  that  Gos])el  of  "  Luke," 
which  some  of  the  most  venerated  of  the  fathers  tell 
U3  St.  Paul  was  accustomed  to  mention  as  the  Gospel 


written  by  him  ?  (Irenseus,  Origen,  Jerome.)  It  was, 
perhaps,  this  blessed  privilege  of  ha^^ng  been  judged 
worthy  to  compile,  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy 
Ghost — or,  at  all  events,  largely  to  furnish  materials 
for — one  of  the  precious  records  of  his  adorable 
Master's  earthly  life  and  work  and  suffei-ing  which  St. 
Paul  loved  to  tell  of  as  his  proudest  title  to  honour. 

To  his  own  disciples — as  well  as  to  those  who  dis- 
puted his  apostolic  authority — he  would  now  and  again 
refer  to  this,  the  highest  of  all  honours  bestowed  on 
him  by  liis  Master ;  but  thei-e  the  Vjoasting  of  the  holy 
and  humble  man  of  God  ended.  Though  the  blessed 
evangelist  St.  Paul  knew  his  work  was  for  all  the  ages, 
the  true  humility  of  the  noble  servant  of  Jesus  appears 
in  the  substitution  of  "  Luke  "  for  "  St.  Paul  " — the 
scribe's  name  in  place  of  that  of  the  real  author. 

(12)  And  I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who 
hath  enabled  me. — Better  rendered,  ivho  hath  given 
me  strength  ivithin.  The  ancient  authorities  here  are 
divided;  the  majority  omit  the  fii-st  word  of  the  verse, 
the  connecting  "  and."  With  or  without  this  word, 
the  sense  is  much  the  same ;  for  on  the  words,  "  the 
gospel  .  .  .  committed  to  my  trust,"  the  Apostle 
pauses,  ovei-whelmed  ^vith  the  flood  of  grateful  memories 
which  such  a  thought  let  loose.  "  How  I  thank  God." 
wrote  St.  Paul,  "  who  hath  strengthened  me  within,  with 
this  power  to  bear  witness  to  my  Master ! — me  of  all 
persons,  who  was  once  a  blasphemer  of  His  royal  name ! 
What  an  example  I — your  teacher,  the  founder  of  this 
Church  of  Ephesus — am  of  the  transforming  grace  of 
the  gospel — of  its  sweet,  mighty  power  to  forgive 
sins."  It  was  the  thought  of  the  great  love,  passing 
understanding,  of  the  tender,  pitiful  mercy  which  suf- 
fered so  wondrous  a  trust  to  be  committed  to  the  charge 
of  such  a  sinner,  that  called  forth  the  ejaculation  of 
deep  thankfulness  we  read  in  the  twelfth  and  following 
verses. 

If  we  ask  more  particularly  respecting  the  exact  way 
in  wliich  Jesus  Christ  "enabled."  or  "strengthened  St. 
Paul  within,"  we  must  think  of  his  strange  power  of 
winning  men  to  his  Master's  side ;  we  must  remember 
his  miraculous  gifts  over  disease  and  even  death ;  and 
last,  but  not  least,  that  strength  of  endurance,  that 
brave,  sweet  patience  which  made  his  fife  of  suffering 
borne  for  Christ  so  beautiful,  so  touching,  an  example 
for  men. 

For  that  he  counted  me  faithful.— Tlie  All- 
seeing,  knowing  from  the  beginning  that  St.  Paul  would 
continue  steadfast  and  true,  selected  him  as  "  His  chosen 
vessel"  to  bear  His  jiame  and  the  glad  news  of  His 
salvation  into  many  lands. 

It  is  observable,  however,  that  this  very  faithfulness, 
this  unflinching  steadfastness,  wliich  seems  to  have 
been  the  reason  wliy  the  Lord  chose  him  for  his  great 
work,  St.  Paul,  ui  a  well-kno^vn  and  remarkable  pas- 
sage, refers  to  as  a  gift  of  grace  which  he  had  ob- 
tained in  mercy  of  the  Lord  (1  Cor.  vii.  2o). 

(13)  Who  was  before  a  blasphemer,  and  a  per- 
secutor, and  injurious. — In  these  worcLs  of  bitter 
self-accusation,  St,  Paul   sums   up   the   characteristic 


181 


The  Work  of  Christ  Jesus  for 


I.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


Sinners,  of  whom  Paul  was  Chief 


I  did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief.  (^^^  And 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  was  exceeding 
abundant  with  faith  and  love  which  is 


in  Christ  Jesus.  <i5>  This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 


features  of  his  brilliant  career  as  a  young  Pharisee 
leader,  as  a  popular  Jewish  patriot.  The  object  of  his 
intense  hatred  and  of  his  burning  antagonism  during 
these  never-to-be-forgotten  days  was  that  very  Lord, 
from  whom  later  he  had  received  such  unspeakable 
gifts.  He  knew  he  had  been  "  a  blasphemer  "  of  that 
clear  Master  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  terrible  word, 
since,  as  it  has  been  well  said,  that :  "  He  who  had  seen 
Stephen  die  for  Christ,  and  after  this  did  not  cease  to 

t)ant  like  a  wild  beast  for  the  blood  of  the  Church,  must 
lave  known  that  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  simply 
reWliiig  men  but  of  blaspheming  God."  And  "  a 
persecutor,"  for,  to  quote  liis  own  words  at  Jerusalem 
(Acts  xxii.  4) :  "I  persecuted  this  way  unto  the  death, 
binding  and  delivering  into  prisons  both  men  and 
women."  (Comp.,  too,  Acts  xxv.  11 :  "I  compelled 
them  to  blaspheme.")  And  "  injurious  "  (or,  more  ac- 
curately rendered,  a  doer  of  outrage),  as  he  must  well 
have  remembered  the  events  referi'ed  to  in  the  history 
of  the  Acts  (ix.  1)  in  the  words :  "  Saul,  yet  breath- 
ing out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples 
of  the  Lord." 

But  I  obtained  mercy.— Tlie  Apostle,  his  heart 
overflowing  with  love  and  gratitude,  contrasts  his 
Master's  mercy  with  his  own  want  of  it  ;  the  "  mercy  " 
shown  to  him  consisting  in  something  very  different  to 
simple  forgiveness  of  a  great  wrong.  In  St.  Paul's 
case  the  pardon  was  crowned  by  many  a  noble  gift  be- 
stowed by  that  pitiful  King  whom  he  had  so  cruelly 
wronged. 

Because  I  did  it  ignorantly  in  unbelief.— 
This  is  one  of  the  passages  which  throws  a  gleam  of 
light  on  some  of  the  hard  questions  which  perplex  us 
when  we  meditate  on  the  principles  of  the  final  judg- 
ment. Very  little  is  told  us  as  to  the  doom  of  those 
who  have  not  heard,  or  else  have  failed  to  understand, 
the  message  of  Christ.  Still,  from  even  such  scanty 
teaching  as  is  contained  in  the  words  we  are  now  con- 
sidering, and  in  such  passages  as  Matt.  xii.  31,  32 ; 
Luke  xxiii.  34,  we  gather  that  there  is  an  igno- 
rance which  at  least  greatly  modifies  the  guilt  of  un- 
belief;  we  leam  at  least  this  much — such  a  sinner  is 
not  out  of  the  pale  of  the  operation  of  divine  mercy. 
But  in  spite  of  these  hints — for  they  are  little  more — 
of  the  almost  limitless  area  of  the  di\'ine  mercy, 
great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  press  overmuch  these 
blessed  intimations  of  the  possibility  of  a  mercy  far 
more  extended  than  the  usual  interpretation  of  the 
inspired  utterances  would  lead  us  to  expect ;  for,  after 
all,  the  words  and  teaching  of  the  merciful  Redeemer 
Himself  (Luke  xii.  48)  seem  to  point  to  a  mitigation 
of  punishment,  rather  than  to  a  complete  forgiveness,  of 
sins  committed  under  circumstances  of  perhaps  partial 
ignorance.  "  He  that  knew  not,  and  did  commit 
things  worthy  of  stripes,  shall  be  Ijeaten  with  few 
stripes." 

(11)  And  the  grace  of  our  Lord  was  exceeding 
abundant. — The  thought  of  his  Master's  great  love  to 
one  who  once  ^e^•iled  Him  so  bitterly,  and  who  had 
spent  his  strength  in  trying  to  undo  His  servants'  work, 
seems  to  have  pressed  with  overwhelming  force  on  St. 
Paul,  who  struggled  to  find  words  which  should  express 
how  deeply  he  felt  the  loving  tenderness  which  had 
transformed  the  cruel  persecutor  into  the  favoured 
Apostle.    The  Greek  word  translated  "  was  exceeding 


182 


abundant "  is  very  rare,  and  possesses  a  superlative 
force. 

With  faith  and  love. — He  sums  up  the  divine 
mercy  showed  to  him  in  the  three  words  :  grace,  faith, 
and  love.  Grace,  the  unspeakal)le  gift  of  God  to  him ; 
faith  and  love,  the  results  of  the  exceeding  abimdant 
gift  of  grace. 

Faith  :  not  merely  a  childlike  trust  in  Christ,  but  a 
befief  which  accepted  Christ  as  the  hope  of  an  other- 
wise hopeless  world ;  and  love,  which  includes  love  to 
man  as  well  as  love  to  God,  a  strange  contrast  to  his 
former  cruelty  and  hatred ;  for,  instead  of  blaspheming, 
noiv  he  believed  on  Him  whom  he  once  re^nled,  and 
instead  of  persecuting  the  followers  of  Jesus,  noiv,  in 
his  great  love  for  them,  he  spent  himself.  Then,  over- 
whelmed Avith  joy  and  thankfulness  that  he,  the  enemy 
of  God,  had  obtained  the  mercy  and  love  of  God,  and 
conscious,  from  his  own  sweet  and  bitter  experiences, 
what  that  mercy  of  God  bestowed  on  a  sinner  signified, 
he  gave  utterance  to  one  of  those  bright  watchwords 
of  the  faith,  with  which  the  Christians  of  the  first  days 
used  to  comfort  and  encoui'age  one  another,  and  which, 
perhaps,  better  than  any  other  words,  gave  expression  .^ 
to  the  burning  thoughts  which  rose  up  from  his  grate- 
ful heart. 

(15)  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of 
all  acceptation. — This  striking  formula  in  the  New 
Testament,  found  only  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  here  and 
in  chap.  iii.  1  ;  iv.  9  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  11 ;  Titus  iii.  8  ;  and  the 
somewhat  similar  expression,  "  these  sayings  [words^ 
are  faithful  and  true,"  Rev.  xxi.  5 ;  xxii.  6,  were 
formulas  expressing  weighty  and  memorable  truths, 
well  known  and  often  repeated  by  the  brotherhood  of 
Christians  in  the  first  ages  of  the  faith.  They  were,  no 
doubt,  rehearsed  constantly  in  the  assemblies,  till  they 
became  well-known  watchwords  in  the  various  churches 
scattered  over  the  Mediterranean-washed  proAnnces 
of  the  Roman  empire;  and  in  these  "sayings"  we 
see,  perhaps,  the  germs  of  the  great  creeds  of 
Christianity.  [1  Tim.  iii.  1,  pei-haps,  as  usually  under- 
stood, hardly  falls  under  this  category  of  "  watchwords 
of  the  faith,"  unless  St.  Chrysostom's  interpretation  of 
the  text  be  followed,  which  refers  "  the  faithful  saying  " 
to  the  solemn  truths  which  immediately  preceded  it  in 
chap,  ii.] 

That  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world. — 
This  is  an  unmistakable  allusion  to  the  pre-existence  of 
Christ.  He  came  into  the  world,  leaWng  the  glory 
which  he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was  (see 
John  xvi.  28;  xvii.  5;  Eph.  i.  3,  4).  And  the  purpose 
for  which  he  came  into  the  world  is  stated  distinctly  in 
the  next  sentence. 

To  save  sinners. — There  are  no  details  given 
respecting  this  salvation.  The  "  sinners "  here  men- 
tioned is  a  broad,  inclusive  term.  It  includes,  besides 
Jews,  the  outcasts  of  the  Gentiles  without  hope  and 
without  God — all  the  lost,  iiTCspective  of  race  or 
time.  In  the  Lord's  own  blessed  words :  "  The  Son  of 
Man  was  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost  "  (Luke  xix.  10). 

Of  whom  I  am  chief. — Tlie  intense  humility  of 
the  strange,  beautifid  character  of  the  Gentile  Apostle 
prompted  this  bitter  expression.  St.  Paul,  it  has  been 
well  said,  knew  his  own  sins  by  experience,  and  every 
other  man's  per  speculationem.     In  another  place  a 


Doxology  addressed 


I.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


to  Trinity. 


to  save  sinners ;  of  whom  I  am  chief. 
(^^)  Howbeit  for  this  cause  I  obtained 
mercy,  that  in  me  first  Jesus  Christ 
might  shew  forth  all  longsufFering,  for 
a  pattern  to  them  which  should  here- 
after believe  on  him  to  life  everlasting. 


(17)  Now  unto  the  King  eternal,  im- 
mortal, invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  he 
honour  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.  ^^^^  This  charge  I  commit  unto 
thee,  son  Timothy,  according  to  the 
prophecies  which  went  before  on  thee, 


similar  feeling  leads  him  to  style  himself  as  "  less  than 
the  least  of  all  saints"  (Eijh.  iii.  8).  He  had  been  in 
time  past  so  bitter  an  enemy  of  the  Lord  that  no 
jireaching  of  the  disciples  was  effectual  to  work  his  con- 
version. In  his  case,  to  overcome  his  intense  hatred  of 
the  Name,  it  needed  a  special  appearance  of  the  Risen 
One. 

(16)  Howbeit  for  this  cause  I  obtained  mercy. 
■—In  spite  of  this  deep  consciousness  of  his  guilt,  faith 
and  confidence  in  his  own  salvation  seem  never  to  have 
wavered.  He  speaks  of  this  with  all  certainty,  and  pro- 
ceeds to  teU  us  ^vith  great  clearness  why  Christ  saved 
him,  the  chief  of  sinners. 

That  in  nae  first  Jesus  Christ  might  shew 
forth  all  longsuffering. — If  Christ  could  show  mercy 
to  him,  surely  in  after  times  the  gi-eatest  of  sinners  need 
never  doubt  the  Redeemer's  power  and  wiU  to  save. 
St.  Paul's  conversion  foretold  many  a  patient  waiting 
on  the  part  of  the  Lord,  much  long-suffering,  which 
would  never  hi;rry  to  punish  His  enemies,  but  which 
would  tany  long,  in  the  hope  of  the  sinner  repenting 
while  it  was  yet  time. 

For  a  pattern  to  them  which  should  hereafter 
believe  on  him. — Men  were  to  learn  that  such  con- 
versions as  his  were  to  be  looked  forward  to  as  no 
uncommon  occurrences — conversion  of  blasphemers,  of 
persecutors,  whom  the  Lord  would  tarry  long  for,  till 
they,  too,  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  should 
acknowledge  Him.  Thus  to  all  sinners  was  St.  Paul 
a  pattern — an  example  of  the  Lord's  long-suffering,  of 
His  patient  waiting.  His  gracious  Master  had  dealt 
with  him  like  a  king,  who,  when  judging  the  case  of  a 
rebel  city,  pardons  the  chief  rebel.  If  God  would 
redeem  Saul  the  persecutor,  none  need  despair  of 
finding  mercy. 

To  life  everlasting. — And  the  goal — which  lay 
before  these  poor  redeemed  sinners,  who,  like  St.  Paul, 
in  faith  and  loving  trust  in  Jesus  had  found  peace 
and  acceptance — was  eternal  life. 

(1")  Now  unto  the  King. — The  wonderful  cliain  of 
thoughts  (verses  12 — 16j  which  so  well  illustrate  the 
great  assertion  of  verse  15 — "  that  Jesus  Christ  came 
into  the  world  to  save  sinners  " — St.  Paul  closes  with 
a  noble  ascription  of  praise  and  thankfulness  to  the 
great  (jrod. 

This  doxology  is  addressed  to  no  one  Person  of  the 
ever  blessed  Trinity,  but  is — as  has  been  said  with 
great  truth — "  a  grand  testimony  to  the  monotheism  of 
ot.  Paul :  the  Godhead,  the  Trinity  of  his  worship,  is  a 
sublime  unity.  To  this  Eternal,  Incorruptible  One  bo 
glory  and  honour  unto  the  ages  of  tlie  ages.     Amen." 

Eternal. — More  accurately  rendered,  (to  tlie  King) 
of  the  ages.  The  King  of  the  Ages  is  the  sovereign 
dispenser  and  di.sposer  of  the  ages  of  the  world. 
There  is  no  reference  at  all  here  to  the  Gnostic 
seons. 

Immortal  (or  incorruptible). — This  epithet  and  the 
foUo\viiig  one — "  in\'isible  " — are  connected  with  "  God," 
not,  -vvith  the  preceding  clause,  "  to  the  King  of  the 
Ages."  God  is  immortal,  in  contrast  with  the  beings 
of  earth,  and — 


Invisible,  in  contrast  with  the  visible  creation. 

The  only  wise  Grod.—The  only  God,  the  most 
ancient  authorities  omitting  "wise."  "Only,"  as  in 
chap.  Y\.  15  :  "  the  blessed  and  only  potentate."  "  The 
only  God,"  a  contrast  to  the  multitude  of  created 
spirits,  angels,  principalities,  powers,  &c.  (See  1  Cor. 
viii.  5,  6.) 

For  ever  and  ever. — Literally,  to  the  ages  of  the 
ages,  to  all  eternity — a  Hebraistic  expression  for  a 
duration  of  time  superlatively  (infinitely)  long. 

(18)  This  charge  I  commit  unto  thee,  son 
Timothy, — The  nature  of  the  charge  which  he  com- 
mitted to  Timothy  must  be  gathered  from  the  solemn 
words  and  thoughts  of  the  foregoing  passage — verses 
15,  16.  The  sum  of  it  was  that  men  should  put  their 
whole  trust  in  Him  who  came  into  the  world  to  sjive 
sinners,  and  who  alone  was  able  to  lead  them  into  ever- 
lasting Hfe.  There  is  sometliing  very  solemn  in  St. 
Paul's  pressing  home  this  charge  to  Timothy,  and  in- 
voking the  memory  of  the  prophecies  which  went  before 
on  him.  The  charge  was  the  last  precious  heritage,  the 
priceless  treasure  which  the  old  master,  feehng  that  for 
him  the  end  was  not  far  distant,  would  leave  to  his 
favourite  disciple — his  own  dear  son  in  the  faith. 
Anxious  above  measure  for  the  loved  group  of  Asian 
churches,  of  which  Ephesus  was  the  centre,  foreseeing 
that  the  present  perils  and  dangers  from  within  and 
without  would  rapidly  close  round  the  congregations, 
and  placing  his  greatest  earthly  hope  on  the  steadfast- 
ness and  knowledge  of  his  own  dear  disciple  whom  he 
had  left  there  as  a  shepherd  to  the  sheei^,  he  charges 
his  son  Timothy,  by  the  memoiy  of  those  strange  pro- 
phetic utterances  which,  yeai-s  before,  had  been  made 
over  him  (Acts  x^-ii.  1,  2)  in  Lystra  or  Derbe,  and  which, 
perhaps,  liad  first  induced  him  to  choose  the  young  son 
of  Eunice  as  his  friend  and  companion,  to  hold  fjist 
the  blessed  doctrine  which  taught  men  to  put  their 
whole  trust  in  Jesus  Christ. 

According  to  the  prophecies  which  went 
before  on  thee. — These  prophetic  utterances  seem  to 
have  been  not  unfrequent  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles, 
and  were  among  the  precious  gifts  which  enriched  and 
encouraged  the  Church  of  the  first  days.  We  read  of 
them  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xi.  27,  28),  at  Antioch  (Acts 
xiii.  1,  2),  at  Corinth  (1  Cor.  xiv.),  at  Caisarea  (Acts 
xxi.  8—10). 

In  the  case  of  Timothy  they  appear  to  have  been  far- 
seeing  glances  into  the  life  and  the  work  and  the 
teaching  of  the  future  Christian  leader;  here  tlie  last 
named — the  doctrine  and  teacliing — is  especially  re- 
ferred to.  The  prophecies  in  question  were  uttered,  no 
doubt,  over  him  at  his  ordination,  and,  possibly,  some  of 
them  at  his  baptism. 

That  thou  by  them  mightest  war  a  good 
warfare.— Better  rendered,  that  thou  in  them.  &.C. 
St.  Paul  committed  the  sacred  charge  to  Timotliy  con- 
cerning the  faith  in  full  confidence  that,  in  accordance 
with  tiiose  well-remembered  glorious  predictions  wliich 
had  been  made  foretelling  liis  future  zoal  and  success 
in  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel,  tliat  in  these — 
accoutred    in   these    as    his   spiritual    protection  and 


183 


Of  some  who  have  made 


I.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


Shipiorech  concerning  Faith. 


that  thou  by  them  mightest  war  a  good 
warfare ;  (^^'  holding  faith,  and  a  good 
conscience ;  which  some  having  put 
away  concerning  faith  have  made  ship- 
wreck :  '^^  of  Avhom  is  Hymena3us  and 
Alexander ;  whom  I  have  dehvered  unto 


A.D.  65. 
1  Or,  desire. 


Satan,   that    they   may   learn    not    to 
blaspheme. 

CHAPTEE  II.— (1)  I  exhort  1  there- 
fore, that,  first  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,     intercessions,   and   giving    of 


armour — Timothy  would  wage  his  warfare  against  sin 
and  evil. 

St.  Paul's  words  in  this  verso  may  be  thus  para- 
phrased :  I  give  this  charge  to  you,  son  Timothy,  in 
accordance  with  those  well-remembered  predictions 
respecting  your  future  steadfastness  in  doctrine  and 
in  life.  I  remind  you  now  of  them.  Do  not  disap- 
point these  grand  hopes — these  prophecies  of  your 
future— but  bear  them  ever  in  your  mind.  Equij) 
yourself  in  them  as  your  spiritual  armour,  and  so 
armed,  fight  your  Master's  fight  against  sin  and  e\dl 
— eine  gute  Ritterschaft,  according  to  Luther. 

The  war  imagery  here  used  St.  Paul  employs  again 
and  again:  the  good  warfare.  (Comp.  chap.  vi.  12.) 
To  the  old,  tried  Apostle  a  Christian's  fife  is  a  warfare 
in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word :  to  eveiy  beHever  it 
is  a  weary,  painful  campaign.  In  the  case  of  the 
professed  teachers  a  sleepless  vigUance  was  especially 
demanded. 

(IS)  Holding  faith,  and  a  good  conscience.— 
Again,  as  in  verse  5,  the  Apostle  joins  "  faith "  and 
"  the  conscience  uudefiled."  In  the  mind  of  St.  Paul, 
*'  want  of  faith "  was  no  mere  refusal  to  accept  a 
definite  religious  dogma,  but  was  ever  closely  con- 
nected with  impurity  and  the  love  of  sin.  If  a  man 
dares  to  do  wilful  violence  to  his  better  nature  he  must 
not  presume  to  dream  of  faith  sa\Tng  him.  The 
thought  expressed  by  another  inspired  teacher  seems 
to  run  constantly  in  the  mind  of  St.  Paul :  "  The  devils 
also  believe  and  tremble." 

Which  some.^"  Some."  A  quiet  reference  here 
is  made  to  those  false  teachers  who  seem  to  have  been 
doing  such  evil  woi-k  at  Ephesus  among  the  Christian 
believers,  and  against  whom  Timothy  is  so  urgently 
warned  to  be  on  his  guard  in  the  6th  and  following 
verses  of  the  chapter. 

Having  put  away.— The  simile  in  St.  Paul's  mind 
is  a  nautical  one.  The  "  good  conscience  "  represents  the 
ballast,  or  cargo,  of  the  ship.  When  this  is  put  away — 
tossed  OA'erboard — the  vessel  becomes  unmanageable 
and  is  tossed  about,  the  plaything  of  the  waves,  and  in 
the  end  is  wrecked. 

(20J  Of  whom  is  Hymenseus  and  Alexander.— 
Here  the  Apostle  names  two,  as  examples  of  the  utter 
shipwreck  of  aU  true  faith — persons  endently  well 
known  to  Timothy  and  the  members  of  the  Church  at 
Ephesus.  Hymenajus  is  probably  identical  with  the 
heretic  of  that  name,  charged,  in  the  Second  Epistle 
to  Timothy,  vriih.  teaching  that  the  resurrection  was 
already  passed,  thus  undermining  the  great  hope  which 
Christian  faith  so  firmly  laid  liold  of.  In  the  second 
letter  to  the  Presbyter  presiding  over  the  Ephesian 
congregations  the  fundamental  error  was  specified  on 
account  of  which  this  Hpnenseus  was  excommunicated. 

Alexander.— It  would  be  unsafe  positively  to 
identify  this  person  with  the  personal  adversary  of  St. 
Paul  alluded  to  in  the  Second  Epistle,  iv.  14,  thei'o 
spoken  of  as  "  Alexander  the  coppersmith,"  or  with 
the  Alexander  mentioned  in  Acts  xix.  33.  The  name 
was  a  very  common  one.  Of  the  Alexander  of  Acts 
xix.  33  we  know  nothing;  from  the  circumstances  in 


connection  with  which  he  is  there  mentioned,  which 
took  place  some  tea  years  before  tliis  Ejjistle  was 
written,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  Jew. 

Whom  I  have  delivered  unto  Satan.— In  this 
feai-ful  formula  the  offender  is  delivered  over  to  Satan, 
the  e\dl  one.  It  is  a  solemn  excommunication  or  expul- 
sion from  the  Church,  accompanied  with  the  inflic- 
tion of  bodily  disease  or  death.  In  ordinary  cases,  the 
offender  was  quietly  expelled  from  the  Christian 
society.  But  an  Apostle,  and  only  an  Apostle,  seems  to 
have  possessed  tlie  awful  powers  of  inflicting  bodily 
suffering  in  the  forms  of  disease  and  death.  Certain 
special  instances  of  the  exercise  of  these  tremendous 
powers  are  recorded  in  the  cases  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira, 
Elj-nias,  the  incestuous  person  at  Corinth,  and  the  men 
here  alluded  to.  The  fear  of  Simon  Magus,  related  in 
Acts  viii.  24,  seems  to  have  been  aroused  by  his  eiident 
expectation  that  this  well-known  apostolic  power  would 
be  put  in  force  in  his  case.  It  is,  however,  noticeable 
that  tliis  punishment  was  not  necessarily,  in  the  case 
of  disease,  an  irrevocable  sentence.  The  true  end  and 
purpose  of  this,  as  of  all  divine  punishments,  was  not 
revenge  for  the  sin,  but  the  ultimate  recovery  of  the 
sinner. 

II. 

(1)  I  exhort  therefore.— Now  Timothy  was  to 
begin  to  carry  out  his  master  St.  Paul's  great  charge — 
the  charge  which  bade  him  teach  all  men  to  put  their 
entire,  their  perfect,  trust  in  tlie  Saviour  of  sinners — by 
instructing  the  Church  of  Ephesus,  in  the  first  place,  to 
pray  constantly  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men. 
The  detailed  injunctions  how  the  charge  was  to  be 
carried  out  are  introduced  by  the  Greek  particle  oun, 
translated  in  our  version  by  "  therefore ; "  it  may  be 
paraphrased  thus  :  "In  pursuance  of  my  great  charge, 
I  proceed  by  special  details ;  in  the  first  place,  let  prayers 
for  all  be  offered  by  the  congregation." 

Supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and 
giving  of  thanks. — Many  attemi^ts,  some  of  them 
not  very  happy  ones,  have  been  made  by  grammarians 
and  commentators  to  distinguish  between  these  terms, 
each  of  which  denotes  prayer.  On  the  whole,  it  may 
be  assumed  that  the  Greek  word  translated  "  supplica- 
tions" signifies  a  request  for  particular  benefits,  and 
is  a  special  form  of  the  more  general  word  rendered 
"  prayers."  Tlie  third  expi-ession  in  the  English 
version  translated  "  intercessions "  suggests  a  closer 
and  more  intimate  communion  with  God  on  the  part  of 
the  one  praying.  It  speaks  of  drawuig  near  God,  of 
entering  into  free,  familiar  speech  with  Him.  The 
Greek  word  suggests  prayer  in  its  most  individual, 
urgent  form.  The  fourth  term,  "  gi^'ing  of  thanks," 
expresses  that  which  ought  never  to  be  absent  from  any 
of  our  devotions,  gratitude  for  past  mercies.  Arch- 
bishop Trench  remarks  how  this  peculiar  form  of 
prayer  will  subsist  in  heaven  when,  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  all  other  forms  of  prayer  wiU  have 
ceased  in  the  entire  fruition  of  the  things  prayed  for, 
for  then  only  will  the  redeemed  know  how  much  they 
owe  to  then*  Lord.    The  word  eucharist  is  derived  from 


184 


Concerning 


I.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


Public  Prayer. 


thanks,  be  made  for  all  men  ;  (2>  for 
Chap.  ii.  1—8.  kings,  and /or  all  tliat  are 
General  (Hrec-  in  authority :  1  that  we  may 
tion  respecting  •    i  i  i  i 

public  prayer,    lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable 


1  OT,enwKnti)hicc. 


life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.  (^)  For 
this  is  good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight 
of  God  our  Saviour;  ('^^  who  will  have 
all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto 


the  Greek  word  used  in  this  place — eucharistia — for 
in  tlio  Holy  Communion  the  Clmrcli  embodies  its 
liighest  act  of  thanksgiving  for  tlio  highest  benefits 
received. 

For  all  men. — Professor  Reynolds  well  com- 
ments on  the  hardness  of  the  task  set  us  here — "  It  is 
difficult  for  us  ahvays  to  love  all  men,  to  think  of  all 
men  as  equally  dear  to  God,  or  to  regard  all  men  as 
equally  capable  of  being  blessed.  Timothy,  after  read- 
ing tliis  letter,  probably  walked  along  the  marble 
colonnade  of  the  great  temple  of  Artemis,  or  heard  the 
hum  of  some  twenty  thousand  Asiatic  Greeks  crowded 
in  the  vast  theatre  to  witness  the  glatliatorial  fight,  or 
encountered  a  procession  of  Bacchantes,  or  tiirned  into 
the  synagogue  on  the  side  of  the  Coresias  and  saw  the 
averted  looks,  and  felt  the  bitter  hatred  of  some  old 
friends.  "We,  with  some  knowledge  of  the  modern 
world,  have  to  look  into  the  '  hells '  upon  earth ;  to 
survey  the  gold-fields  and  battle-fields ;  the  African 
slave-hunts ;  the  throngs  and  saloons  of  Pekin,  Cal- 
cutta, and  Paris;  the  monasteries  of  Tibet;  and  make 
prayers,  petiticms,  intercessions,  and  thanksgivings,  too, 
on  behalf  of  all  men.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel, 
Timothy  received  this  quiet  injunction  from  the  Apostle 
Paul.  Now  the  once  whispered  word  peals  like  the 
voice  of  many  waters  and  mighty  thunderings  over  the 
whole  Church  of  God." 

(2)  For  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority. 
— Without  any  special  reference  to  the  Roman  empe- 
rors, the  expression  simply  directs  that  jjrayer  should  be 
offered  in  all  Christian  congregations  for  the  supreme 
authorities  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  especially  of 
that  particular  province  in  which  the  church,  where  the 
prayer  was  oifered,  happened  to  be  situate.  Joseplius 
especially  mentions  how  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  the 
Jews  to  pray  for  Roman  magistrates  led  to  the  great 
war  with  the  empire  which  ended  in  their  destruction 
as  a  separate  nation. 

A  well-knoAvn  passage  in  the  Apology  of  Tertullian. 
wi'itten  about  a  centuiy  and  a  quarter  after  St.  Paul 
sent  his  first  letter  to  Timothy,  shows  how  well  and 
carefully  this  charge  of  the  great  teacher,  written  to  the 
Church  in  Ephesus,  was  kept  in  distant  Cartilage : — "We 
Christians  ....  do  intercede  for  all  the  emperors 
that  their  lives  may  be  pi'olonged,  their  government  be 
secured  to  them,  that  tlieir  families  may  be  preserved  in 
safety,  their  senates  faithful  to  them,  their  armies 
brave,  their  people  honest,  and  that  the  whole  empire 
may  be  at  peace,  and  for  whatever  other  things  are 
desired  by  the  people  or  the  Caesar." 

Eai-ly  in  the  second  century,  Polycarp  of  Smyrna 
bears  siniila'*  testimony  to  this  practice  in  tlie  early 
Cluirch  of  praying  publicly  for  their  heathen  rulers  : — 
"  Pray  for  all  the  saints ;  pray,  too.  for  all  kings  and 
powers  and  rulers,  and  for  your  persecutors,  and  those 
that  hate  you,  and  for  your  cruel  enemies." 

That  we  may  lead  a  quiot  and  peaceable 
life. — What  now  is  the  special  object  of  this  prayer 
for  those  in  high  authority  and  power?  First,  that 
through  fJieir  wise  rule  the  Christians  might  enjoy 
peace;  and,  sect)nd,  tliat  the  tenipcr  of  the  people  who 

E rayed  thus  for  the  ruling  powers  might  be  so  affected 
y  the  constant  repetition  of  such  prayers :   that  all 


thouglits  of  revolt  and  resistance  would  be  gradually 
stampcid  out. 

St.  Paul  knew  whom  he  was  addressing.  Tlie  Chris- 
tian congregations  of  his  age  were  lai-gely  made  up 
of  Jews.  An  intense  longing  to  throAV  off  the  yoke  of 
Rome  pervaded  the  whole  nation.  The  terril)le  events 
of  the  year  70  (only  four  or  five  years  at  most  from 
the  time  of  wi-iting  this  Epistle)  show  how  deep-seated 
was  their  hatred  of  the  stranger.  No  Christian,  how- 
ever, was  implicated  in  that  fatal  rebellion ;  so  thoroughly 
had  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  and  his  fellow  Apostles 
done  its  work  among  the  Jewish  followers  of  the 
Crucified. 

In  all  godliness  and  honesty.— The  word 
rendered  "honesty"  is  better  translated  gravity,  or 
decorum.  These  words  are  only  used  by  St.  Paul  in 
his  Pastoi'al  Epistles,  where  "  godliness "  occurs  nine 
times,  and  "gravity"  three  times.  The  sphere,  so  to 
speak,  in  which  St.  Paul's  ideal  Chi-istian  must  walk 
during  his  qidet,  unobtrusive  pilgrimage,  was  reverence 
and  decorum. 

(3)  For  this  is  good  and  acceptable.— That 
prayer  be  offered  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men 
is  good  and  acceptable  before  God. 

In  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour. — Here,  as  in 
chap.  i.  1,  this  title  of  "  Sa\'iour "  is  given  to  the 
Father,  and  is  in  this  place  singularly  applicable,  as  it 
immediately  precedes  the  famous  statement  of  the  next 
verse,  respecting  the  boundless  mercy  of  the  Eternal. 

(4)  Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and 
to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. — 
Here  St.  Paul  gives  some  explanation  of  his  exhorta- 
tion, that  "  the  congregation  should  i^ray  for  aU  men." 
Our  prayers  after  all — for  those  far  off,  as  well  as  for 
those  near — will  be  in  strict  harmony  with  the  will  of 
God.  "  Imitate  God,"  writes  St.  Chrysostom ;  "  if  He 
wills  that  all  men  should  be  saved,  it  is  surely  natural 
that  prayer  should  be  offered  for  all ;  if  He  Avilled  that 
all  should  be  saved,  do  thou  will  it  now;  and  if  in 
earnest  thou  wiliest  it,  then  pray." 

One  or  two  points  must  ever  be  held  in  mind  when 
this  great  statement  of  St.  Paul's  is  used  as  a  proof 
of  "  Universal  Redemption."  We  must  remember  the 
position  it  occupies  in  the  argument,  it  being  only  in- 
troduced as  a  reason  for  the  exhortation  to  pray  for  all. 
Then  the  words  must  be  looked  at  very  carefully.  Grod's 
will  is  not  to  save  {sosai)  all — if  that  hacL  been  His 
sovereign  will  He  looulcl  have  saved  all ;  but  His  will 
is  that  all  should  be  saved — all  should  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth ;  not  to  the  knowledge  of  tho 
mere  theoretical,  but  of  the  practical  and  6a\-ing  truth 
as  revealed  in  the  gospel.  "  In  other  words,  through 
the  sacrifice  and  the  death  of  Christ  all  are  rendered 
capable  of  salvation  [salvahiles) ;  that  some  are  indis- 
putably not  saved,  is  not  due  to  any  outward  circum- 
scription or  inefficacy  of  the  divine  vdW.  but  to  man's 
rejection  of  the  .special  means  of  salvation  which  Gt)d 
has  been  pleased  to  appoint,  and  to  which  it  is  His 
divine  will  that  man's  salvation  should  be  limited. 
Redemption  is  imiversal.  yet  conditional — all  may 
be  saved,  yet  all  will  not  be  saved,  because  all  will 
not  conform  to  God's  appointed  condition." — Bishop 
Ellicotf. 


185 


Wliy  Prayer  rmcst 


I.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


be  made  for  all. 


the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  ^^'^  For 
there  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus  ;  <'^^  who  gave  himself  a  ransom 
for   all,   to   be   testified^   in  due  time. 


1  Or,  a  testimony. 


(^'  Wliereunto  I  am  ordained  a  preacher, 
and  an  apostle,  (I  speak  the  truth  in 
Christ,  and  lie  not ;)  a  teacher  of  the 
Gentiles  in  faith  and  verity.  (^>  I  will 
therefore  that  men  pray  every  where. 


(•'')  For  there  is  one  God,  and  one  mediator 
between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus. 
— "  Foi-y  This  gives  the  reasou  wliy  it  is  good  and  well- 
pleasing  ill  the  sight  of  God  that  Christians  should 
pray  for  all — for  tliere  is  one  Saviour,  God  the  Father, 
who  wills  that  all  should  be  saved,  and  tliere  is  one 
Mediator,  Christ  Jesus,  who  has  given  Himself  as  ran- 
som for  all.  Surely  then,  to  us  who  call  ourselves  by 
the  naine  of  Christ,  the  fate  of  the  heathen  who  as  yet 
know  not  Christ  cannot  be  a  matter  of  indifference. 
Wo  must  in  our  praise  and  prayer  include  these 
strangers  whom  the  Father  wills  sliould  come  to  Him, 
for  whose  sake  the  Son  has  given  his  life. 

The  man  Christ  Jesus.— St.  Paul  with  special  em- 
phasis speaks  of  the  "  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
man  "  as  "  the  man  Chnst  Jesus,"  no  doubt  wishing  to 
bring  into  promincnice  the  true  humanity  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  also  a  silent  refutation  of  the  docetic  errors  of  some 
of  the  false  teachers,  of  whose  doctrines  Timothy  was 
to  beware.  These  would  have  persuaded  men  that  the 
Christ  Jesus  who  was  nailed  to  the  cross  was  no  man, 
but  simply  a  phantom. 

The  human  nature  of  Christ  is  also  specially  men- 
tioned because  in  this  state  He  performed  His  office  as 
Mediator.  In  the  statement  of  the  next  verse  we  find 
another  reason  for  St.  Paul's  allusion  hero  to  the  fact 
of  the  Mediator  being  a  man.  The  Messiah  must  have 
taken  the  human  nature  upon  Him  before  He  could 
have  suffered  that  death  which  was  the  ransom  of  all. 
Again,  tlio  human  nature  of  the  Mediator  is  brought 
forward  to  show  that  the  mediatorial  office  extended 
over  the  whole  human  race — a  grand  thought,  expressed 
in  the  following  words — "  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom 
for  all." 

(•^»  Who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all.— 
The  declaration  (of  verse  5)  that  there  was  one  God  for 
fallen  man  would  have  been  scarcely  a  joyful  proclama- 
tion had  it  not  boon  immediately  followed  by  the 
announcement  that  between  that  one  God  and  sinning 
man  there  was  a  mediator.  Now  (in  verse  (J)  we  have 
in  a  few  words  the  inspired  description  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Mediator  performed  His  office  and  work ; 
of  His  own  free  sovereign  will ;  He  yielded  up  Himself 
to  death  as  the  price  of  the  redemption  of  all  man- 
kind— His  life  in  exchange  for  their  forfeited  lives. 

St.  Paul's  teaching  here  is  very  definite,  and  is  utterly 
irreconcilable  with  much  of  the  popular  (so-called) 
theology  of  the  day,  which  rejects  this  great  Christian 
doctrine,  so  clearly  taught  here  by  St.  Paul,  of  a 
"  satiiffactio  vicaria."  This  teaching  asserts,  that 
without  pleading  the  death  of  Christ,  we  may.  if  we 
please,  approach  and  find  access  to  the  Father,  and 
such  teaching  as  this  passage  shows  is  irreconcilable 
with  gospel  trutli. 

To  be  testified  in  due  time.— Better  rendered, 
"  ivitness  of  which  ivas  to  be  borne  in  its  oivn  times. 
The  meaning  of  the  words  is,  "  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
eternal  counsels,  gave  Himself  to  death  as  the  price  of 
the  redemption  of  fallen  man ;  at  the  appointed  and 
fitting  season  He  endured  this  death — this  death  was 
the  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  trementlous  offering 
made  in  the  counsels  of  the  eternal  and  ever-blessed 


Trinity.  So  St.  Chrysostom,  who  asserts  that  "the 
witness  to  be  borne  "  was  given  in  the  death  and  suf- 
fering of  the  Lord. 

(" )  Whereunto  I  am  ordained  a  preacher,  and 
an  apostle  .  .  . — Whereunto,  or  "for  which  witness." 
To  announce  wliicli  witness — the  witness  being  the 
suffering  and  the  death  of  Christ — St.  Paul  was 
ordained  an  Apostle — the  reference  being  entirely  to 
what  preceded. 

I  speak  the  truth  .  .  .  and  lie  not. — The  warmth 
with  wliicli  St.  Paul  here  asserted  his  divinely  conferred 
commission  as  preacher  and  Apostle,  was  not  called 
out  by  any  desire  on  his  part  to  seize  an  occasion 
of  asserting  in  the  presence  of  his  enemies,  the  false 
heretical  teachers  of  Ephesus,  his  especial  rank  and 
prerogatiA'es  as  an  Apostle  chosen  and  commissioned  by 
the  Most  High.  These  fiery  and  earnest  words  had  no 
private  reference  to  him,  St.  Paul,  or  to  his  especial 
claims  to  be  heard,  but  were  uttered  solely  in  vie\r  of  the 
surpassing  magnitude  of  the  message  with  which  he  was 
charged — solely  to  bear  a  weighty  and  imposing  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  his  assertion,  wliich  so  many  were 
ready  and  eager  to  dispute — the  assertion  that  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  was  a  message  of  glad  tidings, 
was  an  offer  of  salvation,  not  to  a  people,  but  to  a 
world. 

A  teacher  of  the  Gentiles.  —  This  specifies 
more  clearly  the  especial  duties  of  his  apostleship,  not 
perhaps  without  some  reference  to  the  peculiar  fitness 
w^hicli  marked  him  out  as  the  declarer  of  the  divine  wiU 
in  respect  to  this  gracious  offer  of  redemption  to  the  isles 
of  the  scattered  countless  Gentiles. 

In  faith  and  verity. — Better  rendered,  in  faith 
and  tridh.  These  words  specify  the  sphere  in  which 
the  Apostle  performed  his  great  mission.  The  first, 
"  in  faith,"  refers  to  St.  Paul's  own  personal  faith  in 
Jesus — the  grand  motive  power  of  his  life  and  work ; 
the  second,  "  in  truth,"  refers  to  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity— to  the  well-known  facts  of  the  gospel  story.  Or, 
in  other  words,  St.  Paul  carried  on  liis  ceaseless  labours, 
tvithin  gathering  fresh  and  ever  fresh  strength  from 
the  exliaustless  s})ring  of  his  own  loving,  miglity  faith 
in  Jesus,  and  ivithout  ap])ealing  to  the  generally  well- 
known  incidents  of  the  life,  death,  and  resurrection  of 
Jesus,  the  truth  of  which  all  might  test.  In  those 
days  there  were  even  many  eye-witnesses  of  the  Passion 
still  living. 

(8)  I  will  therefore. — The  Apostle  here  again 
turns  to  iha  subject  of  "  public  prayer,"  now  giving 
directions  respecting  the  persons  who  should  offer  their 
prayers,  and  also  telling  them  how  these  public  requests 
to  God  should  be  made.  "  I  will  therefore  "  expresses 
on  St.  Paul's  part  no  mere  wish  or  desire,  but  it  is  the 
expression  of  his  solemn  apostolical  authority.  It  might 
be  rendered.  I  desire  therefore. 

That  men  pray  every  where  .  .  . — Better  ren- 
dered. Ml  evertj  place.  The  greater  liberty  which 
women,  under  the  teaching  of  Christ,  had  enjoyed;  the 
new  position  they  occupied  in  the  Christian  common- 
wealth ;  the  distinguished  serA-iees  many  of  them  had 
been  permitted  to  accomplish  in  the  Master's  ser\'ice — 
in  such  instances  as  the  Marys,  Dorcas,  PrisciUa,  Lydia, 


186 


The  Men  are  to  Pray  in  Public. 


I.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


The  Women  are  to  Preserve  Silence. 


lifting  up  lioly  hands,  witliout  wratli  and 
Chap.  ii.  8-15.  doubting.  <»>  In  like  man- 
Of  the  part  to  ner  also,  that  women  adorn 
soztffu  public  themselves  in  modest  ap- 
prayer.  parel,  with  shamelacedness 

and  sobriety;  not  with  broided^  hair,  or 


1  Or,  plaited. 


gold,  or  pearls,  or  costly  array;  (^•^)  bat 
(which  becometh  women  professing  god- 
liness) with  good  works.  '^^^  Let  the 
woman  learn  in  silence  with  all  subjec- 
tion. (^-^  But  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to 
teach,  nor  to  usurj)  authority  over  the 


and  others — had  no  donbt  contributed  to  a  certain  self- 
assertion  on  tlic  part  of  female  converts  in  the  Epliesian 
cono^regations,  which  threatenetl  grave  disorders  in  the 
conduct  of  divine  worship.  St.  Paul,  in  liis  directions  re- 
specting divine  service  in  the  Christian  assemblies,  fol- 
lows the  custom  Insro  of  the  Jewish  synagogue,  whore 
■women  were  forbidden  to  speak.  Men,  said  St.  Paul, 
in  every  place  where  a  congregation  in  the  name  of 
Christ  was  gathered  together,  were  to  be  the  offerers 
of  prayer.  The  word  "  everywhere  "  seems  a  memory 
of  the  Lord's  words  to  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
"  Believe  me,  the  hour  cometh  when  ye  shall  neither 
in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the 
Father." 

Lifting  up  holy  hands. — It  was  the  Jewish 
practice,  not  only  in  taking  a  solemn  oath — or  in  bless- 
ing— but  also  in  prayer,  to  lift  up  the  hands — Compare 
Psalm  xx\iii.  2  ;  Ixiii.  4.  This  seems  to  have  been  ge- 
nerally adopted  by  the  early  Christians  as  the  attitude 
in  prayer.  See  Clem.  Rom.,  To  the  Corinthians,  chap, 
xxix.  "Holy  hands;"  see  Psalm  xxiv.  4;  xxvi.  6; 
"  holy  " — that  is,  unstained  with  wanton  sins. 

Without  wrath  and  doubting. — Here  allusion 
is  doubtless  made  to  religious  disputes  and  contentions 
among  the  believers  themselves — "  doubting  "  is  better 
translated  by  disputing.  These  angry  feelings  can  have 
no  place  in  the  heart  of  one  who  really  pi'ays,  whether 
in  public  or  in  private. 

(9)  In  like  manner  also,  that  women. — The 
Apostle  continues  his  official  injunctions  in  reference  to 
public  prayer.  "  Likewise,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  I  desire 
that  women,  when  they  j)ray" — women  also  in  the  con- 
gregation had  their  duties  as  well  as  the  men — while 
the  latter  were  directed  to  conduct  and  lead  the  public 
prayer,  the  women  who  worshipped  with  them  were 
enjoined,  as  their  part  of  the  solemn  service,  to  be 
present,  adorned  with  neatness  of  apparel  and  modesty 
of  demeanour,  and  the  holy  reputation  of  kind  deeds. 

Adorn  themselves  in  modest  apparel. — This 
direction  to  Christian  women  was  not  intended  to  apply 
to  their  ordinary  dress  in  the  world,  but  simply  ex- 
plained to  the  sisters  of  the  Ephesian  flock  that  their 
place  in  public  worship  was  one  of  quiet  attention — 
that  their  reverence  and  adoration  must  be  shown  not 
by  thrusting  themselves  forward  with  a  view  to  public 
teaching  or  public  praying,  but  by  being  present  and 
taking  part  silently — avoiding  especially  in  these  ser- 
vices anything  like  a  conspicuous  dress  or  showy  orna- 
ments— anything,  in  fact,  which  would  be  likely  to 
arouse  attention,  or  distract  the  thoughts  of  others. 

With  shamefacedness  and  sobriety.— These 
expressions  denote  the  inward  feelings  with  which  the 
Apostle  desires  the  devout  Christian  women  to  come  to 
divine  service  ;  the  first  signifies  "  the  innate  shrinking 
from  anytliing  unbecoming."  The  second,  sobriety, 
includes  the  idea  of  self-restraint — the  conquest  over 
all  wanton  tliought  and  desire. 

Not  with  broided  hair.- Comp.  1  Pet.  iii.  3; 
Isa.  iii.  21.  "  BroidiMl:"  the  modem  form  is  "braided." 
SoMK^  modem  editions  give  "  broidored,"  apparently  by 
mistake. 


187 


Or  gold. — Probably,  the  "  gold "  is  supposed  to 
be  twined  among  the  plaits  of  the  hair.  These  ela- 
borate adornments,  so  likely  to  catch  the  eye  at  divine 
worship,  were  quite  inconsistent  with  Christian  simpli- 
city, besides  being  calculated  to  distra<*t  the  attention  of 
their  fellow  worshippers,  male  as  well  as  female.  On  this 
question  of  seemly,  quiet  apparel,  in  an  assembly  gath- 
ered for  divine  worship,  see  the  difficult  verse,  1  Cor. 
xi.  10,  where  another  and  a  still  graver  reason  for 
modest  demeanour  and  apparel  of  women  is  alleged — 
"  because  of  the  angels." 

Pearls,  or  costly  array. — Ear-rings,  necklaces, 
bracelets,  are  included  here  ;  these  costly  ornaments 
were  worn  by  the  ladies  of  the  luxurious  age  in  which 
St.  Paul  lived,  in  great  profusion. 

(10)  But  (which  becometh  women  professing 
godliness)  with  good  works.— That  is  to  say, 
"  Let  them  adorn  themselves  in  that  which  is  befitting 
women  who  profess  godliness—  viz.,  in  good  works."  The 
Apostle,  still  speaking  of  women's  true  part  in  pub- 
lic divine  service — urges  that  their  works  should  be  in 
accord  with  their  words  of  prayer — tells  them  that  a 
woman's  truest  and  most  beautiful  ornament  consisted 
in  those  tender  works  of  mercy  and  pity — her  peculiar 
province — in  other  words,  that  they,  like  Dorcas  of 
Joppa,  whose  praise  is  in  the  Book  of  Life,  "  should  be 
full  of  good  works  and  alms  deeds  "  (Acts  ix.  36). 

(11)  Let  the  woman  learn  in  silence.— Tlie 
thought  of  public  ministration  is  still  in  the  Apostle's 
mind,  when  he  gives  this  injunction.  The  very  ques- 
tioning on  difficult  points  is  forbidden  them  at  the  public 
assembly  (1  Corinth,  xiv.  35).  So  averse  was  St.  Paul 
to  anything  which  might  mar  the  quiet  solemnity  of 
these  meetings  for  prayer  and  praise  and  authoritative 
instruction. 

This  prohibition  to  speak  publicly  in  assemblies  for 
prayer  and  praise  in  the  case  of  Christian  women,  was 
renewed  in  the  North  African  Church,  at  the  Council 
of  Carthage,  held  a.d.  398.  The  same  Council,  how- 
ever, specially  permitted  women  to  teach  those  of  their 
own  sex  in  private ;  indeed,  the  power  to  teach  "  ignorant 
and  rustic  women  "  was  required  as  one  qualification 
in  deaconesses.  The  emph)yment  of  deaconesses  as 
private  instructors  seems  to  have  been  the  custom 
generally  in  the  Eastern  Churches. 

(1-)  But  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach,  nor  to 
usurp  authority  over  the  man,  but  to  be  in 
silence. — The  whole  purpose  of  these  weighty  admo- 
nitions of  the  great  fouiuler  of  the  Gentile  Churches 
relegates  Christian  women  to  their  own  legitimate  sphere 
of  action  and  intiuenco — the  quiet  of  their  own  homes. 
St.  Paul  caught  well  the  spirit  of  his  Master  here.  He 
raised  once  and  for  ever  the  women  of  Christ  out  of  the 
position  of  degradation  and  intellectual  inferiority  they 
Iiad  occupied  in  the  various  pagan  systems  of  tlie  East 
and  West,  and  taught  withal!  tlie  weight  of  an  Ajmstle — 
of  an  accredited  teacher  of  divine  wisdom — that  woman 
was  a  fellow-lieir  with  man  of  the  glories  of  the  kingdom, 
— where  sex  would  exist  no  longer:  but  wliile  teaching 
this  great  and  elevating  truth.  St.  Paul  .^hows  wliat  is 
the  only  proper  sphere  in  which  woman  should  work,  and 


The  Reason  for  the 


I.    TIMOTHY,    III. 


Subordination  of  Women. 


man,  but  to  be  in  silence.  (^^'  For  Adam 
was  first  formed,  then  Eve.  ^^^^  And 
Adam  was  not  deceived,  but  the  woman 
being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression. 
t^>  Notwithstanding  she  shall  be  saved 


in  childbearing,  if  they  continue  in 
faith  and  charity  and  holiness  with 
sobriety. 

CHAPTEE   III.— (1)  This   is  a  true 


in  wliich  sho  should  exercise  her  inftueuce  and  power ; 
whilo  man's  work  and  duties  lay  in  the  busy  world 
without,  woman's  work  was  exclusively  confined  to  the 
quiet  stillness  of  home.  The  Apostle  tlien  proceeds  to 
ground  these  injunctions  respecting  the  duties  in  public 
and  private  of  tlie  two  sexes  upon  the  original  order  of 
creation,  and  upon  the  circumstances  which  attended 
the  fall. 

(1^)  For  Adam  was  first  formed,  then  Eve.— 
Tlie  Holy  Spirit  seems  often  (comp.  especially  Gal.  iii. 
!♦)  and  following  verses,  and  iv.  22  and  following 
verses,  and  1  Cor.  x.  1 — 10)  to  have  moved  St.  Paul 
to  weave  into  the  taj)estry  of  his  arguments  and  ex- 
hortations to  the  different  churches,  facts  and  principles 
drawn  from  Old  Testament  history.  His  early  training 
in  the  great  Rabbinical  schools  of  Jerusalem  liad  well 
supplied  him  with  a  vast  store  of  this  Old  Testament 
learning. 

The  argiiment  here  based  on  priority  of  creation  is 
much  assisted  by  the  additional  statement  of  1  Cor. 
xi.  9,  "neither  was  the  man  created  for  the  woman,  but 
the  woman  for  tlie  man."  This  teaching  of  St.  Paul's 
respecting  the  public  position  of  wonum  as  regards  man, 
in  which  he  shows  that  she  is  to  hold  a  subordinate 

{)lac6 — is  based  upon  no  arbitrary  human  speculation, 
)ut  upon  God's  original  order  in  creation — that  divine 
order  which  first  created  man,  and  after  man's  creation, 
formed  woman  as  his  helpmeet. 

(1^)  And  Adam  was  not  deceived. — Priority  in 
creation  was  the  gi'ound alleged  ])y  St.  Paul  as  the  reason 
why  the  woman  was  never  to  exercise  authority  over 
man,  the  eldest  born  of  God.  "  Adam  was  not 
deceived ;  "  the  Apostle  now  refers  to  the  general  basis 
of  his  direction  respecting  the  exclusion  of  women 
from  all  2>idjlic  praying  and  teacliing  contained  in 
verses  9 — 12.  The  argument  here  is  a  singular  one — 
Adam  and  Eve  both  sinned,  but  Adam  was  not 
deceived.  He  sinned,  quite  aware  all  the  wJiih;  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  sin  ho  was  voluntarily  committing. 
Eve,  on  the  other  liand,  was  completely,  thoroughly 
deceived  (the  preposition  witli  whicli  the  Greek  verb 
is  compounded  here  conveying  the  idea  of  thorough- 
ness)— sho  succum])ed  to  tlie  serpent's  deceit.  Both 
were  involved  in  tlie  sin,  Imt  only  one  (Eve)  allowed 
herself  to  l)e  deluded.  So  Bengel,  "  Decrptio  indicat 
viinus  rubur  in  iuteUectit,  at(jiie  hie  nemis  est  cur 
rmilieri  non  liccat  docere."  Prof.  Reynolds  thus  com- 
ments on  tlie  argument  of  the  Apos'tle  : — "  This  may 
sound  to  our  ears  a  far-fetched  argument 
to  discountenance  female  usurpation  of 
supremacy.  It  was,  liowever.  a  method 
the  time  to  look  for  and  find  in  the 
the  concrete  expressions  of  almost  all  idiilosoph 
judgnionts.  At  the  present  day  we  could  hardly  find 
a  more  vivid  illustration  of  the  essential  difference 
between  the  masculine  and  feminine  nature.  If  there 
be  this  disliuction  between  the  sexes,  that  distinction 
still  furnishes  the  basis  of  an  argument  and  a  reason 
for  the  advice  liere  rendered.  The  catastrophe  of 
Eden  is  the  beacon  for  all  generations  when  the  sexes 
repeat  the  folly  of  Eve  and  Adam,  and  exchange  their 
distinctive  position  and  functions." 


when  used 

intellectual 

current   at 

Scriptures 


188 


(15)  Notwithstanding  she  shall  be  saved  in 
childbearing. — The  last  words  are  more  accurately 
and  forcibly  rendered —  through  the  ch  iklbea ring.  Wit n 
that  tender  and  winning  courtesy  to  which,  no  doubt, 
humanly  speaking,  the  great  missionary  owes  so  much 
of  his  vast  influenco  over  human  hearts,  St.  Paul,  now 
anxious  lest  he  had  wounded  Avith  his  severe  words  and 
stern  precepts  his  Ephesian  sisters  in  Clu-ist,  closes 
his  charge  to  women  with  a  few  touching  words,  bright 
with  the  glorious  pi'omise  they  contained.  Though 
their  life  duties  must  be  different  from  those  of  men — yet 
for  them,  too,  as  for  men,  there  was  one  glorious  goal ; 
but  for  them — the  women  of  Christ — the  only  road  to  the 
goal  was  the  faithful,  true  carrying  out  of  the  quiet  liome 
duties  he  had  just  sketched  out  for  them.  In  other 
words,  women  will  win  the  great  salvation ;  but  if  they 
would  win  it,  they  must  fulfil  their  destiny  ;  they  must 
acquiesce  in  all  the  conditions  of  a  woman's  life — in 
the  forefront  of  which  St.  Paul  places  the  all-important 
functions  and  duties  of  a  mother. 

This  is  apparently  the  ob'V'ious  meaning  of  the 
Apostle's  words — aU  this  lies  on  the  surface — but 
beneath  all  this  the  reverent  reader  can  hardly  fail  to 
see  another  and  deeper  reference  (the  presence  of  the 
article,  "through  t}ie  childbearing,"  gives  us  the  clue) 
— "she  shall  be  saved  by  the  childbearing"  (the  Incar- 
nation) by  the  relation  in  which  woman  stood  to  the 
Messiah,  in  consequence  of  the  primal  prophecy  that 
her  seed  (not  man's)  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head 
(Gen.  iii.  15),  the  peculiar  function  of  her  sex,  from  its 
relation  to  her  Saviour,  "shall  be  the  medivun  of  her 
salvation."     (See  Bishop  EUicott,  in  loco.) 

If  they  continue  in  faith  and  charity  and 
holiness  with  sobriety.— But  let  no  one  think  that 
the  true  saintly  woman,  painted  with  such  matchless 
skill  by  St.  Paul,  satisfies  the  conditions  of  her  life  by 
merely  fulfilling  the  duties  of  a  mother. 

She  must  besides,  if  she  would  win  her  crown,  hold 
fast  to  the  Master's  well-known  teaching,  which  enjoins 
on  all  His  own  disciples,  men  as  well  as  women,  faith 
and  love,  holiness  and  modesty.  The  last  woi-d,  "  mo- 
desty," or  discretion,  or  sobriety  (all  poor  renderings  of 
the  Greek  sophrosune,  which  includes,  besides,  the  idea 
of  a  fight  with  and  a  victory  over  self),  brings  back  the 
thoughts  to  the  beautiful  Pauline  conception  of  a  true 
woman,  who  wins  her  sweet  and  weighty  power  in  the 
world  by  seLf-effacemeut. 

III. 

(1)  This  is  a  true  saying. — Tliere  is  no  reason 
why  the  rendering  of  this  ft)rniula  adopted  in  chap, 
i.  1.5,  "faithful  is  this  saying,"  should  be  altered  here. 
The  "faithful  saying"  liere  refers  to  the  wish  for  high 
and  arduous  work  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  declares 
such  a  wish  to  l)e  a  noble  one ;  for  the  office  in  question 
was  a  beautiful  one,  and  liouourable,  and  in  those  days 
meant  stern  and  ceaseless  work,  grave  and  constant 
danger.  It  was  no  doubt  <me  of  the  well-known  sayings 
among  the  l)rethren  of  the  first  days,  and  not  i?npro- 
bably,  with  the  other  "faithful  sayings"  of  this  group 
of  Epistles,  ft)rmed  a  part  of  their  liturgy,  and  was  woven 
into  some  of  their  special  prayers  offered  in  public. 


Qualifications  necessanj 


I.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


for  a  Presbyter. 


Chap.    iii.    1-13.      The   sayillg 
qualifications  of  bishops   desire 
or    presbyters    (elders)    1 
— 7),  and  of   deacons   8 
-13). 


If   a   man 

the     office 

of    a     bishop,     he 

desireth     a      good 


1  Or,  modest. 


work.  (2)  A  bishop  then  must  be 
blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife, 
vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behaviour,^ 
given    to    hospitality,     apt    to    teach; 


Perhaps  this  "  faitliful  saying "  was  a  portion  of  a 
prayer  offered  not  unfrequeutly  in  tho  pnl^Hc  assembly, 
askinf^  tliat  volunteers  might  bo  moved  by  tho  Holy 
Ghost  to  present  themselves  for  the  then  dangerous 
office  of  ordained  ministers  of  the  Word. 

"  Well  might  a  man  desire  the  office  of  chief  pastor ; 
it  was  indeed  a  good  work ;  "  but,  in  the  first  place, 
such  a  dignity  could  only  be  held  by  one  possessing 
many  qualities,  tlien  and  there  enumerated. 

If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop. — More 
accurately  rendered.  If  a  man  seeheth.  In  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  the  Greek  words  rendei'ed  "  bishop "  and 
"presbyter"  or  elder  (episGopos,  presbuteros),  are  ap- 
plied indifferently  to  the  same  person,  for  up  to  this 
period  (a.d.  65 — 6)  no  necessity  had  ainsen  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Church  for  tlio  appointment  of  a  special 
order  of  superintending  presbyters.  The  numbers  of  the 
members  of  the  brotherliood,  though  eveiy  year  showing 
a  vast  increase,  were  still,  comparatively  speaking, 
small.  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  St.  James  and  St.  John, 
and  certainly  the  majority  of  the  apostolic  college, 
were  still  living ;  while,  till  A.D.  70,  the  Jerusalem 
congregation  still  acted  as  tho  central  authority  of  the 
Church,  and  grave  questions  continued  to  bo  referred 
to  the  Fathers  resident  there. 

Early  in  the  second  century,  however,  there  is  not  a 
shadow  of  doulit  that  the  episcopal  office,  as  we  under- 
stand it,  was  widely  established.  During  the  last  thirty 
years,  then,  of  the  first  century,  this  great  change  in 
Church  organisation  must  have  been  effected — that 
is,  during  the  life-time  of  St.  John.  How  this  was 
brought  about  is  admirably  stated  by  Professor  Rothe, 
of  Heidelberg,  as  quoted  by  Canon  Lightfoot  in  his 
dissertation  on  the  Christian  ministry  [Commentary 
on  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians),  who,  without 
accepting  all  the  details  suggested,  still  in  the  main 
agrees  with  tho  famous  Heidelberg  professor  in  his 
theory  respecting  the  very  early  establishment  of  epis- 
copacy in  the  Catholic  Church.  After  painting  tlie 
distractions  and  grooving  dissensions  of  the  Chui'ch, 
occ<asion(!(l  by  the  jealousies  between  the  Jewish  and 
Gentile  brethren,  and  the  menacing  apparition  of  the 
Gnostic  liercsy,  Roihe  states  how,  in  the  face  of  this 
great  emergency,  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  James  were 
carried  away  by  death  almost  at  the  same  time  ;  while, 
with  tho  overthrow  of  Jerusalem  very  shortly  after, 
tho  visible  centre  of  the  Churcli  was  removed,  the  key- 
stone of  the  fabric  was  withdrawn,  and  tho  whole  edifice 
was  threatened  with  ruin.  There  was  a  crjnng  need  for 
some  organisation  wliicli  should  cement  together  tho 
diverse  elements  of  Christian  society,  and  preserve  it 
from  disintegration.  Out  of  this  need  tlie  Catholic 
Church  in  its  episcopal  character  arose.  From  notices 
in  Eusebius,  Irena)U3,  and  Clement  of  Rome,  Rotho 
(quoted  by  Lightfoot)  concludes  "that,  immediately 
after  tho  fall  of  Jerusalem,  a  council  of  tho  surviving 
Apostles  and  first  teachers  of  the  gospel  was  lield  to 
dcliljerato  on  tho  crisis,  and  to  frame  measures  for  tho 
well-being  of  the  Church.  The  centre  of  tlio  system 
tlms  organised  was  episcopacy,  whicli  at  onco  secured 
tho  compact  and  liarmonious  working  of  each  individual 
congregation,  and.  as  tho  link  of  communication  1)0- 
tweeu   tho   separate   brotherhoods,   formed   the   whole 


into  one  undivided  Catholic  Church.  Recommended 
by  this  higli  authority,  the  new  constitution  was  im- 
mediately and  generally  adopted." 

He  desireth.  a  good  work.— The  office  of  a  pres- 
byter of  tho  Church  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul  was  a  dilticult 
and  dangerous  post.  It  involved  much  labour ;  it  was 
full  of  risk  ;  it  meant  a  hard  and  severe  life  ;  yet,  from 
tlie  Cliristian's  standpoint,  it  was  a  work,  i£  faithfully 
performed,  of  all  toils  tlie  most  beautiful,  the  mo.st 
honourable,  the  most  noble.  " Negotium  non  otiuni" 
comments  Bengel,  in  his  usual  pithy,  untranslatable 
way. 

(2)  A  bishop  then  must  be  blameless. — Now 
follow  the  various  social  and  moral  characteristics  of 
the  appointed  and  recognised  officei'S  of  the  Christian 
Church — the  presbyters  or  bishops,  and  the  junior 
ministers,  the  deacons.  The  second  chapter  had  treated 
of  the  duties  of  congregations  collectively  in  the  matter 
of  public  prayer;  the  third  chapter  speaks  of  tho 
special  character  and  qualities  necessary  for  the  rulers 
of  these  congregations.  These  "  elders  "  must,  in  tho 
fii-st  place,  be  men  whoso  character  is  unimpeachable — 
men  who  stand  high  in  pubUc  estimation,  known  for 
their  pure  life  and  spotless  integrity.  Not  only  must 
believers  reverence  the  character  of  the  superintending 
and  ruling  elders  of  their  community,  but  even  those 
outside  the  brotherhood  of  Christ  must  respect  the  life 
and  conversation  of  these  prominent  and  conspicuous 
members  of  a  society  which,  from  the  nature  of  things, 
would  be  sure  to  pi-ovoke  distrust  and  jealousy. 

The  husband  of  one  wife.— The  general  opinion 
of  the  most  ancient  writers — the  decisions  of  Chiu-ch 
councils  when  the  question  seems  to  have  been  placed 
before  them — the  custom  of  the  great  Greek  Church, 
which,  while  permitting  a  single  nuptial,  stiU  regarded 
the  repetition  of  the  marriage  relation  as  a  disqualifica- 
tion for  the  higher  grade  of  the  episcopate — tell  us  in 
general  terms  that  the  opinion  of  tho  Church  from  tho 
earliest  times  interprets  this  saj-ing  of  St.  Paul  as  a 
deckration  against  second  marriages  in  the  case  of 
those  seeking  the  office  of  presbyter  or  deacon.  Tho 
Greek  Church  endently  accepts  this  interpretation, 
though  it  relaxes  the  rule  in  the  case  of  the  inferior 
orders. 

There  seems,  however,  good  reason  for  doubting  tho 
accuracy  of  this  popular  interpretation,  which  appears, 
by  thus  casting  a  reproach  upon  second  marriages, 
to  urge  a  spirit  of  asceticism  on  all  Christian  society, 
very  foreign  to  St.  Paul's  usual  teaching,  which  was 
content  with  gently  inculcating  a  higher  and  a  purer  life 
as  alone  in  accordance  witli  the  mind  of  liis  pitiful  and 
loving  Master.  It  was  only  by  slow  degrees  tliat  ho 
hoped  to  raise  the  tone  of  society  and  public  opinion  in 
this  world. 

Insi)ired  Christian  teaching  was  careful  not  to  dis- 
tract tlio  everyday  life  of  men  and  women  by  insisting 
on  sudden  and  violent  clianges.  Tlie  beliaviour  of  tlio 
groat  Cliristian  teachers  in  tlio  matter  of  tliat  terrible 
and  universal  practice  of  slavery  should  bo  especially 
noted. 

When  we  ask.  What  then  did  St.  Paul  mean  by  these 
words?  wo  must  picture  to  ourselves  the  Ftate  of 
society  in  tho   empire  at  tho  time  wlien  the  Ai>ostlo 


isy 


Qualifications  necessary 


I.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


for  a  Presbyter. 


<2)  not  given  to  wine,^  no  striker,  not 
greedy  of  filthy  lucre;  but  patient, 
not  a  brawler,  not  covetous ;  (^^  one  that 


1  Or, 


miZ^off^  ruleth  well  his  own  house,  having  his 
'  children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity 


icruug,  at  mie  m 


(5) 


(for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  mile 


wrote  to  Timothy.  An  inundation  of  Eastern  luxury 
and  Eastern  morals  had  submerged  all  the  old  Romau 
habits  of  austere  simplicity.  Tho  long  ci\-il  war  aud 
the  subsequent  license  of  the  empire  had  degraded  the 
character  of  the  people.  The  period  when  St.  Paul  \VTote 
was  especially  marked  l)y  au  extreme  depra^^ty.  A 
g^eat  aud  general  indisposition  towards  marriage  at  all, 
aud  the  orderly  restraints  of  home  and  family  life,  had 
become  so  marked  a  feature  in  Roman  society,  that  we 
find  Augustus  positively  enacting  laws  against  celibacy. 
Anothet  cause  which  hel])cd  to  undermine  the  stability 
of  home  life  aud  those  family  ties  which  ought  to  be 
deemed  so  sacred,  was  the  ease  and  frequency  of 
divorce,  which  Seneca,  who  may  be  considered  almost 
as  the  contemporary  of  St.  Paul,  alludes  to  as  incidents 
no  longer  looked  upon  as  shameful  in  Rome.  He  even, 
in  his  indignation  at  the  laxity  of  the  morals  of  his  day, 
cites  cases  of  women  who  reckoned  their  years  rather  by 
their  husbands  than  by  the  consids.  Martial  writes  of 
a  woman  who  had  arrived  at  her  tenth  husband. 
Juvenal  speaks  of  one  who,  in  five  years,  had  had  eight 
husbands.  Among  tho  Jews  we  know  polygamy  was 
then  prevalent.  St.  Paul,  fully  conscious  of  this  low 
and  debased  moral  tone  which  then  pervaded  all  society 
in  the  empire,  in  these  feiv  words  condemned  all  illicit 
relations  between  the  sexes,  and  directed  that  in  choos- 
ing persons  to  fill  holy  offices  in  the  congregations  of 
Christians,  those  should  be  selected  who  had  married 
and  remained  faithful  to  the  wife  of  their  choice, 
whose  life  and  practice  would  thus  serve  as  an  example 
to  the  tlock,  and  to  whose  homes  men  might  point  as 
the  pattern  which  Jesus  loved,  while  the  heathen  world 
around  them  would  see  that  the  hated  and  despised 
Christians  not  only  loved  and  honoured,  but  Jived  that 
pure  home  life  their  own  great  moralists  pressed  so 
earnestly  upon  them,  but  in  vain.  This  direction,  which 
requires  tliat  those  to  be  selected  to  fill  holy  offices 
should  be  known  for  their  purity  in  their  family  rela- 
tions, of  course  does  not  exclude — should  any  such  ofEer 
themselves — those  men  who,  while  contracting  no 
marriage  ties,  still  were  known  to  lead  upright,  moral 
lives. 

Vigilant. — Tlie  Greek  word  here  is  more  accurately 
rendered  sober.  The  presb)-ter  or  elder  should  be  sober- 
minded,  self-restrained,  temperate  (not  merely  in  wine, 
but  in  all  things). 

Sober. — Better  rendered,  discreet. 

Of  good  behaviour.— Rather,  orderly.  This  word 
refers  to  outward  conduct,  to  beha\'iour  in  public. 

Tlio  Christian  office-bearer  must  not  only  ije  wise 
and  self-restrained  in  liimself.  but  his  outward  bearing 
must  in  all  respects  coiTcspond  to  his  inner  life. 

Given  to  hospitality.— In  the  early  days  of 
Christianity,  when  Christians  travelling  from  one  place 
to  another,  were  in  tho  habit,  when  it  was  possible,  of 
resorting  to  the  houses  of  their  brethren  in  the  faith,  to 
avoid  consorting  witli  idolaters  in  the  pul)lic  inns.  It 
was  of  no  sligiit  importance  that  the  presiding  elders  in 
a  congregation  should  lie  men  who  loved  to  ent<M-tain 
strangers  and  others,  from  whom  nothing  could  bo 
exjiected  in  return. 

Apt  to  teach. — Tlie  elder  should  possess  some- 
thing more  than  a  willingness,  or  glad  readiness,  to 
teach  the  less  instructed  the  mysteries  of  the  faith. 
He  ought  also  to  have  the  far  rarer  qualification  of  a 

190 


power  to  impart  knowledge  to  others.  Zeal  is  not  by 
any  means  the  only,  or  even  the  principal,  qualification 
to  be  sought  for  in  a  minister  of  the  Word. 

(3)  Not  given  to  wine. — Drunkenness  is  scarcely 
alluded  to  here.  It  is  rather  a  wai'ning  against  choos- 
ing for  the  sacred  office  one  given  to  frequenting  noisy 
banquets,  where  wild  and  imprudent  words  are  often 
spoken. 

No  striker.— Probably  something  more  than  merely 
brawling  and  fighting  may  here  be  included.  Kot  only 
must  the  pattern  minister  of  the  Lord  never  smite 
his  brother  believer,  but  he  must  also  never  wound 
his  soul  with  cutting,  unkind  words. 

Not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre. — The  Greek  word 
thus  translated  does  not  occur  in  the  older  MSS.  in  this 
place. 

But  patient. — God's  minister  must  be  considerate 
toward  the  prejudices  of  others,  forbearing,  and  gentle. 

Not  a  brawler. — Better  rendered,  not  contentions. 
He  must  not  be  easily  vexed  ;  but  must  exercise  a  steady 
command  over  his  temper,  avoiding  all  wordy  strife. 

Not  covetous. — Literally,  not  a  lover  of  money. 
The  disinterested  minister,  who  cares  nothing  for 
money  for  money's  sake,  would  ever  stand  out  in  all 
societies  a  strangely  attractive  figure. 

(^)  One  that  ruleth  well  his  own  house. — 
Paul  here  again  turns  to  the  vein  of  thought  first 
struck  in  verse  2  :  The  life  of  the  officer  in  the  Church 
of  God  must  be  a  pattern  life  for  those  without,  as  well  as 
for  those  within  the  Church's  fold,  to  copy  and  imitate. 
He  must  be  pre-eminent  in  nobility  of  life  and  aims ; 
but  the  life  and  the  aims  must  belong  to  ordinary  every- 
day life.  His  high  standard  must  be  no  inimitable  one ; 
the  example  must  be  one  that  all  honest  men  may 
follow  and  copy,  if  they  will.  So,  first  of  all  (verse  2), 
the  Apostle  places  among  the  qualities  necessary  for  a 
governing  elder  in  the  Church,  the  pure  home  life  of 
the  husband ;  then,  after  enumerating  other  points  to  be 
sought  for  in  the  character  of  one  chosen  to  rule  in  the 
congregation,  Paul  comes  back  to  this  central  idea, 
the  home  life  of  the  Church  official ;  that  home  life 
must  present  the  spectacle  of  a  well-ordered  household. 
This  will  be  at  least  a  good  test  of  a  man's  fitness  to 
rule  the  large  family  gathered  together  in  the  form  of 
a  congregation,  if  his  own  home  is  gently  yet  firmly 
ruled;  the  wife,  a  pattern  Christian  lady  ;  the  children 
growing  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord. 

Having  his  children  in  subjection  with  all 
gravity.— The  Greek  word  rendered  "gravity "  oc- 
curs in  chap.  ii.  2.  wliere  it  is  translated  in  the  autho- 
rised version,  not  very  happily,  by  "  honesty."  The 
word  employed  in  the  original  Greek  denotes  that 
decorum,  that  propriety  of  demeanour,  which  belongs 
especially  to  the  pure  and  chaste,  and  seems  to  urge 
that  a  peculiar  reverence  and  an  especial  decorum  shall 
be  aimed  at  in  all  relations  with  the  young.  Maxi7na 
debetur  jytteris  reverentia.  The  child  life  in  the  families 
of  these  ministers  of  Christ's  religion  must,  too,  be  an 
exam))le  to  countless  other  homes. 

(5)  For  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his 
own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the 
church  of  God?— The  well-ordered  household,  the 
decent,  modest  behaviour,  the  reverent,  affectionate 
relations  between    parents  and  children,    between  the 


Qucdifications  necessary 


I.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


for  a  Deacon. 


liis  own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care 
of  the  church  of  God?)  (^J  not  a 
novice,^  lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride 
he  fall  into  the  condemnation  of  the 
devil.     (^^  Moreover   he    must    have    a 


1  Or,    one     newly 
come  to  the  faith. 


good  report  of  them  which  are  without ; 
lest  he  fall  into  reproach  and  the  snare 
of  the  devil.  (^'  Likewise  must  the 
deacons  he  grave,  not  doubletongued, 
not  given  to  much  wine,  not  greedy  of 


master  and  the  dependents — these  things  are  to  be 
the  test  of  a  man's  fitness  for  holding  high  office  in  the 
public  commimity  of  believers,  for,  as  Theodoret 
observes,  if  a  man  cannot  rule  decorously  a  small 
community  (such  as  a  family),  how  shall  ho  be  judged 
a  fit  person  to  be  entrusted  with  administration 
in  a  broader  sphere — with  duties  which  have  to  do  with 
divine  things  H 

(6)  Not  a  novice. — In  the  Church  of  Ephesus,  which, 
when  Paul  wi'ote  these  charges  to  Timothy,  had  been 
established  some  years,  the  chief  pastor  would  have  for 
the  church  office  an  ample  choice  of  disciples  of  some 
considerable  standing  and  experience.  The  word 
"  no\ace "  here  refers  rather  to  want  of  experience 
and  standing  in  the  Christian  brotherhood  than  to 
"  youth."  Timothy  hunself ,  to  whom  St.  Paul  was 
wi'iting,  and  whom  the  Apostle  had  placed  over  this 
church,  was  at  the  time,  comparatively  speaking,  still 
a  man  young  in  years,  although  old  in  trials  and 
in  Christian  experiences. 

Lest  being  lifted  up  with  pride  he  fall  into 
the  condemnation  of  the  devil. — The  Greek  word 
rendei-ed  here  "being  lifted  up,"  wovdd  be  more  happily 
Englished  by  being  clouded  or  deluded.  It  marks  the 
pride  or  vanity  engendered  by  the  finding  himself  in  a 
position  of  authority  for  which  no  pre\"ious  training  and 
experience  had  fitted  him.  Such  a  "  no\dce  "  would  be 
in  imminent  danger  of  falling  into  the  judgnjent  passed 
by  God  upon  the  devil,  whose  fall  was  owing  to  the  same 
blinding  effect  of  pride. 

(')  Moreover  he  raust  have  a  good  report  of 
them  which  are  without.— The  man  to  be  chosen 
as  a  responsible  office-bearer  in  the  Church,  should  be 
one  possessing  a  stainless  reputation  for  integrity  and 
honour  with  the  world  outside  the  Church's  pale ;  he 
should  be  one  regarded  by  the  world  at  large  as  having 
led  a  seK-restrained,  decorous  life — a  life  free  from 
those  disorders  and  licentious  practices  which  worldly 
men,  even  while  themselves  indulging  in  them,  are  the 
first  to  condemn  in  others. 

Lest  he  fall  into  reproach  and  the  snare  of 
the  devil.— For  such  a  one,  bringing  with  him  into 
the  new  society  his  unhappy  reputation,  earned  in  the 
old  thoughtless  days — if  placed  in  the  new  society  in 
a  prominent  position  of  authority — would  draw  down 
upon  himself  and  the  brotherhood  over  whom  he  pre- 
sided many  a  reproach,  many  a  sneer.  Those  who 
once  knew  him  among  other  associations  living  a  very 
different  life,  would  be  only  too  ready  to  attack  the 
blameless  character  of  the  congregation,  through  the 
stained  and  scarr.-^d  reputation  of  their  minister.  The 
temptation  to  fall  away  and  deny  his  Lord  in  sucli 
a  case,  would  bo  overwhelming.  The  man  might  bo 
in  eaniest,  might  be  wishful  to  lead  a  new  and  better 
life,  but  the  risk  that  one  with  such  connections, 
with  such  memories  of  old  days,  would  of  necessity 
run,  must  be  very  great.  "Weakened  and  dislu^arteneLl, 
such  a  presbyter  would  be  likely  to  fall  an  easy  prey 
into  some  snare  skilfully  laid  by  the  Enemy,  and.  by 
his  fall,  cause  a  terrible  and  damaging  injury  to  the 
Church  of  Christ.  For  these  weiglity  reasons*  St.  Paul 
charged  Timothy  to  be  very  watchful  when  he  chose 


his  presiding  elders,  to  elect  only  those  who,  in  the  dis- 
solute society  of  Ephesus,  had  known  how,  even 
in  old  days,  to  preserve  their  good  name  stainless, 
their  character  unscarred. 

The  snare  of  the  devil.— The  teaching  here  of  St. 
Paul  respecting  the  Evil  One  is  deser^nng  of  a  special 
conunent.  What  he  says  in  verses  6,  7  is  simply 
introduced  as  part  of  the  main  argument,  which  relates 
exclusively  to  the  care  to  be  exercised  in  the  selection 
of  fit  persons  for  the  sacred  offices  in  the  congre- 
gations. It  is  evidently  not  introduced  as  a  special 
teaching  on  this  mysterious  subject.  No  tlisputiugs 
on  this  point  as  yet  had  been  originated  at  this  early 
period  in  Christian  history.  It  lays  down,  however, 
certain  broad  principles  which  mu■^t  have  been  tho 
ground-work  of  St.  Paul's  behef  in  this  now  disputed 
question ;  and  receiving  as  we  do  St.  Paul's  words 
in  this  and  in  his  other  epistles  as  an  authoritative 
declaration  of  the  mind  and  will  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
it  seems  that  these  broad  principles  should  have  all 
weight  whenever  the  docti'ine  respecting  the  Spii'it 
of  Evil  is  discussed.  The  lines  here  sketched  are 
as  follows :  (I)  The  personality  of  the  Evil  One  is 
distinctly  affirmed.  (2:  This  imhappy  being  has  fallen 
and  has  been  condemned,  and  is  now  able  to  lay  snares 
for  and  to  tempt  men.  (3)  An  overweening  pride 
seems  to  have  been  the  cause  which  led  to  this  once 
mighty  one's  fall.  (4)  All  idea  of  dualism — the  old 
Persian  belief  adopted  in  the  Mauichaean  heresy,  and  in 
so  many  other  false  creeds,  that  of  two  principles  eternally 
opposed  to  one  another — presiding  respectively  over 
the  realms  of  light  and  darkness — is  distinctly  here 
repudiated  by  Paul,  who  in  the  course  of  his  argument 
casually  introduces  the  Evil  One — the  Enemy  of  man, 
as  one  who  at  some  remote  i>eriod  rebelled,  was 
crushed,  and  condemned,  but  to  whom,  in  the  supreme 
Pro\'idence  of  God,  some  teri-ible  power  over  man  was  left. 

(8)  Likewise  must  the  deacons. — We  possess 
scattered  and  at  the  same  time  casual  notices  of  this 
lower  order  of  deacons  dating  from  the  very  first  days 
of  tho  faith.  The  order  clearly  sprang  out  of  the 
needs  of  tho  rapidly  increasing  church.  Some  two 
years  after  the  Ascension  (a.d.  34 — 35)  the  seven 
deacons  were  appointed  to  assist  the  Apostles  as  almo- 
ners of  the  brethren ;  as  the  Church's  life  developed, 
the  functions  of  these  primitive  subordinate  ecclesias- 
tical officers  were  enlarged.  The  history  of  the  career 
of  Stephen  and  Pliilip  supply  ample  CAndence  of  this. 
Out  of  his  first  apostolic  appointment  in  the  year  34 — 
3.5,  no  doubt,  was  developed  that  great  inferior  order  in 
the  Church,  respecting  which  these  definite  rules  and 
authoritative  regulations  were  laid  down  by  the  Apostle 
Paid  in  his  instructions  to  Timothy  in  the  matter  of 
church  government  and  order.  These  primitive 
deacons  were  evidently  assistants  to  and  probably  in 
many  cases  supplied  the  place  of  tlie  presbyters.  Tlie 
gi-eat  similarity  of  the  directions  of  St.  Paul  respecting 
the  qualifications  to  be  looked  for  in  buth.  implies  tiiis; 
still  their  original  employment  as  administrators  of  tho 
Cliurch's  funds  and  distribution  i>f  her  alms  reniaiiierl 
to  them.  We  can  trace  the  existence  of  the  order 
through  and  beyond  the  Apostle's  time : — 


191 


Qualifications  of 


I.   TIMOTHY,   in. 


Deaconesses. 


filthy  lucre ;  (^^  holding  the  mystery  of 
the  faith  in  a  pure  conscience.  <^°^  And 
let  these  also  first  be  proved ;  then  let 


them  use  the  ofiice  of  a  deacon,  being 
found  blameless.  (^^^  Even  so  must  their 
wives  he  grave,   not   slanderers,  sober, 


Jorusalem 


Corinth 
Rome 
Philippi 
Epliesus 
Asia  Minor 


Coriutli. 


A.D. 


55. 

58—9. 
63. 
66. 


A.D.  34 — 35.  Orig'inal    fouudation   of 
order  by  tlie  Apostles 
at  Jeinisalem.  Acts  iv. 
1—6. 
1  Cor.  xii.  28. 
Rom.  xii.  7. 
Phil.  i.  1. 
1  Tim.  iii.  8,  13. 
63—69  1  Pet.  iv.  11. 
„    138 — iO  Justiu  Martyr.  Apologrj, 
i.    65,    '"  Those    with 
us     who     are     called 
deacons,"  smdApoloyy^ 
i.  67. 
-Deacons  apparently  alluded  to  under  avn- 
\ri\ptii — "  helps  "  (1  Cor.  xii.  28).     See  also  verse  5  of 
same  chapter:  Siaipeo-tts  StaKoviuu. 

Rome. — «J't«  StaKouiav,  fu  rrj  SiaKouia.  Reference  lost 
in  English  translation,  "or  ministry,  (let  us  wait)  on 
our  ministering"  (Rom.  xii.  7). 

Asia  Minor. — et  rts  SiaKovtl.  Reference  lost  in  Eng- 
lish translation,  "  if  any  man  minister  "  (1  Pet.  iv.  11). 

Thus  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  we  find 
the  order  regularly  and  apparently  universally  esta- 
blished, constituting  an  acknowledged  part  of  the 
Christian  Bvstem  of  ecclesiastical  government.  The 
scattered  notices  of  the  diaconate  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, dating  alnu)st  from  the  Ascension — over  a  period 
exceeding  thirty  years — show  us  how,  out  of  the  needs 
of  the  Clmrch,  arose  this  subordinate  order,  which  was 
rapidly  developed  as  the  Catholic  Church  increased. 
Tlie  differences  between  the  deacon  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles,  and  tlio  deacon  of  the  writings  of  Justiu 
Martyr,  are  cxjictly  what  we  should  expect  would  result 
from  the  seventy  years  of  gradual  but  progressive 
organisation  under  men  like  St.  John  and  his  disciples 
and  the  immediate  successors  of  the  Apostles. 

Be  grave.— St.  Paul  again  repeats  the  need  for  tliis 
feature  of  character  being  found  in  the  lower  order  of 
ecclesiastical  officers.  The  reverent  decorum,  the  qui<'t 
gravity,  which  never  interferes  with  the  innocent,  child- 
like happiness  (see  Note  on  verse  4),  is  especially  to  be 
looked  for  in  a  deacon,  who  ought  to  show  an  example 
of  every-day  Christian  life. 

Not  doubletongued. — Bengel  well  paraphrases 
it,  ad  alio^i  alia  loqnentes.  The  deacon  would  have 
in  his  duties  conncH-ted  with  tlie  administration  of  the 
Church's  alms,  and  also  in  his  more  directly  spiritual 
work,  much  op])ortuuity  of  nu'cting  with  and  talking 
to  the  various  families  of  the  flock  of  his  Master.  He 
must  be  watchful,  in  tliese  visits,  of  his  words,  not 
suiting  them  to  tlie  occasion,  and  then  unsaying  in  one 
house  what  he  had  affirmed  in  another.  Sudi  a  grave 
fault — not  an  uncommon  one — would,  in  tlie  long  run, 
deeply  injure  his  influence  abroad,  and  woidd  intiict  a 
deadly  wound  on  liis  own  spirituiil  life. 

Not  given  to  much  wine.— Tlio  professed 
minister — the  advocate  for  the  cause  of  the  jioor  and 
needy — must  show  an  exaiiipl(>  of  the  strictest  sobriety, 
must  bo  pointed  at  as  one  caring  little  for  th(>  plea.sures 
of  the  tal)le.  How  well  and  nobly  the  young  lieutenant 
of  St.  Paul  aimed  at  showing  in  himself  a  self-denj-iiig 
example  to  the  flock,  we  see  from  chap.  v.  23,  when  the 
old  master  deemed   it  requisite  to  warn   his  earnest, 


192 


brave  disciple  from  an  asceticism  which  was  positively 
weakening  his  power  of  work  and  endurance. 

Not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre.— Those  entrusted 
with  the  care  of  the  Church's  alms  surely  must  bo 
especially  careful  of  their  reputation  iu  the  matter  of 
covetousness — among  the  "chosen"  of  Timothy  there 
must  be  no  Jiulas. 

(9)  Holding  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a 
piire  conscience.— The  thought  again  comes  to 
the  surface — mere  orthodoxy  without  the  Christ-life 
was  an  empty,  useless  characteristic  feature  in  any 
one ;  but  here  the  man  of  God,  writing  to  his  dear 
son  these  solemn  Avarnings  respecting  fit  and  proper 
persons  to  bo  chosen  for  their  Master's  work,  has 
besides  iu  these  words  another  end  in  view.  He  had 
been  dwelling  with  great  earnestness  on  the  onhvard 
characteristics  which  a  deacon  of  the  Church  should 
possess — the  high  and  stainless  name — the  generous 
respect  which  his  old  way  of  liA-ing  had  won  for 
him  among  unbelievers  as  well  as  with  believers ; 
but,  in  addition  to  these  things,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  for  one  occupying  such  a  post  to  know 
something  of  the  deeper  spiritual  life — he  must  hold 
the  mystery  of  the  faith.  Now  what  does  St.  Paul 
mean  by  the  mystery  ?  He  sjieaks  of  it  as  "  a  treasure  " 
which  must  be  held  in  the  casket  of  a  pure  conscience. 
This  mystery  was  what  was  sometimes  hidden,  but 
which  was  now  revealed  by  the  advent  of  St.  Paul's 
Master,  and  comprehended  the  truths  of  the  redemp- 
tion, the  atonement,  and  mighty  cleansing  powers  of 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  These — the  master- 
truths  of  Chi'istianity — must  the  ajipoiuted  teacher 
firmly  grasp  ;  and  the  true  deacon,  whose  office  it  was 
rather  to  administer  than  to  preach  to  the  people,  must 
also  be  especially  careful  to  show  that  he  lived  the  life 
he  professed  to  teach;  or,  in  St.  Paul's  own  simile, 
must  preserve  the  casket  in  which  the  precious  mystery 
was  shrined,  holy  and  undefiled  before  men — he  must 
hold  the  mystery  of  tlie  faith  in  a  pure  conscience. 

(10)  And  let  these  also  first  be  proved.— No 
formal  investigation,  either  in  public  before  the  congre- 
gatiou.or  iu  private  before  Timothy  and  his  fellow  pres- 
byters, is  here  referred  to.  What  is  most  proljably  the 
meaning  of  the  word  is — the  deacon  should  for  a  time 
perform  many  of  the  various  duties  on  probation,  to 
test  his  fitness  before  he  was  formally  set  apart  for  the 
holy  office.  So  much  of  the  work  belonging  to  these 
officials  of  the  early  Church  necessarily  partook  of  a 
partially  secular  character,  that  such  a  trial  of  their 
fitness  could  well  be  made. 

Then  let  them  use  the  office  of  a  deacon.— 
Better  I'cndered,  let  tlicm  serve  as  dcacoiis,  if.  after  the 
trial,  inquiry,  and  period  of  probation,  they  be  found 
blameless. 

(11)  Even  so  must  their  wives  .  .  .—The  position 
of  this  solitary  charge,  respecting  deacons'  wives,  in 
the  midst  of  regulations  concerning  "  deacons,"  is,  of 
itself,  almost  decisive  against  the  translation  of  tlio 
English  version,  adopted  also  by  Luther  and  many 
others.  The  question  naturally  occurs — why  are 
deacon's  wives  especially  referred  to,  while  nothing  has 
Ijeen  said  respecting  the  wives  of  presbyters  ?  Then, 
again,  why  should  the  choice  of  Timothy  in  the  matter 
of  his  selection  of  a  deacon  be  hampered  with  any 
special  requirements  iu  the  wife  of  the  candidate  for 


Further  Qucdifications 


I.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


necessary  for  a  Beacon. 


faithful  in  all  things.  (^2)  ^et  the 
deacons  be  the  husbands  of  one  wife, 
rulinof  their  children  and  their  own 
houses  well.  ^^^^  For  they  that  have 
used  ^  the  office  of  a  deacon  well  purchase 
to  themselves  a  good  degree,  and  great 
boldness  in  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ 


1  Or,  viinistered. 


Jesus.      (^*)  These  things  write  I  unto 

thee,  hoping  to  come  unto  chap.  iii.  14— 

thee  shortly  :  d^)  but  if  I  i«-    Y^''^  ^^^ 
,  f         ,  Chui-ch     really 

tarry  long,  that  thou  may  est  is. 

know  how  thou  oughtest  to  behave  thy- 
self in  the  house  of  God,  wdiich  is  the 
church  of  the   living   God,    the   pillar 


the  holy  office  ?  The  literal  translation  of  the  Greek 
words  would  be,  Women  in  like  manner  must,  &c. 
These  women,  St.  Chrysostom  and  most  of  the  aucieut 
expositors  affirm,  wore  deaconesses. 

It  is  certain  that  there  were  women  holding  a  kind 
of  official  position  as  deaconesses  in  the  early  Church ; 
nor  is  it  probable  that  these  deaconesses  were,  as  a 
class,  conthied  to  the  restriction  of  age  referred  to  in 
the  direction  respecting  a  band  of  widows  devoted  to 
works  of  mercy  (chap  v.  9,  10).  These  widows  seemed 
to  have  been  in  the  first  instance  a  class  or  order 
apart  from  the  ordinary  deaconesses. 

Phebe  of  Cenchrea  (Rom.  xvi.  i.),  Euodias,  and 
Syntyche  (Phil.  iv.  2),  probably  the  organisation 
alluded  to  (Acts  ix.  36 — 41)  as  existing  at  Joppa,  of 
which  Dorcas  was  the  chief,  may  be  cited  as  in- 
stances from  the  New  Testament  of  the  employment 
of  these  women-servants  of  the  Church.  In  the  next 
century  tJie  Proconsul  Pliny,  in  his  famous  letter  to  the 
Emperor  Trajan,  distinctly  alludes  to  these  Chi'istian 
deaconesses,  in  the  words,  "  aiwilloe  quce  ininistroe 
dicebantur."  "  In  the  Western  Church,"  says  Professor 
Reynolds,  '•  the  order  did  not  cease  to  exist  until  the 
fifth  century,  and  was  continued  in  the  Greek  Church 
till  the  twelfth.  The  deaconess  vanished  into  the 
cloister  until  partially  revived  in  comparatively  modern 
times." 

Be  grave. — The  same  word  is  used  as  in  the  case 
of  the  deacons.  These  deaconesses,  too,  must,  with 
their  modest  beha\'iour,  with  their  sweet,  decorous 
gra^nity,  as  it  has  been  well  said,  "  inspire  reverence 
having  the  halo  of  purity  and  sanctity  about  them." 

Not  slanderers. — A  woman's  most  ready  weapon 
is  ever  her  tongue.  She  is,  with  all  her  noble,  generous 
qualities,  often  quick-tempered,  passionate,  impvxlsive, 
jealous,  and  this  weapon,  always  ready  for  attack  or 
defence,  is  too  often  unsheathed.  The  professed  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  must  show  a  high  example  to  her 
sisters  in  self-control. 

Sober. — Should  be  abstemious,  even  self-denying  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  table. 

Faithful  in  all  things.— These  deaconesses,  from 
their  position,  would  become  the  depositaries  of  many 
a  househould  secret ;  to  those  confiding  in  them  in 
moments  of  trouble  they  must  be  true ;  scrupulously 
honest  also  in  their  distribution  of  alms ;  faithful,  too, 
in  the  holy  instruction  they  would  be  often  called  on 
to  give  in  the  course  of  their  ministrations. 

(12)  Let  the  duacons  be  the  husbands  of  one 
"Wife. — Here  tlie  exact  same  qualification  is  to  Vie 
sought  for  as  in  the  higlier  grade  of  presbyter.  The 
same  orderly  and  decorous  household  is  required  now 
in  the  case  of  the  deacon,  as  was  to  be  looked  for  as 
qualification  for  the  presiding  older.  St.  Paul  knew 
well  tliat  in  the  wise  yet  tender  father,  Timotliy  would 
find  the  firm  yet  generous  distril)utor  of  the  Church's 
alms,  file  loving  and  devoted  friend  of  tlie  ])i>(>r  sick. 

(13)  For  thoy  that  have  used  the  office  of  a 
deacon  well. — Better  rendered,  for  they  that  have 
eervcd  well  as  deacons.     It  was  with  good  reason  that 

79  1 


the  Apostle  laid  great  stress  on  the  many  and  varied 
qiuilifications  necessary  for  one  undertaking  the  duties 
of  a  deacon  of  the  Church — f(jr  very  great  iudeed  was 
the  reward  reserved  for  the  true,  loyal  deacon  wlien 
his  work  was  over  and  done  (and  if  for  the  mau 
who  had  performed  well  his  work  in  tlie  lower  office, 
a  fortiori  for  the  one  who  should  faitlifuUy  fulfil  the 
yet  higher  duties  of  an  elder  or  overseer  in  the 
Church). 

Purchase  to  themselves  a  good  degree. — 
Some  scholars  have  suggested  as  a  better  rendering, 
"  are  acquiring  {or  gainiiiy)  to  themselves  a  good  stand- 
ing. The  old  translation  perhaps  is  best.  Alford  writes 
strikingly  on  the  change  of  tense  :  "  They  that  have 
used  are  acquii'ing  or  purchasing."  The  Apostle  having 
begun  by  placing  himself  at  the  great  day  of  retribu- 
tion, now  shifts  the  scene  and  deals  with  their  jjreseut 
conduct.  "  Those  who  shall  then  be  found  to  have 
served  well,  &c.  .  .  .  are  now,  &c." 

The  "  good  degree "  they  are  now  purchasing  by 
earnest,  patient  work  may  refer  to  advancement  to  the 
higher  ministries  of  the  Church,  but,  more  probal)ly, 
has  reference  to  their  future  position  in  the  blessed  life 
to  come.  Tliis  is  one  of  the  passages  not  uufrequent 
in  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  where  degrees  of  glory  among 
the  redeemed  are  clearly  spoken  of.  The  plain  words 
of  St.  Paul  and  his  Master  teach  the  people  of  God 
that  although  the  great  act  of  redemption  alone  belongs 
to  Christ,  that  through  His  merits  only  men  obtain 
salvation,  still  His  own,  will  in  a  great  measure  deter- 
mine, by  their  works  and  days  on  earth,  the  position 
they  will  occupy  in  His  kingdom. 

And  great  boldness.— The  true  and  faithful  dea- 
cons not  only  will  in  the  life  to  come  win  the 
great  reward,  but  here  the  result  of  their  loyal,  earnest 
serA'ice  would  be,  that  before  men  they  would  do  their 
work  with  serene,  fearless  confidence,  and  would  at  tlio 
same  time  be  encoiiraged  to  approach  that  heavenly 
Father  at  aU  times  with  the  loving  trustfulness  of 
children. 

In  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.— Faith 
was  the  foundation  of  the  "  great  boldness,"  and  the 
faith  rested  on  Jesus  Christ. 

(U)  These  things  write  I  unto  thee. —  "  These 
things "  probably  referred  only  to  the  directions 
respecting  the  sjiecial  qualification  to  be  sought  for  in 
candidates  for  the  office  of  the  overseers  (presbyters) 
and  deacons. 

Hoping  to  come  unto  thee  shortly.— The  par- 
ticiple here  has  a  concessive  form.  "  though  I  hope."  &c. 
"  I  write  these  s])ecial  urgent  directions  to  you.  tliough 
my  hope  is  that  I  shall  be  with  you  sooner  than  such 
detailed  instructions  presuppose." 

(15)  But  if  I  tarry  long.— St.  Paul  felt  tliat  dangers 
wore  pressing  closer  and  closer — tliat  the  hoped-for  visit 
to  his  loved  cliurchat  Ephesus  miglit  not.  probably  never 
would  be,  accomjilished ;  so  these  foregoing  solemn 
directions  respecting  the  choice  of  colleagues  in  tlie 
ministry  had  been  written  to  Timothy,  tliat.  in  the  event 
of  St.  Paul  never  coming  to  him  again,  men  (especially 


93 


What  is  the 


T.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


Mystery  of  Godliness. 


and  ground'  of  the  truth.  <'^)  And  with- 
out controversy  great  is  the  mystery  of 
godliness  :  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh, 


1  Or,  stay. 


justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed 
on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  glory. 


the  ministers  of  God)  should  know  how  to  couduct 
tlioinst'lvos  ill  tiio  oongregiition. 

That  thou  mayest  know  how  thou  oughtest 
to  behave  thyself. — Tlio  words  refer  licre  not  to 
Tiuiotliy  alone,  but  rather  to  Tiiiiotliy  and  his  colleagues 
in  their  eliureh  work,  concerning  whom  such  particular 
directions  had  just  been  given,  and  should  be  rendered, 
hmo  men  outjlit  to  behave  themselves. 

In  the  house  of  God. — The  image  is  from  the 
Old  Testament,  where  "  the  liouse  of  God  "  denotes,  in 
thy  tirst  place,  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem,  and,  in  the 
second,  tlie  covenant-people.  It  is  here  used  for  the 
congregation  of  believers  among  whom  God  dwells 
— the  true  and  enduring  Church  of  living  souls.  Of 
this  great  spiritual  temple,  the  corner-stone  of  which 
is  Christ,  the  Jerusalem  house  on  Mount  Zion,  with 
its  marvellous  work  and  its  gorgeous  and  elaborate 
6yinl)olism,  was  the  poor,  perishable,  hand -wrought 
model. 

Which  is  the  church  of  the  living  God.— The 
house  of  God  is  here  plainly  detiued  to  be  the  "  Church  " 
(or,  congregation)  "  of  the  living  God,"  who  was  working 
in  its  midst  actively  and  personally,  in  strong  contrast 
to  that  well-known  graven  image  of  the  Diana  of 
Ephesus,  throned  in  that  fair  temple  which  glittered  in 
its  wliite  and  lifeless  beauty  over  the  roofs  of  the  city 
where  Timothy's  charge  hiy. 

The  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth. — The 
imagery  is  here  changed,  and  the  "house  of  God"  which 
the  Apostle  had  just  detiued  to  be  the  Church,  or  con- 
gregation, belonging  to  the  living  God,  and  in  the  midst 
of  which  Ho  was  pleased  to  dwell,  is  now  defined  to  be 
"  the  pUlar  and  gi-ound"  (or,  basis)  "of  the  truth."  In 
the  first  picture,  the  Church  is  painted  by  St.  Paul  as  a  vast 
congregation,  with  the  living  God  dwelling  in  its  midst: 
in  the  second,  the  same  Church  is  painted  as  a  massive 
pillar,  holding  up  and  displacing  before  men  and  angels 
the  truth— the  saving  truth  of  the  gospel.  In  the  first 
picture,  the  thought  of  a  great  company  gathered  to- 
gether for  God  to  dwell  among  is  prominent :  in  the 
second,  tlie  thought  of  the  great  redemption-truth  alone 
comes  to  the  front,  and  the  Church  of  God  is  no  longer 
viewed  as  a  company  of  separate  individuals,  but  as 
one  massive  foundation-pillar,  supporting  and  displaying 
the  glories  of  redemption. 

Tliis  ])eculiar  aspect  of  the  Church,  "  the  support  and 
pillar  of  the  truth,"  was  dwelt  upon  probably  by  the 
Apostle  as  "  defining — ^vith  indirect  allusion  to  na.scent 
and  developing  heresies — the  true  note,  office,  and  vo- 
cation of  the  Church.  .  .  .  Were  there  no  Church, 
there  would  be  no  witness,  no  guardian  of  archives,  no 
basis,  nothing  whereon  acknowledged  truth  could  rest " 
(ElHcott). 

(i")  And  without  controversy  great  is  the 
mystery  of  godliness.—"  And  is  not  simply  copu- 
lative, but  heightens  the  force  of  the  predication.  Yes, 
confessedly  great  is  the  )nij!<fenj"  (Ellicott)— for  the 
glorious  truth  which  the  Church  of  God  pillar-like 
upholds,  is  none  other  than  that  stupendous  mystery,  in 
other  ages  not  made  known,  but  then  revealed— </ie 
mystery  of  Christ,  in  all  His  lo\ing  manifestations  and 
glorious  triumph.  Yes,  confessedly  great — so  great 
that  the  massive  grandeur  of  the  pUlar  is  only  in  pro- 
poriion  to  the  truth  it  supports. 

God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh.— Here,  in  the 


most  ancient  authorities,  the  word  "  God "  does  not 
occur.  Wo  must,  then,  literally  translate  the  Greek  of 
the  most  famous  and  trustworthy  MSS.  as  follows  : 
He  who  ivas  manifested  in  the  flesh.  In  the  later  MSS., 
and  in  the  great  majority  of  the  fathers  who  cite  the 
passage,  we  certainly  find  Theos  ("God"),  as  in  the 
Received  text.  The  substitution  can  be  traced  to  no 
special  doctrinal  prejudice,  but  is  owing,  probably,  to  a 
well-meant  correction  of  early  scribes.  At  first  sight, 
Theos  ("God")  would  be  a  reading  easier  to  understand, 
and  grammatically  more  exact ;  and  in  the  original 
copies,  the  great  similitude  between  0C  ("  God") — the 
contracted  form  in  which  0EOC  was  written — and  the 
relative  OC  ("  He  who  "),  would  be  likely  to  suggest  to 
an  officious  scribe  the  very  trifling  alteration  necessary 
for  the  easier  and  apparently  more  accurate  word. 
Recent  investigations  have  shown,  however,  beyond 
controversy  that  the  oldest  MSS.,  with  scarcely  an  ex- 
ception, contain  the  more  difficult  reading,  OC  ("  He 
who  ").  The  Greek  pronoun  thus  rendered  is  simply  a 
relative  to  an  omitted  but  easily-inferred  antecedent  — 
Aiz.,  Christ.  Possibly  the  diflficulty  in  the  construction 
is  due  to  the  fact  of  the  whole  verse  being  a  fragment 
of  an  ancient  Christian  hymn,  embodying  a  confession 
of  faith,  weU  known  to,  and  perhaps  often  sung  by,  the 
faithful  among  the  congregations  of  such  cities  as 
Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  Rome — a  confession  embodjing 
the  grand  facts  of  the  Incarnation  and  the  Resurrection, 
the  preaching  of  the  cross  to,  and  its  reception  by,  the 
Gentile  world,  and  the  present  session  of  Christ  in 
glory.  In  the  original  Greek  the  rhythmical,  as  well 
as  the  antitheticiil  character,  of  the  clauses  is  very 
striking.  In  the  English  translation  they  can  hardly 
be  reproduced : — 

"  Who  was  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
justified  in  the  Spirit, 

seen  of  angels, 
was  preached  among  the  Gentiles, 
believed  on  in  the  world, 

taken  up  into  glory." 

Fragments  of  similar  hymns  to  Christ  are  found  in 
2  Tim.  ii.  11,  and  perhaps  also  in  Eph.  v.  14. 

Manifest  in  the  flesh.— When  the  Son  of  God 
came  forth  from  the  Father  "  He  was  manifested  in 
the  flesh  ;  "  or,  in  other  di^ine  words,  "  the  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His 
glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only-begotten  of  the  Father  " 
(John  i.  14.  Comp.  also  -2  Tim.  i.  10).  The  men 
and  women  of  the  first  days  of  Christianity  who  re- 
peated or  sang  such  words  as  these,  must  have  accepted 
and  firmly  believed  the  dogma  of  the  pre-existent 
glory  of  Christ. 

Justified  in  the  Spirit.— Tlie  truth  of  Jesus  Christ's 
own  assertion  respecting  Himself,  which  seemed  to  be 
contradicted  by  His  mortal  liability  to  bodily  weakness, 
and  pain  and  suffering,  and  last  of  all  to  death,  in 
the  end  was  triumphantly  vindicated  or  justified.  Or, 
in  other  words,  the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ  to  Divinity, 
put  forth  during  His  life  of  humiliation,  were  shown  to 
be  true.  It  was  by  His  resurrection  from  the  dead  that 
Christ's  lofty  claims  to  the  Godliead  were  justified. 
The  Spirit,  to  which  reference  is  here  made,  was  the 
higher  principle  of  spiritual  life  within  Him — not  itself 
the  Divinity,  but  intimately  imited  and  associated  with 
it.  In  the  power  of  this  Spirit,  which  he  had  within 
himself,  He  did  take  His  life  which  He  had  laid  down. 


194 


TliP,  misleading  Asceticism 


I.  TIMOTHY,   IV. 


of  the  False  Teachers. 


CHAPTER  IV.— (1)  Now  tlie  Spirit 
speaketli  expressly,  that  in  the  hitter 
times     some    shall     depart    from    the 


faith,  giving  heed  to 
seducing  spirits,  and 
doctrines      of      devils ; 


Chap.  iv.  1 — 5.  Evil 
attempts  of  false 
teachers  to  teach  a 
useless  asceticism. 


did  re-uuite  His  soul  unto  His  body  from  which  He 
separated  it  wlieu  He  gave  iip  the  ghost,  and  so  did 
quicken  and  re\dvo  Himself,  and  thus  publicly  proclaimed 
His  divine  nature,  His  awful  dignity.  (Comp.  Pearson, 
On  the  Creed,  Art.  V.) 

Seen  of  angels  .  .  . — It  has  been  suggested  that 
"  angels  "  mean  here  nothing  more  tlian  His  Apostles 
and  His  own  chosen  messengers,  by  whom  Jesus  Christ 
was  seen  after  His  claims  to  Supreme  power  had  been 
jxistified  in  the  Spirit  which  had  raised  Him  from  the 
dead.  Tliese  saw  Him  first,  and  after  that  carried  the 
glad  message  to  the  distant  isles  of  the  Gentiles.  But  in 
spite  of  the  ingenuity  of  such  an  exposition,  the  plain, 
ob^nous  meaning  of  the  word  "  angels  "  must  be  main- 
tained, for  the  invariable  meaning  of  angelos  in  the 
New  Testament  (perhaps  with  the  exception  of  the 
earlier  chaptei-s  of  the  Apocalypse)  is  never  "  apostle," 
but  "  angel."  He  was  "  seen  of  angels " — that  is, 
Jesus  Christ,  after  His  resurrection  and  return  to  tlie 
throne  at  the  Father's  right  hand,  was,  in  His  glorified 
humanity,  visible  to  angels,  who  before  had  never 
looked  on  God.  (Comp.  Eph.  iii.  10 ;  Heb.  i.  6 ;  1  Pet. 
i.  12 — each  of  which  passag(\s  bears  in  some  way  on  this 
mysterious  subject.)  Theodoret  and  St.  Chiysostom 
have  similarly  commented  on  this  statement  respecting 
the  angels'  share  in  the  beatific  vision. 

Preached  unto  the  Gentiles. — The  angels  now 
for  the  first  time  saw,  and  gazed  on,  and  rejoiced  in, 
the  vision  of  the  Godhead  manifested  in  the  glorified 
humanity  of  the  Son  ;  and  what  the  angels  gained  in 
the  beatific  vision,  the  nations  of  the  world  obtained 
throiigh  the  preaching  of  the  gospel — viz.,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  endless  love  and  the  surpassing  glory  of 
Christ.  This  line  of  the  ancient  Christian  hymn  tells 
us  that  this  early  confession  of  faith  was  peciiliarly  the 
outcome  of  the  Pauline  churches ;  for  in  enumerating 
the  six  glories  of  the  Redeemer-God  it  tells  us  one  of 
these  glories  consisted  in  the  preaching  of  His  gospel  to 
those  peoples  who  had  hitherto  sat  in  darkness  and  in 
the  shadow  of  death.  It  was  the  splendid  fulfilment 
of  the  Isaiah  prophecy  respecting  the  coming  Messiah. 
"  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  pre- 
served of  Isi'ael :  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to 
the  Gentiles"  (Isa.  xlix.  6). 

Believed  on  in  the  world. — Different  from  Bud- 
dhism or  even  from  Mahommedanism,  Christianity  has 
found  acceptance  among  %videly  different  nationalities. 
The  religion  of  the  Crucified  alone  among  religions 
has  a  fair  claim  to  the  title  of  a  world-religion.  Its 
cradle  was  in  the  East,  but  it  rapidly  found  a  ready 
acceptance  in  the  West,  and  in  the  present  day  it  may 
bo  said  not  only  to  exist,  but  to  exercise  a  vast  and  ever 
increasing  influence  in  all  the  four  quarters  of  the 
globe. 

Received  up  into  glory.  — More  accurately, 
received  up  in  glory.  These  words  refer  evidently 
to  the  historical  ascent  of  Clirist  into  heaven — tlicy  de- 
clare the  belief  of  tliese  early  churches  in  the  fact  of 
the  Ascension  as  related  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel. 

Tliis  fragment  of  the  triumpli-song  of  the  early 
churches  embraces  the  leading  facts  of  the  Messianic 
story : — 

(1)  The  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God. 

(2)  The  justification  in  His  Resurrection  of  the  lofty 


claims  advanced  by  Him  during  the  days  of  His  humi- 
liation. 

(3)  The  Epiphany  of  the  glorified  Humanity  of 
Christ. 

(a)  To  angels  in  the  beatific  vision. 

{b)  To  men  in  the  preaching  of  the  cross. 

(4)  The  glorious  results  of  the  gnsat  sacrifice  already 
visible  in  those  first  suffering,  struggling  days  of  the 
Church. 

(5)  The  return  to  heaven,  and  the  session  in  power 
at  the  right  hand  of  God — closing  tlie  first  part  of  the 
blessed  resurrection  mystery,  and  beginning  the  glo- 
rious reign  of  Christ  over  men  from  His  throne  in 
heaven. 

IV. 

(1)  Now    the    Spirit   speaketh    expressly.— 

Rather,  But  tlie  Spirit.  But  {de)  in  veiy  strong  contrast 
to  the  sublime  mystery  of  Redemption  St.  Paul  has  been 
speaking  of  as  the  glorious  treasure  contained  in  the 
Church  of  which  Timotliy  and  his  colleagues  were 
ministers  ;  but  in  spite  of  that  sublime  truth  which 
should  occupy  the  thoughts  and  fill  tlie  hearts  of  Chris- 
tians, men  will  busy  themselves  >vith  other  and  veiy 
different  things ;  with  a  spurious  mock  devotion,  dream- 
ing that  God's  mercy  and  love  were  to  be  purchased  by 
mere  abstinence  from  certain  meats,  or  by  an  unnatural 
renunciation  of  the  home  and  famUy  life.  The  "  words 
of  the  Spirit "  here  allude  to  a  mysterious  power,  to  a 
divine  gift,  traces  of  which  occur  again  and  again  in 
the  New  Testament  pages.  Among  the  supernatural 
signs  which  were  vouchsafed  to  the  first  generation  of 
believers,  and  with  very  rare  exceptions  only  to  the  first 
generation — to  men  and  women,  many,  if  not  most,  of 
whom  had  seen  Jesus,  and  had  had  personal  contact 
with  Him — must  be  reckoned  those  mysterious  intima- 
tions of  the  will  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  guided  and 
encouraged  the  Church  of  the  first  days.  That  intima- 
tion came  in  varied  forms  :  to  the  Twelve  in  the  form  of 
fieiy  tongues  (Acts  ii.  1 — 12) ;  to  a  more  numerous 
company  (Acts  iv.  31) ;  to  Peter  on  the  occasion  of  the 
conversion  of  Cornelius  (Acts  x.  10 — 16,  19,  20) ;  to  St. 
Paul  on  three  occasions  in  tlie  course  of  his  second  mis- 
sionary journey  (Acts  xvi.  6,  7,  9,  10) ;  through  the 
medium  of  the  prophet  Agabus  (Acts  xxi.  11).  St.  Paul 
alludes  to  many  such  voices  of  tlie  Spirit,  and  heavenly 
intimations,  Avhen  speaking  to  the  elders  of  Miletus 
(Acts  XX.  23).  One  of  these  special  revelations,  made 
to  himself,  he  here  quotes. 

In  the  latter  times.— All  thc^e  ages  are  here 
referred  to  which  succeed  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  In 
these  Paul  lived,  and  we  are  still  watcliing  the  slow  and 
solemn  march  past  of  these  latter  ages.  The  errors 
foreseen  then,  have  more  or  less  affected  the  internal 
government  of  the  Church  during  the  eighteen  hundred 
years  which  have  passed  since  St.  Paul's  words  were 
written.  In  no  ago,  ])erha]>s,  have  they  been  more 
ostentatiouslv  thrust  forward  tliaii  in  our  ovni. 

Some  shaU  depart  from  the  faith.  —  "  By 
denjnng  what  is  true,  by  adding  what  is  false,"  says 
Beuijel. 

Giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits.— Tliia  ex- 
pression must  not  1)0  watered  down  by  explanations 
which  understand  this  expression  as  referring  to  false 
teachers.     The  "  seducing  spirits"  are  none  other  than 


195 


Everything  created 


I.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


by  God  is  good. 


(-)  spealviiig  lies  in  h jpocrisj ;  having- 
theix'  conscience  seared  with  a  hot  iron ; 
(^^  forbiddin<]f  to  marry,  and  commanding 
to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath 


created  to  be  received  with  thanksgiving- 
of  them  which  believe  and  know  the 
truth.  (^^  For  every  creature  of  God  is 
good,  and  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be 


evil  i^owors  and  spirits  subject  to  Satan,  and  whifli  are 
permit  tod  to  influence  and  to  work  in  liumau  hearts. 
(See  Epli.  ii.  2,  vi.  12 — passages  in  which  these 
spiritual  eoinniniiitios  of  wickedness  and  their  powers 
over  men  are  a^ain  alluded  to  by  St.  Paul.) 

Doctrines  of  devils. — Doctrines  and  thoughts 
tauglit  by,  suggested  l)y,  evil  spirits.  Tlie  personality 
of  these  unhappy  beings  is  clearly  taught  by  St.  Paul. 
Of  their  influence  in  the  heathen  world  and  their 
antagonism  to  Christ  and  His  followers,  see  1  Cor. 
X.  2U,21. 

(2)  Speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy.— The  Greek 
words  here  sliould  be  translated,  through  the  hypo- 
crisy of  men  that  speah  lies.  The  lies  that  these  men 
utter,  I'efer  to  their  teaching  that  it  was  pleasing  to  the 
eye  of  the  All-seeing  Creator  for  men  and  women  to 
avoid  certain  meats,  and  to  abstain  from  marriage. 
Their  hypocrisy  consisted  in  their  assumption  of  a 
nuisk  of  holiness,  which  holiness  they  considered  was 
derived  from  their  false  asc(^ticism  and  tlieir  abstinence 
from  things  which  the  Apostle  proceeded  to  show  were 
lawful. 

Having  their  conscience  seared  with  a  hot 
iron. — Better  rendered.  Branded  in  their  own  con- 
science as  with  a  hot  iron.  The  image  is  drawn  from 
the  practice  of  branding  slaves  and  certain  criminals  on 
their  forehead  with  a  mark.  "  Qua  nota  tur^ntudinis 
nan  inusta  tna  vita  est  /  "  (Cic.  Cat.  i.  6.)  These  men 
tried  to  teach  the  eflScacy  of  a  substitution  of  certain 
counsels  of  perfection  in  place  of  a  faithful  loving  life. 
They  based  their  teaching  on  wild  Oriental  specula- 
tions about  the  evil  nature  of  all  matter.  They  were 
often  themselves  evil-livers,  who,  conscious  of  their 
own  stained,  scarred  lives,  strove  with  a  show  of  out- 
ward .sanctity  and  hypocritical  self-denial  to  beguile 
aud  to  lead  astray  others,  and  in  the  end  to  make  them 
as  vil(>  as  themselves. 

(3)  Forbidding  to  marry.— This  strange  and  un- 
natural "  counsel  of  ijerfection,"  St.  Paul,  thinking  and 
writing  in  the  Spirit,  looked  forward  to  as  a  perilous 
delusion  which  would,  as  time  went  on,  grow  into  the 
impious  dogma  of  certain  of  the  great  Gnostic  schools. 
This  teaching  was  proliably,  even  in  those  early  days, 
creeping  into  the  churches.  The  Jewish  sects  of 
Essenes  and  Thcrapeutaj  had  already  taught  that 
"  abstinence  from  marriage  "  was  meritorious.  Men 
belonging  to  these  sects  doubtless  were  to  be  found 
in  every  populous  centre  where  Jews  congregated,  and 
it  was  always  in  those  centres  of  Judaism  that  Chris- 
tianity at  first  found  a  home.  St.  Paul,  however,  saw  no 
reason  to  dwell  on  this  point  at  any  length ;  the  gross 
absurdity  of  such  a  "  counsel  "  as  a  rule  of  life  was 
too  apparent;  it  was  a  plain  contradiction  of  the  order 
of  Divine  Providence.  But  the  next  question  which 
presented  itself  in  the  teaching  of  these  false  ascetics, 
as  we  shall  see,  reriuired  more  careful  handling. 

And  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats.— 
Once  more  we  must  look  to  tliose  fanious  Jewish 
religious  comnuinities  of  Egj7)t  (the  Essenes  and 
Tlierapentaj),  tlie  precui'sors  of  tlio  great  monastic 
systems  of  Christianity,  as  the  home  whence  these  per- 
verted ascetic  tendencies  issued.  These  precepts  too, 
like  the  counsel  respecting  marriage,  were  adopted  in 


I 
196 


after  years  by  several  of  the  principal  Gnostic  sects ; 
and  it  was  especially  those  times  St.  Paul  looked  on  to, 
although,  no  doubt,  the  seeds  of  their  false  asceticism 
had  already  been  sown  broadcast  in  the  principal 
Christian  congregations. 

It  has  been  asked  why,  in  these  solemn  warnings 
against  a  false  asceticism  which  St.  Paul  foresaw  might 
and  would  be  substituted  for  a  really  earnest  God- 
fearing life,  the  question  of  celibacy  was  tlismissed  with 
one  short  sentence,  while  the  apparently  less-important 
question  of  abstaining  from  particular  kinds  of  food 
was  discussed  with  some  detail.  The  reason  is  easily 
discoverable.  The  counsel  to  abstain  from  marriage 
was  a  strange  and  unnatural  suggestion,  one  contrary 
to  the  plain  scheme  of  creation.  Any  teaching  which 
taught  that  the  celibate's  life  was  a  life  peculiarly 
pleasing  to  God  would,  at  the  same  time,  throw  a  slur 
upon  all  home  and  family  life,  and  the  Apostle  felt  that 
men's  ordinary  common  sense  would  soon  relegate  any 
such  strange  teaching  to  obscurity ;  but  with  the  ques- 
tion of  abstaining  from  meats — that  was  connected 
with  the  precepts  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  dealt  at 
some  length  (probably  from  reasons  connected  with  the 
public  health)  with  these  restrictions  in  the  matter  of 
meats. 

These  false  teachers,  while  they  urged  such  absti- 
nence as  a  likely  way  to  win  God's  favour,  would 
probably  base,  or  at  all  events  support,  their  arguments 
by  reference  to  certain  portions  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
rightly  undei-stood  or  wrongly  understood. 

These  points,  then,  might  have  risen  into  the  dignity 
of  a  controverted  question  between  the  (Paidine)  Gentile 
and  the  Jewish  congregations.  So  St.  Paul  at  once 
removed  it  to  a  higher  platform.  All  food  was  from 
the  hand  of  one  Maker — nothing,  then,  coidd  really  be 
considered  common  or  unclean  without  tlu-owiug  a 
slur  upon  the  All-Creator. 

Which  God  hath  created  to  be  received 
•with  thanksgiving.— God's  primeval  intention  is 
thus  sharply  contrasted  with  men's  aibitrary  restric- 
tions. This  divine  intention  is  repeated  with  still 
greater  emphasis  in  verse  4. 

Of  them  which  believe  and  know  the 
truth. — The  true  "  Gnostics,"  in  St.  Paul's  eyes,  were 
not  those  self-sufficient  men  who  were  out  of  their 
own  corrupt  imagination  devising  these  strange  and 
unnatural  methods  of  pleasing  God,  but  those  holy, 
humble  men  of  heart  wlio  believed  on  His  crucified 
Son,  and  Jnwiv  the  truth  of  the  glorious  gospel. 

W  For  every  creature  of  God  is  good.— To 
teach  that  anything  created  was  unclean  would  be  an 
insult  to  the  Creator.  The  very  fact  of  its  being  His 
creation  is  enough.  If  made  by  God,  then  it  must  be 
good. 

And  nothing  to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received 
with  thanksgiving.— Every  kind  of  food  and  drink 
may  become  hateful  in  the  eyes  of  the  all-pure  God 
if  misused,  if  partaken  of  without  any  sense  of  grati- 
tude to  the  Divine  giver.  But  nothing  which  can  be 
made  use  of  as  food  ought  to  be  regarded  as  imclean 
or  as  polluted  ;  every  kind  of  food  is  intended  for  man, 
the  only  coiulition  being  that  whatever  is  partaken  of 
should  be  gratefully  received  by  him  as  a  gift. 


IIoio  Timothy  was  to  counteract 


I.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


sickly  Erroneous  Teaching, 


received  with  thanksgiving  :  (■'')  for  it  is 
sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and  prayer. 
<*'*  If  thou  put  the  brethren  in  remem- 
brance of  these  things,  thou  slialt 
be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ, 
nourished  up  in  the  words  of  faith  and 


of  good  doctrine,  whereunto  thou  hast 
attained.       ('^  But     refuse  p;,„„  •    a_.„ 

.  Chap.  IV.  6—16. 

proiane  and  old  wives  Timothy  is  to 
fables,  and  exercise  thyself  eXl'^h^Ttwici!- 
ra^/ier  unto  godliness.  (^^^For  ing  a  practical 
bodily    exercise    protiteth  t'odlyliie. 


(5)  For  it  is  sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and 
prayer. — Not  only  are  all  created  tilings  to  be  con- 
sitlereil  pure,  and  not  liglitly  to  be  put  aside ;  but  in 
tlio  sight  of  God  "  every  creature  "  is  holy  when  re- 
ceived as  His  gift  with  thanksgiving  and  with  prayer — 
such  thanksgiving-prayer  containing  tlioughts  in  exact 
accordance  with  the  Spirit  of  God  revealed  in  Scripture. 
Thus  all  food  is  sanctified,  not  only,  or  even  chiefly,  by 
the  common  formula  of  a  Christian  grace  before  meat. 
This  too  often  degenerates  into  a  mere  form  of  words 
• — into  lip-service  of  the  most  heartless  form— and  is  too 
often  looked  upon  as  a  kind  of  I'eligious  charm.  The 
sauctifieation  referred  to  by  St.  Paul  belongs  to  no  one 
prayer  or  grace,  but  to  the  constant  habit  of  referring 
everything  to  God  as  the  giver  of  all — to  the  perpetual 
•'  office  "  of  a  devout  heart  which,  taking  everything  as 
a  gift  from  God,  the  lover  and  the  friend  of  man, 
thanks  God  from  the  heart  continually. 

One,  if  not  tlie  oldest,  form  of  a  Christian  grace 
before  meat  is  the  one  found  in  the  Apostolic  Constitu- 
tions. It  is  very  simple  and  beautiful,  and  perhaps  not 
too  long  for  daily  use.  It  runs  as  follows :  "  Blessed  be 
Thou,  O  Lord,  who  nourisheth  men  from  very  youth 
up.  who  givest  meat  to  all  flesh ;  fill  our  hearts  with  joy 
and  gladness,  so  that  we,  always  enjoying  a  sufficiency, 
may  abound  unto  every  good  work  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord,  through  whom  be  ascribed  to  Thee  glory, 
honour,  and  power  unto  the  ages.     Amen." 

(c)  If  thou  put  the  brethren  in  remembrance 
of  these  things.— The  "  things"  of  which  he  was  to 
put  the  brethren  in  mind  were  those  practices  connected 
with  that  foolish,  false  asceticism  alluded  to  in  verses 
3 — 5.  Not  a  few,  probably,  in  that  Ephesiau  flock 
had  been  won  over  by  the  persuasive  words  of  the  false 
teachers  to  attribute  a  peculiar  virtue  to  such  practices 
— practices  which,  if  persevered  in,  St.  Paul  well  knew 
would  tend  to  set  up  for  imitation  in  the  Church  an 
unreal,  unhealthy  standard  of  life. 

Thou  shalt  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ. — A  high  title  to  honour,  this,  "  a  good  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  one  Timothy  would  well  earn  if 
he  would  set  himself  in  all  earnestness  to  oppose  and 
discredit  the  sickly  teaching  of  the  Ascetic  school. 

He  would  by  such  opposition,  indeed,  eani  the 
"  title  to  honour,"  for  St.  Paul  well  knew  liow  great 
was  the  danger  of  a  comparatively  young  and  ardent 
disciple  like  Timothy  being  attracted  by  such  mistaken 
teachings  of  perfection.  But  "  the  good  minister  of 
Jesus  Clirist  "  must  teach  "  a  life  "  which  may  bo  led 
by  all,  not  by  a  select  few  merely,  of  the  believers 
on  his  Master.  Asceticism  is  too  often  a  winning  and 
attractive  school  of  teaching  to  ministers,  as,  at  a  com- 
paratively easy  price,  tlicy  win  a  great,  but  at  the  same 
time  thoroughly  unhealthy,  power  over  the  souls  of  men 
and  wimion  who  practise  these  austerities,  whicli  tend 
uecos.sarily  to  remove  them  outof  the  stream  of  active  life. 

Nourished  up  in  the  words  of  faith  and 
of  good  doctrine. — The  Greek  present  participle 
rendered  liere  "  nourished  up  in,"  marks  a  continuous 
and  permanent  process  of  self-education.  It  might  bo 
traualated  "  ever  training  thyself  " — a  wise  and  uover- 


to-be-forgotten  precept  of  St.  Paul's,  this  reminder  to 
his  own  dear  son  in  the  faith,  Timothy — and  through 
Timothy  to  all  Christian  ministers  of  every  age — never 
to  relax  their  efforts  for  self-improvement.  Tlie  educa- 
tion of  the  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  is  never  to  be 
considered  finished.  Ho — the  teacher  of  others — must 
ever  be  striving  himself  after  a  higher  and  a  yet  higher 
knowledge  in  things  .spiritual. 

Whereunto  thou  hast  attained. — More  accu- 
rately translated,  whicli  thojc  hast  closely  folloiv<d. 
In  the  teaching  respecting  faith  and  practice  which 
Timothy,  as  a  disciple,  has  diligently  followed  out  step 
by  step — in  that  teaching  he  is  to  study  to  advance  yet 
farther,  so  as  to  gain  deeper  and  ever  deeper  knowledge 
of  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom. 

(7)  But  refuse  profane  and  old  wives'  fables. 
— Here  Timothy — who  has  been  previously  (see  verses 
1 — 6)  warned  against  a  false  asceticism,  against  jjutting 
an  unnatural  interpretation  on  the  words  of  Christ, 
against  sympathising  ^vith  a  teaching  which  would  unfit 
men  and  women  for  practical  every-day  life — is  now 
urged  to  guard  himself  against  the  temptation  to  give 
himself  up  to  the  favourite  and  apparently  enticing  study 
of  the  sayings  of  the  famous  Jewish  Rabbis,  in  which 
every  book,  almost  eveiy  word — in  many  cases  the  let- 
ters of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures — were  subjected  to  a  keen 
but  profitless  investigation.  In  such  study  the  spirit  of 
the  holy  writers  was  too  often  lost,  and  only  a  dry  and 
barren  formalism — commands  respecting  the  tithing  of 
mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin — remained,  while  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law — judgment,  justice,  and 
truth — were  carefully  sifted  out.  Round  the  grand  old 
Jewish  history  all  kind  of  mj^hical  legends  grew  up, 
till  for  a  Jewish  student  of  the  Rabbinical  schools  the 
separation  of  the  true  from  the  false  became  in  maiiy 
cases  impossible — through  all  this  elaborate  and  careful 
but  almost  profitless  study.  The  minister  of  Chri.st 
was  to  avoid  these  strange  and  unusual  inteqjretations, 
this  vast  fantastic  collection  of  legends,  partly  true  and 
partly  false.  He  was  to  regard  them  as  merely  jirofano 
and  old  wives'  fables,  as  being  perfectly  useless  and  even 
harmful  in  their  bearing  on  practical  every-day  life. 

And  exercise  thyself  rather  unto  godliness. 
— Instead  of  these  weary  profitless  efforts — the  painful, 
useless  asceticism  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  endless  and 
barren  Rabbinic  studies  of  the  Law  on  the  other — 
Timothy,  as  a  good  minister  of  Je-<us  Christ,  was  to 
bestow  all  his  pains  and  labour  to  promote  an  active, 
healthy,  practical  jjiety  among  the  congregation  of 
believers,  as  we  have  seen  in  verse  6,  in  the  words, 
"  ever  training  thyself."  To  lead  such  a  life  required 
ceaseless  pains  and  efforts,  lor  true  godliness  is  ever  a 
j'irogressii'c  state.  Surely  exercising  himself  unto  godli- 
ness would  be  a  task  hard  enougli  to  sati-fy  the  most 
ardent,  the  most  enthusiastic  soul!  Tlie  '•godliness." 
or  "  ])icty."  liere  alhnh'd  to.  as  the  end  toward  wliich 
Timothy  was  to  direct  all  his  efforts,  was  that  practical 
piety  Mliich  intiui-nces  for  good,  which  leavens  with  a 
holy  leaven  all  cl.isses  of  society,  all  life,  of  the  slave  as 
well  as  of  the  patrician. 

(8)  For    bodily    exercise    profitoth    little.— 


197 


He  is  to  teach 


I.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


a  Practical  Godly  Life. 


little :  ^  but  godliness  is  profitable 
unto  all  things,  having  promise  of 
the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that 
•which  is  to  come.  (^>  This  is  a  faith- 
ful saj^ng  and  worthy  of  aU   accepta- 


1  Or,  fixT    a    little 
time. 


tion.  (^^>  For  therefore  we  both  labour 
and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust 
in  the  living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour 
of  all  men,  specially  of  those  that 
believe.        (^^^  These   thinffs    command 


More  accurately  rendered,  bodily  exercise  is  profitable 
for  little.  St.  Paul  here,  uo  doubt,  was  tbiuking  of 
those  bodily  austerities  alluded  to  in  verse  3.  The 
stern  repression  of  all  huiuan  passions  and  desires,  the 
abstinence  from  all  compliance  with  the  natural  im- 
pulses of  the  flesh — such  an  unnatural  warfare,  such 
an  exercise,  such  a  training  of  the  body,  no  doubt  in 
many  eases  would  lead,  in  many  cases  certainly  has  led, 
the  indiWdual  to  a  higher  spiritual  state.  Such  a  total 
surrender  for  the  one  who  so  exercises  himself  is,  no 
doubt,  in  a  certain  sense,  "profitable."  But  then  it 
must  be  remembered  that  this  kind  of  -vnctory  over  the 
flesh,  in  very  many  instances,  leads  to  an  unnatural 
state  of  mind ;  for  the  rigid  ascetic  has  removed  him- 
self from  the  platform  on  which  ordinary  men  and 
women  move.  His  thoughts  have  ceased  to  be  their 
thoughts,  his  ways  are  no  longer  their  ways.  For 
practical  everyday  life  such  an  influence,  always  limited, 
is  at  times  positively  harmful,  as  its  tendency  is  to  de- 
preciate that  home-life  and  family-life,  to  raise  and 
elevate  which  is  the  true  object  of  Christian  teaching. 
Still,  the  Apostle,  while  remembering,  and  in  his  teach- 
ing ever  carrying  out,  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  solemn 
prayer  to  the  Father,  "  I  pray,  not  that  thou  shouldest 
take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest 
keep  them  from  the  evil,"  refrains  from  an  entire  con- 
demnation of  a  life  which  received,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  from  the  lips  of  the  Sinless  One  a  guarded 
commendation  (Matt.  x\-ii.  21 ;  xix.  12). 

St.  Paul,  in  his  divinely-taught  wisdom,  recognises 
that  such  an  austere  and  severe  example  and  life,  though 
by  no  means  the  ideal  life  of  a  Christian  teacher,  yet  in 
the  great  world  workshop  of  the  Master  might  receive 
a  blessing  as  "  profitaljle  for  little." 

But  godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things. 
— Better,  for  all  things.  But  while  tliis  "bodily 
exercise,"  this  austere  subduing  of  the  flesh,  can 
only  weigh  with  a  narrow  and  circumscribed  group, 
St.  Paul  points  out  that  the  influence  of  "godliness 
is  world-^vide ; "  a  godliness,  not  merely  an  inward 
holiness,  but  an  operative,  active  piety,  which,  springing 
from  an  intense  love  for  Christ,  manifests  itself  in 
love  for  His  creatures.  This  godliness  transfigures, 
and  illumines  with  its  di\'ine  radiance  all  busy,  active 
life — every  condition,  every  rank,  all  ages.  That  surely 
is  what  the  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  must  aim  at  I 

Having  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
and  of  that  which  is  to  come.  — For  this 
godliness,  whicli  may  and  ought  to  enter  into  all  states, 
all  ages  of  life,  promises  the  greatest  happiness  to  those 
who  struggle  after  it.  It  promises  "  life  " — that  is,  the 
highest  blessedness  which  the  creature  can  enjoy  in  this 
world — as  well  as  the  rich  prospect  of  the  endless 
life  with  God  in  the  world  to  come ;  whereas  a  false 
asceticism  crushes  out  all  the  joy  and  gladness  of  this 
present  life,  and  is  an  unreal  preparation  for  that 
which  is  future. 

(9)  This  is  a  faithful  saying  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation. — Again  we  have  the  striking  formula 
which  always  calls  attention  to  some  great  truth  which, 
in  the  Church  of  the  first  days,  had  already  obtained 
among  the  congi'cgatious  a  broad,  if  not  a  universal 


currency,  as  one  of  the  great  watchwords  of  the  faitli. 
Now  wo  find  one  of  these  taken  apparently  from  a 
Christian  hJ^nn,  now  from  one  of  the  public  prayers 
or  thanksgivings.  The  "  faithful  saying,"  in  this  in- 
stance, was  that  "  godliness,"  that  is,  "  active,  living 
piety,"  is  profitable  for  all  things,  seeing  it  has  the  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is  and  of  that  which  is  to  come. 

(10)  For  therefore  we  both  labour  and  suf- 
fer reproach.— And  for  this  end — to  obtain  this 
glorious  promise,  this  highest  blessedness  here,  that 
endless  life  with  God  hereafter,  to  win  this  glorious 
promise — we  Christian  missionaries  and  teachers  care 
for  no  t&U,  however  painful — shrink  from  no  shame, 
however  agonising. 

Because  we  trust  in  the  living  God. — 
More  accurately  translated,  because  we  have  our  Iwpe 
in  the  living  God.  And  this  is  why  we  toil  and  endure 
shame.  We  know  that  the  promise  made  will  be  ful- 
filled, because  the  God  on  whom — as  on  a  sure  founda- 
tion— our  hopes  rest,  is  a  living  God.  "  Li\Tng,"  in 
strong  contrast  to  those  dumb  and  lifeless  idols  shrined 
in  the  well-known  Ephesian  temples. 

Who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  specially 
of  those  that  believe. — Tliese  words,  like  the 
assertion  of  chap.  ii.  4,  have  been  often  pressed  into  the 
ser\'ice  of  that  school  of  kindly,  but  mistaken,  inter- 
preters, who  ignore,  or  explain  away,  the  plain  doctrine 
of  Holy  Scripture  which  tells  us  there  are  those 
whose  destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  everlasting,  whose  portion  .shall  be  the  "  second 
death  "  (2  Thess.  i.  9 ;  Rev.  xxi.  8).  These  interpreters 
prefer  to  substitute  in  place  of  this  terrible,  but 
repeated  declaration,  their  own  perilous  theories  of 
universalism.  Here  the  gracious  words  seem  to  affix  a 
seal  to  the  statement  immediately  preceding,  which 
speaks  of  "  the  hope  in  the  living  God  "  as  the  source 
of  all  the  labour  and  brave  patience  of  the  Lord's  true 
servants.  The  living  God  is  also  a  loving  God,  the 
Saviour  of  all,  if  they  would  receive  Him,  and,  un- 
doubtedly, the  Redeemer  of  those  who  accept  His  love 
and  are  faithful  to  His  holy  cause. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  were  many 
Hebrews  still  in  every  Christian  congregation,  many 
in  eveiy  church,  who  still  clung  with  passionate  zeal 
to  the  old  loved  Hebrew  thought,  that  Messiah's  work 
of  salvation  was  limited  to  the  chosen  race.  This  and 
similar  sayings  were  specially  meant  to  set  aside  for 
ever  these  narrow  and  selfish  conceptions  of  the 
Redeemer's  will ;  were  intended  to  show  these 
exclusive  children  of  Israel  that  Christ's  work  would 
stretch  over  a  greater  and  a  grander  platform  than 
ever  Israel  could  fill ;  were  designed  to  tell  out  to  all 
the  churches  how  indeed  "it  was  a  light  thing  that 
thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of 
Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel."  StiU, 
with  all  these  guarded  considerations,  which  serve  to 
warn  us  from  entertaining  any  hopes  of  a  universal  re- 
demption, such  a  saying  as  this  seems  to  point  to  the 
blessed  Atonement  mysteiy  as  performing  a  work  whoso 
consequences  reach  far  beyond  the  limits  of  human 
thouglit,  or  even  of  sober  speculation. 

(11)  These    things    command    and    teach.— 


19S 


Timothy  is  himself  to  set  the 


I.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


Example  to  the  Congregations. 


and  teach.  (^^^  Let  no  man  despise 
thy  youth ;  but  be  thou  an  example 
of  the  behevers,  in  word,  in  con- 
versation,   in     charity,     in    sj)irit,     in 


faith,  in  purity.  <^3)  Y\\\  I  come,  give 
attendance  to  reading,  to  exhortation, 
to  doctrine,  (i"*^  Neglect  not  the  gift 
that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee 


"  Those  tilings  " — i.e.,  the  real  meaning  of  "  god- 
liness," that  practical  everyday  piety  which,  in 
contradistinction  to  tlie  severe  and  strained  asceticism 
of  a  limited  and  narrow  section  of  society,  should  enter 
into  all  homes  and  influence  aU  lives  without 
distinction  of  class  or  race,  age  or  sex.  "  These 
tilings  "  in  the  Church  of  Ephesus  must  form  a  part 
of  the  public  comniauds  and  charges  to  the  congre- 
gations, must  likewise  enter  into  private  Christian 
teaching. 

(12)  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth.— If  Timothy 
desired  that  his  teaching  should  be  listened  to  with 
respectful  earnest  attention,  if  he  hoped  to  use  a  holy  in- 
fluence over  the  flock,  let  him  be  A^ery  cai'eful  that  his 
comparative  youth  prove  no  stumbling-block.  To  Paul 
tlie  aged,  his  son  in  the  faith  seemed  still  youthful — 
at  this  time  Timothy  could  not  have  been  more  than 
forty  years  of  age.  The  old  master  would  have  his 
young  disciple  supply  the  want  of  years  by  a  gravity  of 
life ;  he  would  have  him,  while  fearless,  at  the  same  time 
modest  and  free  from  all  that  pretentious  assumption, 
unhappily  so  often  seen  when  the  comparatively  young 
are  placed  in  positions  of  dignity  and  authority.  Paul 
proceeds  further  to  explain  his  solemn  warning  by  in- 
stancing the  especial  points  in  which  Timothy  was  to 
be  a  pattern  to  the  other  believers.  These  gentle  words 
of  warning,  such  notices  as  we  find  in  chap.  v.  23 
and  in  1  Cor.  xxd.  10,  II,  seem  to  point  to  the  fact  of 
there  being  nothing  ivinning  in  the  personal  appearance 
of  Timothy,  but  rather  the  contrary.  It  is  deserv- 
ing of  comment  that  among  the  more  famous  of 
the  early  Christian  leaders,  beauty  of  face  and  form 
appears  to  have  been  the  exception  rather  than  the 
rule.  This  was,  of  course,  utterly  different  from  the  old 
Grecian  idea  of  gods  and  heroes.  It  was  no  doubt  part 
of  the  counsel  of  God  that  this  world-religion  should 
owe  nothing  to  the  ordinary  conditions  of  human 
success.  The  teaching  was  novel  and  opposed  to  the 
maxims  which  guided  and  influenced  the  old  world. 
The  noblest  ideals  proposed  for  Christian  imitation 
were  strange  and  hitherto  unheard  of.  The  very  fore- 
most preachers  of  the  faith  of  Christ,  as  in  the  case 
of  Timothy,  seem  to  have  owed  nothing  to  those 
personal  gifts  so  highly  prized  among  Pagan  nations. 
So  the  appearance  of  St.  Paul,  the  greatest  of  the 
early  Christian  leaders,  seems  to  have  been  mean  and 
insignificant,  "  etn  armes  dilrres  Mdnnlein,"  as  Luther 
has  it.  The  blessed  Founder  of  the  religion  is 
described  by  Tertullian,  who  lived  in  the  same  century 
with  those  who  must  have  conversed  with  Christ's 
disciples,  as  "  having  no  human  beauty,  much  less  any 
celestial  splendour."  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Justin 
Martyr,  and  other  very  early  writers,  join  in  the 
same  testimony.  It  is,  however,  only  fair  to  say  that 
on  this  point  the  view  of  Origeu  appears  to  have  been 
different.  The  Messianic  pro])hecies  evidently  looked 
forward  to  this  as  the  will  of  the  Most  High.  (See 
Ps.  xxii.  6.  7,  15.  17 ;  Isa.  Hi.  14 ;  liii.  2—4.) 

In  word.— This  refers  to  the  public  utterances 
in  teaching  and  exhortation,  but  more  jjariicularly  to 
the  words  used  by  Timothy  in  social  intercourse. 
These,  in  such  a  life  as  that  of  the  young  presiding 
older  of  the  Ephesiau  Church,  must  have  Ijecu  of  the 


deepest  importance.  The  tone  of  his  conversation  was 
no  doulit  imitated  Jiy  many,  it  would  influence  for  good 
or  evil  the  whole  Christian  society  of  that  great  centre. 
The  words  of  men  ]daced  in  such  a  position  should  ever 
be  true  and  generous,  h('l[)ful  and  oncouraging,  and, 
above  all,  free  from  slander,  fi'om  aU  low  and  pitiful 
conceptions  of  others. 

In  conversation. — This  rendering  might  mislead 
— the  Greek  word  signifies  rather  "  manner  of  life,"  or 
"  conduct." 

In  charity. — Better  rendered,  in  love.  This  and 
the  following  "  in  faith,"  comprehend  the  great  graces 
in  that  inner  Christian  life  of  which  the  "  words  of 
the  mouth,"  and  "conduct,"  are  the  outward  mani- 
festations. He  was  to  be  the  example  to  the  flock  in 
"love  "  to  his  neighbours,  and  in  "faith  "  towards  God. 

The  words  "  in  spirit,"  which  in  the  English  version 
occur  between  "  in  charity,"  and  "  in  faith,"  are  found 
in  none  of  the  older  authorities. 

In  purity. — Chastity  of  mind  as  well  as  body  is 
here  signified.  The  ruler  of  a  church — among  wlioso 
members  evidently  a  school  of  teaching  existed  in  which 
a  life  of  stern  asceticism  was  iirged  on  the  Christian 
believer  as  the  only  acceptable  or  even  possible  way  of 
life  for  the  servant  of  Christ — must  be  above  all  things 
watchful  lest  ho  should  seem  to  set  a  careless  example 
in  the  matter  of  morality. 

(13)  Till  I  come,  give  attendance  to  reading. 
— The  words  evidently  imply  a  hope,  perhaps  even  au 
expectation,  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul,  that  he  would 
one  day  be  enabled  once  more  to  "visit  the  Ciiurch  of 
Ephesus ;  but  so  long  as  that  absence  lasted,  Timothy 
was  to  attend  carefully  to  three  special  points  in  the 
ljublic  ministiy  in  which  he  was,  in  the  Apostle's 
absence,  the  chief  ofiicer. 

Tlie  "reading"  was  that  public  reading  of  Scrip- 
tui'e  in  the  congregation — a  practice  bori-owed  from  the 
synagogue  service,  when  jjublicly  tlie  Law  and  tlio 
Prophets  were  read  to  the  people  assomliled.  (See  Luke 
iv.  16;  Acts  xiii.  15.)  In  these  early  Christian  assem- 
blies, about  the  year  66 — 67,  the  question  arises.  Were 
any  Scriptures  read  in  public  besides  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  ?  No  certain  reply  can  be  given  :  it  is, 
however,  probable,  even  at  this  very  early  date,  that 
one  at  least  of  the  older  Gospels  (jirobably  St.  Mark) 
was  already  known  and  used  in  the  Christian  churchos, 
and  read  along  with  the  Scriptures  of  the  old  covenant. 
That  the  reading  of  the  "  Gospels  "  very  soon  became 
a  part  of  the  regular  serAnce  in  the  congregations  of 
Chi'istians  is  OAident  from  the  words  of  Justin  Martyr, 
Apologia,  i.  67,  written  in  the  first  half  of  the  first 
century. 

To  exhortation,. to  doctrine. — Tliese  both  most 
probably  refer  to  the  pul)lic  ministry  in  the  congrega- 
tion. The  first,  "  exhortation."  particularly  applies  to 
{\\e  feelings.  The  reading  of  the  Scriptures  must  be  fol- 
lowed by  an  earnest  ])ractical  application  of  their  teach- 
ing to  the  affairs  of  that  life  in  the  midst  of  which  the 
Cliristian  listener  was  linng.  The  word  "doctrine" 
suggests  a  pul)lic  teaching  directed  rather  to  the  under- 
standing ot  tlie  hearers.  The  idea  of  exjiosition,  or 
even  of  docrmatic  te;ichin£r.  seems  liore  included. 

(14)  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which 


190 


His  Profiting  is 


I.   TIMOTHY,   V. 


to  appear  to  all. 


by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the 
hands  of  the  presbytery.  '^^^  Meditate 
upon  these  things ;  give  thyself  wholly 
to  them ;  that  thy  profiting  may  appear 
to  all. ^     (^^^  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and 


1  Or,  in  alt  things. 
A.D.  65. 


unto  the  doctrine ;  continue  in  them  : 
for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save 
thyself,  and  them  that  hear  thee. 

CHAPTEE  v.—  (1)   Rebuke   not  an 


was  given  thee  by  prophecy. — Here  the  Ajjostle 
rciiiinds  liis  representative  iu  the  Ephesian  congregation 
of  his  speeial  gift  of  teacliing  and  exhortation — that 
tliviue  gift  wliicii  had  been  conferred  on  Timothy  at  his 
sokMnu  ordination  h>ng  ago,  when  the  young  son  of 
Eunice  was  designated  for  the  post  which  John  Mark 
had  once  held  witli  the  Apostle.  It  was  in  many 
respects  a  similar  office,  that  which  Timothy  hehl  about 
St.  Paul,  to  that  wliich  in  old  days  Elisha  had  hc^ld  with 
Elijah ;  and,  as  iu  the  case  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  of 
tlie  old  dispensation,  so  here,  the  choice  of  St.  Paul  had 
been  divinely  guided.  The  very  titles  of  the  old  cove- 
nant dispensation  seem  to  have  been  revived  in  this 
instance  of  the  divine  selection  of  Timothy ;  for  in 
chap.  vi.  11  the  older  Apostle  addresses  his  representa- 
tive at  Ephesus  with  the  old  prophetic  title  when  he 
writes  :  "  Thou,  0  -man  of  God,  flee  these  things."  Noiv 
he  solemnly  calls  attention  to  that  strange,  miraculous 
"grace"  which  some  inspired  prophet  at  his  ordina- 
tion declared  was  to  be  conferred  on  Timothy.  The 
"  gift "  was  said  to  be  conferred,  as  to  its  certainty  in 
tlie  divine  counsels,  by  such  prophecy — the  Holy  Spirit, 
by  the  mouth  of  one  or  more  of  His  prophets,  declaring 
His  will  and  intention  to  confer  this  special  grace  on 
th(>  young  companion  of  St.  Paul. 

With  the  laying  on  of  the  hands.— Tliis  was  a 
symbolic  action — the  outward  sign  of  an  inward  com- 
munication of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  some  spiritual  office 
or  undertaking — and  was  derived  from  the  old  solemn 
Hebrew  custom.  (See  Num.  viii.  10  iu  the  case  of  the 
consecration  of  the  Levites,  and  Num.  xxvii.  18,  Deut. 
xxxiv.  y  in  the  ceremony  of  the  dedication  of  Joshua.) 

Of  the  presbytery.— The  brotherhood  of  presbyters 
connected  with  the  place  where  the  ordination  of 
Timothy  took  place  is  here  alluded  to.  There  appears 
to  have  been  such  a  body  of  elders  in  each  particular 
city  or  district.  Tlie  presbytery  in  this  instance  would 
seem  in  all  probability  to  have  belonged  to  the  district 
of  Lystra,  Timothy's  native  city;  but  an  old  eccle- 
siastical tradition  speaks  of  Ephesus  as  the  place  of 
this  ordination. 

(15)  Meditate  upon  these  things.— Better  ren- 
dered, be  diligent  in  these  tilings.  With  these  words  St. 
Paul  closes  this  division  of  his  solemn  directions  to  his 
cliosen  disciple  and  representative  at  Ephesus.  He  must 
dwell  on  tliese  things  and  must  be  diligent  in  their 
practice :  he  must  show  himself  active  and  industrious 
as  a  public  teacher,  and  must  also  order  his  life  so  as 
to  be  an  example  to  his  fellow-believers. 

Give  thyself  wholly  to  them ;  that  thy  pro- 
fiting may  appear  to  all.— More  accurately  ren- 
dered, thy  advance  (or.  thij  progress)  may  be  manifest 
to  all.  To  these  points — his  public  teaching  and  his 
jmblic  example — he  must  give  ceaseless  attention,  that 
the  Christian  brotherhood  of  tlio  Church  over  which 
he  presided  should  be  enal)led  constantly  to  see  what 
progress  their  chief  pastor  was  making  in  Christian 
experience  and  life.  The  word  we  have  translated 
"advance"  or  "progress"  reminds  Christian  ministers 
and  teachers  of  St.  Paul's  grave  words  to  Timothy — 
and,  through  Timothy,  to  all  occupying  any  position 
of  authority  in  the  congregations — that  there  must  be 


200 


no  standing  still,  no  resting  content  with  knowledge 
already  acquired,  no  being  satisfied  with  the  present 
spiritual  life;  there  must  be  a  restless  striding  after 
the  acqiuremeut  of  new  stores  of  knowledge,  ever  deeper 
and  more  accurate ;  there  must  be  a  ceaseless  endeavour 
to  attain  to  a  higher  eminence  in  the  spiritual  life ;  and, 
if  the  minister  or  teacher  would  be  successful,  the  result 
of  these  efforts  must  be  manifest  to  the  brethren  with 
whom  his  lot  was  cast. 

(i<>)  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the 
doctrine ;  continue  in  them. — Thy  teaching  is  a 
more  accurate  rendering  of  the  original  Greek  word  than 
"  the  doctrine."  The  Apostle  in  these  words  sums  up  the 
two  chief  pastoral  requisites,  and  then  points  out  the 
mighty  consequences  which  will  result  from  faithfully 
carrying  them  out.  The  minister  of  Christ  must  keep 
his  attention  fijced  on  his  own  demeanour  and  conduct, 
and  at  the  same  time  give  equally  careful  heed  to  the 
quality  and  character  of  his  teaching.  This  teaching 
must  be  true  and  manly,  and,  above  all,  it  must  be 
faithful  in  doctrine ;  and  he  himself  must  exemplify  it 
in  word  and  deed.  Without  true  and  efficient  teaching, 
the  pure  and  upright  life  of  the  Christian  pastor  will 
fail  to  win  souls  for  his  Master ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  most  efficient  instruction  will  be  of  no  avail  unless 
the  life  corresponds  to  the  words  publicly  uttered. 

For  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thy- 
self, and  them  that  hear  thee. — "  Thou  shalt 
save  " — that  is,  in  the  great  day  of  judgment ;  for  only 
one  meaning,  and  that  the  highest,  must  be  given  to 
"  thou  shalt  save."  Eternal  happiness  for  pastor  and 
flock  is  the  double  reward  offered  to  the  faithful 
servant  of  the  Lord.  In  striving  to  save  others,  the 
minister  is  really  caring  for  his  own  salvation. 

V. 

(1)  Rebuke  not  an  elder,  but  intreat  him  as 
a  father.- Two-thirds  of  St.  Paul's  first  Letter  to 
Timothy  have  been  taken  up  with  directions,  warnings, 
and  exhortations  respecting  the  public  duties  connected 
with  the  office  of  superintending  presbyter,  or  bishop, 
of  a  church  like  that  of  Ephesus;  from  these  directions 
in  connection  with  the  public  teaching  and  the  official 
life  in  the  church,  the  Apostle  passes  on  to  speak  of 
the  private  relations  which  one  in  Timothy's  position 
ought  to  maintain  with  individual  members  of  the 
congregation.  And,  first,  he  warns  him  against  a 
misplaced  zeal,  which  might  urge  Ivim  to  unbefitting 
behaviour  towards  those  older  than  himself.  The 
enthusiastic  and  ardent  young  servant  of  Christ  would 
see  with  sorrow  and  dismay  the  .shortcomings  of  many 
an  elder  member  of  his  flock,  and,  forgetting  to  make 
wise  allowance  for  previous  training,  thought,  and 
liabits,  would  be  likely,  unwisely,  and  possibly  unfairly, 
to  find  fault.  Let  him,  in  the  cases  of  his  elders — for 
the  reference  is  rather  to  age  than  to  office,  as  is  clear 
from  the  reminder  of  verse  2.  addressed  to  the  "  elder 
women  " — instead  of  open  rebuke,  use  respectful  and 
affectionate  entreaties,  after  the  manner  of  a  son,  not  of 
an  official. 

The  younger  men  as  brethren.— And  as  re- 
gards the  younger  Christians  of  Ephesus,  let  them  not 


Of  the  Relations  of  a  Presbyter 


I.   TIMOTHY,  V. 


to  the  Members  of  his  Flock. 


elder,  but  intreat  him  as  a  father ; 
Chap  V.  1—2.  and  the  younger  men 
Directions  re-  as  brethren ;  <-^  the  elder 
Eermg'''tlie  womeu  as  mothers;  the 
affairs  of  the  younger  as  sisters,  with 
general  ^Z  all  purity.  (^^  Honour 
proofs  were  to  widows  that  are  widows 
bedeUvered.      ^j.^jged.       <-')    But    if    any 


1  Or,  kindness. 


widow  have  children  or  nephews,  let 
them  learn  first  to  shew  chap.  v.  3—8. 
piety  ^  at  home,  and  to  Of  the  ahns 
requite  their  parents :  for  Jo  Chrilt'iaS 
that  is  good  and  acceptable  widows, 
before  God.  (^^  Now  she  that  is  a 
widow  indeed,  and  desolate,  trusteth  in 
God,  and  continueth  in  supplications  and 


bo  alienated  by  an  assumption  of  dignity  on  the  part 
of  tlie  chief  presbyter  of  the  Church.  Let  his  relations 
with  these  younger  members  of  the  family  of  Christ  bo 
rather  those  of  a  brother  and  a  friend  than  of  a  superior 
in  rank  and  dignity. 

(2)  The  elder  women  as  mothers.— Tlie  same 
watchful  care  against  all  assumption  of  supei-iority 
must  also  be  exercised  in  his  dealings  with  the  Chris- 
tian mati'ons  of  Ephesxis. 

The  younger  as  sisters,  with  all  purity. — In 
the  case  of  the  younger  women,  St.  Paul  adds  to  his 
directions  respecting  brotherly  and  sisterly  regard  a 
grave  word,  urging  upon  Timothy,  and  all  oflScial  teachers 
like  Timotliy,  to  add  to  this  self-denying,  loving  friend- 
ship a  ceaseless  watchfulness  in  all  their  conversation, 
so  as  not  to  afford  any  ground  for  suspicion ;  for,  above 
all  things,  the  recognised  teacher  of  Christianity  must 
be  pure.  No  one  can  read  and  forget  the  quaint  words 
of  advice  of  St.  Jerome :  "  Onines  puellas  et  virgines 
Christi,  ant  cequaliter  ignora  aid  cequaliter  dilige." 

(3)  Honovir  widows  that  are  widows  indeed. 
— Tlie  mention  of  the  relations  of  a  pastor  to  the 
female  members  of  the  flock  suggests  another  train  of 
thought.  Christianity  had,  during  the  thirty  years  of 
its  history,  developed  a  perfectly  new  existence  for 
women  who  professed  the  faith  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
In  the  IVIaster's  new  and  strange  (new  and  strange  to 
the  civilised  world  of  that  day)  command — that  the 
poor,  the  needy,  and  the  sick  should  be  succoured,  that 
the  helpless  should  be  helped,  and  the  comfortless 
comforted — a  blessed  calling  was  invented,  so  to  speak, 
for  Christian  w^omen.  Their  secluded  and,  in  many 
respects,  degraded  life  in  the  old  world  was,  in  great 
measure,  owing  to  the  fact  that  till  Christ  taught  the 
universal  duty  of  charity,  women  had  no  recognised 
public  occupation  in  the  world.  The  charge  of  the 
Founder  of  the  new  religion  pro\'ided  an  endless  variety 
of  blessed,  happiness-giving  work  for  women  of  all 
ages  and  rank. 

Tlie  novel  prominence,  however,  of  females  in  such 
great  centres  as  Ephesus  not  only  necessitated  some 
organisation  which  should  administer  the  alms,  and 
generally  watch  over  and  direct  the  self-sacrificing 
labours  of  the  female  portion  of  the  community,  but 
also  required  special  vigilance,  on  the  part  of  the  chief 
pastor  and  his  assistant  presbyters  and  deacons,  to 
prevent  the  charities  of  the  Church  being  misused. 
Tlie  widow — the  desolate  and  destitute,  the  mournuig 
widow  indeed,  she  who  is  in  every  sense  a  widow  and 
has  no  one  to  whom  to  look  for  aid — she  always  has  a 
claim  on  the  Church.  Not  merely  is  she  to  be  honoured 
by  a  simple  exhibition  of  respect,  but  she  is  to  be  assisted 
and  supported  out  of  the  alms  of  the  faitlifnl. 

(*)  But  if  any  widow  have  children  or 
nephews,  let  them  learn  first  to  shew  piety 
at  home,  and  to  requite  their  parents  (or. 
nepheics). — The  Greek  word  here  should  be  rendered 
grandchildren  ;  the  original  meaning  of  "  nephew " 
Inepotes)  has   disappeared.      Hero  a  wai'uiug  against 


allowing  the  Church  to  be  burdened  with  a  burden 
which  others  ought  to  bear  is  given,  in  the  form  of  a 
pressing  reminder  to  the  children  or  grandchildren  of 
the  destitute  and  desolate  widow.  It  is  a  solemn  and 
imperative  duty  for  the  children  to  afford  all  needful 
succour — a  duty  not  to  be  evaded  by  any  bearing  the 
Christian  name. 

For  that  is  good  and  acceptable  before  God. 
— An  especial  blessing  is  promised  to  those  who  really 
carry  out  this  too  often  forgotten  duty.  (See  Eph.  vi. 
2,  3  ;  and  also  comp.  Mark  vii.  10,  11.) 

(5)  Now  she  that  is  a  widow  indeed,  and 
desolate. — St.  Paul,  after  mentioning  this  exception  to 
the  fit  objects  of  the  Church's  charity  and  protection, 
again  returns  to  this  special  class  of  helpless  ones:  "the 
widows  indeed  " — a  class,  no  doubt,  in  those  days  of 
selfish  luxuiy  and  of  extreme  misery  and  hopelessness, 
often  utterly  neglected,  and  not  unfrequeutly  left  to 
starve  and  to  perish  in  want  and  misery. 

It  has  been  asked  why,  in  these  official  directions  to 
Timothy,  the  question  of  relief  of  poor  Christian  icidows 
comes  so  prominently  forward.  We  find  also  that,  in 
the  first  years  which  succeeded  the  Ascension,  many 
widows  in  Jerusalem  seemed  to  have  been  dependent 
on  the  Church  for  sustenance  (Acts  vi.  1).  Now  we 
should  expect  to  find  in  the  Church  of  Christ  the  same 
loving  care  which  was  taken  in  the  old  days,  when 
Israel  was  a  great  nation,  of  these  solitary  and  unhappy 
women.  (Comp.  Deut.  xxiv.  17,  where  we  find  special 
laws  respecting  the  garments  of  widows  never  to  be 
taken  in  pledge.  See,  too,  such  passages  as  Ex.  xxii.  22; 
Deut.  xxvii.  19 ;  Isa.  i.  17 ;  Jer.  v\i.  6 ;  also  Isa.  x.  2 ; 
Mai.  iii.  5.)  Still,  this  hardly  accounts  for  the  statement 
of  Acts  vi.  1  and  these  lengthened  directions  to  Timothy. 
It  is  moi'e  than  probable  that  there  were,  especially  in 
these  Eastern  cities,  a  very  large  class  of  these  desolate 
and  unprotected  women.  The  practice  of  polygamy  is 
accountable  for  this,  in  the  first  instance ;  and  the  rigid 
morality  of  the  Christian  teaching  would  place  a  bar  to 
the  female  convert  from  heathenism  relapsing  into  a 
life  where  moral  restraints  were  utterly  disregarded. 
The  charities  of  the  early  Church,  especially  in  Oriental 
cities,  were,  without  doubt,  heavily  burdened  with  this 
grave  and  increasing  charge — provision  for  these  poor 
desolate  women ;  and  it  was  to  relieve  the  congregrjitions 
in  some  degree  that  St.  Paul  wrote  these  elaborate 
instructions  to  Timothy,  warning  him,  as  the  chief 
minister  of  the  Ephesian  Church,  against  an  indiscriini- 
nate  charity,  and  at  the  same  time  pro  ending  him  with 
a  system  of  severe  restraints  to  be  imposea  upon  the 
assisted  women. 

Still,  the  chief  pastor  in  Ephesus  must  remember 
tliat  among  the  women  of  his  flock  there  were  some 
widows  indeed,  with  neither  children  nor  grandchildren 
to  assist  them,  without  friends  even  to  cheer  their 
desolate,  widowed  life.  To  find  out  and  to  succour 
tlie.se  poor,  f^d-hearted.  friendless  lH>ings.  St.  Paul  re- 
minds Timothy,  was  one  of  the  duties  of  a  Christian 
minister. 


201 


Of  administering  the  ChurcJis  Alms.        I.    TIMOTHY,    V. 


The  Case  of  Christian  Widows 


prayers  night  and  day.  (^^  But  she 
that  liveth  in  pleasure  ^  is  dead  while 
she  liveth.  (^>  And  these  things  give  in 
charge,   that   they   may  be  blameless. 


1  Or,  delicately. 
2  Or,  kindred. 


(^)  But  if  any  provide  not  for  his  own, 
and  specially  for  those  of  his  own 
house,-  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is 
worse   than   an   infidel.     ^^^  Let  not  a 


Trusteth  in  God.— These,  without  love  of  child  or 
friend,  cast  thomsolves  on  the  support  of  the  everlastmg 
arms.  The  langua^^o  hero  used  by  St.  Paul  pictures, 
evidently,  some  loving-  and  trustful  character  then  living, 
of  whom  he  was  thinking  while  writing  the  Letter  to 
Timothy.  "  She  hath  trusted  and  still  trusts  in  God ; 
she  continues  in  pi-ayer  night  and  day." 

And  continueth  in  supplications  and  prayers 
night  and  day. — Like  Anna,  the  daughter  of  Pha- 
nuel  (Luke  ii.  3t),  37),  whom  some  suppose  St.  Paul  took 
as  the  model  and  example  for  these  Christian  widows. 
The  meaning  of  these  words,  descriptive  of  a  holy  life, 
is  not  that  the  earnest  and  pious  bereaved  woman 
should  pass  her  days  and  nights  in  the  unrelieved 
monotony  of  constantly  repeated  prayers.  Such  a  life, 
impractical  and  useless,  would  never  commend  itself  to 
one  like  St.  Paul ;  the  words  simj)ly  describe  the  deso- 
late one  casting  all  her  cai'e  on  the  Lord,  and  telling 
Him,  as  her  only  friend,  of  all  her  thoughts  and 
actions,  her  words  and  her  works. 

(6)  But  she  that  liveth  in  pleasure  is  dead 
while  she  liveth. — This  is  a  thoroughly  Pauline 
thought,  set  forth  in  other  language  in  the  Roman 
Epistle,  chap.  viii.  13 :  "  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh 
ye  shall  die."  The  word  in  the  Greek  rendered  "  she 
that  liveth  in  pleasure  "  is  very  remarkable,  and  in  the 
New  Testament  is  found  only  in  one  other  place 
(Jas.  V.  5).  The  widow-woman  who  could  so  forget 
her  sorrow  and  her  duty  is  spoken  of  as  a  living  corpse, 
and  is  sharply  contrasted  with  her  far  happier  sister, 
who,  dead  to  the  pleasures  of  the  flesh,  living  a  life  of 
prayer  and  of  self-denial,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
may  be  spoken  of  as  living.  A  very  different  estimate 
of  life  was  held  by  the  greatest  of  Greek  poets,  who 
writes  thus  of  men  giving  up  pleasures  :  "  I  do  not 
consider  that  such  a  one  lives,  but  I  regard  him  as 
a  living  corpse "  {Antigone  of  Sophocles,  1166 — 7, 
Dindorf).     Comp.,  too.  Rev.  iii.  1. 

(')  And  these  things  give  in  charge.— That  is 
to  say,  the  duties  of  widows,  as  set  forth  in  verse  5, 
together  with  his  (St.  Paul's)  estimate  of  the  gay  and 
frivolous  character  painted  in  vers^  j  6. 

That  they  may  be  blameless. — That,  whether 
seeking  support  from  the  public  alms  of  the  Christian 
community  or  not,  the  widows  of  the  congregation 
should  struggle  aft«r  an  irreproachable  self-denying 
life,  and  show  before  men  publicly  whose  servants  they 
indeed  were.  In  these  words  there  seems  a  hint  that  the 
former  life  of  many  of  these  women-converts  to  Chris- 
tianity had  been  very  different  to  the  life  loved  of  Christ, 
and  that  in  their  now  profession  as  Christians  there  was 
urgent  need  of  watchfulness  on  their  part  not  to  give 
any  occasion  to  slanderous  tongiies. 

(8)  But  if  any  provide  not  for  his  own.— Tliis 
repeated  warning  was  necessary  in  tlio  now  rapidly 
widening  circle  of  believers.  Then,  in  those  early  days, 
as  now,  men  and  women  were  attempting  to  persuade 
themselves  that  the  hopes  and  promises  of  Christians 
coidd  be  attained  and  won  by  a  mere  profession  of 
faith,  by  an  assent  to  the  historical  truths,  by  a  barren 
reception  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  without  any 
practice  of  stem  self-denial,  apart  from  any  loving 
consideration  for  others;  there  were  evidently  in  that 


great  Church  of  Ephesus,  which  St.  Paul  knew  so  well, 
not  a  few  professed  believers  in  the  Cnicified  who, 
while  possessed  themselves  of  a  competence,  perhaps 
even  of  wealth,  could  calmly  look  on  while  their  re- 
lations and  friends  languished  in  the  deepest  poverty. 

And  specially  for  those  of  his  own  house. — 
The  circle  of  those  for  whose  support  and  sustenance  a 
Christian  was  responsible  is  here  enlarged :  not  merely 
is  the  fairly  prosperous  man  who  professes  to  love 
Christ,  bound  to  do  his  best  for  his  nearest  relations, 
such  as  his  mother  and  grandmother,  but  St.  Paul  says 
"  he  must  assist  those  of  his  own  house,"  in  which  term 
relatives  who  are  much  more  distant  are  included,  and 
even  dependents  connected  with  the  family  who  had 
fallen  into  poverty  and  distress. 

He  hath  denied  the  faith.— Faith,  considered 
as  a  rule  of  life,  is  practically  denied  by  one  who 
neglects  these  kindly  duties  and  responsibilities,  for 
"faith  worketh  by  love"  (Gal.  v.  6).  Faith  here  is  con- 
sidered by  St.  Paul,  not  as  mere  belief  in  the  doctrine, 
or  even  in  a  person,  but  as  a  rule  of  life. 

And  is  worse  than  an  infidel.— The  rules  even 
of  the  nobler  Pagan  moralists  forbid  such  heartless 
selfishness.  For  a  Christian,  then,  deliberately  to 
neglect  such  plain  duties  would  bring  shame  and  dis- 
grace on  the  religion  of  the  loving  Christ,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  name  he  bore,  and  the  company  in 
which  he  was  enrolled,  such  a  denier  of  the  faith  would 
be  really  worse  than  a  heathen. 

('■>)  Let  not  a  widow  be  taken  into  the  number 
under  threescore  years  old.— The  question  re- 
specting the  assistance  to  be  afforded  to  the  poor  and 
destitute  widows  of  the  great  Asian  Church  reminded 
St.  Paul  of  an  organisation,  consisting  of  widowed 
women,  which  had  grown  out  of  the  needs  of  Christi- 
anity. He  would  lay  down  some  special  rules  here  to  be 
observed  by  his  friend  and  disciple.  What,  now,  is  this 
organisation  commended  to  Timothy  in  these  special 
directions  ?  Here,  and  here  only  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, do  we  find  it  alluded  to;  but  the  instructions  in 
this  passage  are  so  definite,  so  precise,  that  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  assume  in  the  days  of  Timothy  and 
of  Paul,  in  some,  if  not  in  all  the  great  churches, 
the  existence  of  an  official  band  of  workers,  consisting 
of  widows,  most  carefully  selected  from  the  congrega- 
tion of  believers,  of  a  somewhat  advanced  age,  and 
specially  distinguished  for  devotion — possessing,  each 
01  these,  a  high  and  stainless  reputation — they  were  an 
official  band  of  workers,  a  distinct  order,  so  to  speak ; 
for  these  widows,  formally  entered  on  the  Church's 
list,  could  not  possibly  represent  those  poor  and  deso- 
late widows,  friendless  and  destitute,  spoken  of  above. 
The  minimum  age  of  sixty  years  would  also  exclude 
many;  and  the  advice  of  St.  Paul  to  the  younger  ones 
to  marry  again  could  never  have  been  addressed  to 
women  wanting  even  many  years  of  the  requisite 
"  sixty."  "Were  these  poor  soids  to  be  formally  shut  out 
from  receiAnng  the  Church's  alms  ?  Again,  those  on 
the  list  could  never  be  the  same  persons  whom  we  hear 
of  as  deaconesses  (Rom.  xvi.  1,  and  in  the  Christian 
literature  of  the  second  century).  The  active  duties  of 
the  office  would  have  been  utterly  incompatible  with  tJ>e 
ago  of  sixty,  the  minimum  age  at  which  these  were  to  be 


202 


I 


The  Order  of 


I.   TIMOTHY,   V. 


Preshjteral  Widows. 


Chap.  V,  9—15.  widow  be  taken^  into  the 
Directions  re-  number  Under  threescore 
orPrefbyTerai  jears  old,  having  been  the 
widows.  wife  of  one  man,    (^*^^  well 


1  Or,  chosen. 


reported  of  for  good  works  ;  if  she  have 
brought  up  children,  if  she  have  lodged 
strangers,  if  she  have  washed  the  saints' 
feet,  if'  she  have  relieved  the  afflicted,  if 


entered  on  the  list.  Wo  then  conclude  these  "widows  " 
were  a  distinct  and  most  honourable  order,  whose 
duties,  preshyteral  rather  than  diaconic,  apparently 
consisted  in  the  exercise  of  superintendence  over,  and 
in  the  ministry  of  counsel  and  consolation  to,  the 
younfi^er  women. — That  they  sat  unveiled  in  the  as- 
semblies in  a  sepai-ate  place  by  the  presbyters ;  that 
they  received  a  special  ordination  by  laying  on  of 
hands ;  that  they  wore  a  peculiar  dress — were  distinc- 
tions probably  belonging  to  a  later  age. 

Having  been  the  wife  of  one  man.— Of  the 
conditions  of  enrolment  in  this  "  order,"  the  first — that 
of  age — has  been  alluded  to  ;  the  second — "  having 
been  the  vrife  of  one  man  " — must  not  be  understood  in 
the  strictly  literal  sense  of  the  words.  It  is  inconceiv- 
able that  the  hope  of  forming  one  of  the  highly 
honoured  band  of  presbyteral  women  depended  on 
the  chance  of  the  husband  li^•ing  until  the  wife  had 
reached  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Had  he  died  in  her 
youth,  or  comparative  youth,  the  Apostle's  will  was  that 
the  widow  shoidd  marry  again.  (See  verse  14,  where 
St.  Paid  writes,  "I  will  that  the  younger  women 
marry,"  &c.) 

The  right  interpretation  of  the  words  is  found  in  some 
such  paraphrase  as,  "  If  in  her  married  life  she  had  been 
found  faithfid  and  true."  The  fatal  facility  of  divorce 
and  the  lax  state  of  morality  in  Pagan  society,  espe- 
cially in  the  Greek  and  Asiac  cities,  must  be  taken  into 
account  when  we  seek  to  illustrate  and  explain  these 
dii'ections  resj^ectiug  early  Christian  foundations. 

While  unhesitatingly  adopting  the  above  interpreta- 
tion of  the  words  "  wife  of  one  man,"  as  faithfully 
representing  the  miud  of  St.  Paul,  who  was  legislating 
here,  it  must  be  remembered,  for  the  masses  of  believers 
wliose  lot  was  cast  in  the  busy  world  (see  his  direct 
command  in  verse  14  of  this  chapter,  where  the  family 
life  is  pressed  on  the  yoimger  widow,  and  not  the  higher 
life  of  solitude  and  self-denial),  still  those  expositors 
who  adopt  the  stricter  and  sterner  interpretation  of 
"  wife  of  one  man  " — \az.,  "  a  woman  that  has  had  onhj 
one  husband " — have,  it  must  be  granted,  a  strong 
argument  in  their  favour  from  the  known  honour  the 
univirce  obtained  in  the  Roman  world.  So  Dido,  in 
^n.  iv.  28,  says — 

"Ille  meos,  primus  qui  me  sibi  junxit,  amores 
Abstulit,  illc  habeat  secum,  servctque  sepulchre." 

Compare,  too,  the  examples  of  the  wives  of  Lucan, 
Drusus,  and  Pompey,  who,  on  the  death  of  their  hus- 
bands, devoted  the  remainder  of  their  lives  to  retire- 
ment and  to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  The  title 
univirce  graved  on  certain  Roman  tombs  shows  how 
this  devotion  was  practised  and  esteemed.  "  To  love 
a  wife  when  li\^ng  is  a  pleasure,  to  love  her  when  dead 
is  an  act  of  religion,"  wrote  Statins — 

"  Uxorem  vivam  amare  voluptas 
Defunctam  relisjio." 

— Statius,  Sylv.  v.,  in  Procemio. 

And  see,  for  other  instances,  Lecky,  Hist,  of  European 
Morals,  chap.  v. 

But  it  seems  highly  improliable  that  the  delicate  and 
touching  feeling,  whicli  haa  taken  root  certainly  in  some 
(alas !  in  only  a  small  number)  of  tho  nobler  Roman 


minds,  influenced  St.  Paul,  who,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  was  laj-iug  down  mles  for  a  great  and 
world-wide  society,  which  was  to  include  the  many,  not 
the  few,  chosen  souls — was  legislating  for  the  masses, 
to  whom  such  an  expressed  wisli  would  indeed  be  "  a 
counsel  of  perfection  "  rarely  to  be  carried  out ;  and  so, 
Avithout  hesitation,  we  adopt  the  more  practical  inter- 
pretation given  al)ove. 

(10)  Well  reported  of  for  good  works. — Not 
only  must  men  have  no  evil  to  say  of  her,  ])nt  slie  must 
be  weU  known  for  her  good  works,  for  her  kindly 
willingness  to  help  the  weary  and  heavy-laden  ones  of 
the  world. 

If  she  have  brought  up  children. — This  title  to 
honour  must  bo  understood  quite  in  a  general  sense. 
It  must  not,  of  course,  be  supposed  that  St.  Paul  deemed 
it  necessary  to  exclude  from  the  order  of  presbyteral 
widows  the  chUdless  mothers.  Only  the  candidate 
for  admission  must  be  well  known  a.s  one  who  loves 
children,  and  would  be  ready  and  willing  gladly  to  dis- 
charge any  pu])lie  duties  to  the  little  orphan  ones  of 
the  flock  who  might  be  intrusted  to  her  care. 

If  she  have  lodged  strangers.— If.  even  in  a 
comparatively  humble  state,  she  have  been  always  mind- 
ful of  the  sacred  rites  of  hospitality,  a  A-irtue  perhaps 
even  more  valued  in  the  East  than  in  the  more  reserved 
Western  countries.  In  the  early  days  of  the  new  faith, 
the  readiness  to  entertain  and  welcome  Christian 
strangers  seems  to  have  been  an  especial  characteristic 
of  believers  in  Jesus  of  Xaziiretli. 

If  she  have  washed  the  saints'  feet. — Not  per- 
haps  to  be  imderstood  literally,  though  the  act  of  the 
Lord  on  the  night  before  the  Cross  had  invested  this 
act  of  common  hospitality  with  a  peculiar  halo  of  love 
and  devotion.  The  woman  who  was  to  be  atlmitted  into 
the  fellowship  of  this  honoured  order  must  be  well 
known  as  one  who  had  never  shrunk  from  any  act  of 
devoted  love,  however  painful  or  seemingly  degrading. 

If  she  have  relieved  the  afllicted.  —Not  merely, 
or  even  chiefly,  by  alms.  l)ut  liy  all  kindly  and  sisterly 
encouragement :  ever  ready  to  mourn  with  those  tliat 
mourn,  deeming  none  too  low  or  too  degraded  for  her 
friendship,  none  out  of  the  reach  of  her  sisterly  help 
and  counsel. 

If  she  have  diligently  followed  every  good 
work. — This  sums  up  tlie  beautiful  character  to  lie 
sought  for  in  the  candidates  for  memljership  in  this 
chosen  woman's  baud.  She  must  bo  known  not  merely 
as  a  mother  and  a  wife,  wlio  had  >\  oU  and  faithfully  per- 
formed the  womanly  duties  of  her  home  life,  but  men 
must  speak  of  her  as  one  who  had  diligently  and 
lo\'ingly  sought  out  tho  rough  places  of  the  world,  and 
who.  with  a  brave  and  patient  self-denial,  with  a  sweet 
and  touching  self-forgetfulness,  had  set  herself  to  per- 
fonn  those  kind,  good  actions  the  Master  loves  so  well. 

In  the  Shepherd  of  Henna.'<,  written  about  A.D.  150, 
some  eighty  years  after  St.  Paul  wrote  this  lettor  to 
Timothy,  we  have  proljably  an  example  of  one  of  these 
honoured  widows  in  the  person  of  Grapte.  wlioso  task 
it  was  to  teach  tho  widows  and  or])lians  of  the  Roman 
Church  the  meaning  of  certain  prophecies.  Tlie  author- 
ship of  the  Shepherd  has  also  been  ascribt^d  to  tho 
Hormas  mentioned  in  Rom.  xvi.  1-k    It  belongs,  how- 


203 


Danrjers  and  Faults 


I.   TIMOTHY,   V. 


to  he  Guarded  against. 


slie  have  dilii;^ently  followed  every  good 
work.  <^^^  But  the  younger  widows 
refuse  :  for  when  they  have  begun  to 
Avax  Avanton  against  Christ,  they  will 
marry ;  ^^-^  having  damnation,  because 


they  have  cast  off  their  first  faith. 
(1^^  And  withal  they  learn  to  he  idle, 
wandering  about  from  house  to  house; 
and  not  only  idle,  but  tattlers  also  and 
busybodies,  speaking  things  which  they 


ever,  more  probably  to  the  middle  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, as  stated  above. 

The  criticism  whit-h  dwells  on  this  celebrated  pas- 
sage, contaiuiug  St.  Paul's  rules  for  admissitm  iuto  the 
order  of  presbyteral  widows,  and  which  finds  in  it 
subject  matter  belonging  to  a  date  later  than  the  age 
of  St.  Paul  and  Timothy,  forgets  that,  dating  from  the 
days  when  Jesus  of  Nazaretli  walked  on  earth,  women 
had  been  enrolling  themselves  among  His  foremost  fol- 
lowers, and  had  been  sbxriug  in  the  toils  and  enter- 
prises of  His  most  zealous  disciples.  We  find  the 
Marys  and  other  holy  women  associated  with  "  His 
own  "in  the  daj-s  of  the  eartlily  ministry;  they  were 
foremost  in  the  work  done  to  the  person  of  the  sacred 
dead.  We  hear  of  them  after  the  Resurrection  repeatedly 
in  the  Jerusalem  Church  of  the  first  days.  It  was 
the  neglect  of  some  of  the  Hebrew  widows  wliich  led  to 
the  foundation  of  the  deacon's  order.  Dorcas,  before 
ten  years  of  the  Church's  life  had  passed,  appears  to 
have  presided  over  a  charitable  company  of  women  at 
Lydda.  Dorcas,  no  doubt,  was  but  one  out  of  many 
doing,  in  different  centres,  a  similar  work.  Priscilla,  the 
wife  of  Aquila.  the  wandering  tent-maker  of  Poutus, 
early  in  St.  Paul's  career  CNadeutly  took  a  leading  part 
in  organising  congregations  of  Christians.  Lydia,  the 
puri)le  seller  of  Thyatira,  was  prominent  in  developing 
the  Philippian  Church.  Phebe,  under  the  title  of  the 
Deaconess  of  Cenchrea,  was  the  official  bearer  of  St. 
Pauls  famous  letter  to  the  Roman  Church.  This  pas- 
sage, dwelling  on  the  growing  organisation  for  women's 
work  at  Ephesus,  tells  us  more,  cei-taiuly,  than  the 
scattered  incidental  allusions  of  the  Acts  and  earlier 
Epistles.  But  the  words  of  St.  Paul  speak  only  of  the 
natural  results  and  development  of  a  great  movement, 
which,  dating  from  the  earthly  days  of  the  ministry  of 
Christ,  was  destined  to  give  women  a  new  position 
among  the  workers  of  the  world. 

The  Epliesian  organisation  here  regulated  by  the 
Apostle  is  nothing  more  than  we  should  expect  to  find 
after  thirty  or  thirty-two  years  of  female  effort  in  the 
Master's  cause. 

(11)  But  the  younger  •widows  refuse. — The 
younger  women — younger  used  in  a  general  sense — 
must  positively  be  excluded  from,  and  held  ineligible 
for.  this  presbyteral  order. 

This  direction  by  no  means  shuts  them  out  from 
participation  in  the  alms  of  the  Church,  if  they  were  in 
need  and  destitute  ;  but  it  wisely  excluded  the  younger 
women  from  a  position  and  from  duties  which  they 
might  in  their  first  days  of  grief  and  desolation  covet, 
but  of  which,  as  time  passed  on — as  experience  had 
shown  St.  Paul — they  not  unfrequently  wearied.  Those 
who  had  put  their  hands  to  the  plough  and  afterwards 
looked  back,  ho  ])roceeds  to  tell  us,  would  be  a 
hindrance  to  the  Chureh's  work,  and  in  some  cases 
might  prove  a  subject  of  scandal  and  reproach. 

For  when  they  have  begun  to  wax  wanton 
against  Christ. — The  Apostle  was  looking  on  to  the 
time  when,  the  first  fervour  excited  by  grief  and  sorrow 
being  jiast,  these  younger  sisters  in  many  instances 
would  begin  again  to  long  after  their  old  pursuits  and 
pleasures.    The  Greek  word  rendered  "  wax  wanton  " 


suggests  especially  the  idea  of  restiveness.  Tliey  will 
lose — to  use  Jerome's  well-known  expression — their 
love  for  their  own  proper  Bridegroom — Christ. 

They  will  marry.— The  sight  of  domestic  happi- 
ness  enjoyed  by  other  women  will  affect  them. 
They,  too,  will  long  in  their  poor  hearts  for  home  joys  ; 
they  will  weary  for  the  prattle  of  their  own  little 
children. 

How  much  untold  misery  would  have  been  avoided — 
how  many  wasted  lives  would  have  been  saved  for  good 
and  useful  service,  had  Churchmen  in  later  times  only 
obeyed  the  words  and  earned  out  the  thoughts  of  Paul, 
and  persistently  refused,  as  did  St.  Paul  and  Timothy, 
to  receive  the  proffered  services  of  women  still  too 
young  in  years  for  such  devoted  work,  but  who,  through 
a  temporary  pressure  of  soitow,  dreamed  for  a  moment 
they  would  be  able  to  cany  out  their  purpose  of  a  life- 
long renunciation  of  the  world,  its  excitement  and  its 
joys. 

St.  Paul,  writing  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  saw  how  too  often  such  renunciation,  made 
under  peculiar  pressure  of  circumstances,  undertaken 
with  the  hot  fervour  of  youth,  in  later  days  would 
become  weary  and  distasteful. 

(12)  Having  damnation. — Judgment,  not  neces- 
sarily "  damnation."  Tlie  Greek  word  krivia  is  often 
thus  unhappily  translated.  The  context  of  the  passage 
must  in  all  cases  decide  the  nature  of  the  ''  judgment," 
whether  favourable  or  the  contrary.  Here  it  signifies 
that  those  who  in  after  days  give  up  a  work  which  for 
their  Mastei''s  sake  they  had  undertaken,  expose  them- 
selves to  a  searching  judgment,  which  wiU  thoroughly 
sift  the  reasons  that  induced  them  to  forsake  the 
begun  toU,  and  that,  if  the  reasons  be  not  satisfactory, 
will  be  unfavourable,  and  wiU  surely  involve  con- 
demnation. 

Because  they  have  cast  off  their  first 
faith. — Though,  probably,  no  vows  respecting  marriage 
were  required  from  those  widows  who  devoted  themselves 
to  the  Lord's  service,  yet  virtually  such  a  solemn 
enrolment  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  life-long  engage- 
ment— an  engagement  which,  if  they  married  again, 
must  necessarily  be  given  up. 

Such  a  going  back,  such  a  giving  up  the  higher  and 
the  more  devoted  life — the  life  of  self-sacrifice,  of  self- 
abnegation — for  the  ordinary  joys  and  cares  of  domestic 
life,  for  the  useful  but  still  every-day  pursuits  of 
ordinary  men  and  women — such  a  going  back,  would 
bo  indeed  a  casting  off  their  first  faith,  and  such  an 
example  of  backsliding  could  not  fail  to  harm  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

(13)  And  withal  they  learn  to  be  idle,  wan- 
dering about  from  house  to  house.— The  first 
fervour  of  th(>ir  devotion  and  renunciation  of  self  will 
have  cooled,  their  very  occupation  will  become  a  snare 
to  tliem — the  going  about  to  the  various  dwellings  for 
the  object  of  consoling,  instructing,  assisting,  would  give 
them,  now  that  their  minds  were  no  longer  exclusively 
turned  to  religious  thoughts,  and  their  hearts  were  no 
more  alone  filled  by  Jesus,  many  an  o])portunity  of 
wasting  precious  hours,  of  indulging  in  fi'ivolous,  if  not 
in  harmful,  conversation ;  and  this  the  Apostle  seems  to 


204 


Directions  respecting  Younger 


I.   TIMOTHY,  V. 


Widoivs  of  Presbyters. 


ought  not.  (^*^  I  will  therefore  that  the 
younger  women  marry,  bear  children, 
guide  the  house,  give  none  occasion  to 
the  adversary  to  speak  reproachfully.^ 
(15)  For  some  are  already  turned  aside 

riVov.  i<!  after  Satan.  ^^^  If  any 
Chap.    V.    16.  ii     i    1. 

The    destitute  man    or   woman   that  be- 

widows.  lieveth    have   widows,   let 


1  fir  for  their  rail- 
ing. 


them  relieve  them,  and  let  not 
the  church  be  charged;  that  it 
may  relieve  them  that  are  widows 
indeed.  (i'')   Let       the  chap.v.  n-is. 

elders  that    rule    well    be  Special     re- 
counted worthy  of   double   tain       Presby- 
honour,     especially     they  ters. 
who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine. 


have  feared  would  be  the  result  of  these  visits,  and 
the  fruit  of  their  work,  if  the  younger  sisters  were 
enrolled  in  the  official  list,  for  he  speaks  of  such 
becoming  "  not  only  idle,  but  tattlers  also  and  busy- 
bodies,  speaking  things  which  they  ought  not." 

(1^)  I  will  therefore  that  the  younger  women 
marry,  bear  children,  guide  the  house. — Here 
the  Apostle  deliberately  expresses  his  ivill  that  in  these 
Christian  comumnities  the  younger  widows  should  not, 
in  the  fii'st  fervour  of  their  zeal,  when  borne  down  hj 
sorrow,  attempt  anything  like  an  ascetic  life,  which  they 
would  probably  tire  of  after  a  season ;  they  would  tlms, 
in  the  long  run,  instead  of  benefiting,  positively  injure 
the  cause  of  Chi-ist.  St.  Paul's  practical  mind,  guided 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  has  left  us  no  impossible  rules 
of  perfection,  no  exaggerated  praises  of  asceticism,  of 
lofty  self-denial,  no  passionate  exhortings  to  a  life  made 
up  entirely  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  self -surrender. 

He  knew  the  ordinary  mau  or  woman  was  incapable 
of  such  exalted  heroism,  and  therefore  was  too  wise,  too 
loving,  even  to  recommend  a  life  wiiich  few  could  live. 
It  was  not  that  the  Master,  Christ,  and  the  gi-eatest 
of  his  servants,  St.  Paul,  did  not  themselves  prize  and 
admire  the  higher  ideal  and  tlie  nobler  life — for  was 
it  not  their  own  ?  Did  not  one  attain  to  it,  and  the 
other  die  in  his  hero-efforts  to  reach  it  ?  But  JVIaster 
and  scholar  in  their  gospel  of  the  world  have  left  com- 
mands that  all,  not  the  few,  can  obey — have  enjoined 
a  life  which  all,  not  the  few,  may  live. 

Give  none  occasion  to  the  adversary  to  speak 
reproachfully.— The  reference  here  is  not  to  the 
devil — as  would  at  first  appear  probable  from  the  direct 
reference  in  the  next  verse — but  to  the  enemy  of  Christ 
— the  sneering  worldly  man,  who,  jealous  of  a  faith 
which  he  declines  to  receive,  and  envious  of  a  life  in 
which  he  will  not  share,  is  always  on  the  look-out  to 
discover  flaws  and  failings  in  the  avowed  professors  of 
a  religion  winch  he  hates.     (Comp.  Tit.  ii.  8.) 

(15)  For  some  are  already  turned  aside.— It 
was  the  backsliding  of  these  "  nameless  "  ones,  probably, 
which  had  been  the  immediate  occasion  of  these  direc- 
tions to  Timothy.  Although  these  unhappy  sisters  had 
worked  such  great  mischief  to  the  cause  of  Clii-ist, 
still  St.  Paul,  with  his  tender  grace  and  love,  forbore  to 
mention  any  by  name.  They  had  undertaken  a  task 
too  severe  for  them  to  carry  out.  and  had  miserably 
failed.  He  spares  these  jjoor  erring  sisters,  but  directs 
the  chief  pastor  of  tlio  Clmrch  at  Ephe-sus,  how  to 
guard  against  such  fatal  results  for  the  future. 

After  Satan.— They  had  swerved  from  tlie  narrow, 
thorny  road  of  self-denial  wliich  tliey  had  cliosen  for 
themselves,  and  perlia])s  dreading,  after  their  public  pro- 
fession, to  forju  afresh  any  legal  marriage  ties,  bad 
followed  that  downward  path  of  sensuality  which  surely 
leads  to  Satan. 

(it^)  If  any  man  or  woman  that  believeth  have 
widows,  let  them  relieve  them. — This  is  not  what, 
at  first  sight,  it  appears  to  be — a  mere  r'-petition  of  the 


injunction  of  verses  4  and  8.  There  the  duties  enjoined 
were  what  may  be  termed  filial ;  the  love,  respect,  and 
kindness  to  the  aged  was  especially  pressed  on  the 
younger,  on  the  children  and  grandcliildren  of  the 
desolate,  on  the  master  of  the  house  or  family  to  which 
the  aged  widow  belonged.  Here  the  reference  belongs 
exclusively  to  the  younger  widows,  who  (see  Note  above) 
were,  no  doubt,  very  nmnerous  in  a  great  Asian  Church 
like  Ephesus  ;  for  the  future  of  these  women,  often 
still  young  and  totally  unprovided  for,  St.  Paul  wa.s 
very  anxious.  Until  a  new  home  was  found  for  such, 
of  course  the  Church  cared  for  them,  but  this  heavy 
burden  on  the  Church's  alms  must  be  lightened  as 
much  as  possible.  It  was  the  plain  duty  of  relatives 
to  care  for  these  in  their  hour  of  destitution  and  sor- 
row. The  Church  would  have  many  a  one,  still  com- 
paratively speaking  young,  utterly  dependent  on  its 
scanty  funds — friendless  as  well  as  homeless. 

It  has  been  asked :  How  is  it  that,  considering  the 
prominence  here  given  to  the  questions  (a)  of  the  sup- 
port of  Christian  widows,  {b)  of  the  rules  respecting 
presbyteral  widows,  who  evidently  occupied  a  position 
of  dignity  and  importance  in  the  Church  of  the  first 
days,  no  other  mention  of  this  class  in  the  community 
(with  the  exception  of  Acts  \i.  1  and  ix.  39)  appears  iu 
the  whole  New  Testament. 

This  has  been  pressed  as  one  of  the  arguments  point- 
ing to  a  much  later  date  for  the  writing  of  the  Epistle ; 
but  the  question  is,  after  all,  readily  and  conclusively 
answered.  With  the  exception  of  the  short  Epistle  to 
Titus,  the  subject  of  the  internal  organisation  of  a 
church  is  nowhere  handled.  There  is  no  room  or  place 
for  such  a  mention  in  any  of  the  more  exclusively 
doctrinal  or  apologetic  Epistles.  In  the  broad  field  of 
ecclesiastical  history  occupied  by  the  Acts,  the  two 
casual  allusions  above  referred  to,  in  the  Churches  of 
Jerusalem  and  Lydda,  tell  us  of  the  existence  of  and  the 
care  for  these  widows  in  the  communities  of  Christians, 
even  in  the  earliest  years  of  the  Church's  existence. 

d")  Let  the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honour,  especially  they  who 
labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine. — More  accurately 
rendered.  "  Let  the  elders  {presbyters)  who  rule  well.'* 
The  consideration  of  the  position  and  qualifications  of 
certain  ruling  elder  women  (the  presbyteral  tridows) 
reminded  St.  Paul  of  certain  points  to  be  impressed  on 
Timothy  connected  with  the  rank  and  lionour  due  to 
the  more  distinguished  presbj-ters  associated  with  him 
in  the  Ephesian  congregations. 

Attention  should  be  directed  here  to  the  vast  powers 
intrusted  to  the  "presiding  presbyter"  of  such  a 
Church  a-s  Ephesus  (to  use  the  iitlf  of  Bishop  in  the 
ecclesiastical  sense  would  be  as  yet  an  anachronism.     It 

frobably  was,  however,  of  general  use  within  thirty  years 
rom  the  date  of  the  EjHstle.  certaiidy  In-fore  the  closo 
of  the  centurv).  In  addition  to  the  general  office  of 
supervisor,  one  in  the  position  of  Timothy  e\-idently 
had  the  distribution  of  the  several  grades  of  honours 


205 


Their  Reioard.     Concerning 


I.   TIMOTHY,   V. 


Accusations  against  them. 


(1ft)  For  the  scripture  saith,  Thou  shalt 
not  muzzle  the  ox  that  treacleth  out  the 
com."  And,  The  hibourer  is  worthy  of 
his  reward.*  ^^"^  Against  an  elder  re- 
chap  V  19—  ceive  not  an  accusation, 
20.  Of  aiccused  but  before  ^  two  or  three 
Presbyters.        witnesses.     (-">  Them  that 


a  Deut.  25.  4. 
6  Matt.  10.  la 


1  Or,  under. 


2  Or,  without  pre- 
judice. 


sin  rebuke  before  all,  that  others  also 
may  fear.  (^^^  I  charge  thee  before  God, 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  p,  21—25 

and  the  elect  angels,  that  Solemn  charge 
thou  observe  these  things  ^^'^  .    special 

.,,         ,  f.       •  warnings. 

Without      preierring     one 

before  another,-  doing  nothing  by  par- 


allel renmuoration  amon<;  tlio  pres])}i^eral  order  (verses 
17  and  21).  To  liiin,  a.s  pre«idiu<if  elder,  belonged  the 
functions  of  supreme  judge  in  all  matters  ecclesiastical 
and  moral,  relating  to  the  varied  oilicials  of  both  sexes 
connected  with  tlie  Church.  The  right  of  ordination 
which,  when  the  Apostles  and  the  first  generation  of 
l)elii'vers  had  passed  away,  became  the  exclusive  work 
of  the  bishop,  is  here  (see  verse  22)  specially  intrusted 
by  an  Apostle  to  Timothy,  the  chief  presbyter  and  apos- 
tolic rejiresentative  in  the  Church  of  Ephesus,  in  the 
words  :  "  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man." 

Tiio  elders  (presbyters)  to  whom  Timothy  was  to 
accord  some  special  honour,  were  those  who,  in  the 
congregations  and  Christian  schools  of  so  great  a  city 
as  Ephesus,  in  addition  to  their  many  duties  connected 
with  organisation  and  administration,  were  distinguish- 
ing themselves  in  a  marked  manner  by  their  preaching 
and  teaching. 

Among  the  devoted  and  earnest  presbyters  in  these 
Asian  churches,  some  there  were,  doubtless,  who  possessed 
the  special  gift  of  teacliing,  either  in  the  class-room  or 
the  preacher's  chair.  Those  who,  possessing,  well  and 
faithfully  exercised  these  invaluable  gifts  were  to  be  in 
sonu'  way  preferred  by  the  chief  minister.  The  "double 
honour"  (timi')  is  a  broad  inclusive  term,  and  seems 
to  comprehend  rank  and  position  as  well  as  remunera- 
tion— victu  et  reverentid,  as  Molancthon  paraphrases 
the  words  "  double  hononr."  Timothy  is  liere  directed 
to  confer  on  the  more  distinguished  of  the  order  of  pres- 
byters, ofhcial  rank  and  precedence,  as  the  reward  of 
faithful  and  successful  work. 

(ix)  For  the  scripture  saith,  Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. — 
The  quotation  is  from  Deut.  xxv.  4. 

Tli((  idea  in  the  Apo.stle's  mind,  when  ho  quoted  the 
words  of  Moses,  was  :  If,  in  the  well-known  and  lov(>d 
law  of  Israel,  there  was  a  special  reminder  to  God's 
people  tliat  the  venj  animals  that  laboured  for  them 
were  not  to  be  prevented  from  enjoying  the  fruits  of 
their  labours,  .surely  men  who  with  zeal  and  earnest- 
ness devoted  themselves  as  God's  servants  to  their 
fellows,  should  i)e  treated  with  all  liberality,  and  even 
dignified  with  especial  respect  and  honour. 

And,  The  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  reward.— 
It  is  possible,  thougli  hardly  likely,  that  St.  Paul, 
quoting  here  a  well-known  saying  of  the  Lord  (see 
St.  Luke  X.  7).  combines  a  quotation  from  a  Gospel  with 
a  quotation  fnmi  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  introducing 
l)oth  witli  the  words  "  For  the  Scrijiture  saith  " — Scrip- 
ture igrajihi)  being  always  applied  by  St.  Paul  to  the 
writings  of  the  Old  Testam(>nt.  It  is  best  and  safest 
to  understand  these  words  as  simply  quoted  by  St.  Paul, 
as  one  of  the  well-remembered  precious  declarations  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

(I"*)  Against  an  elder  receive  not  an  accusa- 
tion, but  before  two  or  three  witnesses.— By 
the  "  elder  "  here  we  must  understand  a  presbyter — 
tlie  ordained  minister  of  the  Church.  St.  Paul  has 
been  directing  his  son  in  the  faith,  and  successor  in  the 
government  of    the  chief  Asian  Church,  carefully  to 


watch  for,  and  to  reward  by  dignity  and  honour,  the 
services  of  the  more  zealous  and  distinguished  pres- 
byters. He  now  tells  him  that  the  other  matters, 
besides  zeal  and  successful  service  among  the  Church's 
professed  officers,  will  come  before  him  when  he  stands 
at  the  helm  of  the  Church.  Charges — owing,  possibly, 
to  jealousy,  party  feeling,  suspected  doctrinal  error — 
will  not  unfrequently  be  brought  against  a  presbyter. 
Such  an  accusation  is  only  to  be  received  by  Timothy 
when  the  evidence  is  perfectly  clear.  Every  possible 
precaution  against  simply  vexatious  charges  brought 
against  one  occupying  the  hard  and  difficult  position  of 
a  presbyter,  must  bo  taken  by  the  presiding  minister. 
The  reference  is  to  Deut.  xvii.  6. 

(20)  Them  that  sin  rebuke  before  all,  that 
others  also  may  fear.— The  Apostle  here,  apparently, 
is  still  referring  exclusively  to  that  order  of  presbyters 
whose  more  meritorious  members  he  had  directed 
Timothy  to  honour  with  a  special  honour,  and  towards 
whose  accused  members  he  instructed  him  how  to  act. 
He  now  passes  to  the  question  how  to  deal  with  these 
responsible  officers  of  the  Church  when  they  wei-e 
proved  to  be  notoriously  sinning.  While,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  earnest  and  devoted  men  were  to  be  honoured 
with  "a  double  honour" — while  every  possible  legal 
precaution  was  to  be  taken  in  the  case  of  those  being 
accused — on  the  other  hand,  when  proved  to  be  men 
continuing  in  sin  and  error,  their  punishment  must  be 
as  marked  as  in  the  other  case  was  the  reward.  The 
errors  and  sins  of  teachers  of  the  faith  are  far  more 
dangerous  than  in  those  who  make  up  the  rank  and  file 
of  congregations,  and  require  a  more  severe  and  more 
public  punishment. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  St.  Paul  was  especially  allud- 
ing here  to  false  teaching — to  errors  of  doctrine  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  Ephesian  presbyters.  He  seems, 
in  his  parting  address  at  Miletus  to  the  elders  (pres- 
byters) of  this  very  Ephesian  Church,  to  liaA'e  foreseen 
such  a  grievous  falling  away  in  the  future  among  their 
company — "  Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise, 
speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw  away  discijjles  after 
them"  (Acts  xx.  30).  Compare  also  the  Epistle  totliis 
same  Church  of  Ephesus  (Rev.  ii.  4 — 5).  As  the  sin, 
whatever  has  been  its  nature,  lias  been  committed  by 
men  intrusted  with  a  resjionsible  and  public  charge,  so 
the  rebuke  and  punishment  must  also  be  in  public,  that 
the  warning  may  then  spread  over  the  whole  of  the 
various  congregations  composing  the  Church,  and  thus 
"  others  also  may  fear." 

(21)  I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. — More  accurately,  as  well  as  more 
forcibly  rendered.  "  I  snhnnnlij  charge  thee."  "  Lord  " 
must  be  omitted  before  Jesus  Christ,  the  older 
authorities  not  containing  the  word.  The  sense 
of  the  passage  remains  the  same.  Very  solemnly  is 
Timothy  adjured  to  carry  out  the  varied  duties  of 
his  great  charge,  the  government  of  the  Church  of 
Ephesus,  impartially  —  doing  nothing  hastily,  ever 
watchful  of  himself.  St.  Paul  has  just  pressed  upon 
him  how  needful  it  was  to  exercise  care  in  the  case  of  an 


206 


d 


iSpecial  Warnings  and  Directions 


I.   TIMOTHY,   V. 


addressed  to  Timothy. 


tiality.     (^-^  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no 
man,  neither  be  partaker  of  other  men's 


sins  :  keep  thyself  pure.     (-^^  Drink  no 
longer  water,  but  use  a  little  wine  for 


accused  presbyter.  Ho  must  listen  to  no  charge  except 
several  competent  witnesses  were  produced  to  support 
the  accusation.  He  now  reminds  Timothy — tlie  chief 
presbyter — of  the  ever  pi'esent  unseen  witnesses  of 
his  conduct  (see  Heb.  xii.  1).  In  that  awful  presence 
— in  sight  of  the  tin-one  of  God,  with  Messiah  on  the 
i-ight  hand,  and  the  angels,  the  chosen  attendants  and 
ministers  of  God,  gathering  round  about  the  throne — 
would  Timothy  guide  and  rule  the  congregations  of 
Christians  in  that  famous  Eastern  city. 

The  Churcli  of  Ephosus  had  been  built  up  and 
consolidated  by  the  personal  presence  and  influence  of 
St.  Paul,  resident  there  some  three  years ;  and  at  the 
time  when  St.  Paiil  wrote  to  Timothy  it  was  second  in 
numbers  and  in  influence  to  none  of  the  early  groups 
of  congregations  (except,  perhaps,  to  the  Christian 
communities  of  Syrian  Antioch).  Placed  by  an 
Apostle  as  the  first  head  of  such  a  community, 
intrusted  with  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  important 
charges  in  Christendom,  Timothy  indeed  needed  to  be 
watchful.  Well  might  St.  Paul  remind  him  of  tlie 
tremeiulous  witnesses  who  would  be  present  in  his  hoiir 
of  trial. 

And  the  elect  angels. — St.  Paul  had  been  speaking 
of  the  internal  organisation  of  the  church  on  earth,  and 
had  been  dwelling,  first,  on  rank  and  order  among 
women,  and  secondly,  among  men,  especially  direct- 
ing that  a  special  position  of  honour  should  be 
g^ven  to  the  more  distinguished  and  zealous  of  the 
presbyteral  order.  The  term  "  elect "  here  given  to 
certain  of  those  blessed  spirits — in  whose  sight,  as  they 
stood  and  mmistered  before  the  throne  of  God, 
Timothy  would  rule  over  the  charge  committed  to 
him — would  seem  to  imply  that,  as  on  earth,  so  in  heaven 
are  there  degrees  in  rank  and  variety  in  occupation. 
These  holy  ones  are  probably  termed  "elect,"  as 
especially  selected  by  the  Eternal  as  His  messengers  to 
the  human  race,  as  was  Gabriel,  who  stands  in  the 
presence  of  God.  (See  Luke  i.  19.)  St.  Paul  loves  to 
refer  to  the  ranks  and  degrees  of  the  host  of  lieaven. 
(See  Rom.  viii.  38;  Eph.  i.  21 ;  Col.  i.  16.)  But  it  is 
possible  that  these  "elect  angels"  were  those  blessed 
spirits  who  "  kept  their  first  estate,"  and  had  not  fallen. 
(See  2  Pet.  ii.  4,  and  Jude,  verse  6.) 

That  thou  observe  these  things.— The  "things" 
Timothy  was  to  observe,  as  ever  in  the  presence  of 
so  august  a  company  of  witnesses,  were  the  varied 
points  touched  upon  in  the  preceding  verses,  relat- 
ing to  the  internal  organisation  of  the  church  over 
whicli  he  was  presiding,  especially  bearing  in  mind  (for 
St.  Paul  again  refers  to  this  point)  his  words  which 
bore  upon  judgment  of  presbyters — the  men  whose 
lives  and  conversation  were  to  be  an  example  to  the 
flock. 

Without  p/eferring  one  before  another. — 
More  literally,  u'ithont  prejudice.  He  who  presides 
over  a  great  Christian  community  mu.st  l)e  above  all 
party  feeling.  That  unhappy  divisions  existed  in  the 
churches,  even  in  the  lifetime  of  the  Apostles,  wo 
have  ample  evidence,  not  only  in  the  inspired  writings, 
but  also  ill  the  fragments  wo  possess  of  the  earliest 
Christian  literature. 

Doing  nothing  by  partiality.— Although  these 
reminding  words,  and  those  immediately  preceding, 
were  written  with  especial  reference  to  the  judicial 
inquiry  Timothy  would  be  constrained  to  hold  in  tho 


event  of  any  presbyter  being  formally  accused  either  of 
a  moral  offence  or  of  grave  doctrinal  error  in  his 
teaching,  yet  they  must  be  understood  in  a  far  broader 
sense.  The  presiding  elder  in  Ephesus  must  never  for- 
get that  ho  bears  rule,  not  only  over  one  school  of 
Christian  thought,  but  over  all  men  who  acknowledged 
Jesus  as  Messiah  and  Redeemer. 

(22)  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man.— This 
command  refers  primarily  to  the  solemn  laying  on  of 
hands  at  the  ordination  of  presbyters  and  deacons. 
It  no  doubt  also  includes  the  "  laying  on  of  hands " 
customary,  apparently,  even  in  the  Apostolic  age,  on 
the  absolution  of  penitents  and  their  re-admission  to 
church  fellowship. 

Neither  be  partaker  of  other  men's  sins.— 
By  thus  negligently  admitting  into  the  ministry  unfit 
persons — by  carelessly  and  without  due  caution  re- 
admitting persons  to  a  church  fellowship,  which  by 
their  evil  life  they  had  forfeited — Timothy  would 
incur  a  gi-ave  responsibility,  would  in  fact  "  be  a 
partaker"  in  the  sins  and  errors  committed  by  those 
men,  some  of  whom  he  had  carelessly  placed  in  im- 
portant positions  in  the  church,  others  of  whom  he 
had  restored  to  communion  before  they  had  given 
sufficient  evidence  of  their  repentance.  To  limit,  how- 
ever, the  reference  of  the  command  of  St.  Paid  here 
to  the  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  ordination  of  pres- 
byters and  deacons,  would  unply  a  gi*eater  corruption 
in  the  church  at  that  early  date  than  is  credil)le. 
Surely  the  number  of  "  unfit "  persons  seeking  the 
high  and  holy,  but  difficult  and  dangerous,  posts  of 
officers  in  a  proscribed  and  hated  community,  would 
hardly  by  themselves  have  warranted  such  gi-ave 
warning  words  as  "  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man, 
neither  be  partaker  of  other  men's  sins." 

Keep  thyself  pure. — The  word  "  pure  "  here  has 
a  broad  and  inclusive  signification.  It,  of  course, 
denotes  the  urgent  necessity  of  one  holding  Timothy's 
high  and  responsible  office  being  pure  and  chaste  in 
word  and  deed  and  thought ;  but  here  it  also  presses 
on  the  chief  presbyter  of  Epliesus  the  imperative 
necessity  of  keeping  himself,  by  ceaseless  watclifulness, 
pure  from  all  reproach  in  the  matter  of  selecting  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry,  or  in  the  restoring  of  the  lapsed 
sinners  to  church  fellowship. 

(23)  Drink  no  longer  water,  but  use  a  little 
wine  for  thy  stomach's  sake  and  thine  often 
infirmities. — Those  who  argue  that  this  Epistle  was 
the  artificial  composition  of  an  age  subsequent  to  St. 
Paul's,  and  was  written  in  great  measure  to  support  the 
hierarchical  development,  which,  they  say,  showed  itself 
only  in  the  centuiy  after  St.  Paul's  death,  have  no  little 
difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  presence  of  such  a  com- 
mand as  this.  It  can,  in  fact,  only  be  explained  on 
the  supposition  that  the  letter  was.  in  tnath.  written  by 
St.  Paul  to  Timothy  in  all  freedom  and  in  all  love :  by 
the  older  and  more  experienced,  to  the  younger  and 
comparatively  untried  man  :  by  the  master  to  the 
pupil :  by  an  old  and  trusted  friend,  accustomed  lo 
speak  his  whole  mind,  to  one  his  inferior  in  years,  in 
rank,  in  knowledge.  No  ecclesiastical  forger  of  the 
second  or  third  century  would  have  dreameil.  or.  had 
ho  dreamed,  would  have  dared  to  weave  into  the  com- 
plicated tapestiy  of  such  an  Epistle  such  a  cliarge  as 
"  Drink  no  longer  water,  l)ut  use  a  little  wine — con- 
sidering thino  often  infirmities." 


207 


lie  is  enjoined 


I.   TIMOTHY,   YI. 


to  exercise  Discretion 


thy  stomach's  sake  and  thine  often 
iatirmities.  <-''  Some  men's  sins  are 
open  beforehand,  going  before  to 
judgment ;  and  some  me7i  they 
follow  after.  (^s)  Likewise  also  the  ' 
good     works    of    some     are     manifest 


beforehand  ;   and  they  that  are  other- 
wise cannot  be  hid. 

CHAPTEE  YI.— (1)  Let  as  many 
servants  as  are  under  the  yoke  count 
their     own    masters     worthy     of     all 


The  reminder  was,  no  doubt,  suggested  by  St.  PaiJ's 
own  words,  with  wliich  he  closed  his  solemn  direc- 
tion respectiiif,'  Timothy's  dealings  ^vith  the  accused 
1)r»'shyters,  and  tlio  care  to  l)o  used  in  the  laying  on  of 
lands:  ••Kw'i)  tliyself  puro."  That  Tiniotliy  possessed 
—as  did  iiis  master  Paul — a  feeble  body,  is  clear  from 
tlic  words  "thine  often  infirmities."  He  was,  above  all 
things,  considering  his  great  position  in  that  growing 
church,  to  remember  "  to  keep  Iiimself  ptire,"  but  not 
ou  that  account  to  observe  ascetical  abstinence,  and  so 
to  weaken  uselessly  the  frail,  perishable,  perhaps  ever- 
dying  body,  in  wliidi  he  must  work  that  gi'cat  work 
committed  to  him  in  the  master's  church.  Absti- 
nence from  wine  was  a  well-known  chai'acteristic 
feature  of  the  Essene  and  other  Jewish  ascetic  sects. 
We  know  there  was  frequent  intercommunion  between 
Alexau'lria  and  Ei)hesus  (see  Acts  xviii.  24) ;  and  it  has 
even  been  conjectured  that  Apollos,  who  taught  publicly 
at  Ei)hesus,  was  himself  a  famous  Essene  teacher. 
The  practice  of  these  grave  and  ascetic  Jews,  many  of 
whom  beciime  Christians,  no  doubt  affected  not  a  little 
the  habits  and  tone  of  thought  of  the  Ephesian  con- 
gregations. Hence  the  necessity  of  St.  Paul's  warning 
against  allowing  the  bodily  power  to  be  weakened 
through  abstinence  and  extreme  asceticism. 

(-*)  Some  men's  sins  are  open  beforehand, 
going  before  to  judgment ;  and  some  men  they 
follow  after. — The  preceding  verse  was  parenthetic, 
and  suggested  by  his  fears  lest  the  effect  of  his  direc- 
tion to  his  son  in  the  faith  to  keep  himself  joure  might 
lead  Timothy  to  the  practice  of  a  useless  and  unhealthy 
asceticism.  St.  Paul  now  returns  and  closes  the  subject 
on  wliich  he  had  been  instructing  his  representative 
at  Epiicsus.  He  tells  him,  in  his  choice  of  men  to  fill 
the   pul)lic   positions   in   the   Church   of   God — in  his 

{)ublic  inquiries  into  their  conduct  and  teaching — in 
lis  inquiries  respecting  sinners,  who,  having  forfeited 
their  position  as  members  of  the  community,  were 
seeking  re-admission  into  church  fellowship,  not  to 
forget  there  were  tivn  classes  of  sins  :  the  one  class 
public  aud  open,  heralds,  so  to  speak,  of  the  judgment 
to  f(jllow.  In  the  case  of  men  sinning  thus,  the  church's 
chief  pastor  woidd  have  no  difficulty  in  determining 
unon  his  course  of  action.  But  there  was  another  class 
01  sins — silent  and,  as  far  as  public  and  general  know- 
ledge went,  unknown — only  publistied  after  judgment 
had  been  given.  To  rightly  estimate  such  characters 
will  re(|uire  much  care  and  penetration,  and  this  will 
be  ])art  of  Timothy's  work.  The  judgment  {krisis)  here 
mentioned  is  that  of  Timothy  as  sho^vu  in  the  careful 
selection  of  candidates  for  ordination— in  determining 
wliat  sinners  are  fit  for  restoration  to  church  fellow- 
ship— in  pronoimcing  sentence  in  the  matter  of  accused 
presl)yters. 

(^)  Likewise  also  the  good  works  of  some 
are  manifest  beforehand;  and  they  that  are 
otherwise  cannot  be  hid.— In  his  difficult  post 
Timothy  might  fear  lest,  especially  in  his  selection  of 
men  for  the  Lord's  service,  true  noliility  of  character 
might  not  unfrequently  escape  his  notice  and  be  over- 
looked, aud  that  thus  the  best  aud  truest  might  never 


be  enrolled  on  the  register  of  church  officers.  St.  Paul 
bids  him  take  courage  in  the  thought  that  in  many  a 
case  self-sacrifice,  generosity,  stern  princijile,  will  be 
sufficiently  manifest  to  guide  him  in  his  choice  of  fit 
persons  for  the  holy  calling ;  and  in  those  rarer  cases 
where  the  higher  and  sweeter  virtues  are  hidden,  he 
may  be  sure  that  in  God's  good  sea.son  these  too  will 
become  known  to  him,  in  ample  time  for  him  to  call 
them  also  into  Ids  Master's  service. 

VI. 

(1)  Let  as  many  servants  as  are  under  the 
yoke  count  their  own  masters  worthy  of  all 
honour. — From  questions  connected  with  the  presby- 
ters aud  others  among  the  recognised  ministers  aud 
officials  of  the  church,  St.  Paul  passes  on  to  consider 
certain  difficulties  connected  with  a  large  aud  important 
section  of  the  congregations  to  whom  these  presbyters 
were  in  the  habit  of  ministering — the  Christian  slaves. 

It  was  perhaps  the  most  perjilexing  of  all  the  ques- 
tions Christianity  had  to  face—  this  one  of  slavery.  It 
entered  into  all  grades  and  ranks.  It  was  common  to  all 
peoples  and  nations.  The  very  fabric  of  society  seemed 
knit  and  bound  together  by  this  miserable  institution. 
War  and  commerce  were  equally  responsible  for  slavery 
in  the  Old  World.  To  attempt  to  uproot  it — to  preach 
against  it — to  represent  it  in  public  teaching  as  hateful 
to  God,  shameful  to  man — would  have  been  to  preach 
and  to  teach  rebellion  and  revolution  in  its  darkest 
aud  most  violent  form.  It  was  indeed  the  curse  of  the 
world;  but  the  Master  and  His  chosen  servants  took 
their  own  course  aud  their  own  time  to  clear  it  away. 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  disciples,  such  as  St.  Paul  and  St. 
John,  left  society  as  they  found  it,  uprooting  no  ancient 
landmarks,  alarming  no  ancient  prejudices,  content  to 
live  in  the  world  as  it  was,  and  to  do  its  work  as  they 
found  it — trusting,  by  a  new  and  lovely  example, 
slowly  and  surely  to  raise  men  to  a  higher  level,  know- 
ing well  that  at  last,  by  force  of  unselfishness,  loving  self- 
denial,  brave  patience,  the  old  curses — such  as  slavery — 
would  be  driven  from  the  world.  Surely  the  result,  so 
far,  has  not  disappointed  the  hopes  of  the  first  teachers 
of  Christianity. 

This  curse  at  least  is  disappearing  fast  from  the  face 
of  the  globe.  St.  Paul  liere  is  addressing,  in  the  fii'st 
place,  Christian  slaves  of  a  Pagan  master.  Let  tliese, 
if  they  love  the  Lord  and  would  do  houour  to  His  holy 
teaching,  in  their  relations  to  their  earthly  masters  not 
presume  upon  their  new  knowledge,  that  with  the 
Master  in  Heaven  "  there  was  no  respect  of  persons ;" 
that  "  in  Jesus  Christ  there  was  neither  bond  nor  free, 
for  all  were  one  in  Christ."  Let  these  not  dream  for 
an  instant  that  Christianity  was  to  interfere  with  the 
existing  social  relations,  and  to  put  master  and  slave 
on  an  equality  on  earth.  Let  these,  by  their  conduct  to 
unbelieving  masters,  paying  them  all  loving  respect 
and  honour,  show  how  the  uew  religion  was  teaching 
them  to  live. 

That  the  name  of  God  and  his  doctrine  bo , 
not  blasphemed.— There  would  indeed  be  a  grave 
danger  of  this,  if  the  many  Christian  slaves,  instead  of 


208 


Instructions  connected 


I.   TIMOTHY,   VI. 


wltli,  Christian  Slaves. 


honour,  tliat  the  name  of  God  and  his 
.  ^^  doctrine  be  not  bhisphemed. 
Teaching  to  be  ^^'^  And  they  that  have  be- 
addressed  to  lieving  masters,  let  them 
not  despise  tJiem,  because 
thej  are  brethren ;  but  rather  do  thevi 
service,  because  they  are  faithfuP  and 
beloved,  partakers  of  the  benefit.    These 


1  Or,  bclienng. 

2  Or,  a  fool. 

3  Or,  xick. 


thing-s  teach  and  exhort.  (3)  jf  ^ny 
man  teach  otherwise,  and  ^,         .  „    . 

,  ,     ,  11  Chap.  VI.  3—5. 

consent  not  to  wholesome  Opposing  doc- 
words,  evan  the  words  of  ti-mes  held  by 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  ^  '^"^  ^^°  ^^^^* 
to  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to 
godliness ;  ("*^  he  is  proud,-  knowing 
nothing,  but   doting^  about   questions 


showing  increased  zeal  for  their  masters'  service, 
should,  as  the  result  of  the  teacliing  of  the  new  society 
they  had  joined,  become  morose,  impatient  of  servi- 
tude, rebellious.  Very  soon  in  Pagan  society  would 
the  name  of  that  Redeemer  they  professed  to  love,  and 
the  beautiful  doctrines  He  had  preached,  be  evil  spoken 
of,  if  the  teaching  were  for  one  moment  suspected  of 
inculcating  discontent  or  suggesting  rebellion.  An  act, 
or  course  of  acting,  on  the  part  of  professed  servants  of 
God  wliich  gives  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord 
to  blaspheme,  is  ever  i-eckoned  in  Holy  Scripture  as  a 
sin  of  the  deepest  dye.  Compare  Nathan's  words  to 
King  David  (2  Sam.  xii.  14)  and  St.  Paul's  reproach 
to  the  Jews  (Rom.  ii.  24). 

(-)  And  they  that  have  'believing  masters,  let 
them  not  despise  them,  because  they  are 
brethren. — This  being  in  servitude  to  Chi-istian  masters, 
of  course,  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul  would  happen  less  fre- 
quently. Let  those  Christian  slaves  who  have  the  good 
fortune  to  serve  "  believing  masters '"  allow  no  such 
thoughts  as,  "  Shall  I  remain  my  brother's  slave  ?  "  take 
root  in  the  breast  and  poison  the  life-work.  Let 
them  not  presume  on  the  common  brotherhood  of  men 
in  Christ,  on  their  being  fellow-heirs  of  heaven,  and  on 
this  account  deem  their  earthly  masters  their  equals,  and 
so  refuse  them  the  customary  respect  and  attention. 
Let  them  remember  that,  though  in  heaven  there  would 
be  no  respect  of  persons,  on  earth  the  old  class  differ- 
ences were  not  removed. 

But  rather  do  them  service,  because  they  are 
faithful  and  beloved,  partakers  of  the  benefit. 
— The  Greek  here  is  better  translated  thus:  hut  the 
rather  serve  them,  because  believing  and  beloved  are 
they  who  are  partakers  of  their  good  service.  Let 
these  slaves  of  Christians  i-ather  (or,  the  more)  serve 
their  masters  zealously  and  loyally,  because  the  masters 
who  will  profit  by  their  true  faithful  service  are  them- 
selves believers  in  Jesus,  the  beloved  of  God.  This 
thought  should  never  be  absent  from  the  heart  of  a 
Christian  slave  to  a  Cliristian  master.  "  Every  good 
piece  of  work  I  do  will  be  a  kindness  shown  to  one 
who  loves  my  Lord." 

(3)  If  any  man  teach  otherwise.— Without  con- 
fining the  reference  strictly  to  what  had  just  been 
taught  respecting  the  duty  of  Christian  slaves,  there  is 
little  doubt  but  that  some  influential  teaching,  contrary 
to  St.  Paul's,  on  the  subject  of  the  behaviour  and  dis- 
position of  that  unhappy  class  was  in  the  Apostle's  mind 
when  he  wi-oto  the  terrible  denunciation  contained  in 
these  three  verses  against  the  false  teachers  of  Ephesus. 
Schismatic  and  heretical  ])reachers  and  writers  in  all 
ages  have  sadly  hindered  the  progress  of  true  religion; 
but  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul,  when  the  foundation- 
stones  of  the  faith  were  being  so  painfully  laid,  tliere 
seems  to  have  been  a  lifo-and-deatli  contest  between 
the  teachers  of  the  true  and  the  false.  In  this  passage 
St.  Paul  lays  bare  the  secret  sprinsrs  of  much  of  this 
auti-Cliristian  doctrine.  Tlicre  is  little  doubt  but  that 
at  Ephesus  there  existed   then  a  school,  professedly 

80  209 


Christian,  which  taught  the  slave  who  had  accepted  the 
yoke  of  Christ  to  rebel  against  the  yoke  of  any  earthly 
lord.  Hence  the  indignation  of  St.  F^iul.  "  If  any  man 
teach  otherwise,"  different  to  )uy  interpretation  of  the 
rule  of  Christ,  which  bids  us  bear  all  with  brave 
patience,  with  loyal  fortitude. 

And  consent  not  to  wholesome  words,  even 
the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.— The 
Apostle,  no  doubt,  was  referring  to  well-known  sayings  of 
the  Redeemer,  such  as  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things 
tliat  are  Caesar's,"  or  "  Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they 
shall  inherit  the  earth,"  or  "  If  any  man  will  follow  me, 
let  him  take  up  his  cross  daily,  and  follow  me ;  "  "  But  I 
say  unto  you,  resist  not  evil,"  "  Love  your  enemies,  pray 
for  them  wliich  despitefullyuse  you."  It  was  ujjon  such 
sublime  sayings  as  these —  no  doubt,  current  watchwords 
in  all  the  churches— it  was  upon  the  spirit  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  that  St.  Paul  based  his  teaching  and 
grounded  his  advice  to  the  slaves  in  the  flock  of  Christ. 
But  the  false  teachers,  who  would  be  Timothy's  bitterest 
and  most  determined  foes  at  Ephesus,  would  not  con- 
sent to  these  "  wholesome  words,"  though  they  were  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

To  the  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godli- 
ness.— These  self-willed  men,  in  consenting  not  to  the 
sublime  words  of  Christ,  at  the  same  time  refused  to 
acquiesce  in  the  doctrine  which  insisted  upon  a  holy 
life  :  for  Christian  truth  is  inseparable  from  purity, 
single-heartedness,  self-forgetfuluess,  brave  patience. 

(*)  He  is  proud.— St.  Paul,  with  righteous  anger, 
flames  out  against  these  perverse  men,  who,  using  the 
name  of  Christ,  substitute  their  short-sighted  views 
of  life  for  His,  throw  doubt  and  discredit  upon  the 
teaching  of  His  chosen  Apostles  and  servants,  stir  up 
discord,  excite  party  spirit,  barring,  often  hopelessly, 
the  onward  march  of  Christianity.  The  true  Christian 
teaching  is  healthy,  practical,  capable  of  being  carried 
out  by  all  orders  in  the  state,  by  every  age  or  sex,  by 
bond  and  free.  The  spurious  Christian  maxims  of 
these  men  deal  with  subtle,  useless,  unpractical  ques- 
tions, which  have  no  influence  on  ordinary  life,  and 
only  tend  to  stir  up  strife  and  useless  inquiry,  and  to 
make  men  discontented  and  rebellious.  These  unhappy 
men  he  first  characterises  as  "  proud : "  literally,  blinded 
with  pride. 

Knowing  nothing. — Better  rendered,  yet  without 
knoiving  anything;  having  no  real  conception  of  the 
office  and  work  of  Clirist  in  the  world. 

But  doting  about  questions.— While  so  ignorant 
of  the  higher  and  more  practical  points  of  Cliristian 
thoologj',  the  false  teacher  is  "  mad  upon"  curious  and 
d(.'batable  questions,  sucli  as  the  nature  of  the  ever- 
bles.sed  Trinity;  God's  purposes  respecting  tliose  men 
who  know  not,  liavo  not  even  hoard  of  the  Redeemer ; 
and  the  like — jiroblems  never  to  be  solved  by  us  wliile 
on  earth — questions,  the  profitless  debating  f^f  wliich 
has  rent  asunder  whole  churches,  and  individually  has 
broken  up  old  friendships,  and  sown  the  seeds  of  bitter 
irrecoucilablo  hatred. 


Opposing  DodHnes  held 


I.   TIMOTHY,  YI. 


by  the  False  Teachers. 


and  stHfes  of  -words,  whereof  cometli 
envy,  strife,  railiii<i:s,  evil  surniisings, 
(^^  perverse  disputings  of  men  of  cor- 
rupt minds,'  and  destitute  of  the  truth, 
supposino^  that  gain  is  godliness :  from 
such  withdraAv  thyself.     '*^^  But  godli- 


1  Or,  Galtings  one 
u/  iinutlier. 


ness  with  contentment   is  „,  .     . 

,  .  i~\      -Tf  Chap.    VI.    6— 

great    gain.     ^')     For    we  12.     Warnings 

brought  nothing  into  this  against    covet- 

iV  7     •.      •  J.    •  ousness.      Ihe 

world,    and    it     is     certain  true     teachers 

we  can  carry  nothing  out.  to  flee    covct- 

<^^  And    having    food    and  o"^°^^^- 


And  strifes  of  words. — Verbal  disputes,  barren  and 
idle  (•(nitrnvcrsies  about  words  rather  than  tilings;  such 
wild  war  as  also  has  raged,  not  only  in  the  days  of 
Timothy  and  of  St.  Paul,  but  all  through  the  Christian 
ages,  on  sueh  words  as  Predestination,  Election,  Faith, 
Inspiration,  Person,  Regenei-ation,  &e. 

St.' Paul  was  writing,  then,  in  the  spirit  of  the  living 
God,  and  was  warning  no  solitary  pastor  and  friend  at 
Epliesus  of  the  weeds  then  springing  up  in  that  fair, 
newly-planted  vineyard  of  his,  but  was  addressing  the 
Master's  servants  in  many  vineyards  and  of  many 
ages ;  was  telling  them  what  would  meet  them,  what 
would  mar  and  spoil  their  work,  and  in  not  a  few  cases 
would  l)reak  their  hearts  witli  sorrow. 

(5)  Perverse  disputings. — The  older  authorities 
read  liere  a  word  which  shoidd  be  I'eudered  "lasting  or 
obstinate  conflicts."  These  words  close  the  long 
catalogue  of  the  fruits  of  the  teaching  of  the  false 
masters  of  the  new  faith,  and  point  out  that  the  dis- 
putes engendered  by  these  useless  and  iinliappy  cou- 
ti'oversies  would  be  no  mere  temporary  difficulties,  but 
woidd  indefinitely  prolong  their  weary  story. 

Of  men  of  "corrupt  minds.— More  accurately 
rendered,  corrupted  in  their  mind.  From  their  mind, 
over  which  corruption  had  spread,  arose  those  mists 
wliicli  (verso  4)  had  clouded  their  sight  with  pride. 
The  language  used  seems  to  imply  that  for  these  un- 
happy men  a  tinu^  had  existed  when  corruption  had  not 
done  its  fatal  work. 

Destitute  of  the  truth.— More  literally,  deprived 
of  the  truth.  The  truth  was  taken  away  from  them: 
this  was  the  immediate  cijusequcnce  of  the  corruption 
which  bad  spread  over  their  minds. 

Supposing  that  gain  is  godliness.— Here  the 
translation  of  the  Greek  words  must  ran  thus,  suppos- 
ing that  godliness  is  a  source  of  gain.  The  article 
before  the  word  signifying  godliness  requires  this  ren- 
dering of  the  sentence.  (See  Tit.  i.  11.)  St.  Paul,  here 
adding  his  command  to  Timothy  to  have  no  dealings 
witli  these  men,  dismisses  the  subject  with  these  few 
scathing  words  of  scorn  and  contempt.  One  can  imagine 
with  what  feelings  of  holy  anger  one  like  the  noble 
chivalrous  St.  Paul  would  regard  the  conduct  of  nien 
who  looked  upon  the  professicm  of  tlie  religion  of  the 
Crucified  as  a  source  of  gain.  This  was  by  far  the  gravest 
of  liis  public  charges  against  these  teachers  of  a  strange 
and  novel  Christianity.  Wo  read  elsewhere  (1  Cor.  iii. 
12 — 15)  men  might  go  wrong  in  doctrine,  might  even 
teach  an  unpractical,  useless  religion,  if  only  they  were 
trviiig  tbeir  poor  best  to  build  on  the  one  foundation- 
Christ.  Their  faulty  work  would  perisii,  but  they  wo\dd 
assuredly  find  mercy  if  only  they  were  in  earnest,  if 
only  they  were  real.  But  these,  St.  Paul  tells  Timothy 
and  his  chiireh,  were  not  in  earnest ;  these  were  unreal. 
Their  religion — they  traded  upon  it.  Their  teaching  — 
they  taught  only  to  win  gold.  There  was  another 
school  of  teaching — he  had  just  been  dwelling  on  it — 
the  teaching  whicli  told  men,  even  slaves,  simply, 
lovingly  to  do  their  duty  as  though  ever  in  tlie 
presence  of  the  Lord,  ^\^thout  any  restless  longing  for 
change.     This  teaching  would  win  souls  to  Christ,  but 


210 


it  would  never  win  gold,  or  popular  applause,  or  gain,  as 
tlie  world  counts  gain. 

From  such  withdraw  thyself.— Most,  though 
not  all,  the  ancient  authorities  omit  these  word.s. 

(6)  But  godliness  with  contentment  is  great 
gain. — Here  the  Apostle  changes  the  subject  of  his 
letter  somewhat  abruptly.  The  monstrous  thought 
that  these  wordly  men  dare  to  trade  upon  liis  dear 
Master's  religion,  dare  to  make  out  of  his  holy  doctrine 
a  gain — the  hateful  word  suggests  to  him  another 
danger,  to  which  many  in  a  congregation  drawn  from 
the  population  of  a  wealthy  commercial  city  like 
Ephesus  were  hourly  exi^osed.  This  is  an  admirable 
instance  of  the  sudden  change  we  often  notice  in  the 
subject  matter  in  the  midst  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles, 
of  what  has  been  aptly  termed  "  going  off  at  a 
word."  The  reasoning  in  the  writer's  mind  was, 
probably — "  these  false  men  suppose  godliness  wiU  be 
turned  into  gain."  Yes,  though  th<y  were  terribly 
mistaken,  still  there  is  a  sense  in  which  their  miserable 
notion  is  true.  True  godliness  is  ever  accompanied  with 
perfect  contentment.  In  this  sense,  godliness  does  briiig 
along  with  it  great  gain  to  its  possessor.  "  Tlie  heart," 
says  Wiesinger,  "  amid  every  outward  want,  is  then 
only  truly  rich  when  it  not  only  wants  nothing  which 
it  has  not,  but  has  that  which  raises  it  above  what  it 
has  not." 

(7)  For  we  brought  nothing  into  this  world, 
and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out.— 
(Comp.  Job  i.  21.)  Every  earthly  possession  is  only 
meant  for  this  life — for  the  period  between  the  hour  of 
birth  and  the  hour  of  death  ;  we  entered  this  world 
with  nothing,  we  shall  leave  the  world  again  with 
nothing.  If  we  could  take  anything  with  us  when 
death  parts  soul  and  body  there  would  at  once  be  an 
end  to  the  "contentment"  (of  verse  6),  for  the  future 
then  would  in  some  way  be  dependent  on  the  present. 
This  sentence  is  quoted  by  Polycarp,  in  his  letter  to 
the  Philippians,  written  eai'ly  in  the  second  century. 
Such  a  reference  shows  that  this  Epistle  was  knowu 
and  treasured  in  the  Christian  Church  even  at  that 
early  date. 

(S)  And  having  food  and  raiment  let  us  be 
therewith  content.  —  The  Greek  word  rendenid 
"  let  us  be  content "  is  better  translated,  tve  sluill 
have  a  sufficiency.  The  argument  will  run  thus:  "All 
earthly  possessions  are  only  for  this  life  ;  here,  if  we 
have  the  wiierewithal  to  clothe  us  and  to  nourish  us,  we 
shall  have  enough  ; "  if  we  have  more  than  this,  St.  Paul 
goes  on  to  show,  we  shall  be  in  danger  of  falling  into 
temptation. 

There  is  no  contradiction  between  this  reading  and 
that  contained  in  this  same  Epistle  (chap.  iv.  1 — 5). 
There  the  Apostle  is  warning  the  Church  against  a 
false,  unreal  asceticism,  which  was  teaching  men  to  look 
upon  the  rich  gifts  of  this  world,  its  beauties  and  its 
delights,  as  of  themselves  sinful,  forgetting  that  these 
fair  things  were  God's  creatures,  and  were  given  for 
man's  use  and  enjoyment.  Here  the  same  gi-eat  teacher 
is  pressing  home  the  truth  that  the  highest  good  on 
earth  was   that  godlmess  which  is  ever  accompanied 


Warning  against 


I.   TIMOTHY,   VI. 


Covetousness. 


raiment  let  us  be  therewitli  content. 
(3)  But  they  that  will  be  rich  fall  into 
temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many 
foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown 
men  in  destruction  and  perdition.  ^^^^  For 
the  love   of  money   is   the  root   of  all 


1  Or,  Seen  seduced. 


evil :  which  while  some  coveted  after, 
they  have  erred  ^  from  the  faith,  and 
pierced  themselves  through  with  many 
sorrows.  (^'^  But  thou,  O  man  of  God, 
flee  these  things ;  and  follow  after 
righteousness,     godliness,    faith,    love. 


with  pei'fect  conteiitniout,  Avliicli  neither  I'ejects  nor 
deems  evil  tlic  fair  things  of  tliis  hfe,  but  which,  at 
the  same  time,  never  covets  them,  never  longs  for  them. 
It  was  one  thing  to  be  rich,  it  was  another  to  wish  to 
be  rich  ;  in  God's  providence  a  man  might  be  rich  with- 
out sin,  but  the  coveting,  the  longing  for  wealth,  at 
once  exposed  him  to  many  a  grave  danger  both  to  body 
and  soul. 

(9)  But  they  that  will  be  rich.— Here  St.  Paul 
guards  against  the  danger  of  his  words  being  then  or 
at  any  future  time  misinterpreted  by  any  dreamy,  un- 
practical school  of  asceticism,  supposing  that  voluntary 
poverty  was  a  state  of  life  peculiarly  pleasing  to  the 
Most  High — the  strange  mistake  upon  which  the  great 
Mendicant  oi'ders  were  organised  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
Those  who  exposed  themselves  to  the  winning  temptations 
and  deadly  sius  he  Avas  about  to  speak  of  were  not  "  the 
rich,"  but  those  who  longingly  plan  to  be  rich. 

Fall  into  temptation.— Those  longing  to  be  rich 
will  fall  into  the  temptation  to  increase  their  worldly 
goods,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  pnnciple.  Some  un- 
lawful method  of  gratifying  tlieir  passion  for  gain  will 
present  itself;  conscientious  scruples  will  bo  thrown 
to  the  winds,  and  tliey  who  wish  to  be  rich  will  fall  into 
the  temptation.  We  pray  so  often  His  prayer,  '*  Lead 
US  not  into  temptation."  In  the  same  hour  we  long — • 
perhaps  even  with  the  same  breath  we  pray — that  our 
worldly  means  may  be  increased,  our  position  bettered, 
little  thinking  that  the  longing  for  an  increase  of  riches 
and  position  will  lead  us  into  the  most  dangerous  of  all 
temptations ! 

And  a  snare. — A  very  tangle,  as  it  has  been 
well  called,  of  conflicting  motives — each  fresh  gratifi- 
cation of  the  ruling  passion,  perhaps  excused  under  the 
plausil)le  names  of  industry,  homo  claims,  praisewortliy 
and  healtliy  enterprise,  entangling  the  unhappy  soul 
more  completely. 

And  into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts.— 
The  lusts  or  desires  into  which  those  who  long  to  be  rich 
fall,  are  well  named  "  foolish,"  because  in  so  many  in- 
stances they  are  passionate  desires  for  things  ntterly 
undesiraljle,  the  possession  of  Avhich  can  afford  neither 
pleasurenor  advantage — sucli,  for  instance,  is  the  love  of 
hoarding  wealth,  so  common  to  tliose  men  who  have 
longed  for  and  obtained  riches;  and  "hurtful"  often  to 
the  body  as  well  as  to  the  soul  do  these  rich  find  their 
"  h)ngings,"  when  gratified. 

Which  drown  men  in  .  .  .—Better  rendered, 
tvhicli  phoif/e  men  into  .  .   . 

Destruction  and  perdition.  —  "Destruction" 
refers  rathrr  to  wreck  and  ruin  of  the  body,  whilst 
"  perdition  "  belongs  rather  to  that  more  awful  ruin  of 
tlio  eternal  soul.  The  gratificaticm  of  desires,  whether 
these  desires  are  centred  in  the  lower  animal  passiims 
of  the  table,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  yet  baser  and  more 
selfi.sh  2)assions  still,  invariably  leads  to  tiie  destrnctiou 
of  the  poor  frail  human  l)ody  first.  This  premature 
breaking  uj)  of  the  earthly  tabernacle  is  the  herald  and 
piTcurs(n-  of  the  final  perdition  of  the  immortal  soul. 

(10)  For  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all 
evil. — Some  would  water  down  this  strong  expression 


211 


by  translating  the  Greek  words  by  "  a  root  of  all  evil," 
instead  of  "the  root,"  making  this  alteration  on  the 
ground  of  the  ai-ticle  not  being  prefixed  to  the  Greek 
word  rendered  "  root."  This  change,  however,  gram- 
matically is  unnecessary,  as  the  article  disappears 
befoi'e  the  predicate,  in  accordance  with  the  well-known 
rule  respecting  subject  and  predicate. 

St.  Paul  had  just  written  I  verse  9)  of  men  being 
plunged  into  destruction  and  perdition— the  awful  con- 
sequence of  yielding  to  those  lusts  into  which  the  fatal 
love  of  riches  had  guided  them;  he  now  sums  up  the 
teaching  contained  in  these  words  by  pithily  remarking, 
"  Yes,  for  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil," 
meaning  thereby,  not  that  every  evil  necessarily  must 
come  from  '•  love  of  money,"  but  that  there  is  no 
conceivable  evil  which  can  happen  to  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  men  which  mau  not  spring  from  covetous- 
ness— a  love  of  gold  and  wealth. 

"Which  while  some  coveted  after.— There  is  a 
slight  irregularity  in  the  image  here,  but  the  sense  of 
the  expression  is  perfectly  clear.  It  is,  of  course,  not  the 
"  love  of  money,"  strictly  speaking,  which  "  some  have 
coveted  after,"  but  the  money  itself.  The  thought  in  the 
writer's  mind  probably  was — The  man  coveting  gold 
longs  for  opportunities  in  which  his  covetousness  (love 
of  money)  may  find  a  field  for  exercise.  Such  inaccura- 
cies in  language  are  not  uncommon  in  St.  Paul's  writings, 
as,  for  instauce,  Rom.  viii.  21',  where  he  writes  of  '"  hope 
that  is  seen." 

They  have  erred  from  the  faith.— Better  ren- 
dered, they  have  wandered  aivay  from  tint  faith.  This 
A-iA-id  picture  of  some  who  had.  for  sake  of  a  little  gold, 
given  up  their  first  love — their  faith — was  evidently 
drawn  by  St.  Paul  from  life.  There  were  some  in  tiiafc 
well-knoAvn  congregation  at  Ephcsus,  once  faithful,  now 
wanderers  from  the  flock,  over  whom  St.  Paul  mourned. 

And  pierced  themselves  through  with  many 
sorrows. — The  language  and  the  thoughts  of  Ps. 
xvi.  4  were  in  St.  Paul's  mind  when  he  wrote  these 
woi'ds — "  Their  sorrows  shall  b<>  multiplied  that  liasteu 
after  another  (god)."  The  "  many  sorrows  "  here  are, 
no  doubt,  the  "  gnawings  of  conscience,"  which  must 
ever  and  anon  harass  and  periilex  the  man  or  woman 
who,  for  covetousness'  sake,  has  deserted  tlie  old  paths, 
and  has  wandered  away  from  the  old  loved  communion 
of  Christ. 

The  imageiy  used  in  this  tenth  verso  seems  to  be 
that  of  a  man  who  wanders  from  the  straight,  direct 
path  of  life,  to  gather  some  poisonous,  fair-seeming 
root  growing  at  a  distance  from  the  right  road  on 
whidi  ho  was  travelling.  He  wanders  away  and  plucks 
it ;  and  now  that  lie  has  it  in  his  hands  he  finds  himself 
pierced  and  wounded  with  its  unsuspected  thorns. 

(11)  But  thou,  O  man  of  God,  flee  these 
things. — A  commentator  always  speaks  with  great 
caution  when  he  ajiproaches  in  these  ins2)ired  writings 
anytliing  of  tiie  nature  of  a  direct  ])ersonal  reference. 
The  writers  and  actors  in  tlie  New  Testament  history  we 
have  so  long  surrounded  Avith  a  halo  of  reverence,  that 
we  are  tempted  often  to  forget  that  they  were  but  men, 
exposed  to  temptations  like  us,  and  not  uufrequeutlj 


E  iicouragement 


I.   TIMOTHY,   VI. 


to  Earnestness. 


patienco,  meekness.  ^^-^  Fig-lit  tlie  good 
fight  of  faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal  life, 
whereunto   thou   art    also   called,    and 


hast  professed  a  good  profession  before 
many  witnesses.  (^^^  I  give  thee  charge 
in  the    sight  of  God,   who    quickeneth 


Buccuinbing  to  them.  We  owe  them,  indeed,  a  deep 
debt  of  revereuce  for  tlieir  f.iitliful,  galhint  witness 
— for  their  splendid  sorvieo  in  laying  so  well  the 
early  storeys  of  the  great  Christian  Temple ;  but  we 
lose  somewhat  of  the  reality  of  the  Apostolie  story 
when  in  the  saint  we  forget  the  man.  After  the  very 
solemn,  the  intensely  earnest  warning  against  eovetoiis- 
uess— that  fatal  love  of  gain  and  gold  which  seems  to 
have  been  the  mainspring  of  the  life  of  those  false 
teachers  who  were  engaged  in  marring  the  noble  work  St. 
Paul  had  done  for  liis  Master  at  Ephesus — after  these 
weighty  words,  the  fact  of  St.  Paul  turning  to  Timothy, 
and,  with  the  grand  old  covenant  title  Timothy  knew 
80  well,  personally  addressing  his  loved  friend  with 
"  But  thou,  O  man  of  God,  tiee  these  things,"  leads  us 
irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  the  old  Apostle  was 
dreading  for  his  young  and  comparatively  untried  dis- 
ciple the  corrupting  danger  of  the  wealth  of  the  city  in 
which  he  held  so  great  a  charge;  so  he  warns  Timothy, 
and,  through  Timothy,  God's  servants  of  all  grades 
and  powers  in  different  ages,  of  the  soul-destroying 
dangers  of  covetousness — '•  Flee  tliese  things."  A  glance 
at  Timothy's  pirsent  life  will  show  how  possible  it  was, 
even  for  a  loved  pupil  of  St.  Paul — ev(m  for  one  of  whom 
Le  once  wrote,  "i  have  no  man  likeminded;"  and, 
again,  "  Ye  know  the  proof  of  him,  that,  as  a  son  with 
the  father,  he  hath  served  with  me  in  the  gospel  "  (Phil, 
ii.  20 — 'I'D — to  need  so  grave  a  reminder.  Since  those 
days,  when  these  words  wei-e  written  to  the  Philippians, 
some  six  years  liad  parsed.  H's  was  no  longer  the  old 
harassed  life  of  danger  and  hazard  to  which,  as  the 
companion  of  the  missionary  St.  Paul,  he  was  constantly 
exposed.  He  now  filled  the  position  of  an  lionoured 
teacher  and  leader  in  a  rich  and  organised  church ; 
numy  and  gri(!vous  were  the  temptations  to  wliich,  in 
such  a  station,  he  would  be  exposed. 

Gold  ami  popularity,  gain  and  ease,  were  to  be  won 
with  the  sacrilice  of  iippareiitly  so  little,  but  with  this 
sacrifice  Timothy  would  cease  to  be  the  "man  of  God." 
To  maintain  that  St.  Paul  was  aware  of  any  weakness 
already  shown  by  his  disciple  and  friend  would,  of 
course,  be  a  baseless  assertion ;  but  that  the  older  man 
dreaded  for  the  younger  tlieso  dangerous  influences  is 
clear.  The  term  "  man  of  God  "  was  the  common  Old 
Testament  name  for  "divine  messengers,"  but  under 
the  new  covenant  the  name  seems  extended  to  all  just 
men  faithful  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  (See  2  Tim.  iii.  17.) 
Tlie  solemn  warning,  then,  through  Timothy  comes  to 
each  of  His  servants,  "Flee  tliou  from  covetousness." 

And  follow  after  righteousness.—"  The  evil 
must  be  overcome  with  good"  (Rom.  xii.  21).  The  "man 
of  God,"  tossing  away  from  him  all  covetous  longings, 
must  press  after  "  righteousness; "  here  used  in  a  general 
sense,  signifying  "  the  inner  life  shaped  after  the  Law 
of  God." 

Faith,  love.— The  two  characteristic  virtues  of 
Christianity.  The  one  may  be  termed  the  hand  that 
lays  liold  of  God's  mercy;  and  the  other  the  mainspring 
of  the  Christian's  life. 

Patience.— That  brave  patience  which,  for  Christ's 
dear  sake,  with  a  smile  can  bear  up  against  all 
sufferings. 

Meekness.— The  German  "  sanf  tmuth  " — the  meek- 
ness of  heart  and  feeling  witli  which  a  Christian  acts 
towards  liis  enemies.    His  conduct  who  ''  when  he  was 


212 


reviled,    reviled    not    again "    best    exemplifies    this 
virtue. 

(12)  Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  lay  hold 
on  eternal  life. — Then,  again,  with  the  old  stirring 
metaphor  of  the  Olympic  contests  for  a  prize  (1  Cor. 
ix.  2i;  Phil.  iii.  13,  14) — the  metaphor  St.  Paul  loved  so 
well,  and  which  Timothy  must  have  heard  so  often 
from  his  old  master's  lips  as  he  preached  and  taught — 
he  bids  the  "  man  of  God,"  rising  above  the  pitiful 
struggles  for  things  perishable  and  useless,  fight  the 
noble  fight  of  faith ;  bids  him  sti-ive  to  lay  hold  of  the 
real  prize  —  life  eternal.  The  emphasis  rests  here 
maiidy  on  the  words  "  the  good  fight "  and  "  eternal 
life."  These  things  are  placed  in  strong  contrast 
with  "the  struggle  of  the  covetous"  and  its  "miserable, 
perishable  crown."  "  The  good  fight,"  more  closely 
considered,  is  the  contest  and  struggle  which  the 
Christian  has  to  maintain  against  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil.  It  is  styled  the  "  good  figlit  of  faith," 
partly  because  the  contest  is  waged  on  behalf  of,  for 
the  sake  of,  the  faith,  but  still  more  because  from 
faith  it  derives  its  strength  and  draAvs  its  courage. 
"Eternal  life  "  is  the  prize  the  "  man  of  God"  must 
ever  have  before  his  eyes.  It  is  the  crown  of  life  which 
the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead  wall  give  to  the  "  faithful 
unto  death."     (See  Jas.  i.  12;  Rev.  ii.  10.) 

Whereunto  thou  art  also  called.— The  "calling" 
here  refers  both  to  the  inner  and  outward  call  to  the 
Master's  work.  The  inner  call  is  the  persuasion  in  the 
heart  that  the  one  vocation  to  which  the  life  must  be 
dedicated  was  the  ministry  of  the  word ;  and  the  out- 
ward call  is  the  summons  by  St.  Paul,  ratified  by  the 
church  in  the  persons  6f  the  presbyters  of  Lystra. 

And  hast  professed  a  good  profession  before 
many  witnesses.— More  accurately  translated,  and 
thou  coufesscdnt  the  good  confession  .  .  .  These 
words  simply  add  to  the  foregoing  clause  another 
ground  of  exhortation:  "Thou  wast  called  to  eternal 
life,  and  thou  madest  the  good  confession."  When — • 
has  been  asked  —  was  this  good  confession  made? 
Several  epochs  in  the  life  of  Timothy  have  been  sug- 
gested. Were  it  not  for  the  difficulty  of  fixing  a  date 
for  so  terrible  an  experience  in  Timothy's,  compara- 
tively speaking,  short  life,  it  would  appear  most  pro- 
bable that  the  confession  was  made  on  the  occasion  of 
some  persecution  or  bitter  trial  to  which  he  had  been 
exposed.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  appears  safer  to 
refer  "  the  good  confession"  to  the  time  of  his  ordina- 
tion. In  this  case  the  many  witnesses  would  refer  to 
the  presbyters  and  others  who  were  present  at  the 
solenni  rite. 

(13)  I  give  thee  charge  in  the  sight  of  God. — 
Better  rendered,  I  charge  thee  in  the  sight  of  God.  If 
possible,  with  increased  earnestness  and  a  yet  deeper 
solemnity  as  the  letter  diaws  to  an  end  does  St.  Paul 
charge  that  young  disciple — from  whom  ho  hoped  so 
much,  and  yet  for  whom  ho  feared  so  anxiously — to  keep 
the  commandment  and  doctrine  of  his  Master  spotless; 
and,  so  far  as  in  him  lay,  to  preserve  that  doctrine 
unchanged  and  unalloyed  till  the  coming  again  of 
the  blessed  Master.  So  he  charges  him  as  in  the 
tremendous  presence  of  God. 

Who  quickeneth  all  things.— The  older  autho- 
rities adopt  here  a  reading  which  implies,  who  Iceepest 
alive,  or  preservest,  all  things.     The  Preserver  rather 


Final  Charge  to  Timothy  to  keep 


I.   TIMOTHY,   VI. 


the  Commandment  pure. 


all  things,  and  before  Christ  Jesus, 
Chap.vi.i3— 16.  who  before  Pontius  Pilate 
Charge  to  pre-  -witnessed  a   good   confes- 

serve  the   <loc-       .  i    nu    xi     j.    j.i  i 

trine    of   Jesus    Sion ;  ^    (^^^   that   thou   keep 

pure.  this  commandment  without 

spot,  unrebukeable,  until  the  appearing 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :    <^^*  which  in 


I  Or,  profession. 


his  times  he  shall  shew,  who  is  the 
blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  King 
of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords ;  (^'''  who 
only  hath  immortality,  dwelling  in  the 
light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto ; 
whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see : 
to  whom  he   honour   and   power   ever- 


thau  the  Creator  is  here  brought  into  prominence. 
Timothy  is  exhorted  to  fight  his  good  light,  ever 
mindful  that  he  is  in  the  presence  of  that  great  Being 
wlio  could  and  woukl — even  if  Timothy's  faithfulness 
sliould  lead  him  to  danger  and  to  death — still  preserve 
him,  on  earth  or  in  Paradise. 

And  before  Christ  Jesus,  who  before  Pontius 
Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession.— Better 
rendered,  ivho  before  Pontius  Pilate  bore  ivitness  to 
the  good  confession.  The  good  confession  which  (verse 
12)  Timothy  confessed  before  many  witnesses,  Jesus 
Christ,  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  had  already  borne 
witness  to.  In  other  words,  Jesus  Christ,  before 
Pontius  Pilate,  bore  witness  by  His  own  solemn  words, 
that  He  was  the  Messiah — the  long-looked-for  King  of 
Israel.  If  the  preposition  which  we  have,  with  the 
majority  of  expositors,  construed  "  before  "  (Pontius 
Pilate)  have  here  its  local  meaning,  the  "witness"  must 
be  limited  to  the  scene  in  the  Judgment  Hall — to  the 
interview  between  the  prisoner  Jesus  and  the  Roman 
governor. 

Although  this  meaning  here  seems  the  most  accurate, 
it  is  possible  to  understand  this  preposition  in  a  tem- 
poral, not  in  a  local,  signification — under  (that  is,  m 
the  days  of)  Pontius  Pilate — then  the  "  witness  "  was 
borne  by  the  Redeemer  to  the  fact  of  His  being 
"  Messiah  : "  first,  by  His  own  solemn  words  ;  secondly, 
by  His  voluntaiy  death.  The  confession  was  that  "  He, 
Jesus,  was  a  King,  though  not  of  this  world."  (See 
Matt,  xxvii.  11 ;  John  xviii.  36,  37,  where  the  noble 
confession  is  detailed.)  He  bore  His  witness  with  a 
terrible  death  awaiting  Him.  It  was,  in  some  respects, 
a  model  confession  for  all  martyrs,  in  so  far  as  it  was 
a  bold  confession  of  the  truth  with  the  sentence  of 
death  before  His  eyes. 

(14)  That  thou  keep  this  eoramandment  with- 
out spot,  unrebukeable.— Here  St.  Paul  specifies 
what  was  the  charge  he  was  commending  in  such 
earnest,  solemn  language  to  his  disciple  and  repre- 
sentative at  Ephesus.  It  was  that  he  should  keep  the 
commandment  without  spot,  unrebukeable.  The  com- 
mandment was  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Chi-ist,  the  gospel 
message,  that  was  to  be  proclaimed  in  all  its  fulness ; 
and  that  this  might  be  done  effectually  it  was  needful 
that  the  life  of  its  preacher  should  be  ^vithout  flaw — 
blameless;  in  other  words,  it  was  absolutely  requisite 
that  the  chief  pastor  in  Ephesus  should  live  the  life  he 
preached.  Thera  were  those  (the  fal.se  teachers  of 
whom  he  had  been  speaking,  well  known  to  Timothy) 
whose  lives  had  dishonoured  the  glorious  command- 
ment they  professed  to  love  and  teach. 

Until  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. — The  speedy  return  of  the  Lord  in  glory  w:is, 
no  doubt,  looked  for  in  the  Church  of  <he  first  days.  The 
expressions  of  1  Thess.  iv.  15 — 18  evidently  were  written 
at  a  time  when  the  second  advent  of  Messiah  was 
looked  on  as  probably  near  at  hand.  By  slow  degrees — 
as  one  great  teacher  of  Ihe  first  days  after  <he  other 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  and  the  first  geneivition  of  believers 
was   rapidly  passing  away,  and  no  fresh  sign  of  the 


coming  in  gloi-y  was  manifested — the  strong  expressions 
used  iu  the  first  fervour  wliich  succeeded  the  Pentecost 
moi'ning  began  to  be  qualified,  as  in  this  Epistle, 
written  far  on  in  St.  Paul's  life,  by  words  wliich  seemed 
to  say  to  Timothy  :  "  Keep  the  Master's  commandment 
pure  and  blameless  till  the  hour  of  that  glorious 
Epiphany  which  your  eyes  will  possibly  beliold." 

(15)  Which  in  his  times  he  shall  shew. — More 
accurately  rendered,  ivhlch  in  Ids  own  seasons.  Hero 
the  language  of  fervid  expectation  is  qualified  by  words 
which  imply  that  in  St.  Paul's  mind  then  there  was  no 
certainty  about  the  period  of  the  "  coming  of  the  Lord." 
It  depended  on  the  unknown  and  mysterious  counsels 
of  the  Most  High.  The  impression  left  upon  our  minds 
by  the  words  of  this  and  the  preceding  verse  is  that  St. 
Paul  had  given  up  all  hope  of  living  himself  to  see  the 
dawn  of  that  awful  day,  but  he  deemed  it  more  than 
probable  that  his  son  in  the  faith  would  live  to  witness 
it.  Hence  his  words  to  him  :  "  Keep  the  command- 
ment without  spot  until  the  Epiphany  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

Who  is  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate.— 
The  stately  and  rhythmical  doxology  with  which  the 
solemn  charge  to  Timothy  is  closed  was  not  improbably 
taken  from  a  hymn  loved  by  the  Ephesian  Christians, 
and  often  sung  in  their  churches ;  the  words,  then,  were, 
likely  enough,  familiar  to  Timothy  and  his  people, 
though  now  receiving  a  new  and  deeper  meaning  than 
before.  Well  might  Timothy,  as  example  to  the  flock 
of  Ephesus,  keep  "  the  commandment  without  spot,  un- 
rebukeable " — fearlessly,  even  though  danger  and  death 
were  presented  before  him  as  the  sure  reward  of  his 
faithfulness — for  He  who  in  His  o^vn  times  should 
reveal  (show)  the  Lord  Jesus  returning  to  earth  in 
glory,  was  inconceivably  greater  and  grander  than  any 
earthly  potentate,  king,  or  lord,  before  whose  little 
throne  Timothy  might  have  to  stand  and  be  judged  for 
his  faithfulness  to  the  "  only  Potentate,  the  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords." 

Of  the  first  of  these  sublime  titles.  God  is  termed 
"  the  blessed,"  or  the  hapjiy,  because  He  is  the  source 
of  all  blessedness  and  happiness ;  and  the  "  only 
Potentate,"  in  solemn  assertion  that  the  Christian's 
God  was  One,  and  that  to  none  save  to  Him  could  this 
appellation  "  only  Potejitate  "  be  applied.  Possibly 
already  in  Ephesus  the  teachers  of  Gnosticism  had 
begun  their  unhappy  work — with  their  fables  of  the 
mighty  aeons,  and  their  strange  Eastern  conception  of 
one  God  the  source  of  good,  and  another  the  source  of 
evil. 

The  EIng  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.— God 
is  king  over  those  men  style  kings,  and  lord  over  all 
men  call  lords  here. 

(iG)  Who  only  hath  immortality.— Tlie  holy 
angels — the  souls  of  men — are  immortal.  "  But  one 
alone.  '  God,'  can  be  said  fn  have  immortality.'"  because 
He,  unlike  other  immort.nl  beings  who  enjoy  their  im- 
mortality through  the  will  of  another,  derives  it  fi-om 
His  own  essence. 

Dwelling   in  the   light  which  no  man  can 


213 


TJi£  Jiich  to  he  Reminded 


I.   TIMOTHY,   YI. 


of  the  Claims  upon  them. 


Amen.     ('">  Charge  tliem  that 
17_  are  rich  in  this  world,  that 
they  be    not   highminded, 
nor    trust     in     uncertain 
riches,^  but   in  the  living 
God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to 


lasting, 

Chap,   vi 
19.       The     re- 
luinder  to  the 
rich    of    Ephe- 

8US. 


1  Gr.  uncertainty 
1    vf  richee. 


enjoy ;  (^^^  that  they  do  good,  that 
they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to 
distribute,  willing-  to  communicate; 
<^^'  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a 
good  foundation  against  the  time  to 
come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal 


approach  unto.— Tliis  slioiild  be  rendered,  diveUing 
in  Light  unnpin-oachahle.  Tlie  Eternal  is  here  pictured 
as  dwelling  in  an  atmosithcre  of  light  too  glorious  for 
any  created  beings  (not  oidy  men)  to  approach.  (See 
Ps.  civ.  2,  where  the  Eternal  is  addressed  as  covering 
himse-lf  witli  liijht  as  with  a  garment ;  see  too  Daniel 
ii.  22,  wliere  light  is  spoken  of  as  dwelling  with  God.) 
The  symbolism  of  the  old  covenant  teaches  the  same 
truth,  the  unapproachable  glories  in  which  God  dweUs ; 
for  instance,  the  guarding  of  the  bounds  of  Sinai  in 
the  gi\'ing  of  the  Law  ;  the  covering  of  the  faces 
of  the  Seraphim  in  the  year  that  King  Uzziah 
died,  when  Isaiah  saw  the  divine  vision  ;  the  veiled 
darkness  of  the  Holy  of  holies  in  the  Tabernacle  and 
the  Temple,  where  ever  and  anon  the  visible  glory 
dwelt. 

Whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see.— The 
Old  Testament  teaches  the  same  mysterious  tratli — 
"  For  there  shall  no  man  see  me,  and  live  '"  (Ex.  xxxiii. 
20,  and  also  JJeut.  iv.  12).  John  i.  18  repeats  this  in 
A'ery  plain  words — "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time."  The  Greek  word  here  includes  all  created 
beings.  The  English  ti-anslation,  '•  no  man,"  utterly 
fails  to  reproduce  the  meaning  of  the  original.  (See 
also  1  John  iv.  12.) 

These  last  words  seem  to  preclude  the  interpretation 
whidi  applies  the  foregoing  description  to  the  Son. 
We  have  above  referred  tjiis  glorious  doxology  to  the 
Father,  as  the  one  who,  in  His  own  times,  should  reveal 
the  Lord  Jesus  returning  to  judgment. 

It  is,  however,  very  noteworthy  that  the  loftiest,  the 
sublimest,  epithets  the  inspired  pen  of  Paul  could  frame 
to  dignify  liis  description  of  the  First  Person  of  the 
ever-blessed  Trinity,  God  the  Father,  are  used  again 
of  the  Son.  "  The  Lamb  sliall  overcome  them  :  for  he 
is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings"  (Rev.  x™.  14 
and  xix.  16;  and  see  too  Rev.  i.  5). 

(1")  Charge  them  that  are  rich.- Paul  had  traced 
up  the  eiTor  of  the  false  teachers — against  whose  work 
and  influence  he  had  so  earnestly  warned  Timothy — to 
covetousnesa.  to  an  unholy  love  of  money ;  he  then 
spoke  of  tliis  unhappy  covetousness — this  greed  of 
gain,  this  vish  to  be  rich — as  the  root  of  every  evil. 
From  this  fatal  snare  he  warned  the  "  man  of  God"  to 
flee,  bidding  him  take  courage  in  the  high  .service  to 
which  he  was  dedicated,  and  to  be  fearless  of  all  con- 
sequences, for  he  .served  the  King  of  kings.  But  in  the 
congregations  of  Ephesus  there  were  many,  owing  to 
birth  or  to  other  circumstances,  already  rich  and 
powerful,  already  in  the  possession  of  gold  and  rank,  in 
varied  degrees.  Before  closing  the  letter  to  the  chief 
pastor,  Timothy,  he  must  add  a  word  of  encouragement 
and  also  of  special  warning  to  tho.se.  Above  all  things 
he  would  have  no  mistake  as  to  his  meaning:  the  ir(.</i 
to  be  rich  was  a  sure  root  of  error  and  of  ovW.  but  the 
being  rich  was  a  ver^-  different  thing  ;  tliis  class  was 
surrounded,  indeed,  with  special  ]ierils.  but  still,  even 
"  as  rich"  tliey  might  serve  God  faithfully.  So  in  his 
charge  to  them  he  commands  them  not  to  strip  them- 
selves of  their  wealth.  Ijut  to  use  it  wisely,  generously. 

In  this  world. — The  Greek  wojd rendered  "  world" 


signifies,  in  its  literal  sense,  age,  and  includes  the 
period  which  closes  with  the  second  coming  of  tho 
Lord.  Xow,  as  St.  Paul  had  just  made  a  reference  to 
the  probable  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  in  judgment  in 
Timothy's  lifetime,  the  words  "  the  rich  in  tliis  world  " 
have  a  special  signification.  Very  fleeting  indeed  will 
be  those  riches  of  which  their  possessors  were  so 
foolishly  proud  [be  not  high-minded,  St.  Paul  urges]  ; 
these  riches  were  a  possession  always  terminable  with 
life — possibly,  let  them  bear  in  mind,  much  sooner. 

Nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches.— The  literal 
translation  of  the  Greek  here  is  more  forcible — "nor 
tnist  in  the  uncertainty  of  riches."  TJucertaiuty — for 
(1)  the  vei-y  duration  of  life,  even  for  a  day,  is  un- 
certain ;  and  (2)  the  numberless  accidents  of  life — in 
war,  for  instance,  and  commerce — are  perpetually  re- 
minding us  of  the  shifting  nature  of  these  earthly 
possessions. 

But  in  the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly- 
all  things  to  enjoy.— The  Greek  word  rendered 
"  li\-ing  "  does  not  occur  in  the  more  ancient  authorities. 
Its  removal  from  the  text  in  nowise  alters  tlie  sense  of 
the  passage.  The  rich  should  set  their  affections  and 
place  their  trust,  not  in  these  uncertain  riches,  but  in 
God,  the  bestower  of  them,  who  wills,  too.  that  His 
creatures  should  flud  pleasure  in  these  His  gifts — given 
to  us  to  enjoy. 

This  is  another  of  the  many  sayings  of  the  old  man 
St.  Paul,  in  which  he  urges  on  the  peoi)le  of  God,  that 
their  kind  Master  in  heaven  not  only  allows  men 
reasonable  pleasures  and  gratifications,  but  even  Him- 
self abundantly  provides  such  for  them. 

(18)  That  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in 
good  works. — These  words — coming  directly  after  the 
statement  tliat  tlie  good  and  pleasant  things  of  this 
world,  which  fire  possessed  in  so  large  a  share  by  the 
"  rich,"  are,  after  aU,  the  gifts  of  God,  who  means  them 
for  our  enjoyment — these  words  seem  to  point  to  the 
highest  enjoyment  procurable  by  these  "rich" — tho 
luxury  of  doing  good,  of  helping  others  to  be  happy 
the  only  enjoyment  that  never  fails,  never  disajtpoints. 

Ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communicate. 
— In  distinguishing  between  these  words,  which  are 
nearly  synonjTuous,  the  first  points  rather  to  the  hand 
which  generously  gives,  and  the  second  to  the  heart 
which  lovingly  synqiathises. 

The  first  obeys  willingly  the  Master's  charge — "Give 
to  him  tliat  asketh ;  "  the  second  follows  that  loving 
command  which  bids  His  own  to  rejoice  with  those  that 
rejoice,  and  to  mourn  with  those  that  mourn. 

(19)  Laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good 
foundation  against  the  time  to  come.— This  is  a 
concise  expression,  which  might  have  been  more  fully 
worded  thus — Laying  vp  in  store  for  themselves  a 
vealth  of  good  works  as  a  foundation.  &c.  (Comp. 
our  Lord's  words  in  Luke  xxi.  9,  where  the  same 
truth  is  taught,  and  a  similar  promise  made.) 

Here  a  simple  command,  in  complete  accordance  with 
the  teachin?  of  Christ,  is  given,  and  a  definite  conse- 
quence is  attached  to  the  obeying  the  command.  If  tho 
"rich"— the  word   "rich,"   we  must   remember,  is  a 


214 


Last  Commands. 


I.   TIMOTHY,   VI. 


Salutation. 


life.  (20)  o  Timothy,  keep  that  which 
Chap.  vi.  20,  is  committed  to  thy  trust, 
commands  ^""S  avoiding  profane  and  vain 
Timothy.  babbHngs,  and  opi^ositions 

of  science  falsely  so  called :    ^"^^  which 


some  professing  have  erred  concerning 
the  faith.     Grace  he  with  thee.     Amen. 

IT  The  first  to  Timothy  was  ■written  from 
Laodicca,  which  is  the  chiefest  city  of  Phrygia 
Pacatiaua. 


broiid  torin,  and  in  St.  Paul's  mind  woukl  compreliond 
many  a  one  who  would  hesitate  to  apply  the  term  in 
its  strict  sense  to  himself — if  the  "  rich,"  or  the  com- 
paratively rieli.  are  really  generous  and  kind  with  their 
wealth — and  of  this  God  alone  can  be  judge — then 
with  these  perishable,  fleeting  riches  they  are  laying  <he 
foundation  of  an  everlasting  habitation  on  the  other 
side  tlie  veil.  Bengel  quaintly  expresses  the  truth, 
slightly  changing  tlio  metaphor — "  Mercator,  navfragio 
salvus,  thesanros  domum prccmis^'os  mvenit." 

That  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.— 
The  older  authorities  here,  instead  of  "  eternal," 
read  truly.  The  sentence  will  then  read  thus, 
tliat  they  viny  Jay  hold  on  that  which  is  truly  life — 
that  is,  may  lay  liold  on  that  which  in  tnith  deserves 
the  name  "  life,"  because  the  fear  of  death  will  no 
longer  cast  its  gloomy  shadow  over  it.  Tliis  "  laying 
hold  on  eternal  life"  is  the  end  the  wise  rich  Christian 
proposes  to  himself,  when  he  orders  his  earthly  life 
and  administers  his  earthly  goods,  and  St.  Paul  has  just 
showed  Timothy  how  this  '•  end  "  is  to  be  reached  by 
such  a  man. 

Such  plain  statements  in  the  Book  of  Life  as  the 
foregoing  by  no  means  weaken  the  divine  truth  so 
often  repeated,  that  men  are  saved  only  by  the  blood 
of  Christ,  with  which  they  must  sprinkle  their  sin- 
scarred  souls.  Poor  men  and  rich  men  alike  may  try  ; 
they  will  find,  with  all  their  brave  struggles,  that  of 
themselves  they  will  never  win  salvation,  they  cannot 
redeem  their  souls. 

But  such  plain  statements  as  we  have  here,  and  in 
Luke  xvi.  9,  tell  us,  if  we  really  are  "  of  Christ's," 
sjirinkled  with  His  piTcious  blood,  then  we  must  try 
witii  heart  and  soul,  mth  hand  and  brain,  to  follow  out 
such  charges  as  we  have  just  been  discussing. 

(20)  o  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  committed 
to  thy  trust. — More  literally  and  better  rendered, 
0  Timothy,  kcej)  the  trust  committed  to  thee.  It  is  a 
beautiful  thought  which  sees  in  these  few  earnest  closing 
words  the  very  handwriting  of  the  worn  and  aged 
Apostle  St.  Paul.  The  Epistle,  no  doubt  dictated  by 
the  old  man,  was  in  the  handwriting  of  some  friend  of 
St.  Paul  and  the  Church,  who  acted  as  his  scribe ;  but, 
as  seems  to  have  been  sometimes  his  habit  (see  especially 
the  closing  words  of  the  Galatian  Letter),  the  last  plead- 
ing reminder  was  added  by  the  hand  of  the  Apostle 
himself.  "  O  Timothy  " — ho  ^vl•ites  now  no  longer  ad- 
dressing church  or  ])astor,  lint  his  own  favourite  fi-iend 
and  pupil,  the  loved  heir  of  his  God-inspired  traditions 
and  ma.vims,  which  .so  faithfully  represented  the  doctrine 
and  teaching  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth — "  O  Timothy,  keep 
the  .sacred  trust  committed  to  thy  charge." 

This  "  sacred  trust,"  so  solemnly  committed  as  the 
parting  charge  to  Timothy,  was  "the  doctrine  delivered 
by  St.  Paul  to  him  to  preach,"  the  central  point  of 
which,  we  know  from  the  Apostle's  other  writings,  was 
the  teaching  respecting  the  atonement  and  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ.  There  is  a  beautiful,  though  somewhat 
lengthened,  paraphrase  of  the  "•Trust"  in  the  Com- 
monitorium  of  Viuceutius  Liriueusis,  composed  about 


A.D.  430.  "  What  is  meant,"  he  asks,  "  by  '  Iceep  the 
trust  ?'  The  disciple  of  St.  Paul  must  keep  the 
sound  doctrine  of  his  master  safe  from  robbers  and  foes. 

.  .  .  What  is  meant  by  '  the  trust  ?  '  Something 
intrusted  to  you  to  keep — not  a  possession  you  liave 
discovered  for  yourself ;  something  you  have  received 
from  another — not  wliat  you  have  thought  out  for  your- 
self. .  .  of  this  '  trust,'  remember,  you  are  nothing 
but  the  guardian.  .  .  .  What,  then,  is  the  meaning 
of  '  /ceej)  the  trust  ? '  It  is  surely  nothing  else  than 
'  guard  the  treasure  of  the  Catholic  faith.'  .  .  .  Gold 
have  you  received ;  see  that  you  hand  gold  on  to  others." 

"Is  there,  then,"  asks  this  same  wise  winter  "to 
be  no  progress,  no  development  in  religious  teaching  ? 
Yes,"  he  answers ;  "  there  should  be  a  real  progress, 
a  marked  development,  but  it  must  partake  of  the 
nature  of  a  progress,  not  of  a  change.  .  .  .  Let 
religion  in  the  soul  follow  the  example  of  the  growth 
of  the  various  members  which  compose  the  body,  and 
which,  as  years  roll  on,  become  ever  stronger  and  more 
perfect,  but  which,  notwithstanding  their  growth  and 
developed  beauty,  always  remain  the  same." 

Avoiding  profane  and  vain  babblings.— Tlie 
Apostle  has  before  in  this  Epistle  warned  Timothy 
against  these  useless,  profitless  discussions.  Anything 
like  theological  controversy  and  discussion  seems  to 
have  been  distasteful  to  St.  Paul,  as  tending  to  aug- 
ment dissension  and  hatred,  and  to  exalt  into  an  undue 
prominence  mere  words  and  phrases. 

Oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called.— 
Rather,  of  Icnowledge  falsely  so  called.  These  "oppo- 
sitions "  have  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  a  special 
allusion  to  some  of  the  Gnostic  theories  of  the  oppo- 
sition between  the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  of  which 
peculiar  school,  later,  Marcion  was  the  great  teacher.  It 
is  hardly  likely  that  any  definite  Gnostic  teaching  had  as 
yet  been  heard  in  Ephesus,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  seeds  of  much  of  the  Gnosticism  of  the  next  century 
were — when  St.  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy — being  then 
sown  in  some  of  the  Jewish  schools  of  Ephesus  and  the 
neighbouring  cities.  (Comp.  the  allusions  to  these 
Jewish  and  cabalistic  schools  in  St.  Paul's  letter  to  tho 
Colossian  Church. )  The  "  oppositions  "  here  may  be  un- 
derstood as  referring  generally  to  the  theories  of  tho 
false  teachers,  who  were  undermining  the  doctrine  of 
St.  Paul  as  taught  liy  Timothy. 

(-1)  Which  some  professing  have  erred  con- 
cerning the  faith.— In  this  must  probably  wild  and 
visionary  "  knowledge "  the  false  teachers  and  their 
hearers  sought  salvation  and  a  rule  of  life,  and 
miserably  failed  in  their  efforts.  The  result  with  them 
was,  that  they  lost  all  hold  on  the  great  doctrine  of 
Faitli  in  a  crucified  &iviour. 

Grace  be  with  thee.— Tlie  ancient  authorities  are 
almost  equally  divided  between  "  with  thee  "  and  "  with 
you."  the  congregation.  The  public  nature  of  so  many 
of  the  directions  and  instructions  contained  in  this 
Epistle  account  for  the  absence  of  those  ])rivate  greet- 
ings which  we  find  in  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to 
Timothy. 


•21.5 


EXCURSUS    0]^   IfOTES    TO    I.  TIMOTHY. 


ON    A    SUGGESTED    INTERPRETATION    OF    CHAPTER    v.    25. 


It  has  been  sngpcested,  with  considerable  ingenuity, 
that  verse  25  belougs  to,  and  is  an  introduction  of,  a 
now  division  of  the  Epistle,  whei'e  the  Apostle  gives 
Timothy  instnictions  respecting  certain  teachings  to  be 
addressed  to  different  ranks  in  the  Christian  society  of 
Ephesus.  The  connection  with  verse  24  then  would  be 
— as  it  is  in  the  case  of  sins,  so,  too.  it  is  in  the  case  of 
good  works.  These  latter  are  not  always  on  the  surface 
distinguishable.  Some,  of  course,  are  manifest,  but 
there  is  many  a  noble  life  the  secrets  of  which  will 
only  come  to  light  at  the  last  day — "  they  cannot  be 
hid"  THEN.  And  this  is  too  often  the  case  with  that 
unhappy  class  (the  slaves),  "  those  under  the  yoke,"  of 
whom  the  Apostle  was  about  to  speak  (chap.  \\.  1,  2). 
It  is  possible  that  St.  Paul  meant  here  to  turn  Timothy's 
attention  especially  to  those  in  slavery,  that  ho  might 
diligently  search  out  the  noblest  and  most  devoted, 
and  ordain  (see  verse  22)  them  to  perform  sacred  duties, 
80  that  each  class — the  .slaves  as  well  as  the  rich  and 
well-l)om — should  possess  representatives  among  tlie 
ordained  ministers.  Tliis  is  at  least  possililo  when  we 
consider  the  vast  number  of  slaves — not  a  fow  of  thoin. 
too,  possessing  high  culture — in  the  world  known  by 
St.  Paul  and  Timothy. 
In  connection  with,  but  not  necessarily  linked  with, 


this  thought  is  an  interpretation  of  the  general  subject 
matter  of  the  sixth  chapter,  which  ^iews  the  whole  as 
instnictions  to  the  three  broad  divisions  into  which 
Christian  society  of  the  first  century  may  be  said  to 
have  been  roughly  di^nded  : — 

(1)  Slaves.     .     .     Chaps,   v.    25— vi.    1 — 3.      In- 

structions respecting  slaves, 
who  possessed  nothing  of 
their  own. 
Chap.  vi.  4,  5.  The  allusion  to 
the  false  teachers,  whose 
teaching  respecting  slavery 
was  very  different  from  his. 

(2)  Middle  Class.  Chap.  ^^.  6 — 16.    St.  Paul  intro- 

duces the  warning  against 
covetousness  and  the  wish  to 
be  rich,  the  special  danger  of 
the  middle  class — the  free, 
but  who  were  the  reverse  of 
wealthy — to  which  order 
Timothy  belonged.  Then 
followed 
(3j  The  Rich  .  Chap.  vi.  17 — 19.  Special  instruc- 
tions to  the  rich  and  the 
highly  born. 


216 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO 


TIMOTHY. 


I.  Contents  of  the  Epistle.— Like  the  First 
Epistle,  the  Second  Letter  pi-eseuts  no  regular  plan. 

1. — It  commences  with  expression  of  deep  love  to 
Timothy  (chap.  i.  1 — 5) ; 

2. — And  then  passes  on  to  exhortation  to  a  fearless  and 
faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  (chap.  i.  6 — 141. 

3. — These  exhortations  are  interrupted  by  the  Apostle's 
memory  of  many  faithless  ones,  and  of  one  f aitlif ul 
friend  (chap.  i.  15 — 18). 

4. — Tlie  Apostle  renews  his  exhortations  to  Timothy  to 
a  brave  endurance,  even  if  suffering  come  on  him. 
He  tells  his  disciple  Timothy  what  has  nerved 
him,  Paul,  to  endure  to  the  end.  Then  he  renews 
his  pleading,  that  Timothy  should  be  careful  in 
guarding  against  a  religion  of  mere  woi'ds — in- 
stancing what  such  a  teaching  might  end  in 
(chap.  ii.  1 — 26). 

5. — Again  St.  Paul  interrupts  his  exhortation  by 
writing  down  his  sad  forebodings  of  evil  times 
(chap.  iii.  1 — 9). 

6. — Then  he  encourages  his  disciple  by  recounting  his 
own  suffering  and  deliverances.  Timothy  too 
must  suffer,  only  let  him  remain  steadfast  in  the 
faith  (chap.  iii.  10—17). 

7. — The  Apostle  closes  with  a  solemn  command  that 
liis  disciple  shoidd  tea<*li  earnestly,  for  he,  the 
old  master,  was  at  the  end  of  his  coui'se.  He 
would,  if  possible,  see  his  dear  friend  once  more, 
so  he  prays  him  to  come  speedily,  well  nigh  all 
liaving  deserted  him.  He  ends  with  a  touching 
reminiscence  of  his  first  trial  in  the  Roman  court 
of  justice,  and  with  a  few  greetings  (chap.  iv. 
1—22). 

This  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy  has  been  well 
termed  the  "  will  or  testament "  of  the  master, 
addressed  to  liis  favourite  disciple,  and  containing  his 
last  wishes,  written  as  it  was  under  the  shadow  of 
approaching  death.  It  is  full  of  light  and  sliade ;  the 
tone  of  the  exliortation,  the  warning  and  the  encourage- 
ment constantly  changing.  Now  tlie  words  are  sad  witli 
a  strange  parting  solemnity,  now  bright  with  tlio 
glorious  sunshine  of  the  Apostle's  immortal  hopes. 
Yet  in  every  line  of  this  most  touching  of  all  the 
Pauline  writings  we  cannot  fail  to  perceive  something 
of  the  gloom  whieli,  owing  to  desertion  of  so  many 
friends,  had  saddened  that  gallant,  loving  heart  of 
St.  Paul.  ^  ^ 


He  was  well-nigh  quite  alone,  almost  fi-iendless  in 
the  midst  of  mortal  foes,  an  old  man,  worn  out  with  toil, 
weakened  by  illness  and  privation,  expecting  a  death 
of  agony ;  and  yet  in  spite  of  his  surroundings,  in  s))ite 
of  his  own  seeming  failure,  in  spite  of  his  own  baffled 
hopes,  he  writes  to  his  best-loved  disciple  in  sure  con- 
fidence, that  he,  Timothy,  will  war  the  same  warfare  as 
his  master  Paul  had  warred ;  that  he,  Timothy, 
thoiigh  by  nature  perhaps  timid  and  shrinking,  will, 
undeterred  by  dangers,  sufferings,  and  the  sad  prospect 
of  a  painful  death,  bravely  carry  on  the  work  he  has 
seen  his  master  do,  and  for  the  sake  of  which  he  has 
seen  his  master  die.  He  writes  to  him  in  .sure  con- 
fidence that  the  teaching  respecting  the  mystery  of 
the  atoning  blood,  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  the 
life  lived  by  Christ,  the  sum  of  the  sacred  deposit  of 
the  Catholic  Faith  committed  to  his  charge,  would  be 
preserved  intact  and  safe  by  him,  and  by  him  then 
handed  down,  when  his  life-work  was  done,  to  other 
faithful  hands. 

The  Epistle,  though  ringing  with  a  ring  of  hope,  yet 
paints  the  future  of  the  Church  in  sombre  colours. 
The  enemies  would  increase,  and  the  love  of  many 
would  wax  cold,  and  in  coming  years  the  man  of  God 
would  be  exposed  to  persecution,  hatred,  and  to  cruel 
suffering:  and  yet  though  all  this  is  found  in  tliis 
strangely  touching  little  writing,  no  one  wlio  has  read 
these  dying  words  of  St.  Paul  can  lay  the  Letter  down 
without  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  for  tliis  Epistle  of 
immortal  hope. 

II.  Date  of  the  Epistle.— The  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy  was  written  Ijy  St.  Paul  from  Rome  during 
his  second  imprisonment  in  that  city,  about  the  year 
A.D.  66.  We  may  suppose  that  shortly  after  the  writing 
of  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy  the  Apostle  had  been 
arrested  at  Nicopolis,  "  the  city  of  victory."  in  Epirus 
(see  Titus  iii.  12).  probably  on  the  capital  charge  of  being 
connected  with  the  burning  of  Rome  (A.D.  64),  and 
after  a  short  delay  had  been  conveye<l  to  Italy.  The 
words  of  chap.  iv.  16,  refer  to  the  first  hearing  of  liis 
cause,  either  by  Nero  himself,  or,  more  probably,  by  the 
infamous  Tigellinus,  tlie  Privtorian  Prefect.  It  was 
no  doubt  shortly  after  this  first  hearing,  that  St.  Paul, 
feeling  that  the  end  for  him  was  at  hand,  wrote  tliis 
Second  Epistle  to  Timothy.  The  exact  date  of  the 
martyr's  passing  to  his  rest  is  unknown.  The  last  hour 
probably  came  before  he  looked  for  it.  for.  notwithstand- 
ing the  urgent  summons,  no  tradition  speaks  of  Timothy 
again  looking  on  the  face  of  his  beloved  master. 


!17 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    OP    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO 

TIMOTHY. 


CHAPTER  L— n'  Paul,  au  apostle  of 
Cha  i  1  2  St  *^®^"^  Christ  bj  the  will  of 
Paul's  address  God,  according  to  the  pro- 
and  greeting  to  mige  of  life  which  is  in 
iimothy.  ^j^^.^^  j^^^^^  (2)  to  Timothy, 

my  dearly  beloved  son :    Grace,  mercy, 
and  peace,  from  God   the  Father  and 


Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  (^)  I  thank  God, 
whom  I  serve  from  my 
forefathers  with  pure  con- 
science, that  without  ceas- 
ing I  have  remembrance  of 
thee  in  my  prayers  night  and  day; 
(*^  greatly  desii-ing   to   see  thee,  being 


Chap.  i.  3  — 
5.  His  trust 
in  Timothy's 
faith. 


(1)  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the 
will  of  God. — As  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
the  Ephesians,  and  Colossians,  he  ascribes  his  apostle- 
ship  to  the  sovereign  will  and  election  of  God.  Ajmi't 
from  any  merit  or  work  of  his  own,  God  chose  him 
for  the  office.  He  neither  aspired  to  it  nor  wished 
for  it.  The  reference  to  the  Almighty  will  in  this 
Epistle  is  singularly  in  harmony  with  tlie  sj^irit  of  calm 
resignation  which  brcatlies  tlirough  it.  It  was  that 
sovereign  will  which  chose  him  as  an  Apostle,  wliich 
guided  him  all  through  that  eventful  life  of  his,  and 
whicli  brought  him  to  the  prison  of  the  Caesar,  where, 
face  to  face  with  deatli,  lie  wrote  this  last  letter  to  his 
friend  and  disciple  Timothy. 

According  to  the  promise  of  life  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.— The  Greek  word  rendered  "accord- 
ing to"  should  here  be  translated  "for  the  promise 
of  life."  This  preposition  here  denotes  the  object  or 
intention  of  his  ap))oiutraent  as  apostle,  which  was  to 
make  known,  to  pidilish  aln-oad,  the  prouiise  of  eternal 
life.  Almost  the  tirst  words  of  an  Epistle,  written  evi- 
dently under  the  expectation  of  death,  dwell  up(m  the 
})romise  of  life — the  life  wliich  knows  no  ending — the 
ife  in  Christ.  The  central  point  of  all  Evangelical 
pn^acliing  was  the  true,  blessed  life  eternal,  that  life 
Avhich.  in  the  ])erson  of  the  Redeemer,  was  revealed 
to  man,  and  whicli,  through  the  Redeemer,  is  offered  to 
the  sinner. 

(2)  To  Timothy,  my  dearly  beloved  son.— 
More  accurately,  (my)  beloved  son.  The  words  used  in 
the  address  of  the  First  Epistle  were  "  my  own  son  " 
{■yv-qaiif  TfKVif).  The  change  in  the  words  was  probably 
owing  to  St.  Paul's  feeling  that,  in  spite  of  his  earnest 
request  for  Timothy  to  come  to  him  with  all  speed,  these 
lines  were  in  reality  his  farewell  to  his  trusted  friend 
and  moi-e  tbau  son,  hence  the  loving  word. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  .  .  .—See  Notes  on 
1  Tim.  i.  2. 

(^)  I  thank  God.— The  exact  reference  of  these 
•words  of  tliankfulness  on  the  part  of  St.  Paul  has 
been  the  subject  of  mnch  argument.  Although  the 
sense  is  a  little  obscured  by  the  long  parenthesis  which 
intervenes,  it  seems  clear  that  St.  Paul's  expression  of 
thankfulness  was  for  his  rememl)rance  of  the  unfeigned 
faith  of  Timothy  and  Lois  and  Eunice  (see  verse  5 1. 
The  whole  passage   might  bo  written  thns,  "  I  thank 


218 


God,  whom  I  sei-ve  with  the  devotion  of  my  forefathers 
with  a  pure  conscience  (as  it  happens  that  I  have  thee 
uppermost  in  my  thought  and  prayers  night  and 
day,  longing  to  see  thee,  being  mindful  of  thy  tear.s,  in 
order  that  I  may  be  filled  with  joy),  when  I  call  to 
remembrance  the  unfeigned  faith  which  is  in  thee, 
which  dwelt  first  in  tliy  grandmother  Lois  and  thy 
motlier  Eunice,"  &c. 

Whom  I  serve  from  my  forefathers.— Tliat 
is,  with  the  devotion  and  love  I  have  inherited  as  a 
sacred  family  tradition.  St.  Paul  was  here  referring,  not 
to  the  great  forefathers  of  the  Jewish  race — Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  the  patriarchs — but  to  the  members  of  his  own 
family,  who,  he  states,  were  religious,  faithful  persons. 
Van  Oosterzee  strangely  concludes  :  "Dass  Paulus  diese 
historische  koutinuitiit  der  waliren  Gottesverehmng 
in  seinem  geschlecht  um  so  holier  schatzt,  da  er  selbst 
stirbt,  ohne  kinder  zu  hinterlassen  !" 

With  pure  conscience.— Literally,  in  pure  con- 
science. The  spiritual  spliere  in  which  St.  Paul,  as  a  Jew 
first,  then  as  a  Christian,  served  God.  (See  Notes  on 
ITim.  i.5.) 

That  without  ceasing  I  have  remembrance 
of  thee. — Better  rendered,  n.s-  unceasliKj  is  the  remem- 
hrance  u'hich  .  .  .  This  long  parenthetical  sentence 
leads  up  to  the  point  for  which  St.  Paul  was  so  deeply 
thankful  to  God ;  namely,  the  true  faith  of  Timothy  him- 
self. These  unstudied  words  tell  us  something  of  tho 
inner  life  of  such  a  one  as  St.  Paul,  how  ceaselessly, 
uuweariedly  he  prayed,  night  as  well  as  day.  The  object, 
too,  of  those  constant  prayers  of  St.  Paul  was  not  St.  Paul 
but  Timothy. 

(*)  Greatly  desiring  to  see  thee.— In  view 
of  that  violent  death  which,  at  this  time  a  close  prisoner, 
lie  .«aw  was  imminent,  the  memory,  too.  of  the  tears  of 
his  friend  made  him  long  yet  more  earnestly  to  see  him 
once  again  on  earth. 

Being  mindful  of  thy  tears. — Shed  probably 
by  Timolhy  when  liis  aged  master  had  last  taken 
leave  of  him.  It  is  likely  that  tJie  clouds  of  danger 
which  were  gathering  thickly  round  St.  Paul  towards 
the  close  of  his  career  had  oppressed  the  brave-hearted 
Apostle  with  a  foreboding  of  coming  e^•il,  and  had  in- 
vested the  last  parting  with  Timothy  with  circumstances 
of  unusual  solemnity.  St.  Paul  had  affected  others 
besides  Timothy  with  the  same  great  love,  so  that  tears 


Timothy  is  tirged  to 


IT.   TIMOTHY,    I. 


Courage  and  Endurance. 


mindful  of  tliy  tears,  tliat  I  maybe  filled 
with  joy  ;  ^^^  when  I  call  to  reniembi-ance 
the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee,  w^hicli 
dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois, 
and  thy  mother  Eunice ;  and  I  am  per- 
suaded that  in  thee  also.     ^^^  Wherefore 


I  put  thee  in  remembrance  that  thou 
stir    up   the  gift  of   God,  ^,        .    ^ 

1  .   1    ■■■ .       .       °.i  1        ,1        Chap.  i.    6—10. 

which    IS   m    thee   by  the  He  urges  him 

J)Utting    on    of    my   hands,    to  rekindle  that 

i  (7)  For  God  hath  not  given  ^^'*^- 
us  the  spirit  of  fear;  but  of  power,  and  of 


wore  shed  by  sti-ong  mou  when  he  Ijade  them  farewell. 
(See  tlie  account  of  the  leaA'e-takiug  of  the  Epliesian 
elders  at  Miletus,  Acts  xx.  37,  38—"  And  tliey  all 
wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck,  and  kissed  him, 
sorrowing  most  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake, 
that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more.") 

There  is  no  necessity  for  Hofmaun's  singular,  but 
rather  far-fetclied,  theory  here  tliat  the  tears  were 
simply  an  expression  for  Timothy's  intense  sorrow  at 
liearing  of  the  Apostle's  arrest  and  close  imprisonment, 
which  sorrow  St.  Paul  was  made  acquainted  with  in  a 
letter.  The  tears,  according  to  Hofmann,  were  those 
"  welche  Timotheus  brietlicli  geweint  hat." 

That  I  may  be  filled,  with  joy.— When  he 
meets  Timothy  again. 

(5)  When  I  call  to  remembrance  the  unfeigned 
faith  that  is  in  thee.— It  is  for  tlie  "  unfeigned 
faith"  which  he  was  confident  dwelt  still  in  his  dearest 
and  best- loved  companion,  whom  he  had  intrusted 
with  the  care  of  the  Ephesian  church,  that  he  thanked 
God.     (See  verse  3.) 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  some  special  instance  of 
this  unfeigned  faith  on  the  part  of  the  chief  pastor  of 
Ephesus  liad  come  to  the  Apostle's  knowledge,  and 
clieer'ed  that  great  loving  heart  of  his  while  he  languished 
in  prison. 

Which  dwelt  first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois, 
and  thy  mother  Eunice  .  .  . — "We  know,  in  the 
course  of  liis  second  missionary  journey  (Acts  x^^.  1 — 3) 
St.  Paul  was  brought  into  contact  with  this  pious 
family  at  Lystra.  It  has  been  suggested  that  Lois, 
Eunice,  and  Timothy  were  kinsfolk  of  St.  Paul,  hence 
his  intimacy  with  the  family,  and  his  knowledge  of 
their  faith ;  hence,  too,  perhaps,  his  devoted  and  un- 
broken frieudshi])  for  Timothy.  We  are  told  (Acts 
xvi.  I)  tliat  this  Eunice  was  a  Jewess,  married  to  a 
Greek.  Lystra  is  no  great  distance  from  Tarsus — 
whence  St.  Paul  came.  The  supposition  is  just  pos- 
sible ;  but  it  is  only  an  ingenious  thought,  there  being 
no  cLata  to  support  it.  Of  the  names — Lois  is  the 
same  with  the  more  familiar  Lais ;  Eunice  is  an  equi- 
valent of  the  Latin  Victoria. 

(t5)  Wherefore  I  put  thee  in  remembrance. — 
Wherefore  [seeing  that  I  am  .so  thoromjhhj  persuaded 
of  thy  faith)  I  am  determined  to  put  thee  in  remem- 
brance ...  It  seems,  from  the  general  tenor  of  the 
Epistle,  that  Timothy  was  deeply  east  down  by  the 
imprisonment  of  St.  Paid.  Timothy,  as  well  as  the 
martyr  liimself  was  conscious  that  the  end  of  that 
great  and  glorious  career  of  his  old  master  was  at  last 
come ;  and  the  heart  of  the  younger  man  sank — as  well 
it  might — under  the  prospect  of  having  to  fight  the 
Lord's  battle  at  Ephesus— that  famous  centre  of  Greek 
culture  and  of  Oriental  luxury — against  enemies  without 
and  enemies  within,  alone,  and  without  the  help  of  the 
great  genius,  the  master  mind,  and  the  indomitable 
courage  of  the  man  wlio  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  liad 
been  the  guiding  spirit  of  Gentile  Christianity,  and  his 
dear  and  intimate  friend.  So  St.  Paul  now.  persuaded 
that  f.aith  l)urned  in  his  disciple's  heart  with  the  old 
steady  flame,  but  knowing,  too,  that  ho  was  di.spirited 


and  hea^-y-hearted,  was  minded,  if  possible,  to  cheer  up 
the  fainting  heart,  and  to  inspire  it  with  fresh  courage 
to  fight  the  Master's  fight  when  he  (St.  Paul)  had  left 
the  scene. 

That  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  which 
is  in  thee  by  the  putting  on  of  my  hands.— 
The  Greek  word  rendered  "  stir  up "  literally  means 
to  hindle  up,  to  fan  into  flame.  Chrysostoni  brings 
home  the  great  lesson  taught  by  this  word,  which  belongs 
to  all  Christ's  people  alike,  when  he  quotes  1  Thess.  v. 
19,  "  Quench  not  the  Spirit ; "'  for  it  is  in  our  power  both 
to  quench  this  Spirit  and  also  to  fan  it  into  flame.  The 
"  gift  of  God  "  here  alluded  to  is  that  special  gift  of 
the  Spirit  conferred  on  Timothy  at  his  ordination,  and 
which  included,  in  his  case,  powers  necessar}'  for  the 
performance  of  the  many  and  important  duties  to 
which  he  was  in  the  providence  of  God  called,  especially 
those  gifts  of  ruling  and  teaching  which  are  necessary 
for  the  chief  pastor's  office.  This  "  gift  of  God  "  was 
conferred  through  the  medium  of  the  hands  laid  on 
Timothy's  head  at  liis  ordination  at  Lysti-a.  In  this 
act  the  presbytery  at  Lystra  were  joined  with  the 
Apostle.  (See  1  Tim.  iv.  14.)  We  know  that  St.  Paul 
frequently  uses  for  his  illustrations  of  Christian  life 
scenes  well  known  among  the  Greek  heathen  nations  of 
the  Old  World,  such  as  the  Greek  athletic  games.  Is 
it  not  possible  (the  suggestion  is  Wordsworth's)  that 
the  Apostle  while  here  chai-giug  Timothy  to  take  care 
that  the  sacred  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost  did  not  languish 
in  his  heart,  while  urging  him  to  watch  the  flame,  to 
keep  it  burning  brightly,  to  fan  the  flame  if  burning 
dimly — is  it  not  possible  that  St.  Paul  had  in  mind 
the  solemn  words  of  the  Roman  law,  "  Let  them 
watch  the  eternal  flame  of  the  public  hearth"?  (Cicero, 
de  Legibus,  xi.  8.)  The  failure  of  the  flame  was  re- 
gai'ded  as  an  omen  of  dire  misfortune,  and  the 
watchers,  if  they  neglected  the  duty,  were  punished 
with  the  severest  penalties. 

(')  For  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of 
fear. — Or  better,  perhaps,  the  spirit  of  cou-nrdice — 
that  cowardice  which  manifests  itself  by  a  timidity  and 
shrinking  in  the  daily  difficulties  which  the  Christian 
meets  with  in  the  warfare  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 
(Comp.  John  xiv.  27.  and  Rev.  xxi.  8.)  "  Hath  not  given 
us,"  in  this  particular  case,  refers  to  the  time  when 
Timothy  and  St.  Paul  were  admitted  into  the  ministry. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  no  Spirit,  be  it  remembered,  wliich 
works  cowardice  in  men.  But  the  reference  is  also  a  far 
broader  one  than  merely  to  the  Holy  Spirit  conferred 
on  ministers  of  the  Lord  at  ordination.  It  is  a  gi-avo 
reminder  to  Christians  of  every  age  and  degree  that  all 
cowardice,  all  dread  of  danger,  all  slirinkiug  from 
doing  one's  duty  for  fear  of  man's  displeasure,  proceeds 
not  from  the  Spirit  of  God. 

But  of  power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound 
mind.— Instead  of  rendering  the  Greek  word  by  "  a 
sound  mind."  it  were  better  to  substitute  the  trans- 
lation, self-control.  The  Holy  Spirit  works,  in  those 
to  whom  it  is  given,  power,  or  .ifrcngth.  to  fight  the 
fight  of  God,  power,  not  only  patiently  to  endure,  but 
also  to  strike  good  blows  for   Christ — the  power,  for 


219 


lie  is  to  remeinher  what 


II.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


Goi}  has  loorhed  for  His  own. 


love,  and  of  a  sound  mind.  <^^  Be  not 
thou  therefore  ashamed  of  the  testimony 
of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me  his  prisoner : 
but  be  thou  partaker  of  the  afflictions 
of  the  gospel  according  to  the  power  of 
God ;  ^'-'^  who  hath  saved  us,  and  called 
-MS  with  an  holy  calling,  not  according 


to  our  works,  but  accoi-ding  to  his  ovm 
purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us 
in  Christ  Jesus  before  the  world  began, 
(^"^  but  is  now  made  manifest  by  the 
appearing  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
who  hath  abolished  death,  and  hath 
brought  life  and  immortality  to   light 


instance,  of  steadfastness  in  resisting'  temptation,  the 
strong  will  which  guides  other  weaker  ones  along  the 
narrow  way  "  of  love."  It  works,  too,  in  those  to 
whom  God  gives  tlie  blessed  gift,  that  strange,  sweet 
love  for  others  which  leads  to  noble  deeds  of  self- 
surreuder — that  love  which  never  shrinks  from  a 
sacrifice  which  may  benefit  the  friend  or  even  the 
neighl)Oiir.  And  lastly,  the  Spirit  works  in  us  "  self- 
control  " — selbst-beherrschung — that  power  which,  in 
the  man  or  woman  living  in  and  mixing  with  the 
world,  and  exposed  to  its  varied  temptations  and 
pleasures,  is  able  to  regulate  and  to  keep  in  a  wise  sub- 
jection, passions,  desires,  impulses. 

(8)  Be  not  thou  therefore  ashamed  of  the 
testimony  of  our  Lord.— Seeing,  then — remember- 
ing, then,  that  God  gave  you  and  me  (notice  the 
beautiful  courtesy  of  the  old  martyr  waiting  for  death, 
death  the  human  guerdon  of  his  fearless  life,  coupling, 
as  he  has  been  doing,  his  sorrow-stricken,  dispirited 
friend  with  himself,  whom  no  danger,  no  failure  had 
ever  atfectedi — remembering,  then,  the  spirit  of  power, 
love,  and  self-control  given  to  us,  do  not  thou  be 
ashamed  of  the  testimony  of  the  Lord.  This  "  testi- 
mony "  of  which  Timothy  was  not  to  be  ashamed,  of 
course  includes  the  sufferings  and  the  shame  of  Christ. 
In  these,  before  mocking,  scornful  men,  must  Timothy, 
as  an  example  to  the  ilock,  rather  glory ;  but  "  the  testi- 
mony "  signifies  much  more  than  what  relates  only  to 
the  Passion  story.  The  Christian,  instead  of  being 
ashamed  of  his  "  profession,"  must  before  the  world 
show  fearlessly  that  its  hopes  and  its  promises  ax'e  his 
most  precious  treasure. 

Nor  of  me  his  prisoner.— Nor  must  Timothy 
eitlicr  then,  or  in  days  to  come,  bo  afraid  of  confessing 
before  men  that  he  had  been  the  disciple  and  friend 
of  the  prisoner  St.  Paul,  who  had  paid  so  dearly  for 
tlio  courage  of  his  opinions.  Nor  Timothy,  nor  any 
Christian  must  slirink  from  openly  espousing  the  un- 
popular cause  of  the  Crucified,  or  from  publicly  declar- 
ing their  sympathy  with  its  hated  mai-tyrs. 

But  bo  thou  partaker  of  the  afflictions  of 
the  gospel. — More  accurately  rendered,  but  rather 
suffer  ajjlictlnns  for  the  yospel.  But,  on  tlie  contrary, 
instead  of  injuring  the  good  cause  by  faint-hearted  con- 
duct, shoidd  Timothy  rather  l)o  ready  to  suffer,  if  need 
bo,  with  St.  Paul,  ready  to  bear  some  shame  witli  him, 
ready  to  incur,  perhaps,  sore  danger  for  the  gospel's 
sake ;  and  then  St.  Paul,  emphasising  his  words,  and 
strengtlwMiing  with  a  new  strength  his  argument  and 
his  exhortation,  adds.  "  in  accordance  with  the  power  of 
God  " — yes,  join  with  me  in  suffering,  if  needs  be,  for 
the  gospel.  Mighty  and  pitiful  was  God's  power 
towards  us ;  great,  surely,  in  proportion  should  be  our 
readiness  to  suffer  in  return,  if  He  asks  this — as  He  is 
now  doing  from  you  and  me — at  our  hands. 

According  to  the  power  of  God.— What  power 
of  God  ?  has  been  asked.  Not  according  to  the  power 
we  get  from  God,  but  according  to  the  power  which 
God  has  displayed  towards  us  in  our  calling  and  in  our 
marvellous  salvation.     In  other  words,  God,  with  great 


power,  has  succoured  us ;  surely  we  may  be  confident 
that  Ho  will  never  leave  us,  never  desert  us,  but  in  the 
hour  of  our  sorest  trouble  incurred  for  Him  will  help  us, 
and  will  bring  us  safely  through  it.  So  Chrysostom,  who, 
while  asserting  that  suffering  will  be  borne,  but  not  in 
our  strength  but  in  God's,  says,  "  Consider  how  thou 
hast  been  saved,  and  how  thou  hast  been  called  ;  "  infer- 
ring that  He  who  has  done  so  great  things  for  man,  in 
his  calling  and  in  his  salvation,  mil  never  let  him  want 
for  strength. 

(9)  Who  hath  saved  us.— St.  Paul  now  specifies 
the  manner  in  which  the  power  of  God  has  been  dis- 
played towards  us.  This  is  an  inclusive  word,  and 
comprehends  all  God's  dealings  with  us  in  respect  to 
our  redemption.  (See  Notes  on  Titus  iii.  5.)  Again,  as 
so  frequently  in  these  Pastoral  Epistles,  is  the  First 
Person  of  the  blessed  Trinity  referred  to  as  the  Saviour. 

Us. — Paul  and  Timothy,  and  all  who  believe  on  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  are  included  under  "  us." 

And  called  us  with  an  holy  calling,— Tliis 
explains  the  means  by  which  God  was  pleased  to  save 
St.  Paid  and  Timothy.  He  called  them.  He— God  the 
Father,  to  whom  the  act  of  calling  is  regularly  ascribed 
(Gal.  i.  6) ;  and  the  calling  is  said  to  be  "  holy,"  because 
it  is  a  summons  to  share  in  the  blessed  communion 
of  Christ  (1  Cor.  i.  9).  There  is  an  inner  as  well 
as  an  outer  calling ;  the  "  outer "  comes  through  the 
preaching  of  the  word,  the  inner  by  means  of  the 
voice  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  heart. 

Not  according  to  our  works,  but  according 
to  his  own  purpose  and  grace. — We  are  told  in 
the  next  clatise  that  "the  grace  "was  given  before  the 
ivorkl  began ;  therefore  "  our  works  "  could  have  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  divine  purpose  which  was  re- 
solved on  by  God.  As  Chrysostom  observes,  "  No  one 
counselling  with  Him,  but  of  His  own  purpose,  the  pur- 
pose originating  in  His  own  goodness."  Cahnn  pithily 
remarks,  "  If  God  chose  us  before  the  creation  of  the 
woi-ld.  He  could  not  have  considered  the  question  of 
our  works,  which  could  have  had  no  existence  at  a 
period  when  we  ourselves  were  not."  "  But  according 
to "  {in  pursuance  of)  "  His  o\vn  puiijoses,"  with 
emphasis  on  "  own  " — that  purpose  which  was  prompted 
by  nothing  outward,  but  which  arose  solely  out  of 
the  divine  goodwill,  or  goodness,  or  love.  (See  Eph. 
i.  11.)  The  "grace"  here  is  almost  equivalent  to  the 
"  mercy "  of  Tit.  iii.  5,  "  according  to  His  mercy  He 
saved  us." 

Which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before 
the  world  began.— This  grace  was  "  given,"  not 
"  destined,"  to  us.  It  was  given  to  us,  in  thejierson  of 
Jesus  Christ,  before  time  was,  and  when  our  Redeemer, 
in  the  fulness  of  time,  appeared,  then  was  it  made 
manifest.  "  Befoi-e  the  world  began  " — quite  literally, 
"  before  eternal  times ;"  tlie  meaning  here  is  "  from 
all  eternity,"  before  times  marked  by  the  lapse  of  un- 
numbered ages. 

(10)  But  is  now  made  manifest. — The  grace, 
a  gift  given  to  us  in  Christ  from  all  eternity,  but 
hidden   during  unnumbered  ages,  till   the  fulness  of 


220 


Paul  is  not  ashamed  of  the 


II.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


Cause  for  which  he  is  suffering. 


tlirougli  the  gospel :  ^^^^  whereunto  I  am 
Chap.  i.  11,  12.  appointed  a  preacher,  and 
The  Apostle  an  apostle,  and  a  teacher 
Christ's  herald.  ^^  ^^^^   Gentiles.      (1-)  For 


1  Or,  trusted. 


the  which  cause  I  also  suffer  these 
things:  nevertheless  I  am  not  ashamed: 
for  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,^  and 
am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep 


time — the  appointed  time — arrived;  the  "uo\v,"wheu 
it  was  made  manifest. 

By  the  appearing  of  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  — The  simple  act  of  the  Incarnation  by  no 
means  covers  the  "  appearing."  The  "  appearing " 
(Epiphany)  liero  iuchides  not  only  the  birth,  but  the 
whole  manifestation  of  Christ  ou  earth,  including  the 
Passion  and  the  Resurrection. 

Who  hath  abolished  death, — More  accurately, 
when  he  abolished,  or,  made  of  none  effect.  The  Greek 
word  thus  rendered,  signifies  that  by  the  action  of 
the  Lord,  death  was  rendered  inoperative,  compara- 
tively harmless — its  sting  was  removed.  The  "  death  " 
thus  made  of  none  effect  has  a  far  more  extended 
moaning  than  that  separation  of  soul  and  body  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  calling  death.  It  signifies  that  awful 
punishment  of  sin  which  is  best  described  as  the  exact 
op])osite  to  "  eternal  life."  The  death  we  are  acquainted 
with  by  sad  experience  here  is  only  the  forerunner  of 
the  death  eternal.  Already  to  the  believers  in  Jesus 
this  death  of  the  body  counts  for  nothing  ;  the  time  wiU 
come  when  it  will  even  exist  no  more. 

And  hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light  through  the  gospel.— The  Greek  word  ren- 
dered "immortality"  is  more  accurately  translated  by 
incorrupt io7i.  ''  Life  "  here  is  that  true  life,  in  its  highest 
and  completest  sense,  which  includes  the  most  perfect 
happiness — a  happiness  a  foretaste  of  which  is  enjoyed 
ou  this  side  the  grave  ;  over  it  (this  bliss)  death  now  has 
no  power — indeed,  death  is  the  gate,  so  to  speak,  through 
which  we  pass  to  its  complete  enjoyment.  St.  Paul  says 
Christ  "  brought  to  light  "  life  and  incorruption,  not 
only  from  having  imparted  to  His  own  these  glorious 
and  divine  attributes,  but  chiefly  because  He  has 
displayed  (or  manifested)  the  life  and  incorruption  in 
His  own  resurrection  body  before  our  very  eyes.  When 
St.  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy,  we  must  remember,  many 
an  eye-witness  of  the  resurrection  glories  still  Avalked  on 
earth  ;  with  these  must  St.  Paul,  and  Timothy  too,  often 
have  conversed.  Tims  it  can.  with  all  literal  truth,  be 
predicated  of  Jesus  Christ  that  He  brought  life  and  in- 
corruption out  of  that  darkness  in  which,  as  far  as  men 
were  concerned,  these  things  lay,  into  the  dear  and 
bright  light  of  day.  And  as  the  hearers  of  Christ  and 
the  eye-witnesses  of  His  resurrection  were,  when  we 
consider  this  great  mass  of  mankind,  comparatively  few, 
the  medium  by  which  these  glorious  truths  were  made 
known  to  men  was  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in  which 
gospel  the  Holy  Ghost  had  eushriued  both  the  words 
and  the  story  of  Christ. 

Ou  the  Greek  text  of  this  grand  verse  EUicott 
observes  that  it  is  remarkable  tluit  "  Death,"  being 
then  a  known  and  ruling  power,  has  in  the  original 
the  article,  while  "  Life  "  and  "  Incorruption,"  being 
then  only  recently  revealed  and  unknown  powers,  save 
to  few,  are  written  without  the  article. 

(11)  Whereunto  I  am  appointed  a  preacher 
•  .  •  . — Wliereunto — that  is,  to  preach  the  gospel 
referred  to  in  the  previous  verse.  (On  these  titles  see 
1  Tim.  i.  12;  ii.  7.)  In  all  liis  deep  liumiliation,  a  soli- 
tary pri-souer  awaiting  death,  deserted  by  his  friends, 
St.  Paul,  with  solemn  enipliasis,  rehearses  the  titles 
of  dignity   which,    by   his  Master's   appoiutment,   he 


possessed  in  the  Christian  Church.  Tlie  poor  prisoner, 
waiting  his  summons  to  a  painful  death,  wished  his 
last  charge  to  go  forth  with  all  the  authority  of  an 
Apostle,  adding,  however,  in  the  next  verse,  that  his 
present  sufferings  were  entailed  on  him.  owing  to  this 
very  position  in  the  Christian  community  to  which 
his  Master  had  called  him. 

{i:i)  For  the  which  cause  I  also  suffer  these 
things. — Because  he  had  been  the  teacher  and 
apostle,  had  all  these  suffci-ings — the  prison,  the 
chains,  the  solitude,  the  hate  of  so  many — come  upon 
him.  There  was  no  need  to  refer  to  them  more  particu- 
larly. Timothy  knew  well  what  he  was  then  under- 
going. The  reason  of  the  Apostle's  touching  at  all 
upon  himself  and  his  fortunes  will  appear  iu  the  uext 
clause,  when,  from  the  depths,  as  it  woidd  seem,  of 
human  misfortune,  he  triumphantly  rehearses  his 
sure  grounds  of  confidence.  Timothy  was  dispirited, 
cast  down,  sorrowful.  He  need  not  be.  When  tempted 
to  despair,  let  him  think  of  his  old  master  and  friend, 
Paul  the  Apostle,  who  rejoiced  in  the  midst  of  the 
greatest  sufferings,  knowing  that  these  were  the  sure 
earthly  guerdon  of  the  most  devoted  work,  but  th.at 
there  was  One,  in  Avhom  he  believed,  able  and,  at  tho 
same  time,  willing  to  save  him  for  yet  higher  and 
grander  things. 

Nevertheless  I  am  not  ashamed.  —  Not 
ashamed  of  the  suffering  I  am  now  euduriug  for 
the  cause  of  the  Lord.  He  then,  by  showing  tho 
grounds  of  his  joyful  hope,  proceeds  to  show  how  men 
can  rise  to  the  same  lofty  heights  of  independence 
to  which  he  had  risen,  whence  they  can  look  down  mth 
indifBerence  ou  all  human  opinion  and  human  reward 
and  regard. 

For  I  know  whom  I  have  believed.— Better 
rendered,  ii-liom  I  hai-e  tru>:ted ;  yea,  and  still  trust. 
"  Whom  "  here  refers  to  God  the  Father. 

That  which  I  have  committed  unto  him.— 
More  exactly,  viij  deposit.  Con.siderable  diversity  of 
opinion  has  existed  among  commentators  of  all  ages  as 
to  the  exact  meaning  which  should  be  assigned  to  the 
words  "  my  deposit."  Let  us  glance  back  at  what  has 
gone  before.  St.  Paul,  the  forsaken  prisoner,  looking  for 
death,  has  been  bidding  his  younger  comrade  never  to 
let  his  heart  sink  or  his  spirit  grow  faint  when  on- 
coming dangers  threaten  to  crush  him  ;  for,  he  says, 
you  know  me  and  my  seemingly  ruined  fortunes  and 
blasted  hopes.  Friendless  and  alone,  you  know,  I  am 
awaiting  death  (chap.  iv.  6);  and  yet,  iu  spite  of  all 
this  crushing  weiglit  of  sorrow,  which  lias  come  on  mo 
because  I  am  a  Chrititian.  yet  am  I  uot  asliamed.  for  I 
know  whom  I  have  trusted — I  know  His  sovereign 
power  to  whom  I  have  committed  '"  my  deposit."  He, 
I  know,  can  keep  it  safe  against  that  day.  St.  Paul 
had  intrusted  his  deathless  .soul  to  the  keeping  of  his 
Heavenly  Father,  and  having  done  this,  serene  and 
joyful  he  waited  for  tho  end.  His  disciple  Timothy 
must  do  the  same. 

"  That  which  I  have  committed  unto  Him,  my  de- 
posit." signified  a  most  precious  treasure  committed  by 
St.  Paul  to  his  God.  Tlie  language  and  iniag(M-y  was 
probably  taken  bv  the  Apostle  from  one  of  those 
Hebrew  Psalms  ho  kuow  so  well  (Ps.  xxxi.  5j— "  Into  thy 


221 


He  exhorts  Timothy 


II.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


to  he  steadfast. 


that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 

Chap.  i.  13,  U.  l^^^^^\  ^^^^  '^^y-  f  ^  Hold 
Hold  fust  bound  fust  the  lorm  01  soimtt 
doctrme.  woi'ds,    which    thou    hast 


heard  of  me,  in  faith  and  love  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  ^^^>  That  good  thing  Avhich 
was  committed  unto  thee  keep  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  which  dwelleth  in  us.  ^^^>  This 


Land  I  commend  my  spirit,"  rendered  in  the  LXX. 
version  (Ps.  xxx.  51.  "'I  will  commit  "  {parathesomai). 
In  Josephus,  a  writer  of  the  same  age,  the  soul  is 
especially  termed  a  parakatatheke  —  deposit.  The 
passage  is  one  iu  which  he  is  speaking  against  suicide 
{B.  J.  iii.  8,  5).  Philo,  also,  who  may  almost  be  termed  a 
contemporary  of  St.  Paul,  uses  the  very  same  exiircssion, 
and  also  calls  the  soul  '"  a  deposit  "  (p.  499,  ed.  K-iohter). 
Both  passages  are  quoted  at  leugth  by  Alford,  who, 
however,  comes  to  a  sliglitly  diJffiei-eut  couclusiou. 

Against  that  day. — The  day  of  the  coming  of 
Christ — •'  that  day  when  I  (the  Lord  of  Hosts)  make 
up  my  jewels."  He  will  keep  my  soul — "  my  deposit  " 
— safe  agaiust  that  day  wheu  the  crown  of  life  will  be 
given  to  all  that  love  His  appearing. 

(15)  Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words,  which 
thou  hast  heard  of  me. — It  was  not  sufficient  for 
Timothy  to  renew  his  fainting  courage  aud  to  brace 
liimself  up  for  fresh  efforts;  he  must  do  something 
more — in  his  teaching  he  must  never  let  those  solemn 
formularies  he  had  once  receiAcd  from  him  be  changed. 
Perhaps  iu  the  heart  of  St.  Paid  lurked  some  dread 
that  the  new  glosses  and  specious  explanations  which 
the  school  of  false  teachers,  so  often  referred  to  in  these 
Pastoral  Epistles,  chose  to  add  to  the  gi-eat  doctrines 
of  Christianit}'  would  be  more  likely  to  be  listened  to 
by  Timothy  wheu  the  hand  of  his  old  master  was  cold 
and  the  heart  had  ceased  to  beat ;  so  he  urged  upon 
him  to  hold  fast  those  inspired  formularies  he  had  heard 
from  St.  Paul's  lips — such,  for  instance,  as  those  "faithful 
sayings  "  which  come  before  us  so  often  in  these  Epistles 
to  Timothy  aud  Titus. 

In  faith  and  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 
— Timotliy.  in  days  to  conif.  must  mould  aud  shape  his 
teaching  after  the  pattern  of  the  teaching  of  his  master 
St.  Paul,  and  he  must  do  it  in  that  faith  aud  love  which 
alone  comes  from  a  life  passed  in  communion  with 
Christ. 

The  very  frequent  reference  to  the  "  sound,  healthy 
words  "  in  these  Epistles  by  St.  Paul,  and  from  which 
he  urges  his  disciples  and  successors  never  to  depart, 
indicate  to  us  the  deep  importance  St.  Paul  and  the  first 
generation  of  believers  attached  to  the  very  words  and 
expressions  used  by  the  apostles  and  those  who  had 
been  with  the  Lord. 

False  doctriues  so  easily  might  creep  in,  and  loose 
forms  of  expression  fespecting  great  truths  were  an 
ever-present  tlauger  ;  a  lax  life,  too,  St.  Paul  knew,  was 
the  almost  invariable  accompaniment  of  fal.se  doctrine, 
lu'uce  these  repeated  exhortations  of  his  to  these  repre- 
sentative teachers.  Timothy  and  Titus,  of  the  second 
generation  of  Christians,  to  liold  fast  the  form  of  sound, 
healthy  words — such  words  as  these  had  again  and 
again  been  heard  from  the  lips  of  ai)f)stles  and  hearers 
of  the  Lord — "  words  whicli  thou  hast  heard  of  me," 
St.  Paul. 

(U)  That  good  thing  which  was  committed 
unto  thee. — 'The  good  tiling  committed  unto  thee," 
or  the  deposit,  differs  from  the  "deposit"  of  verse 
12,  inasmuch  as  the  "  dejwsit  "  of  verse  12  was  some- 
thing committed  by  St.  Paul  to  God ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  verse  14  a  trust  committed  by  God  to 
Timothy  is  spoken  of.     But  the  Apostle,  remembering 


the  solemn  meaning  of  the  word  in  the  first  instance, 
uses  it  with  especial  emphasis  on  this  second  occasion. 
Yes,  he  seems  to  say,  God  will  keep  the  most  precious 
deposit  you  or  I  shall  intrust  to  Him — fjur  soul — safe 
against  that  day;  do  tliou,  in  thy  turn,  keep  .safe,  un- 
harmed, the  deposit  He,  through  me,  has  intrusted  to 
thee.  In  what  God's  deposit  with  men  like  Timothy 
and  St.  Paid  consisted  has  been  discussed  in  the  Note  to 
1  Tim.  vi.  20.  "  The  trea.sure  of  the  Catholic  faith  "— 
that  was  to  be  kept  unchanged,  unalloyed.  The  epithet 
"good,"  which  is  here  applied  to  this  most  sacred 
trust,  we  find  joined  to  '"the  doctrine"  ("the  good 
doctrine."'  1  Tim.  iv.  6),  and  to  "the  fight"  ("the  good 
fight."  1  Tim.  vi.  l-Ji. 

Keep  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  dwelleth  in 
us. — But  this  glorious  deposit  of  the  Catholic  faith 
must  be  preserved,  let  Timothy  and  others  holding  a 
like  position  with  Timothy  mark  well,  by  no  human 
agencies.  He  indicates  here  the  only  means  that  must 
be  employed  to  preserve  this  sacred  charge  safe  and 
pure,  when  he  bids  us  keep  the  deposit  by  the  Holy 
Ghost — tho  Holy  Ghost  which,  St.  Paul  adds,  dwells 
in  us. 

It  would  seem  that  the  Apostle  here  was  warning 
Timothy,  as  the  representative  Christian  teacher,  that 
the  sacred  deposit  of  the  Catholic  faith  was  to  be  pre- 
served by  no  weak  compliance  with  the  scruples  of 
false  teachers  or  of  doubting  men,  by  no  timid  accom- 
modation, by  no  yielding  a  little  here  aud  a  little  there 
to  prejudice  or  vanity.  By  no  such  or  any  other  short- 
sighted human  arts  of  defence  was  the  deposit  of  faith 
to  be  guarded.  But  the  Holy  Ghost  will  keep  His 
oyni.  and  ^vill  show  His  faithful  teachers  iu  every  ago 
how  to  hand  down  the  lamp  of  holy  Catholic  doctrine 
stUl  burning  })rightly,  with  flame  undimmed,  to  their 
successors  in  the  race  of  life. 

(15)  This  thou  knowest,  that  all  they  which 
are  in  Asia  be  turned  away  from  me.— This 
sad  desertion  of  friends  is  well  known  to  thee.  Instead 
of  bi'ing  dispirited  by  it.  and  by  my  arrest  and  close 
imprisonment,  rather  shouldest  thou  be  stiunilated  to 
fresh  and  renewed  exertions  for  the  cause  for  which  I 
suffer  this  desertion,  these  bouds. 

All  they  which  are  in  Asia.  —  It  has  been 
maintained  by  many,  even  by  great  Greek  expositors 
such  as  Chrysostom.  that  ''  they  which  are  in  Asia " 
refers  to  certain  Asiatic  Christians  who  happened  to 
be  in  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  Apostle's  arrest  and 
imprisonment.  Others  have  even  suggested  that 
these  Asiatics  had  gone  to  Rome  for  the  purpose  of 
bearing  witness  in  St.  Paul's  favour,  and  finding  that 
St.  Paul's  position  was  one  of  extreme  danger, 
terrified  for  themselves — like  others  once  before  had 
been  in  the  Christian  storj' — lest  they  too  should  be 
involved  in  a  like  condemnation,  forsook  him  and  fled. 
But  the  simple  and  more  obvious  meaning  is  here  to 
be  preferred,  and  we  assume  as  certain  that  the  for- 
saking, the  giving  up  St.  Paul,  took  place  iu  Asia 
itself.  Large  numbers  of  Christians,  if  not  whole 
churches,  repudiated  tlieir  connection  with  the  great 
fjitiier  of  Gentile  Christianity,  and  possilily  disobeyed 
some  of  his  teaching.  AMiat.  in  fact,  absolutely  took 
place  in  Asia  while  St.  Paid  lay  bound,  waiting  for 


222 


Paul's  oion  Deserted  State 


II.   TIMOTHY,   I. 


as  far  as  Jlfen  are  conceiiied. 


thou    knowest,    that    all    they    "vvhicli 
.  ,  are    in     Asia    be    turned 

Chap.  1.  15—18.  r-  c       -I 

Many  have  do-  a-^^ay  from   me ;    of  whom 

sertedme;  one  are  Phygellus  and  Hermo- 
bas  stood  firm.    ^^^^^^      (^.^   rj.^^   Lord   give 

mercy  unto  the  house  of  Onesiphorus ; 
for  he  oft  refreshed  me,  and  was  not 


ashamed  of  my  chain  :  f^'''  but,  when  he 
was  in  Rome,  he  sought  me  out  very 
diligently,  and  found  me.  ^^^^  The  Lord 
grant  unto  him  that  he  may  find  mercy 
of  the  Lord  in  that  day :  and  in  how 
many  things  he  ministered  unto  me  at 
Ephesus,  thou  knowest  very  well. 


death  in  Rome,  had  been  often  threatened  in  Corinth 

and  in  other  centres.     Party  feeUng  ran  high  in  those 

days,  we   know;  and  one  of  the  most  sorrowful  trials 

the  great-hearted  St.  Paul  had  to  endure  in  the  agony 

of  his  last  witnessing  for  his  Lord,  was  the  knowledge 

that  his  name  and  teaching  no  longer  was  held  in  honour 

in  some  of  those  Asian  churches  so  dear  to  him.     The 

geographical  term  Asia  is  rather  vague.     It  may — and 

indeed,  strictly  speaking,  does — include  Mysia,  Phrygia, 

Lydia,  Caria ;  but  such  a  wide-spread  defection  from 

Pauline    teaching  seems    improbable,  and  there  is  no 

tradition  that  anything  of  the  kind  ever  took  place.  St. 

Panl  probably  wrote  tlie  term  more  in  the  old  Homeric 

sense,  and  meant  the  district  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 

river  Cayster ; 

"  In  Asian  meadow  by  Cayster's  streams." 

—Iliad  ii.  461. 

Of  whom  are  Phygellus  and  Hermogenes.— 

These  names  would  at  once  suggest  to  Timothy  the 
men  and  tlie  congregations  of  "Asia"  to  whom  St.  Panl 
was  alluding — names  well  known,  doubtless,  then, 
and  especially  to  pei'sons  in  the  position  of  Timothy ; 
but  no  tradition  has  been  preserved  Avhich  throws  any 
light  on  the  lives  and  actions  of  these  traitorous  friends 
of  St.  Paul. 

(16)  The  Lord  give  mercy  unto  the  house  of 
Onesiphorus. — In  striking  contrast  to  those  false 
friends  who  turned  away  from  him  was  one,  also  well 
known  to  Timothy,  probably  an  Ephesian  merchant. 
Onesiphorus,  to  whose  house  the  Apostle  prays  the 
Lord  to  give  mercy,  had,  early  in  tliis  last  imprisonment 
of  St.  Paul,  arrived  in  Rome  on  matters  connected 
probably  with  business.  There  he  heard  of  the  arrest 
of  that  great  master  whom  he  had  known  well  in  Asia, 
and  souglit  him  out  in  his  prison.  There  is  but  littlo 
doubt  that  when  St.  Paul  wrote  this  Epistle  Onesi- 
phorus' death  must  have  i-eceutly  taken  place,  both 
froni  the  terms  of  this  verse — where  mercy  is  prayed, 
not  for  him,  but  for  liis  house — and  also  from  the  ex- 
pression "  in  that  day,"  used  in  verse  18.  There  is 
something  strangely  toudiing  in  tliis  loving  memory  of 
"  one"  who,  in  his  trouble,  did  not  forsake  him,  but 
whose  devotion  was  rather  increased  by  his  danger,  and 
this  one  faithful  friend  would  never  be  able  again  to 
show  liis  love  to  the  prisoner,  for  God  had  called  him 
home. 

For  he  oft  refreshed  me,  and  was  not 
ashamed  of  my  chain.—"  He  oft  refreshed  me" 
does  not  imply  that  he  ministered  only  to  the  Apostle's 
bodily  needs  when  he  was  in  prison,  though  tlie  word,  no 
doubt,  includes  this.  But  "he  refreshed"  him  liy  fre- 
quent ^^sits,  by,  no  doubt,  much  anxious  forethought  in 
the  matter  of  St.  Paul's  deliverance  from  prison  and 
bonds,  by  a  noble  disregard  of  tlie  personal  danger 
which  he  incurred  by  his  open  intimacy  witli  a  prisoner 
chargetl,  as  St.  Paul  must  have  been,  witli  treason 
against  the  empire.  "  He  was  not  ashamed  of  my 
chain."  (See  Acts  xxviii.  20.  where  "the  chain"  of 
another  captivity  is  mentioned.) 

(17)  But,  when  he  was  in  Home,  he  sought  me 


out  very  diligently,  and  found  me.— But,  on  the 

contraiy,  instead  of  fear — far  from  being  ashamed — he, 
wlien  he  arrived  in  Rome,  sought  me  out.  This  must 
have  been  a  much  more  rigorous  captivity  than  the  one 
alluded  to  in  the  last  chapter  of  tlie  Acts  when  St.  Paul 
dwelt  in  his  own  hired  house  witli  the  soldier  who 
guarded  him.  Now  he  was  rigidly  im})risoned,  and  the 
very  place  of  his  captivity  was  not,  a^jpareutly,  easily 
found. 

(18)  The  Lord  grant  unto  him  that  he  may 
find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day  .  .  .— Tho 
Greek  should  be  rendered  here,  favour  of  the  Lord,  in- 
stead of  by  "  mercy  of  the  Lord."  Some  commentatore, 
who  have  found  a  difficulty  in  this  unusual  repeti- 
tion of  "  the  Lord,"  explain  it  thus  :  The  expression, 
"the  Lord  grant,"  had  become  among  Christians  so 
completely  "  a  formulary,"  that  the  second  use  of  the 
word  "  Lord  "  was  not  noticed;  and  the  prayer  is  thus 
simply  equivalent  to  "  O  that  he  may  find  mercy  of  the 
Lord."  It  seems,  however,  better  to  keep  to  the  striet 
literal  meaning,  and  to  understand  the  first  "  Lord,"  in 
the  sense  in  which  the  term  is  always  found  in  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  as  a  title  of  Christ ;  and  the  second 
"  Lord"  as  used  of  the  Father,  to  whom  here  (as  in 
Rom.  ii.  5,  16 ;  Heb.  xii.  23),  judgment  at  the  last  day 
is  ascribed. 

In  that  day. — The  Apostle  can  never  repay  now 
— not  even  with  thanks — the  kindness  his  dead  friend 
showed  him  in  his  hour  of  need ;  so  he  praj's  that  tho 
Judge  of  quick  and  dead  may  remember  it  in  the  awful 
day  of  judgment.  It  is  worthy  of  note  how  St.  Paul's 
thoughts  here  pass  over  the  interval  between  deatli  and 
judgment.  It  was  on  that  day  when  the  great  white 
throne  woi;ld  be  set  up  that  he  thought  of  the  good  deeds 
done  in  the  body  being  recompensed  by  the  righteous 
Judge.  No  doubt  the  expectation  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians— in  which  expectation  certainly  St.  Paul  shared — 
of  the  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  influenced  all  think- 
ing and  speaking  of  the  intermediate  state  of  the  soul 
between  death  and  judgment,  and  almost  seems  to  have 
effaced  the  waiting  time  from  their  minds. 

And  in  how  many  things  he  ministered  unto 
me  at  Ephesus,  thou  knowest  very  well. — Tliese 
services  rendered  to  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus  are  placed  side 
by  side  with  tliose  things  he  had  done  for  him  at  Koine, 
but  as  they  are  mentioned  after.  tLey  perhaps  refer  to 
kind  offices  undertaken  for  the  ])risoiier  by  Onesiphorus 
after  his  return  from  Rome  to  Ejihesus.  Tliese  things 
Timothy,  the  presiding  ])astor  at  Ephesus.  would,  of 
course,  know  in  their  detail  better  than  St.  Paid.  The 
Greek  word  Zn)K6vr](T(v,  rendered  "  he  ministered,"  has 
given  rise  to  the  suggestion  that  Onesiphorus  was  a 
deacon  at  Ephesus.  Although  this  is  possible,  still 
such  an  inference  from  one  rather  general  expression 
is  precainous. 

This  passage  is  famous  from  its  being  generally 
quoted  among  the  very  rare  statements  of  the  Xew 
Testament  wliieh  seem  to  bear  upon  tlie  question  of  the 
Romish  doctrine  of  praying  for  the  dead. 

It  may  be  well  very" briefly  to  touch  on  two  points 


223 


Timothy  is  to  luoul  on  to  others  the         II.     TIMOTII\  ,     II.     same  Tradition  of  the  Catholic  Faith. 


CHAPTER   II.  — (1)  Thou  therefore, 
Chap.  ii.  1,  2.  my     SOU,     be     strong     in 

and  earnest.  °  Christ  Jesus.     ^^>  And  the 


A.U.  00. 
1  Or,  by. 


things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me 
among-  ^  many  Avitnesses,  the  same 
commit  thou  to  faithful  men,  who 
shaU    be    able    to    teach    others    also. 


which   suggest  themselves  as  to   the   bearing   of  this 

f)assage  on  the  doctrine  in  question.  (1)  Although  we 
lere,  in  couunou  with  Roman  Catholic  interpreters  and 
the  majority  of  tlie  later  expositors  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  assume  that  Onesipliorus  was  dead  when  St. 
Paul  wrote  to  Timothy,  and  that  the  words  used  had 
reference  to  St.  Paul's  dead  friend,  still  it  must  bo  re- 
membered that  others,  well  worthy  of  being  heard, 
writing  many  centuries  before  any  doctrinal  controversy 
on  this  subject  arose,  have  held  quite  another  opinion. 
Theodoret  and  Chiysostom  (quoted  by  Alford)  under- 
stood that  Onesipliorus  was  with  St.  Paul  at  tliis  time. 
(2)  The  prayer,  whether  it  be  taken  as  a  prayer  or  an 
ejaculation,  is  simply  the  expression  of  an  earnest  desire, 
on  the  part  of  St.  Paul,  that  the  kind  act  of  the  dead 
— assuming,  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  the  above  quoted 
Fathers,  that  he  was  dead — Onesipliorus  towards  himself 
may  be  remembered  on  that  day  when  the  books  are 
oijened  before  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  It,  indeed, 
only  asks — looking  fairly  at  the  context — that  an  act  of 
unrequited  and  devoted  love  shown  in  this  life  may 
be  remembered  in  the  final  judgineut.  Without  touching 
upon  the  controversy  itself,  it  seems  only  just  to  point 
out  the  extreme  precai'iousness  of  pressing  this  text — • 
the  only  one  in  the  New  Testament  really  touching  on 
this  subject,  and  as  to  the  interpretation  of  which  ex- 
positors, as  we  have  seen,  are  by  no  means  in  agreement 
— in  support  of  a  controverted  doctrine. 

II. 

(1)  Thou  therefore,  my  son,  be  strong  in  the 
grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.— St.  Paul,  after  the 
reference  to  the  faithless  Asiatics  and  the  true  loyal 
Onesiijhorus,  with  wliichhe  interrupted  his  exhortation, 
turns  again  to  Timothy.  Thou  therefore  {oun'^,  my  son, 
considering  what  has  taken  place,  be  strong.  It  is  as 
though  he  said,  Imitate  the  one  loyal  follower,  and  make 
up  to  me  for  the  faithless  conduct  of  so  many  false 
friends.  "  Thou,  then,  be  strong,"  but  not  as  men 
understand  strength  or  firmness ;  but  do  thou  be  strong 
"  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Clirist  Jesus" — that  is^  be 
strong  in  the  power  of  that  inward  sauctification  which 
enal)les  a  man  to  will  and  to  do  according  to  what  God 
lias  commanded,  in  the  power  of  that  inward  saucti- 
fication which  alone  proceeds  from  Christ,  and  which 
will  never  be  wanting  to  any  one  who  is  in  Christ;  in 
other  words,  "  Be  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power 
of  His  might"  (Eph.  \\.  10). 

(-)  And  the  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of 
me. — These  "  things  "  have  liecn  often  understood  as 
referring  to  the  few  great  fundamental  trutlis  rehearsed 
by  the  Apostle,  in  the  presence  of  the  elders  of  the 
congregation,  on  the  occasion  of  Timothy's  solemn 
ordination.  "  The  things,"  then,  would  liave  been 
sometliing  of  the  nature  of  what  is  contained  in  a  creed 
or  profession  of  faith.  But  it  is  better  to  give  to  "  the 
things  "  which  Timothy  had  heard  of  St.  Paul,  and 
which  he  was  to  deliver  to  other  faithful  men  in  his 
turn,  a  much  In-oader  reference,  and  to  understand 
them  as  comprehending  far  more  than  the  narrow 
limits  of  a  profession  of  faith  could  possibly  contain. 
"  The  things  "  were,  no  doubt,  the  sum  of  St.  Paul's 
teaching,  the  general  conception  of  Pauline  theologj% 
which  Timothy,    so   long  the  Apostle's   intimate  and 


confidential  friend  and  disciple,  was  to  give  out  to 
another  generation  of  believers.  It  was,  in  fact,  the 
"  Gospel  of  St.  Luke  " — "  my  Gospel,"  as  we  love  to 
think  St.  Paul  termed  that  matchless  summary  of  the 
life  and  teaciiing  of  the  Blessed.  It  was  the  theology 
shrined  in  such  Epistles  as  those  once  written  to  tlie 
Romans  or  Ephesians  in  past  years.  These  '"  things  " 
again  and  again,  in  crowded  congregations,  before 
Jewish  and  Christian  elders,  before  assemblies  com- 
posed of  idolaters,  had  Timothy  heard  that  master  of 
his,  with  his  winning,  pleading  voice,  tell  out  among 
"many  witnesses."  Those  " things"  Timothy,  in  his 
turn,  the  voice  of  St.  Paul  the  Aged  being  hushed, 
was  now  to  commit  to  others. 

Among  many  witnesses.— Tliese,  according  to 
the  above  interpretation,  included  Pagans  and  Jews,  the 
rich  and  poor,  the  untaught  sinners  of  the  GentUes  and 
the  skilled  rabbi  trained  in  the  schools  of  Jerusalem  and 
Alexandria. 

The  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men. — Not 
to  men  merely  who  were  "  believers  "  in  Jesus  Chi'ist. 
This,  of  course,  was  intended,  but  the  "  faithful  men  " 
here  denoted  loyal,  trusty  souls — men  who,  under  no 
temptation,  woiild  betray  the  charge  committed  to 
them. 

Who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also.— Not 
only  must  the  Christian  teachers  to  whom  Timothy  is 
to  give  the  commission  of  teaching,  be  trustworthy 
men,  they  must  also  possess  knowledge  and  the  power 
of  communicating  knowledge  to  others.  Although  the 
divine  help  was  to  be  prayed  for  and  expected  in  this 
and  all  other  sacred  works,  yet  it  is  noticeable  how 
St.  Paul  directs  that  no  ordinary  human  means  of 
secui'ing  success  must  be  neglected.  St.  Paul's  last 
charge  in  these  Pastoral  Letters  of  his,  directed  that 
only  those  shall  be  selected  as  teachers  of  religion 
whose  earthly  gifts  were  such  as  fitted  them  for  the 
discharge  of  their  duties.  Wliile  there  is  nothing  in  this 
passage  to  support  the  theory  of  an  authoritative  oral 
teaching,  existing  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  in  the 
Church — the  words  of  St.  Paul  here  point  to  the  duty  of 
the  Christian  soldier,  not  only  himself  to  keep  unchanged 
and  safe  the  treasure  of  tiie  Catholic  faith  as  taught  liy 
the  Apostle,  but  to  hand  down  the  same  unimpaii'ed 
and  safe  to  other  hands. 

The  great  Christian  truths  were  never  allowed  to  be 
recklessly  handled.  There  was  a  school,  so  to  speak, 
of  Christian  theology  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul.  His 
dying  charge  directed  liis  liest  beloved  disciple  to  make 
careful  proWsioii  for  the  choice  and  training  of  teachers 
in  the  congregation.  Men  able  as  well  as  willing, 
gifted  as  well  as  zealous,  should  be  the  objects  of  his 
choice. 

Some  have  imagined  that  these  directions  respecting 
the  handing  down  the  lamp  of  Cliristian  ti'ulh  to  others 
were  given  to  Timothy  with  a  view  to  his  leaving 
Ephesus — the  appointed  scene  of  his  labours — for 
Rome,  to  join  the  imprisoned  Apostle  (chap.  iv.  9),  in 
which  event  men  able  as  well  as  devoted  should  be  left 
in  this  great  centre  to  carry  on  the  work  of  Timothy 
and  of  St.  Paid.  But  it  "is  far  better  to  understand 
St.  Paul's  charge  as  given  to  Timothy,  a  representa- 
tive leader  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  to  understand 
the  Apostle's  words  as  addressed  to  the  Chui-ch  of  all 


224 


Timothy  is  to  endure  Hardship 


II.   TIMOTHY,    II. 


05  a  Good  Soldier. 


(3)  Tlion  therefore  endure  hardness,  as 
Chap.  ii.  3—6.  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
He  is  ito  be  Christ.  <*)  No  man  that 
suffer  fo^the  warreth  entangleth  hini- 
gospel's  sake,      self    with    the    affairs    of 


this  life ;  that  he  may  please  him 
who  hath  chosen  him  to  be  a 
soldier.  (^^  And  if  a  man  also  strive  for 
masteries,  yet  is  he  not  crowned,  except 
he  strive  lawfully.     (^^  The  husbandman 


times.  The  runners  in  the  Christian  race  must  take 
good  care  before  tliey  fall  out  of  the  course  that  their 
torches,  still  burning,  be  handed  on  to  the  athletes  who 
take  their  place. 

(■^)  Thou  therefore  endure  hardness.— The 
older  authorities  do  not  contain  the  Greek  word  ren- 
dered "tliou  therefore."  The  word  translated  "en- 
dure hardness  "  in  the  older  authorities  is  compounded 
with  a  preposition,  and  is  better  and  more  literally- 
rendered,  take  thy  share  in  stiffering.  But  Timothy 
must  remember,  if  he  obeys  St.  Paul's  voice,  and  with 
steady  earnestness  follows  St.  Paul's  tracks,  the  very 
same  sufferings  which  have  been  the  master's  guerdou 
will  be  the  lot  of  the  loyal  disciple.  So  St.  Paul  adds, 
"  Take  thy  share  of  suffering,"  or,  "  Suffer  hardship 
with  me."  Timothy  must  bo  prepared  for  this.  He 
must  look  on  himself  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
army  of  the  gi-eat  King,  as  a  tried  veteran,  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  pi-epared  for  the  dangers  and 
trials  which  in  those  days  awaited  such  a  calling. 
Then,  under  three  different  pictures,  the  Apostle  paints 
the  duties  and  rewards  of  a  Christian's  life. 

(4)  Wo  man  that  warreth  .  .  .—Better  rendered, 
while  engaged  on  military  service,  or  serving  as  a 
soldier.  The  first  picture  is  suggested  by  the  last 
simile  (in  verse  3).  It  was  one  veiy  familiar  to  the 
numerous  peoples  dwelling  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Roman  power,  this  pictui'e  of  the  soldier  concerned 
only  in  the  militaiy  affairs  of  the  great  empire — the 
legionary  wrapped  up  in  his  service,  with  no  thought 
or  care  outside  the  profession  of  Avhich  he  was  so 
proud.  None  of  these  sworn  legionaries  have  aught  to 
do  with  buying  or  selling,  with  the  Forum,  or  any  of 
the  many  employments  of  civil  life.  So  should  it 
be  with  the  earnest  and  faithful  Christian ;  paramount 
and  above  any  earthly  considerations  ever  must  rank 
his  Master's  ser\-ice,  his  Master's  commands. 

The  soldier  of  Christ  should  never  allow  himself  to 
be  entangled  in  any  earthly  business  which  would 
interfere  with  his  duty  to  his  own  General.  But  while 
this  general  reference  to  all  members  of  the  Church  lies 
on  the  outside,  beneath  the  surface  a  solemn  injunction 
may  surely  be  read,  addressed  to  Timothy  and  to  others 
like  him  in  after  times  specially  engaged  in  the  ministry 
of  the  Word  and  in  matters  connected  with  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  of  Christ.  And  so  the  Catholic 
Church  has  generally  understood  this  direction  to 
Timothy  as  warning  her  ministers  from  engaging  in 
secular  pursuits,  either  connected  with  business  or 
pleasure. 

That  he  may  please  him  who  hath  chosen 
him  to  be  a  soldier. — More  jiccurately  rendered, 
who  enrolled  him  as  a  soldier.  Only  those  soldiers 
who  with  heart  and  soul  devote  themselves  to  their 
military  work  win  the  heart  of  their  commander.  The 
question  has  been  asked,  What  of  St.  Paul's  own 
example  and  that  of  other  of  the  early  Christian 
teachers,  such  as  Aquila  ?  did  not  they,  at  all  events 
from  time  to  time,  pursue  a  secular  calling — that  of 
tent-makers  ?  The  reply  here  is  not  a  difficult  one. 
The  Jewish  life  in  those  days  contemplated  and  even 
desired    that     its     rabbis    and    teachers     should    be 


acquainted  with,  and  even,  if  necessary,  practise  some 
handicraft.  The  well-known  Hebrew  saying,  "  He  that 
teacheth  not  his  son  a  trade  teacheth  him  to  be  a 
thief,"  is  a  proof  of  this.  In  the  case  of  these  early 
teachers,  this  occasional  practice  of  an  industry  or  a 
trade  brought  them  more  directly  into  contact  with 
their  Jewish  brethren.  It  was  thus  among  the  Jewish 
l^eople  that  the  Hebrew  rabbi  often  passed  impercep- 
tibly into  a  Christian  teacher.  It  must  also  be  borne  in 
mind  that  in  St.  Paul's  case,  and  also  in  the  case  of  the 
presbyters  of  the  first  and  second  age,  especially 
if  missionaries,  it  was  impossible  always  to  ensure 
subsistence,  unless  by  some  exertions  of  their  own  they 
maintained  themselves.  It  was,  too,  most  desirable 
that  these  pioneers  of  Christianity  should  ever  be  above 
all  reproach  of  covetonsness,  or  even  of  the  suspicion 
that  they  wished  for  any  earthly  thing  from  their 
converts.  That  however,  it  was  not  intended  that  any 
such  combination  of  work — at  once  for  the  Church  and 
for  the  world — should  be  the  rule  of  ecclesiastical  order 
in  coming  days,  the  positive  and  very  plain  directions 
of  1  Cor.  ix.  1 — 15  are  decisive,  and  incapable  of  being 
misunderstood. 

(5)  And  if  a  man  also  strive  for  masteries. — 
More  accurately  translated,  again,  if  a  man  strive  in 
the  games.  Another  picture  is  drawn,  and  the  picture 
is,  as  before,  a  well-known  one  to  all  the  dwellers  in  the 
great  cities  of  the  empire.  An  athlete  is  chosen  to 
represent  the  professed  servant  of  Christ,  one  of  those 
who.  after  long  and  careful  training,  contends  in  the 
public  games,  then  so  popular,  so  entirely  a  part  of  the 
life  of  every  city — in  the  games  of  wrestling  or  running, 
or  in  the  chariot-racing,  or  in  the  hand-to-hand  con- 
tests. Again,  this  one — as  in  the  case  of  the  soldier 
— if  he  aspired  to  victory  and  success,  must  "  endure 
hardness." 

Except  he  strive  lawfully. — "Lawfully" — i.e. 
according  to  the  presci-ibed  conditions  of  the  contest. 
He  must,  of  course,  submit  himself  to  the  strict  rules 
of  the  theatre  where  the  games  are  held,  and  (for  this 
is  also  included  in  the  "lawfully")  must  besides — if  he 
hopes  for  a  prize — go  through  all  the  long  and  severe 
training  and  discipline  necessary  before  engaging  in 
such  a  contest.  Galen  uses  the  same  phrase,  in  the 
sense  of  complying  with  the  recognised  rules  of 
training  as  regarding  diet. 

(6)  The  husbandman  that  laboureth  must  bo 
first  partaker  of  the  fruits.— Again  the  picture  is 
painted  from  everj'-day  life.  "  The  husbandman  that 
laboureth  " — with  an  emphasis  upon  "  that  laboureth  " — 
is  the  successful  tiller  of  the  ground ;  "  the  labouring 
husbandman  "  it  is,  for  whom  the  earth  brings  forth  her 
increase.  It  is  the  enduring,  patient,  self-sacrificing 
toil  that  is  rewarded  in  the  affairs  of  common  life — the 
man  that  "  endures  hardness,"  whether  as  a  soldier,  or 
athlete,  or  tiller  of  the  ground,  wins  the  reward ;  and 
as  in  the  world,  so  in  religion.  Further  on  in  the 
Epistle  the  Apostle  speaks  of  his  having  won  the  crown 
of  righteousness.  He  had  endured  hardness  of  every 
conceivable  kind  ;  every  affliction  for  the  Lord's  sake 
he  had  endured  save  dJath,  and  that  he  was  exjicctiug, 
and  knew  it  could  not  long  tarry.     The  teaching  of 


81 


225 


iSt.  Paul  repeats  what  gives 


II.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


him  Courage  to  Endure. 


tliat  liibouretli  must  bo  first  partaker  of 
the  fruits.i  o  Oonsklor  what  I  say; 
and  the  Lord  give  thee  understanding 
in  all  things.    ^^'>  Remember  that  Jesus 


1  Or,  The  hxishand- 
mim,  labiiiiring 
jirnt.mdKt  be  par- 
taker of  the  fruits. 


Christ  of  the  seed  of  David 
was  raised  from  the  dead  -what 
according   to    my   gospel : 
(^>  wlierein  I  suffer  trouble, 


7-13. 
nerves 
St.  Paul  to  en- 
dure. 


St.  Paul  in  this  triple  picture  is — not  every  soldier 
wins  its  cDinniander's  applause,  but  only  the  veteran 
wlio  devotes  liiiaself  heart  and  soul  to  his  profession; 
not  cvcDi  atlilete  wins  the  crown  or  j)rize,  but  only  he 
who  trains  with  anxious,  painful  care;  not  ever]j  tiller 
of  tlie  ground  gathers  the  earth's  fruits,  but  only  the 
patient  toiler.  So  must  it  be  in  religious  life.  It  is 
not  enougli  to  say  we  are  Christians,  or  even  to  wish  to 
hii  of  the  brotherhood  of  Christ.  Men  must  really 
llvi'.  the  life  they  say  they  love. 

(7)  Consider  what  I  say ;  and  the  Lord  give 
thee  understanding  in  all  things.— The  older 
autliorities  read  here  will  give ;  also  instead  of 
"  and  the  Lord,"  the  translation  should  be,  for  the 
Lord.  Thus  the  sentence  should  run:  for  the  Lord 
IV ill  give  thee  tinderstanding  in  all  things.  Some 
difficulty  has  been  found  in  explaining  exactly  why, 
wlien  we  look  at  the  foregoing  words,  Timothy  should 
be  so  specially  charged  to  consider  St.  Paul's  words 
here,  and  why  the  declaration  respecting  "  understand- 
ing in  all  things  "  was  made  in  this  particular  place. 
Tlieophylact  suggested  because  the  preceding  exhorta- 
tions Were  in  the  form  of  metaphors,  "  he  spake  all 
things  in  an  enigmatical  form : "  but  surely  these 
metaphors  were  the  reverse  of  obscure,  and  did  not 
seem  to  need  for  their  comprehension  any  special 
enlightenment;  if  then  we  refer  the  words  of  this 
verse  exclusively  to  what  precedes,  it  will  be  best 
to  understand  the  charge  of  St.  Paul,  "  Consider 
what  I  say,"  &c.,  as  dii-ecting  Timothy's  attention 
to  tlie  personal  application  of  each  of  the  pictures, 
or  metaphors.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  words 
"  Consider,"  &c.,  while  referring  to  what  lie  had  said, 
belong  also  to  the  far  weightier  words  he  was  about  to 
write  in  the  next  sent-:nco  (verso  8).  He  is  in  this 
chapter  exhorting  Timothy  to  be  strong  in  the  faitli  in 
the  face  of  many  troubles.  He  has  instanced  to  him 
earthly  exam])k's  to  show  how  success,  oven  here, 
depends  on  enduring  perseverance,  and  is  now  passing 
on  to  set  before  him  other  and  far  higher  induce- 
ments for  him  "to  be  strong;"  and  between  tlie 
first  set  of  arguments  and  the  second  ho  bids  him 
*'  Consider  what  I  say  "  (part  has  been  said,  but  yet 
other  and  deeper  things  are  to  follow).  God  will 
give  him  power  to  grasp  their  meaning  in  all  their 
depth. 

(^)  Remember  that  Jesus  Christ  of  the  seed 
of  David  was  raised  from  the  dead.— More  accu- 
rately rendered.  Remember  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  as  raised 
(or,  as  one  raised).  Tlie  words  of  the  Greek  original, 
*•  of  the  seed  of  David,"  come  after,  not  before,  "  was 
raised  from  the  dead."  The  translation  should  rim 
thus :  Remember  Jesus  Christ  as  one  raised  from  the 
dead,  burn  of  the  seed  of  David.  Timothy  was  to 
remember,  was  ever  to  bear  in  mind,  two  great  facts. 
They  were  to  l)e  the  foundation  stones  of  his  whole  life's 
work.  Remembering  these  in  the  hour  of  his  greatest 
trouble,  he  was  never  to  be  cast  down,  but  ever  to  take 
fresli  courage.  And  the  two  facts  he  was  to  remember 
were :  that  Jesus  Christ,  for  wlioso  sake  he  suffered — 
like  him,  Timothy,  or  like  St.  Paul — was  born  of  flesh 
and  blood,  and  yet  He  had  i-isen  from  tlie  dead.  Surely, 
in  the  hour  of  his  weakness,  such  a  thought  would  be 


226 


sufficient  to  inspire  him  with  comfort  and  courage. 
Two  facts,  then,  are  to  be  ever  in  Timothy's  mind  : 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Incarnation  of  his  Lord. 
The  thought  of  the  first  mentioned,  "the  Resnri'ection," 
would  always  be  reminding  him  of  his  Master's  victory 
over  death  and  of  His  present  glory.  Tlie  thought  of 
the  second  mentioned,  "  born  of  the  seed  of  David,"  "  the 
Incarnation,"  would  ever  be  whispering  to  him,  "Yes, 
and  the  risen  and  glorified  One  sprang,  too,  like  himself, 
from  mortal  flesh  and  blood."  Tlie  reason  of  the  "  In- 
carnation" being  expressed  in  this  special  manner,  "born 
of  the  seed  of  David,"  was  to  include  another  truth. 
The  "risen  One',' was  not  only  bom  of  flesh  and  blood, 
but  belonged  to  the  very  race  specified  in  those 
prophets  so  revered  by  Timothy  and  the  chosen  people 
as  the  race  from  which  should  sin-ing  the  Messiah : 
"  Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will 
raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch,  and  a  King 
shall  i-eign  and  prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgment 
and  justice  in  the  earth  .  .  .  and  this  is  His  name 
whereby  He  shall  be  called,  THE  LORD  OUR 
RIGHTEOUSNESS"  (Jer.  xxiii.  5,6).  To  raise  the 
fainting  heart  of  his  much-tried  disciple  in  this  hour  of 
discouragement,  to  supply  a  ground  of  confidence  to  yet 
unborn  Christians,  who  in  their  day  would  be  tried  as 
Timothy  was  then,  was  the  Apostle "s  first  purpose 
when  he  pressed  these  thoughts  on  his  son  in  the  faith  ; 
but  in  the  background,  no  doubt,  there  lay  another 
pui"pose.  These  great  comforting  truths  were  to  be 
maintained  and  taught  in  the  presence  of  those  false 
teachers  who  were  ever  ready  to  explain  away  or  even 
to  deny,  then  as  now,  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the 
Son  of  God's  life  and  ministry  on  earth — His  Incar- 
nation and  His  Resurrection. 

According  to  my  gospel. — This  formula,  for  so 
it  may  be  considered,  occurs  frequently  in  St.  Paul's 
Epistles  (Rom.  ii.  16,  and  again  xvi.  25,  and  in  other 
places),  and,  with  very  slight  variations,  in  1  Tim.  i.  11 
and  1  Cor.  xv.  1.  Jerome's  remark,  "  As  often  as  St. 
Paul  in  his  Epistles  writes  '  according  to  my  Gospel,''  he 
refers  to  the  volume  of  Luke,"  although  received  with 
reserve  by  many  expositors,  considering  the  weighty 
traditional  evidence  we  possess  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel 
being  in  reality  written  by  St.  Paul,  appears  on  the 
whole  substantially  correct. 

(9)  Wherein  I  suffer  trouble.— Here  St.  Paul  bids 
Timothy  take  courage,  by  tliinking  of  the  brave,  patient 
example  he  was  setting  him  in  his  Roman  pi'ison,  un- 
daunted and  full  of  hope.  "  Wherein  I  suffer  : "  in 
which,  that  is,  discharging  my  office  as  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  I  suffer  trouble. 

As  an  evil  doer. — Better  rendered,  as  a  malefactor : 
the  same  word  used  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel  for  the  two 
thieves  crucified  with  Jesus  Christ  (Luke  xxiii.  32, 
33,  39). 

Even  unto  bonds ;  but  the  word  of  God  is  not 
bound. — A  prisoner  in  chains  and,  as  lie  tells  us 
further  on  in  the  Epistle,  expecting  death,  and  yet  he  still 
could  write  and  pray  and  speak  from  his  narrow  prison. 
Surely  his  disciiile,  still  free,  ought  to  work  on  with 
undiminished  spirit  and  zeal.  Though  St.  Paul  was  in 
bonds,  his  sufferings  and  imprisonment  had  in  no  wajj 
weakened  the  power  of  the  gospel. 


lie  repeats  to  Timothy  one  of  the  most      11.     llMUlxil,     li.  stirring  Watchwords  of  the  Faith. 


as  an  evil  doer,  even  unto  bonds ;  but 
the  word  of  God  is  not  bound.  (^*^^  There- 
fore I  endure  all  things  for  the  elect's 
sakes,  that  they  may  also   obtain  the 


salvation  -which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  with 
eternal  glory.  <^^)  It  is  a  faithful  saying: 
For  if  we  be  dead  with  him,  we  shall 
also  live  with  him :  (^^^  if  we  suffer,  we 


(10)  Therefore  I  endure  all  things  for  the 
elect's  sakes. — Better  ivndored,  For  this  cause  I 
endure,  &c. — tliat  is,  I  eudure  all  tliiugs  iu  order  that 
tlie  "  word  of  God,"  wliicli,  unlike  its  preacher,  I  liave 
just  declared  to  bo  coufiued  by  uo  bonds — in  order  that 
tliat  "  word  "  may  be  widely  spread  and  disseniiuated : 
for  this  reason  do  I,  as  a  faithful  soldier  at  my  post, 
bear  up  with  quiet,  patient  courage  against  suffering ; 
and  I  do  it  for  the  elect's  sakes,  that  is.  for  those  whom, 
in  His  infinite  mercy,  God  has  been  pleased  to 
choose  as  His  people,  for  those  who,  in  His  un- 
fathomable love,  are  yet  to  be  brought  into  the  one 
fold.  And  this  brave  and  steadfast  endurance  on 
the  part  of  St.  Paul  contributed  to  the  furtherance  of 
God's  projects  for  gathering  these  elect  in  this  wise — 
(1)  His  endurance,  his  patient,  gallant  witness  iu  suffer- 
ing, would  serve  as  an  example  to  many,  not  only  to 
the  generation  then  living,  but  to  countless  men  and 
women  yet  unborn  ;  and  (2;  his  faithful,  true  preaching, 
now  that  his  voice  was  hushed,  in  such  wiitiugs  as  this 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  would  help,  through  the  ages  to 
come,  to  draw  countless  others,  iu  accordance  with  the 
divine  counsels,  into  fellowship  with  Christ.  The 
question  has  been  often  asked,  whether  those  "  elect " 
for  whom  the  Apostle  endured  these  things  were,  when 
he  wrote  these  words,  believers.  Tliis  point  has  already 
been  touched  upon ;  it  may,  however,  be  here  answered, 
with  some  certainty,  that  the  "  elect "  here  spoken  of 
include  both  believers  and  unbelievers.  The  first — the 
believer — would  in  all  ages  be  built  up  by  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  steadfastness  under  suffering  of  St.  Paul ;  the 
second — the  unbeliever — would  be  won  to  the  faith  by 
the  divinely-inspired  arguments  and  exhortations  which 
the  brave  old  man  ceaselessly  spoke  or  wrote  down  in 
prison  just  as  when  free.  How  could  one  like  St.  Paul, 
wlio  was  conscious  that  he  himself  had  won  the  "  salva- 
tion," not  patiently  endure  aU  things,  if  such  an 
endurance  couhl  help  the  elect  to  obtain  that  salvation 
which  delivered  those  who  obtained  it  from  the  misery 
of  sin  and  death,  and  which  besides — O  blessed  thought! 
— had  the  sure  prospect  of  eternal  glory  ? 

(11)  For  if  we  be  dead  with  him,  we  shall 
also  live  with  him.— The  last  sentence  ended  with 
the  words  ''  eternal  glory " — the  goal,  the  end  of 
the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ.  Tliis  it  is  which 
the  Apostle  will  help  otliers  to  win,  regardless 
of  any  suffering  it  may  cost  him ;  thou,  with  his  mind 
full  of  the  thoughts  of  the  "eternal  gloiy,"  once  more 
he  addressed  himself  to  Timothy.  "  Faithful  is  the 
saying,  namely,  if  wo  be  dead  with  him,"  etc.  It  was  as 
though  he  said,  "  Do  you  not  remember  that  well-known 
watchword  of  our  o%vn  faith,  so  often  repeated  among 
us  in  our  solemn  assemblies  when  the  brotherhood 
meet  together?  "  Many  have  supposed,  from  the  rhytli- 
mical  cliaracter  of  the  clauses  of  verses  11,  12,  13,  that 
this  "saying"  was  taken  from  some  most  ancient 
Christian  liymns,  composed  and  used  in  the  very 
earliest  days  of  the  faith  ;  l)ut  whether  or  no  this  be  the 
case,  there  is  liigli  j)roba])ility  tliat  tlio  words  formed 
part  of  a  liturg}-iu  common  use  in  the  days  of  Timothy. 
If  not  as  a  hjnnn — which  seems,  on  the  whole,  tlie  most 
likely  supposition — we  can  well  conceive  them  as  part  of 
the  tapestry  of  a  primitive  Christian  liturgy,  woven  iu 


like  the  introductory  sentences  in  our  morning  and 
evening  prayer,  or  like  the  "  comfortable  words "  of 
tlie  Communion  Service.  The  expression  "  If  we  be 
dead  mth  Him  " — more  accurately,  If  ice  died  with 
Him — is  well  explained  by  1  Cor.  xv.  31 :  "I  die  daily." 
The  Apostle  died  when  he  embraced  the  lot  of  daily 
death.  The  meaning  is  still  further  illustrated  iu 
2  Cor.  iv.  10,  where  we  read  how  St.  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions were  "  always  bearing  about  in  the  body  the 
dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  "  He  and  his  faithful  com- 
panions (was  Timothy,  to  whom  he  was  then  writing,  to 
be  ranked  in  this  blessed  company  ? )  had  given  them- 
selves up  to  a  life  that  involved  exposure  to  sufferings, 
bitter  enmity,  cruel  persecutions,  even  death ;  but  if  we 
be  thus  dead  with  Him,  what  matters  it  ?  How  can  we 
fear  even  that  last  agony  man  can  inflict  on  us — physical 
death  ? — for  death  with  Him  involves,  surely,  life  with 
Him  too :  that  life  endless,  fadeless,  full  of  glory,  we 
know  He  is  now  enjoying,  in  the  possession  of  which  I, 
Paul,  and  some  of  us  have  even  seen  Him,  face  to  face, 
eye  to  eye.  In  that  life  of  His  we  shall  sliare  ;  we  shall 
be  partakers  in  this  life  of  His  there,  but  only  if  we  have 
shared  in  the  life  of  suffering  which  was  His  life  here.'' 

(12)  If  we  sufifer,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him. 
— And  the  faithful  saying  went  on  with  this  stirring 
declai-ation.  How,  it  seems  to  ask,  can  a  believer  in 
Christ  shrink  from  suffering,  when  he  knows  what  to 
him  will  be  the  glorious  consequences  of  this  present 
suffering  ?  The  word  rendered  "  suffer  "  would  be  better 
translated,  if  loe  endure — that  is,  if  we  bravelv  bear 
up  against  sufferings  for  His  sake,  and,  all  the  while 
work  on  with  hand  and  brain  for  Him  and  for  our 
brother  as  best  we  can.  If  we  do  this  in  this  life,  wo 
shall,  in  the  life  to  come,  reign  with  Him — more  than 
merely  live  with  Him,  as  t  e  last  verse  told  us  :  we 
shall  even  "  be  kings  with  Him."  (See  Rom.  v.  17 ;  viii. 
17;  and  Rev.  i.  6,  where  Jesus  Christ  is  especially 
spoken  of  as  having  made  us  "  kings.")  The  promise 
thus  woven  into  the  faithful  saying,  and  repeated  in 
these  several  passages,  of  the  "  reign  of  the  saints  in 
Christ,"  gives  us  a  strangely  glorious  liope — a  marvel- 
lous oulook,  concerning  the  active  and  jiersonal  work 
which  Christ's  redeemed  will  bo  intrusted  with  in  the 
ages  of  eternity. 

If  we  deny  him,  he  also  will  deny  us.— But 
there  is  another  side  to  the  words  of  the  Blessed. 
While  to  the  faithful  and  the  believer  He  will  grant 
to  sit  down  with  Him  on  His  throne,  the  faithless  and 
unbeliever  will  have  no  share  in  the  glories  of  the 
life  to  come.  These  grave  warnings  are  apparently 
addressed  rather  to  unfaithful  members  of  the  outward 
and  visil)le  Church,  than  to  the  Pagan  world  who  have 
never  kno^vn  Christ.  The  words.  "  He  also  will  deny 
us,"  imply  something  of  a  recognition  on  the  part  of 
us  who  are  denied  by  Him  — sometliing  of  an  expecta- 
tion on  our  part  that  He  would  recognise  us  as  friends. 
They  are  endentlyan  eclio  of  the  Lord's  own  s;id  reply 
to  tliose  many  who  will  say  to  Him  in  that  day, 
"  Lord.  Lord,  have  wo  not  propliesied  in  Thy  name  ? 
.  .  .  and  then  will  I  jirofess  unto  them.  I  never  knew 
yon:  depart  fnmi  Me,  ve  that  work  iniquity." 
(Matt.  vii.  22,  23.  See  too  Matt.  x.  33  and  Mark 
vui.  38.) 


227 


Disjmtes  about  "  Terms  "  and 


II.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


mere  Words  are  to  he  avoided. 


shall  also  reign  with  him:  if  we  deny 
him,  he  also  will  deny  us:  '^-^^  if  we  be- 
lieve not,  xjet  he  abideth  fiiithfnl :  he 
cannot  deny  himself.  (^^'  Of  these  things 
put  them  in  remembrance,  charging 
ihem  before  the  Lord  that  they  strive 
not  about  words  to  no  profit,  hut  to  the 


subverting  of  the  hearers, 
to  shew  thyself  approved 
unto  God,  a  workman  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed, 
rightly  dividing  the  word 
of  truth.  (i«>  But  shun 
profane  and  vain  babblings : 


(15) 


Study 


Chap.  ii.  14 — 
18  Chai-gecl  to 
avoid  disputes 
aVjout  mere 
words.  T  h  e 
results  of  such 
vain  pursuits. 


(13)  If  we  believe  not. — Better  rendered,  if  we 
are  faithless — that  is,  untrue  to  the  vows  of  our  Chris- 
tian profession.  The  faitlilessness  inipHes  more  than 
mere  unbelief  in  any  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
tlie  faith,  such  as  the  Resurrection  of  the  Lord  or  His 
divinity. 

Yet  he  abideth  faithful:  he  cannot  deny 
himself. — Tliose  who  have  understood  these  words  as 
containincf  soothing,  comforting  voices  for  the  sinner, 
for  the  faithless  Christian  who  has  left  his  first  love, 
are  gravely  mistaken.  The  passage  is  one  of  distinct 
severity — may  even  be  termed  one  of  the  sternest  in 
the  Book  of  Life  ;  for  it  tells  how  it  is  impossible  even 
for  the  pitiful  Redeemer  to  forgive  in  the  future  life. 
"  He  cannot  deny  Himself  " — cannot  treat  the  faithless 
as  though  he  were  faithful — cannot  act  as  though 
faithfulness  and  faithlessness  were  one  and  the  same 
thing.  The  Christian  teacher,  such  as  Timoth}-,  and 
the  members  of  his  flock  likewise,  must  remember  that, 
sure  and  certain  as  are  the  promises  of  glory  and  hap- 

f)iness  to  those  who  love  the  Lord  and  try  to  live  His 
ife,  so  surely  will  fall  the  chastisement  on  all  who  are 
faithless  and  untrue. 

With  tlie  solemn  words  of  this  "  faithful  saying  "  St. 
Paul  closes  this,  the  second  division  of  his  Epistle — 
fellowship  in  the  sufferings  of  Christ  here,  on  this  side 
the  grave,  and  fellowship  in  the  glory  of  Christ  there, 
on  the  other  side  the  grave — the  one  side  was  the  sure 
consequence  of  the  other ;  the  one  could  not  exist 
without  the  otlier. 

(1^)  Of  these  things  put  them  in  remem- 
brance.—A  new  division  of  the  Epistle  begins  with 
this  14-tli  verse.  St.  Paul  has  l)een  urging  Timothy  to 
be  strong  in  endurance,  to  bear  trouljle  and  suffering 
with  brave  patience.  He  now  proceeds  to  charge  him 
respecting  tlie  special  work  he  has  to  do  ;  and,  first  he 
deals  with  liis  duties  as  a  teacher  of  truth  brought  face 
to  face  with  teachers  of  error.  He  prefaces  his  direc- 
tions by  bidtling  him,  in  the  forefront  of  his  teaching, 
"put  them  "  (that  is,  tho.se  over  whom  he  was  i)laced  : 
the  members  of  his  Epliesian  flock)  "  in  remembrance 
of  those  tilings" — namely,  of  those  great  and  solemn 
tniths  set  fortli  in  verses  11 — 13,  and  which  mav  bo 
briefly  summed  up  in  the  words:  "Fellowship  with 
Christ  in  suffering  will  be  succeeded  by  fellowsliip 
with  Christ  in  glory."  Surely  such  lofty,  soul-inspiring 
tlioughts  as  these  will  form  the  best  safeguard  against 
the  pitiful  controversies  and  disputes  about  words, 
which  were  occupying  tlie  thouglits  and  wasting  the 
lives  of  so  many  in  Epliesus  called  by  the  name  of  Christ. 
Charging  them  before  the  Lord.— Better 
rendered,  salemnhj  chargiiuj  them  hi-fire  the  Lord  .  .  . 
In  all  Timothy's  solemn  addresses*  to  his  flock  he  is, 
St.  Paul  reminds  him.  charging  his  people  "  before  the 
Lord"— a  very  earnest,  solemn  thought  for  every 
public  teacher,  and  one  calculated  now,  as  then,  to 
deepen  the  life  of  one  a])i)ointed  to  such  an  office. 
There  was  a  grave  danger  that  such  em])ty,  profitless 
disputes  about  words  and  expressions,  which,  we  know, 
occupied  the  attention  of  many  of  the  Ephesian  so- 


called  Christian  teachers,  would  end  in  distracting  the 
minds  of  the  members  of  the  several  congregations, 
who  would  natui'ally  take  their  tone,  in  matters  con- 
nected with  religious  life,  from  their  teacher;  and  thus 
words  would  soon  come  to  be  substituted  for  acts  in  the 
lives  of  those  men  and  women  called  by  the  name  of 
Christ  in  Ephesus.  (See  1  Tim.  vi.  4,  where  these 
"  strifes  of  words "  are  mentioned  among  the  special 
characteristics  of  the  false  teachers.) 

But  to  the  subverting  of  the  hearers. — Not 
only  are  such  arguments  and  disputes  useless  and  pro- 
fitless, but  they  are  positively  mischievous.  In  the 
long  history  of  Christianity,  St.  Paul's  repeated  warning 
respecting  the  danger  of  these  disputes  about  theo- 
logical terms  and  expressions  has  been  sadly  verified. 
Such  contentions  serve  only  to  unsettle  the  mind,  only 
to  shake  true  faith,  only  to  distract  the  one  who  gives 
himself  up  to  this  fatal  pursuit,  from  real,  earnest, 
patient  work  for  Christ. 

(15)  Study  to  shew  thyself  approved  unto 
God,  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed. — Timothy,  and  those  in  the  position  of 
Timothy,  were  to  show  themselves  approved  unto  God, 
by  turning  others,  over  whom  they  possessed  influence, 
from  the  pursuit  of  vain  and  unprofitable  things. 
Then  their  work  would  be  the  work  of  workmen  tested 
by  trial,  and  would  be  found  to  have  stood  the  test. 
(Comp.  here  1  Cor.  iii.  10 — 15,  where  the  final  testing  of 
the  work  done  by  God's  workmen,  such  as  Timothy,  is 
spoken  of  in  very  clear,  lieart-.searcliing  language.)  His 
own  words  in  the  Fu-st  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  were 
evidently  in  St.  Paul's  mind  when  he  wi'ote  down  this 
direction  to  Timothy. 

Rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth.— Better 
rendered  rightly  laying  out  tlie  u-ord  of  tridh.  The 
Greek  word  translated  in  the  English  version  "'  rightly 
dividing,'"  literally  signifies  "cutting  a  straight  line." 
It  seems  most  correct  to  regard  it  as  a  metaphor 
from  laying  out  a  road  (see  Prov.  iii.  6,  in  the 
LXX.  rendering,  where  the  word  is  so  used),  "  or 
drawing  a  furrow,  the  merit  of  which  consists  in  the 
straightness  with  which  the  work  of  cutting,  or  laying 
out,  is  performed.  The  word  of  truth  is,  as  it  were,  a 
road  which  is  to  l>e  laid  out  straightlv  and  truly."  So 
Ellicott.  To  affirm  (see  Alfoid  and  Huther-Meyer)  tliat 
tlie  notion  of  "cutting"  had  been  gradually  lost,  and 
that  the  word  already  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul  signified 
simply  "  to  manage  rightly,"  "to  treat  truthfully  with- 
out falsifying."  and  that  the  exact  opposite  is  to  corrupt 
or  adulterate  the  Word  of  God  (2  Cor.  ii.  17),  seems 
premature.     (Comp.  Eur.  Bhcsns,  4il2,  ed.  Dindorf.) 

In  the  third  century,  Clement  of  Alexandria  {Stro- 
mata,  vii.).  for  instance,  certainly  uses  the  word  in  a 
sense  in  which  the  idea  of  "  cutting "  has  been  lost, 
when  he  writes  or//io^OHn'a  (a  substantive)  as  an  equiva- 
lent for  orthodoxia — orthodoxy.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  the  use  of  the  word  here  by  St.  Paiil  gave  the 
word  a  fresh  starting-point,  and  that  gradually  the 
original  meaning  jjassed  out  of  sight. 

(16)  But  shun  profane  and  vain  babblings.— 


228 


The  Danger  of 


II.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


such  Wordrdispufes. 


for  tliey  will  increase  unto  more  ungod- 
liness. <^"'  And  their  word  will  eat  as 
dotli  a  canker  ^ :  of  whom  is  Hj'menaius 
and  Philetus ;  ^^^^  who  concerning  the 
truth  have  erred,  saying  that  the  resur- 
rection is  past  abeady ;  and  overthrow 


I  Or.  anngrenc. 
1'  Or,  altMdy. 


the  faith  of  some.  (^^)  Nevertheless  the 
foundation  of  God  standeth 
sure,-  having  this  seal,  The  Chap.  ii.  19. 
Lord  knoweth  them  that  God  Smle^the 
are  his.  And,  Let  every  figure  of  u, 
one  that  nameth  the  name  f^^^^^tion. 


Bat,  in  strong  contrast  to  tho  conduct  just  urged, 
on  the  workman  of  God,  do  thou  avoid  (or,  ivithdraw 
thyself  from)  vain  babblings.  The  word  rendered 
"  shun "  is  a  strong  one,  and  signifies  literally,  to 
make  a  circuit  so  as  to  avoid;  or,  as  Alford  para- 
phrases it,  '"the  meaning  seems  to  come  from  a  number 
f)f  persons  falling  back  from  an  object  of  fear  or 
loathing,  and  standing  at  a  distance  roiind  it."  Tho 
word  is  used  in  Titus  iii.  9.  On  the  words  "profane," 
"  vain-babblings,"  see  1  Tim.  vi.  20. 

For  they  will  increase  unto  more  ungodli- 
ness.— Better  translated,  for  they  toill  advance  unto 
.  .  .  The  tendency  of  these  useless  discussions  and 
idle  disputes  is  to  lead  men  into  vain  and  profitless 
speculations,  which  end  too  often — as  in  tho  case,  cited 
])elo\v,  of  Hymenseus  and  Philetus — in  the  most  fatal 
doctrinal  error.  The  close  connection  between  grave 
fundamental  errors  in  doctrine  and  a  lax  and  purely 
selfish  life  is   constantly  alluded  to  by  St.  Paul. 

(1")  And  their  word  will  eat  as  doth  a 
canker. — Better  rendered,  as  in  the  margin  of  the 
English  translation,  as  doth  a  gangrene,  the  usual 
rendering  of  the  various  English  versions.  "  Cancer," 
which  is  adopted  also  by  Luther — krebs — fails  to  ex- 
press the  terrible  and  deathly  nature  of  the  "  word  "  of 
these  false  teachers.  The  life  of  the  sufferer  afflicted 
with  cancer  may  be  prolonged  for  many  years ;  a  few 
hours,  however,  is  sufficient  to  put  a  term  to  the  life 
of  the  patient  attacked  with  "  gangrene,"  unless  the 
limb  affected  be  at  once  cut  away.  To  translate  this 
Greek  word  here  by  "cancer"  is  to  water  down  the 
original,  in  which  St.  Paul  expresses  his  dread  of  the 
fatal  influence  of  the  words  of  these  teachers  on  the 
lives  of  many  of  the  flock  of  Christ.  Perhaps  Jerome's 
words,  "  a  perverse  doctrine,  beginning  with  one,  at  the 
commencement  scarcely  finds  two  or  three  listeners ; 
but  little  by  little  the  cancer  creeps  through  the  body  " 
(Jerome,  in  Epist.  ad  Gal.),  has  suggested  the  rendering 
of  the  English  Yersion. 

Of  whom  is  Hymenseus  and  Philetus. — 
Of  the.se  false  teachers  nothing  is  known  beyond  the 
mention,  in  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy,  of  HymenjBus, 
who,  regardless  of  the  severe  action  which  had  been 
taken  against  liim  (1  Tim.  i.  20),  was  apparently  still 
continuing  in  his  error.  Vitrincfa  thinks  they  were 
Jews,  and  probably  Samaritans.  Their  names  are  simply 
{riven  as  examples  of  tlie  teachers  of  error  to  whom 
St.  Paul  was  referring — famous  leaders.no  doubt,  in  their 
cheerless  schoo!  of  doctrine. 

(iH)  Who  concerning  the  truth  have  erred. 
— Or,  have  erred,  or,  more  literally,  have  minsed  their 
aim.    (See  Note  on  1  Tim.  vi.  21.) 

The  resurrection  of  tho  body,  grounded  upon  the 
Lord's  own  words  (John  v.  28.  2iM,  was  one  of  tho 
Articles  of  the  Christian  faith  upon  which  St.  Paul 
espocially  loved  to  dwell.  (See.  for  instance,  liis  words 
before  Felix — Acts  xxiv.  15.)  With  this  "  resurrection 
of  tlie  body  "  St.  Paul,  prompted  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
tnu'jlit  men  tlmt  the  future  state  of  rewards  and  punisli- 
inents  was  intimately  bound  up;  the  .soul  will  bo 
clothed  with  a  body  of  glory  or  mth  a  body  of  shame, 


according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  flesh.  This  doctrine 
appears,  in  very  early  times,  to  have  been  questioned 
by  some  in  the  Christian  community.  Then,  as  now,  was 
the  thought  repugnant  to  the  shrinking  soul  of  man, 
— that  the  body  in  which  he  then  lived  and  sinned 
would  ri.se  again. 

Elaborated,  but  still  scarcely  di.sguised,  tho  same 
denial  of  a  bodily  resurrection  was  a  characteristic  of 
the  more  important  of  the  widely-spread  Gnostic  systems 
of  the  second  and  third  centuries. 

These  early  Christian  followers  of  men  like  Hymenaeus 
and  Philetus  had  much  in  common  with  the  ascetic 
Jewish  sects  of  Essenes  and  Therjipcutae,  and  especially 
with  the  famous  Sadducean  .school,  which  attracted  then 
so  many  cultured  and  wealthy  Jews.  Tliey  opposed, 
to  use  Van  Oostei'zee's  words,  "  their  own  sickly 
idealism  to  St.  Paul's  strong  and  healthy  realism." 
Death  and  resurrection,  with  these  early  opponents 
of  St.  Paul,  were  terms  which  had  only  a  spiritual 
meaning  and  application.  As  Waterland  puts  it,  "•  They 
allegorised  away  the  doctrine,  and  tui'ned  all  into 
figures  and  metaphors." 

Another  consideration  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  when 
we  are  considering  the  reasons  for  St.  Paul's  fiery  indig- 
nation with  this  unhappy  school  of  dreamers.  In 
attacking,  with  their  thinly-veiled  scepticism,  the  great 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  in  pushing 
aside  the  glorious  hope,  they  touched  with  their  impious 
hands  the  comer- stone  of  all  Christian  belief — the 
resurrection  in  the  body  of  the  Redeemer.  This  Re- 
surrection was  indeed  past  already. 

(19)  Nevertheless  the  foundation  of  God 
standeth  sure.— Better  rendered.  Nevertheless  God's 
firm  foundation  standeth.  Nevertheless,  that  is  to 
say,  though  some  may  be  shaken  in  faith  by  the 
unhappy  teaching  above  referred  to.  yet  assuredly 
God's  firm  foimdation  stands  unshaken.  "  The  firm 
foundation  laid  by  God "  is  the  Church  of  Christ, 
which  is  hero  termed  a  foundation  laid  by  God, 
because  it,  the  Church  of  Ciirist,  is  the  ground- 
storey  of  the  glorious  Temple  of  the  future.  In  other 
words,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  here  considered  as  the 
foundation  of  a  far  grander  building,  which,  in  tho 
fulness  of  time,  will  rest  upon  its  ma.ssive  work  (see 
Eph.  ii.  19 — 21);  and  this  ground-storey,  the  corner- 
stone of  which  is  Christ,  "  standeth  "  age  after  age.  in 
spite  of  any  efforts  which  may  be  made  to  destroy  or 
even  to  shake  it.  The  term  "foundation,"  here  used 
for  the  Church  of  God  on  earth,  is  remarkable,  and 
points  to  a  great  trutli :  that,  after  all,  this  life  is  but  a 
beginning,  and  that  "His  Church"  here  is  l)ut  a  foun- 
dation— is  only  the  first  and  early  storey  of  that  glorioii>< 
Cliurch  the  Divine  Architect  has  planned,  and  will 
com])lete  in  he.iven. 

Having  this  seal.— It  was  a  custom,  which  dates 
back  from  the  very  earliest  time-^.  to  inscribe  upon 
a  building  or  a  monument  an  inscription  whicli  told  of 
its  origin  and  puri)oso.  In  some  ca.ses,  as  in  the  oldest 
monuments  of  Egypt,  tlie  engraved  wTiting  told  the 
name  of  the  roval  Or  priestly  builder;  so  in  Eev.  xxi. 
U,  we  read  how  in  the  wall 'of  tho  City  of  God  there 


The  Church  MilitarU  under  tlie 


II.    TIMOTHY,    II.  Fujure  of  a  Massive  Foundation. 


of  Ckrist  depart  from  iniquity.     (^^  But 

..      .    in  a  great  house  there  are 

GooY'men  and  not   only   vessels   of   gold 

evil   exist   to-  and  of  silver,  but  also  of 

wood  and   of  earth;    and 


gether. 


some  to  honour,  and  some  to  dishonour. 
(^^^  If  a  man  therefore  purge  himself 
from  these,  he  shall  be  a  ^,       ..  „,    „^ 

1  ,  '    ,  Chap.  u.  21 — 26. 

vessel  unto  nonoui',  sane-  Tlie  work  of  a 
tilled,   and   meet    for    the  good  man. 


were  twelve  foundations,  and  on  them  were  engraved 
tlie  names  of  tlio  Twelve  Apostles  of  the  Lamb.  On 
this  "foundation  storey."  of  which  St.  Paul  was  now 
speaking,  was  carved  a  legible  inscription  in  two  sen- 
tences— the  one  told  of  comfort  and  hope,  reminding 
men  God  would  ever  know  "  His  own  ;"  the  other  told 
of  duty,  reminding  men  that  "  God's  o^vn "  had  no 
share  in  unrighteousness.  It  is  called  "  a  seal "  here 
instead  of  an  inscription,  for  a  seal  best  conveys  the 
idea  of  the  solemn  binding  character  of  the  writing. 

The  Jew  Avas  especially  accustomed  to  see  the  words 
and  promises  of  liis  God  written  or  graven  ou  his  door- 
posts and  ou  his  gates.  (See  Deut.  vi.  9 ;  xi.  20. 
See,  too,  the  words  of  Job  xix.  24-,  where  he  would 
have  his  most  solemn  declaration  of  faith  gi-aveu  or 
sealed  on  a  rock  for  ever.) 

The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his. — This 
was  the  first  sentence  of  the  inscription  graven  on  the 
foundation-storey.  The  ivords  were  probably  a  me- 
mory of  Num.  :l\\.  5 ;  but  the  thought  here  goes  far 
deeper.  God's  own  people,  as  they  read  the  words 
graven  on  the  foundation  "  with  an  iron  pen  and  with 
lead  for  ever,"  are  ever  reminded  of  their  deepest, 
highest,  truest  comfort.  "  The  Lord  knoiveth  them  that 
are  His."  The  words  may  be  paraphrased  :  "  He  knows 
His  oAvn  because  He  loves  them ;  "  never  will  He  cease  to 
know  them,  but  will  keep  them  for  ever  and  for  ever. 
Compare,  too,  the  words  of  the  Good  Shepherd  (John  x. 
14,  27—29). 

And,  Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of 
Christ  depart  from  iniquity.— The  thought  and 
the  words  are  from  the  Old  Testament.  The  thought 
is  expressed  in  a  wider  and  more  general  form  in  Isa. 
lii.  11 :  "  Depart  ye.  depart  ye,  go  ye  out  from  thence, 
touch  no  unclean  thing  ...  Be  ye  clean,  that  bear 
the  vessels  of  the  Lord  ;  "  and  for  the  words  "  nameth 
the  name  of  the  Lord,"  see  Isaiah  xxvi.  13.  "  Naming 
the  name  of  Jesus  "  must  be  understood  in  the  sense 
of  the  last  clause  of  1  Cor.  xii.  3 ;  in  other  words,  this 
sentence  of  the  inscription  signifies  that  no  man  con- 
fessing with  the  heart  that  Jesus  is  Lord  can  commit 
iniquity  deliberately— the  two  things  are  utterly  incom- 
patible. "  Iniquity'  here  includes  tlie  teaching  of  those 
false  men  above  alluded  to,  a-s  their  teacliing  led  away 
from  the  truth,  and  resulted  in  alaxande^-il  way  of  life. 

(20)  But  in  a  great  house  there  are  not  only 
vessels  of  gold  and  of  silver.— The  Apostle  goes 
on  with  the  same  thought  of  the  "  Church  of  God 
on  earth."  but  he  changes  the  imagery.  He  has 
been  si)eaking  of  this  CliTirch  as  the  "foundation- 
storey  that  cannot  be  moved"  of  a  still  more  glorious 
etlitice.  He  now,  as  it  were,  answers  a  question 
which  would  naturally  occur  to  Timothy  and  to  many 
a  devout  reader  or  hearer  of  the  Epistle  when  they 
came  to  this  part  of  the  argument.  How  comes  it.tlien, 
one  would  ask.  that  in  this  visible  Church  on  earth  are 
so  many  unwoi-thy  members  ?  How  is  it  th.at  in  this 
changeless,  abiding  foundation  of  the  great  Temple  of 
the  future,  against  which  all  earthly  storms  may  beat, 
and  yet  never  shake  its  massive  storeys,  so  many  useless 
crumbling  stones  are  taken  for  the  l)uilding  ? 

In  a  great  house,  argues  St.  Paul — still  thinking  of 


230 


the  Church,  but  changing  the  foundation  image  for 
that  of  a  great  house — are  always  found  two  distinct 
kinds  of  vessels — the  precious  and  enduring,  and  also 
the  comparatively  valueless  and  lasting  for  but  a  littlo 
while ;  the  first  kind  are  destined  for  honour,  the 
second  for  dishonour.  In  St.  Paul's  mind,  when  ho 
wrote  these  words,  the  natural  sequel  to  his  far-reach- 
ing and  suggestive  comparison  of  the  "  foundation " 
(verse  19)  were  the  words  of  his  Master,  who  had 
once  compared  His  Church  to  a  drag-net  of  wide  sweep, 
including  in  its  take  something  of  every  kind  out  of  tho 
vast  sea-world.  The  "  net" — His  Church — was  to  gather 
and  to  hold  in  its  meshes  its  great  take — the  good  and 
the  bad,  the  useful  and  the  useless — till  the  end  of  the 
world.  So  St.  Paul  writes  how  in  a  great  house  there 
must  be  these  varieties  of  vessels — some  for  honour, 
others  for  dishonour.  By  these  vessels  the  genuine 
and  spurious  members  of  the  Church  are  represented 
as  forming  two  distinct  classes;  and  in  these  classes 
different  degrees  of  honour  and  dishonour  besides  exist 
— the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  the  vessels  of  wood 
and  of  earth.  To  Timothy  these  comparisons  would  at 
once  suggest  the  true  and  false  teachers  in  his  Church 
at  Ephesus ;  but  the  reference  is  a  far  broader  one,  and 
includes  all  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The 
enduring  natui-e  of  the  metals  gold  and  silver  are 
contrasted  with  the  perishable  nature  of  the  other 
materials,  wood  and  earth.  The  former  will  remain 
a  part  of  the  Church  for  ever;  the  latter  will  only 
endure  until  the  end  of  the  world. 

(21)  If  a  man  therefore  purge  himself  from 
these. ^ — Again  the  reference  is  general,  but  there  was 
a  special  thought  for  Timothy  when  St.  Paul  wrote 
this.  If  he  would  separate  from  all  that  was  evil  in 
his  Chui-ch  at  Ephesus,  then  would  he  indeed  be  one  of 
those  golden  vessels  unto  honour.  The  image  of  tho 
great  house,  and  its  many  and  varied  vessels,  though 
still  not  quite  lost  sight  of,  is  passing  out  of  sight. 
This  verse  changes  into  a  note  of  direct  exhortation. 
The  good  and  faithfid  must  separate  themselves  from 
the  evil  and  faithless.  The  thought  of  those  deniers  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  body  was  uppermost  in  St. 
Paul's  mind.  There  must,  as  it  has  been  well  said,  bo 
no  communion  on  the  part  of  God's  servants  with  im- 
pugners  of  fundamentals.  It  was  im2)erativcly  neces- 
siiry  for  Timothy — and,  by  implication,  for  all  members 
of  Christ's  Church — if  they  aimed  at  becoming  vessels 
for  honour  in  the  great  Temple,  to  break  ofE  from  all 
Church  fellowship,  from  all  intimate  friendship,  with 
those  above  referred  to  under  the  image  of  wooden  or 
earthen  vessels. 

He  shall  be  a  vessel  unto  honour.— Chrysos- 
tom's  note  upon  these  words  is  somewhat  renuirkable. 
He  points  out  the  possibility  of  the  vessel  for  dishonour 
becoming  a  vessel  for  honour,  and  the  reverse;  and 
refers  to  St.  Paul,  once  an  earthen  vessel,  who  became 
a  vessel  of  gold,  and  to  the  traitor  Judas,  who,  on  the 
other  hand,  from  being  a  vessel  of  gold  became  an 
earthen  vessel. 

Meet  for  the  master's  use.— Or,  useful  for  tie 
master  (of  the  house).  "  Useful,"  as  the  next  sentence 
shows  us,  through  those  good  works  by  means  of  which 


The  Work  of  the 


11.   TIMOTHY,   II. 


Servant  of  tJie  Lord. 


master's  use,  and  prepared  unto  every 
good  work.  (--^  Flee  also  youthful  lusts : 
but  follow  righteousness,  faith,  charity, 
peace,  with  thorn  that  call  on  the  Lord 
out  of  a  pure  heart.  <^'^'  But  foolish  and 
unlearned  questions  avoid,  knowing  that 


1  Ot,  forbearing. 


they  do  gender  strifes.  f^*)  And  the 
servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive  ; 
but  be  gentle  unto  all  mew,  apt  to 
teach,  patient,'  (^^  in  meekness  in- 
structing those  that  oppose  them- 
selves ;    if  God  peradventure  will  give 


others'  needs  &x$  ministered  to,  and  tlio  sah-ation  of 
otliers  is  furtliered,  and  the  glory  of  God  is  increased. 

Prepared  unto  every  good  work.—"  Prepared  " 
— tliat  is,  ready  to  take  advantage  of  any  oiiyortuuity 
wliieh  may  otfer  itself  to  do  a  generous,  noble  action. 
So,  too.  Clirysostom,  who  would  have  the  "  vessel  unto 
honour  "  ready  for  every  emergency  which  woidd  enhance 
the  glory  of  the  Lord — ready  even  for  death,  or  (^any 
painful)  witness. 

(22)  Flee  also  youthful  lusts.— But  he  who  would 
indacl  become  a  "vessel  for  honour"  in  that  great 
house  of  God  must  do  more  than  merely  separate  him- 
self from  all  outward  communion  and  friendship  with 
men  who,  by  their  teaching  and  in  their  lives,  did  dis- 
honour to  the  blaster's  religion.  There  was  an  inner 
work  to  be  accomplished,  as  well  as  an  outer  and  more 
public  protest  to  be  made.  He  must  fight  with  and 
conquer  those  lusts,  passious,  and  desires  which  are 
more  peculiarly  tempting  to  those  who  are  still  in  the 
meridian  of  life.  That  Timothy  was  not  now  in  early 
manhood  has  been  already  shown.  He  was  at  this 
time,  probably,  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of  ase. 
These  youthful  lusts  are  by  no  means  to  be  limited  to 
those  varied  and  fatal  excesses  summed  up  in  the 
Seventh  Commandment.  A  victory  over  these,  of 
course,  is  imperatively  necessai-y  for  one  who  would 
be  "of  use"  in  the  house  of  his  God:  but  such  a 
one  must  train  himself  to  subdue  otlier  and  far 
more  subtle  lusts  than  are  included  in  these.  He  must 
be  watchful  and  stamp  down  all  covetousuess,  whether 
of  rank  or  gold ;  all  longing  for  empty  shows ;  all  pride, 
conceit,  readiness  to  take  offence ;  all  the  kindred 
forms  of  love  of  self. 

But  follow  righteousness,  faith,  charity.— 
See  Note  on  1  Tim.  vi.  11,  where  the  same  charge 
occurs. 

Peace. — This  last,  "peace,"  must  be  joined  with 
the  words  immediately  following :  "  with  them  that 
call  on  the  Lord,"  Sic.  The  "  peace  "  here  .signifies 
absence  of  contention :  it  is  well  paraphi-ased  by.  "  that 
spiritual  concord  whidi  unites  together  all  who  call 
upon  and  who  love  their  Lord."  Theodoret  thus  draws 
a  distinction  between  "  love  "  and  "  peace  "  : — "  It  is 
possible  to  love  all,  and  this  the  gospel  law  enjoins  us 
in  the  words,  '  Love  your  enemies :  '  but  to  be  at  peace 
with  all  is  not  possible."  The  words  "  out  of  a  pure 
heart"  contrjist  those  holy  and  Imuible  men  of  heart 
who  serve  God  without  any  idterior  motive,  with  those 
false  teachers  who  dare  to  make  their  religion  a  gain,  a 
source  of  profit. 

(^^'  But  foolish  and  unlearned  questions 
avoid. — The  Greek  word  translated  "  uidearned  "  is 
better  rendered  iynoranf.  These  ''questions"  which, 
as  we  have  seen  above,  the  false  teachers,  with  whom 
Timothy  was  so  much  thrown,  loved  to  put  forward  for 
discussion,  could  hardly  be  termed  "  unlearned  " — much 
useless  learning  being  often  thrown  away  in  these  dis- 
putings  of  the  schools — but  were  rather  "  pointless," 
"  stupid,"  as  well  as  foolish.  The  nature  of  these  ques- 
tions of  controversy  has  l)i'('ii  discussed  above. 

Knowing  that  they  do  gender  strifes.— Know- 


ing— as  thou  dost — from  sad  and  frequent  experience, 
what  conflicts,  heart-burnings,  estrangements,  these 
abstract  questions  between  rival  teachers  and  rival  sects 
engendered. 

(-1)  And  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not 
strive.— Although  these  directions  and  commandments 
in  all  cases  belong  to  God's  servants  of  every  degree  and 
calling,  yet  some  of  them,  as  we  should  expect  from  the 
nature  of  the  Ei)istle,  peculiarly  apply  to  Timothy  and 
those  like  Timothy  specially  devoted  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Word.  And  so  here  everything  which  is  likely  to 
be  the  cause  of  strife,  heart-burning,  or  hot  words,  is, 
St.  Paid  urges,  singularly  out  of  place  in  the  life  of 
a  servant  of  that  Lord  who  fulfilled  to  the  letter  that 
Isaiah  prophecy  of  Messiah,  "  He  shall  not  strive,  nor 
cry ;  neither  shall  any  man  hear  His  voice  in  the  streets." 
(See  Matt.  xii.  19—20. ) 

But  be  gentle  unto  all  men.— Quiet  and  kind, 
not  only  to  those  belonging  to  the  brotherhood  of 
Christ,  but,  as  is  expressly  mentioned,  to  all.  It  is 
noteworthy  how,  in  these  Pastoral  Epistles — which  con- 
tain, so  to  speak,  the  last  general  directions  to  believers 
in  Jesus  as  to  life  as  well  as  doctrine  of  perhaps  the 
greatest  of  the  inspired  teachers — so  many  cai'eful 
suggestions  are  given  for  the  guidance  of  Christians  iu 
all  their  relations  with  the  great  heathen  world.  Cun- 
ciliationmtijhe  termed  the  key-note  of  these  directions. 
St.  Paul  would  press  upon  Timothy  and  his  snccessoi-s 
the  great  truth  that  it  was  the  Master's  will  that  the 
unnumbered  peoples  who  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death  should  learn,  by  slow  though  sure 
degrees,  how  lovely  and  desirable  a  thing  it  was  to  be  a 
Christian  ;  shoiild  come  at  length  to  see  clearly  that 
Christ  was,  after  all,  the  only  lover  and  real  friend  of 
man. 

Apt  to  teach,  patient.— The  Greek  word  is  better 
rendered  by  the  forbearing  of  the  margin  than  by 
"  patient."  Patient  of  icrong.  however,  best  gives  the 
full  force  of  the  original.  This  is  what  the  servant 
of  God  should  really  aim  at  being  :  the  teacher  rather 
than  the  controversiaHst — rather  the  patient  endurer  of 
wrong  than  the  fomenter  of  dissensions  and  wordy 
strifes. 

(25)  In  meekness  instructing  those  that 
oppose  themselves.— By  '•  those  that  oppose  them- 
selves," St.  Paul  alludes  scarcely  so  much  to  those 
leading  teachers  of  false  doctrine  as  to  those  led  away 
by  them.  In  Titus  iii.  10  we  read  how  these  pronounced 
heretics — no  doubt  the  teachers  and  leaders  of  the 
school — were,  after  a  first  and  second  ailmonition,  to  be 
shunned,  were  to  be  left  to  themselves.  These,  how- 
ever, were  evidently  to  be  dealt  with  in  a  different 
manner.  Their  treatment  was  to  be  a  gentle  one. 
Nothing  is  here  said  respecting  a  first  and  second 
admonition  only;  no  hint  is  given  that  these  are  to  lie 
shunned.  They  are  clearly  not  the  same  a«  tho.se 
referred  to  in  Titus  iii.  10,  or  above  in  verse  21  of  this 
chapter,  where,  again,  separation  is  definitely  urged. 

If  God  peradventure  will  give  them  repen- 
tance.—The  Greek  original  here  also  carries  out  what 
was  said  in  the  Note  ou  the  last  clause,  and  may  bo 


231 


The  Vices  of 


II.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


the  Last  Days. 


them  repentance  to  the  acknowledg- 
ing of  the  truth;  <-''>  and  that  they 
may  recover  ^  themselves  out  of  the 
snare  of  the  devil,  who  are  taken  cajD- 
tive  ~  by  him  at  his  will. 


(J r.  talien  alive. 


CHAPTEE  III.— (1)  This  know  also, 
that  in  the  last  days  peril-  chap.  iii.  1—9. 
ous  times  shall  come.  c-^For  Thcvicesof  the 
men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  ^^*  ^^' 
own   selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud, 


rendered  literally,  if  perchance  at  any  time  God  might 
grant  to  them  .  .  .  This  suggests  a  hope  at  least 
that  at  some  time  or  other  God's  grace  would  work 
in  these  "opposing"  members  of  the  congregation  a 
change.  The  ''  repentance  "  here  signifies  an  abandon- 
ment on  the  part  of  those  en-iug  Christians  of  that 
wrong  course  on  which  they  had  entered,  and  a  return 
to  the  true  Church  of  God  and  to  the  full  knowledge 
of  the  gospel  truth. 

(26)  That  they  may  recover  themselves. — Tlie 
literal  meaning  of  the  Greek  word  rendered  "  that  they 
may  recover  themselves  "  is,  that  they  may  aivake  from 
drunhe7iness.  The  English  version,  however,  gives  the 
meaning  with  great  exactness.  Those  taken  in  the 
snare  of  the  devil  are  represented  as  not  only  captives 
in  the  snare  of  the  devil,  but  as  also  helplessly  wrapped 
in  slumber. 

The  deadly  peril  of  all  "  captives  of  sin  "  is  here  well 
painted.  These  unhappy  ones,  befoi-e  they  can  free 
themselves  from  the  toils  of  the  evil  one,  must  awake 
from  the  deep  slumber  in  which  they  are  wrapped  :  in 
other  words,  must  first  be  conscious  of  their  awful 
danger. 

Who  are  taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will.— 
These  words  have  been  variously  interpreted  by  com- 
mentators. The  meaning  that,  on  the  whole,  seems 
most  satisfactory,  represents  the  captive  to  sin  waking 
up  from  his  deathly  slumber  and  escaping  the  toils  of 
the  evil  one,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  for  the 
future  the  will  of  God.  The  rendering  of  the  whole 
verse  would  be  as  follows  :  "  And  that  they  may  recover 
themselves  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil — being  held 
captive  by  him — to  do  His  (God's)  ivill." 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  first  pronoun  in  this 
sentence,  '*  being  held  captive  by  him,"  referred  hero  to 
the  devil,  and  the  second  pronoun  in  the  sentence,  "  to 
do  His  will,"  referred  here  to  God,  are  represented  in 
the  Greek  by  two  distinct  words:  the  first  by  avrov,  the 
second  by  iKiivov. 

III. 

(1)  This  know  also.— Bettor  rendered.  But  know 
this.  Tlie  Apostle  had  warned  Timothy  (chap.  ii. 
3 — 13)  not  to  allow  fear  of  oncoming  peril  and 
trouble  to  paralyse  his  eiforts  in  the  Master's 
cause,  for  the  Lord's  tnu3  servant  should  never  lose 
heart,  and  then  had  i)roceeded  (chap.  ii.  14 — 26)  to 
detail  how  tliese  eiforts  of  his  were  to  bo  directed, 
showing  him  how  his  teaching  should  stand  in  contrast 
with  that  of  the  false  teacliers.  St.  Paul  now  (chaj). 
iii.  1),  having  told  liini  that  althimgh  there  was  no 
reason  to  fear,  yet  warns  him  that  grave  dangers  to  the 
Church  imuhl  surely  arise,  and  that  God's  servants, 
like  Timothy,  must  be  prepared  to  combat. 

In  the  last  days.— Tli(>  majority  of  commentators 
have  referred  "  the  last  days  "  here  s^joken  of  to  tlie 
period  immediately  preceding  the  second  coming  of  th(> 
Lord — a  day  and  an  hour  somewhere  in  the  futur(> 
but  hidden,  not  nu^rely  from  all  men.  but  from  the 
angels,  and  even  from  the  Son  (Mark  xiii.  32). 

It  seems,  however,  more  in  accordance  with  such 
passages  as  1  John  ii.  18 :  "  Little  children,  it  is  the 


last  time  " — where  the  present,  and  not  an  uncertain 
future  is  alluded  to — to  understand  "  the  last  days  "  as 
that  period,  probably  of  veiy  long  duration,  extending 
from  the  days  of  the  first  coming  of  Messiah — in 
which  time  St.  Paul  lived — to  the  second  coming  of 
Christ  in  judgment.  The  Jewish  Ral)bis  of  the  days 
of  St.  Paul  were  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  two  great 
periods  of  the  world's  history — "this  age,"  and  "the  ago 
to  come."  The  former  of  these,  "this  age,"  including  all 
periods  up  to  Messiah's  advent ;  the  latter,  "  the  age  to 
come,"  including  all  periods  subsequent  to  the  appear- 
ance of  Messiah.  We  find  the  same  idea  embodied 
later  in  the  Talmud  (treatise  "  Sanhedrim  ")  6,000  years 
ai'e  mentioned  as  the  duration  of  the  world,  2,000  years, 
waste  or  chaos,  2,000  years  under  the  law,  2,000  j'cars 
the  days  of  Messiah."  This  last  period,  "  the  days  of 
Messiah,"  are  often  alluded  to  by  the  Hebrew  prophets 
under  the  expression,  "  in  the  last  days  " — literally,  in 
the  end  of  days.  (See  Isa.  ii.  2;  Hos.  iii.  5  ;  Mic.  iv.  1.) 
The  words  of  verse  5,  "  from  such  turn  away,"  would 
rcqxiire  certainly  a  strained  interjiretation  if  we  are  to 
suppose  that  the  "  last  days "  referred  to  a  time  im- 
mediately preceding  the  end,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
last  period  of  the  Christian  era.  The  sad  catalogue 
of  vices  is,  alas,  one  with  which  all  ages  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  has  been  too  well  acquainted.  The  Christian 
teacher  has  no  need  to  look  forward  to  a  future  time  of 
deeper  iniquity,  when  in  the  Church  of  the  li\nng  God 
will  be  found  those  who  will  deserve  the  dreary  titles 
of  this  passage.  The  Church  of  his  own  age  will 
supply  him  with  examples  of  many  such,  for  "  In  a 
great  house  .  ,  .  are  there  not  only  a'CsscIs  of  gold 
and  silver,  but  also  of  wood,  and  earth,  and  some  to 
honour  and  some  to  di.shonour." 

(2)  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own 
selves. — Hofmann  and  others  have  attempted  to  portion 
out  these  vices  into  groups.  But  any  such  effort  seems 
artificial.  A  certain  connection  seems  to  exist  in  some 
part;  but  when  pressed  to  pi-cserve  the  groups,  a 
strained  meaning  has  to  be  given  to  some  of  the  terms. 
It  seems,  therefore,  best  simply  to  understand  the 
catalogue  as  representing  the  various  more  prominent 
vices  which  appeared  cm  the  surface  of  Christian 
society,  and  threatened  the  very  existence  of  the 
Church,  even  in  those  early  times  when  Timothy  ruled 
over  the  congregations  of  Christians  at  Epliesus. 
Hofmann,  however,  divides  the  catalogue  contained  in 
verses  2 — i  into  three  groups,  consisting  of  five,  six, 
and  seven  terms,  respectively. 

Lovers  of  their  own  selves. — Selfislmess  well 
heads  the  dreary  list.     It  is  the  true  root  of  all  sin. 

Covetous. — More  accurately  rendered,  lovers  of 
monnj.  This  "  love  of  money  "  has  been  hapjnly  termed 
"  the  daughter  of  selfishness." 

Boasters. — Those  who  arrogate  to  themselves  honour 
which  does  not  fairly  belong  to  them. 

Proud. — These  are  they  who  contemptuously  look 
down  on  others  beneath  them,  either  in  social  position 
or  wealth,  or  perhaps  in  natural  gifts.  The  Latin, 
ostentaiio,  represents  the  vice  which  aifeets  the  first  of 
these  classes — "  the  boasters ;  "  and  superbia,  that  which 
affects  the  .second  class — "  the  proud." 


232 


The  Sin  and  Error  prevalent 


II.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


in  this  Last  Age. 


blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents, 
unthankful,  unholy,  ('^  without  natural 
affection,  trucebreakers,  false  accusers,^ 
incontinent,  fierce,  despisers  of  those 
that  are  good,  ^^^  traitors,  heady,  high- 


1  Or,  malcc-bates. 


minded,  lovers  of  pleasures  more  than 
lovers  of  God ;  (^^  having  a  form  of  god- 
liness, but  denying  the  power  thereof: 
from  such  turn  away.  <^^  For  of  this 
sort  are  they  which  creep  into  houses. 


Blasphemers.— The  two  vices  just  mentioiipd  refer 
to  man's  coudiict  to  his  l)rotlier  inau ;  tliis  alludes  to 
liis  beliaviour  towards  his  God.  The  pride  witli  which 
lie  looks  down  on  his  fellows  develops  itself  into  in- 
solence in  thought,  if  not  in  word,  towards  his  God  : 
and  this  is  ternuMl  blasphemy. 

Disobedient  to  parents. — The  blasphemer  of  the 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  only  too  likely  to  train 
np  little  ones  wdio,  ip  their  turn,  will  display  a  dis- 
obedience and  disrespect  of  their  earthly  parents.  The 
liome  life  of  the  man  who  chooses  not  to  know  God 
in  his  heart  ^vill  too  easily  reflect  his  evil  thoughts 
and  senseless  pride. 

Unthankful. — Or,  ungrateful.  The  children  who 
begin  life  with  disobedience  to  their  parents,  with  rare 
exceptions,  are  ungrateful  to  all  others  who  may  show 
them  kindness  in  their  life  journey. 

Unholy. — Unlioly  through  their  want  of  inward 
purity.     (See  1  Tim.  i.  9.) 

(^)  Without  natural  affection.— Careless  and  re- 
gardless of  the  welfare  of  those  connected  with  them 
by  ties  of  blood. 

Trucebreakers.- Better  rendered,  implacahle. 

False-accusers. — Or,  slanderers.  (See  1  Tim.  iii. 
11.) 

Incontinent. — Having  no  control  over  the  passions. 

Fierce. — Inhuman,  savage,  or  merciless. 

Despisers  of  those  that  are  good.— Better 
rendered,  no  lovers  of  good — that  is,  hostile  to  every 
good  thought  and  work. 

(i)  Traitors.— Or,  betrayers,  probably,  as  it  has 
been  suggested,  of  their  Chi'istian  brethren.  (Comp. 
Luke  vi.  16,  where  this  epithet  is  used  of  Judas 
Iscariot,  "which  also  was  the  traitor;"  and  also  Acts 
vii.  52,  where  Stephen,  in  his  Sanhedrin  speech,  uses 
this  term  "  betrayers  "  of  the  Jews,  "  of  whom — the  Just 
One — ye  have  been  now  the  betrayers."  In  these  days 
of  Timothy,  and  for  many  a  long  year,  to  inform  against 
the  believers  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  to  give  information 
of  their  places  of  meeting  in  times  of  persecution,  was 
often  a  profitable  though  a  despicable  work. 

Heady. — Better  rendered,  headstrong  in  words,  or 
thoughts,  or  actions. 

Highminded. — Better  translated,  blinded  by  pride. 
(See  1  Tim.  iii.  6.) 

Lovers  of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of 
God.— Men  who  would  make  any  sacrifice  to  procure  a 
fii-eting  pleasure,  and  who  would  give  nothing  up  in 
order  to  do  honour  to  the  eternal  but  invisible  God. 
Need  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  tarry  for  the  last 
I)eriod  preceding  the  r(>turn  of  Messiah  for  judguient — 
when  a  still  more  awful  inicpiity  shall  reign — for 
examples  of  these  short-sighted  mortals.^  The  sorrow- 
ful catalogue  began  with  "  love  of  self,''  that  unhap])y 
vice  which  excludes  all  love  for  others ;  it  closes  with 
tliat  '■  1()V(>  of  pleasure"'  which  shuts  out  all  love  of  God. 

(■^)  Having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying 
the  power  thereof. — Keeping  up  a  show  of  observ- 
ing the  outward  forms  of  religion,  Imt  renouiu-ing  its 
l)i»wer  and  its  influence  over  the  heart  and  the  life; 
showing  openly  that  they  neither  acknowledged  its  guid- 
ance or  wished  to  do  so.     These,  by  claiming  the  title 


of  Christians,  wearing  before  men  the  uniform  of 
Christ,  but  liy  their  lives  dishonouring  His  name,  did 
the  gravest  injury  to  the  lujly  Christian  cause.  Another 
dreary  catalogue  of  vic(!s  St.  Paul  gives  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  (Rom.  i.  29,  and  following  ver.ses) ;  but  in 
that  passage  he  paints  the  sins  of  Paganism.  Here  ho 
describes  the  characteristics  of  a  new  Paganism,  which 
went  under  the  nanu!  of  Christianity. 

From  such  turn  away.— These,  daring  to  as- 
sume the  sacred  name,  no  doubt  with  the  thought  of 
claiming  its  glorious  promises,  without  one  efi'ort  to 
please  the  Master  or  to  do  honour  to  His  name — these 
were  to  be  openly  shunned  by  such  as  Timothy.  No 
half  measm-es  were  to  be  adopted  towards  these,  who 
tried  to  deceive  their  neighbours  and  possibly  deceived 
themselves.  The  Pagan  was  to  be  courteously  entreated, 
for  in  God's  good  time  the  gloiy  of  the  Lord  might 
shine,  too,  on  those  now  sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death.  The  heretic,  seduced  by  false  men 
from  the  school  of  the  Apostles,  where  the  life  as  well 
as  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  was  taught,  was  to  be  gently 
instructed.  Perhaps  God  would  lead  him  once  more 
home.  But  these,  who,  while  pi-etendiug  to  belong  to 
Jesus,  lived  the  degi'aded  life  of  the  heathen,  were  to  bo 
shunned.  No  communion,  no  friendly  intercourse  was 
possible  between  the  li}^)ocrite  and  the  Christian. 

The  command  here  is  so  definite — "  from  these  turn 
away  " — that  any  theory  wliicli  would  relegate  the  vices 
just  enumerated  to  a  distant  future  would  require,  as 
above  stated,  that  a  strained  and  unnatural  meaning 
should  be  given  to  this  positive  direction  to  Timothy. 
The  plain  and  ob^-ious  signification  of  the  passage  is: 
men  committing  the  sins  alhided  to  lived  then  in  the 
Church  over  which  Timothy  presided  ;  they  were  to  be 
avoided  by  the  chief  presbyter  and  his  brethren. 

(6)  For  of  this  sort  are  they  which  creep  into 
houses,  and  lead  captive  silly  women.— The 
corrupting  influence  of  these  hypocritical  professors  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  must  have  been  already  great,  and 
the  danger  to  all  real  vital  godliness  in  Ephesus  immi- 
nent, for  Paul  here  specifies  one  of  the  most — perhaps 
the  most — successful  work  of  these  toilers  for  Satan : 
the  power  they  were  acquiring  over  women.  As  we  siiall 
see,  these  unhappy  men  busied  themselves  in  securing 
popularity  among  the  female  portion  of  the  flock  in  tlie 
Ephesian  Church,  and  the  way  l)y  which  they  won  their 
popularity  was  })y  supplying  anodynes  for  tlie  guilty 
consciences  of  these  women,  laden,  we  are  told,  with  sins. 
The  expression,  "  which  creep  into  houses,"  although 
perfectly  natural,  and  one  which,  even  in  tliese  Western 
countries,  could  1)0  used  with  propriety  to  express  the 
method  in  which  these  deceiving  and  perverting  men 
make  their  way  into  households,  yet,  wlien  we  renieinl)er 
the  comparative  state  of  seclusion  in  which  women 
usually  lived  and  still  live  in  Eastern  lands,  the  words 
used  by  Paul  acquire  an  increased  force.  Special  fraud 
and  deceit  was  nt>edf ill  for  these  false  teachers  to  creep 
into  the  women's  apartments  in  Asia.  The  Greek 
word  translated  "  h-ad  captive"  is  a  peculiar  one, 
and  is  only  found  in  comj)aratively  later  Gnvk. 
It  is  sujtposed  to  1)e  a  word  of  Alexandrian  or  Mace, 
donian  origin.    It  here  represents  these  women  as  wholly 


.'33 


Influence  of  False  Teachers 


II.   TIMOTHY,  III. 


over  Women. 


and  lead  captive  silly  women  laden  with 
sins,  led  away  with  divers  lusts,  *'^  ever 
learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the 


knowledge  of  the  truth.  <^)  Now  as 
Jannes  and  Jambres  withstood  Moses, 
so  do  these  also  resist  the  truth :   men 


under  the  iufluonce  of  these  bad  men,  to  the  utter  de- 
struetiou  of  all  true,  liealthy,  home  life.  The  Greek 
word  transhited  ''silly women. "in  the  Vulgate  "  mulier- 
culas,"  is  simply  a  diminutive,  expressing  contempt. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  older  Heresiarchs 
made  great  use  of  women  in  the  propagation  of 
their  new  and  strange  systems.  They  worked  more 
easily,  perliaps,  on  the  impulsive  and  emotional  female 
mind ;  but  what  has  never  suffieieutly  been  taken  into 
account  is  the  reaction  which  was  then  taking  place  among 
women,  so  long  relegated  to  an  inferior  and  subordinate 
position,  and  now,  by  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  His 
Ajjostles.  raised  to  a  position  of  equality  with  men  as 
regards  the  hope  of  future  glory.  In  many  instances, 
in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  there  is  no  doubt, 
but  that  they  misunderstood  their  position;  they 
claimed  work  they  could  never  do,  and  aimed  after 
au  intiuence  they  could  never  exercise,  and  thus,  no 
doubt,  in  these  first  feverish  years  many  a  woman  fell 
a  comi>aratively  easy  prey  to  these  proselytisers,  who, 
laying  claim  to  a  higher  and  deeper  wisdom,  proposed 
now  to  lead  some  into  the  knowledge  of  profound  and 
liiddeu  mysteries,  now  offered  ease  of  conscience  to  others 
if  they  would  but  follow  them.  Ireuaeus,  in  the  second 
century,  speaks  of  the  special  power  which  the  Yalen- 
tinian  Gnostic  Marcus  had  acquired  over  women;  and 
Epiphanius,  in  the  same  century,  also  refers  to  the 
Gnostics'  deceitful  intiuence  ^vith  the  female  sex. 
Jerome,  in  an  interesting  though  rhetorical  passage 
{Epist.  ad  Ctesipho litem),  cites  a  number  of  instances  in 
which  a  woman  shared  in  the  baleful  influence  exercised 
by  the  leading  masters  of  heresy  in  doctrine  and  laxity 
of  life. 

Simon  Magus,  he  tells  us,  was  accompanied  by 
the  ■wicked  Helen.  Nicolas,  of  Antioch,  a  teacher  of 
immorality,  gathered  round  him  what  Jerome  calls 
cJwros  fteniineos.  Montauus  is  associated  with  the 
well-known  names  of  Maximilla  and  Prisca.  Donatus 
is  coupled  with  Lucilla.  Marcion,  Arius,  Priscillian, 
and  other  Heresiarchs.  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  early 
churches,  he  speaks  of  as  intimately  associated  with  or 
supported  by  female  influence. 

Laden  with  sins,  led  away  with  divers  lusts. 
— This  gives  us  some  insight  into  the  source  of  the 
power  which  these  false  teachers  acquired  over  those 
women  of  Ephesus  who  in  name  were  Christians. 
They  had  accepted  the  faith  of  Christ,  but  were  unable 
to  live  His  life;  over  their  passions  .and  lusts  had  these 
no  mastery.  "  Laden  with  sins,"  and  "  led  away  with 
divers  lusts,"  these  weak  women  fell  au  easy  prey  to  men 
who  procured  them,  by  means  of  their  Ipng  doctrines, 
a  false  peace.  By  their  words  they  seemed  to  liave 
lulled  the  consciences  of  their  female  listeners  to  sleep. 
They  showed  them,  no  doubt,  how  in  their  school  they 
might  still  be  Christians  and  yet  indulge  their  divers 
lusts. 

(7)  Ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth.— A  morl)id  love  of 
novelty,  and  a  hope  to  penetrate  into  mysteri(>s  not 
revealed  to  God's  true  teachers,  spurred  tiiese  female 
learners  on;  but  *"  to  the /h/Z  knowledge  of  the  truth" 
— for  this  is  the  more  accurate  rendering  of  the  Greek 
word — they  never  reached,  for  by  their  evil  life  their 
heart  was  hardened.  Tliat  some  of  these  false  teachers  i 
laid  claim  to  occult  arts,  to  a  knowledge  of  magic  and  ' 


sorcery,  is  clear  from  the  statement  contained  in  the 
next  verse,  where  certain  sorcerers  of  the  time  of  Moses 
are  compared  to  them. 

(8)  Now  as  Jannes  and  Jambres  withstood 
Moses. — To  one  Ijrought  up,  like  Timotliy,  l)y 
a  pious  Jewish  mother,  and  who  from  a  child  knew 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  all  the  history  and  ancient 
traditions  connected  >vith  the  early  history  of  the 
people,  such  a  comparison  Avould  be  very  striking. 
No  child  of  Israel  could  hear  the  name  of  Moses, 
the  loved  hero  of  the  chosen  people,  unmoved ;  and 
to  be  told  that  these  false  teachers  of  Ephesus 
stood  in  the  same  relation  to  him  and  the  Church 
of  Christ  as,  in  old  days — in  the  never-to-be-for- 
gotten Egyptian  episode — those  famous  magicians 
Jannes  and  Jambres  stood  to  Moses,  would  throw  for 
Timothy  a  new  light  on  all  the  words  and  works  of 
these  wicked  and  ambitious  men.  We  can  well  imagine 
the  comparison  being  repeated  in  many  an  assembly  of 
the  faithful,  long  after  the  great  Apostle's  death  :  how 
St.  Paul  had  likened  these  early  Heresiai-chs  to  those 
evil  men  who  before  Pharaoh  had  dared  to  resist  God 
and  His  servant  Moses.  These  magicians,  also  termed 
wise  men  and  sorcerers  (Ex.  vii.  11 — 22)  at  the  court 
of  Pharaoh,  appear  as  the  enemies  of  Moses.  The 
names  "  Jannes  "  and  "  Jambres,"  though  not  given  in 
the  sacred  text,  are  preserved  in  the  oral  tradition  of 
Israel.  The  names  are  found  in  the  Targum  of 
Jonathan  on  Ex.  aH.  11 ;  xxii.  22.  These  traditions 
relate  how  these  men  were  sons  of  Balaam,  and  in  the 
first  instance  were  the  instructors  of  Moses,  though 
subsequently  his  enemies  and  opponents.  One  legend 
mentions  them  as  perishing  in  the  catastrophe  when  the 
waves  of  the  Red  Sea  overwhelmed  the  armies  of  Egypt ; 
another  tradition  speaks  of  their  having  met  their 
death  in  the  slaughter  after  the  worship  of  the  golden 
calf,  the  making  of  which  they  advised.  It  was  their 
prophetic  words,  so  say  these  legendaiy  histories,  which, 
fox-etelling  the  birth  of  Moses,  induced  Pharaoh  to  givo 
this  order  for  the  destruction  of  the  Jemsh  children. 
The  later  Jews  distorted  t^ie  names  into  John  and 
Ambrose. 

So  do  these  also  resist  the  truth.— The  point  of 
comjmrison  between  the  depraved  teachers  of  Ephesus 
and  these  Egj"ptian  soi-cerers  consisted  in  a  persistent  and 
deadly  enmity  to  the  truth,  which  existed  in  botli  cases. 
The  life  of  the  prophet  Balaam,  the  traditionary  father 
of  this  Jannes  and  Jambres,  supplies  a  vivid  illustration 
of  this  malignant  and  persistent  hatred  of  what  is 
known  antl  felt  to  bo  true.  That  these  Ephesian  heretics 
in  like  manner  availed  themselves,  or  pretended  to  avail 
themselves  of  occult  jjower  is  just  probable,  though  in 
the  comparison  this  point  is  of  but  little  moment. 
We  know,  however,  that  the  claim  at  least  to  possess 
mysterious  and  unearthly  powers  wjis  often  made  by 
covetous  and  worldly  men  in  these  times  :  as,  for  in- 
stance, l)y  Simon  Magus  (Acts  viii.  9 — 24),  by  Elymas 
the  sorcerer,  the  false  prophet  and  Jew  in  Cyprus 
(Acts  xiii.  6 — 12).  See  also  the  episode  of  Acts  xix.  18 
— 20,  when  "  many  which  used  curious  arts  came  to 
Paul  and  his  companions,  and  confessed  and  shewed 
their  deeds." 

Men  of  corrupt  minds.— Literally,  corrupted  in 
their  minds.  Timotliy  might  possibly  have  been 
induced  to    regard  these   evil   men,  though  erring  iu 


234 


False  Teaching  will  not  advance 


II.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


beyond  a  certain  point. 


of  corrupt  minds,  reprobate  ^  concerning 
the  faith.  ^^^  But  they  shall  proceed  no 
further :  for  their  folly  shall  be  manifest 
unto  all  men,  as  their's  also  was.    ^^^^>  But 


^  mcnf  ""  ■'"''''■  thou  hast  fully  known-  my  doctrine,  man- 
'  t'n  T'dJg'^u  ner  of  life,  purpose,  faith, 
foiuiwerof.  longsuffering,  charity,  pa-  12.    St.  Paul's 

(11)     T^ijvoor.nfir».io     faith  and  tiiald 


Chap. 


10- 


tience, 


persecutions, 


some  particulars,  as  still  of  the  flock  of  Christ,  to 
which  they  beloiiged  uomiually ;  but  ho  was  now 
instructed  that  they  were  simply  enemies  to  the 
tnitli :  that  it  was  vain  to  hope  that  they  would 
ever  come  to  a  knowledge  of  tlie  truth,  for  their  ''  mind," 
the  human  spirit,  the  medium  of  communication 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  was  corrupted.  There 
was  no  common  ground  of  faith,  save  in  the  bare  name 
of  Cliristian,  between  Timothy  and  these  men,  for 
they,  in  the  matter  of  faith,  had  been  tried  and  found 
wanting. 

(9)  But  they  shall  proceed  no  further.— After 
that  St.  Paul,  with  no  gentle  hand,  had  torn  aside  the 
veil  which  was  hiding  apparently  from  Timothy  the 
real  state  of   his  great  charge   at    Ephesus,  and  had 

Eointed  out  what  fearful  ravages  among  his  flock  had 
een  committed  by  these  ambitious  and  evil  men,  the 
Apostle  proceeds  to  comfort  his  friend  and  disciple 
with  the  assurance  that,  great  though  the  mischief 
already  accomplished  was,  still  it  should  proceed  no 
further.  To  human  eyes,  such  a  state  of  things  as  here 
pictured  by  the  Apostle  would  appear  desperate.  It 
would  seem  as  though  a  deadly  and  incurable  cancer 
was  eating  away  the  whole  life  of  the  community;  but 
Timothy  need  not  despair :  the  evil  would  only  be 
allowed  to  advance  to  a  certain  point ;  and  since  St. 
Paul  thus  wrote,  the  same  prophecy,  not  only  in  Ephesus 
bixt  in  a  thousand  churches,  has  been  fulfilled  to  the 
very  letter.  Still,  the  same  old  foes  under  new  faces 
make  havoc  of  the  Church.  But  they  never  seem  to 
advance  beyond  a  certain  point,  and  after  all  these 
centuries  the  Church  is  still  full  of  faith  and  life, 
bright,  too,  in  spite  of  discouragements,  in  spite  of  the 
perpetual  presence  of  these  treacherous,  deceitful  men, 
with  promise  for  the  future. 

For  their  folly  shall  be  manifest.— Men  and 
women  would  be  led  away  for  a  season  by  the  plausible 
words  of  such  deceivers,  but  one  school  of  error  after 
another  would  fall  into  disrepute,  then  into  neglect, 
then  into  the  silent  darkness  of  utter  obli^'ion  (the 
event  in  numberless  instances  has  shown  the  truth  of 
this  prophecy) ;  and  Timotiiy  might  take  comfort,  by 
considering  what  Holy  Scripture  had  placed  on  record 
respecting  the  Egyptian  sorcerers,  ivhose  folly  was 
Tnanifed  unto  all  men  (Ex.  viii.  18,  19 ;  ix.  11).  Their 
folly  was  yet  more  manifest  when  men  considered  their 
latter  end.  (See  Note  above  on  Jannes  and  Jambres, 
verse  8.) 

(10)  But  thou  hast  fully  known  my  doctrine. 
— Literally,  But  thou  loert  a  folloicer  of  my  doctrine ; 
thou  followedst  as  a  disciple,  and  thus  hast  fully 
known.  The  Groek  word  translated  "fully  known" 
(see  1  Tim.  iv.  6)  denotes  a  diligently  tracing  out  step 
by  step.  See  Luke  i.  3,  where  the  same  word  is 
rendered,  in  the  English  version :  "  having  had  perfect 
understanding,"  having  traced  up  to  their  source  all  the 
events  relating  to  the  foundation  of  Christianity.  Here 
St.  Paul  recalls  to  Timothy's  mind  what  had  l)een  his — ■ 
St.  Paul's — life,  and  words,  and  works.  No  one  knew  the 
history  of  this  life  like  Timothy,  the  pupil  and  the  friend, 
who  had  been  long  trained  to  assist  in  carrying  on  his 
teacher's  work  after  St.  Paul  was  removed.  And  this 
appeal  to  Timothy's  recollection  of  the  pa'=;t  has  two 
distinct  purposes :   (1)  It  was  to  contrast  that  life  of 


St.  Paul's,  with  which  the  disciple  was  so  well  ac- 
quainted, with  the  lives  of  those  false  men,  of  whom 
Timothy  was  warned  so  earnestly,  who  were  poisoning 
the  stream  of  Christianity  at  Ephesus;  and  (2)  tho 
memoi-y  of  the  master  was  to  serve  as  a  spur  to  the 
disciple,  the  heroic  faith  of  the  old  man  was  to  act  as 
an  incentive  to  the  young  teacher  to  suffer  bravely  in 
his  turn. 

With  this  pattern  of  steady  faith  and  heroic  work 
before  his  eyes,  Timothy  would  never  be  aljle  to  endure 
the  wi'etched  mock  Christianity  these  new  teachers 
were  labouring  to  introduce  into  the  communities  of 
the  believers  of  Asia;  he  would  at  once  separate  him- 
self and  his  from  these  evil  influences. 

My  doctrine. — Or,  teaching,  in  which  the  leading 
of  a  pure  self-denying  life  was  insejjarably  botmd  up 
Avith  a  belief  in  the  great  Christian  doctrines.  '"  This 
hast  thou,  my  pupil  from  boyhood,  known  in  aU  its 
details.     Thou  hast  known  how  I  taught  others." 

Manner  of  life.—"  And  also  how  1  lived  myself :  " 
"my  ways  which  be  in  Christ,"  as  he  once  before 
phrased  it  (1  Cor.  iv.  17),  "my  conduct." 

Purpose. — ■•  My  purpose — from  which  you  know  I 
never  swerved — of  remaining  true  to  the  Gosjjel  of  my 
Lord  and  to  my  great  life's  mission  to  the  Gentiles." 
(See  Acts  ii.  23,  where  the  word  is  used  in  respect  to 
others'  purpose.) 

Faith.— Possibly,  trust  in  God,  but  better,  St.  Paul's 
faith  or  belief  in  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Christianity. 

Longsu^ering.— Towards  his  many  bitter  adver- 
saries, esjiecially  those  among  his  own  countrymen. 
In  spite  of  all  that  long,  unwearied,  sleepless  i^ersecu- 
tion,  which  he,  the  former  Pharisee  leader,  endured  at  the 
hands  of  the  Jews,  he  loved  Israel  to  the  end,  with  a 
love  intense  as  it  was  changeless,  loved  them  even  to 
be  willing  for  their  sake  to  give  up  his  eternal  hopes. 
(See  Rom.  ix.  3.) 

Charity. — My  love,  which  (in  bis  own  snnny  words) 
beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things — the  love  which  never  faileth.    (See  1  Cor.  xiii.) 

Patience.— Tliat  characteristic  virtue  of  St.  Paul, 
that  '•  brave  patience  "  which  hopefully  endured  oppo- 
sition to  his  favourite  schemes,  which  cheerfully  bore 
the  most  painful  suttering  when  it  came  as  a  con- 
sequence of  work  in  his  Master's  cause.  This  con- 
cluding word  led  naturally  on  to  the  brief  catalogue  of 
persecutions  of  the  next  verse. 

(11)  Persecutions,  afflictions.  -St.  Paul  adds  to 
"  persecutions  "  "  afflictions  " — for  not  merely  were  his 
plans  thwarted,  his  hopes  baffled,  his  friends  alienated, 
through  the  persistent  enmity  of  his  opponents, 
but  bodily  suffering  was  inflicted  on  him — stoning, 
scourging,  long  and  Weary  periods  of  imprisonnuMit, 
were  among  the  repeated  sufferings  he  endured  for 
his  Master's  sake.  The  question  has  been  asked 
why.  out  of  the  pages  of  the  closely  written  diary  of 
his  life's  experiences,  does  St.  Paul  select  the  events 
which  took  place  at  Antioch.  Iconium.  and  Lystra.^ 
"Was  there  anything  special  in  what  he  endured  in  these 
Ijlaces?  The  most  satisfactory  answer  seems  to  be  tJiat, 
with  regard  to  the  general  reader  or  hearer  of  this 
Epistle,  what  happened  in  these  places,  years  before, 
were  good  examples  of   what  had  often  taken  place 


23d 


Appeal  to  Timothy's 


II.    TIMOTHY,   III. 


afflictions,  wliicli  camo  unto  me  at  An- 
tioch,  at  Iconiuin,  at  Lystra;  what  \)ev- 
secutions  I  endured :  but  out  of  them  all 
the  Lord  delivered  me.  <^-^  Yea,  and  all 
that  -will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall 
suffer  persecution.  <^'^^  But  evil  men  and 
seducers   shall    wax  worse   and  worse, 


Knowhuhje  of  St.  Paul. 


<i4>  But 


deceiving-,  and  being  deceived. 

continue  thou  in  the  things 

which   thou   hast    learned 

and  hast  been  assured  of, 

knowing  of  whom  thou  hast 

learned  them ;  ^^^>  and  that  from  a  child 

thou  hast   known  the   holy   scriptures, 


Chap.  iii.  13— 
15.  Timothy 
encouraged  to 
be  steadfast. 


sinco.  Tlioso  woro  among  the  first  cities  in  which  St. 
Paul  preached  in  tlio  course  of  liis  missionary  journeys. 
But  a  deeper  reason  existed  for  the  clioice  of  tlieso 
l)laces  in  liis  case  to  wlioni  the  Epistle  was  originally 
addressed.  What  happened  ou  that  first  journey  would 
never  be  forgotten  by  Timothy :  some  of  the  incidents 
were  among  his  first  experiences  with  St.  Paul  of  the 
work — others  had  taken  place  just  before  St.  Paul  took 
liim  as  liis  friend  and  associate,  and,  no  doubt,  had 
Ijeen  often  discussed  in  Timothy's  hearing  in  those 
anxious  never-to-be-forgotten  hours  which  preceded 
liis  choice  of  the  calling  of  a  missionary.  Hearing  of 
tlieso  very  deeds  of  endurance  done  for  the  crucified 
Master,  2)erhaps,  not  a  little  contributed  to  Timothy's 
resolve  to  emulate  these  acts,  and  to  join  himself 
closely  to  the  heroic  missionary  teacher.  Certainly,  the 
memory  of  what  happened  then  St.  Paul  knew  would 
pos.se.ss  a  strong  and  weighty  influence  with  his  disciple, 
even  though  the  events  themselves  were  only  such  as  had 
been  repeated  often  since  in  his  long  life's  experience. 
(For  details  respecting  what  took  place  at  Antioch,  &c., 
see  Acts  xiii.,  xiv.) 

What  persecutions  I  endured.— Some  commen- 
tators understand  these  words  as  an  exclamation : 
"  What  persecution  I  endured  !  "  It  is,  however,  better 
simply  to  translate  the  Greek,  Such  persecutions  as 
I  endured  ;  in  other  words.  Thou  hast  been  a  witness  of 
ray  sufferings,  such  [sufferings]  as  I  endured  at  Antioch, 
Iconium,  and  Lystra,  such  persecutions  as  I  endured, 
but  out  of  them,  &c.  Chrysostom  remarks  how  both 
these  clauses  supply  encouragement  to  the  harassed 
servant  of  God.  The  first,  that  St.  Paul  displayed  a 
noble  readiness  to  endure  persecution ;  the  second, 
that  God  never  left  him  alone.  It  was  as  though  ho 
said  to  Timothy,  "surely  no  danger,  no  trouble,  however 
great,  need  appal  you.  You  know  what  1  have  gone 
through,  yet  in  all  God  was  with  me  and  has  kept  me 
safe.     Be  sure  He  will  l)e  with  you  too." 

(12)  Yea,  and  all  that  will  live  godly.— But 
St.  Paul  would  not  allow  it  to  l)e  thought  for  a  moment 
that  in  the  fact  of  his  enduring  persecution  and  suffer- 
ing there  was  anything  remarkable  or  singular;  so  ho 
adds  tlie  words  of  this  verse,  which  repeat  in  a  pecu- 
liarly solemn  way  the  great  Christian  truth  that  eternal 
gloiy  was  only  to  be  reached  l)y  man  through  an  avenue 
of  sufferings.  "  No  cross,  no  crown."  is  one  of  the 
watchwords  of  the  faith.  To  the  statement,  "all  that 
will  live  godly,"  it  is  noticeable  that  the  Apostle  adds 
"  in  Christ  Jesus  :  "  thus  telling  us  there  can  bo  no  true 
piety  except  in  communion  with  Him.  So  Bengel  : 
"  Extra  Jesum  Chri.stum  nulla  pietas."  And  piety,  adds 
St.  Paul,  will  ever  suffer  persecuticm;  for  the  world  is 
at  enmity  with  the  kingdom  of  God.  "  Because  ye  are 
not  of  the  world  .  .  .  therefore  the  world  hateth  you" 
(John  XV.  19;  so.  too.  Matt.  x.  1^2,  :?8,  30). 

(1-^)  But  evil  men  and  seducers  shall  wax 
worse  and  worse. — This  verso  is  closely  connected 
with  the  following  (verse  14).  to  which,  indeed,  it  serves 
as  an  introduction.  Verse  14  takes  up  again  the  cxhoi-- 
tatiou  to  Timothy  begun  in  verse  10:  "But  thou  hast 


236 


fully  known  my  doctrine,"  &c.  Verse  14  takes  iip  tho 
thought:  "Continue  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast 
learned  and  been  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou 
hast  learned  them."  Here,  in  verse  13,  these  evil  men 
and  seducers  (or  better,  perhaps,  deceivers)  are  spoken 
of  as  advancing  towaids  the  Avorse.  History  has  borne 
witness  to  the  accuracy  of  these  prophetic  words.  The 
false  teachers  known  to  St.  Paul  and  Timothy  de- 
veloped into  the  leaders  of  the  various  wild  and  specu- 
lative Gnostic  sects,  whose  connection  with  Christianity 
consisted  alone  in  the  name ;  and  each  succeeding  age 
has  witnessed  n  develoimient  in  opposition  to  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  In  this  allusion  to  the  gradual 
doA-elopment  of  hostility  to  the  truth  it  will  hardly 
be  out  of  place  to  instance  the  eighteenth  Christian 
century,  when  opposition  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
had  reached  such  a  pitch  that,  Avith  the  approA'al  or 
even  the  applause  of  thousands,  the  most  brilliant 
writer  in  Europe  wrote  of  Christ  and  His  religion  in 
the  well-known  words,  "  Ecrasez  I'infame  !  "  while  it 
was  reserved  for  our  own  century — the  nineteenth — ■ 
to  witness  the  rare,  though  we  believe  ephemeral 
popularity,  among  so-called  Christian  peoples  of  a  work 
wliicli,  witli  lioneyed  phrases,  and  in  romantic,  graceful 
language,  paints  the  Redeemer  of  man  in  the  strange 
and  apparently  contradictory  characters  of  a  loving 
enthusiast  and  of  a  conscious  impostor  ! 

(li)  But  continue  thou  in  the  things  which 
thou  hast  learned, — But  Timothy,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  to  continue  in  the  things  he  had  learned. 
Evil  teaching  would  become  worse ;  the  opposition  to 
truth  would,  as  the  ages  rolled  on,  become  more  in- 
tense ;  l)ut  Timothy  and  his  successors  must  remember 
that  there  was  to  1)0  no  development  in  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  his  most,  holy  faith.  He  had  (verse 
10)  fully  known  St.  Paul's  doctrine — that  doctrine 
which  St.  Paul  had  received  directly  from  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God. 

Knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned  them. 
— There  is  some  doubt  whether  the  Greek  word  ren- 
dered "  whom "  is  in  the  singular  or  plural,  the 
older  authorities  being  nearly  eeiually  Ijalanced.  Tho 
reading  here  of  the  singular  has  l)een  adopted  with 
the  Syriac  versions,  Chrysostom,  Augustine,  and  the 
Vulgate.  The  reference  then  is  to  St.  Paul.  If 
the  ])lural,  were  adopted,  then  the  reference  Avonld 
])robably  be  to  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  or  to  some 
other  distinguished  teacher.  Sonu^  commentators  be- 
lieve that  Ijois  and  Eunice  are  here  alluded  to.  the 
pious  mother  and  grambnother  of  Tinu)thy.  This,  how- 
ever, seems  unlikely:  for  such  a  reminiscence,  although 
a  touching  memory  and  one  likely  to  appeal  to  his 
affection,  would  hardly  bo  of  that  weighty  and  impor- 
tant character  as  to  warrant  its  introduction  into  this 
solenni  exhortation ;  l)esides,  any  reference  to  home 
and  family  reminiscences  would  be  included  in  the  next 
verse:  "From  a  child  thou  liast  known,"  etc. 

(15)  And  that  from  a  child  thou  hast  known 
the  holy  scriptures.— The  Greek  words  translated 
"from  a  child"  should  be  rendei'od, /ro»i  a  very  child, 


The  True.  Use  of  Holy  Scripture 


IT.   TIMOTHY,   III. 


to  the  Man  of  God. 


whicli  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto 
salvation  tlirough  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  (^'^^  All  scrij^ture  is  o-iven 
by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctruie,  for  reproof,  for  correction, 


1  Or,  ■perfected. 


for       instruction 
<i7)that  the 


man 


in      righteousness : 
of  God  ^j^^    ...  ^ 
may_  be  perfect,  throughly  Alf^knowiJclge 

furnished  ^     unto    all    good   m^'st  be  drawn 
works.  from  Scripture. 


as  the  word  donotes  tliat  Timothy's  instruction  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures  began  at  a  very  early  and  tender  ago. 

The  holy  scriptures.— Literally,  the  sacred  tvrit- 
ings.  Tlie  Scriptures  of  tlie  Old  Testament  are  here 
exclusively  meant.  The  expressiim  "  writings  "  for  the 
Scriptures  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament ; 
it  is,  however,  used  by  Josephus. 

Two  powerful  arguments  have  been  here  used  by  the 
Apostle  to  induce  Timothy  to  remain  steadfast  to  the 
great  doctriu(»s  of  faith,  and  neither  to  take  anything 
from  them  or  to  add  anything  to  them.  The  first 
presses  upon  him  the  source  whence  he  liad  learned 
them.  He,  better  than  any  one,  knew  uilio  and  what 
St.  Paul  was,  and  the  position  he  held  with  his  brother 
Apostles,  as  one  who  had  been  in  direct  communication 
with  the  Lord  Himself;  and  the  second  reminded 
him  of  his  oavu  early  training,  under  his  pious  mother. 
Ho  appealed,  as  it  were,  to  Timothy's  own  deep  know- 
ledge of  those  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  St.  Paul's 
disciple  would  know  that  the  great  Christian  doctrines 
respecting  the  Messiah  were  all  based  strictly  on  these 
Old  Testament  writings.  Timothy  had  a  double  reason 
for  keeping  to  the  old  paths  pointed  out  by  the  tirst 
generation  of  teachers.  He  knew  the  authority  of  the 
master  who  instructed  him  ;  and  then,  from  his  own 
early  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Jews,  he  was  able  to  test  thoroughly  whether  or  no  his 
master's  teaching  was  in  accordance  with  those  sacred 
documents. 

Which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto 
salvation. — The  present  participle  rendered  by  "which 
are  able "  is  noticeable,  being  here  used  to  express 
the  evei'-present  power  of  the  Scriptures  on  the 
human  heart.  Tlie  Holy  Scriptures  hact  not  completed 
their  work  on  Timothy  when,  in  his  boyhood,  he 
first  mastered  their  contents.  It  was  still  going  on. 
"  Wise  unto  salvation "  marks  the  glorious  end  and 
destination  of  tiie  true  wisdom  whicli  is  gained  by  a 
study  of  these  sacred  books.  Other  wisdom  has  a 
different  goal.  In  some  cas(»s  it  leads  to  power,  fame, 
wealth ;  l)ut  this  wisdom  leads  only  to  one  goal — salva- 
tion. The  last  clause — "through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  " — points  out  the  only  way  to  use  these 
Scriptures  of  the  old  covenant  so  as  to  attain  thi'ough 
them  the  goal  of  all  true  wisdom — "  eternal  salvation." 
They  must  bo  read  and  studied  in  the  light  of  faith 
in  Jesus  Clirist.  "  Those  (Old  Testament)  Scriptures, 
ho  (St.  Paul)  granteth,  w(>re  able  to  make  him  wise 
unto  salvation;"  l)ut,  lie  addcth,  "through  the  faith 
which  is  in  Christ  "  (Hooker,  Ecc.  Pulify,  i.  14,  4). 
Faith  in  Jesus  must  lie  the  torch  by  the  light  of  which 
th(!se  ancient  prophecies  and  types  must  l)e  read. 

(!'')  All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
G-od. — Although  this  rendering  is  grammatically  pos- 
sible, the  more  strictly  accurate  translation,  and  the  one 
adopt(>d  liy  nearly  all  the  oldest  and  most  trustworthy 
versions  (for  example,  the  Syriac  and  the  Vulgate),  and 
by  a  great  many  of  tlie  princi^ml  expositors  in  all  ages 
(for  instanc(>,  by  such  teachers  as  Origen,  Theodoret, 
Grotius,  Luther,  Meyer,  Ellicott,  and  Alford),  runs  as 
follows  :  "  Every  scripture  inspired  by  God  is  also  pro- 
fitable for  doctrine,  for  reproof,"  &c. 


237 


The  rendering  followed  by  the  English  version,  and 
which  is  certainly  grammatically  possible,  by  making 
"  all  Scripture  "  the  sub.ject,  and  "  given  by  inspiration 
of  God"  the  predicate,  declares  positively  the  ins})iration 
of  all  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  for  this  is  what  tho 
Apostle  must  have  referred  to,  if  we  understand  this 
verse  as  we  have  it  rendered  in  the  English  version 
above.  The  New  Testament  at  this  period  was  cer- 
tainly not  all  written ;  for  instance,  St.  John's  Gospel, 
St.  John's  Epistles,  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  tho 
Apocalypse,  with  several  of  the  Cathohc  Epistles,  pro- 
bably were  composed  at  a  later  date  than  that  assigned 
to  this  letter  to  Timothy.  St.  Paul,  massing  together 
an  eA'ideiitly  well-known  number  of  writings  under  the 
term  iruo-a  ypacpri,  spoke  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  the 
"  canon  "  of  which  was  then  determined. 

But  such  a  declaration  of  the  inspiration  of  these 
writings  to  Timothy  and  to  those  associated  Mnth  him 
would  seem  unnecessary  and  uncalled  for.  Timothy 
and  the  trained  Jew  of  the  first  century  would  never 
dream  of  doubting  the  divine  origin  of  their  most 
l^rized  and  sacred  writings.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
verses  immediately  preceding  which  would  call  put 
such  a  statement.  It  seems,  therefore,  on  exegetical,  as 
well  as  on  grammatical,  considerations  best  to  follow  the 
interpretation  of  those  ancient  and  venerable  witnesses, 
the  Syriac  and  Latin  (Jerome's)  versions,  and  to  under- 
stand St.  Paul's  words  here,  as  asserting  that  every 
inspired  writing  (this,  it  should  be  observed,  does  not 
exclude  those  recent  sacred  compositions  whicli — Gosjiels 
or  Epistles — he  had  seen  or  written  himself,  and  the 
divine  origin  of  which  he  well  knew)  is  profitaljle  for 
doctrine,  &c.  Thus  he  exhorted  Timothy  to  show 
himself  a  contrast  to  the  false  teachers — ever  shifting 
their  ground  and  waxing  worse  and  worse — by  kt^'ping 
steadily  to  the  old  teaching  of  doctrine  and  of  life. 
He  was  not  to  change,  not  to  advance,  but  wa-s  to  re- 
member that  every  inspired  Scripture  was  pn)fitablo 
for  doctrine  and  for  life.  It  was  by  these  writings, 
St.  Paul  would  remind  liini,  that  he  must  test  his 
teaching.  On  the  way  in  which  "  inspiration  of  God  " 
was  understood  in  the  Church  of  the  first  days,  see 
JExcurstis  at  the  end  of  this  Epistle. 

Inspiration  of  God. —  This  thought,  perhaps, 
rather  than  these  words,  is  admirably  paraphrased  by 
St.  Peter :  "  Holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  tho  Holy  Ghost  "  (2  Pet.  i  21).  The  various 
uses  of  Holy  Scripture  in  the  training  of  the  man  of 
God  are  set  forth  in  the  enumeration  which  closes  this 
verse.  These  sjicred  writings  must,  in  all  ages,  St.  Paul 
would  urge,  be  the  liand-book  of  the  Christian  teaciier. 
From  it  he  must  prove  the  doctrines  he  professes; 
hence,  too,  he  must  draw  his  rej^roofs  for  the  ignorant 
and  en-ing.  It  must  be  the  one  source  whence  lie 
derives  those  instructions  which  teach  the  Christian 
how  to  grow  in  grace. 

(1")  That  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
throughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works.— 
Tho  "mail  of  God"  here  is  no  official  desiL,Miation, 
but  simply  designates  the  Christian  generally,  who 
is  striving,  with  liis  Master's  lielp.  to  live  a  life  pleas- 
ing to  God;   and  the  "good  works"  have  no  special 


A  Solemn  Charge 


II.  Ti:\roTiiY,  IV 


to  Teach  vnth  Earnestness. 


CHAPTER    IV.  —  (1)   I   charge    thee        ^-IL^- 
Chap.  iv.  1-4.  therefore  before  God,  and  j 
Injunction    to  ^i^^  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  ! 
teach  with  ear-     ,     ,,    .     ,  .,  •   i  j 

neatness.  shall  judge  the  quick  and 


the  dead  at  his  appearing  and  his 
kingdom;  '^'->  preach  the  word;  be 
instant  in  season,  out  of  season; 
reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long- 


reference  to  the  labours  of  Timotliy  and  his  brother 
presbyters,  but  inchide  all  those  generoTis  and  self- 
sacrificing  acts  to  which,  in  these  Epistles,  so  many 
references  have  been  made. 

It  was  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  the  true  servant  of 
the  Lord,  the  man  of  God,  would  find  defined  with 
clearness  and  precision  the  nature  of  those  works  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  pleased  to  call  '"  good." 

lY. 

(1)  I  charge  thee  therefore  before  God,  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — The  parchment,  or  papyrus, 
in  the  prison  ro<jn\  of  St.  Paul  on  which,  probably, 
Luke  (verse  11),  the  faithful  friend,  was  writing  to  the 
Apostle's  dictation,  was  nearly  filled  up.  What  has  still 
to  be  said  to  the  chief  presljyter  of  the  Church  of 
Ephesus  must  be  brief.  But  St.  Paul  would  have  the 
last  words  introduced  by  a  most  impressive  preface.  So 
before  he  sums  up  his  directions  and  exhortations,  he 
appeals  to  him  in  these  stately  aud  solemn  words.  The 
Greek  word  rendered  "  I  charge  (tliee),"  is  more  accu- 
rately translated  by,  I  solemnly  charge  (thee),  before 
those  divine  witnesses,  the  Eternal  Father  and  the 
Blessed  Son,  present  with  me  in  this  prison  of  mine  in 
Rome,  present  equally  \vith  you  in  study-chamber  or 
church  in  Asia. 

Who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.— 
These  words  must  have  sounded  with  strange  power  in 
the  ears  of  men  like  Timothy,  and  must  have  impressed 
them  with  an  intense  feeling  of  responsibility.  The 
Apostle  in  his  divine  wisdom  was  cliarg^ng  these 
teachers  of  the  Church  to  l)e  faithful  and  zealous  in 
their  work,  by  the  thought,  which  must  be  ever  present, 
that  tliey — either  alive  on  the  day  of  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord,  or,  if  they  had  tasted  death  already,  raised  from 
the  dead  incomiptiljle  (comp.  1  Thess.  iv.  17) — must 
stand  before  the  Judge  and  give  an  account  of  their 
stewardship  ;  on  that  awful  morning  must  every  man 
and  woman  render  up,  before  the  Judge  who  knows  all 
and  sees  all,  a  strict  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body.  Tlie  looking  forward  to  the  judgment  morning 
must  surely  be  a  spur  to  any  faint-hearted,  dispirited 
servant  of  the  Lord  disposed  to  temporise,  or  reluctant 
U)  face  the  dangers  which  threaten  a  faithful  discharge 
of  duties. 

At  his  appearing  and  his  kingdom,— The 
older  authorities  liere  —  instead  of  the  preposition 
"  at  " — read  "  and."  The  rendering  then  would  be  : 
"  I  charge  thee  in  the  sight  of  G^)d  and  Jesus  Christ, 
who  will  judge  quick  and  dead  (I  charge  thee)  by  His 
appearing  (epiphany)  and  by  His  kingdom,"  the  con- 
struction in  Gre»'k  being  the  usual  accusative  of  adjura- 
tion, as  in  Mark  v.  7 ;  Acts  xix.  13.  So,  too,  Deut. 
iv.  26  (LXX.):  "I  solemnly  charge  you  to-day  by 
heaven  and  earth."  The  passage,  i)y  this  restoration 
of  the  ancient,  and,  at  first  sight,  more  difficult  reading, 
gains,  as  we  shall  see.  immeasurably  in  strength  and 
power.  "  By  his  appearing,"  or  by  His  manifestation 
or  epiphany,  refers,  of  course,  to  the  Lord's  coming  a 
second  time  to  judge  the  earth  in  the  glory  of  the  Father 
with  His  angels.  (Matt.  xat.  27  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  16,  17.) 
"  And  by  His  kingdom  :  "  His  kingdom,  that  kingdom 
18  here  meant  which,  in  the  words  of  the  Nicene  Creed, 

238 


"  shall  have  no  end."  This  glorious  sovereignty  of 
Christ  is  to  succeed  what  Pearson  (Creed,  Article  VI., 
p.  529,  Chevallier's  edit.)  calls  "  the  modificated  eter- 
nity of  His  mediatorship,"  which  will  end  when  all  His 
enemies  shall  have  been  subdued,  and  He  shall  have 
delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father. 
The  "  kingdom  "  here  si^oken  of  is  to  commence  at 
Christ's  glorious  epiphany  or  manifestation,  wlien 
"  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  are  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord,  and  of  His  Christ ;  and  He  shall  reign  for 
ever  and  ever  "(Rev.  xi.  15).  Timothy  was  conjured 
by  the  ''  appearing  "  of  Christ  when  he  would  have  to 
stand  before  Him  and  be  judged;  lie  was  conjured,  too, 
by  "  His  kingdom,"  in  which  glorious  state  Timothy 
hoped  to  share,  for  was  it  not  jiromised  that  His  own 
should  reign  with  Him?  (chap.  ii.  12.)  Tliere  seems  in 
this  solemn  ringing  adjuration  something  which  re- 
minds us  of  "  a  faithful  saying."  The  germs  at  least 
of  one  of  the  ancient  creeds  are  apparent  here,  where 
allusion  is  made  to  God  (the  Father)  and  to  Jesus 
Christ,  the  judge  of  quick  and  dead,  to  His  coming 
again  with  glory  and  then  to  His  kingdom. 

(-)  Preach  the  word.- The  language  of  tho 
original  here  is  abrupt  and  emphatic,  written  evidently 
under  strong  emotion  and  with  intense  earnestness. 
St.  Paul  charged  his  friend  aud  successor  with  awful 
solemnity,  as  we  have  seen,  "preach."  or  proclaim, 
loudly  and  publicly,  as  a  herald  would  announce  tho 
accession  of  his  king.  The  exact  opposite  to  what 
St.  Paul  would  urge  on  Timothy  is  described  by  Isa. 
(h"!.  10),  when  he  speaks  of  God's  watchmen  as  "  dumb 
dogs,  who  cannot  bark,  sleeping,  lying  down,  loving  to 
slumber." 

Be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season.— Some 
difference  exists  between  commentators  respecting  tho 
exact  meaning  to  be  given  to  the  Greek  word  translated 
"be  instant."  Some  would  give  it  the  sense  of 
drawing  nigh  to,  aud  as  it  is  not  specified  in  the 
text  to  whom  Timothy  should  draw  nigh,  they  supply 
from  the  context  "  the  brethren,"  those  to  whom  tho 
word  is  preached  :  "  draw  near  to  Christian  assemblies." 
It  seems,  however,  best  to  understand  this  rather  diffi- 
cult word  as  an  injunction  to  Timothy  to  be  earnest 
and  urgent  generally  in  the  whole  work  of  his  ministry  : 
"  Press  on,  in  season,  out  of  season." 

In  season,  out  of  season.— In  other  words,  ''For 
thy  work,  set  apart  no  definite  and  fixed  hours,  no 
appointed  times.  Thy  work  must  be  done  at  all  hours, 
at  all  times.  Thy  work  has  to  be  done  not  only  when 
thou  art  in  church,  not  merely  in  times  of  security  and 
peace,  but  it  must  be  carried  on,  in  the  midst  of  dangers, 
even  if  thou  art  a  prisoner  and  in  chains,  even  if  death 
threaten  theo." 

So  Chrysostom — who  also  uses  St.  Paul's  words  here 
as  an  urgent  call  to  ministers  to  labour  on  in  spite  of 
discouragement  and  apparent  failure — telling  them  in 
his  own  bright,  eloquent  way,  how  fountains  still  flow 
on,  though  no  one  goes  to  them  to  draw  water,  and 
rivers  still  run  on,  though  no  one  drinks  at  them. 

Augustine  asks  and  answers  the  question  to  whom 
"in  season"  and  to  whom  "out  of  season"  refers: 
"  in  season  "  to  those  willing,  "  out  of  season  "  to  the 
unwilling.      This,  however,  only  touches  a  portion  of 


There  are  many  loho  tvill  not 


IT.   TIMOTHY,   IV 


Listen  to  the  Truth. 


suffering  and  doctrine.  ^^^  For  tlie  time 
will  come  when  they  will  not  endure 
sound  doctrine;  but  after  their  own  lusts 
shall  they  heap  to  themselves  teachers, 
lia\dng  itching  ears;   (*^  and  they  shall 


turn  away  their   ears    from   the  truth, 

and  shall  be  turned  unto  fables.    (=>  But 

watch  thou  in  all  things,  Chap.  iv.  5—8. 

endure   afflictions,  do   the  ^he      Apostle 
1  -.  '  , .   ,     now  at  the  end 

work     01     an     evangelist,  of  his  course. 


tlio  tlioiiglit  of  St.  Paul,  wlio  iirp^os  on  God's  true  ser- 
vants a  restless,  sleepless  earnestness,  which  struggles 
on  with  the  Master's  work  in  sjjit©  of  bodily  weakness 
and  discouragemeut,  in  face  of  clangers  and  the  bitterest 
opposition. 

Reprove. — Not  merely  those  erring  in  doctrine,  but 
generally  tliose  who  are  blameworthy  :  "  Was  tadelns- 
werth  ist." 

Rebuke. — A  sharper  and  more  severe  word  than 
the  preceding.  It  is  used  by  St.  Jude,  verse  9,  in  his 
report  of  the  words  addressed  by  St.  Michael  to  the 
de\nl :  "  Tlie  Lord  rebuke  thee."  It  frequently  occurs 
in  the  Gospels.  (See,  for  instance,  Matt.  x™.  18,  "  And 
Jesus  rebuked  the  devil.") 

Exhort. — Not  only  is  he  to  remember  ceaselessly  to 
watch  over  the  flock,  and  to  reprove  and  rebuke  the 
erring  and  sinnei's,  but  also  witli  no  less  diligence  to 
speak  comfortable  words  of  encouragement  and  hope  to 
all.  especially  the  dispirited  and  sad-hearted. 

"With  all  longsuffering  and  doctrine.  — The 
word  translated  "doctrine"  signifies,  rather,  teaching. 
He  must  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort,  with  all  gentleness 
and  patience ;  and  in  all  this  he  must  take  care  that 
"  teaching  " — the  teaching  which  is  right,  and  true,  and 
full  of  hope — accompanies  his  rebuke  and  his  words  of 
comfort. 

(3)  For  the  time  will  come  when  they  will 
not  endure  sound  doctrine.— Timothy  must  bear 
in  mind  that  things  in  the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth 
will  not  change  for  the  better.  The  great  drag-net  of 
the  Church,  in  its  wide  sweep,  would  keep  drawing 
into  its  meshes  something  of  every  kind.  Errors  now 
just  appai'ent,  he  must  remember,  would  attain  more 
formidable  dimensions.  The  thirst  for  novelties  in 
doctrine,  the  desire  for  a  teaching  which,  while  offering 
peace  to  a  troubled  conscience,  would  yet  allow  the  old 
self-indulgent  life  to  go  on  as  before,  would  increase. 
In  full  view  of  this  development  of  error,  in  sure 
expectation  of  a  future  full  of  anxious  care,  Timotliy 
and  his  brother  teachers  must  indeed  be  wakeful, 
watchful,  and  earnest  in  their  preaching  and  ministra- 
tions. And  the  thought  that  more  and  ever  more  of 
the  so-called  Christians  would  dislike  the  preaching  of 
the  "  sound  doctrine,"  as  taught  by  the  Apostle,  the 
very  knowledge  of  this  growing  unpopularity,  must 
serve  as  an  incentive  to  greater  labour,  more  interest, 
and  more  loving  activity  on  the  part  of  Timothy  and 
his  companions. 

But  after  their  own  lusts  shall  they  heap  to 
themselves  teachers.—"  Their  own  lusts  :  "  this  ex- 
pression gives  us  some  insight  into  the  reason  which  led 
to  this  future  apostasy  of  so  many,  concerning  which 
St.  Paul  warned  Timotliy.  'Their  own  lusts,"  which, 
at  all  risks,  they  would  gratify,  would  serve  to  alienate 
them  from  that  severe  and  strictly  moral  sclux)!  of 
Apostolic  teaching,  in  which  the  sternest  morality  was 
bound  up  with  purity  of  doctrine,  to  wliicli  school  St. 
Paul's  pupils — men  like  Timothy  and  the  presbyters  of 
Ephesus — belonged.  These  worldly  ones  to  wliom  St. 
Paid  referred,  reluctant  to  part  with  the  hoj)e  Chris- 
tianity taught,  and  unwilling  to  live  the  life  which  St. 
Paul  and  Timothy  insisted  upon  as  necessary  to   be 


lived  by  all  those  who  would  share  in  that  glorious 
hope,  sought  out  for  themselves  more  indulgent  teachers, 
who  would  flatter  and  gratify  their  hearers  with 
novelties  in  doctrine,  and  would,  at  the  same  time,  lay 
comparatively  little  stress  on  the  pure  and  saintly  life. 

(^)  And  they  shall  turn  away  their  ears  from 
the  truth. — This  was  the  punishment  of  those  who 
would  only  listen  to  what  was  pleasing  to  them,  and 
which  flattered  instead  of  reproved  their  way  of  life. 
They  became  involved  in  the  many  various  errors  in 
doctrine  which  were  then  taught  in  the  schools  of  tho 
heretics,  and  they  ended  by  turning  away  from  every 
Christian  truth.  On  the  "  fables  "  which  they  substi- 
tuted for  those  great  and  eternal  truths,  see  1  Tim.  i.  4. 

(5)  But  watch  thou  in  all  things.— "But  do 
thou,"  continued  St.  Paul,  "do  thou  be  watchful."  The 
Greek  word  translated  "  watch  thou,"  signifies  lite- 
rally, be  sober.  It  has  been  well  paraphrased,  "  Keep 
thy  coolness  and  presence  of  mind,  that  thou  be  not 
entrapped  into  forgetfulness,  but  as  one  ever  wakeful 
and  ready,  be  on  the  watch."  The  word,  as  it  were, 
sums  up  all  those  last  directions  of  St.  Paul,  from 
chap.  ii.  14,  in  which  St.  Paul  charged  Timothy  to 
abstain  from  vain  arguments  and  confine  himself  to 
the  simple  word  of  truth,  to  avoid  discussions  which 
would  be  likely  to  lead  to  strife,  and  to  be  patient  and 
gentle  with  all — to  separate  himself  from  merely 
nominal  Christians,  and  to  keep  steadily  to  the  old 
paths  in  which  the  Apostles  had  walked.  He  was  to 
be  ever  watchful  in  all  these  things. 

Endure  aflflictions.  —  And  in  his  watch  must 
Timothy  be  ready  to  suffer.  He  would  remember  what 
had  been  said  before  respecting  a  true  Christian  suffer- 
ing (chap.  ii.  3 — 12),  and  what  was  the  high  reward 
purposed  for  such  brave  endurance.  He  would  re- 
member, too,  the  hard  and  faithful  life  of  his  master, 
St.  Paul  (chap.  iii.  10—12). 

Do  the  work  of  an  evangelist. — The  "evan- 
gelists "  of  the  early  Church  seem  to  have  been 
preachers  of  the  Gospel :  in  the  first  place,  assistants  to 
the  Apostles  and  missionaries  under  their  direction. 
The  especial  functions  of  a  preacher  and  public  teacher 
seem  always  to  have  been  allotted  to  Timothy,  and,  no 
doubt,  a  peculiar  persuasive  power  of  oratory  was  ono 
of  the  chief  gifts  conferred  on  this  eminent  follower  of 
St.  Paul.  In  the  midst  of  the  many  grave  and  absorb- 
ing duties  of  liis  charge  of  tho  Ephesian  Church,  he 
must  bo  mindful  not  to  neglect  this  great  power  which 
he  possessed.  It  is  here  especially  termed  "  the  icork 
of  an  evangelist,"  to  remind  him  that  to  perform 
rightly  this  duty,  needed  zeal,  close  work,  much  study, 
thought,  and  prayer;  aiid  it  wiis  by  worthily  performing 
the  duties  of  an  evangelist  that  the  many  who  wero 
turning  from  the  truth  to  fables,  would  be  best  won 
l)ack.  by  hearing  tho  great  facts  of  the  Gospel  placed 
side  by  side  with  the  tables  of  the  false  teachers. 

Make  full  proof  of  thy  ministry.— In  other 
words,  "  Fully  carry  out  the  many  duties  impose*!  upon 
thee  by  thy  great  office."  Tlie  office  of  Timotliy,  it 
should  be  remembered,  in  Ephesus,  included  far  mora 
than  merely  those  of  a  preacher  or  evangelist.  He  was 
the  presiding  presbyter  of   the  Churcn,  to  whom  its 


239 


7,  Paul,  am  noio  at 


II.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


t/ie  End  of  my  Course. 


make  full  proof  of  ^  thy  ministry. 
(6)  jpor  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at 
hand.  (^>  I  have  fouj^ht  a  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  mxj  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith :  (^'>  henceforth  there  is  laid  up 


1  or,  fulfil. 


for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge, 
shall  give  me  at  that  day :  and  not 
to  me  only,    but   unto  all  chap.  iv.  9-i3. 

them     also    that     love     his    Timothy  was  to 

appearing.        («)    Do     thy  come  quickly. 


govemniont  was  intrusted :  in  fact,  the  many-sided  life 
of  St.  Paul  was  now  to  be  lived  by  Timothy. 

(ti)  For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered..— What, 
in  the  Philippian  Epistle  (chap.  ii.  17),  was  alluded  to 
as  a  coutiii'^'euoy  likely  cnouj^h  to  happeu  here  is  spokcu 
of  as  sonictliiiig  wliich  was  theu  absolutely  taking 
place'.  In  his  tirst  imprisonment  at  Rome  St.  Paul 
looked  on  to  a  martyr's  deatli  as  pro])al)le.  In  his 
second  captivity  at  Rome  ho  writes  of  the  martyrdom 
as  already  beginning.  The  more  accurate,  as  well  as 
the  more  forcible,  translation  would  be,  For  I  am 
already  being  offered.  The  Greek  word  rendered  "  I 
am  being  offered,"  points  to  the  drink  offering  of 
•wine  which,  among  the  JeAvs,  accompanied  the  sacri- 
fice. Among  the  lieathen  this  wine  was  commonly 
poured  uiion  the  burning  victims — the  allusion  here  is 
to  St.  Paul's  bloody  death.  So  convinced  was  he  that 
the  dread  moment  for  him  was  at  hand,  that  as  he 
thus  speaks  he  feels  as  though  it  was  even  then  taking 
place,  and  sees — in  his  present  suffering,  in  his  liarsh 
treatment — the  beginning  of  that  martyrdom  in  which 
his  lif('-l)lood  would  be  ])oured  out.  But  he  would  not 
allow  Timothy  or  the  many  Christians  who  revered 
and  loved  him  to  I)e  dismayed  by  his  sufferings  or 
shocked  at  his  painful  death.  He  would  show  them, 
by  liis  calm,  triumphant  language,  tliat  to  him  death 
was  no  terror,  but  only  tlie  appointed  passage  to  gloiy. 
So  ho  speaks  of  his  life-blood  being  shed,  under  the 
well-known  peaceful  image  of  the  wine  poured  out 
over  the  sacrifice,  the  drink  offering,  the  sweet  savour 
unto  the  Lord.  (See  Num.  xv.  1 — 10 ;  compare  John 
xii.  24,  where  the  Master  of  St.  Paul,  too,  speaks  of 
His  approaching  death  of  agony  and  shame  also  under 
a  quiet,  homely  image.) 

And  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.— 
"  My  departure  :"  that  is,  "  from  life,''  from  this  world 
to  another.  The  moment  of  my  death,  so  long  looked 
for,  is  now  close  at  haiul,  is  all  but  here.  The  Greek 
word  rendered  "  departure,"  among  other  meanings, 
signifies  the  raising  of  the  ship's  anchor  and  tlio 
loosing  of  the  cables  by  which  the  vessel  was  hin- 
dered from  proceeding  on  her  destined  voyage. 

(7)  I  have  fought  a  good  fight.— More  accurately, 
more  forcibly  rendered,  Uie  good  JirjJit.  St.  Paul  elianges 
the  metaphor,  and  adopts  his  old  favourite  one,  so  familiar 
to  all  Gentile  readers,  of  the  athlete  contending  in  the 
games.  First,  he  speaks  generally  of  the  combatant, 
tlie  charioteer,  and  the  runner.  "  I  have  fought  the  good 
fight,"  leaving  it  undetermined  what  description  of  strife 
or  contest  was  referred  to.  The  tense  of  the  Greek 
verb — the  perfect — "I  /lare  fought,"  is  remarkable.  The 
struggle  had  been  bravely  su.stained  in  the  past,  and 
was  now  being  equally  bravely  sustained  to  the  end. 
His  claim  to  the  crown  (verse  8)  was  established. 

I  have  finished  my  course.— Or  "  race,"  for  liere 
the  image  of  the  stadium,  the  Olympic  race-course,  was 
occupying  the  Apostle's  thoughts.  Again  the  perfect 
is  used:  "I  have  fijiished  my  course."  How,  asks, 
Chrysostom,  "  had  he  finished  his  course  ?"  and  answers 
rather  rhetorically  by  replying  that  ho  had  made  the 
circuit  of  the  world.      The  question  is  better  answered 


in  St.  Paul's  own  words  (Acts  xx.  24),  where  he  ex- 
plains "  his  course,"  which  he  would  finish  witli  joy,  as 
the  ministry  which  he  had  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

I  have  kept  the  faith. — Here,  again,  the  metaphor 
is  changed,  and  St.  Paul  looks  back  on  his  lived  life  as  on 
one  long,  painful  struggle  to  guard  the  treasure  of  the 
Catholic  faith  inviolate  and  untarnished  (see  1  Tim.  vi. 
20).  And  now  the  struggle  was  over,  and  he  handed 
on  the  sacred  deposit,  safe.  It  is  well  to  compare  this 
passage  with  the  words  of  tlie  same  Apostle  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (chap.  iii.  12,  and  following 
verses).  The  same  metaphors  were  in  the  Apostle's 
mind  on  both  occasions ;  but  in  the  first  instance  (in  the 
Philippian  Epistle)  they  were  used  by  the  anxious,  care- 
worn servant  of  the  Lord,  hoping  and,  at  the  same  time, 
fearing  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  him  and  his 
Chujch  ;  in  the  second  (in  the  Epistle  to  Timothy)  they 
wei'e  the  expression  of  the  triumjihant  con^dction  of  the 
dying  follower  of  Christ,  who  had  so  followed  his  loved 
Master  in  life,  that  he  now  shrank  not  fi-om  following 
the  same  Master  in  death. 

(8)  A  crown  of  righteousness.— More  accurately 
rendered,  the  crown  of  rigliteousness.  St.  Paul,  after 
speaking  calmly  of  death,  the  bitterness  of  which  he  was 
already  tasting,  looks  on  beyond  death,  and  speaks  of  the 
crown  which  awaited  him.  The  crown  was  the  victory 
prize  which  the  "  good  fight  "  of  verse  7  had  won.  It 
is  called  "  the  crown  of  righteousness,"  it  being  the 
crown  to  which  righteousness  can  lay  claim — that  is, 
the  crown  awarded  to  righteousness. 

"Which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall 
give  me. — As  a  righteous  judge  will  the  Loi'd  award 
him  the  crown,  recognising  him  as  one  who  had  the 
j)rize  of  victory.  Not  improbably,  the  expression  "the 
righteous  judge "  was  written  in  strong  contrast  to 
that  unrighteous  judge  who  had  condemned  Paul,  and 
in  accordance  with  whose  unjust  sentence  he  would 
presently  suffer  a  painful  death. 

At  that  day.— This  is  the  third  time  the  words 
"  that  day  "  are  used  in  this  Epistle  (see  chap.  i.  12 — 18). 
The  day  of  judgment  is,  of  course,  signified,  the  day 
when  the  Lord  shall  come  again  with  glory. 

And  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also 
that  love  his  appearing.— Then  St.  Paul,  instead  uf 
concluding  this  section  of  his  letter  with  the  glorious 
words  telling  of  his  serene  courage  and  of  his  confi- 
dence in  a  crowned  and  immortal  life,  adds  a  gentle 
reminder  to  Timothy  :  he,  too,  witli  any  others  who 
really  look  for  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  might 
win  the  same  glorious  crown — the  sure  guerdon  of 
righteousness.  The  Apostle  specifies  here  exactly  the 
persons  for  whom  "  the  crown "  was  reserved — those 
who  in  tliis  life  have  indeed  longed  for  the  ap^iear- 
ance  of  the  Lord  in  judgment.  None  here  could  in 
very  truth  desire  "  His  appearing,"  save  His  own, 
who  love  Him  and  struggle  to  live  His  life. 
Calvin  well  remarks  :  "  (St.  Paul)  excludes  fi-om  the 
number  of  the  faithful  those  to  whom  Christ's  coming 
is  a  source  of  terror." 

(9)  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  shortly.— Such 
a  request  as  this  would — had  we  no  other  argiuuents 


240 


Timothy  is  urged  to  come  quick! ij,  IT.     TIMOTHY,     IV.       for  many  have  Deserted  the  Apostle. 


diligence  to  come  .  shortly  unto  me : 
<^"^  for  Demas  hath  forsaken  me,  having 
loved  this  present  world,  and  is 
departed  unto   Thessalonica ;    Crescens 


to  Galatia,  Titus  unto  Dalmatia. 
<ii)  Only  Luke  is  with  me.  Take 
Mark,  and  bring  him  with  thee :  for 
he  is  profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry. 


— tell  us  that  no  forger  ever  wrote  this  Ei)istle.  Who 
would  over  have  dveanied  of  putting  iuto  the  letter  such 
a  request  as  this,  after  those  soloinu  expressions  of  the 
last  few  verses,  in  wliidi  the  Apostle  spoke  of  himself  as 
oven  then  tasting  the  bitterness  of  death  F  He  had  been 
writing  as  though  the  martyr's  death  was  so  imminent 
tliat  the  preparations  were  already  being  made  for  it. 
This  request  to  Timothy  to  come  to  him,  after  he  had 
written  such  thoughts  down,  is  at  first  sight  strange, 
and  one  certainly  which  no  forger  would  have  appended 
to  the  writing.  But  though  the  forger  would  never  have 
thought  of  such  a  summons,  St.  P(n<Z  might.  He  still 
lived,  and  the  thought  of  life  and  the  hope  of  life 
even  in  that  l)ravo  Christ-loving  heart  still  burned  ;  after 
all,  the  martyrdom  which  seemed  so  close  at  hand 
might  be  delayed.  Days,  months,  might  drag  on  their 
slow,  weary  length,  and  still  find  the  old  man  languish- 
ing and  solitary  in  his  chains  in  that  dreaiy  prison. 
He  longed  to  see  some  of  his  faithful  companions  once 
more,  and  for  the  last  time  to  bid  them  with  his  own 
mouth  to  be  faithful  and  brave.  So,  as  it  were,  hoping 
against  hope,  he  dictates  on  the  last  pages  of  the 
letter,  "  Do  thy  diligence,"  or  better,  "  earnestly  6.a- 
deavour  to  come  shortly  to  me."  His  loving  wish  to 
see  Timothy  again  appears  from  the  words  of  chap.  i.  4  : 
"  greatly  desiring  to  see  thee  ;  "  and  again  from  chap.  iv. 
21.  "  Do  th_v  diligence  to  come  before  winter."  And 
some  have  seen  in  the  expresssion, "  being  mindful  of  thy 
tears,"  in  chap.  i.  4  (to  which  we  have  given,  however,  a 
different  interpretation),  a  reciprocal  anxiety  on  the  part 
of  Timothy  to  see  and  speak  again  with  his  old  master. 
But  St.  Paul,  though  he  begged  him  to  hasten  his  journey 
as  much  as  possible,  and  still,  though  all  seemed  so 
dark  around  him,  hoped  to  see  him  again,  framed  the 
charge  of  the  last  letter  in  such  a  way  that  Timothy,  if 
when  he  reached  Rome,  should  find  that  all  was  over, 
might  know  what  were  his  master's  last  wishes  and 
directions.  On  the  natural  human  longing  for  sympathy 
in  the  supreme  hour,  compare  our  blessed  Lord's  words 
to  Peter,  James,  and  John  (Matt.  xxvi.  38)  :  "My  soul  is 
exceeding  sorrowful  unto  death :  tarry  ye  here,  and 
watch  icith  Mc." 

(10)  For  Demas  hath  forsaken  me.— This  once 
faithful  companion  of  St.  Paul  had  been  with  him 
during  the  first  imprisonment  of  the  Apostle  at  Rome 
(Col.  iv.  14;  Philem.  verse  2t) ;  but  now,  terrified  by  the 
greater  severity  and  the  threatened  fatal  ending  of  the 
second  imprisonment,  had  forsaken  his  old  master. 

Having  loved  this  present  world.— Chrysostom 
paraphrases  as  follows :  *'  Having  loved  ease  and  safety, 
chose  rathi'r  to  live  daintily  at  homo  than  to  suifor 
affliction,  than  to  endure  hardship,  with  mo,  and  with 
me  to  bear  these  present  dangers."  The  tradition, 
liowever,  which  relates  that  he  became  in  after  days 
ari  idol  priest  at  Thessalonica  is  baseless.  Demas  is 
a  shorter  form,  probably,  for  the  well-known  and  now 
common  Grecian  name  of  Demetrius. 

Tlio  present  world  {aidna):  that  is,  the  present 
(evil)  coiii-se  of  thintrs. 

Is  departed  unto  Thessalonica.— From  Chrysos- 
tom's  words  al)<>ve  quoted.  Thessalonica  was  apparently 
tlio  "  home"  of  Domas.  It  has  been  supposed,  however, 
by  some,  that  Tliossalonica  was  chosen  by  Demas  as  his 
abod(»  wlieu  ho  left  St.  Paul  because  it  was  a  great  mer- 

82  241 


cantile  centre,  and  his  business  connections  were  there, 
and  he  preferred  them,  the  rich  and  prosperous  friends, 
to  St.  Paul,  the  condemned  and  dying  prisoner.  Tliessa- 
lonica  was,  at  this  time,  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
empire.  It  was  the  most  populous  of  the  Macedonian 
cities,  and  had  been  chosen  to  be  the  metropolis  of  that 
great  pro\nnce.  Before  the  founding  of  Constantinople, 
it  was  evidently  the  capital  of  Greece  and  Illyricum,  as 
well  as  of  Macedonia.  It  was  famous  throughout  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  is  celel)rated  by  the  early  German 
poets  under  the  abbreviated  name  of  "  Salueck,"  which 
has  become  the  Saloniki  of  the  Levant  of  our  days.  It 
is  singular  that  the  name  of  its  patron  saint,  "  Deme- 
trius," martyred  about  A.D.  290  (identified  above 
with  Demas),  whose  local  glory  (comp.  Conybeare  and 
Howsou's  St.  Paid,  chap,  ix.)  has  even  eclipsed  that  of 
St.  Paul,  the  founder  of  the  Church,  should  be  identi- 
cal Avith  that  of  the  "forsaker"  of  St.  Paul. 

Crescens  to  Galatia.  —  Nothing  is  known  of 
this  friend  of  St.  Paul.  One  tradition  speaks  of  him 
as  a  preacher  in  Galatia,  and  another  of  his  having 
founded  the  Church  of  Vienne  in  Gaul.  There  is  a 
curious  variation  in  some  of  the  older  authorities  here, 
"Gallia"  being  read  instead  of  Galatia.  Whether 
Crescens,  on  his  leaving  St.  Paul,  went  to  Galatia  or 
Gaul  is,  therefore,  uncertain. 

Titus  unto  Dalmatia. — Dalmatia  was  a  province 
of  Roman  Illyricum,  lying  along  the  Adriatic.  Nothing 
is  known  respecting  this  jommey  of  Titus.  It  was,  most 
probably,  made  Avith  the  Apostle's  sanction. 

(11)  Only  Luke  is  with  me.— The  "writer"  of 
the  Third  Gospel,  the  Gospel  which,  as  has  been  stated 
above,  was  very  possibly  the  work  of  St.  Paul — "my 
Gospel."  Luke,  "  the  beloved  physician  "  of  Col.  iv.  14, 
of  all  St.  Paul's  companions,  seems  to  have  been  most 
closely  associated  with  the  Apostle.  Most  likely  this 
close  intimacy  and  long-continued  association  was  owing 
to  the  Apostle's  weak  and  infirm  health — to  that  dying 
body— the  noble  Paul  ever  bore  about  with  him.  Luke 
was  with  St.  Paul,  we  know,  in  his  second  missionary 
journey,  and  again  in  his  third  missionary  journey  :  he 
accomi)anied  him  to  Asia,  and  then  to  Jerusalem; 
was  with  him  during  the  captivity  time  of  Ca?sarea, 
and  subsequently  of  Rome,  the  first  time  St.  Paul  was 
imprisoned  in  the  capital  (Acts  XA-iii.).  After  St.  Paul's 
death,  Epiphanius  speaks  of  him  as  preaching  chiefly 
in  Gaul;  a  very  general  tradition  includes  him  among  the 
martyrs  of  tlio  first  age  of  the  Church.  The  name  is 
probably  a  contraction  of  Lucauus.  (See  Introduction 
to  the  Acta  of  the  Apostles.) 

Take  Mark,  and  bring  him  with  thee :  for  he 
is  profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry.—"  But 
Paul  thought  not  good  to  take  him  with  them,  who 
depai-ted  from  them  .  .  .  and  went  not  with  them  to 
the  work  "  (Acts  xv.  38).  There  is  something  strangely 
touching  in  this  message  of  the  aged  master  to  Timothy 
to  bring  with  him  on  that  last  solemn  jtiurnoy  one  whom, 
some  quarter  of  a  century  before.  St.  Paul  had  judged 
so  severely,  and  on  whoso  account  lie  had  soparateil  from 
his  old  loved  friend,  Barnal)as  the  Apostle.  Since  that 
hour  when  the  young  missionary's  heart  ha<l  failed  him 
in  Pamphvlia.  Mark  had,  by  steady,  earnest  work,  won 
back  his  place  in  St.  Paul's  heart.  Barnabas,  we  know, 
when  his  brother  Apostle  rejected  him,  took  him  with 


Timothy  is  to  bring  a  Cloke 


II.   TIMOTHY,   IV. 


and  some  Books  with  him. 


(1-)  And  Tycbicus  have  I  sent  to 
Ephesus.  ^i^>  The  cloke  that  I  left  at 
Troas  with  Carpus,  when  tlioii  comest, 
bring  with  thee,  and  the  books,  hut  esjje- 


cially  the  parchments.  (^^^  Alexander  the 
coppersmith  did  me  much  chap.  iv.i4-l8. 
evil:  the  Lord  reward  him  The  Apostle's 
according    to    his    works:  iii^^t trial. 


him  to  C}T)rns.  Aftei-  some  twelve  years,  we  fiiul  him, 
durinjjf  the  first  iiiiprisoumeut,  with  St.  Paul  at  Rome 
(Col.  iv.  10  ;  Phileiii.  verse  24).  He  is  mentioned  (1  Pet. 
V.  13)  by  the  endearing  term  of  "  uiy  .sou,"  and  the  uuani- 
nious  traditions  of  the  ancient  Christian  writers  represent 
him  as  tlie  secretary  or  amauueusis  of  St.  Peter.  It  was 
his  office  to  commit  to  writing  tlie  orally  delivered  in- 
structions and  narrations  of  his  master.  These,  iu  some 
revised  and  arranged  form,  probably  under  the 
direction  of  Peter  himself,  were  given  to  theCluircli 
under  the  title  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel.  A  later  and 
uncertain  tradition  says  he  subsequently  became 
first  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  and  there  suffered 
martyrdom. 

For  he  is  profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry.— 
Profitable,  according  to  the  suggestion  of  Grotius, 
owing  to  Mark's  knowledge  of  tlie  Latin  tongue. 
This  is  possible ;  but  it  is  more  likely  that  he  was 
profitable  or  serviceable  as  an  assistant  who  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  details  of  St.  Paul's  many- 
sided  work. 

(1-)  And  Tychicus  have  I  sent  to  Ephesus.— 
Instead  of  "and,"  the  Greek  particle  here  should  be 
rendered  "'  but  Tychicus."  "  This  '  but '  api)ears  to  refer 
to  a  sup))rcssed  tliought,  suggested  by  the  concluding 
portion  of  the  last  (11th)  verse  :  bring  Mark.  I  need  one 
who  is  profitable  (or  serviceable)  for  the  ministry.  I  had 
one  in  Tychicus,  but  he  is  gone"  (EUicott).  Neither 
the  period  of  Tychicus'  journey  nor  its  object  is  alluded 
to  here.  It  probably  took  place  some  time,  how- 
ever, befoi'e  the  sending  of  tliis  Epistle  to  Timothy. 
Tychicus  was  evidently  one  of  the  trusted  companions 
of  St.  Paul.  He  had  been  with  him,  we  know,  on  liis 
third  missionary  journey,  and  had,  during  St.  Paul's  first 
Roman  imprisonment,  some  six  or  se\eu  years  l^efore, 
been  charged  with  a  mission  by  liis  master  to  Ephesus. 
Iu  Eph.  vi.  21  he  is  called  a  beloved  brother  and  a 
faithful  minister  in  the  Lord.  (See,  too,  Col.  iv.  7, 
where  he  is  spoken  of  in  similar  tei*ms.)  On  the  city 
of  Ephesus,  see  Note  on  1  Tim.  i.  3.  It  lias  been,  witli 
considerable  pro])ability,  suggested  that  Tychicus  had 
been  the  bearer  of  the  first  Epistle  to  Timothy.  Be- 
tween the  writing  of  these  tAvo  letters,  we  know,  uo 
great  interval  could  have  elapsed. 

d'^)  The  cloke  that  I  left  at  Troas— The  ap- 
parently trivial  nature  of  this  request  in  an  Epistle 
containing  such  weiglity  matter,  and  also  tlie  fact  of 
such  a  wi.sh  on  the  part  of  one  expecting  deatli  being 
made  at  all,  is  at  first  a  little  puzzling.  To  explain  this 
seemingly  strange  recjuest,  some  have  wished  to  under- 
stand by  "the  cloke"  .some  garment  St.  Paul  was  in 
the  liabit  of  wearing  when  performing  certain  sacred 
functions:  in  other  words,  as  a  vestment;  but  such 
a  supposition  would  bo  in  the  highest  degree  pre- 
carious, for  uowliere  in  the  New  Testament  is  the 
slightest  hint  given  us  tliat  any  such  vestment  was  ever 
used  in  the  primitive  Christian  Church.  It  is  mucli 
better  to  understand  tlie  words  as  simjjly  requesting 
Timothy,  on  his  way,  to  l)ring  with  him  a' thick  cloak. 
or  mantle,  wliich  St.  Paul  hacl  left  witlj  a  c(>rtain  Carpus 
at  Troas.  Probably,  when  lie  left  it,  it  was  summer, 
and  he  was  disinclined  to  burden  himself  in  his  hurried 
journey  witli  any  superfluous  things.  Winter  was  now 
coming  on,  and  the  poor  aged  prisoner  iu  the  cold  damp  \ 

24 


prison,  with  f(>w  friends  and  scant  resources,  remem- 
bered and  Avished  for  his  cloak.  It  is  just  such  a 
request  which  the  master  would  make  of  his  disciple, 
who,  knowing  well  the  old  man's  frail,  shattered  healtli, 
would  uevcr  be  surprised  at  such  a  request  even  iu  an 
Epistle  so  solemu.  Then  too  St.  Paul,  by  his  very 
wish  here  expressed,  to  see  Timothy,  as  above  discussed, 
hopes  against  hope  that  still  a  little  Avliile  for  work  in 
the  coming  winter  months  was  still  before  him,  though 
he  felt  deatli  was  for  him  very  near;  no  forger  of 
tlie  Epistle  had  di-camed  of  putting  down  such  a 
request. 

And  the  books.— The  books  were,  most  likely,  a 
few  choice  works,  some  bearing  ou  Jewish  sacred 
history,  partly  exegetical  and  explanatory  of  the 
mysterious  senses  veiled  under  the  letter  of  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  and  partly  historical.  Othei'S  were 
probably  heathen  writings,  of  which  we  know,  from  his 
many  references  in  his  Epistles,  St.  Paul  was  a  diligent 
student.  These  few  choice  books,  it  has  been  suggested, 
with  high  probability,  St.  Paul  "  had  made  a  shift  to 
get  and  preserve,"  and  these,  if  God  spared  his  life  yet 
a  few  short  months,  he  would  have  with  him  for  re- 
ference in  his  prison  room. 

But  especially  the  parchments,— These  precious 
papers,  above  all,  would  St.  Paul  have  with  him.  These 
were,  most  likely,  common-place  books,  in  which  tho 
Apostle — evidently  always  a  diligent  student — had 
written  what  he  had  observed  as  worthy  of  especial 
notice  iu  the  reading  of  either  of  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament,  or  the  other  books  bearing  on  Jewish 
or  Pagan  literature  and  history.  These  precious  notes 
were  probably  the  result  of  many  yeai-s'  reading  and 
study.  He  would  have  them  with  him  as  long  as  life 
remained  to  him.  (Compare  ou  this  strange  but 
interesting  verso  Bp.  Bull's  learned  and  exhaustive 
sermon :  Works,  vol.  i.  p.  240,  Oxford  Edition,  1846.) 
Erasmus  remarks  on  this  request  of  St.  Paul :  "  Behold 
the  Apostle's  goods  or  movables  :  a  poor  cloke  to  keep 
him  from  the  weather,  and  a  few  books !  " 

A  suggestion  has  been  made  that  the  words  trans- 
lated "Much  learning  doth  make  thee  mad"  (Acts 
xxvi.  24)  should  be  rendered,  Thy  many  rolls  of  jJnrch- 
ment  are  turning  thy  brain,  and  that  these  rolls  of 
Itarcliment  referred  to  by  Eestus  as  the  companions  of 
St.  Paul's  captivity  at  Csesarea  were  identical  witL 
those  parchments  left  Avith  Carpus.  The  Greek  words, 
however,  are  not  the  same  in  the  two  passages.  Of 
this  Carpus  notliiug  is  known. 

(1^)  Alexander  the  coppersmith  did  me  much 
evil. — Most  probablv.  the  same  Al(^xander,  mentioned 
in  the  First  Epistle  (1  Tim.  i.  20)  "as  delivered  to  Satan," 
and  not  improbably  identical  with  the  Alexander  "tlie 
Jew  "  put  forward  by  the  Jews  in  the  Ephesian  tumult 
(Acts  xix.  33,  34). 

It  has  been  suggested  that  this  Alexander,  an  influen- 
tial Epliesian  Jew,  had  done  much  injury  to  the  cause 
of  the  Christians  generally,  and  to  St.  Paul  personally, 
with  the  inqterial  authorities  at  Rome. 

The  Lord  reward  him  according  to  his 
works. — The  older  authorities  read,  "  shall  reward 
him  .  .  ."  The  works  referred  to  were  tlie  bitter 
injuries  he  had  done  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  rather  than 
to  the  Apostle  himself. 


St.  Paul  he/ore, 


II.   TIMOTHY,  IV. 


the,  Roman  Judge. 


(15)  of  whom  be  tliou  ware  also ;  for  he 
hath  greatly  withstood  our  words. ^  '^^)  At 
my  first  answer  no  man  stood  with  me, 
but  all  men  forsook  me :  I  pray  God  that 
it   may  not   be   laid    to   their   charge. 


1  Or,   our  preach- 
inye. 


(^^^  Notwithstanding  the  Lord  stood  with 
me,  and  strengthened  me ;  that  by  me 
the  preaching  might  be  fully  known, 
and  that  all  the  Gentiles  might  hear : 
and  I  was  delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of 


(15)  Of  whom  be  thou  ware  also.— Tliis  Alex- 
ander was  evitloutly  tlieu  at  Ephesus.  That  he  had 
been  at  Rome,  aud  liad  given  evidence  against  St.  Paul, 
and  had  argned  against  the  defence  of  the  Apostle,  is 
probable.  "  Our  words  "some  undei'staud  as  especially 
referring  to  St.  Paul's  defence  before  the  imperial 
tribunal.  If  wo  identify  him  with  the  Alexander  of 
Acts  xix.  33,  3 1,  then  he  was  a  Jew,  one  of  those  bitter, 
life-long  antagonists  of  the  Gentile  Apostle  who  crossed 
his  patli  at  every  step,  and  not  improbably  brought 
about,  in  the  end,  his  death.  It  is  an  interesting 
suggestion  which  refers  the  connection  between  St. 
Paul  and  Alexander  back  to  those  days  when  Saul 
and  Alexander  were  both  reckoned  as  belonging  to 
the  strictest  Pharisee  l>arty,  determined  foes  to  the 
"  Nazarenes."  Saul — if  we  adopt  this  supposition — 
became  the  Apostle  St.  Paul  of  the  Gentiles ;  Alexander 
remained  a  fanatic  Jew — lience  the  enmity. 

(1*^)  At  my  first  answer  no  man  stood  with 
me  .  .  .—And  then,  after  the  mention  of  what  his 
enemy  had  done  out  of  hatred  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
the  old  man  passed  on  to  speak  of  the  conduct 
of  his  own  familiar  friends  at  that  great  public  trial 
before — most  probal)ly — the  city  prsefect :  Preefectus 
Urbi,  a  nominee  of  the  Emperor  Nero.  No  one  friend 
stood  by  him;  no  "advocate"  pleaded  his  cause;  no 
"procurator"  (an  official  who  performed  the  functions 
of  the  attorney  in  an  English  court)  helped  him  in 
arranging  and  sifting  the  evidence;  no  "  iiatronus  "  of 
any  noble  or  powerful  house  gave  him  his  countenance 
and  support.  The  position  of  a  well-known  Christian 
leader  accused  in  the  year  66-67  was  a  critical  one,  and 
the  friend  who  dared  to  stand  by  him  would  himself 
be  in  great  danger.  After  the  great  fire  of  Rome,  in 
A.D.  64,  the  Christians  were  looked  upon  as  the  enemies 
of  the  state,  aud  were  charged  as  the  authors  of  that 
terrible  disaster.  Nero,  to  avert  suspicion  from  him- 
self, allowed  the  Christians  to  be  accused  and  con- 
demned as  incendiaries.  A  gi'cat  persecution,  in  which, 
as  Tacitus  tells,  a  very  great  multitude  of  the  followers 
of  Jesus  perished,  was  the  immediate  result  of  the 
hateful  charge.  It  is  most  probable  that  St.  Paul,  as 
a  famous  Nazarene  leader,  was  eventually  arrested  as 
implicated  in  this  crime,  aud  bi-ought  to  Rome.  His 
implacable  enemies  among  the  Jews  might  well  liave 
been  the  agents  who  brought  this  about,  and  Alexander 
of  the  last  verse  Avas  possibly  principally  concerned  in 
tliis  matter.  But  St.  Paul,  conscious  of  his  own  great 
peril,  knew  well  that  to  stand  by  him  now,  implicated 
as  ho  was  in  this  net-work  of  false  accusations,  would 
bo  a  service  of  tlie  greatest  danger ;  so  he  pleads  for 
them,  these  weak,  unnerved  friends  of  his,  who,  through 
no  ill-will  to  the  cause,  but  solely  from  timidity,  had 
dfserted  him,  remembering,  no  doubt,  liis  own  Master, 
who,  too,  in  His  hour  of  deadly  peril,  had  been  forsaken. 
(See  John  xvi.  32,  "Behold  the  hour  cometh,  yea  is 
now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered  every  man  to  his 
own,  aud  ye  shall  leave  Me  alone.")  But  like  his  own 
Master,  who  proceeded  to  say,  "  Yet  I  am  not  alone, 
because  the  Father  is  \\nth  Me,"  so  St.  Paul  went  on  to 
tell  Timothy  neither  was  he  alone,  for  One  greater  than 
any  friend  on  earth  stood  liy  him. 


(17)  Notwithstanding  the  Lord  stood  with 
me,  and  strengthened  me.— Though  men  deserted 
him,  yet  One — even  his  Lord  (Christ),  who  could  do 
more  for  him  than  any  friend,  or  advocate,  or  protector 
of  earth — stood  by  him,  and  strengthened  him  by 
giving  him  courage  and  readiness. 

That  by  me  the  preaching  might  be  fully 
known. — Moi-e  accurately  rendered,  might  he  fully 
performed  :  "  impleatur,"  as  the  Yulgate  gives  it.  The 
strength  and  courage  which  the  felt  presence  of  his 
Lord  gave  him,  enalDled  him  on  that  occasion,  when 
alone,  friendless,  accused  of  a  hateful  crime  before  the 
highest  earthly  tribunal  in  the  capital  city  of  the 
world,  to  plead  not  only  for  himself  but  for  that  great 
cause  with  wliich  he  was  identified.  He  spoke  possibly 
for  the  last  time  publicly  [we  know  nothing  of  the  final 
trial,  when  he  was  condemned]  the  glad  tidings  of 
which  he  was  the  chosen  herald  to  the  Gentile  world. 
It  is  probable  that  this  great  trial  took  place  in  the 
Forum,  in  one  of  the  Pauline  Basilicas — so  called  after 
L.  iEmilius  Pauius.  It  is  certain  it  was  in  the  pre- 
sence of  a  crowded  audience.  St.  Paul  cA-idently 
intimates  this  when  he  teUs  us  how  he  spoke  "  that  all 
the  Gentiles  might  hear."  This  was  apparently  the 
culminating  point  of  St.  Paul's  labours — the  last 
stone  of  the  laborious  edifice  of  his  life's  work.  Had 
the  courage  of  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  failed  him 
on  this  most  momentous  occasion,  the  spirit  of  the 
sorely-tried  Church  of  Rome  had  surely  simk,  and 
that  marvellous  and  rapid  progress  of  the  gospel 
in  the  West — which,  in  a  little  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  would  make  its  influence  felt  in  well-nigh  every 
city  and  village  of  the  empire — had  been  arrested. 

And  that  all  the  Gentiles  might  hear.— Here 
alluding  primarily  to  the  crowded  audience  which  had 
listened  on  this  solemn  occasion  to  St.  Paul's  Apologia 
pro  Christo  ;  but  there  is  another  and  deeper  reference 
to  those  uncounted  peoples  in  the  isles  of  the  Gentiles, 
\vho,  by  St.  Paul's  work  and  words,  would  come  to  the 
saving  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

And  I  was  delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  lion. — Expositors  have,  in  all  ages,  dwelt  nmch 
on  the  question,  "  Who  was  to  be  understood  under 
the  figure  of  the  lion  ?  "  The  fathers  mostly  believe 
the  Emperor  Nero  was  here  alluded  to.  Others  have 
suggested  that  St.  Paul  was  referring  to  the  "  lions  " 
of  the  amphitheatre,  from  whom,  at  all  events  for  the 
time,  he  had  been  delivered.  It  is,  however,  best  to 
understand  the  expression  as  a  figurative  expression  for 
extreme  danger.  His  Master  on  that  dread  occasion 
stood  by  him,  and  gave  him  strength  and  wisdom  over 
man  to  speak  the  words  of  life,  and  delivered  him  for 
the  moment  out  of  the  imminent  peril  threatening 
him,  allowing  him.  not  only  to  speak  his  Master's  words 
there,  but  also  thus  to  write  this  solemn  farewell 
charge  to  Timothy  and  the  Church.  That  such  figu- 
rative language  was  not  unusual,  compare  the  E/>i--t'e 
of  Ignatius  to  the  EomansAi.  S.  in  which  writing  the 
prisoner  describes  liis  journey  from  Syria  to  Rome  as 
one  long  "fight  with  wild  beasts,"  and  speaks  of  him- 
self as  "  bound  to  ten  leopards,''  thus  designating  his 
soldier  guards. 


243 


Last  Greetings. 


IT.   TIMOTHY,  IV. 


Conclusion. 


the  lion.  <^^*  And  the  Lord  shall  deliver 
me  from  every  evil  work,  and  will  pre- 
serve me  unto  his  heavenly  kingdom : 
to  whom  he  gflory  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.  ^^'''  Sahite  Prisca  and  Aquila, 
Chap.  iv.  19—  ^^^^  the  household  of  One- 
22.  Greetings,  siphorus.  <-"^^  Erastus  abode 
at  Corinth :  but  Trophimus  have  I  left 
at  Miletum  sick.     <^^>  Do  thy  diligence 


to  come  before  winter.  Eubulus  greet- 
eth  thee,  and  Pudens,  and  Linus,  and 
Claudia,  and  all  the  brethren.  (--)  The 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  with  thy  sjjirit. 
Grace  he  Avith  you.     Amen. 

IT  The  second  epistle  unto  Timotheus,  ordained 
the  first  bishop  of  tlie  cliurch  of  the  Ephesians, 
was  written  from  Rome,  wlien  Paul  was  brought 
before  Nero  the  second  time. 


(18)  And  the  Lord  shall  deliver  me  from 
every  evil  work  .  .  . — Many  commentators  have 
explained  these  words  as  the  expression  of  St.  Paul's 
contidence  that  the  Lord  not  only  liad,  in  the  late  trial, 
strengthened  His  servant,  and  given  him  courage  to 
endure,  but  that  He  would  watch  over  liim  in  the 
future  which  still  lay  before  him,  and  would  pre- 
serve him  f rom  eveiy  danger  of  faint-heartcdness,  from 
every  risk  of  doing  dishonour  to  his  Master ;  but  such 
an  interpretation  seems  foreign  to  the  spirit  in  which 
St.  Paul  was  writing  to  Timothy.  In  the  whole  Epistle 
there  is  not  one  note  of  fear — nothing  which  should 
lead  us  to  suspect  that  the  martyr  Apostle  was  fearful 
for  himself.  It  reads — does  this  last  letter  of  the  great 
Gentile  teacher — in  many  places  like  a  triumphant 
song  of  death.  It,  therefore,  appears  unnatural  to  in- 
troduce into  the  closing  words  of  the  Epistle  tlie 
thought  of  the  Lord's  help  in  tlio  event  of  the  Apostle's 
losing  lieart.  Far  better  is  it  to  supply  after  "  every 
evil  work  "  the  words  "  of  the  enemies,''''  and  to  under- 
stand the  deliverance  which  the  Lord  will  accomplish 
for  him,  not  as  a  deliverance  from  any  shrinking  or 
timidity  unworthy  of  an  apostle  of  the  Lord,  not  even 
as  a  deliverance  from  the  martyr*- death,  which  he 
knew  lay  before  him,  hut  that  through  this  verij  death, 
the  Lord  Jesus  would  deliver  him  from  all  weari- 
ness and  toil,  and  woidd  bring  him  safe  into  His 
heavenly  kingdom.  (See  Ps.  xxiii.  4.)  St.  Paul  before 
(Phil.  i.  23  had  expressed  a  longing  to  come  to  Christ 
through  death.  He  then  bursts  into  an  ascription  of 
praise  to  that  Lord  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  had  loved  so 
long  and  so  well,  and  Avho,  in  all  his  troubles  and  per- 
plexities, had  never  left  him  friendless.  For  a  similar 
ascription  of  glory  to  the  Second  Person  of  tlie  ever- 
blessed  Trinity,  see  Heb.  xiii.  21.  (Ccmp.  also  Rom. 
ix.  5.) 

(19)  Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila. — Tliese  were 
two  of  St.  Paul's  earliest  friends  after  he  had  begun 
his  great  work  for  his  Mn.ster.  Originally  of  Pontus, 
they  had  taken  up  tlieir  abode  at  Rome,  where  AquUa 
exercised  his  trade  of  a  tent-maker. 

Driven  out  of  Rome  by  the  decree  of  Claudius,  which 
banished  the  Jews  from  the  capital,  they  came  to 
Corinth,  wliere  St.  Paul  l)ecame  accpiainted  with  them. 
But  they  were  evidently  Christians  when  St.  Paul  first 
met  thcni,  about  A.D.  51-2.  We  hear  of  them  in  com- 
pany with  St.  Paul  at  Coi-inth.  about  A.D.  52-3  (Acts 
xviii.  2):  at  Ephcsus,  about  A.D.  55  (1  Cor.  xvi.  19); 
and  in  the  year  A.D.  58  St.  Paul  sends  greetings  to 
them  at  Rome  (^Roni.  xvi.  3). 

They  were,  evidently,  among  the  many  active  and 
zealous  teachers  of  the  first  days  of  the  faith.  That 
they  possessed  great  ability  as  well  as  zeal  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  from  them  that  the  eloquent 
and  trained  Alexandrian  master,  ApoUos.  learnt  to  be  a 
Christian  (Acts  xviii.  26).  In  this  pkce,  and  in  several 
other  passages,  Prisca  (or  Priscilla)  is    named  before 


her  husband,  Aquila.  This  woidd  seem  to  hint  that  in 
this  case  the  woman  was  the  principal  worker  of  the 
two  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  She,  in  fact,  was  one  of 
that  ])and  of  devoted  holy  women  which  the  preaching 
of  Christ  and  His  disciples  had  called  into  existence : 
a  representative  of  the  great  class  of  nol)Ie  female 
workers  which  had  no  existence  before  Christ  told  the 
world  what  was  the  true  position  of  women — until  the 
same  divine  Master  taught  them  that  they,  too,  as  well 
as  men.  had  a  work  to  work  for  Him  here. 

And  the  household  of  Onesiphorus. —  St. 
Paul  may  have  been  aware  that  Onesiphorus  was 
absent  then  from  Ephesus ;  but  this  peculiar  greeting, 
taken  together  with  the  words  of  chap.  i.  16.  leads  us 
irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  this  friend  of  St. 
Paul's  was  dead  when  the  Epistle  was  written.  (^See 
Notes  on  chap.  i.  16.) 

(29)  Erastus  abode  at  Corinth. — Better  rendered, 
remained  at  Corinth.  An  Erastus  is  mentioned  in 
Rom.  xvi.  23,  the  "  chamberlain "  of  Corinth,  one  of 
the  Christian  congregation  of  that  city.  This  man 
was  proliably  identical  with  him. 

Another  "  Erastus  "  appears  among  those  who  minis- 
tered to  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus  (Acts  xix.  22).  Him  St. 
Paul  sent  on  missionary  work  into  Macedonia.  There 
were,  therefore,  among  St.  Paul's  friends  two  men  of 
this  name :  the  one  a  resident  official  personage  at 
Corinth  ;  the  other  one  of  that  band  who  journeyed 
hither  and  tliitlier  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith. 

But  Trophimus  have  I  left  at  Miletum 
sick. — Trophimus,  a  Gentile  Christian,  who  was  with 
St.  Paul  on  his  third  missionary  journey,  and  whom  the 
Apostle  was  accused  of  taking  into  the  Tem])le  at  Jeru- 
salem. It  Avas  this  accusation  on  the  pai't  of  the  Jews 
which  led  to  St.  Paul's  arrest  which  preceded  his  first 
long  imprisonment.  The  event  here  alluded  to  must 
have  taken  place  some  time  after  the  Apostle's  I'clease 
from  the  first  impi-isonment,  A.D.  63,  and,  probably,  in 
the  course  of  his  last  journey,  shortly  before  his  second 
arrest  and  imprisonment  at  Rome,  about  A.D.  G6. 

Miletus  (not  "  Miletum  "),  a  seaport  of  Caria,  about 
thirty  miles  from  Ephesus,  once  a  city  of  great  renown, 
whence,  it  is  said,  eighty  colonies  had  proceeded ;  but  in 
the  days  of  St.  Paul  its  glories  were  already  on  tlio 
wane.  It  is  now  famous  ouly  for  its  vast  ruined 
theatre.     (See  Acts  xx.  15.) 

It  has  been  suggested  that  this  mention  of  Trojihimus 
was  intended  to  clear  him  of  any  neglect.  "  Erastus," 
wrote  the  Apostle,  "remained  at  Corinth;  but  Tro- 
jdiinuis'  reason  for  not  coming  to  Rome  was  his  sick- 
ness." 

(-1)  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  before  winter. 
Probably  this  was  added  to  hasten  his  coming.  If  ho 
delayed,  the  season  of  the  year  would  put  oil",  perhaps 
hinder  altogether,  his  voyage. 

Eubulus  greeteth  thee.— Of  this  Eubulus  notliing 
is  knoAvn. 


244 


II.    TIMOTHY,    IV. 


And  Pudens,  and  Linus,  and  Claudia.— Of 
tliese,  Liuiis  was,  no  dou))t,  the  tirst  of  the  long  line  of 
Bisliops  of  Kome.  The  date  of  his  consecration  coiTe- 
sponds  witli  tlie  year  of  St.  Paul's  martyrdom,  A.D.  t>t>. 
We  know,  from  this  greeting,  ho  was  ouo  of  the  few 
"  faithful  "  to  his  old  master. 

It  is,  perhai)s,  fair  to  assume,  tliougli  of  course 
tliere  is  no  certainty  of  this,  that  the  consecration  of 
Linus  to  the  goveruineut  of  the  B,omau  Church  as  its 


first  Bisliop  was  one  of  the  dying  acts  done   by  the 
Apostle  Paul. 

Some  commentators  identify  the  other  two  with 
"  Pudens  and  Claudia "  mentioned  by  Martial  (Epi- 
gm)iis,  iv.  13;  xi.  54).  Pudens  was  the  son  of  a  Roman 
senator ;  to  Claudia,  Martial  gives  the  name  of  Rufiua, 
and  states  she  was  a  Briton.  The  dates  of  the  Epi- 
grams in  question  would  agree  with  the  ideutiUcatiou. 
It  is,  however,  only  a  supposition. 


EXCURSUS    OIN"   NOTES    TO    11.   TIMOTHY 


ON  THE  WAY  IN  WHICH  "INSPIRATION    OP  GOD"  [2  Tim.  iii.  16]   WAS  UNDERSTOOD 

IN  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 


"See  and  ask  for  the  old  palhcs,  where  is  the  good  way, 

The  question  of  "  inspiration  "  is  one  that  in  the  pre- 
sent day  often  is  the  subject  of  debate.  In  the  hot 
and  often  angry  controversies  on  this  subject  among 
us.  it  will  be  useful  and  interesting  to  see  what  were  the 
opinions  held  by  those  learned  and  devoted  men  li\'ing, 
many  of  them,  in  the  times  immediately  succeeding  the 
first  age  of  the  Faith,  when  those  walked  on  earth  who 
had  seen  and  conversed  with  the  Lord  Jesus.  We  wiU 
give  the  words  of  a  few  of  the  more  distinguished  of 
the  early  fathers  of  the  Faith,  selecting  them  from 
different  centres  of  Christianity. 

Our  quotations  begin  from  the  very  days  of  the 
Rome.  —  Clement  Apostles.  Clement,  mentioned  by 
Bishop  of  Rome,  A. d!  St.  Paul  (Phil.  iv.  3),  who,  as  history 
"l*^—^-  tells  us,  was  the  second  Bishop  of 

Rome,  exhorts  his  readers  "  to  look  carefully  into  the 
Ad  Cor.  Ep.  i.  45.  Scriptures  which  are  the  true  ut- 
terances 01  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and 
in  another  place  in  the  same  writing  he  expressly  refers 
to  a  well-known  New  Testament  Epistle  thus : — •'  Take 
Al  C  •  F  "47  "P  ^^®  Epistle  of  the  blessed  Paul 
p.i.  .  ^j^^  Apostle,  what  did  he  write  to 
you  in  the  beginninji:  [that  is,  in  the  first  days  of  the 
preaching]  of  the  gospel  ?  In  truth,  divinely  inspired 
iTTUfUfxaTiKcis,  divindus  insjnratus^,  he  wi'ote  to  you 
Corinthians  about  himself,  and  Cephas,  and  ApoUos,  b.  - 
cause  just  then  factions  [party  spu-it]  existed  among  you." 

Polycai-p,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  a  disciple  of  St.  John, 
Asia  Minor.  Poly-  "*  ^'^^  ^^'^  letter  we  possess  of  his, 
carpof  Smyrna,  A.D.  tells  us  "that  neither  ho  nor  any 
^^-  like  him  is  al)le  to  attain  perfectly 

to  the  wisdom  of  the  blessed  and  glorious  Paul,  who, 
Ep.toPhilippiatia,  when  he  was  with  you,  before  the 
<^*P  i"-  men  who  were  then  living  taught 

the  word  of  truth  perfectly  and  surely." 

"  Let  us  love  the  prophets  "  (of  the  Old  Testamenti, 
Syria.— Ignatius  of  wrote  Ignatius,  Bishop  of  Antioch, 
Antioch,  A.U.  107.  the  pupil  of  St.  John,  to  the  con- 
gregations of  Philadelphia,  '•  because  they  proclaimed 
Kp.  to  Philad.,  cap.  the  gospel,  and  believed  in  Christ, 
■^^  and   waited   for   His   coming,   and 

through  their  faith  in  Him  were  saved."  "These 
Ep.  to  Magn.,  cap.  most  divine  prophets  lived  according 
^'"'-  to  Jesus  Christ,"  lie   writes  to  the 

Church  of  Magnesia,  "  being  inspired  I)y  His  grace." 
Ep.  to  Romans,  CA^.  Again:  '"I  do  not  command  you 
*^  •  [Rinnans]  like  Peter  and  Paul :  they 

were  Apostles ;  I  am  a  condemned  man." 


245 


and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls." 

— Jer.  vi.  1& 

Barnabas  (probaljly  not  the  friend  of  St.  Paul,  but  a 
Egypt.- Barnabas  teacher  of  Alexandria  who  lived 
of  Ale.Kandria,  pro-  some  seventy  or  eiffhty  years  after 
bably  A.D.  m-m.  St  p^^i-g  martyrdom),  \n  his  weU- 
kuown  letter,  speaks  there  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Old 
Testament  writings.  Writing  of  Ps.  xvii.  45,  "The 
Ep.  Barnabas,  ix.  }f^^  ^^^^^  i"  the  prophet ;  "  and  of 
Ps.  .xxxiii.  13,  "  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  prophesieth ; "  and  in  another  place  he  tells  us 
Ep.  Barnabas,  x.  how  "  the  prophets  received  their 
^i^'i  "■'■  gift  from  Christ  and  spoke  of  Him ; " 

also  that  "  Moses  spake  in  the  Spirit." 

This  writer,  several  of  whose  works  we  still  possess, 

Rome  &  Ephesus.    ^'''^  ^    scholar   and    thinker    of    no 

Justin  Martyr,  a.u.    mean  order.     He  wrote  ^vithin  half 

140-150.  a  century  of  St.  John's  death.     He 

in  several  places  gives  us  his  view  of  the  inspiration 

of  the  di\-ine  writings.     Referring  to  the  Old  Testa- 

Cohortatio  ad  Gen-    meut,  he  speaks  of  the  history  which 

tiUs,  12.  Moses  wrote  by  divine  inspiration. 

Apologia,  i.  44.  v,hile  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Prophecy 

taught  us  through  the  instrumentality  of  Moses.     Of 

David    and    of    Isaiah    he    writes    in    similar    terms 

Apologia,  i.  44,  &c. ;    (propheta  Isaias  divinitiis   ajflatus 

i.  40 ;  i.  35.  a  apiritu  prophetico).     His  view,  of 

the   prophetic   oflBce  is  remarkable.     "We   must   not 

.     ,     .     .  „  suppose,"  he  writes,  "  that  the  ex- 

Apologia,i.3G.  ^'  .     '  p     ^\     e  .i 

pressions   go  forth   from   the   men 

who   are   inspired,   but    from   the   divine   word   which 

moves  them."     Speaking   of   the  ^vriters  of   the    Old 

Testament,    he  calls    them   "  holy   men   who   required 

Cohortatio  ad  Gen-   no  eloquence,  no  skill  in  arguau'ii- 

tilcji,  8.  tative  speaking,  but  who  only  needed 

to  present  themselves  pure  for  the  Di\-iue  Spirit  U^  act 

upon,  in  order  that  the  divine  plectrum  [an  instrument, 

usually  of  gold  or  ivory,  used  for  striking  the  lyre], 

coming  down  from  heaven,  acting  on  just  men  as  a 

plectrum  on  a  lyre  or  harp,  might  reveal   to  us  the 

knowledge  of  divine  and  heavenly  things." 

Tliis  Athenian  philosoplier,  who,  wliile  studying  the 

Athexs.  —  Athena-    Holy   Scriptures    with    a   ^iew    of 

goras,  A.D.  lGO-180.     refu'ting  Christianity,  was  converted 

by  the  very  writings  he  was  endeavouring  to  bring  into 

disrepute,   writes    (listing   the    same    strange,   powerful 

metapiior  which  we  fcnind  in  the  above  cpiotation  from 

Justin):  "The  prophets,  while  entranced  .  .  .  by  the 

induence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  they 

gave  utterance  to  what  was  wrought 


Leg.  pro  CfiHst.  9. 


ir.    TIMOTHY. 


in  thorn — llio  Spirit  usintj  thorn  as  iustrumcnts  as  a 
tluto-i)liiyor  inijjlit  blow  a  tiiito." 

Tills  famous  writer  ami  bisliop  of  tlio  early  Clmrcli 
Lyons.  — Ircnicus,  was  eoiiueotod  in  liis  early  years 
A.D.  180.'  '    with  Polycarp.  tlio  pupil  of  St.  John. 

Ho  (to  choose  one  out  of  many  passages  of  his 
writings  on  this  sul)jeet)  thus  writes  of  the  Apostles: — 
^  ' ,,  ....  "After  that  our  Lord  rose  from 
Contra  liar.  ui.  1.       ^^^^^    ^j^,^^^    ^^^^^  ^j^^^  ^^j^^^    Apostlesj 

were  clothed  witli  the  power  of  the  Spirit  from  on 
hitrli,  tlu-y  wer(>  tilled  with  a  perfoet  knowledge  of  all 
things."  '•  The  Apostles,  being  the  disciples  of  truth, 
...  ,  are  bcyimd  all  falsehood,  though 
Contra  Ihzr.  in.  o.       ^  ,^^.^.  ^^^^^.^j.  .^,.,.^,^1;,,^  t„  the  capacity 

of  their  hearers,  talking  blindly  with  the  Ijlind." 

In  another  passage  this  Bisliop  of  Lyons  of  the 
^  ,  „  ..  ^  second  century  tells  us,  "  The  Scrip- 
Contra  Hczr.  n.  28.      ^^^^.^^  ^^.^  ^^^^^^^^  inasmuch  as  they 

were  uttered  by  the  Word  of  God  and  His  Spirit." 
Tertullian,  perhaps  the  ablest — and,  liad  it  not  been 

X'  »,  »„„.^..  for  his  unhappy  choice  in  Liter 
North  Africa:    ,.,       „  ■ii'^*'i  i    i    <. 

C.^RTiiAGK.-Tcrtul-  life  ot  a  wild  and  perverted  form 
lian,  A.u.  200.  of    Christianity,    the    greatest— of 

the    Latin    fathers,    calls    the    Holy    Scriptures    the 
....  "  A'oices  of  God  "  {voces  Dei).     In 

^'  '    ' '  '  anoth(>r  place  ho  writes  that  "  the 

four  Gospels  are  built  on  the  certain  basis  of  apostolical 
authority,  and  so  are  inspired  in  a  far  different  sense 
from  the  writings  of  the  spiritual  Christian.  All  the 
faithful,  it  is  true,  have  the  Spirit  of  God;  but  all  are 
not  Apostles." 

Clement  of  Alexandria  was  master  of  the  catechetical 
Egypt-  Alexan-  school  of  the  most  learned  city  of 
D  K I  A.—  C 1  e  tn  c  n  t,  the  world  at  the  end  of  tlie  second 
ma-ster  of  the  Cate-  eentury,  only  100  years  after  the 
Alexandria,  A.u.  l'J9  death  ot  St.  Jolin;  and  taught  m 
— -t*o.  his  famous  school — as  did  well-nigh 

all  the  early  fathers  of  Christianity — the  doctrine  of 
the  plenaiy  inspiration  of  Scripture.  "  It  was  by  the 
p^^  .  jj  masters  of  Israel,"  wrote  Clemeiii, 

'■  that  God  led  men  properly  to  the 
Messiah — speaking  to  them  in  the  Law,  the  Psalms, 
and  the  Prophets.  .  .  The  word  of  God,  disregarding 
PfQtr  i  5  ^^®   lifeless   instruments,    the    lyre 

and  the  harp,  reduces  to  harmony 
.  .  .  man,  and  tlirough  that  many-voiced  instrument 
makes  melody  to  God,  and  says  to  man,  '  Thou  art  my 
harp,  my  flute,  my  temple:  my  harp,  from  the  liar- 
mony  [of  many  notes]  ;  my  flute,  from  tlie  Spirit  thai 
broathi'th  through  thee;  my  temple,  from  the  word 
that  dwellotli  in  thee.'  Truly  of  man  tlio  Lord  wrought 
a  glorious  living  instrumont,  after  the  fasliion  of  His 
own  imago — one  which  might  give  every  harmony  of 
God  tunctul  ami  holy." 

Hippoiytus.  Bishop  of  Portus (one  of  the  suburban  dis- 
RoMK.  -  Ilippolvius  t riots  of  Rome),  a  most  loarnod  and 
of  I'urlus,  A.u.  218.  distinguished  writer  of  the  Italian 
Church  of  the  enrly  part  of  llio  third  century,  a  pupil 
of  IreuEsus  of  Lyons,  in  one  of  his  treatises  preserved 
to  us,  expresses  himself  very  clearly  and  with  singular 
force  on  this  subject.  Sp<>aking  of  the  Jewish  prophets. 
he  writes,  "  Those  blessed  men  .  .  .  spake  not  only  of 

DC  A ntichristo,  2.        ^'^  P'^"^' '"/  "J^^"  ''^.  ^ !"'  J''*'"T"*  '''"^ 
luturo,  tliat  tlioy  miLrlit  i)o  sho\vn  to 

be  heralds  of  things  to  come,  not  for  a  time  merely,  but 

for  all  generations.     .     .     .     For  these  fathers,  liaving 

been  perfected  by  the  Spirit  of  Proi)liooy.  and  worthily 

honoured  by  the  Word  Himself,  woro  brought  to  an 

inner  harmony  like  instruments ;  and  having  the  Word 

within  them   to  sti-ike  the  notes,  by  Him  they  were 


De  Princlpiis,  i. 
Prooemium,  i. 


moved,  and  announced  that  which   God  wrote.     For 

they  did  not  speak  of  their  own  power,  be  well  assured, 

nor  proclaim  that  which  they  wished  themselves,  but 

first  they  were  rightly  endowed  with  wisdom  by  the 

Word,  and  afterwards  well  foretaught  of  the  future 

l)y  visions,  and  then,   when  thus  assured,  spake  that 

which  was  revealed  to  them  by  God." 

The  Church,  while  condemning  the  errors  into  which 

Ale.xandkia.  — Ori-    the  great-hearted  Origen  fell,  still 

gen,  A.u.  2:50.  reads  in  every  age  with  reverence 

and  admiration  his  marvellous  and  brilliant  teaching. 

It  will  1)0  well   to  close   this  short  paper  on  a  great 

subject  with  two  or  three  extracts  from  this  famous 

Alexandrian   master,   on   the   suliject   of    inspiration  : 

„    r>  .     .......     "The  Holy  Sinrit  inspired  each  of 

the  bamts,  Proi)hets,  and  Apostles. 

Proceinium,  4.  rui  u    •   -i.  a 

.   .   .    IJie   same  Spirit  was  present 

in  tliose  of  old  times  as  in  those  who  were  inspired 
at  the  coming  of  Christ."  "  Chri.st,  the  Word  of 
God,  was  in  Moses  and  tlie  pro- 
phots,  and  by  His  Spirit  they  spake 
and  did  all  things."  Again,  m 
his  work  against  Celsus,  he  writes  the  following 
wise  and  beautiful  words : — "  The  true  God  acted 
Contr.Cclsum,vnA.  ^  the  prophets  to  enlighten  and 
strengthen  them,  and  not  to  cloud 
or  to  confuse  their  natural  powers  ....  for  the 
divine  messengers,  by  the  contact  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
with  their  soul,  so  to  speak,  gained  a  deeper  and 
a  clearer  intuition  of  spiritual  truth,  and  they  then 
became  more  perfect  men  as  well  as  Avise  seers."  In 
one   of  his    homilies  Origen    does    not    hesitate   even 

//om.T«Jm.xxi.2.  *«  ^f^  that  "  there  is  nothing, 
whether  in  the  Law  or  in  the 
Prophets,  in  the  Evangelists  or  in  the  Apostles,  which 
does  not  descend  from  the  fulness  of  the  divine  majesty." 
This  gifted  teacher's  noble  words  on  the  way  in  which 
those  God-inspired  writings  should  be  read  deserve  to 
be  graven  on  the  hoai't  of   every  Christian  believer : 

„        .    rp       ■  "We    must    read   them  with   pure 

Horn,  in  Ex.  xi.  i         ,        p  t  j    '^    ^ 

hearts,   Im"   no    one   can    listen    to 

the  word  of  God  .  .  .  unless  he  be  holy  in  body 
and  spii-it:  ...  no  one  can  enter  into  this  feast 
with  soiled  garments.  He  who  is  a  student  of  God's 
oracles  must  place  himself  under 
Horn,  in  Gen.  XI.  3.  ^j^^  teaching  of  God;  such  a  one 
must    seek    their    meaning    by    inquiiy,    discussion, 

examination,  and,  which  is  greatest,  by  prayer 

Prayer  is  the  most  necessary  qualilication  for  the 
understanding   of   divine   things If,   then, 

,.   „ ,-    we  read   the  Bible  with   patience, 

De  Principiis,iv.l6.  i   j  -ii       •£  i  • 

prayer,  and  taitli ;  it  we  ever  strive 

after  a  more  perfect  knowledge,  and  yet  remain  content 
in  some  things  to  know  only  in  part — even  as  pro- 
phots  and  apostles,  saints  and  angels,  attain  not  to 
an  understanding  of  all  things — our  patience  will 
bo  rewarded,  our  prayer  answered,  and  our  faith  in- 
creased.    So  let  us  not  lie  weary  in  reading  the  Scrip- 

rr       ■     T  turos  which  we  do  not  understand, 

Horn,  tn  Jo3.  XX.  i     ,    i   .    •.    i  ■  t         . 

but  Jet  it  bo  unto  us  according  to 

our  faith,  by  wliich  we  believe  that  all  Scrij^ture,  beingin- 

sj^iredby  God,  i.<fj)ro/iia6?c  "  (Origen,  quoted  by  Westcott). 

[For  many  other  eai-ly  patristic  references  on  this 
subject  of  tlie  teaching  of  the  Church  of  the  first  days 
on  the  subject  of  the  "  Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures," 
see  the  exhaustive  paper  of  the  Regius  Professor  of 
Divinity  (Camln-idge).  Canon  Westcott,  in  his  Intro- 
duction to  the  Sttidy  of  the  Gospels,  Appendix  C,  pp.  383 
— 423,  upon  which  this  short  Excursus  is  mainly  based.] 


246 


INTEODUCTION 


THE      EPISTLE      OF      PAUL      TO 


TITUS. 


I.  Titus. — Among  tlio  early  Christian  loaders  of  the 
school  of  Paul,  Titus,  to  whom  one  of  the  three  Pastoral 
Epistles  of  tlio  Gentile  Apostle  was  addressed,  must 
have  occupied  a  prominent  position.  For  some  unknown 
reason  liis  name  never  occurs  in  the  Acts  (save, 
perhaps,  in  the  dotibtful  reference.  Acts  xviii.  7,  on 
which  see  below);  but  from  a  few  scattered  noiices  in 
tlio  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  we  are  able  to  gather  some 
notion  of  the  work  and  influence  of  this  distinguished 
and  able  teacher  of  the  first  days. 

Tlio  silence  of  St.  Luke  in  the  Acts  with  reference 
to  one  who  evidently  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
days  when  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  Church 
were  being  laid,  has  been  the  subject  of  much  inquiry. 
Attempts  have  been  made,  but  wifli  little  success,  to 
identify  Titus  with  one  or  other  of  the  characters  pro- 
miiumt  in  the  Acts  stoi*y — with  Luke  himself,  for 
instance,  or  Silvanus  (Silas).  The  only  possible  identi- 
fication, liowever,  is  with  the  "  Justus"  of  Acts  xviii.  7, 
to  Avhich  name,  in  some  of  the  older  authorities,  the 
name  "  Titus  "  is  prefixed.  The  circumstances,  as  far 
as  we  know  them,  connected  with  Justus  would  fit  in 
with  this  identification.  This  Justus  was,  like  Titus, 
closely  connected  with  Corinth  ;  and,  like  Titus  too, 
was  an  uncircumcised  Gentile,  attending  the  Jewish 
services  as  a  proselyte  of  the  gate.  That  these  two 
were  identical  is  possible,  but  nothing  more. 

Titus  was  of  Gentile  parentage,  and  probably  a  native 
of  Antioch — the  great  centre  of  tliat  early  Gentile 
Christianity  of  which  St.  Paul  was  the  first  teacher, 
and,  imder  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  founder.  Some  time 
before  A.D.  50 — 51  the  master  and  sdiolar  had  come 
together.  In  that  year  lie  accompanied  Barnabas  and 
St.  Paul  to  the  council  of  Apostles  and  elders  which 
was  convened  at  Jerusalem  to  consider  the  question  of 
the  general  obligations  of  the  Mosaic  law.  Tiie  residt 
was  the  drawing  up  of  the  charter  of  Gentile  freedom 
from  all  the  restraints  of  the  Jewish  law.  (See  Acts  xv.; 
Gal.  ii.  1—3.)  From  this  time  (a.D.  50-51)  the  glad 
tidings  that  Christ  was  indeed  a  Light  to  th(>  Gentiles 
(Tsa.  xlix.  (5)  spread  tlirough  Asia.  Nortli  Africa,  and 
Europe  witii  a  strange  and  marvellous  rapidity.  There 
is  no  doubt,  from  tlie  scattorc'd  notices  in  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul,  that  Titus  was  one  of  the  most  active 
agents  in  the  ])rounilgation  of  the  gospel  story  among 
the  peoples  that  liad  hitherto  sat  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death. 


The  following  table  will  give  some  idea  of  Titus' 
connection  with  St.  Paul : — 


Date. 


Emperor 
OF  Rome. 


Before         Claudius. 
A.D.  50—51 


50-51 


54  -55 

5(> 
57 

65—66 
66-67 


Nero. 


Titus  meets  with  and  is  instructed 
by  St.  Paul  at  Antioch  in  the  faith. 
(Comp.  Tit.  1.  4  :  "  My  own  son  in 
the  faith.") 

Titus  accompanies  St.  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas to  the  coinicil  of  Apostles 
and  elders  at  Jerusalem  (Acts  xv. ; 
C4al.  u.  1). 

Probably  ■\vith  St.  Paul  during  part 
of  his  second  missionary  journey. 
He  is  e\-idently  well  known  to  the 
Galatians,  from  tlie  familiar  refer- 
ence to  him  in  the  Epistle  to  that 
Church.  Perhaj  s  he  is  alluded  to 
in  Gal.  iii.  5. 

With  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus.  Thence 
sent  on  a  special  mission  to  Corinth, 
probably  bearer  of  the  First  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians  (2  Cor.  xii.  18). 

AVith  St.  Paul  in  Macedonia  (2  Cor. 
vii.  6 — ir>),  and  perliaps  with  St. 
Paul  at  Corinth,  if  identical  with 
Justus,  according  to  the  reading  of 
some  of  the  older  authorities. 

Titus  is  superintending  presbyter  in 
Crete. 

At  Rome  with  St.  Paul ;  thence 
sent  to  Dalmatia  (2  Tim.  iv.  10). 

[Tradition  speaks  of  Titus  as  return- 
ing from  Dalmatia  to  Crete,  where 
he  died  in  extreme  old  age,  as  Arch- 
bishop ot  Gortyna.] 


247 


Titus,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  Gentile — was  the  one 
chosen  by  the  great  Apostle  in  very  early  days  as  the 
example  of  Christian  freedom  from  Jewish  rites  and 
customs.  At  first  the  pupil,  then  the  friend  of  St. 
Paul,  we  find  him,  in  the  brief  notic  s  in  the  Epi-stles, 
evidently  occu]>ying  a  position  quite  independent  of.  and 
in  no  wise  subject  to,  his  old  master.  He  is  St.  Paul's 
"brother,"  '•  companion,"  "fellow-labourer"  (2  Cor. 
viii.  '22.  23);  St.  Paul's  trusted  and  lionoured  friend. 
His  missions  of  investigation  and  love,  his  arrange- 
ments for  the  famous  collecti(m  for  the  poor  sjiints  at 
Jerusalem,  were  apparently  imdertakeu  spoutaneously, 


TITUS. 


rather  than  by  the  direction  of  a  superior  and  elder 
otticcr  of  the  Church.  (See,  for  instance,  2  Cor.  viii. 
6,  It),  17.)  Now  the  Acts  is  confessedly  a  very  early 
writin-;.  and  must  have  been  put  fortli  not  later  than 
A.l).  iy- — »i;5 ;  would  it  nut  bo  very  probal)le  that,  in 
such  a  work,  so  pnuiiinent  a  Gentiii',  who  had  publicly. 
with  St.  Paul's  consent,  helil  himself  free  from  all 
Jewish  restraints,  aiul  by  his  prominent  example 
preached  the  perfect  ecpiality  of  the  Gentiles  in  the 
kiiifjdoin  tif  l;!od — would  it  not  be  very  probable  that 
in  the  Acts  the  name  and  work  of  such  a  person  would 
be  omitted ':'  The  tierce  hostility  of  a  large  section  of  the 
Jewish  race  to  St.  Paul  on  account  of  this  very  teach- 
ing of  equality  is  well  known:  it  probably  compassed  in 
the  end  his  decth.  The  gentle,  loving  spirit  of  St. 
Luke  while  telling  the  story  of  the  foundation  of  the 
Christian  Church  with  scrupulous  accuracy,  woiUd  be 
likely  to  avoid  such  passages  of  the  early  history  which 
wotdd  tend  to  alienate  any.  (He  never,  for  instance, 
hints  at  such  scenes  as  the  Galatian  Epistle,  chap,  ii., 
relates  so  graphically.)  This  same  spirit,  which  ever 
sought  to  win  rather  than  to  alienate,  induced  him, 

f)erhaps.  to  avoid  the  mention  of  the  famous  Gentile 
eader  Titus  at  a  period  when  the  fierce  hostility  of  the 
Christians  of  the  Circumcision  was  endeavouring  to 
compass  the  fall  of  St.  Paul  and  the  disruption  of  the 
scliool  of  Gentile  Christianity. 

The  Holy  Spirit  loves  to  work,  we  know,  by  purely 
human  instruments — now  by  tlie  tender  conciliatory 
pen  of  a  Luke — now  by  the  fiery  zeal  of  a  Paul,  which 
refuses  to  recognise  danger,  or  to  acknowledge  the 
possibility  of  failure. 

Later  on  the  appointment  of  the  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful Gentile  organiser  to  the  chief  superintendence 
of  the  churches  of  Crete  was  one  of  singular  fitness. 
"There  was,"  as  it  has  been  well  said,  '"a  strange 
blending  of  races  and  religions  "  in  the  island  which 
boasted  the  possession  of  the  birthplace  of  Zeus 
(Jupiter),  and  rejoiced  in  the  vile  mysteries  practised 
in  the  worship  of  Dionysus  (Bacchus-.  There  were 
many  Jews  we  know  at  Crete,  but  the  Gentile  popula- 
tion, of  course,  far  outnumbered  them.  The  congre- 
gation seem  to  have  been  numerous  and  full  of  life,  but 
disorganised  and  troubled  with  disorder,  misrule,  and 
even  dishonoured  with  many  an  excess  utterly  at 
A'ariance  with  their  Christian  i)rofession.  Who  so  fitted 
to  restore  order  and  to  enforce  a  sterner  rule  in  such 
communities  as  the  friend  of  St.  Paid,  who  had 
worked  already  so  great  a  work  among  the  turbulent  and 
licentious  Christians  of  Corinth,  and  had  persuaded  by 
his  marvellous  skill  so  many  Gentile  congregations 
to  unite  in  helping  with  a  generous  liberality  the 
pressing  needs  of   their  proud  and  haughty   Jewish 


brethren  who  disdained  them?  (See  the  Note  on 
chap.  i.  4.) 

After  the  year  a.d.  65 — 66  the  story  of  Titus  is  un- 
certain. We  know  he  rejoined  the  Apostle  at  Rome, 
and  left  him  again  for  Dahnatia  (2  Tim.  iv.  10). 

Then  traditionary  reccdlections  which  lingered  in 
Crete  tell  us  how  he  returned  from  Dahnatia  to  the 
island,  where  lie  worked  long  and  presided  over  the 
churches,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age.  The  church 
of  Megalo-Castrou,  in  the  north  of  the  island,  was 
dedicated  to  him.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  his  name  was 
still  revered,  and  his  meraorj'  honoured.  The  name  of 
Titus  was  the  watchword  of  the  Cretans  when  they 
fought  against  the  Venetians,  who  caine  under  the 
standard  of  St.  Mark.  The  Venetians  themselves, 
when  here,  seem  to  have  transferred  to  him  part  of  that 
respect  which  elsewhere  would  probably  have  been 
manifested  for  St.  Mark  alone.  During  the  celebration 
of  several  gi'cat  festivals  of  the  Church  the  response  of 
the  Latin  clergy  of  Crete,  after  the  prayer  for  the  Doge 
of  Venice,  was,  Sancte  Marce  tu  nos  adjuva  ;  but  after 
that  for  the  Duke  of  Candia,  Sancte  Tite  tu  nos 
adjuva  (Pashley's  Travels  In  Crete,  quoted  by  Cony- 
beare  and  Howson,  St.  Paul). 

II.  Contents  of  the  Epistle.— After  a  formal 
salutation  and  greeting  St.  Paul  reminds  Titus  of  his 
special  work  in  Crete,  viz.,  that  the  government  of  the 
various  churches  must  be  properly  organised — a  body  of 
elders,  or  presbyters,  must  be  ordained  and  set  over  the 
congregation.  The  qualifications  of  these  officers  are 
then  detailed.  Ihey  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  moral 
nature,  but  these  elders  must  also  possess  the  power 
necessary  for  teaching  and  influencing  siich  a  people  as 
were  the  Cretans  (chap.  i.  1 — 16).  St.  Paid  passes  on  to 
the  .special  kind  of  instruction  Titus  and  the  elders  must 
impart  to  men  and  women  of  varied  ages,  sexes,  and 
ranks  in  the  Cretan  churches — to  aged  men,  to  aged 
women,  to  the  young  of  both  sexes,  to  slaves — and  then 
proceeds  to  show  the  reason  why  such  instruction  must 
be  given.  God's  grace,  he  sjiys,  has  appeared  in  the 
work  of  redemption,  bringing  salvation  to  all — old  or 
young,  free  or  slaves  (chap.  ii.  1 — 15).  St.  Paul  now 
points  out  to  Titus  how  the  Christian  community  must 
conduct  themselves  towards  the  heathen  world.  There 
must  be  no  thought  of  rebellion  among  the  worshijjpers 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Again  he  enforces  these  solemn 
admonitions  by  an  appeal  to  the  loftiest  Christian  truths. 
He  closes  his  Letter  by  reminding  his  friend  that 
this  practical  teaching,  based  on  gospel  truth,  must 
be  the  standard  of  instruction;  no  time  must  bewa.sted 
on  useless  theological  questions.  A  few  personal 
requests  are  added  (chap.  iii.  1 — 15). 


248 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO 

TITUS. 


CHAPTER  L— (1)  Paul,  ca  servant  of 
ch  •  1— i  ^od,  and  an  apostle  of 
Apodtolic  adl  Jesus  Christ,  according  to 
dress  and  bless-  the  faith  of  God's  elect, 
'"^'  and  the  acknowledging  of 

the  truth  which  is  after  godliness:  ^-^  in^ 


1  Or,  for. 


hope  of  eternal  life,  which  God,  that 
cannot  lie,  promised  before  the  world 
began ;  ^^)  but  hath  in  due  times  mani- 
fested his  word  through  preaching,  which 
is  committed  unto  me  according  to  the 
commandment    of    God    our    Saviour; 


(i»  Paul,  a  servant  of  God,  and  an  apostle  of 
Jesus  Christ. — The  titles  here  assumed  by  St.  Paul  in 
liis  introductory  greeting  are  in  some  respects  slightly 
different  to  any  of  his  usual  designations.  In  the  other 
two  so-called  Pastoral  Epistles  addressed  to  Timothy, 
St.  Paul  simply  styles  himself  "  an  Apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Possibly,  the  longer  and  more  formal  title  is 
here  adopted  because  his  relations  were  hardly  ever  of 
so  intimate  a  character  with  Titus  as  with  Timothy ; 
the  latter  would  seem  to  have  held  the  position  of  St. 
Paxil's  adopted  son.  (See  Note  below  on  verse  4,  "  To 
Titus.") 

According  to  the  faith  of  God's  elect.— The 
English  version  here  entirely  fails  to  give  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Greek  preposition.  The  rendering  should 
be,  "  for  (the  furtherance  of)  the  faith,"  or,  in  other 
words,  "  the  object  of  my  (Paul's)  apostleship  was, 
that  through  my  instrumentality  the  chosen  of  God 
should  believe."  The  whole  question  respecting  these 
"  elect,"  or  "  chosen  of  God,"  is  surrounded  with  deep 
mystery ;  three  or  four  guiding  thoughts  may,  however, 
be  safely  laid  down.  (1)  In  the  visible  world  such 
an  ajyjjurently  arbitrary  election  to  special  privileges, 
fortune,  happiness,  utterly  irrespective,  in  the  first 
instance,  of  individual  merit,  does  exist.  This  is  clear 
to  all  of  us.  (2)  In  grace  we  are  distinctly  told  re- 
peatedly that  a  similar  election  exists,  and  our  own 
observation  certainly  coincides  hero  with  revelation. 
(3)  Such  election  in  no  case  seemingly  affects  our 
position  here  as  free  agents ;  surrounded  with  the  most 
precious  privileges,  gifted  with  much  knowledge,  it  is 
possible,  as  we,  alas,  too  often  see,  deliberately  to  refuse 
the  good  and  to  choose  the  evil.  (4)  All  such  allusions 
to  the  "elect"  as,  for  instance,  the  one  here  before  us, 
are  intended,  not  as  a  stumbling-block  for  the  believer, 
but  as  a  comfort  for  the  faithful,  struggling  man  of 
God,  for  it  tells  him  how  the  Eternal  "  before  the  ages" 
had  chosen  him  to  be  His  servant. 

And  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth  which 
is  after  godliness. — More  accurately  rendered,  and 
the  full  k}iowled(je  of  the  truth  loJiirh  is  desiffned  for 

Godliness,  or,  which  leadeth  to  godliness.  Here  the 
nrther  purpose  of  St.  Paul's  apostleship  is  specified. 
St.  Paul  was  appointed  an  Apostle  that  tluongh  him  the 
elect  of  God  might  believe  and  heed  "the  truth" — that 
trxith,  the  knowledge  of  which  produces  as  its  fruit  in 
the  individual  a  holy,  useful  life. 

(■-)  In  hope  of  eternal  life.— Better  translated, 
resting  on  the  hope  of  eternal  life.      The  connection  of 


the  preceding  clauses  with  these  words  has  been  well 
summed  up  :  "  The  Apostle's  calling  had  for  its  object 
the  faith  of  the  elect  and  the  knowledge  of  the  truth ; 
and  the  basis  on  which  all  this  rested  was  the  hope  of 
eternal  life." 

Which  God,  that  cannot  lie.— Possibly,  this 
singular  and  strong  expression  was  chosen  with  reference 
to  the  peculiar  vice  of  the  Cretans,  over  whose  Church 
Titus  was  then  presiding.  (See  verse  12 :  "  One  of 
themselves,  even  a  prophet  of  their  own,  said.  The 
Cretians  are  alway  liars.") 

Promised  before  the  world  began.— l\Iore  ac- 
curately rendered, /i"o?>i  eternal  ages.  (See  2  Tim.  i.  9.) 
The  promise  of  eternal  life  was  the  result  of  a  divine 
purpose  fixed  from  eternity. 

(3)  But  hath  in  due  times.— Or  better,  but  hath 
in  his  oion  seasons — that  is,  in  the  fitting  seasons,  those 
fixed  by  Him  for  the  manifestation. 

Manifested  his  word. — That  is.  His  gospel.  (See 
Rom.  xvi.  25.) 

Through  preaching. — Or,  in  the  preaching.  Panl 
does  not  shrink  from  calling  his  preaching  the  vehicle 
in  which  the  Word  or  the  gospel  of  God  was  to  be 
publicly  manifested,  because  he  was  conscious  that 
he  was  divinely  instructed  in  the  secrets  of  the  eternal 
counsels. 

Which  is  committed  unto  me.— Literally,  with 
ichicli  I  was  entrusted. 

According  to  the  commandment  of  God  our 
Saviour. — The  commandment  came  to  St.  Paul  direct 
from  God ;  we  have  several  intimations  of  this.  Amongst 
others,  on  the  Damascus  road,  when  the  Lord  appeared 
to  him ;  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem ;  in  the  ship, 
during  the  memorable  voyage  which  ended  with  shij)- 
wreck;  in  the  visions  mentioned  in  2  Cor.  xii.  1 — 9. 
St.  Paul  dwells  with  emphasis  on  the  thought  that  he  ivas 
entnisted  u-iih  the  preadiing  of  the  gospel  according  to 
the  commandment  of  God.  The  work  was  not  under- 
taken by  him,  from  any  will  or  wish  of  his  own.  '"  God 
our  Saviour"  in  this  place,  as  in  1  Tim.  i.  1,  must  bo 
understood  as  "  God  the  Father."  The  First  Person 
of  the  blessed  Trinity  fitly  possesses  the  title  of  "  our 
Saviour,"  because  through  the  death  of  His  dear  Son 
Ho  redeemed  us  from  death  and  made  us  licirs  of 
eternal  life.  The  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity  is  like- 
wise a  possessor  of  the  title,  because  Ho  shed  His 
blood  as  the  price  of  our  redemption.  Tlie  epithet  of 
"Saviour" — the  title  just  given  to  the  Father,  in  the 
very  next  verse  ascribed  to  the  "  Son  " — is  one  of  the 


2J9 


Opening  Greetings 


TITUS,   I. 


to  Titus. 


<')  to   Titus,   mine   own   son   after   the 
common  faith:  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace. 


from  God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour.     <^J  For  this  cause 


inftiiy  iadicatioiis  wo  possess  of  St.  Paul's  belief  that  tlio 
Son  was  e(|ual  to  tlie  Fatlier  as  toucliing  His  Godliead. 

(\)  To  Titus.— Wo  know  comparatively  little  of 
Titus'  earlier  earocr.  In  tlio  Arts  lie,  sinj^ularly 
onoujxli,  is  never  mentioned;  for  wliat  knowledge  of 
liim  we  possess  wo  are  entirely  dependent  upon  a  few 
casual  allusions  to  him  in  the  Epistles.  This  presbyter, 
in  charge  of  the  Cretan  Church,  was  a  Greek,  the 
son  of  Gentile  parents,  and  uncircumeised.  It  has 
been  .suggested.  l)ut  upon  very  sliglit  grounds,  that  his 
family  was  resident  at  Antioch  in  Syria.  He  owed  his 
c.)nversion  to  Cliristianity  to  St.  Paul,  with  whom  ever 
after  ho  seems  to  liave  been  connected  by  ties  of  in- 
timate friendship,  though  ho  was  by  no  means  the 
Apostle's  constant  comjjanion,  as  was  Timothy,  or  Silas, 
or  Luke.  He  was  witli  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  when 
they  went  up  together  to  Jerusalem  to  plead  for  Gentile 
liberty ;  but  in  no  other  of  the  journeys  of  St.  Paul  is 
he  directly  mentioned  as  one  of  the  companions  of  the 
Apostle.  Only  during  the  Apostle's  long  residence  at 
Ephesus  (nearly  three  years)  Titus  appears  to  have  been, 
for  at  least  ])art  of  the  time,  closely  associated  with 
St.  Paul,  and  his  confidant  in  his  complicated  relations 
with  foreign  churches.  It  is  clear  that  during  this  long 
Ephesian  residence  ho  was  drawn  into  close  and  intimate 
friendship  with  St.  Paul,  who  then  had  opportunity  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  Titus'  varied  powers  and 
evident  skill  in  administration  and  in  dealing  with  men 
and  women. 

From  the  several  casual  notices  in  the  Second  Corin- 
thian Epistle,  we  gather  consideraV)le  insight  into  tho 
cliaracter  and  powers  of  the  Gentile  convert.  The 
Churcli  of  Corinth  was  perhaps  tho  largest  and  most 
wealthy  of  all  the  churches  founded  by  St.  Paul,  It 
was  soon,  liowever,  rent  asunder  by  party  di\'isious,  and 
was  ever  distracted  and  distiu-bcd  by  moral  disorders 
among  its  memliers.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this,  tho  great 
Greek  congregation  of  believers  was  full  of  life 
and  zeal  and  earnestness,  ready  evidently  to  make  the 
greatest  sacrifices  for  its  Master's  cause.  Delegated 
apparently  by  St.  Paul  to  restore  order  and  to  intro- 
duce a  severer  discipline  in  tiiis  great  and  turbulent 
Christian  centre — the  example  for  good  or  for  evil 
to  so  many  smaller  and  less  important  churches — 
Titus  seems  to  liave  fulfilled  with  rare  tact,  and  with 
admirable  pnulence  and  wisdom,  his  difficult  mission. 
Amongst  other  works,  ho  apparently  completed  the 
collection  St.  Paul  had  set  on  toot  in  the  various  Gentile 
churclie.s  for  tlio  poor  Jewisli  Christians  at  Jerusalem. 
His  services,  assisting  materially  to  bring  this  famous 
work  of  charily  to  a  successful  issue,  seem  not  to  have 
been  the  least  among  his  titles  to  St.  Paul's  friendship 
and  high  esteem.  The  great  importance  and  difficult 
nature  of  this  collection  for  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusa- 
lem are  little  under.stood  or  thought  of  now.  Three 
weighty  points  connected  with  it  deserve  mention,  as 
Titus'  special  task  it  probal)ly  was  to  complete  and  bring 
it  to  a  successful  issue.  (1)  It  seems  to  have  been  tho 
first  pul)lic  relief  fund  ever  collected  to  help  a  foreign 
and  a  strange  race— the  first  of  a  long  line  of  gallant 
acts  of  self-sacrifice  men  have  made  for  men  for  Christ's 
sake;  but  wlien  Titus,  at  St.  Paul's  l)idding,  took 
charge  of  it.  it  was  a  thing  unheard  of  in  the  Pagan 
world.  Hence  the  many  obstacles  which  appear  to  have 
cropped  up  so  perpetually  during  the  collection.  (2)  It 
was  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  offered  by  G«ntile 


250 


to  Jew.  It  was  the  welding  together,  by  an  unprece- 
dented act  of  kindness,  of  the  two  opposing  and  hostile 
elements  of  Christendom  into  one  Church.  (3)  It  was 
the  silent  yet  eloquent  protest  of  St.  Paul  and  his  school 
against  the  attempted  communism  of  the  Church  of  tho 
very  first  days — that  fatal  misunderstanding  of  some 
of  the  Master's  words  which  had  brought  ruin  and 
jtoverty  on  the  Jerusalem  Christians.  Titus  acted  as 
St.  Paul's  commissicmer  in  the  matter — which  ho  evi- 
dently successfully  completed.  We  know  nothing  of 
his  work  and  employment  from  this  period,  A.D.  57,  until 
tho  date  of  this  Epistle,  a.d.  65—66,  early  Christian 
history  being  silent  respecting  him.  In  these  nine  years 
of  restless  activity  and  burning  zeal  on  the  part  of  the 
Christian  leaders,  Titus,  no  doubt,  did  his  part  \vithout 
falling  short  of  his  early  promise ;  as  we  find  him 
again,  in  the  last  years  of  his  old  master,  occupying  in 
the  Christian  community  a  post  so  high  and  responsible 
as  that  of  chief  presbyter  of  the  churches  of  the 
wealthy  and  populous  island  of  Crete. 

Mine  own  son. — Alluding,  no  doubt,  to  the  relation 
between  them  in  religion.  St.  Paul  convei'ted  Titus  to 
tlie  faith,  and  ever  after  Titus  stood  to  St.  Paul  in  tho 
position  of  a  son  in  the  faith,  without  being  to  him 
what  Timothy  was  for  so  long  a  time — his  constant 
companion.  Titus  still  evidently  (see  preceding  Note) 
filled  with  St.  Paul  the  position  of  one  of  his  most 
trusty  disciples,  of  one  who  knew  the  inmost  thoughts 
of  his  master.  The  tone  of  the  Epistle  to  Titus  is 
somewhat  different  from  St.  Paul's  Letter  to  Timothy. 
There  was  evidently  a  greater  intimacy  between  St. 
Paul  and  Timothy  than  between  the  Apostle  and 
Titus. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  .  . . — Many  of  the  older 
authorities  omit  "  mercy."      (See  Notes  on  1  Tim.  i.  2.) 

Our  Saviour. — This  expression  is  a  rare  one.  We 
find  it  only  in  these  Pastoral  Letters.  (See  Note  above 
on  St.  Paul's  using  it  also  of  the  "  Father.") 

(5)  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete.— The 
"  cause  "  is  discussed  below.  Crete— over  whose  Chris- 
tian population  Titus  had  been  placed  by  St.  Paul — was 
a  well-known  large  and  populous  island  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. It  lies  geographically  further  south  than  any 
of  the  European  islands,  and,  roughly  speaking,  almost 
at  an  equal  distance  from  each  of  the  three  Old  World 
continents — Europe,  Asia,  Africa.  We  identify  it  with 
tlie  Caphtor  of  the  Old  Testament  (Dent.  ii.  23; 
Jer.  xlvii.  4 ;  Amos  ix.  7).  In  modern  times  it  is 
known  by  us  as  Candia.  Very  early  it  was  the  scene  of 
an  advanced  civilisation.  In  the  Odyssey  it  is  mentioned 
as  possessing  ninety  cities;  in  the  Iliad  as  many  as  one 
hundred.  Metellus  added  it,  B.C.  60,  to  tho  Roman 
dominion.  In  the  days  of  Augustus  it  was  united  into 
one  pro%nnce  Avith  Cyrene.  It  abounded  with  Jews  of 
wealth  and  influence ;  this  wo  learn  from  the  testimony 
of  Philo  and  of  Josephus.  It  probably  received  the 
gospel  from  some  of  those  of  "  Crete  "  who  we  ai'e  ex- 
pressly told  were  present  when  the  Spirit  was  poured 
on  the  Apostles  on  the  first  Pentecost  after  the  Resur- 
rection (Acts  ii.  11).  Tho  apparently  flourishing  state 
of  Christianity  on  the  island  at  this  time  was  in  great 
measure,  no  doubt,  owing  to  the  residence  and  labours 
among  them  of  the  Apostle  St.  Paul,  whose  work 
appears  to  have  been  mainly  directed  to  preaching  the 
gospel  and  to  increasing  the  number  of  the  converts, 
which,   from  the   wording   of  verse  5,  was  evidently 


Purpose  for  wliich  Tit  as  ivas  left 


TITUS,   I. 


in  CrpAe — to  ordain  Elders. 


left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  tliou  sliouldest 
Chap.  i.  5—9.  ^®*  ^^^  Order  the  things 
The  duties  of  that  are  Avanting,^  and  or- 

tn^^C\^'^  ^^i^^  ^l^^i'«  i^V^^^^T  city, 
Chuvch.  as  I  had  appointed  thee : 


1  Or,  IffL  imdcnie. 


^^'^  if  any  be  blameless,  the  husband 
of  one  wife,  having-  faithful  children, 
not  accused  of  riot,  or  unruly.  (''^  For 
a  bishop  must  be  blameless,  as  the 
steward   of    God ;    not    selfwilled,   not 


very  great,  elders  (presbyters)  being  required  in  every 
city. 

The  task  of  organising  the  Church  had  been  left  for 
a  season.  "Wo  are  ignorant  of  the  circumstance  whidi 
summoned  tlie  old  Apostle  from  the  scene  of  what 
seems  to  have  been  most  successfid  labours.  He  left 
behind  him  one  of  the  ablest  of  his  disciples,  Titus — a 
tried  .and  well-known  Christian  leader  of  the  second 
half  of  the  first  century — to  organise  the  churcli  life 
and  to  regulate  the  teaching  of  the  powerful  and  \\\\- 
merous  Christian  community  of  Crete. 

The  Epistle  addressed  to  Titus  contains  the  formal 
credentials  of  his  liigh  office,  stamping  all  his  acts 
with  the  great  name  and  authority  of  St.  Paul;  hence 
the  careful  and  elaboi'ate  phraseology  of  the  first  four 
verses.  Though  addi'essed  to  one,  they  would  have  to 
be  referred  to  and  read  often  among  the  elders  {pres- 
byters) and  deacons  in  the  various  cluirches.  St.  Paul 
wrote  the  Letter,  we  are  told,  when  on  his  way  to  Nicop- 
olis  to  winter ;  we  believe,  soon  after  his  arrival  there 
he  was  arrested  and  sent  to  Rome  to  die.  The  date  of 
this  Letter,  then,  would  be  a.d.  65  or  QQ,  and  was  proba- 
bly written  from  some  place  in  Asia  Minor — perhaps 
Ephesus. 

That  thou  shouldest  set  in  order  the  things 
that  are  wanting.  —  These  words  explain  the 
"  cause  "  of  Titus'  appointment  in  Crete.  The  "  things 
that  are  wanting  "  were  what  St.  Paul  meant,  no  doubt, 
to  have  done  himself,  but  was  prevented  by  being 
hurried  aAvay — for  liini  the  end  was  nigh  at  hand.  Thes(( 
"  things  "  were  want  of  church  officials,  lack  of  cliurch 
government,  want  of  cohesion  between  the  churches  of 
the  island — in  a  word,  there  was  plenty  of  Christian 
life,  but  no  Christian  organisation  as  yet  in  Crete.  It 
was  rather  a  number  of  Christian  brotlierhoods  than 
one. 

And  ordain  elders  in  every  city.— The  num- 
ber of  presbyters  in  each  town  or  city  is  not  specified, 
but  is  left  to  Titus'  judgment.  We  know  that  in  some 
churches  there  were  certainly  several  of  these  presbyters 
(see  Acts  xiv.  23;  xv.  22).  The  words  "in  every  city" 
point  to  the  wide  extension  of  Christianity  at  that  eaidy 
period  in  Crete. 

As  I  had  appointed  thee.— Or  better,  as  I  gave 
thee  directions.  These  presbyters  were  to  be  most 
carefully  selected,  according  to  the  special  instructions 
Titus  must  remember  St.  Paul  giving  liim  in  this  im- 
portant matter  on  some  previous  occasion.  The  more 
urgent  of  these  qualifications  for  the  presbyteral  rank 
the  Apostle  now  repeats  for  Titus'  guidance. 

('5)  If  any  be  blameless.— The  candidate  for  tlie 
holy  office  must  have  nauglit  laid  to  his  cliargo  ;  lie  must 
be  of  such  a  character  tliat  no  one  could  bring  a  rea- 
sonable accusation  against  him.  Blameless  must  be  his 
life,  spotless  his  name.  As  it  has  lieen  well  said,  "  the 
office  of  presbyter  must  never  be  allowed  to  cover  or 
condone  damagi-d  reputations." 

The  husband  of  one  wife.— See  Notes  on  1  Tim. 
iii.  2. 

Having  faithful  children. —  Better,  believing 
children.  In  searching  out  these  presbyters,  whose 
charge   would  involve  so  many  and  such  responsible 


duties,  Titus  must  look  for  men  of  ripe  age.  There 
were  even  grave  objections  to  the  appointment  of  the 
comparatively  young  to  this  office.  We  have  seen  how 
anxious  St.  Paul  was  for  Timothy,  his  well-knoAvn  and 
trusted  friend,  on  account  of  his  Avant  of  years.  Timothy 
must  have  been  at  least  approaching  forty  years  of  age 
when  St.  Paid  warned  him  so  earnestlj'  of  his  behaviour 
and  his  life,  "  Let  no  man  despise  thy  youth."  These 
presiding  Cretan  elders  should  be  married  men,  Avith 
children  ali'eady,  so  to  speak,  grown  up. 

These  requirements  evidently  show  that  Christianity 
had  been  established  in  Crete  for  a  very  considerable 
period.  We  must  remember  some  thirty-three  years  had 
passed  since  that  memorable  Pentecost  feast  of  Jeru- 
salem, when  "  Cretes"  were  among  the  hearers  of  those 
marvellous  utterances  of  the  Spirit.  Besides  the 
cliildren  of  the  candidates  for  the  presbyter's  office 
being  professing  Christians,  they  must  also  be  free 
from  all  suspicion  of  profligacy. 

Not  accused  of  riot. — More  accurately  rendered, 
dissohdeness.  The  Greek  word  here  rendered  "  riot " 
implies  a  self-indulgent  or  even  a  reckless  expendi- 
ture. Such  careless  selfishness  well-nigh  always  ends 
in  profligacy.  In  the  case  of  men  whose  duties  in- 
cluded the  superintendence  of  the  Church's  funds,  it 
was  imperatively  necessary  that  their  homes  and  families 
should  be  free  from  all  suspicion  of  anything  like  that 
reckless  waste  or  extravagance  Avhich  in  so  many  cases 
imj^erceptibly  passes  into  dissoluteness  and  profligacy. 

Or  unruly. — That  is,  disobedient  to  their  parents. 
If  the  presbyter  was  incapal)le  of  teaching  his  OAvn 
children  obedience  and  order,  Avhat  hope  Avas  there  that 
his  influence  would  be  of  anj^  value  with  his  flock  ? 
All  these  early  instructions  to  the  master-builders 
whose  task  it  was  to  lay  the  early  storeys  of  the 
Christian  Temple  are  very  decisive  as  to  the  state  of 
St.  Paul's  mind ;  and  Ave  must  not  forget  whence  St. 
Paid  directly  drew  his  Avisdom.  The  Apostles  of  the 
Lord  ncA-er  seem  to  have  thought  of  the  Christian 
priesthood  of  the  future  developing  into  a  caste  or 
order.  Anything  more  diametrically  opposed  to  the 
mediseval  notion  of  church  government  than  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  Avriter  of  the 
Epistles  to  Timothy  and  to  Titus  never  dreamed  of 
building  up  a  priestly  order  with  Anews,  thoughts, 
hopes,  and  joys  differing  from  those  of  the  ordinary 
worker  of  the  Avorld.  St.  Paul's  presbyters  were  to  be 
chosen,  among  other  qualities,  for  the  Avhite  and  blame- 
less lives  of  their  families.  The  presbyter's  liome  in 
Crete  and  Ej>hesus  must  supply  a  fair  pattern  for  the 
many  otlier  Christian  homes  in  that  luxurious,  disso- 
lute age  in  which  Titus  lived. 

(")  For  a  bishop  must  be  blameless.— Tlicre 
is  no  doubt  that  the  "  bishop  "  here  must  be  identified 
Avith  the  presbyter  of  verse  6.  In  the  Pa-storal 
Epistles  Avritten  between  a.d.  63—67  these  terms 
are  clearly  applied  indifferently  to  the  same  person. 
The  title  presbyter  refers  to  the  gra\-ity  and  dignity  of 
the  office;  the  "title  bishop  su^^gests  rather  the  duties 
which  belong  to  an  elder  ot  the  church.  On  the 
question  of  bishops,  and  their  position  in  the  early 
Church,  see  Note  on  1  Tim.  iii.  1,  Avhere  the  grounds 


2.51 


The  Qualifications 


TITUS,   I. 


of  Elders. 


soon  angry,  not  nfivcn  to  wine,' no  striker, 
not  givt'n  to  tilthy  lucre;  f*^^  but  a  lover 
of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,^ 
sober,  just,  holy,  temperate;  <"'  holding 


0  1  Tim.  3.  3. 

2  Or,  in  teach- 
ing. 

1  Or,  youd  things. 


fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath  been 
taught,-  that  he  may  be  able  by  sound 
doctrine  both  to  exhort  and  to  convince 
the  gaiusayers.     *^*^*  For  there  are  many 


for  assnmintj  tliat  tlio  opiscopjil  ordor  was  formally 
intro(lii('t>(l  into  cliiucli  governineiit  before  the  end  of 
tliis  oentiiry.  and  dnrin*,'  tlio  lifetime  of  St.  John,  are 
discussed.  Tiie  Christian  hisliop.  within  a  quarter  of  a 
century  after  tiie  deatii  of  St.  Paul,  assumed  many  of 
the  functii)ns  and  pfenerally  diseiiarged  tlie  duties  of 
povernnient  whieli  were  exeroi.sed  by  the  Apostles 
during  tiieir  lifetim(\  Tlie  presbyter — then  writes  St. 
Paul— ^seeing  he  is  appointed  an  overseer  or  bishop  (the 
use  of  tlie  latter  term  Ijisiiop  in  tlie  eeelesiastieal  sense 
is.  liowever,  premature),  as  God's  steward,  as  a  respon- 
sibU>  administrator  of  the  House,  that  is,  of  the  Church 
of  the  Living  God,  ought  indeed  be  blameless. 

Not  selfwilled. — Ho  should  not  be  one  of  those 
self-loving  men  who  seeks  to  gratify  Ids  own  personal 
ends  in  the  first  place,  and  in  consequence  is  usually 
reganlless  of  otliers. 

Not  soon  angry.— Not  soon  provoked,  or  not 
irascible.  He  slunikl  not  be  one  ever  ready  with  au 
angry,  hasty  word,  remembering  always  his  Master, 
"  who  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again." 

Not  given  to  wine.— While  tlie  iiresbyter  is  not 
to  be  chosi'U  on  account  of  any  .stern  austerities  or  rigid 
asceticism  he  may  have  practised,  he  must  be  known  as 
one  "  temperate,'"  moderate,  self-denying. 

No  striker.- Not  a  brawler.  No  man  of  God — 
above  all  things,  no  one  holding  office  in  the  churcli — 
should  ever,  even  under  sore  provocation,  so  far  forget 
liimself  as  to  raise  his  hand  against  his  fellow. 

Not  given  to  filthy  lucre.— The  presbyter 
of  the  House  of  Gotl  must  bo  above  all  dreaming  of 
mean  and  paltry  gains.  Ho  who  is  to  administer  the 
alms  devoted  to  God  must  surely  do  it  with  clean 
Jiands.  There  is,  too,  anotlier  and  a  deeper  meaning  in 
the  words.  Tho  presbyter  whoso  mind  is  at  all  devoted 
to  the  amassing  of  gold  is  too  preoccupied  to  bo  able 
to  fix  his  thoughts  upon  those  high  things  of  God 
committed  to  his  charge,  among  which  ouo  of  his  most 
important  duties  is  to  instruct  tlie  tlock. 

(8)  But  a  lover  of  hospitality.— It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  hospitality  would  be  especially 
shown  in  tho  early  centuries  of  Christianity,  when 
Christians  travoUiiig  from  one  place  to  another  wore 
received  kindly  ami  forwarded  on  their  journey  by  their 
brethren  ;  but  the  diivctiou  of  St.  Paul  "has  that  broader 
signiiication.  so  l)eautifiilly  wonh-d  in  the  Epistle  to 
tho  Hebrews,  where  we  are  t(dd  not  to  be  forgetful  to 
entertain  at rmi (/('>:■<,  for  thereby  some  have  entertained 
angels  unawares  (  Heb.  xiii.  2). 

A  lover  of  good  men.— Although  this  ren- 
dering is  possil)le,  still  it  is  better  to  understand  the 
Greek  word  hero  as  alluding  to  a  virtue  difPering 
from  tho  "  hospitality"  just  mentioned.  "A  lover 
of  good"  or  benevolence  generally;  tho  appellation 
points  here  to  that  largo  heart  wliich  finds  room  for 
symi)atliy  with  all  that  is  good  and  noble  and  generous. 

Sober.— Better  rendered,  srlf-rcsfmined.  In  this 
expressive  word  {snphronn)  masfrnj  of  self  is  especially 
implied — that  self-command  which  wisely  regulates 
pleasures  and  passions. 

Just.— Or.  rl(j]i(eoii.9.  The  man  who  is  just  (dikaios) 
is  one  who  tries  strictly  to  perform  his  duties  towards 
men — the  duties  which    integrity   and   justice   seem 


imperatively  to  ask  from  him  in  his  relations  with  his 
neighbour. 

Holy. — The  man  who  is  hohj  studies  to  be  true  and 
faithful  in  his  relations  to  God,  which  duties  with  us 
larg(dy  consist  in  keeping  pure  our  bodies,  the  temple 
of  tho  Holy  Spirit.  While  the  "just"  man  struggles 
after  nprightuess  before  men,  the  "  holy  "  man  aims  at 
a  holy  purity  before  God. 

Temperate. — This  virtue  is  not  to  be  understood 
in  the  usual  and  more  limited  sense  which  has  been 
already  specified  in  "  not  giA'en  to  wine "  of  the 
preceding  verse,  but  signifies  the  being  temperate — 
moderate  in  all  things.  The  model  presbyter,  the  ruler 
of  a  congregation  of  Christians,  not  only  must  be  able 
to  control  his  tongue,  his  eyes,  his  hands,  but  mnst 
show  a  just  and  wise  moderation  even  in  pressing  things 
which  of  themselves  are  excellent.  To  do  his  Master's 
work  eificiently,  he  must  be  able  at  all  times  to 
command  himself — to  perform  that  most  difficult  of  all 
tasks,  the  tempering  zeal  with  discretion. 

(9)  Holding  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he 
hath  been  taught. — More  literally,  according  to  the 
teaching  ;  but  the  English  version  gives  the  sense  clearly 
and  exactly.  The  elder  must,  St.  Paul  says,  hold  fast 
the  faithful  Avord  or  saying ;  or,  in  other  words,  must 
steadily  adhere  to  that  Christian  doctrine  taught  by  St. 
Paul  and  his  brother  Apostles.  So  St.  Paul  pressed 
on  Timothy,  the  chief  presbyter  of  Ephesus,  "  to  hold 
the  iiattern  of  sound  words  which  thou  heardest  from 
me "  (2  Tim.  i.  13) ;  and  again,  "  But  continue  thou 
in  the  things  which  thou  hast  learned,  and  hast  been 
assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned 
them"  (2  Tim.  iii.  14).  Here  "the  faithful  saying," 
that  formulary  so  common  in  the  Epistles  to  Timothy 
and  to  Titus,  and  which  wo  have  generally  explained 
as  including  tho  great  Christian  watchwords  of  the 
faith,  echoes  probably  of  sayings  of  Christ,  taken  np 
and  expanded  by  His  chosen  servants,  and  then  adopted 
in  the  various  churches  and  woven  into  the  tapestry  of 
the  earliest  liturgies — now,  possibly,  after  a  form  like 
tho  "  comfortable  words"  of  our  Communion  Service, 
now  into  a  creed,  now  into  a  hymn,  but  in  one  shape  or 
other  thoroughly  well  known  and  loved  in  tho  different 
congregations — here  the  faithful  word  or  saying  seems 
to  include  all  the  faithful  sayings,  and  denotes  generally 
tho  teaching  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Apostles. 

To  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gainsayers. 
— Two  special  purposes  are  specified  for  which  the 
"  sound  doctrine "  which  the  elder  will  acquire  by 
steadfast  application  may  bo  used.  Tho  first,  with  the 
sound,  healthy  teaching — sound,  healthy,  practical,  com- 
pared with  that  sickly,  morbid,  and  unpractical  teaching 
of  those  gainsayers  of  wiiom  he  is  going  to  speak — he 
is  to  exhort  the  adversaries ;  secondly,  with  the  same 
true  words  he  is  to  confute  theirarguments.  Chrysostom 
well  remarks  "  that  ho  who  knows  not  how  to  contend 
with  adversaries,  and  is  not  ablo  to  demolish  their 
arguments,  is  far  from  the  teacher's  chair." 

(10)  For  there  are  many  unruly  and  vain 
talkers  and  deceivers.— Nominally  in  the  con- 
gregations of  Christians,  Init  in  reality  refusing  all 
obedience,  acting  for  themselves,  factious,  insubordinate. 
Titus  would,  alas,  discover  many  such;   these  often 


Picture  of  the 


TITUS,   I. 


Cretan  Character. 


unrulj  and  vain  talkers  and  deceivers, 
Chap  i  10—16   specially  they  of  the  circum- 

Tliet.'retaucha-  cision:     (^^^    wllOSe    moutlis 

1-acter.  niust  be  stopped,  who  sub- 

vert whole  houses,  teaching-  things  which 
they  oug'lit  not,  for  filthy  lucre's  sake. 


('2)  One  of  themselves,  even  a  prophet  of 
their  own,  said.  The  Cretians  are  alway 
liars,  evil  beasts,  slow  bellies.  (^'^^  This 
witness  is  true.  Wherefore  rebuke  them 
sharply,  that  they  may  be  sound  in  the 
faith ;    (^"^^   not    giving  heed   to  Jewish 


would  be  found  to  be  possossed  of  tlie  gift  of  fluent  and 
deceptive  speech,  and  woukl  deceive  many.  Professor 
Reynokls  cliaractorises  such  restless,  uneasy  spirits  as 
loquacious,  restless  talkers,  "  who  mihtit  say  something, 
aiul  who  have  broken  the  peace  of  many  a  home  and 
shattered  the  prosperity  of  many  a  church;  the  multi- 
tude of  teachers  who  have  n(jthing  true  to  say  is  the 
curse  of  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Specially  they  of  the  circumcision. — Here 
St.  Paul  points  out  to  Titus  where  ho  must  look  for  the 
origin  of  tills  hostility.  These  unhappy  men  evidently 
did  not  belong  to  the  stern  and  rigid  Jewish  party 
who  hated  with  a  bitter  hate  all  the  followers  of  tlie 
Nazarene,  but  were  of  the  number  of  those  sleepless 
opponents  of  St.  Paul  and  his  school — the  Judaising 
Christians. 

(11)  Whose  mouths  must  be  stopped,  who 
subvert  whole  houses. — The  translation  should 
run  here,  seeing  they  subvert,  &c.  There  was,  indeed, 
graA'e  cause  why  these  men  should  be  put  to  silence; 
the  mischief  they  were  doing  in  Crete  to  the  Christian 
cause  was  incalculable.  It  was  no  longer  individuals 
that  their  poisonous  teaching  affected,  but  they  were 
undermining  the  faith  of  whole  families.  For  an 
example  how  Titus  and  his  presbyters  were  to  stop  the 
mouths  of  tliese  teachers  of  what  was  false,  compare 
Matt.  xxii.  34 — 46,  where  the  Lord,  by  His  wise,  power- 
ful, yet  gentle  words,  first  put  the  Sadducees  to  silence, 
and  then  so  answered  the  Pharisees  that  "  neither 
durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask  Him  any  more 
questi(ms." 

Teaching  things  which  they  ought  not,  for 
filthy  lucre's  sake.— Here  St.  Paul  goes  to  the  root 
of  the  evil,  when  he  shows  what  was  the  end  and  aim  of 
these  "  teachers' "  life.  It  was  a  mean  and  sordid 
ambition,  after  all — merely  base  gain.  When  this  is 
the  main  ol)ject  of  a  religious  teacher's  life,  his  teaching 
naturally  accommodates  itself  to  men's  tastes.  He 
forgets  the  Divine  Giver  of  liis  commission,  and  in  his 
thirst  for  the  popularity  which  brings  with  it  gold,  his 
true  work,  as  the  faithful  watchman  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  is  forgotten  and  ignored. 

(1-)  One  of  themselves,  even  a  prophet  of 
their  own,  said.— St.  Paul  had  spoken  (verses  10, 
II)  in  the  severest  terms  of  certain  influential  members 
of  the  Cretan  Church  ;  he  had  even  alluded  to  their 
disastrous  teaching  ruining  whole  families,  evidently 
implying  that  he  had  perceived  among  the  Cretans  a 
readiness  to  welcome  a  teaching  whicli  countenanced 
a  laxer  moral  tone,  tlie  invariable  result  of  perverted 
doctrine ;  and  now  he  supports  his  own  condemning 
words  by  a  reference  to  a  well-kno\ra  Cretan  poet — to 
one  who,  according  to  tradition,  was  even  lionoured 
by  them  as  a  god.  The  verse  quoted  is  an  hexameter, 
written  Iiy  the  famous  Epimenides,  of  Gnossus,  in 
Crete.  He  flourislied  some  GUO  years  B.C.,  and  is  said 
to  have  lived  to  the  strange  age  of  1.5<i  years  or  more. 
He  appears  to  have  deserved  the  title  of  proi)het  in  its 
fullest  sense — Plato  speaking  of  him  as  a  "divine 
man."  and  Cicero  coupling  him  with  the  ErythaMin 
Sibyl.     The   fiist  three  words  wore  well  known,  and 


even  used  by  Callimachus  in  his  hymn  to  Zeus, 
"  Cretans  always  liars."  St.  Paul's  knowledge  of  tho 
poem  where  tlio  verse  occurs  is  one  of  the  several 
instances  which  we  meet  with  in  his  writings  indicating 
his  familiarity  witli  ])r()fane  literature.  The  quotation, 
occurring  as  it  does  in  the  midst  of  an  inspired  writing, 
was  the  occasion  of  Calvin's  wise,  brave  w(a'ds,  which 
style  those  who  decline  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
learning  and  research  of  profane  writers  as  super- 
stitious. Nothing  wise  and  learned,  he  says,  should  be 
rejected,  even  though  it  proceed  "  ab  impiis." 

The  Cretians  are  alway  liars.— This  terrible 
estimate  of  the  national  Cretan  character  is  amply 
borne  out  by  the  testimony  of  many  jirofane  writers, 
such  as  Callimachus,  Plato,  Polybius,  Ovid,  &c.  The 
very  word  "to  Cretize "  (hretizein),  or  to  play  the 
part  of  a  Cretan,  was  invented  as  a  word  synonymous 
with  "to  deceive,"  "to  utter  a  lie;"  just  ascorintJiiazein, 
"  to  play  the  part  of  a  Corinthian,"  signified  to  commit 
a  still  darker  moral  offence.  Some  writers  suggest 
that  tliis  despicable  vice  of  lying  was  received  as  a 
bequest  from  the  early  Phoenician  colonists. 

Evil  beasts. — These  words  refer  to  their  wild,  fierce 
nature,  their  ferocity,  their  love  of  cruelty. 

Slow  bellies.— Rather,  idle  bellies.  These  terms 
paint  with  shai'p  accuracy  another  of  the  evil  charac- 
teristics of  the  Cretan  peoples — their  dull  gluttony,  their 
slothful  sensuality.  The  words  are  used  especially  of 
those  who,  by  indulging  theii"  bodily  appetites,  become 
corpulent  and  indolent. 

(13)  This  witness  is  true.— St.  Paul  emphatically 
here  endorses  the  very  severe  judgment  Avliich  their  own 
great  prophet-poet  had  written  on  the  national  Cretan 
character.  He  (St.  Paul)  had  lived  long  enough  in  their 
midst  to  bo  able  to  bear  his  grave  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  Epimenides'  words.  He  had  witnessed  the 
sad  havoc  in  Christian  life  which  their  evil  national 
propensities  had  caused. 

Wherefore  rebuke  them  sharply,  that  they 
may  be  sound  in  the  faith.— Some  render,  u-here- 
fore  confute,  that  is  to  say,  set  them  right,  s]iar2)ly 
{apotomos).  The  substantive  apotomia,  translated  in 
the  English  version  "  severity,"  is  used  in  the  passage 
about  the  "wild  olive  tree"  (Rom.  xi.  I'D,  As  a 
surgeon's  knife  cuts  away  the  diseased  and  mortifying 
flesh,  so  must  the  words  and  discipline  of  Titus, 
the  Apostle's  representative  in  Crete,  sharply  rebuke, 
and,  if  need  be,  punish  the  sinning  membei-s  of 
the  congregation.  Not  merely  the  false  teachers — 
the  deceivers  —  are  referred  to  here,  but  also  the 
deceived,  those  whole  households  menticmed  in  verso 
11  ;  and  the  object  of  this  severity  in  words  and 
acts  was  that  the  lapsed,  the  doctrinally  and  morally 
sick,  among  tlie  Cretan  Christians,  should  be  restored 
to  health  again ;  and  the  sound  state  of  faith  and 
practice  would,  St.  Paul  proceeded  to  show,  consist  in 
"  tlie  rejection  of  Jewish  fables  and  the  commandments 
of  these  men." 

(1^)  Not  giving  heed  to  Jewish  fables.— 
Such  as  we  now  find  emliodied  in  the  Talmud.  (See 
Note  on  1  Tim.  i.  4.)     The  oral  law  and  traditional 


2.5.3 


Cltarges  for  the  Aged 


TITUS,  II. 


of  both  Sexes. 


fables,  and  commandments  of  men,  that 
tui-n  from  the  truth.  <i^'  Unto  the  pure 
all  thing's  are  pure :  but  unto  them  that 
are  defiled  and  unbelieving,'  is  nothing 
pure;  but  even  their  mind  and  conscience 
is  detiled.     ^^''^  They  profess  that  they 


1  Or,  void  of  judg- 
ment. 


know  God  ;  but  in  works  they  deny  him, 
being  abominable,  and  disobedient,  and 
unto  every  good  work  reprobate.' 

CHAPTER  II.— (1)  But   speak  thou 
the   thin  Of  s   which    become   sound  doc- 


intcrpretatious  aud  glosses  had,  to  a  great  measure, 
obscured  tin'  original  simple  text.  The  Israelite  of  the 
time  of  St.  Paul,  trained  in  the  stricter  Jewish  schools, 
was  taught  (hat  tlio  way  to  win  the  approval  of  the 
Most  High  was  throiigli  the  observance  of  countless 
ceremonies  aud  the  practice  of  au  elaborate  ritual. 

And  commandments  of  men.— Tlie  nature  of 
tJiese  cominandments  we  gather  from  the  Avords  of 
the  next  (the  15th)  verse.  They  seem  to  have  been 
on  tiie  subject  of  abstinence  from  meats  and  from 
other  things  created  by  God  for  the  use  and  enjoy- 
ment of  man.  The  directions  of  St.  Paul  here  are, 
in  spirit,  in  exi\ct  accordance  with  the  Lord's  teaching 
at  Jerusjilcm,  related  in  Matt.  xv.  1 — 9.  St.  Paid's 
dread  of  this  kind  of  asceticism  and  of  the  peculiar 
school  of  teaching,  then  so  popular  among  the  Jews, 
wiiicli  enjoined  an  elaborate  system  of  ritual  aud 
observance,  which  prououuced  meritorious  in  the  sight 
of  the  Eternal  the  practice  of  rites  and  ceremonies 
minute  and  trifling,  was  grounded  upon  a  fear — too 
often,  alas,  verified — lest  with  the  observance  of  the 
rituid,  aud  the  cai-eful  practice  of  the  ceremonies  aud 
rites,  the  moral  law  should  be  lost  sight  of.  With  this 
school  a  holy  life  consisted  rather  iu  observing  care- 
fully a  ritual,  than  iu  living  justly,  nobly,  generously. 

(1*5)  Unto  the  pure  all  things  are  pure.— The 
spirit  of  tiiis  famous  sapng  of  St.  Paul,  occurring  almost 
in  the  .same  language  in  the  Roman  Letter  (chap.  xiv. 
20 1,  was  the  groundwork  of  mucli  of  the  Gentile  Apostle's 
teaching.  The  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  above  referred 
to  (Matt.  XV.  2  and  11)  contain  the  same  grand 
truth.  "All  things"  include  much  besides  mere  food 
— iu  a  word,  include  all  acts  connected  with  every-day 
life  which  iu  themselves  are  neither  right  nor  wrong, 
neither  good  nor  evil,  but  which  derive  their  colouring 
of  good  or  evil  solely  from  the  doer  of  the  act.  Bongel 
well  sums  this  up  iu  his  "omnia  externa  eis,  qui  intus 
sunt  mundi,  muiida  sunt." 

But  unto  them  that  are  defiled  and  un- 
believing is  nothing  pure.— Here,  as  so  often  in 
these  Pastoral  Epistles,  tli(>  la.st  utterance,  so  to  speak, 
of  that  grand  life  of  St.  Paul's,  purity  and  sound  doctrine 
are  inseparable.  Hero  "  the  defiled,"  "  the  polluted,'' 
wo  are  told,  are  the  unbelieving;  and  to  these,  the 
Apostle  says,  nothing  is  pure.  Yet  there  is  notliing  iu 
God's  creation  impure  or  evil — the  evil  and  impurity 
aro  in  the  miiul  and  heart  of  men;  these  may,  and  often 
do.  defile  and  make  impure  the  choicest  gifts  of  God's 
creation.  One  word  is  still  left  to  bo  said  on  the  teaching 
of  tliis  memorable  verse.  Who  are  the  pure  to  whom 
all  things  are  pure?  Only  those  iu  this  world  wlio 
have  sought  cleansing  by  faitli  in  the  precious  blood  of 
Christ. 

But  even  their  mind  and  conscience  is  de- 
filed.— Here  St.  Paul  defines  exactly  the  sphere  over 
■which  the  moral  defilement  of  these  liapless  ones,  who 
belong  to  the  Christian  company,  alas,  oidy  iu  name, 
extends — the  mind  and  conscience.  The  first  of  these — 
the  mind— is  the  willing  as  well  as  the  thinking  part  of 
man,  as  it  has  been  well  defined  the  human  spirit 
(pneuma)  in  one  of  its  aspects,  not  simply  quatenus 


254 


cogitat  et  intelUgit,  but  also  quatenus  vult.  Defilement 
of  this  mind  {nous)  means  that  the  thoughts,  wishes, 
purposes,  activities,  are  all  stained  and  debased.  The 
second  of  these — the  conscience  (suneiclesis) — is  the 
moral  consciousness  within,  that  which  is  ever  bringing 
up  the  memory  of  the  past,  with  its  omissions  and  com- 
missions, its  errors,  its  cruel,  heartless  unkindness,  its 
selfish  disregard  of  others.  When  this  is  defiled,  then 
this  last  .safeguard  of  the  soul  is  broken  down.  The 
man  aud  woman  of  the  defiled  conscience  is  self-satisfied, 
hard,  impenitent  to  the  last. 

(iti)  They  profess  that  they  know  God;  but 
in  works  they  deny  him. — These  bitter  foes  to 
the  truth,  Titus  must  remember,  wiU  present  them- 
selves under  the  guise  of  friends.  They  will  rank 
themselves  in  the  Christian  company  openly,  with  their 
lips  confessing  God,  but  in  their  way  of  life,  in  their 
acts,  practically  denying  the  very  things  they  were  so 
careful  to  affirm  with  their  lips  ;  iu  other  words,  taking 
back,  withdra\ving,  the  solemn  declaration  of  faith  they 
had  been  making. 

Being  abominable. — This  is  the  only  place  where 
this  stroug  expression  is  used  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  signifies  that  the  life  and  actions  of  these  men, 
who  professed  to  be  His  servants,  had  made  them  hate- 
ful in  the  sight  of  God. 

And  disobedient.— EebeUious  and  opposed  to  all 
law  and  order  would  Titus  find  them. 

And  unto  every  good  work  reprobate. — 
As  a  cousequence  of  their  hypocritical,  selfish,  defiled 
life,  these  men,  when  any  good  aud  noble  work  had  to 
be  done,  were  simply  useless,  worthless  ;  and  to  teachers 
of  this  kind  were  many  of  the  Cretan  believers  content 
to  go  for  instruction  iu  Christian  doctrine  aud  practice. 

II. 

'D  But  speak  thou  the  things  which  become 
sound  doctrine. — To  introduce  a  regular  organisation 
aud  the  principle  of  a  central  church  government 
into  the  numerous  but  scattered  Christian  congrega- 
tions iu  Crete  was  Titus'  first  work.  The  second  and 
equally  weighty  mission  the  Apostle  Paul  charged  him 
to  execute  was  the  refutation  of  a  school  of  professed 
Christian  tcachei's,  who  were  promulgating  doctrines 
at  variance  with  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  and  his 
brother  Apostles,  and  were  also,  liy  their  example  and 
lives,  fatally  lowering  the  tone  of  Christian  life.  It  was 
to  the  latter  point — the  evil  moral  iutluence  of  tliese 
teachers — that  the  attention  of  Titus  was  especially 
directed.  False  doctrinal  teaching  was  bringing  forth 
already  its  sure  fruit,  in  the  form  of  a  life  utterly  unlike 
the  pattern  life  of  the  Master.  In  contrast  to  this 
erroneous  and  misleading  teaching,  Titus  is  directed  to 
exhort  the  varied  ages,  the  different  sexes,  the  bond  and 
the  free,  to  live  lives  which  will  bring  no  dishonour 
upon  their  Christian  profession.  The  strictly  practical 
nature  of  these  charges  is  remarkable.  Before  touching 
upon  doctrine,  he  presses  home  to  these  various  ages 
and  ranks  the  necessity  of  a  quiet,  useful  life.  The 
"  sound  doctrine"  by  which  Titus  was  bidden  to  regulate 
his  teaching  is  an  expression  peculiar  to  these  Pastoral 


The  Aged  Women  are  to 


TITUS,   II. 


Exhort  the  Younrjer. 


trine :   '-^  that  the  aged  men  be  sober,^  i  or,-  ^^f'"^l\-^ 

grave,  temperate,  sound  in 

faith,  in  charity,  in  patience. 

(^>  The  aged  women  Hke- 

wise,  that  theu  ^^  '^^  beha- 


Chap.  ii.  1 — 5. 
Charges  to  pri- 
vate members 
of  the  Church ; 


tco- 
tiien. 
3  Or,    make-] 
bates.  I 


4  Or,  wise. 


viour  as  becometh  holiness,-  not  false 
accusers,-^  not  given  to  much  wine, 
teachers  of  good  things ;  (^^  that  they 
may  teach  the  young  women  to  be  sober,* 
to   love  their   husbands,  to  love   their 


Epistles  (see  Note  on  1  Tim.  i.  10),  and  stands  in  clear 
contrast  to  the  sickly,  uuhealtliy  teaching,  fanciful  and 
false,  of  the  misleading  teachers  of  Crete. 

(-)  That  the  aged  men.— Not  presbyters,  or  elders, 
in  an  official  sense,  but  simply  the  "  old  men "  in  the 
congregations. 

Be  sober. — In  a  more  extended  sense  than  the  bare 
literal  meaning  of  the  word  would  give.  Let  the  elder 
men  be  "  thoughtful,"  in  contrast  with  the  thought- 
lessness of  careless  youth. 

Grave. — And  quietly  earnest,  in  contrast  with  all 
passion  and  undue  excitability. 

Temperate. — Discreet,  or  self-restrained,  would  be  a 
better  rendering  for  the  Greek  word. 

Sound  in  faith,  in  charity,  in  patience. — 
Here  Paid  the  aged  sums  up  for  the  aged  men  of 
Crete  in  these  three  words,  so  well  known  by  all  his 
devoted  hearers  then,  by  all  the  devout  students  of  his 
theology  in  subsequent  ages,  the  great  principles  out 
of  which  the  true  saint  life  springs — faith,  love, 
patience.  In  the  famous  Pauline  trilogy  of  A-irtues, 
in  this  place,  "  patience "  takes  the  place  of  hope, 
because  this  brave  patience,  this  enduring  fortitude, 
especially  becomes  the  old  man  waiting  for  death. 
In  respect  to  these  "  three"  they  must  be  healthy,  sound. 
The  faith  must  not  be  adulterated  with  superstitious — 
the  love  must  be  chivalrous,  not  sentimental.  It  must 
be  no  partisan  feelmg,  but  a  tender  affection,  broad  and 
inclusive,  as  was  St.  Paul's  and  his  Master  Christ's.  The 
patience  must  be  no  mere  tame  acquiescence  in  what 
seems  to  be  the  inevitable,  but  must  be  brave,  enduring, 
suffering — if  suffering  comes — for  the  Lord's  sake  with 
a  smile  on  the  lips.  '"Not  without  reason,"  writes 
Calvin,  "  does  St.  Paul  include  in  these  three  the  sum 
of  Christian  perfections."  It  is  with  "  faith  "  that  we 
worship  God — no  prayer,  no  work  of  piety,  can  be 
severed  from  '•  faith."  "  Love"  spreads  its  wings  over 
all  our  duties  to  our  neighbour;  antl  "patience"  must 
ever  go  hand  in  hand  with  both  "  faith  "  and  "  love." 
Without  "  patience  "  could  "  faith  "  hardly  endure ;  and 
the  affronts  and  unkiuduesses  of  the  world  would, 
without  this  high  virtue  of  patience,  soon  deaden  and 
even  destroy  "  love." 

(3)  The  aged  women  likewise.— St.  Paul,  faitltful 
to  what  had  now  become  one  of  the  giuding  principles  of 
Christianity,  the  equal  position  of  women  in  the  city 
of  God,  fellow-heirs  with  men  in  the  citizenship  of 
the  city  which  hath  foundations,  proceeds  to  remind 
the  elder  women  of  Crete  of  their  own  high  duties 
in  the  company  of  believers.  They  now — the  women — 
niust  remomber  that  the  position  which  Christ  and 
His  disciples  had  claimed  for  them  in  the  world  was 
not  without  its  grave  responsibilities.  These  aged 
■women  of  the  flock,  like  the  elders  just  exhorted,  had 
also  much  to  do  for  Christ. 

That  they  be  in  behaviovir  as  becometh  holi- 
ness.— That  is,  that  theij  should  shoiv  themselves  as 
it  becometh  holine.<is ;  or,  more  literally,  in  demeanour 
reverend.  Tlie  Greek  word  rendered  "  in  behaviour," 
or  "  in  demeanour,"  includes  dress,  appearance,  con- 
versation, manner ;  includes  an  outward  deportment 
dependent   on   something   more   internal.      Tlio   elder 


Christian  woman  in  her  whole  bearing  should  exhibit 
a  cei-tain  dignity  of  sacred  demeanour ;  there  should  be 
something  in  her  general  a^jpearance,  in  her  dress, 
in  her  speech,  in  her  every-day  behaviour,  which  the 
yoimger  and  more  thoughtless  sister  could  respect  and 
reverence— an  ideal  she  might  hope  one  day,  if  the 
Master  spared  her  so  long,  herself  to  reach.  For  au 
admirable  gloss  ou  these  words,  see  1  Tim.  ii.  9,  10. 

Not  false  accusers.— Or  better,  perhaps,  not 
slanderers.  St.  Paul  knew  well  how  easily  old  age  yields 
itself  to  this  temptation.  Old  age  is  at  times  intolerant, 
censorious,  even  bitter,  forgetfid  especially  of  the  days 
of  youth  ;  but  Christ's  aged  saints  must  use  their  voice 
for  ])etter  things  than  these. 

Not  given  to  much  wine.— Tliis  warning  was 
probably  called  for,  owing  to  the  evil  habits  and 
customs  of  the  Cretans. 

Teachers  of  good  things.— Or.  teachers  of  u-hat 
is  good.  Bezas  rendering.  "  mistresses  of  honour  " 
{honestatis  viagistrce).  is  singidar  and  expressive.  Tliis 
does  not  mean  that  these  aged  women  should  occupy 
the  place  of  public  instructresses,  but  that  they  should, 
by  here  and  there  speaking  a  kind  warning  word,  and, 
better  still,  by  the  golden  silence  of  a  useful  honoured 
life,  teach  their  younger  sisters  lessons  of  truth  and 
faith  and  love. 

(i)  That  they  may  teach  the  young  women 
to  be  sober. — Better  rendered,  simply,  tliat  tlity  may 
teach  (or  school)  the  young  women,  omitting  the  words 
''to  be  sober."  In  Ephesus  the  representative  of  the 
Apostle  was  directed  himself  to  exhort  the  younger 
women  ;  very  likely  the  same  charge  being  given  here  to 
the  aged  women  of  the  congi'egations  was  owing  to  the 
state  of  the  Cretan  Christian,  which  called  not  only  for 
more  practical  and  homely,  but  also  for  more  individual, 
exhortations.  So  here  this  si>ecial  work  was  left  for 
the  elder  women  among  the  faithful  to  carry  out.  Such 
a  reformation,  not  only  in  the  discipline  of  the  Church, 
but  also  in  the  individual  life  and  conversation,  as  St. 
Paul  desired  to  see  in  Crete,  would  never  be  brought 
about  by  a  sermon,  or  even  by  many  sermons,  however  elo- 
quent and  earnest,  from  Titus.  It  would  be  a  matter 
requiring  long  time  and  patience,  and  would,  as  observed 
above,  rather  follow  as  the  result  of  patient  iudi^-idual 
effort  and  holy  example. 

To  love  their  husbands,  to  love  their 
children.— There  was  evidently  in  Crete  a  feveri.sh 
longing  for  excitement,  for  novelty  in  religious  teaching; 
hence  the  demand  for,  and  consequent  supply  of.  the 
"fables"  and  "commandments  of  men  "  spoken  of  in 
chap.  i.  14.  Women  as  well  as  men  preferred  rather 
to  do  something  for  religion  and  for  God,  and  thus  to 
wipe  out  past  transgressions,  and  perhaps  to  purchase 
the  liberty  of  future  licence.  They  preferred  the  rigid 
and  often  difficult  observance  of  the  elaborate  ritual. '"  the 
tithing  of  the  mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin."  to  quietly 
and  reverently  "  doing  their  Fatlier's  business.'  St. 
Paul's  method  of  correcting  this  false  and  unhealthy  view 
of  religion  was  to  recall  women  as  well  as  men  to  the 
steady,  faithful  performance  of  those  quiet  cverj'-day 
duties  to  which  God  had.  in  His  providence,  called 
them.     The  first  duty  of  these  younger  women,  St.  Paul 


Adciee  to  Yuung  Women 


TITUS,  II. 


and  to  Young  Men. 


children,  <-^'  to  he  discreet,  chaste,  keepers 
at  home,  ^ood,  obedient  to  their  own 
hnsbands,  that  the  word  of  God  be  not 
bUispliemed.  (^'  Young  men  hkewise 
exhort  to  be  sober  minded.^     <"'  In  all 


1  Or,  iliscrecl. 


things  shewing  thyself  a  pattern  of  good 
works  :    in  doctrine   sheiv-  chap.  ii.  6—8. 
ing  uncorruptness,  gravity,  to  young  men. 
sincerity,  ^^>  sound  speech,  that  cannot 
be  condemned;   that  he  that  is  of  the 


tells  Titns,  and  wliich  he  would  have  their  elder  sisters 
impress  on  tlieni.  was  t  lie  gi-oat  lionio  duty  of  lovinjj  their 
husbands  and  cliildn'u.  While  St.  Paul  would  never 
have  the  women  of  Christ  forget  their  new  and  precious 
privileges  in  the  present,  their  glorious  hopes  iu  the 
future,  yet  hero  on  earth  he  would  never  let  them  de- 
sert, or  even  for  a  moment  forget,  their  tirst  and  chiefest 
duties.  Tlieir  work,  let  them  remember,  lay  not  abroad 
in  the  busy  world.  Their  tirst  duty  was  to  vmlce  home 
life  beautiful  by  the  love  of  husband  aud  child — that 
great  love  whii'h  ever  teaches  forgetf ulness  of  self. 

(•'')  To  be  discreet.— See  Note  iu  verso  2  of  this 
cliiipter. 

Chaste. — Not  only  in  act,  but  also  in  look,  in  speech, 
in  thought,  even  iu  dress. 

Keepers  at  home. — The  older  aiithorities  here,  in- 
stead of  "keepers  at  home"  [doynum ciostodientes,  domus 
curam  hitbetites),  read  ivorkers  at  home ;  the  Greek 
word  is  not  found  elsewhei'e.  The  sense  of  the  passage 
is,  however,  little  changed  by  the  alteration.  The 
meaning  is  clear,  "  Domi  mansit  lanam  fecit."  Home 
duties,  cares,  pleasures,  sacritices  of  self — these  God- 
ajjpoiuted  duties  ought  to  fill  the  mind  and  the  heart  of 
the  young  wife.  Tliere  should  be  no  desire,  no  attempt, 
to  go  round  to  the  other  houses,  and  so  contracting 
idle,  gossiping  habits.  Hofmauu  thus  sums  up  these 
directions  to  the  youjig  Christian  women  of  Crete, 
"  Gutc  Hausfrauen  will  der  Apostel  liaben." 

Good. — Gracious,  kind,  thoughtful  to  others,  espe- 
cially to  inferiors. 

Obedient  to  their  own  husbands.— More  ac- 
curately, submittiiuj  tliem^elves  to  their  own  husbands. 
Women  who  really  love  their  Master  Christ  should  take 
care  that,  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  the  law  of  subordination 
in  the  family  to  its  rightful  head  should  be  sti-ictly 
carried  out.  In  a  Chuix-h  like  that  of  Crete,  made  out 
of  divided  houses  often,  where  the  Christian  wife  was 
married  to  a  Pagan  husbaud,  such  a  charge  as  this  was 
especially  needful. 

That  the  word  of  God  be  not  blasphemed. 
— These  words  refer  to  all  the  exhortations  from  verse 
2  onwards,  but  more  particularly  to  tho.se  clauses  en- 
forcing hom(>  duties  immediately  preceding.  There  was, 
of  course,  the  fear  that  wives,  carried  away  by  religious 
fervour,  might  n(>glect  tlie  plainer  every-day  "duties  for 
the  seemingly  loftier  and  more  self-denying  occupations 
included  under  the  head  of  religious  works.  Such 
failure  in  every-day  tasks  would,  of  course,  be  bitterly 
charged  on  th(>  religion  of  Christ,  and  the  gospel  would 
run  the  danger  of  being  evil-spoken  of,  even  iu  other 
than  purely  Pagan  circles.  But  the  reference  extends 
over  a  broader  ar<>a  than  that  occupied  by  Christian 
mistresses  of  households.  All,  of  every  rank  and  age, 
Avho  think  they  love  the  Lord  Jesus  should  remember 
that  the  "  enr>my  "  is  ever  watching  their  words  and 
works;  never  should  they  who  wear  the  colours  of  the 
great  King  forget  the  charge  of  the  King's  son,  "  Let 
your  light  so  sliiue  before  men  that  they  may  see  your 
good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  iu 
heaven."' 

(C)  Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  be  sober 
minded. — The   task    of   iutlueucing  the   young  men 


•2.56 


belongs  especially  to  Titus.  Among  them,  in  respect 
to  age,  he  still  must  be  reckoned ;  as  regarded  their 
peculiar  temptations,  none  could  be  found  so  tit  as  the 
still  young  Christian  disciple  of  St.  Paul  (he  was 
probably  ab(mt  forty  years  of  age  when  he  was  placed 
over  the  Cretan  Church)  to  set  out  vividly  before  them 
both  the  peril  and  the  only  means  of  guarding  against 
it.  Brought  up  iu  a  Pagan  home,  not  improbably 
in  the  luxurious  aud  wicked  Syrian  Antioch,  drawn 
to  the  Master's  side  in  the  fresh  dawn  of  manhood, 
tried  in  many  a  difficult  task  and  found  faithful,  the 
words  of  Titus,  exhorting  the  youth  of  Crete  to  be 
sober-minded,  or  self-restrained,  would  be  likely  to 
have  great  weight.  In  this  word,  which  urged  self- 
restraint,  a  young  man's  duty  is  briefly  comprehended. 
No  task,  the  wise  Chrysostom  tells  us,  is  after  aD  so 
hard  aud  difficult  for  youth,  as  obtaining  the  mastery 
over  oneself  iu  the  matter  of  harmful  pleasures.  The 
Apostle  gives  but  few  special  directions  here  for  his 
disciple's  guidance,  for  he  is  going  to  tell  him  how  he 
will  best  win  these  young  men  to  the  side  of  Christ. 
It  will  be,  he  proceeds  to  show  him,  most  effectually 
done  by  the  sight  of  the  example  of  his  own  mauly, 
self-restrained  religious  life. 

(7)  In  all  things  shewing  thyself  a  pattern 
of  good  works.— Here  St.  Paul  shows  Titus  that  his 
especial  work  is  the  iustructiou  of  no  oue  peculiar  class 
or  order,  or  age  or  sex,  but  that  he  is  so  to  fashion  his 
whole  life  that  it  may  afford  a  "pattern"  to  all — men 
and  women,  bond  as  well  as  free ;  iu  all  things  a  ceaseless 
activity  was  prescribed  to  the  superintending  presbyter 
in  Crete.  In  everything  that  was  earnest  and  true, 
Titus  ought  to  be  the  oue  showiug  an  example  to  the 
rest ;  in  peaceful,  quiet  days,  as  in  times  of  danger  and 
threatening,  he  must  set  the  pattern^now  of  useful 
labour  and  toil — now  of  brave,  patient  endm-ance  for  the 
Lord's  sake. 

In  doctrine  shewing  uncorruptness,  gravity, 
sincerity. — The  older  authorities  omit  "  sincerity." 
Neither  of  the  terms  "  uncorruptness  "  and  "  gravity  " 
refers  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  "doctrine"  or 
"teaching,"  but  to  the  bearing  and  behaviour  of  the 
"  teacher."  While  he  occupies  the  place  of  a  teacher, 
Titus  must  show  in  his  life  aud  conversation  "  un- 
corruptness " — apthoria,  the  word  found  in  the  older 
authorities,  the  meaning  of  which  differs  very  slightly 
from  the  woi'd  adio}>thoria,  found  in  the  received 
text.  He  must,  in  all  those  points  of  his  life  which 
are  connected  with  his  teaching,  show  a  purity  {chastity) 
and  freedom  from  all  interested  motives ;  he  must  be 
above  seekiug  for  popular  applause ;  but  besides  this 
"  uncorruptness,"  in  everj-thing  touching  public  instruc- 
tion he  must  aim  at  a  certain  "gravity,"  not  only 
in  his  public  delivery  of  sermons  and  lectures,  but 
also  in  his  general  private  intercourse  with  his  flock. 
He  must,  in  a  word,  never  forget  ho  is  the  chief 
teacher  in  the  Church  of  Crete  of  his  Master's 
religion. 

(^)  Sound  speech,  that  cannot  be  con- 
demned.— The  substance  of  Titus'  teaching,  whether 
m  the  more  private  intercourse  with  individuals  or 
in   his   preaching  in   the  Christian  gatherings,   must 


Advice  to  be  given 


TITUS,   II. 


to  Christian  Slaves. 


contrary  part  may  be  asliamed,  having 

no  evil  thing  to  say  of  you.     ^^^  Exhort 

_,        ..«-,„    servants    to    be    obedient 
Chap.  11.  9,  10.  ,        i  1     •  1 

to      Christian  nnto    their    own   masters, 

slaves.  and  to  please  them  well  in 

all  things;  not  answering  again  ;^  <i^>not 


I  Or,  gninsayivg. 

•2  Or,  that  briiiyilh 
tail  i'atiiftl  to  all 
vii)i,  hath  ap- 
pitired. 


purloining,  but  shewing  all  good  fidelity; 
that  they  may  adorn  the  doctrine  of 
God  our  Saviour  in  all  things.  <^^'  For 
the  grace  of  God  that 
bringeth  salvation  hath  i5!''Reasonf^ 
appeared     to     all     men,^  these  charges. 


be  healthy,  practical,  manly,  in  contrast  to  the  sickly, 
morbid,  fanciful  instruction  tlie  false  teachers  of  Crete 
were  in  the  habit  of  givinof.  His  words,  too,  must  bo 
well  weighed  and  tliouglitful,  as  well  as  earnest  and 
impassioned ;  they  must  be  such  as  would  expose  liiin 
neither  to  contempt  nor  to  the  charge  of  presumption. 
Between  the  lines  of  the  exhortation  of  the  7th  and  8th 
verses  we  can  read  the  anxiety  of  the  Apostle  that  his 
representative  in  Crete  should  take  all  possible  care 
that  the  matter  of  his  teaching  and  preaching  was 
studied  and  prepared  with  all  the  attention  and  thought  so 
important  a  duty  demanded.  He  should  remember,  too, 
that  the  words  as  well  as  the  ivorks  of  the  Christian 
teacher  will  be  subject  to  a  sharp  and  often  hostile 
ci'iticisra.  These  warnings  and  reminders  of  St.  Paul, 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  belong  to  all  ages  of  the 
faith. 

That  he  that  is  of  the  contrary  part  may  be 
ashamed,  having  no  evil  thing  to  say  of  you.— 
The  older  authorities,  with  one  exception,  read  "  of  us," 
instead  of  "  of  you."  If  Titus  fairly  carries  out  the 
exhortation  of  the  last  two  verses,  then  the  enemy, 
either  the  false  teacher  or  the  Pagan  opponent  of  Chris- 
tianity, confounded  by  the  pure,  self-sacrificing,  earnest 
life,  overcome  by  the  well-weighed,  thoughtful  utter- 
ance of  great  truths,  by  the  impassioned  exhortation  to 
men  and  women  to  lead  noble,  honest  lives,  will  surely 
be  ashamed  of  his  bitter  opposition,  when  he  finds 
neither  in  the  life  nor  in  the  teaching  anytliing  which  he 
can  fairly  criticise  as  "  bad."  As  tlie  better  supported 
reading,  "  of  us,"  associates  St.  Paul  and  others  with 
Titus,  the  evil  thing  which  might  have  been  said  of 
Titus  in  reality  woiild  be  spoken  against  St.  Paul  and 
the  elder  Apostles. 

(9)  Exhort  servants  to  be  obedient  unto  their 
own  masters. — The  accurate  translation  here  is 
bond  servants.  Tlie  words  in  this  and  the  following 
verse,  it  must  be  remembered,  are  addressed  to  "  slaves." 
"With  some  special  reference  to  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  Church  in  Crete,  St.  Paul  had  been 
giving  general  directions  to  his  representative  (verses 
1 — 8)  respecting  instruction  and  ad^nce  he  considered  it 
expedient  should  be  given  to  the  varied  orders  and  ages 
of  professing  Christians  in  the  island.  These  directions 
were  arranged  with  respect  to  "  ago"  and  "  sex."  He 
now  turns  to  the  question  of  the  instruction  of  another 
largo  class,  among  whom  were  to  be  found  many 
Christians — "  the  slaves."  These  he  masses  together 
under  one  head.  Not  improbably  these  "  words"  to  be 
addressed  particularly  to  slaves  were  called  out  by  some 
particular  instances  of  insulwrdination  and  of  im- 
patience under  their  unhappy  condition  among  the 
Cretan  slaves.  Indeed,  tlie  repeated  warnings  to  this 
unfortunate  and  oppressed  class  (see  Eph.  vi.  .5 ;  Col. 
iii.  22;  I  Tim.  vi.  1)  tell  us  that  among  the  difficulties 
which  Christianity  had  to  surmount  in  its  early  years 
was  the  hard  t;isk  of  persua<ling  "  the  slave  "  that  the 
divine  Master  wlio  promised  liini  a  home,  if  ho  wore 
faithful  and  true,  among  the  many  mansions  of  His 
Father,  nioant  not  that  tlie  existing  relations  of  society 
should  be  then  changed,  or  its  complex  framework  dis- 

83  2.57 


turbed.  St.  Paul  knew  it  was  a  hard  matter  to  persuade 
the  bondman,  fellow-heir  of  heaA'en  with  the  freeman, 
to  acquiesce  patiently  in  his  present  condition  of  misery 
and  servitude.  Hence  the.se  repeated  charges  to  tliis 
class.  These  poor  sufferers  were  to  obey  cheerfully, 
readily,  as  the  next  clause  told  them. 

And  to  please  them  well  in  all  things ;  not 
answering  again.— The  last  words  are  better 
translated  not  gainsaying  ;  the  Vulgate  has  contra- 
dicentes.  It  signifies  that  they  should  obey  cheerfully, 
willingly,  without  sullenness  ;  not  thwarting  or  setting 
themselves  against  their  masters'  plans  or  desires  or 
orders ;  and  tlie  Apostle,  in  verse  10,  gives  them  a 
noble  inducement  for  this  brave,  sweet  patience  he 
would  have  so  earnestly  pressed  upon  them.  Such  con- 
duct on  their  part,  he  tells  them,  would  serve  gi-eatly  to 
help  the  Master's  cause ;  it  would  prepossess  many 
hostile  minds  in  favour  of  a  religion  which  could  so 
powerfully  influence  even  the  slave.  Chrysostom  com- 
ments thus:  "Greeks  form  their  estimate  of  doctrmes 
not  from  the  doctrine  itself,  but  from  the  actions  and 
the  life  "  (of  those  who  profess  the  doctrine). 

(W)  Not  purloining,  but  shewing  all  good 
fidelity. — It  must  be  remembered  that  many  of  the 
slaves  in  the  Roman  empire  were  employed  in  other 
duties  besides  those  connected  with  the  house  or  on  the 
farm.  Some  were  entrusted  with  shops,  and  these 
being  left  often  cpiite  to  themselves,  of  course  great 
opportimities  for  dishonesty  and  fraud  were  constantly 
present.  Others  received  an  elaborate  training,  and 
as  artists,  or  even  physicians,  worked  in  part  for  their 
masters.  A  slave  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul  had  a  hundi-ed 
ways  of  showing  to  his  owner  this  true  and  genuine 
fidelity,  opposed  to  mere  assumed  surface  obedience  and 
service. 

That  they  may  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God 
our  Saviour  in  all  things.— A  slave  cheerfully 
accepting  his  hard  yoke,  and  stl•i^^ug  with  hand  and 
brain  to  jjlease  and  advance  the  interest  of  his  earthly 
master  only  for  the  dear  love  of  Christ,  must  have  been 
in  those  days  of  cynical  se//-love  a  silent,  yet  a  most 
powerful  preacher  of  a  gospel  which  could  so  mould 
and  elevate  a  character  so  degraded.  Calvin  remarks 
that  it  is  indeed  noteworthy  how  God  deigns  to  receive 
an  adornment  from  slaves,  whose  condition  was  so  mean 
and  abject  that  scarcely  were  tbey  considei*ed  to  rank 
among  men  at  all ;  "  they  were  ranked  as  '  possessions,' 
just  like  cattle  or  horses."  Professor  lU^nolds  very 
happily  remarks  liere :  "  This  teaching  of  St.  Paul  is 
in  harmony  with  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus — out 
of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou  per- 
fected praise.  God  gets  His  highest  pi-aise  from  the 
lips  of  little  children.  His  robes  of  glory  from  the 
faithfulness,  honour,  and  simplicity  of  born  slaves." 

(11)  For  the  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  sal- 
vation hath  appeared  to  all  men.— More  accu- 
rately translated.  For  the  grace  of  God  hath  appeared, 
bringing  sahmtion  to  all  men.  "For"  gives  the 
ground,  tlie  base  upon  which  the  practical  exJiortations 
to  freemen  as  well  a.s  to  bond-servants,  contanied  in 
verses  1—10,  rest.     These  worda  might  be  paraphrased 


TJie  Teaching  of  the  Grace  of  God. 


TITUS,   IT. 


Our  future  Hope. 


fi->  teaching  us  that,  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  we  should  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 


world ;  (1^)  looking  for  that  blessed  hope, 
and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great 
God    and    our   Saviour    Jesus   Christ; 


thus  :  "  Yes,  exhort  all  classes  and  orders,  every  age  of 
life,  each  sex,  bond  as  well  as  free,  to  stnigglo  after 
pure,  good,  righteous  lives,  for  I  tell  you,  iu  very  truth, 
like  a  sun  on  a  diirkeucd  world  has  the  grace  of  God 
arisen  witii  salvation  in  its  beams."  Compare  tho 
grand  Isaiah  passage,  "  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is 
come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee  " 
(Isa.  Ix.  1)  ;  and  also  the  words  of  Malachi  (iv.  2), 
"  Unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  his  ^vings."  (See, 
too,  Isa.  ix.  2.)  The  thought  of  these  passages  was 
not  improbably  in  St.  Paul's  ^dew  while  he  wrote  the 
words  to  Titus  telling  him  to  exhort  his  flock,  for 
God's  grace  had  appeared  to  all  men.  The  Greek 
word  translated  "'appeared"  occurs  in  Luke  i.  79  and 
Acts  xxvii.  20 — both  writings  closely  connected  with 
St.  Paul,  if  not  in  great  part  ^vritten  by  him — and 
in  each  of  tlieso  passages  it  is  used  to  express  the 
shining  of  the  sun.  The  "grace  of  God"  here  spoken 
of  is  tliat  divine  favour  to  and  love  for  men  upon  which 
the  whole  work  of  redemption  was  based,  the  object  of 
which  redemption  was  the  ultimate  restoration  of  man. 
The  epiphany,  or  manifestation  of  this  grace  to  the 
world,  commenced  with  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord ; 
but  tho  reference  here  must  not  be  limited  to  that  or  to 
any  one  event  in  tho  blessed  Life.  The  expression 
"bringing  salvation  to  all  men"  is  another  of  those 
hard  sayings  which  have  been  pressed  into  the  service 
of  that  kindly  but  erring  school  of  expositors  which 
shuts  its  eyes  to  the  contemplation  of  the  many  un- 
mistakable .sayings  which  warn  the  impenitent  and 
hardened  sinner  of  the  sad  doom  of  eternal  death. 
The  "grace"  alone  brings  salvation  to  all  men — in 
other  words,  it  is  that  grace  of  God  whereby  alone  it  is 
possible  for  mankiiul  to  be  saved.  The  expression  by 
no  means  asserts  that  all  men  ivill  be  saved  by  it,  but 
that  it  is  the  onlij  means  by  which  .salv^ation  is  possible. 

(12)  Teaching  us. — IjMm'aWy,  disciplining  ils  ;  edu- 
cating us  by  life's  sad  experiences.  God's  grace  is  in 
truth  a  stern  discipline  of  self-denial  and  training  for 
higher  things. 

Denying  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts.— 
More  accurately,  to  the  intent  that,  having  denied, 
&c.  The  object  of  the  loWng  discipline  of  our 
Father  in  heaven  is  that  we,  having  done  with  those 
things  iu  life  which  are  offensive  or  dishonourable  to 
God,  having  put  aside  as  worthless  all  inordinate 
desires  for  tho  things  of  this  world — all  those  things 
which  exclusively  belong  to  this  life  and  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  life  to  come — having  denied  all  this,  that 
we  should  live  as  righteous  men  the  remainder  of  our 
lives  here. 

We  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly. — In  these  three  terms  the  blessed  life  our  Lord 
would  have  His  own  to  lead  on  earth  is  summed  U]) — 
to  ourselves,  to  our  neighbour,  and  to  our  God.  The 
first,  "  soberly,"  to  ourselves — wi-sely  and  temperately, 
keeping  over  a  mastery  over  our  passions  ;  the  second, 
"  righteously " — justly  and  honourably,  having  due 
regard  to  our  duty  towards  our  neighbour ;  the  third, 
"godly" — piously,  ever  remembering  to  live  as  in  tho 
pi-esence  of  the  Eternal. 

In  this  present  world.— Or,  in  the  present  course 
of  things.  The  Apostle  adds  these  words  to  his  sum- 
mary of  the  life  Christians  should  lead,  to  remind  them 


that  the  present  world  was  but  a  transitory,  passing 
scene  after  all,  and  that  there  was  another  and  a 
different  "  course  of  things "  at  hand ;  and  this  leads 
him  on  to  another  point.  The  manifestation  of  the 
"  gi'aco  of  God,"  in  the  first  coming  of  the  Lord  in  humi- 
liation (verse  11),  teaches  us  to  live  our  lives  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  second  manifestation  of  His  glory  in 
His  second  coming  hi  power  (verse  13).  We  must — iu 
this  great  passage  contained  in  verses  11  to  14 — bear  in 
mind  that  there  is  a  two-fold  ej)iphany  spoken  of  :  the 
one,  the  manifestation  of  the  "  grace  of  God  " — that  is 
past  (it  was  the  first  coming  and  the  earthly  life  of 
Christ) ;  the  other,  the  manifestation  of  the  "  glory  of 
God  " — that  is  to  come.  It  will  be  shown  in  the  second 
advent  when  the  Lord  comes  in  glory  with  His  holy 
angels  ;  and  the  first  epiphany  (manifestation)  in 
humiliation  is  an  ever-present  reminder  to  us  to  live  in 
continued  expectation  of  the  second  in  glory. 

(13)  Looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing. — The  Greek  should  here  be 
rendered,  looking  for  the  blessed  hope  and  manifesta- 
tion of  the  glory.  And  that  holy  life,  just  urged  on  tho 
believer,  of  quiet  self-restraint,  of  love  to  others,  of 
piety  towards  God,  must  be  lit  up  by  a  blessed  hope, 
by  a  hope  which  is  far  more  than  a  hope ;  that  holy  life 
of  the  faithful  must  be  a  continued  waiting  for  a 
blessed  hope — "  the  hope  laid  up  for  us  in  heaven  " 
(Col.  i.  5).  It  may  be  asked,  Wliat  is  this  hope  ?  We 
answer,  it  is  "  the  hope  of  glory  "  which  we  shall  share 
with  the  Son  of  God,  when  we  behold  Him  as  He  is. 
So  for  us  the  hope  of  glory  is  intimately  bound  up 
with  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord.  Then  the  life  of 
the  lover  of  the  Lord  must  be  one  continued  looking 
for,  waiting  for,  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in  glory — must 
be  a  looking  for  that  hour  when  we  shall  see  in  all  His 
divine  majesty,  Him  who  redeemed  us.  In  that  life 
and  light,  in  that  majesty  and  glory,  His  own  will 
share. 

Of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. — The  translation  here  should  run,  of  our  great 
God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  From  the  English 
version,  it  would  seem  that  Paul's  idea  was  that  tho 
Christian  should  live  waiting  for  the  glorious  appearing 
of  the  great  God,  accompanied  with  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  rendering  we  have  adopted,  on  what 
seems  conclusive  grounds,  speaks  of  a  Christian  life,  as 
a  life  ever  looking  for  the  glorious  appearing  of  our 
great  God  and  SaWour  Jesus  Clirist. 

In  this  sublime  passage  tho  glory  of  the  only 
begotten  Son  alone  finds  mention.  Taken  thus,  it  is  a 
studied  declaration  of  the  divinity  of  the  Eternal  Son, 
who  is  hero  styled  "  our  great  God  and  Saviour." 
Reasoning  merely  on  grammatical  principles,  either 
translation  would  be  possible,  only  even  then  there  is 
a  presumption  in  favour  of  the  translation  we  have 
adopted.  (See  Ellicott's  Note  on  this  verse.)  But  other 
considerations  are  by  no  means  so  nearly  equally 
balanced.  The  word  "  manifestation "  {epiphany), 
the  central  thought  of  the  sentence,  is  employed  by 
St.  Paul  in  his  Epistles  five  times,  and  in  every  one 
of  them  to  describe  the  manifestation  of  Christ,  and 
in  four  of  them  to  designate  the  future  manifestation 
of  His  coming  in  glory,  as  here.  Tho  term  epiphany 
is  never  applied  to  the  Father. 

Again,    the   whole   of  the   context   of     the  passage 


258 


Titus  himself  is  earnestly 


TITUS,   III. 


Exhorted  hy  St.  Paid. 


(^^)  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  jjeople, 
zealous  of  good  works.    <^^'  These  things 


speak,  and  exhort,  and  rebuke  with  all 
authority.     Let  no  man  despise  thee. 

CHAPTEE  III.— (1)  Put  them  in  mind 


specially  relates  to  the  "  Son  of  God."  The  iutroduc- 
tion  of  the  epiphauy  "  of  the  Father "  would  be  a 
tliought  uot  merely  strange  to  the  whole  New  Testa- 
ment, but  would  bring  quite  a  new  idea  into  this 
statement,  which  sets  forth  so  sublimely  the  epiphany 
of  Christ  as  the  ground  of  the  Christian's  hope — an 
idea,  too,  no  sooner  suggested  than  dropped,  for  the 
passage  goes  on  to  speak  only  of  tlie  Son.  Perhaps, 
however,  the  weightiest  argument  that  can  be  adduced 
is  the  consensus  of  the  Greek  orthodox  fathers,  who, 
with  scarcely  an  exception,  concur  in  the  interpretation 
which  understands  the  expression  "  of  our  great  God  " 
as  used  of  Jesus  Christ.  To  select  two  examples  out 
of  the  long  chain  of  fathers  reaching  from  the 
apostolic  age  who  have  thus  imderstood  this  text : 
'■  St.  Paul  here  calls  Christ  the  great  God,  and  thus 
rebukes  the  heretical  blasphemy  which  denies  His 
Godhead"  (Theodoret).  *' Wliat  can  those  persons 
say,"  asks  Chrysostom,  referring  to  this  passage,  "  who 
allege  that  the  Sou  is  inferior  to  the  Father?"  (See 
Wordsworth's  Note  here.) 

(1^)  Who  gave  himself  for  us.— (See  Gal.  i.  4; 
E^jh.  V.  25.)  These  words  take  up  the  thought  ex- 
pressed in  the  term  "  Saviour "  of  the  last  verse. 
"  Himself,"  His  whole  self,  as  has  been  well  said, 
"  the  greatest  gift  ever  given ; "  "  for  us,"  that  is,  on 
our  behalf. 

That  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity. — 
That  He  for  us  might  pay  a  ransom,  the  ransom  being 
His  precious  blood.  Our  Saviom*,  by  the  payment  of 
this  tremendous  ransom — O  deepest  and  most  un- 
fathomable of  all  mysteries! — released  us  from  every- 
thing which  is  opposed  to  God's  blessed  will.  Here  the 
mighty  ransom  is  spoken  of  as  freeing  us  from  the 
bondage  of  lawlessness ;  elsewhere  in  the  divine  books 
the  same  ransom  is  described  as  delivering  us  from  the 
penalties  of  this  same  breaking  the  divine  law — "  alles 
was  der  ordnung  Gottes  widerstreitet "  (Hofmann, 
Commentary  on  Titufi). 

And  piirify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people.— 
Tlie  expression  "a  peculiar  people"  is  taken  from  the 
LXX.  translation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  where 
the  words  occur  several  times  (see  Ex.  xix.  5  ;  Dent, 
xiv.  2);  the  idea  is  also  purely  an  Old  Testament  one. 
Just  as  Jehovah  wished  to  establish  a  people  which 
should  belong  to  Him  ("  peculiarly  His,"  "  His  very 
own  "),  submitting  to  His  laws,  in  contrast  to  the  rest 
of  mankind,  lawless,  idolatrous — so  Jesus  would  set 
apart  and  purify  for  Himself  a  people,  which  for  His 
sake  should  devote  itself  to  God,  in  contrast  to  the 
rest  of  humanity  sunk  in  selfish  sins.  As  Israel  of  old 
lived  under  the  constant  impression  that  they  would 
again  beliold  tlie  visible  glory  of  tlie  Eternal,  so  His 
people  now  should  live  as  men  waiting  for  a  second 
manifestation  of  If/.s  glory. 

Zealous  of  good  works. — The  man  who  hopes  to 
see  the  opipliany  of  Jesus  his  Lord  and  Love  in  glory 
will  struggle  zealously  with  hand  and  brain  to  live  liis 
life  in  such  a  manner  tliat  he  may  meet  liis  Lord,  when 
He  comes  in  glory,  with  joy.  It  was  a  people  com- 
posed of  such  "  zealots  "  of  goodness,  of  men  longing 
lor  His  sake  to  do  their  utmost  for  His  cause,  that  our 
great  God  and  Saviour  wished  to  purify  unto  Himself. 


(15)  These  things  speak,  and  exhort,  and  re- 
buke with  all  authority. — These  words  are  tho 
conclusion  of  this  part  of  the  Letter  of  St.  Paul  to 
Titus.  A  new  division  of  the  Epistle  begins  immediately 
after  this  verse  with  the  third  chapter.  He  is  to  speak 
the  words — many  of  them  sharp  and  bitter — told  him 
by  St.  Paul ;  he  is  to  rememl)er  now  to  exhort,  now  to 
rebuke,  and  all  this  "  with  authority,"  as  chief  pastor  of 
the  flock  of  Crete  formallj^  commissioned  and  appointed. 

Let  no  man  despise  thee.—'"  Speak,"  wrote  the 
brave-hearted  old  man  Paul,  "  speak  with  decision,  and 
rebuke  and  punish  if  need  be  with  vigour,  remembering 
the  dark  character  of  the  people  with  whom  you  have 
to  do."  And  perhaps  in  the  background  of  tliis  stirring 
admonition  of  the  aged  master  to  his  disciple,  placed 
in  so  difficult  and  responsible  a  position,  there  is  the 
anxious  warning  again  :  Yes,  but  show  all  diligence  too 
in  your  own  Avords  and  doings,  so  tliat  every  word 
of  thine  may  have  its  full  weight,  that  none  may 
despise  thee  on  account  of  thine  own  life. 

III. 

(1)  Put  them  in  mind  to  be  subject  to 
principalities  and  powers. — Yeiy  careful  and 
searching  have  been  the  Apostle's  charges  to  Titus 
respecting  the  teachers  of  the  Church,  tlieir  doctrine 
and  their  life  ;  very  particular  have  been  his  directions, 
his  warnings,  and  exhortations  to  men  and  women  of 
different  ages  on  the  subject  of  their  home  life.  But, 
with  the  exception  of  a  slight  digi-ession  in  the  case  of 
a  slave  to  a  Pagan  master,  his  words  had  been  written 
with  a  reference  generally  to  Christian  life  among 
Christians.  But  there  was  then  a  great  life  outside 
the  little  Christian  world  ;  how  were  the  people  of 
Christ  to  regulate  their  beha^-iour  in  their  dealings 
with  the  vast  Pagan  world  outside  ?  St.  Paid  goes  to 
the  root  of  the  matter  at  once  when  he  says,  "  Put 
them  in  mind,"  <kc.  Very  needful  in  Crete  was  such  a 
reminder  respecting  obedience.  The  island  had.  when 
St.  Paul  wrote  to  Titus,  been  some  century  and  a 
quarter  under  Roman  rule.  Tlieir  previous  govern- 
ment had  been  democratic;  and  historians,  like  Polybius, 
who  have  written  of  Crete,  have  dwelt  particularly  on 
the  turbulent  and  factious  spirit  which  animated  their 
people ;  added  to  which,  the  many  Jews  who  we  know 
formed  a  very  large  part  of  the  Christian  Church  there, 
always  impatient  of  a  foreign  yoke,  would  in  such 
an  atmosphere  of  excitement  be  especially  eager  to 
assert  their  right  to  be  free  from  the  hated  rule  of 
Rome, 

The  Greek  words  translated  "principalities  and 
powers"  are  better  rendered  here  by  "  rulers  and  autho- 
rities," as  the  word  "  principalities  "  is  used  occasionally 
in  the  English  version  for  an  '"  order  of  angels."  The 
terms  include  all  constituted  governors  and  oflBcials, 
Roman  and  otlierwiso,  in  the  island. 

To  obey  magistrates. — Taken  absolutely,  to  obey 
the  temporal  power.  Our  Lord's  words  were  the  model 
for  all  teaching  in  this  division  of  Christian  ethics. 
One  great  teacher  after  the  other,  in  the  same  spirit, 
in  varied  language,  urges  ujjon  the  people  of  Chnst 
a  reverence  and  submission  to  all  legally  constituted 
authority  in  the  state.     This  devoted  Christian  loyalty, 


2.59 


The  Attitude  of  Christians  to 


TITUS,   III. 


their  Pagan  Fellow-citizens. 


to    be    subject    to    principalities     and 

...   ,    ^    powers,  to  obey  maffistrates, 
Chap.  111.  1—7.    i     r  1     /        ^  J 

Tiie  attitude  of  to  be  ready  to  every  good 
Christians   to-  vTork,    <2)  to  speak  evil  of 

wards  Payans.     ^^  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^  brawlers, 

hut  gentle,  shewing  all  meekness  unto 


1  Or,  pity. 


all  men.  ^^^  For  we  ourselves  also  were 
sometimes  foolish,  disobedient,  deceived, 
serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures,  living 
in  malice  and  envy,  hateful,  and  hating 
one  another.  ^*>  But  after  that  the 
kindness  and  love '  of  God  our  Saviour 


uo  bitter  opposition  in  after  years  to  their  tenets 
could  cliill,  no  cruel  persecution  of  individuals  lessen. 
Augustine,  writes  Professor  Reynolds,  could  boast 
tliat  wlien  Julian  asked  Christians  to  sacritice  and 
offer  incense  to  the  gods  they,  at  all  hazards,  sternly 
refused  ;  but  wiien  he  summoned  them  to  tight  for  the 
empire  tliey  rushed  to  the  front.  "They  distinguished 
between  their  Eternal  Lord  and  their  earthly  ruler,  and 
yet  they  yielded  obedience  to  their  earthly  ruler  for  the 
sake  of  their  Eternal  Lord."  Least  of  any  should  we 
expect  St.  Paul  to  write  such  words,  so  loyal  and  faith- 
ful to  Rome.  He  had  found,  indeed,  Uttle  cause  in  his 
chequered,  troubled  life  to  be  grateful  personally  to  the 
Empire  ;  with  ears  too  ready  had  Rome  ever  listened  to 
the  cruel  "  informations  "  laid  against  him  by  his  im- 
placable Jewish  enemies ;  she  had  imprisoned  him, 
fettered  him,  hindered  his  work,  and  threatened  his  life; 
and  when  he  was  writing  these  deathless  words  of  his, 
urging  upun  his  devoted  flock  a  loyalty  changeless  and 
true,  for  him  the  supreme  vengeance  of  Rome  was  close 
at  hand. 

To  be  ready  to  every  good  work.  — Ready 
cheerfully  to  aid  all  lawful  authority,  municipal  and 
otherwise,  in  their  public  works  undertaken  for  city  or 
state.  The  flock  of  Titus  must  remember  that  the 
true  Christian  ought  to  be  known  as  a  good  citizen  and 
a  devoted  patriot. 

(2)  To  speak  evil  of  no  man.— Tliese  com- 
mands of  St.  Paul  to  the  Church  of  Crete  breathe 
throughout  the  spirit  of  Christ,  who  "  when  He  was 
reviled,  reviled  not  again ; "  who  said  "'  Love  your 
encmifs,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for 
them  which  despitefuUy  use  you  and  persecute  you." 
The  Christian  in  the  days  of  St.  Paul,  and  for  "  many 
days"  after  St.  Paul  had  borne  that  gallant  witness  of 
his  outside  the  gates  of  Rome,  would  indeed  often  bo 
called  in  sad  earnestness  to  jjut  in  practice  these  charges 
of  the  Apostle.  In  days  of  persecution,  in  times  of 
suspicion,  when  the  Christian  profession  exposed  men 
to  hatred  and  to  sore  danger,  when  all  men  spoke  e^-il 
of  them,  these  words  of  St.  Paul  were  remembered  and 
acted  upon,  and  not  only  in  Crete. 

To  be  no  brawlers,  but  gentle,  shewing  all 
meekness  unto  all  men.— Or  better,  not  con- 
tentious, bitt,Sic.  These  characteristics  were  not  common 
virtues  in  Crete,  then  the  resort  and  mart  of  .so  many 
different  nationalities.  Its  singular  situation  in  the 
Mediterranean,  midway  between  Europe,  Africa,  and 
Asia,  has  been  noticed,  as  have  been  the  disiKJsitions 
and  vices  of  the  inhabitants.  Surely,  St.  Paul  urges, 
the  professed  followers  of  the  Crucified  among  the 
Cretans  should  aim  at  a  nobler  standard  of  life  than 
was  common  among  these  rough  and  often  selfish 
traders.  These  things  charged  here  by  St.  Paul  were 
new  virtues  to  men.  They  are  held  up  to  admiration 
by  uo  heathen  moralists.  The  meekness  signifies 
kindly  forbearance.  This  Christian  feeling,  which 
looks  lovingly  on  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men, 
on  the  stranger  and  the  outcast,  oven  on  the  vilest 
sinner,  is  especially  enjoined  here.  It  is  the  same 
sweet  spirit  of   love  which  desires,  in   I  Tim.    ii.  1, 


that   prayer  and  supplication  be  made  in  the  public 
Christian  assembly /or  all  men. 

(3)  For  we  ourselves  also  were  sometimes 
foolish,  disobedient,  deceived.— Better  rendered. 
For  loe  were  once  ourselves  foolish,  disobedient,  going 
astray.  Surely,  the  Apostle  argues.  Christians  can  never 
refuse  obedience  to  one  in  authority,  or  decline  to  be 
meek,  court eous,kind,  and  forbearing  to  their  neighbours, 
because,  forsooth,  they  deem  the  magistrate  in  authority 
or  their  neighbotirs  idolators,  and  therefore  outside  tho 
pale  of  God's  mercy  and  tlieir  courtesy ;  for  remember, 
writes  St.  Paul,  we  were  once  (not  so  long  ago)  our- 
selves in  their  condition.  We  once  needed  mercy  our- 
selves. This  strong  appeal  to  Christians,  by  tho 
memory  of  their  past,  by  the  memory  of  what  they 
once  were,  must  liave  gone  home  to  one  like  Titus, 
liimself  of  a  Gentile  family,  aud  most  probably  nurtured 
in  idolatry.  It  would,  no  dotibt,  be  rejieated  with 
strange,  touching  earnestness,  would  this  argument  of 
St.  Paul  by  Titus  wheu  he  spoke  to  the  assembly  of  the 
Cretan  Christians.  We  were  once  ourselves  "foolish," 
that  is,  without  understandiug  what  was  true ;  and 
"disobedient,"  that  is,  unwilling,  indisposed,  to  do 
what  was  right ;  "  deceived,"  or  rather  going  astray 
(errantes),  wandering  away  from  the  narrow  road 
which  leads  to  life. 

Serving  divers  lusts  and  pleasures.— This 
is  the  service  we  served  in  the  old  past  days  of  our 
sin  and  shame,  while  we  were  "disobedient"  to  what 
was  right  and  pure.  We  were  obedient  to,  we  were 
"  serving "  as  slaves,  many  an  impure  lust,  mauy 
a  wrougful  pleasure — for  the  lusts  and  pleasures  to 
which  St.  Paul  referred  were  those  of  the  people  with 
whom  for  the  moment  the  Apostle  was  classing  himself. 
The  pleasures  of  these  partly  Greek,  partly  Asiatic 
peoples  consisted,  indeed,  in  the  wanton  siitisf action  of 
the  lusts  of  the  flesh ;  their  shameless  revellings  were 
scarcely  covered  with  their  thin  and  flimsy  veil  of 
beauty  and  false  refinement. 

Living  in  malice  and  envy,  hateful,  and 
hating  one  another.— These  pleasure-loA-ing,  lust- 
indulging  ones  envied  each  one  his  neighbour  the  good 
things  he  pos.sessed ;  and  thus  we — for  ive,  remember, 
were  once  of  this  number — once  spent  our  lives  in  this 
atmosphere  of  liate,  hating  others  with  a  jealous  dislike, 
hated  ourselves  for  the  same  reasons.  Shall  we  then — 
once  like  them — now  refuse  all  sympathy  to  these  poor 
souls  still  left  in  ignorance  and  sin  ? 

(4)  But  after  that  the  kindness  and  love  of 
God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared.— 
Another  thougiit  now  wells  up  in  the  Apostle's  mind. 
We  of  ourselves  should  never  ha\'B  become  changed 
men,  had  not  the  kindness  of  God  and  His  divine  love 
for  men  shown  itself.  We,  indeed,  have  no  ground  for 
self-exaltation,  no  excuse  for  haughty  treatment  of 
others,  either  in  tliought  or  action;  for  if  we  now  live 
other  aud  purer  lives  than  they  live,  our  change  to 
better  and  higher  things  was  owing  to  no  desert  or 
merit  of  ours,  but  solely  to  the  mercy  and  the  love  of 
God.  The  changed  life  is  here  solely  attributed  to  the 
manifestation  to  man  of  the  kindness  aud  love  of  God 


260 


Ueason  given 


TITUS,   III. 


firr  tills  Attitude. 


toward  man  appeared,  (^)  not  by  works 
of  righteousness  which  we  have  done, 
but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us, 


]  Gr.  richly. 


by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  *'^>  which 
he    shed    on   us   abundantly  ^    through 


our  Savionr.  Here  Grod  our  Saviour,  as  in  1  Tim.  i.  1, 
and  in  several  other  passages  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
must  be  understood  as  "'  God  the  Father  ;  "  the  "  kind- 
ness "  differs  from  the  ''  love  towards  man."  The 
fir.st  signifies  generally  that  divine,  measureless,  all- 
comprehensive  love  which  we  know  is  the  glorious 
attribute  of  God.  The  second  expression  tells  of  the 
special  love  which  the  Almighty  has  for  man,  and 
which  has  been  so  marvellously  shown  in  the  sacrifice 
and  death  of  the  Son  of  God  for  us.  The  two 
words — the  measureless,  divine  love  which  embraces 
all  creation,  and  the  special  love  of  God  for  man — 
taken  together,  make  up  the  one  idea  expressed  by  the 
•'  grace  that  bringeth  salvation,"  of  chap.  ii.  11  of  this 
Epistle.  In  the  rare  word  philanthropia,  the  "love  of 
God  toward  man,"  a  quiet  but  very  solemn  reminder 
is  given  to  those  "  Christians "  who  woidd  have  no 
dealings  with  their  less  pure  heathen  neighbours.  The 
word  applied  here  to  God  tells  them  to  love  men,  even 
the  enemies  of  their  holy  religion  ;  they  are  to  obey 
the  heathen  magistrate,  and  to  think  kindly  of  and 
to  act  courteously  towards  their  heathen  neighbour, 
because  God  has  loved  men — all  men.  Here  are  they 
to  be  imitators  of  the  divine  pity,  copyists  of  the 
divine  love. 

(5^  Not  by  works  of  righteousness.— This  by 
no  means  asserts  that  such  works  ever  had  been  done, 
and  then  produced,  as  it  were,  before  the  bar  of  God, 
and  weighed  and  found  insufficient ;  but  it  simply 
maintains  that  to  win  salvation  such  must  be  done. 
Sad  experience,  more  forcibly  than  any  theological 
assertion,  has  demonstrated  to  us  all  the  utter  impos- 
sibility of  any  of  us,  even  the  holiest,  ever,  even  for 
one  day,  doing  the  works  of  a  purely  righteous  man. 

But  according  to  his  mercy. — As  there  was 
nothing  in  us  which  called  for  such  a  salvation,  as 
there  were  no  acts  of  ours  which  deserved  reward, 
His  gift  of  salvation,  which  includes  (verse  7)  eternal 
life,  was  owing  entirely  to  His  divine  love  which  saw 
and  pitied  our  misery,  our  endless  suffering.  Out  of 
this  hopeless  state  the  eternal  pity  lifted  us,  and  put 
us  into  a  state  of  salvation.  The  next  clause  specifies 
the  outward  and  visible  sign  of  the  salvation  our  loving 
God  was  pleased  to  ordain  in  His  Church,  namely, 
"  baptism  ;  "  but  here  great  care  must  be  taken  properly 
to  understand  what  St.  Paul  meant  by  this  baptism,  to 
which  he  attributed  so  g^cat  power.  In  St.  Paul's 
mind  it  was  no  mere  observance,  but  was  a  sacrament, 
in  which  all  that  was  inward  properly  and  completely 
accompanied  all  that  was  outward.  In  another  place 
the'Apostle  has  grandly  paraphrased  his  words  here.  In 
the  Galatian  Letter  (chap.  iii.  27)  he  writes  how  "that 
as  many  as  were  baptised  into  Christ  have  put  on 
Christ,"  that  is,  have  entered  into  -vital  union  with 
Him — a  blessed  state,  which  most  surely  leads  to  life 
eternal,  if  the  baptised  only  remain  faithful. 

By  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Ghost.— Seeing,  then,  that 
God  has  saved  us  by  His  o\vn  act,  independentlv  of 
any  work  of  ours,  we  ask.  How  has  He  effected  this  ? 
The  words  we  are  here  considering  give  the  answer  to 
the  question.  The  Greek  should  be  rendered,  "  by  the 
laver  of  regeneration,"  &c.  Then,  by  means  of  the 
laver  of  regeneration,  <tc.,  has  God  put  ua  into  a  state 


of  salvation.  In  other  words,  He  has  effected  this  by 
means  of  "baptism"  (for  the  laver  here  can  only 
signify  the  baptismal  font,  and  is  called  the  laver  of 
regeneration  because  it  is  the  vessel  consecrated  to  the 
use  of  that  sacrament),  whereby,  in  its  completeness 
as  a  sacrament,  the  new  life  in  Christ  is  conveyed. 
Baptism,  then,  is  the  means  through  which  we  receive 
the  saving  grace  of  Christ ;  in  its  laver  we  are  bom 
again  to  a  new  life,  in  it  we  receive  strength  through 
tlte  Holy  Ghost  constantly  to  renew  and  to  develop  this 
new  life,  for  it  is  not  onhj  the  laver  of  regeneration  but 
also  of  renovation  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  baptism  is 
here  understood  in  all  its  completion — the  outward  -visible 
sign  accompanied  with  the  inward  spiritual  grace.  In 
the  case  of  one  who  is  come  to  years  of  understanding 
seeking  baptism,  repentance  and  faith  in  the  promises 
of  God  are  absolutely  required.  In  the  case  of  infants, 
who  have  also  from  the  very  earliest  times  been,  through 
this  same  laver,  enrolled  in  the  communion  of  Christians, 
the  same  profession  is  required,  only  they  make  it  by 
their  sureties,  and  directly  that  they  have  come  to  years 
of  discretion  they  solemnly  and  publicly  assent  to  what 
had  been  already  affirmed  in  their  name.  Thus,  b}-  means 
of  the  laver  of  regeneration,  Sic,  or,  in  other  words, 
by  baptism  in  all  its  covipletion — the  outward  act  being 
accompanied  with  the  inward  faith — He  saved  us,  that 
is,  put  us  into  a  state  of  salvation.  Of  the  difference 
between  "  regeneration "  and  '"  renovation,"  the  first, 
"  regeneration,"  is  well  explained  in  the  words  of  the 
collect  for  Christmas  Day,  which  speaks  of  the  "  re- 
generated "  as  "  made  God's  children  by  adoption  and 
grace."  Tlie  second,  "  renovation,"  the  same  collect 
goes  on  to  speak  of,  when  it  prays  that  "  the  regene- 
rated" "may  daily  be  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit." 
The  first,  "  regeneration,"  is  spoken  of  by  St.  John  in 
his  words,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again  "  (John  iii.  7);  the 
second  is  alluded  to  by  St.  Paul  when  he  wrote,  "  the 
inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day"  (2  Cor.  iv.  16). 

(6)  Which  he  shed  on  us  abundantly  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviovir.— In  other  words, 
U'hich — namely,  the  Holy  Ghost— //ie  Father  poured 
abundantly  on  us  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour. 
The  argument  continues  thus  :  He  (God)  saved  us  first 
by  the  laver  of  regeneration  and  of  renewal  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  God — he  proceeds  to  say — shed  (or 
poured  out}  abundantly  on  us,  and  this  constant  re- 
newal of  the  Holy  Ghost  poured  out  on  the  heart  of 
each  individual  believer  was  owing  to  the  mediation  of 
Jesus  Christ,  without  whose  blessed  atonement  this 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  never  liad  taken  place.  In 
this  verse  the  several  operations  of  each  of  the  Persons 
of  the  blessed  Trinity  are  clearly  set  forth. 

It  is  the  Father  who  is  ever  pouring  out  upon  us  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  is  owing  to  the  Son's  atonement  and 
intercession  that  this  blessed  outpouring  takes  place  at 
all.  It  is  the  Holy  Ghost  poured  out  on  us  abundantly 
who  builds  us  up  in  the  new  life,  and  trains  us  for  the 
glories  of  eternity.  Here  the  "  Son  "  is  ffiven  tlie  same 
title  of  "  Sa^^our,"  which,  in  the  preceding  verse  (5), 
was  applied  to  the  "  Father."  The  appellation  Ix'longs 
to  both  the  First  and  Second  Persons  of  tlie  blessed 
Trinity,  inasmuch  as  the  Father  may  be  said  to  have 
been  the  architect  of  our  salvation,  while  the  Son  was 
its  builder. 


261 


They  must  live  Good  Lices 


TITTJS,   III. 


and  avoid  Vain  Questions'. 


Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour;  (7>  that  being 
justified  by  his  grace,  we  should  be 
made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of 
Chap.  iii.  8-11.  eternal  life.  (^^  This  is  a 
Goo.1  works  en-  faithful  sajmg,  and  these 
joined.  things    I   will    that    thou 


affirm  constantly,  that  they  which  have 
believed  m  God  might  be  careful  to  main- 
tain good  works.  These  things  are  good 
and  profitable  unto  men.  ('-''  But  avoid 
foolish  questions,  and  genealogies,  and 
contentions,    and    strivings   about    the 


(7)  That  being  justified  by  his  grace,  we 
should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of 
eternal  life. — Ploro  appoai-s  tlio  glorious  design  of 
Gotls  salvation.  We  were  in  a  hopeless  and  lost  state, 
from  which  God's  love  for  man  saved  us  by  the  laver 
of  regeneration  and  renovation ;  and  this  was  the  end 
for  which  He  saved  us — that  toe  should  he  heirs  of 
eternal  life.  "  Being  justified,"  tliat  is,  freed  from  the 
future  punishment  and  consequences  of  sin,  and  re- 
ceived into  the  favour  and  friendship  of  God,  which 
favour  and  friendship  had  been,  through  sin,  forfeited. 
"  By  His  grace,"  by  the  favour  and  kindness  of  God  the 
Father  are  we  restored  to  His  love  and  friendship. 
"Heirs,"  see  Rom.  viii.  17,  where  this  thought  of  our 
heirship  of  heaven  is  enlarged.  "  According  to  the  hope 
of  eternal  life;"  this  life  eternal  is  still  for  us  in  the 
future,  though  ever  present  in  respect  of  hope  ;  children 
of  God  we  indeed  are,  and  sharers  in  many  a  good 
gift  of  our  Father,  but  eternal  life,  that  gloi-ious  in- 
neritance,  is  still  in  the  far  future,  and  as  yet  can  only 
be  enjoyed  by  us  in  hope,  but  it  is  a  sure  hope — 
eternal  life — the  hope  of  which  is  the  mainspring  of 
all  Christian  work  and  acti\^ty — though  it  includes  it, 
of  course,  is  something  far  more  than  mei'ely  endless 
existence.  A  veil,  impenetrable  to  mortal  eye,  hangs 
between  us  and  the  many  man.sions  of  the  Father's 
house.  "  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be ;"  we 
only  know  that  then,  we,  in  company  with  an  innumer- 
able host  of  blessed  beings,  shall  share  in  the  beatific 
vision  ;  we  only  know  that  then  "  wo  shall  ever  be  witli 
the  Lord  ;"  and  that  with  tliis  thouglit  and  with  these 
words  are  wo  to  comfort  one  another.  (See  1  Thess. 
iv.  17,  18.) 

(8)  This  is  a  faithful  saying.— Then  St.  Paul, 
having,  in  those  few  but  sublime  Avords  we  have  been 
considering,  jiainted  our  present  happy  state — happy 
even  on  earth,  whore  the  glorious  promised  iuhoritauco 
was  still  only  a  hope— and  having  shown  how  that  this 
blessedness  was  the  result  of  no  efforts  of  our  own,  but 
that  we  owe  it  solely  to  the  tender  love  and  to  the 
divine  pity  of  God  for  man— cries  out,  Yes,  "  faithful 
is  this  saying !" 

And  these  things  I  will  that  thou  affirm  con- 
stantly.—I  will  that  ever  and  again,  in  the  con- 
gregation, these  words  of  mine,  woven  into  the  tapestry 
of  creed,  or  hymn  of  thanksgiA-ing  or  supplication,  be 
repeated  l)y  the  faithful  believers  in  the  Lord,  to  re- 
mmd  them,  not  only  of  the  glorious  hope  of  eternal  life, 
but  also  to  bring  Him  to  tlieir  remembrance  to  whom 
they  owe  this  glorious  heritage  ;  and  as  they  repeat  or 
hear  the  words  telling  them  of  the  wondrous  mercy 
showed  to  tliem  f  )r  no  merit  or  desert  of  their  own 
they  will  the  more  willingly  think  kindly  of,  and  act 
loyally  with,  other  men  still  living  in  that  deep  and 
loathsome  darkness  where  they  once  dwelt,  until  God. 
in  His  pity,  delivered  them.  Hearing  tliis  "  faithful 
saying,"  thought  tlie  old  man  St.  Paul,  my  children  in 
Christ  will  surely  be  disposed  to  be  more  loyal  subjects, 
more  faithful  citizens,  more  loving  neighbours,  though 
their  civil  magistrates,  their  fellow-citizens,  their  neigh- 
bours, be   still   idolaters,   living  without  God  in  the 


262 


world.  And  there  was  yet  another  reason  for  the 
constant  repetition  of  this  "  faithful  saying  : "  men 
would  see  that  they  owed  all  their  glorious  Christian 
privileges,  their  present  peace,  their  future  hope,  to 
God's  free  grace — that  tliey  had  done  nothing  to  deserve 
all  this.  Surely  such  a  thought  would  spur  them  on 
to  noble  deeds,  if  it  were  only  to  show  they  were  not 
wholly  ungrateful.  So  he  writes,  Yes,  affirm  con- 
stantly this  faithful  saying. 

That  they  which  have  believed  in  God  might 
be  careful  to  maintain  good  works. — But  not 
only  would  St.  Paul  have  them  show  their  gratitude  for 
the  great  mercy  they  had  received,  but  he  is  specially 
anxious  that  they  who  by  God's  grace  had  been  led 
into  the  Christian  company  should  now  not  only 
quietly  and  unobtrusively  take  their  ])art  in  good 
works,  but  should  ever  be  careful  to  be  forward  in  all 
such  things ;  he  would  have  Christians  conspicuous  in 
their  generous  zeal  to  forward  all  good  and  useful 
undei'takings.  "  Good  works  "  here  by  no  means  is  con- 
fined to  works  of  mercy  and  charity,  though,  of  course, 
they  include  such,  still  they  possess  in  this  passage  a 
far  more  comprehensive  signification.  All  useful  and 
beneficent  undertakings,  public  as  well  as  private,  are 
reckoned  among  these  '"  good  works."  As  was  observed 
before,  St.  Paul's  ideal  Christian  must  be  a  generous, 
public-spirited  man.  In  the  eyes  of  this  great  teacher 
the  cloistered  ascetic  would  have  found  but  little  favour  ; 
his  hero,  while  ever  the  devoted,  self-sacrificing  lover 
of  the  Lord,  must  be  known  among  his  fellow-citizens 
"  as  careful  to  maintain  good  works." 

These  things  are  good  and  profitable  unto 
men. — The  accui-ate  translation  of  the  Greek  hero 
would  be.  These  are  the  things  ivhich  are  good  and  pro- 
fitable unto  men;  but  the  older  authorities  omit  the 
article,  ta,  before  kala.  The  rendering,  then  (omitting 
the  article),  as  given  in  the  English  version,  would  be 
correct :  "  These  things  " — that  is,  this  practical  every- 
day teaching,  which  bids  Christians  distinguish  them- 
selves among  their  fellow-citizens  and  countrymen  in 
all  generous  and  useful  enterprises — in  all  good  things, 
whether  public  or  private — these  things,  says  the 
Apostle,  are  good  and  profitable  unto  men ;  in  sharp 
contrast  to  the  unpractical  and  useless  points  insisted 
upon  in  the  false  teaching,  apparently  too  common  in 
the  Cretan  Church,  and  against  which  Titus  is  earnestly 
warned  in  the  next  (9th)  verse. 

(9)  But  avoid  foolish  questions,  and  gene- 
alogies.— The  '•  questions  "  and  "  genealogies  "  have 
been  discussed  above  (1  Tim.  i.  4).  Tlie  Apostle  cha- 
racterises them  as  "  foolish,"  because  they  were  of  an 
utterly  unpractical  nature,  and  consumed .  time  and 
powers  whicli  were  needed  for  other  and  better  things. 
Tlie  "  contentions  "  were  disputes  and  wranglings  which 
arose  out  of  arguments  advanced  by  different  teachers 
upon  the  "questions"  and  "genealogies."  The  "striv- 
ings about  the  law  "  were,  most  pi-obably,  arguments 
suggested  by  disputed  and  intricate  points  connected 
with  the  law  of  Moses.  In  the  Talmud  we  possess  un- 
numb(>red  instances  of  all  these  strange  and  curious 
inquiries  about  which  men  then  gravely  disputed  and 


How  those  that  Separated 


TITUS,   III. 


tliemselves  are  to  be  treated. 


law ;  for  they  are  unprofitable  and  vain. 
<^*^)  A  man  that  is  an  heretick  after  the 
first  and  second  admonition  reject ; 
(^^^  knowing  that  he  that  is  such  is  sub- 
verted, and  sinneth,  being  condemned 
of    himself.      ^^-^   When   I    shall    send 


Artemas   unto    thee,    or    Tj-chicus,   be 

diligent  to  come  unto  me 

to  Nicopolis  :  for  I  have  de-  ?^^P,v^.i"-  '^T. 

,  •        1    i  1  i  •    i  15.     Titus  -will 

termined  there  to  winter,  be  summoned 
{13J  Bring  Zenas  the  lawyer  ^^^^,  ^^  *^® 
and  Apollos  on  their  journey     ^^^ 


wrangled,  but  none  of  which  could  in  any  way  teach 
men  how  to  make  life  more  beautiful  and  loving,  more 
like  that  fair  pattern  which  St.  Paul's  Master  loved. 
St.  Paul,  well  versed — thanks  to  his  early  and  elaborate 
training — in  all  this  useless,  curious  lore,  once  and  for 
all  woiud  expel  from  orthodox  Christian  teaching  every- 
thing which  seemed  to  bear  upon  this  favourite  Jewish 
theology — so  called.  It  had,  cancer-like,  eaten  the  life 
out  of  Judaism  ;  it  should  not,  if  he  could  prevent  it, 
poison  in  like  manner  the  young  life  of  Christianity. 

(10)  A  man  that  is  an  heretick. — The  Greek 
word  translated  "  heretick "  in  the  New  Testament 
occurs  here  only.  The  term  "  heresies "  occurs  twice 
(1  Cor.  xi.  19;  Gal.  v.  20).  In  neither,  however,  of 
these  passages  does  the  word  signify  there  a  fimda- 
mental  or  doctrinal  error.  This  sense  belongs  to  a 
usage  of  later  times.  From  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  heresy  "  in  these  passages  of  St.  Paul,  we  are  able  to 
deduce  the  signification  of  the  terra  "  heretic  "  here. 
The  "  heretic  "  of  the  Church  in  Crete  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  who,  dissatisfied  with  the  organisation  and 
discipline  introduced  by  Titus  into  the  Christian  com- 
munity— not  improbably  considering  himself  in  some 
way  slighted — withdrew  himself  from  the  common  body, 
and  gathering  round  him  other  discontented  spirits, 
established  what  might  be  termed  a  rival  Church  in 
Crete.  Although  at  fii-st,  perhaps,  no  marked  erroneous 
teaching  forms  part  of  the  practice  of  such  schismatics, 
still  the  tendency  in  such  small  rival  communities  is 
ever  more  and  more  to  distinguish  between  tJieir  teach- 
ing and  that  of  the  larger  body  from  whom  they,  in  the 
first  instance,  cut  themselves  adrift. 

After  the  first  and  second  admonition  reject. 
— The  Greek  word  rendered  "  reject "  woiild  be  more 
accurately  translated  shiin,  or  avoid.  There  was,  no 
doubt,  some  self-willed  factious  party-leader  in  Crete 
well  known  to  St.  Paul  to  whom  he  referred  here;  but 
partly  out  of  a  lo\'ing  hope  that  Titus  would  win  him 
to  his  side,  partly  from  the  knowledge  that  this  Letter 
was  a  public  instruction  to  many  a  Church  besides  that 
of  Crete,  the  disturber  remained  nameless.  He  was 
to  be  exhorted  once,  twice,  and  then  if  he  remained 
contumacious  he  was  to  be  left  simply  alone  to  his  own 
devices.  The  community  over  which  Titus  presided  in 
the  place  of  Paul  no  longer  were  to  know  the  obstinate 
heretic  as  a  brother. 

(11)  Knowing  that  he  that  is  such  is  subverted, 
and  sinneth,  being  condemned  of  himself. — 
Better  rendered,  is  perverted  and  sinneth,  being  self- 
condemned.  Inasmuch  as  thou  knowest,  seeing  that 
thy  reproofs  and  warnings  have  been  of  none  effect, 
that  he  is  "  thoroughly  perverted  " — the  expression  is  a 
very  strong  one.  and  signifies  literally  hath  been  turned 
inside  out.  The  same  verb  is  used  in  the  LXX. 
translation  of  Deut.  xxxii.  20,  the  "  very  frotvard 
generation "  of  the  English  version  —  having  been 
warned  once  and  again,  he  is  without  the  excuse  of 
ignorance,  but  sins  on  in  the  full  consciousness  of  his 
wilful  and  seditions  life.  His  perverse  conduct  in 
stirring  up  party-feeling  in  the  Church  publicly  con- 
victs him  of  doing  the  very  wrong  which  in  general  he 


professes  to  condemn.  With  these  words  the  public  or 
official  portion  of  the  Letter  to  the  presiding  presbyter 
in  Crete  closes.  Paul  had  begun  with  directions  how 
the  church  life  of  the  island — up  to  this  period  ap- 
parently devoid  of  organisation — was  to  be  arranged ; 
ne  concludes  with  instructions  how  to  deal  with  any 
who  presumed  to  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  his 
plans  for  the  government  of  the  community.  The 
central  portion  of  the  letter  is  occupied  in  discussing 
how  Christian  doctrine  is  to  influence  the  lives  of  those 
accepting  it,  and  especially  it  treats  of  the  conduct  of 
Christians  towards  the  Pagan  world,  with  whom  they 
will  necessarily  be  brought  in  contact. 

(12)  When  I  shall  send  Artemas  unto  thee,  or 
Tychicus,  be  diligent  to  come  unto  me.— But 
Titus  is  here  reminded — perhaps  with  some  reference 
to  the  c^uestion  of  the  treatment  of  the  factious  or 
heretic  persons  just  alluded  to — that  he  is  only  the 
temjiorary  ruler  of  the  Cretan  Church,  on  a  special 
commission  of  the  great  missionary  Apostle.  Kot  im- 
probably one  of  these  two  was  intended  to  supply  the 
place  of  Titus  when  this  favourite  and  trusted  assis- 
tant of  St.  Paul  was  recalled  to  his  master's  side.  Of 
Artemas  nothing  certainly  is  known.  Tradition,  how- 
ever, makes  him  suteequently  Bishop  of  Lystra. 
Tychicus  is  mentioned  in  five  of  the  Xew  Testament 
writings— in  Acts  xx.  4;  Col.  iv.  7 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  12; 
and  here.  He  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
esteemed  of  St.  Paul's  friends.  He  speaks  of  him  as  a 
beloved  brother,  a  faithful  miuister  and  fellow-servant 
in  the  Lord ;  and  the  importance  of  the  missions  with 
which  he  was  entrusted  by  his  master  to  distant 
churches  shows  us  how  high  this  disciple  stood  in  the 
opinion  of  St.  Paul. 

To  Nicopolis :  for  I  have  determined  there 
to  winter. — Tliere  are  several  cities  bearing  this  name 
— in  Cilicia,  in  Thrace,  and  in  Epirus ;  and  considerable 
doubt  prevails  as  to  which  the  Apostle  has  been  re- 
ferring. On  the  whole,  the  Kicopolis  in  Epirus  seems 
the  most  likely  spot  for  the  Apostle  to  have  fixed  on. 
This  city  was  built  by  Augustus  after  the  battle  of 
Actium,  whence  it  derived  its  name,  "  the  City  of 
Victory." 

(13)  Bring  Zenas  the  lawyer.— A  name  contracted, 
as  it  seems,  from  Zeuodorus.  The  term  "  lawyer " 
might  pos.sibly  indicate  that  this  friend  of  Paul's  was 
a  Roman  jurist,  but  it  is  more  likely  that  the  law  in 
which  he  was  an  expert  was  that  of  Moses.  Hippo- 
lytus  numbers  him  among  the  seventy  disciples,  and 
relates  how  in  after  years  he  was  Bishop  of  JDiospolis. 
He  is  never  mentioned  by  name  in  the  New  Testament, 
except  in  this  place. 

And  Apollos. — This  famous  teacher  appears  often 
in  the  New  Testament  records,  in  the  Acts  and  several 
of  the  Epistles.  A  distinguished  Alexandrian  scholar 
and  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist,  he  was  converted  to 
Christianity  by  the  agency  of  the  devoted  Priscilla  and 
Aquila,  the- tent -makers.  He  became  the  friend  and  in- 
timate associate  of  St.  Paul,  and  might,  had  lie  chosen, 
have  rivalled  or  even  sui>erseded  St.  Paul  in  his  supreme 
authority  over  the  churches  planted  along  the  Meditcr- 


k 


263 


Filial  Injunction  to  the  People  of 


TITUS,   III. 


Christ  to  he  zealous  in  Good  WorJcs. 


diligently,  that  notliiiif::  be  "vvantiiif}^  unto 
tlieni.  <^*'  And  let  our's  also  learn  to 
maintain  good  works '  for  necessary 
uses,  that  they  be  not  unfruitful.  <^^^  All 
that  are  with  me  salute  thee.     Greet 


1  Or,  pro/ets  honest 
trader. 


them  that  love  us  in  the  faith.     Grace 
he  with  you  all.     Amen. 

IT  It  was  written  to  Titus,  ordained  the  first 
bishop  of  the  church  of  the  Cretians,  from  Nico- 
polis  of  Macedonia. 


ranean  seaboard.  But  Apollos  seems  resohitely  to 
have  declined  any  sudi  rivalry,  and  to  have  lived  ever 
a.s  the  loyal  and  devoted  friend  of  the  great  Apostle ; 
wlio,  however,  always  seems  to  have  treated  the  learned 
and  eloquent  Alexandrian  as  an  equal  power  in  the 
Churcli  of  Christ,  classing  Apollos  with  St.  Peter  and 
himself.  Luther's  well-known  suggestion  that  Apollos 
was  tile  imkno^vu  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
• — "  auctor  Epistolae  ad  Hebraeos  .  .  .  ut  ego  arbritror 
Apollo"— the  authorship  (though  not  the  canonicity)  of 
which  has  been  a  disputed  point  as  far  back  as  the  days 
of  Oriffen,  in  the  first  half  of  the  third  century — has 
been  auojjted,  though,  of  course,  with  much  reserve,  by 
many.  Attention  has  been  called  to  the  somewhat  re- 
uiarLible  fact  that  the  names  of  these  three  friends  of 
St.  Paul,  who  were  classed  among  his  most  faithful 
adherents  in  this  almost  the  last  Epistle  he  wrote,  were 
derived  from  three  of  the  most  famous  heathen  deities — 
Zenas  from  Zeus ;  Artemas  from  Artemis,  the  famous 
tutelary  goddess  of  Ephesus;  Apollos  from  the  well- 
kno^vn  sun-god. 

(1*)  And  let  our's  also  learn  to  maintain  good 
works  for  necessary  uses.—"  Ours,"  that  is,  those 
who  with  St.  Paul  and  Titus  in  Crete  called  upon  the 
name  of  Jesus.  A  last  reminder  to  the  brethren,  whom 
with  a  loving  thought  he  calls  "  ours,"  constantly  to 
practise  good  and  beneficent  works.  In  the  expression 
'•  let  ours  also  learn,"  it  would  seem  as  though  St.  Paul 
would  have  Christians  trained  to  the  wise  and  thoughtful 
performance  of  works  of  mercy  and  charity. 

It  was  with  such  injunctions  as  these  that  men  like 
St.  Paul  and  St.  James  laid  the  foundation  storeys  of 
those  great  Christian  works  of  charity — all  undreamed 


of  before  the  Resurrection  morning — but  which  have 
been  for  eighteen  centuries  in  all  lauds,  the  glory  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus — one  grand  result  of  the  Master's 
presence  with  us  on  earth,  which  even  His  bitterest 
enemies  admire  ^vith  a  grudging  admiration. 

In  the  short  compass  of  these  Pastoral  Epistles,  in  aU 
only  thirteen  chapters,  we  have  no  less  than  eight  special 
reminders  to  be  earnest  and  zealous  in  good  works. 
There  was  evidently  a  dread  in  St.  Paul's  mind  that 
some  of  those  who  professed  a  love  of  Jesus,  and  said 
that  they  longed  after  the  great  salvation,  would  content 
themselves  with  a  di'eamy  acquiescence  in  the  great 
truths,  while  the  life  remained  unaltered.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  these  Epistles,  containing  so  many  urgent 
exhortations  to  work  for  Christ,  were  St.  Paul's  last 
inspired  utterances.  The  passages  in  question  are 
chaiJS.  i.  16;  ii.  7,  14;  iii.  14;  1  Tim.  ii.  10;  v.  10; 
vi.  18;  2  Tim.  ii.  21. 

(15)  All  that  are  with  me  salute  thee.— It  is  un- 
certain where  Paul  was  when  he  wrote  this  letter. 
"  All  that  are  with  me "  include  those  Avith  him, 
journeying  in  his  company.  They  are  not  named, 
because  the  individuals  composing  the  immediate  fol- 
lowing of  St.  Paul  would  be  likely  to  be  well  known  to 
Titus. 

Greet  them  that  love  us  in  the  faith.— An  in- 
clusive greeting,  embracing  each  member  of  the  Cretan 
Church  whose  love  to  him  (St.  Paul)  was  based  upon 
the  common  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus.  Greet  all  who 
love  me,  as  the  earnest  preacher  of  their  faith  and 
mine. 

Amen. — The  greater  number  of  the  ancient  autho- 
rities  omit  "  Amen." 


264r 


THE      EPISTLE      OF      PAUL      TO 

PHILEMON. 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE      EPISTLE      OP      PAUL      TO 

PHILEMON. 


I.  The  Date,  Place,  and  Occasion  of  the 
Epistle. — These  are  all  perfectly  clear.  The  Epistle 
is  of  the  same  date  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians, 
sent  by  Ouesimus,  who  was  one  of  the  bearers  of  that 
Epistle  (Col.  iv.  9);  dwelling  emphatically  on  St.  Paul's 
imprisonment  (verses  1,  9),  looking  forward  confidently 
to  a  speedy  release  and  a  retmm  to  Asia  (verse  22). 
Even  the  salutations,  with  one  exception,  are  the  same 
in  both  (verses  23,  24,  comp.  with  Col.  iv.  10 — 14).  It 
is  written  to  intercede  with  Philemon  for  Onesimus, 
his  slave — fom;orly  "  unprofitable,"  a  runaway,  and 
probably  a  thief,  but  now  converted  to  a  new  life  by 
St.  Paul  at  Rome,  and  after  his  conversion  becoming 
at  once  "  profitable  "  to  St.  Paul  for  ministration  in  his 
captivity,  and  likely  to  be  profitable  also  to  his  old 
master,  to  whom,  accordingly,  St.  Paul  sends  him  back, 
with  this  letter  of  intercession. 

n.  The  Persons  to  whom  it  is  addressed.— 

All  we  know  of  Philemon  is  gathered  from  this  Epistle. 
It  is  nowhere  actually  said  he  was  a  Colossian ;  but  this 
is  inferred  from  the  fact  that  Onesimus,  his  slave,  is 
described  as  of  Colossse  (Col.  iv.  9).  It  is  clear  that  he 
was  St.  Paul's  convert;  but,  as  the  Apostle  had  not 
visited  Colossse  (Col.  ii.  1),  we  may  probably  conjecture 
that  he  had  been  brought  imder  his  influence  during 
his  long  stay  at  Ephesus.  Possibly,  like  Epaphras 
(Col.  i.  7),  he  had  been,  under  St.  Paul's  auspices,  an 
evangelist  of  his  native  place.  For  he  is  evidently  a 
man  of  mark ;  "  the  Church  "  gathers  "  in  his  house ;  " 
he  is  able,  by  his  love,  "  to  refresh  the  hearts  of  the 
saints,"  probably  by  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  gifts; 
to  him  St.  Paul  entrusts  the  charge  of  preparing  a 
lodging  for  his  hoped-for  visit,  and  describes  that  visit 
as  "  being  granted,"  "  through  his  prayers,"  to  him  and 
his.  We  note  also  that  the  Apostle  treats  him  as 
almost  an  equal — as  a  "  brother  "  (not  "  a  son  "),  as  "  a 
fellow-labourer,"  and  as  a  "  partner." 

This  last  phra.se — used  distinctively,  and  without  any 
words  of  limitation  to  some  particular  work — is  unique. 
It  occurs  in  close  connection  with  the  promise  on  St. 
Paul's  part  to  take  upon  himself  the  pecuniary  respon- 
sibility of  any  default  of  Onesimus — a  promise  empha- 
sised by  the  writing  of  a  bond  of  obligation  in  legal 
form.  Accordingly,  it  has  been  sup))OS(Hl  that  Philemon 
was  St.  Paul's  partner  in  the  "tent-making"  by  which 
he  maintained  himself  with  Aquila  and  Priscilla — first, 
certainly,  at  Corinth  (Acts  xviii.  3),  and  afterwards, 
as  it  appears  (Acts  xx.  36),  at  Ephesus ;  that  he  may 
have  still  had  in  his  hands  some  of  the  money  earned 
by  that  common  labour,  and  that  from  this  St.  Paul 
offers  to  discharge  the  obligation  taken  upon  himself 
for  Onesimus.     The  supposition  is  ingenious,  and  cer- 


tainly quite  possible  ;  but  it  revolts  against  all  our  con- 
ceptions of  St.  Paul's  character  to  suppose  that  he  would 
work  beyond  what  was  actually  necessary  for  main- 
tenance, so  as  to  accumulate  money,  and  keep  a  regular 
debtor  and  creditor  account  with  Philemon.  Nor  is  it 
easy  to  see  why,  if  this  was  so,  he  should  have  so 
urgently  needed  in  prison  the  supplies  sent  from 
Philippi  (Phil.  iv.  10 — 13).  Accordingly,  it  seems 
better  to  refer  the  "  partnership  "  or  "  communion " 
(see  verse  6  of  the  Epistle)  principally,  if  not  exclu- 
sively, to  some  united  work  of  evangelisation  or  bene- 
ficence (possibly  devised  during  the  common  labour  at 
Ephesus)  for  the  Churches  of  Asia,  and  especially  for 
the  Church  of  Colossse.  Ecclesiastical  tradition,  as 
usual,  makes  Philemon  the  Bishop  of  Colossse  in  the 
hereafter. 

Of  Apphia  we  know  nothing,  except  that  tradition, 
and  the  style  in  which  the  Epistle  mentions  her,  both 
support  the  idea  that  she  was  Philemon's  wife. 
Archippus,  a  minister  of  the  Church,  either  of  ColosssB 
or  Laodicea  (see  Note  on  Col.  iv.  7),  is  on  the  same 
ground  supposed  to  have  been  his  son.  The  tone  of 
the  whole  Epistle  gives  the  impression  of  some  wealth 
and  dignity  in  the  family,  nobly  used  for  the  relief  of 
necessity  and  the  knitting  closer  of  the  bonds  of 
Christian  unity. 

III.  The  Genuineness  of  the  Epistle.— It  is 
notable  that,  unlike  tlie  other  two  personal  Epistles — 
the  Second  and  the  Third  of  St.  John,  if,  indeed,  the 
Second  be  really  personal — this  Epistle  found  its  place 
in  all  catalogues,  from  the  Muratorian  Canon  down- 
wards, and  in  all  the  ancient  versions.  "We  might  have 
supposed  that,  in  respect  of  such  reception,  it  would  have 
suffered  from  the  improbability  of  any  jniblic  reading 
in  the  Church,  from  the  want  of  adaptability  to  theo- 
logical or  ecclesiastical  uses,  and  from  the  idea  which 
seems  to  have  prevailed — which  is  noticed  by  St.  Chry- 
sostom  on  the  Epistle,  and  which  St.  Jerome  in  his 
preface  to  the  Epistle  (vol.  vii.,  p.  742.  ed.  Vallarsii, 
1737)  refutes  with  his  usual  strong  sense  and  trench- 
ancy — that  the  occasion  and  the  substance  of  the  Epistlo 
were  too  low  for  the  Apostolic  inspiration.  "  They  will 
have  it,"  St.  Jerome  says,  "  either  that  the  Epistle  which 
is  addressed  to  Philemon  is  not  St.  Paul's,  or  that, 
even  if  it  bo  his.  it  has  nothing  in  it  tending  to  our 
edification;  and  that  l)y  many  of  the  ancients  it  was  re- 
jected, since  it  was  •written  for  the  purpose  merely  of 
commendation,  not  of  instruction."  But  this  kind  of 
criticism  did  not  prevail  against  the  common  acceptance 
of  its  authenticity.  Even  Marcion  did  not  tamper  with 
it,  as  TertuUian  (adv.  Marc.  v.  42)  and  St.  Jerome  ex- 
pressly declare.     Origen,  the  great  critic  of  the  East, 


267 


PHILEMON. 


as  St.  Jerome  of  tlie  West,  quotes  it  witliout  liesitation. 
]ii  tlie  Churcli  gciienilly  it  rt'inaiued  uusliaken  as  one 
of  tlio  Epistles  acco^tted  by  all. 

In  the  laiger  cntieisiii  of  modem  times  the  very 
reasons  which  induced  doubt  in  the  fourtli  and  fifth 
centuries  will  be  accepted  as  the  strongest  internal 
evidence  of  its  genuineness.  The  utter  improbability 
of  the  forging  of  such  an  Epistle,  whicli  admits  of  no 
controversial  or  directly  theological  use,  the  exquisite 
Ijcauty  and  naturalness  of  the  wliolo  style,  even  tlie 
vivid  i)icture  which  it  gives  of  an  ancient  Christian 
family — all  have  been  felt  to  preclude  any  except  the 
most  wanton  scepticism  as  to  its  genuineness.  It  is 
liard  to  conceive  liow  any  one  can  read  it  witliout  feeling 
that  wo  have  in  it  a  picture  of  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  which  we  could  ill  afford  to  lose,  but  which 
110  hand,  except  his  own,  would  have  ever  ventured  to 
paint. 

IV.  The  Substance  of  the  Epistle.— The  great 
interest  of  this  Epistle  is  two-fold — (1)  in  its  personal 
relation  to  St.  Paul's  life  and  character,  and  (2)  in  the 
light  which  it  throws  on  the  attitude  of  the  gospel 
towards  slavery. 

(1)  It  is  the  only  strictly  private  Letter  of  St.  Paul 
— the  one  survivor,  we  may  suppose,  of  very  many — 
preserved  to  us  in  the  Canon  of  Holy  Scripture.  For 
nil  the  other  Epistles  are  either  Letters  to  the  Churches, 
or  Pastoral  Epistles  of  authoritative  direction.  Accord- 
ingly it  exhibits  the  Apostle  in  a  new  light.  He  throws 
oti,  as  far  as  possible,  his  Apostolic  diguity,  and  his 
fatherly  authority  over  his  converts.  He  speaks  simply 
as  Christian  to  Christian.  He  speaks,  therefore,  with 
that  peculiar  grace  of  humility  and  courtesy,  which  has, 
under  the  reign  of  Christianity,  developed  the  spirit  of 
chivalry,  and  what  is  called  "  the  character  of  a  gentle- 
man"— certainly  very  little  known  in  the  old  Greek  sind 
Roman  civilisations — while  yet  in  its  graceful  flexibility 
and  vivacity  it  stands  contrasted  with  the  more  impas- 
sive Oriental  stateliness.  It  has  been  customary  and 
natural  to  compare  with  it  a  celebrated  letter  of  the 
younger  Pliny  on  a  like  occasion  {E}).  ix.  21,  quoted  in 
Dr.  Lightfoot's  Introduction).  But  in  Pliny  himself 
there  was  a  tone  of  feeling  differing  very  much  from  the 
more  ancient  Roman  character,  approaching  more  nearly 
to  the  modern  type.  It  would  be  curious  to  inquire, 
whether  in  this  tone  of  character,  as  in  the  actual 
tenets  of  the  later  Stoicism,  there  miglit  not  be  some 
unknown  and  indirect  influence  of  the  Christianity, 
which  as  yet  would  have  been  probably  despised.  Nor 
■will  the  comparison  for  a  moment  place  even  the  highly 
accomplished  and  cultivated  Roman  on  a  level  with  the 
Jewish  tentmaker  of  Tarsus. 

Tliere  is  to  us  a  vivid  interest  in  the  glimpse  thus 
given  into  the  private  and  personal  life  of  St.  Paul.  Wo 
note,  for  example,  the  difference  of  tone — the  greater 
pathos  and  the  less  unqualified  rejoicing — in  which  he 
speaks  of  liis  captivity.  We  observe  the  gladness  witli 
wluch,  wlien  lie  rightly  may,  he  throws  off  the  isolation 
of  authority,  and  descends  into  tlie  familiarity  of  equal 
intercourse,  lingering  with  an  obvious  delight  in  the 
very  word  "  brother,"  which  breathes  the  very  spirit  of 
freedom  and  equality.  We  see  how,  under  the  Apostolic 
mission,  as  uuder  the  Apostolic  inspiration,  free  play  of 
personal  character  and  of  familiar  companionship  could 
still  live  and  flourish.  We  seem  to  know  St.  Paul  better, 
even  as  an  Apostle,  because  we  are  allowed  to  see  him 
when  he  chooses  not  to  be  an  Apostle,  but  a  "  partner," 
and,  moreover,  "  such  an  one  as  Paul  the  aged,  and  the 
prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ."     But,  even  beyond  this,  wo 


may  fairly  draw  from  this  Epistle  a  priceless  lesson, 
as  to  the  place  which  true  courtesy  and  delicacy 
occui)y  iu  Christian  character,  and  especially  as  to  their 
entire  compatibility  with  high  Apostolic  enthusiasm, 
with  a  keen  insight  into  realities  as  distinct  from  forms, 
and  with  the  greatest  possible  plainness  of  speech  in 
duo  season.  We  feel,  as  we  read,  how  little  it  accords 
with  the  idea  that  Christian  men  and  Christian 
ministers  "  have  nothing  to  do  with  being  gentlemen." 
We  understand  how  true  courtesy,  as  distinct  from 
artificial  and  technical  culture  of  manners,  is  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  the  "  lowliness  of  mind "  in 
which  "  each  esteems  other  better  than  himself,"  and 
of  the  sympathy  of  love  which  "  looks  not  only  upon 
our  own  things,"  but,  even  in  greater  degree,  "  upon 
the  things  of  others." 

(2)  But  of  far  greater  interest  still  is  the  illustration 
of  the  attitude  assumed  in  the  New  Testament,  and  in 
the  early  Church,  towards  the  monstrous  institution  of 
slavery. 

How  deeply  that  institution  of  slaA'ery  was  en- 
grained in  all  the  history  of  antiquity,  both  Eastei'n 
and  Western,  wo  know  well.  Nor  will  this  surprise  any 
one  who  remembers  that  inequality — physical,  mental, 
and  spiritual — is,  quite  as  truly  as  equality,  the  law  of 
human  life.  Service  and  lordship,  in  some  sense,  there 
must  always  be ;  and  it  is  absui'd  to  deny  that  this  law 
is,  because  we  wish  that  it  were  not,  or  perhaps  think 
that  it  ought  not  to  be.  But  equality  is  tlie  law  of  the 
primary  qualities  and  rights  of  human  nature ;  inequality 
only  of  the  secondary  qualities  and  rights.  If  this 
relation  be  reversed  in  practice,  we  pass  from  what  is 
natural  to  that  which,  however  frequent,  is  yet  fatally 
unnatural.  Slavery  is  just  such  a  reversal.  Because 
one  race  is  stronger,  abler,  more  commanding,  more 
civilised  than  another,  this  is  made  a  ground  for  crush- 
ing out,  in  the  weaker  race,  all  the  essential  attributes 
of  humanity.  Primarily  by  the  unnatural  agency  of 
war,  secondarily  by  systematised  organisation  in  peace, 
the  slave  is  made  to  cease  to  be  a  man :  ho  is  treated 
simply  as  a  brute  beast  of  somewhat  higher  organisation 
and  usefulness  than  his  fellows,  or  even  "  as  a  living 
chattel  or  machine  "  — ha-ving  no  rights  whatever,  excc])t 
those  which  humanity  may  teach  towards  the  lower  crea- 
tures, or  expediency  enforce  in  relation  to  the  machinery 
of  the  prosperity  and  progress  of  the  master.  Since,  in 
some  sense,  freedom  of  action  and  cultivation  bring 
out  natural  inequalities  more  and  more  strikingly, 
slaveiy,  in  the  absence  of  some  counterbalancing  power, 
rather  advanced  than  receded  with  the  progress  of 
heathen  ci\'ilisation.  Under  the  Roman  empire,  dei>cnd- 
ing  mainly  on  organised  force  rather  than  on  intellectual 
cultivation,  it  presented  this  characteristic  and  intole- 
rable incongruity,  that  it  lield  in  bondage  men  at  least 
as  noble  in  race  as  their  conquerors,  men  even  more 
liighly  cultivated,  and  heirs  of  more  ancient  civilisa- 
tions. 

That  the  Old  Testament  should  recognise  the  exist- 
ence of  slavery,  especially  in  inferior  and  degraded 
races,  was  only  to  bo  expected.  That  slavery  under 
the  patriarchal  simplicity  should  liave  been  lighter  than 
under  the  higher  ci\'ilisation  of  the  nation  of  Israel, 
though  at  first  sight  startling,  is  yet,  on  more  careful 
thought,  seen  to  be  natural.  That  the  Mosaic  law 
should  attempt  only  to  mitigate  the  irresponsible 
despotism  of  the  master,  and  that  in  this  respect  it 
should  make  a  marked  distinction  between  the  Israelite 
and  the  foreigner,  is  thoroughly  accordant  with  our 
Lord's  declaration,  that  it  was  made  "  for  the  hardness 
of  men's  hearts,"  and  with  the  exclusiveness  of  privilege 


268 


PHILEMON. 


which  it  claimed  in  all  things  for  the  chosen  race. 
Slavery,  accordingly,  continued  in  the  Jewish  people, 
though — thanks  to  those  mitigations  of  the  Law,  to 
the  protest  against  oppression  and  cruelty  so  familiar  to 
lis  in  prophecy,  and  to  the  very  influence  of  a  spiritual  re- 
ligion, wherever  this  was  really  accepted — it  was  actually 
very  far  milder  than  under  Greece  or  Rome.  Still 
it  did  exist.  Nor  will  this  surprise  those  who  have  duly 
weighed — what  advocates  and  opponents  of  slavery,  in 
dealing  with  the  Old  Testanieut,  liavo  constantly  failed 
to  weigh — the  essentially  imperfect  and  preparatory 
character  of  the  Jewish  covenant. 

But  what  lino  woidd  Christianity  take  ?  Nothing, 
of  course,  could  be  clearer  than  that  it  was  radically 
opposed  in  principle  to  the  whole  conception  and  prac- 
tice of  slavery.  For  it  brought  out  the  fundamental 
equality  or  brotherhood  of  all,  in  the  regenerate  human 
nature,  in  which  "there  was  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
bai'barian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free."  It  devoted  itself 
with  a  very  special  earnestness  to  redress  all  existing 
inequalities,  by  exalting  the  humble,  by  glorifying  weak- 
ness, by  restraining  the  self-assertion  of  strength.  Above 
all,  it  consecrated  that  brotherhood  in  Jesus  Christ ; 
its  whole  conception  of  the  spiritual  life  consisted  in 
the  union  of  each  individual  soul  with  God  in  Christ, 
so  giving  to  individuality  a  sacreduess  utterly  incompa- 
tible with  the  very  possibility  of  absolute  despotism  of 
one  Christian  man  over  another.  But  of  carrying  out  the 
principle  there  were  two  ways.  One  was,  so  to  speak, 
"  of  law,"  embodjdng  it  at  once  in  a  declaration  of 
freedom,  abrogating  all  slavery  within  the  Christian 
Church,  pi-otestiug  against  it,  as  against  all  moral  evils, 
in  the  world  at  large.  The  other  was  "  of  the  Spirit," 
proclaiming  the  great  truth  of  brotherhood  in  Christ 
and  sonship  of  God,  and  then  leaving  it  gradually  to 
mould  to  itself  all  institutions  of  society,  and  to  eradi- 
cate whatever  in  them  was  against  God's  fundamental 
law,  reasserted  in  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now  of 
these  two  ways  it  is  not  hard  to  see  that  to  adopt  the 
former  way  would  have  been  to  revolutionise  suddenly 
the  whole  of  society,  to  pi-each  (though  unwillingly)  a 
ser^nle  war,  and  to  arm  all  existing  governments  by  the 
very  instinct  of  self-preservation  against  the  infant 
Church,  which,  even  as  it  was,  excited  their  suspicion  and 
alarm.  Independently  of  all  thought  of  consequences, 
we  could  not  but  anticipate  that  by  its  very  nature 
Christianity  would  take  the  way  of  the  Sjiirit,  rather 
than  the  Law.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
historically,  this  was  the  Avay  which  it  did  take  without 
hesitation  or  reserve.  The  principle  laiil  down  broadly 
by  St.  Paul  (1  Cor.  vii.  20 — 24)  was  that  "every  man 
should  abide  "  in  the  outward  condition  *'  in  which  he 
was  called,"  only  "  with  God,"  in  the  new  spiritual 
unity  vni\i  God  sealed  to  him  in  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  applied  that  principle  to  the  ca.ses  of  cir- 
cumcision and  uncircumcision,  marriage  and  celibacy; 
he  did  not  slirink  from  appljang  it  for  the  Christian 
community  to  the  case  of  submission  to  "  the  powers 
that  be,"  even  to  death,  and  for  tlu^  individual  to  the 
crucial  and  extreme  case  of  slavery  and  freedom.  How- 
ever we  may  inteq)ret  his  words  in  1  Cor.  vii.  21  (where 
see  Note),  they  clearly  imply  that  to  one  who  is  at  onco 
"the  Lord's  freeman"  and  "Christ's  slave  "  the  out- 
ward condition  matters  comparatively  little.  It  may 
be  that  in  this  case,  as  in  the  case  of  marriage,  St.  Paul 
was  partly  influenced  by  the  consideration  that  "  the 
time  was  short."  Yet  his  teaching  really  de])ended,  not 
on  this  expectation,  but  on  the  fundamental  principle 
and  method  of  Christianity.  The  declaration,  "  Not 
now  a  slave  but  a  brother,"  a  "  brother  beloved,"  and 


"  a  brotlier  beloved  in  the  Lord,"  brought  the  forces  of 
human  duty  and  human  affection,  under  the  inspiration 
of  religious  faith,  to  bear  on  the  prison-house  of  slavery. 
Deeply  founded  as  its  walls  were,  and  cemented  by  the 
use  of  centuries,  they  could  not  but  fall  under  the  com- 
bined attack  of  these  three  irresistible  powers. 

Meanwhile  the  gospel  set  itself  to  two  immediate 
works.  First,  to  raise  the  self-respect  of  the  slave,  to 
comfort  his  sorrow,  to  nerve  him  to  bear  the  hardships 
of  his  cruel  lot.  This  it  did  sometimes  by  glorifying 
suffering,  in  the  bold  declaration  to  the  slave  that  his 
suffering,  whatever  it  was,  was  a  brotherhood  in  tho 
suffering  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  Himself  "  took 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  slave,"  and  "  suffering  for  us 
left  an  ensample,"  in  which  even  the  helpless  and 
desjjised  slave  could  "follow  His  steps"  (1  Pet.  ii. 
18 — 25).  Sometimes,  on  tho  other  hand,  by  setting 
forth  to  him  the  spiritual  freedom,  which  no  "  master 
after  the  flesh  "  c(nild  take  away,  and  by  declaring  that 
all  service  was  ultimately  a  service  to  the  Lord,  to  bo 
rendered  not  only  "  from  the  heart,"  but  "  of  good 
will,"  and  rewarded  hero  and  hereafter  with  tho 
heavenly  prize  (Ei)h.  vi.  5 — 8;  Col.  iii.  22 — 25).  Under 
both  these  convictions  it  taught  the  slave  still  to  bo 
patient  under  "  subjection,"  till  the  end  should  come. 
Next,  Christianity  turned  to  the  masters.  It  bade 
them  remember  their  responsibility  to  the  same  Master 
in  heaven,  under  whom  their  slaves  served,  and  who 
would  certainly  make,  in  His  strict  retribution,  no 
"  respect  of  persons  ;  "  it  claimed  that  they  should  "  do 
the  same  things  "  to  their  slaves,  recognising  a  mutual 
duty,  and  giving  them  all  that  was  "just  and  equal," 
due  to  the  indefeasible  rights  of  humanity ;  above  all 
that  they  should  recognise  in  them  a  common  brother- 
hood in  Chi'ist. 

Now  this  is  precisely  the  line  which  St.  Paul 
pursues  in  respect  of  Onesimus.  He,  the  runaway 
slave  of  Philemon,  apparently  an  idler  and  a  thief,  had 
made  his  way  to  Rome,  "  the  sink,"  as  its  writers 
bitterly  complained,  "  of  the  civilised  world."  There 
St.  Paul  had  somehow  found  him,  and  had  regenerated 
the  true  huu.anity  which  had  been  degraded  in  him. 
He  had  found  him  a  dear  son ;  he  had  telt  the  comfort 
of  his  affectionate  ministration.  How  deeply  this 
had  impressed  on  his  mind  the  whole  question  of  slaves 
and  masters  we  see  by  the  strong  emphasis,  marked  by 
almost  verbal  coincidence,  with  which,  in  the  Ephesian 
and  Colossian  Epistles,  he  dwells  on  the  subject  gene- 
rally. But,  coming  to  the  particular  case,  he  bids  One- 
simus acknowledge  the  mastership  of  Philemon,  and  go 
back  to  submit  to  him,  and  to  offer  atonement  for  his 
past  misdeeds  and  flight.  He  will  not  even  interpose 
by  authority,  or,  by  keeping  Onesimus  at  Rome,  put 
any  constraint  on  Philemon's  freedom  to  use  his  legal 
power.  But  he  sliows,  by  his  own  example,  that  the 
slave  is  to  be  treated  as  a  son.  He  sends  him  back,  not 
as  a  slave,  but  as  "  a  brother  beloved  in  the  Lord."  He 
"  knew  that  Philemon  would  do  ven  more  than  ho 
said."  He  may  have  looked  forward  in  prophetic  fore- 
sight to  the  time  when  tho  whole  Christian  community, 
like  Philemon,  should  draw  the  infercTice,  unspoken  but 
irresistible,  and  set  absolutely  free  those  who  were  not 
slaves,  but  brethren. 

That  expectation  has  been  realised.  It  is  rcmarkablo 
that  from  very  early  days  tho  iron  cnielty  of  this  Roman 
slave  law  l>egan  to  give  way.  AVe  may  allow  much  in  this 
respect  to  the  growing  dominion  of  universiil  law,  and 
to  the  influence  of  the  nobler  pliilosophies;  but  we  may 
be  permitted  to  doubt  whether  tlie  unacknowledged  prin- 
ciules  of  Christianity  were  not  already  leavening  public 


2C9 


PHILEMON. 


opinion,  and  beginning  to  make  the  change  even  in  law, 
which  was  afterwards  seen  in  the  codes  of  Christian  em- 
I>erors.  But  one  thing  is  certain  historically,  tliat  in 
the  abolition,  certainly  of  ancient  serfsliip  in  Europe, 
and  perhaps  of  modern  serfsliip  in  Russia,  in  the  pro- 
hibition of  the  slave  trade,  in  the  great  sacrifices  for 
emancipation  made  by  England  in  the  last  generation, 
and  the  United  States  of  America  in  tliis,  it  was  Chris- 
tianity, and  not  simple  philanthropy,  which  actually 
did  the  beneficent  work.     The  battle  was  the  battle  of 


humanity ;  but  it  was  fought  under  the  banner  of  the 
Cross.  Even  while  we  wonder  that  the  victory  should 
have  been  so  long  in  coming,  we  must  confess  that 
it  lias  been  won ;  and  against  all  forms  of  mitigated 
slavery  in  modem  society,  experience  certainly  warns  us 
to  trust,  not  to  the  sense  of  common  interest,  the  con- 
viction of  mutual  duty,  or  even  the  enthusiasm  of 
philanthropy,  but  to  the  faith  which  recognises  in  the 
poorest  and  the  weakest,  even  in  the  idler  and  the 
sinner,  "  a  brother  beloved  in  the  Lord." 


2;a 


THE    EPISTLE    OF    PAUL    TO 


PHILEMON. 


(1)  PAUL,  a  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  Timothy  our  brother, 
Jafutetion"  ^  iinto  Philemon  our  dearly 
beloved,  and  fellowla- 
bourer,  (2)  and  to  our  beloved  Apphia, 
and  Archippus  our  fellowsoldier,  and  to 
the  church  in  thy  house :    *^^  grace  to 


you,  and  peace,  from  God 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
my  God,  making  mention 
of  thee  always  in  my 
prayers,  (^^  hearing  of  thy 
love  and  faith,  which  thou 
hast    toward     the     Lord 


our  Father 
<*)  I  thank 

Verses  4  —  7. 
Thanksgiving 
for  Philemon's 
love  and  for 
the  comfort 
derived  there- 
from. 


[This  Epistle  di^ndes  itself  naturally  into — 

(1)  Salutation    to    Philemon    and    his    house 

(verses  1 — 3). 

(2)  Thanksgiving  for  their  faith  and  love  (verses 

4—7). 

(3)  Intercession  fob  Onesimits,  as  now  the 

Apostle's  "son"  in  the  faith,  and  "the 
brother,"  not  slave,  of  his  master  Philemon, 
with  promise  to  make  good  any  default  of 
his  in  times  past  (verses  8 — 20). 

(4)  Conclusion,  expressing  St.  Paul's  confidence 

in  Philemon,  his  hojje  of  visiting  them,  and 
final  salutation  (verses  21 — 25).] 

(1)  A  prisoner  of  Jesus  Christ.— It  is  interesting 
to  note  the  substitution  of  the  name  "  prisoner," 
appealing  to  sympathy,  for  the  usual  title  of  "  Apostle," 
embodjnng  a  claim  to  authority.  In  the  other  Epistles 
of  this  period  (see  Eph.  iii.  1 — 13 ;  iv.  1 ;  vi.  20  ;  Phil. 
i.  12 — 20;  Col.  iv.  18)  the  Apostle's  captivity  is  dwelt 
upon  mainly  as  a  ground  of  glory  and  thankfulness, 
only  secondarily  as  a  cause  for  sympathy.  Here,  on 
the  contrary,  in  this  personal  Epistle,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  St.  Paul's  courteous  determination  "  not  to 
command,  but  for  love's  sake  to  entreat,"  the  latter 
aspect  assumes  an  almost  exclusive  prominence. 

Timothy.— Comp.  Phil.  i.  1 ;  Col.  i.  1.  Here,  as  in 
the  other  Epistles,  the  salutation  includes  Timothy,  as 
desiring  to  imply  in  him,  St.  Paul's  "  own  son  in  the 
faith,"  a  closeness  of  connection  and  sympathy  with 
the  Apostle  not  found  in  others.  But  in  all  cases,  and 
especially  in  this,  the  Letter  is  emphatically  the  Letter 
of  St.  Paul  alone. 

Philemon. — See  Introduction. 

(2)  Apphia. — Tlie  name  is  usually  taken  to  be  the 
Roman  name  Aj^pia.  But  the  occurrence  of  such  a 
name  in  a  Grseco-Asiatic  family,  though  of  course 
possible,  is  perhaps  improbable  ;  and  Dr.  Lightfoot  has 
shown  that  it  occurs  in  the  form  Apphia  in  many 
Phrj'gian  inscriptions,  and  may  therefore  be  naturally 
supposed  to  be  a  native  name.  There  seems  little 
doubt  that  Apphia  was  Philemon's  wife,  like  himself 
"  the  beloved."  though  not  the  "  fellow-labourer "  or 
"partner"  of  St.  Paul. 

Archippus  our  fellowsoldier.— From  this  men- 
tion of  Archippus  we  may  certainly  conclude  that  he 


was  a  member  of  Philemon's  family ;  the  ordinary  con- 
jecture makes  him  his  son.  The  name  "  fellow-soldier," 
applied  elsewhere  only  to  Epaphroditus  (Phil.  ii.  2.5), 
as  the  name  "  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  "  to  Timothy 
(2  Tim.  ii.  3),  appears  to  denote  ministerial  office  in 
Archippus,  which  agrees  with  the  charge  to  him  in 
Col.  iv.  18  to  "  take  heed  to  his  ministry  and  fulfil  it." 

Church  in  thy  house.— See  Note  on  Col.  iv.  15. 
The  specially  domestic  and  personal  character  of  the 
Epistle  need  not  induce  any  hmitation  of  the  phrase  to 
Philemon's  own  family.  As  the  joining  of  Timothy's 
name  in  giving  the  salutation  did  not  prevent  the  Letter 
from  being  St.  Paul's  only,  so  the  joining  the  Church 
in  the  house  in  the  recei\dng  of  the  salutation  does  not 
prevent  its  being  addressed  only  to  Philemon  and  his 
family,  who  were,  like  himself,  interested  in  Onesimus. 

W  I  thank  my  God  .  .  .— Xote  the  almost  exact 
verbal  coincidence  with  the  salutations  in  Eph.  i.  15, 
16 ;  Phil.  i.  3,  4 ;  Col.  i.  3,  4,  with,  however,  the  natural 
distinction  that  this  is  briefer  and  simpler  in  style. 

(5)  Thy  love  and  faith,  which  thou  hast 
toward  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  toward  all  saints. 
— This  description  of  a  faith  directed  not  only  to  the 
Lord  Jesus,  but  to  all  the  saints,  has  perplexed  com- 
mentators, and  called  out  various  explanations.  (1)  One 
is  that  "faith"  here  (as  in  Rom.  iii.  3;  Gal.  v.  22)  is 
simply  fidelity ;  but  this  can  hardly  be  accepted  as  an 
explanation  of  so  well-known  and  almost  technical  a 
phrase  as    "  faith    toward    the   Lord    Jesus    Christ." 

(2)  Another,  noting  the  distinction  in  the  original 
between  the  two  prepositions  here — the  former  {pros) 
signifying  direction  towards,  and  the  latter  {eis)  actual 
contact  with,  its  object — explains  the  phrase  as  signi- 
fying  "  the  faith  which  has  as  its  object  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  but  which  shows  itself  practically  towards  all 
saints."  But  this,  even  if  the  word  "hast"  will  bear 
this  gloss,  seems  too  artificial  for  such  a  Letter  as  this. 

(3)  The  comparison  with  the  contemporaneous  Letter 
to  the  Colossians — where  we  read.  "  your  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  your  love  toward  all  the  saints " 
(Col.  i.  4) — seems  to  clear  up  the  matter.  We  have 
hero  an  equivalent  phrase,  in  which,  however  (by  what 
the  grammarians  called  chiasmus),  the  extremes  and 
means  correspond  to  each  other.  The  idea  which  runs 
through  the  Letter  is  Philemon's  "  love  to  the  saints." 
In  writing  of  that  love  St.  Paul  cannot  refrain  from 


271 


Joy  in  Philemoiis  love. 


PHILEMON. 


Entreaty  to  him  for  lovers  sake. 


Jesus,  and  toward  all  saints  ;  ^^^  that 
the  communication  of  thy  faith  may 
become  effectual  by  the  acknowledg- 
of    every    good    thinj?     which    is 


mer 


in  you  in  Christ  Jesus.  ^''^  For  we  have 
great  joy  and  consolation  in  thy  love, 
because   the  bowels  of  the  saints  are 


refreshed  by  thee,  brother.  (^)  Where- 
fore, though  I  might  be  yei^es  8-U. 
much  bold  in  Christ  to  en-  Intercession  for 
join  thee  that  which  is  con-  Onesimus. 
venient,  (^^  yet  for  love's  sake  I  rather 
beseech  thee,  being  such  an  one  as  Paul 
the  aged,  and  now  also  a  prisoner  of 


rcfcrrinnf  it  to  its  true  origin — the  faith  towards  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Hence  tJie  broken  phrase.  The  sense 
seems  therefore  to  be  that  which  in  some  MSS.  has  been 
brouglit  out  by  a  natural  correction,  "thy  faith  towards 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  thy  love  to  all  the  saints." 

(6)  That  the  communication  of  thy  faith  .  .  . 
— Tlie  general  idea  of  St.  Paul's  prayer  for  Philemon 
is  clear — that  his  "  faith  may  become  effectual,"  i.e., 
enei'getic  and  perfected,  "  in  full  knowledge."  This  is 
exactly  the  prayer  which,  in  ditfex'ent  forms  and  degrees 
of  empliasis,  opens  all  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity. 
(See  Eph.  i.  17  ;  Phil.  i.  9  ;  Col.  i.  9.)  It  describes  the 
true  order  of  Christian  life,  so  fully  and  beautifully 
drawn  out  in  Eph.  iii.  17 — 19,  beginning  in  faith, 
deepened  by  love,  and  so  growing  to  knowledge. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  "  Why  the  communication  of 
thy  faith  ?  "  (1)  The  phrase  is  unique,  but  the  word 
rendered  "  communication "  is  the  well-known  word 
generally  rendered  "communion,"  or  "fellowship," 
except  where  (as  in  Rom.  xv.  26 ;  2  Cor.  viii.  4;  ix.  13; 
Heb.  xiii.  16)  it  is  used  technically  and  derivatively  of 
"  the  communieation  "  of  almsgiving.  The  phrase, 
therefore,  sliould  probably  be  rendered  the  "  communion 
of  thy  faith,"  i.e.,  "  thy  fellowship  in  faith."  (2)  But, 
again,  the  question  arises,  "  With  whom  is  this  fellow- 
ship ?  With  God  or  man  ?  "  The  answer  probably  is, 
"With  both."  Perhaps  for  growth  in  divine  know- 
ledge the  communion  need  only  be  with  God.  But  we 
observe  that  the  knowledge  is  not  merely  "  of  eveiy 
good  thing,"  i.e.,  of  all  that  is  of  God,  but  of  "  every 
good  thing  wliich  is  in  you  (or,  better,  in  us)  to- 
wards Christ  Jesus."  It  is,  therefore,  the  knowledge 
of  good — that  is,  of  God's  gift — as  dwelling  in  man  by 
the  unity  wliich  binds  all  to  Christ  Jesus.  (3)  Now 
for  knowledge  of  this,  fellowship  with  man  is  needed, 
as  well  as  fellowship  with  God.  The  soul  which  dwells 
alone  with  God,  even  in  the  holiest  seclusion,  knows 
what  is  good  in  the  abstract,  but  not  what  is  good  in 
man  in  the  concrete  reality.  But  Philemon's  house 
was  a  centre  of  Christian  life.  St.  Paul  might,  there- 
fore, well  speak  of  this  his  two- fold  "  fellowship  in 
faith,"  and  pray  that  it  miglit  grow  into  full  knowledge 
at  once  of  God  and  of  man  as  in  Him.  (4)  That  all 
such  growth  must  be  "  towards  Christ  Jesus,"  dependent 
on  unity  with  Him  and  serving  to  deepen  such  unity,  is 
the  cliaracteristic  doctrine  of  all  this  group  of  Epistles, 
especially  (if  the  Colossian  Epistle,  of  which  Onesimus 
was  ono  of  the  bearers. 

(<■)  The  bowels  of  the  saints  are  refreshed  by 
thee.— Tlie  same  idea  is  hero  carried  on.  St.  Paul 
declares  his  special  joy  to  have  been  that  "  the  bowels 
(i.e.,  the  hearts)  of  the  saints,  have  been  refreshed 
through  thee."  The  word  "  refresh  "  is  the  very  word 
used  by  our  Lord  in  His  gracious  promise  :  "  Come  unto 
mo  all  ye  that  travail  and  are  lieavy  laden,  and  I  will 
refresh  you"  (Matt.  xi.  281  It  is  ultimately  in  Him 
that  the  hearts  of  the  saints  are  refreshed.  But  in  this 
case  it  was  through  the  instrumentality  of  Philemon,  by 
"the  communion  of  faith,"  to  which  his  active  love  was 
the  means  of  welcoming  them,  and  in  which  they  had 


fellowship  in  Christ,  both  with  the  Father  and  with 
His  children.  (Comp.  1  John  i.  3.)  St.  Paul  uses  the 
word  "  refresh  "  not  unfrequently  to  express  the  relief 
and  rest  given  by  Christian  fellowship  on  earth.  (See 
below,  verse  20 ;  and  comp.  1  Cor.  xvi.  18 ;  2  Cor. 
vii.  13.)  We  find  it  in  the  Apocalypse  aiiplied  to  the 
rest  with  Christ  in  heaven  (Rev.  vi.  11 ;  xiv.  13). 

Brother. — The  name  is  given  to  Philemon  here  and 
in  verso  20  with  a  marked  emphasis  of  affection, 
evidently  implying  some  special  intimacy  of  friendship, 
not  apparently  at  Colossse  (for  see  Col.  ii.  1) ;  but  per- 
haps at  Ephesus,  during  St.  Paul's  long  stay  there. 
Probably  Philemon  (whose  son  Archippus  is  supposed 
to  have  been)  was  St.  Paul's  equal  in  age,  and  although 
actually  his  convert  is  not  addressed  (as  usual)  as  his 
"  son  in  the  faith."  In  this  place,  moreover,  the  title 
"brother"  has  a  peculiar  appropriateness :  for  the  Apostle 
has  been  speaking  of  the  love  of  Philemon,  which  made 
him  a  brother  indeed  to  all  in  the  family  of  Christ. 

(8—20)  Here  St.  Paul  enters  on  the  main  subject  of 
his  Letter — the  recommendation  to  Philemon  of  his 
runaway  slave,  Onesimus.  All  thoughtful  readers  of  the 
Epistle  must  recognise  in  this  a  peculiar  courtesy  and  deli- 
cacy of  tone,  through  which  an  afEectionate  earnestness 
shows  itself,  and  an  authority  all  the  gi-eater  because  it 
is  not  asserted  in  command.  The  substance  is  equally 
notable  iu  its  bearing  on  slavery.  Onesimus  is  doubly 
welcomed  into  the  Christian  family.  He  is  St.  Paid's 
son  in  the  faith :  he  is  to  Philemon  a  brother  beloved 
iu  the  Lord.  In  that  recognition  is  the  truth  to  which, 
both  in  theory  and  in  practice,  we  may  look  as  being 
the  destruction  of  slavery. 

(8, 9)  Wherefore  ...  for  love's  sake  .  .  .—Still 
the  same  idea  runs  on.  Philemon's  love,  shown  iu 
Christian  fellowship,  is  in  the  Apostle's  mind;  "there- 
fore," he  adds,  "for  love's  sake" — speaking  in  the 
spirit  of  love,  to  which  he  knew  there  would  be  a  ready 
response — he  will  not  command,  as  an  Apostle,  what  is 
"  convenient,"  i.e.,  seemly,  in  a  Christian  (comp.  Eph.  v. 
14;  Col.  iii.  18),  but  Avill  "  entreat  "  as  a  brother. 

(9)  Paul  the  aged,  and  now  also  a  prisoner 
of  Jesus  Christ. — At  this  time  St.  Paul  must  have 
been  between  fifty  and  sixty,  and  after  a  life  of  un- 
exampled labour  and  suffering  he  might  well  call  him- 
self "aged,"  not,  perhaps,  in  comparison  \vith  Philemon, 
but  in  relation  to  his  need  of  ministry  from  his  "  son  " 
Onesimus.  It  has  been  suggested  by  Dr.  Lightfoot 
that  we  should  read  here  (by  a  slight  change,  or  without 
any  change,  in  the  original),  the  O7nbassador,  and  also 
the  prisoner,  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  parallel  with  Eph. 
vi.  20 — "for  which  I  an\  an  ambassador  in  bonds" — and, 
indeed,  with  the  tone  in  which  St.  Paul  in  the  other 
Epistles  speaks  of  his  captivity  as  his  glory,  is  tempt- 
ing. But  the  change  seems  to  take  much  from  the 
peculiar  beauty  and  pathos  of  the  passage ;  which  from 
its  appeal  to  love,  rather  than  to  authoi-ity,  suits  especi- 
ally with  the  thought,  not  of  the  glory  of  ambassador- 
ship for  Christ,  but  of  the  weakness  of  an  old  age 
suffering  in  chains. 


272 


Commendation  of  Onesimus. 


PHILEMON. 


Intercession  for  him. 


Josus  Christ,  (i*^)  I  beseecli  thee  for  my 
sou  Onesimus,  wlioui  I  have  beg'otteu  iu 
my  bouds :  ^^^^  which  in  time  past  tvas 
to  thee  unprofitable,  but  now  profitable 
to  thee  and  to  me :  <^-)  whom  I  have 
sent  again  :  thou  therefore  receive  him, 
that  is,  mine  own  bowels :  ^^'^^  whom  I 
would  have  retained  with  me,  that  in 
thy  stead  he  might  have  ministered  unto 
me  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel :  (^"^^  but 
without  thy  mind  would  I  do  nothing ; 


that  thy  benefit  should  not  be  as  it  were 
of  necessity,  but  willingly.  (i^)  For 
perhaps  he  therefore  de-  Verses  15—20. 
parted  for  a  season,  that  I^J'^y^^       ^^at 

i,  Till  •         rhilemon     will 

thou  shOUldest  receive  accept  him  for 
him  for  ever ;  (^^>  not  now  St.  Paul's  sake. 
as  a  servant,  but  above  a  servant,  a 
brother  beloved,  SiDecially  to  me,  but 
how  much  more  unto  thee,  both  in 
the  flesh,  and  in  the  Lord?  (^^j  if 
thou    count   me    therefore   a    partner. 


(10)  My  son. — Properly,  my  own  child,  whom  I 
have  hcijotten  in  my  bonds,  Onesimus.  The  name  is 
withheld,  till  Philemou's  interest  is  doubly  engaged, 
for  one  who  is  the  Apostle's  "  own  child  "  (a  name  of 
endearment  given  elsewhere  only  to  Timotliy  and  Titus), 
and  for  one  who  Avas  begotten  under  the  hardships  and 
hindrances  of  imprisonment.  At  last  the  name  is 
given,  and  even  then  comes,  in  the  same  breath,  the 
declaration  of  the  change  in  him  from  past  uselessncss 
to  present  usefidness,  both  to  the  Apostle  and  to  his 
former  master. 

Onesimus.  —  Of  Onesimus  we  know  absolutely 
nothing,  except  what  we  read  here  and  in  Col.  iv.  9. 
Tradition,  of  course,  is  busy  with  his  name,  and  makes 
him  Bishop  of  Beroea,  in  Macedonia,  or  identifies  him 
with  the  Onesimus,  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  mentioned  in 
the  Ignatian  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  (chap.  i.  2 — 6). 
The  name  was  a  common  one,  especially  among  slaves. 

(11)  In  time  past  .  .  .  unprofitable,  but  now 
profitable. — The  name  Onesimus  means  "  useful,"  or 
"  profitable,"  though  derived  from  a  dilferent  root 
from  the  words  here  used.  It  is  hardly  possi1)le  not  to 
see  in  this  passage  a  play  on  words,  though  (curiously 
enough)  this  is  not  noticed  by  the  old  Greek  commen- 
tators. St.  Paul  seems  to  say,  "  He  belied  his  name  in 
days  past ;  he  will  more  than  deserve  it  now." 

To  thee  and  to  me. — St.  Paul  says  "  to  thee,"  for 
he  was  sendmg  back  Onesimus.  He  adds  "  to  me,"  in 
affectionate  notice  of  his  kindly  ministrations  already 
rendered,  to  his  spiritual  father. 

(1-)  Thou  therefore  receive  him. — The  word 
"  receive  "  is  not  iu  the  best  MSS.  It  is  supplied  here 
from  verse  17  (apparently  rightly  in  respect  of  sense) 
to  fill  up  a  broken  construction  in  the  original. 

Mine  own  bowels — i.e.,  my  own  heart,  dear  to 
me  as  my  own  soul.  There  is,  indeed,  an  usage  of  the 
word  which  applies  it  to  children  as  begotten  of  our  own 
body.  But  this  is  hardly  St.  Paul's  usage  (see  2  Cor. 
vi.  12;  Phil.  i.  8;  ii.  1  ;  Col.  iii.  12;  and  verses  T  and 
20  of  this  Epistle),  though  it  suits  very  well  with  the 
phrase  "  whom  I  have  begotten  "  above. 

(1:5)  Whom  I  would  have  retained. — ^In  the 
original  wo  have  hero  a  graceful  distinction  in  two 
points  between  the  two  clauses.  The  verb  in  the  first 
clause  is  "  to  wish ;  "  in  tlie  second  "  toAvill."  Tlie  tense 
in  the  first  clause  is  the  imperfect:  "  I  was  wishing," 
or  "  prepared  to  wish  "  (just  as  in  Acts  xxv.  22 ;  and, 
in  the  case  of  a  cognate  verb,  Rom.  ix.  3),  implying, 
perhaps,  a  suppressed  condition  ;  in  the  second  it  is  the 
past  definite  :  "  1  willed,"  or  "  determined  "  finally. 

In  thy  stead. — Here,  again,  there  is  a  certain  deli- 
cacy of  suggestion.  A  slave  was  his  master's  property  ; 
he  could  act  only  on  his  master's  behalf  and  by  his 
consent.  St.  Paul  is  sin-e  that  Philemon's  love  for  liim 
Would  have  gladly  given  that  consent,  and  so  made 
Onesimus  an  instrument  of  willing  service  to  St.  Paul. 

84  273 


(W)  That  thy  benefit  should  not  be  .  .  .—The 
benefit  derived  from  the  service  of  Onesimus  St.  Paul 
acknowledges  as  coming  from  Philemon,  because  given 
with  his  consent.  Ho  will  not  keep  Onesimus  and  ask 
that  consent  by  letter,  lest  it  should  be  "  as  it  were  of 
necessity  :  "  i.e.,  lest  it  should  wear  even  the  semblance 
of  constraint. 

(15)  For  perhaps  he  therefore  departed  (or, 
was  parted). — This  is  a  further  reason  for  sending 
Onesimus  back.  St.  Paul  now  touches  on  Onesimus' 
"  being  parted "  from  Philemon,  using  a  phrase  not 
only  (as  has  been  noted)  euphemistic,  but  also  one  which 
suggested  that  his  running  away  was,  however  un- 
consciously, overruled  by  a  higher  hand.  God,  in  His 
wisdom,  "  parted  "  him  from  Philemon  "  for  a  season, 
that  he  might  receive  him  for  ever."  The  phrase 
"for  ever"  is  the  word  always  used  for  "eternal." 
The  contrast  with  "for  a  season"  might  be  satisfied 
here  by  the  merely  relative  sense  of  "perpetual"  or 
"  life-long  service ;  "  but,  considering  that  the  phrase 
is  used  in  direct  refei-euce  to  the  brotherhood  of  the 
Communion  of  Saints,  it  is  better  to  take  it  in  its 
absolute  sense,  of  fellowship  iu  the  life  eternal. 

(16)  Not  now  as  a  servant,  but  ...  a  brother 
beloved  ...  in  the  Lord. — In  these  words  we  have 
at  last  the  principle  which  is  absolutely  destructive  of 
the  condition  of  slavery — a  condition  which  is  the 
exaggeration  of  natural  inferiority  to  the  effacement  of 
the  deeper  natural  equality.  (1)  The  slave — the  "li\'ing 
chattel"  of  inhuman  laws  and  philosophies — is  first  "a 
brother,"  united  to  his  master  by  natural  ties  of  ulti- 
mate equality,  having,  therefore,  both  duties  and  rights. 
(2)  But  he  is  also  a  "  brother  beloved."  These  natural 
ties  are  not  only  strengthened  by  duty,  but  made  living 
ties  by  the  love  which  delights  indeed  to  respect  the 
rights  of  others,  but  is  not  content  without  willingness 
to  sacrifice  even  our  own  rights  to  them.  (3)  Above  all, 
this  is  "  in  the  Lord."  The  slave  is  bought  by  Clirist's 
blood,  made  a  son  of  God.  and  therefore  a  brother  to 
all  who  are  members  of  the  familj'  of  God.  To  reject  and 
to  outrage  him  is  a  rejection  and  outrage  towards  Christ. 
Compare  St.  Peter's  striking  comparison  of  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  slave  to  the  passion  of  the  Divine  Sufferer 
(1  Pet.  ii.  18—24).  They  suffer  with  Him,  and  He 
suffers  in  them.  It  ha.s  been  proved  historically  that 
only  by  the  aid  of  this  last  and  highest  conception  has 
the  brotherhood  of  love — too  slowly,  indeed,  but  yet 
surely — assumed  reality.     (See  Introduction.) 

Specially  to  me,  but  how  much  more  unto 
thee  ?— St.  Paul  first  emphasises  his  own  love  fur 
Onesimus,  which,  indeed,  breathes  in  every  line  of  the 
Epistle;  but  then  goes  on  to  infer  in  Pliilemon  a  yet 
greater  affection — a  natural  love  towards  the  nursling 
of  his  liouse,  a  spiritual  love  towards  the  brother  "in 
the  Lord,"  lost  and  found  again. 

(17)  A  partner. — The  title  is  peculiar.  In  the  singular 


Suretyship  for  Onestmus. 


PHILEMON. 


ConfiJeiice  in  Philemon. 


receive  him  as  myself.  <'®>  If  he  hath 
%VTOuj^ed  thee,  or  oweth  thee  ou^'ht,  put 
that  on  mine  account ;  (^^>  I  Paul  have 
written  it  with  mine  own  hand,  I  will 
repay  H  :  albeit  I  do  not  say  to  thee 
how  thou  owest  unto  me  even  thine 
own  self  besides.  <-'"'  Yea,  brother,  let 
me  have  joy  of  thee  in  the  Lord :  re- 
Terses  "1-25  ^^^^^  "^^  bowels  in  the 
Salutation  and  Lord.  (-^^  Having  confi- 
concliision.  dence  in  thy  obedience  I 
wrote  unto  thee,  knowing  that  thou  wilt 


also  do  more  than  I  say.  (^^  But  withal 
prepare  me  also  a  lodging :  for  I  trust 
that  through  your  prayers  I  shall  be 
given  unto  you.  ^-^^  There  salute  thee 
Epaphras,  my  fellowprisoner  in  Christ 
Jesus;  (-*^  Marcus,  Aristarchus,  Demas, 
Lucas,  my  fellowlabourers.  ^^^  The 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  with 
your  spirit.     Amen. 

IT  Written  from  Rome  to  Pliileinon,  by  One- 
siiuus  a  servaut. 


nnmber  fin  which  it  is  naturally  more  distinctive)  and 
iu  absolute  use,  uucounectod  with  explanatory  words 
(such  as  wo  road  iu  1  Pet.  v.  1).  it  is  nowhere  else 
founrl,  except  in  2  Cor.  viii.  23,  where  Titus  is  called 
St.  Paul's  '•  partner  and  fellowhelper;"  and  even  there 
the  context  defines  the  partnership  as  relating  to  the 
collection  and  ministration  of  alms.  Here  it  can  hardly 
refer  to  general  Cliristian  fellowship,  which  would  re- 
quire some  such  words  as  "  iu  Christ,"  or  "  in  the 
Spirit,"  and  would  not  fully  justify  the  strong  personal 
appeal  of  the  passjige.  It  must  indicate  some  peculiar 
bimd  of  fellowsliip  l>etween  St.  Paul  and  Philemon. 
Philemon  was  his  convert  (see  verse  19) ;  yet  we  notice 
that  he  writes  to  him  not  as  a  son,  but  as  a  brother. 
Endently  ho  was  a  leader  in  the  Church  at  Colossse. 
Tradition,  as  usual,  makes  him  its  bishop.  He  must  have 
been  St.  Paul's  i)artner  in  some  common  work  or  special 
communion  of  familiarity.     (See  Introduction,  sect.  2.) 

(18)  If  he  hath  wronged  thee.— Properly,  If  he 
wronged  thee,  evidently  referring  to  the  time  of  One- 
simus'  escape.  ''  If  he  oweth  tliee  ought"  is  similarly, 
in  all  probability,  an  allusion  to  some  theft  at  the  same 
time,  couched  in  a  hypothetical  form,  but  implpng  no 
doubt  as  to  tlie  fact. 

Put  that  on  mine  account. — Comp.  a  similar 
commercial  metaphor  in  Pliil.  iv.  15—17,  and  see  Note 
tliere.  It  is  strangely  out  of  character  with  the  whole 
tone  of  the  Apostolic  life  to  imagine  (as  some  com- 
mentators have  done)  a  regular  debtor  and  creditor 
account  bt'tween  Pliilemon  and  St.  Paul. 

(••')  I  Paul  have  written  it  with  mine  own 
hand.— St.  Paul  actually  introduces  here  a  regular 
bond  couched  in  legal  form,  written  (as,  perliaps,  the 
whole  Letter  was  written)  with  his  own  hand.  In  so 
doing  ho  still  continues  the  idea  of  the  preceding 
vorso;  but  the  following  words  show  that,  though 
willing  to  .stand  to  his  bond,  he  knew  Philemon  too 
Well  to  suppos<*  that  he  would  accept  it. 

It  is  cl.-ar  from  this  passage  that  the  Apostle  had 
money  which  ho  could  right Iv  call  his  own.  At  Epho- 
8us,  wliere  he  prolwihly  first  'knew  Philemon,  it  would 
probably  1)0  earned  in  the  work  willi  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla,  as  at  Corinth,  and  it  is  possible  that  some  of  it 
miglit  still  remain.  In  Rome  now,  it  couhl  liardly  be 
from  any  other  source  than  the  offerings  from  the  Church 
at  Pliilippi.  They  were  given  him  freelv;  he  might 
fairly  spend  tluMU  on  his  own  "son  in  the  faith." 

Albeit  I  do  not  aay  to  thee  .  .  .—Literally, 
not  to  my  to  thee.  Hero  St.  Paul  escapes  from  the 
business-like  promise  of  the  hist  verse  to  the  freer 
atmo.sjihere  of  spiritual  rolations.  He  knew  that  this 
promise  it  was  right  for  him  to  offer,  but  wrong  f(ir 
Philemon  to  accept.  Pliilemon  owed  his  own  self— his 
new  self  in  Christ— to  the  Apostle.     In  that  was  a  debt 


274 


which  he  could  not  repay,  but  would  rejoice  even  in 
this  smaller  matter  to  acknowledge. 

(20)  Let  me  have  joy  of  thee.— Properly,  may 

1  liave  pleasure,  or  profit,  from  thee :  a  phrase  used 
especially  of  the  mingled  pleasure  and  help  derived 
from  children.  (See  Dr.  Lightfoot's  Note  on  this 
passage.)  The  word  "  I  "  is  emphatic.  St.  Paul  puts 
himself  forward  to  plead  for  Onesimus,  what  he  him- 
self could  not  plead.  Nor  can  it  be  accidental  that 
the  word  "  profit "  is  the  root  of  the  name  Onesimus. 
St.  Paul  says,  iu  effect,  "  May  I  find  thee  (as  I  have 
found  him)  a  true  Onesimus." 

Verses  21 — 25  contain  the  conclusion  of  the  Epistle 
— hope  to  \'isit  Philemon  soon,  salutation,  and  blessing. 

(21)  Confidence  in  thy  obedience.— It  is  curious 
to  notice  how,  iu  this  conclusion,  St.  Paul  seems  to 
glide,  as  it  were  insensibly,  out  of  the  tone  of  entreaty 
as  to  an  equal,  into  the  authority  of  a  superior.  The 
word  "  obedience  "  is  found  in  2  Cor.  vii.  15,  there  in 
connection  with  "  fear  and  trembling."  He  preferred 
to  appeal  to  Philemon's  love ;  he  knew  that  in  any  case 
he  could  rely  on  his  deference. 

Do  more  than  I  say. — This  can  hardly  refer  to 
anything  except  the  manumission  of  Onesimus,  and 
possibly  his  being  sent  back  again  to  St.  Paul.  Exactly 
in  this  way  Christianity  was  to  work  out  the  release  of 
the  slave — not  by  command,  but  by  free  and  natural 
inference  from  its  emphatic  declaration  of  his  true 
brotherhood  in  Christ. 

(")  A  lodging. — The  word  often  signifies  "  hospita- 
lity "  generally,  which  Philemon  might  naturally  offer 
in  his  own  house,  but  which  St.  Paul  would  not  suggest 
or  ask. 

I  shall  be  given  unto  you. — Literally,  as  a 
favour  from  supreme  authority.  Comp.  the  technical 
and  forensic  use  of  the  word  in  Acts  iii.  14;  xxv.  11  : 
for  good  in  one  case,  in  the  other  for  e\*il.  If  he  was 
so  "  granted,"  it  would  be  by  Cajsar  instrumentally,  by 
Gods  overruling  will  ultimately.  The  passage,  like 
Phil.  ii.  24,  but  even  more  definitely,  expresses  St. 
Paul's  expectation  of  a  release  which  might  enable  him 
to  visit  the  Ea.st  again.  It  is  curious  that  there  is  no 
similar  allusion  in  the  Colossian  Epistle,  sent  with  this. 

(23)  jujy  fellowprisoner. — Comp.  Col.  iv.  10,  and 
see  Note  there.  The  salutations  here  correspond 
exactly  in  substance  (though  more  condensed  in  style) 
with  that  passage,  except  that  "  Jesus,  called  Justus  " 
(probably  unknown  to  Pliilemon)  is  here  omitted. 

(25)  The  grace  .  .  .—This  form  of  St.  Paul's  usual 
blessing  is  found  also  in  Gal.   vi.  18;    Phil.    iv.    23; 

2  Tim.  iv.  22.  We  notice  by  the  word  "  your  "  that,  like 
the  opening  salutation,  it  is  addressed  to  all  Philemon's 
family  and  "  the  church  in  his  house." 


THE    EPISTLE    OP    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

HEBREWS. 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE    EPISTLE    OP    PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

HEBREWS. 


As  tlie  Epistle  to  tlie  Hebrews  is  presented  to  the 
reader  in  our  Euglisli  Bibles,  various  questions  wliieli 
beset  many  other  books  of  the  New  Testament  appear 
to  have  no  place.  It  is  entitled  "  The  Epistle  of  Paul 
the  Apostle  to  the  Hebrews  " ;  and  from  the  subscrip- 
tion we  learn  that  it  was  written  in  Italy  and  sent  to  its 
readers  by  the  hand  of  Timothy.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that,  whether  these  statements  have  or  have 
not  a  foundation  in  fact,  they  are  wholly  destitute  of 
authority  here  ;  for  no  ancient  manuscript  adds  to  the 
Epistle  anything  beyond  the  simple  words  "  To  the 
Hebrews,"  and  even  this  inscription  can  scarcely  have 
been  affixed  by  the  writer  himself.  Witliin  the  few 
pages  at  our  disposal  we  can  do  little  more  than  present 
a  summary  of  the  ancient  evidence  on  the  points  in 
question  and  the  chief  results  of  modern  investigation. 

I.  Ancient  Testimonies.  Canonicity.— That 
the  Epistle  was  known  and  read  before  the  close  of  the 
first  centmy  is  beyond  doubt.  The  earliest  Christian 
writing  beyond  the  limits  of  the  New  Testament  is  the 
Epistle  addressed  to  the  Church  of  Corinth  (about 
A.D.  95),  by  Clement,  writing  in  the  name  of  tlie  Roman 
Church.  This  Letter  contains  no  express  quotation  from 
any  Book  of  the  New  Testament,  and  one  only  (the 
First  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  the  same  Church)  is  men- 
tioned by  name.  In  several  places,  however,  words  from 
some  of  St.  Paxd's  Epistles  are  interwoven  with  the 
text  without  formal  introduction.  In  exactly  the  same 
manner,  but  to  a  greater  extent,  does  Clement  make 
use  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  as  the  following 
quotation  (from  cliap.  xxxvi.)  will  show  :  "  Throuali  Him 
the  Lord  willed  that  we  should  taste  the  immortal  know- 
ledge ;  who,  being  tlie  brightness  (or,  effulgence)  of  His 
majesty,  is  so  much  greater  than  angels  as  He  hath 
inherited  a  more  excellent  name.  For  it  is  thus  written : 
He  who  maketh  His  angels  winds  (or,  spirits),  and  His 
ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  But  in  regard  to  His  Son 
tlius  said  the  Lord  :  Thou  art  My  Son,  I  have  this  day 
begotten  Thee.  Ask  of  Me,  and  I  will  give  Thee 
nations  as  Thine  inheritance,  and  as  Thy  possession  the 
ends  of  the  eartli.  And  again  He  saith  unto  Him  :  Sit 
at  My  right  hand,  until  I  have  made  Thine  enemies  a 
footstool  of  Thy  feet." 

This  passage  does  not  stand  alone ;  but  of  itself  it  is 
sufficient  to  prove  that  the  Epistle  was  well  known  to 
the  Roman  Church  at  this  early  date.  The  traces  of 
the  Epistle  in  the  second  century  are  clear,  but  not 
numerous  until  we  reach  its  closing  years.  Quotations 
present  themselves  in  the  Homily  wliich  is  commonly 
called  Clement's  Second  Epistle,  written  at  Corintli  or 
Rome  about  a.d.  IK);  in  writings  of  Justin  Martyr 
(A.D.  14.')),  Pijij-tus  of  Crete  (A.D.  170),  Theophihis, 
Bishop  of  Antioch  (A.D.  18U).  It  is  also  important  to 
note  that  tlio  Epistle  was  one  of  the  twenty. two  books 
included  in  the  Syriac  version  of  the  New  Testament, 


the  date  of  which  is  probably  not  later  tlian  A.D.  150. 
That  Marcion  should  have  rejected  the  Epistle,  and  that 
it  is  passed  over  in  the  Muratorian  Fragment  (probably 
written  at  Rome  about  a.d.  170)  are  points  of  little 
consequence  ;  for  Marcion  is  known  to  have  rejected 
wliatever  conflicted  with  his  system  of  doctrine,  and  the 
Latin  document  has  not  come  do^vn  to  us  complete. 

Oue  testimony  belonging  to  the  close  of  the 
second  or  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  is  of  great 
interest  and  importance.  It  is  found  in  one  of  the 
works  of  Clement,  who  succeeded  Pantajnus  as  head  of 
the  catechetical  school  of  Alexandria,  about  a.d.  190. 
The  work  itself  survives  in  fragments  only ;  but  the 
following  passage  is  preserved  by  Eusebius  {Eccles. 
History,  \i.  14):  "And  in  his  Outlines  to  speak 
generally,  he  (Clement)  has  given  brief  expositions 
of  all  canonical  Scripture,  not  even  passing  by  the  dis- 
puted books — I  mean  the  Epistle  of  Jude  and  the  rest 
of  the  Catholic  Epistles,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  and  the 
so-called  Apocalypse  of  Peter.  And  moreover,  he  says 
that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  Paul's,  but  had 
been  wi-itten  to  the  Hebrews  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
and  that  Tuuke,  having  with  great  care  translated  it, 
published  it  for  the  Greeks ;  hence  this  Epistle  and  the 
Acts  are  found  to  have  the  same  colom-ing  of  style  and 
diction.  He  remarks  that  the  Epistle  does  not  begin 
with  'Paid  an  Apostle,'  and  with  reason;  for  (he  says), 
writing  to  Hebrews,  men  who  had  become  prejudiced 
against  him  and  were  suspicious  of  liim,  he  acted  very 
wisely  in  not  repelling  them  at  the  outset  by  giving  his 
name.  Then  a  little  below  he  adds  :  And  as  the  blessed 
presbyter  before  now  used  to  say,  since  the  Lord,  as 
Apostle  of  the  Almighty,  was  sent  to  Hebrews,  Paul 
through  modesty,  as  ha^^ug  been  sent  to  Gentiles,  does 
not  inscribe  himself  Apostle  of  Hebrews,  because  of 
the  honour  belonging  to  the  Lord,  and  also  because  he 
went  beyond  his  bounds  in  addressing  Hebrews  also, 
when  he  was  herald  and  Apostle  of  Gentiles." 

Wo  can  hardly  doubt  that  by  "the  blessed  presbyter" 
is  meant  Panta^nus,  whom  Clement  held  in  the  highest 
esteem.  '"  Thus "  (as  Dr.  Westcott  observes)  "  the 
tradition  is  carried  up  almost  to  the  Apostolic  age." 
It  will  be  seen  that  with  a  strong  affirmation  of  the 
Paidine  autliorship  of  the  Epistle  is  joined  a  distinct 
recognition  of  its  unlikeness  to  the  otlier  writings  of 
the  Apostle.  Of  much  greater  importance  is  the 
testimony  of  Origen.  Many  pas.sages  from  his  writings 
might  be  quoted  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  Epistle  as 
St.  Raid's,  and  many  more  in  wliich  he  appeals  to  it  as 
to  other  portions  of  the  New  Testament,  without  any 
reference  to  authorship.  In  one  of  his  latest  works, 
however.  Homilies  on  the  Hebrews  (written  between 
A.D.  245  and  253),  wo  have  the  complete  expression  of 
his  views.  Tlio  Homilies  are  not  preservea  to  ns,  but 
the  passage  is  gpvcn  by  Eusebius  in  liis  Eccles.  History 
(vi.  25),   and  is  as  follows:   "That  the  style  of   the 


277 


HEBREWS. 


Epistlo  wliioh  hoars  the  snporscripfion  To  the  Hebreivs 
does  not  exhil)it  the  Apostle's  plaiuiiess  iu  speech 
(tliougli  ho  confessed  liimself  to  ho  plain  in  Ins  speech, 
that  is,  in  his  diction),  but  that  the  Epistle  is  more 
Grecian  in  its  composition,  every  one  who  knows  how 
to  judjfe  of  differiMices  of  diction  would  acknowled<,'e. 
And  a<?.iin,  that  the  thouj^hts  of  the  Epistle  are  wonder- 
ful, and  not  inferior  to  the  acknowledf,'ed  writings  of 
tlio  Apostle,  this,  too,  (>very  one  who  gives  attention  to 
the  reading  of  the  Apostle's  words  would  allow  to  be 
true."  To^this,  after  other  remarks,  ho  adds  :  "  But  if 
I  were  to  give  my  own  oi)inion,  I  should  say  that  tho 
thoughts  belong  to  the  Apostle,  but  the  diction  and 
the  composition  to  some  one  wlio  wrote  from  memory 
tho  Apostle's  teaching,  and  who,  as  it  were,  commented 
on  tliat  which  had  l)eeu  said  by  his  teacher.  If  then 
any  church  holds  this  Epistle  to  he  Paul's,  let  it  be 
approved  even  for  this.  For  not  without  reason  have 
tho  men  of  olden  time  handed  it  down  as  Paul's.  But 
as  to  tho  question  who  wrote  the  Epistle,  tho  truth  is 
known  by  God  (only) ;  but  the  account  which  has 
reached  us  is  a  statenuMit  by  some  that  Clement  who 
became  Bishop  of  Rome  was  the  writer,  by  others  that 
it  was  Luke,  who  wrote  the  Gospel  and  the  Acts." 

The  intiuence  of  Origon  would  naturally  be  great  in 
removing  doubts  as  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Epistle. 
Whilst  the  more  thoughtful  would  learn  from  him  to 
distinguish  between  directly  apostolic  authorship  and 
canonicity,  the  effect  of  his  opinion  and  example  on  the 
many  would  be  to  strengthen  the  belief  that  the  Epistle 
should  1)0  accounted  St.  Paul's.  From  this  time 
onwards  the  Church  of  Alexandria,  as  represented  by 
a  succession  of  writers,  seems  to  have  held  the  Pauline 
authorshij)  as  a  matter  free  from  doubt. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  Latin  writers  of  North 
Africa.  Tertulliau  (about  A.D.  200),  indeed,  once 
quotes  some  verses  of  chapter  vi.,  but  assigns  them  to 
tho  Epislle  of  Barnnhas  to  the  Hebrews ;  an  Epistle 
which,  he  says,  deserves  inore  respect  than  the  Shepherd 
of  Hermas,  as  being  written  by  a  man  wiio  learnt  from 
Apostles  and  taught  with  Apostles.  No  other  certain 
quotation  from  the  Epistle  presents  iiself  in  Latin 
writers  for  many  years.  At  the  close  of  tho  third 
century  it  would  seem,  as  far  as  we  may  Jiidgo  from 
extant  Christian  literature,  that  tho  Epistlo  was  known 
and  received  by  tho  Churches  of  Alexandria,  Syria, 
Rome,  and  Asia  Minor,  and  tliat  in  Alexandria  and 
Syria  it  was  regarded  as  a  work  of  St.  Paid.  Writing 
before  A.D.  320,  Eusebius  expressly  mentions  the 
Church  of  Rome  as  rejecting  tho  Pauline  authorship  of 
tho  Epistle.  It  is  not  necessary  to  give  any  express 
quotations  from  Avriters  of  the  fourth  century.  By 
this  tinio  tho  doubts  respecting  the  Epistle  are  confined 
to  tho  Western  Churches  :  in  Syria,  Palestine,  Asia 
Minor,  Alexandria,  Constantinople,  tlio  Paulino  author- 
slim  appears  to  have  been  universally  admitted.  Tho 
inffuenco  of  Jerome  and  Augustine  ultimately  prevailed 
in  tho  West:  neither  of  these  eminent  Fathers  appears 
really  to  have  regarded  the  Epistlo  as  St.  Paul's,  but 
they  agree  in  the  expression  oi  a  strong  conviction  of 
its  canonical  authoritj-. 

The  object  of  this  summary  of  ancient  evidence  has 
been  to  sIkjw  how  the  Epistlo  won  its  way  to  uftiversal 
acknowledgment  as  a  part  of  sacnnl  Scripture,  and  at 
tho  saino  time  to  present  the  chief  testimonies  of  the 
early  Church  on  tho  other  important  qu(>stions  which 
coiicoru  tho  Book.  It  cannot  be  thought  surprising 
that  for  a  time  many  should  evince  hesitation  in  n^gard 
to  such  a  document  as  this — anonymous,  peculiar  in 
character,  and  addressed  to  a  special  and  limited  circle 


278 


of  readers.  The  doubts  have  in  later  times  had  little 
power.  Their  effect  may,  for  tho  most  i)art,  be  traced 
in  a  varying  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the  Book 
as  compared  with  the  undoubted  writings  of  St.  PauL 

II.  Authorship. — In  regard  to  the  authorship  of 
the  Epistle,  the  most  important  ancient  testimonies 
have  been  cited  already  ;  and  in  them  we  find  more  or 
less  clearly  stated  almost  all  tho  possible  solutions  of 
the  problem.  The  character  of  the  Epistlo  is  beyond 
all  question  Paul-like  (if  wo  may  so  speak,  to  avoid 
the  ambiguity  of  "Pauline").  If  then  it  is  not  to  be 
ascribed  directly  to  St.  Paul,  we  must  suppose  either 
(1)  that  it  is  a  translation  from  a  Hcl)rew  original 
written  by  him ;  or  (2)  that,  whilst  the  substance  of  the 
Epistle  is  his,  tho  diction  and  style  belong  to  one  of  his 
companions,  who,  for  some  unexplained  cause,  put  the 
Apostle's  tlumghts  into  form;  or  (3)  that  the  Epistle 
was  written  by  a  friend  or  disciple  of  St.  Paul.  Each 
of  the  four  hypotheses  may,  as  we  have  said,  claim  the 
evidence  of  early  writers;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  extreme 
difficulty  rightly  to  estimate  the  value  of  this  evidence. 
That  the  Epistle  was  directly  written  by  St.  Paul  is  an 
opinion  of  which  we  have  no  distinct  eWdeuce  earlier 
than  the  third  century.  Even  then  the  language  used 
on  the  subject  is  not  perfectly  clear;  for  Origen's 
example  proves  that  the  quotation  of  the  Epistle  under 
St.  Paul's  name  may  mean  nothing  more  than  a  recog- 
nition that  its  substance  and  teaching  are  his.  If 
Origeii  had  influence  in  producing  the  later  consensus 
of  opinion  as  to  the  authorship,  that  opinion  may  fairly 
be  judged  of  (to  a  considerable  extent)  by  reference  to 
Origen's  own  explanation  of  the  sense  in  which  ho 
ascribed  the  Epistle  to  St.  Paul.  At  all  events,  his 
plain  statement  of  the  case  as  it  presented  itself  in  his 
day  seems  distinctly  to  prove  that  there  existed  no 
such  clear  and  authoritative  tradition  in  favour  of  tho 
Pauline  authorship  as  might  claim  our  submission,  upon 
the  ordinary  principles  of  literary  criticism.  To  in- 
ternal evidence  Origen  makes  ajipeal :  to  the  same  test 
of  internal  evidence  we  believe  the  case  must  now  bo 
brought.  Similar  observations  apply  to  the  other  hypo- 
theses. Each  of  these  appears  earlier  in  existing  docu- 
ments than  that  of  whicli  we  have  been  speaking.  Tho 
opinion  expressed  by  Clement,  that  the  Greek  Epistle  is 
a  translation,  was  probahly  derived  by  him  from  Pan- 
ttcnus  :  the  traditions  mentioned  by  Origen  cannot  bo 
of  later  date  ;  and  Tertullian's  reference  to  Barnabas 
carries  back  the  last  hyj)othesis  to  the  close  of  the  second 
century.  But  again  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  tho 
ancient  testimonies  present  independent  evidence,  or 
are  no  more  than  conjectures  to  explain  the  patent  facts. 
At  all  events,  the  variance  in  the  traditions  may  leave 
our  judgment  free,  especially  as  we  can  plainly  perceive 
in  what  way  the  traditions  might  very  possibly  arise. 

If  we  now  proceed  to  test  each  of  the  hypotheses 
that  have  been  mentioned  by  tho  testimony  which  the 
Epistle  gives  respecting  itself,  the  first  question  to  bo 
decided  is,  Have  we  the  Epistle  in  its  original  form  ? 
If  the  opinion  quoted  by  Clement  is  correct — that  tho 
Greek  document  before  us  is  a  translation — our  right  to 
argue  from  its  characteristics  will  bo  materially  affected. 
This  opinion  has  not  lacked  advocates,  and  has  been  re- 
cently maintained  in  an  able  but  very  disappointing 
work  by  Dr.  Biesenthal.  Wo  have  no  space  here  for 
tho  discussion  of  such  a  question,  and  can  only  express 
in  a  word  or  two  the  results  to  which  the  evidence 
before  us  leads.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the 
hypothesis  appears  absolutely  untenable  :  for  one 
difficulty  which  it  removes,  it  introduces  many  more.  . 


HEBREWS. 


Dr.  Biescnthal's  own  treatment  of  varions  passages  is 
sufBcieut  to  show  that  those  who  regard  the  Epistle  as 
translated  from  a  Hebrew  original  must  necessarily 
regard  it  as  a  translation  tliat  is  often  inaccurate,  and 
needs  the  correction  of  the  commentator.  Few  will  bo 
prepared  to  surrender  the  Epistle  to  such  treatment, 
unless  under  constraint  of  argument  immeasurably 
stronger  than  any  yet  adduced. 

Our  inquiry  therefore  is  limited  to  the  Greek  Epistle 
as  it  stands.  The  questions  at  issue  are  very  simple. 
What  is  there,  either  in  the  substance  or  in  the  diction 
of  the  Epistle,  that  may  lead  us  to  ascribe  it  to  St. 
Paul  ?  What  peculiarities  of  thought  or  language 
separate  it  from  his  writings  ?  In  its  general  arrange- 
ment and  plan  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  cannot  but 
remind  us  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  true  there  is  no  opening 
salutation,  or  direct  address,  such  as  is  found  in  all 
St.  Paul's  Epistles.  These  Epistles,  however,  differ 
greatly  amongst  themselves  in  this  respect.  Thus,  in 
writing  to  the  Galatians,  the  Apostle  is  impatient  of 
anything  that  may  detain  him  from  the  great  topics  on 
which  he  is  to  speak;  and  it  is  possible  to  imagine 
reasons  which  might  lead  him  to  avoid  all  mention  of 
the  Church  addressed,  and  even  to  keep  back  his  own 
name.  But,  waiving  this,  we  recognise  at  once  the 
familiar  plan  :  first  the  discussion  of  dogmatic  truth ; 
then  the  earnest  exhortation  based  on  the  doctrine  thus 
presented  ;  and,  lastly,  the  salutations,  interwoven  with 
personal  notices,  with  doxology  and  pi'ayer.  The  main 
outlines  of  theological  teaching  are  in  close  accord  with 
St.  Paul's  Epistles :  chaps,  ii.  and  v.,  for  example,  as 
strikingly  recall  Phil.  ii.  as  docs  chap.  xiii.  the  closing 
chapter  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Other  points  of 
special  resemblance  will  easily  suggest  themselves,  such 
as  the  relation  of  the  writer  to  those  whom  he  addresses 
(chap.  xiii.  18,  19,  &c.),  the  mode  in  which  he  refers  to 
Timothy  (verse  23),  his  Pauline  illustrations  (see  Notes 
on  chaps,  v.  12,  13 ;  xii.  1 — 4),  his  choice  of  Old  Testa- 
ment passages.  Under  the  last  head  may  be  specially 
mentioned  the  quotation  of  Ps.  viii.  (1  Cor.  xv.  25 — • 
28)  and  Dent,  xxxiii.  30  (Rom.  xii.  19);  see  the  Notes  on 
chaps,  ii.  6;  x.  30.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into 
further  detail  in  pi'oof  of  a  position  allowed  by  all,  that 
(as  has  been  already  said)  the  Epistle,  whether  by  St. 
Paul  or  not,  is  Paul-like  in  the  general  character  of  its 
teaching  and  in  many  of  its  special  features. 

It  is  of  much  greater  moment  to  examine  those 
passages  of  the  Epistle  and  those  peculiarities  of 
teaching  or  language  which  have  been  adduced  as  in- 
consistent with  the  Pauline  authorship.  Resemblance 
may  be  accounted  for  more  readily  than  points  of  dif- 
ference ;  for  a  disciple  of  St.  Paul  would  hardly  fail  to 
exhibit  many  of  the  traits  characteristic  of  such  a 
master.  Hero,  it  wiU  be  seen,  the  distinction  between 
style  and  subject  matter  must  be  carefully  observed. 
If  this  Epistle  could  be  proved  to  differ  in  diction  only 
from  the  acknowledged  writings  of  St.  Paul,  some 
theory  of  mediate  authorship  (similar  to  that  mentioned 
by  Origen)  would  be  very  possible  ;  if  the  discordances 
lie  deeper,  no  such  theory  can  be  maintained. 

When  an  argument  must  rest  on  characteristics  of 
Greek  diction  and  style,  it  is  very  probable  that  dif- 
ferent conclusions  may  be  reached  by  different  readers. 
This  question,  again,  cannot  be  examined  here  in  any 
detail.  The  ^vriter  can  only  state  tlie  impression  made 
upon  his  own  mind  by  the  original  t<'xt,  and  especially 
by  the  careful  study  pursued  for  tlie  purpose  of  this 
Commentary.  From  point  to  point  the  general  likeness 
of  the  Epistle  to  St.  Paul's  writings  came  out  more  and 
more  plainly  :  on  the  other  hand  arose  a  contiuually 


increasing  wonder  that  the  Greek  sentences  and 
periods  should  ever  have  been  attributed  to  tliat 
Apostle's  hand.  We  have  before  us  Epistles  belonging 
to  every  period  during  the  last  thirteen  or  fourteen 
years  of  St.  Paul's  life,  written  under  widely  different 
circumstances, — some  during  the  enforced  leisure  of 
imprisonment,  others  amid  active  labour.  We  can 
trace  differences  of  style  resulting  both  from  the  timo 
of  writing  and  from  the  circumstances  which  called 
forth  the  Epistles ;  but  these  differences  lie  within 
a  comparatively  narrow  compass.  At  whatever  date 
St.  Paul  might  be  supposed  to  have  written  this  Epistle, 
we  can  compare  it  with  some  other  of  his  writings 
belonging  nearly  to  the  same  period  ;  and  the  differences 
of  language  and  style  presented  by  the  two  documents 
are,  we  are  persuaded,  far  greater  than  those  presented 
by  the  most  dissimilar  of  the  thirteen  Epistles.  Stress 
has  been  laid  on  the  unique  character  of  this  Epistle,  as 
the  only  one  addressed  to  Hebrews  by  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles  :  but  it  has  been  well  asked  why  St.  Paul 
should  adopt  a  more  finished  Greek  style  in  addressing 
Jews  than  when  writing  to  the  Greeks  of  Corinth.  For 
ourselves  we  must  express  our  decided  conviction  that, 
whatever  may  be  the  relation  of  the  Epistle  to  St.  Paul, 
the  composition  of  the  Greek  was  certainly  not  his. 

The  remaining  points  of  difference  which  (it  is 
alleged)  separate  this  Epistle  from  St.  Paul's  writings 
may  be  ranged  under  the  following  heads: — (1)  state- 
ments of  fact  which  we  cannot  suppose  to  have  pro- 
ceeded from  the  Apostle ;  (2)  divergence  in  doctrinal 
view  ;  (3)  peculiarities  in  the  use  of  the  Old  Testament; 
(4)  the  use  made  of  Alexandrian  writers. 

(1)  The  most  important  passage  is  chap.  ii.  3 :  "  which 
(salvation)  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord, 
and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them  that  heard."  In 
these  words  the  writer  appears  distinctly  to  sever  him- 
self from  those  who  had  directly  received  the  word 
from  the  Lord.  It  is  urged  that  he  is  here  associating 
himself  with  his  readei-s,  as  when  in  chap.  iv.  1  ho 
writes  "  Let  zis  therefore  fear;"  see  also  chaps,  x.  24, 
25,  26  ;  xii.  1,  et  al.  We  will  not  venture  to  say  that  an 
Apostle  could  not  have  thus  written;  but.  bearing  in 
mind  the  necessity  which  lay  upon  St.  Paul  to  defend 
his  apostolic  position,  and  the  claim  which  he  con- 
sistently makes  to  have  received  his  teaching  by  direct 
revelation  (Gal.  i.  1,  11,  12,  et  al.),  wo  must  hold  it 
extremely  improbable  that  he  should  use  words  that 
might  even  appear  to  represent  him  as  only  a  disciple 
of  the  Apostles.  On  the  other  passages  which  have 
been  brought  into  this  controversy  a  very  different 
judgment  must  be  passed.  It  is  alleged  that  in  the 
description  of  the  Temple  furniture  (chap,  ix.)  tho 
writer  falls  into  mistakes,  asserting  that  the  altar  of 
incense  (or,  the  golden  censer)  was  placed  in  the  Hcily 
of  Holies,  that  the  ark  contained  the  pot  of  manna  and 
Aaron's  rod.  and  that  even  in  his  own  day  the  Most 
HolyJPlace  into  wliich  the  high  priest  entered  year  l)y 
year  still  contained  tho  cherubim  and  the  ark  of  tho 
covenant.  If  tho  writer  has  indeed  fallen  into  these 
mistakes  we  may  safely  say  that  lie  is  not  St.  Paul. 
But,  as  tho  Notes  on  chap.  ix.  2 — 6  will  show,  we  hold 
that  there  is  no  real  reason  for  impugning  the  accuracy 
of  his  words.  No  part  of  his  description  relates  to  the 
Temple  services  or  furniture  :  he  is  occupied  tliroughout 
with  the  injunctions  of  the  Mosaic  law  and  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  Tabeniacle.  Even  the  association  of  tho 
altar  of  incense  with  tho  Most  Holy  Place  may  l>c  very 
easily  explained.  If  tho  view  we  have  taken  is  corn^ct. 
this  argument  against  the  Paulino  aufliorship  must  fall 
to  the  ground.      It  is  not  necessary,  therefore,  to  do 


279 


HEBREWS. 


moro  tlmn  montlontho  inpronionsattpinpt  of  Wiosoler  to 
show  tliat  ill  tlic  (li'siTii)ti()iis  of  cli.ii).  ix.  the  writer  had 
in  iniiitl,  not  tli.'  Talicriiaflc  or tlu'Tiiiiple  of  Jerusalem, 
but  thi>  tenipio  ))uilt  l)y  Onias  at  Lcoutopolis  iu  Lower 
Egypt  (about  n.c.  170). 

(21  Tho  alletred  ditTercnecs  of  doctrinal  statement 
arc  of  three  kinds.  Of  St.  Paul's  favourite  toi)ics  some 
are  absent  from  this  Epi.stle,  sonu^  are  treated  iu  a 
different  manner:  and.  again,  certain  themes  hero 
brought  into  promineiu-e  are  not  noticed  in  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul.  Thus  wo  find  only  ono  pas.sago  iu  this 
Epistle  in  whicli  the  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  ever  a 
prominent  topic  with  St.  Paul,  is  mcutioned  (soo 
diap.  xiii.  20);  tho  law,  faith,  righteousness,  are  lookotl 
at  from  a  different  i)oint  of  view  ;  the  promiueuce  here 
given  to  the  High-priesthood  of  Jesus  is  foreign  to 
St.  Paul's  Epistles.  It  would  require  a  volume  duly 
to  examine  the  various  particulars  adduced  under  this 
liead  ;  for  tho  real  question  is  not  whether  tho  teaching 
is  opposed  to  St.  Paul's,  but  whether  the  various  thomes 
are  treated  in  the  manner  characteristic  of  the  Apostle. 
Wo  do  not  believe  that  the  most  cai-eful  examination 
will  detect  any  real  discord  l)etween  the  dogmatic 
teaching  of  this  Epistle  and  that  of  St.  Paul;  but  the 
peculiarities  in  selection  of  topics  and  in  mode  of 
tn<atment  are  sufficient  (even  when  all  allowance  has 
beim  made  for  the  special  position  and  aim  of  tho 
Epistle)  to  suggest  that,  if  St.  Paul  "laid  the  founda- 
tion," it  is  another  who  "  buildeth  thereon,"  "according 
to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto  "  him  (1  Cor. 
iii.  10).  The  resemblances  in  teaching  may  show  the 
presence  of  the  Apostle,  but  the  new  coloiiring  and 
arrangement  prove  that  he  is  present  only  in  the  person 
of  a  disciple  on  whom  his  master's  mantle  has  fallen, 
and  who  is  taught  bj-  the  same  Siiirit. 

(3)  A  similar  conclusion  is  suggested  by  a  review  of 
the  arguments  that  arc  founded  on  the  difference  in  the 
use  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that 
in  the  Epistle  before  us  this  subject  is  of  tho  greatest 
consequence,  for  "  tlie  whole  argument  of  the  Epistle 
depends  on  the  reality  of  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the 
Old  Testament."  But  tho  essential  principle  involved 
is  found  as  truly  in  St.  Paul  (see  1  Cor.  x. ;  2  Cor.  iii. ; 
(ial.  iv.  ;  Eph.  v..  ct  nl.).  The  New  Testament  is  not 
divided  against  itself  in  its  recognition  of  the  Old.  As 
lias  been  truly  said,*  "The  autliority  of  Christ  Himself 
cncouragi>s  us  to  search  for  a  deep  and  spiritual 
meaning  und<'r  the  ordinary  words  of  Scripture,  which, 
however,  cannot  be  gained  by  any  arbitrary  allegorising, 
btit  only  by  following  out  patiently  the  course  of  God's 
dealings  with  man."  But  again  when  we  come  to 
details  we  find  marks  of  divergence  from  St.  Paul.  In 
tiu»  Epistle  to  tho  Hebrews  the  word  of  Scripture  is 
almost  always  quoted  as  tho  direct  utterance  of  God 
("He  saith,"  "Ho  hath  said"),  whereas  St.  Paul 
commonly  uses  tho  formula  "It  is  written"  or  "Tho 
Scripture  saith."  The  latter  mode  of  introduction, 
which  occurs  about  thiriy  times  in  the  Pauline  Epistles, 
IS  not  once  used  in  this;  and.  on  the  other  hand,  such 
examples  as  Ejtli.  iv.  H  are  very  rare  in  St.  Paul.  Tiio 
quotations  in  this  Epistle,  again,  are  commonly  taken 
directly  from  the  LXX.,  even  when  it  diilcMs  from  tho 
Hebrew  ;  and  for  tlie  most  i)art  agree  with  that  textwhich 
is  preserved  to  us  in  the  Alexandrian  manuscript:  St. 
Paul  shows  more  ac(iuaintance  with  the  Hebrew.  In 
each  of  these  arguiiKMits  (the  former  especially)  there  is 
force.  The  latter,  however,  has  lieen  pressed  unduly; 
for  an  examination  of  the  quotations,  as  they  stand  in 

*  Westcott.  Introduction  to  the  Gos})els.  p.  412. 


280 


the  best  text  of  the  Epistle,  will  show  not  a  few 
departures  from  tho  Greek  version,  and  there  are  not 
wanting  tokens  of  the  writer's  acquaintance  either  with 
tho  Hebrew  original  or  with  a  more  accurate  translation 
of  some  passages  than  the  LXX.  affords. 

(-1)  One  distinguisliing  peculiarity  of  this  Eiiistlo  is 
found  in  tlio  many  remarkal)le  coincidences  both  of 
thought  and  of  expression  Avith  the  writings  of  Pliilo 
of  Alexandria.  One  or  two  examples  are  quoted  in  tlio 
notes ;  but  nothing  short  of  a  collection  of  all  tho 
points  of  similarity,  as  presented  in  the  Greek  text, 
will  show  this  characteristic  of  tho  Epistle  in  its  proper 
light.  Both  St.  Paul  and  St.  John  exhibit  acquaintance 
with  the  Alexandrian  philosophy,  but  it  has  left 
comparatively  slight  traces  in  their  writings.  The 
resemblance  in  language  in  many  passages  of  this 
Epistle  is  all  the  moro  remarkable  because  of  the 
fundamental  differences  in  doctrine  between  the 
Christian  teacher  and  the  Alexandrian  philosopher. 
Another  point  of  interest  can  only  be  briefly  mentioned, 
— the  many  words  and  phrases  common  to  this  Epistle 
and  tho  Book  of  Wisdom.  The  reader  is  referred  to 
the  remarkably  interesting  papers  by  Professor 
Plumptre  in  vol.  i.  of  The  Expositor,  on  "  Tho  Writings 
of  Apollos." 

On  a  review  of  the  wliole  case,  tliere  is  only  one 
conclusion  that  appears  possible — that  the  Epistle  was 
written  by  one  who  had  stood  iu  a  close  relation  with 
St.  Paul,  but  not  by  St.  Paul  himself.  It  will  bo 
readily  understood  that  the  arguments  given  above  are 
not  adduced  as  being  of  equal  weight :  some  are  only 
confirmatory,  and  might  not  have  very  much  force  if 
they  stood  alone ;  but  all  point  with  more  or  less 
distinctness  to  the  conclusion  which  has  been  stated. 
Farther  than  this  we  cannot  go  with  certainty ;  and  it 
is  perhaps  wisest  to  rest  satisfied  with  this  negative 
result.  If  we  turn  to  the  positive  side,  we  have  little 
to  guide  our  judgment.  Three  names  only  seem  to 
be  mentioned  by  early  writers — those  of  Barnabas, 
Clement  of  Rome,  and  St.  Luke.  The  Epistle  is  quoted 
by  Tertullian,  as  we  have  seen,  as  a  work  of  Barnabas ; 
and  two  later  Latin  writers,  Philastrius  and  J»>rome, 
mention  the  same  tradition.  In  one  passage  Jerome 
says  that  very  many  (perhaps  meaning  many  of  tho 
Greek  ecclesiastical  writers)  assign  the  Epistle  to  Bar- 
nabas or  Clement;  in  another  he  mentions  Tertullian 
alone  as  an  authority  for  this,  and  seems  to  attadi  no 
special  importance  to  the  opinion.  It  would  seem  that 
tho  tradition  was  very  limited :  it  is  especially  note- 
worthy that  the  name  of  Barnabas  is  not  found  in  tho 
passages  quoted  from  Origen.  We  know  too  little  of 
Barnabas  to  judge  for  ourselves  of  the  intrinsic  proba- 
bility of  the  hypothesis :  the  so-called  internal  argu- 
ments which  have  been  adduced  by  some  are  of  no 
worth.  The  Epistle  which  bears  tlie  name  of  Barnabas 
belongs,  in  all  probaliility,  to  the  beginning  of  tiie 
second  century,  and  has  no  connection  with  the  com- 
panion of  St.  Paul.  That  Epistle,  therefoi'o  (which 
presents  a  remarkal)le  contrast  to  the  teaching  of  tho 
Epistle  to  the  HeJirews;  see  Westcott  On  the  Canon, 
pp.  43 — 45)  yields  no  evidence  in  the  present  inquiry. 

In  regard  to  Clemimt  we  can  speak  with  more  con- 
fidence, as  we  possess  one  Epistle  whicli  is  certainly 
from  his  hand.  That  document  contains  passages 
belonging  to  our  Epistle,  but  th(>y  are  no  doubt  cpiota- 
tions  from  it,  and  the  general  style  and  cliaracter  of 
Clement's  lictter  forbid  us  to  ascribe  the  two  works  to 
the  same  writer.  ]\Iuch  moro  favour  has  in  recent 
times  been  shown  to  the  other  tradition  which  Origen 
records— that   the  Epistle  was  written   by  St.  Luke- 


I 


HEBEEWS. 


Tl\e  rcseinblancos  of  language  between  this  Epistle  and 
St.  Luke's  writings  arc  numerous  and  striking;  but 
with  all  this  there  is  great  dissimilarity  of  style.  The 
difference  between  a  Letter  such  as  tliis  and  historical  or 
biographical  memoirs  must  indeed  be  taken  into  account ; 
but  even  when  allowance  has  been  made  for  this,  it  is 
difficult  to  receive  the  writer  of  the  Acts  as  the  author 
of  our  Epistle.  Another  consideration  also  is  of  weight. 
We  can  hardly  doubt  that  wo  have  before  us  here  the 
work  of  a  Jew ;  but  St.  Paul's  words  in  Col.  iv.  11, 
1-i,  imply  that  St.  Luke  was  of  Gentile  birtli. 

The  subject  is  not  one  for  confideut  assertion ;  but 
we  strongly  doubt  whether  the  Epistle  can  be  ascribed 
to  any  of  those  suggested  by  ancient  writers.  One 
other  liypothcsis  must  be  mentioned,  which  has  com- 
manded the  atlhesion  of  many  of  the  ablest  winters  of 
recent  times.  Luther  was  the  first  to  express  (in  his 
Commentartj  on  Genesis)  an  opinion  that  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  was  the  work  of  Apollos.  Some  will 
maintain  that  conjecture  is  inadmissible,  but  certainly 
all  the  conditions  of  the  problem  appear  to  be  satisfied 
by  this  conjecture.  The  record  of  St.  Luke  in  Acts 
xviii.  24 — 28,  xix.  1,  supplemented  by  St.  Paul's  refer- 
ences in  1  Corinthians,  might  seem  to  have  been 
expressly  designed  to  show  the  special  fitness  of  Apollos 
for  writing  such  an  Epistle  as  this.  Our  limits  will 
not  allow  us  to  enter  into  further  detail,  but  the  reader 
will  find  all  the  particulars  admirably  stated  in  the  Notes 
on  the  verses  in  the  Acts.  If  it  be  not  unbecoming  to 
go  beyond  the  words  of  Origen  on  such  a  subject  as 
tliis,  and  to  favour  an  hypothesis  for  which  no  express 
evidence  can  be  adduced  from  ancient  times,  we  can 
have  no  hesitation  in  joining  those  who  hold  that  it  is 
the  Jew  of  Alexandria,  "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures," 
"fervent  in  spirit,"  the  honoured  associate  of  St.  Paul, 
who  here  carries  on  the  work  which  he  began  in  Achaia, 
when  "  he  mightily  convinced  the  Jews,  showing  by 
the  Scriptures  that  Jesus  was  Christ." 

IIL  Readers. — The  inquiiy  as  to  the  original 
readers  of  the  Epistle  is  even  more  difficult.  It  may 
be  assumed  with  confidence  that  the  pi-esent  title  of 
the  Epistle  is  not  that  which  it  originally  bore.  There 
has  sometimes  been  a  disposition  to  deny  the  propriety 
of  the  name  Epistle ;  and  it  has  been  thought  that  the 
peculiarity  of  the  opening  verses,  containing,  as  they 
do,  neither  address  nor  author's  name,  may  be  most 
easily  explained  on  the  supposition  that  the  work  is  a 
liomily  or  general  treatise.  But  a  very  slight  exami- 
nation will  prove  that  such  a  theoiy  has  no  Jfoundation. 
The  closing  verses  show  that  a  particular  community 
IS  directly  addressed,  a  community  well  kno^vn  to  the 
writer,  whose  att'ection  the  writer  knew  himself  to 
possess,  tlioufjh  some  individuals  may  have  distrusted 
him  and  misjudged  his  acts  and  motives.  He  complains 
of  their  d(>clensiou  in  Christian  knowledge,  and  points 
out  its  cause  (chap,  v.);  thankfully  recognises  their 
generous  love  to  the  brethren  (chaps,  vi.,  x.) ;  and  urges 
them  to  be  true  to  their  ovm  past  history  (cliap.  x.). 
He  cannot  but  have  known  that  the  trials  and  neces- 
sities of  many  other  communities  were  very  similar; 
but.  like  St.  Paul,  he  addresses  the  wider  only  throiigh 
the  narrower  circle.  The  immediate  impulse  was  given 
by  the  news  he  had  received  respecting  brethren  for 
wliom  he  himself  had  laboured,  and  over  whose  welfare 
ho  was  l)ound  diligently  to  watdi.  The  Epistle  needed 
no  express  inscription  to  make  tlie  first  readers  under- 
stand from  whom  it  came  and  to  wliom  it  was  sent; 
and  it  is  not  impossible  that  (as  Ewald  suggests)  the 
watchfulness  of  enemies  may  liave  rendered  some  con- 


cealment a  matter  of  prudence.  The  absence  of  the 
writer's  name  has  been  considered  confirmatory  of  the 
belief  that  Apollos  wrote  the  Epistle.  In  one  church, 
as  we  know,  rival  factions  had  arisen,  some  saying,  "  I 
am  of  Paul,"  others  "  I  am  of  Apollos  ;  "  and  the  inci- 
dent recorded  in  1  Cor.  xvi.  12  seems  to  point  to  the 
r(;gret  of  ApoUos  that  his  name  should  have  been  so 
used.  Such  a  feeling  may  have  continued  to  operate, 
and  have  led  to  this  partiiil  withdrawal  of  himself  from 
view.     (See  Alford's  Gh.  Test,  vol.  iv.  pp.  GO,  61.) 

It  is  very  plain  that  the  Epistle  is  addressed  to 
Jewish  Christians,  and  its  present  name  was  probably 
given  when  the  Epistle  had  passed  into  more  general 
use,  in  order  to  make  its  destination  clear.  In  the 
New  Testament  the  name  Hebrew  is  strictly  opposed 
to  Hellenist  or  Grecian  Jew  (Acts  vi.  1),  and  denotes 
one  who  adhered  to  the  Hebrew  language  and  usages  ; 
there  would  therefore  bo  some  inconsistency  between 
the  name  and  the  language  of  the  Epistle,  if  the  title 
proceeded  from  the  writer  himself.  Again  we  are  in 
the  main  thrown  back  on  internal  evidence ;  but  in  this 
case  the  materials  before  us  are  very  scanty,  when 
doubtful  or  irrelevant  passages  have  been  set  aside. 
One  verse  of  the  Epistle,  and  one  only,  contains  any 
note  of  place  :  "  They  of  Italy  salute  you  "  (chap.  xiii. 
24).  Unfortunately  these  words  admit  of  two  opposite 
interpretations.  Either  the  author  is  himself  in  Italy, 
and  sends  to  the  Hebrew  Christians  whom  he  addresses 
the  salutations  of  an  Italian  church  ;  or,  writing  to 
Italy,  he  transmits  the  message  which  those  "  of  Italy" 
who  are  now  with  him  send  to  their  fellow-Christians 
at  home.  Between  these  two  interpretations  it  seems 
impossible  to  decide  with  any  confidence  ;  though,  in 
itseK,  the  latter  might  l)e  the  more  probable.  Perhaps 
the  only  other  indication  that  we  possess  is  the  mani- 
fest destination  of  the  Epistle  for  a  community  of 
Jewish  Christians,  exposed  to  peculiar  danger  from  the 
solicitations  and  the  persecutions  of  the  unbelieving 
Jews.  Such  a  commiuiity  would  most  naturallj-  be 
found  in  Palestine,  and  accordingly  the  prevalent 
opinion  has  been  that  the  Epistle  was  first  sent  to 
Jerusalem,  or  to  some  neighbouring  to«ni.  The  words 
of  chap.  ii.  3  are  perhaps  less  suitable  to  Jerusalem — 
a  city  in  which  there  would  still  be  living  many  who 
liad  heard  the  word  from  the  Lord  Himself.  In  chap, 
vi.  10  the  writer  speaks  of  a  ministration  to  the  saints 
which  at  once  recalls  the  efforts  of  St.  Paul  and  others 
to  send  help  to  the  Christians  of  Jerusalem,  who  were 
oppressed  by  poverty.  This  passage  may  imply  that 
the  readers  of  the  Epistle  had  engaged  in  that  par- 
ticular hibour  of  love,  but  it  cannot  be  proved  that  the 
meaning  is  not  perfectly  general.  The  language  of 
cluip.  X.  32 — 34  decides  nothing,  if  the  first  member  of 
verse  33  be  understood  figuratively  (see  Note) ;  verse 
34,  which  has  been  urged  in  regard  to  the  question  of 
authorship,  loses  all  such  significance  when  the  true 
reading  is  restored.  From  chap.  xii.  4  has  usually  been 
drawn  the  inference  tliat  no  members  of  the  Church 
had  suffered  martyrdom  :  even  liere,  liowever,  it  is  ira- 
prol)alile  that  any  .such  allusion  is  intended  (see  Note). 
On  the  whole,  it  is  difficult  to  resist  tlie  impression  that 
the  writer  addresses  some  Church  in  Palestine,  thoufrh 
Jerusalem  itself  may  be  excluded  by  chaji.  ii.  3.  The 
readers  seem  to  have  lived  under  the  sliadow  of 
Jewish  power  and  influence,  where  opposition  to  Chris- 
tianity was  most  bitter,  the  temptation  to  unfaithful- 
ness gr(>atest,  tlie  abjuration  required  of  tlie  ajiostato 
most  complete.  The  exhortation  of  chap.  xiii.  13.  the 
warning  of  chap.  x.  25,  the  remarkable  appropriation 
of  Old  Testament  promises  and  threatcniugs  which  we 


281 


HEBREWS. 


find  in  chap.  x.  27,  28,  30,  wonld  fall  with  womlcrfnl 
force  on  tlio  cars  of  men  in  whose  very  presence  the 
spirit  of  Judaism  Wius  exerting  all  its  power.  That 
there  are  still  ditiiculties  must  be  felt  by  all.  Wo 
should  not  liave  expected  tliat  a  Letter  addressed  to 
such  a  Churcli  would  be  written  in  Greek,  or  that  the 
writer's  appeal  would  l)e  to  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament ;  but  the  plienomena  which  other  books 
of  the  New  Testament  display  forbid  us  to  regard 
these  difficulties  as  decisive.  It  is  not  possible  here  to 
enumerate  the  other  opinions  which  have  been  main- 
tained. The  reader  will  find  an  able  argument  in 
favour  of  Rome  iu  Alford's  Prolegomena  to  Gk.  Test., 
vol.  iv.  :  others  have  argued  the  claims  of  Alexandria.* 

IV.  Date. —  Tliere  is  very  little  to  guide  us  as  to 
the  time  wlien  the  Epistle  Avas  written.  The  present 
tenses  of  chap.  ix.  2 — 9  are  often  understood  as  imply- 
ing that  the  Temple  service  still  continued;  but  there 
is  strong  reason  for  explaining  the  verses  otherwise  (see 
Notes).  On  the  other  hand,  the  general  complexion  of 
the  Epistle  is  such  as  to  convince  us  that  it  was  written 
before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Of  the  imprison- 
ment of  Timothy  (chap.  xiii.  23)  we  know  nothing  from 
any  other  source.  It  has  often  been  supposed  that  he 
shared  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  in  Rome  (see  the  Intro- 
duction to  2  Timothy).  The  date  of  the  martyi'dom  of 
St.  Paul  is,  however,  uncertain ;  and  it  does  not  seem 
possible  to  say  more  than  that  our  Epistle  was  probably 
written  some  three  or  four  years  before  Jerusalem  fell — 
in  other  words,  about  a.d.  t>G. 

V.  Object  and  Contents.— The  discussion  of  the 
very  impf)rtant  external  cpiestions  which  connect  them- 
selves with  tliis  Epistle  has  left  us  but  little  space  for 
a  notice  of  its  internal  character.  In  the  Notes,  how- 
ever, on  account  of  the  peculiar  difficulties  which  this 
Epistle  presents,  we  have  sacrificed  all  other  considera- 
tions to  the  desire  of  exhibiting,  as  exactly  as  possible, 
the  connection  and  course  of  thought.  It  is,  therefore, 
less  necessary  to  attempt  a  complete  analysis  here. 
The  Christians  addressed  were  in  imminent  danger  of 
apostasy.  The  danger  was  occasioned  partly  by  seduc- 
tions from  without,  partly  by  weakness  within.  Even 
when  the  fabric  of  Jemsh  power  was  falling,  the 
influence  of  its  past  history,  its  glorious  treasure  of 
promise,  its  unique  a.ssociations,  retained  a  wonderfid 
power.  As  we  look  back  on  the  years  preceding  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem  the  case  of  the  people  may  seem  to 
us  hopeless ;  but  the  confidence  of  the  nation  was 
unbroken,  and  even  at  that  period  we  note  outbursts  of 
national  pride  and  enthusiastic  hope.  Bitter  hate  and 
contempt  for  Christianity  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
attraction  of  their  ancestral  worship  and  ritual  on  the 
other,  had  apparently  won  a  victorj-  over  the  constancy 
of  some  Chri-stiaus  belonging  to  this  Hebrew  com- 
munity. Wh(>re  open  opjjosition  had  not  prevailed,  the 
tone  of  Christian  faith  had  been  lowered.  The  special 
temptatiim  of  tliese  Christians  seems  to  have  been 
towards  a  loss  of  interest  in  the  higher  Christian  truths, 
and  a  union  of  elementary  Christian  teaching  with  that 
to  which  they  jiad  been  aceustomed  as  Jews.  The 
arguments  of  the  first  and  other  chapters  show  that 
they  held  the  foundation  truths;  the  expo.stulation  of 
the  fifth  and  sixth  chapters  proves  that  the  full  siguifi- 


*  Prof.  Plninptre's  hypothesis  that  those  addressed  arc 
Christian  ascetics  of  (or  connected  with)  Alexandria  is  worked 
out  by  him  in  a  very  interest int;  manner  (sec  A>/.<.s.  i  428—13') 
but  does  not  appear  to  suit  the  facts  of  the  Epistle  as  well  as 
the  view  defended  above. 


2S2 


cance  of  the  doctrine  they  held  was  not  under.stood, 
and  that  the  doctrine  was  near  to  losing  its  power.  Iu 
no  Epistle,  perhaps,  do  we  find  a  more  carefully  sus- 
tained argument ;  of  none  can  be  said  as  truly  tliat  the 
whole  Epistle  is  a  "word  of  exhortation." 

The  design  of  the  writer  is  to  show  the  superiority  of 
Christianity  to  Judaism.  He  in  whom  God  has  in  these 
last  days  revealed  Himself  to  man  is  His  Son,  to  whom 
the  Scriptures  themselves  bear  witness  as  exalted  above 
the  highest  of  created  beings,  the  angels,  who  are  but 
ministers  of  God  (chap.  i.).  The  law  was  given  through 
angels  :  salvation  has  now  come  through  the  Son,  who, 
though  Lord  of  the  world  to  come,  the  Heir  and  Ful- 
fiUer  of  God's  highest  promises  to  man,  submitted  to 
suffering  and  death — not  of  necessity,  but  that  Ho 
might  by  His  atonement  deliver  man  from  sin  £n  I 
death,  and  might  become  a  true  High  Priest  for  n  au 
(chap.  ii.).  As  the  faithful  Apostle  and  High  Priest 
He  is  exalted  above  God's  most  favoured  servants  upon 
earth,  even  above  Moses  (chap.  iii.  1 — 6). 

This  is  the  first  division  of  the  argument,  designed 
to  establish  the  supremacy  of  the  revelation  given 
through  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  remove  "the  offence  of 
the  cro?s."  Next  follows  a  powerful  section  of  exhor- 
tation and  warning.  Do  not  imitate  the  unfaithfulness 
through  which  Israel  failed  to  enter  into  the  true  rest 
of  God  (chaps,  iii.  7 — iv.  16). 

The  second  portion  of  the  Epistle  (extending  to 
chap.  X.  18)  is  occupied  with  the  Pi-iesthood  of  Christ. 
Once  only  is  the  current  of  the  argument  intem^pted. 
After  the  first  introduction  of  a  prophecy  which  will 
form  the  theme  of  later  chapters,  the  writer  pauses  to 
bring  into  relief  the  carelessness  which  his  readers  havo 
shown,  and  the  peril  they  have  incurred ;  the  result  is 
to  give  most  powerful  eiJ'ect  to  the  argument  for  which 
he  is  preparing  them  (chap.  v.  11 — vi.  20).  Jesus  made 
perfect  through  suffering  (chap.  v.  1 — 10)  has  been  de- 
clared by  God  High  Priest  after  the  order  of  Melchi- 
zedek ;  by  this  declaration  the  Aaronic  priesthood  is 
abolished,  giving  place  to  a  priesthood  which  abides 
continually,  through  which  all  that  the  former  priest- 
hood sought  in  vain  to  attain  is  made  sure  to  man  for 
ever  (chap.  vii.).  This  High  Priest,  seated  at  God's 
right  hand,  is  Minister  iu  the  heavenly  sanctuary. 
Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant  (chap,  ^nii.);  and  in  Him 
all  the  tj'i)cs  of  the  first  covenant  are  fulfilled,  for  by 
His  one  offering  of  Himself  He  has  put  away  sin,  and 
established  the  new  covenant  iu  which  sin  is  pardoned 
and  man  sanctified  (chaps,  ix.,  x.  1 — 18). 

The  remainder  of  the  Epistle  is  in  the  main  directly 
hortatory.  These  being  our  pririleges,  let  us  not  by 
unfaithfulness  fall  short  of  them,  for  terrible  is  the 
doom  of  the  unfaithful,  and  glorious  the  reward  of  Faith 
(chap.  X.  19 — 39),  which  from  the  beginning  has  led 
God's  servants  on  to  victory,  and  of  which  Jesus  is  tho 
Author  and  the  Perfecter  (chaps,  xi. — xii.  4).  Chapters 
xii.  and  xiii.  continue  the  exhortations  of  the  earlier 
chapters,  but  in  a  higher  strain. 

We  caimot  conceive  of  any  argument  by  which  the 
end  contemplated  could  bo  more  effectually  accom- 
plished, and  men  more  powerfully  turned  from  "  the 
offence  of  the  cross  "  to  glorjnng  in  Christ  Jesus.  The 
value  which  the  Epistle  has  for  us  and  the  extent  of  its 
influence  on  our  tlieology  it  would  be  hard  to  over- 
estimate. Its  peculiar  importance  lies  in  the  exposi- 
tion which  it  gives  of  the  earlier  revelation,  showing 
the  meaning  of  the  tji>es  and  arrangements  of  tho 
former  dispensation,  and  their  perfect  fulfilment  in  our 
Lord,  and  in  its  witness  to  the  power  and  abiding 
significance  of  the  divine  word. 


THE    EPISTLE    OF   PAUL    THE    APOSTLE    TO    THE 

HEBREWS. 


Chap.  i.  1-14    He  in      CHAPTER     L— 

whom  God  has  now  (1)  Qod,  who  at  Sundry 
spoken  to  man  is  Son    ..  t     .        i.        "^ 

of  God,  exalted  above  times    aud   111  divers 
all  angels.  manners      spake     in 


time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the 
proj^hets,  ^-^  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  unto  us  by  Ids  Son,  whom  he 
hath  appointed  heir   of  all  things,  by 


(1—11)  He  in  whom  God  has  at  last  revealed  Himself 
to  man  is  Son  of  God,  exalted  above  all  angels. 

(1)  God,  who  at  sundry  times  .  .  .  .—The 
fine  arrangement  of  the  words  in  the  Authorised 
version  fails,  it  must  be  confessed,  to  convey  the  em- 
phasis which  is  designed  in  the  original.  The  writer's 
object  is  to  place  the  former  revelation  over  against 
that  which  has  now  been  given  ;  aud  the  remarkable 
words  with  which  the  chapter  opens  (and  wliich  might 
not  inaptly  serve  as  the  motto  of  the  whole  Epistle) 
strike  the  first  note  of  contrast.  If  wo  may  imitate  the 
artistic  arrangement  of  the  Greek,  the  verse  will  run 
thus, "  lu  many  portions  aud  in  many  ways  God  having 
of  old  spoken  unto  the  fathers  in  the  prophets."  To 
the  fathers  of  the  Jewish  people  (comp.  Rom.  ix.  5) 
God's  word  was  given  part  by  part,  and  in  divers 
manners.  It  came  in  the  revelations  of  the  patriarchal 
age,  in  the  successive  portions  of  Holy  Writ  : 
various  truths  were  successively  unveiled  through  the 
varj-iug  ministry  of  law,  and  of  prophecy,  and  of 
promise  ever  growing  clearer  through  the  teaching  of 
experience  and  history.  At  one  time  the  word  came  in 
direct  precept,  at  another  in  typical  ordinance  or  act,  at 
another  in  parable  or  psalm.  The  word  thus  dealt  out 
in  fragments  and  variously  imparted  was  God's  word, 
for  the  revealing  Sjurit  of  God  was  "in  the  prophets" 
{2  Cor.  xiii.  3).  We  must  not  unduly  limit  the  applica- 
tion of  "  prophet  "  ;  besides  those  to  whom  the  name  is 
directly  given,  there  were  many  who  were  representa- 
tives of  God  to  His  people,  and  interpreters  of  His 
will.     (Comp.  Num.  xi.  26,  29;  Ps.  cv.  15.) 

(2)  Hath  in  these  last  days  .  .  .—Better,  at 
the  end  of  these  days  spa'ke  unto  us  in  a  Son.  The 
thought  common  to  the  two  verses  is  ''  God  hath  spoken 
to  man"  ;  in  all  other  respects  the  past  aud  the  present 
stand  contrasted.  The  manifold  successive  partial 
disclosures  of  God's  will  have  given  i)laco  to  one  reve- 
lation, complete  snd  final ;  for  He  who  spake  in  the 
prophets  hath  now  spoken  "  in  a  Son."  The  whole 
stress  lies  on  these  last  words.  The  rendering  "a 
Son  "  may  at  first  cause  surprise,  but  it  is  absolutely 
needed;  not,  "Who  is  the  Revealer  ? "  but,  ''What 
is  He  ? "  is  the  question  answered  in  these  words. 
The  writer  does  not  speak  of  a  Son  iu  the  sense 
of  one  out  of  many ;  the  very  contrast  with  the 
prophets  (who  in  the  lower  sense  were  amongst  God's 
eons)  would  be  sufficient  to  prove  t])is,  but  the 
words  wliich  follow,  aud  the  whole  contents  of  tliis 
chapter,  aro  designed  to  show  the  supreme  dignity  of 


Him  who  is  God's  latest  Representative  on  earth.  The 
prophet's  commission  extended  no  farther  than  the 
special  message  of  his  words  and  life  ;  "a  Son"  spoke 
with  His  Father's  authority,  with  complete  knowledge 
of  His  will  and  purpose.  It  is  impossible  to  read  these 
first  lines  (in  which  the  whole  argument  of  the  Epistle 
is  enfolded)  without  recalling  the  prologue  of  the  fourth 
Gospel.  The  name  "  Word "  is  not  mentioned  here, 
aud  the  highest  level  of  St.  Jolin's  teaching  is  not 
reached  ;  but  the  idea  which  ''  ilie  Word  "  expresses, 
and  the  thought  of  the  Only  Begotten  as  declaring  and 
interpreting  the  Father  (John  i.  18 ;  also  John  xiv.  10, 
2-1)  are  present  throughout.  There  is  something  unusual 
in  the  words,  "  at  the  end  of  these  days."  St.  Peter 
speaks  of  the  manifestation  of  Christ  '"at  the  end  of 
the  times  "  (I  Pet.  i.  20) ;  and  both  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  in  the  New  we  not  unfrecpiently  read  "  at  the 
end  (or,  in  the  last)  of  the  days."  (See  2  Pet.  iii.  3; 
Jude,  verse  18;  Num.  xxiv.  14;  Dan.  x.  I-i.  &c.)  The 
pecuharity  of  the  expression  here  lies  in  "  these  days." 
The  ages  preceding  and  following  the  appearance  of 
Messiah  are  in  Jewish  writers  known  as  "  this  world  " 
(or,  ar/e)  and  the  "  coming  world  "  (or,  age) ;  the  "  days 
of  Messiah"  seem  to  have  been  classed  sometimes  with 
the  former,  sometimes  with  the  latter  period  ;  but  "  the 
end  of  these  days"  would  be  understood  by  every  Jewish 
reader  to  denote  the  time  of  His  appearing. 

Whom  he  hath  appointed.— Better,  xchoni  He 
appointed :  in  the  divine  counsels  He  was  constituted 
"  Heir  of  all  things."  The  clauses  which  folhiw  de- 
scribe the  successive  steps  in  the  accomplislinient  of 
this  purpose.  The  words  have  often  been  understood 
as  referring  to  the  Sou's  essential  Lord>hip  :  as  Eternal 
Son  He  is  and  must  be  Heir  of  all.  But  this  explana- 
tion is  less  consistent  with  the  word  "  appointed."  with 
the  strict  significance  of  "  Heir."  aud  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  thought  in  the  following  ver.ses ;  and  it  is 
on  all  grounds  more  probable  that  in  these  words  is 
expressed  the  great  theme  of  tlie  Epistle,  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things  in  the  Christ. 

By  whom. — Rvther,  through  tchoin.  So  in  John  i. 
3  wo  read  that  all  things  came  into  being  through  the 
Word  ;  and  in  Col.  i.  16,  "  All  things  have  been  created 
through  Him."  In  this  manner  Philo  repeatedly 
describes  the  creative  work  of  tlie  Logos.  Here,  liow- 
ever,  "  this  mediatorial  function  has  entirely  changed 
its  character.  To  the  Alexandrian  Jew  it  was  the  work 
of  a  pa.ssive  tool  or  instrument ;  but  to  the  Christian 
Apostle  it  represented  a  co-operating  agent"  (Lightfoot 
on  Col.  i.  16). 


283 


Tlte  Son's  essential  Dignity. 


HEBREWS,   I. 


Ills  Eocaltation  above  Angels. 


wliom  also  he  made  the  worlds ;  ^^^  who 
being  the  brightness "  of  his  glory,  and 
the  express  image  of  his  person,  and 
upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  his 
power,  when  he  had  by  himself  purged 
our  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of 


a  Wis.  7.  20. 


the  Majesty  on  high ;  <^^  being  made  so 
much  better  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath 
by  inheritance  obtained  a  more  excellent 
name  than  they.  (^^  For  unto  which  of 
the  angels  said  he  at  any  time.  Thou 
art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 


The  worlds.  —  A  word  of  voiy  common  oot-ur- 
roiicc  ill  tlio  Now  Testament  as  a  desi<^natiou  of  t'mie 
occMir.s  ill  two  passages  of  this  Epistlo  (here  and  in 
cliap.  xi.  3)  wliere  tlio  context  shows  more  than  ''  ago  " 
to  bo  intended.  Under  time  is  included  the  work  that 
is  done  in  time,  so  that  "  the  ages "  here  must  be 
(to  quote  Delitzscli's  words)  "  the  immeasurable  content 
of  immeasural)le  time."  "Also  "  may  seem  an  unneces- 
sary addition,  but  (almost  in  the  sense  acconllnfjly)  it 
points  to  creation  as  the  first  step  towards  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  design  expressed  in  the  preceding  clause. 

(3)  Who  being  the  brightness  .  .  . — Who  being 
the  effidfjence  of  His  glory  and  the  exact  image  of  His 
substance.  The  first  figure  is  familiar  to  us  in  the 
words  of  the  Nicene  Creed  (themselves  derived  from 
this  verse  and  a  commentary  upon  it),  "  God  of  God, 
Light  of  Light,  Very  God  of  Very  God."  Again 
striking  parallels  to  the  language  present  themselves  in 
Philo,  who  speaks  of  the  spirit  breathed  into  man  at  his 
creation  as  an  "effulgence  of  the  Blessed  and  Thrice- 
blessed  Nature  " ;  and  in  the  well-known  passage  of  the 
Book  of  Wisdom,  "  She  (Wisdom)  is  the  effulgence  of 
the  everlasting  light,  the  unspotted  mirror  of  the  power 
of  God,  and  the  imago  of  His  goodness  "  (Wisd.  vii. 
26).  In  the  Old  Testament  the  token  of  the  divine 
presence  is  the  Shechinah,  the  "  cloud  of  glory  "  (called 
"the  glory"  in  Rom.  ix.  4;  comp.  chap.  ix.  5  in  this 
^Epistle) ;  here  it  is  the  divine  nature  itself  that  is 
denoted  by  the  "  glory."  Of  the  relation  between  this 
"word  and  that  which  follows  ("  substance ")  it  is 
difficult  to  S2)eak,  as  the  conceptions  necessarily  tran- 
scend human  language  ;  but  we  may  perhaj)S  say  (re- 
membering that  all  such  terms  are  but  figurative)  that 
I  the  latter  word  is  internal  and  the  former  external,— the 
latter  the  essence  in  itself,  the  former  its  manifestation. 
Thus  the  "  Son  "  in  His  relation  to  "  God  "  is  repre- 
sented here  by  light  beaming  forth  from  light,  and  by 
exact  imi)ress — the  perfect  image  produced  by  stamp  or 
seal.  These  designations,  relating  to  the  essential 
nature  of  the  Son,  have  no  limitation  to  time;  the  par- 
ticiple "  being  "  must  be  understood  (comp.  Phil.  ii.  6  ; 
John  i.  1)  of  eternal,  continuous  existence.  Tlie  word 
"  person "  is  an  unfortunate  mistranslation  in  this 
place.  Most  of  the  earlier  English  versicms  have  "  sub- 
stance," j)criion  being  first  introduced  in  the  Genevan 
Testament  in  deference  to  Beza. 

By  the  word. — The  thought  seems  suggested  by 
Gen.  i.  (Ps.  xxxiii.  9) ;  the  s])()ken  word  was  the  ex- 
pression of  His  power.  What  is  said  above  of  "  being  " 
applies  to  "  upholding,"  except  that  the  latter  implies  a 
previous  creative  act. 

When  he  had  by  himself  purged  our  sins.— 
The  older  ]\ISS.  omit  "  l)y  Himself"  and  "our,"  so 
that  the  words  must  be  rendered,  ivhen  He  had  made 
mirification  of  sins.  At  first  the  change  may  seem  a 
loss  ;  but  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  simpler  stat(»ment  is 
more  majestic,  and  also  more  suitable  in  this  place  ; 
the  more  complete  explanation  of  tlie  truth  belongs  to 
a  later  stage  (chap.  ix.).  To  "  mak(>  purification  of 
sins''  is  an  unusual  phrase  (comp.  Matt.  viii.  3,  "  liis 
leprosy  was  cleansed"),  meaning,  to  make  purification 


by  tlie  removal  of  sins  (Jolm  i.  29  ;  1  John  iii.  5  ;  2  Pet. 
i.  9). 

Sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty 
on  high.— See  chap.  viii.  1;  xii.  2;  Matt.  xxvi.  Oi; 
Mark  xiv.  62 ;  also  verse  13,  and  chap.  x.  12.  This 
figure,  which  we  meet  with  more  than  twenty  times  in 
the  New  Testament,  is  throughout  derived  from  the 
first  words  of  Ps.  ex.,  which  are  descriptive  of  the 
exaltation  of  the  Messiah.  Jehovah's  investiture  of 
the  Son  of  Man  with  unlimited  dominion  (Dan.  vii.  14) 
and  supreme  dignity  (Eph.  i.  20,  21) ;  the  Saviour's  rest 
after  the  accomplishment  of  His  work  on  earth  (chap, 
viii.  1)  ;  His  waiting  for  the  complete  and  final  subjec- 
tion of  His  enemies,  are  the  ideas  signified.  On  the 
Psalm  see  below  (verse  13). 

(4)  Being  made.  — Better,  having  become.  These 
words  must  be  closely  joined  with  the  last  clause  of 
verse  3 ;  they  speak,  not  of  the  glory  which  was  ever 
His,  but  of  that  which  became  His  after  He  bad  "  made 
purification  of  sins." 

Better. — That  is,  greaier.  We  may  discern  a  two- 
fold reason  for  the  comparison ;  having  become 
"  greater  than  the  angels,"  our  Lord  is  exalted  above 
the  highest  of  created  beings  (see  Eph.  i.  21 ;  Phil.  ii. 
9),  and  above  those  through  whom  God  had  in  former 
time  declared  His  law  (chap.  ii.  2). 

Name. — The  verses  which  follpw  show  that  we  are 
to  uncTerstand  by  this  all  the  dignity  and  glory  con- 
tained in  the  name  SoiL-OF  GoD.  Not  that  this  name 
first  belonged  to  Him  as  exalted  Mediator ;  but  the 
gloiy  which  "  became "  His  (verses  3,  4)  is  projior- 
tionate  to  and  consonant  with  the  name  which  is  His 
by  essential  right  (verse  2). 

That  this  name  and  dignity  belong  to  Jesus  Christ 
(as  yet  unnamed,  but  confessedly  the  sul)ject  of  the 
preceding  verses)  is  now  to  be  established  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Scrijjture.  Two  important  questions  have 
been  asked  : — ( 1 )  Docs  the  writer  adduce  these  quota- 
tions as  strictly  demonsti'ative  ?  (2)  If  so,  on  what 
assumption  does  their  relevancy  rest  ?  It  is  evident 
that  the  whole  argument  is  addressed  to  men 
who  believed  that  the  Christ  had  appeared  in  the 
person  of  Jesus.  Of  the  passages  here  cited  some 
were  already,  by  universal  con.sent,  applied  to  the 
Messiah.  As  to  the  others,  it  was  sufficient  if  the 
trained  and  thoughtful  reader  could  recognise  the 
accuracy  of  such  an  application  when  once  suggested. 
That  in  no  case  is  there  mere  "accommodation"  or 
illustration  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  made  clear.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  writer's  object  is  less  to  con\nnce  his 
readers  of  some  netv  truth  than  to  draw  attention  to 
what  the  well-known  passages  really  contain  and 
exjiress. 

(■i)  For  unto  which  of  the  angels  .  .  .  . — 
"  God  has  spoken  of  the  Messiah  as  His  Son,  a  title 
which  no  angel  over  receives  from  Him."  That  tlio 
appellation  "  sons  of  God  "  may  be  u.sed  in  an  inferior 
sense,  and  that  thus  angels  may  be  so  designated  (Job 
i.  6  ;  xxxviii.  7),  does  not  affect  this  argument ;  for 
every  reader  must  perceive  that  in  these  quotations 
"  Son  "  is  used  of  One,  and  in  a  sense  that  is  unique. 


28i 


Let  all  Angels  worship 


HEBREWS,   I. 


tlie  Firstborn  of  God. 


thee?  And  again,  I  will  be  to  him  a 
Father,  and  he  shall  be  to  mo  a  Son? 
C^^  And  again,  when  he  bringeth  in  the 


firstbegotten  into  the  world,  he  saith, 
And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship 
him.     (''^  And  of  the  angels  he   saith, 


Tlio  two  qnotatious  are  taken  from  Ps.  ii.  7  and  2  Sam. 
vii.  14.  It  seems  probable  tliat  the  second  Psalm  was 
written  by  David  during  tlio  troublous  times  of  2  Sam. 
viii. — X.,  in  the  fresh  recollection  of  the  promises  of 
which  wo  read  in  2  Sam.  vii.  In  the  midst  of  the 
rebellious  conspiracies  of  kings  and  nations  is  heard 
Jehovah's  word,  "  Yet  have  I  set  my  King  upon  my  holy 
hill  of  Zion"  (Ps.  ii.  6).  In  verse  7  the  Anointed 
King  declares  the  divine  decree,  "  The  Lord  hath  said 
unto  me,  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten 
Thee ; "  and  the  following  verses  describe  the  kingly 
dominion  of  the  Son.  The  clearest  comments  on  verse 
7  are  supplied  by  2  Sam.  vii.  12 — 14,  and  especially  by 
Ps.  Ixxxix.  Verse  27  of  the  last-named  Psalm,  "  I 
will  make  him  my  firstborn,  higher  than  the  kings  of 
the  earth,"  shows  plainly  that  in  their  first  meaning — 
that  which  relates  to  the  royal  rule  of  David  or  David's 
son — the  words  "I  have  this  day  begotten  thee  "  signify 
"  I  have  this  day  established  thee  as  my  chosen  king, 
and  thus  constituted  thee  my  son ; "  for  to  the  first- 
born belongs  natural,  though  derived,  rule  over  the 
kingdom  of  his  father.  At  what  period  the  people  in 
general,  guided  by  prophetic  teaching  and  the  discipline 
of  history  (see  below),  learnt  in  how  secondary  a  sense 
such  words  could  be  used  of  any  human  king,  we  do 
not  know ;  but  we  have  clear  evidence,  both  from  the 
New  Testament  (chap.  v.  5 ;  Acts  iv.  25 — 27  ;  xiii.  33 ; 
Rev.  ii.  27)  and  from  Jewish  tradition,  that  the  second 
Psalm  was  understood  to  be  a  distinct  prophecy  of  the 
Messiah ;  indeed,  this  very  name  "  Messiah "  and  the 
appellation  "  Son  of  God  "  (see  John  i.  34,  49)  may  be 
traced  to  this  Psalm.  The  declarations  of  verses  6,  7, 
are  tyi)ical  of  the  enthronement  of  the  Messiah.  St. 
Paul  (Acts  xiii.  33)  refers  the  words  here  quoted  to  the 
period  of  the  Resurrection.  With  this  the  language 
u.sed  above  (verse  4)  perfectly  agrees.  As,  however, 
in  that  verse  the  exaltation  of  the  Christ  is  declared  to 
correspond  to  that  essential  dignity  which  lay  in  the 
name  Son,  a  name  which  in  this  very  context  bears  its 
highest  sense  (verses  1 — 3),  we  are  constrained  to  regard 
the  "day"  of  the  Resurrection  as  itself  tyjncal,  and 
to  believe  that  "  this  day  "  akso  pointed  to  the  "  eternal 
Now" — to  what  Origen  (on  John  i.  1)  speaks  of  as 
"  tlio  day  which  is  co-extensivo  with  the  unbegotten 
and  everlasting  life  of  God." 

The  second  passage,  which  seems  to  have  been  the 
basis  of  the  words  we  have  just  considered,  occurs  in 
the  course  of  the  divine  promise  that  David's  seed  shall 
be  established  in  his  kingdom,  and  that  David's  throne 
shall  be  established  for  ever :  the  seed  of  David  shall 
be  received  as  God's  Son.  With  the  words  here  quoted 
are  closely  joined  others  which  plainly  jirove  that  verso 
14  is  not  a  simple  and  direct  prophecy  of  Christ,  but  in 
the  first  instance  belonged  to  an  earthly  ruler.  Through 
tlu5  teaching  of  successive  disappointments,  each  "  son 
of  David  "  failing  to  realise  the  hopes  excited  liy  the 
promise,  the  nation  was  led  to  look  to  the  future  King, 
and  at  once  to  remove  from  the  prophecy  the  purely 
earthly  liinitaiiims  and  to  discern  a  higher  meaning  in 
the  promise  of  divine  sonship. 

(6)  And  again.— There  seems  little  doubt  that  the 
tnie  translaiiou  is.  And  u'lien  He  (ujn'ni  Icodcih  (literally, 
shall  have  led]  the  Firsthorn  into  the  world  He  saith. 
The  position  of  "again  "  (in  the  Greek)  sliows  that  it 
does  not  indicate  a  now  step  in  tho  argument,  but  must 


bo  joined  with  "  leadeth."  The  speaker  ("  He  saith  ") 
is  God,  speaking  in  'Iho  word  of  Scripture  ;  in  this 
Epistle  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  are  usually 
thus  introduced.  The  quotation  involves  some  diffi- 
culty. It  cannot  be  directly  taken  from  Ps.  xcvii.  7, 
"  worship  Him,  all  His  angels ;  "  for  tho  citations  from 
tho  Greek  Bible  in  tliis  Epistle  are  usually  so  exact  that 
we  cannot  believe  the  writer  would  have  so  altered  tho 
form  of  the  sentence  now  before  us.  In  Deut.  xxxii. 
43,  however,  we  find  words  identical  with  those  of  the 
text  in  most  copies  of  the  LXX.  ;  but  there  is 
nothing  answering  to  them  in  the  Hebrew,  and 
there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  supposing  that  tho 
clause  has  dropped  out  of  the  Hebrew  text.  There 
are  similarities  (both  of  subject  and  of  diction) 
between  the  Psalm  and  the  last  section  of  the  Song  of 
Moses,  which  make  it  easy  to  see  how  the  words  could 
find  their  way  into  the  Song.  The  Psalm  belongs 
to  a  cycle  (Pss.  xciii.,  xcv. — xcix.)  whoso  theme  is 
the  triumphant  announcement  of  the  coming  of  God's 
kingdom,  by  which  was  denoted  (as  the  readers  of 
the  Epistle  knew)  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  In  tho 
divine  plan  the  predicted  Theophany  was  coincident 
with  the  fulfilment  of  the  Messianic  hope.  In  both 
Psalm  and  Song  we  read  of  the  judgment  exercised 
and  the  vengeance  inflicted  by  the  enthroned  King. 
(Comp.  Ps.  ii.  9.)  This  agreement  in  tone  and  sub- 
ject renders  less  important  the  question  whether  the 
Hebrew  original  of  the  Song  really  contained  the  words. 
The  thought  was  familiar  from  Scripture,  and  in  this 
very  connection.  When  the  Messiah,  reigning  as  theL 
Firstboi-n  of  God  (see  verse  5),  shall  appear  for  judg-| 
ment — that  is,  when  God  leadeth  a  second  time  HisI 
Firstborn  into  "  the  world  of  men  "  (see  chap.  ii.  5),  that 
He  may  receive  full  possession  of  His  inheritance — He 
saith,  And  let  all  angels  of  God  worship  Him.  The 
word  here  rendered  "  leadeth  in  "  is  in  frequent  use  for 
the  introduction  of  Israel  (typically  God's  "  firstborn," 
Ex.  iv.  22)  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  It  should, 
perhaps,  be  noted  that,  though  in  Ps.  xcvii.  7  "angels" 
may  not  be  perfectly  exact  as  a  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
Elohim,th6  verso  so  distinctly  expresses  the  homage  dono 
to  the  King  by  superhuman  powers,  that  its  fitness  for 
the  argument  here  is  obAnous. 

(7)  Spirits. — Better,  loinds.  It  is  very  difficult  to 
assign  any  clear  meaning  to  the  ordinary  rendering, — 
unless,  indeed,  we  were  to  adopt  the  very  strange 
opinion  of  many  of  the  earlier  commentators,  that  the 
stress  is  laid  on  "  maketh  "  in  the  sense  of  "  createth." 
The  parallelism  in  the.se  two  lines  of  Hebrew  jwetry 
is  complete,  "angels"  answering  to  "ministers," 
"  winds  "  to  "a  flame  of  fire."  The  meaning  appears  to 
be  that  God,  employing  His  messengers  for  His  varied 
purposes,  sends  them  fi 
please,  clothing  them  witli  tlio  appc 
less  wind  or  tho  devouring  fire.  (Wo  may  contrast 
1  Kings  xix.  11.  12.)  The  force  of  the  passage  lies  in 
the  vividness  with  which  it  presents  the  thought  of  tho 
Most  High  served  by  angels  who  "at  His  bidding 
speed."  untiring  as  the  wind,  subtle  as  the  fire.  ^\  e 
feel  much  more  distinctly  tlian  we  can  put  into  words 
the  infinite  contrast  between  snch  ministers  and  the 
Son  seated  at  tho  right  hand  of  God.  Tlie  quotation  is 
taken  from  Ps.  civ.  4,  without  any  variation  in  tlie 
Greek.     Whether  this  translation  faithfully  represeuts 


-  — ^. p  "I  I _  -- 

His  messengers  for  His  varied  i 
forth  in  what  manner  He  may  I 
ith  the  api)earance  of  the  resist-  \ 


285 


Tlie  Everlasting 


HEBREWS,   I. 


Kingdom  of  tJie  Son. 


Who  maketli  liis  angels  spirits,  and  liis 
ministers  a  flame  of  fire.  <*^^  But  unto 
the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  O  God, 
is  for  ever  and  ever :  a  sceptre  of 
rigliteousness  ^  is  the  sceptre  of  thy 
kinsdom.    ^^^  Thou  hast  loved  righteous- 


1  Gr.  righttuss,  or, 
ulruightiu  ■■•.■<. 
a   l'».  loj.  L'5. 


ness,  and  hated  iniquity ;  therefore  God, 
even  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with 
the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows. 
(!'')  And,  Thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning 
hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth ;" 
and  the  heavens  are  the  works  of  thine 


the  original  13  a  qnostion  that  has  been  warmly  dis- 
oussod.  Not  that  tliere  is  auy  doubt  that  such  a 
roudorintj  of  tlie  Hebrew  is  in  itself  natural ;  but  it  is 
often  alli'ged  that  tlio  context  requires  an  inversion  of 
the  words,  Who  malceth  tvinds  His  messengers,  fiaming 
fire  HLi  ^ninisters.  The  point  cannot  be  examined  herO; 
wo  wid  only  express  a  decided  opinion  that  the  trans- 
lation defended  above  not  only  expresses  the  meaning 
of  the  H('l)row,  but  perfectly  accords  with  the  context 
of  the  Psalm. 

W  Unto. — Rather,  of.  The  connection  with  verse  7 
is  so  close  ("  Whereas  of  the  angels  Ho  saith  ...  of 
the  Son  He  saith  "),  that  we  must  not  vary  the  rendering 
of  the  preposition.  The  passage  which  follows  is  taken 
from  Ps.  xlv.  6,  7.  As  the  words  stand  in  the  ordinary 
Greek  text,  they  agree  exactly  with  the  LXX. ;  but 
certain  alterations  of  reading  are  required  by  the 
best  evidence.  After  the  words  "  for  ever  and  ever  " 
and  must  be  restored,  and  in  the  following  clause  the 
and  a  must  change  places.  The  latter  change  is  of 
moment  only  as  it  aft'ects  the  former.  Were  the  woi'ds 
in  all  otlu^r  respects  cited  with  perfect  exactness,  the 
introduction  of  and  would  probably  indicate  that  the 
writer  intended  to  split  iip  the  quotation  into  two 
parts,  each  significant  for  his  purpose.  (Comp. 
chap.  ii.  13.)  As,  however,  we  note  other  minor 
changes,  the  insertion  of  the  connecting  word  is  pro- 
bably accidental.  A  third  reading  is  of  much  greater 
importance.  At  the  close  of  the  verse  the  two  oldest 
of  our  Greek  MSS.  agree  in  reading  "  His  kingdom  :  " 
to  this  we  will  return  afterwards. 

We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  ap- 
plication of  Ps.  xlv.  wliich  is  hero  made  was  fully 
received  by  the  ancient  Jews ;  thus  in  the  Targum  on 
the  Psalm  verso  7  is  taken  as  a  direct  address  to  the 
King  Messiah.  Hence  the  readers  of  this  Epistlo 
wouhl  at  once  recognise  the  argument  which  the  words 
contain.  It  is  strongly  maintained  by  some  that  the 
Psalm  (like  Ps.  ex.,  see  below,  on  verse  13)  is  altogether 
prophetic,  the  promised  Messiah  alone  being  in  Hie 
Psalmist's  thought.  There  appear  to  be  insuperable 
objections  to  this  view,  from  particular  expressions 
used  (in  the  later  verses  especially),  and  from  the 
peneral  structure  and  colouring  of  the  Psalm.  It  is 
in  every  way  more  i)robable  that  the  second  Psalm  (see 
Note  on  verso  5),  ratlicr  than  Ps.  ex.,  represents  the 
class  to  which  Ps.  xlv.  belongs.  Originally  writing  in 
celebration  of  the  marriage  of  a  king  of  David's  line 
(we  know  not  whom,  but  many  of  the  arguments  urged 
against  tlio  pnssihle  reference  to  Solomon  have  no  great 
weight),  the  inspired  Psalmist  uses  words  which  bear 
their  full  meaning  only  when  ap])lied  to  that  Son  of 
David  of  wliose  kingdom  tliere  shall  be  no  end.  The 
promises  made  to  David  (2  Sara.  \i\.)  are  before 
the  writer's  mind  in  the  first  verses  of  the  Psalm. 
Tlio  king  appointed  by  God  is  His  representative  to 
God's  people  ;  his  cause  is  that  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness ;  his  dominion  will  continually  advance.  It  is  at 
this  moment  that,  with  the  promise  of  a  divine  son- 
ship  (Ps.  ii.)  in  his  thought,  he  suddenly  addresses  the 
king  as  Elohim  (verse  7).  a  divine  king  who  receives 


from  God  the  reward  of  righteousness  (verse  8).  There 
are  in  the  Old  Testament  examples  of  the  use  of  Elohim 
which  diminish  the  difficulty  of  its  application  to  an 
eartldyking  (such  as  Ps.  Ixxxii.  I ;  xcv.  3;  1  Sam.  xxviii. 
13 ;  Ex.  vu.  1) ;  but  it  must  still  be  acknowledged 
that  the  passage  stands  alone.  This  difficulty,  how- 
ever, relates  only  to  the  primary  application.  As  tho 
higher  and  true  reference  of  the  words  became  revealed, 
all  earthly  limitations  disappeared;  the  Christian  readers 
of  the  Psalm  recognised  in  the  Messiah  of  whom  it 
speaks  a  King  who  is  God. 

The  reading  "His  kingdom"  has  seemed  to  require 
a  different  rendering  of  the  words  in  the  first  part 
of  the  verse :  God  is  Thy  throne  for  ever  and  ever. 
This  rendering,  however,  will  suit  either  reading  of 
the  Greek,  and  is  equally  admissible  as  a  rendering 
of  the  Hebrew.  Nor  is  it  really  inconsistent  with 
the  position  in  which  the  verse  here  stands:  in  con- 
trast with  the  ministry  of  angels  is  set,  on  this 
view,  not  indeed  a  direct  address  to  the  Son  as  God, 
but  the  sovereign  rule  which  the  Son  receives  from 
God.  The  objections  raised  against  it  are  :  (1)  such  an 
expression  as  "  God  is  Thy  throne  "  is  contrary  to  the 
analogy  of  Scripture  language ;  (2)  the  ordinary  ren- 
dering has  the  support  of  almost  all  ancient  authority, 
Jewish  writers  and  ancient  versions  being  apparently 
united  in  its  favour.  The  former  argument  is  not  very 
strong  in  face  of  Ps.  xc.  1,  and  similar  passages ;  but 
the  latter  is  so  weighty  that  we  hesitate  to  accept  the 
change,  helpful  as  it  would  be  in  making  clear  the 
original  and  typicjil  reference  of  verse  7.  It  should  be 
said  that  the  reading  "  His  kingdom  "  is  not  inconsis- 
tent with  the  ordinary  translation  of  the  preceding 
words ;  for  a  sudden  transition  from  "  Thy  throne,  O 
God  "  to  "  His  kingdom "  is  in  full  accordance  with 
tho  usage  of  Hebrew  poetry.  (See  Pss.  xliii.  4 ;  Ixvii. 
5,  6 ;  civ.  4 — 6,  et  al.)  There  are  other  renderings  which 
would  require  discussion  if  we  were  concerned  with  the 
Hebrew  text  of  the  Psalm :  the  two  given  above  are 
the  only  possible  translations  of  the  Greek. 

A  sceptre  .  .  . — Rather,  the  sceptre  of  uprightness 
is  a  sceptre  of  Thy  (or,  His)  Jcingdom.  Righteousness 
itself  (so  to  speak,  the  very  ideal  of  righteous  govern- 
ment) bears  sway  in  Thy  kingdom. 

(9)  The  King  by  divine  election  has  been  exalted  by 
divine  reward.     (Comp.  chap.  ii.  9,  and  Phil.  ii.  9,  10.) 

Therefore  God.— It  is  possible,  but  not  probable, 
that  the  words,  both  here  and  in  tho  Psalm,  should  be  ren- 
dered, Tlicrcfore,  0  God.  Tliy  God  hath  anointed  Thee. 

Thy jfjallows. — In  the  first  application,  probably, 
these  words  point  to  other  earthly  kings.  (Comp.  Ps. 
Ixxxix.  27.)  Hence  Eph,  i.  21  will  be  the  best  com- 
mentaiy  upon  them  in  their  higher  meaning. 

(10)  And. — Verses  10 — 12  are  by  this  word  liukec 
■with  A'crse  8,  as  presenting  the  second  part  of  the  con-J 
trast  between  angels  and  tho  Son.     As  there  we  read  | 
of  a  divine  sovereignty,  so  here  of  the  work  of  creation,  [ 
the  power  to  change  all  created  things,  the  di\'ine  attri- 
bute of  changeless  existence.     This  quotation  from  Ps. 
cii.  25 — 27  agrees  almost  exactly  with  the  text  of  the! 
L^X.  as  we  have  it  in  the  Alexandrian  MS.,  except 


286 


His  Unchangeahleness. 


HEBEEWS,   II. 


TJie  Ministry  of  Angels. 


hands  :  <"^  they  shall  perish  ;"  but  thou 
remainest;  and  they  all  shall  wax  old 
as  doth  a  garment ;  (^-^  and  as  a  vesture 
shalt  thou  fold  them  uj),  and  they  shall 
be  changed  :  but  thou  art  the  same, 
and  thy  years  shall  not  fail.  (^^^  But 
to  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any 
time,  Sit  on  my  right  hand,  until  I 
make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool  ?  * 
(It)  ^Q  they  not  all  ministering  spirits, 


6  Ps.  110. 1 ;  M.itt. 

22.44. 
1    Gr.  run  out   m 
leaking  vessels. 


sent  forth   to  minister   for  them  who 
shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  'P 


CHAPTEE 

oufjht    to   give 


II.  — (I) 
the 


Therefore   we 


more  ^^^^  ..  ^_^ 
earnest  heed  to  the  things  pjrii  of  disobo- 
which  we  have  heard,  lest  dience  to  His 
at  any  time  we  should  let  ^°^  ' 
them  slip.^  (^^  For  if  the  word  spoken  by 
angels  was  stedfast,  and  every  transgres- 


tliat  the  "words  "as  a  garment"  (not  found  in  the  Psalm) 
must  here  (verse  12)  be  added,  according  to  our  best 
.authorities.     Tlie  only  point  of  any  difficulty  in  these 
verses  is  that  the  writer  discovers  a  testimony  to  the 
supremacy  of  the  Son  in  words  which,  as  they  stand 
'in  the  Psalm,  would  appear  to  be  directly  addressed 
.  to  God  as  Creator.    If,  however,  the  Psalm  be  examined, 
I  it  will  be  found  (see  verses  13 — 16)  to  contain  the  ex- 
pression  of   hopes  which   in   reality  were  inseparably 
united  with  the  fultilment  of  tlie  Messianic  promise. 
"  The  Lord  shall  appear  to  build  up  Zion  : "  this  is  the 
Psalmist's  theme,  and  it  is  to  the  same  Lord  that  he 
addresses  the  words  which  are  quoted  here.      As  in 
Jesus  the  Christian  Jew  saw  Him  who  fulfilled  all  these 
promises  of  God  to  His  peoiile,  the  application  of  the 
words  of  adoration  to  the  same  Lord  would  at  once 
be  recognised  as  true. 

(11)  And  they  all  .  .  .—Both  the  earth  and  the 
hga^ens  :  see  Isa.  xxxiv.  4,  "  The  heavens  shall  be  rolled 
together  as  a  scroU ; "  and  Isa.  li.  6,  ''  The  earth  shall 
wax  old  like  a  garment." 

(1-)  And  as  a  vesture  .  .  . — Rather  (see  verse  10), 
And  as  a  mantle  shalt  Thou  roll  them  up ;  as  a  gar- 
ment shall  they  also  be  changed.  The  course  of  thought 
is  easily  traced :  as  the  garment  which  has  grown  old  is 
rolled  up  and  changed,  so  the  fomier  heavens  and  earth 
shall  give  place  to  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth. 
(13)  But  to  which  of  the  angels.— The  final 
appeal  is  made  to  that  Psalm  which  more  fre- 
quently tlian  any  other  is  quoted  in  reference  to 
Christ,  and  which  wo  have  already  seen  to  be  the 
source  of  all  the  New  Testament  references  to  the 
Saviour's  session  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  say  much  licre  respecting  Ps.  ex.,  to  wliich 
so  many  allusions  will  be  made  in  the  course  of  this 
Epistle.  That  it  was  regularly  understood  by  the  Jews 
of  our  Lord's  time  to  be  a  Messianic  Psalm  is  clear 
both  from  Matt.  xxii.  43,  44,  and  from  the  independent 
notices  wliich  wo  possess.  Most  probably,  it  stands 
alone  amongst  the  Psalms  as  being  simply  prophetic : 
the  words  of  verso  1  liave  never  been  addressed  either 
to  angels  or  to  an  earthly  king.  On  the  special  words 
of  th(»  (juotation  sec  verse  3. 
Said  he  at  any  time.— Better,  hath  He  ever  said. 
Until  I  make  .  .  . — Literally,  until  I  shall  have 
mode  Thine  enrmies  a  footstool  of  Tliy  feet. 

(1  ^)  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits  ?— 
In  tliis  verse  and  the  preceding  is  repeated  the  con- 
trast of  verses  7 — 9,  in  reversed  order.  Tlio  words 
"  ministering  spirits  "  at  once  recall  tlie  "  ministers  " 
and  "winds"  (expressed  in  Greek  and  Hebrew  by  the 
same  word  as  "  s])irits  ")  spoken  of  in  verse  7.  In  the 
LXX.  tliis  word  "minister"  is  usually  applied  to  tliose 
who  stood  before  God  in  His  eartlily  sanctuary  :  so  here 
it  is  fitly  used  of  the  nobler  offices  of  the  unseen  world. 
To  the  English  reader  it  may  seem  that  those  who  in 


287 


verso  7  are  God^s  ministers  are  here  represented  as 
servants  of  man.  It  is  not  really  so,  for  the  words 
properly  mean,  .  .  .  sent  forth  (that  is,  continually 
sent  forth)  to  do  service  (to  God), /or  the  sake  of  them 
who  are  to  inherit  salvation.  "  Inherit "  is  a  prelude 
of  chap.  ii.  10.  The  last  word,  "  salvation,"  expresses 
the  divine  purpose  indicated  by  all  the  prophecies 
that  have  passed  under  review.  The  chapter  has  been 
occupied  with  promises  of  the  Christ :  the  last  word 
brings  before  us  Jesus,  the  Saviour. 

n. 

(1-4)  These  verses  must  be  closely  joined  with  the  i 
first  chajiter.  Before  advancing  to  the  next  stej)  in 
his  argument,  the  writer  pauses  to  enforce  the  duty 
which  results  from  what  has  been  already  established. 
But  (as  in  chap.  iv.  14 — 16)  the  exhortation  does  not 
interrupt  the  thought,  but  rather  serves  as  a  connecting 
Hnk.     (See  Note  on  verse  5.) 

(1)  Therefore  we  ought  to  give  the  more 
earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have 
heard. — Better,  to  the  things  heard  ;  for  this  expression 
contains  the  complement  of  the  thought  of  chap.  i.  1. 
Both  "  speak  "  and  "  hear "  are  words  which  carry 
weighty  emphasis  in  this  Epistle.  (See  chap.  i.  1;  ii.  2; 
xii.  25  ;  iii.  5,  7;  iv.  2,  et  al.)  Because  of  the  supreme 
dignity  of  Him  in  whom  at  the  last  God  speaks,  men 
are  bound  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  words 
spoken,  whether  heard  by  them  from  the  Lord  Himself 
or  (as  in  this  case,  verse  3)  from  His  sei'vants. 

Lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  slip. — 
This  translation  (first  introduced  by  the  Genevan 
Bible  of  1560)  substantially  gives  the  sense,  but  inverts 
the  figure  presented  in  the  Greek.  The  words  must  be 
rendered,  lest  2^ossibly  ve  drift  away  (Wiclif,  "lest 
Iierauenture  we  fleten  awey  ").  It  is  the  man  that  is  in 
danger  of  being  carried  along  by  the  current  :  unless 
the  mind  be  held  closely  to  the  words  that  God  lias 
spoken,  it  must  drift  away  from  them,  and  from  the 
sjilvation  which  they  promise.  There  seems  no  founda- 
tion for  the  rendering  of  the  margin,  first  given  in  the 
Genevan  Testament  of  1557. 

(2)  The  word  spoken  by  angels.— Or  rather, 
through  angeh  (comp.  chap.  i.  2)  :  the  word  was  God's, 
but  angels  were  tlie  nuHlium  through  which  it  was 
given  to  men.  In  accordance  with  the  tone  of  the 
whole  passage  (in  which  the  thought  is  not  the  reward* 
of  obedience,  but  tlie  peril  of  neglect  of  duty),  "  the 
word"  must  denote  divine  commands  delivered  by 
angels,  and — as  the  close  parallel  presented  by  cliap.  x. 
28.  29,  seems  to  prove — especially  the  commands  of  the 
Mosaic  law.  Hence  this  verse  must  be  joined  to  the 
other  passages  (Acts  vii.  53;  Gal.  iii.  19;  comp.  also 
Acts  vii.  38)  which  bring  into  relief  the  ministration  of 
angels  in  the  giving  of  the  Law ;  and  the  nature  of  the 


Peril  of  Disobedience 


HEBREWS,   II. 


to  tlie  Word  of  Christ. 


sion  and  disobedience  received  a  just 
reconipence  of  reward ;  <'^'  how  shall  we 
escape,  if  we  nefjlect  so  great  salvation ; 
which  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken 
by  the  Lord,  and  was  confirmed  unto 
us   by  them   that   heard  him ;    ^^^  God 


1  Or,  tlistribtUions. 


also  bearing  them  witness,  both  with 
signs  and  wonders,  and  with  divers 
miracles,  and  gifts  ^  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
according  to  his  own  will  ? 

<^)  For  unto  the  angels  hath  he  not 
put  in   subjection  the  world  to   come. 


argument  of  this  Epistle  gives  special  iinportance  to 
tlic  subject  here.  Tlio  only  passage  in  the  Pentateuch 
wliich  can  be  quoted  in  ilhistration  is  Deut.  xxxiii.  2 : 
"  Tlie  Lord  came  from  Sinai  ....  He  came  from  amid 
myriads  of  lioly  ones."  The  Greek  version  (introducing 
a  double  rendering  of  the  Hebrew)  adds,  "  at  His  riglit 
hand  were  angels  with  Him  ;  "  and  two  of  the  Targums 
likemso  speak  of  the  "  myriads  of  holy  angels."  Ps. 
Ixviii.  17  is  difficult  and  obscure,  but  veiy  possibly 
agrees  with  the  passage  just  quoted  in  referring  to 
angels  as  the  attendants  of  Jehovah  on  the  mount. 
Nowhere  in  the  Old  Testament  is  the  thought  carried 
beyond  this  point;  but  there  ai*e  a  few  passages  in 
Jewish  writers  which  clearly  show  that  such  a  minis- 
tration of  angels  as  is  hero  spoken  of  was  a  tenet  of 
Jewish  belief  in  the  apostolic  age.  Philo,  after 
sajnng  that  the  angels  have  their  name  from  reporting 
the  commands  of  the  Father  to  His  children,  and  the 
wants  of  the  children  to  the  Father,  adds  :  "  We  are 
unable  to  contain  His  exceeding  and  unalloyed  benefits, 
if  He  Himself  proffers  them  to  us  without  employing 
others  as  His  ministers."  Much  more  important  are 
the  words  of  Josephus  {Ant.  xv.  5,  §  3),  who  introduces 
Herod  as  reminding  the  Jews  that  the  noblest  of  the 
ordinances  and  the  holiest  of  the  things  contained 
in  the  laws  had  been  learnt  by  them  from  God  tlirough 
angels.  Jewish  writers  quoted  by  Wetstein  speak  of 
the  "  angels  of  service"  whom  Moses  had  known  from 
the  time  of  the  giving  of  the  law;  and.  moreover,  of 
the  angel  who,  when  Moses  had  through  terror  for- 
gotten all  that  he  had  been  taught  during  the  forty  days, 
delivered  the  law  t-o  him  again.  Such  speculations  aro 
of  interest  as  showing  the  place  which  this  tenet  held 
in  Jewish  doctrine  and  belief.  Here  and  in  Gal.  iii.  19 
(soo  Note  tliere)  tliis  mediation  of  angels  is  adduced  as 
a  mark  of  tlie  inferiority  of  the  law  ;  in  Acts  vii.  53, 
where  no  such  comparison  is  made,  tho  contrast 
implied  is  between  angels  and  men  as  givers  of  a  law. 

Was  stedfast. — Rather,  proved  steadfast  or  sure ; 
evidence  of  this  was  given  by  the  punishment  wliich 
overtook  the  transgressor,  whether  inflicted  by  the 
direct  visitation  of  God  or  by  human  hands  faitlifully 
executing  tho  divine  will.  Of  tho  two  words  well 
rendered  transgression  and  disobedience,  the  one  points 
especially  to  tho  infraction  of  a  positive  precept,  tlie 
other  is  more  general :  the  former  relates  more 
commonly  to  "thou  shalt  not;"  the  latter  rather 
to  "  thou  shalt."  The  two  words  are  hero  unified, 
that  every  violation  of  flio  command  may  l)o  in- 
cluded. Tlie  use  of  reward  in  a  neutral  or  unfavour- 
able sense  (2  Pet.  ii.  13;  Ps.  xciv.  2,  et  al.)  is  not 
uncommon  in  our  older  writers.  (Comp.  "  tho  reward 
of  a  WUain,'"  in  Shakespeare.) 

(3)  How  shall  we  escape  ?— In  a  different  context 
these  words  might  naturally  mean,  "  How  shall  we, 
transgressors  of  the  law,  escape  from  tho  piMialty  it 
threatens,  if  we  neglect  the  one  means  of  deliverance 
now  offered  us?"  (Comp.  Gal.  iii.  13;  iv.  5.)  Here, 
however,  are  placed  in  contrasSt  tho  command  and 
threatening  which  came  through  angels  and  tho  salva- 
tion  "  spoKCu    through   tho  Lord " ;    while    the    one 


288 


"  word  "  is  thus  wholly  unlike  the  other  in  substance 
and  in  form  of  proclamation,  each  is  a  law,  in  that 
neglect  is  visited  with  penalty.  On  the  intrinsic  great- 
ness of  the  salvation  the  writer  does  not  dwell ;  it  is 
imiilied  in  tho  unique  dignity  and  commission  of  Him 
through  whom  it  was  given. 

Which  at  the  first  began  to  be  spoken. — 
Better,  which  having  at  tlie  first  been  spoken  tlirough 
tlie  Lord,  was  made  sure  unto  us  by  them  that  lieard. 
"Through  the  Lord"  (comp.  chap.  i.  2)  was  spoken  this 
word  of  God  which  brought  salvation.  In  two  other 
passages  Jesus  receives  the  name  "our  Lord"  (chap, 
vii.  14;  xiii.  20),  but  nowhere  else  in  this  Epistlo 
(unless  pei'haps  in  chap.  xii.  14)  is  He  spoken  of  as 
"  the  Lord  "  ;  the  dignity  of  the  title  here  heightens  tho 
contrast.  "  By  them  that  heard  "  the  word  from  Him, 
the  writer  says,  it  "  was  made  sure  "  (not  confinneil,  as 
if  stronger  attestation  were  the  meaning  intended) 
"unto  us."  It  is  evident  that  the  writer  here  classes 
himself  with  those  who  had  not  immediately  heard  the 
word  from  Jesus.  Such  language  as  this  stands  in 
striking  contrast  with  St.  Paid's  claim,  rejieatodly 
maintained,  to  have  received  his  doctrine  directly  from 
the  Lord  Himself  (Gal.  i.  12;  1  Cor.  ix.  1,  et  al). 

W  God  also  bearing  them  witness.— That  is,| 
bearing  witness  with  them  to  the  truth  they  preached. \ 
Mark  xvi.  20  is  a  striking  parallel ;  see  also  Acts  iv.  30. 
Tho  di\ane  attestation  wiis  given  by  miracles  and  by  J 
"gifts"  (literally,  distributions,  as  in  tho  margin;  I 
see  1  Cor.  xii.  11)  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  We  have  here, 
as  in  Acts  ii.  22  and  2  Cor.  xii.  12  (see  tho  Notes),  the 
full  threefold  description  of  miracles,  as  "signs"  and 
"wonders"  and  "powers";  as  wonderful  works  that 
are  wrought  by  divine  power,  and  are  thus  signs  of  tho 
divine  presence  and  symbols  of  a  corresjxmding  spiritual 
work.  The  woi*ds  liere  used  are  illustrated  especially 
by  2  Cor.  xii.  12,  in  its  reference  to  miracles  as  attest- 
ing the  apostolic  preaching.  But  yet  ' '  greater  works  " 
(John  xiv.  12)  were  wrought  by  the  messengers  of 
Christ,  in  that  through  them  were  bestowed  tho  gifts 
of  tho  Spirit.  Tho  hist  words,  "  according  to  His 
will,"  bring  us  back  to  the  first  words  of  the  section 
(chap.  i.  1) ;  as  it  is  God  who  sjieaks  to  men  in  His 
Son,  it  is  He  who  works  with  those  who  proclaim  the 
word  that  they  have  heard,  attesting  their  message  by 
gifts  according  to  His  will. 

(5-18)  It  was  needful  fhat  Jesn.s,  as  Author  of  salva- 
tion to  man,  sliould  in  all  points  Ihi  made  like  to  those 
whom  Ho  saves,  and  in  their  likeness  suffer  and  die ; 
thus  Ho  becomes  for  them  a  mei'cif  ul  and  faithful  High  v 
Priest, 

(5)  For. — There  is  a  Tery  clear  connection  between" 
this  verse  and  chap.  i.  14.  "  Angels  are  but  ministering 
spirits,  ser^-ing  God  in  the  cause  of  those  who  shall 
inherit  salvation ;  for  not  to  angels  is  the  world  to  come 
made  subject."  But  tho  connection  with  verses  2,  3,  is 
equally  iinix)rtant:  "  the  salvation  that  is  now  given  has 
been  proclaimed  not  by  angels  but  by  the  Lord,  and  it 
is  God  Himself  who  works  with  the  messengers  of  the 


The  Promise  of  Dominion 


HEBEEWS,   II. 


fulfilled  to  2fan  in  Christ. 


whereof  we  speak.     (^^  But  one  in  a  cer- 

Chap.  ii.  5-18.  ^ai^  place  testified,  say- 
The  sufferings  ing,   What   is    man,   that 

nLessTxxThat  ^^^^  ^^t  mindful  of  him? 
He  might  be-  Or  the  SOU  of  man,  that 
^^^^^gjor^ man  thou  visitest  him?"  (7) 
vation,  a  true  Thou  madest  him  a  little 
High  Priest.  lower  than!  the  angels; 
thou   crownedst    him   with    glory   and 


1  Or,  o  little  while 
inferior  to. 

2  Or,  by. 


honour,  and  didst  set  him  over  the 
works  of  thy  hands :  (^^  thou  hast  put 
all  things  in  subjection  under  his 
feet.  For  in  that  he  put  all  in  sub- 
jection under  him,  he  left  nothing  tlcat 
is  not  "put  under  him.  But  now  we 
see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him. 
<^^  But  we  see  Jesus,  who  was  made  a 
little   lower   than   the  aug^els  for^  the 


Lord ;  for  not  unto  angels,"  &c.  The  word  "  sah'atiou  " 
binds  together  this  section  and  the  first.  (See  chaj). 
i.  14;  ii.  2;  ii.  10.) 

Hath,  he  not  put  in  subjection. — Better,  did  He 
subject ;  for  the  reference  is  to  the  passage  quoted  in 
the  foUomug  verses,  which  is  ah'oady  in  the  winter's 
thought.  "  He  :  "  God,  sjieakiug  in  the  prophetic 
Scripture. 

The  world,  to  come. — The  same  expression  occurs 
in  the  English  version  of  chap.  xi.  5,  but  in  the  Greek 
'•  world  "  is  repi'esented  by  entirely  difllereut  words. 
Here,  as  in  chap.  i.  6,  the  meaning  is  "  inhabited  earth," 
*' world  of  man";  thei'e,  the  word  properly  relates  to 
time,  "age."  Is  "the  world  to  come"  still  future,  or 
is  it  here  looked  at  from  the  Old  Testament  point  of 
view?  (See  chap.  i.  2.)  The  following  verses  (espe- 
cially verse  9)  make  it  clear  that  the  period  referred  to 
I  is  that  which  succeeds  the  exaltation  of  Christ.  "We 
ourselves  cannot  but  markedly  distinguish  the  present 
stage  of  Messiah's  kingdom  from  the  future;  but  in 
the  perspective  of  prophecy  the  two  were  blended. 
The  thought  of  this  kingdom  amongst  men  has  been 
l)resent  from  tlie  first  verses  of  the  Epistle  onwards ; 
hence.  "  whereof  we  speak." 

(*^)  But  one  in  a  certain  place.— Better,  some- 
u-here.  The  expression  is  perfectly  indefinite  (comp. 
diap.  iv.  4).  As  a  rule,  the  words  of  Scripture  are  in 
this  Epi.stlo  quoted  as  God's  own  utterances ;  and 
though  the  nature  of  the  quotation  (which  is  an  address 
to  God)  made  this  impossible  here,  the  writer  seems 
gla<lly  to  avoid  the  mention  of  the  human  propliet, 
l)erhaps  as  distracting  the  thought  from  the  di\'iue 
prophecy.  This  studious  iiulefiuiteuess  in  citation  is 
common  in  Philo,  and  sometimes  occurs  where  he 
cannot  possibly  have  been  in  doubt  as  to  the  source 
of  his  quotation. 

Testified. — That  is,  in  Bililical  usage,  solevmhj 
declared  .-  the  words  are  no  light  exclamation  of  wonder. 
The  quotation  which  follows  (from  Ps.  viii.  4 — 6)  agrees 
verbally  -with  the  LXX.  version.  The  only  point  of 
doubt  is  whether  the  last  clause  of  verse  7  wa~s  included 
in  the  quotation,  as  in  some  very  good  ancient  authori- 
ties it  is  absent  from  the  text.  The  weight  of  external 
evidence  is  certainly  in  its  favour;  but  it  is  easier  to  see 
how  a  scribe  may  have  introduced  the  clause  througli 
his  familiarity  with  the  Psalm  than  to  explain  its  omis- 
sion if  it  stood  in  the  original  text  of  this  Epistle.  The 
Greek  translation  here  faitiif  ally  represents  the  Hebrew, 
except  in  one  point.  For  "  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels."  the  Hebrew  text  has  "  a  little  less  than  God." 
The  change  (which  is  similar  to  that  noticed  in  chap.  i. 
6)  was  prol)al)ly  introduced  by  the  translators  on  a 
I)rinciple  which  we  may  often  trace  in  their  work — a 
wi.sh  to  tone  down  expressions  relating  to  the  Deity 
which  seemed  strong  or  bold.  In  quoting  the  passage 
the  ^vriter  does  not  depart  from  the  rendering 
most   familiar  to  the   readers   of    the    Greek    Bible; 


but,  though  the  clause  in  its  altered  form  accords 
well  with  what  had  preceded  the  quotation,  and,  so 
to  speak,  more  completely  interweaves  the  words  of 
the  Psalm  with  the  context  in  which  they  are  here 
placed,  yet  no  stress  is  laid  on  "  angels."  The 
argument  of  this  section  would  not  be  affected 
materially  if  the  true  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  were 
restored.  Tlie  eighth  Psalm  is  an  expression  of  amaze- 
ment that  God,  who  has  "  set  His  glorj"  upon  the 
heavens,"  should  deign  to  remember  man.  Not  only  is 
He  "  mindful  of  man,"  but  He  has  made  him  but 
"little  less  than  God,"  "  crowned  him  with  honour," 
given  him  "  dominion  over  "  all  His  works.  The  origi- 
nal blessing  pronounced  on  man  (Gen.  i.  28)  is  clearly  in 
the  Pscilmist's  thought,  and  suggests  his  words.  The 
languiige  which  here  precedes  (verse  5)  and  follows 
(verse  8)  shows  that  the  last  clause  ("  thou  didst  sub- 
ject all  things  under  his  feet")  bears  the  stress  of  the 
quotation.  (That  the  same  words  are  the  gi'oundwork 
of  1  Cor.  XV.  24 — 28  is  one  of  the  most  intei-esting 
coincidences  between  this  Epistle  and  St.  Paul.)  It  is 
easy  to  see,  therefore,  for  what  purpose  these  verses  are 
here  adduced.  Xot  to  angels  is  "  the  world  to  come  " 
subjected  :  in  the  Scripture  there  are  found  words  de- 
claring that  a  divine  decree  has  subjected  all  things  to 
man.  How  the  thought  is  combined  with  the  argu- 
ment of  the  whole  passage  will  be  seen  in  verse  9.  A 
question  at  once  arises  :  l)id  the  meaning  here  assigned 
to  the  Psalm  exist  in  David's  thought  ?  If  not,  on  what 
j)rinciple  does  this  ai^plication  rest  ?  David  had  in 
mind  the  words  of  the  primal  blessing,  and  probably 
did  not  himself  think  of  more  than  those  words  seemed  to 
imply.  But  the  complete  meaning  of  God's  words  can 
be  learnt  only  when  they  are  fulfilled  in  history.  To 
Him  who  speaks  in  Scripture  the  material  dominion  was 
the  symbol  of  a  higher  and  a  universjd  rule,  to  be  ful- 
filled in  the  Son  of  Man  when  the  fiUness  of  time 
shoidd  come.  The  Psalm  is  not  directly  Messianic. — it 
relates  to  man ;  but  it  is  through  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus  that  it  receives  its  complete  fulfilment  for  man- 
kind. 

(8)  Thou  hast  put  .  .  .— Tliere  is  in  the  Greek  a 
studious  repetition  of  the  leading  word,  which  should 
not  be  lost  in  translation :  "  Thou  tlidst  subject  all 
things  under  his  feet.  For  in  subjecting  all  things  to 
him.  He  left  nothing  unsubjocted  to  him.  But  now  wo 
see  not  yet  all  things  subjected  to  him." 

For  in  that  .  .  .—The  assertion  of  verse  5  is 
estal)lished  l)y  this  Scripture;  for  if  God  has  thus 
declared  all  thituj.'^  subject  to  man,  there  is  nothing 
that  did  not  fall  under  his  rule.  "  Did  not."  in  the 
di\ine  purpose  ;  but  this  piu^iose  is  not  yet  fulfilled  iu 
regard  to  the  race  of  man. 

(9)  But  we  see  Jesus  .  .  .—Rather,  But  we  see 
Him  «7io  has  been  made  a  little  lower  than  angels, 
Jesus,  because  of  the  suffering  of  death  crowned  with 
glory  and  lionour.    There  is  One  in  whom  the  divine 


85 


289 


Jesus  crowned  with  Glory 


HEBREWS,   II. 


as  Captain  of  our  Salvation. 


suffering  of  death,  crowned  with  glory 
and  honour;  that  he  by  the  grace  of 
God  shoukl  taste  death  for  every  man. 
(10)  Yov  it  became  him,  for  whom  are  all 
things,  and  by  whom  arc  all  things,  in 


bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make 
the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  sufferings.  <^^^  For  both  he 
that  sanctifieth  and  they  who  are  sanc- 
tified are  all  of  one :  for  which  cause  he 


|mi-pns(>  is  fiilfilUnl  in  all  its  parts.  Ho  was  made  a 
litllo  (tlio  roii(li>rin<;  of  tlio  margin,  "a  littlowhile,"  is 
iniicli  loss  prol)iil)k«)  lower  tliau  angels,  and  Ho  is  crowned 
with  glory.  In  one  point  wo  note  an  apparent  departure 
from  the  sense  of  tlio  Psalm,  since  words  ("  a  little 
lower ")  which  there  denote  dignity  here  denote 
humiliation.  This  difference  is  not  essential ;  in  each 
case  it  is  tho  position  of  man  that  is  signified,  and  our 
Lord's  assumption  of  human  nature  must  in  any  case 
bo  spoken  of  as  a  descent  to  a  lower  sphere.  There  is 
peculiar  fitness  in  tho  use  of  tho  human  uame,  Jesxis, 
for  Him  in  whom  tho  Psalmist's  words  concerning 
man  arc  literally  fulfilled.  It  is  noteworthy  that  we 
do  not  read,  "  Wo  see  all  things  put  in  subjection 
unto  Jesus  " — this  would  conflict  with  the  truth  stated 
in  diap.  x.  13 :  other  words  of  tho  Psalm  are  sub- 
stituted, which  do  not  imply  that  the  complete  actual 
8ul)jecfion  is  already  accomplished.  This  exaltation  of 
One  is  not  a  sulisfitute  foi*,  Init  involves  (Rom.  viii. 
17,  29,  ct  al.),  and  renders  possible,  the  exaltation  of  tho 
many.  This  is  clear  from  tho  "  not  yet  "  of  verse  8  ; 
and  tho  same  truth  is  brought  out  in  a  different  form 
at  tho  close  of  this  verse.  In  tho  midst  of  this  appli- 
cation of  the  words  of  Scripture  to  Jesus,  tho  writer 
introduces  his  first  reference  to  His  death.  Tho  offence 
of  tho  cross  (Gal.  v.  11)  was  an  over-active  force  among 
Jews ;  this  is  present  to  the  ^\Titer's  mind  throughout 
tho  Ejjistle.  The  words  thus  suddenly  brought  in  here, 
reminding  us  that  the  exaltation  of  Christ  was  a 
reward  for  His  obedience  unto  death  (another  echo  of 
St.  Paul — Phil.  ii.  9,  10 ;  see  also  chap.  xii.  2),  prepare 
for  the  more  detailed  teaching  of  the  following  verses — 
10.  11,  15,  17. 

There  is  an  apparent  difficulty  in  the  position  of  the 
last  clause  of  the  verse,  "  that  He  should  taste  death 
for  every  man."  Wo  cannot  doubt  that  these  words 
depend  on  those  which  immediately  pi-ecedo;  and  yet  how 
can  it  1)0  said  that  Jesus  has  been  crowned  with  glory 
ill  order  that  H<^  may  "taste  death  for  every  man  "  ? 
Almost  all  difficulty  is  removed  if  we  consider  that 
(to  use  Dean  Alforil's  words)  "it  is  on  the  triumphant 
i.ssue  of  His  sufferings  that  their  efficacy  depends."  Dut 
it  is  impossible  for  the  Christian  to  separate,  even  in 
thought,  the  one  from  the  other— the  sufferings  from  the 
c(>rtaiii  triumph.  We  might,  perhaps,  say  that  it  is  only 
by  a  misuse  of  hujuan  analogies  that  we  separate  thorn 
oven  in  time  :  in  the  (iospel  of  St.  John,  at  all  events  (if 
not  in  this  very  Epistle— .see  verse  14).  wo  are  taught 
that  in  Hi.f  crucijixion  Jesus  is  exalted.  This  clause, 
then,  lu-ings  us  l)ack  to  tho  thought  of  the  glory  reserved 
for  man:  through  death  tlio  fiil'tilment  of  God's  purpose 
miglit  seem  to  be  frustmted ;  through  tho  death  of 
Jesus  on  lielialf  of  every  man  (I  I'ct.  iii.  IS)  it  is  ful- 
filled. The  outline  presented  here  is  filli-d  up  in  later 
chapters;  there  we  shall  read  that  man's  iiili.M-itance 
was  foi-feit(>d  through  sin,  and  that  only  through  the 
■virtue  of  a  de.ath  which  made  atonement  for  sin^is  tho 
promise  again  marie  sure  (chap.  ix.  1  ,'>,  16,  28).  To  "  taste 
death  "  is  a  familiar  Hebraism.  If  it  has  any  special 
significance  here,  it  would  seem  less  natuial  to  see 
(with  Chrysostom)  a  reference  to  the  short  duration  of 
our  Saviour's  death,  than  to  understand  the  words  as 


pointing   to  tho  actual  taste  of   all  tho  bitterness  of 
death.     (Comp.  chap.  vi.  4,  5.) 

One  A'arious  reading  it  is  impossible  to  pass  by, 
though  it  is  preserved  in  but  two  of  our  Greek  MSS., 
and  these  of  no  early  date.  For  "by  the  grace  of  God  " 
many  (apparently  most)  copies  of  the  Epistle  that  were 
known  to  Origen  read  "  a])art  from  God."  This  read- 
ing was  followed  by  others  of  the  Fathers,  and  found 
its  way  into  some  manuscripts  of  early  versions.  Tho 
Nestorians  gladly  accepted  words  which  to  them  seemed 
to  teach  that  in  suffering  tho  man  Jesus  was  apart 
from  God.  Origen  and  others  understood  the  words 
differently,  as  moaning,  taste  death  for  every  being 
except  God.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  xv.  27.)  A  reading  so 
widely  known,  which  in  later  times  has  been  favoured 
by  as  eminent  a  critic  as  Bengel,  demanded  notice, 
though  it  is  almost  certainly  incorrect.  No  interpreta- 
tion which  the  words  admit  yields  a  probable  sen.se ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  reference  to  "  the  gi'aco  of  God  " 
is  full  of  significance.     (See  verses  4  and  10.) 

(lu)  For. — What  seomed  to  Jews  incredible,  that  the 
Christ  should  die,  was  ordained  "  by  the  grace  of  God." 
For  thus  to  make  sufferings  the  path  to  His  kingdom  ] 
was  worthy  of  God,  for  whose  glory  and  through  whoso  I 
power  all  things  exist ;  who  as  Creator  comuuiuds  all  I 
agencies,  and  who  cannot  but  do  that  which  will  sub- 
serve His  glory.     If  the  means  at  which  men  wondered 
were  chosen  l)y  God,  no  one  may  doubt  their  supremo 
fitness  for  the  end.     In  -"hat  this  fitness  consisted  tho 
following  words  partially  explain. 

In  bringing. — It  is  doubtful  whether  the  Greek 
word  should  not  be  rendered,  having  brought.  With 
this  translation  we  must  certainly  explain  tho  words 
on  the  same  principle  as  the  past  tenses  of  versos  7 
and  8.  As  in  the  divine  counsels  all  things  were 
subjected  to  man,  mtli  the  same  propriety  it  may  be 
said  that  God  had  brought  many  sous  to  glory  when  • 
the  Saviour  suffered  and  died. 

Many  sons. — Tho  now  thought  hero  introduced 
is  of  great  importance  in  the  argument.  The  divino 
purpose  is  to  bring  many  sons  (comp.  chap.  i.  14)  unto 
glory — the  glory  already  spoken  of  as  reserved  for 
man — through  His  Son,  who  has  Himself  received  this 
glory  that  He  msij  make  it  theirs. 

Captain.— This  word  occurs  in  tlu-ee  otlier  places. 
In  Acts  V.  31  it  bears  its  original  meaning,  "  Leader  " 
("  a  Leader  and  a  Saviour  ") ;  in  chap.  xii.  2  and  Acts  iii. 
1.5  the  idea  of  "  leading  the  way  "  has  passed  into  that 
of  origination.  In  the  present  case,  also,  Author  is  tho 
best  rendering ;  but  in  a  context  which  so  distinctly 
presents  our  Lord  as  taking  on  Himself  the  conditions 
of  man's  lot,  and  so  passing  into  tho  glory  which  He 
wins  for  man,  the  primary  thought  of  leading  must 
not  be  entirely  set  aside.  It  is  as  tho  Author  of  sal- 
vation that  Ho  is  made  perfect  through  sufferings. 
Three  aspects  of  this  truth  are  presented  in  the  Epistle.  _. 
By  His  suffering  unto  death  He  "bare  the  sins  ofajl 
many  "  (verso  9,  chap.  ix.  28);  He  offered  the  sacrifice"! 
of  a  perfect  obedience  (chap.  v.  8);  He  was  enabled  to 
be  a  perfect  representative  of  man.  This  last  thought 
pervades  the  remaining  versos  of  tho  chapter. 

(U)  For  both,  he^  that  sanctifieth  .  .  .—The! 


290 


Jesus  made  like  unto  Men, 


HEBEEWS,   11. 


whom  He  oions  as  Brethren. 


is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren, 
(1-)  saying,  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto 
my  brethren,  in  the  midst  of  the  church 
will  I  sing"  praise  unto  thee.  (^^^  And 
again,  I  will  put  my  trust  in  him."  And 
again.  Behold  I  and  the  children  which 


God  hath  given  me.  *  ^^*)  Forasmuch 
then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of 
flesh  and  blood,  he  also  himself  likewise 
took  part  of  the  same ;  that  through 
death  he  might  destroy  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil; 


special  luoaiiing  of  "  sauctify  "  iu  this  Epistle  (chaps. 

ix.  13  ;  X.  10,  14',  29  ;  xiii.  12)  seems  to  be,  bringiny  into 

fellowship  loith  God,  the  Holy  Oue.     "  They  who  are 

sanctified" — literally,  are  being  sanctified  (comp.  Acts 

ii.  47;  1   Cor.  i.  18) — are  those  whom  the  Captain  of 

their  salvation,  in  fulfilment  of  the  Father's  purpose 

(verse  10),  is  leading  unto  glory.     The  thoughts  of  the 

last  verse,  therefore,  are  repeated  here,  with  a  change 

of  figure ;  and  again  (as  in  verso  9)  wo  note  the  brief 

reference  to  a  subject  which  will  be  prominent  in  later 

chapters ;  see  especially  chap.  xiii.  12. 

[      Are  all  of  one.— Of  one  Father.     This  is  the  con- 

/r  necting  link   between  verse  11    and   verse    10,  whicli 

/  speaks  of  the  "  many  sons  "  and  their  Saviour.    Though 

i  His  souship  is  unique  and  infinitely  exalted,  Ho  is  not 

'i  asliamed  to  OAvn  them  as  brethren. 

(1-)  I  will  declare  thy  name  .  .  .  .—The 
quotation  is  taken  (with  very  slight  vaiiatiou)  from 
the  22ud  verse  of  Ps.  xxii.  —  a  Psalm  remarkable 
for  its  close  connection  with  the  narratives  of  the 
Passion  of  our  Lord.  Whetlier  the  inscription  which 
speaks  of  David  as  author  is  correct,  or  whether  (from 
tlie  difficulty  of  discovering  any  period  in  David's 
history  to  which  the  expressions  used  can  apply)  we 
consider  the  Psalm  to  have  been  written  after  the 
Captivity,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  Messianic 
character.  Some  would  class  tliis  Psalm  with  Ps.  ex. 
(see  Note  on  chap.  i.  13),  as  simply  and  directly  pro- 
phetic, having  no  historic  fortground;  but  the  language 
of  some  of  the  verses  is  so  definite  and  peculiar  that 

J  we  must  certainly  regard  it  as  descriptive  of  actual 
experience,  and  must  rather  regard  tlie  Psalm  (comp. 
cliap.  i.  8,  9)  as  typically  prophetic  of  Christ.  Each 
division  of  this  verse  is  in  point  as  a  quotation.  (1)  Those 
to  whom  the  Messiah  will  declare  God's  name  Ho  speaks 
of  as  "brethren;"  (2)  not  alone,  but  in  the  "church" 
(or  rather,  in  a  congregation  of  God's  people ;  see  Ps. 
kXxii.  22)  will  He  sing  the  praise  of  God.  The  Latter 
I  thought — community  with  men,  as  attested  by  a  like 
relation  to  God — is  brought  out  with  still  greater  pro- 
minence in  verse  13. 

(1 5J  I  will  put  my  trust  in  him  .  .  .  Behold  I 
and  the  children  .  .  . — Of  the  two  passages  cited 
in  this  verse,  the  latter  is  certainly  from  Isa.  v\n.  18 : 
and  thongli  the  former  might  be  derived  from  2  Sam. 
xxii.  3  or  isa.  xii.  2,  yet,  as  tlie  words  are  also  found  in  the 
same  chapter  of  Isaiah  (viii.  17),  we  may  with  certainty 
consider  tliis  the  source  of  the  quotation.  That  the  sec- 
tion of  Isaiah's  prophecies  to  wliich  cliap.  viii.  Ijelongs  is 
directly  Messianic,  is  a  fact  that  must  be  kept  in  mind ; 
but  tlio  stress  of  tlie  quotation  cannot  l)e  laid  on  this.  Tlie 
prophet,  as  the  roprescntative  of  God  to  the  people,  has 
eiven  utterance  to  the  divine  message  :  in  these  words, 
however.  "I  will  put  my  trust"  (better,  "I  will  have  my 
trust,"  for  continuous  confidence  is  what  the  words 
denote)  "  in  Him,"  lie  retires  into  tlie  same  position 
with  tlie  people  wlioni  lie  has  addressed;  tlieir  relation 
towards  God's  word  and  tlie  liope  it  inspin>s  must  be  his 
also.  Tliis  two-fold  position  of  the  propliet  symbolised 
the  two-fold  nature  of  Him  of  whom  every  prophet 
was  a  type.     (In  Isa.  viii.  17,  the  Authorised  version, 


"  I  will  look  for  Him,"  is  nearer  to  the  strict  meaning 
of  the  original ;  but  tlie  difference  is  of  little  moment.) 

The  second  passage  is  free  from  difficulty  up  to  a 
certain  point.  In  Isa.  vii.  and  viii.  we  not  only  read  of 
the  word  of  God  sent  by  Isaiali,  but  also  find  his  sons 
associated  with  him  in  his  message  to  the  people.  The 
warning  of  judgment  and  the  promise  are,  so  to  speak, 
held  up  before  the  people  inscribed  in  the  symbolic 
names  borne  by  the  sons,  Maher-shalal-hash-baz  ("  Speed 
the  spoil,  hastens  the  prey ")  and  Shear-jaslmb  ("  A 
remnant  shall  return ;  "  see  Isa.  vii.  3 ;  x.  21),  and  by 
Isaiah  himself  ("  Salvation  of  Jehovah  ").  "  Behold  I," 
ho  says,  "  and  the  childi-en  whom  the  Lord  hath  given 
me,  are  for  signs  and  for  wonders  in  Israel  from  the 
Lord  of  hosts."  By  God's  own  appointment,  tho 
children  whom  God  gave  him,  though  themselves  no 
prophets,  were  joined  with  himself  in  the  relation  of 
prophets  to  the  people,  and  were  representatives  of 
those  whom  God,  who  "  hideth  His  face  from  thej 
house  of  Jacob"  (Isa.  viii.  17),  will  save.  As  in  the' 
former  passage  Isaiah  is  taken  as  representing  Christ, 
so  here  those  who,  being  of  the  same  blood,  are  joined 
with  him  in  his  work  and  iu  the  promise  of  salvation, 
represent  those  whom  the  Son  calls  "  brethren."  The 
difficidty  is  that,  whereas  the  original  passage  speaks  I 
of  "the  children"  of  the  prophet,  the  meaning  hero] 
must  be  children  of  God,  given  by  Him  to  the  Son.  I 
But  no  type  can  iinswer  in  every  respect  to  that  which 
it  represents.  The  association  of  Jesus  with  His 
people  contains  three  elements  of  thought — His  essen- 
tial superiority,  His  sharing  the  same  nature  with  His 
people.  His  brotherhood  with  them.  The  first  two 
thoughts  are  truly  represented  in  this  Old  Testament 
figm-e ;  the  last  no  figure  could  at  the  same  time  set  forth. 
And  though  verses  12  and  13  are  directly  connected 
with  the  word  "  brethren,"  yet,  as  the  next  verse  shows, 
the  most  important  constituent  of  tlie  thought  is  com- 
munity of  nature.  It  should  be  observed  that  in  these 
two  verses  the  citations  are  not  so  distinctly  adduced 
by  way  of  proof  as  are  those  of  the  first  chapter. 

(U)  Forasmuch  then  .  .  .—The  two  membei-s  of 
this  verse  directly  recall  the  thoughts  of  verses  10 
and  9.  (1)  It  was  tlie  will  of  God  that  salvation  should 
be  won  by  the  Sou  for  sons ;  (2)  this  salvation  could 
only  be  won  by  means  of  death. 

The  children. — Said  with  reference  to  verso  13. 

Flesh  and  blood. — Literally,  blood  and  fiesh,  tho 
familiar  order  of  the  words  being  departed  from  hero 
and  in  Eph.  vi.  12.  This  designation  of  liuman  nature 
on  its  material  side  is  found  four  times  iu  the  New 
Testament,  and  is  extremely  common  in  Jewish  writers. 

The  empliasis  of  the  following  statement  is  note- 
worthy: "  He  Himself  also  in  like  manner  took  part  of 
the  same  things."  His  assumption  of  our  nature  liad 
for  its  object  suffering  and  death. 

Destroy  him.— Rather,  bring  him  to  nought;  annul 
his  power.  Tho  comment  on  tliese  words  will  bo 
found  in  chap.  ix.  15,  2() ;  for  it  was  as  the  lord  of  sin, 
whicli  was  the  cause  (Roui.  v.  12)  and  the  sting  (1  Cor. 
XV.  50)  of  death,  that  tho  devil  held  dominion  over 
death  (or,  as  the  words  might  mean,  wielded  tho  power 


291 


Tlie  Merciful  and 


HEBREWS,   II. 


Faitlifxil  High  Priest. 


(15)  and  deliver  them  who  through  feai- 
of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject 
to  bondage.  <i^>  For  verily  he  took  not 
on  him  the  nature  of  angels ;  but  he 
took  on  hii7i  the  seed  of  Abraham. ^ 
(17)  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behoved 
him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren, 


1  Rr.  he  taketh  not 

hold  of  tiH{/eU, 
bid  of  the  stud  of 
Ahmh^nn  he  tak- 
eth hold.  : 


that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful 
high  priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God, 
to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of 
the  people.  <^^^  For  in  that  he  him- 
self hath  suffered  being  tempted, 
he  is  able  to  succour  them  that  are 
tempted. 


possessed  by  death).  (Conip.  2  Tim.  i.  10;  1  John  iii. 
8 ;  also  Rev.  i.  18.)  Combined  with  this  is  the  thought 
which  rims  througli  this  cliapter— the  assimilation  of 
the  Redeemer  to  the  redeemed  in  the  conditions  of  His 
earthly  life.  By  meeting  death  Himself,  He  vanquishes 
and  destroys  death  for  them. 

(15)  Deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 
.  .  .  . — This  verse  l)rings  into  relief  the  former 
misery  and  the  present  freedom.  We  may  well 
siippcso  these  words  to  have  been  prompted  by 
the  intense  sympathy  of  the  writer  with  the  perse- 
cuted and  tempted  Christians  whom  he  addresses. 
He  writes  throughout  as  one  who  never  forgets  their 
need  of  s\nnpathetic  help,  and  who  knows  well  the 
power  of  the  motives,  the  allurements  and  the  threats, 
emjjloyed  to  lead  them  into  apostasy.  The  crushing 
power  of  the  "fear  of  death"  over  those  who  had  not 
grasped  the  truth  that,  in  Christ,  life  and  immortality 
are  brought  to  light,  perhaps  no  thought  of  ours  can 
reach. 

U'i)  He  took  not  on  him  the  nature  of 
angels. — The  rendering  of  the  margin  approaches  very 
nearly  the  true  meaning  of  the  verse ;  whereas  the  text 
(in  which  the  Authorised  version  differs  from  all  our 
earlier  translations)  introduces  confusion  into  the  argu- 
ment. Having  spoken  in  verse  14  of  our  Lord's 
assumption  of  human  nature,  the  writer  in  these  words 
assigns  the  reason :  "  For  surely  it  is  not  of  angels  that 
He  taketh  hold,  but  He  taketh  hold  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham."  Though  the  words  '"take  hold,"  which 
occur  twice  in  the  verse,  probably  cannot  directly  signify 
"  help  "  (as  is  often  maintained),  they  distinctly  suggest 
laying  hold  for  the  sake  of  giving  help  ;  and  a  beautiful 
illustration  may  be  found  in  some  of  the  Gospel 
narratives  of  our  Lord's  works  of  healing  (Mark  viii.  23 ; 
Luke  xiv.  4).  It  is  probable  that  the  language  used 
here  is  derived  from  the  Old  Testament.  In  chap, 
viii.  9,  a  quotation  from  Jer.  xxxi.,  we  read,  "  In  the  day 
when  I  took  them  ])y  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the 
land  of  Egj-pt."  Isa.  xli.  8,  9,  however,  is  perhaps  a 
still  closer  parallel  (for  the  word  used  in  the  Greek 
version  is  very  similar,  and  no  doubt  expresses  the 
same  meaning) :  "  Thou  Israel,  my  servant,  Jacob  whom 
I  have  chosen,  the  seed  of  Abraha'm  my  friend  ;  thou  of 
whom  I  have  taken  hold  from  the  ends  of  the  earth.' 
If  the  writer  had  these  verses  in  his  thought,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  inquire  why  ho  chooses  the 
expression  "  seed  of  Abraham."  instead  of  one  of 
(apparently)  wider  meaning,  such  as  verses  7,  8,  might 
seem  to  require.  But  even  apart  from  this  passage 
of  Is;iiah.  aii<l  the  natural  fitness  of  such  .a  phm.se  in 
words  addressed  to  Jews,  we  may  doubt  if  anv  other 
language  would  luive  been  equally  expressive.  "For  as 
to  the  memxii,  it  was  by  becoming  a  child  of  Abraham 
that  the  Saviour  "  took  hold  of  "  our  race  to  raise  it 
up ;  and  as  to  the  purpose.  St.  Paul  teaches  us  that 
"  the  seed  of  Abraham "  includes  all  who  inherit 
Abraham's  faith. 

(17)  Wherefore.— Since  it  is  "  the  seed  of  Abraham," 
His  brethren,  that  He  would  help. 


292 


In  all  things.— These  words  must  be  taken  with 
"  made  like."  In  all  respects  (the  single  exception  does 
not  come  into  notice  here,  see  chap.  iv.  15)  He  must  be 
made  like  to  "  the  brethren  "  (a  reference  to  verse  12)  : 
like  them.  He  must  be  liable  to,  and  must  sufEer, 
temptation,  sorrow,  pain,  death. 

That  he  might  he.— RtLther,  that  He  might  prove, 
or  becovie  (the  words  imply  what  is  more  fully 
expressed  in  chap.  v.  8),  a  compassionate  and  faithful 
High  Priest.  The  high  jjriest  was  the  representative  of 
men  to  God ;  without  such  likeness  (see  chap.  v.  1,  2) 
He  could  be  no  true  High  Priest  for  man.  The  order 
of  the  Greek  words  throws  an  emphasis  on  "  com- 
passionate "  which  is  in  full  harmony  with  what  we 
have  seen  to  be  the  pervading  tone  of  the  chapter. 
One  who  has  not  so  understood  the  iutirmities  of  his  . 
brethren  as  to  be  "  compassionate,"  cannot  be  their 
"  faithful "  representative  before  God.  But  the  word 
"faithful"  is  still  more  closely  connected  with  the 
following  words.  If  through  the  power  of  sympathy 
which  the  SaA-iour  has  gained  "  by  sufferings "  Ho 
becomes  "  compassionate "  as  our  High  Priest,  it  is 
through  "  the  suffering  of  death  "  (verse  9)  that  Ho 
proves  Himself  "  the  faithful  High  Priest  in  things 
pertaining  to  God,  to  make  reconciliation  (or  rather, 
propitiation)  for  the  sins  of  the  people."  The  word 
*■  high  priest,"  hereafter  to  be  so  prominent  in  the  Epistle, 
is  brought  in  somewhat  suddenly,  but  several  expres- 
sions in  this  cliapter  (see  also  chap.  i.  3)  have  prepared 
for  and  led  up  to  the  crowning  thought  here  brought 
before  us.  The  characteristic  function  of  the  high 
priest  was  his  presentation  of  the  sacrifice  on  the  Day 
of  Atonement,  that  expiation  might  be  made  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  people,  that  the  displeasure  of  G^d 
might  not  rest  on  the  nation  on  account  of  sin.  (Comp. 
verse  11.)  The  words  rendered  "  propitiate  ''  and  "  pro- 
pitiation "  are  not  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  New 
Testament  (Luke  xviii,  13;  1  John  ii.  2;  iv.  10 — see 
also  Rom.  iii.  25),  but  are  very  often  found  in  the 
LXX.  The  subject  receives  its  full  treatment  in 
chaps,  ix.  and  x. 

(18)  For. — The    necessity    of    being  "in   all    things 
made  like  to  His  brethren  "  has  been  shown  from  the 
nature  of    the  case;    it   is    now  illustrated  from    thel 
result.     The  "  brethren  "  and  the  "  people  "  of  verse  17 
are  here  "the    tempted."      Through  the  temptations, 
arose  those  sins  of  the  people  for  which  He  makes  pro- 
pitiation.    In  His  having  been  tempted  lies  His  special  | 
ability  to  help  the  tempted,  by  His  s}'mpathy,  by  His 
knowledge  of  the  help  that  is  needed,  by  the  position 
of  High  Priest  which  He  has  gained  through  suffering. 
It  is  difficult  to  decide  between  two  translations  of  the' 
first  words  of  the  verse:  (1)  "In  that  He  Himself," 
(2)  "  Wherein     He     Himself     hath     suffered     being 
tempted."     The  former  is  simpler,  but,  perhaps,  less 
nattiral  as  a  rendering  of  the  (jrreek.     The  latter  may 
indeed  at  first  seem  to  set  a  bound  to  our  Lord's  ability 
to  help,  but  with   the  recollection    of   the    infinitude 
of   His  life  (comp.  John  xxi.  25)  all   such  limitation 
disappears. 


Our  Apostle  and  High  Pnest 


HEBREWS,     III.  Receives  IJiyher  Glory  than  Moses. 


CHAPTER  III.— (1)  Wherefore,  holy 

brethren,  partakers  of  the 

heavenly   calling,  consider 

Apostle     and     High 

Priest    of   our    profession, 

ex-  Christ  Jesus ;    (-^  who  was 

above  faithful   to   him   that    ap- 

Moses,  the  ser-         •     -     i  i       i  •  i 

vant.  pointed  ^     him,     as      also 


Chap,  iii  1 — 6. 
Cousider  our 
High  Priest, 
who,  as  the  the 
faithful  Son 
over  God's 

house, 
alted 


Moses  was  faithful  in  all  his  house. 
(3)  Yov  this  man  was  counted  worthy  of 
more  glory  than  Moses,  inasmuch  as  he 
who  hath  builded  the  house  hath  more 
honour  than  the  house.  <*^  For  every 
house  is  builded  by  some  man  ;  but  he 
that  built  all  things  is  God.  (^^  And 
Moses    verily   ivas    faithful   in    all   his 


III. 

(iii.  1— iv.  13)  Having,  therefore,  this  High  Priest  over 
the  house  of  God — a  faithful  Sou  exalted  above  Moses 
the  faithful  servant — let  us  by  faithfulness  make  sure 
our  calling  to  be  God's  sous ;  that  we  may  not,  like 
those  who  through  their  disobedience  in  the  wilderness 
provoked  the  Lord,  be  excluded  from  the  promised  rest. 

(1)  Wherefore. — The  address  which  here  begins  (the 
first  direct  address  in  the  Epistle)  bears  the  same  relation 
to  aU  that  has  preceded,  as  chap.  ii.  1 — i  bears  to  the 
first  chapter.  In  particular,  the  contents  of  the  second 
chapter  are  gathered  up  in  this  verse,  almost  every  word 
of  which  recalls  some  previous  statement  or  result. 

Holy   brethren. — United  iu  one    brotlierhood  in 

virtue  of    a  common  souship   (chap.  ii.   10)  and  of  a 

I  common  brotherhood   (chap.   ii.   11  j  with  Jesus,  Him 

"  that  sanctifieth  "  (chap.  ii.  11). 
f     Partakers. — Tlirough  Him  who  "took  part"  of  our 
I  earthly   nature  (chap.  ii.    14)   we   are   partakers   of    a 
\"  heavenly  calling"  (chap.  ii.  10)  as  God's  sons. 

The  Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profes- 
sion, Christ  Jesus.— The  best  MSS.  omit  "Christ"; 
and  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  how  fitly  the  personal 
name  "  Jesus  "  is  used  after  the  later  verses  of  chap.  ii. 
Here  only  is  the  name  Apostle  directly  given  to  our 
Lord  ;  but  the  thought  is  present  in  chap.  ii.  3,  and  in 
the  many  passages  in  which  Jesus  designates  Himself 
as  the  Sent  of  God,  using  the  word  from  which  Apostle 
is  derived  (John  iii.  17;  v.  36,  et  al. ;  especially  John 
xvii.  18 ;  XX.  21).  There  is  very  little  difference  between 
Apostle  and  Prophet,  thus  applied  ;  but  the  one  brings 
into  relief  the  mission,  the  otlier  the  office  and  position. 
Each  presents  a  thought  complementary  of  that  con- 
tained in  high  priest :  "  as  Apostle  Jesus  pleads  the 
cause  of  God  with  us ;  as  High  Priest  He  pleads  our 
cause  with  God"  (Bengcl).  The  next  verse  renders  it 
probable  that  the  two  terms  contain  a  reference  to  the 
special  mission  of  Moses  and  the  priesthootl  of  Aaron ; 

I  our  Christian  confession  looks  to  One  mediator. 
(2)  Who  was. — Ratlier,  as  being ;   or  that  He  was. 
Not  merely,  fix  your  thought  on  Jesus;  but  also  (and 
especially),  think  of  Him  as  faithful  to  God  (chap.  ii.  17). 
Appointed  him. — Literally,  made  Him,  an  expres- 
Bion  which  some  ancient    (Ambrose  and  other  Latin 
fathers, — apparently  also  Athanasius)  and  many  modern 
writers  have  understood  as  relating  to  the  creation  of 
the  human  nature  of  our  Lord.     It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  1  Sam.  xii.  6  is  in  the  writer's  mind.      "  It  is 
the  Lord  tliat  made  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  tliat  brought 
your  fathers  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt."     As  there 
Samuel  speaks  of  the  raising  up  of  Moses  and  Aaron, 
constituted  by  God  deliverers  of  the  people;   so  hero 
our  thought  must  rest  on  Him  who  constituted  Jesus 
*'  Apostle  and  High  Priest." 
;       As  also  Moses. — These  words,  which  give  the  key 
I  to  the  following  verses,  are  quoted  from  Num.  xii.  7, 
I  where  Moses  is  placed   in  contrast  with  prophets  in 


Israel  to  whom  the  Lord  will  make  Himself  known 
by  vision  or  dream.  "  My  servant  Moses  is  not  so, 
who  is  faithful  in  all  mine  house.  With  liim  will  1  speak 
mouth  to  mouth."  The  '•  house"  or  household  is  God's 
people  Israel.  To  others  ^vill  God  reveal  Himself  in 
various  ways  in  regard  to  the  many  parts  of  the  house, 
the  many  concerns  of  the  household.  Throughout  tlie 
whole  house  Moses  was  the  recipient  of  the  divine  com- 
mands, and  was  faithful — "  faithful  "  (as  one  of  the  Tar- 
gums  paraphrases),  "  as  chief  of  the  chiefs  of  ray  court." 

(3)  For  this  man  was  counted.— Rather,  For  He 
hath  been  accounted,  by  God,  who  hath  crowned  Him 
with  glory  and  honour  (chap.  ii.  9).  In  this  reward  hes 
contained  the  proof  that  He  was  faitliful.  Tliis  is 
probably  the  connection  of  thought ;  others  join  this 
vei'se  with  the  first :  "  Consider  Him  .  .  .  for  He  hath 
received  higher  glory  than  Moses." 

Inasmuch  as. — That  is,  in  proportion  as  :  the 
glory  attained  by  Jesus  exceeds  the  glory  of  Moses,  as 
the  honour  due  to  the  builder  of  the  house  exceeds  that 
possessed  by  the  house  itself.  It  is  not  said  that  Jesus 
is  the  Builder ;  but  the  relation  in  which  He  stands  to 
tlie  Builder  of  the  house  is  compared  with  that  of 
Moses  to  the  house.  (See  verses  5,  6.)  "  Builded  "  is 
not  a  happy  word  here  (especially  if  we  consider  the 
sense  iu  which  "  house  "  is  used),  but  it  is  not  easy  to 
find  a  suitable  rendering.  The  meaning  is,  He  who 
prepared  or  formed  the  house,  with  aU  its  necessary 
parts  and  arrangements. 

W  For  every  house  is  builded  by  some 
man. — Rather,  by  some  one  :  the  tlunight  of  the  house 
leads  at  once  to  the  thought  of  the  builder  of  it.  The 
meaning  of  the  several  pai-ts  of  this  verse  is  very 
simple  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  follow  the  reasoning  with 
certainty.  The  second  clause  seems  to  be  a  condensed 
expression  of  this  thought :  "  But  He  that  l)uilt  this 
house  is  He  that  built  all  things,  God."  "Moses  is 
possessed  of  lesser  glory  than  the  Apostle  of  our  con- 
fession, as  the  house  stands  below  its  maker  in  honour. 
For  this  house,  like  every  other,  has  its  maker  : — it  is 
He  who  made  all  things,  even  God. 

(5)  As  a  servant. — What  was  before  implied  is  now 
clearly  expressed.  Averse  3  associated  Moses  witli  tlie 
house,  Jesus  with  Him  who  builded  it ;  of  what  nature 
this  relation  was,  is  stated  in  this  vtrse  and  tlie  next. 
Moses  was  "in  God's  house;"  however  exalted  liis  posi- 
tion, he  was  in  the  house  as  a  servant.  The  Greek 
word  used  here  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  the  New 
Testament,  but  is  taken  from  the  LXX.  version  of 
Num.  xii.  7.  There  is  nothing  special  in  the  Hebrew 
word  in  that  place,  but  the  translators  seem  to  have  felt 
that  "  bond-servant"  was  less  suitable  in  such  a  context 
than  "  attendant  "  or  "  minister."  The  object  of  his 
service  was  that  he  might  bear  "testimony  of  the 
things  that  should  hereafter  be  spoken."  Are  we  to 
understand  by  these  the  divine  commands  tliat  would 
from  time  to  time  be  given  to  Moses  ?  If  so,  then  the 
statement  "  Moses  was  faithfnl  "  must  be  regarded  as  a 
pure  quotation,  equivalent  to  "  Moses  was  at  that  time 


293 


The  Son,  Faithful  over  Go(Ts  House.  HEBREWS,    III. 


Be  ye  Faithful. 


house,  as  a  servant,  for  a  testimony  of 
those  thing's  Avhich  Avere  to  be  spoken 
after;  <*^>  but  Christ  as  a  son  over  his 
own  house ;  whose  house  are  we,  if  we 
hold  f\ist  the  confidence  and  the  rejoic- 
ing of  the  hope  firm  unto  the  end. 
(7)    Wherefore    (as    the    Holy    Ghost 


saith,  To  day  if  ye  will 
hear  his  voice,"  (^^  harden 
not  your  hearts,  as  in  the 
provocation,  in  the  day  of 
temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness :  ('')  when  your  fathers 
tempted    me,    i)roved    me. 


Chaps,  iii.  7 — 
iv.  13.  Lot  us 
not  through 
unfaithfulness 
fail  of  the  pro- 
mise, as  un- 
faithful Israel 
was  excluded 
from  God's  rest. 


declared  faitliful."  Tliis  does  not  seem  probable.  If, 
however,  the  words  of  Num.  xii.  7  are  taken  as 
descriptive  of  the  whole  life  of  Moses,  his  "witness" 
must  relate  to  the  tilings  spoken  "  in  these  last  days  ;  " 
of  these,  by  his  writings,  his  acts,  his  life,  Moses  bore 
constant  witness.  (See  verse  2 ;  chaps,  viii.  5  ;  ix.  19  ;  xi. 
26;  John  v.  46,  et  al.)  The  latter  interpretation  is 
confirmed  by  verso  6,  in  which  the  name  given  to  our 
Lord  is  not  Jesus,  as  in  verse  1,  but  Christ. 

(")  But  Christ  as  a  son  over  his  own  house.— 
Rather,  over  His  house.  Throughout  this  passage 
(verses  2,  5,  6)  "  His  house "  must  be  taken  in  the 
sense  of  the  quotation,  as  the  house  of  God.  Whereas 
Moses  was  faithful  as  a  servant  in  this  house  of  God, 
Christ  was  faithful  as  a  son  set  over  His  Father's 
house.  The  antithesis  is  complete :  the  one  is  a  servant 
for  witness,  the  other  a  Son  having  a  natural  right  to 
rule.  The  concluding  words  in  verse  5  have  no  formal 
answer  here,  but  the  contrast  is  not  the  less  distinctly 
expressed.  The  name  Clirist  (which  here  occm-s  for 
the  first  time)  is  in  this  Epistle  never  a  mere  name  :  it 
contains  implicitly  the  thought  that  all  that  to  which 
Moses  bore  witness  has  reached  its  fulfilment  now. 
Christ  has  come  :  God's  house,  formerly  tyjufiod  by 
Israel,  is  now  manifested  as  it  really  is,  containing  all 
"  sons  "  whom  God  leads  to  glory  (chap.  ii.  10).  The 
terms  applied  by  constant  usage  to  the  one  nation  are 
thus  successively  enlarged :  the  "  seed  of  Abraham  " 
(chap.  ii.  16 »,  "  the  people  "  (chap.  ii.  17),  the  "  house  of 
God"  (see  chap.  x.  21). 

If  we  hold  fast  the  confidence. — Better,  If  ice 
hold  the  boldness  and  the  glnnjiny  of  our  hope  firm 
vnto  the  end.  Faithful  to  his  practical  purpose,  the 
writer  adds  to  the  words  "whose  house  are  we"  the 
indispensable  condition.  The  "  house  "  exists  ("  are 
we "),  to  it  belong  all  who  possess  the  Christian 
"  hope  ;  "  but  for  assured  and  final  appropi-iation  of  the 
promise  there  must  be  steadfastTiess  "  unto  the  end." 
This  exhortation  differs  from  that  in  chap.  ii.  1 — i,  in 
that  it  more  distinctly  implies  that  those  who  are  ad- 
dressed haA'e  a  possession  Avhich  they  may  lose.  The 
Christian  "  hope,"  that  aspect  of  faith  which  is  turned 
towards  the  future,  is  naturally  often  in  the  writer's 
thoughts.  The  words  associated  are  verj'  striking : 
hope  gives  us  boldness  (see  2  Cor.  iii.  12),  and  of 
this  hope  we  make  our  boast.  "  Boldness  "  is  spoken 
of  again  (in  chaps,  iv.  10;  x.  10,  3.5)  :  properly  meaning 
"freedom  of  speech,"  it  denotes  the  confident,  bold 
feelings  and  demeanour  which  connect  themselves  with 
the  free  utterance  of  tliought. 

(7)  Wherefore.— Since  without  steadfastness  all 
will  bo  lost.  With  the  words  introducing  the  quotation 
compare  chaps,  ix.  8  ;  x.  1-5. 

Whether  the  marks  of  parenthesis  here  introduced  in 
our  ordinary  Bibles  (not  inserted  by  the  translators  of 
1611)  express  the  true  connection  of  the  verses  is  a 
question  very  hard  to  decide,  and  one  that  does  not 
admit  of  full  discussion  here.  It  is  very  possible  that 
the  writer  (like  St.  Paul  in  Rom.  xv.  ,1  21 ;  1  Cor.  i. 
31)  may   have  merged   his  own   exhortation   in   that 


294 


which  the  quotation  supplies  (ver.se  8) ;  and  the  objec- 
tion that  verse  12  would  naturally  in  that  case  have 
been  introduced  by  some  connective  word  is  shown  to 
be  groundless  by  such  passages  as  chaps,  viii.  13 ; 
X.  23;  xii.  7,  25.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we  connect 
"Wherefore,"  in  this  verse, with  "  Take  heed  "  in  verse 
12,  we  have  gi-eater  regularity  of  structure — a  strong 
argument  in  this  Epistle.  It  seems  unlikely,  more- 
over, that  the  writer  (whose  tenderness  of  tone  and 
sympathy  are  so  manifest  in  his  words  of  warning) 
would  at  this  stage  adopt  as  his  own  the  stringent  and 
general  exhortation,  "  harden  not  your  heai'ts : "  the 
spirit  of  verse  12  ("  lest  haply  there  shall  be  in  any  one 
of  you  ")  is  altogether  different.  On  the  whole,  there- 
foi'e,  it  seems  best  to  consider  verses  7  ("  To-day  .  .  .") 
to  11  (".  .  .  my  rest")  as  a  pure  quotation,  enforcing 
the  warning  that  follows. 

Psalm  xcv.,  the  latter  part  of  which  (verses  7 — 11)  is 
here  cited,  is  in  the  LXX.  ascribed  to  Da\'id,  but  is  pro- 
bably of  later  date.  (As  to  chap.  iv.  7,  see  the  Note.) 
In  most  important  respects  the  words  of  the  quotation 
agree  with  the  Greek  version,  and  with  the  Hebrew 
text.     The  chief  exceptions  will  be  noted  as  they  occur. 

To  day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice.— Rather, 
To-day  if  ye  shall  hear  (literally,  shall  have  heard)  His 
voice.  The  Greek  will  not  allow  the  sense  in  which 
the  words  are  naturally  taken  by  the  English  reader, 
"if  ye  are  willing  to  hear."  The  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  words  is  either — (1)  "  To-day,  oh  that  ye  would 
hearken  to  (that  is,  obey)  His  voice  ! "  or,  (2)  "  To-day 
if  ye  hearken  to  His  voice."  The  "voice"  is  that 
which  speaks  in  the  following  verses.  As  the  words 
stand  before  us,  the  Psalmist  does  not  formally  com- 
plete the  sentence  here  commenced  ("  if  ye  shall  hear 
.  .  .  ").  He  introduces  the  diraie  words  of  warning, 
but  adds  none  in  his  own  person.  The  entreaty 
"  Harden  not  your  hearts  "  is  at  once  the  utterance  of 
the  divine  voice  and  the  expression  of  his  own  urgent 
prayer.  Other  passages  in  which  the  hardening  of  the 
heart  is  spoken  of  as  the  work  of  man  himself  are 
Ex.  ix.  34 ;  1  Sam.  vi.  6  ;  Prov.  xxviii.  11. 

(8)  In  the  day  of  temptation.— Better,  Ul-e  the 
day  of  the  temptation.  As  in  the  LXX.,  so  here,  two 
words  which  in  the  Hebrew  are  proper  names  ("as  at 
Meribah,  and  as  in  the  day  of  Massah  ")  are  trans- 
lated according  to  their  intrinsic  meaning.  (For  the 
former  see  Ex.  xvii.  7 ;  Num.  xx.  13 ;  and  for  the 
latter  Ex.  xvii.  7.)  We  may  believe  that  these  ])laces 
are  here  chosen  for  reference  partly  on  account  of  their 
significant  names ;  but  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  re- 
bellions recorded  in  the  names  belonged  to  the  beginning 
and  to  the  close  of  the  years  fif  wandei-ing. 

(9)  According  to  our  best  MSS.  this  verse  will  ran 
thus:  Where  {or,  ichereivith)  your  fathers  tempted  by 
trial,  and  saui  My  worls  forty  years.  The  meaning  of 
the  Hebrew  (with  which  the  LXX.  very  nearly  agrees) 
is :  "  Where  your  fathers  tempted  Me,  proved  Me ;  also 
saw  My  work."  The  change  of  reading  is  more  in- 
teresting than  important,  as  the  sense  is  not  materially 
different.     Both   here  and  in   the  original  passage  it 


I 


Take  heed,  lest  any  of  you 


HEBEEWS,   III. 


he  Hardened  through  Unbelief. 


and  saw  my  "works  forty  years. 
(10)  Wherefore  I  was  grieved  with  that 
generation,  and  said,  They  do  alway 
err  in  their  heart ;  and  they  have  not 
known  my  ways.  ^^^^  So  I  sware  in 
my  wrath,  They  shall  not  enter  ^  into 
my  rest.)  <^^  Take  heed,  brethren,  lest 
there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of 
unbelief,  in  dei:)artiug  from  the  living 
God.     (^^)  But  exhort  one  another  daily, 


I  Gr.  If  they  shall 
enter. 


while  it  is  called  To  day;  lest  any  of 
you  be  hardened  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin.  (^^^  For  we  are  made 
23artakers  of  Christ,  if  we  hold  the  be- 
ginning of  our  confidence  stedfast  unto 
the  end;  ^^^^  while  it  is  said,  To  day  if 
ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts,  as  in  the  provocation.  (^^^  For 
some,  when  they  had  heard,  did  pro- 
voke :    howbeit  not  all  that   came  out 


seems  probable  that  tlio  "  work,"  or  "works."  sliould  bo 
understood  of  the  diviue  judgments  which  the  dis- 
obedient people  "  saw "  and  bore  during  forty  years. 
In  the  Psalm  (and  apparently  in  verse  17  oi  this 
chapter)  the  mention  of  the  forty  years  connects  itself 
with  the  words  which  follow;  but  here  with  the  pro- 
vocations of  the  people  and  their  punishment.  It  is 
held  by  many  that  in  this  period  of  forty  years  is  con- 
tained a  reference  to  the  time  that  intervened  between 
our  Saviour's  earthly  ministry  and  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem;  and  a  Jewish  tradition  is  quoted  which 
assigns  to  "  the  days  of  Messiah "  a  duration  of  forty 
years. 

(W)  I  was  grieved  with  that  generation. — 
Rather,  Itcas  angry  ivith  t]iis  generation.  The  Hebrew 
is  very  strong  :  "  I  loathed  a  (whole)  generation."  The 
first  word,  "  Wlierefore,"  is  not  found  in  the  Psaku, 
but  is  added  to  make  the  connection  more  distinct. 

And  they  have  not  known  my  ways.— Better, 
yet  they  took  not  Jcnoivledge  of  My  tcays.  Although 
throughout  the  forty  years  He  had  shown  to  them 
their  disobedience  and  His  displeasure,  yet  the  warning 
and  discipline  were  fruitless.  They  gained  no  know- 
ledge of  His  ways.  It  is  veiy  important  to  observe 
this  explicit  reference  to  the  close,  as  well  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  forty  years.     (See  verse  8.) 

(11)  So. — Rather,  as  (chap.  iv.  3).  It  is  with  these 
as  it  was  with  their  fathers,  the  generations  that  came 
out  of  Egypt,  unto  whom  God  sware,  "  They  shall  not 
enter  into  My  rest"  (Num.  xiv.  21 — 24).  The  form 
in  which  these  words  ajipear  below  (chap.  iv.  3,  5)  in 
the  Authorised  version,  "  If  they  shall  enter  into  my 
rest,"  is  an  imitation  of  the  original  construction. 
See  Num.  xiv.  23,  where  "  they  shall  not  see "  is,  as 
the  margin  shows,  expressed  in  Hebrew  by  "  if  they 
(shall)  see  "  the  land. 

Into  my  rest. — Into  the  land  where  Jehovah  shall 
give  rest  to  His  people  and  shall  dwell  with  them. 
(See  Deut.  xii.  9;  I  Kings  viii.  56;  Ps.  cxxxii.  11;; 
Isa.  Ixvi.  1 ;  1  Chron.  vi.  31 ;  2  Chron.  vi.  41.) 

(12)  Lest  there  be  in  any  of  you.— Better,  lest 
haply  there  shall  be  in  any  one  of  you.  (See  above,  on 
verse  7.) 

In  departing. — Better,  in  falling  away  from  a 
Living  God.  The  heart  of  unbelief  will  manifest  its 
evil  in  aposta.sy.  The  Greek  word  apistia  stands  in 
direct  contrast  to  "faithful"  (2)istos),  verse  2,  and 
combines  the  ideas  of  "  unliolief  '"  and  "  faithlessness." 
He  whose  words  they  have  heard  is  a  living  God,  ever 
watcliful  in  warning  and  entreaty  (verse  8),  but  also 
in  the  sure  i)unishraent  of  the  faithless  (verso  11 ; 
chap.  x.  31). 

(13)  While  it  is  called  To  day.— Literally,  as 
long  as  the  "  to-day"  is  called  (to  you),  le-'^t  any  one  of 
you  be  hardened  by  deceit  of  sin.  As  long  as  they 
heard   the  word  of   God   speaking  in   the    Scripture. 

295 


"  To-day  if  ye  shall  hear,"  so  long  is  the  way  of  obedi- 
ence open  to  them.  Sin  is  here  iiersouified  as  the 
Deceiver  (Rom.  vii.  11),  alluring  from  God  by  the 
offer  of  "  pleasures"  (chap.  xi.  25),  or  persuading  that 
forbearance  and  "  respite  "  (Ex.  \niii.  15  ;  Eccles.  viii. 
11)  imply  the  absence  of  a  Living  God. 

(14)  For. — Take  heed  (verse  12)  lest  there  bo  any- 
thing that  may  lead  astray, /or  we  have  become  partakers 
of  the  Christ  if  {and  only  Lf)  we  hold  the  beginning  of 
our  confidence  firm  unto  the  end.  In  verse  6,  since 
Israel  had  been  siioken  of  as  God's  house,  the  Christian 
hope  finds  expression  in  "  whose  house  are  we."  Here 
the  comparison  with  Israel  joumepug  to  the  Land  of 
promise  suggests  another  figure,  and  all  blessing  is 
summed  up  in  becoming  "partakers  of  the  Christ," 
foretold  and  expected  as  the  FuLfiller  of  aU  promises. 
Two  different  words  in  the  two  verses  are  rendered 
"  coiifidence  "  in  the  Authorised  version.  Tlie  former, 
as  we  have  seen  (verse  6),  is  "  boldness ; "  the  latter 
(here  used)  is  applied  to  men  who  make  a  firm  stand 
when  attacked,  who  stand  firmly  under  pressure.  In 
the  first  energy  of  the  new  life  such  firm  constancy 
had  been  shown  by  them  (chap.  x.  32 — 34) ;  but  would 
it  be  maintained  "  unto  the  cud"  ? 

(15)  If  ye  will  hear. — Rather,  as  before  (verse  7), 
if  ye  shall  hear.  The  time  connection  of  this  verse  is 
not  easily  decided.  By  many  it  is  held  that  the  woi'ds 
should  be  joined  with  what  follows,  and  commence  a 
new  paragrapli ;  but  this  does  not  seem  probable. 
Either  verse  14  is  parenthetical,  so  that  this  verso 
emphasises  the  reference  to  "to-day"  in  verse  13;  or  the 
thought  of  the  writer  is  that  we  must  "  hold  fast  the 
beginning  of  our  confidence  "  in  the  presence  of  this 
divine  warning — whilst  day  by  day  these  words  are 
addressed  to  us  anew. 

(16)  For. — The  connecting  link  is  the  thought  of 
"  the  provocation."  A  slight  change  in  the  accentuation 
of  the  first  Greek  word  effects  a  complete  change  in  the 
sense :  For  xvho  u-hen  they  had  heard  did  provoke  i  Nay, 
was  it  not  all  that  came  out  of  Egypt  through  Moses  ? 
Those  who  were  disobedient  were  the  people  whom  God, 
through  Moses,  had  but  now  deliA  ored  from  bondage ! 
The  two  exceptions  (Num.  xiv.  30)  are  left  out  of 
account  in  the  pre.sence  of  the  multitude  of  rebels. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  above  translation 
(now  generally  received)  presents  the  true  meaning  of 
the  verse.  It  wiU  be  remembered  that  the  oldest  MSS. 
give  no  evidence  on  such  points  as  accentuation,  and 
tliereforo  leave  our  judgment  free.  In  modem  times 
Bengel  was  the  first  to  i)oint  out  the  true  form  of  the 
Greek  word;  but  one  of  the  ancient  ver.Mons  (the 
Pcscliito-Syriac),  and  at  least  three  of  tlu^  Greek  Fathers, 
are  found  to  give  tlie  same  interpretation.  It  will  be 
seen  at  once  that,  with  this  arrangement  of  the  words, 
the  present  verse  is  similar  iu  structure  to  the  two 
folio  wing. 


The  Disobedient  People 


HEBEEWS,   lY. 


entered  not  into  God's  Rest. 


of    Egypt    by    Moses.      (i^)  But    with 

■whom  was  he  grieved  forty  years?  was 

it    not   with    them    that    had    sinned, 

whose  carcases  fell  in  the  wilderness? 

(i^J  And    to  whom  sware  he  that  they 

shonld  not  enter  into  his  rest,  but  to  ,'?;„;,X. "■"''"  "^ 

them  that  believed  not  ?     <^^^  So  we  see  i 

that  they  could  not  enter  in  because  of  ?  ^^r^^^rtniua 

1      , .     «  \    ^U  faith  to. 

unbelief. 


CHAPTER  IV.— (1)  Let  us  therefore 
fear,  lest,  a  promise  being  left  us  of 
entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should 
seem  to  come  short  of  it.  C*^^  For  unto 
us  was  the  gospel  preached,  as  well  as 
unto  them  :  but  the  word  preached  ^ 
did  not  profit  them,  not  being  mixed 
with  faith  in  ^  them  that  heard  it. 
(3)  Yov  we  which  have  believed  do  enter 


(17)  But. — Better,  And  with  whom  loas  He  angry 
forty  years  / 

Whose  carcases. — Literally,  limbs.  The  word  is 
taken  from  the  Greek  version  of  Xum.  xiv.  29 ;  and 
seems  intended  to  convey  the  thought  of  bodies  faUiug 
limb  from  lind)  in  the  wilderness. 

(18)  That  believed  not. — Rather,  thnt  disobeyed. 
Every  part  of  the  solemn  sentences  of  the  Psalm  is 
applied  to  the  reader's  conscience,  that  the  effect  of  the 
whole  warning  may  be  deepened :  the  nature  of  the 
transgression  is  thus  brought  out  vrith  the  strongest 
emphasis.  Those  \vith  whom  God  was  angry  had 
provoked  God  (verse  16),  had  sinned  (verse  17),  had 
been  disobedient,  had  refused  to  believe  His  word 
(verse  19).  The  action  of  the  Israelites  (Num.  xiv.) 
involved  at  once  disobedience  to  God's  command  that 
they  should  advance  to  the  conquest  of  the  land,  and 
want  of  faith  in  the  promise  which  made  victory  sure. 

(19)  So  we  see.— Rather.  And  we  see.  It  is  not  the 
general  conclusion  that  is  here  expressed;  but,  as  in 
verse  18  we  read  of  the  oath  of  exclusion,  this  verse 
records  the  fact,  and  also  states  the  cause  under  an 
aspect  which  is  most  suitable  for  the  exhortation  which 
is  in  the  writer's  thought.  There  is  foi-ce  in  "  could 
not  enter  "  : — not  only  disobedience,  but  cowardice  and 
weakness,  sjirang  from  "  unbelief." 

IV. 

This  chapter  is  manifestly  a  continuation  of  the  last, 
and  should  not  have  been  detached  from  it.  As  \ni\\ 
the  exhortation  of  chap.  iii.  I'i,  13,  ai'e  intei-woven  some 
of  the  early  words  of  the  quotation  from  Ps.  xcv.,  so 
here  the  later  thoughts  of  the  same  passage  are  taken 
up  and  applied. 

(1)  Let  us  therefore  fear.— Tlie  emphasis  rests 
upon  "  fear,"  not  upon  "  us."'  It  is  notewortliy  that 
the  writer  begins  with  "  Let  us,"  though  about  to  write 
"lest  any  of  you  ;  "  ho  will  liave  gained  his  object  if  he 
brings  his  readers  to  share  liis  fear. 

Lest,  a  promise  being  left  us.—  Rather,  lest 
haply,  a  promise  being  (still)  left.  No  word  nnist  be 
inserted  here  that  can  diminish  the  generality  of  the 
words;  in  the  sequel  the  statement  ^vill  bo  repeated 
with  all  possible  clearness.  Here  it  is  simply  said  that 
such  a  promise  remains  unexhausted,  waiting  for  com- 
plete fulfilment.  No  Hebrew  Christian  would  doubt 
this.  As  in  cha]).  i..  the  writer's  aim  is  not  to  establish 
a  truth  absolutely  new,  but  to  show  that  in  this  and  in 
that  Scripture  a  received  truth  lies  contained.  Most  of 
our  earlier  versiims  (following  LuthiM-  and  Erasmns) 
give  to  this  clause  a  different  turn,  which  cannot  1)0 
correct :  "  Lest  any  of  you  by  forsaking  the  promise  of 
entering  in  His  rest." 

Any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short  of 
it. — Rather,  any  one  of  you  should  be  accounted  to 
have  come  short  of  it.     The  difficulty  here  lies  in  the 


words  rendered  "  seem  "  or  "be  accounted."  It  appears 
impossible  that  the  meaning  can  be  "  should  even 
seem,"  or  "  should  think  himself,"  or  "  should  show 
himseK,"  to  have  failed.  It  may  be  that  the  writer 
avoids  positive  and  direct  language  in  speaking  of  what 
lies  beyond  mortal  ken,  and  therefore  reverently  says 
"  should  seem  to  have  come  short  of  it."  It  is  more 
probable  that  he  is  influenced  by  the  figure  contained 
in  the  next  word,  the  falling  short  of  a  mark;  and  is 
thus  led  to  refer  to  the  judge  who  witnesses  and  de- 
clares the  failure, — "  Lest  any  one  ...  be  held  (or,  be 
adjudged)  to  have  come  short  of  "  the  promise. 

(-)  For  unto  us  was.— Rather,  for  we  have  had 
glad  tidings  preached  unto  us,  even  as  they  had.  The 
object  of  these  words  is  to  support  verse  I,  "  a  promise 
being  left."  How  fitly  the  good  news  of  the  promise 
might,  alike  in  their  case  and  in  ours,  be  designated  by 
the  same  word  as  the  "  gospel,"  will  afterwards  appear. 

The  word  preached.  — Literally,  the  word  of 
hearing,  i.e.,  the  word  which  was  heard  (1  Thess.  ii. 
13).  But  this  does  not  mean  the  word  heard  by  them. 
As  in  Isa.  Kii.  1  (where  the  same  word  is  found  in  the 
Greek  version)  the  meaning  is  "  our  message,"  "  that 
which  we  have  heard  from  God,"  so  here  the  words 
signify  what  was  heard  by  those  who  declared  the  pro- 
mise to  the  people,  especially  the  message  which  Moses 
received  from  (jod. 

Not  being  mixed  with  faith. — A  change  of  read- 
ing in  the  Greek,  which  rests  on  the  strongest  authority, 
compels  us  to  connect  these  words,  not  Avith  the  message, 
but  with  the  people  :  '"  since  they  had  not  been  united 
(literally,  mingled)  by  faith  with  them  that  heard." 
That  the  word  of  Moses  and  those  associated  with  him 
in  declaring  God's  promise  (perhaps  Aaron,  Joshua, 
Caleb)  might  benefit  the  people,  speakers  and  hearers 
must  be  united  by  the  bond  of  faith.  Here  the  margin 
of  the  Authorised  version  preserves  the  true  text,  fol- 
lowing the  Vulgate  and  the  earliest  of  the  printed  Greek 
Testaments  (the  Complutonsian). 

(*)  For  we  which  have  believed. — Tlie  emphasis 
is  two-fold,  resting  both  on  "believed"  and  on  '"wo 
enter."  The  former  looks  back  to  verse  2,  "  by 
faith  " — "for  it  is  we  who  believed  that  enter."  .  .  . 
The  latter  looks  forward  to  the  remainder  of  the  verse, 
the  purport  of  which  is  that  the  rest  exists,  and  that 
"  entering  into  the  rest "  may  still  be  spoken  of. 

As  I  have  sworn  .  .  . — Riither  (as  above),  as  I 
stvare  in  My  wrath,  Tlicy  shall  not  enter  into  My  rest. 
(See  chap.  iii.  11.)  If  in  the  Scripture  (Ps.  xcv.  8)  God 
warns  men  of  a  later  age  not  to  imitate  the  guilt  of 
those  whom  He  excluded  from  His  rest,  it  follows  (see 
beh)w  on  verse  10)  tliat  the  time  for  entering  into  the 
rest  of  God  was  not  then  past  and  gone. 

Although  the  works  were  finished  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.— And  therefore  the  rest 
into  which  God  will  enter  with  His  redeemed  people  is 
not  that  which  succeeded  the  works  of  creation.    This 


296 


A  Sabhatlwrest  remains 


HEBREWS,   IV. 


for  the  People  of  God. 


into  rest,  as  he  said,  As  I  have  sworn  in 
my  wi'ath,  if  they  shall  enter  into  my 
rest :  although  the  worts  were  j&nished 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  <^^  For 
he  spake  in  a  certain  place  of  the  seventh 
day  on  this  wise.  And  God  did  rest  the 
seventh  day  from  all  his  works.  <^'  And 
in  this  place  again,  If  ihej  shall  enter 
into  my  rest.  ("^^  Seeing  therefore  it  re- 
maineth  that  some  must  enter  therein, 
and  they  to  whom  it  was  first  preached  ^ 


entered  not  in  because  of  imbelief: 
(''^  again,  he  limiteth  a  certain  day, 
saying  in  David,  To  day,  after  so  long 
a  time;  as  it  is  said.  To  day  if  ye 
will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts.  ^^^  For  if  Jesus  ^  had  given 
them  rest,  then  would  he  not  afterward 
have  spoken  of  another  day.  ^^^  There 
3  or.keepingo/  remalueth  therefore  a  rest^  to  the  people 

a  sabbath.  ,  i      .  i 

of  God.     '^^^'  For  he  that  is  entered  into 
^  ftrJt''pfeZ'i,l'd^'"  his  rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his 


2   Tlint    Is, 
Joshua. 


caution  is  added  because  the  words  used  by  tlie  Psalmist 
(Ps.  xev.  11)  are  derived  from  Geu.  ii.  2,  3;  though  the 
same  words  are  used,  yet,  we  are  reminded,  the  thought 
is  widely  diifereut.  The  next  two  verses  simply  expand 
and  support  the  thought  contained  in  this :  "  For 
whereas  we  read  in  one  Scripture  that  God  '  rested  ' 
on  the  seventh  day,  anotlier  records  His  sentence  on 
the  disobedient  people,  '  They  shall  not  enter  into  My 
rest.' " 

(^)  For  he  spake  in  a  certain  place.  —  Better, 
For  he  liath  spoken  somewhere,  another  example 
of  indefiniteness  of  citation.  (See  Note  on  chap, 
ii.  6.) 

(6)  The  substance  of  the  preceding  verses  may  be 
thus  expressed  :  There  is  a  rest  of  God,  into  which 
some  are  to  enter  with  God, — a  rest  not  yet  entered  at 
the  time  of  the  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  and  there- 
fore not  that  which  followed  the  work  of  creation, — a 
rest  fi-om  which  some  were  excluded  because  of 
unbelief.  These  five  particulars  are  rej)eated  in 
substance  in  the  present  verse :  "  Seeing,  therefore, 
it  is  (still)  left  that  some  should  enter  in.  and  they  to 
whom  formerly  glad  tidings  were  declared  entered  not 
in  because  of  disobedience.  He  again,"  &c.  "  Dis- 
obedience " — though  verse  2  speaks  of  unbelief  as  the 
cause  :  see  Note  on  chap.  iii.  18.  In  John  iii.  36,  the 
transition  from  "  believeth  "  to  "  obeyeth  "  is  equally 
striking. 

(7)  Again,  he  limiteth.— Better,  He  again  marketh 
out  (or,  dejiiieth).  The  next  step  taken  (see  the  last 
Note)  is  to  point  out  that,  long  after  the  occupation  of 
Canaan,  the  Psalmist — God  speaking  in  the  Psalm — 
says  "  To-day,"  in  pleading  with  Israel.  The  implied 
meaning  is  as  if  He  said,  "  Harden  not  your  hearts  to- 
day, lest  I  swear  unto  you  also,  Ye  shall  not  enter  into 
My  rest." 

In  David. — Probably  this  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
In  the  Book  of  P.falms.  In  the  LXX.,  however,  Ps.  xcv. 
is  ascribed  to  DaA-id. 

After  so  long  a  time.— The  period  intervening 
between  the  divine  sentence  on  the  rebels  in  the  wilder- 
ness (Num.  xiv. )  and  the  time  of  the  Psalmist. 

As  it  is  said..— The  best  MSB.  read,  as  it  hath  been 
before  said. 

<^)  For,  hatl  the  promise  been  fulfilled  in  Joshua's 
conquest,  the  Psalm  (God  in  the  P.salm)  would  not  be 
speaking  of  anotlier  day,  saying  "  To-day  "  (verso  7). 
(In  one  other  place  in  the  New  Testament  the  Greek 
form  of  the  name  of  Joshua  is  preserved.  See  the 
Note  on  Acts  vii.  4-5.) 

<-')  There  remaineth  therefore.— Or.  therefore 
there  is  (still) /c/Y  .-  the  word  is  the  same  a.s  in  verse  6. 
It  is  tacitly  assumed  that  no  subsequent  fulfilment  has 
altered  the  relation  of  the  promise.  Few  things  in  the 
Epistle  are  more  striking  than  the  constant  presenta- 


tion of  the  thought  that  Scripture  language  is  jjjcr- 
vianent  and  at  all  t'wacs  present.  The  implied  promise, 
therefore,  repeated  whenever  the  "  to-day  "  is  lieard, 
must  have  its  fulfilment.  The  rescued  people  of  Israel 
did  indeed  find  a  rest  in  Canaan :  the  true  redeemed 
"  people  of  God  "  shall  rest  with  God. 

A  rest. — As  the  margin  points  out,  the  word  is 
suddenly  changed.  As  the  rest  promised  to  God's 
people  is  a  rest  with  God,  it  is  to  them  "  a  sabbath- 
rest."  So  one  of  the  treatises  of  the  Mishna  speaks  of 
Ps.  xcii.  as  a  "  Psalm  for  the  time  to  come,  for  the  day 
which  is  all  Sabbath,  the  rest  belonging  to  the  life 
eternal." 

(10)  Into  his  rest. — That  is,  into  God's  rest. 

Hath  ceased. — Rather,  hath  rested  from  his  works 
as  God  did  from  His  own  (works).  This  verse  is  added 
to  explain  and  justify  the  reference  to  a  "  sabbath  "  in 
A'erse  9.  Man's  sabbath-rest  begins  when  he  enters 
into  God's  rest  (Gen.  ii.  2);  as  that  was  the  goal  of  the 
creative  work,  so  to  the  people  of  God  this  i*est  is  the 
goal  of  their  life  of  "  works." 

As  the  whole  argument  is  reviewed,  the  question 
may  naturally  be  asked.  To  what  extent  is  this  wide 
meaning  present  in  the  Psalm  itself  ?  Where  must 
the  line  be  di-awn  between  the  direct  teaching  of  the 
words  and  the  application  here  made  ?  The  apparent 
expansion  of  the  meaning  of  the  Psalm  relates  to 
verse  11  alone.  There,  in  the  first  instance,  an  historical 
fact  is  mentioned — the  exclusion  of  the  rebels  from 
the  promised  land.  But  though  the  mention  of  the 
oath  of  God  is  derived  from  Num.  xiv.  28 — 30,  the 
language  of  the  historian  is  significantly  changed ;  for 
"  ye  shall  not  come  into  the  land,"  we  read,  "  they  shall 
not  enter  into  My  rest."  True,  the  land  could  be 
spoken  of  as  their  '•  rest  and  inheritance  "  (Deut.  xii.  9) ; 
but  the  language  which  the  Psalmist  chooses  is  at  all 
events  susceptible  of  a  much  higher  and  wider 
meaning,  and  (as  some  of  the  passages  quoted  in  the 
Note  on  chap.  iii.  11  serve  to  prove)  may  have  l)een 
used  in  this  extended  sense  long  before  the  Psalmist's 
age.  Tliat  verse  8,  when  placed  by  the  side  of  verse  11, 
shows  the  higher  meaning  of  the  words  to  have  been  in 
the  Psalmist's  thought,  and  implies  that  the  offer  of 
admission  to  the  rest  of  God  was  still  made,  it  seems 
unreasonable  to  doubt. .  As  the  people  learnt  through 
ages  of  experience  and  training  (see  chap.  i.  5)  to 
discern  the  deeper  and  more  spiritual  meaning  that 
lay  in  the  promises  of  the  King  and  the  Son  of  David,  so 
was  it  with  other  promises  which  at  first  might  seem 
to  have  no  more  than  a  temporal  signiticance.  If  these 
considerations  are  well  founded,  it  follows  tiiat  we  liave 
no  right  to  look  on  the  argument  of  this  section  as  an 
'accommodation"  or  a  mere  application  of  Scripture: 
the  Christian  preaclier  does  but  fill  up  the  outline 
which  the  prophet  had  drawn. 


297 


Tlie  Living  Power 


HEBEEWS,   IV. 


of  the  Word  of  God. 


own  works,  as  God  did  from  liis.  (^^^  Let 
us  labour  therefore  to  enter  into  that 
rest,  lest  any  man  fall  after  the  same 
example  of  unbelief.^  <^-^  For  the  Avord 
of  God  is  quick,  aud  powerful,  and 
sharper  than  any  twoedged  sword, 
piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  soul  and   spii-it,  and  of  the  joints 


1  Or,  disobedience. 


and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart. 
(13)  Neither  is  there  any  creature  that  is 
not  manifest  in  his  sight :  but  all  things 
are  naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of 
him  with  whom  we  have  to  do. 

(^^^  Seeing  then  that  -we  have  a  great 
high  priest,   that    is   passed    into   the 


(11)  Labour, — Rather,  give  diligence,  strive  earnestly. 
It  is  tliG  necessity  of  ■watchful  and  constant  faithfulness 
that  is  enforced.  Hence  the  words  that  follow  :  "  Lest 
any  one  fall  into  (or,  after)  the  same  example  of  dis- 
obedience "  (verse  6 ;   chap.  iii.  18). 

('2)  As  in  chap.  iii.  12  the  warning  against  the  "  evil 
heart  of  unbelief  "  is  solemnly  enforced  by  the  mention 
of  the  "  Living  God,"  so  here,  in  pointing  to  the  peril 
of  disobedience,  it  is  to  the  living  power  of  the  word  of 
God  that  the  wi'iter  makes  appeal.  But  in  what  sense? 
Does  he  bring  before  us  again  the  word  of  Scripture, 
or  the  divine  Word  Himself?  Outside  the  writings 
of  St.  John  there  is  no  passage  in  the  New  Testament 
in  which  tlu;  word  of  God  is  as  clearly  invested  with 
personal  attrilnites  as  here.  The  word  is  "quick"  (that 
is,  living),  "  powerful  "  (or,  active — mighty  in  operation, 
as  most  of  our  versions  render  the  word),  "able  to 
discern  the  thoughts  of  the  heart."  Philo,  whose 
writings  are  pervaded  by  the  doctrine  of  the  divine 
Word  (see  the  Note  appended  to  St.  John's  Gospel  in 
Vol.  I.  of  this  Commodary,  p.  653),  in  certain  passages 
makes  use  of  expressions  so  remarkably  resembling 
some  that  are  before  us  in  this  verse  that  we  cannot 
suppose  the  coincidence  accidental.  Thus,  in  an  alle- 
gorical  explanation  of  Gen.  xv.  10,  ho  speaks  of  the 
sacred  and  divine  Word  as  cutting  through  all  things, 
dividing  all  perceptible  objects,  aud  jienetrating  even 
to  those  called  indivisiJ)le,  separating  the  different 
parts  of  tlie  sf)ul.  But  though  these  and  the  many 
other  reseniblaiKTs  that  are  adduced  may  prove  the 
writer's  familiarity  witli  the  Alexandrian  philosophy, 
they  are  wholly  insufficient  to  show  an  adoption  of 
Philo's  doctrinal  systc^m  (if  system  it  could  be  called) 
in  regard  to  the  divine  Word,  or  to  rule  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  singhi  passage  in  this  Epistle  in  which  an 
allusion  to  that  system  could  bo  traced.  Nor  is  the 
first-mentioned  argument  conclusive.  There  certainly 
is  personification  here,  and  in  part  the  language  used 
would,  if  it  stood  alone,  even  suggest  the  presence 
of  a  divine  Person  ;  but  it  is  not  easy  to  believe  that  in 
the  New  Testament  tho  words  "  sharper  than  a  two- 
edged  sword  "  would  be  directly  applied  to  the  Son  of 
God.  In  this  Ei)istle,  moreover  (and  even  in  this  con- 
text, verso  2),  reference  is  repeatedly  made  to  the  word 
of  God  in  revelation,  without  a  trace  of  any  other 
meaning.  The  key  to  the  language  of  this  verse,  so 
far  as  it  is  exceptional,  is  found  in  that  characteristic  of 
the  Epistle  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made 
—tho  habitual  thought  of  Scripture  as  a  direct  divine 
utterance.  The  transition  from  such  a  conception  to 
those  of  tliis  verso  was  very  easy;  and  we  need  not 
feel  surprise  if  with  expressions  which  are  naturally 
applied  to  tho  utterance  are  joined  others  which  load 
the  thought  to  God  as  Speaker.  It  is.  therefore,  the 
whole  word  of  God  that  is  brought  before  us — mainly 
the  word  of  threatening  and  judgment,  but  also  (comp. 
verse  2  and  the  last  member  of  this  verse)  the  word  of 
promise. 


298 


Piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  .  .  .— 
Rather,  and  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  soul  and 
spirit,  both  joints  and  marrow.  For  the  comparison  of 
God's  word  to  a  sword  see  Isa.  xlix.  2 ;  Eph.  vi.  17 ; 
(Rev.  i.  16) ;  comp.  also  Wisd.  x^iii.  15,  16,  "  Thino 
Almighty  word  leapt  down  from  heaven  out  of  Thy 
royal  throne  .  .  .  and  brought  Thine  unfeigned  com- 
mandment as  a  sharp  sword,  and  standing  up  filled  all 
things  with  death."  The  keen  two-edged  sword  pene- 
trates even  to  dividing  soul  and  spirit  (not  soul  from, 
spirit),  with  unfailing  stroke  severing  bone  from  bone 
and  piercing  the  very  marrow.  Tho  latter  words,  by 
a  very  natural  metaphor,  are  transferred  from  the 
material  frame  to  the  soul  and  spirit. 

And  is  a  discerner  .  .  .—Is  quick  to  discern,  able 
to  judge,  tho  thoughts  (reflections,  conceptions,  intents) 
of  the  heart.  Man's  word  may  be  lifeless,  without 
power  to  discriminate,  to  adapt  itself  to  a  changed  state 
or  varying  circumstances,  to  enforce  itself :  the  Spirit 
of  God  is  never  absent  from  His  word. 

(13)  In  his  sight. — Still  the  pi'oper  subject  is  "the 
word  of  God  " ;  but,  as  explained  above,  it  has  assumed 
the  meaning,  God  speaking  and  present  in  His  ivord. 
Touched  by  this  word,  every  creature  "  returns  of  force 
to  its  own  likeness  " — shows  itself  as  it  is. 

Opened. — Better,  exposed,  laid  hare.  The  Greek 
word  is  peculiar  (literally  meaning,  to  take  by  the  nech), 
and  it  seems  impossible  to  determine  with  certainty  the 
exact  metaphor  which  it  here  presents.  It  is  usually 
applied  to  a  wrestler  who  by  dragging  back  the  neck 
overthrows  his  adversary  :  and  "  prostrate  "  has  been 
suggested  as  the  meaning  here.  Another  explana- 
tion refers  the  word  to  the  drawing  back  of  a 
criminal's  head,  so  as  to  expose  his  face  to  public  gaze ; 
l)ut,  though  wo  read  of  such  a  custom  in  Latin  authors, 
we  have  no  proof  that  tho  Greek  word  was  used  in  this 
sense.  There  seems  no  good  reason  for  supposing  any 
allusion  to  a  sacrificial  victim  with  head  thrown  back 
(slain,  or  ready  to  be  slainl. 

Unto  the  eyes  of  him  .  .  . — Rather,  unto  His 
eyes  :  with  Whom  (or,  and  jvith  Him)  we  have  to  do. 
The  last  solemn  words  recall  tho  connection  of  the 
whole  passage.  No  thought  of  unbelief  or  disobedience 
escapes  His  oye :  tho  fii'st  beginnings  of  apostasy  are 
manifest  before  Him. 

Yerses  14 — 16  are  the  link  connecting  all  the  pre- 
ceding pai-t  of  the  Epistle  witli  the  next  great  section, 
chaps.  V. — X.  18.  Following  the  example  of  Luther, 
Tyndalo  and  Coverdalc  begin  the  fifth  chapter  here; 
but  the  connection  of  the  tlirco  verses  with  what  pre- 
cedes is  too  close  to  justify  this. 

(1^)  All  tho  chief  points  of  the  earlier  chapters  are 
brought  together  in  this  verse  and  the  next : — the  High 
Priest  (chai)s.  ii.  17;  iii.  1);  His  exaltation  (chaps,  i.  3, 
4,  13 ;  ii.  9) ;  His  divine  Sonship  (chaps,  i. ;  iii.  6) ; 
His  compassion  towards  the  brethren  whose  lot  He 
came  to  share  (chap.  ii.  11 — 18). 


Having  such  a  High  Priest, 


HEBEEWS,   V. 


let  us  come  to  the  Throne  of  Grace. 


heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  let  us 
.  hold   fast    our    j)rofession. 

le.^^Having  a  ^^^^  For  we  have  not  an 
merciful  High  high  priest  wliicli  cannot  he 
through  *^  Him  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
draw  nigh  to  our  infirmities  ;  hut  was  in 
°  ■  all  points  tempted  like  as 

we  are,  yet  without  sin.  <^^^  Let  us  there- 
fore come  holdly  unto  the  throne  of 
grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy,  and 
find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need. 


1  Or,    can  renann- 
ably  bear  tcitli. 


CHAPTER   v.  — (1)  For    every   high 

priest  taken   from   amone:  ^, 

^  .  1    •       1     n  ^    Chap.    V.    1  — 

men   is  ordamed  lor  men  lo.     The   idea 

in  things  pertaininq  to  of  ^^^'Vi^^,^,^*; 
r*    J      XT,    X     -u  £c       liood     fulfilled 

(jrod,    that    he    may    oner  in  Christ,  per- 

both  gifts  and  sacrifices  fected  through 
for  sins :  (^^  who  can  have  fieciaVecf^'  ^by 
compassion  on^  the  igno-  God  High 
rant,  and  on  them  that  are  ^'"'"*^  ^""^  ^^'''■'■ 
out  of  the  way ;  for  that  he  himself  also 
is   compassed   with   infirmity.      (^^  And 


That  is  passed  into  the  heavens.— Rather,  that 

hath  passed  through  the  heavens.     As  the  higli  priest 

/-  passed  through  the  Holy  Place  to  enter  the  Holy  of 

I  Holies,    Jesus  "  ascended  up  far  above  all   heavens," 

i'  and  sat  at  the  right  hand  of  God.     This  thought  is 

developed  in  chaps,  viii. — x. 

Our  profession.— See  chap.  iii.  1. 

(15)  y^Q  cannot  but  note  again  how  the  power  of  the 
exhortation  (especially  to  those  immediately  addressed) 
lay  in  the  combination  of  the  two  thoughts — the  greatness 

I  and  the  tender  compassion  of  the  High  Priest  of  our 
confession.  The  two  are  united  in  the  words  of  verse 
16,  "  the  throne  of  grace."  (Comp.  chap.  viii.  1.)  The 
l)eautiful  rendering,  "  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities,"  is  due  to  the  Genevan  Testament  of 
1557. 

But  was  in  all  points  ;  .  .—Better,  but  One  that 
hath  in  all  points  been  tempted  in  like  manner,  apart 
from  sin.  These  words  show  the  nature  and  the  limits 
of  this  sympathy  of  Christ.  He  suif  ers  with  His  people, 
not  merely  showing  compassion  to  those  who  are  suffer- 
ing and  tempted,  but  taking  to  Himself  a  joint  feeling 
of  their  weaknesses.  He  can  do  this  because  He  has 
passed  through  trial,  has  Himself  been  tempted.  In 
speaking  of  "  weaknesses  "  the  writer  uses  a  word  ap- 
plicable both  to  the  people  and  to  their  Lord,  who  was 
"  crucified  through  weakness "  (2  Cor.  xiii.  4).  Its 
meaning  must  not  be  limited  to  the  region  of  pain  and 
bodily  suffering  :  whatever  belongs  to  the  necessary 
limitations  of  that  human  nature  which  He  assumed  is 
included.  As  He  learned  His  obedience  from  sufferings 
(chap.  V.  8),  He  gained  His  knowledge  of  the  help  we 
need  in  that  "Himself  took  our  weaknesses"  (Matt. 
viii.  17),  and  was  Himself  tempted  in  like  manner,  save 
that  in  Him  sin  had  no  place  (chap.  vii.  26).  These 
last  words  supply  the  limit  to  the  thought  of  weakness 
and  temptation  as  applied  to  our  High  Priest.  Not 
only  was  the  temptation  fruitless  in  leading  to  sin  (this 
is  implied  here,  but  only  as  a  part  or  a  result  of  another 
truth),  but  in  the  widest  sense  He  coidd  say,  "  The 
prince  of  this  world  cometh  and  hath  nothing  in  Me  " 
(John  xiv.  30).  "  Was  tempted  in  all  points  in  like 
manner,"  are  words  which  must  not  be  over-pressed; 
hut  the  essential  principles  of  tempta.tion  may  be  traced 
in  those  with  which  Jesus  was  assailed.  (Comp.  John 
XX i.  25.) 

(16)  Obtain  mercy. — Tlie  real  meaning  is,  receive 
compassion  (chap.  ii.  17)  in  our  weakness  and  trials. 
The  thought  of  obtaining  mercy  for  guilt  is  not 
in  these  words,  taken  by  themselves ;  but  "  grace " 
meets  every  need.  If  the  last  verse  brought  evi- 
dence that  our  High  Priest  has  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  help  required,  this  gives  the  assurance  that 
the  help  shall  bo  given  as  needed,  and  in  the  time  of 
need. 


Y. 

With  this  chapter  begins  the  longest  and  most  impor- 
tant division  of  the  Epistle,  extending  (with  one  break, 
chaps.  V.  11 — vi.  20)  as  far  as  chap.  x.  18.  The  general 
subject  is  the  nature  of  the  High  Priesthood  of  our 
Lord. 

Yerses  1 — 10  link  themselves  vrith  the  last  words  of 
the  fourth  chajiter.  The  thoughts  which  have  been  briefly 
expressed  in  verses  14,  15,  and  on  which  verse  16  rests, 
are  i*esumed,  and  in  this  section  fully  developed.  Hence 
chap.  iv.  16  is  connected  both  with  what  precedes  (by 
"  therefore  ")  and  with  the  present  chapter  (by  "  For") : 
"  For  as  every  human  high  priest  shares  the  nature  of 
those  on  behalf  of  whom  he  appears  before  God,  and 
thus  can  be  compassionate  towards  them,  and,  moi-e- 
over,  can  only  receive  his  appointment  from  God ;  so 
Christ  is  God-appointed,  He  has  learnt  His  obedience 
through  sufferings,  and,  thus  made  perfect,  is  declared 
by  God  High  Priest  for  ever." 

(1)  Taken. — Rather,  bei^ig  taken,  since  he  is  taken, 
from  among  men. 

Gifts  and  sacrifices.— The  former  is  in  itself 
perfectly  general ;  but  when  thus  contrasted  with 
"sacrifices"  it  denotes  the  "  unbloody  offerings "  of  the 
Law.  On  the  Day  of  Atonement  (which,  as  we  shall 
see,  is  almost  always  in  the  writer's  thoughts  as  he 
refers  to  the  fimctions  of  the  high  priest)  the  "offer- 
ings "  woidd  consist  of  the  incense  and  of  the  "  meat- 
offerings "  connected  with  the  burnt -sacrifices  for  the 
day.  On  that  day  all  offerings,  as  well  as  all  sacrifices, 
had  relation  to  "  sins." 

(2)  Who  can  have  compassion.— Rather,  as  one 
who  can  deal  gently  ivith  (or,  more  strictly, /eeZ  gently 
towards)  the  ignorant  and  erring,  because  .  .  .  Either 
apathy  or  undue  severity  in  regard  to  transgression 
would  disqualify  this  representative  of  men  to  God. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  sin  is  mildly  designated  here, 
since  the  words  so  closely  resemble  those  which  occur 
in  chap.  iii.  10 ;  still  the  language  is  so  chosen  as  to  I 
exclude  sinning  "  with  a  high  hand."  \ 

(3)  To  be  closely  joined  with  verse  2  :  "  Is  compassed 
with  infirmity,  and  by  reason  thereof  is  bound  .  .  ." 
The  law  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  required  a  sin-offer- 
ing of  a  bullock  and  a  burnt-offering  of  a  ram  for  the 
high  priest  himself,  and  for  the  congregation  a  sin- 
offering  of  two  he-goats  and  a  burnt-offcriug  of  a 
ram.  Over  his  own  sin-offering  the  high  priest 
made  confession  of  sins,  first  for  himself  and  his 
liousehold,  then  for  the  priests;  over  the  goat  sent 
into  the  wilderness  the  sins  of  the  people  were 
confessed. 


299 


Christ  learned  His  Obedience 


HEBREWS,   V. 


hy  the  Things  which  He  Suffered. 


by  reason  hereof  he  ought,  as  for 
the  people,  so  also  for  himself,  to 
offer  for  sins.  <*^  And  no  man  taketh 
this  honour  unto  himself,  but  he  that 
is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron.  (^^  So 
also  Christ  glorified  not  himself  to  be 
made  an  high  priest ;  but  he  that  said 
unto  him.  Thou  art  mj  Son,  to  day 
have  I  begotten  thee.  '^^  As  he  saith 
also  in  another  place.  Thou  art  a  priest 


1  Or,  for  hU  puty. 


for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec. 
'"'  Who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  when  he 
had  offered  up  praj^ers  and  supislications 
with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  him 
that  was  able  to  save  him  from  death, 
and  was  heard  in  that  he  feared ;  ^ 
(^^  though  he  were  a  Son,  yet  learned 
he  obedience  by  the  things  which  he 
suffered ;  (^^  and  bemg  made  perfect,  he 
became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation 


(*)  But  he  that  is  called.— Tlie  true  reading 
requipcs,  ichen  he  is  called.  "  Not  uuto  himself  doth 
any  man  take  the  honour,  but  when  .  .  ." 

(5)  Christ.— Better,  the  Christ.  (See  chap.  iii.  14.) 
It  is  important  to  note  that  in  passages  of  the  Penta- 
teuch where  the  high  priest  receives  a  special  designa- 
tion (usually  "  the  priest "  is  sufficiently  distinctive) 
his  title  is  almost  always  "  the  anointed  priest."  Hence 
in  the  one  designation,  "  the  Christ,"  are  united 
the  two  testimonies  of  Scripture  which  follow.  He  is 
the  Anointed  King  (Ps.  ii.  7),  addressed  by  Jehovah 
as  His  Son  (see  Notes  on  chap.  i.  2,  4,  5) ;  by  the  same 
Jehovah  He  is  addressed  as  Priest  for  ever  after  the 
order  of  one  who  was  both  priest  and  king  (Ps.  ex.  4). 

(6)  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  .  .  . — On  Ps.  ex. 
Bee  the  Note  on  chap.  i.  13.  The  fourth  verse,  here 
quoted,  is  the  kernel  of  the  Psalm,  and  supplies  the 
theme  for  a  large  portion  of  this  Epistle,  especially  chap, 
vii.  As  tlie  promise  of  2  Sam.  "\Ti.  was  the  prelude  to 
the  revelation  of  the  second  Psalm,  the  di\nne  declara- 
tion recorded  in  Ex.  xix.  G  may  have  prepared  the  way 
for  the  promise  of  Ps.  ex.  4.  The  king  of  Israel  was 
the  type  of  the  Son  of  David ;  and  in  the  consecrated 
people,  who,  had  they  been  faitliful,  would  have  re- 
mained the  representatives  of  all  nations  before  God, 
was  dimlv  foreshadowed  the  Anointed  Priest. 

(7.  8)  Who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  .  .  .—It  will 
be  observed  tliat,  of  the  two  essential  conditions  men- 
tioned in  verse  2  and  verse  4,  the  latter  is  first  taken  uji 
in  its  application  to  Christ  (verses  5,  6).  This  verse  and 
the  next  correspond  to  the  general  thought  of  verses  1, 
2,  80  far  as  it  is  applicable  to  "Hiin  who  knew  no  sin." 

The  following  rendering  will,  it  is  believed,  best  show 
the  meaning  of  these  two  important  verses,  and  the 
connection  of  the  several  parts :  WJio,  in  the  days  of 
His  flesh,  having  with  a  strong  cry  and  tears  offered  up 
prayers  and  supplications  tinto  Him  that  ivas  able  to  save 
Him  out  of  death,  and  having  been  heard  for  His  reve- 
rent fear,  though  He  was  a  son,  yet  learned  obedience  by 
the  things  which  He  suffered.  The  most  noticeable 
change  of  rendering  occurs  at  the  close  of  the  seventh 
verse;  here  the  interpretation  given  by  all  the  Greek 
Fathers,  followed  in  most  of  our  English  versions  (and 
in  the  margin  of  tlie  Authorised  itself ),  certainly 
deserves  the  preference  over  that  which,  through  tlie 
influence  of  Cal\-in  and  Bcza,  found  its  way  into  the 
Genevan  Testament,  and  hence  into  the  Bishops'  Bible 
and  the  translation  of  1611.  The  word  rendered 
"  reverent  fear  "  occurs  in  but  one  other  place  in  the 
New  Testament  (chap.  xii.  28) ;  but  the  kindred  verb 
and  adjective  are  found  in  chap.  xi.  7 ;  Luke  ii.  25  ; 
Acts  ii.  5;  \\i\.  2.  It  properly  denotes,  not  terror,  but  a 
cautious  foreseeing  fear,  opposed  alike  to  rashness  and 
to  cowardice  :  the  adjective,  which  is  always  rendered 
"  devout,"  is  fully  expkined  in  the  Notes  on  Acts  ii.  5. 
No  word  could  be  more  suitable  where  the  relation  of 
the  Son  of  Man  to  His  "  God  and  Fatiier  "  is  expressed ; 


and  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  find  any  other  word 
which  should  be  suitable  to  this  relation  and  yet  contain 
no  implication  of  sin  to  be  acknowledged  with  humility 
and  shame.  The  object  of  the  "  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions" thus  heard  and  answered  is  implied  in  the  words 
"  unto  Him  that  was  able  to  save  Him  out  of  death." 
Not  "  from  death  :  "  the  Greek  words  may  have  that 
meaning,  but  it  is  not  their  most  natural  sense,  as  a 
comparison  of  other  passages  would  show.  The  prayer, 
we  are  persuaded,  was  not  that  death  might  be  averted, 
but  that  there  might  be  granted  deliverance  out  of 
death.  This  prayer  was  answered  :  His  death  was  the 
beginning  of  His  glory  (chap.  ii.  9).  It  may  indeed  be 
asked.  Could  such  a  prayer  be  offered  by  One  who 
knew  "  the  glory  that  should  foUow  "  His  sufferings  ? 
In  a  matter  so  far  beyond  our  reasoning  it  is  most 
reverent  to  point  to  the  mystery  of  another  jirayer 
(Matt.  xxvi.  39)  offered  by  Him  who  had  often  taught 
His  discijiles  that  He  must  be  put  to  death  (Matt.  x\-i. 
21).  Mark  the  striking  correspondence  between  the 
petition  thus  understood  and  St.  Peter's  quotation  of 
Ps.  XA-i.  10  (Acts  ii.  24).  Some  of  the  expressions  in 
this  verse  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  the  writer's 
thought  is  resting  on  the  Agony  in  the  Garden  ;  but  the 
"strong  cry"  brings  before  us  the  Crucifixion  (Matt, 
xxvii.  46,  50),  and  the  words  of  Ps.  xxii.  1  lie  very 
near  the  thought  of  this  verse.  It  does  not  seem 
necessary  to  decide — we  may  doubt  whether  it  is 
possible,  and  whether  both  should  not  be  included.  The 
opening  words,  "  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  "  (comp.  chap, 
ii.  14 ;  John  i.  14 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18),  would  certainly  seem 
to  favour  this  latter  view.  The  word  "  offered  "  must  I 
not  be  lightly  passed  over.  Of  frequent  occurrence  in  I 
this  Epistle,  in  every  case  except  one  (which  is  not  at 
all  in  point)  it  has  a  sacrificial  sense ;  it  seems  certain, 
therefore,  that  these  prayers — a  token  of  His  suffering, 
an  example  of  His  reverent  fear — are  included  in  the 
sacrifice  which  comprised  His  wliole  life  and  death. 

(8)  Though  he  were  a  Son.— These  words  may 
be  connected  with  what  precedes  (implying  that  Ho 
was  heard  for  His  reverent  fear,  not  because,  in  the  pre- 
eminent sense.  He  was  God's  Son) ;  but  they  are  stUl 
more  closely  joined  with  the  following  sentence, 
"  Though  He  was  a  Son,  He  learnt  His  obedience  bj'  the 
things  which  He  suffered."  "  The  disposition  of 
obedience  Jesus  possessed  before  He  suffered,  but  the 
proof  that  this  disposition  existed  must  be  shown  in 
deed ;  this  progress  from  the  disposition  to  the  deed  of 
obedience  is  a  practical  learning  of  the  virtue  of  obe- 
dience "  (Liinemann).  Tlio  suffering  recorded  in  verse  7 
is  regarded  as  the  culmination  of  His  life  of  suffering. 

(9)  And  being  .  .  . — Rather,  and  having  been  made 
perfect.  This  was  the  mode  in  which  He  who  "  glorified 
Him  to  be  made  High  Priest  "  (verse  5)  led  Him  into 
the  possession  of  this  office.  The  thought  of  this  verse 
and  the  last  is  closely  analogous  to  chap.  ii.  9,  10  (see 
Notes),  and  to  Phil.  ii.  6 — 13.     The  transition  from  the 


300 


i 


Be  ye  no  longer  Babes, 


HEBEEWS,   YI. 


but  go  on  unto  full  groicth. 


unto  all  them  that  obey  him ;  (^*^)  called 
of  God  an  high  priest  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec. 

(1^^  Of  whom  we  have  many  things 
Chap. V.  11— vi.  "to  say,  and  hard  to  be  ^or.perfect, 
8.  Complaint  of  uttered,  seeing  ye  are  dull 
of  mt^SS  of  hearing,  d^)  For  when 
earnest  warn-  for  the  time  ye  ought 
^"^'  to    be    teachers,   ye    have 

need  that  one  teach  you  again  which 
he  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles 
of  God  ;  and  are  become  such  as 
have   need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong 


1  Gr.  hath  no  expe- 
rieiKe, 


3  Or,  0/  an  habit, 
or,  perfection. 


4  Or,  the  word  oi 
the  betjiHiuwj  6j 
Christ. 


meat.  ^^^^  For  every  one  that  useth 
milk  is  unskilful  ^  in  the  word  of 
righteousness  :  for  he  is  a  babe. 
(^^^  But  strong  meat  belongeth  to  them 
that  are  of  full  age,-  even  those  Avho 
by  reason  of  use^  have  their  senses 
exercised  to  discern  both  good  and 
evil. 

CHAPTER  YI.— (1)  Therefore  leaving 
the  princij)les  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,* 
let  us  go  on  unto  perfection ;  not  laying 
again  the  foundation  of  repentance  from 


obedience  manifested  by  our  Lord  to  that  which  must 
be  rendered  by  all  who  seek  from  Him  salvation, 
strikingly  recalls  verses  8  and  12  of  the  last-named 
chapter.  He  presents  to  all  the  model  of  the  obedience 
to  be  rendered  to  Him,  and  through  Him  to  the  Father. 
"  Eternal  "  salvation, — for  He  is  a  priest  *'for  ever  " 
(verse  6).  On  the  connection  of  "  salvation  "  with  His 
priesthood,  see  the  Note  on  chap.  vii.  25. 

(1^^)  Called. — Rather,  addressed.  The  divine  words 
are,  '■  Thou  art  a  pi'iest  for  ever."  In  the  quotation 
from  the  Psalm,  "  priest "  is  now  altered  into  "  High 
Priest."  The  jiurport  remains  the  same ;  or,  rather,  it 
is  by  this  change  of  word  tliat  the  meaning  of  the 
Psalm  is  fully  expressed.  This  repetition  of  the  words 
of  verse  6  at  the  close  of  the  paragraph  is  singularly 
impressive. 

At  this  point  the  course  of  the  argxunent  is  inter- 
rupted by  a  long  digression  (chaps,  v.  11 — vi.  20),  to 
which  the  writer  is  led  by  reflection  on  the  inability  of 
his  readers  to  receive  the  teaching  which  befits  their 
Christian  standing.  If,  however,  wo  remember  tlie 
practical  aim  that  is  predominant  in  the  Epistle,  we 
can  hardly  call  tliis  a  digression,  so  powerfully  is  every 
portion  of  it  made  subser\nent  to  one  great  pui-pose. 

(11)  Of  whom.— Or,  of  xoliich  (subject),  "Christ 
made  High  Priest  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek." 

Hard  to  be  uttered. — Rather,  hard  of  interpre- 
tation, seeing  ye  luive  become  sluggish  in  hearing.  Their 
facidty  of  "  hearing "  had  once  been  acute,  and  then 
few  words  and  little  explanation,  even  on  such  a  sub- 
ject as  this,  would  have  sufficed ;  now  there  has  come 
upon  them  a  lack  of  interest,  and  with  this  a  want  of 
power. 

(12)  por  the  time.— Taking  into  account  the  time 
that  had  elapsed  since  they  became  Christians. 

Ye  have  need. — Literally,  tje  have  need  that  some 
one  teach  you  again  the  rudiments  of  the  beginning  of 
the  oracles  of  God  (Acts  vii.  38;  Rom.  iii.  2;  1  Pet.  iv. 
Ill  These  first  rudiments,  which  they  need  to  learii 
again  (but  which  he  himself  is  not  about  to  teach),  it 
may  seem  natural  to  identify  with  what  the  writer  in 
chap.  vi.  1  calls  "  the  doctrine  of  the  first  principles 
of  Christ."  If,  however,  wo  examine  the  u.sage  of  tlie 
New  Testament,  of  Philo,  and  of  other  ■svriters,  we 
shall  find  good  reason  for  regarding  "  the  oracles  of 
Cod  "  as  synonymous  with  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament.     (See  verse  13.) 

Of  strong  meat.— Better,  of  solid  food.  (See 
1  Cor.  iii.  2.) 

(13)  The  change  of  expression  from  having  need  of 


milk  to  partaTiing  of  milk  (that  is,  making  it  the  sole 
food)  is  significant.  Those  who  are  addressed  had  lost 
interest  in  the  deeper  truths  of  Christianity,  those  truths 
which  alone  expressed  and  explained  its  proper  nature. 
Their  temptation  apparently  was  towards  mingling  a 
rudimentary  Christian  doctrine  with  the  teaching  of 
the  synagogue.  Yielding  to  this  they  would  lose  all 
real  knowledge  of  the  very  elements  of  Christian  truth, 
and  vrith  this  all  true  knowledge  of  the  Old  Testament 
itself.  The  connection  between  this  verse  and  tlio 
last  may  probably  be.  Ye  have  come  to  need  milk,  for 
— making  it  by  choice  your  sole  food — ye  stand  self- 
confessed  as  babes. 

JJns^Uful.—'Ra.iher,  without  experience.  The  "word 
of  righteousness "  evidently  must  signify  complete, 
properly-developed  Christian  teaching.  The  only  ques- 
tion is.  Why  is  this  particidar  designation  chosen  ?  In 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  such  a  description  would 
be  natural  (see  especially  Rom.  i.  17;  ix.  31);  but 
"  righteousness  "  is  not  the  direct  and  manifest  subject 
of  this  Epistle.  Still,  the  expressions  of  which  the  writer 
makes  use  in  chaps,  x.  38  and  xi.  7,  together  with  the 
general  similarity  between  his  teaching  and  St.  Paul's, 
go  very  far  towards  explaining  his  choice  of  this  special 
expression  as  descriptive  of  the  religion  of  Christ.  In 
like  manner  another  phrase,  "  law  of  liberty,"  is  charac- 
teristic of  St.  James. 

(1^)  Strong  meat. — "  Solid  food  belongs  to  fuU- 
grown  men."  If  they  occupied  themselves  with  the 
rudiments  alone,  their  spiritual  senses  could  not  be 
trained  by  use  (or,  habit)  in  distinguishing  between 
good  and  evil,  truth  and  falsehood,  in  the  various 
systems  of  teaching  which  men  offered  as  the  doctrine 
of  Christ, 

VI. 

(1)  Therefore.- Since  "  for  the  time  ye  ought  to 
be  teachers,"  Ijut  liave  so  perilously  sunk  down  into  the 
lower  state  of  Christian  knowledge  and  experience. 

The  principles  of  the  doctrine.— Rather,  the 
doctrine  of  the  first  princij^hs.  The  margin  gives  the 
literal  meaning  of  the  Greek,  thctcord  of  the  beginning. 
Comp.  chap.  v.  12.  "  the  rudiments  of  the  first  principles 
of  the  oracles  of  God." 

Let  us  go  on. — Better,  let  us  press  onwards  unto 
perfection.  There  is  an  urgency  in  tlie  words  which  is 
mis.sed  by  the  ordinary  rendering.  The  word  "per- 
fection "  (teleiotes)  answers  to  that  rendered  *•  full 
grown  "  (teleios)  in  the  precefling  verse,  and  expresses 
maturity,  fulness  of  growth.  There  the  contrast  is 
\vith  "  babes,"  and  the  whole  context  relates  to  Christian 
instruction — the   elementary  and   the  complete.     The 


301 


The  Doctrine  of  the 


HEBEEWS,   VT. 


First  Principles  of  Christ 


dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God, 
(-^  of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms,  and  of 


laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment. 


closeness  of  the  connection  would  seem  to  show  that 
the  same  meaning  must  bo  intended  here  also:  "Let 
us — I,  as  your  teacher,  leading  you  on  with  me — press 
on  to  maturity  of  Christian  knowledge."  But  if  what 
precedes  makes  this  reference  clear,  the  following 
verses  show  not  less  clearly  that  teaching  and  learning 
are  not  alone  in  the  writer's  thoughts.  The  relation 
between  verses  3  and  4  proves  that,  as  is  natural,  he 
assumes  a  necessary  union  between  learning  and  pi-ac- 
tico :  indeed,  the  connection  between  immaturity  of 
apprehension  of  Christian  truth  and  the  danger  of 
apostasy  is  a  thought  pi-esont  throughout  the  Epistle. 
Hence,  though  the  direct  meaning  of  "  leaving  the 
doctrine  of  the  beginning "  is  ceasing  to  speak  of 
elementary  truths,  thei'o  is  included  the  further  thought 
of  passing  away  from  that  region  of  spiritual  life  to 
which  those  must  belong  who  choose  the  "milk"  of  the 
Christian  word  as  their  sole  sustenance. 

Not  laying  again  the  foundation.— Better,  a 
foundation.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  particulars 
which  follow  are  intended  to  illustrate  the  nature  of 
the  cl(>mentary  teaching  which  will  not  bo  taken  up  in 
this  Epistle.  It  Avill  bo  observed  (1)  that  there  is  no 
disparagement  of  these  subjects  of  teaching.  They 
belong  to  the  foundation;  but  neither  teachers  nor 
learners  must  occupy  themselves  with  laying  a  founda- 
tion again  and  again.  (2)  That  the  subjects  here 
specified  are  not  in  themselves  distinctively  Christian. 
One  and  all  they  belonged  to  the  ancient  faith,  though 
each  one  l)ecame  more  or  less  completely  transformed 
when  Jesus  was  received  as  the  Messiah.  Hence  these 
were  literally  first  principles  to  the  Hebrew  Christian, — 
amongst  the  truths  first  taught  and  most  readily 
received.  We  have  many  indications,  both  within  and 
without  the  pages  of  the  New  Testament,  that  the 
tendency  of  Jewish  converts  was  to  rest  satisfied  with 
this  class  of  truths. 

Repentance  from  dead  works.—  Of  "  dead 
works  "  we  read  again  in  chap.  ix.  14,  "  shall  purge  our 
conscience  from  dead  works  to  servo  the  living  God  " 
(see  Note).  The  meaning  cannot  bo  "  works  that  bring 
death,"  as  some  have  su])posed ;  rather,  works  in  which 
there  is  no  principle  of  life,  wrought  by  those  who  are 
"alienated  from  the  life  of  God"  (Eph.  iv.  18),  in 
whom  there  is  not  the  spirit  of  "  life  in  Christ  Jesus." 
The  law,  indeed,  promised  that  the  man  who  should  do 
"  its  statutes  and  judgments  "  should  find  life  in  them 
(Lev.  xviii.  5,  quoted  in  Gal.  iii.  12) ;  but  even  these 
works  are  "  dead,"  for  no  man  can  show  more  than 
partial  obedience,  and  the  law  exacts  the  whole.  The 
first  step  toward  Christianity  involved  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  truth,  and  the  separation  by  repentance 
from  all  "  dead  works."  On  the  importance  assigned 
to  repentance  in  the  Jewish  creed  little  need  be  said. 
The  teaching  of  the  prophets  (Ezek.  xviii.,  et  al.)  is  faith- 
fully refiected  in  the  sayings  preserved  in  the  Talmud  : 
"  The  perfection  of  wisdom  is  repentance  ;  "  "  Repent- 
ance obtains  a  respite  until  the  Day  of  Atonement 
completes  tlie  atonement;"  "Without  repentance  the 
world  could  not  stand." 

Faith  toward  God.— Rather,  faUh  7(pon  God. 
(Comp.  Acts  xvi.  31 ;  Rom.  iv.  5.)  The  Hebrew  doctrine 
of  faith  connected  itself  closely  mth  a  cardinal  passage 
of  prophecy  (Habak.  ii.  41,  "  tlie  just  shall  live  by  his 
faith;"  and  there  is  a  Jewisli  saying  that  on  this  one 
precept  rest  "  all  the  six  hundred  and  thirteen  com- 


302 


mandments  of  the  Law."  (See  the  Note  on  chap.  x.  38, 
and  the  Excursus  on  Rom.  i.  17,  Vol.  II.,  p.  274.) 
This  faith  became  new  and  living  when  the  Jew  be- 
lieved in  God  through  Jesus  the  Christ  (John  xiv.  1 ; 
1  Pet.  i.  21).  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  it  is  of 
repentance  and  faith  as  a  foundation,  not  as  belonging 
to  later  Christian  experience,  that  the  writer  speaks. 

(2)  Of  the  doctrine  of  baptisms.— The  meaning 
of  these  words  has  been  much  controverted.  The  order 
of  the  Greek  has  been  thought  to  require  the  rendering 
baptisms  of  doctrine  (or,  teaching) ;  and  it  has  been 
believed  that  the  writer  in  this  manner  seeks  to  charac- 
terise Christian  baptism  as  contrasted  with  the  Jewish 
lusti'ations.  Matt.  xx\nii.  19,  "  baptising  them  .  .  . 
teaching  them,"  is  often  quoted  in  favour  of  this 
view.  The  whole  question  of  baptism  amongst  the 
Jews  of  the  Apostolic  age  is  full  of  difficulty,  since  the 
first  references  to  the  rite  in  connection  with  proselytes 
belong  to  a  much  later  date.  But,  waiving  this,  we 
must  surely  regard  it  as  most  unfikely  that  the  baptism 
specificaDy  Christian  would  be  marked  as  "  baptism  of 
teaching."  Teaching  would  rather  be  the  point  of  re- 
semblance than  the  point  of  contrast  between  the 
Jewish  and  the  Christian  rite.  We  must,  therefore, 
adhere  to  the  ordinary  view.  The  word  doctrine,  or 
teaching,  seems  to  bo  introduced  in  order  to  avoid  the 
ambiguity  which  would  lie  in  the  words,  "  a  foundation 
of  repentance,  faith,  baptism,"  &c. ;  not  a  doctrine,  but 
the  repetition  of  a  rite  might  seem  to  be  intended. 
But  what  are  we  to  understand  by  teaching  regarding 
baptisms  ?  Both  the  word  itself  and  the  use  of  the 
plural  are  remarkable.  The  word  (which  is  not  the 
ordinary  term  baptisma,  but  baptismus)  occurs  in 
chap.  ix.  10,  Mark  vii.  4,  in  the  plural,  and  in  Col. 
ii.  12  in  the  singular ;  in  the  last  of  these  passages 
it  denotes  Christian  baptism,  but  in  the  others  the 
ceremonial  tvashings  of  the  Jews.  We  must  not 
forget  the  importance  which  of  right  belonged  to 
these  washings  in  the  Levitical  law,  as  one  of  the 
appointed  modes  of  removing  that  unclcanness  which 
excluded  from  every  sacred  place.  The  baptism  of 
John  attached  itself  to  passages  in  the  Scriptures  in 
which  this  symbol  was  taken  up  by  the  prophets  with 
profound  spiritual  application  (Ezek.  xxxvi.,  ct  al.).  Botli 
John's  baptism  and  that  of  Christ,  therefore,  wouhl. 
from  the  Hebrew  point  of  view,  be  "  washings " ;  and 
the  teaching  which  every  new  convert  must  receive 
would  include  instruction  on  the  symbolical  liurifica- 
tions  of  the  Old  Covenant  and  the  New.  (See  the  very 
interesting  Notes  in  Vol.  II.  on  Acts  xviii.  24,  25 ; 
xix.  4.) 

And  of  laying  on  of  hands.— This  ceremony  is 
repeatedly  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  also  in 
the  New.  Besides  the  sacrificial  use  of  the  symbol,  wo 
find  imposition  of  hands  connected  with  blessing  (Gen. 
xlviii.  14;  Matt.  xix.  13.  et  al.);  with  works  of  healing 
(2  Kings  V.  11 ;  Mark  viii.  23  ;  xvi.  18,  et  al.) ;  with  ordi- 
nation (Num.  xx\ni.  18 ;  Deut.  xxxiv.  9 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  14, 
etal.);  and  with  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  viii. 
17;  xix.  G).  In  every  ca.se  the  figure  denotes  either  a 
transfer,  or  tlio  communication  of  a  gift  from  (or, 
through  the  medium  of)  the  jjel'son  who  Jays  his  hands 
upon  another.  Neither  transfer  of  guilt,  nor  blessing, 
nor  miracle  can  be  in  point  here  ;  nor  is  it  conceivable 
that  ordination  could  bo  referred  to  in  such  a  context. 
As  the  passages  quoted  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 


A 


The  Blessing  of  the  Light. 


HEBEEWS,   VI. 


The  Rejection  of  the  Light. 


(•^)  And  tliis  -will  we  do,  if  God  permit, 
(•^^  For  it  is  impossible  for  tliose  who 
were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted 
of  the   heavenly  g'ift,  and  were   made 


partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  (^^  and 
have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  ("^  if 
they  shall   fall   away,    to   renew   them 


agree  with  this  in  closely  connecting  the  rite  with  bap- 
tism, we  can  have  little  doubt  that  the  meaning  in  all  is 
substantially  the  same.  The  believers  in  Samaria  had 
been  baptised  by  Philip ;  when  Peter  and  John  came, 
they  "  prayed  for  them  that  they  might  receive  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  then  laid  they  their  hands  on  them,  and 
they  i-eceivcd  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  the  second  case, 
which  in  other  respects  is  similar  (whether  Paul  himself 
baptised,  or  not,  we  are  not  informed),  there  is  reference 
to  the  special  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  wei-e 
bestowed  :  "  they  spake  with  tongues  and  prophesied." 
There  seems  no  reason  for  believing  that  there  was  a 
designed  connection  between  the  imposition  of  hands 
and  the  bestowal  of  miraculous  powers ;  such  imposition 
was  rather  the  recognised  symbol  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  those  who  were  baptised  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  in  whatever  manner  the  Spirit  might  be 
pleased  to  work  in  those  who  received  His  infiuenco. 
The  early  Church  naturally  retained  the  rite,  making 
it  the  complement  or  adjunct  of  baptism ;  whilst  the 
one  symbolised  the  putting  away  of  sin,  the  other  was 
the  emblem  of  the  reception  of  new  spiritual  life. 
Historical  testimonies  extend  as  far  back  as  Tertullian 
(a.d.  200) :  "  Then  the  hand  is  laid  on,  calling  for  and 
inviting  the  Holy  Spirit."  To  trace  the  relation  between 
this  imposition  of  hands  and  the  later  practice  of  con- 
firmation would  lead  us  beyond  our  limits. 

The  two  points  which  remain  do  not  require  an  ex- 
tended notice.  We  know  (Acts  xxiii.  8)  that,  though 
the  Sadducees  denied  that  there  was  any  resurrection  of 
the  dead  (and  the  Alexandrian  philosophy  seems  to 
have  held  only  the  immortality  of  the  soul),  yet  by  the 
most  influential  amongst  Jewish  teachers  this  doctrine 
was  held  and  enforced,  as  indeed  it  was  plainly  taught 
in  their  Scriptures  (Dan.  xii.  2).  On  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  resurrection — whether  it  would  be  uni- 
versal, and  whether  it  would  precede  or  follow  the 
Messianic  age — varying  opinions  prevailed.  Nor  were 
tlie  Pharisees  less  clear  in  their  teaching  of  a  future 
"  judgment,"  the  reward  of  which  should  be  "  eternal " 
bliss  for  the  godly,  punishment  for  the  sinners  in  Israel 
and  for  Israel's  enemies.  These  doctrines,  then,  would 
place  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  convert  to  the 
Christian  faith.  Instead  of  vagueness  and  discordant 
opinion  he  now  received  a  clear  statement  of  truth  :  the 
Messiah,  Jesus,  in  whom  ho  has  placed  his  trust,  will 
judge  the  world ;  and  of  this  God  has  given  a  pledge 
"in  that  He  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead"  (Acts 
xvii.  31).  It  is  noteworthy  that,  of  the  four  particulars 
which  are  mentioned  after  repentance  and  faith,  two 
relate  to  the  comm(>ncemeut  and  two  to  "  the  last 
things"  of  the  Christian  life. 

—  (•*>  And  this  will  we  do,  if  God  permit.— 
There  may  be  some  with  whom  it  will  be  impossible 
for  him  thus  to  press  on  to  maturity  of  teaching  and  of 
Christian  experience.  Tliere  is  a  case  excepted  by  God 
Himself  from  all  efforts  of  tlie  Chi-istian  teacher ;  in 
tliis  case,  though  nothing  can  avail  except  the  laying  of 
anew  foundation  of  repentance,  God  has  appointed  no 
agencies  by  which  such  foundation  can  be  laid. 

{i)  For  it  is  impossible  for  those  .  .  . — The 
connection  of  thought  has  been  already  explained  (verse 

1     3) ;  the  general  meaning  will  be  examined  below  (verso  G). 

I    It  will  bo  seen  that  the  greater  part  of  this  long  sentence 


is  dependent  on  the  word  "  renew  "  in  verse  6,  "  It  is 
impossible  to  renew  again  unto  repentance  those  who 
were  once,"  &c. 

Those  who  were  once  enlightened.  —  This 
metaphor  is  introduced  again  in  chap.  x.  32 ;  neither 
there  nor  here  does  the  context  contain  any  notice  or 
expansion  of  the  figure.  In  that  passage,  however,  it 
is  applied  generally  to  all  who  are  addressed,  and  in- 
cludes everjihing  that  was  involved  in  the  reception  of 
the  Christian  faith.  This  inclusive  application  of  the 
term  (familiar  from  prophecy,  from  our  Lord's  own 
words,  from  Apostolic  usage ;  see  Acts  xxvi.  18 ;  Eph. 
i.  18 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9)  throws  light  on  the  construction  of 
the  verse  before  us.  As  the  words  stand  in  the  Autho- 
rised version,  "  enlightened "  is  but  the  first  term  of 
a  series ;  but  it  is  far  more  probable  that  the  clauses 
which  follow  should  be  regarded  as  explanatory  of  the 
enlightenment  itself :  "  .  .  .  those  who  were  once 
enlightened,  having  both  tasted  .  .  .  and  been  made 
partakers  .  .  .  and  tasted  .  .  ." 

Tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift.— On  the  first  word, 
see  the  Note  on  chap.  ii.  9.  From  the  clear  parallelism 
which  exists  between  these  verses  and  chap.  ii.  3 — 5  we 
may  infer  that  the  "  salvation  "  offered  in  the  gospel 
(chap.  ii.  3)  is  intended  by  this  "  gift."  It  is  a  gift 
which  belongs  to  heaven  (comp.  chap.  i.  14),  bestowed 
by  Him  from  whom  has  come  the  "  heavenly  calling " 
(chaps,  iii.  1 ;  ii.  10).  The  following  words  at  once 
recall  chap.  ii.  4,  "  gifts  {distributions)  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

(5)  Tasted  the  good  word  of  God.— There  is  a 
change  of  construction  in  the  Greek  which  suggests 
that  the  woids  rather  mean,  tasted  that  God's  woi-d  is 
good, — tasted  the  excellence  of  God's  word,  and  of  the 
powers,  &c.  God's  word  was  "  spoken  through  the 
Lord  "  (chap.  ii.  3) ;  the  Hebrew  Christians  had  heard 
and  received  this  word,  and  had  proved  for  themselves 
its  excellence.     (Comp.  1  Pet.  ii.  3.) 

Powers  of  the  world  to  come. — Literally, 
poirers  of  a  coming  (or,  future)  age.  As  has  been 
before  remarked,  the  last  word  is  different  from  that 
which  we  find  in  chap.  ii.  5,  the  one  relating  to  time, 
the  other  to  the  world  as  inhabited  by  man.  Perhaps 
we  may  say  that  this  is  the  only  difference ;  the  same 
fnture  is  contemplated  in  both  places,  namely,  the  age 
of  the  Messianic  reign.  We  have  seen  (see  chap.  i.  2) 
that  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  Church  little  account 
Avas  taken  of  the  period  separating  the  pre-Christian 
age  from  that  of  the  full  manifestation  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  ;  the  "  powers  "  received  from  God  by  those 
who  believed  (chap.  ii.  4)  belonged  to  no  earthly  state, 
but  were  as  truly  anticipations  of  a  future  age  of  glory 
as  was  the  "heavenly  gift"  an  anticipation  of  the 
"  heavenly  fatherland  "  (chap.  xi.  IG). 

(6)  If  they  shall  fall  away.— Rather,  aiid  (then) 
fell  aicay.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  ordinary  trans- 
lation is  altogether  incorrect,  the  Greek  admitting  of 
one  rendering  only.  At  the  same  time,  the  suspicion 
sometimes  expressed  that  this  is  one  of  the  (very  few) 
instances  in  which  our  translators  have  been  misled  by 
dogmatic  bias  seems  altogether  unfounded.  On  tracing 
back  the  translation  we  find  it  due.  not  to  the  Genevan 
versions,  in  which  the  influence  of  Cahnn  and  Beza  is 
predominant,   but  to  Erasmus,  Luther,  and  Tyndale. 


303 


Miserable  State  of  Apostates. 


HEBREWS,  VI. 


We  hojje  better  things  of  you. 


ftf^ain  unto  repentance ;  seeing  they 
crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God 
afrosh,  and  put  him  to  an  open  shame, 
(■>  For  the  earth  which  drinketh  in  the 
rain  that  cometh  oft  upon  it,  and  bring- 
cth  forth  herbs  meet  for  them  by^  whom 
it  is  dressed,  receiveth  blessing  from 
God :  <^^  but  that  which  beareth  thorns 


1  Or, /or. 


and  briars  is  rejected,  and  is  nigh  unto 
cursing ;  whose  end  is  to  be  burned. 

<^^  But,  beloved,  we  are  persuaded 
better  things  of  you,  and  chap.  vi.  9-12. 
things  that  accomj^any  His  hope  of 
salvation,  though  w^e  thus  better  things, 
speak.  (^^^  For  God  is  not  unrighteous  to 
forget  your  work  and   labour  of  love, 


Tlio  contrast  witli  the  precodiug  doscription  is  pre- 
seuted  in  tho  fewest  pos.siblo  words.  The  successive 
claiLses  liavo  shown  tliat  all  the  marks  of  tlie  diviue 
Avorkinyf  in  and  witli  His  word  (cliap.  ii.  4)  have  been 
found  in  these  men,  wlio,  notwithstaudiufif,  "  fell  away." 

To  renew  them  again. — A  second  time  to  make 
"  the  old  "  into  a  "  new  man."  lu  this  place  "renew  " 
is  distinctly  used  in  reference  to  tho  action  of  man. 
Similarly,  by  tho  side  of  1  Pet.  i.  3,  "  God  .  .  .  who 
liatli  Ijo^otteu  us,"  we  may  set  St.  Paul's  words  to  the 
Corinthians,  "  In  Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten  you;"  so 
also  St.  Paul  can  say,  "  Let  us  cleanse  ourselves  from 
all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit ;  "  and  St.  James 
can  speak  of  a  man's  saving  a  soul  from  death.  In 
these  and  tlie  many  other  examples  of  a  similar  kind 
tlioro  is  no  thought  of  human  power  acting  by  itself, 
but  of  the  human  appropriation  of  dirlne  power,  in 
accordance  with  tlie  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The 
verse  before  us  is  often  read  as  an  assei'tion  that  men 
who  liave  thus  fallen  cannot  be  renewed;  and  therefore 
it  is  tho  more  necessary  to  lay  stress  on  the  simple 
meaning  of  tho  words,  as  relating  neither  to  the 
absolute  power  of  God,  nor  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Christian  teacher  in  unassisted  human  strength,  but  to 
the  economy  of  God's  .spiritual  kingdom,  in  which 
Christ's  servants  achieve  every  great  result  by  claiming 
and  obtaining  the  "  fellow-working  "  of  their  Lord. 

Seeing  they  crucify.— The  apostasy  was  indicated 
by  a  single  word;  those  added  clauses  describe  the 
depth  of  tlie  fall,  wliilst  they  explain  the  futility  of  all 
effort  towards  recovering  the  fallen.  Both  the  wi-iter 
and  his  readers  know  well  what  was  involved  in  "  falling 
away  "  in  such  a  case  as  this.  To  go  back  to  Judaism 
implied  an  acceptance  of  all  that  Jews  had  said  and 
done  against  the  Son  of  God,  a  return  to  tho  bitter 
liato  cherished  by  tho  falling  nation  against  the 
Crucitied,  a  repetition  in  spirit  of  all  that  Pharisees 
liad  done,  and  without  tho  palliation  of  ignorance ;  for 
tho  highest  evidence  for  Christianity — that  of  true  and 
deep  Christian  experience — had  been  given  to  them. 
Again,  the  words  used  clearly  describe  a  continuing 
state.  Not  tho  punishment  for  a  past  act,  but  the 
liopelessnoss  of  an  existing  state,  is  brought  before  us 
hero.  It  is  therefore  of  those  who,  with  a  distinct 
conviction  of  the  <livine  mission  of  Jesus,  have  delibe- 
rately joined  His  foes,  unite  in  denouncing  Him  as  a 
"deceiver"  (Matt,  xxvii.  03),  rejoice  in  His  shame, 
and  thus  "for  themselves  crucify  a  second  time  the 
Son  of  God,"  tliat  tlie  writer  says,  "  It  is  impossible  to 
renew  them  again  unto  repentaiico." 

That  this  impossibility  relates  to  the  action  of  man 
is  shown  very  cl(>arly  by  the  writer's  words  in  verse  3, 
'Tliis  will  we  do  if  (5od  permit;  ....  for  it  is  im- 
possible." He  is  ready  to  lead  his  readers  on  with 
him — unless,  indeed,  he  is  addressing  any  whom  no 
man  can  thus  lead.  In  tliat  case  the  means  which  God 
lias  appointed  have  no  application;  such  wilful  and 
persistent  hardening  of  heart  must  be  left  with  Him. 

Tho  perplexity  and  trouble  of  mind  to  which  these 


304 


verses  have  given  rise  will  furnish  an  apology  for  the 
length  of  these  remarks.  It  is  a  true  Christian  instinct 
that  has  protested  against  tho  misuse  of  this  passage 
by  men  who  have  doubted  whether  those  who,  after 
receiving  tho  knowledge  of  the  truth,  fall  under  temp- 
tation, can  again  receive  forgiveness  ;  but  the  difSculty 
has  been  mot  by  hazardous  expedients.  Some  have 
denied  that  verses  4  and  5  necessarily  describe 
real  Christian  experience.  By  others  it  has  been  held 
that  "  impossible  "  was  not  intended  to  express  more 
than  the  great  difficulty  of  tho  attempt ;  others,  again, 
have  believed  that  in  verse  6  the  writer  brings  before 
us  a  supposed  case  only,  one  that  cannot  really  occur. 
The  passage,  together  with  chap.  x.  26 — 29,  Matt.  xii. 
32,  1  John  V.  16  (see  the  Notes),  occupied  an  important 
place  in  early  controversies,  as  those  of  the  Montanists 
and  Novatians,  who  refused  absolution  to  those  who, 
after  baptism — or,  in  the  language  of  the  early  Church, 
after  "illumination"  (verse  4) — fell  into  heinous  sin. 

(7)  For  the  earth.— Rather,  For  land  tchich  has 
drunk  in.  Land  which  not  only  receives  but  also 
drinks  in  abundance  of  rain  (Dent.  xi.  11),  in  such  a 
climate  as  is  here  thought  of,  must  either  "  bring  forth 
herbage  "  or  be  condemned  as  irretrievably  barren. 

By  whom  it  is  dressed.— Rather,  for  ichoin  it  is 
also  tilled.  This  clause  is  added  to  show  that  nothing 
is  wanting  on  tho  part  of  the  owner  or  of  the  tillex-s  of 
the  land. 

Receiveth  blessing  from  God.— Receives  as  a 
reward  a  share  in  the  blessing  which  God  pronounces 
on  the  fruitful  earth,  resulting  in  increased  fertility 
(Gen.  xxvii.  27;  xlix.  25;  Dent,  xxxiii.  13).  In  tho 
application  of  tho  parable,  God  is  the  owner  of  tho 
land,  men  the  tillers ;  men  also  are  "  God's  field " 
(1  Cor.  iii.  9),  who  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God. 

(8)  But  that  which  beareth.— Rather,  But  if  it 
bear  thorns  and  briars  it  is  rejected.  We  are  told  that 
the  presence  of  briars  (i.e.,  calti-ops)  is  a  sure  evidence 
of  a  poor  soil,  on  which  labour  will  be  wasted.  The 
words  are  partially  a  quotatiim  from  Gen.  iii.  18.  Tho 
change  of  translation  here  is  important ;  if  that  very 
land,  which  has  drunk  in  the  abundant  rain  and  lias 
received  careful  culture  still  prove  unfruitful,  it  is 
rejected.  Man  can  do  no  more ;  and  the  curse  of 
God  is  "  near " ;  its  end  is  "  for  burning."  The 
explanation  of  the  last  words  is  probably  found  in 
Dent.  xxix.  23,  which  speaks  of  the  land  of  Sodom 
which  God  overthrew,  which  "  is  brimstone  and  salt 
and  burning."  Tho  connection  between  these  two 
A'erses  and  the  preceding  passages  is  obvious.  In  the 
case  of  the  apostates  there  described,  man  is  helpless  ; 
God's  curse  is  near.  But,  as  Chrysostom  says,  in  this 
very  word  there  is  mercy ;  "  the  end  "  is  not  yet  come. 

{'•)}  Better  things.— Literally,  the  better  things; 
that  is,  the  alternative  spoken  of  in  verse  7.  He  has  not 
written  in  despair,  but  for  warning  only;  belioA'ing  that 
to  them  belongs,  not  the  state  which  is  "  nigh  unto  a 
curse,"  but  that  which  borders  on  salvation  (chap.  v.  9) 

(10)  In  expressing  the  ground  of  his  hope  he  does 


I 


Be  Faithful  and  Fatioit 


HEBEEWS,   VI. 


that  ye  may  Inherit  the  Promises. 


■vvhicli  ye  have  shewed  toward  his  name, 
in  that  ye  have  ministered  to  the  saints, 
and  do  minister.  <^i^  And  we  desire  that 
every  one  of  you  do  shew  the  same 
diligence  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope 
unto  the  end :  (^-^  that  ye  be  not  sloth- 
ful, but  followers  of  them  who  through 
faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises. 
Chap.  vi.  13—  ^^^^  For  when  God  made 
20.  Encourage-  promise   to  Abraham,  be- 

ment.  The  pro-   *■  i  in  v 

mise  and  oath  cause  he  could  swear  by 
of  God.  no    greater,  he    sware   by 

himself,  (^*^  saying.  Surely  blessing  I  will 


1  Gr.  interposed 
himself  by  an 
oath. 


bless  thee,  and  multiplying  I  will  multi- 
ply thee.  (15)  And  so,  after  he  had  patiently 
endured,  he  obtained  the  promise,  '^^^f  For 
men  verily  swear  by  the  greater :  and  an 
oath  for  confirmation  is  to  them  an  end 
of  all  strife.  (^^^  Wherein  God,  willing 
more  abundantly  to  shew  unto  the  heirs 
of  promise  the  immutability  of  his  coun- 
sel, confirmed  it  by  an  oath  :  ^  (^^^  that  by 
two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  v:as 
impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have 
a  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set 


not  directly  say,  "  For  I  have  heard  of  your  fruitful- 
ness ;  "  he  implies  this,  and  then,  in  accordance  with 
the  parable  of  verse  7,  he  declares  that  God  will  surely 
bestow  the  promised  reward.  Herein  lies  his  hope. 
Man's  work  cannot  in  itself  merit  rewai'd  from  God, 
but  (1  John  i.  9)  the  righteous  God  cannot  neglect  His 
own  promise  and  law  that  such  works  shall  receive 
reward. 

Your  work  and  labour  of  love.— The  best  MSS. 
omit  "  labour  " ;  so  that  the  words  run  thus  :  to  forget 
your  work,  and  the  love  which  ye  showed  toward  His 
name.  The  "fruit"  consisted  in  brotherly  love,  but  it 
was  offered  U7ito  God  (verse  7) ;  the  bond  of  brotherhood 
was  the  joint  relation  to  "  His  name"  (chap.  ii.  10).  With 
the  last  words  compare  Rom.  xv.  26,  31. 

(11)  Full  assurance. — Rather,  fidness  (full  pro- 
ductiveness) of  hope  (chap.  x.  22).  His  desire  is  that 
the  zeal  which  they  have  manifested  in  works  of  love 
may  be  directed  toward  the  attainment  of  the  full 
harvest  of  Christian  hope^may  be  shown  until  the  veiy 
end  (chap.  iii.  6,  14). 

(12)  That  ye  be  not  slothful.— Rather,  that  ye 
become  not  sluggish.  The  same  word  is  used  as  in 
chap.  V.  11,  there  applied  to  apprehension  of  truth, 
here  to  the  Christian  hope  and  life ;  if  the  truth  be  not 
welcomed,  there  will  be  no  vigour  in  the  life. 

Followers.— Better,  imitators.  (Comp.  chap.  xiii.  7 ; 
1  Cor.  xi.  1,  et  al.).  They  are  not  the  first  to  whom 
"  hope  "  has  been  given,  and  who  have  needed  zeal  that 
they  might  not  fail  of  their  hope.  As  in  chap.  xi.  the 
writer  appeals  to  precursors  ot  faith,  so  here  of  hope  ; 
to  men  who,  having  lived  in  hope,  passed  to  the  actual 
possession  of  the  promised  blessings  by  means  of  faith 
(which  accepted  and  clung  to  the  promise")  and  patience. 
The  last  word  is  not  that  which  occurs  in  the  similar 
exhortation  in  chap.  x.  36.  That  is  a  brave  endurance ; 
this  is  the  word  usually  rendered  "  long-suffering," 
which  here  and  in  Jas.  v.  7  signifies  patient  waiting. 

(13)  The  connection  seems  to  be  this :  "  You,  like 
them,  have  promises — promises  to  which  God  has  given 
all  possible  certainty ;  you,  like  them,  can  attain  the 
fulfilment  only  through  faith  and  patient  waiting." 

For  when  God  made  promise.- It  is  better  to 
follow  the  words  literally,  For  when  to  Abraham  God 
had  made  promise.  Abraham  is  chosen  for  special 
mention  as  the  most  illustrious  example  of  those  who 
"  inherit  the  promises "  (corap.  John  viii.  58) ;  also 
because  (1)  the  assurance  given  to  him  was  confirmed 
by  oath ;  and  (2)  in  it  lay  included  the  promise  of  the 
Christ.  Tlie  promises  made  to  Abraham  were  essen- 
tially one,  with  various  parts  progressively  fulfilled.  It 
seems  likely  that,  though  the  next  verse  is  quoted  from 

86  305 


Gen.    xxii.  17,    the  WTnter   also   has   in    mind  ("  had 
promised  ")  Gen.  xii.  3,  and  especially  Gen.  xv. 

(1^)  Saying.— The  words  of  the  oath  itself,  "  By 
myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord"  (Gen.  xxii.  16), 
are  not  repeated,  because  they  are  almost  identical  with 
the  writer's  own  words  introducing  the  citation 
(verse  13).  It  will  be  observed  that  one  change  is 
made — in  the  last  word;  for  in  Genesis  we  read,  "  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed."  The  alteration  may  bo  made  for 
bre^-ity,  as  the  quotation  is  abridged ;  but  it  wiU  be 
seen  that  the  effect  of  it  is  to  direct  greater  attention 
to  the  first  words,  and  to  fix  the  thought  on  the 
blessing  promised  to  Abraham  himself. 

(15)  And  so,  after  he  had  patiently  endured.— 
Better,  and  thus  (thus  being  in  possession  of  the 
promise  and  the  oath  of  God),  having  patiently  waited 
(verse  12)  he  obtained  the  promise — the  promised  gift. 
Though  some  portions  of  the  promise  received  a  partial 
accomplishment  during  Abraham's  life,  it  is  not  this  that 
the  writer  has  in  A-iew.    (See  verse  12,  and  chap.  xi.  13.) 

(16)  And  an  oath  for  confirmation. — Ratlier,  and 
of  every  dispxde  in  their  case  the  oath  is  an  end  (is  final) 
to  settle  the  matter. 

(1")   W  herein.— Since  this  is  the  case. 

Of  promise, — Rather,  of  the  promise.  The  promise 
made  to  Abraham  was  substantially  and  really  (see 
verse  13)  that  wliich  embraced  all  Messianic  hope  ;  of 
this  promise  not  Abraham's  sons  only,  but  all  "  they 
wliich  are  of  faith  "  (Gal.  iii.  7.  29),  Abraham's  spiritual 
seed,  are  the  heirs.  In  an  Epistle  so  distinctly  Pauline 
there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  this  interpretation. 

Confirmed  it  by  an  oath.— Literally,  mediated 
unth  an  oath.  "When  a  man  confirms  a  promise  or  decla- 
ration to  another  by  solemn  appeal  to  G<»d,  between  the 
two  God  is  Mediator.  Condescending  to  man's  weak- 
ness, that  the  certainty  may  be  "  more  abundant,"  God 
thus  confirms  His  word,  at  once  the  Promiser  and  the 
Mediator :  God  the  Promiser  (if  we  may  so  speak) 
makes  appeal  to  God  the  Hearer  and  "Witness  of  the 
oath.  "VVe  cannot  doubt,  as  we  read  this  whole  passage, 
that  there  is  a  special  reason  for  the  emphasis  tnus  laid 
on  God's  oath  to  Abraham.  The  writer  dwells  on  this 
confirmation  of  the  divine  word  of  promise,  not  merely 
because  it  is  the  first  recorded  in  sacred  history,  but 
because  he  has  in  thought  the  declaration  of  Ps.  ex.  4. 
To  this  as  yet  he  makes  no  reference ;  though  he  has 
quoted  from  the  verse  repeatedly,  it  has  been  with- 
out mention  of  the  diA-ine  oath :  but  throughout  the 
section  before  us  he  is  preparing  the  way  for  his  later 
argument  in  chap.  vii.  21. 

(18)  Two  inim.utable  things. — The  promise  and 
the  oath. 


Hope,  the  A  nchor  of  the  Soul. 


HEBEEWS,   VII. 


Melchizedek. 


before  us :  ^^^^  which  hope  we  have  as  an 
anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  sted- 
fast,  and  which  entereth  into  that  within 
the  veil ;  *-'^^  whither  the  forerunner  is 
for  us  entered,  even  Jesus,  made  an 
hi^h  priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of 
Melchisedec. 

CHAPTER  VIT.— (1)  For  this   Mel- 
chisedec, king  of  Salem,  priest  of  the 


most  high  God,  who  met  Abraham  re- 
turning from  the  slaughter 
of  the  kings,  and  blessed  g^^SesusH^ 

him  ;        (-^    to     whom     also    Priest  after  the 

Abraham  gave  a  tenth  ^^ll^el  ^^^' 
part  of  all ;  first  being 
by  interpretation  King  of  right- 
eousness, and  after  that  also  King 
of  Salem,  which  is.  King  of  peace ; 
(3)    without     father,    without     mother. 


Consolation. — Rather,  encouragement.  Foi-  us, 
rather  than  for  Abraliam  aloue,  was  the  encouragement 
designe<l ;  for  us,  who  (as  men  in  danger  of  their  lives 
flee  to  the  sanctuary)  "  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon 
the  hope  set  before  us "  in  the  promise.  Uj)  to  this 
point  we  read  of  what  God  has  done;  here  of  wliat 
must  bo  done  by  man.  The  laying  hold  expresses  the 
"  faith,"  and  implies  the  "patient  waiting  "  (verse  1"2); 
by  it  wo  become  tnio  "  Iieirs  of  the  promise  "  (verse  17). 

(19)  Which  hope  we  have  as  an  anchor  of 
the  soill. — A  beautiful  image,  introduced  for  a  moment 
only  to  set  forth  the  security  of  the  soul,  though  tossed 
by  the  waves  of  trouble.  This  symbol  of  hope,  so 
familiar  to  us  in  Christian  art,  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament,  but  is  found  in  Greek  proverbial  say- 
ings, and  (it  is  said)  appears  on  ancient  coins. 

Both  sure  and  stedfast.— These  words  and  the 
following  may,  indeed,  form  part  of  the  figure ;  but 
more  probably  relate  to  the  hope  itself — a  hope  unfail- 
ing, firm,  which  entereth  where  no  human  sight  can 
follow,  even  into  the  Most  Holy  Place,  into  heaven  itself. 
The  hope  becomes  personified,  that  the  reader's  thought 
may  be  led  to  Him  who  is  Himself  our  hope. 

(^)  Whither  the  forerunner.— Rather,  Whither, 
as  forerunner,  Jesus  entered  for  us,  having  become  High 
Priest  after  the  order  nf  Melchizedek  for  ever.  The 
Jewish  high  priest  entered  the  Holiest  Place  by  himsolf 
— a  representative  but  not  a  loader.  Jesus  has  entered 
the  true  sanctuary  (chap.  ix.  24)  that  He  may  give  His 
ppople  entrance  there  (chap.  x.  19;  John  xiv.  2,  3). 
With  this  renewed  mention  of  the  great  liigh-priestly 
act  (chap.  iv.  14),  tlie  writer  returns  to  the  words  of 
Scripture  on  which  he  was  about  to  dwell  (chap.  v.  10), 
when  the  painful  thought  of  the  impreparedness  of  his 
readers  for  higher  Christian  teaching  forced  itself  upon 
his  mind.  In  this  verse  the  order  of  the  words  taken 
from  the  Psalm  is  changed ;  in  the  last  words  "  for 
ever "  is  declared  with  unequalled  impressiveness  the 
permanence  of  our  Christian  hope. 

VII. 

Jesus  the  High  Priest  after  the  Order  of 
Melchizedek. 

(1)  For  this  Melchisedec— The  sentence  is  con- 
pleted  in  the  last  words  of  verse  3,  .  .  .  "  abideth  a 
pnest  continually;"  the  connection  with  the  last  chapter 
therefore,  is  very  clear.  Of  Melchizedek  we  know 
nothing  beyond  what  we  learn  from  the  brief  nan-a- 
tive  of  Gen.  xiv.  A  Jewish  legend,  preserved  in  the 
later  Targuuis  on  the  Pontatouch.  but  not  in  the 
Targum  of  Onkclos,  identifies  liim  ^vitl^  the  patriarch 
Shem  ;  and  many  conjectures  of  a  later  date  (stimulated 
by  the  remarkable  language  of  these  verses)  have  been 
far  wilder  in  their  extravagance.  It  may  be  that  the 
result  of  these  speculations  has  been  to  invest  this 
chapter  with  a  mystery  which  does  not  belong  to  it. 
The  object  of  the  writer  is,  in  reality,  very  simple — to 


306 


deal  with  the  question,  "What  is  the  import  of  the  divine 
utterance  that  David's  Lord  is  a  "  Priest  for  ever  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek"  ?  Not  to  take  up  the  history 
of  Melchizedek  and  allegorise  each  part,  but  to  point 
out  the  full  meaning  of  the  comparison  made  in  the 
prophecy,  which  declares  the  priesthood  of  the  future 
King  to  be  "  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek — i.e.,  to 
be  such  as  the  priesthood  of  Melchizedek  typically 
set  forth.  The  first  part  of  this  sentence  (verses  1  and 
2,  as  far  as  "  .  .  .  tenth  part  of  all " )  enumerates  the 
known  facts  of  the  history  of  Melchizedek ;  the  follow- 
ing clauses  are  occupied  with  the  interpretation  of  the 
history,  and  with  inferences  from  it.  Of  the  facts 
recorded  in  Genesis  none  are  passed  over,  except  the  gift 
of  bread  and  wine  ;  the  blessing  also  is  mentioned  in 
general  terms  only.  Tlie  language  of  the  LXX.  is,  as 
a  rule,  closely  followed  throughout. 

King  of  Salem. — Jewish  tradition  affirms  strongly 
that  this  Salem  occupied  the  site  on  which  Jerusalem 
afterwards  stood ;  and  certainly  Salem  is  a  poetic 
name  of  Jerusalem  (Ps.  Ixxvi.  2).  This  tradition, 
found  in  Josephus  and  in  the  earliest  of  the  Targums, 
agrees  well  with  the  circumstances  of  the  narrative  as 
far  as  we  can  follow  them,  and  seems  to  desen-e  accept- 
ance. Jerome  maintained  that  Salem  was  situated  near 
Scythopolis,  where  in  his  day  were  pointed  out  ruins  of 
"  Melchizedek's  palace."  Another  tradition  (probably 
of  Samaritan  origin)  makes  Mount  Gerizim  the  place  of 
meeting,  in  which  case  the  city  of  Melchizedek  would 
probal)ly  Ije  near  Shechcm. 

The  most  high  God.— A  title  characteristic  of  the 
narrative  (Gen.  xiv.  18 — 20,  22).  Melchizedek  is  the 
first  who  in  Scripture  is  spoken  of  as  priest,  and  the 
name  is  given  without  explanation.  As  in  the  earliest 
times  this  office  was  lield  by  the  liead  of  a  family  (Job 
i.),  it  is  not  remarkable  to  find  a  union  of  regal  and 
sacerdotal  functions  in  the  same  man. 

Rettirning  from  the  slaughter.— Rather,  from 
the  smiting,  or  defeat.  According  to  the  narrative  in 
Genesis  the  meeting  took  place  "  after  Abraham  had 
returned  "  from  the  defeat  of  the  king ;  but  probably 
the  meaning  does  not  differ  from  that  here  given. 

(2»  Gave  a  tenth  part.— Literally,  divided  a  tenth. 
This  point  is  fully  treated  of  in  verses  4 — 9. 

King  of  righteousness.— Josephus  notes  the 
significance  of  this  name  :  "  The  first  founder  of 
Jerusalem  was  a  chief  of  the  Canaanites,  who  in  our 
tongue  is  called  Eighteous  King ;  for  indeed  such  he 
was."  Philo  also  interprets  King  of  Salem  as  '"  King 
of  Peace."  The  special  interest  of  these  titles  for  the 
wi-iter  lies  in  the  application  to  Jesus  the  Messiah. 
(See  chap.  i.  8,  9;  Isa.  ix.  6,  7;  xxxii.  1;  Jer.  xxiii. 
5,  6;  Zech.  ix.  9  ;  Eph.  ii.  14.)  On  this,  as  obvious  to 
every  Christian  reader,  he  does  not  further  dwell. 

(3)  Without  father,  without  mother,  without 
descent.— The  last  words,  "without  descent"  (or 
rather,  withotd  genealogy),  throw  light  on  the  meaning 


To  Melchizedek 


HEBEEWS,   VII. 


Abraham  gave  Tithes. 


without  descent,^  having  neither  begin- 
ning of  days,  nor  end  of  life ;  but  made 
like  unto  the  Son  of  God ;  abideth  a 
priest  continually.  (■^)  Now  consider 
how  great  this  man  was,  unto  whoni 
even  the  patriarch  Abraham  gave  the 
tenth  of  the  spoils.  (^)  And  verily  they 
that  are  of  the  sons  of  Levi,  who  receive 
the  office  of  the  priesthood,  have  a  com- 
mandment to  take  tithes  of  the  people 


1  Gr.  without  pedi- 
yree. 


2  Or,  pedigree. 


according  to  the  law,  that  is,  of  their 
brethren,  though  they  come  out  of  the 
loins  of  Abraham :  (''^  but  he  whose 
descent-  is  not  counted  from  them  re- 
ceived tithes  of  Abraham,  and  blessed 
him  that  had  the  promises.  (')  And 
without  all  contradiction  the  less  is 
blessed  of  the  better.  (^^  And  here  men 
that  die  receive  tithes ;  but  there  he 
receiveth  them,  of  whom  it  is  witnessed 


of  those  which  precede.  Not  because  we  find  no 
mention  of  the  parents  of  Melchizedek  is  he  thus 
spoken  of  as  fatherless  and  motherless,  but  because  he 
is  suddenly  introduced  as  priest,  without  any  token 
whatever  that  lie  held  the  office  by  right  of  genealogy, 
the  only  claim  familiar  to  Hebrew  readers.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  adduce  proof  of  the  care  with  which 
inquiry  was  made  into  the  parentage  of  the  Jewish 
priests  (Neh.  vii.  64)  :  in  their  marriages  they  were 
subject  to  strict  restraints  (Lev.  xxi.  13,  14);  their 
statement  of  pedigree  (in  which  was  given  the  name 
not  of  father  only,  but  also  of  every  mother)  must  be 
complete,  ascending  to  Aaron,  and  containing  no  doubt- 
ful link.  He  who  is  a  priest  "  like  Melchizedek  "  holds 
a  priesthood  that  rests  on  no  such  rights  or  claims. 
The  words  that  follow  are  of  similar  character.  No 
commencement  and  no  close  of  priestly  position  or 
function  are  recorded  in  the  sacred  history.  As  the 
Scripture  is  silent  as  to  his  reception  of  the  office,  so 
also  as  to  any  transmission  of  it  to  another.  In  these 
respects  "made  like  (as  a  divinely  ordained  type) 
unto  the  Son  of  God,"  he  bears  perpetually  the 
character  of  priest. 

There  have  from  the  first  been  many  who  have  been 
dissatisfied  with  such  an  explanation  of  these  remark- 
able words,  and  have  understood  them  to  ascribe  to  Mel- 
chizedek a  mysterious  and  superhuman  existence  and 
character.  It  has  been  maintained  that  he  was  the 
Son  of  God  Himself,  or  the  Holy  Spirit, — an  angel  or 
a  Power  of  God.  The  last  tenet  was  the  distinguishing 
mark  of  a  sect  bearing  the  name  of  Melchizedekians  in 
the  third  century.  The  feeling  that  the  most  startling 
of  the  expressions  here  iised  must  surely  be  intended 
to  point  to  more  than  the  silence  oi  Scripture  on  certain 
points,  is  not  at  all  unnatural ;  but  perhaps  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  every  such  difficulty  is  removed  by  the 
consideration  that  here  the  writer  is  simply  analysing  the 
thought  of  the  inspired  Psalmist.  Sucli  an  oracle  as  that 
of  Ps.  ex.  4  must  yield  up  to  him  its  full  significance. 
The  divdne  words  are  not  to  be  measured  by  the  mean- 
ing wliich  man  may  at  first  assign  to  them.  The  true 
import  of  the  propliecy  which  declared  that  the  futui-e 
priesthood  woidd  bear  the  likeness  of  Melchizedek's 
can  only  be  known  when  all  the  characteristics  of  that 
priesthood  have  been  traced.  The  narrative  of  Genesis 
was  the  basis  of  the  prophecy;  all  that  the  history 
presented  was  taken  up  in  the  Psalm. 

(^)  How  great  this  man  was.— Better,  is :  the 

freatness  abides,  set  forth  in  the  words  of  Scripture, 
n  the  rest  of  the  verse  (where  the  best  MSS.  omit 
the  word  "  even  ")  it  is  well  to  follow  the  literal  render- 
ing, unto  whom  Abraham  gave  a  tenth  out  of  the  chi<f 
spoils — (Abraham)  the  patriarch.  "  He  gave  him 
tithes  of  all "  (Gen.  xiv.  20),  but  the  tenth  was  selected 
from  the  choicest  part  of  the  spoils.  "  Patriarch  "  is  a 
word  used  in  the  LXX.  (in  Chronicles  only)  for  the 


head  of  a  family  or  chief  of  a  clan.  In  the  New 
Testament  it  is  used  of  David  in  Acts  ii.  29,  and  twice 
in  Acts  vii.  of  Jacob's  sons. 

The  next  verse  deals  with  the  same  subject,  but 
under  a  new  aspect.  Here  the  thought  is,  Melchizedek 
received  tithes  even  from  Abraham  the  patriarch ;  thei*e. 
He  has  been  thus  honoured,  though  no  enactment  of 
law  invested  him  with  superior  rights. 

(5)  They  that  are  of  the  sons. — Rather,  those  of 
the  sons  of  Levi  that  receive,  &c.  There  is  an  apparent 
difficulty  here.  Tlae  priests,  it  is  iirged,  did  not  receive 
tithes  from  the  people ;  the  tithe  was  paid  to  theLevites, 
and  but  the  tenth  part  of  this  tithe  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
priests.  Two  considerations  seem  entirely  to  remove 
this  difficulty.  (1)  The  question  is  not  one  of  emolu- 
ment, but  of  position.  The  authority  to  exact  tithes 
was  in  strictness  vested  in  the  priests,  the  supreme 
guardians  of  the  laws  relating  to  all  religious  duties  and 
observances,  and  the  Levites  were  but  their  assistants. 
That  the  priests  received  for  their  own  use  but  a  part 
of  the  tribute  paid  by  the  nation  is  a  matter  of  no 
moment  here.  (2)  The  Levites  themselves  paid  tithes 
to  the  priests,  who  therefore  stood  alone  in  recei^-ing 
tithes  but  paying  none.  It  is  the  positive  ordinance  of 
the  law,  and  nothing  but  this,  that  raises  brethren 
above  brethren,  and  gives  to  the  priest  this  claim  upon 
men  who  would  otherwise  be  on  an  equality  with  him- 
self through  common  descent  from  Abraham. 

(6)  Whose  descent.  —  Better,  u-hose  genealogy 
(verse  3). 

Received  tithes. — Rather,  hath  taken  tithes  of 
Abraham,  and  hath  blessed  him  that  hath  the  promises. 
In  Melchizedek  we  see  a  man  who.  though  no  law  gave 
him  pre-eminence,  takes  tithes  of  Abraham,  and  there- 
fore appears  in  Scripture  as  holding  a  position  of 
inherent  and  acknowledged  superiority.  Tliis  supe- 
riority is  not  dwelt  upon,  for  the  same  thought  will  be 
presented  still  more  strikingly  in  connection  with  the 
blessing  (verse  8).  "  Hath  taken  tithes,"  "  hath 
blessed  : "  here,  as  in  many  other  passages,  the  writer 
refers  to  facts  recorded  in  Scripture  not  as  belonging 
to  the  past,  but  as  they  now  stand  before  us  in  the 
unchanging  and  ever  present  word  of  God. 

(")  And  without  all  contradiction.— Better,  but 
without  any  di-ipnte.  Two  parts  of  the  argument  are 
specified  in  this  verse  and  verse  6.  Melchizedek  has 
blessed  Abraham  ;  but  certainly  (in  every  such  act  of 
blessing  as  is  here  contemplated)  it  is  the  less  that  is 
blessed  by  the  greater.  The  conclusion,  that  ^Melchizedek 
in  this  act  appears  as  Abraham's  superior,  it  did  not 
seem  necessary  to  express. 

(8)  "  Here."  under  the  Le\'itical  economy,  dying  men 
receive  the  various  tithes.  Men  enter  by  birth  into  a 
state  with  which  this  right  is  associated,  and  by  death 
again  pass  out  of  it.  No  special  significance,  therefore, 
attaches  to  the  men  themselves.  "  There,"  in  the  history 


307 


TJte  Priesthood  changed. 


HEBREWS,   VIL 


Another  Priest. 


that  he  liveth.  (^)  And  as  I  may  so 
say,  Levi  also,  Avho  receiveth  tithes, 
payed  tithes  in  Abraham.  <!">  For  he 
was  yet  in  the  loins  of  his  father,  when 
Melehisedec  met  him.  <i^'  If  therefore 
perfection  were  by  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, (for  under  it  the  people  received 
the  law,)  what  further  need  ivas  there 
that  another  priest  should  rise  after  the 
order  of  Melehisedec,  and  not  be  called 
after  the  order  of  Aaron  ?  (12)  poj.  the 
priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made 


of  necessity  a  change  also  of  the  law. 
(13)  Yov  he  of  whom  these  things  are 
spoken  pertaineth  to  another  tribe,  of 
which  no  man  gave  attendance  at  the 
altar.  <^^^  For  it  is  evident  that  our 
Lord  sprang  out  of  Juda ;  of  which 
tribe  Moses  spake  nothing  concerning 
priesthood.  ^^^^  And  it  is  yet  far  more 
evident :  for  that  after  the  similitude 
of  Melehisedec  there  ariseth  another 
priest,  (^^^  who  is  made,  not  after  the 
law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but  after 


now  cousiclored,  ono  (receives  tithes)  of  whom  tlie 
Scripture  simply  mtuesses  that  lie  lives.  The  narrative 
of  Genesis  gives  no  other  basis  for  his  priesthood  than 
the  mere  fact  of  his  life.  What  he  holds,  he  holds  by 
personal  right. 

(9)  And  as  I  may  so  say. — Or,  so  to  speak  :  an 
apologetic  mode  of  introducing  an  expression  which 
might  seem  strange.  In  tlie  thought  itself  there  is  no 
real  difficulty,  if  we  are  careful  to  take  into  account  the 
principle  which  prevailed  throughout,  that  pre-eminence 
depended  upon  descent  alone.  Had  Judah  possessed 
an  inherent  superiority  over  his  brother  Levi,  the 
descendants  of  Judah  (in  such  a  system  as  is  here 
before  us)  might  have  claimed  the  like  pre-eminence 
over  the  descendants  of  Levi.  "  Through  Abraham 
even  Levi,  who  receiveth  tithes,  hath  payed  tithes." 
The  descendants  of  Abraham  cannot  but  occupy  a  lower 
position  in  presence  of  one  who  appears  as  Abraham's 
superior. 

(11)  The  connection  of  thought  maybe  given  thus  : — 
It  has  been  shown  that  the  position  of  Melchizedek 
towards  Abraham  involves  of  necessity  his  superiority 
to  Abraham,  to  Levi  also  and  his  descendants,  so  that 
"  the  order  of  Melchizedek "  is  altogether  different 
from,  and  higher  than,  "  the  order  of  Aaron."  This 
being  so.  how  could  this  other  priesthood  take  the  place 
of  the  Levitical  if  this  latter  had  answered  its  full 
purpose  ? 

Perfection.— Literally,  the  making  perfect— ihe  full 
accomplishment  of  the  essential  aim  of  priesthood,  in 
bringing  men  "  near  to  God." 

Received.— The  better  reading  is  hath  received. — 
The  object  of  this  parenthesis  is  to  point  out  the 
intimate  relation  between  the  Law  and  the  priesthood  : 
"  I  speak  of  tlie  Levitical  priesthood,  for  it  is  on  the 
kasis  of  this  that  the  Law  given  to  the  people  rests." 

Another  priest.— That  is  (as  the  Greek  implies), 
a  pried  of  a  different  kind  ( verses  13. 15 ).  The  question 
is  equivalent  to  a  strong  deuijil :  there  could  be  no  such 
need. 

(1-)  Tliis  verse  connects  itself  with  the  parenthesis  in 
verse  11.  "  For  if  the  priesthood  is  changed  there 
takes  place  also  of  necessity  a  change  of  law."  It  is 
no  light  matter  to  speak  of  the  order  of  Aaron  as  set 
aside :  this  carries  with  it  a  change  of  law. 

(13)  Inverse  11  the  "other  priest"  is  spoken  of  as 
not  connected  with  Aaron  ;  verse  12  is  interposed  to 
show  the  serious  significance  of  such  a  fact ;  here  the 
assertion  of  ver.se  11  is  substantiated — not,  however, 
from  the  words  of  the  Psalm,  but  from  their  fulfilment 
in  Jesus. 

Pertaineth.— Literally,  hath  partaken  of  -.  the  same 
word  is  used  in  chap.  ii.  14,  "  He  also  ....  took  part 
of  the  same." 


308 


Another  tribe,  of  which  no  man  gave  .  .  .— 

Better,  a  different  tribe,  from  ivhich  no  man  hath 
given  attendance  at  the  altar.  In  comparison  with 
Levi  every  tribe  was  not  merely  "  another,"  but 
essentially,  in  regard  to  the  subject  before  us,  "  a 
different  tribe." 

(14)  Evident.— That  is  to  say,  manifest  before  the 
eyes  of  all. 

Sprang. — Better,  hath  arisen  out  of  Judah.  In 
every  other  place  in  the  New  Testament  this  word  is 
applied  to  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  light,  the  day-star 
(2  Pet.  i.  19),  or  the  clouds  (Luke  xii.  54);  and  in  the 
prophecies  of  Num.  xxiv.  17  and  Mai.  iv.  2  the  same 
word  is  used.  On  the  other  hand,  the  word  also 
denotes  the  springing  up  of  plants  (Isa.  xliv.  4;  Ezek. 
xvii.  6),  and  a  word  closely  connected  with  it  occurs 
in  the  LXX.  in  the  Messianic  prophecy  of  "  tho 
Branch"  (Jer.  xxiii.  5;  Zech.  iii.  8).  The  latter 
meaning  seems  much  more  suitable  hero. 

(15, 16)  And  it  is.— That  which  is  "  yet  far  more 
evident  "  is  the  proposition  of  the  preceding  verses,  viz., 
the  failure  of  the  Levitical  priesthood  to  bring  "  per- 
fection "  (verse  11),  a  failure  placed  beyond  doubt  by 
the  change  of  priesthood  (verses  13,  14).  "  And  what 
we  are  speaking  of  is  yet  more  abundantly  evident  if 
after  the  likeness  of  Melcliizedek  there  ariseth  a 
different  priest,  who  hath  been  made  (priest)  not 
according  to  a  law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  but 
according  to  power  of  indissoluble  life."  Hitherto,  in 
verses  12 — 14,  the  thought  has  rested  on  what  is 
given  up, — viz.,  the  priesthood  of  Aaron,  set  aside  by  the 
words  of  prophecy  (Ps.  ex.  4) ;  and  so  far  as  these  three 
verses  are  concerned,  nothing  more  might  be  intended 
than  tho  transference  of  the  priesthood  to  another  line 
of  men.  Far  more  striking  will  the  proof  appear, 
when  wo  look  on  the  other  side,  and  observe  what  is 
brought  in — a  priesthood  like  Melchizedek's,  resting 
not  on  mere  positive  enactment,  but  assumed  by 
inherent  power,  by  right  of  "  life  "  (verse  8). 

(le)  A  carnal  commandment.— Literally  (accord- 
ing to  the  true  reading  of  the  Greek),  a  commandinent  of 
flesh  :  one  that  is  limited  to  the  sphere  of  man's  nature 
of  flesh.  As  such,  it  is  bound  xip  with  distinctions  of 
race  and  tribe  and  family;  it  is  limited  by  human 
infirmity  and  the  changes  wrought  by  sickness  and 
death ;  what  it  accomplishes  is  the  purifying  of  the 
flesh ;  in  its  own  nature  it  is  temporary,  and  may  be 
set  aside.  (See  chap.  ix.  10,  13.)  In  contrast  to  the 
enactment  is  placed  an  essential  right,  possessed  by 
Him  of  whom  Melchizedek  was  the  type  :  in  contrast 
to  all  that  is  temporary  and  limited  is  placed  an  indis- 
soluble life.  Because  He  lives — in  virtue  of  what  He 
is — He  is  Priest :  in  A-irtue  of  an  endless  life  He  ia 
priest /or  ever. 


The  Better  Hope. 


HEBREWS,   VIT. 


The  Oath  of  the  Lord. 


the  power  of  an  endless  life.  ^^''^  For  he 
testifieth,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedec.  (^^^  For 
there  is  verily  a  disannulling  of  the 
commandment  going  before  for  the 
weakness  and  unprofitableness  thereof. 
('^^  For  the  law  made  nothing  perfect, 
but  the  bringing  in^  of  a  better  hope 


2  Or,  without 
swearing  of 
u?i  uut/i. 


a  Ps.  110.  4. 

1  Or,  but    it    was 

the  bringing  in. 


did ;  by  the  which  we  draw  nigh  unto 
God.  (-'^^  And  inasmuch  as  not  without 
an  oath  he  was  made  priest :  C-^^)  (for 
those  priests  were  made  without  an 
oath ;  ^  but  this  with  an  oath  by  him 
that  said  unto  him,  The  Lord  sware  and 
will  not  rejDent,  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever 
after  the  order  of  Melchisedec  : ")  ^^^j  by 


(17)  For  he  testifieth.— A  slight  chauge  of  reading 
makes  the  sense  clearer :  "  For  witness  is  borne  to 
him  " — as  to  this  "  power  "  of  indissoluble  life — in  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  itself. 

(18, 19)  Tiie  intimate  connection  between  these  two 
verses  is  obscured  by  the  ordinaiy  translation.  They 
point  out  with  greater  fulness  and  clearness  what  is 
involved  in  the  statement  of  verse  16.  "  For  there  is 
an  annulling  of  a  preceding  commandment,  because  of 
its  weakness  and  unprofitableness  (for  the  Law  made 
nothing  perfect),  and  a  bringing  in  thereupon  of  a 
better  hope,  by  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  God."  (It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  throughout  that  by  the  "  com- 
mandment "  is  meant  the  ordinance  which  created  the 
Levitical  priesthood,  not  the  Law  in  general.)  That 
Jesus  was  not  made  Priest  according  to  a  law  of  a 
carnal  commandment  (verse  16)  involves  the  annulling 
of  that  commandment ;  in  His  becoming  Priest 
according  to  a  power  of  indissoluble  life  is  involved  the 
introduction  of  a  better  hope.  This  is  the  general 
meaning,  but  each  division  of  the  thought  is  expanded. 
The  appointment  of  a  different  priest  by  the  very 
authority  on  which  the  former  commandment  rested, 
the  divine  decree,  showed  that  commandment  to  be  of 
force  no  longer :  as  we  have  already  seen  (verse  11),  this 
is  because  the  commandment  is  weak  and  unprofitable 
— because  the  priesthood  it  creates  cannot  attain  tlie 
end  of  its  institution,  which  is  to  bring  men  into 
fellowship  with  God.  The  pai-enthesis,  "  for  the  Law 
made  nothing  perfect,"  points  out  that  the  weakness 
just  spoken  of  corresponds  to  that  imperfection  which 
confessedly  belongs  to  the  earlier  dispensation  :  even 
the  Jew  (who  would  have  accounted  a  change  of  priestly 
line  impossible)  expected  perfection  only  when  Messiah 
should  have  appeared.  When  the  earlier  command- 
ment is  annulled,  in  its  place  there  is  brought  in  a 
better  hope.  The  "  better  hope "  stands  connected 
with  the  "  better  covenant "  (verse  22)  and  the  "  better 
promises  "  (chap.  viii.  6).  "And  by  this  (better  hope) 
we  draw  nigh  unto  God."  The  end  of  the  priesthood 
therefore  is  attained.  (See  verse  11.)  In  the  Law  (Lev. 
X.  3)  the  priests  are  "  those  who  come  nigh  unto  (jod," 
that  is,  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  :  with  a  nobler 
meaning  this  name  shall  now  belong  to  all  God's 
people. 

(20)  This  and  the  next  two  verses  constitute  one 
sentence,  the  third  verse  answering  to  the  first,  and 
verso  21  being  parenthetical.  Hitherto  no  reference 
has  been  made  to  the  remarkable  opening  of  Ps. 
ex.  4,  so  often  quoted :  these  three  verses  are  occupied 
with  the  thought  of  the  oath — or  rather  (for  a  very 
Uncommon  word  is  used,  one  that  answers  well  to  the 
importance  of  the  thought)  the  "  swearing  of  an  oath." 
This  is  a  further  illustration  of  the  words  of  verse  15, 
"  a  difPerent  priest." 

He  was  made  priest.— Some  supplement  is  needed 
to  give  clearness  to  the  English  sentence;  but  one  of 
general  meaning,  such  as  "  all  this  was  done,"  will  best 
answer  the  purpose. 


(21)  For  those  priests. — Rather,  For  they  indeed 
have  been  made  priests  withoxit  an  oath. 

By  him  that  said  unto  him.— Better,  hy  (or, 
through)  Him  that  saith  of  Him.  The  last  five  words 
of  the  verse  ai-e  absent  from  the  best  authorities  :  they 
were  not  needed  for  this  part  of  the  argument,  and  are 
therefore  omitted  from  the  quotation.  All  that  has 
been  said  in  chap  vi.  (verses  13 — 18)  on  confirmation 
by  oath  must  be  brought  in  here  (see  Notes  on  chap, 
vi.  16,  17) :  the  words  of  the  Psahn  are  really  words  of 
promise,  and  the  "  more  abundant  encouragement  "  is 
given  us  by  means  of  the  oath  that  shall  never  be 
reversed. 

(22)  By  so  much  was  Jesus  made.— Better,  by 
so  much  also  hath  Jesiis  become  surety  of  a  better  cove- 
nant. The  form  of  the  sentence  recalls  chap.  i.  4.  As 
the  priest  whose  appointment  is  confirmed  by  the  oath 
of  God  is  raised  above  all  former  priests,  in.  the  same 
proportion  is  the  covenant  of  which  Jesus  is  surety 
higher, better, than  the  former  covenant.  For  the  '"better 
hope  "  of  verse  19  we  now  read  "  better  covenant " ; 
the  new  idea  is  not  different  in  substance,  but  is  more 
definite  and  clear.  The  very  promise  of  the  "  other 
priest "  brought  with  it  a  "  better  hope  "  ;  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  di^'ine  oath  is  fitly  succeeded  by  the  mention 
of  a  "  covenant." 

This  is  the  first  occurrence  in  this  Epistle  of  a  very 
interesting  word  [diatheke)  which  hereafter  will  occupy 
an  important  place  in  the  argument.  Throughout  the 
Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  it  is  used  to 
represent  a  Hebrew  word  which  is  (more  than  200 
times)  rightly  rendered  covenant  in  our  version;  and, 
like  the  Hebrew  word,  it  is  applied  both  to  mutual 
agreements  between  man  and  man.  and  to  "  covenants  " 
or  engagements  into  which  God  enters  in  regard  to 
man.  In  classical  writers  diathrkt-  commonly  denotes 
a  testament ;  and  hence  in  the  old  Latin  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  testamentum  became  the  common  ren- 
dering of  the  word.  As,  however,  this  rendering  is 
very  often  foimd  where  it  is  impossible  to  think  of  such 
a  meaning  as  will  (for  example,  in  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  5,  where 
no  one  will  suppose  the  Psalmist  to  say  that  the 
enemies  of  God  "have  arranged  a  testament  against 
Him  "),it  is  plain  that  the  Latin  testamentum  was  used 
with  an  extended  meaning,  answering  to  the  wide 
application  of  the  Greek  word.  St.  Paul's  designation 
of  the  Jewish  Scriptures  as  "  the  Old  Covenant " 
(2  Cor.  iii.  14)  thus  became  familiarly  known  as  The 
Old  Testament.  In  the  New  Testament  the  Authorised 
version  more  commonly  presents  the  better  rendering; 
but,  through  the  influence  of  the  Latin,  testament  is  re- 
tained in  several  places — viz.,  in  the  various  accounts  of 
the  institution  oi  the  Lord's  Supper;  in  2  Cor.  iii.  6, 
14 ;  in  Rev.  xi.  19  ("  the  ark  of  His  testament,"  a  very 
strange  translation);  in  the  present  verse;  and  especially 
in  the  very  important  passage,  chap.  ix.  15 — 20.  There 
is  a  very  general  agreement  of  opinion  that  "  covenant  " 
must  be  the  trae  meaning  in  all  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  except  the  one  last  mentioned  ;  and  even  in 


309 


TJie  Prieal  who  ever  lives, 


HEBREWS,   YII. 


who  Saves  to  the  Uttermost. 


so  much  was  Jesus  made  a  surety 
of  a  better  testament.  (=^>  And  they 
truly  were  many  priests,  because  they 
were  not  suffered  to  continue  by  reason 
of  death :  '-''  but  this  man,  because  he 
continueth  ever,  hath  an  unchang-eable 
priesthood.^  (^^  Wherefore  he  is  able 
also   to  save  them   to   the  uttermost  ^ 


1  Or, which  passeth 
not  from  one  to 
another. 

2  Or,  eoermore. 


that  come  unto  God  by  him,  seeing  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for 
them.  ^^^'>  For  such  an  high  priest  be- 
came us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  unde- 
filed,  separate  from  sinners,  and  made 
higher  than  the  heavens ;  ^-^^  who  need- 
eth  not  daily,  as  those  high  priests,  to 
offer  up  sacrifice,  first  for  his  own  sins. 


that  place  there  are  strong  reasons  for  retaining  the 
same  rentloring.  (See  the  Note  on  chap  ix.  15.)  In  this 
verse,  at  all  events,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  writer  is 
thinking  of  a  covenant.  (See  chap.  viii.  6, 8.)  Here  only 
is  Jesus  spoken  of  as  Surety,  elsewhere  as  Mediator 
(chaps,  viii.  6 ;  ix.  15  ;  xii.  24).  As  through  the  Son  of 
Man  the  covenant  becomes  established,  so  in  Him  it 
remains  secure ;  the  words  addressed  by  God  to  Him 
as  Priest  and  King  contain  the  pledge  of  its  validity 
and  permanence. 

(-3)  Were  many  priests.  —  Rather,  have  been 
made  priests  many  {i.e.,  in  large  numbers),  hecaiise  by 
death  they  were  prevented  frum  continidng.  (Comp. 
verse  8,  where  the  thought  is  somewhat  similar.) 

(2^1)  But  this  man.— Better,  But  He,  because  He 
remaineth  for  ever,  hath  His  priesthood  inviolable  (or, 
unchangeable).  The  former  ordinance  related  to  a  race, 
and  the  individuals  were  ever  passing  away ;  since  His 
life  is  "  indissoluble"  (verse  l6),  none  can  trespass  on 
His  right  and  invade  His  priesthood.  The  rendering 
of  the  margin,  "  that  passeth  not  from  one  to  auothei-," 
expresses  nearly  the  same  thought ;  but  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  the  Greek  will  bear  this  meaning. 

(25)  Wherefore.— Since  His  priesthood  is  inviolable, 
His  power  of  saving  is  complete.  The  association  of 
the  thought  of  "  salvation  "  with  the  priesthood  recalls 
chap.  V.  9,  10 ;  as  indeed  several  points  in  the  later 
verses  of  this  chapter  show  that  the  writer's  thought  is 
resting  on  the  first  section  of  chap.  v.  In  His  suppli- 
cation uuto  God,  "  who  was  able  to  save  Him  out  of 
death,"  He  was  heard ;  this  was  the  type — and  more 
than  the  type  (see  the  Note  on  chap.  v.  7) — of  the 
eternal  salvation  of  which  He,  when  made  perfect, 
becomes  the  Author.  The  connecting  link  between  the 
priestly  office  and  "  salvation  "  appears,  thei-efore,  to  be 
the  prevalent  intercession  of  which  this  verse  speaks — 
an  intercession  which  impUes  all  that  has  preceded  in 
His  priestly  ministration.     (See  chap.  ix.  12,  24.) 

That  come  unto  God  by  him.—  Better,  that 
approach  through  Him  to  God.  See  chap.  x.  19 — 22, 
where  full  expression  is  given  to  the  thought  here  briefly 
indicated.  He  leads  and  represents  His  people,  and  is 
the  medium  of  their  approach  to  God. 

To  make  intercession  for  them.— The  word 
occurs  in  Rom.  viii.  3^1-  in  reference  to  Christ ;  in  Rom. 
viii.  27  it  is  applied  to  the  intercession  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Tlie  thought  meets  us  in  chap.  ix.  24 ;  John  xiv. 
16;  1  John  ii.  2.  With  the  high  priest's  confession 
of  the  sins  of  the  people  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  was 
joined  fervent  intercession  on  their  behalf  ;  this  inter- 
cession was  also  symbolised  in  the  offering  of  the 
incense. 

_  Verses  26—28  look  back  on  all  that  has  preceded, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  chapter,  ancl  prepare 
the  way  for  the  subsequent  sections.  The  tj'pe 
afforded  by  Melchizodck  has  yielded  its  lessons,  and 
to  this  there  is  no  further  reference.  The  mentitm  of 
the  high  priest  (chap.  vL  20,  taking  up  chap.  v.  10)  is 


310 


resumed.  The  unique  special  teaching  of  Ps.  ex.  4  was 
far  from  bringing  out  the  full  significance  of  the  priest- 
hood of  Jesus ;  for  the  sacred  histoiy  does  not  connect 
Melchizedek  with  any  of  the  most  prominent  high- 
priestly  functions,  or  with  any  temple  or  place  of 
ministration.  The  abrogation  of  the  Le\'itical  priest- 
hood and  the  infinite  elevation  of  the  "  other  Priest " 
above  those  of  the  order  of  Aaron  have  been  so  clearly 
set  forth  that  it  is  possible  henceforth  to  concentrate 
attention  on  the  types  and  lessons  furnished  by  the 
Jewish  ritual  itself.  Hence  there  is  the  closest  connec- 
tion (as  has  been  already  mentioned)  between  these 
verses  and  chap.  v.  1 — 5. 

(26)  For  such  an  high  priest.— Better,  For  such 
a  one  also  became  us  as  [our)  High  Priest.  Such  a 
priest  as  has  been  portrayed  was  the  High  Priest  that 
befitted  us — no  one  less  exalted  could  have  met  our 
necessities.  The  added  woi'ds  carry  the  description 
farther  still.  The  thought  of  high  priest  immediately 
brings  to  mind  the  annual  Day  of  Atonement,  to  which 
belonged  the  characteristic  ministration  of  the  high 
priest.  As  we  read  the  following  words  we  cannot 
doubt  their  direct  reference  to  the  ceremonial  obser- 
vances of  that  day. 

Holy. — Not  the  word  of  chap.  iii.  1,  but  a  word 
seldom  used  in  the  New  Testament  (except  in  quota- 
tions), though  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  LXX. 
(as  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  8;  Pss.  iv.  3 ;  xvi.  10;  cxxxii.  9, 
16) :  the  idea  contained  is  that  of  holy  purity.  The 
next  word  may  denote  either  freedom  from  malice  or 
evil,  or  freedom  from  guile  (Rom.  xvi.  18) ;  the  former 
meaning  is  more  likely  here.  The  three  words,  denoting 
personal  purity  aud  innocence  and  freedom  from  all 
pollution  of  sin,  present  the  idea  of  which  the  ceremonial 
purity  of  the  high  priest  was  the  type.  Seven  days 
before  the  Day  of  Atonement  the  high  priest  left  his 
house  and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Temple,  that,  thus 
separated  from  men  and  things  unclean,  he  might 
when  the  day  arrived  bo  found  free  from  all  defilement ; 
five  washings  and  ten  purifications  were  required  of  him 
on  the  day  itself. 

Separate  from  sinners.— Tlieso  words  may  be 
understood  in  two  ways — as  connecting  themselves 
either  with  what  goes  before  or  with  the  following 
words.  If  they  extend  the  idea  expressed  by  "  unde- 
filed,"  they  point  to  the  perfect  sinlessness  of  our 
Lord,  who  lived  amongst  sinners  and  yet  was  ever 
separated  from  their  sin — not  needing  external  separa- 
tion to  preserve  Him  from  pollution.  If  this  member 
is  to  be  joined  with  the  following,  it  points  to  the 
complete  severance  which  now  exists :  our  exalted  Lord 
is  for  ever  removed  from  a  life  in  the  midst  of  trans- 
gressors. The  latter  view  receives  some  support  from 
chap.  ix.  28,  but  is  on  other  grounds  less  probable. 
Witii  the  concluding  words  comp.  chaps,  iv.  14;  viii.  1; 
Epli.  iv.  10. 

(^)  This  verse  can-ies  on  the  description,  presenting  j 
what  follows  from  this  purity  and  sinlessness. 


The  Son 


HEBEEWS,   VIII. 


perfected  for  evermore. 


and  tlien  for  the  people's :  for  this  he 
did  once,  when  he  offered  up  himself. 
(28)  Yox  the  law  maketh  men  hig-li  priests 
which  have  infirmity ;  but  the  word  of 
the   oath,   which  was   since    the    law. 


1  Gr.  perfected. 


maJceth  the  Son,  who  is  consecrated  ^  for 
evermore. 

CHAPTEE    YIIL  — (1)   Now   of  the 
things  which  we  have  spoken  this  is  the 


As  those  high  priests.— The  high  priest's  ofEering 
up  sacrifices  first  for  himself  and  then  for  the  people 
constituted  a  chief  part  of  his  duty  upon  the  Day  of 
Atonement.  (See  chap.  v.  3.)  The  a«7iuai  recurrence  of 
that  day  is  distinctly  referred  to  more  than  once  in  this 
Epistle  (see  chaps,  ix.  25 ;  x.  1,  3) :  hence  the  words  now 
before  us,  -which  seem  to  imply  daily  sacrifices  thus 
offered  by  the  high  priests,  have  given  rise  to  much 
discussion.  Neither  the  moi'niug  and  evening  sacrifices 
nor  the  daily  meat-offering  of  the  high  priest  could 
have  been  spoken  of  in  the  terms  here  used,  which  in 
their  natural  meaning  suit  the  ritual  of  the  Day  of 
Atonement,  and  that  alone.  It  is  true — and  passages 
of  Philo  and  the  Talmud  are  appositely  quoted  to  illus- 
trate the  fact — that,  as  the  high  priest  was  represented 
by  all  other  priests,  their  actions  were  counted  as  his ; 
but  it  seems  impossible  to  think  that  the  words  have 
no  more  significance  than  this.  Either  we  must  take 
"  daily  "  as  equivalent  to  "  day  by  day  "  (as  the  Jews 
were  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  as 
"  the  day  "), — which  wUl  give  us  the  meaning,  "  on  each 
recurrence  of  this  sacred  day ; "  or  we  must  connect 
the  word,  not  with  the  Jewish  high  priests,  but  w4th 
Jesus  alone.  The  order  of  the  Greek  would  of  itself 
suggest  this  latter  arrangement  of  the  words.  If  it  is 
correct,  the  choice  of  the  word  "daily"  presents  but 
little  difficulty.  There  could  be  no  question  of  years  in 
regard  to  the  ministration  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the 
heavenly  sanctuary;  and  "daily"  was  perhaps  the  most 
natural  word  in  such  a  case,  when  the  frequently  stated 
repetition  of  a  sacrifice  was  the  thought  to  be  expressed. 

For  this  he  did  once.— Rather,  once  for  all. 
These  words  and  those  that  follow,  "  when  He  offei'ed 
up  Himself,"  are  best  understood  as  a  parenthesis. 
The  tnith  stated  in  the  former  part  of  the  verse,  that 
Jesus  needeth  not,  like  the  high  priests,  to  offer  up 
sacrifices,  first  for  His  OAvn  sins  and  then  "  for  those  of 
the  people,"  finds  its  explanation  in  verse  28,  "For  the 
Law,"  &c.  But,  ha\nug  introduced  the  thought  of  a 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  people — a  thought  not  yet 
expressly  mentioned  in  any  part  of  the  Epistle  in  con- 
nection with  Jesus,  though  virtually  presented,  as  wo 
have  seen,  in  many  earlier  words — the  writer  will  not 
pass  on  without  the  most  empliatic  statement  that  such 
a  sacrifice  was  offered,  once  for  all,  in  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself. 

(28)  For  the  law  maketh  men  high  priests 
which  have  infirmity  .  .  .—Bcitoi;  For  the  Law  ap- 
pointeth  men  high  prieds,  {men)  having  infirmity  ;  but 
the  word  of  the  oafh,  which  was  after  the  Law,  appoint- 
eth  a  Son,  who  hath  been  perfected  for  eve)\  On  "  the 
word  of  the  oath  "  see  verses  20,  21.  Coming  "  after  the 
Law,"  it  revoked  the  commandment  (verse  18),  and 
was  not  revoked  by  it.  ("  A  Son,"  see  chaps,  i.  3 ;  v.  8. 
"Perfected,"  see  chaps,  ii.  10;  v.  10.)  We  are  not  to 
understand  that  Jesus  was  first  "  perfected  "  and  then 
appointed  as  High  Priest :  tliis  would  contradict  what 
has  just  been  taught  (verse  27).  for  it  was  as  High 
Priest  that  He  offered  tlie  sacrifice  of  Himself.  In 
these  closing  words  are  united  the  two  cardinal  predic- 
tions of  Ps.  ii.,  ex.  (comp.  chap.  v.  5,  6) :  Thou  art  My 
Son,"  "  Thou  art  a  Priest  for  ever." 


YIII. 

The  mode  in  which  this  chapter  is  introduced  shows 
that,  in  the  writer's  own  arrangement,  a  new  di^asion 
of  the  argumt^nt  begins  here.  On  examination  we  shall 
find  that  there  is  a  clear  difference  between  the  topics 
discussed  before  and  after  this  point ;  though  it  was 
hardly  possible,  and  certainly  was  not  the  intention  of 
the  Avriter,  strictly  to  maintain  this  distinction  in  every 
particular.  Hitherto  the  personal  characteristics  of 
the  High  Priest  have  occupied  the  chief  place :  from 
this  point  to  chap.  x.  18  it  is  His  ministration  that  is 
brought  before  us.  Chap.  v.  1 — 10  sets  forth  whatever 
there  is  of  similarity  between  Jesus  and  the  high  priests 
of  the  Law :  the  principal  subject  of  chap.  vii.  is  the 
contrast  between  the  priest  of  whom  Ps.  ex.  speaks 
and  all  others,  in  respect  of  dignity  (verses  4 — 7,  9, 10), 
right  of  priesthood  (verses  8,  16),  mode  of  appointment 
(verses  20 — 22),  duration  of  office  (verses  23 — 25),  and 
freedom  from  sin  (verses  26 — 28).  Interwoven  with 
this  contrast  is  another — between  the  former  dispensa- 
tion, which  has  failed  to  attain  its  purpose,  and  the 
new  covenant  and  better  hope  (verses  11,  18,  19,  22). 
The  same  kind  of  comparison  is  continued  in  the  rest 
of  the  section,  and  not  between  the  high  priests  only, 
but  also  between  the  covenants  to  which  their  ministry 
belongs.  First  the  writer  dwells  on  the  place  in  which 
the  high  priest  ministers  (chaps,  viii.  1 — 5 ;  ix.  1 — 5), 
then  on  his  ministration,  and  especially  the  sacrifice 
which  he  presents  (chaps,  ^-iii.  6;  ix.  6 — x.  18).  In 
chaps,  viii.  7 — 13  (ix.  15 — 19),  x.  15 — 17,  is  introduced 
the  thought  of  the  contrasted  covenants. 

(1)  Now  of  the  things . . . — Better,  Noio  in  the  things 
which  we  are  saying  (literally,  ivhich  are  being  said) 
this  is  the  chief  point.  Opinion  has  been  much  diWded 
as  to  the  meaning  of  the  first  Greek  word,  whether  it 
should  be  taken  as  "  summary  "  or  as  "  chief  point," 
each  of  these  meanings  being  well  supported  by  the 
usage  of  the  langiiage.  The  words  joined  witli  it,  "  in 
the  things  which  we  are  saying,"  would  lead  us  to 
prefer  the  second  rendering ;  and  when  the  course  of 
the  argument  is  traced  we  find  it  difficult  to  believe 
that  the  writer  could  express  a  summary  of  his  thought 
in  such  words  as  those  which  follow. 

Who  is  set.— Better,  ivho  sat  doicn.  Twice  before 
have  the  words  of  Ps.  ex.  1  been  thus  referred  to  Jesus 
(chap.  i.  3,  13),  but  their  full  significance  in  regard  to 
the  present  subject  has  yet  to  be  brought  out.  When 
in  chap.  vii.  26  we  read,  *'  such  an  higli  priest  became 
us,"  we  must  look  to  what  precedes  for  the  explanation 
— "  such  a  one  "  as  has  already  been  portrayed.  Here 
the  case  is  different,  and  the  meaning  of  "  such  "  is 
found  in  the  description  which  the  folknving  words 
contain.  The  last  verse  of  chap.  vii.  ixnited  the  two 
predictions  which  pointed  to  Jesus  as  Priest  and  King, 
and  the  same  thought  is  contained  liere,  expressed  in 
language  which  at  once  recalls  chap.  i.  3.  A  later 
passage  (chap.  x.  11,  12)  will  sliow  that  the  words  "  sat 
down"  have  yet  further  significance,  involving  a  con- 
trast to  the  continued  and  ever  incomplete  ser^^ces  of 
those  who  "  stood  before  God  "  in  His  earthly  sanctuary. 


311 


The  Ministration  in  the 


HEBREWS,   VIII. 


Heavenly  Sanctuary. 


We  have  such  an  high  priest,  who 
is  set  on  the  ri<j^ht  hand  of 
the  throne  of  the  Majesty 
in     the     heavens  ;      ^-'    a 

^^,^ minister  of  the  sanctuary,^ 

diator  of  a  new  and  of  the  true  tabernacle, 
covenant.  ^^.j^-^j^     ^^^    L^^j    pitched, 

and  not  man.  *^'  For  every  hij^h  priest 
is  ordained  to  offer  gifts  and  sacrifices  : 
wherefore  it  is  of  necessity  that  this  man 


sum 


Chap.  viii.  — 
Christ  Hi^'h 
Priest  in  the 
heavenly  sane- 
tnary,  and  Me 


'  have  somewhat  also  to  offer.     <*>  For  if 

he  were  on  earth,  he  should  not  be  a 

'prie'u"  "'^^  priest,  seeing   that   there   are   priests ^ 

1  that  offer  gifts  according  to  the  law : 
I or.o/how things.^  (5)  ^\^q  gei've  uuto  the  example  and 
shadow  of  heavenly  things,  as  Moses 
was  admonished  of  God  when  he  was 
about  to  make  the  tabernacle  :  for,  See, 
saith  he,  that  thou  make  all  things 
according  to  the  pattern  shewed  to  thee 


The  next  verse  must  be  closely  joined  with  this,  for  the 
contrast  just  spoken  of  does  not  imply  that  Ho  no 
lon<jcr  "  ministers  "  on  behalf  of  men  (see  chaps,  vii.  25  ; 
ix.  24);  on  the  contrary,  it  is  as  "  a  minister"  of  the 
sanctuary  that  He  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 

(2)  Of  the  sanctuary.— The  word  here  rendered 
"  minister  "  (see  chap.  i.  7,  14)  is  very  commonly  used  in 
the  LXX.  for  the  officiating  priest.  It  is  difficult,  how- 
ever, to  decide  on  the  meaning  of  the  words  here 
joined  with  it — whether  they  denote  holy  things  or  holy 
place  ;  if  the  latter,  what  is  the  distinction  between  this 
holy  place  and  "  the  true  tabernacle  "  ?  The  ordinary 
usage  of  the  Epistle  would  suggest  "  holy  place,"  and 
perhaps  the  occurrence  of  both  expressions  in  chap.  ix. 
11,  12  (where  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  translation) 
is  sufficient  to  remove  any  hesitation  here.  The 
'■  sanctuary,"  therefore,  vnll  probably  be  the  heavenly 
counterpart  of  the  Holiest  Place ;  the  "  true  (or,  real) 
Tabernacle,"  the  counterpart  of  the  sacred  Tent  of 
Moses,  containing  both  the  Holy  Place  and  the  Holiest 
of  all  (cliap.  ix.  2 — 4).  It  is  not  certain  that  in  this 
place  wo  need  go  beyond  this  point,  though  in  chap.  ix. 
12  the  more  developed  thouglit  may  require  a  closer  in- 
terpretation. The  Holy  of  Holies  is  the  place  of  God's 
immediate  presence;  the  Tabernacle,  that  of  God's  ap- 
pointed service.  Tlie  latter  is  expres.sly  mentioned  here 
because  special  reference  is  to  be  made  to  its  t}73ical 
representation  upon  earth ;  this  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing words,  which  point  to  Ex.  xxxiii.  7.  The  word 
rendered  "  true  "  ( wiiich  occurs  again  in  chaps,  ix.  24 ;  x. 
22)  is  full  of  interest,  denoting  that  which  is  contrasted 
with  everything  shadowy  or  imperfect  or  merely 
typical;  it  is  a  word  especially  characteristic  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John.     (See  Note  on  John  i.  9.) 

(3)  This  verse  and  the  three  following  confirm  and  illus- 
trate tlio  importance  of  the  .statement  just  made.  The 
general  course  of  thouglit  appears  to  be  as  follows  : — 
That  which  stands  "  at  the  head"  of  what  we  are  say- 
ing, and  <riyes  completeness  to  the  whole,  is,  that  we  have 
a  High  Priest  who  ministers  in  heaven  itself  (ver-ses  1, 
2).  For,  wliereas  the  very  conception  of  high-priestly 
duty  would,  were  He  on  earth,  exclude  Him  from  being 
a  priest  at  all  (verses  3, 4),  like  those  who  "  serve  a  copy 
of  the  heavenly  things"  (verse  5),  He  in  heaven  holds 
and  exercises  that  more  excellent  ministry  of  which 
their  service  was  a  shadow  and  a  type  (verse  6). 

That  this  man  have  .  .  .—Better,  that  this  High 
Priest  also  hare  snniewhnt  to  offer.  If  these  words 
refer  to  the  continued  ministration  in  the  heavenly 
sanctuary,  the  explanation  is  found  in  chap.  ix.  24;  but 
the  meaning  may  simply  be  that  every  higli  priest'  and 
therefore  the  Lord  Jesus,  must  have  some  sacrifice  to 
present  to  God,  this  being  (chap.  v.  1)  the  very  object 
of  Ids  appointment  to  the  office. 


312 


(*)  For  if  he  were  .  .  .—The  oldest  Greek  MSS.  and 
two  important  versions  read,  "  If  then  He  were  ";  and 
two  other  changes  in  the  text  of  this  verse  also  rest  on 
high  authority.  In  its  correct  form  the  verse  will  stand 
thus  :  Jf  then  He  were  on  earth,  He  would  not  even  be 
a  priest  (that  is.  He  would  not  be  a  priest  at  all),  seeing 
there  are  those  who  according  to  law  offer  the  gifts. 
The  argument  somewhat  resembles  that  of  chap.  vii. 
13,  14  ;  there,  however,  the  impediment  is  that  of  ti*ibe ; 
here  the  thought  is  that  the  place  is  preoccupied  by  men 
who  by  express  command  are  bringing  the  gifts  unto 
God. 

(5)  Who  serve  unto  .  .  . — Better,  men  who  serve 
a  copy  and  shadow  of  the  heavenly  things.  So  in  chap. 
xiii.  10  we  read  of  those  who  "  serve  the  tabernacle." 
On  the  connection  of  thought,  see  verse  3.  "  Copy,"  not 
in  the  sense  of  perfect  resemblance,  but  rather  a  token 
suggesting  and  designed  to  suggest  the  original.  (See 
Note  on  chap.  ix.  23,  where  the  same  word  is  used.) 
"  Shadow,"  as  the  shadow  has  no  substance  or  indepen- 
dent existence,  but  represents  only  the  outline  of  an 
object.  (Comp.  chap.  x.  1,  where  "shadow"  is  con- 
trasted with  "  the  very  image  " ;  and  Col.  ii.  17,  where 
it  is  opposed  to  "the  body.")  We  must  not  confound 
these  words, "  token  "  and  "  shadow,"  with  "  the  pattern  " 
mentioned  in  Ex.  xxv.  40,  quoted  later  in  this  verse. 
The  "heavenly  things"  are  "the  sanctuary"  and  "the 
tabernacle  "  of  verse  2,  the  realities  to  which  the  true 
earthly  tabernacle  corresponded ;  their  nature  can  be 
understood  only  when  Christ  has  come  as  High  Priest 
of  the  good  things  to  come.  (See  chaps,  ix.  11 ;  x.  1.) 
That  every  part  of  God's  earthly  house  might  be  a  fitting 
emblem  of  spiritual  truth  to  be  afterwards  revealed, 
Moses  was  charged  in  ajl  respects  to  follow  the  pattern 
which  had  been  shown  him  in  the  mount  (Ex.  xxv.  40). 
Jewish  tradition  understood  these  words  to  imply  the 
presentation  of  a  heavenly  tabernacle  to  the  sight  of 
Moses,  as  a  model  to  be  imitated  with  exactness ;  and 
Stephen's  words  in  Acts  vii.  44,  "according  to  the 
pattern  "  (the  same  word  is  here  used)  "  which  he  had 
seen,"  convey  the  same  meaning.  In  itscK,  Ex.  xxv. 
40,  when  compared  with  verse  9  in  the  same  chapter, 
does  not  necessarily  involve  a  visilde  representation. 
But  whether  wo  think  of  a  pattern  shown  in  ^nsion,  or 
merely  of  explicit  direction  receiA-ed  by  Moses,  the  mean- 
ing of  "  the  heavenly  things  "  remains  the  same.  The 
view  here  presented  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle  involves 
no  depreciation,  except  in  comparison  vrith  "  the  good 
things  to  come."  It  was  only  a  shadow  ;  but  it  rises 
above  all  temples  and  symbols  of  man's  art  and  device 
as  being  a  shadow  of  the  heavenly  things. 

Was  admonished  of  God.— The  words  "of 
God "  are  not  in  the  text,  but  are  implied  in  "  ad- 
monished." (See  the  Note  on  Luke  ii.  26.)  "  Hath 
been  admonished : "  another  example  of  the  writer's 
characteristic  mode  of  regarding  Scripture  (chap.  iv.  9). 


I 


Jesus  il\a  Mediator 


HEBREWS,   VIII. 


of  a  Better  Covenant. 


in  the  mount.  ^^^  But  now  hath  he 
obtained  a  more  excellent  ministry,  by 
how  much  also  he  is  the  mediator  of  a 
better  covenant,^  which  was  established 
upon  better  promises.  (^^  For  if  that 
first  covenant  had  been  faultless,  then 
should  no  place  have  been  sought  for 
the  second.  (^^  For  finding  fault  with 
them,  he  saith,  Behold,  the  days  come, 
saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will  make  a  new 
covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and 
with  the  house  of  Judah  :  (^)  not  ac- 
cording to  the  covenant  that  I  made 
with  their  fathers  in  the  day  when  I 
took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them 


1  Or,  testament. 

2  Gr.  give. 

o  Jcr.  31.  3?. 

3  Or,  upon. 


out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  because  they 
continued  not  in  my  covenant,  and  I 
regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord. 
(10;  YoY  this  is  the  covenant  that  I  will 
make  with  the  house  of  Israel  after 
those  days,  saith  the  Lord ;  I  will  put^ 
my  laws  into  their  mind,"  and  write 
them  in^  their  hearts :  and  I  will  be  to 
them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a 
people  :  (^^^  and  they  shall  not  teach 
every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every 
man  his  brother,  saying.  Know  the 
Lord :  for  all  shall  know  me,  from 
the  least  to  the  greatest.  (^2)  j^or  I  will 
be   merciful   to  their  unrighteousness. 


(6)  But  now. — That  is,  as  the  case  really  is.  (See  verse 
3.)  We  have  here  another  of  those  proportional  state- 
ments commented  on  in  chaps,  i.  4 ;  iii.  3;  vii.  22.  The 
last  of  these  passages  is  closely  akin  to  this.  There 
we  read  that  by  how  much  the  Priest  appointed  by  the 
divine  oath  is  raised  above  all  other  priests,  by  so  much 
is  His  covenant  better  than  theirs.  Here,  that  as  He  is 
Mediator  of  a  better  covenant,  in  the  same  proportion 
does  His  ministry  excel  that  of  priests  on  earth. 

Which  was  established.— Better,  one  that  hath 
been  ordained.  The  verb,  properly  meaning  "  to  legis- 
late," has  already  occurred  in  chap.  vii.  11,  "  the  people 
hath  received  the  Law  "  (literally,  hath  been  legislated 
for).  Here,  then,  a  word  which  properly  refers  to  the 
passing  of  a  law  is  applied  to  a  covenant.  The  explana- 
tion must  be  sought  in  the  special  nature  of  the  covenants 
of  God  with  man  (see  chap.  vii.  22),  which  are  not  com- 
pacts between  equals,  but  arrangements  offered  by  the 
divine  goodness,  and  made  dependent  upon  conditions. 
Hence  such  a  covenant  may  be  spoken  of  as  ordained, 
enacted,  on  the  basis  of  promise.  On  the  promises  (see 
verses  8 — 12)  which  are  given  by  God  is  based  the 
"  covenant "  which  becomes  the  law  of  His  kingdom 
and  the  declaration  of  His  procedure.  The  man  who 
accepts  the  promises  by  entering  into  the  conditions 
laid  down  is  dealt  with  according  to  this  law.  Here, 
Jesus  is  the  "  Mediator,"  in  chap.  vii.  22  (see  Note) 
the  "  Surety,"  of  the  better  covenant.  The  idea  is 
expanded  below  in  chap.  ix.  15 — 18.  On  the  tacit  com- 
parison with  Moses,  as  mediator  of  the  first  covenant, 
see  Note  on  Gal.  iii.  19. 

(7)  For  the  second.— Rather,  for  a  second.  This 
verse  connects  itself  with  the  words  "  a  better  cove- 
nant "  in  verso  6.  The  form  of  expression  used  clearly 
points  to  the  intended  inference — that  covenant  was 
laulty,  and  a  place  was  sought  for  a  second ;  this  makes 
plain  the  connection  with  verse  8.  The  failure  of  the 
first  covenant  was  manifest  (chap.  vii.  11,  18)  to  God, 
who,  whilst  the  first  stiU  existed,  "  sought "  and  foimd 
place  for  a  second. 

(8)  Finding  faidt  with  them.— Not,  "with  it," 
but  with  those  through  wliom  tlio  covenant  had  failed. 
The  following  quotation  (verses  8 — 12)  is  taken  from 
Jer.  xxxi.  31 — 34.  It  is  the  crowning  point  of  tliat 
collection  of  prophecies  which  is  brought  together  in 
chaps.  XXX. — xxxiii.,  descriptive  of  the  hope  and  sal- 
vation of  Israel.  The  characteristics  of  the  prophecy 
and  its  significance  in  this  place  will  l>e  noticed  below 
(verse  12).  The  quotation  agrees  in  the  main  with  the 
LXX.  (and,  except  in  verse  11,  with  the  text  contained 


in  the  Alexandrian  MS.),  and  in  one  clause  only  fails 
to  represent  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  original.  The 
only  point  requiring  notice  in  this  verse  is  the  substi- 
tution of  "  I  will  accomplish  "  for  "  I  will  make."  The 
new  word  closely  answers  to  that  which  was  used  in 
verse  6,  "  ordained."     (See  the  Note.) 

(9)  Not  according  to  the  covenant.  —  The 
difference  is  declared  below  (verses  10 — 12).  "In  the 
day  when  "  they  were  led  forth  out  of  Egj'pt  the  token 
of  God's  covenant  was  the  deliverance  itself.  At 
Sinai,  Ex.  xxiv.  7,  8  (see  chap.  ix.  18 — 22),  the  "book 
of  the  covenant "  was  read,  and  "  the  blood  of  the 
covenant "  was  "  sprinkled  on  the  people,"  who  liad 
promised  obedience  to  all  the  words  that  the  Lord  had 
said. 

And  I  regarded  them  not.— It  is  here  that  the 
translation  departs  from  the  Hebrew,  which,  as  is  now 
generally  believed,  is  faithfully  represented  in  our 
Authorised  version:  "although  I  was  an  husband  unto 
them"  (that  is,  had  the  authority  of  a  husband).  The 
quotation  here  follows  the  LXX.  without  change. 

(10)  I  will  make. — JjiteraMj,  I  will  covenant — not 
the  same  word  as  in  verse  8. 

Israel. — Formerly  (verse  8),  Israel  and  Judah. 
When  the  reunion  of  the  nation  had  once  been  signified, 
"  Israel "  could  stand  alone  as  the  name  of  the  one 
people. 

I  will  put.— Better,  putting  my  laws  into  their 
mind,  I  will  also  write  them  on  their  heart.  In  the 
former  clause  the  Hebrew  has,  "  I  will  put  my  law  in 
their  inward  parts; "  the  law  shall  be  ivithin  them,  not 
an  external  code.  In  the  latter,  the  "  fleshy  tablets  of 
the  heart "  are  contrasted  with  "  tlie  tables  of  the  Law." 
This  is  the  first  of  the  "  better  promises." 

(11)  His  neighbour.— Rather,  his  fellow-citizen, 
according  to  the  best  reading.  The  second  promise  is 
the  universality  of  the  knowledge  of  God.  The  divine 
teaching  shall  not  only  be  internal,  but  for  this  very 
reason  shall  extend  to  all. 

(12)  Merciful.— Literally,  propitious.  On  the 
kindred  word  "make  propitiation."  see  chap.  ii.  17. 

To  their  unrighteousness.— Rather,  to  their 
jmi-ightenusnesses,  and  their  sins  tvill  I  remember  no 
more.  Tlio  words  ''  and  their  iniquities  "  are  omitted 
by  the  best  authorities.  Here  is  given  tlic  third  and 
cliief  promise  :  the  characteristic  of  the  new  covenant 
is  the  full  pardon  of  sin. 

Of  tills  new  covenant,  "ordained"  on  the  three 
promises  of  an  inward  revelation,  universal  knowledge 
of  God,  and  free  pardon  of  sin,  Jesus  is  the  Mediator. 


313 


T}ie  First  Covenant . 


HEBEEWS,   IX. 


its  Tabernacle  and  Ordinances. 


and  their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I 
remember  no  more.  <^^^  In  that  he 
saith,  A  new  covenant,  he  hath  made 
the  lirst  old.  Now  that  which  decayeth 
and  waxeth  old  is  ready  to  vanish  away. 

CHAPTER  IX.— <i)  Then  verily  the 
first  covenant  had  also  ordinances^   of 


2  Or.  holy. 
I  Or,  ceremonies. 


divine  service,  and  a  worldly  sanc- 
tuary. (^)  For  there  was  chap.  ix.  i— lo. 
a    tabernacle    made ;    the  'i'^a  fii'st  cove- 

£1  1  •  ,1        nant :  its  taber- 

rst,    wherein      was     the  nade  and  ordi- 

candlestick,  and  the  table,  nances. 

and   the   shewbread ;    which    is   called 

the     sanctuary.^      <^^    And     after     the 

second  veil,   the   tabernacle   which    is 


How  tills  is  to  be  uuderstood  the  writer  himself  will 
teach,  for  all  those  promises  are  present  (virtually  or 
formally)  in  the  last  portion  of  his  argument  (chap.  x. 
It- r-18).  In  part  they  belong  to  the  new  covenant  from 
the  beginning.  The  pardon  is  spoken  of  not  as  a 
gift  to  individuals,  but  rather  as  fi'om  the  first  a 
characteristic  of  the  covenant  (chaps,  ix.  26 ;  x.  18). 
Tlie  first  promise  is  seen  in  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  in  the  teaching  represented  by  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  in  which  inward  principles  of  life  take  the  place 
of  many  an  outward  rule.  The  second  waits  for  full 
accomplishment,  but  is  seen  in  the  abolition  of  dis- 
tinctions between  nation  and  nation,  and  the  common 
inHuenco  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

This  subject  has  presented  difficulties,  because  it  has 
been  forgotten  that  this  Scripture  speaks  of  no  sudden 
change  in  man's  relation  to  God.  The  essential 
promises  of  the  new  covenant  were  not  unknown  under 
the  old.  "  Thy  law  is  within  my  heart "  is  the  saying 
of  one  Psalmist ;  "  Thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my 
sin,"  of  another.  But  in  regard  to  the  nation  there 
was  failure.  The  rites  of  the  Law  did  not  load  to  the 
perception  of  spiritual  truths ;  ordinances  which  were 
intended  to  teach  the  divine  intolerance  of  sin  became 
mere  ceremonies ;  external  sanctions  did  not  preserve 
the  nation  in  true  obedience  to  God's  law.  To  all,  the 
former  covenant  (like  the  first  Tabernacle,  chap.  ix.  9) 
was  a  parable,  explained  only  when  the  new  covenant 
(which  was  in  truth  be/ore  the  old.  Gal.  iii.  17)  was 
'■  ordained." 

(13)  In  that  he  saith  .  .  .—Rather,  In  saying 
"new"  He  hath  made  the  first  old:  now  that  whieh 
groweth  old  and  is  failing  for  age  is  nigh  unto 
vanishing  away.  The  very  language  of  the  prophet 
contains  a  declaration  of  the  speedy  dissolution  of  the 
former  covenant.  If  "nigh  unto  vanishing"  at  the 
time  when  Jeremiah  wrote,  well  might  it  now  bo 
believed  to  have  passed  away. 

IX. 

(1)  The  subject  commenced  in  the  last  chapter 
(verses  1 — C)  is  continued  liere.  The  mention  of  the 
"  more  excellent  ministry  "  led  to  the  description  of  the 
new  covenant  with  which  it  is  united  (verses  6 — 13). 
Tills  verso,  then,  attaches  itself  to  the  fifth  and  sixth 
verses  of  diap.  viii.  "  Even  the  first  (covenant),  then, 
had  ordi)iances  of  divine  service  and  its  sanctuary,  of 
tliis  world."  The  "  service "  is  spoken  of  again  in 
verse  6;  the  "  ordinances  "  in  verse  10,  where  they  are 
called  "  carnal."  Very  similar  is  the  language  hero, 
for  the  words  so  emphatically  standing  at  the  close  of 
the  verse  are  probably  descriptive  not  of  the  "  sanctuary" 
only,  but  also  of  the  '•  ordinances."  Both  place  and 
ministrations  belonged  to  thi.-i  world,  and  thus  stand  in 
contrast  with  "  the  heavenly  things,"  of  which  the 
Tabernacle  was  a  token  and  shadow.  (See  Note  on 
chap.  viii.  5.)  The  ordinary  Greek  text  (here  following 
the  first  printed  Greek  Testament)  has  "  the  fir.st 
Tabernacle,"  and  this  reading  was  followed  by  Tyndalo 


314 


and  Coverdale.  All  ancient  MSS.  omit  the  word ;  and, 
as  in  a  long  succession  of  verses  "  covenant  "  has  been 
the  leading  thought,  the  rendering  of  the  Authorised 
version  is  certainly  correct. 

(2)  Tabernacle. — It  must  be  carefully  observed 
that  the  Epistle  throughout  refers  to  the  Tabernacle, 
and  not  once  to  the  Temples  which  succeeded  it.  Though 
they  were  formed  on  the  same  general  model,  their 
very  nature  and  design  necessitated  changes  of  plan 
and  detail  which  unfitted  them  for  the  writer's  argu- 
ment here.  So  far  as  the  Temple  was  a  copy  of  the 
Tabernacle,  and  so  far  only,  was  it  made  "  after  the 
pattern  "  that  Moses  had  seen ;  and  so  far  only  was  its 
symbolism  of  divine  and  not  human  origin. 

The  first,  wherein  was  .  .  .—In  verse  6,  when 
the  wi'iter  passes  from  place  to  ministration,  he  uses 
the  present  tense,  although  it  is  of  the  Tabernacle  that 
he  is  speaking.  The  explanation  is  that  which  has 
come  before  us  again  and  again :  the  arrangements 
prescribed  in  Scripture  are  to  him  ever  present,  abiding 
from  age  to  age  in  that  unchanging  word.  Hence 
probably  we  should  here  read  are  instead  of  "  were." 
The  golden  candlestick,  the  table,  and  the  showbread  are 
in  the  Holy  Place  as  it  is  described  in  the  Law.  With 
the  symbolical  meaning  of  the  furniture  of  the  Holy 
Place  we  are  not  here  concerned.  The  writer  contents 
himself  with  words  which  plainly  imply  that  none  of 
the  parts  and  arrangements  of  the  Tabernacle  were 
without  significance.  On  the  golden  candlestick  (more 
strictly,  la-mpstand)  see  Ex.  xxv.  31 — 37,  and  on  the 
ten  candlesticks  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  1  Kings  vii. 
49  ;  on  the  table  and  the  showbread,  Ex.  xxv.  23 — 30 ; 
Lev.  xxiv.  5 — 9  (1  Kings  vii.  48  ;  2  Chron.  iv.  8).  It  is 
somewhat  remarkable  that  the  table  should  here  be  so 
distinctly  mentioned,  for  usually  (both  in  the  Bible  and 
in  Jewish  tradition)  no  special  importance  appears  to 
be  assigned  to  it  apart  from  the  offering  which  was 
placed  thereon.  (Comp.,  however.  Lev.  xxiv.  6 ;  2  Chron. 
xiii.  11;  Mai.  i.  7.  12.)  This  offering  is  in  Hebrew 
called  "  bread  of  the  face" — i.e.,  bread  of  the  (dinne) 
Presence ;  in  Matt.  xii.  4,  Luke  vi.  4,  "  loaves  of  tlie 
setting  forth ;  "  here  "  the  setting  forth  of  the  loaves." 

Sanctuary. — Or,  holy  place.  The  same  word  is 
applied  to  the  Holy  of  Holies  in  chaps,  viii.  2  ;  ix.  8,  12, 
24,  25;  X.  19;  and  probably  in  xiii.  11.  This  verse  and 
the  next  give  the  proper  names  of  the  two  parts  of 
the  Tabernacle,  which  must  be  used  when  the  one  is  to 
be  distinguished  from  the  other.  Where  there  is  no 
risk  of  mistake  the  simpler  designation  is  sufficient. 
(See  Lev.  x\n.  2, 17,  20.)  It  will  bo  observed  that  here 
and  in  verses  3,  6,  7,  these  divisions  are  spoken  of  as 
if  two  distinct  Tabernacles. 

(3)  The  tabernacle.— Rather,  a  tabernacle  which 
is  called  the  Holy  of  Holies.  This  literal  translatioi 
of  a  Hebrew  expression  for  "  most  holy "  does  not 
occur  in  the  Bible,  but  has  become  familiar  through  th€ 
Latin  sanctum  sanctorum.  The  inner  chamber  of  the 
Tabernacle  is  in  a  few  passages  only  mentione 
separately  in  the  Pentateuch  as  the  "  Most  Holy  Place '' 


TJie  Most  Holy  Place. 


HEBREWS,   IX. 


The  Ark  of  the  Covenant. 


called  the  Holiest  of  all ;  (■*)  which 
had  the  golden  censer,  and  the  ark 
of  the  covenant  overlaid  round  about 
■with  gold,  wherein  was  the  golden  pot 


that  had  manna,  and  Aaron's  rod  that 
budded,  and  the  tables  of  the  covenant ; 
(^^  and  over  it  the  cherubims  of  glory 
shadowing  the  mercyseat ;  of  which  we 


(Ex.  xxvi.  33,  34),  or  "  tlie  Holy  Place"  (Lev.  xvi.  2, 
etal.).  In  the  description  of  the  Temple  a  different 
word  is  employed,  always  rendered  "  oracle  "  (1  Kings 
vi.  16,  et  al.).  The  veil  separating  the  two  divisions 
(described  in  Ex.  xxvi.  31 ;  xxxvi.  35)  is  here  called  the 
second  veil,  by  way  of  distinction  from  the  "  hanging  for 
the  door  "  of  the  Tabernacle  (Ex.  xxvi.  36 ;  xxxvi.  37). 
(4)  Having  a  golden  censer.— Or,  having  a 
golden  altar  of  incense.  Hardly  any  passage  in  the 
Epistle  has  given  rise  to  more  controversy  than  this ; 
and  even  now  opinions  are  greatly  divided.  The 
question  raised  does  not  merely  concern  the  interpre- 
tation of  a  single  verse,  but  has  been  brought  into 
prominence  in  aU  recent  discussions  as  to  the  author- 
ship of  the  Epistle.  It  will  be  possible  to  notice  all 
important  points  in  the  controversy  without  entering 
into  any  discussion  of  the  Greek,  for  it  is  allowed  on 
both  sides  that  the  word  here  used — tliumiaterion 
( which  simply  means  an  instrument  or  a  place  connected 
with  the  offering  of  incense) — will  admit  of  either 
rendering.  The  usage  of  the  LXX.,  in  most  cases 
peculiarly  helpful  in  this  Epistle,  throws  little  light  on 
the  matter ;  for  this  word  is  entirely  absent  from  the 
descriptions  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  occurs  twice  only 
in  later  books  (Ezek.  viii.  11 ;  2  Chron.  xxvi.  19 — both 
•times  for  "  censer  ").  The  Pentateuch,  indeed,  makes 
no  mention  of  a  special  censer  for  the  use  of  the  high 
priest  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  (Lev.  xvi.  12) ;  but, 
as  we  learn  from  the  Mishna,  the  later  law  not  only 
prescribed  a  censer  of  gold,  but  laid  stress  on  the 
particular  kind  of  gold.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Philo 
and  Josephus  the  word  here  used  is  the  regular  desig- 
nation of  the  altar  of  incense.  That  altar,  it  is  true,  was 
not  of  gold,  only  overlaid  with  gold ;  but  as  one  of  its 
names  in  common  use  was  "  the  golden  altar "  (Ex. 
xl.  5,  et  al.)  this  point  is  of  no  moment.  If  we  look 
at  internal  probabilities,  it  is  hard  to  decide  which 
would  be  more  sui-prising — the  special  mention  of  the 
censer  (by  the  side  of  the  ark  and  the  cherubim)  in  this 
description  of  the  Most  Holy  Place,  or  the  absence  of 
all  notice  of  the  incense-altar,  which  held  so  important 
a  place  in  connection  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  Day 
of  Atonement.  Hence,  though  "  censer  "  has  (mainly 
through  the  influence  of  the  Vulgate)  been  the  more 
familiar  rendering,  the  most  eminent  modern  commen- 
tators have,  with  some  marked  exceptions,  adopted  the 
other  view.  Probably  there  would  be  little  difference 
of  opinion  on  the  question,  were  it  not  that  the  words 
here  used  seem  to  assign  to  the  altar  of  incense  a  place 
within  the  veil.  As,  however,  there  are  the  strongest 
reasons  for  believing  that  the  golden  censer  was  not 
kept  in  the  Holiest  Place,  this  difficulty  applies  almost 
equally  to  both  interpretations.  At  first  sight  the 
difficulty  is  very  great.  The  incense-altar  and  the 
ark  are  coupled  together,  and  the  word  which  describes 
their  relation  to  the  Holiest  Place  is  that  which,  a  little 
later  in  this  verse,  distinctly  signifiea  "containing." 
So  weighty  is  this  consideration  that  many  have  been 
unable  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  writer  has  erred 
m  this  matter  of  detail ;  and  vario\is  suppositions  have 
been  resorted  to  in  explanation  of  his  mistake.  (See 
Introduction.)  But,  to  take  tlie  lowest  ground,  surely 
Ignorance  on  such  a  point  is  incoucoivablo.  Not  only 
are  the  notices  in  Exodus  perfectly  plain,  but  passages 


in  Philo  and  Josephus  show  how  customary  in  the 
writer's  own  age  it  was  to  speak  of  the  three  saci-ed 
objects  in  the  Holy  Place — the  candlestick,  the  table, 
and  the  golden  altar.  There  must  exist  some  special 
reason  for  this  connection  of  the  altar  with  the  Most 
Holy  Place — a  connection  which  (we  may  well  believe) 
would  have  been  otherwise  expressed  had  the  writer 
held  it  possible  that  readers,  familiar  with  the  facts, 
could  regard  his  language  as  even  ambiguous.  Such  a 
reason  will  be  found  to  be  suggested  by  the  language 
of  the  Pentateuch,  and  by  the  ceremonial  of  the  Day 
of  Atonement.  In  Ex.  xxx.  6,  Moses  receives  special 
injunction  to  place  the  altar  of  incense  "  before  the 
veil  that  is  by  the  ark  of  the  testimony,  before  the 
mercy  seat  that  is  over  the  testimony ; "  similarly  in 
Ex.  xl.  5.  The  purification  of  this  altar  is  most 
expressly  associated  with  the  purification  of  the  Holiest 
Place  on  the  Day  of  Atonement :  this  stands  out  in 
strong  relief  both  in  the  Pentateuch  (see  Ex.  xxx.  10; 
Lev.  xvi.  18)  and  in  the  Mishna.  The  tyjncal  signifi- 
cance of  the  altar  of  incense  (comp.  Rev.  viii.  3,  4; 
ix.  13)  we  might  also  show  to  be  in  full  harmony  with 
the  thought  here  presented.  There  is,  however,  one 
passage  in  the  Old  Testament  (1  Kings  vi.  22)  which 
appears  to  give  direct  expression  to  what  these  other 
passages  imply ;  for  there  the  true  translation  must  be, 
"also  the  whole  altar  that  belongeth  to  the  oracle  he 
overlaid  with  gold."* 

Ark  of  the  covenant  (Xum.  x.  33 ;  Dent.  xxxi. 
26,  et  al.),  often  called  "the  ark  of  the  testimony," 
i.e.,  the  ark  containing  the  tables  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, which  were  the  symbol  of  the  covenant  of  God 
with  the  people.     (See  Ex.  xxv,  10^16.) 

Wherein  was  .  .  .—Rather,  icherein  are  (see  verse 
2)  a  golden  pot  having  the  manna,  &e.  In  Ex.  xvi. 
33,  34,  and  Num.  xvii.  10,  11,  the  pot  containing  "  an 
omer  of  manna  "  and  also  Aaron's  rod  are  said  to  have 
been  laid  up  "  before  the  testimony."  This  is  often 
understood  as  meaning  "befoi-e  the  ark  of  the  testi- 
mony ; "  but  it  is  as  natural  to  suppose  that  these 
memorials  were  placed  inside  the  ark,  in  front  of  the 
tables.  1  Kings  viii.  9  clearly  suggests  that  the  ark 
had  at  one  time  contained  more  than  the  tables  of 
stone,  and  so  it  has  been  understood  by  Jewish  com- 
mentators. There  is  no  mention  of  a  "  golden  "  vessel 
in  the  Hebrew  of  Ex.  xvi.  33;  the  word  is  added  in 
the  LXX.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  epithet 
is  mentioned  three  times  in  the  verse :  such  splendour 
was  natural  in  the  sanctuary  "  of  thi«  world  "  (verse  1). 

(5)  Cherubims  of  glory.— See  Ex.  xxv.  18—22; 
xxix.  43 ;  Num.  vii.  89 ;  Ezek.  x.  19,  20.  As  these 
passages  will  show,  the  reference  is  to  the  glory  which 
appeared  above  the  mercy  seat.  (See  Note  on  chap.  i.  3.) 
This  is  the  only  express  mention  of  the  cherubim  in  the 
New  Testament ;  but  see  the  Notes  on  Rev.  iv.  6.  et  seq. 

The  mercy  seat  (literally,  the  propitiatory)  is  the 
rendering  adopted  in  the  LXX.  for  the  Hebrew 
Capporeth,  signifying  the  golden  covering  of  the  ark 
(Ex.  xxv.  17).     Whether  the  Hebrew  word  properly 


•  Pome  intorcstinpr  remarks  on  this  passage  will  be  found  m 
a  paper  by  Dr.  MilliRan  in  the  Bible  Educator  (vol.  iii.,  p  2301. 
Ills  siif,'gcstion  is  that  the  writer.  linvinK  in  mind  the  Day  of 
Atonement,  sees  the  Tabcrnaclo  with  its  inner  veil  withdrawn. 


315 


The  Priestly  Ministrations. 


HEBREWS,   IX, 


Carnal  Ordinances. 


cannot  now  speak  particularly.  <'')  Now 
when  these  things  were  thus  ordained, 
the  priests  went  always  into  the  first 
tabernacle,  accomplishing  the  service  of 
God.  ("^  But  into  the  second  went  the 
high  priest  alone  once  every  year,  not 
without  blood,  which  he  offered  for  him- 
self, and  for  the  errors  of  the  people  : 
(8)  the  Holy  Ghost  this  signifying,  that 
the  way  into  the  holiest  of  all  was  not 


1  Or,  rites,    or, 
ceremonies. 


yet  made  manifest,  while  as  the  first 
tabernacle  was  yet  standing :  (^>  which 
was  a  figure  for  the  time  then  present, 
in  which  were  offered  both  gifts  and 
sacrifices,  that  could  not  make  him  that 
did  the  service  perfect,  as  pertaining  to 
the  conscience  ;  ^^^^  which  stood  only  in 
meats  and  drinks,  and  divers  washings, 
and  carnal  ordinances,^  imposed  on 
them  until  the  time  of  reformation. 


denotes  covering  or  bears  the  meaning  which  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  Greek  translation,  is  a  disputed  question, 
into  which  we  cannot  here  enter.  The  act  of  expiation 
with  which  the  Greek  name  at  all  events  stands  con- 
nected is  that  of  Lev.  xvi.  10 — 14.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  in  1  Chron.  xxA-iii.  11  the  Most  Holy  Place  itself 
is  called  "  the  house  of  the  mercy  seat."  (See  the 
Note  on  Rom.  iii.  25.) 

Of  which— ^•^z.,  all  things  that  the  Holy  Place  and 
the  Holy  of  Holies  contained. 

Particularly— i.e.,  severally,  one  by  one. 

(6)  Now  when  these  thing  were  thus  or- 
dained .  .  . — Better,  And  when  these  things  have 
been  thus  prepared,  into  the  first  tabernacle  the  priests 
enter  continually,  accomplishing  the  services.  As 
has  been  already  observed  (verse  2),  the  present  tense 
is  used  throughout  these  verses  (6 — 10),  not  because 
the  writer  refers  to  the  services  as  still  continuing,  but 
because  he  is  still  tracing  the  ordinance  of  Scripture. 
It  is  of  the  Tabernacle  alone  that  he  speaks.  The  words 
of  verse  4  would  have  been  entirely  incorrect  in  regard 
to  the  temple  of  his  day,  in  which  the  Most  Holy  Place 
was  empty. 

The  service.— Comp.  Ex.  xxx.  7, 8  ;  Lev.  xxiv.  1 — 8. 

(7)  Went  .  .  .  offered.— Rather,  entereth  .  .  . 
offertth. 

Errors. — Literally,  ignorances.  (See  chaps,  v.  2,  3 ; 
vii.  27.)  By  "  ouco  in  the  year  "  we  must  of  course 
understand  on  one  day  of  the  year,  viz.,  the  tenth  day 
of  Tisri.  On  that  day,  according  to  Lev.  xvi.,  it  was 
the  duty  of  tlie  high  priest  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies 
twice:  (1)  with  the  incense  and  with  the  blood  of  the 
bullock,  his  own  sin-offering  (Lev.  xvi.  12 — 14); 
(2)  witli  the  })lood  of  the  same  bullock  and  that  of  the 

foat,  the  sin-offering  for  tlio  people  (verses  15 — 19). 
n  the  ritual  described  in  the  tract  "  Joma "  of  the 
Talmud,  lie  is  said  to  enter  four  times  ;  the  fir.st  minis- 
tration being  separated  into  its  two  parts  (offering 
incense,  sprinkling  the  blood  of  the  bullock),  and  a 
fourth  entering  (to  bring  out  the  censor)  being  added. 

(8)  That  the  way  into  the  holiest  of  all  was 
not  yet  made  manifest.— Rather,  that  the  way 
into  the  sanctuary  has  not  yet  been  made  manifest. 
By  "sanctuary,"  or  "holy  place,"  is  here  meant  the 
Holy  of  Holies ;  not,  however,  as  existing  upon  earth, 
in  type  and  figure,  but  in  the  sense  of  chaps,  viii.  2 
and  ix.  24.  Tlioso  external  arrangements  show  that  the 
way  into  the  Holy  Place  (of  the  Tabernacle)  is  not  open  : 
by  this  tlie  Holy  Spirit,  whose  word  we  are  reading 
whenever  we  trace  the  injunctions  of  the  Law,  teaches 
this  lesson,  that  the  way  into  God's  immediate  presence 
is  not  yet  manifest. 

While  as  the  first  tabernacle  was  yet  stand- 
ing.— Rather,  ichile  the  first  tabernacle  yet  has  place 
(or,  standing),  i.e.,  whilst  there  exists  such  a  distinction 
as  that  between  "  the  first  Tabernacle  "  (verse  6),  and 


313 


"the  second."  It  is  impossible  to  understand  "the 
first  Tabernacle  "  in  any  other  sense  than  that  which  it 
bears  in  the  early  part  of  the  sentence — the  Holy  Place 
as  distinguished  from  the  Holiest  of  all.  This  outer 
Tabernacle,  however,  may  be  looked  at  from  different 
points  of  view.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  the  place 
from  which  (as  well  as  from  the  inner  sanctuary)  the 
people  generally  were  excluded;  and  on  the  other,  it  was 
the  place  beyond  which  the  ministration  of  the  priests 
in  general  might  not  extend.  It  is  the  latter  that  corre- 
sponds to  the  thought  of  this  verse.  The  contrast 
between  the  body  of  priests  and  the  people  hardly 
meets  us  once  in  the  whole  Epistle,  except  in  a  very 
small  number  of  general  statements  (chaps,  vii.  14; 
viii.  4;  ix.  6);  the  only  contrast  is  between  the  one 
Priest  or  High  Priest  and  all  who  approach  unto  God 
through  Him.  Not  the  Jewish  economy,  but  that  to 
which  it  pointed,  is  the  subject  of  the  writer's  thoughts : 
Christ's  people  are  now  the  priests,  who  offer  through 
Him  their  constant  sacrifice.  (See  chaps,  xii.  28 ;  xiii. 
10,  13, 15.)  Those  who  ministered  in  "  the  first  Taber- 
nacle "  (who  are  looked  upon  merely  as  substitutes  for 
the  people,  performing  the  "  services  "  in  their  place, 
and  as  their  representatives)  were  excluded,  not  from 
entrance  only,  but  even  from  sight  of  the  place  of 
God's  presence.  What  was  thereby  "  signified "  we 
have  already  seen. 

(9)  Which  was  a  figure  .  .  .—Rather,  Which  is 
a  parable  unto  the  time  present,  according  to  which 
(parable)  are  offered  both  gifts  and  sacrifices,  which 
cannot  perfect,  as  to  the  conscience,  him  that  doeth  the 
service.  The  general  meaning  may  be  given  thus  :  this 
"  first  Tabernacle "  {i.e.,  the  existence  of  an  outer  as 
distinguished  from  an  inner  sanctuary)  is  a  parable  for 
the  period  connected  with  it  (literally,  "  for  the  season 
that  stands  near  it,"  the  adjacent  period,  so  to  speak) ; 
and  in  full  accordance  with  the  parabolic  character  of 
the  first  Tabernacle  (see  verse  8)  is  the  presentation 
of  offerings  which  have  no  power  to  accomplish  the 
perfect  end  of  worship  in  the  case  of  any  worshipper. 
The  priests  offered  sacrifices  to  God,  but  were  limited 
to  the  outer  sanctuary,  which  was  not  the  place  of 
God's  manifested  presence ;  a  fit  symbol  this  of  offer- 
ings which  cannot  purify  the  conscience  (see  verse  14; 
chap.  X.  1).  Tlio  above  rendering  follows  the  best 
reading  of  the  Greek ;  in  the  ordinary  text  the  relative 
"  which,"  in  the  second  clause,  refers  to  "  the  time,"  not 
to  "  the  first  Tabernacle." 

(10)  Which  stood  only  in  .  .  . — Better,  only 
joined  with  meats  and  drinks  and  divers  washings, — ■ 
carnal  ordinances,  imposed  until  a  time  of  reformation. 
Here  again  the  best  authorities  correct  the  received 
Greek  text,  omitting  "  and  "  before  the  word  "  carnal," 
and  so  altering  the  next  word  as  to  make  it  descriptive 
of  the  "gifts  and  sacrifices"  mentioned  in  verse  9.j 
These  sacrifices — looked  at  in  themselves,  as  powerlea 


Christ  entered,  once  for  all, 


HEBREWS,   IX. 


into  tJie  Holy  Place. 


(^i>  But  Christ  being   come  an  high 

Chap    ix    11-  P^^®^*    ^^   ^^'^^   *^"^S^   ^^ 

18.  'iiese  types  couie,   by   a    greater    and 

fulfilled     in  more    perfect    tabernacle, 

not     made     with     hands, 


that  is  to  say,  not  of  this  building; 
(12)  neither  by  the  blood  of  goats 
and  calves,  but  by  his  own  blood  he 
entered  in  once  into  the  holy  place, 
having    obtained    eternal     redemption 


to  attain  the  end  designed  (chap.  x.  1,  4) — are  mere 
appendages  of  such  regulations  as  deal  with  meats  and 
drinks  and  wasliings.  The  character  of  this  latter 
class  of  ordinances  no  one  could  mistake ;  and  what  the 
writer  here  says  is  that  these  powerless  sacrifices  belong 
to  the  same  line  of  things.  On  the  "  washings  "  see 
Note  on  chap.  vi.  2.  The  preceding  words  would  most 
naturally  refer  to  meats,  &c.,  of  which  men  were  re- 
quired to  partake  (as  Ex.  xii. ;  Lev.  vii.  15,  et  al.) ; 
but  no  doubt  include  the  various  restrictions  and  dis- 
tinctions of  the  ceremonial  law  (Lev.  xi. ;  Num.  vi., 
et  al.).  All  these  are  "  ordinances  of  flesh,"  oi'di- 
nances  which  relate  to  the  outward  state  of  things 
only ;  closely  connected  with  the  maintenance  of 
external  privileges  and  relations,  but  (in  themselves) 
nothing  more.  "  Imposed,"  comp.  Acts  xv.  10 :  "refor- 
mation," chap.  viii.  7 — 12. 

(11, 12)  The  changes  of  translation  required  in  these 
verses  are  not  considerable  in  themselves,  but  important 
for  the  sake  of  bringing  out  the  unity  of  the  sentence 
and  the  connection  of  its  parts.  Bid  Christ  having 
come  a  High  Priest  of  the  good  things  to  come  (or, 
the  good  things  that  are  come,  see  below),  through 
the  greater  and  more  perfect  Tabernacle,  not  -made  with 
hands,  that  is  to  say,  not  of  this  creation,  also  not 
through  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  through  His 
own  blood,  entered  once  for  all  into  the  Holy  Place, 
having  icon  eternal  redemption.  With  verse  11  begins 
the  contrast  to  the  first  verse.  In  that  we  read  of  the 
first  covenant  as  possessing  ordinances  of  service  and 
its  holy  place — both,  however,  "  of  this  world,"  and  the 
following  verses  describe  the  sanctuary  itself  (1 — 5) 
and  the  ordinances  (6 — 10).  Now,  the  Mediator  of  the 
New  Covenant  (chap.  viii.  6),  "  Christ,"  whose  name 
brings  with  it  the  thought  of  the  satisfaction  of  all 
hope  and  fulfilment  of  all  promises,  has  appeared  as 
High  Priest ;  and  entering  into  the  true  Holy  of  Holies 
has  accomplished  once  for  all  what  the  earlier  minis- 
trations typified.  This  is  the  main  thought ;  but  in  few 
verses  do  the  single  words  require  more  careful  study. 
Tlie  various-reading  mentioned  above,  "the  good  things 
that  are  come,"  is  very  interesting.  It  is  not  supported 
by  a  large  number  of  authorities,  but  amongst  them  are 
the  Vatican  MS.  (whose  guidance,  it  may  be  remarked,  we 
shall  soon  lose,  as  the  ancient  text  breaks  off  suddenly 
in  the  middle  of  a  word  in  verso  14),  the  Claromontane 
MS.,  and  two  Syriac  versions.  One  strong  argument 
in  its  favour  presents  itself  on  a  comparison  with  chap. 
X.  1  (where  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  reading),  "the 
good  things  to  com?."  A  scribe  who  had  in  mind  those 
words,  confirmed  by  the  repeated  occurrence  of  a 
similar  thought  in  different  parts  of  the  Epistle  (chaps. 
ii.  5;  vi.  5),  might  easily  substitute  them  for  words 
expressing  a  less  familiar  thought.  The  two  phrases 
differ  more  in  form  than  in  reality.  In  one  we  look  at 
the  new  order  of  things,  which  is  never  to  pass  away,  as 
already  introduced  by  Christ  (see  Note  on  chap.  i.  2) ; 
and  in  the  other  the  same  new  order  is  thought  of  as 
future  to  those  who  waited  through  long  ages  for  "  the 
Christ,"  and  in  its  consummation  still  future  to  ourselves 
(chap.  ^^.  5).  The  form  of  expression  reminds  us  of 
chap.  iii.  1,  where  Jesus  is  called  the  High  Priest  of 


our  confession  (compare  also  Mai.  iii.  1,  "  the  Messenger 
of  the  covenant ") :  He  is  associated  with  "  the  good 
things  "  as  having  brought  them  in,  as  Mediator  of  the 
covenant  to  which  they  belong. 

Through  (or,  by  means  of)  the  more  perfect  Taber- 
nacle, through  (or,  by  means  of)  His  own  blood,  Christ 
entered  into  the  Holy  Place.  The  two-fold  reference  to 
the  type  is  very  plain.  It  was  by  passing  through  "  the 
first  Tabernacle "  that  the  high  priest  reached  the 
Holiest  Place  ;  it  was  by  means  of  the  blood  of  the  sin- 
offering  that  he  was  enabled  to  enter  into  that  place  of 
God's  presence  (verse  7).  But  what  in  the  antitype 
answers  to  this  Tabernacle  ?  The  expression  of  chap, 
iv.  14,  pei-haps,  first  presents  itself  to  the  mind  :  if, 
however,  we  were  right  in  understanding  the  words 
"  that  has  passed  through  the  heavens  "  as  descriptive  of 
our  Lord's  ascension  far  above  all  heavens  (Eph.  iv.  10), 
it  seems  evident  that  this  verse  is  no  real  parallel.  In 
chap.  X.  20  the  thought  is  somewhat  different,  but  yet 
sufficiently  akin  to  be  suggestive  in  regard  to  these 
words.  There  the  veil  is  spoken  of  as  sj-mbolising 
"  the  flesh  "  of  our  Lord.  Here  we  have  in  all 
probability  an  extension  of  the  same  thought,  "  the 
more  perfect  Tabernacle "  being  the  human  nature 
of  our  Lord.  "We  think  at  once  of  a  number  of 
passages  presenting  the  same  idea  :  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  made  His  tabernacle  among  us"  (John 
i.  14) ;  "  He  spake  of  the  temple  of  His  liody  (John 
ii.  19) ;  "  The  Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me "  (John 
xiv.  10) ;  "  In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily"  (Col.  ii.  9).  As  in  Him  God  gave  to  the 
world  the  first  true  revelation  of  Himself  (chap.  i.  2), 
God's  dwelling-place  amongst  His  people  was  a  type  of 
the  Incarnate  Word.  The  symbolism  of  the  present 
verse  compels  us  to  think  of  the  first  and  second  Taber- 
nacles as  separate.  It  was  otherwise  in  chap.  viii.  2,  a 
verse  which  can  only  receive  its  proper  explanation 
when  the  words  now  before  us  are  considered.  There 
the  reference  is  to  the  High  Priest  who  has  already 
entered  the  Holiest  Place  and  has  "  sat  down  at  the 
right  hand "  of  God.  The  distinction  of  outer  and 
inner  sanctuary  has  disappeared ;  and,  carrying  out  more 
fully  the  thought  of  the  passages  quoted  above,  we  may 
say  that,  as  "  the  sanctuary  "  of  chap.  viii.  2  symbolises 
the  place  of  God's  immediate  presence,  "  the  true  Taber- 
nacle "  represents  the  place  of  His  continued  and 
unceasing  revelation  of  Himself  to  man,  "  in  Christ." 
There  is  no  difficulty  now  in  explairing  the  epithets, 
"  greater,"  "  more  perfect,"  "  not  of  this  creation."  By 
means  of  this  assumption  of  human  nature  He  received 
power  to  become  High  Priest,  power  also  to  become 
Himself  the  sin-offering.  Once  before  only  in  the 
Epistle  have  we  read  of  this  two-fold  relation  of  our 
Lord  to  the  sacrificial  act.  There  it  is  mentioned 
parenthetically  (chap.  \\\.  26)  and  by  anticipation,  here 
it  is  the  leading  thought  (verses  14,  26,  28;  chap. 
X.  10,  et  al.).  The  efficacy  of  this  offering  is  taken  up 
again  in  verses  13,  14  ;  the  entering  into  the  Holiest 
Place,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  chapter.  A  new  thought 
is  introduced  in  the  last  words  of  this  verse,  "  having 
won  eternal  redemption."  Through  the  sacrifice  atone- 
ment has  been  made  and  sin  expiated  :  the  blessing 
won,  which  in  chap.  v.  9  is  called  eternal  salvation  (see 


317 


Tlie  Purifying  of  tlie  Flesh. 


HEBREWS,   IX. 


The  Cleansing  of  the  Conscience. 


for  us.  ('•'')  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  an 
heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanc- 
tifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh : 
(^*)  how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of 
Christ,  who  through  the  eternal  Spirit 


1  Or,  fault. 


offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,i 
purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works 
to  serve  the  living  God?  (^^^  And  for 
this  cause  he  is  the  mediator  of  the  new 
testament,  that  by  means  of  death,  for 
the   redemption   of  the   transgressions 


Note  on  chap.  vii.  25),  is  here  "eternal  redemption." 
Tlio  latter  tif^ure  enlarges  the  former  by  the  additional 
tlioug-ht  of  the  payment  of  a  price.  The  deliverance  of 
man  from  God's  wrath  and  the  penalty  of  sin,  which 
Jesus  effected  by  means  of  the  ottering  of  Himself,  is 
the  "  eternal  redemption  which  He  won  "  (see  verse  14, 
and  Ei)h.  i.  7).  The  words,  "  for  us,"  are  not  in  the 
text :  they  are  too  intimately  present  in  the  whole 
thought  to  need  direct  expression. 

(13)  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats.— 
This  verse  connects  itself  with  the  last  words  of  verse 
12,  "having  won  eternal  redemption,"  showing  why 
our  hope  may  rise  so  high.  The  sacrifice  is  mentioned 
here  in  words  slightly  different  from  those  of  verse  11 ; 
but  in  each  case  the  writer's  thought  is  resting  on  the 
sin  offering  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  a  bullock  for  the 
high  priest  himself,  a  goat  for  the  people.  (There  is 
no  distinct  reference  in  this  Epistle  to  the  "scapegoat" 
sent  into  the  wilderness.) 

And  the  ashes  of  an  heifer.— The  nineteenth 
chapter  of  Numliers  is  wholly  occupied  with  the 
remarkable  institution  here  referred  to.  A  red  heifer 
without  spot  was  slain  and  wholly  burnt,  "  with  cedar- 
wood  and  hyssop  and  scarlet,"  and  the  ashes  ^rere  laid 
up  in  a  clean  place  without  the  camp.  "  And  for  the 
unclean  they  shall  take  of  the  ashes  of  the  burning  of 
the  sin-offering,  and  running  water  shall  be  put  thereto 
in  a  vessel :  and  a  clean  person  shall  take  hyssop  and 
dip  it  in  the  water  and  sprinkle  ....  upon  the 
unclean"  (verses  17 — 19).  The  "  unclean  "  are  those 
that  have  been  defiled  by  touching  the  dead  body  of  a 
man,  or  by  being  in  any  way  brought  into  connection 
with  death.  It  is  said  that  on  the  third  and  seventh 
days  of  the  high  priest's  week  of  preparation  for  the 
Day  of  Atonement  (see  Note  on  chap.  vii.  26),  he  was 
sprinkled  with  this  water  of  purification,  lest  he  should 
inadvertently  have  contracted  such  defilement. 

Sanetifleth  to  the  pvirifying  of  the  flesh.— 
Better,  sanctify  unto  the  cleanness  of  the  flesh. 
As  we  have  seen  already  (verse  10),  the  writer  is 
looking  at  the  intrinsic  character  of  the  sacrifices 
(chap.  X.  4)  and  rites  of  purification,  apart  from  their 
importance  Jis  marks  of  obedience  or  their  value  to 
those  who  were  able  to  discern  their  spiritual  lessons. 
They  could  not  cleanse  the  conscience  (verse  9);  but 
they  could  and  did  remove  what  the  Law  accounted 
"  unclcanness,"  and  disabilities  connected  with  the  out- 
ward lif«>  and  religious  worship  of  the  commonwealth. 

(1*)  Through  the  eternal  Spirit.— Better,  through 
an  eternal  Spirit ;  for  in  a  passage  of  so  much  difficulty 
it  is  important  to  preserve  the  exact  rendering  of  the 
Greek,  and  the  arguments  usually  adduced  seem 
insufficient  to  justify  the  ordinary  translation.  By 
most  readers  of  the  Authorised  version,  probably, 
these  words  are  understood  as  referring  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whoso  influence  continually  rested  on  "  the 
Anointed  One  of  God  "  (Acts  x.  38).  For  this  opinion 
there  seems  to  be  no  foundation  in  the  usage  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  it  is  not  indicated  by  anj'thing  in 
the  context.  The  explanation  of  the  words  must  rather 
be  sought  in  the  nature  of  our  Lord,  or  in  some  attribute 


318 


of  that  nature.  There  are  a  few  passages,  mainly  in 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  in  which  language  somewhat 
similar  is  employed  in  regard  to  the  spirit  (pneuma)  of 
our  Lord.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  are  Eom.  i.  4, 
where  "  spirit  of  holiness  "  is  placed  in  contrast  with 
"  flesh  ;  "  and  1  Tim.  iii.  16,  "  in  spirit."  On  the  latter 
Bishop  Ellicott  writes :  "  in  spirit,  in  the  higher 
sphere  of  His  divine  life  :  the  pneuma  of  Christ  is  not 
here  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  the  higher  prhiciple  of 
spiritual  life,  which  was  not  the  Di^inity  (this  would  be 
an  Apolliuarian  assertion),  but  especially  and  intimately 
united  \nt\\  it."  (Another  passage  of  great  interest  is 
1  Pet.  iii.  18.)  The  attribute  "  eternal "  is  explained  by 
chap.  vii.  18,  19,  "  according  to  power  of  indissoluble 
life  (He  hath  become  priest),  for  of  Him  it  is  testified, 
Thou  art  a  j)riest  for  ever."  Through  this  spirit,  a 
spirit  of  holiness,  a  spirit  of  indissoluble  life.  He 
offered  HimseK  to  God.  This  made  such  a  self-offering 
possible  ;  this  gave  to  the  offering  infinite  worth.  In 
the  words  which  stand  in  contrast  with  these  (verse  13) 
we  read  of  the  death  of  animals  which  had  no  power 
over  their  own  transient  life :  He  who  was  typified  in 
every  high  priest  and  in  every  victim,  "  through  an 
eternal  spirit,"  of  HimseK  laid  down  His  life  (John 
x.  18),  offering  Himself  to  God  in  the  moment  and 
article  of  death, — offered  Himself  in  His  constant 
presence  in  the  Holiest  Place  (verse  24). 

Without  spot, — The  word  here  used  is  frequently 
applied  in  the  LXX.  to  the  victims  "  without  blemish  " 
that  were  offered  in  sacrifice.  The  sinlessness  of  Jesus 
is  expressed  under  the  same  metaphor  in  1  Pet.  i.  19. 

Purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to 
serve  the  living  God. — Better,  cleanse  our  conscience 
from  dead  tcorks  to  serve  a  Living   God.     The  word 
"  cleanse  "  is  akin  to  "  cleanness"'  in  verse  13.  Authorities 
are    divided   between    "  our "    and  "  your "  ;    but  the 
former  is  probably  the  better  reading.     Once  before,  in 
chap.  vi.  1.  the  writer  has  spoken  of  "  dead  works." 
(See  the  Note.)  It  is  here,  however,  that  the  significance 
most  fully  appears ;    for  we  cannot  doubt  that  there 
exists  a  reference  to  the  purification  made  necessary  by 
all  contact  with  death.  (See  verse  13.)    Since  the  works 
are  dead  because  they  had  no  share  in  true  life,  which  J 
is  the  life  of  God,  the  last  words  bring  before  us  the! 
thought  of  a  Living  God  (chap.  iii.  12).     This  thought 
also  stands  connected  with  "  eternal  Spirit,"  for  those 
who  are  cleansed  through  the  offering  of  Christ  sha 
share  His  relation  to  the  Living  God     The  contrast  ia 
in  every  respect  complete.     From  the  whole  number  ofl 
Jewish  rites  had  been  selected  (verse  13)  the  two  whichj 
most  fully  represented  the  purification  from  sin  and! 
from    pollution    through    death,   in    order   that    thisj 
completeness    of    antithesis    might    be   attained.      It 
is  not  necessary  to  trace  the  details  of  the  contrast-j 
In  each  and  in  all  we  read  the  "  How  much  more ! 

(15)  And  for  this  cause.— Or,  Atid  because  ofthis.l 
This  verse  looks  back  to  the  great  truth  of  verses  11, 12,1 
which  the  last  two  verses  have  served  to  confirm  and 
place  in  bolder  relief.     ''  Christ  through  His  own  blood 
entered  once  for  all  into  the  Holy  Place,  having  won 
eternal  redemption;  and  by  reason  of  this  He  is    ' 


s  thoi 

m 


A  Covenant  established 


HEBREWS,   IX. 


bi/  means  of  DeatJi. 


that rvere  under  the  first  testament,  they  i  cr, bebronght^ 
which   are    called    might    receive    the 
promise  of  eternal  inheritance.     ^^^^  For 
where  a  testament  is,  there  must  also 


of  necessity  be^  the  death  of  the 
testator.  (^''^  For  a  testament  is  of 
force  after  men  are  dead  :  otherwise  it  is 
of  no  strength  at  all  while  the  testator 


Mediator  of  a  covenant,  a  new  covenant,  in  order  that 
they  who  have  been  called  may  receive  the  promise  of 
the  eternal  inheritance."  For  "  the  new  testament " 
we  must  certainly  read  a  new  covenant :  whatever  may 
be  thought  of  the  follo^ang  group  of  verses,  the 
rendering  testament  has  no  place  here.  The  leading 
thought  of  chap.  viii.  is  the  establishment  of  a  new 
covenant,  and  the  former  covenant  has  been  referred  to 
three  times  in  this  very  chapter  (verses  1,  4). 

That  by  means  of  death.— Rather,  that,  death 
having  taktn  place  for  redemption  from  the  trans- 
gressions, &c.  The  first  covenant  had  been  broken 
by  "  transgressions  :  "  unless  there  be  redemption  from 
these — that  is,  from  the  bondage  of  penalty  which  has 
resulted  from  these — there  can  be  no  promise  and  no 
new  covenant.  In  respect  of  this  bondage,  this  penalty, 
the  death  of  Christ  was  a  ransom — an  oifering  to  God 
looked  at  in  the  light  of  a  papneut  in  the  place  of  debt, 
service,  or  penalty  due.  When  debt  and  payment  are 
changed  into  the  corresponding  ideas  of  sin  and 
punishment,  the  ransom  gives  place  to  the  sin-offering, 
of  wliicli  the  principle  was  the  acknowledgment  of 
death  deserved,  and  the  vicarious  suft'ei-ing  of 
death.  So  far  our  thought  has  rested  on  the  removal 
of  the  results  of  the  past.  The  covenant  and  the 
promise  relate  to  the  establishment  of  the  better  future. 
Death  was  necessary  alike  for  both.  The  offering  of 
Christ's  life  (Matt.  xx.  28)  was  a  ransom  or  an  offering 
for  sin ;  it  was  also  a  sacrifice  inaugurating  a  new 
covenant,  which  contained  the  promise  of  the  etei-nal 
inheritance.  See  verses  16 — 18 ;  also  Gal.  iii.  13,  14, 
where  the  thought  is  very  similar. 

They  which  are  called.— More  clearly,  they  that 
have  been  called.  (See  Acts  ii.  39;  Rom.  i.  6,  7 ; 
2  Thess.  ii.  13,  14.)  In  chap.  iii.  1  we  have  a  similar 
expression,  "  pai'takers  of  a  heavenly  calling  :  "  there 
also  the  idea  of  sonship  (chap.  ii.  10),  with  its  right  of 
"  inheritance,"  is  certainly  present. 

(16)  Testament. — As  has  been  already  pointed  out, 
the  greatest  difference  of  opinion  has  existed  in  regard 
to  the  meaning  of  the  Greek  word  diatheke  in  this 
passage.  (See  Note  on  chap.  vii.  22.)  It  will  be  seen  at 
once  that  the  interpretation  of  this  verse  and  the  next 
entirely  depends  on  that  one  question.  If  '•testament" 
is  the  correct  meaning  of  the  Greek  word,  the  general 
sense  of  the  verses  is  well  given  in  the  Authorised 
version.  A  few  commentators  even  agree  with  that 
version  in  carrjdng  back  the  idea  of  testament  into 
verse  15.  although  in  the  other  two  places  in  which  the 
word  is  joined  with"  Mediator"  (chaps,  viii.  6  ;  xii.  24) 
they  adhere  to  the  ordinary  rendering,  "  covenant."  By 
most,  however,  it  is  held  that  a  new  thought  is  intro- 
duced in  the  present  verse.  The  writer,  it  is  urged, 
having  spoken  of  a  promise  of  an  inheritance,  (verse  15), 
and  a  promise  that  cannot  be  made  valid  unless  death 
take  place,  avails  himself  of  the  illustration  which  a 
second  (and  very  common)  meaning  of  the  leading  word 
affords ;  and  though  a  covenant  has  hitherto  been  in 
his  thoughts,  he  adds  interest  and  force  to  his  argument 
by  calling  up  the  analogy  of  a  testament  or  will.  It  is 
further  urged  that  this  procedure  will  not  seem  un- 
natural if  we  reflect  that  the  diatheke  between  God  and 
man  is  never  exactly  expressed  by  covenant,  since  it  is 
not  of  the  nature  of  a  mutual  compact  between  equals. 


(See  chap.  vii.  22.)  The  position  is  chiefly  defended 
by  two  arguments: — (1)  verse  16,  being  a  general 
maxim,  gives  no  intelligible  sense  in  regard  to  a 
covenant,  but  is  easy  and  natural  as  applied  to  a  will. 

(2)  A  Greek  word  used  in  verse  17,  where  the  literal 
translation  is  "  over  (the)  dead,"  cannot  be  used  of 
sacrifices  of  slain  animals,  but  of  men  only.  This,  we 
believe,  is  a  fair  statement  of  the  case  on  the  one  side ; 
and  it  may  be  fully  acknowledged  that,  if  verses  16,  17 
stood  alone,  and  if  they  were  written  of  Gentile  rather 
than  Jewish  usage,  the  case  would  be  very  strong.  As 
it  is,  we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  the  difficulties 
which  this  interpretation  brings  with  it  are  beyond 
comparison  more  serious  than  those  which  it  removes. 
(1)  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  New  Testament  passages  the  meaning 
covenant  must  be  assigned.  By  many  high  authorities 
these  verses  are  considered  to  contain  the  only  excep- 
tion. (2)  In  the  LXX.  the  word  is  extremely  common, 
both  for  the  covenants  of  God  and  for  compacts 
between  man  and  man.    (See  Note  on  chap.  vii.  22). 

(3)  The  application  of  diatheke  in  this  Epistle  rests  on 
the  basis  of  the  Old  Testament  usage,  the  key  passage 
being  Jer.  xxxi.  31 — 34,  quoted  at  length  in  chap.  ^-iii. 
With  that  quotation  this  passage  is  linked  by  the 
association  of  diatheke  with  Mediator  in  verse  15  and 
chap.  viii.  6,  and  with  "  the  first "  in  verse  15  and 
in  chaps,  viii.  13  and  ix.  1.  (4)  In  the  verses  which 
follow  this  passage  the  meaning  covenant  must  certainly 
return,  as  a  comparison  of  verse  20  with  the  verse  of 
Exodus  which  it  quotes  (chap.  xxiv.  8)  will  show. 
(5)  It  is  true  that  the  idea  of  '"death"  has  appeared 
in  verse  15,  but  it  is  the  death  of  a  sin-offering ;  and 
there  is  no  natural  or  easy  transition  of  thought  from 
an  expiatory  death  to  the  death  of  a  testator.  And 
yet  the  words  which  introduce  verses  16  and  18 
("  For  "  and  "  Wherefore  ")  show  tliat  we  are  following 
the  course  of  an  argument.  (6)  Though  to  us  verse  16 
may  present  a  vei-y  familiar  thought,  we  must  not 
forget  that  to  Jews  dispositions  by  ■n'ill  were  almost 
altogether  unknown.  Were  it  granted  that  a  writer 
might  for  illustration  avail  himself  of  a  second  mean- 
ing which  a  word  he  is  iising  might  happen  to  bear, 
this  liberty  would  only  be  taken  if  by  that  means 
familiar  associations  could  be  reached,  and  the  argfu- 
ment  or  exhortation  could  be  thus  urged  home.  In  an 
Epistle  steeped  in  Jewish  thought  such  a  transition 
as  that  suggested  would  be  inexplicable.  There  are 
other  considerations  of  some  weight  which  might  be 
added  ;  but  these  seem  sufficient  to  prove  that, 
even  if  the  difficulties  of  interpretation  should  prove 
serious,  we  must  not  seek  to  remove  them  by  wavering 
in  our  rendering  of  diatheke  in  these  verses.  We 
believe,  therefore,  that  the  true  translation  of  verses 
16,  17,  must  bo  the  following  : — For  where  a  covenant 
is,  there  must  of  necessity  be  brought  in  the  death  of 
the  covenanter.  For  a  covenant  is  of  force  when  there 
hath  been  death  (literally,  over  the  dead) ;  for  hath  it 
ever  any  strength  while  the  covenanter  liveth  ?  In 
verse  15  we  have  seen  the  two-fold  reference  of  the 
death  of  Jesus,  to  the  past  and  to  the  future.  As 
High  Priest  He  has  offered  Himself  as  a  sin-offering 
to  cleanse  the  conscience  from  dead  works;  the  same 
offering  is  also  looked  on  as  a  ransom  redeeming  from 


319 


Israel  sprinkled  with  the 


HEBEEWS,  IX. 


Blood  of  the  Covenant. 


liveth.  <^^^  Whereupon  neither  the  first 
testament  was  dedicated^  without  blood. 
(19)  For  when  Moses  had  spoken  every 
precept  to  all  the  people  according  to 
the  law,  he  took  the  blood  of  calves  and 


2  Or,  purple 
Or,  purified. 


of  goats,  with  water,  and  scarlet^  wool, 
and  hyssop,  and  sprinkled  both  the 
book,  and  all  the  people,  <2°>  saying.  This 
is  the  blood  of  the  testament  which 
God  hath  enjoined  unto  you.    (^^^  More- 


thc  penalty  of  past  transgressions  ;  and.  still  by  means 
of  His  ileath.  Ho  has,  as  Mediator,  established  a  new 
covenant.  Wo  aro  reminded  at  once  of  the  words  of 
Jesus  Himself,  "  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  My 
blood"  (1  Cor.  xi.  25).  It  is  this  very  thought  which 
the  writer  proceeds  to  develop  :  a  covenant  cannot  bo 
established  without  death — cannot  exist  at  all.  That 
amongst  Jews  and  Greeks  and  Romans  alike  cove- 
nants were  confirmed  by  sacrifice  we  need  not  pause 
to  prove ;  of  this  usage  wo  have  the  earliest  example 
in  Gen.  xv.  In  such  sacrifices,  again,  there  is 
"brought  in,"  or  assumed  the  death  of  him  who 
makes  tho  covenant.  There  will  not,  perhaps,  be  much 
difficulty  in  accepting  this  as  a  maxim.  The  conflict 
of  opinion  really  begins  when  we  ask  in  what  manner 
this  is  assumed.  The  usual  answer  is,  that  the  death 
of  victims  is  emblematic  of  the  punishment  which  the 
contracting  parties  imprecated  on  themselves  if  they 
should  break  their  compact.  It  may  have  been  so 
amongst  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  though  this  is  doubt- 
ful.* Amongst  tho  Jews,  however,  the  analogy  of 
their  general  sacrificial  system,  in  which  the  victim 
represented  the  offerer,  renders  such  an  explanation 
very  improbable.  As  to  the  precise  idea  implied  in  this 
representation,  it  is  not  easy  to  speak  with  certainty. 
It  has  been  defined  in  two  opposite  ways.  In  the  death 
of  the  victim  each  contracting  party  may  be  supposed 
to  die  either  as  to  the  future,  in  respect  of  any  power 
of  altering  tho  compact  (tho  covenant  shall  bo  as  safe 
from  violation  through  change  of  intention  as  if  tho 
covenanter  were  removed  by  death)  ;  or  as  to  i\iQ  past, 
to  the  former  state  of  enmity  each  is  now  dead.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  our  argument  to  decide  such  a 
question  as  this.  Tho  only  material  points  aro,  that  a 
covenant  must  bo  established  over  sacrifices,  and  that 
in  such  a  .sacrifice  "  the  death  of  him  that  made  the 
covenant "  must  in  some  manner  be  "  brought  in  "  or 
assumed.  There  remains  only  tho  application  to  tho 
particular  covenant  here  spoken  of.  If  this  be  taken 
as  made  between  God  and  man,  the  sacrificial  death  of 
Jesus  in  man's  stead  ratified  tho  covenant  for  ever, 
the  former  stato  of  separation  being  brought  to  an  end 
in  "  the  reconciliation  "  of  the  gospel.  Tho  peculiar 
character  of  verso  15,  however  (see  above),  seems  rather 
to  suggest  that,  as  Jesus  is  set  forth  as  High  Priest 
and  sacrifice,  .so  He  is  both  tho  Author  of  tho  covenant 
and  tho  .sacrifice  which  gives  to  it  validity.  In  this  cjjso 
wo  see  represented  in  His  sacrifice  tho  death  of  each 
"  covenanter."  (Tho  transition  from  "Mediator'' 
to  Giver  of  tho  covenant  is  not  greater  than  that 
which  tho  other  interpretation  requires— a  transition 
from  a  mediator  of  a  testament  to  a  testator.)  There 
aro  minor  points  relating  to  details  in  the  Greek  which 
cannot  be  dealt  with  hero.  Of  the  two  arguments 
qiiotiHl  above,  tho  former  has,  we  hope,  been  fully  met; 
tliough  (it  may  bo  said  in  passing)  it  would  be  easier 
to  give  up  verso  16  as  a  general  maxim,  and  to  regard 
it  as  applying  only  to  a  covenant  between  God  and 
sinful  man,  than  to  divorce  tho  whole  passage  from  the 


•  Sec  Mr.  Wratislaw's  very  interesting  note  in  his  "Notes 
and  Dissertations,"  pp.  Ino,  1.56.  The  wliole  subject  is  very  care- 
fully trcAted  in  an  admirable  pamphlet  by  Professor  Forbes, 
of  Aberdeen. 


320 


context  by  changing  "  covenant  "  into  "  will."  One 
point  of  interest  must  not  be  omitted.  There  are 
coincidences  of  expression  with  Ps.  1.  5  which  make 
it  very  probable  that  that  Psalm,  memorable  in  the 
development  of  the  teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  was 
distinctly  in  tho  writer's  mind.  This  comparison  is 
also  of  use  in  the  explanation  of  some  expressions  in 
the  original  of  these  two  verses. 

(18)  Whereupon.— Better,  Wherefore  not  even  has 
the  first  [covenant)  been  dedicated  (or,  inaugurated) 
without  blood.     (See  Ex.  xxiv.  6 — 8.) 

(19)  Every  precept.  —  Or,  commandment.  See 
Ex.  xxiv.  3 ;  where  we  read  that  Moses  "  told  the 
people  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  all  the  judg- 
ments." These  he  wrote  in  a  book  (verse  4),  and  this 
"  book  of  the  covenant "  (verse  7)  he  "  read  in  the 
audience  of  the  people."  The  contents  would  probably 
be  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  laws  of  Ex.  xx. 
22— xxiii.  33. 

Of  calves  and  of  goats.— In  Exodus  (verse  5)  we 
read  of  "burnt  offerings"  and  of  "peace  offerings  of 
oxen."  The  "  goats  "  may  be  included  in  the  burnt 
offerings;  for  though  Jewish  tradition  held  that  a 
goat  was  never  sacrificed  as  a  burnt  offering,  Lev.  1.  10 
is  clear  on  the  other  side.  It  is  possible  that  "  the 
calves  and  the  goats  "  may  be  only  a  general  expression 
for  "  the  sacrificial  victims."     (See  verse  12.) 

With  water,  and  scarlet  wool,  and  hyssop.— 
In  Ex.  xxiv.  there  is  no  mention  of  these  details,  but 
similar  notices  are  found  in  other  parts  of  the  Penta- 
teuch, where  the  ceremony  of  sprinkling  for  purification 
is  described  (Ex.  xii.  22 ;  Lev.  xiv.  4,  6 ;  and  Num. 
xix.  6,  17,  18).  Tho  water  (itself  an  emblem  and  means 
of  cleansing)  was  designed  to  prevent  the  coagulation 
of  the  blood,  and  to  increase  the  quantity  of  the  puri- 
fying fluid.  Tho  "  scarlet  wool "  may  have  been  used 
to  bind  the  hyssop  to  the  stick  of  cedar- wood,  which 
was  the  instrument  of  sprinkling.  The  precise  notices 
in  the  Law  forbid  us  to  doubt  that  each  of  these 
substances  had  a  definite  symbolical  meaning,  but  to  us 
tho  subject  is  involved  in  obscurity. 

Both  the  book  and  all  the  people.— The  Greek 
is  more  emphatic  :  both  the  book  itself  and  all  the 
people.  Tho  latter  fact  alone  is  mentioned  in  Exodus 
(verse  8).  Tho  sprinkling  of  tho  book  of  the  covenant 
may  bo  regarded  from  two  points  of  view.  It  may 
depend  citner  on  tho  same  principle  as  tho  (later) 
sprinkling  of  the  Tabernacle  (verse  22),  and  the  "  re- 
conciling" of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  Holy  Place  (Lev. 
xvi.  20)  on  the  Day  of  Atonement;  or  on  the  symbolism 
of  the  covenant  as  noticed  above  (verses  15 — 17).  In 
the  latter  case  we  must  suppose  that,  as  the  blood  was 
divided  into  two  portions  (Ex.  xxiv.  6)  in  token  of 
the  two  parties  to  tlio  covenant,  and  part  "  cast  upon 
the  altar,"  the  book  of  tho  covenant  was  associated  with 
the  altar  as  representing  the  presence  of  Jehovah. 

(20)  The  testament  which  God  hath  enjoined 
unto  you. — Better,  the  covenant  which  God  com* 
manded  in  regard  to  you.  "  Commanded,"  see  chap< 
viii.  6  :  in  the  LXX.  the  word  is  "  covenanted." 

(21)  He  sprinkled  with  blood.— Rather,  hi 
sprinkled  in  like  manner  with  the  blood.  It  is  sin- 
gular that  the  word  rendered  "in  like  manner"  (found 


I 


The  Patterns  of  Heavenly  Things. 


HEBEEWS,   IX. 


Tlie  Heavenly  Sanctuary^ 


over  he  sprinkled  with  blood  both  the 
tabernacle,  and  all  the  vessels  of  the 
ministry.  ^^^^  And  almost  all  things 
are  bj  the  law  purged  with  blood ;  and 
without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  re- 
mission. (^"^^  It  was  therefore  necessary 
that    the    patterns   of    things    in    the 


heavens  should  be  purified  with  these ; 
but  the  heavenly  things  themselves  with 
better  sacrifices  than  these.  (^^  For 
Christ  is  not  entered  into  the  holy 
places  made  with  hands,  which  are  the 
figures  of  the  true ;  but  into  heaven  it- 
self, now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of 


in  the  Bishops'  Bible,  "  likewise,"  and  in  other  versions) 
should  liave  been  overlooked  in  the  Authorised  version. 
The  incident  here  mentioned  belongs,  of  course,  to  a 
later  date.  It  is  not  expressly  recorded  in  Scripture, 
but  is  related  by  Josephus  (Ant.  iii.  8,  §  6) ;  and,  apart 
from  internal  probability,  might  almost  be  concluded 
from  the  narrative  of  the  Pentateuch  itself.  In  Ex. 
xl.  9 — 15  we  read  of  the  divine  injunction  that  Moses 
should  put  the  anointing  oil  not  only  upon  Aaron  and 
his  sons,  their  garments,  and  the  altar,  but  also  upon 
the  Tabernacle  and  its  vessels.  In  Lev.  viii.  10 — 12  is 
recorded  the  fulfilment  of  this  command ;  but  in  the 
later  verses  of  the  same  chapter  we  read  that  the  altar 
was  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  sin-offering 
(verse  15),  and  that  Moses  sprinkled  Aaron  and  his  sous 
and  their  gai-ments  with  ''  the  anointing  oil  and  the 
blood  which  was  upon  the  altar."  Manifestly  we  may 
infer  that  the  Tabernacle  and  its  vessels  were  included 
in  the  latter  ceremony.  Whatever  was  connected  with 
the  covenant  which  God  made  with  His  people  must  be 
sprinkled  with  the  blood,  which  at  once  typified  purifi- 
cation (verses  14,  24),  and  ratified  the  covenant  (verses 
15,  17). 

(22)  And  almost  all  things. — The  meaning  of  the 
word  "  almost,"  as  it  stands  in  the  Greek,  is  rather,  "  One 
may  almost  lay  down  the  rule,"  "  One  may  almost  say." 
What  follows,  in  both  parts  of  the  verse,  is  a  general 
saying,  modified  by  these  introductory  words.  And 
one  may  almost  say — according  to  the  Law,  all  things 
are  cleansed  in  blood,  and  apart  from  the  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  forgiveness.  To  the  first  ride  an 
exception  is  found  in  the  various  purifications  by  water 
or  by  fire  (see  Num.  xxxi.  22 — 24) ;  to  the  second  in  the 
remarkable  law  of  Lev.  v.  11 — 13.  The  expression 
"  in  blood  "  is  used  because  sprinkling  with  the  blood 
of  the  slain  victim  was  in  figure  a  sun'ounding 
with,  or  inclusion  within,  the  purifying  element.  On 
"cleansed"  (chap.  i.  3)  the  best  comment  is  found  in 
Lev.  xvi.  19,  30 ;  on  "  forgiveness,"  in  the  words 
which  in  Lev.  iv.  are  repeatedly  (verses,  20,  26,  31,  35) 
used  of  the  effect  of  the  sin  offering,  "  it  shall  be  for- 
given him."  The  second  clause  of  the  verse  is  founded 
on  Lev.  xvii.  11.  By  "shedding  of  blood"  we  must 
probably  understand  the  slaying  of  the  animal,  rather 
than  the  pouring  out  of  the  blood  by  the  altar  (Lev.  iv. 
34,  et  at.)     With  these  words  compare  Luke  xxii.  20. 

(23)  The  patterns  of  things  in  the  heavens.— 
Rather,  the  tokens  (chap.  viii.  5)  of  the  things  in  the 
heavens.  In  the  first  part  of  the  verso  a  conclusion  is 
drawn  from  the  sacred  history,  which  relatt>d  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  divine  will,  and  showed  therefore 
what  was  "  necessary."  But  the  real  stress  lies  on  the 
second  part.  The  whole  may  be  pai-aphrascd  thus : 
"Whilst  then  it  is  necessary  that  what  are  but  tokens 
of  the  things  in  the  heavens  should  be  cleansed  with 
these  tilings,  it  is  necessary  that  tlie  heavenly  tilings 
themselves  should  be  cleansed  with  better  sacrifices 
than  those."  Tlie  meaning  of  "  these  things  "  might 
perliajis  bo  found  in  verse  19  (the  various  instruments 
of  purification),  or  in  verse  13  (the  two  sin  offerings 

87  321 


there  spoken  of) ;  but,  from  the  prominence  given  to 
repetition  in  the  following  verses,  the  plural  seems 
rather  to  mean  with  those  sacrifices  repeated  from  time 
to  time.  The  common  thought  in  the  two  parts  of  the 
verse  appears  to  be  (as  in  verse  21)  that  everything  re- 
lating to  the  covenant  of  God  with  sinful  man  must  be 
brought  under  the  symbol  of  expiation,  without  which 
he  can  have  no  part  in  that  covenant.  The  "  heavenly 
things  "  are  not  defiled  by  sin  ;  but  the  true  heavenly 
sanctuary  cannot  be  entered  by  man,  the  new  fellowship 
between  God  and  man  "  in  heavenly  places  "  cannot  be 
inaugurated,  till  the  heavenly  things  themselves  have 
been  brought  into  association  with  the  One  atoning 
sacrifice  for  man. 

Better  sacrifices. — Here  again  the  use  of  the 
plural  is  remarkable.  It  seems  to  arise  from  the 
studious  generality  in  the  terms  of  this  verse.  To 
"  these  things "  the  natural  antithesis  is  "better  sacri- 
fices." That  in  the  ministry  of  the  true  High  Priest 
there  was  a  presentation  of  but  one  sacrifice  is  not 
assumed  here,  because  it  is  to  be  strongly  brought  out 
below  (verses  25,  26). 

(24)  por  Christ  is  not  entered.— Better,  For 
Christ  did  not  enter  into  a  holy  place  made  with  hands, 
of  like  pattern  to  the  true  (or,  real)  holy  place.  In  the 
second  part  of  verse  23  the  two  thoughts  were  the 
"  heavenly  things  themselves  "  and  "  better  sacrifices." 
Of  these  the  first  is  taken  up  here;  the  second  in 
verses  25,  26.  That  verse  was  general :  this  sets  forth 
the  actual  fact.  "  For  the  sanctuary  into  which  Christ 
entered  is  not  a  copy  or  a  token  of  the  things  in  the 
heavens,  but  heaven  itself."  "  Of  like  pattern,"  see 
chap.  viii.  5 ;  "  the  true,"  chap,  viii.  2 ;  "  into  heaven 
itself,"  chap.  viii.  1. 

Now  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for 
us. — Better,  noiv  to  be  made  vianifest  before  the  face 
of  God  for  us.  We  cannot  doubt  that  these  words 
continue  the  contrast  between  the  true  High  Priest 
and  the  high  priest  on  earth.  On  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment the  high  priest  came  before  what  was  but  a 
symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence ;  he  caused  the  Holiest 
Place  to  be  fiUed  with  the  smoke  of  the  incense  before 
he  entered  with  the  blood  of  the  offering.  He  did  not 
dare  to  delay  his  return,  even  by  prolonging  his  prayer, 
lest  he  should  "  excite  terror  in  Israel."  J  n  the  heavenly 
sanctuary  the  High  Priest  is  made  manifest  before  the 
face  of  God.  (Comp.  Ex.  xxxiii.  20.)  Three  different 
words  in  these  verses  (24,  26,  28)  are  in  the  Authorised 
version  rendered  by  the  same  word  "  appear " :  "  to 
make  manifest,"  "to  manifest."  "to  appear,"  may 
servo  as  renderings  which  sliall  keep  in  mind  the 
difference  of  the  words.  The  form  of  the  Greek  verb 
might  seem  to  imply  a  single  appearance  only  ;  by  the 
added  word  "  now  "  the  writer  con-ects.  or  rather  en- 
largos,  the  thought,  and  sliows  tliat  the  true  meaning  is 
a  manifestation  which  is  both  one  and  unceasing. 
With  emphasis  he  places  at  the  close  the  Avords  which 
indicate  "the  people"  whose  High  Priest  JHe  has 
become.  As  in  chap.  viii.  1  liis  language  was  "  we  have 
such  a  High  Priest,"  and  in  chap.  ix.  14,  "  shall  purge 


Christ  once  offered  for  Sin. 


HEBREWS,   IX. 


His  Second  Cominj  for  Salvation, 


God  for  us  :  (^s)  nor  yet  tliat  he  should 
offer  himself  often,  as  the  high  priest 
eutereth  into  the  holy  place  every  year 
with  blood  of  others ;  <-'^^  for  then  must 
he  often  have  suffered  since  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world :  but  now  once  in  the 
end  of  the  world  hath  he  appeared  to 


put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself. 
(-'>  And  as  it  is  appointed  unto  men 
once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judg- 
ment :  (^^  so  Christ  Avas  once  offered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many ;  and  unto  them 
that  look  for  him  shall  he  appear  the 
second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation. 


our  conscionco;  "  so  liere,  it  is  on  our  behalf  that  Christ 
is  inaiiitVsfcd  unto  God. 

(-S-  Nor  yet  that  he  should— i.e.,  Nor  yet  {did 
He  enter  into  heaven)  that  He  may  offer  Himself  often. 
The  connection  has  been  pointed  out  already  in  the 
last  Note.  The  "  offering  "  which  is  here  in  thouglit 
does  not  correspond  to  the  actual  sacrifice  of  the  sin- 
offerings  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  but  to  the  presen- 
tation of  the  blood  in  the  Holiest  Place.  In  this  really 
consisted  the  presentation  of  that  sacrifice  to  God. 
Tliat  this  is  the  meaning  here  is  shown  by  the  contrast 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  where  we  read  of  the 
high  priest's  entering  the  Holy  Place  (i.e.,  the  Holy  of 
Holies;  see  Note  on  verse  2)  ''with  blood  not  his  own," 
and  by  the  argument  of  verse  26. 

(2(3)  For  then  must  he  often  have  suffered. 
— The  repeated  presentation  of  Himself  to  God 
must  imply,  as  a  necessary  condition,  a  repeated 
"  suffering  '  of  death ;  as  the  high  priest's  offering  of 
the  blood  of  expiation  in  the  Holiest  Place  implied  the 
previous  sacrifice  of  the  victim.  The  writer's  point  of 
view  is  the  time  when  "  Christ  entered  into  heaven 
itself."  In  speaking  of  the  repeated  "  suffering " 
(Luke  xxiv.  2t),  4(3,  et  al.),  he  marks  the  limits  within 
which  it  must  lie,  reaching  Imck  to  the  "  foundation  of 
the  world."  Tlie  expression  in  the  second  part  of  the 
verse  is  the  converse  of  this  :  looking  forward  from 
the  "  foundation  of  the  world,"  through  all  the  succes- 
sive periods  of  human  history  until  tlie  Incarnation,  he 
writes,  "  Now  once  at  the  end  of  the  world "' — "  at  the 
consummation  of  the  ages" — hath  Christ  "been  mani- 
fested." Tiie  words  "  consummation  of  the  age  "  occur 
five  times  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel — chaps,  xiii.  39,  40, 
49;  xxiv.  3;  xxviii.  20.  (See  the  Notes.)  The  ])hrase 
here  is  more  expressive  still.  The  history  of  all  pre- 
ceding ages  was  a  preparation  for  the  manifestation  of 
the  Christ  ("  who  verily  was  fore-ordained  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  but  was  manifest  in  those 
last  times"  (literally,  at  the  end  of  the  times),  1  Pet.  i. 
20 ;  all  subsequent  history  develops  the  results  of  that 
manifestation.  A  similar  thought  is  contained  in  St. 
Paul's  words  "  the  fulness  of  the  seasons  "  (Eph.  i.  10), 
"the  fulness  of  the  time"  (Gal.  iv.  4).  (See  further 
the  Ndte  on  cliap.  i.  2.) 

To  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  Him- 
self.—Literally,  /or  the  annuUinrf  of  sin  through  His 
sacrifice.  The  word  which  in  chap.  vii.  18  was  used 
for  the  abrogation  of  the  command  relating  to  the  lino 
of  earthly  priests,  is  hero  apjified  to  the  destruction  of 
the  power  and  abolition  of  the  results  of  sin.  As  in 
the  manifestation  before  the  face  of  God  wo  see  the 
proof  that  the  goal  whicli  the  human  high  priest  failed 
to  reach  had  been  attained,  so  these  words  proclaim 
full  deliverance  from  guilt  and  penalty,  and  from  the 
hohl  of  sin  itself — a  deliverance  wiiich  the  sin-offerinf 
could  but  express  in  figure. 

(-")  And  as  it  is  appointed  .  .  .—More  literally. 
And  as  there  is  laid  vp  for  mrn  once  to  die.  and  after 
this  judgment.  Man's  life  and  works  on  earth  end  with 
death :    what  remains  ia  the  result  of  tliis  life  and 


these  works,  as  determined  by  God's  "  judgment." 
Man  does  not  return  to  die  a  second  time.  That  some 
few  have  twice  passed  through  death  does  not  affect 
the  general  law.  The  emphatic  word  "  once  "  and  the 
special  design  of  the  verse  are  explained  by  the  words 
which  follow. 

(28)  So  Christ  was  once  offered.— The  ordinary 
translation,  dividing  the  verse  into  two  similar  jjortions, 
fails  to  show  where  the  emphasis  really  lies.  The  two 
members  of  the  verse  correspond  to  each  other,  point 
by  point,  with  i-emarkable  distinctness;  but  the  first  is 
clearly  subordinated  to  the  second.  "  So  the  Christ 
also,  having  been  once  offered  that  He  might  bear  the 
sins  of  many,  shall  appear  a  second  time  apart  from 
sin  to  them  that  wait  for  Him  unto  salvation."  It  is 
important  to  notice  that,  not  only  is  there  perfect 
parallelism  between  the  two  members  of  this  verse,  but 
there  is  a  similar  relation  between  this  verse  as  a  whole 
and  verse  27.  In  that  were  presented  two  cardinal 
points  of  the  history  of  sinful  man ;  in  this  the  main 
outlines  of  the  Redeemer's  work.  Each  verse  deals 
first  with  the  present  world,  and  secondly  with  "  the 
last  things."  The  two  verses,  taken  together,  are  con- 
nected with  the  preceding  argument  by  the  word 
"  once."  Christ  will  not  "  suffer "  often.  He  hsis 
been  manifested  once,  to  accomplish  by  one  act  the 
"  annulling  "  of  sin  (verse  26).  And  this  is  in  harmony 
with  the  lot  of  man,  who  must  die  once,  and  but  once 
(verses  27.  28).  But  what  is  the  exact  nature  of  this 
correspondence  ?  Do  the  words  simply  mean  that,  as 
the  Christ  was  man,  so  it  was  laid  up  for  Him  to  die 
but  once  ?  Or  may  the  connection  of  thought  be 
expressed  thus  ? — The  work  of  redemption  is  so  ordered 
as  to  correspond  to  the  course  of  man's  history :  as 
man  must  die  once,  and  what  remains  is  the  judgment 
which  he  must  abide,  so  the  Christ  has  died  once,  and 
what  remains  is  His  return  for  judgment — a  judgment 
which  He  Himself  administers,  giving  .salvation  to  His 
people.  We  will  not  venture  to  say  that  the  former  I 
thought  is  absent  from  the  words  (which  are  sufficiently  ( 
general  to  include  both),  but  certainly  the  second  is  • 
the  more  important.  If  now  we  return  to  verse  28.  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  words  "  ha^nng  been  once  offered  " 
in  the  first  memljer  are  answered  by  '"  shall  appear " 
in  the  second;  "to  bear  sins,"  by  "apart  from  sin  .  .  . 
unto  salvation  ; "  and  "  of  many,"  by  "  to  them  that 
wait  for  Him."  In  verses  14,  25,  the  writer  spoke  of 
Christ  as  offering  Himself,  here  as  "  having  been 
offered  ;  "  so  in  Eph.  v.  2  we  read  that  He  "  delivered 
Himself  up  for  us,"  but  in  Rom.  viii.  32  that  God 
"  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,"  and  in  Rom.  iv.  25, 
"  who  was  delivei'cd  up  for  our  offences."  The  words 
which  follow  are  taken  (with  a  slight  change)  from 
Isa.  liii.  12,  "and  He  bare  the  sin  of  many."  These 
words  clearly  involve  .sacrificial  imagery.  What  is  M 
signified  is  not  directly  the  rem  oral  oi  sin  (as  in  theil 
different  words  of  John  i.  29) ;  Init,  as  on  the  animal  to  ; 
be  slain  the  sins  of  tin*  offerer  were  in  figure  laid,  and 
the  death  which  followed  signified  the  death  which 
the  offerer  had  deserved,  so,  with  an  infinite  exteusioa 


322 


Tlie  Sacrijices  of  the  Law 


HEBEEWS,   X. 


unable  to  take  away  Sin. 


CHAPTER    X.  — (1)   For    the    law 
Chap.  X.  1-18.  having  a  shadow  of  good 


The     repeated   things 
sacrifices  of  the   j.i 


to  come,  and  not 
Law.  The  One  -^?  ^^rj  image  of  the 
Sacrifice  which  things.  Can  never  with 
takes  away  sin.  those  sacrifices  which  they 
offered  year  by  year  continually  make 
the  comers  thereunto  perfect.     ^-^  For 


then  would  they  not  have  ceased  to 
be  offered?  because  that  the  wor- 
shippers once  j)ui'o6d  should  have 
had  no  more  conscience  of  sins. 
(^)  But  in  those  sacrijices  there  is  a 
remembrance  again  made  of  sins  every 
year.  W  For  it  is  not  possible  that  the 
blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take 


of  meaning,  are  the  words  here  applied.  It  is  certainly 
no  mere  accident  that  the  writer,  tlius  availing  himself 
of  the  prophet's  words,  speaks  of  the  Clirist.  In 
contrast  with  the  one  Sufferer  are  the  "  many  "  whose 
sins  are  borne  (comp.  chap.  ii.  10;  Matt.  \xvi.  2b). 
Wlieu  the  Christ  shall  appear  the  second  time,  it  shall 
be  "apart  fi-om  sin"— no  longer  bearing  sin,  but 
*'  separate  from  sinners "  (chap.  vii.  26j.  Of  the 
judgment  Avhicli  He  shall  pass  upon  "  the  adversaries  " 
(chap.  X.  27)  tliis  verse  does  not  speak,  but  only  of  His 
appearing  to  His  own  people,  who  "  wait  for  Him." 
This  expressive  word,  again  and  again  used  by  St.  Paul 
(see  Note  on  Rom.  viii.  19)  to  describe  the  attitude  of 
Christ's  people  upon  eai-th  towards  their  Lord  (Phil.  iii. 
20;  1  Cor.  i.  7)  and  His  salvation  (Rom.  \-iii.  23,  25), 
is  here  applied  to  all  who  love  His  appearing.  By 
these  "  He  shall  be  seen  "  as  He  is  (1  John  iii.  2).  The 
last  words  "unto  salvation"  declare  the  purpose  of 
His  appearing,  in  a  form  which  at  once  recalls  the 
teaching  of  earlier  verses  in  the  Epistle  (chap.  v.  9 ; 
vii.  2(5),  and  especially  verse  12  of  this  chapter,  and 
which  brings  to  mind  the  name  of  Him  for  whom  we 
wait,  the  Saviour  (Phil.  iii.  20). 


The  latter  part  of  the  ninth  chapter  was  an  expansion 
of  verses  11,  12.  In  particular,  verses  23 — 28  have 
been  occupied  with  the  theme,  "  Christ  entered  once 
for  all  into  the  Holy  Place,  having  won  eternal  redemp- 
tion." The  repeated  offerings  presented  by  the  high 
priests  have  been  contrasted  with  tlie  sacrifice  which 
He  has  ofl'ered.  To  this  thought  the  opening  verses  of 
this  chapter  attach  themselves,  explaining  more  fully  the 
iuefficacy  of  the  one,  the  power  and  virtue  of  the  other. 
Gradually  the  main  thoughts  of  the  preceding  chapters 
are  gathered  up.  and  the  last  and  chief  division  of  the 
argument  of  the  Epistle  is  brought  to  a  close  in  verse  18. 

(DA  shadow  of  good  things  to  come.— Tliese 
words  have  already  come  before  us ;  the  "  shadow  "  in 
chap.  viii.  5,  and  "  the  good  things  to  come "  in  the 
ordinary  reading  of  chap.  ix.  11. 

Not  the  very  image.-  The  antithesis  is  hardly 
wliat  we  should  have  expected.  The  word  "  image 
is  indeed  consistent  with  the  very  closest  and  most 
perfect  likeness;  but  why  is  the  contrast  to  "shadow" 
expressed  by  a  word  which  cannot  denote  more  than 
likeness,  and  not  by  a  reference  to  the  things  tliem- 
eelves?  The  answer  would  seem  to  be  that,  from  tlie 
very  nature  of  the  "  good  things  to  come,"  the  law 
could  not  be  conceived  of  as  having  tlie  things  them- 
selves ;  but  had  it  possessed  "  the  very  image  "  of  them, 
a  representation  so  ])erfect  might  have  been  found  to 
bring  witli  it  equal  efficacy. 

Can  never  with  those  sacrifices.- It  is  difficult 
to  a.scertain  the  exact  Greok  text  in  the  latter  half  of 
this  verse.  With  the  ordinary  reading  the  general 
cimstniction  of  the  sentence  is  tliat  which  theAutliorised 
version  represents,  "For  the  law  .  .  .  can  never  .  .  . 


make  perfect."  The  better  MSS.,  however,  read  "  they 
can,"  a  change  which  introduces  some  irregularity  of 
construction :  the  pronoun  "  they  "  must  probably  in 
this  case  be  understood  of  the  priests.  The  order  of 
the  Greek  is  also  very  peculiar.  Two  translations  of 
the  verse  (with  the  cliauged  reading)  may  be  given  : 
(1)  "They  can  never  with  the  same  sacrifices  year  by 
year  which  they  offer  continually  make  them  that  draw 
nigh  perfect."  (2)  "  They  can  never  year  by  year,  by 
the  same  sacrifices  which  they  offer  continually,  make 
them  that  draw  nigh  perfect."  The  difference  between 
the  two  renderings  will  be  easily  seen.  The  former 
makes  the  whole  sentence  to  relate  to  the  annual 
sacrifice  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  and  gives  to  "  con- 
tinually "  almost  the  same  meaning  as  *'  year  by  year." 
The  meaning  of  the  latter  is  that  by  the  annual  sacri- 
fices, which  are  the  same  as  those  which  the  priests  are 
offering  for  the  people  day  by  day  (for  the  sacrifice  of 
the  Day  of  Atonement  did  not  in  itself  differ  from  the 
ordinary  sin  offering),  they  cannot  make  the  worshippers 
perfect.  The  latter  translation  agrees  best  with  the 
original,  and  conveys  a  very  striking  thought.  It  is 
open,  however,  to  a  very  serious  objection — that  it 
separates  the  verse  into  two  incongruous  parts.  That 
annual  sacrifices  not  different  in  kind  from  the  sin 
offerings  wliich  were  presented  day  by  day  (and  which 
the  very  institution  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  declared  to 
be  imperfect)  could  not  bring  to  the  worshippers  what 
they  needed,  is  an  important  argument ;  but  it  has  no 
connection  with  the  first  words  of  the  verse.  Hence, 
though  the  Greek  does  not  very  readily  yield  the  former 
translation,  it  is  probably  to  be  preferred.  With  the 
expression  "them  that  draw  nigh"  or  "approach"  (to 
God)  comp.  chap.  vii.  26,  where  the  same  word  is  used. 
On  "  make  perfect  "  see  chaps,  vii.  11 ;  ix.  9. 

(2)  For  then. — Better,  othencise.  The  very  repeti- 
tion of  the  annual  ceremonial  was  a  testimony  to  its 
imperfection.  The  idea  of  repetition  has  been  very 
strikingly  brought  out  in  verse  1. 

Once  purged.^Better,  because  the  icorshipjpers, 
having  been  once  cleansed,  icould  have  no  more  con- 
sciousness of  sin^.  "  Worshippei-s,"  not  the  same  word 
as  in  verse  1,  but  similarly  used  in  chap.  ix.  9,  14; 
xii.  28  (Phil.  iii.  3,  et  al.) :  in  chap.  viii.  5 ;  xiii.  10,  it  is 
applied  to  priestly  service. 

(3)  There  is  a  remembrance.— Better,  a  remem- 
hrance  of  sins  is  made  year  by  year.  In  each  of  the 
tliree  prayers  of  the  high  priest  (see  chap.  v.  3)  for 
himself  and  his  house,  for  tlie  priesthood,  for  the 
people,  he  made  special  acknowledgment  of  sin.  "  I 
have  sinned,  I  and  my  house  and  the  suns  of  Aaron  : 
Thy  jxMiple  have  done  perversely." 

(■»)  This  verse  explains  those  which  precede.  No  in- 
consistency really  Ix-loiiged  to  these  sacrifices  and  this 
cen'monial.  though  so  often  repeated:  for  it  was  im- 
possible that  any  such  sacrifice  should  really  remove 
sin.  The  offering  was  necessary,  and  it  answered  its 
puqiose;  but  it  could  not  remove  the  necessity  for 
another  and  a  better  offering. 


:i23 


Sacrifices  and  Offeringa 


HEBREWS,   X. 


Thou  wotddest  not.* 


(5) 


awaj  sms.  ^•'>  Wherefore  when  he 
Cometh  into  the  world,  he  saith,  Sacri- 
fice and  offerinf^  thou  wonkiest  not, 
but  a   body  hast  thou  prepared  me:^ 


1  Or,  thou,  hast  fit- 
ted me. 


In  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices  for 
sin  thou  hast  had  no  pleasure.  i''>  Then 
said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  volume  of  the 
book  it  is  written  of  me,)  to  do  thy  will, 


(5)  Wherefore.— Tliat  is,  on  account  of  this  power- 
lessncss  of  tlio  sacriticos  of  the  law. 

He  saith.— Christ,  in  tlio  prophetic  word  of  Scrip- 
tun'.  Tliongh  not  directly  mentioned  here,  He  has 
been  tlie  .subject  of  the  whole  context  (chap.  ix.  25 — 28). 
The  words  wiiich  follow  are  a  quotation  from  Ps.  xl.  6 — 
8,  and  agree  substantially  with  the  LXX.,  except  that 
in  verse  7  a  word  of  some  importance  is  omitted  (see 
the  Note  there).  The  LXX.,  again,  is  on  the  whole  a 
faithful  representation  of  the  Hebrew  text :  one  clause 
only  (the  last  in  this  verse)  presents  difficulty.  Par- 
ticular expressions  will  bo  noticed  as  they  occur  :  the 
general  meaning  and  application  of  the  psalm  must 
first  receive  attention.  Like  Ps.  1.  and  li.  (with  some 
verses  of  Ps.  Ixix.),  Ps.  xl.  is  remarkable  for  its  antici- 
pation of  the  teaching  of  the  prophets  (Isa.  i.  11 — 17; 
Jer.  vii.  21;  Hos.  vi.  6;  Mic.  vi.  6 — 8;  et  al.)  on  one 
point,  the  inferior  worth  of  ceremonial  observances 
when  contrasted  with  moral  duties.  It  seems  probable 
that  the  psalm  is  David's,  as  the  inscription  relates,  and 
that  its  key-note  is  to  be  found  in  the  words  of  Samuel 
to  Saul  (1  Sam.  xv.  22) :  "  Hath  the  Lord  as  great  de- 
light in  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obeying 
(literally,  hearkening  fo)  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ?  Behold, 
to  obey  ( literally,  to  hear)  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to 
hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams."  The  first  part  of  the  psalm 
is  an  expression  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  deliverance 
from  peril.  David  has  learned  the  true  mode  of  dis- 
playing gratitude,  not  by  offerings  of  slain  animals,  but 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  will.  So  far  does  the  latter  excel 
the  former,  so  truly  is  the  sacrifice  of  will  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God,  that  the  value  of  the  legal  offer- 
ings is  in  comparison  as  nothing.  There  is  in  all  this 
no  real  slighting  of  the  sacrificial  ritual  (see  Jer.  vii. 
21 — 28),  but  there  is  a  profound  appreciation  of  the 
superiority  of  spiritual  service  to  mere  ritual  ob- 
servance. It  can  hardly  be  said  that  this  quotation  rests 
on  the  same  principle  as  those  of  the  first  chapter. 
Tlio  psalm  is  certaiidy  not  Messianic,  in  the  sense  of 
being  wholly  predictive  like  Ps.  ex.,  or  directly  typical 
like  Ps.  ii.  In  some  respects,  indeed,  it  resembles 
2  Sam.  vii.  (See  the  Note  on  chap.  i.  5.)  As  there, 
after  words  which  are  quoted  in  this  Epistle  in  reference 
to  Christ,  we  read  of  David's  son  as  committing  iniqiiity 
and  receiving  punishuicnt ;  so  in  this  psalm  we  read, 
"  Mine  iniquities  are  more  than  the  hairs  of  mine  head." 
David  comes  with  a  new  perception  of  the  true  will  of 
God,  to  offer  Him  the  service  in  which  He  takes 
pleasure.  And  yet  not  so— for  such  service  as  he  can 
offer  is  itself  defective;  his  sins  surround  him  yet  in 
their  results  and  penalties.  Hence,  in  his  understand- 
ing atul  his  offering  of  himself  he  is  a  type,  whilst  his 
sinfulness  and  weakness  render  him  but  an  imperfect 
type, of  Him  that  was  to  come.  Such  passages  as  these 
constitute  a  distinct  and  very  interesting  division  of 
Messianic  prophecy.  Wo  may  then  thus  trace  the 
principle  on  which  the  psalm  is  here  applied.  Jesus 
came  to  His  Father  with  tliat  perfect  offering  of  will 
and  self  which  was  foreshadowed  iji  the  best  impulses 
of  the  best  of  the  men  of  God.  whoso  inspired  utter- 
ances the  Scriptures  record.  The  words  of  David,  but 
partially  true  of  himself,  are  fulfilled  in  the  Son  of 
Da^-id.  Since,  then,  these  words  describe  the  purpose 
of  the  Saviour's  life,  we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  under- 


324 


standing  the  introductory  words,  "when  He  cometh 
into  the  world,  He  saith; "  or  the  seventh  verse,  where 
we  read,  "  Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  Thy  will."  When 
David  saw  the  true  meaning  of  the  law,  he  thus  came 
before  God ;  the  purpose  of  Jesus,  when  He  received 
the  body  which  was  the  necessary  instrument  for  human 
obedience,  finds  its  full  expi-ession  in  these  words. 

Sacrifice  and  offering.  —  The  corresponding 
Hebrew  words  denote  the  two  divisions  of  offerings,  as 
made  vrith  or  without  the  shedding  of  blood. 

But  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me. — Rather, 
but  a  body  didst  Thou  prepare  for  me.  Few  discrep- 
ancies between  the  LXX.  and  the  Hebrew  have  attracted 
more  notice  than  that  which  these  words  present.  The 
words  of  the  Psalmist  are,  "  In  sacrifice  and  offering 
Thou  hast  not  delighted :  ears  hast  Thou  digged  for  me." 
As  in  Samuel's  words,  already  referred  to  as  containing 
the  germ  of  the  psalm,  sacrifice  is  contrasted  with  hear- 
ing and  with  hearkening  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  the 
meaning  evidently  is,  Thou  hast  given  me  the  power 
of  hearing  so  as  to  obey.  A  channel  of  communication 
has  been  opened,  through  which  the  knowledge  of  God's 
true  will  can  reach  the  heart,  and  excite  the  desire  to 
obey.  All  ancient  Greek  versions  except  the  LXX. 
more  or  less  clearly  express  the  literal  meaning.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  the  translators  of  the  LXX. 
had  before  them  a  different  reading  of  the  Hebrew 
text,  preferable  to  that  which  is  found  in  our  present 
copies.  This  is  very  unlikely.  Considering  the  general 
principles  of  their  translation,  we  may  with  gi-eater 
probability  suppose  that  they  designed  merely  to  express 
the  general  meaning,  avoiding  a  literal  rendering  of  a 
Hebrew  metaphor  which  seemed  harsh  and  abrupt. 
They  seem  to  have  understood  the  Psalmist  as  acknow- 
ledging that  God  had  given  him  that  which  would  pro- 
duce obedience ;  and  to  this  (they  thought)  would 
correspond  the  prepai'ation  of  a  body  which  might  be 
the  instrument  of  rendering  willing  service.  If  the 
present  context  be  carefully  examined,  we  shall  see 
that,  though  the  writer  does  afterwards  make  reference 
(verse  10)  to  the  new  words  here  introduced,  they  are 
in  no  way  necessaiy  to  his  argument,  nor  does  he  lay 
on  them  any  stress. 

(<>)  Burnt  offerings.— Better,  whole  burnt  offer- 
ings. These  (which  were  the  symbol  of  complete  con- 
secration) are  not  mentioned  in  this  Epistle,  except  in 
this  verse  and  verse  8. 

Thou  hast  had  no  pleasure.— Better  (for  con- 
formity with  the  preceding  clauses).  Thou  hadst  no 
pleasure. 

(7)  Lo,  I  come. — Rjither,  Lo,  I  am  come — I  am 
here.  The  original  meaning  of  the  following  words  is 
not  quite  certain.  The  Hebrew  admits  of  two  render- 
ings. (1)  Then  I  said,  Lo,  I  am  come!  in  the  roU  of 
the  Book  it  is  prescribed  unto  me ;  (2)  Then  I  said, 
Lo,  I  am  come  with  the  roll  of  the  Book  that  is  written 
concerning  me.  The  "  roll  of  the  Book "  is  the  roll 
containing  the  Divine  Law.  The  next  clause  is  quite 
distinct  in  constnxction :  "  I  delight  to  do  Thy  will, 
O  God;  yea.  Thy  law  is  within  my  heart."  The 
omission  of  the  words  "  I  delight,"  alters  the  connection 
of  the  words ;  but  it  will  be  seen  that,  though  the 
Hebrew  verses  are  condensed,  their  meaning  is  exactly 
preserved. 


"  Lo,  I  come 


HEBEEWS,   X. 


to  do  Thy  Will,  0  God." 


O  God.  (^^  Above  when  he  said,  Sacri- 
fice and  offering  and  burnt  offerings  and 
offering  for  sin  thou  wouldest  not, 
neither  hadst  pleasure  therein;  which 
are  offered  by  the  law ;  (^>  Then  said  he, 
Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God.  He 
taketh  away  the  first,  that  he  may 
establish  the  second.     <"^)  By  the  which 


will  we  are  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ 
once  for  all.  (^^^  And  every  priest 
standeth  daily  ministering  and  offering 
oftentimes  the  same  sacrifices,  which 
can  never  take  away  sins :  (^-^  but  this 
man,  after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice 
for  sins  for  ever,  sat  down  on  the  right 


(8)  Above  when  he  said.— Better,  Whereas  he 
saith  above  ;  or,  as  we  miglit  express  it,  "  Saying  at  the 
outset,"  "  Setting  out  with  saying."  In  the  following 
words  the  best  MSS.  have  the  plural,  "  Sacrifices  and 
offerings  and  whole  burnt  offerings  and  (sacrifices)  for 
sin."  The  change  from  singular  to  plural  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  thought  of  verses  1—4,  the  repetition 
of  sacrifices. 

Which  are  ofiTered  by  the  law.— Rather,  such 
as  are  offered  according  to  law.  The  change  from 
"the  law"  to  "law"  seems  intentional,  as  if  the  writer 
had  in  thought  the  contrast  between  any  external  law  of 
ritual  and  a  principle  of  inward  obedience. 

(9)  Then  said  he,  Lo,  I  corae. — Rather,  then 
hath  he  said,  Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  Thij  will.  The  words 
"  O  God  "  are  not  in  the  true  text,  but  have  been  acci- 
dentally repeated  from  verse  7. 

He  taketh  away  the  first,  that  he  may 
establish  the  second.— It  is  important  to  inquire 
how  this  is  done,  first  in  the  case  of  the  writer  of  the 
psalm,  then  as  the  words  are  used  of  Jesus.  David, 
percei^nng  that  that  which  God  seeks  is  the  subjection 
of  man's  will,  refuses  to  rest  in  the  sacrifices  of  the 
law.  No  one  will  think  that  burnt  offering  or  gift  or 
sacrifice  for  sin  was  henceforth  at  an  end  for  him  :  the 
confession  of  his  iniquities  (verse  12)  implied  a  recourse 
lo  the  appointed  means  of  approach  to  God  :  even  the 
sacrifices  themselves  were  taken  up  into  the  service  of 
obedience.  But  to  the  symbols  shall  be  added  the  con- 
secration and  the  sacrifice  of  praise  (Ps.  1.  23)  which  they 
typified.  The  application  to  the  Saviour  must  be  inter- 
preted by  this  context.  In  making  these  words  His 
own,  He  declares  the  sacrifices  of  the  law  to  be  in 
themselves  without  virtue ;  Jehovah  seeks  them  not  from 
Him,  but,  having  prepared  a  human  body  for  Him, 
seeks  only  the  fulfilment  of  His  will.  But  included  in 
that  will  of  God  was  Christ's  offering  of  Himself  for 
the  world ;  and.  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  His  perfect 
surrender  of  Himself  that  gave  completeness  to  that 
offering.  His  death  was  at  once  the  antitype  of  the 
sacrifice  for  sin  and  the  consummation  of  the  words, 
"I  am  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God."  Hence,  in  say- 
ing, "  Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  Thy  will "  ( that  which  God 
has  really  willed).  He  taketh  away  the  sacrifices  of 
slain  animals  that  He  may  establish  the  doing  of  God's 
will.  That  such  sacrifices  as  were  formerly  offered  are 
no  longer  according  to  God's  pleasure  follows  as  au 
inference  from  this. 

(10)  By  the  which  will  we  are  sanctified.— 
Better,  In  which  will  ice  have  been  sanctified.  In  the 
last  verso  we  read  of  that  which  Jesus  established — 
the  doing  of  the  will  of  God.  He  did  that  will  when 
He  offered  the  sacrifice  of  His  perfect  obedience — 
"obedience  as  far  as  death  "  (Phil.  ii.  8).  In  this  will 
of  God  which  He  accomplished  lies  our  sanctification, 
effected  "  through  tlie  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ  once  for  all."  In  chap.  ix.  14  the  efficacy  of 
the  blood  of  Christ  to  cleanse  the  conscience  is  con- 
trasted with  the  power  of  the  offerings  of  the  law  to 


"  sanctify  in  regard  to  cleanness  of  the  flesh  :  "  here 
the  real  sanctification  is  joined  with  "the  offering  of  the 
body  of  Jesus  Christ."  In  the  word  "  body  "  lies  a 
reference  to  verse  8,  where  the  body  is  looked  on  as  the 
insti'ument  of  obedient  service  (conip.  Rom.  xii.  1) ;  but 
the  word  "offering"  still  preserves  its  sacrificial 
character,  and  contains  an  allusion  to  the  presentation 
of  the  body  of  the  slain  victim.  (Comp.  chap.  xiii.  11). 
As  this  offering  has  been  presented  ''  once  for  all " 
(chaps,  vii.  27 ;  ix.  12),  so  "  once  for  all  "  has  the  work 
of  sanctification  been  achieved. 

(11)  The  last  was  a  verse  of  transition.  Naturally 
following  from  and  completing  the  previous  argument, 
it  leads  in  the  words  "  once  for  all "  to  a  new  thought, 
or  rather  prepares  the  way  for  the  resumption  of  a 
subject  to  which  in  an  earlier  chapter  marked  promi- 
nence was  given.  If  the  sanctifying  work  of  the  true 
High  Priest  has  been  accomplished  "  once  for  all,"  such 
ministry  remains  for  Him  no  longer  (verses  12 — 14). 
Here,  then,  the  writer  brings  us  back  to  chap.  viii.  1,  2 — 
to  that  which  he  there  declared  to  be  the  crowning  point 
of  all  his  words. 

And  every  priest. — Some  ancient  MSS.  and  ver- 
sions read  "  high  priest,"  but  the  oi'dinary  text  is  in  all 
probability  correct.  (With  the  other  reading  the  work 
of  the  priests  in  their  daily  ministrations  is  ascribed 
to  the  high  priest,  whose  representatives  they  were.) 
Hitherto  the  thought  has  rested  almost  entirely  on  the 
ceremonial  of  the  Day  of  Atonement;  there  is  therefore 
new  significance  in  the  contrast  between  Jesus  and 
"  every  priest  "  in  all  His  ministrations.  On  "standeth" 
see  the  Note  on  chap.  viii.  1.  The  accumulation  of 
words  which  point  to  the  ceaseless  repetition  of  the 
offerings  of  the  law  (verse  1)  is  very  noteworthy.  The 
last  words  point  to  verse  4. 

(12)  But  this  man.— Rather,  but  Re.  In  the  main 
this  verse  is  a  combination  of  chaps.  \\i.  27  (ix.  26)  and 
viii.  1.  One  addition  is  made,  in  the  words.  "  for  ever." 
These  words  (which  occur  in  three  other  places,  chaps. 
A-ii.  3 ;  X.  1,  14)  are  by  many  joined  with  what  precedes, 
by  others  with  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence,  "  sat  down 
on  the  right  liand  of  God."  The  different  editions  of 
our  Bible  and  Prayer  Book  (Epistle  for  Good  Friday) 
are  divided,  some  (including  the  earliest)  ha\-ing  a 
comma  at  the  word  "  ever,"  others  at  "  sins."  In  most 
of  our  earlier  English  versions  the  construction  adopted 
was  shown  by  the  arrangement  of  the  words.  Thus 
Tyndale  has,  "  sat  him  down  for  ever ; "  and  the  Bishops' 
Bible,  "is  set  down  for  ever."  Coverdale  (following 
Lutlier)  is  very  clear  on  the  other  side:  "when  He  had 
offered  for  sins  one  sacrifice  which  is  of  value  for  ever." 
Most  modern  commentators  seem  to  adopt  the  latter 
view  ("for  ever  sat  do^vn"),  but  hardly,  perhaps,  >vith 
sufficient  reason.  The  analogy  of  verse  14  is  distinctly 
on  the  other  side ;  and  the  Greek  phrase  rendered  "  for 
ever "  is  more  suitably  applied  to  the  offering  of  a 
sacrifice  than  to  the  thought  of  the  following  words. 


326 


Perfection. 


HEBREWS,  X. 


Remission  of  Sins. 


hand  of  God  ;  (^^)  from  henceforth  ex- 
pecting^' till  liis  enemies  be  made  bis 
iV)()tstool.  t^^'  For  by  one  offering  be 
bath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  ai'e 
sanctified.  <^^^  Whereof  the  Holy  Ghost 
also  is  a  witness  to  us :  for  after  that 
he  had  said  before,  (^^^  This  is  the 
covenant  that  I  will  make  with  them 
after  those  days,  saitli  the  Lord,  I 
will    jnit    my  laws    into   their    hearts, 


1  Or,  liberty. 


and  in  their  minds  will  I  write  them ; 
<i"^  and  their  sins  and  iniquities  will  I 
remember  no  more."  (^^^  Now  where 
remission  of  these  is,  there  is  no  more 
offering  for  sin. 

(iy>     Having      therefore,  chap, 
brethren,      boldness  ^      to  39 


19— 

Exliorta- 

to   fitead- 

-  .«u„ness      in 

blood  01  Jesus,  (^^^  by  a  new  faith  and  good 
and  living  way,  which  he  ^^rks. 


enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  \^^\„ 

.  .       -      _  _  _      -        •'  lastness 


Tho  contrast  to  verse  11  is  strongly  marked.  The 
sacrificial  work  has  been  performed,  and  the  High 
Priest  no  longer  "  standeth  ministering."  The  words 
"  sjit  down  "  (Ps.  ex.  1)  add  to  the  priestly  imagery  that 
of  kingly  state. 

(i:i)  Expecting. — This  word  belongs  to  the  contrast 
just  mentioned.  He  does  not  minister  and  offer  His 
sacrifice  again,  but  waits  for  the  promised  subjection  of 
His  foes.  Once  before  in  this  context  (chap.  ix.  28)  our 
thouglit  lias  been  thus  directed  to  the  future  consum- 
mation. There  it  consists  in  the  second  coming  of 
Christ  for  the  salvation  of  "  tlieui  that  wait  for  Him  ;  " 
here  it  is  He  Himself  who  is  "waiting,"  and  the  end  is  the 
attainment  of  supreme  dominion.     (See  chap.  i.  3,  13.) 

(1*)  No  repetiticm  of  His  offering  is  needed,  for  by 
one  offering  He  hath  brought  all  unto  "  perfection,"  and 
that  "for  ever."  In  chap.  vii.  11  we  have  read  that 
"  perfection  "  did  not  come  through  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood or  through  the  law  (ver.se  19);  the  object  of 
man's  liopcs  and  of  all  piiestly  service  has  at  last  been 
attained,  since  througli  the  "  great  High  Pi-iest  "  "  we 
draw  nigh  to  God"  (chap.  vii.  19).  In  this  is  involved 
salvation  to  the  uttermost  (chap.  vii.  25).  The  last 
word  tjf  this  verse  has  occurred  before,  in  chap.  ii.  11. 
As  was  there  explained,  it  literally  means  those  who  are 
being  smictijied,  all  those  wlio,  from  age  to  age,  through 
faith  (verse  22)  receive  as  their  own  that  which  has  been 
procured  for  all  men. 

(15)  Whereof.— Better,  And  the  Holy  Ghost  also 
heareth  loitness  unto  us.  The  Holy  Gliost,  speaking  in 
Scripture  (chap.  iii.  7;  ix.  8) — the  Scripture  quoted  in 
cluip.  viii.  8 — 12 — beareth  witn(>ss. 

After  that  he  had  said  before.— Rather,  after  He 
hath  said.    Tlie  word  "  before  "  is  not  in  tho  best  MSS. 

(16)  I  will  put  my  laws.— Rather,  putting  my  laws 
upon  their  heart,  upon  their  mind  also  ivill  I  write 
them.  The  first  part  of  the  quotation  (chap.  viii.  8,  9, 
10  in  part)  is  omitted,  and  also  some  later  lines  (the 
last  words  of  verso  10  and  the  whole  of  verse  11  in 
eliap.  viii.).  In  tho  remainder  we  notice  some  variations, 
whicli  prove  tliat  tho  writer  is  not  aiming  at  verbal 
agreement  witli  tho  original  passage,  but  is  quoting 
the  _sul)stance  only.     (See  the  Note  on  chap.  viii.  10.) 

_  (1")  Every  reader  must  feel  that  as  these  verses  stand 
m  tho  Authorised  version  tlio  sense  is  imperfect.  The 
words  "after  He  hatli  said  before"  (verse  15)  imply 
*'  then  He  saitli."  or  .similar  words,  at  some  point  in 
the  verses  which  follow.  Our  translators  did  not 
attemjit  to  comi)leto  the  seu.se  ;  for  t lie  marginal  note 
("some  copies  have,  Then  he  saith.  And  their")  found 
in  ordinary  editions  was  added  at  a  later  date.*     By 


Bible  " 
is  in 


•  From    Dr.    Scrivener's    "  Canibridpre    Paraiyraph    u 
(p.  xxxii.)  we  Icani  tlial  the  note  was  added  bv  I)r  Pa 
the  Cambridge  Hible  of  17ti2.    Dr.  Scrivener  adds  :  •'  probably 
n-on\  the    Philoxenian  Syriac  version,  then  just   becoming 


326 


many  commentators  it  is  believed  that  the  words  "  saith 
the  Lord  "  (verse  16)  are  intended  as  the  completion 
of  the  sentence,  so  that  no  supplement  is  needed.  This 
is,  we  think,  very  improbable.  As  it  is  the  hist  part 
of  the  quotation  that  is  taken  up  here,  it  is  at  the 
beginning  of  this  verse  that  the  explanatory  words 
must  come  in:  "  Then  He  saith.  And  their  sins  and  their 
iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more."  This  we  have 
seen  to  be  the  crowning  promise  of  the  new  covenant 
of  which  Jesus  is  the  Mediator.  When  these  words 
were  first  quoted  (chap.  viii.  12),  some  important  points 
in  the  argument  were  still  untouched.  Now  the  firm 
basis  of  the  promise  has  been  shown,  for  the  covenant  has 
been  ratified  by  the  death  of  Christ,  and  the  blessings 
He  has  won  for  men  are  eternal  (chap.  ix.  15,  12). 

(18)  Now  where. — Rather,  But  where  remission  (or 
forgiveness,  see   chap.  ix.  22)  of  these  is,  there  is  no 

longer  offering  for  sin.  Here  the  argument  reaches  its 
triumphant  close. 

At  this  point  we  enter  on  the  last  great  division 
of  the  Epistle  (chaps,  x.  19 — xiii.  25),  which  is  occupied 
with  earnest  exhortation,  encouragement  to  perseverance 
alternating  with  solemn  warning  against  apostasy. 
The  first  section  of  this  main  division  extends  to  the 
end  of  this  chapter. 

(19)  Tl^e  exhortation  which  here  begins  is  veiy  similar 
to  that  of  chap.  iv.  14 — 16.  Its  greater  fulness  and 
expressiveness  are  in  accordance  with  the  development 
in  the  thought. 

Therefore. — The  chief  thoughts  taken  up  are  those 
expressed  in  chap.  ix.  11,  12.  The  word  "boldness" 
has  occurred  in  chap.  iii.  6;  iv.  16.     (See  the  Notes.) 

By  the  blood  of  Jesus.— Better,  in  the  blood  of 
Jesus ;  for  the  meaning  pi-obably  is,  "  Having  therefore 
boldness  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  for  entering  into  the 
Holy  {i.e.,  the  Holiest)  Place."  It  is  not  that  we  enter 
"with  the  blood,"  as  the  high  priest  entered  the  Holy 
of  Holies  (chap.  ix.  25) :  no  comparison  is  made  between 
Christ's  peojjlo  and  the  Je^vish  high  pi-iest.  But  as 
when  he  entered  Avithin  the  veil  the  whole  people 
symliolically  entered  in  with  him,  so  do  we  enter  with  I 
our  High  Priest,  who  "  by  means  of  His  own  blood" 
entered  for  lis  (and  as  our  "  Foreriinner,"  chap.  \i.  20) 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  God.  In  that  throughj 
which  He  entei-ed  we  have  our  "  boldness  to  enter." 

(20)  By  a  new  and  living  way.— Better,  by  thel 
way  7vhich  He  dedicated  (or  inaugurated)  for  us,  a  newt 
and  living  way.  This  way  was  opened  to  us  by  Him  ;l 
in  it  we  follow  Him.  For  Him,  the  way  into  thel 
Holiest  led  through  tho  veil,  His  flesh.  As  the  veil] 
concealed  from  the  high  priest  the  place  of  God's 
presence,  which  he  could  enter  only  by  passing  through 
the  veil ;  so,  although  in  His  earthly  life  Jesus  dwelt  ,j 
in  the  presence  of  God,  yet  as  our  representative 


The  Way  into  the  Holiest  opened. 


HEBREWS,   X. 


Provocation  unto  Love. 


hath  consecrated^  for  us,  through  the  veil, 
that  is  to  say,  his  flesh  ;  (^'^^  and  having 
an  high  priest  over  the  house  of  God ; 
(2^)  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart 
in  full  assurance  of  faith,  having  our 
hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience, 
and  our  bodies  washed  with  j)ure  water. 
(-^^  Let  us  hold  fast  the  profession  of 
our  faith  without  wavering ;  (for  he  is 


1  Or,  iicw  made. 


faithful  that  promised;)  (^>  and  let  us 
consider  one  another  to  provoke  unto 
love  and  to  good  works  :  (-^^  not  for- 
saking the  assembling  of  ourselves 
together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is  ; 
but  exhorting  one  another :  and  so  much 
the  more,  as  ye  see  the  day  approaching. 
(26)  -^Qj.  if  -^re  sin  wilfully  after  that  we 
have    received    the    knowledge   of   the 


could  not  enter  the  heavenly  sanctuary  until  He  had 
passed  through  and  out  of  His  life  of  flesh  (see  chap. 
ix.  11).  There  is  probably  a  covert  allusion  to  the 
rending  of  the  Temple  veil  in  the  hour  when  Jesus  thus 
passed  through  the  rent  veil  of  His  flesh.  This  way  is 
new  (chap.  ix.  8,  12),  it  is  living,  for  in  truth  this 
"  way  "  is  living  union  with  Christ  (John  xiv.  6). 

(21)  An  high  priest.— The  Greek  words  properly 
signify  a  great  priest  (conip.  chap.  iv.  14),  which  is  one 
of  the  names  by  which  the  high  priest  is  frequently 
designated,  both  in  the  Heln'ew  (Lev.  xxi.,  et  al.),  and  in 
the  LXX.  It  may  seem  strange  that  tlie  writer  should 
here  make  use  of  a  new  word  in  tlie  place  of  that  which 
has  occurred  so  frequently.  But  there  is  strong  reason 
for  believing  that  the  language  of  one  of  the  prophecies 
of  Zechai-iah  (vi.  11 — 13)  is  here  before  his  mind.  In 
the  preceding  verses  (12 — 14)  he  has  used  words  which 
united  sacerdotal  and  kingly  imagery;  and  it  would 
be  remarkable  if  this  did  not  lead  his  thought  to  that 
prophecy.  On  the  head  of  Joshua,  "  the  great  priest  " 
(Zech.  vi.  11),  are  placed  crowns  of  silver  and  gold  in 
token  of  royal  dignity :  then  follows  the  prediction  of 
Him  of  whom  Joshua  was  the  type.  "  He  shall  build 
the  house  of  the  Lord  :  and  He  shall  bear  the  glory, 
and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  His  throne ;  and  He 
shall  bo  a  priest  upon  His  throne."  In  the  verse 
before  us  are  combined  several  of  the  characteristic 
thoughts  of  that  passage — the  great  priest,  tlie  priestly 
rider,  the  house  of  God.  The  last-mentioned  words 
are  repeatedly  used  throughout  the  Old  Testament, 
both  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  later  books,  for  the 
Tabernacle  or  Temple  of  God.  In  chap.  iii.  6  (to  which 
there  is  a  manifest  allusion  here)  the  meaning  is  en- 
larged, but  only  so  that  under  "  the  house "  is  also 
comprised  the  hnuseJiold  of  God.  Here  the  two 
thoughts  are  combined.  Into  the  house  of  God  we  may 
enter;  over  it  Jesus  rules  as  "  the  great  Priest."  The 
family  of  God  subject  to  His  rule  includes  the  wliole 
community  of  "  the  people  of  God  "  in  heaven  and  upon 
earth. 

(22)  Let  us  draw  near,— See  verso  1 ;  also  chaps,  iv, 
16;  vii.  25;  xi.  6. 

With  a  true  heart.— "  True,"  the  word  used  in 
chaps,  viii.  2,  ix.  24,  a  real — i.e.,  a  sincere  heart.  As 
in  cliap.  vi.  we  read  of  "  full  assurance,"  or  rather, 
"fulness  of  hope,"  so  here  oi  fulness  of  faith.  With- 
out this  there  could  be  for  us  no  "  living  way  "  (verse 
20)  for  entering  into  the  holiest  place.  Tlie  thought 
of  the  whole  verse  connects  itself  with  the  priestly 
character  of  those  who  are  the  people  of  God  (Ex.  xix. 
6 ;  Rev.  i.  5,  6).  It  is  as  priests  that  they  enter  the 
house  of  God,  sprinkled  with  the  bh'od  of  atonement 
(chaps,  xii.  24  ;  ix.  14;  Lev.  viii.  30;  1  Pot.  i.  2),  and  with 
all  dcfdemeiit  washecl  away  (Lev.  xin.  6).  "  Sprinkled 
from  an  evil  conscience : "  that  is,  freed  l)y  means  of 
the  "  sjirinkliiig  "  from  a  conscience  defiled  liy  guilt. 
In  the  last  words  there  is  a  clear  allusion  to  baptism, 


327 


as  the  symbol  of  the  new  life  of  purity  (Eph.  v,  26; 
Tit.  iii.  5;  1  Pet.  iii.  21). 

(23)  In  this  verse  again  we  have  the  characteristic 
words  of  earlier  exhortations  :  ''  hold  fast "  (chap.  iii.  6, 
14) ;  "  profession,"  or,  rathei',  confession  (chaps,  iii.  1 ; 
iv.  14). 

Of  our  faith, — This  rendering,  apparently  found 
in  no  earlier  English  version,  is  supposed  to  be  due  to 
oversight  on  the  part  of  our  translators.  The  true 
reading  is  "  of  the  hoi^e  "  (chap.  \'i.  11,  18,  19).  The 
two  following  words  must  be  joined  with  "  confession," 
"  let  us  hold  fast  the  confessiim  of  the  (Christian) 
hope  so  that  it  waver  not."  This  hope  "  maketh  not 
ashamed  "  (Rom.  v.  5),  for  the  promise  is  sure. 

(2^)  Gradually  the  writer  passes  from  that  which 
belongs  to  the  individual  (verses  19,  20)  to  the  mutual 
duties  of  members  of  a  community.  Possibly  he 
knew  that  amongst  those  whom  he  addresses  there 
had  existed  "  provocations"  that  did  not  tend  towards 
brotherly  love.  The  strict  meaning  may  simply  be — 
let  us  take  note  of  one  another,  to  stimulate  one  another 
to  good  works ;  but  in  the  result,  if  not  in  the  expres- 
sion, is  included  the  converse  thought,  "  that  we  may 
ourselves  be  thus  provoked." 

(25)  As  the  manner  of  some  is,— Some  members 
of  this  community,  it  would  seem,  had  persuaded 
themselves  that  the  relation  of  Judaism  to  Christianity, 
of  the  "  synagogue  "  (the  Greek  word  here  used  seems 
to  allude  to  this  technical  name,  and  yet  intentionally 
to  avoid  it)  and  the  Church,  was  such  as  to  permit 
them  to  avoid  close  intercourse  with  Christians  and 
direct  association  with  Christian  assemblies.  This 
neglect  was  the  first  step  towards  apostasy. 

Exhorting. — Better,  encouraging.  (Comp.  chap, 
xii.  12.) 

The  day.— See  1  Cor. iii.  13 — "the  day  shall  declare  " 
every  man's  work.  Elsewhere  we  read  of  "  the  day 
of  the  Lord"  (1  Tliess.  v.  2);  "the  day  of  Christ" 
(Phil.  i.  10),  The  words  of  Jesus  to  His  disciples 
(Matt.  xxiv. ;  Luke  x^-ii.)  had  enabled  all  who  were 
willing  to  hear  to  understand  "  the  signs  of  the  times." 
As  the  writer  gave  these  warnings,  the  day  wlieu  the 
Son  of  Man  should  come  in  His  kingdom,  bringing 
judgment  upon  Jerusalem  (Matt.  xvi.  28).  was  close  at 
hand — that  day  which  is  distinctly  presented  to  us  in 
the  New  Testament  as  the  iype  of  His  final  coming. 

(26)  For,— The  connecting  links  are  tlie  thought  of 
the  consequences  to  which  such  sinful  neglect  (verse  25) 
may  lead,  and  the  awful  revelation  of  judgment  wliich 
the  final  day  will  bring.  Even  more  clearly  tlian  in 
chap.  vi.  4 — G  the  state  described  is  one  of  wilful  and 
continued  sin,  which  is  the  rcsxdt  and  the  ex])ression  of 
apostasy  from  Christ.  It  is  not,  "  If  we  fall  under 
temptation  and  commit  sin;"  but,  "If  we  are  sinning 
wilfully."  The  descriptive  words  are  few  as  compared 
with  those  of  the  former  passage,  but  they  teach  the 
same  lesson.     Not  merely  the  "  knowledge "  but  the 


No  more  Sacrifice  for  Sins. 


HEBEEWS,   X. 


The  Lord  shall  judge  His  People. 


trutli,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice 
for  sins,  <-^^  but  a  certain  fearful  looking 
for  of  judgment  and  fiery  indignation, 
wliich  shall  devour  the  adversaries. 
(28)  He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died 
without  mercy  under  two  or  three 
witnesses :  (-"-'>  of  how  much  sorer 
punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be 
thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden 
under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath 


a  Dent.32. 35;  Rom. 
12.  la 


counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant, 
wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy 
thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto  the 
Spirit  of  grace  ?  <'^^^  For  we  know  him 
that  hath  said,  Vengeance  helongeth  unto 
me,  I  will  recompense,"  saith  the  Lord. 
And  again.  The  Lord  shall  judge  his 
people.  (^'^  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  living  God. 
*^'^  But  call  to  remembrance  the  former 


"  full  knowledpfo  "  (Rom.  i.  28)  of  the  truth  has  been 
received  by  tliose  to  whom  the  writer  here  makes 
reference ;  they  have  been  "  sanctified  in  the  blood  of 
the  covenant  "  (verse  29).  For  such  ''  there  remaineth 
no  longer  a  sacrifice  for  sins  :  "  that  offering  of  Jesus 
■which  they  deliberately  reject  has  abolished  all  the 
earlier  sacrifices.  The  observances  and  ceremonies  of 
Judaism,  which  had  been  full  of  meaning  whilst  they 
pointed  to  Him  that  was  to  come,  have  lost  all  their 
virtue  througli  His  coming.  Nay  more :  for  such  sin 
as  this,  the  sin  of  knowing  and  wilful  rejection  of  the 
only  Sin  offering,  God  has  provided  no  other  sacrifice. 
In  its  general  significance  this  passage  does  not  differ 
from  chap.  vi.  -i — 6.     (See  the  Notes.) 

(27)  But  a  certain  fearfvil  looking  for.— Better, 
But  a  fearful  awaiting  of  judgment,  and  a  jealousrj  of 
fire  that  shall  devour  the  adversaries.  For  Christ's 
"  waiting  "  servants  the  thought  of  "  judgment  "  is  lost 
in  that  of  "  salvation  "  (chap.  ix.  27,  28) ;  to  these  sinners 
nothing  is  loft  but  the  awaiting  of  judgment.  The 
next  words  are  a  partial  quotation,  or  an  adaptation,  of 
Isa.  xxvi.  11 :  "  Let  them  see  (and  be  ashamed)  the  zeal 
for  the  people  ;  yea,  fire  shall  devour  Thine  adver- 
saries." (The  Greek  translation  gives  the  second 
clause  correctly,  but  not  the  former  part  of  the  sen- 
tence.) In  the  proplietic  imagery  of  the  Old  Testament 
tlie  destruction  of  the  enemies  of  Jehovah  is  but  the 
other  aspect  of  His  zeal  or  jealousy  for  His  i^eople. 
This  imagery  was  familiar  to  every  Hebrew;  and  no 
words  could  sliow  more  powerfully  than  these  that  to 
forsake  Christ  for  Judaism  was  (not  to  join,  but)  to 
abandon  "  the  people  of  God."  For  such  apostates 
there  remaineth  the  zeal,  the  jealous  wrath,  of  a  devour- 
ing fire.     (Comp.  diap.  xii.  29;  Mai.  iv.) 

(28)  He  that  despised  Moses'  law.— Rather.  A 
man  that  hath  set  at  nought  a  law  of  ^[oses  dieth  with- 
out jyity  before  two  or  three  ivitnesses.  Tiio  reference  is 
to  Deut.  xvii.  2 — 7,  the  last  words  being  a  direct  quota- 
tion from  verse  6  in  that  section.  Tliere  the  subject  is 
apostasy  from  Jeliovali  to  the  worship  of  idols.  That 
sin  which,  by  the  acknowledgment  of  all,  had  in  ancient 
time  robl)ed  Israel  of  the  name  of  God's  people  is 
tacitly  nlaced  by  the  side  of  tlie  sin  of  those  wlio  for- 
sake Cnrist.  It  will  be  seen  how  impressively  the 
thought  of  the  la.st  verse  is  maintained  in  this. 

(29)  Shall  he  be  thought  worthy.— Better,  shall 
he  be  accounlcd  {or,  judged)  worthy,  by  God  the  Judge 
of  all,  wlien  '"the  JDay "  sliall  come.  In  the  act  of 
apostasy  the  sinner  trampled  under  foot  the  Son  of 
God,  treated  with  contempt  and  .scorn  Him  to  whom 
belongs  this  liigliest  Name  (cliap.  i.  1 — 4);  and  the 
principle  of  this  act  becomes  tlie  principle  of  tlio  whole 
succeeding  life.  That  "  blood "  by  which  tlie  new 
covenant  was  established  (chap.  ix.  15 — 17) — the  blood 
in  which  he  himself  had  received  the  sanctification 
which  the  law  could  not  give — he  has  esteemed  an  un- 


328 


holy  thing.  There  is  no  medium  between  highest 
reverence  and  utter  contumely  in  such  a  case :  to 
those  who  did  not  receive  Jesus  as  Lord  He  was  a 
deceiver  (Matt,  xxvii.  63),  and  one  who  deserved  to  die. 
Hath  done  despite.— Hath  treated  with  outrage 
and  insult  the  Spirit  of  whose  gifts  he  had  been  par- 
taker (chap.  vi.  4),  for  "  grace "  returning  arrogant 
scorn. 

(30)  Vengeance  belongeth  unto  me,  I  will 
recompense.— Tliis  Cjuotation  from  Deut.  xxxii.  35 
completely  preserves  the  sense  of  the  original  words, 
"  To  me  belongeth  vengeance,  and  recompence,"  whilst 
departing  from  their  form.  The  LXX.  shows  still 
wider  divergence,  neglecting  entirely  the  emphasis 
which  rests  on  the  words  "  to  Me."  It  is  therefore 
very  remarkable  that  this  quotation  is  given,  in  exactly 
the  same  form,  in  Rom.  xii.  19.  As,  however,  the  words 
"  I  will  recompense  "  are  found  in  the  most  ancient 
of  the  Targums  (that  of  Onkelos)  it  is  very  possible 
that  St.  Paul  may  have  there  adopted  a  form  already 
current  amongst  the  Jews.  (See  Note  on  Rom.  xii.  19.) 
If  so,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  accounting  for  the  coin- 
cidence in  this  place.  But,  even  if  this  supposition  is 
without  foundation,  and  the  saying  in  this  form  was 
first  used  in  Rom.  xii.  19,  is  there  any  real  cause  for 
wonder  if  a  disciple  of  St.  Paul  in  a  single  instanco 
reproduces  the  Apostle's  words  ?  It  should  be  observed 
that  tlie  words  "  saith  the  Lord"  must  bo  omitted  from 
the  text,  according  to  the  best  authorities. 

The  Lord  shall  judge  his  people. — Tliis,  again, 
is  a  quotation,  and  from  tiie  same  chapter  (Deut.  xxxii. 
36).  If  the  context  of  the  original  passage  be  examined, 
there  will  be  no  doubt  as  to  tlie  meaning  of  the  words. 
As  in  Ps.  xliii.  1,  cxxxv.  14,  "to  judge,"  as  here  used, 
signifies  to  maintain  the  right  of  one  who  is  exposed  to 
wrong.  "  The  Lord  shall  judge  His  people"  (see  verse 
27)  when  He  shall  appear  to  establish  their  cause  by 
taking  vengeance  on  His  enemies  and  theirs.  With 
what  impressive  force  would  the  quotations  in  this 
section  (verses  27,  28,  30) — differing  widely  in  form, 
but  presenting  a  very  striking  agreement  in  their 
meaning — fall  on  the  ears  of  readers  familiar  from 
childhood  with  the  ideas  and  language  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures ! 

(31)  The  living  God.— As  in  chaps,  iii.  12 ;  ix.  14, 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  ^vriter's  words  is  "  a  Living 
God ; "  and  a  reference  to  the  first  of  these  passages 
(and  to  chap.  iv.  12)  will  show  clearly  what  is  their 
force  in  this  place.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
Deut.  xxxii.,  from  which  he  has  been  quoting,  is  still  in 
his  thought.  See  verse  40 — "  I  lift  up  my  hand  to 
heaven,  and  say.  I  live  for  ever." 

(32)  In  the  last  six  verses  the  writer  has  enforced  his 
exhortation  by  an  appeal  to  the  danger  of  falling  away 
and  the  fearful  consequences  of  unfaithfulness.  From 
warning  he  now  turns  to  encouragement,  as  in  chap.  vi. ; 


Tlie  Fight  of  Afflictions. 


HEBEEWS,   X. 


The  Recompence  of  Reward. 


days,  in  wliicli,  after  ye  were  illumi- 
nated, ye  endured  a  great  fight  of 
afflictions ;  (-"^  Partly,  whilst  ye  were 
made  a  gazingstock  both  by  reproaches 
and  afflictions ;  and  partly,  whilst  ye 
became  companions  of  them  that  were 
so  used.  (^*'  For  ye  had  compassion  of 
me  in  my  bonds,  and  took  joyfully  the 


spoiling  of  your  goods,  knowing  in  your- 
selves that  ye  have  in  heaven  a  better 
and  an  enduring  substance.  <^>  Cast 
not  away  therefore  your  confidence, 
which  hath  great  recompence  of  reward. 
(36)  Pqj.  yg  have  need  of  patience,  that, 
after  ye  have  done  the  will  of  God,  ye 
might  receive  the  promise.     ^^"^  For  yet 


and  here,  as  there,  he  thankfully  recalls  the  earlier 
proofs  which  his  readers  had  given  of  their  Christian 
constancy  and  love.  Let  them  call  to  mind  and  ever 
keep  in  remembrance  what  the  grace  of  God  had  already 
enabled  them  to  endure.  (Comp.  2  John  8).  As  Theo- 
phylact  has  said,  he  bids  them  imitate,  not  others, 
but  themselves. 

Illuminated. — Better,  enlightened.  It  is  important 
to  keep  the  word  used  in  the  parallel  verse,  chap.  vi.  4 
(see  Note). 

Fight  of  aflBictions. — Rather,  conflict  of  sufferings ; 
for  the  last  word  has  in  this  Epistle  (chap.  ii.  9,  10)  as- 
sociations too  sacred  to  be  lost.  The  former  word  (akin 
to  that  used  by  St.  Paul  in  2  Tim.  ii.  5  of  the  contests 
in  the  public  games)  recalls  the  intense  struggles  of  the 
contending  athletes ;  it  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New 
Testament.  Comp.  Phil.  i.  27,  iv.  3;  (Phil.  i.  30;  Col. 
i.  29,  ii.  1 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  12 ;  chap.  xii.  1.)  This  struggle 
they  had  manfully  endured. 

CM)  Whilst  ye  were  made  a  gazingstock.— 
Literally,  being  exposed  in  the  theatre  (see  the  Notes 
on  Acts  xix.  29;  1  Cor.  iv.  9;  xv.  32).  Here  also  it  is 
probable  that  the  word  has  only  a  figurative  sense. 

Whilst  ye  became  companions.— Better,  having 
become  sharers  with  them  that  thus  lived — that  lived 
amidst  "  reproaches  and  afflictions."  Not  "  com- 
panions "  only  had  they  been,  but  sharers  of  the  lot  of 
their  persecuted  brethren,  both  by  sympathy  and  by 
voluntary  association  with  their  sufferings. 

(*i)  For  ye  had  compassion  of  me  in  my 
bonds. — Rather  (according  to  the  trae  reading  of  the 
Greek),  for  ye  had  sympathtj  with  them  that  were  in 
bonds  (comp.  chap.  xiii.  3,  "  Remember  them  that  are  in 
bonds  as  bound  with  them  ").  The  change  of  reading 
is  very  important  in  connection  with  the  question  of 
authorship.    (See  the  Introduction.) 

And  took  joyfully. — Better,  and  accepted  with 
joy  the  spoiling  of  your  possessions.  In  the  spirit  of 
Matt.  v.  12  (Acts  v.  41 ;  2  Cor.  xii.  10),  they  accepted 
persecution  not  with  "  patience  and  long  suffering " 
only,  but  "  with  joy"  (Col.  i.  11).  The  rendering  "  pos- 
sessions "  is  necessary  because  a  similar  word  ("  sub- 
stance" in  the  Authorised  version)  will  immediately 
occur.  In  the  last  clau.se  two  remarkable  changes  in 
the  Greek  text  are  made  necessary  by  the  testimony  of 
our  best  authorities.  The  words  "  in  heaven "  must 
certainly  be  removed ;  they  are  omitted  in  the  oldest 
MSS.,  and  are  eWdently  an  explanatory  comment  which 
has  found  its  way  into  the  text.  For  the  reading,  "  in 
yourselves,"  there  is  hardly  any  evidence  whatever. 
The  MSS.  are  divided  between  two  readings,  "  your- 
selves "  and  "  for  yourselves ;  "  the  former  having  also 
tlie  support  of  the  Latin  and  Coptic  versions.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  we  must  read  "  yourselves  ;  "  and  the 
most  probable  translation  will  now  be,  perceiving  that 
ye  have  your  own  selves  for  a  better  possession  and  one 
that  abideth.  They  had  been  taught  the  meaning  of 
the  words  spoken  by  Jesus  of  the  man  who  gains  the 
world  and  loses  himself  (Luke  ix.  25),  and  of  those  who 


win  their  souls  by  their  endurance  (Luke  xxi.  19) ;  so  in 
verse  39  the  writer  speaks  of  "  the  gaining  of  the  soiU." 
Thus  trained,  they  could  accept  with  joy  the  loss  of 
possessions  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  perceiving  that  in 
Him  they  had  received  themselves  as  a  possession,  a 
better  and  a  lasting  possession.  (It  would  be  possible 
to  render  the  clause,  "  knowing  that  ye  yourselves  have 
a  better  possession,"  &c. ;  but  the  parallelism  of  verse 
39  renders  it  almost  certain  that  the  former  view  of  the 
words  is  correct.) 

(^)  Cast  not  away  therefore  your  confidence. 
— Rather,  Cast  not  away  therefore  your  bohhiess,  seeing 
it  hath  a  great  recompence.  To  "  cast  away  boldness  " 
is  the  opposite  of  "  holding  fast  the  boldness  of  the 
hope  "  (chap.  iii.  6) ;  the  one  belongs  to  the  endurance 
of  the  faithful  servant  (verses  32,  36 1,  the  other  to  the 
cowardice  of  the  man  who  draws  back  (verse  38).  This 
verse  and  the  next  are  closely  connected  :  Hold  fast 
your  boldness,  seeing  that  to  it  belongs  great  reward ; 
hold  it  fast,  for  "he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be 
saved."    On  the  last  word,  "  recompence,"  see  chap.  ii.  2. 

(36)  Patience — i.e.,  brave,  patient  endurance  (see 
the  Note  on  chap.  vi.  12).  The  general  strain  of  the 
exhortation  in  that  chapter  (verses  9 — 20)  closely  re- 
sembles these  verses. 

That,  after  ye  have  done  ...  ye  might. — 
Better,  that,  having  done  then-ill  of  God.  ye  may  receive 
the  promise.  To  do  the  will  of  God  (chap.  xiii.  21 )  is 
the  necessary  condition  for  receiving  the  promised 
blessmg  and  reward  (see  chap.  xi.  39) ;  for  both  "  en- 
durance "  is  necessary.  In  these  words  we  have  an 
echo  of  Matt.  vii.  21,  where  our  Lord  sums  up  His 
requirements  from  those  who  call  themselves  His  in 
words  which  ex])ress  the  purpose  of  His  own  life  (verses 
7,  9  ;  John  iv.  34). 

(37)  The  connection  is  this :  "  Te  have  need  of  en- 
durance" for  "the  end  is  not  yet  "  (Matt.  xxiv.  6i ;  ye 
shall  "receive  the  promise,"  for  the  Lord  shall  surely 
come,  and  that  soon. 

A  little  while.— Rather,  a  very  little  xchile.  The 
expression  is  remarkable  and  unusual ;  it  is  evidently 
taken  from  Isa.  xxvi.  20 — "  Come  my  people  .  .  .  hide 
thyself  for  a  little  moment  until  the  indignation  be  over- 
past." Tlie  subject  of  this  passage,  from  which  the 
one  expressive  phrase  is  taken,  is  the  coming  of 
Jehovah  "  to  punish  the  inhabitanis  of  the  earth  for 
their  iniquity;  "  in  "a  httle  moment  "  shall  the  indig- 
nation consume  His  foes,  then  will  He  gfive  deliverance 
to  His  people.  Even  this  passing  reference  would 
serve  to  call  up  before  the  mind  of  the  Hebrew  readers 
the  solemn  associations  of  the  prophecy — the  promised 
salvation,  the  awful  judgment. 

And  he  that  shall  come  will  come.  —  Rather, 
He  that  cometh  will  come  and  will  not  tarry.  In  this 
and  the  next  verse  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  takes  up  a 
passage,  Habak.  ii.  3,  4,  which  occupies  a  very  important 
place  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul  (Rom.  i.  17  ;  Gal.  iii 
11),  and.  as  we  have  already  seen  {Note  on  cliap.  vi.  1), 
in  the  latar  Jewish  teaching.     St.  Paul's  citations  are 


329 


The  Just  shall  live  hy  FaitJu 


HEBREWS,   XI. 


Let  him  not  dravj  hack. 


a  little  while,  and  lie  tliat  shall  come 
will  come,  and  will  not  tarry.  ^^^  Now 
the  just  shall  live  hy  faith  :  but  if  any 
man  draw  back,  my  soul  shall  have  no 
pleasure  in  him.     ^^''>  But  we  are  not  of 


them  who  draw  back  unto  perdition  ; 
but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  saving 
of  the  soul. 

CHAPTER  XL— (1)  Now  faith  is  the 


limited  to  a  few  words  of  verso  4,  "  But  the  just  shall 
live  by  faith  ;"  here  are  quoted  the  wliole  of  the  fourth 
verse  and  part  of  the  third.  Perliaps  it  is  too  much  to 
Bav  tliat  they  are  quoted,  they  are  rather  applied,  for, 
as' will  be  seeu,  the  order  of  the  clauses  (see  uext  verse) 
is  changed,  and  soino  alteratious  are  made  in  the 
language.  It  is  important  in  this  Epistle  to  discrimi- 
nate l)etween  the  instances  of  direct  quotation  from  tlie 
Scripfure,  wliere  the  word  of  God  is  appealed  to  as  fur- 
nishing ])i'Oof,  and  those  in  which  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  explained  and  applied  (see  the  Note  on 
verse  5).  The  words  before  us  nearly  agree  with  the 
LXX.,  "  If  ho  delay,  wait  for  him.  because  coming 
lie  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry."  The  subject  of  the 
sentence  there  is  not  clear ;  probal)ly  tlie  translator 
believed  that  the  Lord  spoke  thus  of  His  own  coming, 
or  the  coming  of  the  future  Deliverer.  In  the  Hebrew 
all  relates  to  the  vision,  "  it  wiU  surely  come,  it  will 
not  tarry."  The  only  difference  between  the  LXX. 
and  tlie  words  as  they  stand  here  consists  in  the  sub- 
stitution of  "  He  that  cometh  "  for  "  coining."  Xow 
the  reference  to  the  Deliverer  and  Judge  is  made  plain. 
No  designation  of  the  Messiah,  perhaps,  was  move 
familiar  than  "  He  that  cometh"  (Matt.  xi.  3,  et  al.) ;  but 
it  is  here  employed  with  a  new  reference — to  the  second 
advent  in  place  of  the  first.  The  departure  from  the 
sense  of  the  Hebrew  is  not  as  great  as  may  at  first 
appear.  When  the  prophet  says  "  The  virion  .  .  . 
shall  surely  come,"  it  is  of  tliat  which  the  vision  re- 
vealed that  he  speaks,  i.e.. of  the  fall  of  the  Chaldeans; 
but  the  salvation  of  Israel  from  present  danger  is 
throughout  the  prophets  the  symbol  of  the  great  deliver- 
ance (comp.  chap.  xii.  26  and  Hagg.  ii.  6).  With  this 
verse  comp.  verse  25 ;  also  Phil.  iv.  5 ;  Jas.  v.  8 ;  1 
Pet.  iv.  7 ;  Rev.  i.  3;  xxii.  20,  et  al. ;  and,  in  regard  to 
the  application  of  the  prophecy,  verses  27,  28,  30. 

(38)  Now  the  just  shall  live  by  faith.— The 
Greek  text  of  this  clause  is  not  perfectly  certain,  but  it 
is  probable  that  the  word  "  my  "  should  be  added,  so 
that  the  trauslatiini  of  the  ver.se  will  be  as  follows.  But 
my  righteous  one  shall  live  hy  faith.  In  the  Hebrew 
the  first  part  of  the  verso  is  altogether  different :  "  Be- 
hold his  soul  is  lifted  up,  it  is  not  upright  in  him ;  but 
the  righteous  shall  live  in  (or,  hy)  his  faithfulness  (or, 
faith)."  The  first  words  seem  to  refer  to  tho  hauglity 
Chaldean  invader ;  the  rendering  of  the  hist  words  is 
considered  below.  The  Greek  translation  varies  a  little 
in  dilfereiit  MSS. :  "  If  one  draw  back,  my  soul  hath 
no  pleasure  in  him;  but  the  righteous  one  shall  live  by 
my  faithfulness  "  (or  possibly— not  probably — "  by  faith 
in  me").  In  the  Alexandrian  MSS.  the  last  words  run 
thus  :  "  But  my  righteous  one  shall  live  by  faith  "  (or 
faithfulness).  It  is  clear,  then,  that  in  the  passage 
before  us  the  writer  has  taken  tho  words  as  they 
stood  in  liis  text  of  tho  LXX.,  only  changing  the  order 
of  the  clauses.  Though  the  Hebrew  word  usually 
rendered  faith  in  this  passage  occurs  more  than  forty 
times  in  the  Old  Testament,  in  no  other  case  has  it  this 
meaning,  but  almost  always  signifies  faithfulness  or 
truth.  Here  also  the  first  meaning  seems  to  bo  "by 
his  faithfulness";  but  the  thought  of  faithful  constancy 
to  God  is  inseparably  connected  with  tnistful  clinging 


330 


to  Him.  Hence  the  accepted  Jewish  exposition  of  tho 
passage  seems  to  have  taken  the  word  in  the  sense  of 
"faith."  "My  righteous  one"  will  naturally  mean 
"  my  righteous  servant '" — the  man  who  will  not  be 
seduced  into  wickedness ;  he  shall  live  by  his  faithful 
trust,  for  salvation  and  life  shall  be  given  him  by  God 
Himself.  In  this  context  the  word  righteous  recalls 
ver.se  otJ,  "  liaving  done  the  will  of  God." 

The  transposition  of  the  two  clauses  makes  it  almost 
certain  that  the  "  righteous  one  "  is  the  subject  of  both  : 
not  if  any  man,  but,  if  he  (the  righteous  one)  shrink 
hack.  The  Genevan  and  the  Authorised  stand  alone 
amongst  English  versions  in  the  former  rendering. 

(39)  Of  them  who  draw  back.— Literally,  But  we 
are  not  of  drawing  (or  shrinking)  back  unto  perdition, 
but  of  faith  unto  the  gaining  of  the  soid.  On  the  last 
words  (which  are  nearly  identical  with  those  of  Luke 
xvii.  33,  though  deeper  in  meaning)  see  the  Note  on 
verse  34.  The  exhortation  thus  closes  with  words  of 
encouragement  and  hope. 

XI. 

Tliis  chapter  is  very  closely  connected  with  the  last 
verses  of  chapter  x.  Those  verses  have  taught  the 
necessiiy  of  faith  for  the  attainment  of  the  promise. 
Here  we  read  of  men  to  whom,  through  their  faith,  the 
promise  has  been  made  sure. 

(1)  We  have  seen  how  the  wi-iter  approached  the 
subject  which  is  the  chief  theme  of  this  last  diA-isiou,of 
this  Epistle.  The  coming  of  the  Lord,  for  judgment; 
upon  His  adversaries,  for  salvation  to  His  people,  draws 
nigh.  In  the  midst  of  dangers  and  judgments  God's 
righteous  servant  shall  live,  and  the  ground,  of  his  life 
is  his  steadfast  faith — if  he  shrink  back,  destruction  will 
overtake  him.  "  Our  principle  of  action  "  (the  writer 
says  to  his  Hebrew  readers)  "  is  not  shrinking  back,  but 
faith.  And  faith  is  this  .  .  .  ."  It  has  been  debated 
whether  that  which  follows  is  a  definition  of  what  faith 
is,  or  in  reality  a  description  of  what  faith  does.  It  is 
not  a  complete  definition,  in  the  sense  of  including  all 
the  moments  of  thought  which  are  present  in  the  word 
as  used  in  the  last  chapter  (verse  38)  or  in  this.  The 
"things  hoped  for"  are  not  mere  figments  of  the 
imagination ;  their  basis  is  the  word  of  God.  If  we 
keep  this  in  mind,  tho  words,  still  remaining  general  in 
their  form,  agree  with  all  that  has  led  up  to  them  and 
with  all  that  follows  ;  and  whether  they  be  called  defi- 
nition or  description  will  be  of  little  consequence. 

The  exact  meaning  of  the  special  terms  here  used  it 
is  not  ea.sy  to  ascertain.  The  word  rendered  "  substance  " 
has  already  occurred  twice  in  the  Epistle.  In  chap.  i.  3 
this  was  its  true  moaning — the  essence  which,  so  to 
speak,  underlies,  "  stands  under."  the  qualities  possessed. 
In  chap.  iii.  14  tho  same  metaphor  of  standing  under  is 
apjilied  to  steadfastness,  confidence  (see  the  Note).  Tlie 
former  of  these  renderings  the  Authorised  version — in 
this  instance  deserting  the  earlier  translations  (which 
for  tho  most  part  have  "sure  confidence"  or  "ground") 
to  follow  the  Rhemish  in  its  rendering  of  the  Latin 
substantia — has  made  familiar  in  the  present  passage. 
The  sense  which  it  presents,  however,  is  not  veiy  clear ; 


Faith. 


HEBREWS,   XI. 


Things  not  seen. 


substance^  of  things  hoped  for,  the  evi-  >  ?j;;;,47^i';."''  "''• 
Chap.  xi.    The  ^eiice  of  things  not  seen, 
triumphs      of  ('^^  For    by    it    the    elders 
Faith.  obtained    a    good    report. 


(3)  Through  faith  we  understand  that 
the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of 
God,  so  that  things  which  are  seen  were 
not  made  of  things  which  do  appear. 


and  the  symmetiy  of  the  verse  almost  compels  us  here 
to  make  choice  of  some  word  whicli  denotes  an  act,  or 
at  all  events  an  attitude,  of  the  mind.  Most  commen- 
tators of  our  own  day  accept  the  second  meaning 
explained  above,  "  confidence  ''  or  "  assurance  in  regard 
to  things  hoped  for."  To  adopt  Dr.  Vaughan's  clear 
explanation,  "  Faith  is  that  principle,  that  exercise  of 
mind  and  soul,  which  has  for  its  object  things  not  seen 
but  hoped  for,  and  which,  instead  of  sinking  under  them 
as  too  ponderous,  whether  from  their  difficulty  or  from 
their  uncertaiiity,  stands  firm  under  them — supports  and 
sustains  their  pressure — in  other  words,  is  assured  of, 
confides  in  and  relies  on  them."  This  interpretation 
yields  an  excellent  sense,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
assigning  to  the  Greek  word  a  meaning  which  it 
certainly  bears  in  an  earlier  chapter,  and  in  two  places 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistles.  On  the  other  hand,  the  analogy 
of  the  second  member  of  the  verse,  and  a  peculiarity  in 
the  Greek  construction  which  we  cannot  here  discuss, 
seem  to  be  in  favour  of  a  third  rendering  of  the  words  : 
"  Faith  is  the  giving  substance  to  things  hoped  for."  It 
has  indeed  been  said  that  by  such  a  translation  the 
things  hoped  for  are  represented  as  being  without 
substance.  But  this  difficulty  is  only  apparent ;  for  mi 
regard  to  ourselves  these  objects  of  our  hope  do  not  yet 
exist,  since  they  still  belong  to  the  future  (Rom.  viii. 
24,  25).  In  the  second  clause  the  word  "  evidence  "  is 
likely  to  mislead ;  very  probably,  indeed,  it  now  fails 
to  convey  the  sense  intended  by  our  translator-*,  who 
here  followed  the  rendering  of  the  Genevan  Bible 
{suggested  by  Calvin's  "  evidentia").  The  Greek 
word,  denotes  putting  to  the  test,  examining  for  the 
purpose  of  proof,  bringing  to  conviction.  Under  this 
aspect  faith  appears  as  neither  blindly  rejecting  nor 
blindly  accepting  whatever  may  be  said  about  things 
unseen,  but  boldly  dealing  with  them  as  if  with  things 
seen,  and  then  unffiuchingly  accepting  that  which  has 
stood  the  proof.  One  peculiarity  of  the  Greek  yet 
remains  to  be  noticed.  In  the  second  clause  the  word 
"things"  is  expressed  in  the  Greek  (as  in  chap.  vi.  18), 
but  not  in  the  first ;  we  are  by  this  means  reminded  of 
the  reality  of  that  which  is  thus  spoken  of  as  unseen. 
The  whole  verse,  then,  may  bo  rendered  "  Now  faith 
is  the  giving  substance  to  what  is  hoped  for,  the  testing 
of  things  not  seen."  And  now  passing  away  from  the 
general  aspect  of  the  words  to  that  in  which  they  are 
presented  by  the  context,  we  have  as  the  meaning : 
Faith,  holding  to  God's  word,  gives  substance  to  wliat 
that  word  promises,  investing  the  future  blessings  with 
a  present  existence,  treating  them  as  if  already  objects 
of  sight  rather  than  of  hope.  Through  faith,  guided  by 
the  same  word,  the  things  unseen  are  brought  to  the 
proof ;  what  that  word  teaches,  though  future,  or  though 
belonging  to  a  world  beyond  human  sight,  is  received  with 
full  con\-iction.  Thus  "  every  genuine  act  of  faith  is  the 
act  of  the  whole  man,  not  of  his  understanding  alone,  not 
of  liis  affections  alone,  not  of  his  will  alone,  but  of  all 
three  in  their  central,  aboriginal  unity."  And  thus  faith 
becomes  "  the  faculty  in  man  through  which  the  spiritual 
world  exercises  its  sway  over  him,  and  thereby  enables 
him  to  overcome  the  woiid  of  sin  and  death."  (Hare, 
Victoi-y  of  Faith.) 

(2)  For  by  it.— Better.  For  therein  the  elders  had 
witness  borne  to  them.     The  coimection  seems  to  be 


this :  Faith  truly  accomplishes  all  this ;  for  it  was  in 
the  exercise  of  such  a  faith  that  the  elders  gained  the 
witness  which  the  Scripture  bears  (see  verses  4,  5,  39)  to 
them  and  to  their  noble  deeds.  This  verse,  then,  is 
added  to  confirm  the  first. 

(3)  Through  faith.— Rather,'  By  faith,  as  in  the 
following  verses.  The  first  place  is  not  given  to  "  the 
elders,"  for  the  writer's  object  is  to  set  forth  the 
achievements  of  faith.  "With  these,  he  would  say,  the 
Scriptui-e  record  is  filled.  Even  where  there  is  no 
mention  of  this  principle  we  must  trace  it  in  the  lives 
of  God's  servants;  even  where  there  is  no  history  of 
men,  there  is  a  necessity  for  the  exercise  of  faith  l)y  our- 
selves, and  the  fii'st  words  of  Scripture  teach  this 
lesson. 

That  the  worlds  were  framed.— Literally,  thai 
the  ages  have  been  prepared.  The  remarkable  expres- 
sion which  was  used  in  chap.  i.  2  is  here  repeated.  The 
complete  preparation  of  all  that  the  successive  periods 
of  time  contain  is  the  idea  which  the  words  present. 
The  narrative  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  ascribes 
the  whole  creation  of  "  the  heaven  and  the  earth  "  to 
God;  and  associates  with  "a  word  of  God"  every 
stage  in  the  preparation  and  furnishing  of  the  earth. 
(See  Note  on  chap.  i.  2.)  This  is  the  first  lesson  of  that 
record.  But  it  does  not  stand  alone,  as  is  taught  more 
plainly  still  by  the  next  clause. 

So  that  things  which  are  seen.— A  slight  altera- 
tion in  the  Greek  is  necessai-y  here — "the  thing  seen" 
(or  "what  is  seen")  being  the  true  reading.  A  more 
important  point  is  a  change  in  the  aspect  of  the  whole 
clause,  which  the  Greek  seems  to  require.  As  the 
English  words  stand,  they  point  out  the  significance  of 
the  statement  of  Scripture  respecting  the  creative  act  : 
we  believe  the  writer  intended  rather  to  state  the  di\-ine 
purpose  in  relation  to  that  first  creation  and  all  subse- 
quent acts  that  are  included  in  the  "  preparing  of  the 
ages."  "  In  order  that  what  is  seen  should  not  have 
come  into  being  out  of  things  which  appear.''  Tliis  is 
probably  the  true  meaning  of  the  clause.  In  the 
narrative  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  God  w(juld 
have  us  learn  a  lesson  for  the  whole  course  of  human 
history  and  development.  As  the  visible  universe  did 
not  take  its  being  out  of  what  was  apparent,  so  what 
from  time  to  time  is  seen  does  not  arise  of  itself  out  of 
what  is  manifest  to  man's  natural  perceptions.  Not  only 
is  tlie  eternity  of  matter  denied,  but  from  the  begin- 
ning a  warning  has  been  given  against  a  materialistic 
philosophy.  The  first  page  of  Scripture  is  designed  to 
teach  the  constant  presence  and  work  of  the  Creator. 
This  lesson  we  learn  and  apply  by  faith  ;  and  the 
result  of  its  application  is  seen  in  many  points  of  the 
history  which  lollows.  In  that  history  the  operation 
of  faith  is  twofold.  The  writer's  most  ob^-ious  design  is 
to  call  attention  to  the  faith  possessed  by  "  the  elders," 
and  its  wonderful  triumphs ;  but  it  is  in  many  cases  by 
the  same  faith  that  we  interpret  the  Scripture  record 
so  as  to  discover  this  to  have  been  their  guiding  prin- 
ciple. But  seldom  does  the  Old  Testament  directly 
speak  of  faith,  and  hence  the  importance  of  this  verse 
(which  some  have  thought  incongruous,  since  it  re- 
tards the  exhibition  of  the  elders'  faith i  as  throwing 
light  on  our  interpretation  of  the  teaching  of  God's 
word. 


331 


Abel  and  Enoch. 


HEBREWS,   XI. 


i\^oaA  and  A  hraham. 


(*)  By  faith  Abel  offered  unto  God  a 
more  excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain,  by 
which  he  obtained  witness  that  he  was 
righteous,  God  testifying  of  his  gifts: 
and  by  it  he  being  dead  yet  speaketh.' 
(•^>  By  faith  Enoch  was  translated  that 
he  should  not  see  death ;  and  was  not 
found,  because  God  had  translated 
him :  for  before  his  translation  he 
had  this  testimony,  that  he  pleased 
God.      <*^^  But    without  faith  it  is  im- 


1  Or,  I.S  yet  spoken 

0/. 


i  Or, being  wary. 


possible  to  please  him :  for  he  that 
cometh  to  God  must  believe  that 
he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewai'der  of 
them  that  diligently  seek  him.  ('>  By 
faith  Noah,  being  warned  of  God 
of  things  not  seen  as  yet,  moved  with 
fear,-  prepared  an  ark  to  the  saving  of 
his  house ;  by  the  which  he  condemned 
the  world,  and  became  heir  of  the 
righteousness  which  is  by  faith.  (^*  By 
faith  Abraham,  when  he  was  called  to 


W  A  more  excellent.— The  Greek  literally  means 
that.  Abel's  sacritice  was  "  more  than  "  Cain's  (comp. 
chap.  iii.  3,  "more  glory";  Matt.  \i.  25;  Luke  xi. 
32,  et  al.).  The  word  "  sacrifice  "  (which,  as  is  the  case 
with  very  many  words  in  this  chapter,  is  taken  directly 
from  the  LXX.)  has  not  its  special  sense  (see  Note  on 
chap.  X.  5)  in  the  narrative  of  Gen.  iv. ;  for  the  offerings 
of  the  two  brothers  are  there  designated  by  the  same 
name,  both  in  the  Hebrew  ("  offering ")  and  in  the 
Greek  ("  sacrifice").  Hence,  apart  from  the  first  words, 
"  by  faith,"  there  is  nothing  here  said  to  explain  the 
superiority  of  Abel's  offering ;  though  one  who  believes 
sacrifice  to  have  been  of  Divine  institution,  and  who 
notes  the  close  connection  between  God's  word  and  the 
actions  of  the  men  whoso  faith  is  here  recorded,  may 
hold  it  probable  that  Abel's  obedience  was  manifested 
in  his  mode  of  approacliiiig  God. 

By  which  he  obtained  witness.— Probably, 
"through  which  fa itJi,''  but  the  Greek  may  also  meau 
through  ichich  sacrifice.  The  witness  (verse  2)  is  that 
borne  by  God  in  His  acceptance  of  the  offering 
(shown  by  some  visible  sign) ;  we  might  also  add  that 
such  a  testimony  to  Abel  is  implied  in  the  reproof  of 
Cain  (Gen.  iv.  7 ),  but  the  following  words,  "  God  bearing 
witness  over  "  (or  in  regard  to )  "  his  gifts,"  show  what 
was  chiefly  in  the  writer's  thought.  Such  acceptance 
implied  Abel's  righteousness,  and  thus  testified  to  his 
"  faith."  It  is  remarkable  that  in  three  out  of  the  four 
places  in  which  Abel  is  mentioned  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment this  epithet  is  used  (Matt,  xxiii.  35 ;  1  John  iii. 
12).  In  the  later  Jewish  tradition  (contained  in  the 
Targum  of  Jerusalem)  the  brothers  are  represented  as 
types  of  faith  and  unbelief;  and  in  verse  10,  "thy 
brother's  blood"  (Hebrew,  "bloods  ")  is  exjjanded  into 
"  the  blood  of  the  multitude  of  the  righteous  who  were 
to  arise  from  thy  brother."  In  this  clause  the  autho- 
rities for  the  Greek  text  are  much  divided.  One  reading, 
"he  testifying  over  his  gifts  to  God,"  has  the  support 
of  the  throe  oldest  MSS.,  but  can  hardly  be  correct. 

And  by  it.— Better,  and  through  it  (his  faith). 
The  reforonco  is  to  Gon.  iv.  10,  "  the  voice  of  thy 
brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground  "  (see 
chap.  xii.  24) ;  hence,  as  Calvin  remarks,  "  he  was 
pLiinly  numbered  among  God's  saints,  whose  death  is 
preciotis  in  His  sight." 

(S)  See  death.— See  Luke  ii.  26;  Ps.  Ixxxix.  48 
(John  viii.  51). 

And  was  not  found  .  .  .  translated  him.— An 
exact  quotation  from  the  LXX.  (Gen  v.  24).  The  word 
rendered  "  translated  "  is  a  very  simple  one,  denoting 
merely  change  of  place  ;  but  nothing  can  equal  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  Hebrew,  "  he  was  not  for  God  took  him." 

He  had  this  testimony,— Better,  he  hath  had 
witness  borne  to  him  (verses  2,  4)  that  he  hath  been 
well  pleasing  to  God.  The  form  of  the  expression 
shows  that  the  writer  is  again  speaking  of  the  ever 


present  word  of  Scripture  (chap  iv.  9,  &c.)  That 
word  does  not  record  the  translation  of  Enoch  until  it 
"  hath "  borne  witness  to  him  that  he  pleased  God. 
The  words  "  walked  with  God "  are  rendered  in  the 
LXX.  "  was  well  pleasing  to  God,"  and  it  is  this 
rendering  that  is  quoted  here  and  in  the  next  verse. 
The  writer  himself  supplies  the  comment  in  the  next 
verse,  which  has  a  very  close  connection  with  this. 

(■^)  But  without  faith.— Better,  and  apart  from 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  be  "well pleasiyig"  (unto  Him); 
for  he  that  draweth  near  (chap.  vii.  25  ;  x.  1,  22)  to  God 
must  believe  .  .  .  Thus  the  very  statement  that  Enoch 
pleased  God  is  an  assertion  that  in  him  faith  was 
found.  No  one  can  be  the  habitual  worshipper  of  God 
(this  is  what  the  phrase  implies)  if  his  faith  does  not 
grasp  these  two  truths.  "  Is  a  rewarder " — literally, 
becometh  a  recompenser  (chap.  ii.  2  ;  x.  35) ;  the  future 
recompense  is  present  to  the  eye  of  faith. 

(7)  Being  warned  of  God.— (See  chap.  viii.  5.) 
Moved  with  fear. — The  marginal  rendering  "being 

wary  "  (or  better,  taking  forethought)  is  preferred  by 
some,  and  agrees  very  well  with  the  proper  meaning 
of  the  word ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  the  writer 
has  in  view  that  devout  godly  fear  which  the  words 
akin  to  this  regularly  denote  in  the  New  Testament. 
(See  the  Notes  on  chaps,  v.  7 ;  xii.  28.)  Noah's  obedi- 
ence to  the  divine  warning  was  an  evidence  at  once  of 
his  fear  of  God  and  of  the  faith  which  gave  substance 
and  present  reality  to  "■  the  things  not  seen  as  yet." 

By  the  which. — As  before  (verse  4),  the  words 
"  through  which "  are  slightly  ambiguous,  for  they 
may  relate  either  to  the  ark  or  to  the  faith.  The  latter 
reference  is  more  probable.  His  faith,  shown  in  the 
building  of  the  ark,  exposed  the  unbelief  of  "  the 
world,"  which  would  not  listen  to  his  warnings,  and 
thereby  incurred  the  divine  condemnation.  Our 
Lord  uses  "  condemn  "  in  the  same  sense  in  Matt.  xii. 
41,  42.  By  the  same  faith  Noah  "  became  an  heir  of 
the  righteousness  which  is  according  to  faith."  Noah 
is  the  first  to  receive  in  Script ui-e  the  name  "righteous" 
(Gen.  xi.  9).  See  also  Ezek.  xiv.  14, 20;  and  2  Pet.  ii.  5, 
"  Noah,  a  preacher  of  righteousness."  This  righteous- 
ness is  looked  on  as  an  inheritance,  received  by  all  who 
manifest  the  faith.  In  this  place  the  righteousness  is 
connected  with  faith,  as  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  but 
with  a  change  of  figure.  It  is  not  looked  on  as  arising 
out  of  faith  (Rom.  x.  6),  or  as  resting  on  the  condition  of 
faith  (Phil.  iii.  9).  or  as  obtained  by  means  of  faith  (Rom. 
iii.  22),  but  as  corresponding  with  faith,  or  answering 
to  it.  There  is  no  important  difference  of  thought, 
but  the  idea  of  a  continuous  inheritance  answering 
to  continuous  faith  is  very  strikingly  presented  here. 

(8)  "When  he  was  called  to  go  out.— Our  older 
versions  are  here  better  than  the  Authorised,  bringing 
in  the  word  "  obeyed  "  after  "  called  " — "  obeyed  to  go 
out  into,"  &c. 


332 


I 


The  City  which  hath  Foundations. 


HEBEEWS,   XI. 


The  Heavenly  Home. 


go  out  into  a  place  which  he  should 
after  receive  for  an  inheritance,  obeyed ; 
and  he  went  out,  not  knowing  whither 
he  went.  (^^  By  faith  he  sojourned  in 
the  land  of  promise,  as  in  a  strange 
country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with  him  of 
the  same  promise :  ^^^^  for  he  looked  for 
a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God.  <^^'  Through 
faith  also  Sara  herself  received  strength 
to  conceive  seed,  and  was  delivered  of  a 
child  when  she  was  past  age,  because 
she  judged  him  faithful  who  had  pro- 
mised. (^)  Therefore  sprang  there  even 
of  one,  and  him  as  good  as  dead,  so 


1  Gr  according  to 
faith. 


Which  he  should  after  receive.— The  English 
rendering  may  seem  to  imply  that  when  "  called " 
Abraham  received  the  promise  that  the  land  to  which 
he  would  be  directed  should  in  the  future  be  his 
inheritance.  It  is  not  so  (Acts  vii.  5) ;  for  this  promise 
is  not  found  in  Gen.  xii.  1 — 3,  but  was  bestowed  when 
he  had  obeyed  (Gen  xii.  7).  The  meaning  here  is, 
"  unto  a  place  which  he  was  to  receive." 

(9)  The  land  of  promise. — More  correctly,  accord- 
ing to  the  true  reading,  a  land  of  the  promise  :  into  a 
land  which  the  promise  (Gen.  xii.  7)  made  his  own  he  came 
as  a  sojourner,  and  sojourned  in  it  as  in  a  land  belong- 
ing to  others,  making  his  settled  abode  there  in  tents. 
The  words  of  which  this  is  a  paraphrase  are  very 
expressive,  especially  those  of  the  last  clause.  Abraham 
there  "  made  his  liome  once  for  all,  well  aware  that  it 
was  to  be  his  home — expecting  no  change  in  this  respect 
aU  his  life  long — in  tents,"  movable,  shifting  abodes 
— here  to-day,  there  to-morrow — with  (as  did  also  in 
their  turn)  "  Isaac  and  Jacob,"'  the  "  heirs  with  him  of 
the  same  promise."     (Dr.  Vaughan.) 

(If*)  A  city  which  hath  foundations.— Bather, 
the  city  ivhich  hath  the  foundations.  The  general 
thought  is  that  which  we  find  expressed  in  verses 
14 — 16.  There,  the  strangers  and  pilgrims  are  seeking 
for  a  country  of  their  own ;  here,  the  dweller  in  tents 
is  waiting  for  the  city  that  hath  the  foundations.  AU 
the.se  verses  clearly  teach  that  the  promise  as  appre- 
hended by  the  patriarchs  was  not  bounded  by  the  gift 
of  Canaan.  Of  what  nature  their  expectations  of  the 
future  life  may  have  been  we  cannot  tell ;  but  this  they 
knew,  that  their  fellowship  with  God  and  their  interest 
in  His  promises  would  not  cease  with  this  transient 
life.  What  they  saw  of  earthly  blessing  was  but  the 
earnest  of  some  greater  gift  still  future,  and  yet  present 
through  the  power  of  their  faith.  The  shifting  tent 
might  be  Abraham's  home  now,  but  he  waited  for 
that  city  which  should  never  know  change — of  which 
alono  it  could  be  said  that  it  hath  "  the  foundations," 
and  whoso  Architect  and  Maker  is  God.  (Comp. 
Ps.  Ixxxvii.  1  ;  Rev.  xxi.) 

(11)  Through  faith  also  Sara  herself.— Rather, 
By  faith  Sarah  herself  also,  or,  even  Sarah  herself. 
This  empliatic  introduction  of  the  name  of  Sarah  may 
point  to  the  unbelief  which  for  a  brief  while  she  dis- 
played (Gen.  x\-iii.  12);  but  the  words  may  simply 
moan,  "Sarah  also,  on  her  part" — the  joint  recipient 
witli  Abraham  of  the  divine  promise,  a  promise  in 
which  it  might  at  first  seem  that  she  had  no  part.  (Comp. 


many  as  the  stars  of  the  sky  in  multi- 
tude, and  as  the  sand  which  is  by  the 
sea  shore  innumerable.  ^^^^  These  all 
died  in  faith,^  not  having  received  the 
promises,  but  having  seen  them  afar  off, 
and  were  persuaded  of  them,  and  em- 
braced them,  and  confessed  that  they 
were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the 
earth.  <i*)  For  they  that  say  such  things 
declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country. 
<^^'  And  truly,  if  they  had  been  mindful 
of  that  country  from  whence  they  came 
out,  they  might  have  had  opportunity 
to  have  returned.  (^^^  But  now  they 
desire  a  better  country,  that  is,  an 
heavenly :  wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed 


Gen.  xvi.  1,  2.)  The  words  "  was  delivered  of  a  child" 
are  absent  from  the  best  authorities ;  so  that  we  must 
read,  "  even  when  she  was  past  age."  With  the  last 
words  of  the  verse  compare  chap.  x.  23. 

(12)  The  stars  of  the  sky. — Better,  the  stars  of 
the  heaven.     (See  Gen.  xv.  o  ;  xxii.  17.) 

And  as  the  sand. — "And  as  the  sand  by  the  sea- 
shore, which  is  innumerable "  (Gen.  xxii.  Yi).  With 
the  first  words  of  the  verse  compare  Rom.  iv.  19. 

(i:^)  These  all  died  in  faith.  —  We  must  not 
change  the  order  of  the  original.  Seven  verses  up  to 
this  point  have  begun  with  the  emphatic  words  "  by 
faith."  There  is  a  change  here,  but  not  in  the  empha- 
sis of  this  thought.  We  should  not  expect  to  read 
"  By  faith  these  died;"  what  is  said  is,  "  In  accordance 
with  faith  all  these  died  ;  "  faith  had  been  the  support 
and  guide  of  then-  life,  and  their  death  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  same  principle.  That  is,  they  (Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  Jacob,  Sarah)  did  not  die  in  possession  of 
what  had  been  promised  (verse  39),  but  saw  at  a 
distance  the  blessings  of  which  God  had  spoken 
(verse  1). 

And  were  persuaded  of  them.— These  words  do 
not  belong  to  the  true  text ;  and  the  word  "  embraced  " 
should  be  rendered  "  greeted,"  or  "  saluted."  We  read, 
therefore  :  "  Not  having  received  the  promises,  but 
having  seen  and  greeted  them  from  far  "  (Gen.  xlix. 
18),  "  and  having  confessed  that  they  were  strangers 
and  sojourners  upon  the  earth"  (Gen.  xlvii.  9;  xxiii.  4). 
(Comp.  1  Chron.  xxix.  15;  Ps.  xxxix.  12;  cxix.  19, 
54;  also  1  Pet.  i.  I;  ii.  11.  The  verses  which  follow 
are  a  comment  on  this.  For  the  last  words,  "  on  the 
earth."  see  verse  16. 

(U)  Such  things. — " I  am  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner 
with  vou  "  (Gen.  xxiii.  4).  "  The  days  of  the  years  of 
my  pilgrimage  ....  the  life  of  my  fathers  in  the 
days  of  their  pilgrimage  "  (Gen.  xlvii.  9). 

Declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country.— 
Rather,  make  it  plain  that  they  are  seeking  a  home,  or 
fatherland. 

(15)  They  might  have  had.— Rather,  they  would 
have  had  opportunity  to  return.  All  their  life  long 
they  would  liave  been  able  to  claim  again  their  earlier 
fatherland,  by  returning  whence  they  came. 

(16)  They  confess  themselves  but  sojourners  (verse 
13).  and  thus  make  it  plain  that  they  are  still  seeking 
their  true  home  (14) ;  and  yet.  if  they  had  sought 
nothing  more  than  an  earthly  home,  there  is  one 
already,  which   was  once   theirs,  and  to  which   they 


333 


The,  Trial  of  A  braham. 


HEBREWS,   XI. 


Isaac.     Jacob. 


to  be  called  their  God :  for  he  hath 
prepared  for  them  a  city.  <^'^>  By  faith 
Abraham,  wlieu  he  was  tried,  ottered  up 
Isaac :  and  he  that  had  received  the 
promises  ottered  up  his  only  begotten 
8on,  ^^'^^  of  ^  whom  it  was  said.  That  in 
Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called :   <^^^  ac- 


counting that  God  loas  able  to  raise  him 
up,  even  from  the  dead ;  from  whence 
also  he  received  him  in  a  figure.  <^J  By 
faith  Isaac  blessed  Jacob  and  Esau  con- 
cerning things  to  come.  <-^^  By  faith 
1  Or,  to.  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying,  blessed 
both   the   sons    of   Joseph ;    and   wor- 


mi^ht  retiini  (15);  hence  it  is  no  earthly  but  a  heavenly 
country  tluit  thoy  desire.  This  is  the  general  current 
of  thouufht  in  these  verses,  jiresentinj^  a  very  close 
analogy  to  the  arjjfuinent  of  chap.  iii.  7 — iv.  11;  here,  as 
there,  Avorila  whicii  otherwise  might  appear  to  have  but 
an  earthly  reference  are  seen  to  have  a  higher  and  a 
spiritual  import.  In  verses  8  and  9  we  have  before  us 
only  the  land  of  inhei-itance,  but  in  verse  10  the 
heavenly  rest ;  and  in  verse  13  words  wliich  as  read  in 
Genesis  might  seem  to  refer  to  a  wandering  life  in  the 
land  of  Canaan  are  taken  as  a  confessicm  of  sojourning 
upon  earth.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the 
desires  and  yearnings  of  "  the  fathers  "  expressed  them- 
selves in  the  definite  forms  which  later  revelation  has 
made  familiar;  in  all  that  is  essential  the  hope  existed, 
whilst  the  mode  of  the  fulfilment  was  unknown. 
Through  faith  the  patriarchs  were  willing  to  connect 
their  whole  life  and  that  of  their  children  with  waiting 
at  God's  bidding  for  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise — 
wandering  and  sojourning  until  God's  own  time  should 
come  when  He  would  grant  a  homo  in  a  country  of 
their  own.  And  yet  each  of  these  servants  of  God 
recognised  that  relation  to  God  in  which  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  the  promise  to  him  to  be  personal  and  abiding. 
If  these  two  thouglits  be  united,  it  Avill  be  easy  to  see 
how  each  one  for  himself  would  be  led  to  regard  the 
state  of  wandering  in  which  he  si)ent  his  life  as  an 
emblem  of  a  state  of  earthly  waiting  for  an  enduring 
home;  the  sojourning  in  the  land  was  a  constant 
symbol  of  the  sojourning  upon  earth.  Hence  (see  the 
passages  quoted  in  verse  13)  the  same  language  is  used 
from  age  to  age  after  Canaan  is  received  as  an  in- 
heritance. (Comp.  chap.  iv.  9;  and  see  Ex.  iii.  15, 
and  Matt.  xxii.  31,  32.) 

But  now. — See  chap.  viiL  6 ;  the  meaning  is  not 
"  at  this  present  time,"  but  "  as  the  case  stands  in 
truth." 

Wherefore  God  is  not  ashamed. — Rather, 
Wherefore  G<>d  is  not  nshamed  of  them  (compare  chap, 
ii.  11).  Because  of  this  lofty  desire,  or  rather,  because 
of  the  faith  and  love  towards  Him  in  which  the  desire 
was  founded,  and  of  which  therefore  the  longing  for 
a  heavenly  country  wa.s  the  expression,  God  is  not 
ashamed  of  them,  to  be  called  (literally  siirnamed) 
their  God  (Gen.  xvii.  7  ;  xxvi.  24 ;  xxviii.  13 ;  Ex.  iii.  6 ; 
et  al.).  1  hat  He  is  not  ashamed  of  them  He  has  8ho>vn, 
"  for  He  prepared  for  them  a  city."  Before  the  desire 
existed  the  home  had  been  provided.  (Comp.  Matt. 
XXV.  Si.) 

<17)  The  patriarchs  displayed  their  faith  in  the  atti- 
tude of  their  whole  life,  and  in  their  death.  This  has 
been  the  tliouglit  of  the  preceding  verses ;  the  writer 
now  passes  to  the  lessons  taught  by  particular  actions 
and  events. 

Tried.-  Gen.  xxii.  1  :  "  God  did  tempt  Abraham." 
Tlie  following  word  is  in  the  Greek  "hath  offered  up 
Isaac."  and  several  other  exami)les  of  a  similir  pecu- 
liarity will  present  themselves  in  this  chapter.  As  in 
former  cases  (chaps,  iv.  9  ;  y\\.  11 ;  x.  9)  the  reference  is 
to  the  permanent  record  of  Scripture,  in  which  the  fact 


related  is  ever  present.  Abraham  stands  before  us 
there  as  hanug  offered  his  son.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  oii'ering  is  spoken  of  as  if  consummated.  As 
regards  faith  the  .sacrifice  was  indeed  complete;  the 
perfect  surrender  of  will  had  been  made,  and  the  hand 
was  stretched  out  for  the  deed. 

And  he  that  had  received  the  promises 
offered  up.  —  Rather,  and  he  that  had  welcomed 
(gladly  accepted)  the  jiroinises  was  offering  up.  From 
the  figurative  accomplishment  of  the  deed  the  writer 
passes  to  the  historical  narrative ;  hence  we  read,  "  ho 
.  .  .  was  (in  the  act  of)  offering."    This  clause  and  verso 

18  set  forth  the  greatness  of  the  sacrifice  (compare 
Gen.  xxii.  2,  in  the  literal  rendering,  "  Take  now  thy 
son,  thine  only  one,  whom  thou  lovest,  Isaac")  ;  verse 

19  explains  the  operation  of  his  faith. 

(18J  Of  whom.— That  is,  Isaac.  But  the  Greek 
words  should  perhaps  be  rendered  to  whom  (Abraham) : 
•'  Even  he  to  whom  it  was  said.'  On  this  quotation 
from  Gen.  xxi.  12  see  the  Note  on  Rom.  ix.  7. 

(19)  That  God  was  able. — These  words  are  better 
taken  as  the  expression  of  a  general  truth — "  Accouut- 
iug  that  God  is  alile  to  raise  up  even  from  the  dead." 
The  faith  which  tests  and  brings  conviction  of  the 
things  not  seen  made  this  reasoning  possible,  and  gave 
power  to  act  upon  it  ovon  when  Isaac  must  be  slain. 

From  whence  also. — Better, /ro»i  whence  he  did 
in  a  Jignre  (literally,  a  parable]  receive  him.  As  in  a 
figure  the  offering  was  completely  carried  out  (verse 
17),  so  also  in  figure  he  received  his  son  back  from  the 
dead. 

(20)  Concerning  things  to  come. — It  is  probable, 
though  not  certain,  that  the  word  "  even  "  should  bo 
inserted  before  "  concerning " ;  on  these  words,  then, 
tho  empha.sis  will  rest.  Not  having  regard  to  things 
present  only,  or  things  almost  at  hand,  but  looking  far 
into  the  future,  tin-ough  the  divine  revelation  which 
opened  to  him  the  meaning  of  the  promises  received 
by  Abraham,  he  gave  to  each  son  the  blessing  designed 
by  God  (Gen.  xxvii.  27 — 29,  39,  40).  Isaac's  confidence 
in  the  divine  guidance  of  his  words  is  especially  seen 
in  verse  33  of  the  chapter. 

(21)  Both  the  sons. — Rather,  each  of  the  sons. 
The  separate  character  of  the  two  blessings  is  thus 
brought  out  (Gen.  xlviii.  14 — 19).  (See  the  last  Note.) 
In  tiie  case  of  the  two  events  mentioned  in  this  ver.se 
the  order  of  time  is  reversed,  probably  that  the  bless- 
ing of  Jacob  may  immediately  follow  the  similar  record 
of  verse  20. 

And  worshipped. — The  incident  referred  to  will 
bo  found  in  Gen.  xlvii.  31.  After  receiving  from 
Joseph  a  promise,  confirmed  b}^  oath,  that  he  shall  bo 
buried  with  his  fathers,  "  Israel  Ijowed  himself  upon  " 
(or.  worshipped  towards)  "the  bed's  head."  In  tho 
LXX.  and  in  the  Targums  the  words  are  under- 
stood as  denoting  an  act  of  worship.  The  Greek  trans- 
lators have  taken  the  last  word  of  the  Hebrew  verse  to 
denote  "staff"  (Gen.  xxxii.  10),  not  "  bed,"  the  words 
which  bear  these  different  meanings  differing  very 
slightly  in  form.     The  whole  clause  is  given  here  as 


834 


The  Faith  of  Moses. 


HEBEEWS,   XI. 


His  Choice. 


shipped,  leanivg  upon  the  top  of  his 
stall'.  t--^  By  faith  Joseph,  when  he 
died,  made  mention  of^  the  departing 
of  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  gave  com- 
mandment concerning  his  bones.  (^^^  By 
faith  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  was  hid 
three  months  of  his  parents,  because 
they  saw  he  was  a  proper  child ;  and 
they  were  not  afraid  of  the  king's  com- 
mandment.    ^^^^  By  faith  Moses,  when 


he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to  be 
called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter; 
1  Or,  remevibcred.  (25)  choosiug  rather  to  suft'cr  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season;  '^''^esteem- 
2  Or,  for  Christ,  ing  the  reproach  of  Christ^  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt :  for 
he  had  respect  unto  the  recompence  of 
the  reward.  (^'''  By  faith  he  forsook 
Egypt,  not   fearing   the  wrath   of  the 


it  stands  iu  the  LXX.,  the  diiference  between  the 
renderings  being  immaterial  for  the  purpose  which  the 
wi-iter  had  in  view.  The  quotation  of  the  familiar 
words  serves  to  recall  the  scene,  and  brings  before  us 
Israel's  thankful  and  devout  satisfaction  wlien  assured 
that  he  should  rest  with  his  fathers  in  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  by  this,  at  the  point  of  death,  he  expressed 
his  faith  in  the  promise  by  which  Abraham  and  his 
seed  received  Canaan  as  their  inheritance. 

(--)  When  he  died. — Literally,  drawing  to  his 
end.  The  word  is  taken  from  Gen.l.  26  ;  and  the  mention 
of  the  departure  (literally,  the  Exodus)  of  the  children 
of  Israel  is  found  in  verses  24,  25.  This  example  of 
faith  in  the  promise  and  clinging  to  the  hope  which  it 
held  forth  needs  no  comment.  For  the  fulfilment  of 
Joseph's  dying  request  see  Ex.  xiii.  19,  "  Moses  took 
the  bones  of  Joseph  with  him  "  out  of  Egypt;  and  Josh. 
xxiv.  32,  "And  the  bones  of  Joseph  buried  they  in 
Shechem." 

(23)  Because  they  saw  he  was  a  proper  child. 
— "Proper"  has  its  now  obsolete  sense  of  handsome, 
comely,  a  meaning  not  uncommon  in  Shakespeare. 
The  word  used  in  the  Greek  translation  of  Ex.  ii.  2 
is  preserved  both  in  Acts  vii.  20  (see  the  Note)  and  in 
this  place.  It  would  seem  that  the  remarkable  beauty 
of  the  infant  was  understood  by  his  parents  as  a  divine 
sign  given  for  the  guidance  of  their  conduct.  The 
next  clause  should  probably  be  closely  connected  with 
this — "  because  they  saw  .  .  .  and  were  not  afraid  of 
the  king's  commandment"  (Ex.  i.  16).  Their  reliance 
on  the  protection  of  God  enabled  them  to  brave  the 
anger  of  the  king. 

(21)  Come  to  years— i.e.,  grown  \vp,  "when  he 
was  full  forty  years  old"  (Aots  vii.  23).  The  words 
here  used  are  taken  from  the  Greek  translation  of 
Ex.  ii.  11,  where  we  first  read  of  Moses  as  openly 
associating  himself  with  his  oppressed  people.  When 
Moses  slew  the  Egyptian  who  was  "  smiting  a  Hebrew, 
one  of  his  brethren,"  he  in  act  "  refused  to  be  called  a 
son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,"  and  choso  "  to  suffer 
affliction  with  the  people  of  God."     (See  Ex.  ii.  15.) 

(2o)  Choosing. — Better,  having  chosen.  His  act 
was  an  expression  of  his  deliberate  choice.  He  joined 
his  people  because  it  was  "  the  people  of  God."  To 
stand  aloof  for  the  sake  of  ease  and  pleasure  would  for 
him  have  been  apostasy  from  God  ("  sin,"  comp.  chap, 
x.  26).  The  faith  of  Moses  had  brought  "  conviction 
of  the  things  not  seen,"  which  "  are  eternal";  lience  he 
looked  not  at  "  the  things  seen "  which  are  "  for  a 
season  "  (2  Cor.  iv.  18.  where  the  same  word  is  used). 

(26)  The  reproach  of  Christ.— Better,  The  re- 
proach of  the  Christ.  Many  explanations  have  been 
proposed  of  this  remarkable  phrase,  some  of  wliich — 
as  "  reproach  for  Christ."'  "  reproach  similar  to  that 
which  Christ  endured  " — cannot  possibly  give  the  true 
meaning.     The  first  point  to  be  noted  is  that  the  words 


are  almost  exactly  a  quotation  from  one  of  the  chief  of 
the  Messianic  Psalms  (Ps.  Ixxxix.  50,  51) — '  Remember, 
Lord,  the  reproach  of  Thy  servants ;  how  I  do  bear  in 
my  bosom  the  reproach  of  many  peoples  :  wherewith 
Thine  enemies  have  reproached,  O  Lord  ;  wherewith 
they  have  reproached  the  footsteps  of  Thine  Anointed." 
Here  the  writer  in  effect  speaks  of  himself  as  bearing 
"  the  reproach  of  the  Anointed  "  of  the  Lord  :  pleading 
in  his  name  and  identifying  himself  with  his  cause. 
"  The  Anointed"  is  the  kiug  who  (see  the  Xote  on  chap, 
i.  5)  was  the  type  of  the  promised  Christ.  Through- 
out the  whole  of  their  history  the  people  of  Israel  were 
the  people  of  the  Christ.  Tlieir  national  existence  origi- 
nated in  the  promise  to  Abraham,  which  was  a  promise 
of  the  Christ ;  and  tiU  the  fulness  of  time  should  come 
their  mission  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  Him.  The 
reproach  which  Moses  accepted  by  joining  the  people 
of  the  promise  was,  therefore,  "  the  reproach  of  the 
Christ,"  the  tj-pe  of  that  "  reproach "  which  in  later 
days  His  people  will  share  with  Him'  (chap.  xiii.  13). 
He  who  was  to  appear  in  the  last  days  as  the  Messiah 
was  already  in  the  midst  of  Israel  (John  i.  10).  (See 
Ps.  Ixix.  9;  Col.  i.  24;  IPet.i.  11;  and  the  Note  on 
2  Cor.  i.  5.  Phil.  iii.  7 — 11  furnishes  a  noble  illustra- 
tion of  this  whole  record.) 

For  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompence  of 
the  reward. — Rather,  for  he  looked  unto  the  recom- 
pence (chap.  X.  35).  He  habitually  "looked  away" 
from  the  treasures  in  Egypt,  and  fixed  his  eye  on  the 
heavenly  reward. 

(27)  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt. — It  is  a  matter 
of  great  difficulty  to  decide  whether  these  words  refer 
to  the  flight  into  Midian  (Ex.  ii.  15),  or  to  the  Exodus. 
The  former  \'iew,  which  seems  to  be  taken  by  all  ancient 
writers  and  by  most  in  modern  times,  is  supported  by 
the  following  arguments: — (1)  The  institution  of  tho 
Passover  is  mentioned  later  in  this  chapter  (verse  28) ; 

(2)  the  second  departure  was  made  at  Pharaoh's  urgent 
request  (Ex.  xii.  31);  (3)  "he  forsook"  is  too  per- 
sonal an  expression  to  be  used  of  the  general  Exodus. 
On  the  other  side  it  is  tirged  with  great  force  :  (1)  that, 
although  the  actual  departure  from  Egypt  followed  the 
institution  of  the  Passover,  the  'forsaking"  really 
commenced  in  the  demand  of  chap.  v.  1 — 3.  persevered 
in  until  the  anger  of  the  king  was  powerfully  excited 
(chap.  X.  28) ;  (2)  that,  as  might  have  been  certainly 
foreseen,  the  wrath  of  Ijoth  king  and  people  was 
aroused  as  soon  as  the  peojile  had  departed  lEx.  xiv.  5) ; 

(3)  that  the  flight  to  Midian  was  directly  caused  by 
fear  (Ex.  ii.  14,  15);  (4)  that  the  following  words, 
"he  endured,  &c.,"  are  much  more  applicable  to  the 
determined  persistency  of  Moses  and  his  repeated  dis- 
appointments (Ex.  v. — xii.)  than  to  the  inaction  of  his 
years  of  exile.  On  tho  whole  the  latter  inteq)retation 
seems  preferable.  If  the  former  be  adoi)ted.  we  niiist 
distinguish  between  the  apprehension  which  led  him 


33j 


The  Triumphs 


HEBREWS,  XI. 


of  Faith. 


king  :  for  he  endured,  as  seeinf^  him 
Avho  is  invisible.  ^^'  Throu-j^h  faith  he 
kept  the  passover,  and  the  sprinkHng  of 
blood,  lest  he  that  destroyed  the  first- 
born should  touch  them.  <-">  By  faith 
they  passed  through  the  Red  sea  as  by 
dry  land:  which  the  Egyptians  assaying 
to  do  were  drowned.  (^^^  By  faith  the 
walls  of  Jericho  fell  down,  after  they 
were  compassed  about  seven  days. 
(31)  gy  f;iith  the  harlot  Rahab  perished 
not  with  them  that  believed  not,^  when 
she  had  received  the  spies  with  peace. 
<^>  And  what  shall  I  more  say  ?  for  the 


Or,  thnt  teere  dis- 
obedient, 
a  i  M.acc.  7.  7. 


time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  Gedeon, 
and  of  Barak,  and  of  Samson,  and  of 
Jephthae ;  of  David  also,  and  Samuel, 
and  of  the  prophets :  (^^  who  through, 
faith  subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  right- 
eousness, obtained  promises,  stopped 
the  mouths  of  lions,  <^^'  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were  made 
strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens. 
(35)  "Women  received  their  dead  raised  to 
life  again :  and  others  Avere  tortured," 
not   accepting   deliverance;    that   thej 


to  seek  safety  iu  flight  and  the  courage  which  enabled 
him  to  givo  up  Egypt. 

He  endured. — In  the  presence  of  Pharaoh  (or  in 
the  weariness  of  exile)  he  was  strong  and  patient,  as 
seeing  the  iu\-isil)le  King  and  Leader  of  His  people. 

(28,  Through  faith  he  kept.— Rather,  By  faith 
he  hath  kept  (see  verse  17).  The  celebration  of  the 
Passover  and  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  were  acts 
of  obedience,  having  reference  to  a  danger  as  yet  un- 
seen, but  present  in  God's  word  (Ex.  xii.  12). 

Lest  he  that  destroyed  — Better,  that  the  destroyer 
of  the  first-born  viay  not  touah  them.  (See  Ex.  xii.  21, 
22,  28,  29.) 

(29)  Which  the  Egyptians  assaying  to  do. — 
Literally,  0/  ivhich  the  Egyptians  making  trial  were 
swallowed  up  (Ex.  xiv.,  xv.).  In  the  same  "  trial,"  but 
with  the  support  of  the  word  of  God,  had  consisted 
Israel's  faith.  The  word  land  is  not  in  the  ordinary 
Greek  text  (and  hence  stands  in  italics),  but  is  found 
in  the  best  MSS.  It  is  with  this  woi'd  that  the  follow- 
ing clause  ("of  which  .  .  .  ")  connects  itself. 

(3'0  Seven  days. — It  is  the  persistence  of  Israel's 
obedience  (in  the  midst,  wo  cannot  doubt,  of  the  un- 
measured contempt  and  ridicule  of  their  foes)  during 
the  seven  days  of  almost  total  inaction  (Josh,  vi.)  that  is 
here  brought  into  relief. 

(31)  That  believed  not. — Rather,  that  were  dis- 
obedient (see  chaps,  iii.  18;  iv.  6,  11).  To  her  and  to 
her  countrymen  alike  had  come  the  knowledge  of  what 
the  Lord  had  d(jno  for  Israel  (Josh.  ii.  10).  She  recog- 
nised from  these  signs,  and  acknowledged,  the  supre- 
macy of  Jehovah  (verse  11),  and  she  cast  in  her  lot 
with  His  servants;  tlie  men  of  Jericho  continued  in 
their  di.sobedienco,  and  perished  (Josh.  vi.  21).  Through 
faith,  therefore,  a  despised  heathen  woman  became 
united  with  the  people  of  God.  With  such  an  example 
these  more  detailed  histories  may  fitly  close. 

(32)  The  sacred  writer  has  lingered  over  the  life  and 
deeds  of  the  greatest  of  the  patriarchs  and  of  Moses  the 
legislator  of  the  nation  :  two  examples  only — differing  in 
kind  from  those  which  have  preceded,  and  peculiarly 
suggestive  and  important — have  been  taken  from  the 
history  of  the  people  after  the  d(>atli  of  Moses.  Enough 
has  now  been  said  to  guide  all  who  are  willing  to 
search  the  Scriptures  for  themselves.  With  a  brief 
mention  of  names  which  would  call  up  before  the  minds 
of  his  readers  achievements  almost  as  wonderful  as 
those  on  which  he  has  been  dwelling,  ho  passes  from 
the  elders  who  received  witness  from  God  by  their  faith, 
and  (verses  33 — 38)  speaks  in  general  terms,  but  all  the 
more  distinctly,  of  the  triumphs  which  faith  has  won. 


336 


The  time  would  fail  me.— The  slight  changes  of 
text  required  by  our  best  evidence  give  increased  vivid- 
ness :  For  the  time  will  fail  me  if  J  tell  of  Gideon, 
Barak,  Samson,  Jephthah.  To  the  exploits  of  Barak 
(Judg.  iv.,  v.),  Gideon  (\-i. — viii.j,  Samson  (xiii. — xvi.), 
Jephthah  (xi.,  xii.),  there  is  manifest  reference  in  the 
words  of  later  verses  (33,  34).  There  seems  to  be  no 
design  in  this  arrangement  of  the  names.  In  the 
following  clause  also,  "  of  David  and  Samuel  and  the 
prophets,"  there  is  a  similar  departure  from  the  order 
of  time. 

(33)  Subdued  kingdoms.—  Better,  overcame  king- 
doms. To  all  the  deliverers  of  Israel  of  whom  we  have 
read  in  verse  32  (antl  especially  to  David,  2  Sam. 
viii.,  X.,  xi.)  these  words  will  apply.  They  also  "  wrought 
righteousness,"  as  each  judge  or  king  or  prophet 
"executed  judgment  and  justice  unto  all  his  people  " 
(2  Sam.  viii.  15). 

Obtained  promises. — Do  these  words  mean  that 
these  men  of  faith  won  promises  of  future  blessing 
(such  as  were  vouchsafed  to  David  and  the  prophets), 
or  that  promises  of  deliverance  were  fulfilled  to  them  ? 
There  seems  no  reason  for  doubting  that  the  writer's 
language  may  include  both  thoughts.  The  words  wliich 
follow  (though  illustrated  in  the  history  of  Samson  and 
of  David)  clearly  point  to  Daniel  (chap.  \i.). 

(Si)  The  violence. — Rather,  the  2'>ower  (Daniel  iii.). 

Escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword.— Though  it 
would  not  })e  difficult  to  trace  the  application  of  this 
and  the  following  clauses  to  the  heroes  of  Israel  cele- 
brated in  the  Old  Testament  history  (the  perils  of 
David  and  Elijah  and  the  "  weakness  "  of  Samson  and 
Hezekiah  will  occur  to  the  mind  of  all),  it  seems  likely 
that  the  writer's  thought  is  resting  maiidy  on  the  his- 
tory of  the  Maccabsean  times.  That  the  following  verse 
relates  to  narratives  contained  in  the  Second  Book  of 
Maccabees  is  generally  acknowledged ;  and  no  words 
could  more  truly  characterise  the  general  contents  of 
the  First  Book  than  those  of  the  present  verse. 

(35)  Raised  to  life  again. — Literally,  by  a  resurrec- 
tion. (See  1  Kings  xvii.  22,  23;  2  Kings  iv.  35—37.) 
At  this  point  tiio  character  of  the  record  is  changed; 
hitherto  we  have  heard  of  the  victories  of  faith  in 
action,  now  it  is  of  the  triumph  of  faith  over  suffering 
that  the  writer  speaks.  Those  who  "  escaped  the  edge 
of  the  sword"  (verse  34)  and  those  who  "  were  slain 
with  the  sword  "  alike  exemplified  the  power  of  faith. 

Others  were  tortured.— See  the  account  of  the 
aged  Eleazar  (2  Mace.  vi.  30),  martyred  because  he 
would  not  pollute  himself  with  swine's  flesh  and  the 
"  flesh  taken  from   the   sacrifice   commanded  by  the 


I 


Co7ifessors  and  Martyrs. 


HEBREWS,   XII. 


The  Cloud  of  Witnesses. 


might  obtain  a  better  resurrection : 
(^^  and  others  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings 
and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover  of  bonds 
and  imprisonment :  (^"^  they  were  stoned, 
they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  vnth.  the  sword :  they  wan- 
dered about  in  sheepskins  and  goat- 
skins; being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented ;  <-^^  (of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy :)  they  wandered  in 
deserts,  and  in  mountains,  and  in 
dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.     (^^^  And 


1  Ot,  foreseen. 


these  all,  having  obtained  a  good 
report  through  faith,  received  not 
the  promise  :  (^^  God  having  pro- 
vided ^  some  better  thing  for  us,  that 
they  without  us  should  not  be  made 
perfect. 

CHAPTER  XII.— (1)  Wherefore  see- 
ing we  also  are  compassed  ^,        ...    ,_ 
,o     ,       .,,  ,    ^    -,       ,    Chap. xu.  1—17. 

about  with  so  great  a  cloud  Let  us  through 

of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  f^i^^  persevere 

•    1  ,  T    A         •      to  the  end. 

every  weight,  and  the  sin 


king."  The  following  chapter  records  the  martyr- 
dom of  seven  brethren,  who  for  their  adherence  to 
their  law  were  put  to  death  with  cruel  tortures.  (See 
especially  verses  9,  14,  23,  29,  36.) 

Not  accepting  deliverance.— Literally,  not  ac- 
cepting the  redemption,  i.e.,  tlie  deliverance  offered, 
which  must  bo  purchased  at  the  price  of  their  con- 
stancy. 

A  better  resurrection. — Better  than  that  return 
to  the  present  life  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  first  words 
of  the  verse. 

(36)  The  language  becomes  more  general,  but  still 
chiefly  refers  to  the  same  troublous  times. 

Yea,  moreover  of  bonds.  —  Lasting  and  cruel 
captivity,  a  worse  fate  even  than  "  mockings  and 
scourgings." 

(37)  They  were  stoned.— As  Zechariah  (2  Chron, 
xxiv.  20 — 22),  and — according  to  a  Jewish  tradition 
mentioned  by  Tertullian  and  others — Jeremiah.  (See 
Matt,  xxiii.  35,  37.) 

They  were  sawn  asunder.  —  An  ancient  tra- 
dition, mentioned  both  by  Jewish  and  by  early 
Christian  writers,  relates  tliat  Isaiah  was  thus  put  to 
death  by  order  of  Manasseh.  The  following  words, 
"they  were  tempted,"  are  very  remarkable  in  such  a 
position ;  and  many  conjectures  have  been  hazarded 
on  the  supposition  that  a  mistake  of  transcription  has 
occurred.  If  the  text  is  correct,  the  writer  is  speaking  of 
the  promises  and  allurements  by  which  the  persecutors 
sought  to  overcome  the  constancy  of  God's  servants. 

Slain  with  the  sword. — See  1  Kings  xix.  1,  10 ; 
Jerem.  xxvi.  23. 

They  wandered  about.— Rather,  they  went  abotd, 
as  outcasts;  compelled  to  live  the  life  of  wanderers  and 
exiles. 

Tormented. — Rather,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  ill- 
treated  {of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy),  wandering 
in  deserts  and  mountai^is  and  caves  and  the  holes  of 
the  earth.  Once  more  the  Maccabaean  persecutions 
seem  to  be  chiefly  in  view.  (See  1  Mace.  ii.  28,  29; 
2  Mace.  V.  27 ;  v\.  11.  Comp.  also  1  Sam.  xxii.  1 ; 
1  Kings  xviii.  4.) 

(i9)  Having  obtained  a  good  report. — Now  that 
the  history  is  concluded  the  word  of  verse  2  is  resumed. 
That  in  such  a  faith  as  was  described  in  verse  1  "  the 
elders "  received  their  witness  from  God,  the  records 
themselves  have  shown ;  yet  "  these  all,  ha^-ing  had 
witness  borne  to  thorn  through  their  faith,  received  not 
the  promise,"  i.e.,  tlie  promised  blessing.  Tliere  are 
three  passages  of  the  Epistle  which  must  be  kept 
together  —  chap.  vi.  15,  "And  so,  liaAnng  patiently 
waited,  he  (Abraham)  obtained  the  promise ;  "  chap. 
X.  36,  "  Ye  have  need  of  endurance,  that  liaving  done 
the  will  of  G^d   ye  may  receive  the  promise ; "  and 

88  337 


the  present  verse.  To  the  saints  of  the  Old  Testament 
the  promised  blessing  was  future  ;  they  obtained  it,  but 
not  within  the  limits  of  this  present  life.  To  us  the 
promised  blessing  is  present,  revealed  to  us  in  its  true 
nature,  obtained  for  us  once  for  all ;  for  we  know  that 
eternal  redemption  h.^s  been  won  through  Christ's 
entering  for  us  once  for  all  into  the  heavenly  sanc- 
tuary (chap.  ix.  12),  and  to  us  the  "perfection"  has 
come,  in  that  through  Him  we  "  draw  near  to  God  " 
(chap.  vii.  11, 19).  That  (1)  the  full  personal  appropria- 
tion of  the  gift  is  for  every  one  of  us  still  future,  and 
(2)  the  full  revelation  belongs  to  another  state  of  being, 
is  true,  but  not  inconsistent  with  what  has  been  said. 

(•10)  For  us, — Rather,  concerning  us,  that  loithout 
(or,  apart  from)  us  they  should  not  be  made  perfect. 
"  Some  better  thing  " — better  than  they  had  received 
(Matt.  xiii.  17;  1  Pet.  i.  10,  11).  The  design  of  God 
was  that  they  and  we  may  be  perfected  together ; 
first  in  the  joint  reception  of  mature  knowledge  and 
privilege  through  the  High-priestly  work  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  (comp.  Eph.  iii.  10 ;  1  Pet.  i.  12) ;  and  then  that 
we  with  them  may,  when  the  end  shall  come,  "  have 
our  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  both  in  body  and 
soul,  in  the  eternal  and  everlasting  glory  of  God."  Sea 
further  the  Note  on  chap.  xii.  23. 

XII. 
In  this  chapter  the  writer  takes  up  again  the  ex- 
hortation of  chap.  X.  19 — 39,  pointing  to  the  example 
of  Jesus,  encouraging  those  who  are  in  trial,  warning 
agaiust  sin,  and  especially  the  sin  of  rejecting  Him 
who  speaks  to  us  from  heaven. 

(1)  Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  com- 
passed about. — Rather,  Tlierefore  let  us  also — since 
we  are  compassed  about  ivith  so  great  a  cloud  of 
ivitnesses — having  put  away  all  encumbrance  and  the 
sin  .  .  .  run  with  patient  endurance  the  race  that  is 
set  before  U3,  looking,  &c.  (In  so  difficult  a  verse  as 
this  we  need  an  exactness  of  translation  which  might 
not  otherwise  be  desirable.)  It  is  jlain  that  the  chief 
thought  is,  "  Let  us  run  our  race  with  patient  endurance, 
looking  unto  Jesus  the  Author  ...  of  our  faith ;  " 
so  that  here  again  we  have  the  thought  which  the 
writer  is  never  weary  of  enforcing,  tlie  need  of  faith 
and  patience  for  all  who  would  inherit  the  promises. 
The  connection  is  chiefly  with  the  last  verses  of 
chap,  xi.,  which  are,  indeed,  a  summary  of  the  whole 
chapter.  The  purpose  of  God  has  been  that  those  who 
throughout  the  past  ages  obtained  witness  of  Him 
through  their  faith  should  not  reacli  their  consumma- 
tion apart  from  us.  To  that  consummation,  then,  let 
us  press  forward.  Present  to  us  in  tlio  view  of  Christ's 
accomplished  sacrifice,   it   is  all   future   in   regard  of 


Jwm  the  Author  and 


HEBREWS,   XII. 


Perfecter  of  Faith. 


which  doth  so  easily  beset  ws,  and  let  us 
run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  be- 
fore us,  <-'  looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  ^ 


1  Or,  beginner. 


and  finisher  of  our  faith;  who  for  the 
joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 


personal  attainment.  As  those  who  have  preceded  us 
reached  the  goal,  each  one  for  himself,  by  faith  and 
patient  endurance,  so  must  we.  The  thought  of  per- 
severing effort  crowned  by  a  recompence  of  reward 
(chaps,  vi.  12,  IS ;  x.  35 — 39)  verj'  naturally  suggested 
the  imagery  of  the  public  games  (by  this  time  familiar 
even  to  Jews),  to  which  St.  Paul  in  his  Epistles  so 
frequently  alludes.  (See  1  Cor.  iv.  9;  ix.  24—27; 
Phil.  iii.  12—14;  1  Tim.  vi.  12;  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8 ;  comp. 
chap.  X.  32,  33.)  In  these  passages  are  called  up  the 
various  associations  of  the  great  national  festivals  of 
Greece — the  severe  discipline  of  the  competitors,  the 
intcnseness of  the  struggle, the  rewards,  "the  righteous 
judge,"  the  crowd  of  spectators.  Most  of  these 
thoughts  are  present  here  (verses  1,  2,  4),  and  new 
points  of  comparison  are  added,  so  that  the  scene  is 
brought  vividly  before  our  eyes,  It  has  been  often 
supposed  that  the  word  "  witnesses "  is  used  in  the 
sense  of  spectators  of  the  race.  To  an  English  reader 
this  idea  is  very  natural  (as  '*  witnesses  "  may  simply 
mean  beholders),  but  there  is  no  such  ambiguity  in  the 
Greek  word  {martifres).  The  Greek  fathers  rightly 
understood  it  to  signify  those  who  bear  witness,  and 
the  chief  point  of  doubt  seems  to  have  been  whether  the 
sense  is  general,  or  whether  the  word  bears  its  later 
meaning — martyrs,  who  have  borne  testimony  with 
their  blood.  Those  who  thus  encompass  us,  a  countless 
host  (a  "  cloud  "  of  witnesses),  have  had  witness  borne 
to  them  through  their  faith,  and  in  tiirn  stand  forth 
as  witnesses  to  faith,  bearing  testimony  to  its  power 
and  works.  One  and  all  tliey  offer  encouragement  to 
us  in  our  own  contest  of  faith,  and  for  this  reason  they 
are  mentioned  here.  That  the  idea  of  the  presence  of 
spectators  may  be  contained  in  the  other  words,  "  com- 
passed about  with  so  great  a  cloud,"  is  veiy  possible  ; 
out  no  interpretation  must  be  allowed  to  interfere  with 
the  chief  thought — that  the  runner's  steadfast  gaze  is 
fixod  on  Him  who  has  Himself  traversed  the  course 
before  us,  and  is  now  the  Judge  and  Rewarder. 

Every  weight. — The  Greek  word  was  sometimes 
used  by  Greek  writers  to  denote  the  excessive  si^e  and 
weight  of  body  which  the  athlete  sought  to  reduce  by 
means  of  training ;  but  may  also  signify  the  encum- 
brance of  any  burden,  unnecessary  clothing,  and  the 
like.  It  is  here  best  taken  in  a  general  sense,  as 
denoting  anything  that  encumbers,  and  thus  renders 
the  athlete  less  fitted  for  the  race.  In  the  inter- 
pretation we  might,  perhaps,  think  of  the  pressure  of 
earthly  cares,  were  it  not  that  the  writer  seems  to 
have  in  mind  the  special  dangers  of  the  Hebrew 
Christians.  Tlie  "divers  and  strange  teachings" 
spoken  of  in  chap.  xiii.  9,  in  which  would  bo  included 
the  Judaising  practices  which  they  were  tempted 
to  observe  (such  as  St.  Peter  descrilied  as  a  "  yolce  " 
too  heavy  to  be  borne),  will  probably  suit  the  figure 
best. 

And  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us. 
— The  last  six  words  are  the  tninslation  of  a  single 
adjective,  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  The  Greek 
commentators,  from  whom  we  might  expect  some  light 
on  the  phrase,  seem  to  be  entirely  reduced  to  con- 
jecture. Chrysostotn.  for  example,  adopts  in  various 
places  two  altogether  different  meanings,  "  sin  which 
easily  (or,  completely)  surrounds  us."  "  sin  whicli  is 
easily  overcome."    To  these  Theophylact  adds  a  third. 


338 


"  sin  through  which  man  is  easily  brought  into  danger." 
Tlie  prevailing  opinion  amongst  modern  writers  appears 
to  be  that  the  word  signifies  well  (or,  easily)  surround- 
ing;  and  that  the  writer  is  comparing  sin  with  a 
garment — either  a  loosely  fitting  garment  by  which  the 
runner  becomes  entangled  and  tripped  up,  or  one  that 
clings  closely  to  him  and  thus  impedes  his  ease  of 
movement.  This  view  of  the  meaning  is  taken  in  our 
earlier  English  versions,  which  either  follow  the  Latin 
(Wiclif,  "that  standeth  about  us;"  Rhemish,  "that 
compasseth  us "),  or  render  the  words,  the  sin  that 
hangeth  on,  or,  that  hangeth  so  fast  on.  The  sense  is 
excellent,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  Greek 
will  admit  of  such  a  rendering.  Though  the  exact 
word  is  not  found  elsewhere,  there  are  words  closely 
allied  as  to  the  meaning  of  which  there  is  no  doubt. 
Analogy  clearly  points  to  the  signification  much  admired 
(literally,  ivell  surrounded  by  an  admiring  crowd).  It 
is  not  impossible  that  even  with  this  meaning  the 
words  ''  lay  aside "  or  put  away  (often  applied  to 
putting  off  clothing)  might  still  suggest  a  garment ; 
if  so,  the  allusion  might  be  to  a  runner  who  refused  to 
put  off  a  garment  which  the  crowd  admired,  though 
such  an  encumbrance  must  cause  him  to  fail  of  the 
prize.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  writer  speaks  of  sin 
generally  as  an  obstacle  to  the  race,  which  must  be  put 
aside  if  the  runner  is  to  contend  at  all.  If  we  look  at 
the  later  exhortations  of  the  Epistle,  we  shall  find 
repeated  mention  of  the  reproach  which  the  followers 
of  Christ  must  bear.  Even  in  the  history  of  Moses 
(chap.  xi.  26)  there  are  words  which  suggest  the  thought. 
(See  also  chaps,  x.  33;  xiii.  13).  So  in  the  next  verso 
we  read  of  the  cross  of  Jesus  and  the  shame  which  He 
despised.  Over  against  this  "  reproach  "  is  set  the  sin 
which  is  sure  to  \\\n  man's  favour  and  applause — the 
sin  of  which  we  have  read  in  chap.  x.  26  (comp. 
chap.  xi.  25),  which,  seemingly  harmless  in  its  first 
approaches,  will  end  in  a  "  falling  away  from  the 
li^'ing  God."  The  rendering  with  which  the  Autho- 
rised version  has  made  us  familiar  is  full  of  interest, 
but  cannot  (at  all  events  as  it  is  commonly  understood) 
be  an  expression  of  the  sense  intended.  Whatever 
view  bo  taken  of  the  one  peculiar  word,  it  does  not 
seepa  possible  that  the  phrase  can  point  to  what  is 
known  as  a  "  besetting  sin,"  the  sin  which  in  the  case 
of  any  one  of  us  is  proved  to  possess  especial  power. 

(2)  Looking  unto  Jesus. — As  in  chap.  ii.  9,  the 
description  precedes  the  mention  of  the  name,  "  Look- 
ing unto  the  Author  and  Perfecter  of  (our)  faith,  Jesus." 
The  first  word  is  very  similar  to  that  of  chap.  xi.  26; 
the  runner  looks  away  from  all  other  objects  and  fixes 
his  gaze  on  One.  Jesus  is  not  directly  spoken  of  as 
the  .ludge  (2  Tim.  iv.  8) ;  but,  as  the  next  words  show, 
He  has  Himself  reached  the  goal,  and  His  presence 
marks  the  point  at  which  the  race  will  close.  As  the 
last  verse  spoke  of  our  "  patient  endurance,"  this 
speaks  of  our  faith,  and  of  this  Jesus  is  the  Author 
and  the  Perfecter.  The  former  word  has  occurred  before, 
in  chap.  ii.  10;  and  here,  as  iheve,  origination  \s  tha 
principal  thought.  Tliere  the  idea  of  leading  the  way 
was  also  present ;  but  here  ' '  Author  "  stands  in  con- 
tra.st  with  "  Perfecter,"  and  the  example  of  our  Lore 
is  the  subject  of  the  clause  which  follows.  Because  ii 
is  He  who  begins  and  brings  to  perfection  our  faithi 
we  must  run  the  race  with  our  eye  fiixed  upon  Him| 


The  Chastening  of  the  Lord. 


HEBREWS,   XII. 


A  Father's  Discipline. 


down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God.  (^)  For  consider  him  that  endured 
such  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied  and  faint  in 
your  minds.  ^^^  Ye  have  not  yet  re- 
sisted unto  blood,  striving  against  sin. 
<^^  And  ye  have  forgotten  the  exhorta- 
tion which  speaketh  unto  you  as  unto 
children.  My  son,  despise  not  thou  the 
chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when 
thou  art  rebuked  of  him :  ("^^  for  whom 


the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and 
scourge th  every  son  whom  he  receive th. 
<^^  If  ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth 
with  you  as  with  sons ;  for  what  son  is 
he  whom  the  father  chasteneth  not? 
<®^  But  if  ye  be  without  chastisement, 
whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are  ye 
bastards,  and  not  sons.  (^)  Furthermore 
we  have  had  fathers  of  our  flesh  which 
corrected  us,  and  we  gave  them  reverence: 
shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in  subjec- 


in  Him  is  the  beginning,  in  Him  the  completion  of  the 

Sromises  (2  Cor.  i.  20) ;  and  in  the  steady  and  trustful 
ependenco  upon  Him  which  this  figiu'e  describes 
consists  our  faith. 

Who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him 
endured  the  cross. — The  literal  meaning  is  very 
forcible,  eJifZio-ecZ  a  cross,  despising  shame ;  the  shame 
of  such  a  death  being  set  over  against  the  joy  that  lay 
before  Him.  Here  again  we  have  the  thought  of  chap, 
ii.  9  (Phil.  ii.  9,  10) ;  the  joy  of  His  accomplished  pur- 
pose (Isa.  liii.  11 ;  Matt.  xxv.  21 ;  Luke  x.  21,  22)  and 
the  glory  with  which  He  was  crowned  (John  xA'ii.  1 ; 
1  Pet.  i.  11)  being  the  reward  for  His  "  obedience  even 
unto  death."  The  whole  form  of  the  expression  (comp. 
especially  chap.  vi.  18,  "the  hope  set  before  us")  shows 
that  Jesus  is  presented  to  us  as  an  example  not  of 
endurance  only,  but  also  of  faith  (chap.  ii.  12).  On 
the  last  words  of  the  verse  see  chaps,  i.  3,  13 ;  viii.  1 ; 
X.  12,  13 ;  there  is  here  a  slight  change  in  the  Greek, 
which  requires  the  rendering,  and  hath  sat  down  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God. 

(3)  The  figure  of  the  race  is  stiU  continued,  "  For 
unless  ye  thus  look  unto  Jesus  ye  will  grow  weary." 

Consider. — Literally,  compare ;  place  your  suffer- 
ings by  the  side  of  His. 

Him  that  endured  such  contradiction.— 
Rather,  Him  that  hath  endured  such  gainsaying  from 
sinners  against  themselves.  The  word  "  gainsaying," 
(cliaps.  vi.  16 ;  "vdi.  7)  is  so  frequently  used  in  the 
LXX.  for  the  rebelliousness  of  the  people  of  Israel, 
that  we  need  not  here  limit  it  to  contradiction  in  words. 
The  change  of  "  Himself  "  into  "  themselves  "  (the 
reading  of  the  oldest  MSS.)  is  important,  but  it  is  not 
easy  to  say  with  what  tlie  last  two  words  should  be 
joined;  for  the  meaning  may  be  either  "  sinners  against 
themselves "  (comp.  Num.  xvi.  38),  or  "  gainsaying 
against  themselves."  In  either  case  the  force  of  the 
words  will  be  that  the  sin  or  the  opposition  manifested 
against  Him  was  really  against  themselves,  since  it 
was  for  their  salvation  that  He  came  upon  earth.  To 
all  His  other  sorrows  were  added  the  pain  of  their 
ingratitude  and  His  grief  over  their  aggravated  guilt. 

And  faint. — ^^ther,  fainting  in  your  souls. 

W  Ye  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood.— 
StUl  the  general  figure  is  retained,  but  for  the  foot- 
race is  substituted  the  contest  of  the  pugilists.  In 
verse  1  sin  was  the  hindrance  which  must  be  put 
aside;  here  it  is  the  antagonist  who  must  be  subdued. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  exactly  the  same  transition 
in  1  Cor.  ix.  26.  (See  Note.)  The  contest  lias  been 
maintained  but  feebly,  for  no  blood  lias  flowed  in  their 
struggle  with  temptation  and  sin  ;  they  have  not 
deserted  the  arena,  but  have  slirnuk  from  the  suffering 
which  a  determined  struggle  would  liave  caused.  It 
is  possible  that  the  writer  goes  beyond  the  figure  in 


339 


these  words,  and  that  the  price   of   their  resistance 
might  indeed  have  been  their  "  blood." 

(5)  In  this  cowardly  avoidance  of  trouble  and  per- 
secution they  have  been  shrinking  from  that  chastening 
which  every  son  receives  from  the  Lord. 

Which  speaketh  unto  you.— Better,  which  holds 
converse  (or,  reasoneth)  ivith  you  as  ivith  sons.  The 
words  which  follow  are  taken  from  Prov.  iii.  11,  12, 
and  agree  with  the  text  of  the  LXX.,  except  that  for 
"son"  we  have  "my  son,"  and  for  "reproveth"'  (verse  6) 
"  chasteneth."  In  the  original  passage  Solomon  is  the 
speaker,  and  it  is  the  second  verse  only  that  speaks  of 
God's  fatherly  love.  It  may  be  so  here  also,  but  the 
exhortation  of  the  Scripture  seems  to  be  quoted  as 
if  spoken  dii-ectly  by  God  Himself  to  His  sons. 

Despise. — Better,  thinlc  not  lightly  of.  In  the  next 
clause  the  Hebrew  ("  and  loathe  not  His  correction  ") 
denotes  rather  a  spirit  that  rejects  and  chafes  under 
divine  discipline.  As  the  words  are  found  here,  they 
point  to  losing  heart  and  hope. 

(6)  And  scoixrgeth.— As  the  words  stand  in  our 
Hebrew  text,  the  meaning  is  "  even  as  a  father  the 
son  in  whom  he  delighteth."  A  very  slight  change  in 
one  word,  however,  wUl  yield  the  sense  in  wliich  the 
clause  was  understood  by  the  Greek  translators,  and 
which  is  here  retained.  For  the  purpose  of  tliis  quo- 
tation the  difference  between  the  two  renderings  is  not 
material. 

(')  If  ye  endure  chastening.— The  whole  weight 
of  ancient  evidence  is  in  favour  of  a  change  in  the  first 
Greek  word.  Iwo  translations  are  then  possible: 
(1)  "  It  is  for  chastening  that  ye  endure  :  "  the  troubles 
that  come  upon  you  are  for  discipline — are  not  sent  in 
anger,  but  in  fatherly  love.  (2i  *' Endure  for  cliasten- 
ing : "  bear  the  trial,  instead  of  seeking  to  avoid  it  by 
unworthy  and  dangerous  concession ;  endure  it,  that  it 
may  effect  its  merciful  purpose. 

What  son  is  he. — Or,  what  son  is  there  whom  his 
father  chasteneth  not  / 

(8)  Whereof  all  are  partakers.— Better,  whereof 
all  (God's  children)  have  been  made  partakers.  Were 
it  possible  that  they  have  never  known  this  fatherly 
"  chastening,"  it  must  be  that  they  are  not  sons  whom 
a  father  acknowledges,  and  for  whose  training  he 
has  care. 

(9i  Furthermore  we  have  had  fathers.— Rather, 
Furthermore  ice  had  the  fathers  ofourjlesh  as  chasteners 
{i.e.,  to  chasten  us).  The  thought  of  the  former  verses 
has  been,  " He  cliastens  as  a  father.'  From  likeness 
we  here  pass  to  contrast.  The  contra^'t  dra^vn  is 
between  our  natural  parents  and  "the  Father  of  spirits" 
(comp.  Num.  xvi.  22;  xxvii.  16;  Zech.  xii.  1) — the 
Creator  of  all  spirits,  who  is  the  Giver  of  life  to  all, 
who  knows  the  spirit  wliich  He  has  made  isee  Ps.  xciv. 
9,  lO)  and  can  discipline  it  by  His  chastening. 


The  Fruit  of  Jiiyhteousiiess. 


HEBREWS,   XII. 


Follow  Peace  and  Holiness. 


tion  unto  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  live? 
(10)  Yov  they  verily  for  a  few  days  chas- 
tened us  after  theu*  own  pleasure ;  but 
he  for  our  profit,  that  we  might  be 
partakers  of  his  holiness.  ^"^  Now  no 
chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to 
be  joyous,  but  grievous  :  nevertheless 
afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit 
of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are 
exercised  thereby.    <^-^  Wherefore  lift  up 


I  Or,  even. 


2  Or,  fall  from. 


the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the 
feeble  knees ;  (^^^  and  make  straight  ^ 
paths  for  your  feet,  lest  that  which  is 
lame  be  turned  out  of  the  way ;  but  let 
it  rather  be  healed.  <^*)  Follow  peace 
with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without 
which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord : 
<^5)  looking  diligently  lest  any  man  fail 
of  2  the  grace  of  God ;  lest  any  root  of 
bitterness  springing  up  trouble  you,  and 


And  live. — Since  the  life  of  the  spirit  subsists  only 
iu  Vmion  with  Him. 

(10)  After  their  own  pleasure.  —  Rather,  as 
seemed  good  unto  them.  The  contrast  is  continued 
here  between  human  liability  to  mistake  and  the  perfect 
knowledge  of  our  heavenly  Father,  who  seeks  our 
profit,  and  cannot  err  in  the  means  which  He  employs. 
There  is  a  general  resemblance  between  this  verse  and 
the  last,  the  "few  days"  corresponding  to  the  "fathers 
of  our  flesh  ;  "  and  the  last  clause  here,  "  that  we  may 
be  partakers  of  His  holiness,"  to  the  words  which  close 
verse  9,  "  and  live."  To  the  "  few  days  "  no  contrast 
is  directly  expressed  in  the  second  member  of  the 
verse;  none  was  needed,  because  the  last  words  so 
clearly  imply  the  permanence  of  the  result. 

(11)  Now  no  chastening  .  .  . — Better  (the  read- 
ing being  slightly  changed),  All  chastening  seemeth  for 
the  present  time  to  he  not  joyous,  but  grievous.  The 
language,  so  far,  would  seem  to  be  perfectly  general, 
relating  to  all  chastening,  whether  human  or  divine. 
Tlie  following  clause  may  seem  to  confine  our  thought 
to  the  latter ;  but,  with  a  lower  sense  of  "  righteous- 
ness," the  maxim  is  true  of  the  wise  discipline  of 
earthly  parents. 

The  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness. — 
Better,  peaceful  fruit,  [fruit)  of  righteousness,  to  them 
that  have  been  trained  thereby.  The  "  peaceful"  fruit 
stands  in  contrast  with  the  unrest  and  trouble  which 
have  preceded  during  the  time  of  "  chastening."  But 
there  is  more  than  rest  after  conflict,  for  the  object  of 
the  conflict  is  attained ;  the  fruit  consists  in  righteous- 
ness. (Comp.  Isa.  xxxii.  17  ;  Prov.  xi.  30  ;  Jas.  iii.  17  ; 
Phil.  i.  11.)  It  has  been  sometimes  supposed  that  in 
the  word  "  trained "  the  writer  returns  to  the  figure 
of  verse  4 ;  but  this  is  not  probable. 

(12)  Wherefore.— As  in  chap.  x.  24,  the  writer 
passes  from  the  thought  of  personal  risk  and  duty,  to 
speak  (in  verses  12 — 17)  of  that  which  is  binding  on  all 
members  of  a  community.  "  Wherefore  " — since  the 
trouble  which  has  brought  discouragement  should  rather 
call  forth  tliankfulness — "  strengtlien  (literally,  make 
straight  again,  restore  to  a  right  state)  the  weakened 
hands  and  the  palsied  knees."  The  words  are  almost 
a  reproduction  of  Isa.  xxxv.  3,  where  those  who  have 
lost  ncart  and  hope  (compared  to  men  whoso  limbs  are 
palsy-stricken)  are  encouraged  by  the  promise  of  the 
coming  of  their  God  bringing  recomi)ense  and  salvation. 
(See  chap.  x.  36,  37.) 

(13)  And  make  straight  paths.— Quoted  with 
some  slight  cliangos  from  the  Greek  translation  of 
Prov.  iv.  26,  "  ponder  "  (or,  more  probably,  make  even) 
"  the  path  of  thy  feet." 

Be  turned  out  of  the  way.— The  difficulty  in 
these  words  is  concealed  to  some  extent  when  they  are 
separated  from  the  following  clause,  as  in  the  Autho- 
rised version ;  this  separation,  however,  the  Greek  will 


340 


not  allow.  If  the  words  be  rendered,  "  that  what  is 
lame  may  not  be  turned  out  of  the  way,  but  may  rather 
be  healed,"  we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  two  members 
are  somewhat  incongruous.  It  is  probable,  therefore, 
that  the  first  verb  here  bears  the  meaning  which  it  not 
Tinfrequently  has  in  medical  writers,  be  put  out  of  joint. 
Let  the  paths  (or  tracks)  which  you  follow  be  straight, 
for  crooked  and  uneven  paths  will  make  the  limbs 
which  are  lame  more  helpless  stUl ;  should  nothing 
aggravate  the  hurt  that  has  been  received,  it  may  soon 
be  healed.  In  the  application,  the  words  are  a  wai'uing 
against  the  shifting  courses  of  men  who  are  ready  to 
turn  aside  from  strict  duty  when  persecution  threatens, 
and  seek  to  avert  the  danger  by  compliance  with  what 
they  do  not  in  heart  approve.  Whatever  may  be  the 
result  in  the  case  of  "  the  strong "  (Rom.  xiv.  1 ; 
I  Cor.  viii.),  the  example  brings  destruction  on  "  the 
weak." 

(14)  Follow  peace.— More  clearly  (as  our  word 
"  follow  "  is  somewhat  ambiguous),  follow  after  peace. 
There  is  a  manifest  allusion  to  Ps.  xxxiv.  14  (quoted 
also  in  1  Pet.  iii.  11).  This  charge  is  general  (Rom.  xii. 
18),  and  must  not  be  limited  to  peace  with  feUow 
Christians  (Rom.  xiv.  19).  The  two  admonitions  of 
thia  verse  were  admirably  suited  to  a  period  of  per- 
secution. Let  all  make  peace  their  aim,  yet  not  so  as 
to  sacrifice  purity.     (Comp.  Jas.  iii.  17.) 

And  holiness. — Better,  and  the  sanctification  with- 
out which  no  nian  shall  see  the  Lord.  In  chap.  ix.  28 
we  have  thei  promise  that  "  Christ  .  .  .  shall  be  seen  " 
by  them  that  wait  for  Him :  hence  it  might  be  supposed 
(especially  as  in  the  next  verse  we  read  of  "  the  grace 
of  God")  that  "  the  Lord  "  is  here,  as  in  chap.  ii.  3,  a 
designation  of  our  Saviour.  As,  however,  this  Epistle 
especially  brings  Him  before  us  as  the  Sanctifier 
(chaps,  ii.  11 ;  xiii.  12),  who  leads  us  into  the  presence 
of  (jod  (chap.  X.  19),  >ve  must  rather  look  on  these 
words  as  akin  to  M»tt.  v.  8,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God"  (Rev.  xxii.  4). 

(15)  Lest  any  man  fail. — Rather,  whetlier  any  one 
be  falling  hack  from  the  grace  of  God.  The  defection 
of  one  member  of  the  community  brings  loss  and  danger 
to  the  whole  body.  The  last  words  of  phap.  x.  26  will 
show  what  is  implied  iu  tliis  "  falling  back  from  the 
grace  of  God." 

Any  root  of  bitterness.— It  is  clear  that  Dent, 
xxix.  18,  though  not  formally  quoted,  is  before  the  i 
writer's  mind.  In  that  chapter  Moses  had  again 
brought  before  the  people  the  covenant  which,  nearly 
forty  years  before,  had  been  made  and  ratified  "in 
Horeb  "  (see  chap.  ix.  18 — 20).  With  especial  solemnity 
he  sets  before  them  the  sin  and  terrible  punishment  of  J 
idolatry,  "Lest  there  should  be  among  you  man  or  I 
woman  .  .  .  whose  heart  turneth  away  this  day  from  J 
the  Lord  our  God,  to  go  and  serve  the  gods  of  these] 
nations;  lest  there  should  be  among  you  a  root  that] 


Esau  rejected. 


HEBEEWS,   XII. 


The  Terrors  of  Sinai. 


thereby  many  be  defiled ;  (^^^  lest  there 
he  any  fornicator,  or  profane  person,  as 
Esau,  who  for  one  morsel  of  meat  sold 
his  birthrig-ht.  <^'^  For  ye  know  how  that 
afterward,  when  he  would  have  inherited 
the  blessing,  he  was  rejected :  for  he 
found  no  place  of  repentance,^  though 
he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears. 

(18)  Yov   ye   are   not   come   unto   the 
mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that 


1  Or,  way  to  change 
his  mind. 


burned  with    fire,  nor  unto  blackness, 

and  darkness,  and  tempest, 

(1^)  and   the    sound    of    a  ^t^^ft^f,- 

trumpet,  and  the  voice  of  of  Sinai.    The 

words;    which  voice    they  S^^j.^e^^''''"^ 

that  heard  intreated  that 

the    word    should    not    be    spoken    to 

them  any  more :  <-^^  (for  they  could  not 

endure    that    which   was    commanded. 

And  if  so  much  as  a  beast  touch  the 


bearetli  gall  and  wormwood."  The  marginal  note  on 
the  last  words  ("  poisouful  herb  ")  explains  their  true 
mcaniug — that  which  springs  from  the  root  is  not 
merely  bitter,  it  is  also  poisonous.  Again,  therefore 
(see  chap.  x.  27,  28,  30),  the  apostasy  to  Avhich  the 
Hebrew  Christians  were  tempted  is  compared  with  the 
sin  committed  by  those  who  by  idolatry  fell  away  from 
God's  ancient  covenant ;  and  as  one  idol-worshipper  in 
a  community  might  bring  into  it  a  root  of  bitter  poison, 
so  one  apostate  from  the  Christian  faith  would  bring 
trouble  and  defilement  on  the  Church.  In  Acts  viii.  23 
St.  Peter  makes  reference  to  the  same  chapter  of 
Deuteronomy  as  he  speaks  to  Simon  Magus,  who,  above 
all  other  men,  proved  a  root  of  bitter  poison  in  the 
early  Church. 

Many.— Rather,  the  many  (according  to  the  best 
reading) — i.e.,  the  whole  community. 

(!*>)  Lest  there  be. — Better  (as  in  the  last  verse), 
whether  there  he.  Though  Jewish  tradition  (see,  for 
example,  the  Targum  of  Palestine  on  Gen.  xxv,  29) 
affirms  that  Esau  was  a  man  of  impure  life,  it  is  not 
probable  that  he  is  so  represented  in  this  verse.  Here 
he  is  mentioned  as  a  type  of  "  the  profane,"  who  care 
not  for  divine  things,  but  only  for  the  gains  and 
pleasures  of  this  world. 

Who  for  one  morsel  of  meat. — Better,  who  for 
f  one  meal  sold  his  oivn  birthright  (Gen.  xxv.  29 — 34). 
We  cannot  suppose  thai  the  writer  has  in  thought  the 
material  rights  of  the  firstborn,  such  as  his  claim  on 
pre-eminence  and,  possibly  (see  Deut.  xxi.  17),  on  a 
larger  share  of  his  father's  possessions.  Tradition 
relates  that,  up  to  the  time  of  Aaron,  priestly  functions 
were  discharged  by  each  firstborn  sou  (comp.  Num.  iii. 
5 — 12) ;  and  to  the  line  of  the  firstborn  would  seem  to 
belong  that  "blessing  of  Abraham"  (Gen.  xxviii.  4) 
f  which  every  one  who  shared  Abraham's  faith  would 
earnestly  desire  to  possess. 

(17)  For  ye  know  how  that  afterward  .  .  . — 
The  meaning  of  the  verse  will  bo  seen  more  clearly 
if  one  clause  be  placed  in  a  parenthesis :  "  For  ye 
know  that  even  when  he  afterward  desired  to  inherit 
the  blessing  he  was  rejected  (for  he  found  no  place  of 
repentance),  though  he  sought  it  earnestly  with  tears." 
The  blessing  of  Jacob  related  in  Gen.  xxvii.  is  here 
viewed  (apart  from  all  attendant  circumstances)  a.s  a 
necessary  consequence  of  Esau's  "profane"  scorn  of  liis 
birthright.  Notwithstanding  Esau's  piteous  entreaty, 
Isaac  cannot  but  ratify  (verse  33)  the  blessing  which 
he  lias  pronounced ;  though  his  son  sought  the  blessing 
earnestly  with  tears  (verse  38),  he  was  rejected.  Ho 
"  found  no  place  of  repentance  ;  "  that  first  act  (Gen. 
xxv.  33)  could  not  be  recalled,  but  brought  with  it  a  loss 
which  nothing  could  retrieve. 

(It  is  right  to  add  that  other  interpretations  of  the 
verse  have  been  given,  which  seem,  however,  much  less 
probable.     Thus,  the  last  clause  lias  been  understood 


to  mean  that  Esau  earnestly  sought  repentance ;  and 
the  preceding  words,  which  wo  have  placed  in  a 
parenthesis,  that  he  could  not  bring  his  father  to  a 
change  of  purpose.) 

(18—29)  Tlie  exhortation  to  faithfulness  is  most  ittipres- 
sively  enforced  by  means  of  a  comparison  between  the 
earlier  revelation  and  that  which  is  given  in  Christ. 

The  mount  that  might  be  touched.  —  It 
apj)ears  certain  that  the  word  "  mount "  has  no 
place  in  the  true  Greek  text.  Had  this  word  been  in 
the  sentence  as  originally  written,  its  absence  from  all 
our  more  ancient  authorities  would  be  inexplicable ; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  contrast  with  verse  22, 
and  the  recollection  of  Deut.  iv.  11,  from  which  the  last 
words  in  this  verse  are  taken,  would  very  naturally  lead 
a  transcriber  to  supply  this  word,  which  he  might  suppose 
to  have  accidentally  dropped  out  of  the  text.  If,  how- 
ever, the  writer  did  not  make  use  of  the  word  here, 
though  the  contrast  of  verse  22  was  already  before  his 
mind,  it  seems  certain  that  the  word  was  not  in  his 
thought ;  and  hence  we  have  no  right  to  introduce  it  in 
the  explanation  of  the  verse.  The  true  translation,  in 
all  probability,  is  as  follows  :  For  ye  are  not  come  unto 
a  material  (literally,  a  palpable)  and  kindled  fire,  and 
unto  gloom  and  darkness  and  tempest.  The  object  of 
the  writer  is  to  set  forth  the  terrors  which  accompanied 
the  gi\'ing  of  the  Law, — that  which  the  awe-stricken 
people  saw  and  heard.  Not  the  mount,  but  the  terrible 
fire  was  that  which  met  their  gaze.  Thus  again  and 
again  in  Deuteronomy  we  find  reference  to  the  voice 
and  the, fire  alone  (chaps,  iv.  33,  36  ;  v.  4,  25,  2H;  xviii. 
16).  Shortly  before  "  the  day  of  the  assembly "  in 
Horeb  Israel  had  been  led  by  "a  pillar  of  fire"  (Ex. 
xiii.  21) ;  in  verse  29  of  this  chapter  tlie  figure  of  "  a 
consuming  fire  "  is  applied  to  God  Himself.  To  avoid 
such  associations  as  these,  and  \nvidly  to  represent  what 
then  was  shown  to  the  Israelites,  he  speaks  of  "  a 
material  and  kindled  fire."  The  metaphor  in  "  palpable  " 
as  applied  to  fire  is  hardly  more  remarkable  than  that 
involved  in  "  a  darkness  which  may  be  felt  "  (Ex.  x. 
21,  where  the  word  used  in  the  LXX.  is  almost  the 
same  as  that  which  we  have  here). 

(19>  See  Ex.  xix.  19  ("the  voice  of  the  trumpet''), 
Deut.  iv.  12  ("  the  voice  of  the  words  "). 

Intreated. — "  If  we  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our 
God  anymore,  then  we  shall  die"  (Deut.  v.25;  Ex.xx.  19). 
Though  God  drew  near  to  Israel,  to  reveal  Himself,  so 
torrililo  was  His  voice  to  them,  so  awful  the  penalties 
which  fenced  round  their  approach  to  Him,  that  they 
shrank  back  from  hearing  His  words. 

(20)  There  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  enclosing  this 
verse  and  the  next  in  a  parenthesis. 

And  if  so  much  as.— Bett<?r,  If  even  a  beast 
touch  the  inountain,  it  shall  be  stoned  (Ex.  xix.  12, 
13).     The  next  clause,  "  or  thrust  through  mth  a  dart," 


341 


Moses  Fear. 


HEBREWS,   XII. 


The  Heavenly  Zion. 


mountain,  it  shall  be  stoned,  or  thrust 
throuf^h  with  a  dart :  <-i'  and  so  terrible 
was  the  sight,  that  Moses  said,  I  ex- 


ceedingly fear  and  quake :)  ^^^  but  ye 
are  come  unto  mount  Sion,  and  unto 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 


is  al)soiit  from  our  best  authorities;  and  has  accidentally 
found  its  way  into  tho  t(>xt  from  Ex.  xix.  13. 

(-1)  And  so  terrible  was  the  sight  that  .... 
— Better,  And  (so  fearful  urns  the  appearance)  Moses 
said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and  tremble.  Dent.  ix.  19,  as 
it  stands  in  the  Greek  translation,  contains  these  words 
in  part  (•' I  exceeding'ly  fear");  there,  however,  they 
belonrj  to  a  later  time,  wlion  Moses  was  "  afi-aid  of  the 
anger  and  liot  displeasure ''  of  the  Lord  against  the 
worshippers  of  tiie  golden  calf  (Ex.  xxxii.).  Various 
Jewish  traditions  speak  of  the  terror  of  Moses  as  upon 
Mount  Sinai  he  beheld  tho  wonders  of  the  heavenly 
world  (see  chap.  ii.  2) ;  but  no  saying  that  has  been 
preserved  throws  additional  light  on  the  words  before 


(22—24)  "  "WTiat  it  was  to  which  Israel  in  the  time  of 
the  Old  Covenant  drew  nigh,  we  have  now  heard.  Their 
drawing  nigh  wa*at  the  same  time  a  standing  afarotf ; 
the  mount  of  the  revelation  might  not  be  approached  by 
them;  the  voice  of  God  was  too  terrible  to  be  borne; 
and  yet  it  was  only  tangible  material  nature  in  which 
God  at  once  manifested  and  concealed  Himself.  The 
true  and  inner  communion  with  God  had  not  yet  been 
revealed  :  first  must  tlie  Law  lead  to  the  painful  con- 
sciousness that  sin  prevents  such  communion,  and 
intensify  the  longing  that  sin  may  be  taken  out  of  the 
way.  Under  the  New  Covenant,  no  longer  is  a  tangible 
mountain  the  place  of  a  divine  revelation  made  from 
afar;  but  heaven  is  thrown  open,  and  a  new  supei'- 
sensuous  world  in  which  God  is  enthroned  is  opened  to 
admit  us,  opened  through  the  Mediator  of  the  New 
Covenant,  accessible  in  virtue  of  His  atoning  blood" 
(Delitzsch). 

(22)  Unto  mount  Sion.— Literally  (and  in  these 
difficult  verses  it  is  unusually  important  to  follow  the 
literal  rendering  of  the  Greek),  Ye  are  come  xnito 
Zion  {the)  mountain  and  city  of  a  Living  God,  a 
heavenly  Jerusalem.  The  thought  of  a  celestial  city 
which  should  bo  the  exact  counterpart  of  the  earthly 
Jerusalem  is  often  dwelt  upon  in  Jewish  writings  : 
hence  the  writer  is  using  familiar  words,  but  with  a  new 
and  spiritual  meaning.  The  same  imagery  has  been 
employed  in  cliap.  xi.  10,  13—16,  for  this  is  the  city 
"  tliat  hath  tho  foundations,  whoso  Architect  and  Maker 
is  Cod."  (See  also  Rev.  xxi.  2,  et  seq. ;  Gal.  iv.  26.) 
This  "  heavenly  Jerusalem'  is  "  Zion,  mountain  and  city 
of  a  Living  God."  Mount  Zion  is  mentioned  first, 
because  tht>  contrast  with  Mount  Sinai  is  throughout 
present  in  tliought.  Tlie  name  recalls  many  passages 
of  the  Old  Testament,  especially  of  the  Psalter,  as  far 
back  as  the  time  when  David  chose  the  place  for  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Here  God  desired  to  dwell 
(Ps.  Ixviii.  16);  in  this  holy  hill  He  set  His  anointed 
King  iPs.  ii.  6).  (See  also  Pss.  xlviii.  2,  11;  Ixxviii. 
68;  ex.  2;  cxx\ii.  13.)  Zion  is  not  only  the  mount  of 
God,  His  dwelling  place  ;  it  is  also  "  the  city  of  God, ' 
whose  gates  the  Lord  h)veth  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.  2).  (See  Ps. 
xhiii.  12,  13,  et  at.)  In  chap.  viii.  2  we  find  associated 
the  place  of  the  si)ecial  manif(>station  of  tho  glory  of 
God  and  the  resort  of  His  worshipping  people ;  so  here 
the  heavenly  sanctuary  and  the  city  inhabited  by  "  the 
ransomed  of  the  Tiord"  (Isjv.  xxxv.  10).  In  Horeb 
Israel  intreated  that  they  might  not  hear  the  voice  of 


"  the  living  God  "  (Dent.  v.  26).     In  this  spiritual  com- 
monwealth we  all  "  have  drawn  nigh  "  to  Him. 

In  the  first  member  of  these  three  verses  (22 — 24), 
therefore,  there  is  very  little  that  is  open  to  question ; 
the  difficulties  lie  in  the  words  which  follow,  "  and  to 
an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general 
assembly  and  church  of  the  firstborn  which  are  written 
in  heaven."  Four  or  five  different  arrangements  of 
these  words  are  allowed  by  the  Greek,  and  every  one 
of  these  has  been  adopted  and  defended  by  writers  of 
eminence.  Here  the  discussion  must  be  very  biief. 
On  a  careful  examination  of  the  whole  passage,  it 
seems  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that  the  writer 
introduces  by  "  and"  each  successive  member  of  the  sen- 
tence, and  that  groups  of  words  not  so  introduced  serve 
as  appositions,  explaining  what  precedes  them.  If  this 
be  so,  the  arrangement  of  the  Authorised  version  is  not 
tenable.  We  believe  that  the  choice  must  lie  between 
two  renderings:  (1)  "And  to  myriads  of  angels,  a 
festal  assembly  and  congregation  of  the  firstborn  en- 
rolled in  heaven."  (2)  "  And  to  myriads,  a  festal 
assembly  of  angels  and  a  congregation  of  the  firstborn 
enrolled  in  lieaA'en."  In  the  first  of  these  renderings 
angels  are  the  subject  throughout ;  in  the  second,  '"  the 
myriads  "  to  whom  we  have  come  nigh  are  divided  into 
two  companies — the  festal  host  of  angels,  the  church 
of  the  firstborn.  Let  us  look  at  the  latter  interpre- 
tation first.  By  it  the  "  firstborn  "  are  sought  amongst 
men ;  either  those  who  are  already  inhabitants  of  the 
heavenly  world,  or  men  still  living  upon  earth,  though 
enrolled  as  citizens  of  heaven  (Luke  x.  20).  Some  have 
understood  the  words  to  relate  to  those  who  hold  prece- 
dency, either  in  rank  or  in  time,  among  men  to  whom 
God  has  given  the  name  of  sons ;  as,  saints  of  pre- 
eminent piety,  "  the  noble  army  of  martyrs,"  the  faith- 
ful under  the  Old  Covenant,  Enoch  and  Elijah,  the 
Apostles,  tho  first  generations  of  Christians,  or  the 
believers  of  the  later  as  distinguished  from  those  of 
the  eai'lier  dispensation.  A  far  more  probable  expla- 
nation is  that  which  makes  the  word  here  "  equivalent 
to  heirs  of  the  kingdom,  all  faitliful  Christians  being 
ipso  facto  '  firstborn,'  because  all  are  kings "  (Dr. 
Lightfoot  on  Col.  i.  15).  See  chap.  i.  6 ;  also,  "  as 
instances  of  the  figurative  use  of  Jirstborn  in  the  Old 
Testament,  where  the  idea  of  priority  of  birth  is  over- 
sliadowed  by  and  lost  in  the  idea  of  pi'e-eminence," 
Job  xviii.  13 ;  Isa.  xiv.  30.  If  this  be  the  true  inter- 
pretation, 1  Pet.  ii.  !•  unites  the  two  thoughts  which  this 
figure  suggests,  "  Ye  are  ...  a  royal  priesthood  " 
(see  above,  verse  16) ;  and  the  whole  of  that  verse, 
especially  as  compared  witli  Ex.  iv.  22,  well  illus- 
trates the  position  here  assigned  to  the  company  of  the 
faithful  upon  earth.  The  word  which  we  have  here 
rendered  congregation,  moreover,  is  that  Avhich  is  regu- 
larly applied  to  tho  Church  of  Christ.  There  is, 
therefore,  very  much  to  be  said  on  behalf  of  this  inter- 
pretation, which  is  in  every  way  attractive.  And  yet, 
full  of  interest  as  is  such  an  explanation  of  the  special 
words,  it  seems  certainly  unsuitable  to  the  passage  as 
a  whole.  It  is  not  easy  to  believe  that  the  words  "and 
to  myriads  "  are  to  be  taken  l)y  themselves.  It  is  still 
more  difficult  to  explain  the  introduction  of  the  living 
Church  on  earth  in  this  positioii — between  angels  and 
the  ''  God  of  all,"  whilst  "  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect "  are  mentioned  later,  in   an  association  from 


3V. 


I 


The  Heavenly  Fellowship. 


HEBREvVS,    XII.  Jesus,  Mediator  of  a  New  Covenant. 


Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  com- 
pany of  angels,  <-^^  to  the  general  assem- 
bly and  church  of  the  firstborn,  which 
are  written  ^  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the 
Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just 


2  Or,  testament. 


1  Or,  enrolled. 


men  made  perfect,  (^4)  and  to  Jesus  the 
mediator  of  the  new  covenant,^  and  to 
the  blood  of  sprinliling,  that  speaketh 
better  things  than  that  o/ Abel.  ^^'"^  See 
that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh. 


whicli  the  Church  on  earth  cannot  be  severed — with 
"  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  a  new  covenant  and  the  blood 
of  sprinkling."  For  these  reasons  especially  it  seems 
necessary  to  adopt  the  first-mentioned  arrangement  of 
the  words :  '"  ye  have  come  near  ...  to  myriads  of 
angels,  a  festal  assembly  and  congregation  of  the  first- 
born enrolled  in  heaven."  Two  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  in  the  writer's 
mind  (Deut.  xxxiii.  2,  and  Dan.  vii.  10) ;  in  each  of  these 
the  Lord  appears  attended  by  "  myriads  of  angels," 
who  stand  before  Him  and  minister  to  Him  (Ps.  ciii. 
20).  We  who  by  means  of  the  "  better  hope  draw  near 
to  God  "  (chap.  vii.  19)  are  led  to  this  "  holy  hill  "  and 
city,  and  through  the  hosts  of  ''  ministering  spirits " 
into  the  very  presence  of  the  ''  God  of  all."  The  de- 
scriptive words  which  follow  are  borrowed  from  the 
history  of  Israel.  The  first  (Ezek.  xlvi.  11 ;  Hos.  ii. 
11  ;  ix.  5  ;  Amos  v.  21 ;  Isa.  Ixvi.  lU)  is  the  general  and 
joyous  gathering  for  the  feasts  of  the  Lord ;  the  second 
is  the  word  used  throughout  for  the  "  church  in  the 
wilderness,"  the  "  congregation  "  of  Isi-ael.  The  latter 
points  to  the  united  body  of  the  servants  of  God,  the 
former  to  the  joyful  gathering  for  His  service.  The 
second  word  is  so  commonly  used  of  Israel  and  of  the 
Christian  Church  that  it  has  been  denied  that  any 
other  application  is  ever  made ;  but  there  is  certainly 
an  exception  in  Ps.  Ixxxix.  7  (a  Psalm  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  much  in  the  writer's  thoughts),  "  God 
is  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  congregation  of  the 
saints."  How  fitly  angels — who  in  Job  i.  6,  ii.  1, 
xxxviii.  7  (comji.  Ps.  xxix.  1,  et  al.),  are  called  "sons 
of  God,"  are  here  spoken  of  as  "  firstborn,"  needs  no 
explanation ;  they  are  the  enrolled  citizens  of  heaven, 
whose  assembly  we  are  permitted  to  join  (Rev.  v.  11; 
comp.  Luke  xx.  .36). 

(23)  And  to  God  the  Judge  of  all.— The  order 
of  the  Greek  seems  to  require  Ihe  rendering,  and  to  a 
Judge  [ivho  is)  God  of  all.  Up  to  this  point  our  thought 
has  rested  on  the  heavenly  world  and  those  who  from 
the  time  of  their  creation  have  been  its  inhabitants. 
Men  who  have  passed  through  this  earthly  life  have 
no  essential  right  to  citizenship  in  the  "  heavenly  Jeru- 
salem." They  come  before  a  Judge  (comp.  chap,  ix, 
27).  '•  The  Lord  shall  judge  His  people  "  (chap.  x.  30), 
severing  between  His  servants  and  His  foes  (Mai.  iii. 
18 ;  iv.  1),  condemning  the  wicked,  and  receiving  the 
righteous  to  His  own  dwelling-place.  This  Judge  is 
"  God  of  all " — of  angels  and  of  righteous  souls  (Wisd. 
iii.  1),  and  of  Christian  men  who  "  draw  nigh  "  to  the 
celestial  city.  How  chavacteristic  of  the  ^vriter  and 
his  theme  is  the  introduction  of  those  solemn  words 
into  the  midst  of  this  description  of  Christian  privi- 
lege and  blessing. 

And  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect. 
— The  last  verses  of  chap.  xi.  are  at  once  called  before 
the  mind  l)y  these  words.  The  "  righteous  "  men  have 
"by  faith"  run  their  course  (chaps,  x.  38;  xi.  4,  7; 
Phil.  iii.  12);  they  have  obtained  the  promises  (chaps, 
vi.  15;  xi.  1).  Tlie  analogy  of  Scripture  forbids  us  to 
consider  tlieir  present  state  as  the  full  consummation ; 
for  that,  these  "  sinrits"  and  we  who  are  yet  "  in  the 
body"  await  the  day  of  the  resurrection.    These  words, 


however,  do  not  refer  to  the  period  of  the  Old  Cove- 
nant only  ;  indeed  they  do  not  in  sti'ictness  belong  to 
that  period  at  all.  The  spirits  of  the  righteous  sciwants 
of  Christ  join  the  same  fellowship ;  and  only  when 
Christ  was  manifested  does  the  state  to  which  the 
name  "  perfection  "  is  thus  given  seem  to  have  begun. 
What  was  received  by  those  "spirits  of  the  righteous" 
when  they  saw  the  day  of  Christ,  we  cannot  tell ;  but 
the  teaching  of  Scripture  seems  to  bo  that  they  were 
raised  to  some  higher  state  of  blessedness.  These  are 
the  new  inhabitants  of  the  world  above;  they  have 
come  into  the  presence  of  God  by  means  of  the  blood 
of  sprinkling,  through  Jesus. 

(24)  And  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new 
covenant.  —  Rather,  a  new  coveiKint.  There  is 
another  change  in  the  Greek  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
express.  In  all  other  places  in  which  we  read  of  the 
New  Covenant  (chaps,  viii.  8, 13  ;  ix.  1-5 ;  Luke  xxii.  20 ; 
1  Cor.  xi.  25 ;  2  Cor.  iii.  6)  a  word  is  used  which  im- 
plies newness  of  kind  and  quality ;  here  it  is  a  covenant 
which  is  newly  made — literally  "  young,"  having  all 
the  freshness  of  youth  in  comparison  with  that  which 
long  since  was  waxing  old  (chap.  viii.  13).  Here  also, 
if  we  follow  the  order  of  the  original  (see  chaps,  ii.  9 ; 
iii.  1 ;  xii.  2,  et  al.),  the  description  precedes,  and  the 
name  "  Jesus "  follows,  thus  standing  between  the 
words  which  describe  His  covenant  and  those  which 
speak  of  His  blood. 

And  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling. — Rather,  and 
to  blood  of  sprinhlincj  that  speaketh  better  (or,  more 
powerfully)  than  Abel.  Jesus  is  Mediator  of  a  new 
covenant  (chaps,  viii.  6 ;  ix.  15)  through  the  shedding  of 
His  blood  (chaps,  ix.  15—17 ;  x.  29).  This  is  "  blood  of 
sprinkling,"  blood  which  cleanseth  the  conscience  from 
dead  works  to  serve  a  living  God  (chap.  ix.  14)  :  it 
was  typified  by  the  blood  of  the  covenant  with  which 
Moses  sprinkled  all  the  people  (chap.  ix.  19,  20). 
Abel  being  dead  yet  sj)eaketli  (chap.  xi.  4),  for  his 
blood  crieth  for  vengeance.  This  blood  speaks  with 
greater  power,  and  speaks  not  for  wrath  but  for  puri- 
fication and  atonement.  1  John  ii.  1,  2,  completes  the 
contrast :  God  was  the  Avenger  of  "  righteous  Abel," 
but  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  is  our  Advocate  with 
the  Father,  and  He  is  tlie  projntiation  for  our  sins. 

It  does  not  seem  probable  that  the  writer  designs  a 
detailed  contrast  between  the  several  particidars  of 
these  verses  and  of  verses  18—21.  The  number  in 
each  case  is  the  same  {six),  and  in  the  case  of  the 
first  and  last  some  analogy  may  be  traced;  but  this  is 
all  that  can  be  said  with  safety.  If  our  inteiin-e- 
tation  of  these  verses  is  correct,  there  is  no  mention 
of  the  Church  on  earth.  But  can  we  wonder  at  this  ? 
It  is  to  that  living  Church  that  the  words  themselves 
are  from  age  to  age  addressed.  They  describe  the 
blessed  heavenly  fellowship  to  which  each  servant  of 
Christ  now  toiling  on  earth  is  joined:  when  lie  has 
run  the  race  set  before  him,  he  will,  through  the  blood 
of  sprinkling  and  through  Jesus  the  Mediator,  reach 
the  company  of  the  just  made  perfect,  and  stand  before 
the  "  God  of  all." 

(25)  Refuse  not.— In  verse  19  we  have  read  that  the 
Israelites  entreated  that  they  might  no  more  hear  the 


343 


Tlbe  Slutking  of  tJie  EartL 


HEBREWS,    XIII.       Tlte  Kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved. 


2  Or,  let  ua  hold 
/a»t. 


For   if  they  escaped   not  who   refused 

him  that  spake  on  earth,  much  more 

shall   not  we    escape,  if  we   turn   aAvay 

from  him  that  speaketh   from  heaven: 

(26)  whose  voice  then  shook  the  earth : 

but  now  he  hath  promised,  saying,  Yet 

once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but 

also  heaven.      ^'^^  And   this  ivord,  Yet 

once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  >  2,fc,r"  "' 

those  things   that  are   shaken,^   as   ofj      ^-^L!' 


things  that  are  made,  that  those  things 
which  cannot  be  shaken  may  remain. 
(28)  Wherefore  we  receiving  a  kingdom 
which  cannot  be  moved,  let  us  have^ 
grace,  whereby  we  may  serve  God 
acceptably  with  reverence  and  godly 
fear :  (^^^  for  our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire. 

CHAPTER  XIII.— (1)  Let  brotherly 


voice  of  God  (literally,  deprecated  the  speaking  of 
more  words).  Twice  in  this  verse  the  same  word  is 
used  in  the  sense  of  declining  to  listen,  with  clear 
reference  to  the  earlier  verse. 

Him  that  speaketh. — God  speaking  to  us  from 
heaven  (chap.  i.  1,  2).     See  below. 

For  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused. — 
Rather  (accoi-diug  to  the  better  reading  of  the  Greek), 
For  if  they  escaped  not  when  they  refused  on  earth 
Him  that  ivarned.  The  terrors  which  accompanied 
the  giving  of  the  Law  were  designed  to  impress  all 
hearts  with  the  fearful  peril  of  disobedience.  In  shrink- 
ing from  the  voice  of  Him  that  warned  they  could  not 
escape  the  declaration  of  the  Law  or  the  terrible  penalties 
which  awaited  all  transgressors. 

If  we  turn  away. — Rather,  who  turn  away  from 
Him  that  {warneth)  from  heaven.  The  argument  is 
similar  to  that  of  chap.  ii.  2,  3,  where  the  same  word 
"  escape  "  is  found.  He  from  whom  they  turned  aside 
on  earth  is  He  who  now  speaks  to  us ;  but  then  His 
voice  was  heard  amidst  earthly  terrors,  now  His  reve- 
lation comes  through  His  Son  who  is  exalted  in  heaven. 
If  we  do  not  hearken  to  the  word  of  life  and  promise 
that  is  ever  coming  to  us  from  God  through  His  Son, 
it  will  be  because  we  deliberately  "  turn  away,"  for  the 
excuse  of  the  panic-stricken  Israelites  cannot  be  ours. 
The  voice  that  speaks  on  earth  fell  on  the  outward  ear, 
but  Ho  who  speaks  from  heaven  makes  His  voice  heard 
in  the  inner  conscience  ;  the  one  may  fail  to  be  heard 
and  understood,  the  other  will  find  us  out,  and  is 
neglected  only  through  stubbornness  of  will.  Much 
less,  then,  sliall  we  escape  if  we  turn  away  from  Him 
who  warns  from  heaven. 

(26)  Shook  the  earth.— Ex.  xix.  18,  19 ;  Judg.  v.  4, 
5.  The  terrors  of  Sinai  were,  moreover,  a  tj^ie  of  a 
more  terrible  revelation  of  judgment,  when  not  only 
shall  the  earth  tremble,  but  the  earth  and  the  heaven 
shall  be  moved,  and  all  that  is  transitory  and  mutable 
shall  pass  away.  Tlie  words  of  Hag.  ii.  6  are  taken  as 
a  prophecy  of  this  consummation.  The  reference  of  the 
prediction  of  which  this  forms  part  to  the  first  coming 
of  the  Messiah  is  passed  over  ;  it  is  only  as  bearing 
upon  tlie  last  days  that  the  words  are  quoted  here. 

Now  he  hath  promised.— This  whole  time  of 
waiting  is  includi-<l  in  the  "  now."  It  is  as  if  the  words 
were  :  "  now  we  have  this  promise,  and  are  looking  for 
its  fulfilment." 

I  shake.- Rather  (according  to  the  better  reading), 
I  will  move  (or,  make  to  tremble). 

(27)  Tliis  word,  "  Tet  once  more,"  is  equivalent  to 
once  more  only  ;  and  the  words  "  once  more  only  will  I 
move  the  heaven  and  the  earth "  must  of  necessity 
point  to  the  final  change,  which  issues  in  the  removal 
of  all  that  can  pass  away. 

Which  cannot  be  shaken. — Literally,  which  are 
not  shak->'n.  The  great  difficulty  of  the  verse  is  to 
ascertain  on  what  word   this  clause   depends.     (1)  If 


upon  "  removing,"  the  sense  will  be :  This  word  .  .  . 
signifieth  the  removing  of  the  things  made  (as  being 
created  things),  that  the  things  not  shaken  may  remain. 
The  next  verse  throws  light  on  the  writer's  meaning ; 
there  that  which  "  cannot  be  shaken  "  is  the  kingdom 
which  wo  receive :  he  is  not  speaking  of  tliat  which 
belongs  to  a  material  creation.  (2)  The  other  view  can 
only  be  briefly  mentioned  :  Tliis  word  .  .  .  signifieth 
the  removing  of  the  things  shaken,  as  of  things  that 
have  been  made  in  order  that  the  things  not  shaken 
may  remain.  The  idea  is  striking — that  created  things 
were  made  for  the  very  pm-pose  of  gi\ang  place  to 
what  shall  abide ;  but  the  other  view  seems  to  give  the 
more  probable  meaning  of  the  verse. 

(28)  Receiving  a  kingdom. — These  words  clearly 
contain  a  reference  to  Dan.  \'ii.  18,  "  The  saints  of  the 
Most  High  shall  receive  the  kingdom."  Nor  can  it 
well  be  doubted  that  the  closing  verses  of  Hag.  ii.  are 
also  before  the  writer's  mind;  after  verse  21,  Avhieh 
repeats  the  words  of  verse  6,  quoted  above,  the  prophet 
declares  the  overthrow  of  earthly  kingdoms,  and  con- 
tinues to  His  servant  Zerubbabel  the  Messianic  promise. 
Christ  has  made  His  people  kings;  and  when  heaven 
and  earth  have  passed  away,  they  shall  be  found  heirs 
of  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  shaken  (chap.  ii.  5 — 9). 

Let  us  have  grace. — Many  render  the  last  word 
thanlcf Illness,  but  the  ordinary  translation,  is  prefer- 
able. There  is  for  us  a  "  throne  of  grace  "  to  which 
we  may  draw  near  and  "  find  grace "  (chap.  iv.  16). 
The  characteristic  of  our  Christian  state  is  that  we 
"  have  grace,"  and  have  not  "  fallen  back  from  the 
grace  of  God"  (verse  15).  Let  us  continue  in  this 
state  and  thus  be  enabled  to  offer  our  priestly  seri-ice 
unto  God  (chaps,  ix.  14;  xiii.  15). 

Acceptably. — Literally,  ivell-pleasing.  (See  chaps. 
xi.  5  ;  xiii.  16.) 

With  reverence  and  godly  fear. — According  to 
the  true  reading  of  the  Greek,  the  meaning  is  ivith 
reverent  fear  and  awe.  The  former  word  is  that  which 
occupies  so  important  a  place  in  chap.  a*.  7.  (See  Note.) 
The  tone  of  the  whole  chapter — we  might  rather  say, 
the  whole  Epistle — is  presented  in  this  combination  of 
"  grace  "  and  acceptable  service  with  awe  and  reverent 
fear.  The  last  thought  connects  itself  closely  with 
the  following  verse. 

(29)  A  quotation  from  Dent.  iv.  24.  There  these 
words  follow  a  solemn  warning  against  idolatry.  This 
passage  then  belongs  to  the  same  class  as  chap.  x.  27, 
28,  30.     (See  the  Notes.) 

XIII. 

This  concluding  chapter  is  chiefly  occupied  with  special 
exhortations  relating  to  Christian  conduct:  with  these, 
however,  are  intermingled  some  important  and  charac- 
teristic references  to  tlie  leading  themes  of  the  Epistle. 

(1)  Brotherly  love. — Better,  The  love  of  the 
brethren.     (See  Rom.  xii.  10,  and  Note  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  9 ; 


344 


Tice  Love  of  the  Brethren. 


HEBEEWS,   XIII. 


Jesus  Christ,  the  Same  for  Ever, 


love  continue.     ^-^  Be  not  forgetful  to 
Chap.  xiii.  1—  entertain     strangers  :     for 

6.  Exhortation  thereby  some  have  enter- 
to  brotherly  ,  •  -,'^  ^ 
love,  purity,  tamed,  angels  unawares, 
contentment.  '  C^)  Remember  them  that 
are  in  bonds,  as  bound  with  them ;  and 
them  which  suffer  adversity,  as  being 
yourselves  also  in  the  body.  ^^^  Marriage 
is  honourable  in  all,  and  the  bed  unde- 
filed  :  but  whoremongers  and  adulterers 
God  will  judge.  <^*  Let  your  conversa- 
tion he  without  covetousness ;  and  he 
content  with  such  things  as  ye  have : 


1  Or,   are    the 
guides. 


for  he  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  <^^  So  that  we 
may  boldly  say.  The  Lord  is  my  helper, 
and  I  will  not  fear  what  man  shall  do 
unto  me. 

(^^  Remember  them  which  have 
the  rulei  over  you,  who  ^hap.  xiii.  7- 
have  spoken  unto  you  17.  Imitate 
the  word  of  God:  whose  ^fdes^^^sir 
faith  follow,  considering  Christ's  re- 
the  end  of  their  conver-  P^oach. 
sation.  <s^  Jesus  Christ  the  same 
yesterday,  and   to   day,   and   for   ever. 


1  Pet.  i.  22.)  The  love  which  they  had  shown  to  the 
Christian  brotherhood  i.s  commended  in  chap.  vi.  10 
(x.  33) ;  and  yet  there  was  some  ground  for  fear 
that  such  affection  might  not  "  continue  "  (chap.  x.  25). 

(^)  To  entertain  strangers.  —  Hospitality  to 
Christian  brethren  at  a  distance  from  their  homes  is 
especially  intended  (1  Pet.  iv.  9) :  this  was  one  mani- 
festation of  the  "  love  of  the  brethren "  (verse  1). 
The  prominence  assigned  to  this  duty  in  the  exhorta- 
tions of  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament  was  faith- 
fully reflected  in  the  practice  of  the  early  Church. 

Thereby  some  have  entertained,  angels  un- 
awares.— See  Gen.  xviii.,  xix.  The  Greek  word  for 
"  angels  " — messengers — of  itself  would  serve  to  re- 
mind these  Christians  that,  though  the  strangers  whom 
they  welcomed  were  but  men,  they  might  be  special 
messengers  of  God.  Clement  of  Rome,  in  his  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians  (a.d.  95),  appeals  to  the  same  ex- 
amples (and  also  to  Rahab) :  "  For  his  faith  and  hospi- 
tality a  son  was  given  to  Abraham  in  his  old  age.  For  his 
hospitality  and  godliness  Lot  was  saved  from  Sodom." 

(3)  As  bound  with  them. — Either  (1)  "As  if  ye 
yourselves  were  in  bonds  "  (see  chap.  x.  33,  34; ;  1  Cor. 
xii.  26) — by  true  fellow-feeling  make  yourselves  sharers 
in  their  lot ;  or,  (2)  "  mindful  that  ye  too  are  in  bonds  " — ■ 
like  them  ye  are  Christ's  prisoners,  and  their  bonds  are 
but  one  of  the  tokens  of  that  service  in  which  aU 
Christians  are  bound.     (Comp.  1  Cor.  vii.  22.) 

As  being  yourselves  also  in  the  body. — 
"  Mindful  that  you,  like  them,  still  dwell  in  a  body 
liable  to  pain,  and  may  therefore  suffer  ill-treatment  in 
the  cause  of  Christ." 

W  Marriage  is  honourable  in  all. — Eather, 
Let  marriage  be  held  in  honour  among  all,  and  let 
the  bed  be  undejiled ;  for  fornicators  and  adulterers 
God  will  judge.  The  precept  is  directed  against  im- 
purity (chai>.  xii.  16),  and  also  against  the  false  asceti- 
cism of  men  "forbidding  to  marry"  (I  Tim.  iv.  3). 
The  laxity  of  morals  among  Gentiles  (Note  on  Acts  xv. 
20)  and  the  prevalence  of  divorce  amongst  Jews 
(Matt.  V.  32)  explain  the  sudden  introduction  of  such 
warnings :  of  these  sinners  the  all-seeing  God  will  be 
the  judge.     (Comp.  1  Thess.  iv.  6.) 

(5)  In  these  two  verses  (4,  5)  we  have  the  .same  con- 
nection of  thought  as  in  chap.  xii.  16;  Col.  iii.  5  ;  Eph. 
v.  3.  "  Impurity  and  covetousness  may  bo  said  to 
divide  between  tliem  nearly  the  whole  domain  of  human 
selfishness  and  vice  "  (Lightfoot  on  Col.  iii.  5). 

Conversation. — Literally,   way    of    thought   and 
life,  character,  disposition. 
For  he. — Rather,  for  He  Himself  liath  said.    As 


in  many  other  places  in  this  Epistle,  the  word  of  Scrip- 
tixre  is  regarded  as  directly  spoken  by  God ;  but  there 
is  an  emphasis  here  ("He  Himself")  which  well  suits 
the  remarkable  impressiveness  of  the  words  quoted, 
"  I  will  in  no  ■wise  let  thee  go ;  no,  nor  will  I  forsake 
thee."  This  promise  of  divine  support  and  protection 
does  not  occur  exactly  in  the  same  form  in  the  Old 
Testament,  but  is  clearly  taken  from  Deut.  xxxi.  6, 
"  He  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  (Comp.  also 
Gen.  xxviii.  15 ;  Josh.  i.  5 ;  1  Chron.  xxviii.  20.)  The 
appositeness  of  these  words  and  those  which  follow 
(verse  6)  will  be  seen  if  we  remember  the  trials  which 
the  Hebrew  Christians  had  already  endured  (cliap.  x. 
32 — 34).  It  is  very  probable  that  this  thought  supplies 
the  link  of  connection  between  verses  5,  6,  and  verse  7. 

(6)  We  may  boldly  say.— Rather,  so  that  we  say 
with  courage.  The  words  of  the  quotation  (Ps.  cxviu.  6) 
should  be  arranged  thus:  "The  Lord  is  my  helper;  I 
will  not  fear  :  what  shall  man  do  unto  me  ?  " 

(7)  Which  have  the  rule.— Rather,  which  were 
your  leaders  (verse  17,  24;  Acts  xv.  22),  who  spalce 
imto  you  the  word  of  God.  These  spiritual  guides  had 
been  removed  from  them  by  death. 

Whose  faith  follow.— Better,  and,  contemplating 
the  end  (or,  issue)  of  their  life,  imitate  their  faith. 
Their  Christian  life  and  course  ( Jas.  iii.  13 ;  1  Pet.  i. 
15,  et  al.),  had  been  known  by  the  Church  ;  they,  too, 
have  obtained  a  good  report  "by  faith"  (chap.  xi.  2), 
and  all  who  contemi)late  the  blessed  issue  of  such  a  life 
will  be  strengthened  to  imitate  their  faith.  We  may 
well  suppose  that  some  had  died  a  martyr's  death,  but 
the  writer  seems  carefully  to  avoid  any  direct  expres- 
sion of  this  thought ;  his  words  ajiply  to  aU  who  have 
ended  their  course  in  the  ti-iumph  of  faith.  This  verse 
recalls  a  striking  passage  in  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  chap, 
ii.  17 — 20;  especially  verse  17,  where  the  imgodly  say  of 
the  righteous  man,  "  Let  us  see  if  his  words  be  true,  and 
let  us  prove  what  shall  happen  in  the  end  of  him." 

(8)  Jesus  Christ  the  same  .  .  .—Rather,  Jesus 
Christ  is  yesterday  aiid  to-day  the  same;  yea,  also  for 
ever.  Their  earlier  guides  have  passed  away  (verse  7) ; 
their  Lord  and  Saviour  abides  the  same  for  ever.  He 
who  is  the  subject  of  all  Christian  teaching  is  the  same, 
therefore  (ver.se  9)  "  be  not  carried  away  by  divers 
teachings."  Thus,  this  verse  stands  connected  both 
with  what  precedes  and  witli  what  follows.  "  Yester- 
day "  carries  the  thought  back  to  the  lifetime  of  the 
teadiers  now  no  more  ;  what  the  Saviour  was  to  them, 
that  will  He  be  to  their  survivors.  The  wliole  period 
.since  Ho  "sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God"  (chap.  x. 
12, 13)  is  covered  by  this  word.  What  He  was  "yester- 
day and  to-day "  He  will  be  for  ever.  (See  chap.  i. 
11,  12.) 


346 


The  Heart  established  by  Grace. 


HEBEEWS,   XIII. 


The  Reproach  of  Christ. 


<9)  Be  not  carried  about  -witTi  divers  and 
strange  doctrines.  For  it  is  a  good 
tiling  that  the  heart  be  established  with 
grace ;  not  with  meats,  which  have  not 
profited  them  that  have  been  occupied 
therein.  <^*^'  We  have  an  altar,  whereof 
they  have  no  right  to  eat  which  serve 
the  tabernacle.     <"'  For  the  bodies  of 


those  beasts,  whose  blood  is  brought 
into  the  sanctuary  by  the  high  priest 
for  sin,  are  burned  without  the  camp. 
(12)  Wherefore  Jesus  also,  that  he  might 
sanctify  the  people  Avith  his  own  blood, 
suffered  without  the  gate.  ^^^^  Let  us 
go  forth  therefore  unto  him  without  the 
camp,  bearing   his   reproach.      (^"^^  For 


(9)  Be  not  carried  about. — The  better  reading  of 
the  Greek  gives  a  meaning  somewhat  clifEereut,  Be  not 
carried  aivnii  by  divers  and  stranye  teachings.  The 
ordinary  reading  may  liave  come  in  from  Eph.  iv.  14. 
The  "  teacliings "  by  which  tliey  were  in  danger  of 
being  led  astray  were  various,  and  were  all  foreign  to 
the  one  true  word.  The  contrasts  expressed  in  the 
second  part  of  this  verse  and  in  verses  10,  11,  throw 
light  on  the  nature  and  source  of  the  erroneous  doctrine. 
Its  subject  was  not  "grace,"  but  "meats;"  its  pro- 
moters were  connected  with  those  who  serve  tlie 
Tabernacle.  Hence  the  writer  is  probably  speaking  of 
doctrines  and  practices  similar  to  those  censured  by 
St.  Paul  in  Col.  ii.  16—23.  (See  the  introductory 
Note  on  Rom.  xiv. ;  also  1  Tim.  iv.  3.)  In  chap.  ix.  10 
we  read  of  "  meats  and  drinks"  in  connection  with  the 
Law  of  Moses  ;  here  the  divers  and  strange  teachings  " 
must  include  human  additions  to  that  Law  and  perver- 
sions of  its  spirit. 

With  grace  ;  not  with  meats.— Better,  hy  grace^ 
not  by  me(ds.  Instead  of  being  "  carried  away  by 
strange  teachings,"  let  your  hearts  be  made  firm  and 
sure  by  grace.  As  the  whole  system  of  ceremonial 
observance  is  alluded  to  under  tlio  one  term  "  meats," 
so  the  blessings  of  the  Christian  faith  are  comprised 
under  "grace,"  a  word  used  throughout  this  Epistle 
with  peculiar  significance.  (See  especially  chaps,  x.  29; 
xii.  15,  28.)  One  human  system  of  teaching  will  but 
lead  on  to  another ;  grace  will  keep  the  heart  firm  in 
its  loyal  love  to  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  ever  "the  same" 
(verse  8). 

Which  have  not  profited.- Literally,  in  tohich 
they  that  ivalked  ivere  not  profited.  To  the  English 
reader  the  mode  of  expression  must  appear  peculiar ; 
in  the  Greek,  however,  there  is  little  or  no  incongruity, 
for  the  word  which  we  render  "  walk "  is  used  most 
freely  to  denote  a  course  or  manner  of  life.  Comp. 
Eph.  ii.  10,  "unto  good  works  which  God  hath  before 
ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them."  Here  the 
meaning  is,  tliat  those  who  have  made  these  external 
observances  the  rule  of  their  life  have  failed  of  the 
profit  which  they  sought.     (Comp.  chap.  vii.  18,  19-) 

(10, 11)  "  Yfe  need  not  such  profitless  teaching ;  we 
already  have  sustenance  which  is  'meat  indeed,'  by 
wliicli  the  heart  is  established."  According  to  the  Law, 
the  priests  (they  who  "  servo  the  Tabernacle,"  see 
chap.  viii.  5)  received  for  themselves  a  greater  or 
smaller  portion  of  the  animals  offered  as  peace-offerings 
and  trespass-offerings ;  in  some  cases,  also,  the  flesh 
of  the  sin-offerings  fell  to  their  lot  (Lev.  iv.,  v.,  vii., 
xxiii.).  When  the  high  priest  presented  a  sin-offering 
on  his  own  behalf  (Lev.  iv.  .3 — 12),  or  for  the  con- 
gregation (verses  13 — 21),  he  sprijikled  some  of  the 
blood  in  the  Holy  Place  in  front  of  the  veil ;  on  the 
Day  of  Atonement  alone  was  the  blood  taken  within 
the  veil  into  the  Most  Holy  Place.  In  the  case  of 
these  three  offerings  the  priest  received  no  part  of  the 


346 


animal  sacrificed  ;  certain  portions  were  burnt  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-offering,  and  the  rest  of  the  body  was 
carried  forth  "without  the  camp,"  and  wholly  con- 
sumed by  fire.  Though  the  writer  here  speaks  of 
animals  whose  blood  is  brought  into  the  Holy  Place 
through  the  high  priest,  as  an  offering  for  sin,  it  is 
probable  that  (as  in  chaps,  v. — ix.)  he  has  in  thought  the 
Day  of  Atonement  only,  so  that  here  "  the  Holy  Place" 
bears  the  sense  of  the  "  Holiest  of  all."  (See  Note  on 
chap.  ix.  2.)  (It  will  be  noted  that  throughout  ho 
uses  the  present  tense ;  see  the  same  Note).  For  us 
there  is  but  one  sacrifice  for  sin,  the  efiicacy  of  which 
endures  for  ever  (chap.  x.  12) :  Jesus  entering  the 
Hohest  Place  for  us  in  virtue  of  His  own  sacrifice  has 
fulfilled  the  tyjie  contained  in  the  high  pi'iest's  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood.  But  whereas  those  priests  might 
not  eat  of  their  sin-offering,  to  us  greater  privilege  is 
given ;  we  feed  on  Him  Avho  was  slain  for  us,  whose 
tlesh  was  for  the  life  of  the  world  (John  vi.  51 — 56). 
We  then  (who  are  all  "  pi-iests  unto  God  ")  "  have  au 
altar  of  which,"  on  the  very  principles  of  their  Law, 
"  they  that  serve  the  Tabei-nacle  (see  chap.  viii.  5) 
have  no  right  to  eat."  The  stress  is  laid  on  the 
sacrifice,  of  which  we  eat,  not  upon  the  altar  itself. 
If  separately  interpreted,  the  altar  will  be  the  place  of 
sacrifice,  the  Cross. 

(12)  The  sin-offering  was  burned  without  the  camp. 
Jesus  who  in  all  other  points  fulfilled  the  law  of  atone- 
ment fulfilled  it  in  this  point  also,  in  that  He  suffered 
"  without  the  gate "  (Matt,  xxvii.  32 ;  John  xix.  20). 
The  two  expressions  answer  to  one  another,  each 
denoting  that  which  lay  beyond  the  sacred  precincts, 
outside  the  special  dwelling-place  of  God's  people. 
"  The  people,'  see  chap.  ii.  17 ;  "  sanctify,"  chaps,  ii. 
11;  ix.  13;  X.  10. 

(13)  The  suffering  "  without  the  gate  "  was  a  symbol 
of  His  rejection  by  the  Jews.  All  who  would  be  His 
must  share  the  reproach  which  came  upon  Him,  who 
was  cast  out  by  His  people  and  crucified  (chap.  xi.  26)  : 
they  also  must  go  forth  "without  the  camp,"  for- 
sakijig  the  company  of  His  foes.  Each  one  must  for 
himself  make  choice  either  of  the  synagogue  or  of  the 
church  of  Christ ;  between  the  two  there  can  be  no 
fellowship. 

(1^)  In  this  verse  there  seems  to  be  a  union  of  two 
thoughts :  (1)  We  are  free  to  go  forth  from  the  city 
so  long  held  sacred,  for  our  hopes  are  bound  up  with 
no  abiding  earthly  sanctuary.  (2)  We  may  not  shrink 
from  the  reproach  of  Christ  because  it  will  sever  us 
from  kindred  and  friends ;  for  by  the  very  profession  of 
our  faith  we  are  "  strangers  and  sojoui-ners  "  (chap.  xi. 
13),  seeking  after  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  (chaps,  xi.  10; 
xii.  22).  How  impressive  are  these  words  when  read 
in  the  light  of  the  events  then  unlooked  for,  yet  so 
near  at  hand,  issuing  in  the  destruction  of  both  Temple 
and  city ! 

We  seek  one  to  come.— Rather,  we  seek  afte 
that  (city)  which  is  to  come. 


The  Sacrifice  of  Praise. 


HEBREWS,   XIII. 


Pray  for  us. 


here  have  we  no  continuing  city,  hnt  we 
seek  one  to  come."  ^^^^  By  Lim  there- 
fore let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  j^raise  to 
God  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit  of 
our  lips  giving  thanks  to^  his  name. 
(^'')  But  to  do  good  and  to  communicate 
forget  not :  for  with  such  sacrifices 
God  is  well  pleased.  ^^''^  Obey  them 
that  have  the  rule  over^  you,  and 
submit  yourselves  :  for  they  watch  for 
your    souls,   as    they   that    must    give 


1  Gr.  confessing  to. 


2  Or,  guide. 


account,  that  they  may  do  it  with  joy, 
and  not  with  grief :  for  that  is  unprofit- 
able for  you. 

(18)  Pray  for  us  :  for  we  trust  we  have 
a  good  conscience,  in    all 
things  willing  to  live  hon-  —2^.'    Closing 
estly.       (^^)    But    I    beseech   salutations  and 

you  the  rather  to  do  this,  P'^^y"'^- 
that  I  may  be  restored  to  you  the  sooner. 
(20)  ]S]-Qyv  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought 
again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus, 


(15)  By  him.— Better,  through  Him.  Tlirongli  His 
sacrifice,  which  has  made  atonement,  we  are  hallowed 
(verse  12),  and  fitted  for  our  priestly  service  (1  Pet. 
ii.  5). 

Let  us  offer  the  sacrifice.— Eather,  let  us  offer 
up  a  sacrifice  of  praise  continualhj  unto  God,  tJiat  is, 
fruit  of  lips  viaJcing  confession  to  His  name.  The 
sacrifice  we  may  bring  is  that  symbolised  by  the  thank- 
offering  of  Lev.  vii.  12 — where  the  same  word  is  used. 
(See  Vs.  1.  14, 23.)  "  We  will  render  the  fruit  of  our  lips" 
is  the  Greek  version  of  Hos.  xiv.  2 ;  the  Hebrew  text 
(as  we  have  it)  differs  in  expression  but  not  in  meaning, 
"We  ^ill  render  our  lips  as  buUocks" — i.e.,  as  sacrifices. 
(Comp.  Ps.  cxix.  108;  Isa.  Ivii.  19.)  The  fruit  is  borne 
by  lips  which  offer  thankful  acknowledgment  to  the 
name  of  God  (Ps.  cxiii.  1). 

(16)  And  yet  another  offering  may  we  bring  :  with 
thankfulness  to  Him  must  be  joined  acts  of  well- 
doing to  men ;  these,  too,  being  presented  as  saciifices 
to  God. 

To  communicate — i.e.,  freely  to  impart  to  others. 
(See  Eom.  xii.  13;  xv.  26;  2  Cor.  ix.  13;  1  Tim.  vi.  18.) 

(1")  The  present  section  of  the  chapter  begins  (verse 
7)  and  ends  (verse  17)  with  a  reference  to  the  rulers 
of  the  Church :  Remember  your  fonner  leaders,  and 
imitate  their  faith  ;  obey  them  that  lead  you  now. 

Submit  yourselves. — Better,  yield  {to  them).  Be- 
sides f  ulfiUing  their  injunctions,  be  ready  to  comply  with 
their  wishes  and  requests. 

For  they  watch. — The  Greek  is  emphatic  :  "  For 
it  is  they  that  watch  on  behalf  of  your  souls  as  having 
to  give  account." 

That  they  may  do  it. — Be  obedient  and  yielding 
to  them,  tliat  they  may  do  this  (may  watch  for  your 
souls)  with  joy  and  not  sighing  (or,  groaning),  for  this 
wordd  he  unprofitahle  for  you  ;  if  ye  so  live  that  they 
must  watch  over  you  with  grief,  this  will  both  weaken 
their  hands  and  bring  on  you  the  divine  displeasure. 
No  words  could  more  powerfully  present  to  members 
of  the  Church  the  motives  for  obedience  to  their 
spiritual  guides  ;  and  to  these  guides  themselves  tlie 
ideal  of  their  work  and  life,  as  men  who  are  keeping 
watch  for  souls,  either  with  rejoicing  or  with  mourning 
(Acts  XX.  31),  ever  mindful  of  the  account  they  must 
give  to  God  for  Ihe  flock  which  He  entrusted  to  their 
care  (Ezek.  iii.  18;  xxxiii.  7;  xxxiv.  10;  1  Pet.  v.  4). 

(18)  Tlie  following  verses — containing  personal  notices 
relating  to  the  writer  himself  and  his  readers  (verses  18, 
19,  22,  23),  a  prayer  on  their  belialf  (verses  20,  21),  a 
doxology  (verse  21).  and  brief  salutations  (verses  24,  25) 
— present  many  points  of  resemblance  to  the  concluding 
sections  in  some  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles.  The  first 
words,  "  Pray  for  us."  are  found  in  Col.  iv.  3 ;  1  Thess. 
V.  25  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  1.  That  the  winter  does  not  use 
the  plural  pronoun  of  himself  alone  appears  certain  from 


the  change  in  verse  19  ;  but  it  is  not  clear  whether  he 
is  associating  himself  with  the  rulers  of  the  t  hurch 
(mentioned  in  verse  17),  or  with  the  companions  in 
labour  who  were  with  him  as  he  wrote. 

We  trust. — A  change  in  the  reading  of  the  Greek 
requires  the  translation  :  For  we  are  persuaded  that  we 
have  a  good  conscience,  desiring  in  all  things  to  conduct 
ourselves  ivell.  Some  prejudice  against  the  writer,  or 
some  mistrust  of  his  motives,  must  have  existed  in  the 
Church  ;  that  amongst  Hebrew  Christians  a  disciple  of 
St.  Paul  should  be  misrepresented  or  misunderstood, 
can  cause  us  no  surprise.  But  whatever  suspicion  might 
be  cherished  by  a  few,  the  next  verse  is  proof  that  he 
knew  himself  to  be  beloved  by  the  many. 

(19>  But  I  beseech  you, — Rather,  And  I  exhort 
you  the  more  (literally,  tlie  more  abundantly)  to  do  this. 
All  that  we  can  certainly  infer  from  this  verse  (see 
Introduction)  is  that  the  winter  had  formerly  been  asso- 
ciated with  those  whom  he  now  addresses,  and  that  he 
is  at  present  hindered  from  returning  to  them. 

^0)  Now  the  God  of  peace.— See  Rom.  xv.  33; 
xvi.  20 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  11 ;  Phil.  iv.  9 ;  1  Thess.  v.  23 ; 
2  Thess.  iii.  16.  In  almost  all  these  places  there  is 
something  in  the  context  suggestive  of  strife  or  turmoil 
to  be  brought  to  rest  by  "the  God  of  peace."  Hence 
we  may  well  believe  that  the  writer  here  has  in  thought 
those  di^•islons  of  thought  and  feeling  which  have  been 
hinted  at  in  Acrses  17 — 19,  and  which  in  truth  were  the 
expression  of  the  deep-seated  mental  unrest  which  it  is 
the  object  of  the  Epistle  to  remove. 

Our  Lord  Jesus. — As  in  chaps,  ii.  9,  iii.  1,  xii.  2, 
the  name  is  introduced  after  the  description,  according 
to  the  order  of  the  Greek  :  "  Xow  the  God  of  peace  that 
brought  up  from  the  dead  (Rom.  x.  7)  the  great  Shep- 
herd of  the  sheep,  by  the  blood  of  an  eterual  covenant, 
our  Lord  Jesus  .  .  ."  Two  passages  of  the  prophets 
have  contributed  to  the  language  of  this  remarkable 
verse:  (1)  Isa.  Ixiii.  11.  "  ^\  here  is  He  that  brought 
them  up  out  of  the  sea  with  the  shepherds  of  His  flock  ?"' 
Here  the  shepherds  are  no  doubt  Moses  and  Aaron 
(Ps.  Ixxvii.  20);  the  Greek  translation,  however,  has, 
"  Wliere  is  he  that  raised  up  out  of  the  sea  the  shepherd 
of  the  slieep  ?  "  Moses,  who  led  Israel  through  the  sea, 
was  brought  up  therefrom  in  safety  to  be  the  "  shep- 
herd "  of  his  people  Israel ;  by  the  same  Almighty 
hand  the  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep  has  been  brought 
up  from  among  the  dead.  (2)  Zech.  ix.  11.  "As  for 
tliec  also,  by  tlie  blood  of  thy  covenant  I  have  sent 
forth  thy  prisoners  out  of  the  pit  wherein  is  no  water." 
In  other  words,  "  because  of  the  blood  which  ratified 
thy  covenant  (Ex.  xxiv.  8)  I  have  released  thy 
prisoners."  As  in  the  former  case,  tlie  resemblance 
between  the  words  in  the  LXX.  and  tliose  here  used 
is  sufficient  to  con\-ince  us  that  the  passage  was  in  tlie 
writer's  thought.  In  {i.e.,  in  virtue  of)  the  blood  of  an 
347 


The  Everlasting  Covenant. 


HEBREWS,  XIII. 


Salutations. 


that  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep, 
through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,  •  ^-^^  make  you  perfect  in 
every  good  work  to  do  his  will,  work- 
ing- in  you  that  which  is  well  pleasing 
in  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ;  to 
whom  he  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 
(")  And  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  sulfer 
the  word  of  exhortation  :  for  I  have 
written  a  letter  unto  you  in  few  words. 


1  Or,  testament. 

2  Or,  doing. 


<23)  Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timothy 
is  set  at  liberty ;  with  whom,  if  he 
come  shortly,  I  will  see  you.  (^4)  Salute 
all  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you, 
and  all  the  saints.  They  of  Italy 
salute  you.  ^^^  Grace  he  with  you  all. 
Amen. 


^  Written   to  the   Hebrews  from   Italy  by 
Timothy. 


eternal  covenant  (chap.  ix.  15 — 18)  God  lias  raised  up 
the  Lord  Jesus.  The  covenant  was  ratified  by  His 
blood  ;  the  first  of  the  blessings  of  the  covenant,  and 
that  in  which  all  blessing  lay  included,  was  this,  that 
God  raised  Him  up  from  the  dead  to  be  "  the  great 
Shepherd  of  the  sheep."  If  these  prophetic  words  re- 
specting Him  who  brings  jDeace  to  the  world  (Zech.  ix. 
10,  et  ah),  Avere  in  the  writer's  mind,  how  natural  is  his 
appeal  to  the  God  of  2)eace.  It  has  been  often  observed 
that  this  is  the  only  passage  in  the  Epistle  in  which  we 
read  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  apart  from  His 
ascension  ;  elsewhere  His  exaltation  is  contemplated  as 
one  act  (chap.  ii.  9,  et  al.).  It  is  not  certain  that  we 
have  an  exception  even  hei'e,  for  though  the  meaning 
of  Rom.  X.  7  is  beyond  doubt,  the  words  may  in  this 
place  be  used  with  a  wider  meaning. 

(21)  Make  you  perfect.— To  "make  perfect"  is 
the  translation  of  two  different  words  in  this  Epistle. 
In  the  one,  which  is  of  frequent  occun-ence  (chaps,  ii.  10; 
X.  1;  xii.  23,  et  al.),  "perfect"  stands  contrasted  with 
that  which  is  immature,  which  has  not  attained  its 
end  and  aim.  The  other,  which  is  used  here  (and  in 
a  somewhat  different  sense  in  chaps,  x.  5,  and  xi.  3), 
rather  conveys  the  tliought  of  completeness,  complete 
equipment  or  jireparation. 

Every  good  work.— The  best  authorities  read 
"every  good  thing;"  and  below,  substitute  "  us "  for 
"  you." 

Working.— Literally,  doing,  or  making.  Tlie  words 
of  Phil.  ii.  12,  13,  are  different,  but  the  general  thought 
is  the  same.  "  Well  pleasing  "  recalls  chaps,  xi.  5;  xii. 
28;  verse  16.     (Rom.  xii.  2;  Eph.  v.  10.) 

Through  Jesus  Christ.— That  is,  "working  in 
us  through  Jesus  Christ  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in 
His  sight."  In  verse  20  (as  in  chap.  ii.  9)  we  read  of 
the  exaltation  of  "  Jesus."  Here,  where  the  subject 
of  thought  is  the  lasting  mediation  of  our  High  Priest, 
the  writer  introduces  the  complete  name  "  Jesus  Christ," 
thus  preparing  for  the  doxology  which  follows.  That 
this  ascription  of  praise  is  addressed  to  our  Saviour  (as 
in  2  Tim.  iv.  18 ;  Rev.  i.  6 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  18),  it  seems 
hardly  possible  to  doubt. 

Glory.— Rather,  the  glory.     (See  Gal.  i.  5.) 

C^)  And  I  beseech  you.— Rather,  But  I  exhort 
you,  brethren,  bear  with  the  loord  of  exhortation;  for 
indeed  it  is  in  feio  words  that  I  have  written  unto 
you.  How  fitly  the  whole  Epistle  may  be  spoken  of  as 
an  "  exhortation  "  is  obvious.  (See  Note  on  chap.  v.  11.) 
And  if  wo  take  into  account  the  subjects  with  which 
the  writer  has  been  dealing,  wc  shall  not  wonder  that  a 
Letter  which  might  have  been  read  to  the  assembled 


church  in  less  than  an  hour  should  be  described  as 
brief.     (Comp.  1  Pet.  v.  12.) 

(^3)  It  is  clear  that  the  Hebrew  Christians  knew  of 
the  imprisonment  of  Timothy,  but  had  not  heard  the  news 
of  his  release.  In  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Col.  i.  1;  Philem.  verse  1, 
Timothy  is  spoken  of  as  "the  brother;"  in  1  Thess. 
iii.  2,  and  here,  as  "  our  brother  "  (for  the  word  "  our  " 
printed  in  italics  in  the  Authorised  version,  belongs  to 
the  true  text).  With  him,  the  writer  adds,  "  if  he  come 
shortly  [sooner  than  the  date  at  which  he  himseM  must 
depart],  I  will  see  you." 

(24)  That  have  the  rule  over  you.— Better, 
that  are  your  leaders  :  see  verses  7,  17. 

They  of  Italy  salute  you.— These  much  dis- 
cussed words  are  consistent  with  either  of  two  hypo- 
theses : — (1)  That  the  writer  is  in  Italy,  and  salutes 
"the  Hebrews  "  in  the  name  of  the  Christians  of  Italy : 
(2)  That  the  writer  is  addressing  a  Church  of  Italy, 
and  sends  greeting  from  Christians  who  have  their  home 
in  Italy,  but  are  now  with  him.     (See  Introduction.') 

(-5)  Grace  be  with  you  all.— This  brief  closing 
benediction  is  also  found  in  Titus  iii.  15,  and,  with  the 
omission  of  "  all,"  in  Col.  iv.  18 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  21  ;  2  Tim. 
iv.  22. 

[As  in  the  other  Epistles  the  subscription  is  destitute 
of  authority,  not  being  found  (in  the  form  given  above) 
in  any  MS.  of  the  Epistle  earlier  than  the  ninth  century. 
No  ancient  MS.  contains  more  than  the  simple  notice, 
"  To  the  Hebrews,"  except  the  Alexandrian,  which  adds 
"  written  from  Rome."  The  mention  of  Rome  or  Italy 
is,  no  doubt,  due  to  verse  24.  It  is  possible  also  that 
verse  23  is  the  only  authority  for  the  reference  to 
Timothy  as  the  bearer  of  the  Epistle  :  for  an  ancient 
interpretation  understands  that  verse  to  speak,  not  of 
the  release  of  Timothy  from  captivity,  but  of  his 
departure  on  some  official  mission.] 


[The  works  chiefly  used  have  been  the  commentaries 
on  the  Epistle  by  Bleek,  Delit/.sch,Hofmann,  Liinemann, 
Kurtz,  Bengel,  Ewald,  Alford,  Wordsworth,  McCaul, 
and  Biesenthal ;  Westcott  On  the  Canon ;  Lightfoot's 
Clement  ;  Bleek's  Einleitung  in  das  N.  T.  (by 
Mangold);  Ewald's  Gesc/iic/i^e;  Davidson's  two  Ju^ro- 
ductions  to  the  New  Testament;  Reuss's  History  of 
Christian  Theology ;  Riehm's  special  work  on  the 
Doctrinal  System  of  this  Kpistle ;  Stanley's  Sermons 
and  Essays ;  the  Commentaries  on  the  Psalms  by 
Delitzsch,  Perowne,  Jennings  and  Lowe ;  and  Carpzov'a 
Sacrae  Exei'citatiunes.J 


348 


THE     GENEEAL     JPISTLE     OF 

JAMES. 


INTRODUCTION 


THE     GENEEAL     EPISTLE     OF 


JAMES. 


I.  The  Writer. — Questions  of  Identity. — "  James, 
a  servant  (literally,  a  slave)  of  God  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ : "  this  is  all  the  direct  information  to  be 
learned  from  the  author  concerning  himself.  The  name 
James  was,  of  course,  a  favourite  Avith  the  Jews  under 
the  more  common  form  of  Jacob,  and  is  familiar  to  us 
in  studying  the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  We 
read  there  of : — 

1.  James  the  son  of  Zebedee. 

2.  James  the  son  of  Alphseus. 

3.  James  "  the  Loi*d's  brother.'' 

4.  James  the  son  of  Mary. 

5.  James  "  the  Less  "  (or,  "  the  Little  " ). 

6.  James  the  brother  of  Jude. 

7.  James  the  first  Bishop  of  Jerusalem. 

Is  it  possible  for  us  to  decide  between  so  many,  or 
even  feel  fairly  convinced  that  we  can  identify  one  of 
these  as  the  writer  of  our  Epistle?  To  reject  them  all, 
and  ascribe  it  to  another  James,  of  whom  no  further 
mention  is  made,  would  seem  to  be  the  addition  of 
fresh  and  needless  difficulty  to  a  problem  ah'eady 
sufficiently  obscure.  The  first  claimant  in  the  above 
list  may  be  dismissed  at  once,  from  the  fact  of  his  early 
death.  James  the  Great,  as  he  is  called,  the  brother  of 
John,  was  executed  by  Herod  Agrippa  I.  in  a.d.  44 
(Acts  xii.  2),  a  date  much  too  early  for  this  Letter;  and 
no  tradition  or  opinion  worthy  of  consideration  has 
ever  atti-ibuted  it  to  him. 

The  next  inquiry  must  be  one  of  much  circumspec- 
tion, beset  as  it  is  with  thorns  of  controversy  :  in  fact, 
the  conflict  of  authorities  must  seem  well  nigh  hopeless 
to  an  ordinary  mind.  Apart  from  the  main  question, 
many  collateral  ones  have  arisen  to  embitter  the  dis- 
pute, and  by  no  means  the  last  word  has  been  said  on 
either  side.  If,  then,  an  attempt  bo  here  made  to  arrive 
at  some  conclusion,  it  must  confessedly  be  with  much 
misgiving,  and  fuU  admission  of  the  almost  equal 
arguments  against  our  decision. 

By  comparing  St.  Paul's  description  concerning 
numbers  4  and  7  (above)  in  Gal.  i.  19  and  ii.  9 — 12,  it 
is  thought  he  must  be  referring  to  one  and  the  same 
man ;  let  that  be  granted,  therefore,  to  begin  with. 
We  may  identify  numbers  3  and  4  by  the  knowledge  that 
James  the  son  of  Mary  had  a  brother  called  Joses  (Matt, 
xxvii.  56),  and  so  also  had  James  "  the  Lord's  brother" 
(Matt.  xiii.  55) ;  and  further  we  may  consider  numbers 
3  and  6  identical,  because  each  was  brother  to  Judo 
(Mark  vi.  3 ;  Jude,  verse  1) ;  James  the  Little,  number  5, 
is  clearly  tlie  same  as  tlie  son  of  Mnry.  number  4.  (Comp. 
Matt,  xxvii.  5H  ;  Mark  xv.  40;  Luke  xxiv.  lo.i  'llieso 
ir.iglit.  it  is  true,  be  coincidences  merely,  and.  wlien  we  | 
remember  the  frequency  of  Hebrew  names,  seem  in- 

35 


sufficient  for  more  than  hypothesis;  but  we  are  arguing 
on  probability  only,  and  not  to  absolute  demonstration. 
Thus  far,  then,  numbers  3, 4, 5,  6,  and  7,  are  thought  to  be 
one  and  the  same  pei-son — the  Apostle  James,  and  he 
the  Lord's  brother ;  the  claims  of  number  1  have  been 
disposed  of ;  those  of  number  2,  the  son  of  Alphaeus, 
remain.  The  question,  perliaps  the  greatest  of  all,  is 
whether  the  process  of  identification  can  be  extended 
furtlier,  for  on  this  depends  largely  the  issue  of  the 
dispute  with  regard  to  the  bretlu-en  of  the  Lord  and 
the  perpetual  vij-ginity  of  His  mother. 

Further  Consideration  of  "the  Brethren  of  the  Lord." 
— We  have  no  need  in  the  present  instance  to  enter  on 
the  war-path  of  this  theological  quarrel.  There  seems 
an  intentional  silence  in  Holy  Writ  concerning  the 
family  of  our  Saviour,  to  teach  us,  perhaps,  that  it 
stood  in  no  spiritually  peculiar  position  nearer  to  Him 
than  we  may  be  ourselves,  and  to  remind  us  of  His 
precious  words,  "  Whosoever  shall  do  the  wiU  of  My 
Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  My  brother, 
and  sister,  and  mother"  (Matt.  xii.  48 — 50).  Bearing 
this  in  mind,  and  with  thoughts  of  peace  in  our 
heart  for  those  who  truly — and  reverently — differ  from 
us,  we  may  soon  learn  the  outlines  of  this  discussion. 

The  terms  "  brother  "  and  "  brethren  "  meet  us  so 
often  in  the  New  Testament,  as  applied  to  Jesus  Christ, 
that  ve  can  hardly  pass  them  by.  Do  they  infer  the 
strict  and  actual  relationship,  or  one  merely  collateral? 

1.  Uterine,  or  Helvidian  Theory. — The  advocates  of 
the  natural  sense,  that  these  men  were  tlie  younger  sons 
of  Joseph  and  Mary,  urge  the  plain  meaning  of  the 
Greek  word  adelj^hos,  i.e.,  "brother,"  and  deny  its 
use  figuratively.  They  point,  moreover,  to  Matt.  i.  25, 
and  sujDpose  from  it  the  birth  of  other  children  in  the 
holy  family.  Those  who  shrink  from  such  a  view  are 
charged  with  sentiment,  as  impugners  of  marriage,  and 
even  with  ideas  more  or  less  Mauichnean  concerning  the 
impurity  of  matter.  The  German  commentator  Bleek, 
and  Dean  Alford  and  Dr.  Davidson  amoiigst  ourselves, 
contend  thus  for  the  actual  brother'iood,  maintaining 
the  theory  originally  propounded  by  Helvidius,  a  writer 
of  the  fourth  century,  answered  by  the  great  Augustine. 
To  their  first  argument  we  may  answer  that  in  holy 
Scripture  there  are  four  senses  of  brotherhoofi,  namely, 
of  blood,  of  tribe,  of  nation,  of  friendship,  and  the  tlirce 
last  of  these  will  all  apply  to  the  case  in  point.  As  for 
tlie  view  Iwsed  on  Matt.  i.  25,  the  words,  either  in  the 
Greek  tongue  or  our  own,  authorise  it  not.  To  say  "  ho 
did  not  do  such  a  thing  imtil  the  day  of  his  death  " 
does  not  (as  Bishop  Pearson  has  observed)  suggest 
the  inference  that  he  did  it  then  or  afterwards;  and 
the  term '•  tii*»it  born  "  by  no  means  implies  a  second, 
even  in  our  present  use  of    language,   under   similar 


JAMES. 


circnmstances.  Above  all,  though  it  is  confessedly  no 
argument,  tliere  is  the  feeling  alluded  to  by  Pearson 
and  others,  and  acquiesced  in  by  many,  that  there  could 
have  been  no  fresh  maternity  on  the  part  of 

"  Her  who  with  a  awcet  thanksKiving 
Took  in  tranquillity  what  God  niii,'ht  bring; 
Blessed  llini,  and  waited,  and  within  her  living 
Felt  the  arousal  of  a  Holy  Thing." 

"And  as  after  His  death  His  body  was  placed  in  a 
sepulchre  '  wherein  never  man  before  was  laid,'  so  it 
seemed  fitting  that  the  womb  consecrated  by  His 
pr.'senco  should  not  henceforth  have  borne  anything  of 
man."  It  is  right,  however,  that  the  reader  should  be 
referred  to  the  excellent  Note  of  Professor  Plumptre  on 
Matt.  xii.  46,  where  the  question  is  carefully  discussed. 
2.  Agnatic,  or  Epiphanian  Theory. — A  second  class 
of  divines  are  in  accordance  with  the  theory  of  Epi- 
phauius,  who  was  Bishop  of  Salamis,  in  Cjl^rus,  towards 
the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  and  no  mean  antagonist 
of  the  Helvidians.  At  the  head  of  their  modern  repre- 
sentatives, facile  princeps  for  scholarship  and  fairness, 
is  Canon  Lightfoot.  The  brethren  of  the  Lord  are 
said  to  bo  the  sons  of  Joseph  by  a  former  wife,  i.e., 
before  his  espousal  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  are  rightly 
termed  adelphoi  accordingly.  Far  from  being  of 
the  number  of  the  Twelve,  they  were  believers  only 
after  Christ's  resurrection.  Thus,  then,  are  explained 
such  texts  as  Matt.  xii.  46,  Mark  iii.  31,  Luke  viii.  19, 
John  vii.  5.  By  this  supposition,  James  the  Loi'd's 
brother  must  be  a  distinct  person  from  James  the  son 
of  Alphaeus.  But  an  objection — nay,  "  the  one  which 
has  been  hurled  at  the  Helvidian  theory  with  great 
force  .  .  .  and  fatal  effect" — is  strangely  thought  by 
Lightfoot  to  be  powerless  against  his  favourite  Epi- 
phanian doctrine.  It  is  this :  our  Lord  on  the  cross 
commended  His  mother  to  St.  John :  "  Behold  tliy 
mother,"  "  Behold  thy  .son  "  (chap.  xix.  26,27);  "and 
from  that  hour,"  we  are  told,  "  that  disciple  took  her  unto 
his  own  home."  If  the  Uterine  theory  be  right,  she 
had  at  least  four  sons  living  at  the  time.  "  Is  it  con- 
ceivable that  our  Lord  would  thus  have  snapped 
asunder  the  most  sacred  ties  of  natural  affection  ?  " 
Nor  could  the  fact  of  His  brethren's  unbelief  "  override 
the  paramount  duties  of  filial  piety ;  "  and  the  objection 
is  weakened  further  by  our  knowledge  that  within  a 
few  days  "  all  alike  are  converted  to  the  faith  of 
Christ :  yet  she,  their  mother,  living  in  the  same  city, 
and  joining  with  them  in  a  common  worship  (Acts  i.  14), 
is  consigned  to  the  care  of  a  stranger,  of  whose  house 
she  becomes  henceforth  an  inmate."  Now,  all  this 
argument,  forcible  and  fatal  as  it  unquestionably  is  to 
the  idea  of  real  and  full  relationship,  is  hardly  less  so 
against  that  of  step-sons.  For,  seeing  they  were  borne 
by  a  former  wife,  they  must  have  been  older  than 
Jesus ;  and,  on  the  death  of  Joseph,  the  eldest  would 
certainly  have  become  head  of  the  family,  in  full 
dominion  over  the  younger  children  and  the  widow 
herself,  and  with  chief  responsibility  for  th(>ir  ]»rotec- 
tion  and  welfare.  The  custom  prevailed  under  Roman 
law  as  well  as  Jewish,  and  exists  in  the  East  still : 
being,  in  fact,  a  relic  of  immemorial  antiquity.  Nor  can 
we  conceive,  for  other  than  the  weightiest  reasons,  such 
as  immorality  or  crime,  that  our  Lord,  who  came  "  not 
to  destroy  the  Law,  but  to  fulfil,"  would  thus  openly  have 
set  one  of  its  firmest  obligations  aside.  It  seems  clear 
that  the  widowed  mother  watdiing  by  the  cross,  and 
soon  to  be  childless  among  women,  with  the  sword  of 
separation  piercing  to  and  through  h(>r  own  soul  (Luke 
ii.  35),  had  none  to  care  for  her,  except  the  beloved  dis- 
ciple into  whose  charge  she  was  given  by  her  dying  Son. 


362 


3.  Collateral,  or  Hieronymian  Theory. — Tliere  remains 
one  proposition  more,  known,  from  the  name  of  its 
foremost  champion,  Jerome,  as  the  Hieronymian 
theory;  and  this,  on  the  Avhole,  presents  fewest  diffi- 
culties to  the  religious  mind.  The  sons  of  Alphaeus  (or 
Cleopas  :  the  name  is  the  same  in  different  dialects) 
were  the  cousins  of  our  Lord,  their  mother  and  His 
being  sisters ;  and  such  a  relationship  would  entirely 
justify  the  use  of  the  word  "  brethren."  The  balance  of 
evidence  seems  to  the  writer  of  these  Notes  to  incline 
towards  this  venerable  belief;  and,  identifying  "the 
son  of  Alphaeus"  with  "the  brother  of  the  Lord,"  he 
considers  him  to  have  been  the  James  of  the  Epistle. 
Unless  this  solution  of  the  difficulty  be  allowed,  we  are 
committed  to  the  recognition  of  a  third  James  an 
Apostle,  and  one  so  called  in  only  a  secondary  sense. 
It  is  true  the  term  was  not  strictly  applied  to  the 
original  Twelve,  and  therefore  might  have  been  applied 
to  a  third  James  as  well  as  to  a  Barnabas ;  and  we  will 
further  admit  that,  if  James  were  one  of  the  unbelieving 
brethren  mentioned  in  John  vii.  5,  he  could  hardly  have 
been  the  early  convert  enrolled  by  our  Saviour  in  His 
apostolic  band  :  though  Bishop  Wordsworth,  on  the 
contrary,  thinks  that  he,  like  Peter,  might  have  fallen 
away  for  a  time.  A  better  account  for  such  a  state- 
ment may  be  sought  in  the  reflection  that,  although  it 
is  recorded  "  neither  did  His  brethren  believe  in  Him," 
there  is  no  evidence  against  them  all ;  and  in  the 
absence  of  negative  proof  it  seems  safer — at  least,  not 
iuconsi.stent  with  the  charity  which  "  hopeth  all  things" 
— to  think  of  James  and  Jude  as  happy  exceptions  to 
the  family  jealousy  and  mistrust. 

Again,  unless  we  consider  the  son  of  Alphaeus  the 
brother  of  our  Lord,  in  the  tribal  sense  of  Jerome,  we 
must  admit  the  existence  of  two  men,  strikingly  similar 
in  life  and  calling,  e\ddently  related,  each  with  a  mother 
named  Mary,  and  brethren  Joses  and  Jude ;  and  to 
which  of  these  two,  if  they  were  not  one  and  the  same, 
can  the  Epistle  be  best  ascribed  ? 

Opinions  of  Theologians. — These  problems,  hard  as- 
suredly, seem  fairly  such  as  may  best  be  solved  by  the 
ingenuity  of  ancient  ^VTiters,  well  acquainted  with  con- 
temporary ideas.  The  opinions  of  moderns,  such  as 
Lightfoot,  Bleek,  Alford,  and  Davidson,  are  grounded 
on  no  discovery  of  facts  hidden  from  theologians  who 
were  at  least  as  able  and  honest  as  themselves;  and  the 
old  testimony  has  been  so  thoroughly  sifted  that,  until 
more  be  brought  forward,  we  had  better  remain  un- 
decided if  we  cannot  hold  a  conclusion  fortified  by  the 
consensus  of  Clement  of  Alexandina  and  John  the 
Eloquent,  in  the  Greek  Church  ;  Jerome  and  Augustine, 
in  the  Latin ;  Pearson,  Lardner,  Home,  Wordsworth, 
and  Ellicott  in  our  oAvn  ;  and  by  German  ■writers,  such 
as  Lampe,  Hug,  Meier,  and  Lauge. 

Conclusion.  —  Thus  we  see  the  best  ecclesiastical 
authority  and  traditions  have  pretty  constantly  assigned 
the  authorship  of  the  catholic  Epistle  to  the  third 
name  on  our  li.st  (above),  and  identified  him  with  the 
second,  fourth,  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh,  in  accordance 
with  what  we  venture  to  afl&rm  is  the  plainest  path  out 
of  the  maze. 

Further  History  of  James. — So  much  externally ;  for 
internal  e\'idence  we  have  a  singular  agreement  betweei 
the  fervid  abrupt  style  of  the  Letter  and  the  charactei 
of  its  reputed  writer,  known  as  "  the  Just "  by  the  JewsJ 
and  termed  by  them  (in  honour,  not  reproach)  the  "  Camel^ 
kneed,"  from  his  long  and  frequent  devotions.  In  nc 
way  conspicuous  amongst  the  disciiiles,  he  comes  int 
prominence  only  after  the  Resurrection ;  perhaps  that 
witness  to  the  Lord  Christ  was  specially  needed  in  hial 


JAMES. 


case  to  perfect  faith,  and  to  transform  the  silent  man  of 
prayer  into  the  strong  and  fearless  leatler  of  the  infant 
Church. 

As  tho  first  Bishop  of  Jornsalem  wo  find  him  (Acts 
XV.)  presiding  in  a  solemn  assembly  to  hear  tho  mis- 
sionary reports  and  to  arrang(»  for  the  requirements 
of  Gentile  converts.  Tlio  pastoral  letter  (Acts  xv. 
24 — 29)  may  bo  ccmipared  witli  tlio  catliolic  one  now 
before  us.  as  it  was  probably  written  by  tlie  same  hand. 
Tho  last  Scriptural  notice  of  James  is  (Acts  xxi.  18)  on 
St.  Paul's  final  visit  to  tho  Holy  City,  when,  again,  a 
synod  of  tlie  elders  seems  to  have  been  held.  A  Greek 
Christian  MTiter,  named  Hegesippus,  himself  a  convert 
from  Judaism,  tells  us  more  of  the  fate  of  this  "  bul- 
wark "  of  the  fold.  Comparing  hi.s  highly  artificial 
account  (preserved  for  us  in  the  histoiy  of  Eusebius  : 
too  prolix  for  insertion  here)  with  the  narrative  in 
Josephus,  the  plain  truth  seems  that  James  the  Just 
was  hurled  from  a  pinnacle  of  the  Temple,  and  finally 
despatched  by  stoning,  as  a  believer  in  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  about  the  year  69,  immediately  before  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Roman  emperor  Vespasian. 
Josephus  {Ant.  xx.  9)  accuses  the  high  pnest  Ananus, 
a  Sadducee,  of  the  judicial  inurder,  and  declares  that 
the  "  most  equitable  of  the  citizens,  and  such  as  wore 
the  most  uneasy  at  the  breach  of  the  laws,  disliked 
what  was  done,"  and  complained  to  King  Agrippa  and 
Albinus  the  procurator,  who,  in  consequence,  removed 
Ananus  from  his  office.  Many  authors,  ancient  and 
modem,  have  been  of  opinion  that  the  martyi'dom  of 
James  was  tho  "  filling  up  of  the  sins  of  Jerusalem, 
and  made  its  cup  of  guilt  to  overflow." 

"Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly,  yet  they  grind  exceed- 
ing small : 

Though  with  patience  He  stands  waiting,  with  exactness 
grinds  He  all." 

II.  His  Epistle. — To  whom  xoritten. — In  tho  first 
and  chief  place,  James  unquestionably  wi'ote  to  his 
comitrymen,  scattered  over  the  whole  eartli,  though 
still  belonging  to  their  twelve  tribes.  But  in  no  sense 
can  tlie  Letter  be  looked  upon  as  an  appeal  to  un- 
belie\'ing  Jews,  abounding  as  it  does  with  references  to 
Christian  doctrines  held,  and  Christian  works  to  be 
maintained,  by  those  who  had  "  the  faith  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  That  the  majority  of  its  readers  would 
be  the  poor  and  meek  can  hardly  be  doubted,  if  we 
turn  to  such  passages  as  those  in  chaji.  ii.  And  it 
would  seem  that  these  struggling  societies  of  humble 
Christians  were  in  a  danger  more  peculiar  to  the  poor — 
that  is,  of  envjing  and  fawning  upon  tlie  rich  and  well- 
to-do  ;  forgetting  that  they  themselves  M^ere  oppressed 
by  such,  dragged  before  judgment-seats,  and  exj^osed 
to  the  blasphemy  and  contempt  outpoured  by  un- 
believers on  tlie  "  Chri.stian"  name  (chap.  ii.  6,  7). 

Style  and  Character. — In  his  denunciation  of  tho 
rich  def  rauders,  James  breaks  out  into  a  fiery  elo([uence 
worthy  of  an  ancient  prophet ;  the  tender  change  from 
rebuke  of  the  wrongers  to  comfort  for  tlie  wronged 
(chap.  V.  7,  8)  is  xmsurpassed  in  the  wliole  roll  of 
inspired  utterance;  and  in  condemnation  of  lust  (chap, 
iv.  1 — 4),  pride  (chap.  iv.  5 — 10),  evil  speaking  (chap, 
iv.  11,  12),  and  all  worldliness  (chap.  iv.  13 — 17),  tho 
fervour  and  righteous  indignation  of  the  Apostle  show 
of  themselves  the  manner  of  his  life  and  death  :  for 
again,  as  with  God's  serA-ant  of  old,  "  the  land  was  not 
able  to  bear  all  his  words  "  (Amos  vii.  10). 

Scope  and  Aim. — Nothing  can  be  clearer  and  simpler 
than  tho  scope  and  aim  of  this  Letter ;  as  tho  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  compared  with  the  rest  of  Matthew,  so 
this  exhortation  of  James  the  Just  (or  "  the  "Wise,"  as  the 

89  353 


Greeks  love  to  call  him)  stands  forth  among  its  fellow 
Epistles,  a  lovely  gospel  of  good  works,  of  Christian 
steadfastness  and  patience.  Some  theologians  un- 
fortunately, blinded  by  their  OAAm  partial  apprehension 
of  one  side  of  God's  truth,  have  misread  its  chajjlers, 
and  found  therein  an  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  St. 
Paul.  Luther  even  could  go  so  far  as  to  call  the 
Epistle  "  worthless  as  one  of  straw."  Happily,  later 
criticism  has  vindicated  tlic  teaching  of  the  brother  of 
tlie  Lord ;  and  th(^  plainest  reader  may  learn  for  him- 
self tliat  Paul  and  James  were  at  one,  infallibly  moved 
by  the  .same  Spirit  of  the  living  God. 

State  of  Religious  Opinion  : — Judaism  and  Chris- 
tianity.— Let  us  recollect  a  little  more  fully  the  con- 
dition of  the  faith  among  those  Christians  who  were 
first  converted  from  Judaism.  With  them  the  ad- 
herence to  outward  forms,  tho  stickling  for  the  letter 
of  the  Law.  and  other  like  barren  principles,  had  become 
a  belief,  which  displayed  itself  in  new  shapes,  coiTc- 
sponding  with  their  altered  state  of  refigion.  "  Where- 
over,"  it  has  bt>en  well  said,  "  Christianity  did  not  effect 
a  complete  change  in  the  heart  the  old  Jewi.sh  spirit 
naturally  manifested  itself  in  the  professed  converts." 
It  was  what  our  Puritan  divines  quaintly,  but  correctly, 
termed  "  the  Popery  of  the  human  heart."  The  souls 
that  had  trusted  wholly  and  entirely  in  sacrifice  as  a  bare 
substitution  of  A-ictims,  and  deliverance  from  an  indis- 
criminate vengeance,  now  clung  to  faith,  as  a  passive 
thing,  instead.  The  old  idol  had,  as  it  were,  been  torn 
down  by  these  ardent  disciples  :  a  new  one  was  upraised 
to  the  vacant  niche ;  faith  in  a  faith  became  the  leading 
idea,  and  the  light  which  was  in  them  turned  to  dark- 
ness, the  breath  of  life  to  death. 

Affected  by  Oriental  Tlieories.  —  But  perliaps  a 
cause  of  this  confusion  is  to  be  foimd  much  further 
afield.  The  Jewish  Church  had  become  largely  affected 
by  the  more  remote  Eastern  thought ;  the  capti\"ity, 
while  it  ei'adicated  utterly  all  wish  for  idolatry,  in- 
fluenced the  chosen  people  in  a  strange  and  unlooked- 
for  way.  The  power  of  the  mystical  specidations  of 
India,  more  especially  of  the  devout  followers  of 
Gotoma  Sakya  Muni,  now  known  as  Buddhists,  is  only 
beginning  to  be  rightly  pondered  by  Christian  scholars 
and  divines.  It  was  not  the  Persian  systems,  nor  the 
Chald«an,  but  the  Hindu  (and  not  infrequently  woi-k- 
ing  through,  and  by  means  of,  them)  which  peqjlexed 
anew  the  Oriental  mind.  Here  was,  doubtless,  the 
origin  of  the  Essenes  and  other  offshoots  of  Judai.sm ; 
and  even  in  the  Church  itself  similar  mischief  may  be 
traced  in  the  varying  forms  of  heresy  which  drove  her 
almost  to  destruction.  The  ancient  theory  of  sacrifice 
in  India  was  abandoned  by  the  Brahmans,  and  in  its 
place  faith  was  ever}'where  preached  ;  the  sole  essential 
was  dependence  on  God  ;  implicit  "  reliance  on  Him 
made  up  for  all  deficiencies  in  other  respects,  whilst 
no  attention  to  the  forms  of  religion  or  to  the  niles  of 
morality  was  of  the  slightest  avail  Avithout  this  all- 
important  sentiment."  *  Precisely  the  same  wave  of 
thought  seems  to  have  broken  on  the  JcAvish  Church ; 
and  one  not  much  dissimilar,  we  know,  in  later  times, 
has  changcMl  the  whole  set  of  religious  tendencies  in 
Western  Europe. 

Denounced  accordingly. — It  seems,  then,  that  in  com- 
plete aversion  from  .such  innovations,  James  wrote 
what  he  did  of  moral  rigliteousness,  as  opposed  to 
correct  belief  ;  in  other  words,  contending  for  a  religion 
of    tho    heart    and    not    the    lips    alone  ;    with   him 

•  See  Elphinstone's  India.  Vol.  i..  Book  2,  chap,  iv.,  quoting 
from  the  text-book  called  Bhag^rat  Gita. 


JAMES. 


Christianity  was  indwd  "  a  life,  and  not  a  mere  bundle 
of  dead  opinions."  "  Wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man," 
pleads  the  impassioned  Apostle  (cliap.  ii.  20,  21),  "that 
faith  without  works  is  dead?  Was  not  Abraham  our 
father  justified  by  works  when  he  had  offered  Isaac  ?  " 
And  surely  here  wo  CAtch  the  echoes  of  a  greater  than 
James,  who  answered  the  Jews  when  they  boasted  to 
Him  in  tlio  Temple,  "  Abraham  is  our  father,"  "  If  ye 
were  Abraham's  cliildr6n  ye  would  do  the  works  of 
Abraham"  (John  ^^ii.  39).  His  "faith,  working  by 
love."  ui)h('ld  hiin  tlu-ough  a  desolating  trial.  If  we 
look  at  the  motive,  he  wjls  justified  by  faith;  if  we  look 
at  the  result,  he  was  justified  by  works.  No  less  a 
faitli  than  Abraham's  could  have  wrought  thus  mightily 
b<'fore  tlio  face  of  hoavon,  or  can  so  take  the  kingdom 
lliereof  by  violence  still:  and  the  theology  whicli  could 
discern  opposition  in  the  plain  declarations  of  God's 
word  heroin  is  tit  only  for  the  dust  that  has  buried  its 
volumes  on  forgotten  shelves. 

"  Who  arc  we  that  with  restless  feet, 

And  griulgiiig  eyes  unimrKcd  and  dim. 
Among  the  eartlily  shadows  beat, 
And  seek  to  question  Him?" 

Date  of  the  Epistle. — Tlie  Epistle  has  been  called 
"general  " — that  is.  ''  universal " — chiefly  because  it.  was 
addressed  to  no  body  of  believers  in  one  place  in  par- 
ticular. The  absence  of  all  allusion  to  Gentile  converts 
fairly  proves  an  earlier  date  than  the  circular  letter 
preserved  in  Acts  xv.  2-i — 29,  that  is,  somewhere  about 
the  year  a.d.  -it.  And,  if  such  be  correct,  we  must 
look  on  this  as  one  of  the  oldest  writings  in  the  canon 
of  the  Xew  Testament. 

Gennlneness  and  Canonicify. — It  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  known  at  first  to  all  the  early  Church,  no 
direct  quotation  being  foiuxd  till  the  time  of  Origen, 
though  indirect  references  may  be  traced  in  the 
Apostolic  Fathers.  In  the  lists  of  sacred  be  iks  xini- 
versally  acknowledged,  or  the  contrary,  drawn  up  by 
Ensebius,  Bishop  of  CiEsarea  (in  Palestine),  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  the  Epistle  of  James 
is  amongst  the  latter — the  "  autilegomena,"  or  "  those 
spoken  against,"  along  with  the  Epistles  of  Judo, 
2  Peter,  and  2  and  3  John.  Tlie  uncertainty  was  mth 
regard  to  its  author ;  little  doubt  ever  being  felt  con- 
cerning its  inspiration.  Tlie  groat  Greek  Fathers  of 
the  fourth  century  all  quote  it  as  canonical,  and  are 
supported  by  the  Latin.  Some  of  the  divines  of  the 
Reformation,  however,  mistru.sted  it,  chiefly  on  account 
of  internal  and  doctrinal  o^^dence ;  and,  of  course,  the 
German  rationalists  have  eagerly  attacked  the  Epistle 
from  such  a  ground  of  advantage.  But  it  has  thus  far 
well  survived  the  .storms  of  controversy,  and  will  a-s 
surely  remain  unharmed,  to  be  the  help  and  delight  of 
the  patient  souls  who  trust  still  that  "  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  draweth  nigh." 

"  Ilora  novissima.  tcmpora  pcssima  sunt,  vigilemus; 
Kcce  niinaciter  inuninet,  Arhitcr  Ulc  siiprenius  : 
Inuninet.  inuninet,  ut  uiahi  tcnninct,  ifcjim  coronet, 
Kectu  rcniuncrct,  anxia  libcrct,  oethera  donet." 

So  wrote  Bernard  of  Morlaix,  seven  hundred  yeai-s 
ago,  with  the  words  of  James  (chap.  v.  8)  above  quoted 
in  liis  heart.  It  were  well  to  grave  them  on  our  oAni  : 
"For  yet  a  little  while,  and  he  that  shall  come  will 
come,  and  will  not  tarry  "  ^Heb.  x.  37).  The  free  trans- 
lation appended  is  the  familiar  one,  by  Dr.  Neale : — 

"  The  world  is  very  evil ;  the  times  are  waxing  late  ; 
Be  sober,  and  keep  vigil ;  the  Judge  is  at  the  gate  : 
The  Judge  that  comes  in  mercy,  the  Judge  that  comes  with 

might. 
To  terminate  the  evil,  to  diadem  the  right." 


Analysis  of  Contents. 
The  Salutation  (chap.  i.  1). 

I.  Appeals  on  behalf  of— 

(i.)  1.  Patience  (chap.  i.  2 — i). 

2.  Prayer  for  msdom  :  to  be  asked  in  faitli 

(chap.  i.  5 — 8). 

3.  LoAvly-miudedness  (chap.  i.  9 — ll). 
(ii.)   o.  Endurance  (chap.  i.  12 — 15). 

/3.  Because    of    God's   goodness   (chap.    i. 
Ifci— 18). 
(iii.)  1.  Meekness  (chap.  i.  17 — 21). 

2.  Self-knowledge  (chap.  i.  22—25). 

3.  Practical  religion  (chap.  i.  26,  27). 

II.  Rebukes  on  account  of— 

(i.)  a.   Re.spect  for  persons  (chap.  ii.  1 — 9). 
/8.  Because  leading  to  a  violation  of  law 
(chap.  ii.  10,  11). 
(ii.)  Faith  without  Avorks  (chap.  ii.  It — 26). 
o.  Example  of  Abraham  (chap.  ii.  21 — 24). 
/3.  Example  of  Rjihab  (chap.  ii.  25). 
y.   Summary  (chap.  ii.  26). 
(iii.)  Censoriousness    and    sins    of    the   tongue 
(chap.  iii.). 
o.  Warnings  and  examples  against  (chap.  iii. 

5—12). 
/3.  Exhortations  to  gentleness,  or  silence  (chap, 
iii.  13—18). 
(iv.)  1.  o.  Lust  (chap.  iv.  1 — 4). 
y3.  Pi-ide  (chap.  iv.  5 — 10). 

2.  E^-il  speaking  (chap.  iv.  11,  12). 

3.  a.  Worldliness  (chap.  iv.  13 — 17). 
0.  Trust  in  riches  (chap.  v.  1 — G). 

III.  Conclusion. 

(i.)  Exhortation  to  patience  (chap.  v.  7 — 11). 
(ii.)  Caution  against  swearing  (chap.  v.  12). 
(iii.)  Adnce  of  divers  kinds  : — 

a.   1.  To  the  sorrowful  (chap.  v.  13). 

2.  To  the  joyful  (chap.  v.  13). 

3.  To  the  sick  and  suffering  (chap.  v. 

14,  15). 
i8.  1.  Concerning  confession  (chap.  v.lGV 

2.  Concerning    prayer  :    example    of 

Elias  (chap.  v.  17,  18). 

3.  Concerning    conversion   (chap.    v. 

19,  20). 

[References. — Much  abler  and  fuller  treatment  of  the 
subject  may  be  read  in  the  following  books,  to  all  of 
which,  and  to  many  others  by  way  of  reference,  the 
writer  of  these  Notes  is  under  much  obligation : — 

Alford's  Greek  Testament,  with  a  Critically-revised 
Text.     Vol.  IV.     Ri%-ingtons,  1871. 

Block's  Introduction  to  the  Neiv  Testament.  (Trans- 
lated by  Urwick.)     Vol.  II.     T.  &  T.  Clark,  1874. 

Davidson's  Introduction  to  the  New  Testavient. 
Vol.  III.     Bagster,  1851. 

Home's  Introduction  to  the  Holy  Scriptures.     Vol. 

IV.  Twelfth  Edition.   ByTregeUes.    Longmans,  1869. 
Lightfoot  on  St.  PauVs  Epistle  to  the  Galatians: 

Dissertation  II.,  The  Brethren  of  the  Lord.  MacmUlan, 
1869. 

Mcyrick's  articles  on  "James"  and  "Tlie  General 
Epistle  of  James,"  in  Smith's  Dictio7iary  of  the  Bible. 
Vol.  I.     Murray,   1863. 

Wordsworth's  New  Testament,  with  Introductions 
and  Notes,  The  General  Epistles,  &c.  Rivingtons, 
1872.] 


:io4 


1 


THE    GENERAL     EPISTLE    OP 


JAMES. 


CHAPTEE  I.— (1)  James,  a  servant 
Chap.  i.  1.  The  ^f  God  and  of  the  Lord 
sahitation.         Jesus  Christ,  to  the  twelve 


tribes    which     are     scattered     abroad, 
greeting, 

Mj  brethren,  count  it  all  joy  when 


(2) 


(1)  James,  a  servant  (or  slave,  or  hond-servant) 
of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.— Bound 
to  Him,  i.e.,  in  devotion  and  love.  In  like  manner, 
St.  Paul  (Rom.  i.  1,  et  seq.),  St.  Peter  (2  Pet.  i.  1),  and 
St.  Jude  brotlier  of  James  (verse  1),  begin  their  Letters. 
The  writer  of  this  has  been  identified  {see  Introduction, 
ante,  p.  352  )  with  James  the  Just,  first  bishop  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  brother  of  our  Lord. 

To  the  twelve  tribes  which  are  scattered 
abroad.  —  Or,  to  the  tivelve  tribes  in  the  disper- 
sion. To  these  remnants  of  the  house  of  Israel, 
whose  "casting  away"  (Rom.  xi.  15)  was  leading  to 
the  "  reconciling  of  the  world ;  "  whose  "  fall  "  had 
been  the  cause  of  its  "  riches ;  "  "  and  the  diminishing 
of  them  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles "  (verse  12). 
Scattered  abroad  indeed  they  were,  "  a  by-word  among 
all  nations "  (Deut.  xxviii.  37),  "  a  curse  and  an  as- 
tonishment "  ( Jer.  xxix.  18)  wherever  the  Lord  had 
driven  them.  But  there  is  something  figurative,  and 
perhaps  prophetic,  in  the  number  twelve.  Strictly 
speaking,  at  the  time  this  Epistle  was  written,  Judah 
and  Benjamin,  in  gi-eat  measure,  were  returned  to  the 
Holy  Land  from  their  captivity,  though  numbers  of 
both  tribes  were  liA-ing  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
chiefly  engaged,  as  at  the  present  day,  in  commerce. 
The  remaining  ten  had  lost  their  tribal  distinctions,  and 
have  now  perislied  from  all  historical  record,  thougli  it 
is  still  one  of  the  fancies  of  certain  writers,  rather  pious 
than  learned,  to  discover  traces  of  them  in  the  abori- 
gines of  America,  Polynesia,  and  almost  everywhere  else ; 
most  ethnologically  improbable  of  all,  in  the  Teutonic 
nations,  and  our  own  families  tliereof.  But  long  before 
the  dcstniction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  and  even  the 
preaching  of  Christianity,  Jewish  colonists  woi-e  found 
in  Europe  as  well  as  Asia.  "  Even  where  they  suffered 
most,  through  tlieir  own  turbulent  disposition,  or  the 
enmity  of  their  neighbours,  they  sprang  again  from  the 
same  undying  stock,  however  it  might  be  hewn  by  the 
sword  or  soared  by  the  fire.  Massacre  seemed  to  have 
no  effect  in  tliinniag  their  ranks,  and,  like  tlieir  fore- 
fathers in  Egypt,  they  still  multiplied  under  the  most 
cruel  oppression."  (See  Milman's  History  of  the  Jews, 
vol.  i.,  p.  449,  et  seq.)  While  the  Temple  stood  these 
scattered  settlements  were  colonies  of  a  nation,  bound 
together  by  varied  tics  and  sjin pat  hies,  but  ruled  in 
the  East  by  a  Rabbi  called  the  Prince  of  the  Captivity, 
and  in  the  West  by  the  Patriarch  of  Tiberias,  who, 
curiously,  had  his  seat  in  that  Gentile  city  of  Palestine. 
The  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  end  therewith  of  national 
existence,  rather  added  to  than  detracted  from  the 
authority  of   these  strange  governments ;    the  latter 


355 


ceased  only  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Tlieodosius, 
while  the  former  continued,  it  is  said,  in  the  royal  line 
of  David,  until  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century,  after 
which  the  dominion  passed  wholly  into  the  hands  of  the 
Rabbinical  aristocracy,  from  whom  it  has  come  down 
to  the  present  day.  The  phrase  "  in  the  dispersion  " 
was  common  in  the  time  of  our  Lord ;  the  Jews  won- 
dered whether  He  would  "  go  unto  the  dispersion 
amongst  the  Gentiles "  (John  vii.  35,  and  see  Note 
there). 

(2—27)  Immediately  after  the  salutation,  and  with  more 
or  less  a  play  upon  the  wordwhicli  we  translate  "greet- 
ing" ('•  rejoice, "  verse  1;  "  count  it  aU  joy,"  verse  2) 
there  follow  appeals  on  behaK  of  patience,  endurance, 
and  metkness. 

(2)  Count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
temptations, — Better,  Accotmt  it  all  joy  ivhenever  ye 
fall  into  divers  temptations — i.e.,  trials ;  but  even  witli 
this  more  exact  rendering  of  the  text,  how  can  we, 
poor  frail  creatui-es  of  eartli.  it  may  well  be  asked, 
feel  any  joy  under  such  ?  Do  we  not  pray  in  our 
Savioui-'s  words,  "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation "  ? 
(See  Matt.  vi.  13,  and  Note  there.)  Tet  a  little  con- 
sideration will  open  out  the  teaching  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture very  plainly.  The  Apostle  hei-e  is  following  the 
same  line  of  thought  as  that  expressed  in  Heb.  v. 
14.  By  use  (or  habit,  more  properly)  our  senses  may 
be  exercised  to  the  discernment  of  good  and  evil.  The 
grace  of  God  given  to  the  soul  is  capable  of  growth  and 
enlargement,  like  the  powers  of  body  and  mind.  If 
either  bo  unemployed,  weakness  must  supen-ene,  and 
eventually  decay  and  death.  And  just  as  the  veteran  who 
has  proved  his  armour  well,  and  learned  to  face  habitual 
danger  as  a  duty,  is  more  trustworthy  than  a  raw  re- 
cruit, liowever  large  of  limb  and  stout  of  heart,  so  with 
the  Cliristian  soldier.  He  must  learn  to  "  endure  hard- 
ness "  (2  Tim.  ii.  3),  and  bear  meekly  and  even  gladly 
all  the  trials  which  are  to  strengthen  liim  for  tlie  holy 
war.  Innocence  is  a  grace  indeed,  and  yet  there  is  a 
higher  stage  of  the  same  -virtue,  \\z.,  the  purity  wliich 
has  been  won  l)y  long  and  often  bitter  conflict  with 
the  thousand  suggestions  of  evil  from  without,  stu-ring 
up  the  natural  impurity  within.  Temptation  is  not  sin. 
"  You  cannot,"  says  the  old  German  divine,  "  prevent 
the  birds  flying  over  your  head,  but  yon  can  from 
making  nests  in  your  hair ;  "  and  tlie  soul  victorious 
over  some  such  trying  onset  is  bv  that  very  triumph 
stronger  and  better  able  to  undergo  the  next  assault. 
The  act  of  virtue  has,  in  truth,  helped  to  build  up  the 


Of  Patience  xmder  Trial, 


JAMES,   I. 


and  of  Prayer  for  Wisdom, 


ye  fall  into  divers  temptations ;  (^^  know- 
in*^  this,  that  the  trying  of 
S^peaf'ot;  your  faith  worketh  pa- 
behalf  of  pa-  tionce.  <^'  But  let  patience 
tience.  have  her  perfect  work,  that 

ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting 
nothinor. 


(^)  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him 
ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  . 

all  men  liberally,  and  up-  wiXm'  to  he 
braideth  not ;   and  it  shall  prayed  for  in 
be  given  him.     («)  But  let  *'''^^- 
him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  wavering.    For 
he  that  wavereth  is  like  a  wave  of  the 


habit,  fi-Din  wliioh,  when  it  is  perfected,  a  happy  life 
cauuot  fail  to  spring.  The  interpretation  of  our  Lord's 
prayer  is  rather  the  cry  fur  help  to  God  our  Father  iu 
the  trial,  tliau  for  actual  escape  from  it  :  Lead  us  not, 
i.e..  where  we  iu  our  free  will  may  choose  the  wrong 
and  i)erish.  Aud  there  is  a  strangely  sweet  joy  to  be 
snatched  from  tlie  most  grievous  temptation  in  the 
remembrance  that  '"  God  is  faitliful,  wlio  will  not  suffer 
you  to  bo  tempted  above  tliat  ye  are  able  ;  but  will 
with  tlie  temptaticm  also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  bear  it  "  (1  Coi*.  x.  13). 

(■*)  Knowing  this,  that  the  trying  of  your 
faith  worketh  patience. — ^^nd  this  verse  confirms 
our  view  of  the  preceding  one  ;  the  habit  of  patience  is 
to  be  the  blessed  result  of  all  the  weary  effort  under 
God's  probation.  James  the  Wise  had  learned  it  long 
and  painfully,  and  he  returns  to  his  exhortation  of  it 
again,  especially  in  chap.  v.  7 — 11  (which  see). 

(*)  Let  patience  have  her  perfect  work.— Do 
not  thuik  the  grace  will  come  to  its  full  beauty 
iu  an  hour.  Emotion  and  sentiment  may  have  their 
place  in  tlio  beginning  of  a  Christian  career,  but  the 
end  thereof  is  not  yet.  Until  the  soul  be  quite  un- 
moved by  any  attack  of  Satan,  the  work  cannot  bo 
deemed  *"  perfect."  The  doctrine  is  not  mere  quietism, 
much  less  one  of  apathy,  but  rather  this,  that  tho 
conscious  strength  of  patient  trust  iu  God  is  able  to 
say  at  all  times  (comp.  Ps.  Ixiii.  8) — 

"  >ry  soul  liatli  followed  hard  on  Thee  ; 
Thy  rifjht  hand  hath  upholden  me." 

And  if  in  this  patience  we  can  learn  to  possess  our 
souls  (Luke  xxi.  19)  the  perfect  work  of  God  will  be 
wrought  within  us. 

That  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire  (or,  com- 
plete).— A  special  proof  herein  for  religious  people 
may  be  taken  with  regard  to  temper.  Few  trials  are 
harder;  and  sweetness  of  disposition  often  melts  away 
from  pliysical  causes,  suclx  as  ill-health  or  fatigue. 
But  tlie  great  test  remains  ;  and  it  is  one  which  the 
world  will  ever  apply  with  scorn  to  the  nominally 
Christian,  refusing  to  admit  tlie  claims  of  saintliness 
on  tlie  part  of  any  whose  religion  is  not  of  the  house- 
hold as  well  as  the  Church.  The  entirety  and  com- 
pleteness of  the  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God  (Col. 
iii.  3 1  are  manifested  mo.st  by  self-resti'aint. 

Wanting  nothing.— The  older  version,  "lacking." 
found  in  Tyndale,  Cranmer,  and  the  Genevan  Bible 
seems  decidedly  better.  Here  is  no  wi.sh  that  the 
faithful  sh(mld  be  free  from  care,  heeding  nothing ; 
but  rather  that  their  whole  hves  might  be  without 
fault  or  flaw  :  a  pt>rfect  siicrifice.  as  it  were,  offered  up 
to  God.  And  tliis  idea  is  confirmed  l)y  reflecting  on 
the  original  meaning  of  the  word  translated  "entire" 
above  in  the  Autliorised  version— co»jj)ic<e,  i.e.,  as  an 
offering,  witli  no  blemish. 

(•^)  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom.— The  Apostle 
passes  on  to  the  thouglit  of  heavenly  wisdom ;  not  tho 
knowledge  of  the  deep  things  of  God,  but  that  which 
is  able  to  make  us  wise  unto  our  latter  end  (Prov.  xix. 


20).  Few  may  be  able,  save  in  self-conceit,  to  say 
with  Isaiah  (chap.  1.  4),  "The  Lord  God  hath  given  me 
the  tongue  of  the  leai-ned ;  "  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  wisest  and  most  gifted  of  men  may  truly  be 
wanting  in  tlie  wisdom  descending  from  above. 

Let  him  ask  of  God. — But  whoever,  learned  or 
unlearned,  feels  in  his  heart  the  need  of  the  knowledge 
of  God,  since  to  know  Him  '•  is  eternal  life "  (John 
xvii.  3),  "  let  him  ask  "'  for  it  iu  all  purity  of  intention, 
simply,  i.e.,  for  His  honom- and  serv-ice,  "audit  .shall 
be  given  him." 

That  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and  up- 
braideth  not. — ''Liberally"  had  better,  perhaps,  bo 
clianged  to  simply — i.e.,  God  gives  fully  and  directly, 
and  reproaclietli  (or,  "  upbraideth  ")  not  the  utterance  of 
such  a  prayer,  in  no  way  detracting  from  the  gracious- 
uess  of  His  gifts.  How  wide  the  difference  from  any 
generosity  of  man  !  "  Yea,"  wrote  Dante,  in  exile  at 
Verona, 

"...  thou  shalt  learn  how  salt  his  food,  wlio  fares 
Upon  another's  bread. — how  stcop  his  path. 
Who  treadelh  up  and  down  another's  staire." 


son   of  Sirach,   "giveth 
.  .,  aud  is  hated  of  God 


"Tlie  fool,"  said  the  wise 
little,  and  ui^braide'li  much  , 
aud  man"  (Ecclus.  xx.  15). 

(•J)  But  let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  waver- 
ing.— Surely  this  verse  alone  would  i-edeem  the  Apostle 
from  the  charge  of  slighting  the  claims  of  faith.  It 
is  here  pttt  in  the  very  forefront  of  necessity ;  without 
it  all  prayer  is  useless.     And  mark  the  addition — 

Nothing  wavering.— Or,  doubting  nothing :  re- 
echoing the  words  of  otir  Saviour  to  the  wondermg 
disciples,  as  they  gazed  at  the  withered  fig-tree  on  the 
road  to  Bethany  (Matt.  xxi.  21).  This  "doubting"  is 
the  halting  between  belief  and  unbelief,  ■with  inclina- 
tion towards  the  latter.  But  it  may  be  asked  by  some 
one,  whence  and  how  is  an  unhesitating  faith  to  bo 
gained  ?  And  the  reply  to  this  will  solve  all  similar 
questions  :  faith,  in  its  first  sense,  is  the  direct  gift  of 
God;  but  it  must  be  tended  and  tised  with  love  aud 
zeal,  or  its  precious  faculties  will  soon  be  gone.  In  the 
hour  of  some  besetting  thought  of  unbelief  "  the  .shield 
of  faith "  will  "  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked  "  (Eph.  vi.  16),  but  that  shield  must  be  lifted 
ui),  as  it  were,  in  an  act  of  faith.  "  There  is  no  God — 
at  least,  to  care  for  me,"  may  be  the  hopeless  cry, 
responsive  to  a  cruel  wound  of  tho  enemy.  Let  the 
battle-hymn  of  the  Christian  make  quick  answer,  "  I 
believe  in  God ; "  and  often,  with  that  very  effort,  the 
assault  wnll  cease  for  awhile.  Further,  let  us  take 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  intellectual  is  not  moral 
doubt :  the  unorthodox  are  not  as  the  adulterous 
Nevertheless,  intellectual  doubt  may  spring  from  an 
evil  habit  of  carping  critici.sm  and  self-opinion,  for  the 
foundation  of  which,  in  so  far  as  a  man  himself  has 
been  either  the  wilful  or  the  careless  cause,  he  must 
bear  the  curse  of  its  results. 

For  he  that  wavereth  (or,  douMeth)  is  like  a 
wave  of  the  sea  driven  with  the  wind  and 


356 


Against  Mistrust  in  God. 


JAMES,   I. 


Of  lowliness  of  Hind. 


sea  driven  with  the  Avind  and  tossed. 
(7)  For  let  not  that  man  think  that  he 
shall  receive  any  thing  of  the  Lord. 
(S)  A  double  minded  man  is  unstable 
in  all  his  Avays. 

(^)  Let  the  brother  of  low  degree  re- 


1  Or,  (jlonj. 


joice^  in  that  he  is  exalted:  ^^°^  but  the 
rich,  in  that  he  is  made  q^  •  g  _ 
low :  because  as  the  flower  ii.  Of  lowiy- 
of  the  grass  he  shall  pass  mi^dedness. 
away.  ^^^^  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner 
risen    with    a    burning    heat,    but    it 


tossed. — Donhteth  is  preferable  to  "  wavereth  "  ;  there 
is  uo  play  ou  the  G  reek  words,  as  iu  the  English  text — 
"  wavereth  "  autl  "  wave."  Like  storm-beaten  sailors, 
the  tloubtfiil  are  "  carried "  up  to  heaven  and  down 
again  to  the  deep ;  their  soul  melteth  away  because  of 
the  trouble  (Ps.  cvii.  26).  And  who  can  descrilji^  the 
terror,  even  of  the  faithful,  in  those  hours  of  darkness 
when  the  face  of  the  Lord  is  hidden ;  when,  as  with 
the  disciples  of  old,  the  ship  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  tossed  with  the  bitter  waves.  Nevertheless,  the 
raging  wind  will  clear  the  lieavens  soon  from  clouds, 
and  by  the  radiance  of  the  peaceful  moon  we  too 
may  behold  our  Helper  near — the  Lord  Jesus  walking 
ou  the  sea — and  if  He  come  into  the  ship  the  storm 
umst  cease. 

(7)  Once  more  the  Apostle  Avarns  the  doubtful, 
holding  out  no  hope  of  help  until  the  wavering  mind 
be  tixed  on  God. 

(8)  The  eighth  A'crse  had  better  be  joined  with  the 
seventh,  and  punctuated  thus : — Let  not  that  man 
think  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the  Lord  : — double- 
minded,  unstable  in  all  his  ways.  The  reason  why  he 
can  obtain  nothing  is  because  he  is  a  man  of  two  minds, 
and  by  consequence  imcertain  in  his  ways.  The  words, 
apparently  are  those  of  a  proverb.  It  is  useless  to 
have,  as  it  were,  two  hearts,  one  lifted  up  to  God,  the 
other  turned  away.  '*  Come  not  unto  Him  with  a 
double  heart  "  (Ecclus.  i.  28  ;  and  comp.  Matt.  vi.  2i). 

(9—11)  Lowly-mindedness  is  the  subject  of  the  next 
paragraph.  There  is  wide  misapprehension  of  our  state  of 
trial :  the  poor  and  humble  are  apt  to  forget  the  honour 
thus  vouchsafed  to  tliem,  wortliier  in  truth  than  the 
Avealth  of  this  world,  which  quickly  fades  away ;  and 
the  rich  and  noble  are  often  unmiudfid  of  the  true 
source  of  their  dignity,  aiul  that  "  unto  whomsoever 
much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much  required  "  (Luke 
xii.  48). 

C^)  Let  the  brother  of  low  degree  rejoice  in 
that  he  is  exalted  (or,  better,  in  his  exaltation). — 
Tliero  is  uo  praise  from  the  plain  St.  James  for  the 
pride  which  apes  humility,  nor  tlie  affectation  which 
loves  to  bo  despised.  If  it  please  God  to  "  exalt."  as 
of  old,  "  the  humble  and  meek,"  tlien  anew  should  be 
sung  a  magnificat  to  Him.  The  lowly-minded  doubt  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  "How  shall  this  be  ?"  (Luke  i.  24). 
was  not  reproved  by  the  angel ;  while  the  question  of 
blunt  incredulity  on  the  part  of  Zacharias  was  severely 
punished  (Luke  i.  20),  and  this  diverse  treatment  tlnis 
experienced  was  deserved  iu  either  case.  Both  doubted, 
yet  quite  differently,  and  she  of  the  lower  degree 
rejoiced  most  iu  God  her  Saviour  for  regarding  tlio 
lowliness  of  His  handmaiden  (Luke  i.  47, 48i.  Willing- 
ness thus  for  Christ's  serA*ice,  whether  it  be  great  or 
little,  is  the  right  condition  of  miiul  for  all  disciples, 
and  specially  tlie  young,  with  readiness,  nay  gladness. 
for  "duty  m  that  state  of  life  unto  whicli  it  shtdl 
please  God  to  call  them."  Pleasure  will  be  naturally 
lelt  by  most  at  the  prospect  of  a  rise  in  the  world; 
but  there  are  some  finer  spirits  who  fain  would  slirink 
from  anything  like  exaltation ;  and  to  these  the  kindly 


357 


Apostle  writes  that  they  may  take  heart,  and  not  fear 
the  greater  dangers  which  of  necessity  accompany  a 
higher  call. 

(1*^)  But  the  rich,  in  that  he  is  made  low  (or, 
better,  in  his  humiludion). — And,  ou  the  other  hand, 
let  a  change  of  state  be  a  cause  of  joy  to  the  ricli  man, 
hard  though  the  effort  thereto  must  confessedly  be. 

There  is  an  antithesis  between  his  humiliation  and 
the  humility  of  "  the  brother  of  low  degree :  "  ''  God 
putteth  doAATi  one,  and  setteth  up  another"  (Ps.  Ixxv. 
7).  Such  seems  to  be  the  primary  meaning  of  this 
passage,  though,  doubtless,  there  is  a  more  spiritual 
siguiticance  underlying,  which  would  teach  the  poorest 
that  he  may  be  "  rich  toward  God,"  and  win  from  the 
most  wealthy  the  acknowledgment  of  his  deep  poverty 
beside  the  Lord  of  all  "  good  treasure  "  (Dent,  xxviii.  12 ). 
"  I  know  thy  poverty,"  said  the  Spirit  unto  the  Church 
in  Smyrna,  "  but  thou  art  rich  "  (Rev.  ii.  9) ;  and  to 
the  Laodiceans,  "  Thou  sayest,  I  am  rich  .  .  .,  but  thou 
art  poor"  (Rev.  iii.  17). 

Because  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he  shall 
pass  away. — No  more  simple  and  striking  simile  of 
human  instability  and  vanity  can  be  found  than  "  the 
grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morroAV  is 
cast  into  the  oven  "  (Matt.  vi.  30) ;  and  the  thought 
suggests  a  picture  to  the  mind  of  the  writer,  which  he 
draws  Avith  strong  and  yet  most  tender  lines.  Our 
English  A-ersiou  misses  the  setting  of  his  graceful  idyl, 
the  exquisite  beauty  of  Avhich  can  hardly  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  Greek ;  but  the  following  attemjjt  is 
at  least  nearer  the  original : — 

(11)  For  the  sun  is  no  sooner  risen  .  .  . — 
Translate,  the  sun  arose  wiY/t  tJte  burning  heat,  and 
dried  ujy  the  grass;  and  the  fioiocr  thereof  fell  aioay, 
and  the  grace  of  its  fashion  i^erished.  The  grace,  the 
loveHness,  the  delicacy  of  its  form  and  feature — lite- 
rally, of  its  face — Avithered  and  died  away.  Often 
must  the  Apostle  haAC  seen  such  an  effect  of  the  fiery 
Eastern  sun,  scorching  with  its  pitiless  glare  the  rich 
verdure  of  the  Avilderness ;  and  in  his  ear,  perchance, 
was  the  cry  of  Isaiah  (chap.  xl.  6 — 8) : — 

"  All  flesh  is  grass  : 
And  all  the  goodliness  tliercof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field. 
The  grass  withereth ; 
Tlio  flower  fadcth  ; 
Because  the  Hpirit  of  the  Lord  hlowcth  upon  it: 
—Surely  the  people  is  grass. 
The  grass  witlierclh ; 
The  liower  fadeth  ; 
But  the  Word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever." 

So  also  (or,  thus)  shaU  the  rich  man  fade 
away  (or,  wither)  in  his  ways.— Not  the  rich 
brother,  observe,  is  to  fade  thus,  though  his  Avealtli 
will  so  pass  aAvay.  The  Avaniing  is  rather  (as  in  Mark 
X.  24)  "  for  them  that  trust  in  riches."  Even  "  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,"  Avell  used,  Avill  make 
for  us  "friends  that  may  receiA-e  us  into  everlasting 
habitations  "  (Luke  XA-i.  9).  And  lie  who,  out  of  the 
possessions  whereAvith  God  has  blessed  him,  •' dcA-iseth 
liberal  things,  by  liberal  tilings  shall  stand  "  (Isa.  xxxii. 
8).  There  seems,  moreover,  looking  closely  at  the  text, 
a  special  fitness  iu  its  exact  Avords :  for  they  mean  that 


Tlie  Vanity  of  Riches. 


JAMES,   I. 


The  Blessedness  of  Endurance. 


withereth  the  grass,  and  the  flower 
thereof  fiilleth,  and  the  grace  of  the 
fashion  of  it  perisheth :  so  also  shall  the 
rich  man  fade  away  in  his  ways. 

(1-)  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth 
temptation  :  for  when  he  is  tried,  he 
shall  receive  the   crown  of  life,  which 


1  Or,  eviU. 


the  Lord  hath  promised  to 
them  that  love  him.  (^3)  Let  Se&isld^Jfs 
no  man  say  when  he  is  of  endurance 
tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  Zf^  ^^^ 
God :  for  God  cannot  be  tions,  and  the 
tempted  with  eviL^  neither  difference  be- 
,  ,,11  tween  the  two. 

tempteth    he     any    man  : 


tlie  rich  sliall  iH'rish  in  tlicir  jourueyiugs  for  the  sake 
of  gain  ;  ami  to  no  people  coukl  the  rebuke  apply  more 
sharply  than  to  the  Jews,  the  hinders  unto  "many 
nations"  (Dcut.  xv.  6),  the  merchants  and  l)aukers  of 
tlie  world.  Nor  can  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  uu- 
sheatlied  from  this  Word  of  God  (Eph.  vi.  17),  bo 
without  an  edge  for  those  of  us  in  these  latter  thues 
who  err  in  the  foi-mer  ways. 

(12—18)  The  Apostle  returns  to  the  consideration  of 
(lie  afflicted  Christian.  Such  a  one  has  a  blessedness, 
greater  infinitely  than  any  earthly  happiness,  already 
in  possession,  and  the  promise  of  a  future  beyond  all 
comparison. 

It  may  be  well  to  point  out  in  this  place  that  tlie  idea 
of  blessedness  with  regard  to  man  is  conveyed  to  us  in 
the  New  Testament  by  a  different  word  from  that 
■wliich  expresses  the  like  concerning  God.  The  force 
of  this  may  be  seen  in  Mark  xiv.  6l,  where  the  high 
priest  asks  our  Lord,  "  Art  Thou  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  Blessed  ?  "  i.e.,  the  Blessed  God,  to  show  which  the 
adjective  is  rightly  printed  with  a  capital  letter.  The 
word  applied  to  God — as  in  Luke  i.  68;  Rom.  i.  25;  ix. 
5 ;  2  Cor  i.  3 ;  xi.  31 ;  Eph.  i.  3 ;  1  Pet.  i.  3— may  be 
almost  called  a  Christian  one ;  at  least,  it  is  not  foimd 
in  mucli  earlier  writings,  whereas  the  other  term  de- 
scriptive of  man's  blessedness  (or  rather,  happiness)  is 
ancient  and  classical.  Only  in  one  passage  (1  Tim.  i. 
11)  is  tliere  an  exception  to  this  remarkable  distinction; 
and  such  may  well  be  considered,  as  it  is  by  the  German 
critic  De  Wette,  wu-^JrtHZiHe,  though  on  no  such  a  single 
instance,  or  even  several  such,  could  the  super.structure 
bo  built  that  has  Ijcen  raised  up  by  those  who  deny  the 
genuineness  of  the  Pa.storal  Epistles. 

(12)  Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  tempta- 
tion. -  Surely  the  Apostle  links  such  Ijlessedness  with 
the  nine  Beatitudes,  heard  in  the  happy  days  gone  by 
upon  the  Mount  with  Christ  (Matt.  v.  3—11).  The 
words  ho  uses  in  the  original  are  the  same  as  those 
which  arc  expressed  above,  in  our  second,  third,  and 
fourth  verses,  by  "  patience  "  and  "  trials,"  and  mean 
a  firm  endurance,  steatlfastncss,  tenacity  of  purpose,  and 
quenchless  enthusiasm,  such  as  men  of  Teutonic  blood 
can  appreciate  perhai)s  even  better  than  could  either 
Greek  or  Jew. 

For  when  he  is  tried  ( literally,  proved,  or  tested, 
and  found  K-ortlnj)  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of 
life,  {i.e.,  the  life)  which  the  Lord  hath  promised 
to  them  that  love  him.—-  Lord  '  is  not  found  in 
the  best  MSS.,  but  of  course  is  required  by  the  sense 
of  the  passage.  Probably  in  this  case,  as  in  so  many 
others,  a  little  note-or  "gloss,"  as  it  is  called— was 
made  on  tlio  margin  of  an  early  manuscript,  and  in- 
cluded unwittingly  in  the  text  by  some  later  copyist. 

The  "  pride  "  and  "  Ijcauty  "  of  the  worldling  are  as 
"  a  faduig  tiower  "  (Isa.  xxviii.  1)  under  the  .scorching 
sun ;  l)ut  the  unfading,  ever-li\-ing  crown  is  for  the 
spiritual,  the  true  lovers  of  their  Lord  :  blessed  in 
truth  are  they  who  thus  eudure  the  trial.  "  Therefore." 
says  the   Book  of   "Wisdom  (,chap.  v.  10),  '-shall  tliey 


receive  a  glorious  kingdom,  and  a  beautiful  crown  from 
the  Lord's  hand."  "  The  righteous  live  for  evermore  " 
(Wisd.  V.  15). 

(1^)  Let  no  man  say  when  he  is  tempted,  I 
am  tempted  of  God.— Far  be  it  from  the  true 
Christian  either  to  give  way  to  sin  "  that  grace  may 
abound"  (Rom.  \i.  1),  or  to  suppose  for  one  moment 
that  God,  and  therefore  jjower  invincible,  is  drawing 
him  from  righteousness.  Almost  every  reflection  upon 
the  nature  of  sin  leads  up  to  an  inquiry  as  to  its  cause ; 
and  the  enigma  will  hardly  be  solved  in  this  life.  The 
very  facts  of  the  presence  of  evil  amongst  God's 
creatiu-es,  and  its  continual  attraction  even  for  the  best, 
have  often  driven  men  to  doubt  His  supremacy.  Sadly 
• — how  c<in  we  of  charity  think  other\vise  ? — some  have 
felt  the  pain,  but  not  the  purpose  of  the  world.  At 
times  they  cannot  see  in  nature  "  the  work  of  a  Being 
at  once  good  and  omnipotent,"  and  prefer  to  doubt 
the  latter  quality  sooner  than  the  former.*  But  this 
nineteenth-century  conclusion  is  no  advance  beyond  the 
dual  system  of  the  Persians,  or  rather,  of  Manes,  who 
corrupted  with  his  Indian  fancies  the  faith  of  Zoroaster. 
The  Mauichees  settled  the  difficulty  better  than  our 
Deists  l)y  declaring  the  existence  of  a  good  God  and  a 
bad  one ;  and  appealed  to  the  daily  strife  between 
A'irtue  and  vice,  nay,  life  and  death,  in  witness  of  their 
simple  creed.  Thanks  to  the  gosi^el,  a  nobler  theology 
is  our  Christian  heritage,  whereby  we  are  persuaded 
that  good  will  triumph  at  the  last,  and  by  which  we  aro 
taught  humility  Avithal  to  own  that  God's  ways  in  so  per- 
mitting and  overworking  cAdl  are  beyond  man's  compre- 
hension. And  a  better  scejiticism  remains  for  us  than 
that  of  the  Theist,  or  Agnostic  either  ;  a  disbelief  more 
vehement  that  here  can  be  the  end,  since  in  this  life  we 
experience  in  no  sense  the  rewards  of  just  and  imjust 
to  the  full. 

For  God  cannot  be  tempted  with  evil.— We 
can  see  here  a  good  instance  of  the  excellence  of  the 
old  Geneva  Bible,  "the  first  on  several  occasions  to 
si'ize  the  exact  meaning  of  a  passage  which  all  the  pre- 
ceding versions  had  missed."  Our  present  rendering 
follows  the  Genevan  exactly,  rejecting  those  of  Wiclif, 
"  God  is  not  a  tempter  of  yuell  things  " ;  TjTidale,  "  God 
tempteth  not  vnto  e\-yll " ;  and  Craumer,  "  God  cannot 
tempte  vnto  euyll." 

Neither  tempteth  he  any  man.— The  trial  comes 
of  Him,  i.e.,  the  Tempter  is  allowed;  but  so  far,  and  no 
further,  God  Himself  is  "  unversed  of  evils,"  and  no 
Ijossibility  of  temptation  remains  Avith  Him.  Into  the 
unseen  splendour  of  His  fulness  no  thought  of  wrong 
can  enter  ;  no  foul  thing  wing  its  silent  flight.  It  were 
blasphemy,  perilously  near  that  of  the  Pharisees  (Matt, 
xii.  22 — 37)  to  think  God's  khigdom  could  be  so  divided 
against  itself,  that  He,  directly  or  indirectly,  should 
seduce  His  subjects  into  the  revolt  of  sin.  No ;  if  we 
have  one  golden  clue  by  which  we  may  feel  our  erring 
way  out  of  the  labyrinth  of  this  lower  world  into  the 


*  Specially  see  J.  S.  Mill's   "Three  Essays  on  Religion," 
Xatiire,  p.  38. 


ion 


The  Effect  of  Lust. 


JAMES,   I. 


God  the  Giver  of  all  Good. 


(i'^)  but  every  man  is  tempted,  -when 
he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  hist, 
and  enticed.  (^^)  Then  when  hist  hath 
conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin :  and 
sin,  when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth 
death. 


(^^^  Do  not  eri',  my  beloved  brethren. 
(17)  Every    good    gift    and 
every  perfect  gift  is  from  S^^ilmont 
above,    and   cometh   down  from       God's 
from  the  Father  of  Hghts,  unchangeable- 

°      .     ness. 
With    whom     IS    no    van- 


belief  aud  trust  iu  God  our  Father  for  the  life  to  come, 
it  is  this :  trials  aud  temptatious  are  permitted  to 
streugtheu  us — if  we  will — for  His  mightier  ser\ice. 
Aud,  as  compulsory  homage  would  bo  worthless  to  the 
loviug  Lord  of  all,  voluntary  must  be  found  instead, 
aud  proved  and  ijerfected.  Herein  is  the  Christian 
conflict,  and  the  secret  of  God's  ways  with  man. 

(1^)  So  far  the  inspired  Apostle  has  spoken  of  the 
outward  part  of  temptation ;  now  he  lays  l^are  the 
inner — for  we  suffer  the  two-fold  evil.  From  without 
come  the  whispers  of  Satan,  by  himself  or  his  legion- 
aries, skilled  in  all  tliat  may  entice  and  delude  the 
unwary  soul.  And  if  the  doctrine  be  true  tliat  to 
every  one  a  guardian  angel  is  appointed,  so  also  would 
seem  to  be  the  opposite  idea,  that  each  has  some  demon 
of  the  pit  watching  liim  incessantly,  and  commissioned 
specially  for  his  utter  destruction.  How  terrible  must 
be  the  skill  of  such  assailants,  experienced  in  the  ai'ts 
wliich  have  deceived  mankind  since  the  first  fatal  day. 
But  there  is  the  limit  of  external  power  iu  this  matter  ; 
the  ablest  and  subtlest  fiend  can  but  guess  what  is 
passing  in  its  victim's  mind,  and  shape  its  snares 
accordingly.  God  oidy  is  the  discerner  of  hearts,  and 
the  "  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  "  alone,  with  its 
Maker,  "  kuoweth  the  things  of  a  man"  (1  Cor.  ii.  11). 
The  Holy  Spirit  "  searchetli  all  things"  (verso  10),  and 
all  are  manifest  in  His  sight  (Heb.  iv.  13),  but  to  no 
less  than  His  own  omniscience.  Satan,  therefore,  can 
merely  act  on  his  general  knowledge  of  human  uature, 
aided  by  particidar  guesses  at  the  individual  before 
him,  whom  he  fain  would  destroy.  He  lias  learned  too 
well  the  deep  corruption  of  the  heart,  and  knows  what 
gaudy  bait  will  most  attract  the  longing  and  licentious 
eyes. 

Every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn 
away  of  (or,  hy)  his  own  lust,  and  enticed.— 
Evil  humanity  thrills  responsive  as  a  \\iiv\)  played  by  a 
cunning  hand ;  but  no  power  of  hell  can  force  its  way 
through  tlic  barriers  Avhich  God  the  Ho]y  Ghost  erects 
arouud  the  faitliful  and  confiding  soul :  only  by  treason 
of  the  man  himself  can  the  great  enemy  enter  iu  and 
reign. 

(16)  Then  when  lust  have  conceived  .  .  .  . — 
Then  come  the  downward  steps  of  ruin — Lust,  having 
conceived,  bringeth  forth  .sin;  and  sin,  when  it  is 
finished,  bringeth  forth  death.  The  imago  well  depicts 
the  repellent  subject.  The  .small  beginning,  from  some 
vain  delight  or  worldly  lust  and  pleasure;  next  from 
tlio  vile  embrace,  as  of  an  harlot — sin,  growing  in  all 
its  rank  luxuriance,  until  it  bear  and  engender,  horribly, 
of  itself,  its  deadly  child.  The  word  of  parturition  is 
frightful  in  the  sense  it  would  convey,  a.s  of  some 
monstrous  deformity,  a  hideous  progeny  ten-fold  more 
cursed  than  its  begetter. 

The  one  effect  of  sin,  more  especially  that  of  the 
flesh  here  alluded  to,  must  bo  Death.  Tlie  act  itself 
is  mortiferous,  the  result  inevitable ;  just  as  much  so. 
and  as  naturally,  as  the  work  of  poison  on  the  body. 
Tliere  are  antidotes  for  both,  but  thoy  must  be  given  in 
time ;  the  door  of  mercy  stands  not  always  open,  nor 


359 


AviU  the  "  fountain  opened  .  .  .  for  sin  and  unclean- 
ness  "  (Zech.  xiii.  1)  flow  on  for  ever.  "  Because,"  says 
the  Wisdom  of  God  (Prov.  ii.  24 — 26),  "  I  have  called, 
and  ye  refused  .  .  .  I  also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity." 
"  The  wages  of  sin  is  death  "  (Rom.  vi.  23),  and  their 
paymaster  is  the  devil. 

(I'j)  Do  not  err,  my  beloved  brethren.— Thus 
far  James  the  Wise  has  declared  what  God  is  not,  what 
qualities  are  alien  to  Him ;  but  this  is  only  a  negative 
aspect  of  the  truth,  and  he  now  would  show  the  posi- 
tive— namely,  that  God  is  the  Author  of  all  and  every 
good.  And  this  lesson  he  introduces  with  a  caution  to 
his  brethren  beloved,  not  to  err.  He  is  most  earnest 
aud  emphatic.  "  Be  not  ye  deceived,"  however  much 
the  world  may  wander  in  delusive  paths.  A  marked 
change  from  the  dreadful  tenor  of  the  last  Aersc  is 
here  made  to  bright  reflections  on  the  gifts  of  God; 
and  a  new  incentive  to  endurance  is  found  in  the 
happy  thoughts  of  His  goodness. 

(17)  Every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is 
from  above.— This  beautiful  sentence,  more  musical 
still  in  the  Greek,  is  thought  to  be  the  fragment  of 
some  Christian  hymn.  Two  words  are  translated  by 
our  one  "  gift  " ;  the  first  is  rather  the  act  of  giving, 
the  second  the  gift  itself,  and  the  effect  of  both  together 
is  a  climax  to  the  statement  of  God's  benevolence. 
The  difference  between  the  two  is  observed  in  the 
Genevan  version  of  1557.  "  Thei*e  are  diversities  of 
gifts  "  (1  Cor.  xii.  4),  even  as  "  one  star  differeth  from 
another  star  in  glory  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  41),  but  "  the  same 
Spirit"  is  the  giver  of  all.  Where  in  St.  John's  Gos- 
pel (chap.  iii.  1)  we  read,  "Except  a  man  be  born  again," 
the  most  probable  meaning  is  "  from  above,"  expressed 
exactly  as  in  the  present  case;  and  thus  we  know  whence 
is  the  true  birth  of  the  soul. 

Cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights.— 
Great  difference  of  opinion  is  found  concerning  these 
"  lights,"  whether  the  term  be  figurative,  as  of  goodness 
or  wisdom;  or  a  reference  to  the  mysterious  Urim  (Ex. 
xxviii.  30,  et  seq.)  which  flamed  on  the  breast  of  Aaron; 
or  spiritual,  as  of  grace  and  glory;  or  material,  viz., 
the  "  lights  "  set  "  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  "  (Gen. 
i.  14,  15)  "  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together " 
(Job  xxxviii.  7).  It  were  not  amiss  to  take  the  whole 
of  these  interpretations,  for  they,  and  perhaps  others, 
tlio  purport  of  which  we  as  yet  can  barely  guess,  are 
included  in  this  Scripture.  '•  God,"  remarks  Bishop 
Wordswortli,  "is  the  Father  of  all  lights — the  light 
of  the  natural  world,  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  stars,  shining 
in  the  lieavens ;  the  light  of  reason  and  conscience ;  tho 
light  of  His  Law  ;  the  light  of  prophecy,  shining  in  a 
dark  place ;  the  light  of  the  gospel  shining  throughout 
tho  world  ;  the  light  of  apostles,  confessors,  martyrs, 
bishops,  aiul  priests,  preaching  that  gospel  to  all 
nations;  tho  light  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost  shining  in  our 
hearts ;  the  light  of  the  heavenly  city  ;  God  is  the 
Father  of  them  all.  He  is  the  everlasting  Fatlier  of 
the  evei-lavsting  Son,  who  is  the  Light  of  the  world." 
But  that  the  mind  of  tlie  sacred  writer  was  mainly  on 
tlie  lights  of  the  material  universe  may  be  seen  from 
his  next  thought. 


God's  Unchanyeahlenesx, 

ableiiess,  neither  shadow  of  turning. 
(18)  Of  his  own  will  bogat  he  us  with 
the  word  of  truth,  that  we  should  be 
a  kind  of  tirstfruits  of  his  creatures. 

(ly;  Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren, 
let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak,  slow  to  wrath  :   ^-^'^  for  the  Avrath 


JAMES,    I.  a^^d  Man! 8  Duty  to  Him. 


of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness 
of  God.  (-1'  Wherefore  lay  ^hap.  i.  i9-2i. 
apart  all  filthiness  and  Appeals  there- 
superfluity  of  naughtiness,  '^^  -^^ess 
and  receive  with  meekness  and  steadfast- 
the  engrafted  word,  which  ^'^^^• 
is  able  to  save  your  souls. 


"With  whom  is  no  variableness,  neither 
shadow  of  tiirning.— The  pliraseology  is  almost 
scii'iitilie.  TIutc  are  chaiifjes,  literally  "  parallaxes,"  of 
tlm  heavenly  bodies  themselves,  and  eclipses  one  of 
another  hy  sliadows  projected  through  space,  but  no 
such  varialjleness  vriWx  God,  nor  changing  of  faintest 
shade.  And  even  further,  the  gi-eatest  and  most  mar- 
vellous of  His  works  on  high  "  must  be  dissolved " 
(liPet.  iii.  11 K  "the  sun  darkened,  the  moon  not  give 
lier  light,  the  stars  fall  from  heaven  "  (Matt.  xxiv.  29),  and 
tlie  lieavens  themselves  "be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll  " 
(Is;i.  xxxiv.  4).  But  if  "  the  things  which  are  seen  are 
temporal,  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal" 
(2  Cor.  iv.  18).  "I  am  the  Lord,"  is  the  burden  of 
His  latest  prophet;  "I  change  not"  (Mai.  iii.  (!). 

(i«  Of  his  own  will  begat  he  us  with  the  word 
of  truth. — There  is  a  greater  witness  to  God's  good- 
ness than  that  which  is  written  upon  the  dome  of 
Leaven,  even  the  i-egeneratiou  of  man.  As  tlie  old 
creation  wius  "  Ijy  the  Word"  (John  i.  3,  10,  et  scq.),  the 
new  is  by  Him  also,  the  Logos,  the  Word  of  Truth, 
and  tliat  by  means  of  His  everlasting  gospel,  delivered 
in  the  power  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost.  So  tenderly  is  this 
declared,  tliat  a  maternal  phrase  is  used — God  hrouglit 
iis forth  in  the  new  birth;  and  though  "  a  woman"  may 
forget  "  the  son  of  her  womb  "  ( Isa.  xlix.  15),  yet  will 
He  "  never  leave,  nor  forsake  "  1  Heb.  xiii.  5). 

That  we  should  be  a  kind  of  flrstfruit  of 
his  creatures.— And  wliy  this  mercy  and  loving- 
kindness  ?  for  our  own  sakes,  or  for  others  and  for 
His  ?  Surely  tlio  latter;  and  "  if  the  firstfruit  be  holy, 
the  lump  is  also  holy  "  ( Rom.  xi.  16 ).  We  know  ''  Who  is 
tlio  firstborn  of  every  creature  "  (Col.  i.  15)  "  the  first- 
bogotten  of  the  dead  "  ( Rev.  i.  5),  nay,  "  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  of  God  "  (Rev.  iii.  14);  "and  wo  are 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  "  (Eph.  ii.  10),  become  new  in 
Him  (comp.  2  Cor.  v.  17;  Gal.  vi.  15),  made  tlio 
firstfruits  of  His  redemption ;  and,  moreover,  it  would 
seem  wo  arc  tlio  sign  of  the  deliverance  promised  to  the 
brute  creation  "Avhich  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of 
the  sons  of  God  "  (Rom.  viii.  19,  21).  The  longing  for 
a  future  perfection  is  shared  by  all  created  beings  upon 
earth,  and  their  discontent  at  present  imperfection  points 
to  another  state  freed  from  evil  (Rom.  viii.  18—22). 
"  Tlie  creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly, 
but  by  reason  of  Him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in 
hope  "  (Rom.  viii.  20).  And  the  fruition  of  this  hope  is 
foresliadowed  in  the  words  above.  "  The  very  struggles," 
it  lias  been  well  observed  by  Dean  Howsuii.  "  which  all 
animated  bi-iiigs  make  against  ))ain  and  death  show  that 
pain  and  death  are  not  a  part  of  the  proper  laws  of  their 
nature,  but  rather  a  bondage  imposed  upim  them  from 
without ;  thus  everv  groan  and  fear  is  an  unconscious 
jirophecy  of  liberation  from  the  power  of  evil."  "  The 
creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered  "  is  the  plain  asser- 
tion of  St.  Paul  (Rom.  viii.  21);  comparing  his  with 
that  of  St.  James,  we  must  conclude  that  they  point  to 
all  nature,  animate  and  inanimate  as  well.  "  We  look 
for  new  heavens  and  a  new  eaith,  wherein  dwelleth 


righteousness  "  (2  Pet.  iii.  13),  and  "  there  shall  be  no 
more  death     .     .     .    nor  any  more  pain  "  (Rev.  xxi.  4). 

"All  creation  groans  and  travails  ; 
Thou,  O  Lord,  shall  hear  its  groan, 
For  of  man,  and  aU  creation. 
Thou  alike  art  Lord  alone." 

(19)  We  come  now  to  the  third  subdi\ision  of  the 
chapter.  By  reason  of  the  Divine  benevolence,  the 
Apostle  urges  his  readers — (1)  to  meekness,  (2)  self- 
knowledge,  (3)  practical  religion. 

Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethen.— There  ap- 
pears to  be  some  small  error  in  the  MSS.  here,  but  the 
alteration  is  only  just  worth  mentioning  :  yc  knoiv  viy 
brethren  beloved,  seems  the  correct  version,  the  very 
abniptness  of  which  may  serve  to  arrest  attention. 
Yea,  "  have  ye  not  known  ? "  might  weU  be  asked 
further  in  the  indignant  language  of  Isaiah  (chap.  xl. 
21  ;  comp.  Rom.  v.  19). 

Let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak,  slow  to  wrath. — For  all  these  cautions  are 
required  in  the  building  up  of  the  new  life.  "  The 
quick  speaker  is  the  quick  kiudler ; "  and  we  are  told 
later  on  "  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth " 
(chap.  iii.  5).  And  what  have  we  at  all  to  do  with 
wrath,  much  less  that  our  whole  fife — as  imhappily  it 
often  is — should  l)e  wasted  with  such  bitterness  ? 
Anger,  no  doubt,  is  a  wholesome  tonic  for  some  minds, 
and  certain  weaknesses ;  but  "  he  that  is  slow  to  anger 
is  better  than  the  mighty,  and  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit 
than  he  that  taketh  a  city"  (Prov.  x^-i.  32). 

(2u)  For  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the 
righteousness  of  God.— Sarcastically  rings  the 
context.  Perhaps  there  is  still  a  sharper  point  to  the 
satire  :  the  wratli  of  man  does  not  work  God's  righte- 
ousness "  to  the  full."  The  warning  may  well  bo 
soimded  in  the  oars  of  Christians  stiU,  who  are  not  less 
apt  than  Jonah  of  old  to  say  quickly  and  in  self -excuse, 
"  I  do  weU  to  bo  angry"  (Jonah  iv.  9).  How  many  a 
holy  work  of  household  and  parish  has  been  and  is 
thus  hindered  and  destroyed ;  and  if  the  golden  words 
of  the  first  bishop  of  the  Church  had  been  heeded 
better,  there  never  had  appeared  one  page  of  her  long 
history  blotted  wMh  the  blood  of  a  religious  war. 

(-1)  Wherefore  lay  apart  all  filthiness  and 
superfluity  of  naughtiness.— So  Peter  (1  Pet.  iii.  2) 
speaks  of  "  the  filth  of  the  tiesh."  But  the  defilement 
here  referred  to  seems  general  and  not  special,  common, 
that  is,  to  the  whole  natural  man.  Tlio  sui)erabundance 
— tlie  overgrowth — of  evil  will  occujiy  the  heart,  if 
care  be  not  taken  to  root  it  out ;  and.  like  the  thorns  in 
the  parable  of  the  sower  (Matt.  xiii.  7,  et  seq.),  spring 
uji  and  choke  the  good  seed.  All  such  a  rank  and 
poisonous  crop  must  be  gathered  and  laid  aside,  in 
heaps  may  be,  for  some  fiery  trouble  to  consume,  that 
out  of  the  dead  luxuriant  weeds  a  richer  soil  for  virtue 
may  be  made. 

Naughtiness  {ne-anghtiness,  or  iwthingness)  was 
used  in  IGll,  instead  of  the  older  and  more  correct 


860 


Tlie  Dawjer  of  Sdf-deception. 


JAMES,  I. 


The  Lava  of  Liberty. 


(22)  But  be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and 

not  hearers  only,  deceiving 

Furt^;i'';fu:  your  own  selves.     ^^^  For 

tion  as  to  the  if  any  be  a  hearer  of  the 

orseii!'''''^^'^^''  word,  and  not  a  doer,  he 
is  like  unto  a  man  behold- 
ing his  natural  face  in  a  glass :    (-^^  for 


1  Or,  doing. 


he  beholdeth  himself,  and  goeth  his 
way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what 
manner  of  man  he  was.  ^-^^  But  whoso 
looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  liberty, 
and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a 
forgetful  hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work, 
this  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed.^ 


translatiou,  malice  or  maliciousness.  The  baduess 
implied  iu  the  original  is  miich  more  positiv^e  tlian  that 
whi("h  appeal's  from  our  present  version. 

Receive  with  meekness  the  engrafted  word. 
— Or,  in  viildness  accept  ye  this  word  of  truth  (see 
verse  18,  above),  engrafted,  like  a  good  olive  tree,  or 
rather  implanted,  in  you.  The  term  is  peculiar  to  this 
place,  and  means  "  innate  "  in  its  first  in^'ntion.  If 
taken  so,  "  the  innate  Word "  will  be  Christ  Himself 
formed  within  us.     (Comp.  Gal.  iv.  19.) 

Able  to  save  your  sovils.— In  like  manner  Paul 
at  IVIiletus  commends  the  elders  of  Ephesus  "  to  God, 
and  to  the  Word  of  His  gi'ace,  which  is  able  to  build 
you  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them 
which  are  sanctified  "  (Acts  xx.  32).  Observe,  the  idea 
of  salvation  thus  conveyed  liy  the  implanted  word,  is 
80  potentially  and  not  actually.  Tended  and  cultured, 
it  will  grow  into  a  tree  of  life,  the  fruit  whereof  may 
heal  the  wounds  of  sin ;  but  the  after-gi-owth  of  this 
plant  of  God  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  man. 

Wo  can  hardly  help  making  a  brief  inquiry  in  this 
place  on  the  meaning  of  "  soul."  Tliei-e  are  few  words 
more  vaguely  used  by  devout  persons,  or  which  present 
greater  difficulties  to  the  learned,  or  open  wider  fields 
of  speculation  for  the  thoughtful.  In  common  language 
we  speak  of  "  body  and  soul,  "  meaning  much  the 
same  as  "body  and  spirit;"  but  theologians  write 
more  carefully  of  "  body,  soul,  and  spirit "  (comp. 
2  Tliess.  V.  23) ;  and  psychologists  distinguish  between 
the  animal  branch  of  their  subject  and  the  rational  or 
intellectual  {^i^vxv-yovs).  The  second  of  these  methods 
of  division  is  known  as  the  trilogy,  and  is  of  most  im- 
portance to  the  Christian  i-eader.  By  it  is  understood 
(1)  the  body,  wholly  and  entirely  material,  of  and 
lielonging  to  this  world;  (2)  the  mind  or  reason, 
cor])oral  also — that  is,  arising  from  the  body,  and 
depeiuliug  in  its  exquisite  balance  upon  it;  (3)  the 
true  soul  or  spirit,  the  breath  as  it  were  of  God,  im- 
material and  immortal.  Our  bodily  nature,  of  course, 
is  shared  with  the  lower  creation,  and  the  spiritual 
with  the  higher,  while  the  intellectual  is  peculiar  to 
mankind.  If  it  be  liard  to  draw  a  line  between  vege- 
table and  animal,  harder  still  is  it  to  separate  instinct 
from  reason,  the  difference  b<'ing  of  degree  rather  than 
kind.  But  if  the  one  side  of  the  mental  soul — namely, 
the  rational,  be  near  akin  to  what  is  termed  instinctive 
in  the  brute,  the  other,  the  intellectual,  hoAvever  it  may, 
as  it  does,  soar  upward,  yet  approaches  not  to  the 
angels,  for  the  difference  here  is  of  kind  and  not 
degree.  Now,  strf  nge  to  say,  the  Apostle  treats  not 
of  the  spirit  but  the  natural  soul.  Other  texts  in  plenty 
issure  us  that  God  is  able  to  .save  the  one ;  from  this 
we  may  learn  salvation  is  for  both,  such  being  the  work 
of  "  the  engrafted  Word."  Reason  and  intellect  cou- 
8ecrated  to  divine  service  have  an  eternity  before  them, 
one  of  activity  and  not  repose.  The  highest  concep- 
tion of  God  to  the  Greek  mind  was  the  Aristotelian 
idea  of  intellectual  self-sufficiency  and  contemplation; 
the  Oriental  strives,  as  fur  ages  it  has  striven,  for 
extinction  and   uothiugues8;   but  to  the  Christian  is 


given  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  the  glorified  body, 
the  enlightened  soul,  the  perfected  spirit — three  in 
one,  and  one  in  three — working  the  will  and  praise  of 
its  Maker  and  Redeemer  for  ever. 

(2^)  Doers  of  the  word.  — Acting  up  to  the  full 
of  their  knowledge,  whether  gained  by  the  spoken  or 
the  written  Word  of  God.  There  is  a  force  in  the 
original  sentence,  which  our  own  language  cannot 
supply.  The  term  "  deceiA-iug  "  is  the  contrary  of  that 
rendered  "  word,"  and  means  its  corruption ;  the  Word 
which  is  the  source  of  knowledge  and  life  may  be  so 
handled  as  to  cause  error  and  death.  No  acquaintance 
with  the  Bible,  apart  from  the  practice  of  its  precepts, 
will  avail  the  Christian  any  xaore  than  it  did  the  Jew. 
'•  For  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before  God, 
but  the  doers  shall  be  justified"  ( Rom.  ii.  13).  Those  who 
deceive  themselves  may  not  altogether  bo  h)i)ocrites ; 
there  is  a  subtler  danger  of  being  blind,  and  neverthe- 
less exclaimmg  "We  see."    (Comp.  John  ix.  41.) 

(23)  He  is  like  unto  a  man  beholding  his 
natviral  face  in  a  glass. — The  Apostle  points  grimly 
to  an  example  of  tliis  self-deception.  He  (literally, 
this)  is  like  unto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a 
mirror.  Not  a  "  glass,"  l)ut  a  mirror  of  polished  steel, 
such  as  are  still  used  in  the  East.  "  His  natural  face," 
or  the  face  of  his  birth — the  real  ai)pearance,  that  is, 
which  the  reflection  of  the  Word  of  God,  properly 
looked  into,  will  afford  the  inquirer. 

(24)  For  he  beholdeth  himself  .  .  .—Better, /or 
he  beheld  himself  and  icent  his  ivay,  and  straighticay 
forgot  ichat  he  teas.  Like  the  simile  in  verse  11,  this 
is  described  as  an  actual  occurrence,  seen  and  noted  by 
the  writer.  There  is  a  recognition  of  the  well-kuo\vn 
face,  followed  by  instant  and  complete  f orgetfulncss ; 
and  thus  is  it  often  with  the  mirror  of  the  soid.  Iu 
some  striking  senuon  or  book  a  man's  self  is  mado 
manifest  to  him,  and  the  picture  may  be  too  familiar  to 
cause  aversion ;  but,  whether  or  no,  the  impi-ession 
fades  from  his  mind  as  quickly  as  the  echoes  of  the 
preacher's  words.  At  the  best  the  knowledge  was  only 
superficial,  perhaps  momentary ;  widely  different  from 
that  which  comes  of  a  holy  walk  with  God. 

(25)  But  whoso  looketh  .  .  .—Translate,  But  he 
who  looked  into  the  perfect  laiv  of  liberty  and  continued 
therein.  The  past  tense  is  still  kept  to  enforce  the 
figure  of  the  preceding  verse.  The  earnest  student  of 
the  Scriptures  stoops  down  in  humility  of  body  and 
mind  to  learn  what  the  mil  of  their  Author  may  be. 
He  reads,  as  it  were,  upon  his  knees  ;  and  if  he  finds 
therein  a  law,  it  is  one  of  liberty  and  not  slavery,  life 
and  not  death — although,  as  Dean  Alford  observes 
here,  "  not  in  contrast  with  a  former  law  of  Iwnda^e, 
but  as  A-iewetl  on  the  side  of  its  being  the  law  of  tlie 
new  life  and  liirth,  with  all  its  spontaneous  and  free 
development  of  obedience." 

Not  a  forgetful  hearer  .  .  .—Literally,  n,ot  a 
hearer  of  forgetful ness,  but  a  doer  oficork.  Tlius  ren- 
dered, the  words  of  the  sentence  balance  each  other,  and 
comment  is  needless. 

This  man  shall  be  blessed  in  his  deed.— Or, 


361 


WJiat  is  True  Eeligicm 


JAMES,    II. 


acceptable  to  God. 


<26)  If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be 
Chap  i  2G— 27  religious,  and  bridleth  not 
Practical  re-  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth 
ligion.  i^is  Q^yii  heart,  this  man's 

religion    is     vain.       <-''^   Pure    reHgion 
and    undeiiled    before    God    and    the 


Father  is  this,  To  visit  the  father- 
less and  Avidows  in  their  affliction,  and 
to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the 
world. 

CHAPTEE  II.— (1)  My  brethren,  have 


as  iu  tlio  uiarf^iii,  doing.  A  retiiru  perhaps  in  thought 
to  tlie  Beatitudes,  au<l  the  close  of  that  Sermou  on  the 
Mount,  of  which  tliey  were  tlie  opening  words.  The 
blessedness  of  this  humbly  active  Christian  is  like  that 
of  the  wise  man  there  spoken  of  "  which  built  his  house 
upon  a  rock"  (Matt.  vii.  24,  25). 

(-6)  But  St.  James  has  thus  far  dilated  only  on  the 
first  part  of  his  advice  in  verso  19,  "  Let  every  man  bo 
swift  to  hear  " ;  now  ho  must  enforce  the  remaining 
clause,  "  slow  to  speak." 

If  any  man  among  you  seem  to  be  reli- 
gious .  .  . — Better,  If  any  one  imagine  liiniself  to  he 
religions,  not  bridling  his  tongue,  but  deceiving  his  oivn 
heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain.  The  sense  of  the 
Greek  is  slightly  obscured  by  the  English  version.  "  If 
any  man  .  .  .  seem  " — i.e.,  to  himself,  and  not  to 
others  merely ;  the  warning  is  not  to  the  hy]^)ocrite,  but 
the  self-deceived.  A  Christian  may  have,  or  rather 
cannot  help  ha^^ng,  the  feeling  tliat  he  is  a  religious 
man ;  and  so  far  well.  But  if  such  a  one  deceive  his 
own  heart,  as  confessedly  he  may,  and  give  to  those 
around  him  the  proof  of  his  self-delusion  in  not  curbing 
his  tongue,  vain  and  useless  is  aU  his  religious  service. 
Just  as  some  mistakenly  suppose  there  can  be  a  rehgion 
of  hearing  ^vithout  acting,  so  others  rest  satisfied  "  in 
outward  acts  of  worship,  or  exactness  of  ritual."  "  But," 
remarks  Bishoj)  Moberly  on  this  passage,  and  his  voice 
may  win  an  audience  where  another's  would  not,  "  if  a 
man  think  himself  a  true  worshipper  because  he  con- 
forms to  outward  services,  while  he  lets  his  tongue 
loose  in  untruth  or  unkindness  or  other  unseemliness, 
he  deceives  himself."  The  first  mark  of  true  religion  is 
gentleness  of  tongue,  just  as  the  contrary,  blaspliemy, 
IS  the  most  damning  fault  of  all.  Our  Lord  directly 
says,  "  By  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy 
words  thou  shalt  be  condemned"  (Matt.  xii.  37).  The 
text,  however,  is  more  a  guide  for  seK-examination  than 
a  stone  to  bo  cast  at  a  neighbour ;  and  "  well  is  "  it 
indeed  for  "  him  that  hath  not  slipped  with  his  tongue  " 
(Ecclus.  XXV.  8). 

The  Apostle  returns  to  this  subject,  though  from  a 
dift'eront  point  of  view,  in  chap,  iii.,  wliicli  compare 
Avith  the  above.  The  best  commentary  on  the  whole  is 
Bishop  Butler's  Sermon,  No.  IV.,  "  Upon  the  Govern- 
ment of  tlie  Tongue." 

(27)  Pure  religion  .  .  .—It  will  be  observed  that 
by  religion  here  is  meant  religious  service.  No  one 
word  can  express  tliis  obvious  interpretation  of  the 
original,  taken  as  it  nnist  l)e  in  completion  of  the  verso 
before  ;  and  certainly  "  religion  "  in  its  ordinary  sense 
will  not  convey  tho  right  idea.  Real  worship,  we  may 
say,  pure  and  undefiled,  belield  and  acknowledged  as 
such  in  the  presence  of  God,  even  tho  Fatlier — mark 
the  tender  patlios  of  His  dinne  relationship — is  this  : 

To  visit  the  fatherless  {or,  orjjhans]  and  widows 
in  their  afl3.iction,  and  to  keep  himself  un- 
spotted from  the  world.— Here  is  the  double  proof 
of  the  perfect  life  of  holiness,  the  savour  whereof  is  as 
perpetual  incense  before  the  throne  of  God.  And  the 
help  afforded  to  the  helpless,  put  thus  in  tlie  fii-st  place 


362 


of  tho  two  requirements,  will  often  bring  about  the 
second — namely,  that  spotless  condition  of  uuworldli- 
ness  which  marks,  and  will  ever  mark,  the  true  servant 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Deeds  of  benevolence  may 
be  and  are  often  done  by  those  who  are  not  His ;  but 
all  who  truly  belong  to  Him  must  live  a  life  which 
praises  Him  continually  in  good  works ;  not,  it  is 
hardly  needful  to  say,  as  a  cause — but  rather  tlio 
natural  and  inevitable  result  of  love  for  Him,  warming 
the  heart  within. 

Scnipulous  indeed  were  the  "  religious  "  contempo- 
raries of  James ;  they  would  not  enter  where  the  image 
of  Divus  Csesar  had  its  votive  flame,  while  they  were 
ceremonially  clean  for  the  keeping  of  their  passover 
— "  they  went  not  into  the  judgment  hall  lest  they 
should  be  defiled  "  (John  xviii.  28).  But  He  whom 
there  they  cruelly  sought  to  slay  had  told  them  before, 
though  in  vain,  "  that  which  comotli  out  of  the  man,  that 
defileth  the  man  "  (Mark  vii.  20),  and  "  nothing  from 
without  can  defile  him  "  (verse  15).  What  an  eternal 
caution  may  bo  learned  here  against  cold  reliance  upon 
ritual!  What  an  instance,  ever,  under  all  varieties 
and  forms,  to  be  applied  to  themselves  by  the  erring, 
persecuting,  and  deceitful  sons  of  men  1  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  from  these  words  of  the  wise  Apostle  wo 
may  be  sure  what  is  truest,  nay,  the  only  true  service, 
acceptable  and  accepted,  of  tho  Most  High  — "  To 
visit  the  fatherless  and  the  widow,"  beholding  in  them 
a  new  image  of  Christ,  the  Man  of  Son-ows,  is  to  show 
pity  verily  to  Him ;  and  at  the  last  such  "  pure  re- 
ligion "  will  receive  His  own  approval.  "  Inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me"  (Matt.  xxv.  40). 
Blessed  be  the  ears  attuned  to  catch  the  golden 
cadence,  for  it  rings  in  angel  voices  round  the  soothers 
of  the  sick  and  sorrow- laden  even  now  ! 

II. 

(1)  My  brethren. — The  second  chapter  opens  -with 
some  stern  rebukes  for  those  unworthy  Christians  who 
had  "  men's  persons  in  admii-ation,"  and,  doubtless,  that 
"  because  of  advantage  "  to  themselves.  (Comp.  Jude, 
verse  16.)  The  lesson  is  distinctly  addressed  to  be- 
lievers, and  its  severity  appears  to  bo  caused  by  the 
Apostle's  unhappy  consciousness  of  its  need.  Wliat 
were  endurable  in  a  heathen,  or  an  alien,  or  even  a  Jew, 
ceased  to  be  so  in  a  professed  follower  of  the  lowly 
Jesus.  And  this  seems  to  be  a  further  reason  for  the 
indignant  expostulation  and  condemnation  of  verse  14. 
Thus  the  avIioIo  chapter  may  really  be  considered  as 
dealing  with  Faith  ;  and  it  flows  naturally  from  the 
foregoing  thoughts  upon  Religion — or,  as  wo  inter- 
preted their  subject-matter.  Religious  Service. 

Have  (or,  hold)  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,  with  (or,  in)  respect 
of  persons. — "  Yo  know  tlie  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  wrote  St.  Paul  to  the  proud  and  wealthy  men 
of  Corinth  (2  Cor.  viii.  9),  "that,  though  He  was  rich, 
yet  for  your  sakcs  He  became  poor,  that  ye  through  His 
poverty  might  be  rich;"  and,  with  more  cogent  an  j 
appeal,  to  the  Philippians  (chap.  ii.  4 — 7),  "  In  lowli- 


Of  undue   Respect 


JAMES,   II. 


fw  Persons. 


not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Lord  of  giory,  with  re- 
f  "^-  R^i^uk;;  spect  of  persons.  (^)  For  if 
on  account  of  there  come  unto  your  as- 
wrong  respect  gemblyi  a  man  with  a  gold 

tor       persons  :      .  y  "=> 

with  divers  in-  ring,  m  goooly  apparel,  and 

stances   there-  there  come  in  also  a  poor 

man  in  vile  raiment ;  ^^^  and 

ye  have  respect  to  him  that  weareth  the 


Or,   u-ell,  or, 
aetmti/. 


1  Gr.  synagoaue. 


3  Or,  that. 


gay  clothing,  and  say  unto  him.  Sit 
thou  here  in  a  good  place ;  -  and  say  to 
the  poor.  Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here 
under  my  footstool :  (*^  are  ye  not  then 
partial  in  yourselves,  and  are  become 
judges  of  evil  thoughts  ?  ^^^  Hearken, 
my  beloved  brethren,  Hath  not  God 
chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in 
faith,  and  heirs  of  the  '^  kingdom  which 


ness  of  miud  let  each  esteem  other  better  than  them- 
selves :  look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every 
man  also  on  the  things  of  others.  Let  this  mind  bo  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Clu*ist  Jesus  :  Wlio,  hebuj  in  the 
form  of  God " — i.e.,  Very  God,  and  not  appearance 
merely — nevertheless  "  thought  not  His  equality  ivith 
God  a  thing  to  be  always  grasped  at"  as  it  were  some 
booty  or  px-ize,  "  hut  emptied  Himself"  of  His  glory, 
"  and  took  upon  Him  the  shape  of  a  slave."  Were 
these  central,  nay  initial,  facts  of  the  faith  believed 
then ;  or  are  they  now  ?  If  they  were  in  truth,  how 
coidd  there  be  such  folly  and  shame  as  "  acceptance  of 
persons"  according  to  the  dictates  of  fashionable 
society  and  the  world  ?  "  Honour,"  indeed,  "  to  whom 
honour  "  is  due  (Rom.  xiii.  7).  The  Christian  religion 
allows  not  that  contempt  for  even  earthly  chguities — 
affected  by  some  of  lier  followers,  but  springing  more 
from  envy  and  uuruliness  than  aught  besides.  True 
reverence  and  submission  are  in  no  way  condemned  by 
tliis  scripture  :  but  their  excess  and  gross  extreme,  the 
preference  for  vidgar  wealth,  the  adulation  of  success, 
the  worship,  in  shoi"t,  of  some  new  golden  calf. 

(")  For  if  there  come  unto  your  assembly 
(literally,  synagogue). — This  is  the  only  place  in  the 
New  Testament  where  the  Jewish  word  is  used  for  a 
Christian  congregation. 

A  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel.— 
Better,  a  man  golden-ringed,  in  bright  apparel.  Roman 
satirists  had  much  to  say  upon  the  fops  and  dandies  of 
their  time,  with  "all  their  fingers  laden  with  rings"; 
some,  if  we  may  triist  the  sneer  of  Martial,  ha^ang  six 
on  each ;  and  others  with  heavy  gold  or  light,  accord- 
ing to  the  oppressiveness  of  the  season ;  no  doubt,  the 
fashions  set  in  Rome  extended  to  Jerusalem.  "  Goodly 
apparel "  is,  rather,  gorgeous — splendid  in  colour  or 
ornament ;  the  same  two  words  are  translated  "  gay 
clothing  "  in  the  following  verse. 

And  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man  in  vile 
raiment. — Squalid,  even  dirty,  as  from  work  and 
wear — the  exact  opposite  of  the  idle  over-dressed 
exquisite. 

(3)  And  ye  have  respect  to  him  that  weareth 
the  gay  clothing  [or,  bright  apparel). — Look  on  him, 
that  is,  because  of  his  fine  ai)pearauce,  with  undue  re- 
spect and  consideration. 

And  say  unto  him,  Sit  thou  here  in  a  good 
place  (or.  as  margin,  ivell) ;  and  say  to  the  poor, 
Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  under  my  foot- 
stool.— Tlie  sidesman  or  elder  in  charge  of  tlio  church 
finds  a  stall  for  the  person  of  substantial  presence, 
while  anything  does  for  the  poor  one ;  but — most  con- 
siderate offer — he  can  stand;  or,  if  he  prefer  it,  sit 
under  tlie  great  man's  footstool,  lower  down,  tliat  is,  on 
the  floor  beneath.  We  know  Christ's  words  for  those 
who  loved  of  old  "  the  chief  seats  in  the  synagogues  " 
(Matt,  xxiii.  6),  nor  can  there  bo  doubt  as  to  their  full 
apphcatiou  now.     What  is  to  be  urged  in  excuse  for 


363 


the  special  pews  in  churches  and  chapels,  hired  and 
appropriated,  furnished  luxuriously,  and  secured  by 
bolt  and  lock  ?  If  in  the  high  places  sit  the  men  and 
women  in  goodly  raiment  still,  while  the  poorly  clad 
are  crowded  into  side  benches  and  corners,  or  bene- 
ficently told  to  stand  and  wait  till  room  be  found 
somewhere  beneath  the  daintier  feet, — how  can  there  bo 
escape  from  condemnation  on  the  charge  which  follows .'' 
— namely  this — 

W  Are  ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves, 
and  are  become  judges  of  evil  thoughts  ?— 
Or,  as  the  sense,  fully  expressed,  would  be :  "  My 
brethren,  if  you  acted  thus,  did  you  not  doubt  in  your- 
selves, and  become  by  such  false  and  unfaithful  dis- 
crimination judges  of  and  in  your  o\ra.  evil  thoughts  ? 
Did  you  not  lose  the  idea  of  brotherhood,  and  become 
contentious  as  to  supremacy  of  self  and  place  — 
serving  yourselves  while  prepared  for  the  service  of 
Christ?  The  Lord  Jesus  thought  not  His  equality  with 
God  a  thing  ever  to  be  grasped  at,  if  work  for  man 
could  be  done  by  seK-humUiation.  Therefore,  althougli 
being  '  equal  to  the  Father,  as  touching  His  Godhead.' 
He  became  '  inferior  ...  as  touching  His  Manhood.' 
And  none  may  turn  unmoved  from  that  picture  of 
sublime  condescension  to  the  petty  strifes  of  quahty 
and  position  which  profane  the  Christian  sanctuary. 
Most  sadly  true  is  it  that  in  making  distinctions  such 
as  these  between  rich  and  poor,  we  '  become  of  the 
number  of  those  who  doubt  respecting  their  faith ; ' 
for,  while  it  abolishes  such  altogether  in  the  presence  of 
God,  we  set  them  up  of  our  own  arrogance  and  i^ride. 
'  We  draw  nigh  imto  Him  with  our  mouth,  and  honour 
Him  with  our  lips,  but  our  heart  is  far  from  Him  ;  and 
our  worship  therefore  vain.'"  (Comp.  Isa.  xxix.  13; 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  31 ;  Matt.  xv.  8—9.) 

(5)  Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren.— With 
complete  change  of  manner  the  Apostle  writes  now  as 
if  he  were  speaking,  in  brief  quivering  sentences, 
appealing  to  the  hearts  which  his  stronger  words  may 
not  compel. 

Hath  not  God  chosen  .  .  .  ?— Tliere  is,  then,  an 
election  on  the  part  of  God.  It  were  folly  to  deny  it. 
But  this  passage,  like  so  many  others,  gives  the  reason 
for  that  choice.  "The  poor  of  this  world"  are  His 
chosen ;  not  merely  for  their  poverty,  although  it  may 
have  been  the  air,  so  to  speak,  in  wliich  the  ^^l•tues 
which  endeared  them  to  Him  have  flourished  most.  And 
these  are  rich  for  present  and  for  future.  Tliey  know 
Him  "now  by  faith,"  and  "after  this  life  liavo  tho 
fruition  of  His  glorious  Godhead."  "  Blessed  l)o  ye 
poor,  for  yours  is  tho  kingdom  of  God"  (Luke  vi.  20). 
The  way  thereto  for  them  is  nearer  and  less  cumbered 
than  for  the  rich,  if  only  they  fulfil  the  Scripture 
(comp.  Matt.  -vi.  3),  and  be  poor  "  in  spirit :  "  then, 
indeed,  are  they  "heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  He  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  Him."  Tlie  world  must 
always  measure   by  its   own   standanl,   and   consider 


The  Poor  not  to  he  despised. 


JAMES,   II. 


The  Law  to  he  kept,  in  full, 


lie  liatli  promised  to  them  that  love 
hiin  ?  (*^^  But  ye  have  desi^ised  the  poor. 
Do  not  rich  men  oppress  you,  and  draw 
you  before  the  judgment  seats '?  ^"^^  Do 
not  they  blaspheme  that  worthy  name 
by  the  which  ye  are  called  ?  (^^  If  ye 
fulfil  the  royal  law  according  to  the  scrip- 
ture, Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself,  ye  do  well  :    ^^^  but  if  ye  have 


1  Or,      that 
which  said. 


respect  to  persons,  ye  commit  sin,  and  are 
convinced  of  the  law  as  transgressors. 

(10)  j^or  whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole 
law,  and  yet  offend  in  one 
point,  he  is  guilty  of  all. 
(11)  For  he  that  said,i  Do 
not  commit  adultery,  said 
also.  Do  not  kill.  Now  if 
thou  commit  no  adultery,  yet  if  thou 


Chap.  ii.  lo- 
ll. The  whole 
Law  is  broken 
by  failure  at 
one  point. 


poverty  a  curse,  just  as  it  looks  ou  pain  and  trouble  as 
evil.  But  the  teacliiujj^  of  God,  declared  most  elo- 
quently in  tlie  life  of  His  blessed  Sou,  is  the  direct 
opposite  to  this.  In  a  worship  which  demands  of  its 
votaries  costly  gifts  and  offerings — and  every  religion 
tends  downwards  to  such  desires — the  rich  man  has  a 
golden  pavement  to  his  future  bliss.  No  wonder, 
therefore,  that  again  and  again  the  voice  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  has  pointed  out  the  narrow  way,  and  the  eternal 
excellency  of  truth,  and  faith,  and  love,  the  riches 
easiest  of  acquisition  by  tlie  poor. 

(•>)  But  ye  have  despised  the  poor.— Better,  ye 
dishonoured  the  poor  man — i.e.,  when,  as  already  men- 
tioned (chap.  ii.  2,  3),  you  exalted  the  rich  unto  the 
"  good  place  "  of  your  synagogue.  Thus  whom  God 
had  called  and  chosen,  yoix  refused.  "  It  is  imwortliy," 
observes  Cahdn  ou  this  passage,  "  to  cast  down  those 
whom  God  lifts  up,  and  to  treat  them  shamefully  whom 
He  vouchsafes  to  honour.  But  God  hououreth  the 
poor;  therefore  wlioever  he  is  that  rejects  them  perverts 
the  ordinance  of  God." 

Do  not  rich  men  oppress  you  ?— Or,  lord  it  over 
you  as  a  class ;  not  assuredly  that  this  can  be  said  of 
each  wealthy  individual.  It  is  the  rich  man,  of  the 
earth  earthy,  trusting  in  his  riches  (comp.  Matt.  x.  24), 
wlio  nuikes  them  a  power  for  evil  and  not  for  good. 
Here  is  presented  the  other  side  of  the  argument,  used 
on  behalf  of  the  poor,  viz.,  observe  first  how  God 
regards  them  (verse  5),  and  next,  judge  their  adver- 
saries by  their  own  behaviour. 

Draw  you  before  the  judgment  seats  ?— Better, 
Do  they  not  drag  you  into  courts  of  justice  1  "  Hale  " 
you,  as  the  old  English  word  has  it.  Summitin  jus 
summainjuria — extreme  of  right  is  extreme  of  wrong — 
a  legal  maxim  oft  exemplifietl.  The  purse-proud 
litigious  man  is  the  hardest  to  deal  with,  and  the  one 
who  specially  will  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor.  No  body 
of  laws  could  ou  the  whole  bo  more  equitable  than  the 
Roman,  but  their  administration  in  tlie  provinces  was 
frequently  in  venal  hands ;  aiul  besides,  the  large  fees 
demanded  by  the  J2iris-consulti — "  the  learned  in  the 
law  " — quite  barred  tlie  way  of  the  jioorer  suitors,  sucli 
as,  for  the  most  part,  were  the  Christians  to  whom  this 
Letter  was  written. 

(7)  Do  not  they  blaspheme  .  .  .—To  "blaspheme" 
is  to  hurt  with  tlie  tongue,  and  includes  all  manner  of 
evil  speech  ;  but  a  more  exclusive  use  of  the  woi-d  is  with 
regard  to  things  divine,  and  particularly  tlie  unpardon- 
able sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  (Matt.  xii.  31).  A 
moment's  reflection  will  .show,  unhappily,  that  this  is 
alluded  to  in  the  text. 

That  worthy  name  by  the  which  ye  are 
called? — Better,  that  good,  that  glorious  Name  which 
was  invoiced  (or,  called)  over  you — \'iz.,  at  baptism. 
*'  Into  the  Name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (Matt,  xxviii.  19)  had  all  been  bap- 
tised who  were  thus  addx'essed ;  but  most  probably  the 


Second  Person  of  the  Trinity  is  referred  to  here.  And 
it  was  the  scorn  and  contempt  visited  upon  His  Name, 
which  changed  the  mere  abuse  and  rilialdry  into  a 
perilous  likeness  to  the  deadliest  sin.  Most  commen- 
tators thus  restrict  the  Name  here  to  that  of  Christ. 
If  their  \new  be  correct,  the  blasphemy  would  probably 
be  linked  with  that  epithet  of  "  Christian  " — then  so 
dishonourable — coined,  we  are  told,  first  in  Antioch 
(Acts  xi.  26).  But  there  were  far  more  insulting  terms 
found  for  the  poor  and  struggling  believer — "  Naza- 
I'ene,"  "Atheist,"  and  even  Avorse. 

(8)  If  ye  fulfil  the  royal  law.— Better  para- 
phrased thus.  If,  however,  ye  are  fulfilling  the  Law,  as 
ye  imagine  and  profess  ye  are  doing,  the  royal  lata, 
according  to  the  Scripture,  "  Thou  shall  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,  ye  are  doing  well ;  hut  .... 
Mark  the  touch  of  irony  in  the  defence  which  St.  James 
puts  into  the  mouths  of  his  hearers.  It  were  certaiuly 
a  sweet  j)roof  of  neighbourly  aifection,  that  exemplified 
in  verse  3.  The  "  royal,"  or  "  kingly  law,"  is,  of 
course,  God's,  in  its  highest  utterance;  and  may  be 
taken  as  an  illustration  of  what  a  law  really  consists : 
viz.,  a  command  from  a  superior,  a  duty  from  an 
infei"ior,  and  a  sanction  or  vindication  of  its  authority. 
There  is  much  confusion  of  thought,  both  scientific 
and  theological,  with  regard  to  this ;  were  it  not  so  we 
shoidd  hear  less  of  the  ''  laws  of  natui-e,"  and  divers 
other  imaginary  codes  which  the  greatest  legist  of 
modern  times  has  called  "  fustian."  The  sovereign  law 
of  love,  thus  expressed  by  the  Apostle,  is  one  so  i)lain 
that  the  simplest  mind  may  be  made  its  interpi'eter ; 
and  the  violation  of  it  is  at  once  clear  to  the  offender. 

(9)  But  if  ye  have  respect  to  persons  .  .  .— 
Translate,  Btit  if  ye  respect  2>ersons.  ye  ivorlc  sin,  and 
are  convicted  by  the  Late  {i.e.,  at  the  bar  of  conscience) 
as  transgressors.  The  first  principle  has  been  broken, 
and  not  a  mere  detail.  De  mi^iiniis  non  curat  lex:  the 
laws  of  men  cannot  concern  themselves  with  trifles; 
but  the  most  secret  soul  may  be  proven  and  revealed 
by  some  little  act  of  love,  or  the  contrary  :  and  such  is 
tlie  way  of  the  Lord  "  that  scarcheth  the  hearts " 
(Rom.  viii.  27). 

(10)  For  whosoever  shall  keep  .  .  .—Better,  have 
Icept  the  ivhole  Law,  but  shall  have  offended  in  one,  has 
become  guilty  of  all.  As  a  chain  is  snapped  by  failure 
of  the  weakest  link,  so  the  whole  Law,  in  its  liarmony 
and  comjdeteness  as  beheld  by  God,  is  broken  by  one 
offence  of  one  man;  and  the  penalty  f;dls,  of  its  own 
natural  weight  and  incidi-nce,  ou  the  culprit. 

(11)  For  he  that  said  .  .  .—All  men  have  favourite 
vices  and  indulgences  ;  and  most 

"  Conipoiind  for  sins  they  have  a  mind  to 
By  damning  tliose  they're  not  inclined  to  ; " 

forgetful  that  the  same  Lawgiver  has  laid  His  restric- 
tions upon  every  sort  and  kind.  Not  that  we  can  believe 
all  sins  are  the  same  in  their  deadening  effect  upon  the 


36i 


and  not  merely  in  'part. 


JAMES,   II. 


Of  Mercy  in  Jvdgment. 


kill,  thou  art  become  a  transgressor  of 
the  law.  (^-)  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as 
they  that  shall  be  judged  by  the  law 
of  liberty.     ^^^^  For  he  shall  have  judg- 


1  Or,  glorieth. 


ment  without  mercy,  that  hath  shewed 
no  mercy ;  and  mercy  rejoiceth^  against 
judgment. 

(u)  "VVhat  doth  it  profit,  my  brethren, 


soul,  or,  fnrtlier,  in  their  piiiiislnneut.  The  poiut  which 
St.  James  urges  is  that  sin,  as  sin,  involves  tlio  curse  of 
the  law ;  and  that  "  respect  of  persons,''  with  its  un- 
loving and  unlovely  results,  must  bring  its  deceived 
possessor  into  coudomuation  before  God.  Just  as  our 
Lord  referred  tlie  Sixth  and  Seventh  Commandments 
(Matt.  V.  21 — 32)  to  the  first  issues  of  the  angry  or  lust- 
ful li(\art,  and  by  no  means  confined  them  as  did  the 
Rabbinical  teacliers  to  the  very  act,  so  now  in  like 
manner  the  Apostle  takes  his  stand  upon  the  guiltiness 
of  any  breach  whatever  of  the  Law.  Love  is  its  complete 
fulfilment,  we  are  well  informed  (Rom.  xiii.  10),  but 
in  that  startling  briefness  lies  comprehended  all  the 
decalogue,  with  its  utmost  ramifications;  and  men  of 
the  world  would  find  a  rule  of  the  most  miimte  and 
rigid  ceremony  easier  to  be  followed  than  this  simple 
all-einbracing  one.  "  The  fidfilUrig  of  the  Law  "  is  very 
different  from  the  substitution  of  a  single  j)lain 
command  for  a  difficult  code ;  this  would  seem  to  be 
the  mistake  of  many,  noisily  asserting  their  freedom 
from  the  older  obligations,  who  do  not  so  evidently 
live  under  the  mild  bondage  of  the  new. 

A  curious  question  may  be  raised  upon  the  inverted 
order  of  the  Sixth  and  Seventh  Commandments  in  this 
passage,  as  well  as  in  Mark  x.  19 ;  Luke  xviii.  20 ; 
Rom.  xiii.  9.  (Not  so  however,  observe,  in  the  sermon 
on  the  Mount,  Matt.  v.  21 — 27.)  Professoi-  Plumj)tre 
says  they  are  thus  placed  because  "  standing  first  in 
the  second  table,  the  Fifth  being  classed  by  most  Jewish 
writers  as  ))elonging  to  the  first,"  and  "  there  was, 
probably,  a  traditional  order  of  the  Tenth,  varying  from 
that  at  present  found  in  the  Hebrew  Pentateuch." 
The  Greek  version,  known  as  the  Septuagint,  supports 
this  theory,  placing  "  Thou  shalt  not  commit 
adultery  "  in  verso  13  of  Ex.  xx.,  and  "  Thou  shalt 
not  kill  "  in  verse  15. 

(1-)  So  speak  ye,  and  so  do.— The  writer  has 
sho'vvn  how  unsuspected  sins  lead  quickly  to  a  violation 
of  the  Law,  and  in  concluding  this  part  of  his  Epistle 
he  retiu-ns  to  the  warning  against  an  unguarded  tongue, 
witli  which  ho  commenced  in  cliap  i.  26. 

The  law  of  liberty.— The  term  is  only  found  here 
and  in  chap.  i.  25,  and  seems  one  of  which  James  the 
Wise  was  peculiarly  fond.  What,  however,  did  he  pre- 
cisely mean  ?  Neither  the  ceremonial,  nor  tlio  moral, 
most  certainly ;  but  the  spiritual  law  of  One  greater 
than  Moses.  The  idea,  however,  is  in  most  of  the 
New  Testament  writings,  and  particularly  St.  Paul's. 
(Comp.  John  viii.  32;  Rom.  viii.21;  1  Cor.  x.  29;  2  Cor. 
iii.  17;  Gal.  ii.  4;  v.  1,  13;  and  1  Pet.  ii.  16.) 

(13)  For  he  shall  have  judgment  without 
mercy,  that  hath  shewed  no  mercy.— Better,  For 
unmerciful  jndgincnt  shall  be  to  him  that  wro7ight  not 
mercy.  Hero  again  are  the  cleai'cst  echoes  of  our 
Saviour's  words  (Matt.  vi.  1,  2,  et  seq.),  and  a  reference, 
wo  can  hardly  doulit,  to  His  well-known  parable  (Matt. 
xviii.  21 — 35);  and  we  must  remember,  further,  tliat 
"the  unforgiving  temper,  apart  from  all  outward  wrong, 
constitutes  the  sin  of  the  unmerciful  servant ;  "  oppor- 
tunity only  being  lacking  for  its  full  effect.  The 
pitiless  are  usually  cowards,  and  may  well  be  moved  by 
fear,  if  they  will  not  by  love :  "  I  ^vill  repay,  saith  the 
Lord  "  (Rom.  xii.  19). 

365 


Mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment.— There  can 

hardly  be  a  fitter  comment  on  this  text  than  that  which 
must  be  present  in  every  reader's  mind — the  speech  of 
Portia  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice, 

"  The  quality  of  mcrcj'  is  not  strained ; "  &c. 

—(Act  iv.  scene  1.) 

But  let  the  words  of  the  Greek,  John  the  Golden 
Mouthed,  be  added,  for  their  exceeding  beauty  also. 
"  Mercy  is  dear  to  God,  and  intei-cedes  for  the  sinner, 
and  breaks  his  chains,  and  dissipates  the  darkness,  and 
quenches  the  fire  of  hell,  and  destroys  the  worm,  and 
rescues  from  the  gnashing  of  teeth.  To  her  the  gates 
of  Heaven  are  opened.  She  is  the  queen  of  virtues, 
and  makes  men  like  to  God,  for  it  is  written,  '  Be  yo 
merciful  as  your  Father  also  is  merciful  '  (Luke  vi.  36). 
She  has  silver  wings  like  the  dove,  and  feathers  of  gold, 
and  soars  aloft,  and  is  clothed  with  divine  glory,  a)id 
stands  by  the  throne  of  God ;  when  we  are  in  danger 
of  being  condemned  she  rises  up  and  pleads  for  us.  and 
covers  us  with  her  defence,  and  enfolds  us  in  her 
wings.  God  loves  mercy  more  than  sacrifice  "  (Matt, 
ix.  13). 

(14—26)  Faith  and  Works. — We  now  enter  on  the 
most  debatable  ground  of  the  Epistle;  a  battle-field 
strewn  with  the  bones  and  weapons  of  countless  adver- 
saries. It  is  an  easy  thing  to  shoot  "  arrows,  even  bitter 
words " ;  and  without  doubt,  for  what  seemed  to  be 
the  vindication  of  the  right,  many  a  hard  IjIow  has 
been  dealt  on  either  side  —so  many,  indeed,  that  quiet 
Christian  folk  have  no  desire  to  hear  of  more.  The 
plain  assertions  of  holy  Scripture  on  this  matter  are 
enough  for  them  ;  and  they  experience  of  themselves  no 
difficulty  in  their  interpretation. 

The  old  story  of  the  Knights  who  smote  each  other 
to  the  death  upon  the  question  of  the  gold  and  silver 
shield,  each  looking  at  it  only  from  his  own  point  of 
view,  may  well  apply  to  combatants  who  cried  so  lustily 
for  "  Paul "  or  "  James."  But,  now  the  dust  of  con- 
flict has  somewhat  blown  aside,  it  would  be  hard  to 
prove  that  the  Apostles  themselves  were  ever  at 
variance,  or  needed  such  doughty  champions  at  all. 

Truth  is,  they  regarded  tho  same  object  with  a 
different  motive,  and  aimed  at  a  dissimilar  result : 
just  as  in  medicine,  very  opposite  treatments  are 
required  by  various  sicknesses,  and  in  the  several 
stages  of  disease.  The  besetting  error  of  the  Jewish 
Christians  to  whom  St.  James  a]ipealed  was  that 
which  we  have  traced  (see  Intvodnction,  p.  353  )  to  a 
foreign  source ;  and,  as  it  wandered  but  slowly  from 
the  furthest  East,  it  had  not  yet  reached  the  churches 
of  Europe,  at  least  sufficiently  to  constitute  a  danger  in 
the  mind  of  St.  Paul.  No  better  tonic  for  the  en(>rvat- 
ing  effect  of  this  perverted  doctrine  of  Faith  coidd  be 
found  than  a  consideration  of  the  nobler  life  of  Abraham; 
and  what  example  could  be  upheld  more  likely  to  win 
back  tlie  hearts  of  his  proud  descendants  ?  And.  if  to 
point  his  lesson,  the  Apostle  urged  a  great  and  stainless 
name,  even  that  of  tho  Friend  of  God,  so  ^vith  it  would 
lie  join  tho  lowly  and.  perhaps,  aforetime  dishonoured 
one  of  Rahab.  that  he  might,  as  it  were,  plead  well  with 
all  men  of  eveiy  degree  or  kind. 


Of  Faith 


JAMES,   II. 


and  Works. 


Chap.  ii.  14—  though  a  man  say  he  hath 
sus  on  Fidth',  faith,  and  have  not  works  ? 
and  particu-  can  faith  save  him?  (^^'Ifa 
Sou?  JorS  brother  or  sister  be  naked, 


and  destitute  of  daily  food,  ^^^^  and 
one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart  in 
peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled;  not- 
withstanding ye  give  them  not  those 


Deau  Alford,  quotinj;:  with  entire  approbation  the 
opinion  of  the  German  commentator  De  Wette,  found 
it  •'  impossible  to  say  "  tliat  the  ideas  of  Faith,  Works, 
and  Justification  in  the  two  Apostles  were  the  same. 
The  summary  of  his  remarks  is  fairly  this : — Accord- 
ing to  St.  James,  Faith  was  moral  con^-iction,  trust,  and 
truth ;  and  yet  such  a  theoretical  belief  only  that  it 
might  be  held  by  de^•ils.  Works  are  not  those  of  the 
Law,  but  an  active  life  of  practical  morality  and  well- 
doing ;  Justification  is  used  in  a  proper  or  moral  sense, 
but  not  the  higher  or  "  forensic/"  as  we  now  call  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  St.  Paid's  idea  of  Faith  presupposes 
self-abasement,  and  "  consists  in  trust  on  the  grace  of 
God,  revealed  in  the  atoning  death  of  Christ " ;  Works 
with  him  referred  chiefly  to  a  dependence  on  legal  ob- 
servances ;  Justification  assumed  a  far  wider  signifi- 
cance, especially  in  his  view  ''  of  the  inadequacy  of  a 
good  conscience  to  give  peace  and  blessedness  to  men  " 
(1  Cor.  iv.  4),  such  being  only  to  be  found  by  faith  in 
God,  who  justifies  of  His  free  grace,  and  looks  on  the 
accepted  penitent  as  if  he  were  righteous.  But  even 
this  divergence,  small  as  it  is  compared  with  that  dis- 
cerned by  some  di\-ines,  is  really  overstrained ;  for  in 
the  present  Epistle  the  Church  of  evei-y  age  is  warned 
"against  the  delusive  notion  that  it  is  enough  for  men 
to  have  religious  emotions,  to  talk  religious  language, 
to  have  religious  knowledge,  and  to  profess  religious 
belief,  without  the  habitual  practice  of  religious  duties 
and  the  daily  devotion  of  a  religious  life " :  while  the 
letters  of  St.  Paul  do  not,  in  this  way,  combat  hjiiocrisy 
so  much  as  heterodoxy.  There  is  always  the  double 
danger,  dwelt  upon  by  Augustine  somewhat  after  this 
manner  : — One  man  will  say,  "  I  believe  in  God,  and  it 
will  be  counted  to  mo  for  righteousness,  therefore  I  will 
live  as  I  like."  St.  James  answers  him  by  showing 
that  "Abraham  was  justified  by  Works"  (chap.  ii.  21). 
Another  says,  "  I  will  lead  a  good  life,  and  keep  the 
commandments;  how  can  it  matter  precisely  what  I 
believe!"  St.  Paul  replies  that  '"Abraham  was  justi- 
fied by  faith "  (Rom.  iv.).  But,  if  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gt-'utiles  be  inquired  of  further,  he  will  say  that, 
although  works  go  not  before  faith,  they  certainly  come 
after.  (Witness  his  discourse  on  Charity,  1  Cor.  xiii.) 
And,  therefore,  concludes  Bi.shop  Wordsworth,  "  the 
faith  described  by  St.  Paul  is  not  any  sort  of 
faith  by  which  we  believe  in  God;  but  it  is  that 
healtliful  evangelical  faith  whose  works  spring  from 
love." 

Thus  the  divine  lesson  stands  forth,  clearly  written ; 
and  he  who  runs  may  read.  Faith  must  be  embodied 
in  acts  :  "  faith,  without  acts  of  faith,  is  but  a  dream." 
'•  The  two  cannot  be  separated,  for  they  are  given  in  one 
by  God  to  man,  and  from  him  go  back  in  one  to  God. 
As  by  faith  we  behold  the  greatness  of  God,  and  of  His 
eternal  grace,  His  ineffame  holiness,  majesty,  glor}', 
goodness,  love ;  so  we  shall  know  and  feel  the  nothing- 
ness of  all  in  ourselves — whether  faith  or  works — save 
as  they  are  the  gift  of  God.  As  we  probe  ourselves, 
we  leani  the  depth  of  our  own  evil ;  but,  as  we  confess 
our  OAvn  evil  and  God's  good.  He  will  take  away  from 
us  the  evil,  and  crown  us  with  His  goodness :  as  wo 
own  ourselves  to  be,  of  ourselves,  unprofitable  servants, 
He,  owning  us  in  His  works,  will  say,  'Well  done. 


366 


good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of 
thy  Lord  '  "  (Matt.  xxv.  21). 

A  deeply  learned  and  interest  uig  excureus  on  Faith, 
in  its  active  and  passive  meanings,  and  on  its  Hebrew, 
Greek,  and  Latin  synonyms,  may  be  read  in  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  Notes  on  the  Galatians,  pp.  152 — 162. 
Admitting  that  "  so  long  as  our  range  of  view  is  con- 
fined to  the  apostolic  writings,  it  seems  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  resist  the  impression  that  St.  James  is  attack- 
ing the  teaching,  if  not  of  St.  Paul  himself,  at  least 
of  those  who  exaggerated  and  perveried  it,"  our  pro- 
foundest  theologian  assures  us  that  the  passage  in 
Genesis  (chap.  xv.  6)  was  a  common  thesis  in  the 
Rabbinical  schools,  the  meaning  of  faith  being  variously 
explained  by  the  disputants,  and  diverse  lessons  drawn 
from  it.  The  supremacy  of  faith,  as  the  means  of 
salvation,  might  be  maintained  by  Gentile  Apostle  and 
Pharisaic  Rabbi  :  but  faith  with  the  former  was  a  very 
diilerent  thing  from  faith  with  the  latter.  With  one 
its  prominent  idea  was  a  spiritual  life,  with  the  other  an 
orthodox  creed ;  with  the  one  the  guiding  principle  was 
the  indi\'idual  conscience,  with  the  other  an  external 
rule  of  ordinances;  with  the  one  faith  was  allied  to 
liberty,  with  the  other  to  bondage.  "  Thus,"  he  says 
in  conclusion,  "  it  becomes  a  question  whether  St, 
James's  protest  again.st  reliance  on  faith  alone  has  any 
reference,  direct  or  indirect,  to  St.  Paul's  language  and 
teaching ;  whether,  in  fact,  it  is  not  aimed  against  an 
entirely  different  type  of  religious  feeling,  agaiust  the 
Pharisaic  spirit  which  rested  satisfied  with  a  baiTcn 
orthodoxy,  fruitless  in  works  of  chai'ity." 

(1^)  What  doth  it  (or,  is  the)  profit,  my  brethren, 
though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not 
works  ? — Some  allusion  here  is  made  mo.st  probably 
to  the  Sheniii.  the  Jewish  creed,  '•  Hear,  O  Israel,  the 
Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  "  (Dent.  vi.  4).  It  was  tho 
daily  protest  of  the  devout  Israelite  in  the  midst  of 
idolaters,  and  the  words  of  his  morning  and  evening 
of  life,  as  well  as  of  the  ordinary  day.  A  similar  utter- 
ance of  faith  is  held  to  be  the  test  of  tho  true  believer 
in  Islam,  when  the  two  inquiring  angels  put  tlieir 
awfid  questions  to  the  departed  soul.  But  the  idea  is 
much  more  ancient,  for  a  similar  confession  was  required 
of  the  just  Ijefore  Osiris,  the  Lord  of  the  Egyptian 
Heaven. 

Can  faith  save  him? — Tlie  stem  inquiry  comes 
like  a  prophecy  of  woe  upon  the  wretched  man— saved, 
as  he  fancied,  by  covenant  with  God,  and  holding  a 
bare  a.sscnt  and  not  a  loving  faith  in  Him. 

(15)  But  (the  word  should  be  added,  for  it  continues 
an  argument  >  if  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked,  and 
destitute  of  daily  food — i.e.,  the  food  for  each  day, 
not  that  which  suffices  for  one,  or  for  a  pi'esent  distress; 
the  case  is  rather  of  worst  and  direst  want,  so  that  thej 
heart  imtouched  by  the  spectacle  of  such  misery  must] 
be  hard  indeed. 

(16)  And  one  of  you  say  unto  them,  Depart  inj 
peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled.— Is  it  unlikely, 
knowing  as  we  do  the  style  of  the  rugged  Apostle,  that] 
he  was  drawing  other  than  from  the  life  ?  Perhaps  it] 
was  a  scene  in  his  own  experience  during  that  veryj 
famine  foretold  by  Agabus  (Acts  xL  28 — 30). 


Folly  of  mere  Belief. 


JAMES,   II. 


Uxample  of  Abraham. 


things  which,  are  needful  to  the  body; 
what  doth  it  profit?  ^^"^  Even  so  faith, 
if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being 
alone.^  ^^^^  Yea,  a  man  may  say,  Thoii 
hast  faith,  and  I  have  works :  shew  me 
thy  faith  without  thy  works,-  and  I 
will  shew  thee  my  faith  by  my  works. 
(19)  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one 
God ;  thou  doest  well :  the  devils  also 
believe,  and  tremble.     (-'^^  But  wilt  thou 


1  Gr.  by  itself. 


2  Rome  oopios 
road,  by  thy 
icnrks. 

3  Or,  Thou  secst. 


know,  O  vain  man,  that  faith  without 
works  is  dead  ? 

c^i^  Was  not  Abraham  our  father  jus- 
tified by  works,  when  he 
had  offered  Isaac  his  son  24  ^Example  IT 
upon  the  altar  ?  (--)  Seest  the  faith  of 
thou '5  how  faith  nought  ^^'^^'^^^-^' 
with  his  works,  and  by  works  was  faith 
made  perfect  ?  (^^)  And  the  scripture 
was  fulfilled  which  saith,  Abraham  be- 


Thore  -would,  however,  seem  to  be  a  worse  inter- 
pretation of  tlie  Avonls,  beginning  so  softly  mth  the 
Eastern  benediction :  namely,  "  Ye  are  warming  and 
filling  yourselves."  It  is  the  rebuke  of  cool  prosperity 
to  importunate  adversity :  "  Why  such  impatience  ? 
God  is  one,  and  our  Father :  He  will  provide."  No 
amount  of  faith  could  clothe  the  shivering  limbs  and 
still  the  hunger  pangs;  what  greater  mockery  than  to 
be  taunted  with  texts  and  godly  precepts,  the  iisual  out- 
come of  a  spurious  and  clieap  benevolence. 

Notwithstanding  ye  give  them  not.— The  "  one 
of  you"  in  the  beginning  of  the  verse,  then,  was  re- 
presentative of  the  whole  body  addressed  by  St.  James ; 
and  now  by  his  use  of  the  plural  "ye,"  we  see  that  no 
individual  was  singled  out  for  condemnation  :  the 
offence  was  wider  and  worse. 

(1")  Even  so  faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is 
dead,  being  alone. — Better,  like  the  margin,  is  dead 
in  its  oion  self.  If  to  bo  childless  among  women  were  a 
curse  in  Israel,  so  to  be  barren  among  God's  graces  is 
the  condemnation  of  faith  in  Christendom.  And  St. 
Paul,  in  substantial  harmony  with  this  assertion  of  his 
brother  Apostle,  declares  (Rom.  ii.  13)  "  Not  the  hearers 
of  the  Law  are  just  before  God,  but  the  doers  of  the  Law 
shall  be  justified."  There  had  been  no  lack  of  charity 
under  the  earlier  Jewish  teaching;  in  fact,  "  righteous- 
ness "  in  many  passages  of  Holy  W"i*it,  and  in  the  para- 
phrases for  the  unlearned,  called  the  Targums,  was 
explained  to  bo  "  almsgi^^ng."  But  the  whole  system 
of  Rabbinism  seems  gradually  to  have  destroyed  tho 
spiritual  life  of  its  scliolars;  and  amongst  them  now 
was  fast  spreading  the  doctrine  of  a  sterile  faith.  In 
the  revival  of  Monotheism  under  the  sword  of  the  pro- 
phet of  Mecca,  the  faith  of  Abraham  once  more  shone 
in  the  creed  of  his  descendants  ;  though,  alas  !  the  sons 
of  Ishniael.  and  not  Isaac  the  chosen  :  and  the  Muham- 
medans  tell  us  stiU  that  if  fasting  and  prayer  bring  the 
believer  to  the  gates  of  Paradise,  alms  mil  let  him  in. 

(18)  Yea,  a  man  may  say  .  .  .—The  bearing  of 
this  verse  is  commonly  misunderstood ;  its  words  are 
those  of  scorn,  uttered  probably  by  some  enemy  of  the 
faith — Jewish  or  Pagan — and  are  another  instance,  like 
that  of  tlie  unruly  tongue,  by  which  those  outside  the 
pale  of  Christianity  may  and  will  judge  us  within. 
Verses  18  to  22  are  all  the  speech  of  tliis  practical 
opponent  of  first  century  solifidianism.  The  English 
version,  "  Show  me  thy  faith  unthout  thy  works  "  is 
correct,  thougli  according  to  some  editors  (see  marginal 
variation)  it  sliould  be  by  or  from. 

The  sense  is  obvious;  and  whetlier  the  speaker  bo 
Christian  or  no,  he  lays  claim  to  faith  in  God,  tho 
Father  of  all,  as  the  efficient  cause  of  his  good  deeds. 

(19)  Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God; 
thou  doest  well.— Better  tlius,  Thou  believest  that 
God  is  One ;  thou  doest  well.  He  is  tlie  formal  object 
of  faitli  derived  from  knowledge,  whether  by  sense,  in- 


367 


tuition,  or  demonstration ;  you  arc  theologically  correct, 
and  may  even  declare  your  intemal  faith  by  external 
confession — well,  indeed. 

The  devils  also  believe,  and  tremble.— They 
shudder  in  the  belief  which  only  assures  them  of  their 
utter  misery ;  literally,  their  hair  stands  on  end  with 
terror  of  the  God  they  own.  Assent,  opinion,  know- 
ledge— all  are  thus  shared  by  demons  of  tlie  pit ;  call 
not  your  joint  possession  by  the  holier  name  of  Faith. 
"  I  believe  in  God,"  "  I  believe  in  one  God  " — such  is 
the  A'oice  of  the  Christian  ;  and  this  is  said  in  the  full 
sense  "  only  by  those  who  love  God,  and  who  are  not 
only  Christians  in  name,  but  in  deed  and  in  life." 

(20)  But  wilt  thou  know,  O  vain  man,  that 
faith  without  works  is  dead  ?  —  •' Yain,"  i.e., 
empty  and  useless.  Some  copies  have  a  word  whicli 
means  idle,  fruitless,  workless,  in  place  of  that  trans- 
lated "  dead  "  ;  but  the  sense  is  the  same  either  way. 
"  If,"  says  Bishop  Beveridge,  "  I  see  fruit  gi'owiug  upon 
a  tree,  I  know  what  tree  it  is  upon  which  such  fruit 
grows.  And  so,  if  I  saw  how  a  man  lives,  I  know  how 
he  believes.  If  his  faith  be  good,  his  works  cannot  but 
be  good  too  ;  and  if  his  works  be  bad,  his  faith  cannot 
but  be  bad  too  :  for,  wheresoever  there  is  a  justifj-ing 
faith,  there  are  also  good  works  ;  and  wheresoever  there 
are  no  good  works,  there  is  no  justifying  faith."  Works 
are  the  natural  fruit  of  faith  ;  and  without  them  it  is 
evident  the  tree  is  dead,  pei-haps  at  the  very  roots, 
ready  to  be  cut  down  and  cast  into  the  fire. 

(21)  Was  not  Abraham  our  father  justified 
by  works  .  .  ?— St.  James  now  addresses  his  two 
examples  from  familiar  history  in  force  of  his  plea  for 
active  faith.  The  first  is  the  marvellous  devotion  and 
trust  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xxii.)  ichen  he  offered  Isaac  his 
son  upon  the  altar  ;  that  boy  himself  the  type  of  God's 
dear  Son,  who  bore,  like  His  meek  ancestor,  the  sacrificial 
wood  up  the  long  weary  road  of  death.  Happily,  tlie 
story  is  as  well  known  to  Christian  readers  as  to  tlie 
Jewish  of  old  time,  and  may  safely  be  left  here  without 
further  comment. 

(~)  Seest  thou  how  .  .  ?— Better  taken  simply, 
and  not  as  a  question.  Thou  see.-?t  how.  etc. 

(23)  The  scripture  was  fulfilled.- Namely,  that 
earlier  declaration  of  God  (Gen.  xv.  6)  when  the  child- 
less Abraiiam,  with  only  a  Sp-ian  slave  for  his  heir, 
trusted  in  the  diA-ine  promise  that  his  own  seed  should 
be  as  the  number  of  the  stai-s  of  heaven. 

Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  imputed 
unto  him  for  righteousness.- He  proved  his  faith 
by  obedience,  when  he  freely  gave  back  to  the  Giver 
his  son,  tlio  heir  of  all  the  promise. 

The  Friend  of  God.— Amatus  a  I>co— beloved  of 
Him,  not  the  friend  to  God,  nor  lover  of  Him.  as  some 
liave  hastily  imagined.  It  is  not  an  exact  quotation 
from  the  Hebrew  Bible,  thougli  the  substance  thereof 
may  be  found  in  Isa.  xli.  8.     The  term  Avas  tmditional 


Rahah  the  Ilarlnf. 


JAMES,   III. 


Tlie    Banger  of  Teaching  others. 


lieved  God,"  and  it  was  imputed 
unto  him  for  righteousness :  and 
he  was  called  the  Friend  of  God. 
(2^)  Ye  see  then  how  that  by  works 
a  man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith 
only. 

(^)  Likewise  also  was  not  Rahab  the 
ri.ap.  ii.  25.  lifirlot  justified  by  works, 
Example  2:  when  she  had  received  the 
tliiit  of  Kahab.  messengers,  and  had  sent 
them  out  another  way  ?     (-'^^  For  as  the 


a  ficn.  15.  «;  Rom. 
4.3;  i;al.3.  0. 
1  Or,  breath. 


.2  Or, jiulgmmi. 


body  without  the  spirit  ^  is  dead,  so  faith 
without  works  is  dead  also. 


CHAPTER  III.— (1)  My  brethren,  be 
not  many  masters,  know- 
ing that  we  shall  receive 
the  greater  condemnation.- 
(2)  p"or  in  many  things  we 
offend  all.  If  any  man 
offend  not  in  word,  the 
same    is    a    perfect    man. 


Chap.  iii.  1  — 
12.  Warnin^js 
against  censo- 
riousness,  and 
sins  of  the 
tongue  ;  with 
examples  of 
its  venom  and 
iinruliness. 


tlirouofliout  tlio  Ea.st,  and  is  used  l)y  tlie  Arabs  as  de- 
scriptive of  the  patriarcli  to  this  day. 

t^'^J  Ye  see  then  how  that  by  works  .  .  . — 
Observe  tliat  St.  James  says  a  man  is  not  justified  "  by 
faith  only,"  putting  tlie  adverb  in  the  last  and  most 
emphatic  position.  Ho  never  denies  Jnstifieation  by 
Faith;  but  that  fancied  one  of  idle,  speculative, 
theoretic  faith,  with  no  corresponding  acts  of  love. 

('-■'■')  Likewise  also  .  .  . — The  second  example, 
brought  forward  in  strange  and  complete  contrast  to 
Abraliam,  "the  father  of  many  nations,"  is  that  of 
Rahal),  the  harlot,  who  received  and  sheltered  in  her 
liouse  at  J(>richo  the  two  spies  sent  out  from  the  camp 
of  Israel  (Josh.  ii.).  The  evil  name  of  the  poor  woman's 
unhappy  trade  cannot  truthfidly  bo  softened  down  to 
"  innkeeper,"  nor  even  "  idolater." 

Sent  them  out. — Literally,  hastened,  or  thrust 
them  forth,  showing  her  haste  and  fear. 

It  may  not  l)e  out  of  place  to  notice  that  Clement, 
Bi.shop  of  Ron\e,  one  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  in  his 
first  letter  to  tlie  Corinthians,  sees  in  the  scarlet  thread 
which  Rahal)  bound  in  her  window  a  type  of  our  Re- 
deemer's blood.  And  it  is  most  remarkable,  as  showing 
the  nn>rcy  of  God,  that  this  outcast  of  society  was  not 
only  saved  alive  and  lirougjit  into  the  fold  of  Israel,  but 
became  a  direct  ancestress  of  her  Saviour,  by  marriage 
with  Salmon,  the  great-gi*eat-grandfather  of  David 
(Matt.  i.  5). 

(26)  As  the  body  without  the  spirit  .  .  .—A 
closing  simile  of  much  force,  ^.s  tlie  body  without  the 
sjnrit,  so  faith  without  works.  But  the  term  "  with- 
out "  is  hardly  strong  enough  to  represent  the  Greek 
"apart  from."  Of  our  own  human  msdom  we  had 
been  rather  inclined  to  say  that  works  were  likcst  to 
the  body,  and  faith  to  the  breatli  or  animation  thereof. 
"The  Apostle's  view,"  says  Alford,  ".seems  to  be  this. 
Faith  is  tlu?  body,  the  sum  and  substance  of  ilie  Chris- 
tian lift' ;  works  (=  obedience)  the  moving  and  quicken- 
ing of  tliat  body,  just  as  the  spirit  is  the  moving  and 
(luickeniiig  principli^  of  tiie  natural  body.  So  tliat  '  as 
the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without 
works  is  also  dead.'  " 

III. 

Chapter  iii.  is  a  division  of  the  Epistle  complete  in 
itself,  specially  concerned  with  Sins  of  the  Tongue. 
Warnings  and  examples  are  given  in  plenty  (versos 
5 — 12)  followed  by  exhortations  to  meekness  and 
gentleness,  and  the  promise  of  "  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness "  to  the  lovers  of  peace  (verses  13 — 18). 

(1)  Be  not  many  masters.— Better,  <cftc7(cr.<?,  which 
meaning  was  conveyed  liy  '•  masters  "  when  the  Engli,sh 
Bible  was  first  published.  The  condemnation  is  of 
those  who  appoint    themselves,  and    are    as   "  bhnd 


3G8 


leaders  of  the  blind"  (Matt.  xv.  14).  Neman  had  a 
right  to  exorcise  the  sacred  functions  of  the  appointed 
masters  in  Israel  (see  Note  on  John  iii.  10),  and  none 
might  take  the  honour  of  the  priesthood  unto  himself, 
"  but  he  that  was  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron  "  (Heb. 
V.  4).  Whereas  we  know  from  our  Lord's  own  words 
that  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  loved  respectful  "  greet- 
ings in  the  markets,  and  to  be  called  of  men  'Ralilii, 
Rabbi  ' "  (Matt,  xxiii.  1—12).  Nevertheless  His 
disciples  were  not  to  be  acknowledged  thus  :  for  "  one 
is  your  Master,  even  Christ ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren." 
The  neglect  of  this  wholesome  caution  perplexed  the 
early  Church,  as  much  as  the  later  branches  thereof. 
(Comp.  Acts  XV.  24;  1  Cor.  i.  12 ;  1  Cor.  xiv.  26;  Gal. 
ii.  12.) 

The  greater  condemnation. — Rather,  the  greater' 
judgment — more  strictly  searching  and  severe.  "  None 
of  us  livetli  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself  " 
(Rom.  xiv.  7),  and,  if  this  be  true  of  common  Christian 
life,  how  deep  is  the  responsibility  incurred  in  the 
attempt  to  teach  others!  Nay — "who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  ?"  (2  Cor.  ii.  6.)  The  test  of  all  ministry 
must  come  at  last  in  the  day  of  trial  and  fiery  inquisi- 
tion of  God ;  this  and  not  the  world's  o)>inion  will  be 
the  i-eal  approval  (1  Cor.  iii.  11 — 15).  If  the  work  of 
any  teacher  abide,  his  reward  will  be  exceeding  great ; 
if  it  "  be  burned,"  woe  to  him  !  "  Ho  himself  shall  bo 
saved,  yet  so  as  by  fire,"  scathed  by  that  which  shall 
consume  the  rubbish  he  has  raked  together ;  the  faith 
which  prompted  such  a  man  shall  save  him,  but  no 
reward  can  follow  useless  teaching ;  nor  can  there  bo 
escape  for  his  own  soul,  except  he  wrought  honestly. 

(2)  For  in  many  things  we  offend  all. — Better 
thus.  For  in  many  things  we  all  offend:  not,  what 
might  be  inferred,  "  we  are  an  offence  to  all,"  as  Matt, 
xxiv.  1) ;  1  Cor.  iv.  13,  ct  al.  Humble,  indeed,  was  the 
holy  mind  of  James,  but  this  confession  of  error  uplifts 
him  in  all  right  appreciation,  and  in  no  way  casts  him 
down.  The  very  human  weakness  of  Peter,  and  Paul, 
and  James,  endears  them  to  us  ;  for  so  wo  know 
assuredly  that  they  wei'o  "  men  of  like  passions  "  with 
ourselves  (Acts  xiv.  15),  and,  where  they  succeeded,  we, 
by  tlie  like  grace  of  God.  may  also  win  the  crown. 

If  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a 
perfect  man, — If  any  man  :  much  more  one  who  fain 
would  teach  his  fellows.  To  "  ofPend "  means  to 
stumble  over  something,  and  fall,  and  in  this  sense  w© 
get  the  exact  meaning  of  "  offending  "  by  an  unguarded 
allusion  to  a  suliject  painful  in  the  mind  of  another. 
"  A  cou.stant  governance  of  our  speech,  according  to 
duty  and  reason,  is  a  high  instance,  and  a  special  ai-gu-^ 
mont  of  a  thoroughly  sincere  and  solid  goodness,"  says 
Isaac  Barrow ;  but  the  meekest  of  men  failed  once,  and" 
blessed  indeed  is  he  who  takes  heed  to  his  ways  that  Iw 
sins  not  with  his  tongue  (Ps.  xxxix.  1). 


The  Duty  of 


JAMES,   III. 


Curbing  the  Tongue. 


and  able  also  to  bridle  the  wliole 
body.  (^)  Behold,  we  put  bits  in  the 
horses'  mouths,  that  they  may  obey 
us ;  ai;id  we  turn  about  their  whole 
body.  ("*)  Behold  also  the  ships,  which 
though  they  be  so  great,  and  are  driven 
of  fierce  winds,  yet  are  they  turned  about 
with  a  very  small  helm,  whithersoever 
the  governor  listeth.  (^^  Even  so  the 
tongue  is  a  little  member,  and  boasteth 
great    things.      Behold,   how   great    a 


3  fir.  nature  of 

mdn 


matter  ^  a  little  fire  kindleth !  (6)  j^^^ 
the  tongue  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity : 
so  is  the  tongue  among  our  members, 
that  it  defileth  the  whole  body,  and 
setteth  on  fire  the  course  of  nature; 
and  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell. 

<^^  For  every  kind^  of  beasts,  and  of 
birds,  and  of  serpents,  and  „,  ...  y_ 
of  things  in  the  sea,  is  12!  The  un- 
tamed, and  hath  been  natural  be- 
tamed  of  mankind :  ^  ^^^  but  of. 


Able  also  to  bridle  the  wliole  body.— Not  that 
if  the  tongue  be  stilled  all  the  members  of  the  body  are 
consequeutly  in  peace ;  but,  because  the  work  of  i-uHiig 
the  oue  rebel  is  so  great,  that  a  much  less  corre- 
sponding efPort  will  keep  the  others  in  subjection. 

(3)  Behold. — A  more  clumsy  reading  is  insisted 
upon  hero  :  but  if,  instead  of  "  behold."  The  supporters 
of  such  curious  corrections  argue  that  the  least  likely  is 
the  most  so  ^  and  thus  every  slip  of  a  copyist,  either  in 
grammar  or  spelling,  becomes  more  sacred  in  their  eyes 
than  is  the  Received  text  with  believers  in  verbal 
inspiration. 

Three  comparisons  of  the  tongue  are  now  introduced ; 
the  bit  (verse  3),  the  rudder  (verse  4),  and  a  fire 
(verse  6)  :  the  two  former  to  show  what  mastery  may 
be  gained  by  self-discipline,  the  latter  to  warn  us  of  a 
danger  which  may  quickly  spread  beyond  our  power 
to  quell. 

0)  The  governor— i.e.,  the  "helmsman,"  from  the 
Latin  gubernator.  The  Venerable  Bede,  our  earliest 
English  translator,  refers  the  ships  here  to  au  image  of 
ourselves,  and  the  winds  to  the  impulses  of  our  own 
minds,  by  which  we  are  driven  hither  and  thither. 

St.  James,  remembering  the  storms  of  the  Galilean 
lake,  could  well  rejoice  in  a  simile  like  this,  although 
he  himself  may  only  have  known  the  craft  of  an  inland 
sea,  and  never  have  beheld  "  broad  rivers  and  streams  " 
wherein  went  "  galley  with  oars  and  gallant  ship  "  (Isa. 
xxxiii.  21).  And  none  knew  better  than  the  brother  of 
the  Lord  who  was  the  true 

"  Helm  of  the  ships  that  keep 
Pathway  along  the  deep." 

(5)  Even  so  .  .  .—Thus,  like  the  tiny  rudder  of 
the  mighty  ship,  whereon  its  course  most  critically 
depends — the  tongue  is  a  little  member  ;  for  it 
"  vaunts  great  words  which  bring  about  great  acts  of 
mischief."  The  verb  translated  6oa.5ie<7i  is  peculiar  to 
this  place,  but  occurs  so  often  in  the  works  of  Philo 
that  we  may  be  almost  certain  St.  James  had  read 
them.  And  many  other  verses  of  our  Epistle  suggests 
his  knowledge  of  this  famous  Alexandrian  Jew. 

Behold,  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire 
kindleth  ! — It  would  be  more  in  the  spirit  and  temper 
of  this  imaginative  passage  to  render  it,  "  Behold,  how 
great  a  forest  a  little  spark  kindleth !  "  Thus  it  is 
expressed  in  the  Latin  Vulgate;  and  note  our  o^vn 
margin,  "  wood."  The  image  constantly  recurs  in 
poetry,  ancient  and  modem ;  and  in  the  Avi-iter's  mind 
there  seems  to  have  been  the  picture  "of  the  wrapping 
of  some  vast  forest  in  a  flame,  by  the  falling  of  a  single 
spark,"  and  this  in  illustration  of  the  far-reaching 
mischief  resulting  from  a  single  cause.  (Comp.  Ecclus. 
xxviii.  10.)  I 

(6)  And  the  tongue  is  a  fire.- Better  thus,  The 

90  369 


tongue — that  world  of  iniquity  — is  a  fire,  to  bum  and 
destroy  the  fairest  works  of  peace.  The  tongue  is  in 
our  members  that  which  defileth  the  whole  body,  and 
setteth  the  world  afiame,  and  is  set  on  fire  itself  of 
Gehenna.  "  The  course  of  Nature  "  is  literally  the 
"  wheel,"  the  "  orb  of  creation."  The  JcAvish  word 
for  the  place  of  torment,  the  accursed  side  of  Hades, 
should  bo  thus  presented :  whence  it  was  that  the  rich 
man  of  the  parable  prayed  for  water  to  cool  his  tongue 
(Luke  x^^.  24). 

"  Speech  is  silver ;  silence,  gold."  But  even  the 
Christian  world  will  not  endure  overmuch  the  godly 
discipline  of  sUence.  Three  temptations  "  to  smite 
with  the  tongue  "  are  specially  powerful  of  e-sil :  viz., 
as  a  relief  from  passion,  as  a  gratification  of  sjiite,  as 
revenge  for  wrong.  The  first  is  experienced  by  hot- 
tempered  folk  ;  the  second  yielded  to  by  the  malicious  ; 
the  third  welcomed  by  the  otherwise  weak  and  defence- 
less ;  and  all  of  us  at  times  are  in  each  of  these  divisions. 
Then,  again,  there  are  the  "foolish  talkings"  (Eph.  v. 
4),  and  worse,  the  jestiugs  at  holy  tilings,  and  mis- 
quotations of  Scripture  :  all  to  be  avoided  as  not 
becoming  saints.  If  then  we  would  "  walk  m  love  " 
we  must  curb  the  tongue  ;  but,  better  still,  strive  to 
cleanse  the  heart,  and  so  bo  quite  dctenniued  that 
nothing  shall  go  forth  but  words  of  meekness  and 
affection.  Nay,  if  we  be  truly  Christ's,  though  "  re- 
viled "  by  the  unruly  tongues  of  others,  we  shall,  like 
Him,  "  revile  not  again"  (1  Pet.  ii.  23).  And  as  the 
whole  body  is  the  Lord's  to  be  sanctified  to  Him 
(1  Cor.  vi.  19  et  seq.),  so  particularly  must  the  tongue 
be  kept  from  "  evil-speaking,  lying,  and  slandering," 
and  used  rightly  for  the  service  of  God.  Thus  may  we 
truly  offer  "  the  calves  of  our  lips  "  (Hos.  xiv.  2),  more 
acceptable  than  the  blood  of  victims  slain  on  a  thousand 
altars,  "  than  all  whole  burnt -offerings  and  sacrifices  " 
(Mark  xii.  23). 

(7)  For  every  kind  of  beasts .  .  .—Compare  the 
margin,  and  read  more  exactly,  thus:  Every  nattire  of 
beasts  and  birds,  and  creeping  things,  and  things  of 
the  sea,  is  tamed,  and  hath  been  tamed,  by  the  nature 
of  man.  AU  kinds  have  been  masteied  by  mankind,  as 
promised  at  creation  (Gen.  i.  26 — 28).  There  lives  no 
creature  which  may  not  be  won  by  kindness  and  grati- 
tude; and — 

"  He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 
All  thin^r9  both  proat  and  small ; 
For  tlie  dear  God  Who  loveth  us. 
He  made  and  loveth  all." 

The  four -fold  division  of  animal  life  above  is  cnriously 
like  and  unlike  that  in  Acts  x.  17.  where  we  read  of 
"  foiir-footod  beasts  of  the  earth,  wild  beasts,  creeping 
things,  and  fowls  of  the  air." 

(8)  But  the  tongue  can  no  man  tamo;  it 
is  an  unruly  (or,  restless)  evil,  full  of  deadly 


Ail  Instruvient  of  much  (jood 


JAMES,   III. 


and  great  harm. 


the  tongue  can  no  man  tame  ;  it 
is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of  deadly 
poison.  (^)  ThereAvith  bless  we  God, 
even  the  Father ;  and  therewith 
curse  we  men,  which  are  made  after  the 
similitude  of  God.  ^^^^  Out  of  the  same 
mouth  proceedeth  blessing  and  cursing. 
My  brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so 
to  be.  (^^^  Doth  a  fountain  send  forth 
at  the  same  place  ^  sweet  water  and 
bitter  ?  ^^-^  Can  the  fig  tree,  my  brethren, 


1  Or,  hole. 


bear  olive  berries  ?  either  a  vine,  figs  ? 
so  can  no  fountain  both  yield  salt  water 
and  fresh. 

(13)  wiio  is  a  wise  man  and  endued 
with  knowledge  among  ^hap.  iii.  13- 
you  ?  let  him  shew  out  is.  Exhorta- 
of    a    good    conversation  t^-l^^towar J 

his  works  with  meekness  tieness,       and 
of  vdsdom.     (i^)  But  if  ye  P"-^^^*^- 
have  bitter  envying  and  strife  in  your 
hearts,  glory  not,  and  lie  not  against 


poison.— Mortiferous,  bringer  of  death,  like  a  poisoned 
dart  or  arrow;  and  therefore  most  suggestive  of  eu- 
venomod  flights  at  the  fame  of  others.  St.  James  does 
not  mean  that  no  one  can  tame  his  own  tongue,  for  so  he 
would  hardly  bo  responsible  for  its  vagaries ;  and  lower 
down  it  is  written  expressly,  "  these  things  ought  not  so 
to  be."  The  hopeless  savagery  of  the  tongue,  excelling 
the  fury  of  wild  beasts,  must  be  that  of  the  liar,  the 
traducer,  and  blasi^hemer.     (Comp.  Ps.  cxl.) 

(9)  Therewith  bless  we  God,  even  the  Father. 
— A  strange  reading  of  this  vei-se  in  the  more  ancient 
manuscripts  makes  it.  Therewith  bless  we  the  Lord  and 
Father.  And  it  may  serve  to  remind  us  of  the  one- 
ness of  our  God,  that  thus  He  may  be  termed  Lord 
and  Saviour.  His  worsliip  and  praise  are,  as  explained 
under  verse  6,  the  right  use  of  the  tongue ;  but,  most 
inconsistently,  therewith  curse  we  ?>!-e?i  which  have  been 
made  in  the  image,  after  the  similitude,  of  God.  See 
Ps.  1.  16 — 23,  with  its  final  words  of  warning  to  the 
wicked,  and  praise  "  to  him  that  ordereth  his  con- 
versation right." 

The  "  likeness  of  God  "  assuredly  remains  in  the 
most  abandoned  and  fallen  ;  and  to  curse  it  is  to  invoke 
the  wrath  of  its  Creator.  "What  then  can  be  urged  in 
defence  of  anathemas  and  fidminations  of  comicils,  or 
the  mutual  execrations  of  sects  and  schisms,  in  the 
light  of  these  solemn  words  ?  "  Though  they  curse, 
yet  bless  thou  .  .  .  and  let  them  cover  themselves 
with  their  own  confusion  "  (Ps.  cix.  28,  29). 

(10)  Ought  not.— The  Greek  equivalent  for  this  is 
only  found  liere  in  the  New  Testament,  and  seems 
strangely  weak  when  we  reflect  on  the  usual  vehemence 
of  the  \yriter.  Was  he  sadly  conscious  of  the  failui-e 
beforehand  of  his  protest  ?  At  least,  there  seems  no 
trace  of  satire  in  the  sorrowful  cadence  of  his  lines, 
"  Out  of  the  same  mouth  !  " 

(11)  Doth  a  (or,  the)  fountain  send  forth  (literally, 
spurt)  at  the  same  place  (or,  hole,  see  margin) 
sweet  water  and  bitter  (i.e.,  fresh  water  and  salt)  ? 
— A  vivid  picture,  i^robably,  of  the  mineral  springs 
abounding  in  the  Jordan  valley,  near  the  Dead  Sea; 
with  which  might  bo  contrasted  the  clear  and  sparkling 
rivnilets  of  the  north,  fed  by  the  snows  of  Lebanon. 
Nature  had  no  confusion  in  her  plans ;  and  thus  to 
pour  out  curse  and  blessing  from  the  same  lips  were 
unnatural  indeed.     Or,  again — 

(1^)  Can  the  fig-tree,  my  brethren,  bear  olive 
berries?  either  a  vine,  figs?— Road.  C«n  a  ./?(7- 
tree  hear  olives,  or  a  vine,  Jftgs  /  The  inquiry  sounds 
like  a  memory  of  our  Lord's,  "  Do  men  gather  grapes 
of  tliorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?  "  (Matt.  vii.  16.) 

So  can  no  fountain  .  .  .—This,  the  last  clause  of 
the  sentence  above  in  the  Authorised  version  is  very  con- 
fused in  the  original,  but  seems  to  be  merely  this.  Neither 
can  salt  (water)  bring  forth  fresh ;  or,  as  Wordsworth 


renders  it,  Nor  can  water  that  is  salt  produce  what  is 
siveet.  And  such  in  effect  is  Alf ord's  comment :  "  If 
the  mouth  emit  cursing,  thereby  making  itself  a  brackish 
spring,  it  cannot  to  any  purpose  also  emit  the  sweet 
stream  of  praise  and  good  words ;  if  it  appear  to  do  so, 
all  must  be  hyijocrisy  and  mere  seeming."  Every 
blessing  is,  in  fact,  tainted  by  the  tongue  which  has 
uttered  curses ;  and  even  "  Praise  is  not  seemly  in  the 
mouth  of  a  sinner"  (Ecclus.  xv.  9). 

(13)  Who  is  a  wise  man  and  endued  with 
knowledge  ? — Who  is  wise,  i.e.,  in  the  wisdom  of 
God,  and  learned  in  that  of  man  ?  The  latter  state  is 
of  knowledge  natural  or  acquired,  the  former  is  Sophia, 
the  highest  heavenly  wisdom,  "  the  breath  of  the  power 
of  God — the  brightness  of  the  everlasting  light— more 
beautiful  than  the  sun,  and  above  all  the  order  of  the 
stars"  (Wisd.  vii.  25 — 29).  Just  as  the  de^nls  hold 
with  man  the  lower  kinds  of  faith,  that  is  belief  merely 
(chap.  ii.  19),  so  do  they  share  in  his  earthly  knowledge. 
The  self-same  term  as  that  describing  it  above  is  used 
by  the  evil  spirit  who  answered  the  presumptuous  sons 
of  Sceva,  "  Paul  I  /jhoic,''  while  a  different  one  alto- 
gether referred  to  the  Lord  Jesus  (Acts  xix.  15). 

"  \^Tiere  shall  Wisdom  be  found. 
And  where  is  the  place  of  Understanding?" 

was  the  question  of  Job  (chap,  xxviii.  12).  And  the 
LXX.  version  marks  tlie  parallelism  in  the  same  Greek 
words  as  those  used  by  St.  James  to  distinguish  between 
the  two  ideas. 

Let  him  shew  out  of  a  good  conversation— 
i.e.,  right  conduct.  "  Conversation  "  has  slipped  from 
its  original  meaning,  which  exactly  i-epresented  the 
Greek,  and  is  often  misapprehended  by  the  English 
reader.  Literally,  "  turning  oneself  about,"  it  changed 
to  "  walking  to  and  fro,"  and  the  talking  while  engsiged 
in  these  peripatetics,  and  then  to  its  limited  modem 
use.  Tliere  is  to  be  general  good  conduct,  and  particu- 
lar proofs  of  it  in  kindly  works  in  meekness  of  wisdom, ; 
noble  acts  of  a  holy  habit. 

(1^)  But  if  ye  have  bitter  envying  and  strife 
in  your  hearts.— Rather,  it  should  be,  hitter  zeal  and 
party-spirit.      "  Above   all,  no  zeal "  was  the  worldly 
caution  of  an  astute  French  prelate.     But  that  against 
which  the  Apostle  inveighed  had  caused  Jerusalem  to 
run  with  blood,  and  afterwards  helped  in  her  last  hour 
to  add  horror  upon  shame.     The  Zealots  were  reallji 
assassins,  pledged  to  any  iniquity ;  such  were  the  forty! 
men  "  who  bound  themselves  under  a  curse,  saying  theyl 
would  neither  eat  nor  drink  till  they  had  killed  Paul '" 
(Acts  xxiii.  12;  see  Note  there).     Some  of  these  dea- 
peradoes  unluckily  escaped  the  swords  of  the  Romans,! 
and  fled  to  the  fastnesses  of  Mount  Lebanon.     Theyl 
were    proliably  the  nucleus    of   a  still  more  mfamoual 
society,  known  iu  the  middle  ages  as  that  of  the  Old] 


370 


The  Wisdom  from  Above, 


JAMES,   IV. 


and  the  Marks  thereof. 


the  truth.  (i^>  This  wisdom  descendeth 
not  from  above,  but  is  earthly,  sen- 
sual, ^  devilish.  (^^^  For  where  envying 
and  strife  is,  there  is  confusion'^  and 
every  evil  work.  (^''^  But  the  wisdom 
that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then 
peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be   in- 


8   Or,    without 
wrangling, 

1  Or,  natural. 

2  Gr.  tumult,   or, 

iDiquietuess. 


treated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits, 
without  partiality,^  and  without  hypo- 
crisy. (^^^  And  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness is  sown  in  peace  of  them  that 
make  peace. 

CHAPTER     lY.  —  (1)  From    whence 


Man  of  tlie  Mountain  ;  in  fact,  our  word  "  assassin  " 
comes  from  "  Hassan,"  their  first  sheik.  Happily  for 
humanity  they  were  at  length  exterminated  by  the 
Turks. 

Glory  not. — Boast  not  yourselves  as  partakers  of 
this  accursed  zeal ;  behold  already  what  niin  it  is  bring- 
ing on  us  as  a  nation  and  a  Church.  And  it  were  well 
to  take  care  even  in  these  milder  days  of  religious  fac- 
tions, that  the  strife  of  creeds  be  wholly  different  in 
kind  from  the  old  zealot  feuds,  and  not  merely  in  de- 
gree. Able  only  to  rend  and  overthrow,  party- spirit 
wUl,  if  it  be  gloried  and  exulted  in,  lay  down  the  walls 
of  Zion  "  even  to  the  ground."  But  "  if  any  man  defile 
the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God  desti-oy  "  (1  Cor.  iii. 
17),  and  the  words  must  be  translated  much  more 
sternly,  "  If  any  man  destroy   .    .    ." 

Lie  not  against  the  truth. — This  is  not  tautology, 
nor  a  Hebraism,  but  of  far  deeper  import.  "  What 
is  trath  ?"  said  jesting  Pilate  (John  xviii.  38),  and,  as 
Bacon  remarks  in  liis  Essay  on  Truth,  he  would  not  stay 
for  an  answer.  Probably  he  put  a  question  familiar  to 
himself,  learned  in  a  certain  school  of  knowledge  whose 
wise  conclusion  was  that  mankind  could  not  tell ;  and 
the  inquirer  turned  away,  unwitting  that  before  him 
stood  the  incarnate  Truth  itself.  The  world  of  unbelief 
repeats  the  careless  utterance  of  the  Roman  Governor, 
and  holds  with  him  in  its  new  Agnosticism ;  and  to  its 
self-assurance  and  pi-ide  of  life  He.  Who  can  only  be 
learned  in  the  doing  of  His  will  (John  vii.  17),  is  alike 
unknowable  and  unkno^vn.  But  the  words  of  the 
Apostle  have  a  mournful  significance  for  the  ignorant 
of  God ;  and  a  terrible  one  for  the  Christian  who  knows 
and  sins  against  the  Light.  Falsehood  is  not  the  hurt 
of  some  abstract  virtue,  or  bare  rule  of  right  and 
wrong,  but  a  direct  blow  at  the  living  Truth  (John  xiv. 
6),  Who  suifered  and  stiU  "  endures  such  contradiction 
of  sinners  against  Himself  "  (Heb.  xii.  3).  As  the  fault 
of  Judas  Avas  double — personal  treachery  against  his 
Friend  and  Master,  and  a  wider  attack  on  Christ,  the 
Truth  manifest  in  the  flesh — so  in  a  like  two-fold  manner 
we  smite  at  once  God  and  our  brother  when  we  speak 
or  act  a  lie.  AU  faintest  shades  of  falsehood  tend  to 
the  dark  one  of  a  fresh  betrayal  of  the  Son  of  Man  if 
they  be  conceived  against  others,  while  if  they  be 
wrought  only  to  shield  ourselves,  we  are.  as  Montaigne 
observed,  "  brave  before  God,  and  cowards  before  men," 
who  are  as  the  dust  of  His  feet. 

(15)  This  wisdom  descendeth  not  from  above 
•  .  .  . — Better  thus,  This  is  not  the  wisdom  coviing 
down  from  above,  hut  is  earthly,  natural,  devilish. 
This — it  were  profanation  to  caU  it  by  the  holy  name  of 
"ioipla  (Sophia),  being  in  sharpest  contrast  to  it,  of  the 
earth  earthy;  natural  (as  margin),  or  "psychical,"  in 
the  second  sense  of  the  tripartite  diA-ision  of  man — 
body,  sold,  and  spirit — explained  under  chap.  i.  21 
(comp.  Jude,  verso  19,  "  Sensual,  having  not  the 
Spirit ") ;  and  even  worse,  akin  to  the  craft  of  devils. 

(16)  For  where  envying  and  strife  is,  there  is 
confusion. — Where  emulation,  zeal,  and  rivalry  exist, 
there  also  are  sedition,  anarchy,  restless  distiu'bauce, 


and  every  villainous  act.     The  whole  state  is  CAal,  and 
utterly  contrary  to  the  rule  of  the  Gospel — 

"  For  words  and  names  let  ans^ry  zealots  fight : 
Whose  life  is  in  the  wrong  can  ne'er  be  right." 

(17)  But  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above  .  .  . — 
Whereas,  in  sweetest  contrast  to  all  this  ropidsive  foul- 
ness and  riot,  the  true  wisdom  from  above  is  first  pure, 
chaste  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  "  the  Word  made  tlcsh  " 
(John  i.  14),  then  peaceful,  gentle,  and  compliant — 
easy  to  be  won,  full  of  tnercy  and  good  fruits,  im- 
partial, not  double-minded  {non  duplex),  nor  hypocri- 
tical. Compare  with  this  beautiful  description  St. 
Paul's  list  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  "  love,  joy, 
peace,  long-sufEeriug,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meek- 
ness, temperance  "  (Gal.  v.  22),  and  his  discourse  on 
Love  (1  Cor.  xiii.). 

Truly  this  wisdom  "cannot  be  gotten  for  gold, 
neither  shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the  price  thereof ;  " 
"  Happy  is  the  man  that  fiudeth  her."  (Read  Job  xxviii. 
14—19,  and  Prov.  iii.  13—18.) 

(18)  And  the  fruit  of  righteousness  .  .  . — 
Better  thus  slightly  altered  :  And  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness is  sown  in  peace  bi/ them  that  malce  peace.  They 
"shaU  be  called  the  cliildren  of  God"  (Matt.  v.  9). 
Their  friut  is  hidden  in  the  precious  seed,  but  "  the 
times  of  refreshing  shall  come,"  and  the  glorious  j^lant 
bring  forth  her  flower,  and  bear  the  golden  fruit  for 
the  blessed  ones  to  eat  in  the  fadeless  jjaradise  of  God. 
As  "  whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap  " 
(Gal.  vi.  7) — here  is  a  harvest  laid  up  for  the  righteous 
to  enjoy  for  ever;  and  (comp.  Heb.  xii.  11)  God's 
chastening  of  the  truly  penitent  yields  with  it  a  like 
promise  afterwards  of  "the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness " — so,  in  the  tender  mercy  of  our  Saviour,  "  they 
that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy"  (Ps.  cxx\-i.  6). 
Thus,  in  some  words  which  well  might  mark  the  close 
of  one  whose  "  quiet  spirit  slowly  passeth  by  to  some 
more  perfect  peace  " — 

"  Peace  comes  at  length,  though  life  be  full  of  pain ; 
Calm  in  the  faith  of  Chi-ist  1  lay  nie  down  ; 
Pain  for  His  sake  is  peace,  and  loss  is  gain  : 
For  all  who  bear  the  cross  shall  wear  the  crown." 

IV. 

At  the  end  of  what  has  been  considered  the  second 
portion  of  this  Epistle,  there  is  a  last  series  of  rebukes, 
suggested  apparently  by  those  already  given.  Chap.  iv. 
is  included  in  this  fourth  subdi^nsion.  (See  Analysis 
of  Contents.)  The  lust  of  the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life 
are  at  the  root  of  all  the  wrong-doing. 

(1)  From  whence  come  wars  .  .  P— More  cor- 
rectly thus.  Whence  are  wars,  and  whence  fightings 
among  you/  The  perfect  peace  above,  capable,  more- 
over, in  some  ways,  of  commencement  here  below, 
dwelt  upon  at  the  "close  of  chap,  iii.,  has  by  ine-s-itable 
reaction  led  the  Apostle  to  speak  suddenly,  almost 
fiercely,  of  the  existing  state  of  things.  He  traces  the 
conflict  raging  around  him  to  the  fount  and  origin  of 
e>'il  within. 


371 


Of  LvMs  mid 


JAMES,   IV 


Evil  Concupiscence. 


come  wars  and  fightings  ^  among  you  ?  '  ^t,  irawungs. 

^v„^   •     ^ 4    come  they  not  hence,  even  of  ' 

Chap.  IV.   1—4.  1      J.    o     ,,     , 

Rebukes  of  lust  your   lusts  ~    that   war    m 

andlowdesii-es.  ^q^^^    members?       (2)   Ye 

lust,  and  have  not :  ye  kill,  and  de- 
sire to  have,  and  cannot  obtain : 
ye  fight  and    war,    yet    ye   have   not. 


Or,  pleasures. 
3  Or, pleasures. 


because 
receive 
that   )^e 
lusts.'^ 
W  Ye 


ye   ask  not. 
not,    because 
may    consume 


^^'>  Ye  ask,   and 

ye    ask    amiss, 

it   upon   your 


adulterers  and  adulteresses, 
know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the 
world  is  enmity  with  God  ?  whosoever 


Come  they  not  .  .  . — Trauslate,  come  they  not 
hence,  even  from  your  lusts  warring  in  your  merjihers  ? 
The  torin  is  really  pleasures,  but  iii  an  evil  sense, 
anil  therefore  "  lusts.'  "  Tlie  desires  of  various  sorts 
of  pleasures  arc,"  says  Bishop  Moberly,  "  like  soldiers 
in  the  devil's  army,  posted  and  picketed  all  over  us,  in 
the  hope  of  winning  our  members,  and  so  ourselves, 
back  to  his  allegiance,  which  we  have  renounced  in  our 
baptism."  St.  Peter  (1  Pet.  ii.  11)  thus  writes  in  the 
same  strain  of  "  fleshly  lusts,  which  war  against  the 
soul " ;  and  St.  Paul  know  also  of  this  bitter  strife  in 
man,  if  not  actually  in  himself,  and  could  "  see  another 
law "  in  his  members — the  natural  tendency  of  the 
fle-sh — "  warring  against  the  law  of  his  mind,  and 
bringing  him  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which 
is  in  his  members  "  (Rom.  vii.  23).  See  also  Note  on 
2  Cor.  xii.  7. 

Happily  the  Christian  philosopher  understands  this  ; 
and  with  the  very  cry  of  wretchedness,  "  Who  shall 
deliver  me  ? "  can  answer,  "  I  thank  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord"  (Rom.  vii.  24,  25).  But  the 
burden  of  this  hateful  depi-avity  drove  of  old  men  like 
Lucretius  to  suicide  rather  than  endurance ;  and  its 
mantle  of  despair  is  on  all  the  religions  of  India  at  the 
present  time — matter  itself  being  held  to  be  evil,  and 
eternal. 

(2, 3)  Ye  lust,  and  have  not  .  .  .—Better  thus : 
Ye  desire,  and  have  not;  ye  kill,  and  envy,  and 
cannot  obtain;  ye  fight  and  make  war;  ye  have 
not,  because  ye  ask  not;  ye  ask  and  receive  not, 
because  ye  ask  that  ye  tnay  spend  it  on  yoxir 
lusts.  It  Is  interesting  to  notice  the  sharp  crisp 
sentences,  recollecting  at  the  same  time  that  St.  James 
himself  fell  a  victim  to  the  passions  he  thus  assails, 
probably  at  the  hands  of  a  zealot  mob.  The  mar- 
ginal note  to  the  second  of  the  above  paragraphs 
fives  envy  as  an  alternative  reading  for  "  kill " : 
ut  this  is  an  error.  "  Ye  kill  and  play  the 
zealot  "  would  be  still  nearer  the  original :  for,  as  with 
Jedburgh  justice  in  the  old  Border  wars,  hanging 
preceded  the  trial,  so  with  these  factions  in  Jerusalem 
death  went  first,  almost  before  the  desire  to  deal  it. 
Lust,  envy,  strife,  and  murder : — like  the  tale  of 
human  passion  in  all  ages,  the  dreadful  end  draws  on. 
It  is  written  in  eveiy  national  epic ;  its  elements 
abound  in  the  life  of  each  individual  :  the  slaughter 
in  Etzel's  halls  oversliadows  the  first  lines  of  the 
Nibelungen-lied ;  the  curse  of  Medea  hangs  like  a 
gathering  cloud  around  Jason  and  his  Argonauts,  Is 
it  objected  (verse  3)  that  prayer  is  made  but  not 
answered  ?  The  reply  is  obvious ;  Ye  ask  not  in  the 
time  sense  ;  when  ye  do  ask  ye  receive  not,  because 
God  is  too  loving,  even  in  His  anger.  Nevertheless, 
remember,  He  gave  the  Israelites  "  their  desire,  and 
sent  leanness  withal  into  their  soul"  (Ps.  cvi.  15).  "I," 
said  He  by  Ezckiol  (chap.  xiv.  1),  "will  answer  him 
that  cometh  to  Me.  according  to  his  idols."  What 
greater  curse  could  fall  tlian  an  eternity  of  avarice  to 
the  miser,  of  pollution  to  the  sensual,  of  murder  to  the 


372 


violent  ?  Many  a  man  of  quiet  Christian  life  will 
tliank  God  by-and-by,  when  he  knows  even  as  he  is 
known  (1  Cor.  xiii.  12),  that  not  a  few  of  his  prayers 
were  unanswered,  or  at  least  that  they  were  not  granted 
in  the  way  which  he  had  desired.  Safety  is  only  to  be 
found  in  our  Lord's  own  manner  of  petition,  "  Not  my 
will,  but  Thine  be  done"  (Luke  xxii.  42).  Alas!  in 
slianieful  contrast  to  this  we  read  of  many  an  evil- 
hearted  prayer  offered  up  to  the  Lord  our  Righteous- 
ness ;  invocations  of  saints  for  help  in  unholy  deeds  ;  of 
angels,  for  acts  rather  befitting  devils  of  the  pit; 
and  can  hardly  have  the  conscience  to  reproach  the 
heathen  for  supplicating  their  gods  in  no  worse  a 
manner  for  no  better  cause. 

W  Ye  adulterers  and  adulteresses.— Tlie  phrase 
may  seem  to  flow  naturally  after  the  former  ones,  but 
the  Received  text,  from  which  our  version  was  made,  is 
wrong.  It  should  be,  ye  adulteresses !  as  accusing 
those  who  have  broken  their  marriage  vow  to  God. 
The  sense  is  familiar  to  us  from  many  passages  in  the  , 
Old  Testament,  in  which  God  speaks  of  Israel  in  a  ^ 
similar  manner,  e.g.,  Ps.  Ixxiii.  27  ;  Isa.  liv.  5  ;  Jer.  " 
ii.  2  ;  Ezek.  xvi.  passim ;  xxiii.  37 — i3 ;  Hos.  ii.  2. 
Again  in  the  New  Testament:  Matt.  xii.  39;  xvi.  4; 
Mark  viii.  38  ;  Rev.  ii.  20—22 ;  xvii.  1,  5,  15,  &c. ;  St. 
Paul's  description  of  the  church  (2  Cor.  xi.  2),  espoused 
"  as  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ ;  "  and  comp.  2  Pet. 
ii.  14,  specially  the  margin.  "  God  is  the  Lord  and 
husband  of  every  soul  that  is  His  ;  "  and  in  her  revolt 
from  Him,  and  love  for  sin,  her  acts  are  those  of  an 
adulterous  woman. 

Know  ye  not  that  the  friendship  of  the 
world  is  enmity  with  God  ? — i.e.,  the  state  of  being 
an  enemy  to  God,  not  one  of  simpler  enmity  with  Him. 
Tliere  cannot  be  a  passive  condition  to  the  faith  of 
Christ :  "  he  that  is  not  with  Me  is  against  Me  "  (Matt. 
xii.  30).  Renunciation  of  the  world,  in  the  Christian 
promise,  is  not  forsaking  it  when  tired  and  clogged  with 
its  delights,  but  the  earliest  severance  from  it ;  to  break 
this  vow,  or  not  to  have  made  it,  is  to  belong  to  the  foes 
of  God,  and  not  merely  to  be  out  of  covenant  with  Him. 
The  forces  of  good  and  evil  divide  the  land  so  sharply 
that  there  is  no  debatable  ground,  nor  even  halting- 
place  between.  And  if  God  be  just,  so  also  is  He 
jealous  (Ex.  xx.  5). 

"  Let  us  not  weakly  slide  into  the  treason  : 
Yielding  another  what  we  owe  to  Him." 

Whosoever  therefore  will  be  (or,  ^oills  to  he) 
a  friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God. 
The  choice  is  open  ;  here  is  no  iron  fate,  no  dread  neces- 
sity :  but  the  wrong  determination  of  the  soul  con- 
stitutes it  licnceforth  as  an  ally  of  Satan.  "  Woe  unto 
you,  when  all  men  speak  well  of  you  "  (Luke  vi.  26),  for 
the  world,  as  our  Lord  has  taught  us,  must  "  love  its 
own "  (John  xv.  19).  And  the  sooner  the  soldier  of 
Christ  leanis  to  expect  its  animosity,  the  better  will 
he  give  himself  up  to  the  battle.  (Comp.  Matt, 
vi,  24  ;  Luke  xvi.  13.) 


GolVs  Treatment  of  the  ProKcI, 


JAMES,   IV. 


ami  also  of  the  Humble. 


therefore  will  be  a  friend  of  the  world 
is  the  enemy  of  God. 

(^)  Do  ye  think  that  the  scripture  saith 

•     «5_io    "^   vain,    The    spirit    that 

Condemnations  dwelleth  in  US   lusteth   to 

of      arrogance  envy?^     •'^^  But  he   giveth 

and  pride.  ^^^.^    ^^^^^^      Wherefore 

he  saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but 
giveth  grace  unto  the  humble."  ^''*  Sub- 
mit yourselves  therefore  to  God.  Resist 
the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you. 
^^'  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  he  will  draw 
nigh  to  you.      Cleanse  your  hands,  ye 


1  Or,  enviously  1 


a  Prov.  3. 34 ;  1  Pet. 
5.5. 


sinners  ;  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye 
double  minded.  ^'-^^  Be  afflicted,  and 
mourn,  and  weep  :  let  your  laughter 
be  turned  to  mourning,  and  yo^ir  joy 
to  heaviness.  (^^^  Humble  yourselves 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he  shall 
lift  you  up. 

(^^^  Speak  not  evil  one  of  another, 
brethren.  He  that  sj)eak- 
eth  evil  of  his  brother,  g^'^P-  J/-  J^\[ 
and  judgeth  his  brother,  speaking,  and 
speaketh  evil  of  the  law,  ^^^^l  J^^^" 
and  judgeth  the  law :  but 


(5)  Do  ye  think  .  .  ? — The  tone  of  the  Apostle  is 
changed  to  one  of  appeal,  which,  perhaps  (but  see 
below),  may  be  rendered  thus  :  Suppose  ye  that  the 
Scripture  saith  in  vain.  The  (Holy)  Spirit  that  dwelleth 
in  us  jealously  regards  us  as  His  own  /  Our  Authorised 
version  does  not  allow  of  this  apparent  reference  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  indwelling  His  human  temples  (1  Cor. 
iii.  16;  vi.  19,  et  seq.).  for  "lusteth  to  envy,"  or 
enviously,  would  imply  evil  and  not  good.  It  were 
well  that  the  imfaithful,  addressed  in  verse  4,  should 
bear  the  general  sentiment  of  this  verse  in  mind,  and 
not  fancy  such  warnings  of  holy  writ  were  uttered 
emptily,  in  vain. 

Many  commentators  have  been  puzzled  to  say  whence 
the  words  came  which  are  quoted  as  authoritative  by 
St.  James.  Surely  the  substance  was  sufficient  for  him, 
as  for  other  inspired  writers,  without  a  slavish  adher- 
ence to  the  form :  comp.  Gen.  ii.  7  for  the  inbreathing 
of  the  Spirit,  witli  any  such  chapter  as  Deut.  xxxii.  for 
His  jealous  inquisition.  It  must,  however,  be  noted 
that  a  slightly  varied  punctuation  of  the  verse  will  give 
quite  another  sense  to  its  questioning.  (See  Words- 
worth.) Siqipose  ye  that  the  Scripture  spealieth  in 
vain  f  Doth  the  Spirit,  ivhich  took  tip  His  abode  in  you, 
lust  to  envy  ?  And  defensible  or  not  as  this  translation 
may  be,  at  least  it  escapes  some  of  the  difficulties  of 
the  foregoing.  (Exhaustive  notes,  with  references  to 
most  authorities,  ai*e  in  Alford ;  or  an  easy  summary  of 
the  matter  may  be  read  in  Plumptre's  St.  James.) 

(6)  But  he  giveth  more  grace— i.e.,  because 
of  this  very  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within  us. 
He,  as  the  author  and  conveyer  of  all  good  gifts,  in 
their  mystic  seven-fold  order  (Isa.  xi.  2)  adds  to  the 
wasted  treasure,  and  so  aids  the  weakest  in  his  strife 
with  sin,  resisting  the  proud,  lest  he  be  led  to  destruc- 
tion (Prov.  xvi.  18),  and  heljiing  the  humble,  lest  he  be 
"  wearied  and  faint  in  his  mind"  (Hcb.  xii.  3). 

God  resisteth  the  proud  .  .  .—Excepting 
"  God,"  instead  of  "  Lord,"  this  is  an  exact  quotation 
from  the  LXX.  vcr.sion  of  Prov.  iii.  34,  which  reads  in 
our  Bibles,  "  Surely  He  scorneth  the  scorners,  but  He 
givetli  grace  unto  the  lowly."  It  is  again  brought 
forward  by  St.  Peter  (I  Pet.  v.  5),  and  seems  to  have 
been  a  common  sajnng — "  a  maxim  of  the  ^vise  that 
had  bocomo,  as  it  were,  a  law  of  life." 

(")  Submit  yourselves  therefore  to  God. 
(But)  resist  the  devil.— The  hardest  advice  of  all, 
to  a  man  reliant  on  himself,  is  submission  to  any,  more 
especially  to  the  Unknown.  But,  as  a  correlative  to  this, 
the  Apostle  shows  where  pride  may  become  a  stimulant 
for  good,  viz.,  in  contest  witli  tlie  Evil  One. 

He  will  flee.— Or,   he  shall  Jlee.     "  The  Dev-il," 


says  the  strange  old  book  called  The  Shepherd  of 
Hermas,  "  can  tight,  but  he  cannot  conquer ;  if,  there- 
foi-e,  thou  dost  withstand  him,  ho  will  Eee  from  thee, 
beaten  and  asliamed." 

The  text  is  another  proof  of  the  personality  of 
Satan  ;  no  amount  of  figures  of  speech  could  otherwise 
interpret  it. 

(8)  Draw  nigh  to  God  .  .  .—God  waiteth  to  be 
gracious  (Isa.  xxx.  18).  Like  the  father  of  the  prodigal 
son  (Luke  xv.),  He  beholds  us  while  we  are  "  yet  a 
great  way  off,"  and  runs,  as  it  were,  to  hasten  our 
return.  He  has  "  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that 
dieth  "  (Ezek.  xviii.  32).  But  who  shall  come  "  into 
the  tabernacle  of  God,  or  rest  upon  His  holy  hill " 
(Ps.  XV.  1),  excej)t  the  man  "  of  uncorrupt  life "  ? 
Surely,  the  penitent  as  well ;  the  murderous  hands 
"  which  all  the  perfumes  of  Arabia  will  not  sweeten," 
the  hearts  polluted  with  the  most  abominable  lusts,  may 
and  must  be  cleansed ;  sinners  and  double-minded 
(refer  to  chap.  i.  8)  though  they  be,  and  both  in  one, 
the  Lord  of  mercy  will  ''  draw  nigh  "  to  them,  if  they 
to  Him :  all  their  "  transgressions  shall  not  be  men- 
tioned," they  "  shall  live  and  not  die "  (Ezek.  xviii, 
21,  22). 

(9)  Be  afflicted,  and  mourn,  and  weep.— For 
wretchedness,  sorrow,  and  tears  are  the  three  steps  of 
the  homeward  way  to  peace  and  God.  And  iu  proof  of 
real  conversion  there  must  be  the  outward  lamentation, 
as  well  as  the  inward  contrition.  Grieve,  tlierefore, 
with  a  "  godly  sorrow  not  to  be  repented  of  "  (2  Cor. 
vii.  10) — tlie  remorseful  anguish  of  a  Peter,  and  not  a 
Judas.  Let  the  foolish  laughter  at  sin,  which  wa3 
"as  the  crackling  of  thorns"  before  the  avenging  firo 
(Eccles.  vii.  6),  be  turned  to  mourning ;  banish  the 
joyous  smile  for  the  face  cast  down  to  heaviness,  and 
so  await  the  blessedness  of  those  that  mouru  (Matt.  v. 
4),  even  the  promised  comfort  of  God. 

(W)  Humble  yourselves  .  .  .—Head,  Humble 
yourselves  therefore  before  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  lift 
you  up.  "  For  thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One " 
(Isa.  Ivii.  15),  "I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place, 
with  him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit, 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  revive  the 
heart  of  the  contrite.".  (Comp.  1  Pet.  v.  6.)  "  God," 
says  Thomas  Ji  Kenipis,  "  protects  the  humble  and 
delivers  him  ;  He  loves  and  consoles  liim  ;  He  inclinc3 
Himself  towards  the  humble  man.  He  bestows  on  him 
exceeding  grace,  and  after  his  humiliation  He  lifts  him 
up  to  glory;  He  reveals  his  secrets  to  the  humble,  and 
sweetlv  draws  and  loads  him  to  Himself." 

(11)  Speak  not  evil  .  .  .—Do  not  "back-bite," 
as  the   same  word   is  translated    in  Rom.  i.  30,   and 


373 


God  i/i^  one  Law-Giver. 


JAMES,   IV. 


Worldliness  is  reproved. 


if  thou  judge  the  law,  thou  art  not  a 
doer  of  the  law,  but  a  judge. 

(U)  There  is  one  lawgiver,  who  is  able 
to    save    and   to    destroy : 

l7^^^Tlie"  foliv  ^^^  ^^^  ^^*^^  *^^^*  judgest 
of  woriaiiuL'ss,  another?  (^^^  Go  to  now, 
i^^oui"  uncertain  ^g  ^ij^t  say.  To  day  or  to 
morrow  we  will  go  into 
such  a  city,  and  continue  there  a  year. 


1  Or,  For  it  is. 


and  buy  and  sell,  and  get  gain  : " 
(^*)  whereas  ye  know  not  what  shall 
he  on  the  morrow.  For  what  is  your 
life  ?  It  is  ^  even  a  vapour,  that  ap- 
peareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then 
vanisheth  away.  *^^^  For  that  ye  ought 
to  say.  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live, 
and  do  this,  or  that.  ^^'^^  But  now  ye 
rejoice  in  your  boastings  :  all  such  re- 


2  Cor.  xii.  20.  The  good  reason  why  not  is  given  in 
the  gracoful  interjection  "  brothers."  Omit  the  con- 
junt-tion  in  tlie  next  phrase,  and  read  as  follows : — 

He  that  speaketh  evil  .  .  . — Punctuate  thus: 
He,  that  speaheth  evil  of  his  brother,  judgeth  his 
brother  ;  speaheth  evil  of  the  law,  and  judyeth  the  law. 
In  this  way  the  cumulative  force  of  St.  James's  re- 
marks is  best  preserved.  Hearken  to  the  echo  of  his 
Master's  words.  "  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged  " 
(Matt.  ■vii.  ll.  But  the  apostolic  condemnation  is  in 
no  way  meant  to  condone  a  vicious  life,  and  leave  it 
unalanned  and  self-contented ;  for  boldness  in  rebuke 
thereof  we  have  the  example  of  John  the  Baptist.  All 
that  he  reproves  is  the  setting  up  of  our  own  tribunals, 
in  which  we  are  at  once  prosecutor,  witness,  law,  law- 
giver, and  judge ;  not  to  say  executioner  as  well. 
Prcejudiciuvi  was  a  merciful  provision  under  Roman 
law,  and  often  spared  the  innocent  a  lengthier  after- 
trial  ;  but  jirejudice — our  word  taken  fi'om  it — is  its 
most  unhappy  opposite.  Many  worthy  people  have 
much  sympathy  with  David,  in  their  effort  to  hold  their 
tongue  and  keep  "  silence,  yea  even  from  good  words  ;  " 
tndy  it  is  "  pain  and  grief "  to  them  (Ps.  xxxix.  3). 
But  "  to  take  the  law  into  one's  own  hands  "  is  to  break 
it,  and  administer  inequitably. 

(12)  There  is  one  lawgiver  .  .  .  .—Better  thus  : 
One  is  the  L'tw-giver  a)id  Judge,  Who  is  able  to  save 
and  to  destroy  :  but  thou — who  art  thou  that  judgest 
a  neighbour  I  As  a  king  is  the  fountain  of  honour,  so 
the  ultimate  source  of  law  is  God;  and  all  judgment 
really  is  delegated  by  Him,  just  as  ordinary  courts 
represent  the  royal  majesty :  to  usurp  such  functions 
is  to  provoke  the  offended  sovereign — whetlier  of  earth 
or  heaven.  "  It  is  not  our  part,"  said  Beugel,  "  to 
judge,  since  wo  cannot  carry  out  our  sentence." 
(Comp.  a  parallel  scripture,  Rom.  xiv.  4.) 

Able  to  save  and  to  destroy, — Life  and  death, 
salvation  and  utter  destructi-in.  seem  to  be  placed  in 
intentional  contrast  here.  (Comp.  Matt.  x.  28.)  The 
thouglit  of  anniliilation  meets  us  with  aA%'ful  suggestive- 
ness,  yet  let  us  leave  the  mystery  for  awhile  Lu  happier 
thought — 

"  That  nothing  walks  with  aimless  feet ; 
Tliut  not  one  life  shall  be  destroyed, 
Or  cast  as  rubbish  to  the  void. 
When  God  hath  made  the  pile  complete." 

(13)  Ye  that  say  .  .  .  .—The  Apostle  would 
reason  next  with  the  worldly ;  not  merely  those 
abandoned  to  pleasure,  but  any  and  all  absorbed  in  the 
quest  of  gain  or  advancement.  The  original  is  repre- 
sented a  little  more  closely,  thus :  To-day  and  to- 
morrow we  ivill  go  into  this  city,  and  spend  a  year 
there,  and  trade  and  get  gain.  "  Mortals  think  all  men 
mortal  but  themselves ; "  yet  who  docs  not  boast  himself 
of  to-morrow  (Prov.  xxvii.  1),  in  spite  of  a  thousand 
proverbs ;  and  reckon  on  the  wondrous  chance  of 


"  That  nntravellcd  world,  whose  marj^n  fades 
For  ever  and  for  ever  as  he  roams  { " 


374 


(1*)  Whereas    ye    know    not    .    .    .    .—Read, 

Whereas  ye  know  not  aught  of  the  morrow — what, 
i.e.,  the  event  may  be.  The  hopeless  misery  of  the  un- 
faithful servant  comes  into  mind  at  this ;  he  has  left 
the  greater  business  to  perform  the  less ;  or,  it  may  be, 
said  in  heart,  "  My  lord  delayeth  his  coming,"  and  so 
has  begun  "  to  smite  his  fellow-servants,  and  to  eat  and 
drink  with  the  cb-uuken."  And  lo  !  the  thunder  of  the 
chariot  wheels,  the  flash  of  the  avenging  sword,  the 
"  portion  with  the  hypocrites,"  the  "  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth."     (Read  Matt.  xxiv.  42 — 51.) 

For  what  is  your  life  ?  It  is  even  a  vapour. — 
The  rebuke  is  stronger  still,  the  home-thrust  more 
sharp  and  piercing — Ye  are  even  a  vapour  :  ye  your- 
selves, and  all  belonging  to  you ;  not  merely  life  itself, 
for  that  confessedly  is  a  breath;  and  many  a  man, 
acknowledging  so  much,  counts  of  the  morrow  that  he 
may  lay  tip  in  store  for  other  wants  besides  his  own. 

A  vapour,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time, 
and  then  vanisheth  away  (or,  disappear eth). — 
There  is  a  play  upon  words  to  mark  the  sad  antithesis. 
The  vision  of  life  vanisheth  as  it  came  ;  and  thus  even 
a  heathen  poet  says — 

"  Dust  we  are,  and  a  shadow." 

(Comp.  Wisd.  V.  9—14.) 

(15)  For  that  ye  ought  to  say  .  .  .  .— Ee- 
feiTing  to  verse  13,  in  some  such  a  continuation  of 
reproof  as  tliis :  Woe  unto  you  that  say,  .  .  . 
instead  of  saying,  "  If  the  Lord  will "... 
In  fact,  it  is  a  thing  of  the  past,  not  of  time,  but 
completed  action  on  the  part  of  God  — "  If  the 
Lord  have  willed  it,  we  shall  both  live  and  do  this 
or  that."  Such  is  far,  be  it  noted,  from  Fatalism,  in 
even  its  best  form,  as  under  the  teaching  of  Islam. 
The  sovereignty  of  God  is  acknowledged,  but  with  it  is 
plainly  recognised  the  existence  of  man's  free  will, 
dependent,  however,  on  the  permission  of  the  Most 
High  for  its  fleeting  duration  and  power.  St.  Paul 
speaks  in  similar  tone  of  coming  to  Corinth,  "  if  the 
Lord  will"  (1  Cor.  iv.  19)  ;  and  "  God  willing  "  (D.V.), 
"  the  reference  of  all  the  contingencies  of  the  future  to 
One  supremely  wise  and  loving  Will,  has  been  in  all 
ages  of  Christendom  the  stay  and  strength  of  devout 
souls." 

(16)  But  now  .  .  .  .—How  different  is  the  case 
with  yon,  cries  St.  James ;  you  actually  glory  and  de- 
light in  your  own  self-confidence  and  presumption,  and 
every  such  rejoicing  is  evil.  The  word  for  "  boastings" 
is  the  same  as  that  translated  "  the  pride  of  life  "  in 
1  John  ii.  16 — i.e.,  its  braggart  boastfulness,  not  the 
innocent  gladness  of  living.  It  is  the  trust  of  the 
"  ungodly "  (Ps.  x.  6,  "  There  shall  no  harm  happen 
unto  me"),  and  the  mistaken  confidence  of  even  such 
godly  men  as  Job  (chap.  xxix.  18,  "  I  shall  die  in  my 
nest "),  before  the  Almighty  instructs  them  by  trouble, 
and  loss,  and  paiji. 


The  end  of  Biches 


JAMES,   V. 


gotten  hy  Wrong. 


joicing  is  evil.  (^^^  Therefore  to  him 
that  knoweth  to  do  good,  and  doeth  it 
not,  to  him  it  is  siu. 

CHAPTEE  v.— (1)  Go  to  now,  ye  rich 
Chap  V  1—  ^iGn,  weep  and  howl  for 
6.  '     Eebukes  your    miseries    that    shall 

of"  riches,   and   ^P™^®   "P^^  V^^'       ^^^  ^'^"^ 

the  vain  confi-  riches  are  corrupted,  and 
dence  therein,    your  garments  are  moth- 


eaten.  ^3)  Tour  gold  and  silver  is 
cankered ;  and  the  rust  of  them  shall 
be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat 
your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye  have 
heaped  treasure  together  for  the  last 
days.  (^)  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  labourers 
who  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which 
is  of  you  kept  back  by  fraud,  crieth  :  and 
the  cries  of  them  which  have  reaped  are 
entered   into   the   ears   of  the  Lord  of 


(17)  Therefore  .  .  .  . — A  difficulty  presents  itself 
in  this  verse— whether  the  application  be  general,  or  a 
particular  comment  on  the  words  preceding.  Probably 
both  ideas  are  correct.  We  learn  the  converse  to  the 
evil  of  vainglory  in  life,  namely,  the  good  which  may 
be  wrought  by  every  one.  Occasions  of  well-doing  lie 
in  the  abject  at  our  doors,  and  the  pleadings  of  pity  in 
our  very  hearts.  And  thus  it  is  that  omission  is  at 
times  worse  than  commission ;  and  more  souls  are  in 
jeopardy  for  things  left  undone  than  for  things  done. 
In  "  Tlie  Beautiful  Legend"  there  is  a  strife  between  the 
call  of  duty  to  give  out  a  dole  of  bread  to  the  hungi-y, 
and  the  temptation  to  linger  in  religious  ecstasy  over 
a  vision  of  Christ.  But  tlie  true  brother  knew  "  to  do 
good,"  and  did  it ;  and.  returning  at  the  end  of  his 
woi-k,  found  his  cell  full  of  the  radiant  presence  of 
the  Lord,  and  heard  the  words  of  rich  approval — 
"  Hadst  thou  stayed,  I  must  have  fled." 

And  again,  in  another  succession  of  thoughts  on  the 
text,  God  has  no  need  of  human  knowledge ;  no,  nor  of 
our  ignorance ;  "  and  it  is  a  siu  to  shut  the  ears  to  in- 
struction :  it  is  a  duty  to  get  knowledge,  to  increase  in 
knowledge,  to  abound  in  knowledge."  Nor  must  we 
rest  therein,  but  (2  Pet.  i.  6,  7)  "  add  to  knowledge 
temperance,  patience,  godliness,  brotherly  kindness, 
charity." 


Tlie  first  six  verses,  condemnatory  of  the  trust  in 
riches,  ouglit  to  follow  chap.  iv.  17  without  a  break,  and 
thus  end  the  proper  division  of  the  Epistle.  Our  present 
arrangement  of  chapter  and  verse  here,  as  in  so  many 
cases,  tends  to  confusion  rather  than  clearness. 

(1)  Go  to  now,  ye  rich. — As  in  chap.  iv.  3,  it  was 
"  Woe  to  you,  worldly,"  so  now  "  Woe  to  ye  rich  : 
weep,  bewailing" — literally,  hoivling  for  your  miseries 
coming  upon  you.  Comp.  Isa.  xiii.  6;  xiv.  31,  and 
XV.  3,  where  (in  the  LXX. )  the  same  term  is  used  ; — a 
picture  word,  imitating  the  cry  of  anguish, — peculiar 
to  this  place  in  the  New  Testament.  Observe  the 
immediate  future  of  the  misery  ;  it  is  already  coming. 
Doubtless  by  this  was  meant  jirimarily  tlie  pillage  and 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  but  under  that  first  intention 
many  others  secondary  and  similar  are  included  :  for 
all  "  riches  certaijdy  make  themselves  wings  "  and  fly 
away  (Prov.  xxiii.  5).  Calvin  and  others  of  his  school 
fail  to  see  in  this  passage  an  exhortation  of  the  rich  to 
penitence,  but  only  a  denunciation  of  woe  upon  them  ; 
in  the  sense,  however,  that  all  propliecy,  whether  evil 
or  good,  is  conditional,  there  is  sufficient  room  to 
believe  that  no  irrevocable  doom  was  pronounced  by  "  a 
Christian  Jeremiah." 

(2)  Your  riches  are  corrupted  .  .  . — As  expanded 
in  the  eloquent  gloss  of  Bisliop  Wordsworth,  "  Your 
wealth  is  mouldering  in  corruption,  and  your  garments. 


375 


stored  up  in  vain  8ui)erfluity,  are  become  moth-eaten : 
although  they  may  still  glitter  briglitly  in  your  eyes, 
and  may  dazzle  men  by  their  brilliance,  yet  they  are  in 
fact  already  cankered ;  they  are  loathsome  in  God's 
sight ;  the  Divine  anger  has  breathed  upon  them  and 
blighted  them  ;  they  are  already  withered  and  blasted." 
(Comp.  Matt.  vi.  19.) 

(3)  Your  gold  and  silver  .  .  .—In  like  manner, 
the  gold  and  .silver  are  said  to  be  "  cankered,"  or  eaten 
up  with  rust.  The  precious  metals  themselves  do  not 
corrode,  but  the  base  alloy  does,  which  has  l)een  mixed 
with  them  for  worldly  use  and  deface.  Tlie  rust  of 
them  shall  he  a  witness  to  yoti :  not  merely  against, 
but  con\'incing  yourselves  in  the  day  of  judgment; 
and,  moreover,  a  sign  of  the  fire  which  shall  consume 
you.  So  will  the  wages  of  the  traitor,  and  the  harlot, 
the  spoil  of  the  thief  and  oppressor,  burn  the  hands 
which  have  clutched  them  ;  the  memories  of  the  wrong 
shiver  through  each  guilty  soul,  like  the  liquid  fires 
wliich  Muhamniedans  say  tortui'e  the  veins  of  tho 
damned  in  the  halls  of  Eblis. 

Ye  have  heaped  .  .  . — Read,  Te  heaped  up  trea- 
sures in  the  last  days  : — the  days  of  grace,  given  you 
for  repentance,  like  the  years  when  "  the  long-sufferiug 
of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah  "  (Gen.  ri.  3;  1  Pet. 
iii.  20),  or  the  time  during  which  God  bore  with 
Canaan,  "  till  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorite  "  was  "  full  " 
(Gen.  XV.  16). 

Some  expositors  have  seen  in  this  verse  an  instance 
of  James's  belief  that  he  was  "  living  in  the  last  days 
of  the  world's  history ;  "  and  compared  his  delusion  with 
that  of  Paul  and  John  (1  Thess.  iv.  15,  and  1  John  ii.  18). 
But  there  was  no  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  inspired 
writers ;  freedom  from  error  in  their  sacred  office 
must  be  vindicated,  or  who  shall  sever  the  false  gospel 
from  the  true  ?  The  simple  explanation  is  an  old  one — 
the  potential  nearness  of  Christ,  as  it  is  called.  In 
many  wajs  He  has  been  ever  near  each  indi\ndual.  as 
by  affliction,  or  death,  or  judgment;  but  His  actual 
return  was  probably  nearer  in  the  first  ages  of  faith 
than  in  the  brutality  of  the  tenth  century,  or  the 
splendid  atheism  of  the  fifteenth,  or  the  intellectual 
pride  of  the  nineteenth.  His  advent  is  helped  or 
hindered  by  the  state  of  Christendom  itself :  "  one 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day  "  (2  Pet.  iii.  8),  there  is 
neither  past  nor  future  in  His  sight ;  only  tlie  pre- 
sence of  His  own  determination  :  and  nought  retards 
Christ's  Second  Coming  so  much  as  the  false  and 
feeble  Christianity  which  prays  "  Thy  kingdom  come  " 
in  frequent  words,  but  waits  not  as  tlie  liandinaid  of 
her  Lord,  with  "  loins  girded  about  and  lights  burning  " 
(Luke  xii.  3.5),  "  until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star 
arise  "  (2  Pet.  i.  19). 

(1)  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  labourers.- Not 
merely  tho  wrong  of  the  poor,  but  the  wages  kept  back 


The  Vengeance  of  God 


JAMES,   V. 


is  nigh  at  hand. 


sabaoth,     (^^  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure  | 

on  the  earth,  and  been  wanton;  ye  have  ; '  ^^h^  f* „r^„^e; 

nourished  youi'  hearts,  as  in  a  day  of  ;  ucnce.  '""^   '"'" 


slaughter,     f^)  Ye  have  condemned  and 

killed  the  just;  ajicZhedothnot  resistyou. 

(^^  Be   j^atient  ^    therefore,    brethren. 


from  him  by  the  niggardly  master,  contrary  to  the 
merciful  Jewish  law  (Lev.  xix.  13),  which  permitted  no 
delay  in  payment  whatever  (comp.  Jer.  xxii.  13  ;  Mai. 
iii.  5).  And  the  indignant  remonstrance  of  the  text  is 
"  a  swift  witness  "  also  against  tlie  like-minded  of  this 
generation — whose  God  is  self,  whose  religion  political 
economy,  and  whoso  one  great  object  in  life  is  to  buy 
in  tiie  cheapest  market  and  sell  in  the  dearest :  as  if 
for  these  ignoble  purposes  the  Lord  God  had  given 
them  a  brain  and  a  soul. 

The  hire  of  the  labourers  .  .  .  kept  back  by 
fraud,  crieth  (out). — A  question  has  arisen  concerning 
the  right  position  of  the  word  translated  "  of,"  or 
from  you,  in  this  clause  ;  whether  the  withholden  dues 
appeal  "from  the  wronger  to  God,"  or  as  the  Authorised 
version  has  it  above,  "  the  hii-e  of  the  labourers  o/you 
kept  back  by  fraud."  The  balance  of  opinion  seems  to 
be  with  the  latter. 

Are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
sabaoth. — "A  sublime  and  a^N-ful  picture  "  is  in  the 
mind  of  the  Apostle.  Tlie  Lord  of  Hosts,  the  name 
by  wliich  He  is  called,  especially  by  the  last  of  the 
prophets,  Malaehi,  is  seated  as  a  judge  on  His  throne, 
to  hear  the  right ;  the  cliarge  is  laid,  the  guilty  called, 
the  witnesses  are  heard  :  the  cries  of  the  wronged  have 
entered  into  His  ears  : — 

"  The  Lord  of  the  Vineyard  beholdeth  afar ; 
The  arm  of  His  fury  is  bared  to  the  war : 
The  day  of  His  terrible  wrath  is  at  hand." 

It  is  the  reflection  of  our  own  Bede  tliat  St.  James  thus 
speaks  (comp.  Rom.  ix.  29)  of  tlie  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  or 
armies,  to  terrify  those  who  suppose  that  the  poor  have 
no  helpers.  (Comp.  Ps.  Ixxii.  12.)  God's  majestic  title 
is  proclaimed,  we  may  believe,  by  an  Hebrew  to 
Hebrews,  for  a  warning  against  their  darling  sin  of 
covetousness,  and  in  liope  that  the  vision  of  Isaiah 
(chap.  vi.  1 — 4)  would  move  them  to  consider  who  and 
what  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  of  angels,  of  cherubim,  of 
seraphim,  might  be  "  when  He  maketh  inquisition  for 
blood,"  forgetting  not  the  complaint  of  the  poor  "  (Ps. 
ix.  12). 

(5)  Ye  have  lived  in  pleasure.— And  what  an 
indictment  is  this  brought  against  them  by  the 
Apostle: — Ye  revelled  upon  earth,  and  toantoned ; 
ye  nourished  your  hearts  in  a  day  of  slaughter. 
Tlie  pleasure  and  wantonness  wherein  the  rich  had 
lived,  the  selfishness  with  which  tliey  had  cared  for 
their  own  hearts,  in  a  time  of  deatli  for  otliers — nay,  pre- 
paration of  like  for  themselves  :  this  is  the  aggravated 
■wrong,  and  tlie  inexpiable  shame.  In  the  Received 
text  above  they  are  accused  of  ha\-ing  "  nourished  their 
hearts  as  in  a  day  of  slaughter,"  the  cries  of  the  ^-ictims 
thus  seeming  an  addition  to  their  own  delights  ;  but 
the  charge  against  them  is  hea\y  enough  without  this 
insertion. 

As  they  had  dealt  to  others,  so  the  vengeance  of  God 
dealt  witli  them.  The  Passover  called  together  the 
richest  Jews  from  all  parts  of  the  earth,  and  they 
themselves  were  the  victims  in  their  last  sacrifice. 
No  words  can  overdraw  the  fury  of  the  Roman 
onset,  under  Titus,  when  the  Temple  floors  ran  with 
blood,  and  the  roofs  raged  in  fire  tUl  aU  was  utter 
desolation. 


376 


(6)  Ye  have  condemned  and  killed  the  just. — 
Better  thus  :  Ye  condemned,  ye  slew  the  just — as  in  the 
speech  of  Peter  (Acts  iii.  14,  15),  or  that  of  Stejihen 
(Acts  \ii.  52).  Such  a  reference,  however,  has  been 
disallowed  by  some  commentators  as  conveying  too 
harsh  an  accusation  against  the  whole  Jewish  people ; 
and  besides,  it  being  unfair  to  forget  that  St.  James 
was  writing  to  Christian  Jews,  as  well  as  to  the  anti- 
Christian.  But,  in  a  manner,  all  wrong  and  oppression 
tend  towards  the  murder  of  the  Just  One,  as  every 
falsehood  (see  Note  on  chap.  iii.  13)  is  an  attack  on  the 
Truth.  And  far  beyond  this,  in  the  present  case  our 
Lord  is  rightly  to  be  considered  the  ^^ctim  of  the  Jews. 
His  blood  is  on  them  and  on  their  children  (Matt,  xxvii. 
25);  they  filled  up  "the  measure  of  their  fathers" 
(Matt,  xxiii.  32),  that  "  the  blood  of  all  the  righteous" 
might  come  upon  them,  from  Abel  to  Zacharias  (Matt, 
xxiii.  35) :  the  one  crowning  sin  made  them  guilty  of 
all.  And  not  only  is  this  backward  participation  true, 
but  there  is  a  foi-ward  one  as  well.  Christ  Himself 
was  persecuted  by  Saul  in  the  afflictions  of  His  servants 
(Acts  ix.  4,  5),  and  so  onward  ever  tiU  the  martyr-roll 
be  full. 

It  is  of  strange  significance  that  in  this  verse — ye 
condemned,  ye  slew  the  just — James  the  Just  propheti- 
cally described  his  own  murderers.  The  last  words, 
moreover,  of  the  Scripture,  simply  record  the  behaviour 
of  himself,  as  of  every  real  witness  for  Christ  :  He 
doth  not  resist.  No  :  "  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must 
not  strive  "  (2  Tim.  ii.  24)  even  in  death  ;  and  by  such 
meekness  and  resignation  is  best  seen  the  likeness  to 
the  diAnne  Master,  Who  "  was  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter"  (Isa.  liii.  7).  Comp.  Wisd.  ii.  10 — 20  for 
a  striking  parallel,  on  the  oppression  of  the  righteous, 
which  would  not  inaptly  describe  the  "  just  man,"  the 
"  Son  of  God." 

(7)  Be  patient. — The  third,  and  last,  part  of  the 
Letter  commences  here  with  these  exhortations  towards 
endurance. 

Therefore — i.e.,  because  of  this  your  deep  and 
abiding  misery,  be  sure  God's  help  is  nigh : — 

"  The  darkest  hour  is  on  the  verge  of  day." 

"  Out  of  your  stony  griefs  "  build,  like  Jacob  of  old,  a 
hotise  of  God  (Gen.  xxviii.  19),  whereunto  you  may  run 
and  find  refuge.  If  there  be  wrath  laid  up  in  store 
for  the  oppressor,  great  is  the  coming  peace  of  the 
oppressed. 

The  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious 
fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath  long  patience  for 
it  .  .  .  Be  ye  also  patient.— It  becomes  you.  the 
just,  to  bear  with  the  unjust  till  God  work  the  end  of 
your  trial,  and  prove  them  at  the  same  time.  Again 
and  again,  through  several  verses  (7 — 11),  St.  James 
repeats  liis  ad^-ice,  emphasising  it  with  various  reasons  : 
the  nearness  of  deliverance  ;  the  Judge  standing  at  the 
gate ;  the  example  of  the  prophets — persecuted  by 
men,  and  therefore  blessed  of  God  ;  the  hope  of  those 
who  endure — Job  for  example  :  the  very  faithfulness 
and  tender  mercy  of  the  Lord,  bringing  all  things  to 
a  perfect  end.  Few  ideas  are  more  startling  (is  a  re- 
flection of  Dr.  Evans)  than  those  produced  by  the 
strange  combinations  in  Scripture.  Matters  are  joined  ] 
there  which  we  mostly  put  asunder  here,  speaking  ofj 


The  Just  are  therefore  to  he 


JAMES,   V. 


patient  under  Affliction. 


unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord.     Behold, 

p,               __  the    husbandman    waiteth 

11.      Exiiorta-  for   the   precious    fruit    of 

tions    of    pa-  the   earth,   and  hath  longr 

tience    to    the  ..              >.         .,            , -i     i 

afflicted,    with  patience    lor    it,  until    he 

the    assurance  receive  the  early  and  latter 

or     God  s     do-  •            iQ.\   T>                1 

liverance  -  ex-  rain.      W  Be   ye  also  pa- 

amples  of   old  tieiit;  stablisliyour  hearts : 
for  the  coming  of  the  Lord 


time. 


1  Or.    flroan, 
grieueuut. 


drawetli  nigh.  (^^  Grudge  not^  one 
against  another,  brethren,  lest  ye  be 
condemned  :  behold,  the  judge  standeth 
before  the  door.  ^^^>  Take,  my  brethren, 
the  prophets,  who  have  spoken  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of 
sufiering  affliction,  and  of  patience. 
<^^^  Behold,  we  count  them  happy  which 
endure.     Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience 


them,  at  least,  as  apart.  And  thus  we  read  iu  the 
Revelation  (chap.  i.  9)  of  the  Jcingdom  and  patience  of 
Jesus  Christ.  But  all  Christians  are  citizens  of  a 
patient  kingdom  ;  the  King  thereof  is  more  patient,  as 
He  hath  greater  need  of  patience  than  His  subjects,  and 
He  is  patient,  because  He  is  strong.  Impatience  is  a 
sign  of  weakness.  God  can  afford  to  wait,  for  His 
time  is  eternity.  And  we  can  be  strong  in  His 
strength,  and  wait  also  in  patience.  In  so  far  as 
St.  James's  hearers  were  earthly  minded,  they  could 
not  learn  this  lesson ;  so  often  with  ourselves  we  would 
have  our  wrong  righted  instantly,  and  to  the  full.  Only 
one  view  of  life  can  alter  this,  viz.,  the  lifting  of  our 
gaze  from  earth  to  heaven,  remembering  that  "  the  time 
is  short "  (1  Cor.  vii.  29). 

The  early  and  latter  rain.— It  is,  perhaps,  just 
as  well  to  recollect  there  were  only  two  seasons  of  rainfall 
in  the  Holy  Land,  and,  if  long  delayed,  famine  was  a 
certain  result.  With  the  change  of  the  Israelites  from 
pastoral  hfe  to  agricultural,  the  malignity  of  these 
dearths  was  lessened;  but  they  were  and  are  still 
severe.  The  Bible  mentions  many  such — e.g.,  iu  the 
days  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xii.  10),  Isaac  (Gen.  xxvi.  1), 
Jacob  (Gen.  xlii.  2),  Ruth  (chap.  i.  1),  Samuel  (2  Sam. 
xxi.  1),  Ahab  (1  Kings  xviii.  2).  The  "  early  rain  "  feU 
during  the  autumn  sowing — iu  October,  November,  and 
December;  "the  latter"  in  Mai-ch  and  April.  By 
many  versions  the  word  "rain"  is  omitted,  but,  of 
course,  was  always  intended. 

(8)  The  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh. — 
Read  thus,  Tlie  presence  of  the  Lord  is  nigh.  For  the 
ancient  belief  in  the  nearness  of  Christ's  second 
advent,  see  Note  above,  in  verse  3.  The  word  used  by 
the  Apostle  to  describe  its  closeness  is  the  same  as  that 
used  iu  Matt.  iii.  2,  "  Tlie  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  The  afflicted  are  therefore  to  stablish,  or 
rather  strengthen,  their  hearts.  If  "  comfort "  re- 
tained its  older  sense,  such  would  express  the  true 
idea.  Comp.  the  great  prophecy  of  Israel's  consola- 
tion (Isa.  xl.,  et  seq.). 

(9)  Grudge  not.— Say  in  preference.  Murmur  not. 
"  Grudge  "  has  curiously  changed  its  meaning  from  an 
outward  murmur  to  an  inward  feeling.  It  has  un- 
fortunately been  retained  both  liorc  and  in  1  Pet.  iv.  9. 
See  also  Ps.  lix.  15,  specially  the  Prayer  Book  version, 
"  They  will  .  .  .  grudge  if  they  be  not  satisfied  " — i.e., 
complain  and  murmur. 

Lest  ye  .  .  . — It  is  not  "lest  ye  be  condemned," 
but  lest  ye  be  judged,  repeating  Ihe  exact  words  of  the 
original  in  Matt.  vii.  1. 

Behold,  the  judge  standeth  before  the  door. 
— Compare  this  scene  ^vith  that  depicted  in  Rov.  iii.  2i>. 
In  the  one  Christ  liugers  mercifully  outside  the  door 
that  "  loves  its  hinge " ;  fain  would  He  enter  and 
abide.  In  the  other  He  sounds  a  note  of  alarm ;  men 
are  "waked  in  the  night,  not  girding  their  loins  for  a 
journey,  but  in  vague  wonder  at  uncertain  noise,  who 


377 


may  turn  again  to  their  slumber,"  or  in  wistful  listening 
wait  in  vain  for  the  voice  of  mercy  which  shall  plead 
with  them  no  more  for  ever  (Ruskin). 

One  of  the  mocking  questions  put  to  St.  James  by 
his  enemies,  as  they  hurried  him  to  death,  was,  "  Which 
is  the  door  of  Jesus  ?  "  And  failing  to  receive  an 
answer  to  their  mind,  they  said,  "  Let  us  stone  this 
James  the  Just !  "  which  they  did,  after  they  had  cast 
him  over  the  Temple  wall. 

(10)  For  an  example. — Another  reason  for  en- 
durance, an  example  of  affliction  and  i^atience,  the 
prophets  who  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  These 
are  the  bright  ones  in  the  cloud  of  witnesses,  of  whom 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap.  xii.  32 — 38)  speaks, 
who,  like  Daniel,  "  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions  "  ;  like 
Jeremiah  and  Elijah,  "  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword  ;  " 
"out  of  weakness  were  made  strong";  who  "were 
stoned,"  like  Zachariah;  "  sa^vn  asimder,"  like  Isaiah; 
"  slain  with  the  sword,"  like  Urijali  and  John ;  "  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy."  Thus  the  saints  of 
the  Old  Covenant  are  held  up  for  honour  and  imitation 
to  those  of  the  New.  James  was  not  advocating  a 
religion  alien  to  that  of  Moses,  but  building  again  more 
widely  "the  ruins  of  the  tabernacle  which  had  fallen 
down,"  that  "all  the  Gentiles  might  seek  after  the 
Lord."  (Comp.  his  speech  in  the  synod,  Acts  xv.  13 
-21.) 

(11)  We  count  them  happy  which  endtire.— 
Rather  read  it,  ive  count  them  blessed  ichich  endure; 
or,  as  some  critics  would  have  it,  endured.  (See  Matt. 
V.  11,  and  1  Pet.  ii.  19.)  The  heathen  pliilosopher 
Solon  called  no  one  "  happy"  upon  earth;  but,  with  the 
mystery  of  pain  around  him,  cried  sadly,  "  Look  to  the 
end."  And  the  sated  and  weary  soul  of  Solomon  had 
no  better  thought  than  to  praise  "  the  dead  which  are 
already  dead,  more  than  the  living"  (Eccles.  iv.  2). 
How  different  the  teaching  of  St.  James,  himself 
taught  by  the  example  of  the  suffering  Christ :  verily, 
"  he  that  is  least  in  tlie  kingdom  of  lioaven  is  greater 
than  "  the  greatest  and  the  wisest  who  know  not  of  its 
light  and  peace  (Matt.  xi.  11). 

The  patience  of  Job.— The  earliest  notions  cur- 
rent in  the  world  were,  doubtless,  that  on  the  whole 
prosperity  came  to  those  who  lived  morally  and  physi- 
cally well,  while  adversity  in  body  or  mind  followed 
closely  on  the  ^vicked  and  improvident.  It  is  easy  to 
see  liow  these  opinions,  even  among  the  happier  races 
who  hafl  not  wandered  far  from  God,  gradually 
hardened  into  stem  rules  of  judgment,  by  which  each 
man  saw  in  the  chances  and  calamities  of  life  an  im- 
mediate effort  of  an  avenging  Deity.  This  was  ages 
Ijefore  a  pious  Asaph  (Ps.  Ixxiii.)  could  reflect  on  the 
contradiction  of  experience  in  tliis  matter,  and  be 
trou])led  at  the  "  prospei-ity  "  of  the  wicked  ;  or  before 
tlie  wise  king  could  notice  (Eccles.  vii.  15,  and  viii.  \4) 
the  just  man  perishing  "  in  his  righteousness,"  and  the 
unjust  prolonging   "his   days   in   wickedness";   "the 


Swearing  is  forbidden. 


JAMES,   V 


Advice  for  Grief  and  Joy. 


of  Job,  and  have  seen  tlie  end  of  the 
Lord ;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and 
of  tender  mercy. 

<i2^  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren, 
Chap.  V.  12.  swear  not,  neither  by 
Caution  against  heaven,  neither  by  the 
swearing.  earth,  neither  by  any  other 


yonr  yea  be  yea ;    and 
lest   ye   fall   into   con- 


oath  :  but  let 
yonr  nay,  nay; 
demnation. 

(1^^  Is  any  among  you  chap. v.  13.  Ad 
afflicted  ?  let  him  pray,  vice  to  sorrow 
Is  any  merry?  let  him  ^^ ^^^ J^y^"^' 
sing  psalms. 


fishes  taken  in  an  evil  net,"  and  "  the  birds  eanght  in 
the  snare  "  (Eccles.  ix.  12).  It  was  ages  earlier  still  than 
the  presence  of  tliat  Wiser  than  Solomon,  who  spoke  of 
the  hapless  "  eighteen  on  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam 
fell" — "Think  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all  ?  " 
(Luke  xiii.  4,  5).  Job's  friends  were  so  certain  of  his 
misdeeds,  that  they  would  not  hear  his  self-defence ;  if 
God  tried  his  endurance,  man  surely  afflicted  liis  patience. 
We  can  hear  the  three  in  council  against  him,  becoming 
more  zealous  as  they  believe  themselves  the  defenders  of 
God's  justice.  (See  Job  iv. — xxii.)  They  are  shocked 
at  Job's  obstinacy,  and  annoyed  into  vehement  accusa- 
tion against  him,  because  he  wiU  "hold  fast  "to  his 
"integrity."  It  is  a  damning  proof  to  them  of  liis 
guilt.  Not  only  had  he  been  wicked,  but  now  actually 
he  is  impious  and  rebellious ;  such  conduct  is  not  to  be 
borne.  "  Is  not  thy  wickedness  great?  "  says  Eliphaz 
(Job  xxii.  5).  Thou  must  have — nay,  "  thou  hast  taken  a 
pledge  from  thy  brother  for  nought,  and  stripped  the 
naked  of  their  clothing  ;  "  thou  couldst  not — nay,  "  thou 
hast  not  given  water  to  the  weary,  and  thou  hast  with- 
holden  bread  from  the  hungry  :  "  truly  thine  iniquities 
are  infinite."  Now,  we  know  Job  was  innocent ;  God 
Himself  bears  witness  to  it  (Job  i.  8).  And  finally 
the  suffering,  patient,  righteous  man  was  declared  to 
have  spoken  wisely :  as  Eliphaz,  Bildad,  and  Zophar 
the  contrary.  They — types  of  a  censorious  piety— had 
conceived  of  God  by  tlieir  own  faulty  notions  of  religion, 
and  fondly  deemed  tliey  could  enter  into  the  motives  of 
the  Most  High.  Job  for  awhile  had  seemed  to  cloud 
his  own  belief  with  baser  attributes,  as  (Job  xvi.  et 
seq.)  to  a  God  who  causelessly  dealt  in  cruelty  and  pain; 
but  througli  such  fleeting  mistakes  he  rose  at  last  to  the 
full  conviction  of  His  perfect  truth  and  justice.  It 
might  be  that  He  gave  happiness  to  those  who 
sought  Him ;  it  might  be  He  allowed  them  misery — 
as  the  world  would  call  it ;  but  this  nor  that  had  part 
in  the  matter  at  issue.  Earthly  blessings  "  He  gives  to 
whom  He  wills,  or  leaves  to  the  powers  of  nature  to 
distribute  among  those  who  fulfil  the  laws  "  thereof ; 
but  "  to  serve  him  and  love  Hiui  is  higher  and  better 
than  any  mundane  welfare,  tJiough  it  be  with  wounded 
feet  and  bleeding  forehead,  or  an  ash-hoaii  and  filthy 
sores"  (Fronde).  This  was  the  faith  to  which  Job 
attained  :  higher,  "  clearer,  purer,  there  is  not  possible 
to  man."  In  such  like  "  patience  "  it  were  well  for  us 
that  ^ve  should  "  possess  our  souls"  (Luke  xxi.  19). 

And  have  seen  the  end  of  the  Lord.— Better 
thus.  Ye  have  heard  .  .  .  see  also  the  end  of  the  Lord. 
Tlie  reference  is  at  once  past  and  future :  consider,  i.e., 
what  God  wrouglit  in  the  end  of  trial,  on  the  faithful  of 
old  time,  like  Job  ;  learn  from  it  how  great  a  deliverance 
He  will  also  woi-k  for  you.  But  "  if  ye  will  not  believe, 
surely  ye  shall  not  be  established "  (Isa.  vii.  9).  It 
is  a  mistake  to  understand  liore  any  allusion  to  the 
death  of  Christ,  as  if  the  Apostle  spoke  to  those  who 
witnessed  it. 

That  the  Lord  is  very  pitifuL— St.  James,  in 
the  fulness  of  his  gratitude,  seems  to  have  coined  a 
word  for  this  single  place.     "  Great-hearted"  would  bo 


close  to  its  meaning ;  but  originally  the  bowels  were 
thought  to  be  the  seat  of  the  affections,  and  hence  such 
terms  of  expression  :  as  also  in  Gen.  xliii.  30  ;  I  Kings 
iii.  2*3 ;  Isa.  Ixiii.  15 ;  Lam.  i.  20 ;  Phil.  i.  8 ;  I  John  iii. 
17,  et  al. 

"  The  Lord "  here  is  Jehovah  :  under  which  name 
the  Lord  spake  and  wrought  before  He  was  made  man. 
See  Bishop  Pearson  On  the  Creed,  in  Article  2,  proving 
the  significance  of  Kvptos,  or  Lord,  as  the  right  trans- 
lation of  the  Hebrew  El,  Elohhn,  Shaddai,  Adonai, 
and  Jehovah.  And  compare  Isa.  xl.  3  with  Matt.  iii.  1 ; 
Mai.  iii.  1  with  Matt.  xi.  10  and  Jer.  xxiii.  6. 

(12)  The  question  of  the  lawfulness  of  oaths  has 
oftentimes  perplexed  alike  the  doctors  of  the  Church 
and  its  simpler  hearers  of  God's  word.  The  text, 
taken  as  it  stands,  woidd  support  the  -vaews  of  the 
Essenes,  and  many  of  the  Paulicians,  and  other  ancient 
sectaries.  With  equal  force  it  might  be  urged  by  the 
followers  of  Peter  Waldo,  or  the  Unitas  Fratrum  (the 
Moravians),  or  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Swear  not. — The  words  are  put  quite  distinctly  in 
Greek  and  English — neither  by  the  heaven,  nor  by  the 
earth.  And  it  sounds  like  special  pleading,  worthy  of 
a  rabbi,  to  hear  such  a  divine  as  Hutlier  say  that 
"  swearing  by  the  name  of  God  is  not  mentioned," 
nor  accordingly  is  such  an  oath  prohibited.  "  We  must 
not  imagine,"  he  continues  (and  his  argument  had  best 
be  fairly  given),  "  that  this  is  included  in  the  last  member 
of  the  clause,  the  Apostle  e^^dently  intending  by  it 
(i.e., '  neither  by  any  other  oath')  to  point  only  at  certain 
formulae,  of  which  several  are  mentioned  in  Matt.  v. 
34 — 37.  Had  he  intended  to  forbid  swearing  by  the 
name  of  God  he  would  most  certainly  have  mentioned 
it  expressly ;  for  not  only  is  it  in  the  Law,  in  contra- 
distinction to  other  oaths,  commanded  (see  Deut.  at.  13; 
X.  20;  Ps.  Ixiii.  11),  but  in  the  prophets  is  announced  as 
a  token  of  the  future  turning  of  men  to  God  "  (Isa.  Ixv. 
16;  Jer.  xii.  16;  xxiii.  7,  8).  There  wei'e,  we  learn, 
many  subtle  distinctions  in  Jewish  oaths ;  and  the  un- 
lucky foreigner  who  trusted  in  an  apparently  firm  one, 
too  often  found  out  his  mistake.  Certainly  all  such 
subterfuges  are  utterly  condemned  ;  and  furtlier,  every 
word  which  breaks  the  letter  or  spirit  of  God's  Third 
Commandment.  As  to  the  higher  judicial  forms  of 
oaths,  remembering  that  our  Lord  answered  such 
before  Caiaphas  (Matt.  xxvi.  63,  64).  we  can  fearlessly 
conclude,  with  the  39th  Ai-ticle  of  Religion,  that  "a 
man  may  swear,  when  the  magistrate  requireth,  in  a 
cause  of  faith  and  charity,  so  it  be  done  according  to 
the  prophet's  teaching — in  justice,  judgment,  and 
trutli." 

Let  your  yea  be  yea  .  .  . — Tour  word  be  as  your  ' 
bond,  needing  no  strengthening  by  any  invocation,  of 
God,  or  holy  things,  "lest  ye  fall  into  judgment  " — not 
"  condemnation,"  though  certainly  such  might  follow. 


(13)  'W'e  now  pass  on  to  advice  of  different  kinds — to 
the  heavy-laden  or  light-hearted,  to  the  suffering  and 


378 


Of  Anointing  the  Sick 


JAMES,  y 


with  Oil. 


Chap.  V.  14, 15.  (1^)  Is    any    sick   among 

Counsel         tor  q^^  p    jg^   ^^^^^  ^.g^l^  f        ^j 

the   sick  :    the  •' 

anointing  with  elders  01  the  cliurch;  and 

oil,  and  pray-  jg^   them   pray  over    him, 

ing  over   them  ...         i  •    "^       •,,        -i    • 

in  faith.  anointing  him  with  oii  in 


the  name  of  the  Lord  :  (^5>  and  the 
prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick,  and 
the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up  ;  and  if  he 
have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  for- 
given him. 


afflicted.  Prayer  is  to  be  the  refuge  of  one,  praise  the 
Bafeguard  of  another ;  the  whole  life  is  to  i-evolve,  as 
it  were,  ai-ouiid  the  throne  of  God,  whether  in  the 
night  of  grief  or  day  of  joy. 

Let  him  pray. — No  worthier  comment  can  be 
found  than  Montgomery's  hymn — 

"  Prayer  is  the  burden  of  a  sigh, 
The  falling  of  a  tear, 
The  upward  glancing  of  an  eye. 
When  none  but  God  is  near." 

Long  petitions,  or  many,  cannot  be  always  made ;  mind 
and  body  may  be  too  weak  and  ill ;  but  ejaculations  — 
"Arrows  of  the  Lord's  deliverance,"  as  Augustine 
called  them,  "  shot  out  with  a  sudden  quickness  " — these 
are  ever  in  the  power  of  the  beleagured  Christian. 
And — 

"  More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer 
Than  this  world  dreams  of." 

Let  him  sing. — The  word  originally  applied  to 
instrumental  music,  the  Eastern  accompaniment  of 
"  psalms."  Praise,  like  prayer,  ought  to  be  individual 
as  vrell  as  congregational.  Hymns  might  be  used  by 
all  in  their  devotions,  and  could  not  fail  to  be  a  blessing  ; 
while  for  those  who  have  God's  great  gift  of  music, 
it  were  surely  better  to  sing — as  the  Apostle  urges — • 
than  to  say.  There  is  a  sadness  latent  in  the  most 
jubilant  of  earthly  tunes,  but  not  so  with  the  heavenly  ; 
and  quiring  angels  do  not  scorn  to  catch  our  humblest 
notes,  and  weave  them  in  their  endless  song,  if  they  be 
raised  in  thankfulness  to  Him  Whom  they  and  all 
creation  praise. 

(U)  The  elders  of  the  church— i.e.,  literally, 
the  freshijters.  The  identity  of  "  bishop  "  (epi^copus) 
and  "  presbyter  "  in  the  language  of  the  apostolic  age 
seems  conclusive.  Such  is  the  opinion  of  Lightfoot 
{Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  93 — 97  ;  see  also  his  Dis- 
aei-tation  on  the  Christian  Ministry,  ibid.,  180 — 267), 
and  few  may  hope  to  gainsay  it.  In  fact,  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  early  Church  was  much  more  elastic  than  theo- 
logians always  suppose;  and  names  and  terms  were 
applied  less  rigidly  than  the  schoolmen  of  the  Middle 
Ages  have  so  stoutly  declared.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
no  man  who  has  read  the  Patres  Apostolici  can  deny  the 
reality  of  Church  government  as  enforced  by  them,  nor 
base  on  their  authority  any  defence  of  Congregationalism 
or  the  rule  of  a  mere  presbytery.  The  theoiy  of  de- 
velopment must  be  maintained,  though  not  on  the  lines 
of  Dr.  Newman. 

(u,  15)  Anointing  him  with  oil.— Or,  unction. 
The  use  of  some  precious  and  mysterious  ointment,  on 
solemn  occasions,  obtained  in  most  of  the  ancient 
nations,  specially  tlie  Eastern.  The  Jews  themselves 
were  by  no  means  originators  of  the  habit,  although 
they  carried  it  to  its  highest  ceremonial  and  significance. 
Apart,  too,  from  the  reo-ular  performances  of  the  rite, 
as  upon  the  accession  of  a  king,  or  the  consecration  of 
a  u'xgh  priest,  it  often  occurred  in  private  cases,  and 
some  striking  instances  are  recorded  in  the  Gospels  : — 
the  spikenard,  costly  and  fragrant  (Luke  vii.  3(3—50), 
wherewith  the  Saviour's  feet  were  anointed  by  "a 
woman  which  was  a  sinner  j  "  and  that,  again,  whicli 


379 


Mary,  of  her  grateful  love,  poured  upon  Him  six  days 
before  His  death  (John  xii.  3 — 9).  These  were  not 
unusual  acts,  but  chiefly  worthy  of  note  because  of  the 
persons  concerned.  It  was  not  remarkal)lo  for  women 
to  make  such  offerings  to  a  famous  ral)bi,  but  that  our 
Lord  should  be  so  treated,  carried  a  deeper  meaning. 
Nor,  again,  was  it  a  new  ordinance  with  which  the 
Apostles  were  first  commissioned,  in  pursuance  whereof 
they  "  anointed  with  oil  many  that  were  sick,  and 
healed  them  "  (Mark  vi.  13).  "  Here,"  observes  Bishop 
Harold  Browne,  "  unction  was  evidently  an  outward 
sign,  similar  to  that  used  by  our  Saviour,  when  He 
made  clay,  and  put  it  to  the  blind  man's  eyes.  It  was 
connected  with  the  miraculous  power  of  healing."  This 
connection  only,  this  use  of  a  known  form  with  a  diviner 
import,  was  the  cause  of  astonishment ;  and  clearly  it 
was  to  such  a  practice,  with  simply  its  common  intention, 
that  St.  James  refers.  Nor  can  we  refrain  from  saying, 
however  undesirous  of  controversy,  that  all  which  unction 
now  implies  to  the  Romanist  is  quite  opposed  to  what- 
ever force  and  value  are  given  it  in  Holy  Writ.  There 
unction  is  enjoined  "  with  the  special  object  of  re- 
covery ; "  its  purport  was  a  present  bodily  one,  and  in 
no  way  applicable  to  the  future  of  the  soul.  "  The 
prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  " — i.e.,  shall  lieal  him  : 
the  faithful  prayer  shaU  be  that  which  God  -nill 
answer,  and  so  "'  raise  up "  the  sufferer.  But,  it  is 
urged,  the  next  clause  has  a  different  force :  "If  he 
have  committed  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him." 
Such  is  only  apparent  in  oiu*  own  version,  and  not  in 
the  original.  The  grammatical  sense  infers  that  the 
sick  man  is  abiding  under  the  consequence  of  some 
committed  sin,  whicli  is  '•  presumed  to  have  been  the 
working  cause  of  his  present  sickness."  So  Alford,  and 
Bede  similarly :  "  Many  by  reason  of  sins  done  in  the 
soul  are  compassed  by  weakness  :  nay,  even  death  of 
the  body."  And  the  former  theologian  again  :  "  Among 
all  the  daring  perversions  of  Scripture,  by  which  the 
Church  of  Rome  has  defended  her  sujierstitions,  there 
is  none  more  patent  than  that  of  the  present  passage. 
Not  without  reason  has  the  Council  of  Trent  defended 
its  misinterpretation  with  anathema;  for  indeed  it 
needed  that,  and  every  other  recommendation,  to  sup- 
port it,  and  give  it  any  kind  of  acceptance.  The 
Apostle  is  treating  of  a  matter  totally  distinct  from  the 
occasion  and  the  object  of  extreme  unction.  He  is 
enforcing  the  efficacy  of  the  prayer  of  faith  in 
afflictions  (verse  13).  Of  such  efficacy  he  adduces  one 
special  instance.  In  sickness  let  the  sick  man  inform 
the  elders  of  the  church.  Let  them,  representing  the 
congregation  of  the  faithful,  pray  over  the  sick  man, 
accompanying  that  prayer  with  the  symbolic  and  sacra- 
mental act  of  anointing  witli  oil  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord.  Then  the  jjiayer  of  faith  shall  save  {heal)  the 
sick  man,  and  tlie  Lcu'd  shall  bring  him  up  out  of  his 
sickness ;  and  even  if  it  were  occasioned  by  some  sin, 
that  sin  shall  bo  forgiven  him.  Such  is  the  simple  and 
undeniable  sense  of  the  Apostle,  arguing  for  the 
efficacy  of  prayer;  and  such  the  perversion  of  that 
sense  by  the  Cluirch  of  Rome."  Not  that  we  should 
tliink  this  and  other  like  cases  are  wliolly  intentional 
twistings  of  God's  word.     The  Latin  Bible  is  in  inanj 


Confession  of  Faults  to, 


JAMES,  y. 


and  Prayer  for,  each  other. 


Chap.     V.    16.       (16)  Confess   your    faults 

Mutual  conies-  ,  j.i  j 

sion  of  faults.    0"^  to  another,  and  pray 


one      for      another,      that     ye      may 
be     healed.        The     effectual     fervent 


places  a  faulty — thoiif,'!!  not  doliljerately  unfaithful — 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek;  and  lialf  our 
difference.^  with  Rome  arise  from  such  misinterpreta- 
tious.  Allowing  the  beginning  of  mischief  to  have 
been  oftentimes  a  wrong  translation,  religious  opinions 
engendered  from  it,  we  can  understand,  would  bo  hardly 
cast  aside,  more  especially  when  advantageous  to  their 
possessors.  Little  by  little  the  change  of  doctrine 
drew  on,  and  most  probably  thus : — The  aim  of  the 
apostolic  anointing  was  bodily  recovery,  and  (again  we 
quote  Bishop  Browne)  "  this  exactly  corresponds  with 
the  miracidous  cures  of  eaidy  ages;  ...  so  long  as 
such  .  .  .  powers  remained  in  the  Church,  it  was 
reasonable  that  anointing  of  the  sick  should  be  re- 
tained." But  these  powers  ceased,  in  the  wisdom  of 
God,  after  awhile ;  not  so,  however,  the  ceremony  to 
which  men's  minds  in  distress  had  been  accustomed. 
It  was  retained  in  affection  when  its  true  force  had 
departed.  But  since  no  outward  result  remained 
visible,  fervent  and  mystical  teachers  could  not  well 
avoid  searching  for  the  invisible  ;  and  thus  the  area  of 
operations  was  removed  from  the  flesh  to  the  spirit. 
The  words  of  Holy  Scripture  would,  with  a  little 
straining,  bear  such  a  colourable  translation  :  and  so 
was  laid  the  foundation  of  that  belief  now  current  in  a 
great  part  of  Christendom.  The  Greek  Church  still 
practices  unction,  but  rather  in  memory  of  a  venerated 
custom,  wherein  God's  mercy  was  aforetime  present; 
the  Latin,  unfortunately,  is  bound  by  its  Council  of 
Trent  {Sessio  xiv.)  to  believe  "extreme  unction  to  be  a 
sacrament,  instituted  by  Christ,  conferring  good,  re- 
mitting sins,  and  comforting  the  infirm."  Its  authorised 
manual  of  devotion — The  Crown  of  Jesus  (p.  710) — 
says,  "  Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  in  His 
tender  solicitude  for  those  whom  Ho  has  redeemed  by 
His  precious  blood,  has  been  pleased  to  institute  another 
sacrament,  to  help  us  at  that  most  important  hour  on 
which  eternity  depends— the  hour  of  death.  This 
sacrament  is  called  Extreme  Unction,  or  the  last 
anointing."  And  further  explains,  "  The  priest,  in 
administering  this  sacrament,  anoints  the  five  jirincipal 
senses  of  the  body — the  eyes,  the  ears,  the  nostrils,  the 
lips,  the  hands  and  the  feet — because  these  liave  been 
employed  during  life  in  offending  God.  At  each 
anointing  ho  pronounces  these  words :  '  May  the  Lord 
by  this  holy  anointing,  and  by  His  own  most  tender 
mercy,  pardon  thee  whatever  sin  thou  hast  committed, 
by  tliy  sight,  hearing,'  &c.  .  .  .  "  Notwithstanding 
tliis  lamentable  departure  from  right  exegesis,  some 
divines  think  it  wise  and  well  to  reflect  hoAv  far  with 
profit  the  ancient  ceremony  could  be  revived  ;  while 
others  would  rather  lot  it  slumber  with  the  past. 
"  When  miraculous  powers  ceased,  it  was  reasonable 
that  the  unction  should  cease  also."  Still  more  reason- 
able is  it  that  even  tlio  form  or  memorial,  however 
toui-hing  and  beautiful,  should  be  abandoned,  rather 
than  we  should  seem  by  it  to  be  at  one  -with  the 
changed— alas !  the  false— teaching  of  that  Church  of 
man's  tradition,  Rome. 

(16)  Confess  your  faults  one  to  another.— The 
meaning  attributed  to  the  words  of  this  verse  by  many 
devout  Catholics  cannot  be  established  eitlier  from  the 
opinion  of  antiquity,  or  a  critical  examination  of  the 
Greek  text  according  to  modem  schools.  "  We  have," 
observes  Alt'ord,  "  a  general  injunction  arising  out  of  a 
circumstance  necessarily  to  be  inferred  in  the  preceding 


example  (verses  14,  15).  There,  the  sin  would  of 
necessity  have  been  confessed  to  the  elders,  before  the 
prayer  of  faith  could  deal  with  it.  And  seeing  the 
blessed  consequences  in  that  case  '  generally,'  says  the 
Apostle,  in  all  similar  cases,  and  '  one  to  another  univer- 
sally, pursue  the  same  salutary  practice  of  confessing 
your  sins  .  .  .  '  Confess  therefore  one  to  another — not 
only  to  the  elders  (presbyters)  in  the  ease  supposed,  but 
to  one  another  generally — your  transgressions,  and 
pray  for  one  another  that  ye  vuiy  he  healed,  in  case  of 
sickness,  as  above.  The  context  here  forbids  any  wider 
meaning  .  .  .  and  it  might  ajipear  astonishing,  were  it 
not  notorious,  that  on  this  i)assage,  among  others,  is 
built  the  Romish  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  confessing 
sins  to  a  priest." 

Not  that  all  Roman  Catholic  divines,  indeed,  have 
thiis  read  the  injunction.  Some  of  the  ablest  and 
greatest  have  admitted  "  that  we  cannot  certainly  affirm 
sacramental  confession  to  have  been  meant  or  spoken  of 
in  this  place "  (Hooker).  How  then  did  the  gradual 
perversion  take  hold  of  men's  minds  ?  The  most 
laborious  investigation  of  history  and  theology  will  alone 
answer  the  cpiestion  properly ;  and  here  only  a  brief 
resume  is  possible.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that, 
strictly  consonant  with  the  apostolic  charge,  open  con- 
fession  was  the  custom  of  old.  Offenders  hastened  to 
some  minister  of  God,  and  in  words,  by  which  all 
present  in  the  congregation  might  take  notice  of  the 
fault,  declared  their  guilt ;  convenient  remedies  were  as 
publicly  prescribed,  and  then  all  present  joined  in  prayer 
to  God.  But  after  awhile,  for  many  patent  reasons, 
this  plain  talk  about  sins  was  rightly  judged  to  be  a 
cause  of  mischief  to  the  young  and  innocent ;  and 
such  confessions  were  relegated  to  a  private  hearing. 
The  change  ^vas  in  most  ways  beneficial,  and  hardly 
suspected  of  being  a  step  in  a  completely  new  doctrine. 
It  needed  years — centuries,  in  fact — to  develop  into 
the  hard  system  of  compulsory  individual  bondage 
which  cost  Europe  untold  blood  and  treasure  to  bi-eak 
asunder.  A  salutary  practice  in  the  case  of  some  un- 
happy creatures,  weakened  by  their  idces  into  a  habit  of 
continual  sin.  was  scarcely  to  be  conceived  as  a  rule 
thrust  upon  all  the  Christian  world.  Yet  such  it  was, 
and  "  at  length  auricular  confession,  followed  by  abso- 
lution and  satisfaction,  was  elevated  to  the  full  dignity 
of  a  necessary  sacrament.  The  Council  of  Trent  ana- 
thematises all  who  deny  it  to  be  truly  and  properly  a 
sacrament  instituted  by  Christ  Himself,  and  necessary 
to  salvation  [jure  divine) ;  or  who  say  that  the  methoa 
of  confessing  secretly  to  the  priest  alone  ...  is  alien 
to  Clirist's  institution,  and  of  human  invention ' 
(Harold  Browne).  Marvellous  perversity  of  acute 
brains  and  worthy  sentiment.  sho\ving  only  how  steep 
is  the  way  of  error  ;  and  how  for  Christian  as  for  Jew 
the  danger  of  tradition  is  perilous  indeed.  "  To  con- ' 
elude,"  in  the  words  of  Hooker,  "  we  everywhere  findl 
the  use  of  confession,  especially  public,  allowed  of,  and] 
commended  by  the  fathers ;  but  that  extreme  andT 
rigorous  necessity  of  auricular  and  private  confession,' 
which  is  at  this  day  so  mightily  upheld  by  the  Church 
of  Rome,  we  find  not.  It  was  not  then  the  faith  and. 
doctrine  of  God's  Church,  as  of  the  Papacy  at  thii 
present — (1)  that  the  only  remedy  for  sin  after  baptisr 
is  sacramental  penitency;  (2)  that  confession  in  secret 
is  an  essential  part  thereof ;  (3)  that  God  Himself  can^ 
not  now  forgive  sins  without  the  priest ;  (4)  that  becau 


380 


The  Poioer  of  Prayer. 


JAMES,  V. 


Conversion. 


prayer    of    a    righteous    man    availetli 
much. 

i^''^  Elias  was  a  man    subject  to  like 

passions    as   we  are,    and 

The'^JfteS  ^of  ^®  prayed  earnestly ^  that 

fervent  prayer;  it  might  not  rain:  and  it 

tlie  example  of  rained  not  on  the  earth  by 

Elijah.  J 

the  sjDace   or  three  years 

and  six  months.       *^^^  And  he  prayed 

again,    and    the     heaven    gave     rain. 


and     the     earth     brought     forth     her 
fruit. 

(^^)  Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from 
the  truth,  and  one  convert  chap.  v.  19  20. 
YOr.inhu prayer:  him;  ^^^^  Ict  liiui  kuow.  Of  conversion : 
that  he  which  converteth  f^^^  of' bring- 
the  sinner  from  the  error  ing  home  the 
of  his  way  shall  save  a  ^°^^' 
soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multi- 
tude of  sins. 


forgiveness  at  the  hands  of  the  priests  must  arise  from 
confession  in  the  offender,  therefore  to  confess  unto 
him  is  a  matter  of  such  necessity  as,  being  not  either  in 
deed,  or,  at  the  least,  in  desire,  performed,  excludeth 
utterly  from  aU  pardon,  and  miist  consequently  in 
Scripture  be  commanded  wheresoever  any  promise  of 
forgiveness  is  made.  No,  no;  these  opinions  have 
youth  in  their  countenance.  Antiqiiity  knew  them  not; 
it  never  thought  nor  dreamed  of  them"  {E.  P.,  vi.  iv.  14). 

"  As  for  private  confession,"  says  Jewel  in  his 
Apology,  "  abuses  and  errors  set  apart,  we  condemn  it 
not,  but  leave  it  at  liberty."  Such  must  be  the  teaching 
of  any  Church  which,  in  the  epigram  of  Bishop  Ken, 
"  stands  distinguished  from  all  papal  and  puritan  inno- 
vations," resting  upon  God's  Word,  and  the  earliest, 
holiest,  simplest,  best  traditions  of  the  Apostles  of  His 
dear  Son.  And  if  an  ancient  custom  has  become  a 
universal  practice  in  the  Latin  communion,  presumed 
to  be  of  sacramental  virtue,  scholars  will  tell  lis  that 
the  notion  has  never  been  absent  altogether  from  any 
branch  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  and  that  in  some  shape 
or  form,  it  lives  in  most  of  those  societies  which  sprang 
into  existence  at  the  Reformation  largely  from  abhor- 
rence of  the  tyranny  and  misuse  of  confession. 

The  eflfectual  fervent  prayer  .  .  .—Better,  The 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much  in  its  working. 
It  moves  the  hand  of  Him  Who  moves  the  world. 

"  What  are  men  better  than  sheep,  or  goats, 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer— 
Both  for  themselves,  and  those  who  call  them  friend? 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is,  e^■e^y  way, 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God," 

In  Matt.  xiv.  2,  and  Mark  vi.  14,  we  read  of  John 
the  Baptist,  that  "  mighty  works  do  shov  forth  them- 
selves in  him."  A  nearer  approach  to  the  sense  would 
be  "they  work" — energise,  if  we  might  coin  a  word; 
and  such  is  also  the  meaning  of  the  present  passage — 
the  prayer  of  the  just,  pleading,  stri\'ing  fervently, 
hath  power  with  God,  even  like  Israel  of  old,  and  shall 
prevail  (Gen.  xxxii.  28).  Some  divines  trace  a  literal 
force  in  the  passage,  finding  in  it  an  allusion  to  the 
Energumens  of  the  first  century  (the  "  mediums "  of 
that  age),  who  were  possessed  by  demons ;  that,  just 
as  these  unhappy  beings  strove  in  their  Ijondage, 
80  equally — nay,  infinitely  more — should  Christians 
"  wrestle  with  the  Lord." 

(17)  Elias. — James  supplies  a  lacuna  in  the  story  of 
Elijah.  In  1  Kings  x\\\.  1,  the  prophet  simply  and 
sternly  tells  Ahab  "  there  shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain 
these  years,  but  according  to  my  word."  Further  on 
(1  Kings  xvii.  41 — 46)  "  there  is  a  sound  of  abundance 
of  rain."  In  our  Epistle  we  read  that  Elias  "prayed 
earnestly  " — literally,  prayed  in  his  prayer,  a  Hebraistic 
form  of  emphasis  (see  margin).  He  asked  for  drought, 
and  it  lasted  three  years  and  a  half,  so  tliat  "  there  was 
a  sore  famine  in  Samaria."      He  prayed  once  more, 


and  "  the  heaven  was  black  with  clouds  and  wind,  and 
there  was  a  great  rain,"  and  thus  again  "  the  Lord 
hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  a  man."  Yet  Elijah  was 
uo  demi-god ;  we  even  learn  how  lie  slirank  from  his 
prophet's  yoke,  and  longed  to  die.  No  one  therefore 
may  despair  in  his  petitions  but  rather  let  his  "  re- 
quests be  made  known  unto  God;"  for  "men  ought 
always  to  pray,  and  not  to  faint"  (Lukexviii.  1). 

It  rained  not  on  the  earth.— This  Orientalism 
need  not  be  a  snare  to  the  most  literal  of  readers.  The 
punishment,  because  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  fell  on  their 
own  kingdom,  and  not  tlie  whole  world.  In  a  similar 
hy^Derbole  Obadiah  told  Elijah,  concerning  this  very 
famine,  "there  is  no  nation,  or  kingdom,  whither  my 
lord  hath  not  sent  to  seek  thee"  (1  Kings  xviii.  10). 

(10)  Brethren.— Jlft/  bretliren,  it  rather  ought  to  be. 
The  last,  and,  to  some,  the  dearest  of  the  wise  Apostle's 
remarks,  is  this  on  couA'ersion ;  and  it  fitly  closes  his 
loving  and  plain-speaking  Letter. 

If  any  of  you  do  err  .  .  .—Better  thus.  If  one 
of  you  be  led  au-ay  from  the  truth,  and  one  convert 
him.  It  is  not  tlie  walful  error,  so  much  as  the  being 
seduced  by  others,  who  draw  the  unwary  from  their 
proper  course,  till  in  time  they  become  of  themselves 
"  wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness 
of  darkness  for  ever"  (Jude,  verse  13).  As  the  leading 
away  was  an  act  prompted  by  the  devil,  so  the  bringing 
home  is  the  serA-ice  of  God,  and  each  will  have  its  fit 
reward.  The  sinner  is  riding,  as  it  were,  headlong  to 
destruction,  when  a  friend  lays  hold  upon  the  rein, 
and  litei-ally  "converts"  him,  i.e.,  turns  him  round; 
but,  observe,  the  wanderer  is  still  far  from  home, 
and  many  a  weaiy  league  must  he  traverse,  even  with 
face  turned  and  kept  heavenward,  before  tie  end  be 
neared. 

(20)  Let  him  know.— Or,  as  it  rather  seems  to  be, 
Knojo  ye .-  bo  absolutely  sure  of  this,  in  a  knowledge 
better  than  all  the  Gnostic  and  Agnostic  learning  of 
the  day.  He  which  turneth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death — the  means  thereto 
being  given  him  by  the  Saviour  of  all — and  shall  hide 
a  multitude  of  sins  ;  not,  of  course,  his  own,  but  those 
of  the  penitent,  brought  back  by  this  good  servant  into 
the  fold.  So  is  it  possible  to  be  a  fellow-worker  with 
Christ  (2  Cor.  vi.  1),  and  a  sharer  in  His  work  of  sjil- 
vation,  as,  in  another  sense,  we  too  ■vicariously  suffer 
for  the  sins  and  faults  of  others.  (Comp.  Col.  i.  24, 
and  Butler's  Analogy,  part  2.  chap,  v.) 

Wliat  St.  James  was  in  word  that  also  was  he  in 
deed;  for  he  "prayed  fervently"  for  the  pardon  and 
conversion  of  those  who  killed  him.  "  Hold,"  said 
some  of  the  by-standors.  wlieu  tlie  martjT  sank  upon 
tlie  stones,  "  the  Just  is  jiraying  for  you  I  "  Ste]ihen's 
prayer  won  Saul  for  tlie  infant  Church  :  it  can  hardly 
be  tliat  James's  last  breathings  of  pity  were  unanswered 
of  God. 


3S1 


THE    EPISTLES    GENERAL    OF 

PETER. 


b 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE     FIRST     EPISTLE     GENERAL     OF 

PETER. 


I.  The  Author.— The  authorship  of  thi«  Epistle 
oau  hai'dly  be  called  a  matter  of  questiou.  If  it 
bo  uot  St.  Peter's  own,  avo  have  uo  choice  but 
to  set  it  down  as  an  impudent  forgery.  It  claims 
directly,  and  in  tlie  simplest  form,  to  be  the  writing 
of  the  chief  Apostle  of  our  Lord  (chap.  i.  1). 
The  author  asserts  himself  to  be  a  "  witness  of  the 
suiferings  of  Christ"  (chap.  v.  1),  and  yet  does  it  so 
modestly  and  with  such  absence  of  detail  as  would  be 
inconceivable  in  a  forger  acquainted  with  St.  Peter's 
history.  The  enthusiastic  and  impassioned  stylo  of  the 
Letter  corresponds  ^ntli  tlie  character  of  St.  Peter  as 
wo  find  it  recorded  in  history ;  and  in  several 
mai'ked  poiuts  uot  only  the  doctrinal  statements, 
but  oven  the  literary  style  aud  turn  of  the  sentences, 
recalls  tlio  style  of  St.  Peter's  speeclies  in  the  Acts. 
The  fact  that  the  Letter  was  written  in  Greek  (for 
the  adjectives  alone  are  sufficient  disproof  of  the 
theory  that  it  is  a  translation  from  an  Aramaic  original) 
is  no  objection  to  the  Petrine  authorship.  Galilee  was 
a  half-Greek  country,  studded  with  Greek  cities ;  St. 
Peter's  brother  bore  a  Greek  name.  No  Galilean  of 
the  middle  classes  (to  which  St.  Peter  evidently  be- 
longed) could  have  been  ignorant  of  the  language ; 
indeed,  there  is  sufficient  evidence  that  Greek  was  as 
much  used  in  Galilee  as  Ai'amaic. 

It  seems  that  no  question  was  ever  entertained  until 
this  century  \vitli  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  tlie 
Epistle  by  any  church,  or  by  any  individual,  whether 
orthodox  or  heretical.  The  Epistle  was,  indeed,  re- 
jected by  Marcion,  but  distinctly  on  the  ground  that  it 
teas  St.  Peter's.  Origen  speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the 
books  wliose  authority  liad  never  been  disputed.  Tlie 
Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  wliicli,  even  if  not  genuine, 
cannot  be  dated  later  tlian  the  eai-ly  part  of  the  second 
century,  refers  back  to  it,  and  refers  to  it  expressly  as 
the  work  of  St.  Peter.  St.  Clement  of  Rome,  writing 
(proliably)  A.D.  95,  though  ho  does  not  dii'ectly  quote 
from  it  with  marks  of  citation,  has  expressions  such  as 
"  His  marvellous  liglit,"  and  several  others  less  marked, 
which  seem  certainly  to  indicate  liis  acquaintance  with 
it.  St.  Polycarp  (about  115  a.d.),  bishop  of  one  of  tlie 
chui'ches  to  which  the  Epistle  was  addressed,  within 
the  compass  of  one  short  letter  to  the  Philippians,  cites 
it  again  and  again — e.r/.,  "  In  wliom,  though  ye  never 
saw  Him,  ye  believe,  aud  believing  ye  rejoice ;  "  "  not 
rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing ;  "  and 
many  other  passages.  St.  Polycai-jj's  friend  Papias 
(according  to  Euseliius)  made  use  of  this  Epistle  too,  and 
seems  to  have  made  special  cnmments  on  the  connection 
between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Mark.  Besides  traces  of  the 
use  of  it  to  be  found  in  Hernias,  Thcophilus,  aud  others, 
it  is  freely  quoted,  and  by  name,  by  Irenaeus,  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  Tertullian,  jiud  all  subsequent  writers. 
L.  91  38d 


In  fact,  it  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  stronger  external 
evideuce  in  its  favour.  M.  Renan,  to  take  one  example 
of  an  historical  critic  whose  theology  is  not  that  of  St. 
Peter,  AVi'ites  :  "  If,  as  we  are  happy  to  believe,  this 
Epistle  is  really  Peter's,  it  does  honour  to  his  good 
sense,  his  straightforwardness,  and  his  simplicity ; " 
and  he  gives  many  good  reasons  for  his  belief. 

There  is  but  one  argument  against  the  genuineness 
of  the  Epistle  to  which  any  weight  at  all  can  be 
assigned,  and  even  this  loses  all  its  force  Avhen  it  is  ex- 
amined. "As  for  the  eclectic  and  conciliatory  tendencies 
observed  in  the  Epistle  of  Peter,"  writes  M.  Renan 
{Antechrist,  p.  ix.),  "  they  constitute  no  objection  to  any 
but  those  wlio,  like  Christian  Baur  and  his  disciples, 
imagine  the  dilfereiice  between  Peter  and  Paul  to  have 
been  one  of  absolute  opposition.  Had  the  hatred  be- 
tween the  two  parties  of  primitive  (Christianity  been  as 
profound  as  is  thought  by  that  school,  the  recon- 
ciliation would  never  have  been  made.  Peter  was  uot 
an  obstinate  Jew  like  James."  Without  necessarily 
agreeing  in  this  desci-iption  of  James,  we  may  well 
accept  the  statement  that  St.  Peter  was  a  man  peculiarly 
susceptible  of  impressions,  and  (even  putting  out  of 
view  the  two  Epistles  in  our  Canon)  his  atlmiratiou,  and 
indeed  his  awe  of  St.  Paul  are  visible  to  any  reader  of 
the  Acts  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatiaus.  No  Avinter 
recognises  them  more  frankly  than  M.  Renan  (Saint 
Paul,  pp.  85,  86).  Now,  ou  the  one  hand,  it  is  very 
easy  to  exaggerate  the  Pauline  character  of  this  Epistle. 
It  contains  no  one  doctrine,  such  r.s  Justification  by 
Faith,  which  is  essentially  bouud  up  with  the  name  of 
St.  Paul.  On  the  matter  of  the  free  admission  of 
Gentiles  into  the  Church  (which  indirectly  forms  a 
large  element  in  this  Epistle)  St.  Peter  had  made  up 
his  mind  long  years  before  he  came  much  under  the 
inttuence  of  St.  Paul  (Acts  x.  34;  xi.  17;  xv.  11).  But 
on  the  other  hand,  there  were  special  reasons  why,  in 
this  Epistle,  all  St.  Peter's  sympathy  for  his  co- Apostle 
should  come  out.  Ho  was  using,  either  as  his  secretary 
or  as  his  letter-bearer — perhaps  in  both  capacities — that 
liberal-minded  Silas  (chap.  v.  12^  who,  after  being 
chosen  by  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  as  their  own  ex- 
ponent to  the  Gentiles  of  Antioch.  had  attached  himself 
to  St.  Paul,  acc:)mpauied  him  in  the  most  momentous 
of  his  missionary  travels,  and  had  (apparently)  devoted 
himself  to  the  edification  and  extension  of  tho.se  Asiatic 
churches  whicli  the  two  had  founded  together.  St. 
Mark,  too,  dear  to  St.  Peter  as  his  own  "  son  "  in  the 
faith  (chap.  v.  13),  had  been  but  recently  again  (after 
early  misunderstandings)  a  chosen  companion  of  St. 
Paul,  and  was  probably  not  very  long  returned  from 
a  mis.sion  on  which  that  Apostle  had  despatched  liim 
into  Asia  Minor  (Col.  iv.  lu).  And.  moreover,  all  St. 
Peter's   chivalrous    nature    would    be  aroused  by  the 


L    PETER. 


lu.iiiiier  iu  wliich  the  i-liurches  of  all  that  regiou,  or 
any  rate  the  Jewish  element  in  them,  were  beginning 
to  revolt  (as  at  Corinth  also)  against  their  founder  when 
his  back  was  turned. 

II.  The  Place,  Time,  and  Occasion  of  the 
Epistle. — The  place  from  which  the  Letter  was 
written  was.  we  may  say  without  any  hesitation, 
Rome.  If  this  be  not  the  case,  we  must  understand 
the  "Babylon"  of  chap.  v.  13  to  mean  the 'Eastern 
Babylon;  and  it  is  neither  very  probable  in  itself 
that  St.  Peter  should  have  visited  that  city,  and  there 
have  been  met  by  St.  Silas  and  St.  Mark,  nor  is  there 
any  trace  of  a  tradition,  'however  meagre,  that 
ho  ever  travelled  iu  those  parts.  Ou  the  other  hand, 
were  it  not  for  the  abuse  made  of  the  fact  by  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Papacy,  no  one  would  ever  have  questioned 
the  universal  and  well-authenticated  tradition  wliich 
affirms  that  St.  Peter  was, along  with  St.  Paul,  co-founder 
of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  whole  sidjject  has  been, 
of  late  years,  sifted  to  the  bottom  by  various  Germau 
and  other  writers,  especially  by  Dr.  Hilgeufeld  in  re- 
peated articles  between  1872  and  1877  in  his  Zeitschrift. 
Though  every  conceivable  difference  may  be  found 
between  these  authors  respecting  the  dates  and  duration 
of  St.  Peter's  sojourn  at  Rome,  very  few  ax'e  so  hardily 
sceptical  as  to  reject  altogether  evidence  as  strong, 
early,  and  wide,  as  that  ou  which  we  believe  that 
Hannibal  invaded  Italy.  This  fact  being  then  certain, 
the  only  question  is  whether  Eusebius  is  right — or  St. 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  even  Papias,  whom  he 
appears  to  be  quoting — iu  suggesting  that  "  Babylon  " 
ia  this  Epistle  meant  Rome.  * 

About  this  there  can  be  no  difficulty.  Not  only  is 
Rome  so  styled  in  the  Apoeal)"j)se,  and  some  few  years 
later  hi  the  Jewish  Sibijlline  Oracles,  but  M.  Reuan 
quotes  passages  from  various  Rabbiuical  writings 
where  the  same  name  occurs  with  the  same  meaning. 
The  Jews  delighted  iu  substituting  symbolical  names 
and  epithets  even  in  plain  prose  speech  {e.g.,  Jerub- 
beshcth  for  Jerub-baal,  Hainan  the  Agag He ;  St.  Peter 
himself,  if  the  Second  E])istle  be  his,  seems  to  do  the 
same  when  he  calls  Balaam  "the  soiioi Bo.'^or  ") ;  and  the 
detestation  of  Rome,  natural  to  a  Jew  at  all  times,  and 
lieightened  by  Christianity  wlieu  once  the  persecution 
began,  found  vent  for  itself  in  all  manner  of  names  culled 
from  the  Old  Testament,  such  as  Nineveh  and  Edom, 
as  well  as  Babylon. 

If,  then,  Rome  be  the  place  from  which  St.  Peter 
wrote,  how  cau  we  find  approximately  the  time  ?  It  can- 
not be  put  earlier  than  the  year  64,  for  two  reasons 
especially :  (1)  because  it  shows  a  deep  acquaintance 
with  the  Epistle  (so-named)  to  the  Ephesians,t  the  date 


•  The  words  occur  in  a  passage  describing  the  oriprin  of  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Mark,  whicli  ends  thus,  "and  that  [St.  Peter] 
ratified  the  book  for  the  chnrclu-s  to  study  (Clement,  in  the 
sixth  of  his  Hypotj/po.^ir.s.  has  put  the  story  in  our  hands,  and 
his  account  is  substantiated  also  by  the  Bishop  of  Hicrapolis 
named  Papias).  and  tliat  Peter  mentions  Mark  in  his  former 
Epistle,  which  also  they  say  that  he  composed  ;it  Rome  itself, 
and  that  he  means  this  when  he  calls  the  city  in  afiBurativc 
kind  of  way  '  Babylon.'  in  these  words,  The  co-elect  one  in 
Babylon  greeteth  you,  and  Mark  my  so;i.'— (Eus.  Hist.  Eccl. 
n.  XV.  2.) 

f  Compare  chap.  i.  1,  2  with  Eph.  i.  i  ;  chap  i..3  \N-ith  Eph.  i.  3 ; 
chap.  1.4.  5  with  Eph.  i.  11,  IS;  chap,  i.  12  with  Eph.  iii.  10; 
chap.  i.  U  with  Ei^li.  ii.  2,  .3  ;  chap.  ii.  5  with  Eph.  ii.  20,  21,  22 ; 
chap.  ii.  18  with  Kpb.  vi.  j ;  chap.  iii.  1  with  Eph.  v  22-  chap 
iii.  22  with  Eph.  i.  20,  21 ;  chap.  iv.  .3  with  Eph.  li.  2  ;  and  other 
pas.'^ages.  The  connection  with  .Silyanus.  and  with  Mark,  is 
sufficient  to  explain  St.  Peter's  close  familiarity  with  an  Epistle 
which  had  been  destined  (largely)  for  the  same  readers  as  his 
own.  His  deep  knowledge  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  I 
(which   is    traceable    in    very    many   passages    is  a  strong 

386 


of  which  is  62  or  63;  (2)  because  direct  pei-secution  had 
broken  out  against  the  Christians  as  Christians,  and 
this  did  not  take  place  until  after  the  great  fire  at  Rome 
in  July,  6-i.  The  phenomena  of  the  letter  will  not  bear 
interpreting  by  the  theory  of  simple  disaffection,  how- 
ever deep  and  spiteful,  of  the  populace  against  the 
Christians.  They  are  lialile  at  any  moment,  even  away 
in  Asia,  to  be  called  upon  to  give  an  account  for  their 
faith  in  the  law  courts  (chap.  iii.  15).  If  any  of  them 
is  proved  to  be  a  Christian,  he  wiU  very  likely  "  suffer  " 
— suffer  capital  punishment — for  that  crime  (chap.  iv. 
16).  The  whole  piece  is  burdened  with  persecution  of 
a  most  systematic  kind  on  every  side.  There  is,  how- 
ever, one  side-question  which  causes  some  difficulty. 
St.  Paul  is  not  mentioned  as  joining  in  the  salutation 
to  the  churches  which  he  had  founded.  Why  so  ?  No 
more  probable  conjecture  can  be  made  than  that,  shortly 
after  writing  his  Epistles  to  the  Asiatic  Churches,  St, 
Paul  was  tried  and  liberated,  and  made  that  joumey 
into  the  far  West  on  which  he  had  long  set  his  heart, 
and  wliich  St.  Clement  of  Rome,  who  must  have  kno'wn 
well,  says  that  lie  took.  By  this  journey  he  escaped 
death  in  the  outbreak  of  Nero's  persecution ;  and  St. 
Peter,  arriving  at  Rome  about  the  same  time,  finds  him 
gone,  and  SOas  and  Mark  just  coming  back  to  head- 
quarters from  their  work  in  Asia,  with  reports  of  divi- 
sion and  disorder  which  required  immediate  attention. 
Accordingly  St.  Peter  issues  this  circular  letter  which 
we  have  before  us. 

Opinions  are  much  di^aded  as  to  whether  the  Letter 
was  adcb'essed  primarily  to  Jewish  or  to  Gentile  Chris- 
tians, or  to  both  indifferently.  Either  answer  is  beset 
with  difficulties,  but  the  question  will  be  found  fully 
discussed  in  the  Notes  on  the  chief  passages  (chap.  i.  I, 
U,  17,  18 ;  ii.  9,  10 ;  iv.  3,  et  al),  iu  which  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  aunotator  adheres  to  the  usually  received 
opinion  that  St.  Peter  keeps  to  his  original  intention  of 
going  to  the  circumcision  only.  The  pact  between  the 
Apostles  was,  indeed,  not  of  that  rigid  nature  which 
would  preclude  the  possibility  of  his  writing  to  the 
Gentiles,  even  as  St.  Paul  wi-ote  to  Jews ;  still,  it  seems 
more  natural  on  the  whole  to  suppose  that  he  adhered 
to  the  pact.  The  letter  is  throughout  exactly  what  the 
author  describes  it  as  being  (chap.  v.  12).  He  "  exhorts 
and  testifies  that  this  is  God's  true  grace."  That  is,  he 
insists  upon  the  Jewish  Christians  recognising  fully  that 
St.  Paul's  gospel  was  all  that  it  ought  to  be  (chap.  i.  12, 
25),  and  exhorts  them  to  consequent  unity  and  brotherly 
love.  The  presence  of  persecution  both  increases  the 
temptation  to  fall  away  and  also  heightens  the  heinous- 
ness  of  such  desertion,  therefore  cA-ery  warning  and  every 
encouragement  is  pointed  by  the  mention  of  sufferings 
and  of  the  reward  that  is  coming  when  Christ  returns. 
The  analysis  of  the  Letter,  which  is  somewhat  hard  to  ^ 
make,  may  be  seen  in  the  marginal  notes. 

In  tiie  jireparation  of  the  Notes,  the  wi'iter  has  not 
only  had  the  usual  printed  commentaries  and  books  of 
reference,  but  evei-y  now  and  then  has  had  the  advantage 
of  manuscript  notes  of  lectures  (such  as  will  scjircely 
be  heard  in  Cambridge  again)  by  the  Bishop  of  Durham, 
lent  to  him  by  the  Chancellor  of  Truro  Cathedral. 


argument  in  favour  of  the  identification  of  "  Babylon  "  with 
Rome.  There  are  some  indications  also  of  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  again  perhaps  through 
Silyanus.  It  is  notewortliy.  as  sliowing  the  position  which 
St.  Peter  held  amidst  conflicting  parties,  that  the  document 
which,  next  after  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Ephesians, 
has  most  influenced  this  Letter,  is  the  Epistle  of  St.  James  ;  for 
instance,  compare  chap.  i.  6.  7  with  Jas.  i.  2,  3 ;  chap.  1.  24  with 
Jas.  i.  10, 11 ;  chap.  iy.  8  with  Jas.  v.  20 ;  chap.  v.  5—9  with  Jas. 
iv.  6—10 ;  et  al. 


THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    GENERAL    OF 

PETER. 


CHAPTER   L- 
of 
the 


Chap.    i.    1,  2. 
The  sahxtation. 


-(1)  Peter,  an  apostle 
Jesus  Christ, "  to 
strauofers     scattered  * 


a  Mate  10.  2. 
b  John  7.  35; 


throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappa- 
docia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  ^->  elect  ac- 
cordinsr   to  the   foreknowledgfe  of  God 


The  Salutation. — A  comparisou  of  this  salutatiou 
with  those  of  St.  James,  St.  Jucle,  aud  St.  Johu  (Second 
aud  Third  Epistles,  aud  Rev.  i.  4 — 6),  will  show  that 
it  is  iiot  distiuctively  a  Pauline  form  of  beginniug  a 
letter,  but  one  common  to  all  the  early  Christians.  The 
same  may  be  observed  in  the  letters  of  the  apostolic 
Fathers.  Aud  the  outburst  of  praise  immediately 
following  is  likewise  a  usual  type. 

(1)  Peter,  an  apostle.— The  authoritative  tone  of 
this  Epistle  is  shown  at  the  outset.  The  ■miter  assumes 
his  full  titles ;  not  (as  in  the  Second  Epistle)  his  merely 
human  name  of  Simeon,  nor  his  humble  capacity  of 
"  servant,"  but  the  Rock-name  which  Christ  had  given 
him,  and  the  official  dignity  of  an  "  Apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ  " — i.e.,  one  charged  with  full  legatiue  authority 
from  Christ  (John  xvii.  18 ;  xx.  21) — a  vicar  of  Christ 
to  the  Church,  and  not  only  a  representative  of  the 
Church  to  Godwards.  Observe  also  that  wliile  St. 
Paul  constantly  adds  "  by  the  will  of  God,"  or  some 
similar  phrase,  by  way  of  justifying  his  assumption 
of  the  title,  St.  Peter  has  no  need  to  do  more  than 
mention  it ;  his  claim  was  never  questioned.  Again, 
though  St.  SUas  aud  St.  Mark  are  with  him,  they 
are  not  associated  in  the  initial  greeting,  as  they  would 
probably  have  been  by  St.  Paid  {e.g.,  1  and  2  Thess. 
i.  1).  "Apostle"  though  Silas  was  (see  1  Thess.  ii.  6), 
and  "  faitM ul  brother  "  to  the  recipients  of  the  Letter 
(chap.  V.  12),  his  support  would  have  added  but  little 
weight  to  the  utterances  of  the  Rock-Apostle.  And 
yet,  with  all  this  quiet  assumption  of  dignity,  St.  Peter 
knows  no  higher  title  to  bestow  on  himself  than  that 
which  he  held  in  common  with  the  other  eleven — "  an 
Apostle ;  "  not  "  the  Apostle,"  nor  "  bishop  of  bishops," 
nor  (which  means  the  same  thing)  "servant  of  servants." 

To  the  strangers  scattered  throughout  .  .  . 
— Literally,  to  the  elect,  sojourners  of  the  dispei-sion  of 
Pontus.  The  persons  for  whom  the  Letter  is  destined 
are  very  clearly  specified.  In  Jolm  vii.  35  we  have 
"  the  dispersion  cf  the  Greeks,"  where  it  clearly 
means  "  those  of  the  dispersed  Jews  who  live  among 
the  Greeks,"  so  here  "  the  dispersion  of  Pontus," 
or  *'  the  Pontine  dispersion,"  will  mean  "  those  of 
the  dispersed  Jews  who  live  in  Pontus."  In  Ja;;. 
i.  1  the  same  word  is  used,  and,  in  fact,  it  seems  to 
have  been  the  recognised  name  for  all  Jews  Avho  did 
not  live  in  Palestine.  The  word  rendered  by  "so- 
journers" means  people  who  are  resident  for  a  time 
among  strangers:  it  might,  for  instance,  descrilje 
English  people  who  have  taken  liouses  in  Paris  without 
becoming  naturalised ;  aud,  as  it  is  here  in  so  close  a 


connection  with  geogi'aphical  words,  it  seems  forced 
to  interpret  it  metaphorically  (as  in  chap.  ii.  11). 
Palestine,  not  Heaven,  is  the  home  tacitly  contrasted ; 
Pontus,  not  earth,  is  the  place  of  sojourn.  This,  then, 
is  clear,  that  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision  is  writing 
to  those  of  the  Circumcision.  The  addition  of  the  words 
"  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ "  is  the  only  thing  which 
shows  that  they  are  Christian  Jews. 

Pontus,  Galatia  .  .  . — The  provinces  which 
between  them  make  up  the  whole,  or  nearly  so.  of  what 
we  call  Asia  Minor,  are  named  in  no  order  that  can  be 
assigned  a  meaning,  or  that  indicates  the  quarter 
whence  the  Letter  was  written.  Possibly  the  circum- 
stances which  called  for  the  writing  of  the  Epistle  may 
have  been  most  striking  in  Pontus.  Notice  that  at 
any  rate  the  churches  of  Galatia  and  Asia  owed  their 
origin  to  St.  Paul.  Of  the  founding  of  the  rest  we 
know  nothing;  perhaps  they  were  founded  by  St.  Silas: 
but  Jewish  settlers  from  Cappadocia  and  Pontus  had 
heai'd  St.  Petei-'s  fii'st  sermon  on  the  Church's  birth- 
day (Acts  ii.  9).  A  few  years  later  and  Pliny  finds 
the  whole  upper  shore  of  Asia  Minor  overrun  and 
swallowed  up  by  Christians. 

(2)  Elect. — A  true  chosen  people.  This  word  marks 
them  off  from  the  rest  of  the  Jc^vish  settlers  in  those 
parts.  It  is  an  evasion  of  the  difficulty  to  say  that 
they  were  elect  only  in  the  mass,  as  a  body.  The 
election  was  individual  and  pei*soual.  God  selected 
these  particular  Hebrews  out  of  the  whole  uumljer.  and 
made  them  Christians ;  but  what  He  elected  them  to  is 
abundantly  shown  in  the  next  words.  For  all  their 
election  they  are  not  certain  of  salvation,  and  their 
title  of  '•  elect "  implies  no  more  than  the  fact  that  G^d 
has  put  them  into  the  ^^sible  Church.  (See  Notes  on 
1  Thess.  i.  4,  and  2  Pet.  i.  10.) 

According  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God. — 
The  origin  of  this  election,  the  aim.  and  the  meai)s 
employed  are  now  touched  upon,  and  connected  ^rith 
the  three  Di^^ne  Persons  respectively,  (ll  The  origin. 
Their  election  is  not  accidental,  nor  yet  something  done 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  an  afterthought  of  God,  but 
"according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father" 
— i.e.,  in  execution  of  His  fore-arranged  scheme.  The 
word  implies  not  simply  a  perception  of  the  future, 
but  the  forming  of  a  decision.  (Comp.  the  same  word  in 
verse  20,  and  in  Rom.  viii.  29;  xi.  2.)  Though  the 
thonglit  is  common  also  to  St.  Paid,  St.  Peter  was 
familiar  with  it  before  St.  Paul's  conversion.  (Sec  Acts 
ii.  23.)  (2)  The  means.  The  preconcerted  sclieme  of 
Grod  embraced  not  only  the  choice  of  these  particular 
persons  for  a  blessing,  but  the  lines  on  which  the  choice 


387 


Praise  for  (lie  Comfort 


1.    PETER,    I. 


of  (lie  Gospel. 


the  Father,"  through  sanctifi cation  of  the 
Spirit,*  unto  obedience  and  sprinkling 
of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ :  "■    Grace 
unto  you,  and  peace,  be  multiplied. 
(3J  Blessed  he  the  God  and  Father  of  our 


a  Rnm.  R.  29 ;  11.  2. 
d  2  Cor.  11.  31  ; 
Kiih.  1.  3,  17. 
b  2  Thtss.  2.  13. 
Mir.  much, 
c  Matt.  26. 28;  Hoi). 
12.  24. 
e  Titus  3.  .■>.  -. 


Lord  Jesus  Christ,*^  which  c^ap.  i.  3—12, 
according  to  his  abundant ^  Praise  of 
mercy  hath  begotten  us  ^lU'Ld'^^ 
again  unto  a  lively  hope '  comforts  and 
by     the     resurrection     of  ^^o^^i^^s. 


was  to  work  itself  out — "  in  a  course  of  sauctification 
by  the  Siiirit."  The  words  and  the  thought  are 
identical  witli  tliosc  of  2  Thcss.  ii.  13,  hut  probably  so 
far  differ  in  exact  meaning  that  there  "  the  Spu-it  "  is 
the  spirit  sanctified,  here  it  is  the  Spirit  which  sancti- 
fies. (Comp.  also  1  Thess.  iv.  7.)  We  see  that  even  the 
blessing  of  "  obetlieuce  and  sprinkling" — much  more 
that  of  glory  hereafter — is  unattainable  excejit  in  the 
path  of  sauctification.  (3)  The  eucL  That  to  which 
God  had  elected  them  was  not  in  the  first  instance  the 
participation  of  tlie  joys  of  the  post-resurrectiou  life, 
but  the  benefits  of  redemption  on  this  side  of  the  grave. 
While  other  "sojourners  of  the  Pontine  dispersion" 
were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  disobedience  which 
characterised  the  Jews,  and  trusting  to  the  efficacy  of 
membership  in  the  covenant  people,  these  had,  in 
accordance  with  God's  plan,  been  admitted  to  "obe- 
dience"— i.e.,  the  reception  of  the  gospel  facts  and 
precepts  (see  Note  on  2  Thess.  i.  8),  and  to  the — 

Sprinkling  of  the  blood..— This  important  phrase 
must  be  compared  with  Heb.  ix.  19,  and  xii.  24, 
which  passages  were,  perhaps,  suggested  by  it,  unless, 
indeed,  the  idea  had  become  the  common  property  of 
the  Church  already.  There  is  nothing  in  St.  Paul's 
■writings  to  compare  with  it.  As  the  people  themselves 
are  "  sprinkled,'^  and  not  their  houses,  the  reference 
cannot  be  to  the  Paschal  sprinkling  (Ex.  xii.  22),  but, 
as  in  Hebrews,  to  the  scene  under  Mount  Sinai  in 
Ex.  xxiv.  8,  where,  once  for  all,  the  old  covenant  was 
inaugurated  by  the  sprinkling  of  the  people.  It  was  to 
that  same  scene  that  our  Lord  referred  when  He  said 
of  the  Eucharistic  cup,  "  This  is  My  blood  of  the  7iew 
covenant."  Thus,  "  elect  unto  the  sprinkling  of  the 
blood,"  seems  to  mean  "  selected  for  admission  into  the 
new  covenant  inaugurated  by  the  sprinkling  of  Christ's 
blood."  But  whereas  the  old  covenant  was  inaugu- 
rated by  spiinkling  the  people  collectively  and  once  for 
all,  the  new  is  inaugurated  anew  and  anew  by  individual 
application ;  so  that  the  Eucharistic  cup  was  not 
(according  to  the  Quaker  theory)  to  be  drunk  once 
for  all  by  the  Apostles  then  present  as  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  whole  subsequent  Church.  Neither  does 
this  inauguration  by  sprinkling  como  Init  once  for  all 
in  the  individual's  lifetime,  but  as  often  as  the  covenant 
is  broken  by  his  sin  he  comes  to  renew  it  again. 
Doubtless  the  participation  of  the  Holy  Communion  is 
the  act  of  ''  sprinkling  "  here  before  St.  Peter's  mind, 
it  being  the  one  act  wliich  betokens  membership  in 
the  new  covenant-people,  tlie  new  Israel.  Of  course 
the  application  of  blood  in  botli  covenants  rests  on  the 
notion  of  a  death-forfeit  being  remitted. 

Of  Jesus  Christ.— He  does  not  say  "  of  tlie  new 
testament,"  l)ut  substitutes  the  name  of  the  Victim  in 
whose  blood  the  covenant  is  inaugurated — Jesus.  And 
who  is  this  Jesus  ?  The  Chri.st !  The  Messiah  1  As 
though  Israel  at  Sinai  had  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood 
of  Moses.  Wliat  a  contrast  between  the  other  Jews  of 
Pontus,  with  (heir  Messianic  expectations,  and  these 
"  elect  sojourners  "  siirinkled  with  Messiah's  blood  ! 

Be  multiplied.— This  occurs  again  only  in  2  Pet. 
i.  2 ;  Jude,  verse  2.  (Comp.  Dan.  iv.  1.)  It  contains  an 
exliortation  to  progress.  There  are  some  good  things 
of  which  we  cannot  have  too  much. 


(3—12)  Panegyric  of  the  Gospel  from  a 
Hebrew  point  of  view. — The  Apostle  thanks 
God  for  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  fact  is 
a  regeneration  of  us,  and  a  pledge  of  future  glory,  in 
view  of  which  such  afflictions  as  beset  the  Asiatic 
Hebrews  were  seen  to  serve  a  purpose,  and  that  pur- 
pose the  very  "  salvation "  which  had  formed  the 
theme  of  the  Old  Testament. 

(3)  Blessed.— A  foi-m  consecrated  to  God  alone 
(e.g.,  Mark  xiv.  61 ;  Rom.  ix.  5 ;  2  Cor.  xi.  31),  a 
completely  different  word  from  the  "  blessed,"  or 
happy,  of  the  Beatitudes ;  and  tliffering  from  the 
"  blessed"  of  the  Virgin  Mary  (Luke  i.  28,  42)  in  that 
this  form  implies  that  blessing  is  always  due  on  account 
of  something  inherent  in  the  person,  while  that  only 
implies  that  a  blessing  has  been  received.  Tlie  idea 
of  blessing  God  (literally,  speaking  Him  well,  Ps. 
c.  3)  is,  of  course,  wholly  Hebrew. 

Of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.— No  longer  only  "  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel,"  as,  e.g.,  1  Chron.  xxix.  10 ;  2  Cliron. 
\i.  4 ;  Luke  i.  68 ;  He  is  now  in  a  nearer,  tenderer  rela- 
tion to  these  members  of  the  new  covenant.  He  is 
the  Father  of  the  Messiah,  and  yet  the  God  whom 
Jesus  adores  (Johu  xx.  17). 

Which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy.— 
This  is  the  reason  for  which  God  desenes  blessing 
from  us.  The  word  "  according  "  never  means  exactly 
the  same  as  '"in"  or  "by";  here  it  rather  shows  that 
the  particular  instance  was  in  keeping  with  what  might 
have  been  expected,  had  we  but  known,  from  the 
"much  liity"  which  God  must  have  felt  for  creatures 
so  forlorn.  Our  regeneration  was  no  sudden  capri- 
cious favour. 

Hath  begotten  us  again.— Rather,  begat  us 
again — the  historical  moment  being  here  given  as  that 
of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  This  great  word,  which 
is  St.  Peter's  own,  being  only  found  again  in  verse  20, 
evidently  contains  the  whole  meaning  of  the  being 
"  born  from  above  "  or  "  begotten  all  over  again  "  of 
John  iii.  3,  of  the  "fresh  creation"  of  2  Cor.  v.  17, 
Gal.  vi.  15,  of  the  "  regeneration  "  of  Tit.  iii.  5.  of  the 
"  begotten  of  God  "  in  St.  John's  Epistle,  and  (to  a 
cei-tain  extent)  of  the  "  brought  He  us  forth "  of 
Jas.  i.  18.  it  seems  to  indicate  that,  if  it  takes 
effect,  it  makes  a  complete  change  not  only  in  the  con- 
dition and  prospects  of  the  man,  but  in  the  man  himself  : 
such  a  change,  for  example,  as  would  pass  over  an 
animal  if  it  were  suddenly  to  receive  the  powei*s  of  a 
human  being.  It  is  no  metaphor  wlien  the  cliange 
from  the  natural  man  to  a  man  united  with  the  Incar- 
nate God  is  described  as  an  act  of  creation  parallel 
only  to  those  of  the  creation  of  matter  and  force 
(Gen.  i.  1,  2),  the  creation  of  life  (Gen.  i.  21),  and  the, 
creation  of  liunianity  (Gen.  i.  27),  for,  according  tot 
St.  Peter's  teaching,  avo  are  tlius  actually  made  "  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature  "  (2  Pet.  i.  4). 

Unto  a  lively  hope.— Or,  into  a  living  hopej^ 
BefoiT  this  regeneration  there  was  nothing  to  lool 
forward  to — at  best  a  kind  of  dead-alive  surmise  that 
there  might  be  something  beyond  the  weary  worlc 
But  as  the  animal  we  have  imagined  would  find  liimseli 
suddenly  new-begott?n  into  a  state  in   which  he  wa 


388 


The  Inheritance 


I.    PETER,   I. 


reserved  for  the  Saints. 


Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,"  (^^  to  an 
inheritance  incorru]3tible,  and  undefiled, 
and  tliat  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in 
heaven*  for  you,^   ^^^who  are   kept  by 


((  cli.  3.  21 ;   Rnni. 
«i.  4. 
(•  Kph.  2.  8. 
d  Uoiii.  H.  IH. 
h  C.)l.  1.  5. 
1  Or,  fur  ».«. 

e  Matt.  5.  12; 
Roiu.  5.  3 ; 
Jas.  1.  2. 


the  power  of  God  through  faith  '" 
unto  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed''  in 
the  last  time.  <*''  Wherein  ye  greatly 
rejoice,'  though  now  for   a  season,  if 


conscious  of  himself  and  of  God,  so  we  found  our- 
selves uevv-bcgottcu  into  a  state  of  definite  and  most 
energetic  expectation  of  whole  scecula  sceculorum — 
worhls  beyond  worlds — of  bliss  Ijefore  us. 

By  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  — 
M3''stically  speaking,  the  moment  of  oi^r  emergence 
into  this  new  glow  of  expectation  was  that  when  the 
Messiah  Jesus,  who  had  been  cut  ofF,  emerged  from 
among  the  dead.  Then  we  saw  it  all  I  St.  Peter, 
indeed,  is  speaking,  so  far  as  himself  was  concerned, 
not  mystically,  but  literally,  as  his  history  before  and 
after  tlie  Resurrection  shows.  To  him,  and  to  the 
other  Apostles,  the  Resurrection  was  a  regeneration, 
and  they  became  new  beings.  To  subsequent  Christians 
precisely  the  same  effect  takes  place  when  (suddenly  or 
gradually)  the  fact  of  the  Resurrection  is  acknowledged 
and  its  significance  realised.  (See  what  St.  Paul  says, 
Phil.  iii.  10.)  Yet  we  must  not  confine  the  meaning  of 
the  words  to  the  effects  of  this  conscious  realisation. 
St.  Peter  is  viewing  the  transaction  theologically,  i.e., 
from  God's  point  of  view,  not  phenomenally,  from 
man's.  He  speaks  of  the  begetting,  not  of  the  being 
born  — of  the  Resurrection  itself,  not  of  the  preaching 
of  the  Resurrection.  To  God,  with  whom,  according 
to  St.  Peter,  time  does  not  exist  (2  Pet.  iii.  8),  there  is 
no  interval  between  His  begetting  of  Christ  again  from 
the  dead  (Acts  xiii.  33;  Rev.  i.  5),  and  His  begetting 
of  us  again  thereby.  In  the  mystery  of  our  union 
with  the  Incarnate  Word,  His  historical  resurrection 
did,  thi-ough  baptism,  in  some  ineffable  manner,  infuse 
into  us  the  grace  which  makes  new  creatures  of  us. 
Archbishop  Leighton  says  well,  "  Not  oidy  is  it  (the 
Resurrection)  the  exemplar,  but  the  etficient  cause  of 
our  now  birth."  (See  below,  chap.  iii.  21,  and  Rom. 
vi.  4.) 

(*)  To  an  inheritance.— This  is  structurally  parallel 
to  and  explanatory  of,  the  clause  "  into  a  living  hope." 
We  are,  as  the  saying  is,  boni  to  an  estate.  This 
notion  of  an  "  inheritance,"  or  propei'ty,  that  we  have 
come  in  for,  is  particularly  Hebrew,  occurring  very  fre- 
quently in  the  Old  Testament.  The  Pontine  dispersion 
had  lost  their  "  inheritance  "  in  Palestine,  but  there  is 
a  better  in  store  for  them. 

Incorruptible,  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth 
not  away, — Exuberant  description  of  the  excellencies 
of  the  new  Canaan.  The  first  epithet  contrasts  its 
imperishable  nature  (see  Rom.  i.  23;  2  Tim.  i.  10) 
with  the  fleeting  tenure  of  the  earthly  Canaan.  The 
second  speaks  of  its  freedom  from  pollutions  such  as 
desecrated  the  first  "  Holy  Land."  Perhaps  it  may 
specially  mean  that  the  new  Holy  Land  will  never  be 
profaned  by  Gentile  incursions  and  tyrannies.  The 
third,  and  most  poetical  of  all  (which  is  only  found 
besides  in  Wisd.  vi.  12),  conveys  tlie  notion  of  the 
unchanging  beauty  of  that  land — no  winter  in  the  in- 
heritance to  which  the  Resurrection  brings  us  (Cant. 
ii.  11). 

Reserved  —The  perfect  tense,  which  hath  been 
reserved  nnfn  you,  i.e.,  either  in  the  temporal  sense — 
"kept  all  this  while  until  you  came,"  or  "  with  a  view 
to  you.''  (Comp.  Heb.  xi.  40.)  He  now  adds  explicitly 
that  it  is  no  earthly,  but  a  heavenly  possession. 

(5)  Who  are  kept.— This  cxi)la"iiis  the  word  "  you  :  " 
"<hos(\  I  mean,  who   are   under  the  guardianship  of 


389 


God's  power."  Bengel  says,  "  As  the  inheritance  hath 
been  preserved,  so  are  the  heirs  guarded ;  neither  shall 
it  fail  them,  nor  they  it." 

Through  faith.— The  Apostle  is  fearful  lest  the 
last  words  should  give  a  false  assurance.  God  can 
guard  none  of  us,  in  .spite  of  His  "power,"  unless 
there  bo  a  corresponding  exertion  upon  our  part — 
which  is  hero  called  '"faith" — combining  the  notions 
of  staunch  fidelity  and  of  trustfulness  in  spite  of 
appearances.  It  is  through  such  trustful  fidelity  that 
we  are  guarded. 

Unto  salvation. — These  words  "  unto  "  arise  like 
point  beyond  point  in  the  endless  vista.  ''  Begotten 
unto  an  inheritance,  which  hath  been  reserved  mito 
you,  who  are  kept  safe  vnto  a  deliverance."  This  sal- 
vation, spoken  of  again  in  verse  9,  must  not  be  taken 
in  the  Ijald  sense  of  salvation  from  damnation.  Indeed, 
the  thought  of  the  perdition  of  the  lost  does  not  enter 
at  all  into  the  passage.  The  salvation,  or  deliverance, 
is  primarily  a  deliverance  from  all  the  trials  and  per- 
secutions, struggles  and  temptations  of  this  life — an 
emergence  into  the  state  of  peace  and  rest,  as  we  can 
see  from  the  verses  that  follow. 

Ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time.— How 
such  an  assurance  helps  to  form  the  veiy  "  faith " 
through  which  the  treasure  is  secured !  That  perfect 
state  of  peace,  that  heavenly  inheritance,  is  not  some- 
thing to  be  prepared  hereafter,  but  there  it  is.  If  only 
our  eyes  were  opened,  we  should  already  see  it.  It  is 
all  ready,  only  waiting  for  the  great  moment.  The 
tense  of  the  woi'd  "revealed"  implies  the  suddenness 
of  the  unveiling.  It  will  be  but  the  work  of  an  instant 
to  put  aside  the  curtain  and  show  the  inheritance  which 
has  been  kept  hidden  so  long  behind  it.  This,  however, 
will  not  take  place  till  the  exact  period  (so  the  word  for 
''  time  "  suggests ;  comp.  2  Thess.  ii.  6),  and  that  period 
will  be  the  last  of  the  world's  history.  For  such 
teaching  the  Hebrews  would  be  well  prepared  by  the 
Old  Testament — for  instance,  comp.  Dan.  xii.  9,  13 — 
and  it  was  the  earliest  kind  of  teaching  culled  for  con- 
verts out  of  the  "oracles  of  God"  (Heb.  v.  12; 
vi.  2). 

(6)  Wherein  ye  greatly  rejoice.— •' His  scope." 
says  Leighton,  "is  to  stir  up  and  sti-engthen  spiritual 
joy  in  his  afflicted  brethren ;  and  therefore  haA-ing  set 
the  matter  of  it  before  them  in  the  preceding  verses, 
he  now  applies  it,  and  expressly  opposes  it  to  their 
distresses."  There  is  a  little  douljt  as  to  the  antecedent 
of  the  word  "  wherein."  At  first  sight  it  would  seem 
to  be  "  in  the  last  time,''  and  the  thought  woidd  then 
be  that  this  "  last  time,''  with  all  its  predicted  afflictions, 
was  already  begun,  and  that  the  Pontine  Helirews  were 
fulfilling  the  injunction  of  our  Lord  in  Luke  xxi.  28. 
and  "rejoicing"  (the  word  is  one  of  enthusiastic  and 
demonstrative  joy)  in  the  near  approach  of  their  re- 
demption. This  makes  good  sense,  but  it  is  better 
to  see  the  antecedent  in  "  the  whole  complex  s«nise  of 
the  preceding  verses,  concerning  the  hope  of  glory.  In 
this  thing  ye  rejoice,  that  ye  are  begotten  again  ;  that 
there  is  such  an  inheritance,  and  that  you  are  made 
heirs  of  it ;  that  it  is  kept  for  you,  and  yuu  for  it ;  that 
nothing  can  come  betwixt  you  and  it,  and  disappoint 
you  of  possessing  and  enjoying  it,  though  there  Ijc 
many  deserts  aiul  mountains  and  seas  in  the  way.  yet 


Ty.  Trial  of  Faith. 


I.   PETER,   r. 


Faith  in  Christ,  though  unseen. 


need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  througli 
manifold  temptations  :  <''>  that  the  trial 
of  your  faith,  being  much  more  precious 
than  of  gold  that  perisheth,  though  it 
be  tried  with  fire,"  might  be  found  unto 


a  Dan.  13.  la 

c2Thess.l.7,lo,i 
12;  John  2a  29. 


praise  and  honour  and  glory  at  the 
appearing  of  Jesus  Christ :  *  <^^  whom 
having  not  seen,  ye  love ;  in  whom, 
though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  be- 
lieving, '  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 


you  are  ascertained  that  you  shall  come  safe  thither." 
(Leigh  ton.) 

Though  now  for  a  season. — Literally,  after 
having  been  grieved  in  the prese)d  {if  it  must  be  so)  for 
a  little  while  in  the  midst  of  manifold  temptations. 
The  Apostle  takes  liis  stand  at  the  moment  of  the  revela- 
tion and  loolc'i  back  upon  the  fast-passing  present  and 
its  griefs.  What  the  temptations  were  we  cannot  t«ll ; 
but  the  word  "  manifold  "  shows  that  it  was  not  only 
one  type  of  temptation  under  which  all  lay  alike.  The 
chief  was  probably  the  unkind  attitude  of  Gentile 
neighbours  leliaps.  ii.  12,  15;  iii.  14 — 17  ;  iv.  4,  12 — 19), 
which  was  the  most  searching  "  test  of  faith."  Iden- 
tical words  (in  the  Greek)  occur  in  Jas.  i.  2,  3,  so  as 
almost  to  suggest  a  common  origin — possibly  to  be 
found  in  Rom.  v.  3. 

If  need  be. — Or,  if  it  must  be  so.  To  encourage 
them  to  boar  up  St.  Peter  throws  in  this  phrase,  so  as 
not  to  take  it  fen-  granted  that  they  will  have  to  suffer; 
he  hopes  it  may  not  be  so.     (Comp.  chap.  iii.  17.) 

(7j  That  the  trial  of  your  faith. — This  depends 
grammatically  on  '"  having  been  grieved."  The  purpose 
of  God's  proA-idence  in  sending  the  griefs  is  "  that  the 
trial  of  your  faith  might  be  found  unto  praise."  The 
word  "trial  "  here  does  not  mean  exactly  the  same  as 
in  the  passage  of  St.  James;  in  that  pas.sage  it  signifies 
the  active  testing  of  faith,  here  it  has  rather  the  mean- 
ing of  the  cognate  word  translated  "  assurance  "  in 
Rom.  V.  4,  "  proof  "  in  2  Cor.  ii.  9,  Phil.  ii.  22,  i.e.,  the 
attested  worth,  the  genuine  character.  This  seems 
necessitated  by  the  comparison  of  the  trial  with  the 
gold  itself,  as  wo  .shall  see.  You  cannot  compai'e  an 
act  or  process  with  gold,  but  you  can  compare  "the 
genuine  character"  brought  out  by  the  process  properly 
enough.  Besides,  that  which  you  wish  to  "  praise  "  at 
Christ's  coming  is  not  the  process  by  which  the  faith 
was  proved,  but  the  worth  of  the  faith  itself.  "  Faith  " 
seems  to  mean  the  same  as  in  verse  5. 

Being  much  more  precious  than  of  gold.— 
Tliere  is  no  reason,  or  indeed  any  grammatical  right, 
to  insert  the  "'  of."  It  should  be,  more  exceedingly 
valuable  than  gold.  He  does  not  say  "  your  faith  is 
more  valuable  than  gold,"  but  "  your  faith's  genuine- 
ness is  more  valuable  than  gold."  It  is  worth  anything 
to  establish  the  true  character  of  your  faith  ;  it  would 
be  a  most  serious  loss  to  leave  a  chance  of  an  imputa- 
tion upon  your  Christianity. 

That  perisheth,  though  it  be  tried  with 
fire. — Rather,  ivhicli  is  a  thing  that  perisheth,  and  yet 
is  tried  through  fire.  Tlie  argument  is  this.  Gold  is  a 
peri.shable  thing,  and  comes  to  an  end  with  the  rest  of 
the  world,  or  is  worn  away  with  handling  and  is  lost ; 
and  yet  men  take  great  pains  to  test  it  and  show  that 
it  contains  no  dross,  and  do  so  by  means  of  fire.  How 
much  more  may  we  expect  a  fiery  trial  (chap.  iv.  12)  to 
test  the  character  of  our  belief  in  the  unseen  Christ, 
when  that  belief  is  never  to  come  to  an  end  (1  Cor.  xiii. 
13).  and  on  its  freedom  from  alloy  everjihing  depends! 

Might  be  found.— Tliat  \s,  might  clearly  prove  to 
be.  The  time  will  come  when  the  gold  will  be  inspected, 
and  the  Judge,  and  all  the  spectators,  will  "  find"  that 
the  testing  was  sufficient  and  tlie  character  .satisfactory. 


390 


"  Found  unto  praise,"  or,  found  for  a  praise,  is  a 
Hebraism,  meaning  "  found  to  be  a  matter  of  praise." 
St.  Peter  is  fond  of  heaping  up  words  of  like  significa- 
tion. (See  verse  4,  and  chap.  v.  10.)  "Praise"  is 
the  language  that  will  be  used  about  these  men's  faith ; 
"  honour,"  the  rank  in  which  they  will  be  placed ; 
"glory,"  the  fervent  admiration  accorded  to  them: 
the  tlu-ee  words  correspond  to  the  regions  of  word,  act, 
and  feeling. 

At  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ.— Revelation 
would  have  been  better,  as  the  word  in  the  Greek  is 
the  same  as  in  verse  5.  This  gives  the  date  at  which 
the  trial  will  have  done  its  work :  it  is  the  same  as  the 
"  last  time  "  when  the  "  deliverance  "  will  be  revealed. 
Remember  that  all  through  the  afflictions  and  assaults 
the  men  are  "being  guarded  by  the  power  of  God." 
There  are  several  words  and  thoughts  in  this  whole 
passage  which  would  suggest  that  Dan.  xii.  was  before 
the  mind  of  the  Apostle  more  or  less  consciously. 

(8)  Whom,  having  not  seen.— Said  in  contrast  to 
the  word  "  i-evelation  "  in  the  last  verse  :  "  whom  you 
love  already,  though  He  is  not  yet  revealed,  so  that  you 
have  not  as  yet  seen  Him."  There  seems  to  be  a  kind 
of  tender  pity  in  the  words,  as  spoken  by  one  who 
himself  had  seen  so  abundantly  (Acts  iv.  20 ;  x.  41 ;  2  Pet, 
i.  16).  In  this  and  the  following  verse  we  return  again 
from  the  sorrow  to  the  joy,  and  to  the  true  cause  of 
that  joy,  which  is  only  to  be  found  in  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ.  There  is  another  reading,  though  not  so  good 
either  in  sense  or  in  authority:  "whom,  without 
knowing  Him,  ye  love."  Bengel  remarks  that  this  is 
intended  for  a  paradox,  sight  and  knowledge  being  the 
usual  parents  of  love. 

Ye  love. — The  word  of  calm  and  divinely-given 
attachment,  in  fact  the  usual  word  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, that  which  Christ  used  in  questioning  the 
writer  (John  xx.  15),  not  the  word  of  warm  human 
friendship  with  which  St.  Peter  then  answered  Him. 

In  whom. — To  be  construed,  not  with  "  ye  rejoice," 
but  with  "believing."    The  participles  give  the  grounds 
of  the  rejoicing  :  "  because  at  present  without  seeing 
ye  believe  in  Him  none  the  less,  therefore  ye  rejoice." 
The  word  " rejoice "  takes  us  back  to  verse  6  :    "ye 
greatly  rejoice,  I  repeat."    Notice,  again,  the  stress  laid 
on  faith  :  we  have  already  had  it  three  times  mentioned. 
St.  Peter,  whose  own  faith  gained  him  his  name  and 
prerogative,  is,  at  least,  as  much  the  Apostle  of  faith 
as  St.  Paul  is,  though  his  conception  of  it,  perhaps, 
slightly  differs  from  St.  Paul's.     The  definition  given 
by  the  ^v^iter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap  xi.  1) 
might  have  been,  perhaps  Avas,  drawn  from  a  study  of 
St.  Peter's  writings.     Our  present  verse  gives  us  the 
leading  thought  of  "  faith  "  as  it  appears  in  both  of 
these  works  addressed  to  Hebrews,  viz.,  its  being  the 
opposite  of  sight,  "  the  cA-idence  of  things  not  seen," 
rather  than  as  the  opposite  of  loorks.     And  the  mainJ 
object  of  both  these  Epistles  is  to  keep  the  Hebrewaj 
from  slipping  back  from  internal  to  external  religion, 
i.e.,  to  strengthen  faith.     (Comp.  Heb.  iii.  12.)     The! 
Apostle  is  full  of  admiration  for  a  faith  which  (unlike! 
his  own)  was  not  based  on  sight.     (See  John  xx.  29 — •! 
an  incident  which  may  have  been  in  tlie  writoi-'s  mind.)! 


The  Salvation  of  owr  Soida 


I.   PETER,   I. 


the  End  of  our  Faith. 


and  full  of  glory :  (^)  receiving  tlie  end 
of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  your 
souls."     (1^^  Of  which  salvation  the  pro- 


6  Luke  1.  69,  ;( 
I  c  Matt.  13.  17. 
«  Matt.  16.  25.26. 


phets*  have  enquired  and  searched 
diligently/  who  prophesied  of  the  grace 
that  should  come  unto  you  :  ^^^^  searching 


Unspeakable.— The  beautiful  Greek  word  (which 
meaus  "  unable  to  fiud  expression  in  words  ")  seems  to 
have  been  coined  by  St.  Peter. 

Full  of  glory. — Literally,  that  hath  been  glorified ; 
i.e..  a  joy  that  has  reached  its  ideal  pitch,  and  feels  no 
further  sense  of  imperfection ;  a  signification  of  the 
word  found,  for  instance,  in  Rom.  viii.  30. 

(9)  Receiving  the  end  of  your  faith.— The  "  end 
of  our  faith  "  means,  the  object  to  which  our  faith  is 
directed,  the  thing  we  believed  for.  And  "  faith " 
catches  up  the  "  believing  "  of  last  verse,  so  that,  in 
reatliug,  the  accent  of  the  sentence  falls  on  "  end,"  not 
on  "  faith ;  "  and  tlio  whole  clause  is  added  to  justify 
the  statement  that  we  x'ejoice  with  a  joy  which  has 
ali'eady  attained  its  full  perfection.  The  reason  is,  he 
says,  because  we  receive  already,  in  the  present  life, 
the  object  of  all  this  trusting  ^vitliout  sight ;  we  need 
not  wait  till  the  next  world  to  attain  our  glorification. 

The  salvation  of  your  souls.— It  might  be 
simply,  saZi'afioji  o/ so?t?5,  including  other  men's  besides 
our  own,  but  the  context  is  against  it,  and  the  absence  of 
articles  is  characteristic  of  St.  Peter.  It  seems  at  first 
sight  not  a  very  exalted  object  for  oui-  faith  to  work  to, 
the  deliverance,  or  safety,  of  our  own  souls.  And  yet 
om"  Lord  fully  recognises  the  instinct  of  the  higher  self- 
preservation  as  that  to  which  the  ultimate  appeal  must 
be  made  (Matt.  xvi.  25,  26).  He  could  give  His  own 
soul  a  ransom  for  many  (Matt.  xx.  28) ;  He  could  save 
others  and  not  Himself  (Matt,  xxvii.  42) ;  St.  Paul 
could  -svish  himself  accursed  from  Christ  for  his 
brethren's  sake,  "  that  they  might  be  saved  "  (Rom.  ix. 
3;  X.  1)  ;  Moses  could  a.sk  to  be  "blotted  out  of  the 
book  "  (Ex.  xxxii.  32) ;  and  yet  the  fact  remains,  that 
in  seeking  our  own  weKare,  in  the  highest  sense,  we  are 
fulfilling  a  primal  law  of  our  being,  imposed  upon  us 
by  the  Creator.  We  are  bound  to  make  that  our  first 
object,  if  it  were  only  to  gratify  Him  who  has  no 
pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  even  if  we 
could  possibly  divest  ourselves  of  all  "  selfish  "  interest 
in  the  matter. 

"  A  charge  to  keep  I  have, 
A  God  to  'jlorifii  ; 
A  never-dying  soiil  to  save, 
And  fit  it  for  the  sky." 

The  Buddhist  longing  for  Nirvana  is  as  far  as 
possible  removed  from  the  healthy  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity. "  Salvation "  here  seems  to  have  widened  its 
meaning  since  verse  5  ;  while  there  the  main  thoxight  was 
final  deliverance  from  the  afflictions  of  life,  here  the 
salvation  is  said  to  be  received  iu  the  very  midst  of  all 
these  afflictions.  The  addition  of  the  word  "  soids," 
appears  to  make  the  difference.  For  the  soul,  there  is 
present  salvation,  because  persecutions,  &.C.,  do  not 
touch  it.  and  it  is  capable  of  the  most  complete  emanci- 
pation from  the  evils  of  sin  (Matt.  i.  21 ;  Luke  i.  69, 
71,  75;  Rom.  \i.  14;  ^-ii.  24,  25.)  Ssilvation,  then,  is 
the  restoration  of  man  to  the  ideal  excellence  from 
which  he  was  fallen  :  it  contains — here,  at  any  rate — no 
allusion  to  "  damnation  "  as  an  oppo.site. 

<i^)  Now  St.  Peter  brings  his  doctrine  home  to  the 
hearts  of  his  readers  of  the  Dispersion,  by  showing 
them  how  scriptural  it  is.  Surely  they  will  not  "  draw 
back  "'  (Hob.  x.  39),  but  believe  on  to  tlic  purchasing  of 
thoir  souls,  when  they  consider  that  all  tho  prophets 
looked  forward  with  envy  to  the  prize  now  in  their  hands. 


391 


(10)  Of  which  salvation.— Tlie  "of"  stands  for 
"  concerning,"  "  with  regard  to  ";  and  the  salvation  which 
formed  the  subject  of  investigation  to  the  prophets  was 
the  present  deliverance  of  the  believing  soul  from  sin 
and  gloom,  as  well  as  tho  salvation  yet  future.  It  is 
difficult  not  to  believe  that  tho  song  of  Zacharias  was 
in  St.  Peter's  mind  when  he  thus  wrote ;  the  theme  of 
tliat  song  is  precisely  the  gloiy  of  present  salvation 
through  Christ,  and  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  thereby : 
"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  .  .  .  who  hath  raised  up  a 
horn  of  salvation  for  us  .  .  .,  as  He  spake  by  the  mouth 
of  His  holy  prophets, — .salvation  from  our  enemies  .  .  ., 
that  we  might  serve  Him  without  fear,  in  holiness  and 
righteousness  before  Him  all  the  days;  and  thou  too, 
little  child,  slialt  be  called  a  prophet  ...  to  give  know- 
ledge of  salvation  unto  His  people." 

Have  enquired  and  searched  diligently. — 
Rather,  did  inquire ;  for  our  present  version  tends 
to  convey  the  notion  that  the  proidietic  writings  which 
we  now  po.ssess  are  the  result  of  the  inquiry.  This 
would  be  wi'ong.  Cah'in  rightly  says :  "  Wlien  he  states 
that  the  j)rophets  inquired  and  examined,  this  refers 
not  to  their  -svi-itiugs  or  teaching,  but  to  the  private 
longing  with  which  each  was  fired."  In  fact,  St.  Peter 
goes  on  to  say  that  the  writings  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
impelled  them  to  make  were  actually  the  text  on  which 
their  longings  were  the  comment :  they  endeavoured  to 
understand  what  they  themselves  had  written.  The 
two  Gi'eek  words  give  a  much  more  lively  picture  than 
the  Enghsli,  of  the  intense  eagerness  of  the  search,  and 
of  the  depth  to  which  it  penetrated.  If  these  great 
prophets  took  such  pauis  to  uuderstand  our  present 
salvation,  we  ought  to  take  heed  not  to  "  let  it  slip." 
Precisely  the  same  argument  is  used  for  precisely  the 
same  purpose  by  our  Lord  in  Matt.  xiii.  16,  17. 

Who  prophesied  of  the  grace.— This  is  a  de- 
scription of  the  prophetic  scriptures.  The  whole 
subject  of  the  Old  Testament  is  the  bounty  of  God 
imder  the  New ;  and  this  was  what  the  prophets  tried 
to  realise. 

The  grace  that  should  come  unto  you.— 
Perhaps  the  words  in  italics  might  be  with  advantage 
changed  into,  "  the  grace  in  reserve  for  you  :  "  the  word 
is  the  same  as  in  verse  4.  "  Grace  "  here  seems  to 
mean  little  more  than  "  favour  "  or  "  bounty,"  not  the 
ordinaiy  theological  sense.  The  "  favour  "  consists  in 
our  salvation. 

W  Searching. — Tliis  further  explains  the  "  inquired 
and  searched  "  above  :  it  pariicularises  the  object  of 
the  inquiry.  They  knew  that  they  spoke  "  concerning 
a  salvation,"  but  they  did  not  know  the  details.  The 
present  passage  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  in  the 
whole  New  Testament  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of 
prophetic  inspiration.  Assuming  that  the  propliets  did 
not  speak  simply  of  their  o^vn  human  calculation,  but 
somehow  under  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  we 
are  brought  to  face  the  question,  hoic  far  tlieir  utter- 
ances were  their  own,  and  how  far  suggested  to  them 
from  on  high.  The  doctrine  of  Montanism.  wliich  has 
not  altogether  died  out  of  the  Church  yet,  as.serts  that 
from  first  to  last  prophecy  is  superhuman  ;  tliat  every 
word  and  letter  is  forced  upon  the  Uian  by  a  power  not 
his  own.  which  leaves  him  no  choice.  God.  and  Go<l 
alone,  is  responsible  for  every  syllable.  Tlie  human 
will   and  intelligence    need    iiot'even    concur    in    tho 


Th<i  Testimony 


I.    PETER,   I. 


of  the  Prophets 


what,    or    what    manner   of  time   the  i„  Matt 
Spirit"   of    Christ  which  was  in  them 


43  ;  did  signify,  when  it  testified  beforehand 
l^isri'M:  Dan.,  the  Sufferings  of  Christ,*  and  the  glory 


message  they  deliver,  nor  even  be  conscious  that  they 
are  delivering  it.  Thns  Moutanus  makes  God  to  say 
through  him :  "  Lo,  man  is  as  a  lyre,  and  I  am  as  that 
which  strikes  the  chords  :  the  man  is  unconscious,  and 
I  alone  wake."  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  early 
opp  )nents  of  Montanism  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
inspired  writer.s  liad  a  clear  and  immediate  perception, 
a  complete  insight  into  the  mysteries  which  thoy  fore- 
told,— that  Isaiah,  for  instance,  saw,  as  plainly  as  wo  do, 
Mary  and  Jesus  in  his  prophecy  of  Immanucl.  Our 
present  verses  show  a  doctrine  between  the  two.  The 
proplicts  find  themselves  impelled  to  say  words  which 
the.y  are  conscious  of  choosing  and  using,  but  which 
they  feel  to  have  a  deeper  meaning  than  they  themselves 
were  conscious  of  intending.  It  is  clear  to  them 
(verse  12)  that  wliat  they  meant  primarily  as  applying 
to  present  circumstances,  was  in  reality  being  overruled 
by  the  Spirit  to  apply  moi-o  fully  to  the  future.  But 
what  that  future  was  they  struggled,  and  half  in  vain, 
to  know.  We  may  apply  to  them  what  Keble  says  of 
the  Greek  poets : — 

"  As  little  children  lisp,  and  tell  of  Heaven, 
So  thoughts  beyond  their  thoughts  to  those  high  bards  were 
given." 

What,  or  what  manner  of  time.— If  this  be 
rififht,  it  must  mean,  "  what  exact  or  approximate  date." 
But  the  simplest  translation  would  be,  to  whom,  or  ivliat 
period,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  them  toas  pointincj.  This 
would  give  new  significance  to  the  sentence.  They  were 
aware  that  they  were  speaking  of  a  Messiah ;  but  who 
the  man  should  be  who  would  hold  that  office,  or  at 
what  period  of  their  history  he  would  arise,  this  was 
what  they  longed  to  know.  They  foresaw  a  Christ, 
but  they  could  not  foresee  Jesus ;  they  could  give  to 
their  Christ  no  definite  position  in  future  history. 
(Comp.  Matt.  xxii.  42 ;  Luke  iii.  15  ;  xxiii.  35 ;  John 
iii.  28  ;  vii.  26,  41 ;  Acts  ii.  36,  and  often.) 

The  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them.— 
They  are  conscious  of  a  power  ivitldn  them  which  is 
not  themselves,  "  moving  "  them.  And  this  power  is 
described  as  "  the  Spirit  of  Christ."  Now,  observe 
that  a  change  has  come  over  St.  Peter's  way  of  speak- 
ing. Hitherto,  he  has  always  said,  "  Jesus  Christ," 
liis  object  being  to  keep  constantly  before  the  eyes  of 
these  Hebrews  the  truth  which  he  was  the  first  man  to 
enunciate,  viz.,"  Thou  art  the  Christ "  (Matt.  xvi.  16),  that 
Jesus  was  the  person  wlio  fulfilled  all  that  was  expected 
of  the  Messiah.  "  Christ "  is  not  once  used  by  St. 
Peter  (as  it  is  often  by  St.  Paul)  as  a  proper  name ;  it 
always  marks  the  office,  not  the  person.  Therefore  we 
may  not  prove  by  this  expression  two  doctrines,  how- 
ever true  they  may  be  in  themselves,  wliicli  are 
commonly  sought  to  be  supported  by  it,  viz.,  the  pre- 
existence  of  our  Ijord,  and  the  procession  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  from  Him  as  well  as  from  the  Father.  In  spite 
of  a  well-quoted  passage  in  Barnabas  (chap,  v.),  "  The 
prophets  had  the  gift  from  Him,  and  prophesied  of 
Him,"  it  cannot  here  mean,  "  the  Holy  Gliost  given 
them  by  our  Lord  Himself."  Besides,  it  is  tlieo- 
logically  incorrect  to  say  that  Christ  as  the  Anointed 
had  any  pre-existence,  except  as  an  indefinite  liope 
in  tlio  minds  of  the  Hebrews.  The  Son,  the  un- 
incarnate  Word,  pre-existed,  but  it  is  Apollinariauism 
to  say  that  Jesus  had  any  existence  before  the  In- 
carnation,— still  more  Christ,  since  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  Incarnate  Word   l)ccame   "  Christ  "  until 


His  baptism.     That,  at  least,  appears  to  be  St.  Peter's 

doctrine  (Acts  x.  38).  "  The  Spirit  of  Messiah,"  then, 
at  any  rate  when  applied  to  the  ages  before  Christ 
came,  must  have  a  different  meaning.  Probably  not 
exactly  "  the  Spirit  that  was  to  anoint  and  be  in  the 
Messiah,"  but  rather,  "  the  Messiah-spirit "  or  "  the 
Messianic  spii-it."  The  in'ophets  wondered  who  the 
man  was,  and  where  he  would  live,  to  whom  this 
Messianic  inspiration  which  they  felt  within  was 
pointing.  St.  Peter  himself,  we  repeat,  was  the  first 
person  who  fully  knew  the  answer. 

When  it  testified  beforehand.— A  much  more 
solemn  word  in  the  oi'iginal  than  it  looks  in  the 
English,  and  used  by  no  other  writer  than  St.  Peter. 
It  does  not  mean  simply,  '•  when  it  bore  witness  before- 
hand;" but  "testifying"  means  an  appeal  to  Heaven 
to  mark  and  recoi'd  the  words  so  spoken  :  "  when  with 
a  solemn  appeal  it  announced  befoi-ehand."  Was  ho 
not  thinking  of  the  awful  appeal  in  Dan.  xii.  7  ? 

The  sufferings  of  Christ.— This  unduly  contracts 
the  fulness  of  the  Greek,  which  reads,  the  sufferings  for 
Christ  (just  as  we  had  before  "  the  grace  for  you  "),  i.e., 
"  these  sufferings  in  reserve  for  Messiah."  The  Old 
Testament  passages  which  may  be  supposed  to  be 
chiefiy  indicated  are  Isa.  liii.  and  (still  more)  Dan.  ix. 
24 — 26.  If  it  be  asked  how  St.  Peter  knetv  that  the 
prophets  had  these  longings  and  doubts,  we  answer, 
that  it  was  not  only  a  probable  guess,  but  the  result  of 
a  study  of  Daniel,  who  records  again  and  again  the 
prophetic  agony  of  his  search  into  the  future.  Beware 
of  treating  the  title  "  Christ  "  as  a  proper  name.  Eight 
out  of  the  ten  times  that  St.  Peter  uses  the  word  by 
itself,  i.e.,  without  "Jesus"  or  "the  Lord,"  it  is  in 
direct  coimection  with  sttffering  (here,  and  in  chaps,  i. 
19  ;  ii.  21 ;  iii.  18 ;  iv.  1, 13,  14 ;  v.  1).  Conversely,  he 
never  speaks  of  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ.  That 
is  to  say,  he  loves  to  dwell  upon  the  Passion  of  our 
Lord,  not  in  its  personal  Imt  its  official  aspect.  The 
striking  point  is  that  the  Messiah  should  have  suffered 
thus.  It  was  especially  necessai-y  to  show  this  in  any 
effort  to  retain  the  faith  of  the  Hebrews.  Comp.  Luke 
xxiv.  26 — 46  (Peter  jiresent);  Acts  iii.  18  (Peter 
speaking) ;  xvii.  3  (to  Hebrews) ;  xxvi.  23.  And  we  can 
see  a  reason  for  the  insistence  in  St.  Peter's  history. 
The  very  same  day,  apparently,  when  he  had  announced 
his  belief  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  he  took  Him  to 
task  for  speaking  of  sufferings  and  shame.  He  never 
could  forget  the  reprimand,  like  a  swoi'd-cut,  which  he 
received,  rhe  whole  Epistle  may  be  said  to  be  an 
expansion  of  what  Jesus  said  in  answer  (Matt.  xvi. 
23 — 27).  Some  commentators  include  in  tliis  phrase 
of  "the  sufferings  in  reserve  for  Messiah,"  the 
thought  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Church  as  well ;  but  it 
seems  far-fetched,  especially  when  we  see  the  true 
meaning  of  the  word  "  Christ."  Finally,  we  may  add, 
that  some  would  join  very  closely  together  the  words 
for  "  signify  "  and  "  testifying  beforehand,"  which 
would  give  us  this  .S(>nse  :  "  examining,  in  reserve  for 
U'hom,  or  for  what  ^xu-iod,  the  Spirit,  with  its  solemn 
appeal  l)(>forehand.  was  pointing  out  these  sufferings  in 
reserve  for  Messiah.''  This  is  possible,  and  keeps 
the  sjimo  sense,  but  it  ttnnecessarily  complicates  the 
sentence. 

And  the  glory  that  should  follow.— Literally, 
and  the  glories  after  them.  The  plural  "  glories  "  corre- 
sponds to  the  plural  "sufferings," — the  one  as  multiform 


392 


not  for  theniselveSf 


I.    PETER,    I. 


but /or  U8. 


that  should  follow.     (^2)  Unto  whom  it  j 
was  revealed,  that  not  unto  themselves,"  "  "''"•  ^°-  ^^• 
but    unto    us   they   did    minister    the 
things,  which  are  now  reported  unto 


b  Acts  2.  2. 
C  Eph.  3.  10. 


you  by  them  that  have  preached  the 
gospel  unto  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  *  from  hea\  en  ;  which  things 
the  angels  desire  to  look  into/ 


as  the  other;  resurrection,  ascension,  rcassumption  of 
the  divine  glory  (Jolin  xvii.  5),  triumplis  of  Churoli 
history,  restitution  of  all  things.  The  sufferings  and 
subsequent  glories  of  the  Christ  form,  of  course, 
together  the  whole  of  the  gospel. 

(12)  Unto  whom  it  was  revealed.— As  verse  11 
expanded  and  expounded  the  words  "  inquired  and 
searched,"  so  the  first  part  of  verse  12  expounds  the 
words  "  prophesied  of  the  grace  in  resei-ve  for  you." 
Tliat  is  to  say,  the  revelation  here  spoken  of  is  not  a 
special  revelation  sent  in  an,swer  to  their  laborious 
musings,  but  rather  the  very  thing  which  occasioned 
them  ;  the  perplexity  consisted  in  feeling  that  God  had 
a  further  meaning  for  their  words.  And  the  exact 
limits  of  the  revelation  are  mentioned :  they  were 
shown  that  they  spoke  for  tlie  benefit  of  futurity,  and 
no  more  !  What  a  "  trial  of  faith  1 "  What  a  sublime 
disappointment !    (Heb.  xi.  40.) 

Unto  us. — Far  the  better  reading  is,  unto  rjoii.  It 
is  a  distinct  characteristic  of  this  Epistle,  that  "we," 
"  us,"  "  our,"  are  so  seldom  used  (in  the  best  text)  where 
they  might  have  been  expected.  Where  St.  Paul 
throws  in  his  own  sympathy,  and  puts  himself  on  a 
footing  with  those  whom  he  addi'esses,  St.  Peter  utters 
his  lofty  pastoral  from  above.  There  are  but  four 
places  in  the  Epistle  (chaps,  i.  3;  ii.  24;  iii.  18;  iv.  17) 
whei'e  he  associates  himself  thus  with  his  brethren,  and 
one  of  tho.se  (chap.  ii.  24)  is  really  a  quotation,  and 
one  (chap.  iii.  18)  at  best  a  very  doubtful  reading.  The 
same  tendency  may  be  ob.served  in  his  speech  (Acts 
XV.  7),  where  the  right  reading  is  "  made  choice  among 
you." 

The  things. — In  the  original  simply  them ;  so  that 
a  semicolon  might  better  follow  than  a  comma,  and 
which  things  be  put  instead  of  "  which."  The  most 
natural  thing"  is  to  suppose  that  the  pronoun  represents 
the  preceding  "  sufferings  in  reserve  for  Messiah  and 
the  glories  after."  In  what  sense,  then,  could  the 
prophets  "  minister,"  either  to  themselves  or  to  us,  the 
sufferings  and  glories  of  Messiah  ?  The  word  is  one 
which  signifies  a  servant  bringing  to  his  master  the 
things  which  he  needs — commonly  used  {e.g.,  John 
xii.  2)  of  serA-ing  up  a  meal ;  and  the  prophets  are  said 
to  serve  the  Messianic  sufferings  and  glories  to  us,  to 
wait  upon  us  with  them,  to  present  them  to  our  use  and 
study  and  comfort.  (Comp.  chap.  iv.  10.)  Wlien  it 
says,  however,  that  they  ministered  them  "  not  to  them- 
selves but  to  us,"  wo  must  not  sup^jose  that  they 
derived  no  comfort  from  their  predictions  (see  John 
viii.  56)  :  the  "not"  must  bo  taken  in  the  same  sense 
as  in  "  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice  "  (Matt, 
ix.  13). 

Which  are  now  reported  unto  you.— Rather, 
which  things  [i.e.,  the  gospel  story)  now  (in  contrast 
•with  the  days  of  the  prophets)  were  (not  "are")  openly 
declared  to  ynn['m  all  their  details,  in  contrast  with  the 
dim  and  vague  way  in  which  they  were  seen  before). 
Such  is  the  force  of  this  compound  Greek  verb  in  John 
iv.  25;  Acts  xix.  18;  xx.  20,  27. 

By  them  that  have  preached. — More  correctly, 
through  those  who  preached ;  the  difference  being 
tliat  St.  Peter  is  referring  to  the  Jirst  l)earers  of  the 
gospel  to  those  parts,  not  to  «//  who  from  that  time  to 
the  date  of  the  Letter  had  preached.     This  is  a  point 


well  worth  noticing.  The  phrase  seems  to  show  that 
St.  Peter  himself  was  not  of  the  number.  Perhaps 
half  the  churches  which  received  the  Letter  looked  to  St. 
Paul  as  their  founder.  (See  last  Note  on  verse  1.)  Here, 
then,  we  find  the  Rock-Apostle  autlioritatively  setting 
his  seal  to  the  teaching  of  his  junior  colleague,  just 
as  he  does  in  the  Second  Epistle  (chap.  iii.  15).  It  sc'oms 
to  imply  that  these  Jewish  Christians  were  beginning 
to  feel  a  reaction  from  St.  Paul's  evangelical  teacliing; 
and  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision  is  called  in  to 
enforce  what  the  Apostle  of  the  Uiu'ircumcision  had 
taught.  The  revolt  of  the  Hebrew  Christians  in  A.fia 
fi-om  evangelical  teaching  appears  again  at  a  still  later 
jjeriod  (Rev.  ii.  9;  iii.  9).  It  was,  perhaps,  only  with 
Jewish  Christians  that  such  an  appeal  from  St.  Paul 
to  St.  Peter  would  be  made,  and  need  not  imply 
superiority  throughout  the  whole  Church.  St.  Peter's 
perfect  concurrence  with  St.  Paul  here  is  a  sufficient 
contradiction  to  the  Tiiljiugen  theory  of  their  irrecon- 
cilable divergence — only  the  Tubingen  school  reject 
the  Epistle  on  the  ground  that  it  makes  the  Apostles 
too  harmonious  ! 

With  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from 
heaven. — The  magnificent  phrase  seems  meant  to 
contrast  the  full  effusion  of  the  Spirit  now,  -with  His 
limited  working  in  the  in-oj^hets  (verse  11).  But  it 
contains  more  teaching  than  this.  The  tense  of  the 
participle  "  sent "  is  such  as  might  without  violence  bo 
rendered  "  sent  once  and  for  ever,"  "  sent  in  a  moment." 
Now,  remember  that  almost  undoubtedly  some  of  the 
recipients  of  the  Letter  (see  last  Note  on  verse  1)  were 
eye-witnesses  of  His  being  "  sent  "  to  St.  Peter  and  the 
rest  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  St.  Peter,  then,  here 
claims  for  St.  Paul  (and  St.  Silas  perhaps)  the  very 
same  inspiration  with  which  himself  was  furnished. 
And  as  here  he  claims  full  inspiration  for  St.  Paul's 
preaching,  so  he  does  afterwards  for  his  writing 
(2  Pet.  iii.  15). 

Which  things  the  angels.— The  "which  things" 
here  is  grammatically  parallel  to  the  ''which  things"  of 
the  last  sentence,  and  therefore  would  mean  "  the 
sufferings  of  Messiah  and  the  glories  after."  But 
logically  we  have  to  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  verse 
10  :  "  Do  I  say  that  prophets,  who  had  the  mysteries  of 
our  redemption  on  their  lips,  yet  pored  in  vain  to  catch 
the  detailed  meaning  which  you  catch  ?  Nay ;  angels  (not 
"the  angels"),  who  were  present  at  every  detail,  and 
bore  an  active  part  in  it  all  (see  Matt.  i.  20 ;  iv.  11 ;  xxviii. 
2;  Luke  i.  26;  ii.  9;  xxii.  43;  John  i.  52), — angels, 
of  whom  He  'was  seeti'  (1  Tim.  iii.  16), — covet  now 
to  exchange  places  with  you  that  thi^y  may  gaze  into 
the  mystery."  The  word  which  has  liere  shrunk  into 
our  word  "  to  look  into."  means  really,  to  bend  aside 
to  see.  In  its  literal  sense  it  occurs  in  John  xx.  5.  11, 
and  in  Luke  xxiv.  12  [n  verse  not  found  in  the  best  text), 
of  people  standing  at  the  side  of  the  cave  so  as  not  to 
get  in  their  own  light,  and  stooping  sideways  to  peer 
in.  Metaphorically  it  is  used  in  Jas.  i.  25,  wliere  see 
Note.  It  seems  to  mean  a  strained  attention  to  some- 
tiiing  wliich  lias  caught  your  eye  somewhat  out  of  your 
usual  line  of  sight.  Hero  then,  the  intention  is  to 
show  tliat  we  are  in  a  better  position  to  understand  the 
mysteries  of  redemption,  not  only  than  prophets,  but 
also   than  angels;  and  they  covet  to  stoop  from  their 


393 


Exhortation  to  Hope 


I.   PETER,   I. 


and  Sobriety. 


Chap.  i.  13-25.     ^^'^^  Wlierefore  gird  up  the  I 

Exhortation  to  loins  "    of    JOUr    mind,    be  '"J-^J^gf.'j'ss- 
gJnerate    per-  sober,andliope*totheendi  V^^^tl!:, 
sons.  for  the  grace''  that  is  to  be  r  "eTh'^s. 

I        /  ch.  2.  9. 


brought  unto  you  at  the  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  ^^^^  as  obedient  children, 
not  fashioning''  yourselves  according  to 
the  former  lusts  *  in  your  ignorance  :  f 


own  point  of  view  to  ours.  And  why  so  ?  Not  because 
of  the  inherent  myst«riousness  of  the  union  of  the  two 
natures  in  Christ,  for  of  that  they  are  as  intelligent  as 
we,  or  more  so ;  but  because  they  are  incapable  of  fully 
understanding  human  nature,  flesh  and  blood,  with  its 
temptations  and  pains,  its  need  of  a  Saviour.  In 
Francia's  great  picture,  the  two  angels  kneel  by  weeping 
Mary  and  dead  Christ  without  a  trace  of  grief  on  their 
countenances.  The  Son  of  God  Himself  only  became 
capable  of  entering  into  our  infirmities  through  be- 
coming flesh,  and  experiencing  the  same  (Heb.  ii.  16, 
18  ;  iv.  15).  Several  passages  show  lis  that  the  tragedy 
of  human  history  is  by  no  means  enacted  only  for  the 
benefit  of  the  actors,  but  as  a  lesson  (possibly,  as 
Archbishop  Wliately  pointed  out,  only  a  single  illus- 
tration out  of  many  in  one  lesson)  for  tlie  instruction 
of  unfallen  spirits  (1  Cor.  iv.  9;  Eph.  iii.  10;  1  Tim. 
iii.  16).  Our  present  passage  has  impressed  itself 
on  Christian  lyrics  as  much,  perhaps,  as  any  in  the 
New  Testament.  Charles  Wesley  well  strikes  the 
meaning  in  many  of  his  poems :  as — 

"  Ask  the  Father's  Wisdom  how. 
Him  that  did  the  means  ordain ; 
Angels  round  our  altars  boiv 
To  search  it  out  in  vain ;" 

or  again — 

"Angels  in  fixt  amazement 
Around  our  altars  hover. 
With  eager  ijaze  adore  the  grace 
Of  our  Eternal  Lover." 

Though  very  possibly  the  divine  intention  of  the 
cherubim  over  the  mercy-seat  (Ex.  xxv.  20)  may  have 
been  to  symbolise  that  which  is  here  said,  yet  it  is  not 
to  be  thought  that  St.  Peter  was  consciously  thinking 
of  the  symbol. 

(13—25)  General  Application  of  the  fore- 
going.— Tliis  salvation  being  so  magnificent,  the  Asiatic 
Hebrews  must  cling  to  it  tenaciously,  in  hohness, 
in  reverence  caused  by  consideration  of  the  cost  of 
it,  and  in  charity :  the  gospel  they  have  received  cannot 
be  improved  upon. 

(13)  Gird  up  the  loins  of  your  mind. — A 
metaphor  from  persons  gathering  up  the  flowing  Oriental 
dress  (which  had  been  let  down  for  repose),  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  energetic  action  {e.g.,  1  Kings  xviii.  46,  for 
running ;  Job  xxxviii.  3,  for  arguing).  "What  exact 
kind  of  action  St.  Peter  meant  tlicm  here  to  prepare 
for  we  need  not  inquire.  A  "  mind,"  rather  than 
"  soul  "  or  "  heart,"  seems  to  bespeak  practical  intel- 
ligence. Thus  when  the  Galatiayis,  too,  began  to  fall 
from  evangelical  to  Judaic  religion  St.  Paul  calls 
them  "senseless"  (Gal.  iii.  1). 

Be  sober. — Not  in  the  literal  sen.'e,  but  with  the 
same  notion  of  alertness  as  in  "gird  up";  sobriety 
and  wakefulness  are  often  coml)incd  (e.g.,  chap.  v.  8 ; 
1  Thoss.  V.  6). 

Hope  to  the  end. — Literally,  hojye  perfectly,  or, 
thoroughly,  or,  ivitli  completeness.  "  Indeed  this  hope," 
says  Leighton.  "is  perfect  in  continuance,  it  is  a  hope 
unto  the  end,  because  it  is  perfect  in  its  nature."  The 
chief  thought,  however,  is  that  the  hope  should  not  be 
half-hearted,  dispirited.      St,  Peter  brings  us  back  to 


394 


what  he  began  with,  that  oui*s  is  a  living  hope.  The 
exhortation  is  exactly  of  the  same  nature  as  that  which 
pervades  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (see,  for  instance, 
Heb.  iii.  6,  14 ;  vi.  11),  and  for  the  same  reason — i.e., 
that  spiritual  sloth,  combined  with  fear  of  man,  was 
Ix'giuniug  to  turn  these  Jewish  Christians  back  to  dead 
works.  "  Hope  on,"  in  these  passages,  is  tantamount 
to  "  remain  Christians." 

For  the  grace.— Not  exactly  "  hope /or  the  grace," 
i.e.,  expect  confidently  that  it  will  come  :  rather,  "  hope 
upon  the  grace,"  as  in  1  Tim.  v.  5,  the  only  other  place 
where  the  same  construction  is  used,  and  where  it  is 
rendered  "trusteth  in  God."  Here,  therefore,  it  is, 
"  confidently  hope  (for  salvation,  glory,  &c.)  on  the 
strength  of  the  gi-ace."  The  grace  is  the  same  as  in 
verse  10. 

That  is  to  be  brought.—"  If  we  will  render  H 
strictly,  it  is,  That  is  a-bringing  to  you.     That  blessed 
uess,   that    consummation    of    grace,    the    saints    are 
hastening  forward  to,  walking  on  in  their  way,  where 
soever  it  lies  indifferently,  through  honour  and  dis- 
honour, through  e\'il  report  and  good  report..     And  as 
they  are  hastening  to  it,  it  is  hastening  to  them  in  the 
course  of  time ;    every  day  brings  it  nearer  to  the 
than  before ;  and  notwithstanding  all  difficulties  an 
dangers  in  the  way,  they  that  have  their  eye  and  thei 
hopes   upon    it   shall  arrive   at  it,   and    it    shall    b 
brought   safe   to  their  liand;    all  the  malice  of    mei 
and  de^-ils  shall  not  be  able  to  cut  them  short  of  thii 
grace  that  is  a-bringing  to  them  against  the  revelatioi 
of  Jesus  Christ"  (Leighton).     On  the  t«nse,  see  als( 
Note  on  1  Thess.  i.  10.      Notice  also  that  it  is  now  th( 
personal   Name,   not    the  official   title.     St.   Peter  ii 
enforcing  the  gospel  as  we  know  it;    we  no  longei 
"  search  unto  ivhom  "  the  title  of  the  Messiah  belongs. 

(li)  As  obedient  children. — Literally,  as  children 
of  obedience — children,  i.e.,  in  the  sense  of  relationship, 
not  of  age.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  writer  to  keej 
one  thought  underlying  many  digressions,  and  so  here, 
the  appeal  to  them  as  "  children "  is  based  on  the 
"  begotten  again  "  of  verse  3,  and  "  inheritance  "  ol 
verse  4;  it  comes  up  again  in  verse  17,  "  the  Father") 
in  verse  22,  "  the  brethren  "  ;  and  again  in  verse  23, "  be- 
gotten again."  The  usual  characteristic  of  Jews  in 
the  New  Testament  is  disobedience.  (See  Note  oa 
2  Thess.  i.  8.)  Tlie  "as"  means  "in  keeping  with 
your  character  of,"  just  as  we  say  in  common  English, 
"  Do  so  like  obedient  children." 

Not  fashioning  yourselves  according  to.— 
This  rare  verb  is  the  same  as  is  translated  "  be  not 
conformed,"  in  Rom  xii.  2,  from  which  some  think  it  is 
borrowed.  The  expression  is  a  little  confused,  the  lusts 
themselves  being  spoken  of  as  a  model  not  to  be 
copied,  where  we  shotild  rather  have  expected  "not 
being  conformed  to  your  former  selves." 

The   former    lusts   in  your  ignorance  — i.e., 
which   you   indulged   before   you   came   to   know  the 
gospel  truth — of  course  implying  also  that  the  ignorant 
was  the  mother  of  the  lusts.     The  same  assumption? 
is  made  here  which  we  shall  find  again  below  in  chap 
ii.  9,  and  still  more  in  chap.  iv.  3,  that  the  recipients 
of  this  Letter  had  lived  in  ignorance  and  in  vice  up  to  a, 
certain  point  of  their  lives.     And  it  is  contended,  wit' 
much    plausibility,   that   both    accusations    show    th 


9nf 


Holiness  of  Life 


I.   PETER,   I. 


and  the  Fear  of  God. 


(15^  but  as  he  -which  hath  called  you  is 
holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all  manner  of 
conversation ;  (^^^  because  it  is  Avritten," 
Be  ye  holy ;  for  I  am  holy.  (^"^  And  if 
ye  call  on  the  Father/  who  without 
respect  of  persons  judgeth  according  to 


every  man's  work,  pass  the  time  of  your 
sojourning  here  in  fear : "  (i^)  forasmuch 
"o'.^s.""'^'""'  ^s  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed 
with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and 
gold,  from  your  vain ''  conversation  re- 
ceived  by  tradition  from  your  fathers  j 


b  Luke  11.  2. 
d  Mark  7 


recipients  of  the  letter  to  be  of  Geutile  and  not  of 
Jewish  origin.  It  is  true  that  hists  of  the  flesh  are  not 
usually  laid  to  the  charge  of  tlio  Jews,  as  they  are  of 
the  Gentiles.  (See,  for  instance,  1  Thess.  iv.  5  ;  Eph. 
iv.  17.)  It  is  also  true  that  the  ignorance  with  which 
the  Jews  are  charged  (for  instance,  Acts  iii.  17  ;  Rom. 
X.  3 ;  1  Tim.  i.  13)  has  quite  a  different  tendency  from 
this.  But  it  may  be  answered  that  such  details  are  of 
little  weight  in  comparison  with  the  direct  evidence  of 
the  first  verse,  and  the  indirect  evidence  of  the  whole 
tone  of  the  Letter ;  also  that,  putting  out  of  sight 
expressions  of  St.  Paul's  whicli  have  notldug  to  do  with 
St.  Peter,  "  ignorance "  is  surely  not  an  unnatui-al 
word  to  rein-esent  the  contrast  between  the  state  of 
unregenerate  Jews  and  tlie  same  persons  when  they 
have  attained  to  knowledge  Idgher  than  that  of  pro- 
phets or  of  angols ;  that  even  Jews  were  men  of 
flesh  and  blood,  and  therefore  not  exempt  from  the 
temptations  of  the  flesh,  from  which  mere  legalism  was 
quite  insufficient  to  protect  them  (see  Rom.  vii.  8, 
"  sin  tlirough  the  commandment  wrought  in  me  every 
lust) ;  that  in  Heb.  v.  2,  and  ix.  7,  Jewish  people 
are  supposed  to  have  need  of  a  high  priest  to  bear 
with  and  atone  for  their  "  ignorance "  and  "  igno- 
rances ;  "  that  the  same  writer  contempLates  the 
possibility  of  "  many  "  of  his  Hebrews  being  "  defiled" 
through  fleshly  sin  (Heb.  xii.  15,  16),  and  deems  it 
necessary  to  urge  strongly  the  sanctions  of  marriage 
(Heb.  xiii.  4). 

(15)  But  as  he  which  hath  called  you  is  holy. 
— More  correctly.  But  according  to  (or,  after,  i.e.,  in 
the  likeness  of  :  see  Eph.  iv.  24,  "  after  God  ")  the  Holy 
One  who  called  you.  The  "calling"  is  mentioned 
because  of  the  obligation  it  imposes  upon  us.  Bengel 
notices  how  fond  St.  Peter  is  of  the  words  "  call," 
•'  calling."  (See  chaps,  ii.  9,  21 ;  iii.  9  ;  v.  10  ;  2  Pet. 
i.  3,  10. )  The  "  call  "  here  seems  to  mean  specially  the 
call  to  be  children  of  God. 

So  be  ye  holy.— Perhaps  the  imperative  would 
come  out  stronger  tlius,  Do  ye  also  shoiv  yourselves 
holy  in  every  part  of  your  conduct.  Leighton  says, 
"He  hath  severed  you  from  the  mass  of  the  profane 
world,  and  picked  you  out  to  be  jewels  for  Himself;  He 
hath  set  you  apart  for  this  end.  tliat  you  may  be  holy 
to  Him,  as  the  Hebrew  word  that  signifies  '  lioliness ' 
imports  '  setting  apart,'  or  fitting  for  a  peculiar  use ; 
be  not  then  untrue  to  His  design.  It  is  sacrilege  for 
you  to  dispose  of  yourselves  after  the  impure  manner 
of  the  world,  and  to  apply  yourself  to  any  profane  use, 
whom  God  hath  consecrated  to  HimsehP." 

(i'5)  Be  ye  holy;  for  I  am  holy.— The  better  read- 
ing here  is.  Ye  shall  be  holy ;  it  is  still,  however,  a 
command,  not  a  promise — except  that  all  God's  com- 
mands are  promises.  The  command  comes  some  five 
or  six  times  in  tlie  Book  of  Leviticus,  addressed  not 
only  to  the  Levites,  but  to  all  the  people.  It  would, 
therefore,  apply  twice  over  to  tlie  recipients  of  this 
letter  by  virtue  of  their  twofold  consecration,  in  the  old 
and  in  the  new  Israel. 

<'"'  And  if. —The  "if"  casts  no  doubt,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  serves  to  bring  out  the  necessary  logical  con- 


395 


nection  between  invoking    the   Father  —  and   such   a 
Father — and  fear.     (See  Note  on  1  Thess.  iv.  14.) 

Ye  call  on  the  Father. — We  might  paraphrase 
by  "if  you  use  the  Lord's  Prayer."  (Refer  again  to 
verses  3,  14.)  The  word  seems  not  only  to  mean  "  if 
you  appeal  to  the  Father,"  but  "  if  you  appeal  to  the 
Father  by  the  title  of  Father."  (Comp.  Rom.  viii.  15 ; 
Gal.  iv.  t).) 

Who  without  respect  of  persons  judgeth. — 
This  "judgeth,"  or  decideth,  refers  not  only  to  the 
great  judgment  of  the  last  day,  but  is  used  in  re- 
ference to  the  word  "  if  ye  call  upon  the  Fatlier." 
That  woi'd  has  a  forensic  sense  (in  which  it  is  used  in 
Acts  XXV.  11)  of  lodging  an  appeal,  and  every  time  we 
lodge  our  appeal  to  the  Father  on  the  gi-ound  of  His 
Fatherhood,  He  decides  the  case,  but  decides  it  without 
favour — makes  no  allowance  to  our  wrong  doing  on  the 
ground  of  being  His  regenerate  childi-en,  and  certainly 
none  on  the  ground  of  being  of  the  Hebrew  race.  That 
this  last  notion  finds  place  here  we  may  see  from 
St.  Peter's  words  in  Acts  x.  34,  35.  He  decides 
'■  according  to  every  man's  work  " — i.e.,  upon  the  in- 
dividual merits  of  the  case  before  Him.  The  man's 
"  work  "  (not  "  works  ")  embraces  all  his  conduct  in  the 
lum23,  as  a  single  performance,  which  is  either  good 
on  the  whole  or  bad  on  the  whole. 

Pass  the  time  ...  in  fear. — The  word  for 
'■  pass  "  really  is  the  same  as  the  '•  couAersation  "  of 
verse  15,  and  is  intended  to  take  our  thought  back  to  it : 
"  As  obedient  children,  be  holy  in  every  part  of  your 
conduct ;  and  if  you  wish  for  favour  from  the  Father, 
see  that  that  conduct  is  characterised  by /ear."  "  This 
fear,"  says  Archbishop  Leighton,  "  is  not  cowardice 
(nor  superstition,  we  may  add) ;  it  drowns  all  lower 
fears,  and  begets  true  fortitude ;  the  rigliteous  dare  do 
anything  but  offend  God.  Moses  was  bold  and  fearless 
in  dealing  with  a  proud  and  wicked  king,  but  when 
God  appeared  he  said  (as  the  Apostle  informs  us), 
'  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake.'  "  This  extract  well 
contrasts  with  the  meaning  which  some  would  appa- 
rently thrust  into  the  word  "  fear."  as  though  it  meant 
that  the  position  of  the  Christians,  as  "aliens'"  in  the 
midst  of  a  hostile  world,  required  a  timid  attitude 
towards  man.  The  "  fear  "  of  the  Father  may  be  seen 
in  tlie  first  two  clauses  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  itself. 

Your  sojourning.— See  on  verse  1,  "  strangers." 
Because  the  woi-d  is  metaphorical  here  and  in  cliap. 
ii.  11,  is  no  reason  why  the  simila'-  word  should  be 
so  there,  in  quite  a  different  context.  The  expression 
here  sets  a  limit  for  the  discipline  of  fear,  and  at  the 
same  time  suggests  a  reason  for  it — children  though 
they  are,  they  are  not  yet  entered  on  their  '•inheritance  " 
(verse  4\  and  have  to  secure  it. 

(18)  Forasmuch  as  ye  know.  —  Tliis  correctly 
paraphrases  the  simple  original  knowing.  St^curity, 
which  is  the  opposite  of  the  fear  of  tlie  Father,  is 
incompatible  with  knowing  by  whose  and  what  anguish 
alone  the  inlieritance  could  be  purchased  for  us. 

Corruptible  things.— St.  Peter's  contempt  for 
"silver  and  gold"  is  shown  early  in  his  history  (Acta 
iii.  6 ;  comp.  chap.  iii.  4).     Gold  and  silver  will  come 


J?edempfion  hy 


I.   PETER,    T. 


the  Blood  of  Christ. 


(1^)    but    with    the    precious    blood    of  |  i  and  without  spot :    '^o)  who  verily  was 

Christ,  as  of  a  lamb"  without  blemish  r '''2,;.'^kJv '*?"  foreordained  before   the   foundation   of 


to  an  end  -with  cverytliiiij;  elso  that  is  material. 
Observe  tliat,  by  coutrast,  the  "  blood  of  Christ  "  is 
implied  to  bo  not  corruptible  ;  and  that,  not  because 
of  the  miraculous  incorruptiou  of  Jesus  Christ's  tlesli, 
but  because  the  "blood  of  Christ"  of  whicli  tlio 
Apostle  liero  speaks  is  not  material.  The  natural 
blood  of  Jesus  was  only  the  sign  and  sacrament  of  that 
by  which  lie  truly  and  inwardly  redeemed  the  world. 
(See  Isa.  liii.  12.  "  He  poured  out  His  soul  unto  death," 
and  Heb.  x.  9,  10.) 

Rodecmed  .    .    frora  your  vain  conver- 

sation.— We  have  to  notice  (1)  what  the  "redemption" 
means,  and  (2)  what  the  readers  wcn-e  redeemed  from. 
Now  (1)  the  word  "  redeem"  is  the  same  which  is  iised 
in  Luke  xxiv.  21  ("  We  used  to  liope  that  He  was  the 
person  destined  to  redeem  Israel"),  and  in  Titus  ii.  14 
(■•  Gave  Himself  for  us,  that  He  might  redeem  us  from 
all  iniquity "),  and  nowhere  else.  The  substantive 
appears  in  Luke  i.  68  ;  ii.  38 ;  Heb.  ix.  12,  to  represent 
the  action  of  redeeming ;  and  in  Acts  vii.  35,  of  Moses, 
to  represent  the  person  who  effects  such  a  redemption. 
Properly  it  means  to  ransom  a  person,  to  get  them  out 
of  slavery  or  captivity  by  paying  a  ransom  (Matt. 
XX.  28  ;  Mark  x.  45 ;  comp.  1  Tim.  ii.  6).  The  notion 
of  an  actual  ransom  paid,  however,  was  apt  to  slip  away, 
as  in  the  case  of  Moses  just  quoted,  who  certainly  gave 
notliing  of  the  nature  of  an  eqiiivalent  to  Pharaoh  for 
the  loss  of  his  serfs.  So  that  here,  as  in  all  x)assages 
relating  to  the  Atonement,  we  must  be  very  careful  not 
to  press  the  metaphor,  or  to  consider  it  as  more  than  a 
metaphor.  Tiie  leading  notion  hero  is  not  that  of 
paying  an  equivalent,  but  to  call  closer  attention  to  the 
state  in  which  the  readers  were  before.  It  was  a 
servitude  like  tliat  of  Egypt,  or  a  captivity  like  that  of 
Bal)ylou,  from  which  tliey  needed  a  "  ransomer  "  like 
Moses  or  Zerubbabel.  WJiat  then  was  that  condition? 
(2)  St.  Peter  describes  it  as  a  "  vain  convei'sation 
traditional  from  the  fathers."  The  word  "  conversa- 
tion "  again  catches  up  verses  15,  17,  "  bo  holy  in  your 
conduct ;  let  it  be  a  conduct  of  fear ;  for  your  old 
vain  conduct  needed  a  terrible  ransom  before  you  could 
be  set  at  liberty  from  it."  The  question  is,  whetlier 
a  Gentile  or  Jewi.sh  mode  of  life  is  intended.  If  it 
meant  merely  as  regards  religious  worship,  it  would 
suit  either  way,  for  it  was  of  tlie  essence  of  Roman  state 
"  religion  "  that  it  should  be  tlio  same  from  generation 
to  generation.  (See  Acts  xxiv.  14.)  But  "  conversation  " 
or  "  manner  of  life  "  is  far  too  wide  a  word  to  bo  tluis 
limited,  and  at  the  same  time  the  word  "  tradition  " 
implies  (in  the  New  Testament)  something  sedulously 
tauglit.  purposely  handed  down  from  father  to  son  as  an 
licirloom,  so  tliat  it  could  not  bo  applied  to  the  careless, 
sensual  life  of  Gentiles,  learned  by  example  only.  On 
the  otlier  hand,  amon<^  the  Jews  "  tradition  "  entered 
into  the  minutest  details  of  daily  life  or  "conversation." 
(See  Mark  vii.  3,  4 — the  Petrine  Gospel.)  It  was  a 
matter  of  .serious  "tradition''  how  a  cup  was  to  bo 
waslied.  "Vain"  (i.e.,  frivolous)  seems  not  an  un- 
natural ei)ithet  to  apply  to  sucli  a  mode  of  life,  especially 
to  one  who  had  heard  Mark  vii.  7.  It  would  seem, 
then,  that  tlio  readers  of  this  Letter  were  certainly  Jews 
by  birth.  But  would  the  Apostle  of  the  Circumcision, 
tlie  supposed  liead  of  the  legal  party  in  the  Clnirch, 
dare  to  call  Judaism  a  "  vain  conversation,"  to  stig- 
matise it  (the  single  compound  adjective  in  the  Greek 
lias   a   contemptuous  ring)   as   "  imposed   by  tradition 


396 


of  the  fathers,"  and  to  imply  that  it  was  like  au 
Egyptian  l)ondage  P  We  have  only  to  turn  to  Acts 
XV.  10,  and  wo  find  him  uttering  precisely  the  same 
sentiments,  and  calluig  Judaism  a  slavish  "yoke," 
wliich  was  not  only  so  bad  for  Gentiles  that  to  impose 
it  upon  tliem  was  to  tempt  God,  but  also  wiis  secretly 
or  openly  felt  intolerable  by  himself,  by  all  the  Jews 
there  present,  and  even  l)y  tlio  fathers  who  had  imposed 
it.  Judaism  itself,  then,  in  the  form  it  liad  then 
assumed,  was  one  of  the  foes  and  oppressors  from 
which  Christ  came  to  "  ransom  "  and  "  save  "  His 
people.  (See  Notes  on  verses  9,  10,  and  corap.  Acts 
xiii.  39.) 

(19)  With  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.— 
"  Precious "  means,  not  "  much  prized  by  us,"  but 
costhj,  precious  in  itself ;  opposed  to  the  perishableness 
of  gold  and  silver.  Notice  that  it  is  not  "  Jesus,"  but 
"  Christ,"  i.e.,  the  Messiah.  No  price  short  of  the 
"blood,"  i.e.,  the  death,  of  the  Messiah  could  free  the 
Jews  from  the  thraldom  of  their  "  vain  conversation." 
(Comp,  verso  2  and  Note.)  How  Christ's  death  freed 
them  from  it  is  not  explained  here ;  but  we  may  give 
a  twofold  explanation,  as  wo  did  of  His  resurrection 
being  our  regeneration,  in  verse  3.  Historically  it  did 
so,  because  when  they  came  to  realise  that  their 
Messiah  could  only  reach  His  glories  through  suffering 
it  gave  them  a  new  insight  into  the  whole  meaning  of 
the  system  under  which  they  had  been  brought  up.  It 
did  also,  however,  doubtless,  in  a  more  mysterious  way, 
such  as  wo  cannot  imagine,  procure  in  God's  sight  their 
emancipation ;  and  the  following  verses  show  that 
again  St.  Peter  is  thinking  more  of  the  theological 
than  of  the  phenomenal  side  of  the  occurrence. 

As  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without 
spot. — Wo  might  roughly  paraphrase  it  by,  "  as.  of  a 
sacrificial  victim,  to  the  sufficiency  of  whose  offering 
no  exception  can  bo  taken."  Tlie  word  "  as  "  shows 
that  in  St.  Peter's  mind  the  notion  of  a  "  sacrifice," 
in  reference  to  the  atonement,  was  only  a  simile,  or 
metaphor,  just  as  it  was  with  the  notion  of  "  ransom." 
Onco  more  observe  that  the  sacrifice  was  offered  to 
effect  a  redemption  which  for  the  readers  had  already 
taken  place.  (Comp.  Heb.  ix.  14.)  Tho  primary 
thought  in  mentioning  a  "  lamb  "  is,  of  course,  that  of 
sacrifice  ;  but  when  we  come  to  consider  wliy  that  ]iar- 
ticular  sacrificial  animal  was  named  rather  than  another, 
it  is,  no  doubt,  for  two  reasons.  First,  because  of  the 
whiteness,  the  helplessness,  the  youth,  the  innocence, 
and  patience,  which  make  it  a  natural  symbol  of  our 
Lord.  (Comp.  Ecce  Homo,  p.  6,  ed.  3.)  The  second 
reason  is  to  be  found  in  St.  Peter's  own  life.  The  first 
tiling  that  wo  know  in  liis  history  was  a  putting 
together  of  those  two  words — Messiah,  and  tho  Lainl 
(John  i.  36,  40.  41).  Neither  he  nor  St.  John  (se 
Rev.  V.  6.  et  al.)  ever  forgot  that  cry  of  the  Baptist 
They,  no  doubt,  understood  that  ciy  to  refer,  not  priH 
marily  to  the  Paschal,  or  any  other  sacrifice,  but  to 
Isa.  liii.  7,  and  perhaps  to  Gen.  xxii.  8.  A  word  in  th« 
next  vei'se  will  make  it  clearer  that  St.  Peter  really  hs 
the  Baptist  consciously  before  his  mind  when  he  thu 
wrote. 

(20)  Who  verily  was  foreordained.— There  is  ; 
sharp   contrast   int(Mided  between  the  two  clauses  o% 
tliis  verse,  and  in  tho  Greek  the  tenses  are  different 
"  Who  had  been  foreknoion,  indeed,  before  the  foiuida 
tion    of   the   world,   but   for   your   benefit  ivas  {onlyi 


Tlie  Manifestation  of  Christ 


I.   PETER,   T. 


leads  us  to  belief  in  God. 


the  world,"  but  was  manifest  *  in  these  |a  A<ts2.23;  rov. 
last  times  for  you,  ^~^'>  who  by  him  do  '<  Joum.ai. 
believe  in  God,  that  raised  him  up  from 
the  dead,   and  gave   liim   glory ;    that 


your  faith  and  hope  might  be  in 
God.  ("^2^  Seeing  ye  have  purified  your 
souls  in  obeying  the  truth  through 
the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the 


pointed  ozit  at  the  eud  of  the  times."  St.  Peter  is 
returuiug  ouce  more  to  the  ^reat  argument  of  verses 
10 — 12,  "  Do  not  treat  your  share  in  the  gospel  libera- 
tion as  if  it  were,  at  best,  a  piece  of  good  luck,  and  so 
learn  to  despise  it.  Neither  think  of  it  as  if  Paul  and 
Silvauus  were  preachiuof  to  you  a  novel  invention  at 
discord  with  the  spirit  ot  the  old  covenant,  under  which 
you  were  bred.  God  knew  from  all  eternity  who  was 
to  be  His  Messiah  and  His  Lamb,  but  for  your  sakes 
the  particular  and  personal  declaration  of  Him  was 
reserved  till  now.  For  you  has  been  kept  the  revelation 
of  a  secret  which  underlay  the  whole  Old  Testament 
system."  The  grammatical  antecedent  of  the  relative 
"who  verily"  is  not  "lamb,"  but  "Clirist;"  and  the 
word  for  "  foreordained  "  is,  literally,  forehnown,  only 
as  in  verse  2  (see  Note),  with  the  additional  notion  of 
coming  to  a  decision.  We  see  that  St.  Peter's  doctrine 
has  not  changed  since  the  great  day  of  Pentecost  (Acts 
ii.  23).  The  foreknowledge  (as  that  passage  would 
show)  includes  not  only  the  knowledge  and  decision 
that  Jesus  should  be  the  Christ,  but  that  the  Christ's 
history  should  be  what  it  was ;  and  this  seems  to  in- 
volve not  only  the  doctiine  that  the  Incarnation  was  no 
mere  episode,  consequent  upon  the  Fall  of  man,  but  also 
the  doctrine  that,  "  before  the  foundation  of  the  woi'ld," 
God  had  foreknown,  and  predecided  to  allow,  the  Fall 
itself.  The  same  doctrine  seems  to  be  involved  in 
Rev.  xiii.  8,  but  only  indirectly,  because  there  the  words 
"  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  are  to  be  attached, 
not  to  the  word  '"  slain,"  but  to  the  word  "  written." 

Was  manifest. — Better,  ivas  manifested,  i.e.,  un- 
ambiguously shoAvn,  pointed  out.  The  context  shows 
that  it  does  not  simply  mean  the  visible  life  of  the 
Incarnate  Word  among  men,  as  in  1  Tim.  iii.  16 ; 
1  John  iii.  5  ;  but  that  the  Messiah  and  Lamb  of  God 
was  pointed  out  as  being  identical  with  the  Man  Jesus. 
And  this  was  the  work  of  John  the  Baptist,  to  say  of 
the  particular  Person  whom  he  saw  walking  by  Jordan, 
"Behold  the  Lamb."  So  St.  John  Baptist  himself 
described  his  mission  :  "  The  whole  purpose  of  my 
coming  was  that  Ho  might  be  manifested,  siu"'led  out 
and  shoAvn  to  Israel,"  as  the  Person  round  wliom  all 
their  Messianic  hopes  were  gathered  (John  i.  31). 

In  these  last  times — i.e.,  not  merely  "in  modern 
times,"  "lately,"  but  "at  the  eud  of  the  times," 
showing  St.  Peter's  belief  that  the  end  of  the  world 
was  not  far  distant.  (Comp.  once  more  Dan.  xii.  k  9, 
13.)  Almost  exactly  the  same  phrase  is  used  in  Heb. 
i.  2 ;  2  Pet.  iii.  3. 

(-1)  Who  by  him  do  believe  in  God. — The 
sentence  is  joined  on  to  the  foregoing  verse  just  as  in 
verse  5,  "Who  are  kept."  The  "who"  might  be 
rendered  by  "and  you;"  and  the  clause  adds  a  kind 
of  proof  of  the  foregoing  statement,  dra\vn  from  the 
result  of  God's  manifestation  of  Clirist  to  them.  "  This 
Christian  doctrine  is  no  innovation,  nothing  to  lead 
you  away  from  the  God  of  our  fathers.  Tliat  same 
God  lia(l  had  the  scheme  in  His  thoughts  from  the 
beginning,  and  it  is  in  tliat  saino  God  that  you  have 
been  led  tliercby  to  believe."  There  is  a  better  sup- 
ported and  more  forcible  reading.  Who  through  Him 
are  faithful  toward.'^  God,  which  combines  the  ideas  of 
believing,  i.e.,  putting  the  whole  trust  in  God,  and 
of  loyal  inward  observance  of  Him.     And  if  any  one 


asks  whether  it  be  possible  to  say  that  Hebrew  men 
only  came  to  believe  in  God  through  the  revelation  of 
Christ,  we  must  answer  by  pointing  to  the  whole  scope 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and  esi)ecially  to  Heb. 
iii.  12,  where  it  is  not  faith  in  Christ,  but  faith  in  a 
living  God,  which  they  are  warned  not  to  abandon ;  and 
to  Heb.  \'i.  1,  where  faith  toward  God  is  part  of  the 
"Avord  of  the  beginning  of  Christ." 

That  raised  him  up.— These  clauses  give  tlie 
historical  fjicts  wliich  had  led  them,  "  through  Christ," 
to  a  living  faith  in  God.  Though  the  tliought  is 
common  with  St.  Paul  (e.g.,  Rom.  i.  2 — 4),  St.  Peter 
was  familiar  with  it  years  l)efore  St.  Paul's  conversion. 
See  this  in  Acts  ii.  23,  24' ;  and  vei'ses  33 — 36  of  the 
same  chapter  will  show  what  he  means  by  "  gave  Him 
glory  " — not  to  be  confined  to  the  Ascension,  though 
that  is  the  iironiinent  thought ;  the  glory  was  already 
partly  given  in  the  Resurrection.  Comp.  John  x^-ii.  1, 
where  there  is  the  same  reciprocal  glorification  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  as  hei-e. 

That  your  faith  .  .  .  might  .  .  .—An  inexact 
rendering  which  obscures  the  connection.  Literally 
it  is,  so  that  your  faith  and  hope  is  in  (or,  toward) 
God ;  that  is  to  say,  "  Your  faith  and  hope  does  not 
stop  shoi't  in  Jesus."  Hammond  seems  to  be  quite 
right  in  paraphrasing,  "  Who  by  believing  on  Him 
(Jesus  Christ)  are  far  from  departing  from  the  God  of 
Israel,  but  do,  indeed,  the  more  firmly  believe  and 
depend  on  Him  as  that  omnijjotent  God  who  hath 
raised  Christ  from  the  dead."  The  co-equal  Son  is 
less  than  the  Father  (John  xiv.  28);  and  we  should 
terribly  mistake  the  meaning  of  the  gospel  were  we 
content  to  rest  in  the  love  of  Christ  Himself  without 
accepting  His  revelation  of  the  Father.  This  is  the 
"  living  hope  "  of  verse  3,  brought  about  by  Christ's 
resurrection.  Some  of  the  German  commentators 
translate,  "  So  that  your  faith  may  be  also  hope  in 
God;"  which  has  nothing  ungrammatical  in  it,  but 
does  not  suit  the  context  .so  well. 

(--)  Purified  your  souls  in  obeying.— Bengel 
well  points  us  to  2  Pet.  i.  5 — 7,  where,  in  like  manner, 
St.  Peter  delights  to  exhibit  gi-adations  of  grace. 
"  Obeying  the  truth  "  here  will  correspond  to  "  know- 
ledge "  there,  vnth  its  immediate  consequences  of  ''  self- 
mastery,"  "  endurance,"  and  "  reverence  ; "  after  which 
we  pass  on  to  "  love  of  the  brethren,"  and  thence,  as 
to  a  higher  grace,  to  "  love  "  or  "  charity."  On  tliis 
last  point  see  Note  on  1  Thess.  iv.  9.  Perhaps  the 
literal  "in  the  obedience  of  the  truth"  (i.e.,  the 
Christian  gospel)  does  not  exactly  coincide  with 
"  obeying  the  tinith,"  as  implying  rati  or  "  the  obedience 
(to  God)  which  the  truth  (i.e.,  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth)  demands."  Truth  has  a  claim,  not  only  to  bo 
accepted  intellectually,  as  tnith,  but  to  alter  moral 
conduct  in  accordance  (comp.  John  xvii.  17) :  a  doctrine 
which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the  Socratic  maxim, 
"  Virtue  is  knowledge."  That  Socratic  maxim,  how- 
ever, does  not  sufficiently  take  into  account  the  inert- 
ness of  the  will  to  act  on  principle ;  and  no  doubt  it 
was  under  some  such  instinct  that  some  copyist 
first  added  as  a  gloss  tlie  words  (not  found  in  tlie 
original  text)  "througli  the  Spirit."  Tlic  first  effect 
of  such  knowledge  of  the  trutli,  under  tlie  Spirit's 
influence,  is  to  "  purify  "  the  soul  of  selfish  aims,  and 


897 


Exliortation  to 


I.    PETER,   I. 


Mutual  Love. 


brethren,  see  that  ye  love  one  another 
with  a  pure  heart  fervently :  ^'^^  being 
born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but 


a  Jolin  1.13. 
h  Hil).  4.  IS. 
c  Isa.  4IJ.  6,  7,  8, 
1  Or,  For  that. 


of  incorruptible,"  by  the  word  *  of  God, 
which  liveth'^  and  abideth  for  ever. 
(^)  For  ^  all  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the 


to  give  it  that  "  altruism "  (as  they  call  it  now),  or 
desire  for  the  beuefit  of  the  commuuity  rather  than 
self,  which  is  here  described  as  "  love  of  the  brethren." 
(See  Notes  ou  1  Thess.  iii.  13,  and  iv.  6.) 

Unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren.— Tlie  epithet 
"  unfeigned, "  in  itself,  would  suggest  that  St.  Peter 
was  uneasy  about  the  depth  of  their  brotherly  kind- 
ness. And  tlie  brotherly  kindness  is  here,  as  usual, 
attachment  to  other  members  of  the  Churcli,  special 
point  being  added  to  the  word  here  because  of  the 
notion  of  regeneration  running  through  the  whole 
passage.  (See  verse  14.)  Is  it  not  possible  that  some 
coolness  had  arisen  between  the  Jewish  and  Gentile 
members  of  the  Church,  and  that  St.  Peter  finds  it 
necessai*y  to  remind  the  former  that  they  are  truly 
brethren,  sons  of  one  Father,  and  that  they  ought 
not  only  unaffectedly  to  have  done  with  all  jealousy  of 
the  Gentile  members,  but  to  be  far  beyond  that,  loving 
one  another  "  from  the  heart  (the  word  '  pure '  is  not 
part  of  the  original  text,  and  interrupts  the  run  of  the 
sentence)  strenuously?" 

(23)  Being  born  again.— Rather,  Having  been  he- 
gotten  again.  It  is  not  part  of  the  exhortation,  as 
though  they  had  still  to  be  thus  begotten,  but  assigns 
the  moral  grounds  for  the  exhortation.  It  is  logically 
parallel  with  "  seeing  ye  have  purified,"  and  might  be 
rendered,  freeing  that  ye  have  been  begotten  again. 
For  the  moaning  of  tlie  word,  refer  back  to  verse  3. 

Not  of  corruptible  seed.— That  is,  not  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham,  but  of  the  seed  of  God.  This  is  the 
argument :  "  You  must  learn  not  to  be  selfish,  or 
arrogant,  as  being  of  the  chosen  race,  but  to  have  a 
true  brotherly  feeling  and  earnest  love  for  the  Gentile 
converts,  and  for  those  who,  like  St.  Paul,  are  si)ecially 
working  for  the  Gentiles,  because  your  inheritance  of 
the  promised  '  salvation '  is  grounded,  not  on  your 
Alirahamic  descent,  but  on  your  spiritual  regeneration, 
in  which  matter  the  Gentile  converts  are  your  equals." 
That  this  was  the  doctrine  of  St.  Peter  is  certain  from 
his  speech  at  the  Coimcil  of  Jei-usalem,  "  God  put  no 
difference  between  lis  and  them,  having  purified  their 
hearts  by  faith ; "  and  again,  "  It  is  only  througli  the 
favour  of  the  Lord  Jesus  that  we  hope  to  be  saved,  in 
precisely  the  same  manner  as  they"  (Acts  xv.  9,  11). 
(Comp.,  for  the  argument,  1  John  v.  1.) 

By  the  word  of  God.— '•  Seed,"  in  the  beginning 
of  the  clause,  is  more  literally  the  act  of  sounng,  or 
engendering,  which  sowing  is  carried  on  '•  through  the 
living  and  abiding  word  of  God,"  this  "  word  of  God  " 
being  the  actual  seed  so^vn.  Tlie  "  seed  "  of  all  exist- 
ence is  the  spoken  Word  of  God,  the  expressed  will 
and  meaning  of  creative  thought  (Ps.  xxxiii.  6) ;  and  so 
here,  even  when  spoken  mediately,  through  the  lips  of 
men  (as  explained  in  verse  2-5),  it  is  that  wliich  begets 
men  afresh.  God  creates  afresh,  though  men  speak 
the  creative  word  for  Him,  just  as  "it  is  He  that  hatli 
made  us,"  although  He  does  so  tlu-ough  natural  laws 
and  human  powers.  Tlie  "  Word  of  God  "  Iiore  is,  no 
doubt,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  but  especially,  as  it 
would  seem,  the  preaching  of  the  Resurrection  (verse  3), 
or  of  the  .sufferings  and  glories  of  Messiah  (verse  121, 
the  "  truth "  of  tne  last  verse.  The  part  taken  by 
"  the  Word  "  in  the  sacrament  of  regeneration  may  be 
seen  again  in  Eph.  v.  26  and  Jas.  i.  18;  in  connection 
with  the  other  sacrament  we  may  also  refer  to  John 


vi.  63.  "  Incorruptible  "  {i.e.,  im2)eris]iable ;  see  verses 
4,  18)  finds  a  more  energetic  paraphx-ase  here  in  "  living 
and  abiding"  (the  words  "for  ever"  not  being  part 
of  the  true  text).  The  former  epithet  is  a  favourite 
with  St.  Peter  (verse  3,  chap.  ii.  4,  5),  and  is  perhaps 
borrowed  from  this  place  by  the  author  to  the  Hebrews, 
in  connection  with  the  "  word  of  God  "  (Heb.  iv.  12). 
The  epithets  serve  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  quo- 
tation. 

(2^)  For  all  flesh  is  as  grass.— The  citation  is  from 
Isa.  xl.  6 — 8,  and  varies  between  the  Hebrew  and  the 
LXX.  in  the  kind  of  way  which  shows  that  the  writer 
was  familiar  with  both.  But  the  passage  is  by  no 
moans  quoted  only  to  support  the  assertion,  in  itself 
ordinary  enough,  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord  abideth 
for  ever.  It  is  always  impossil)le  to  grasp  the  meaning 
of  an  Old  Testament  quotation  in  the  mouth  of  a 
Hel)rew  without  taking  into  account  the  context  of  the 
original.  Nothing  is  commoner  than  to  omit  purposely 
the  very  words  which  contain  the  whole  pouit  of  the 
quotation.  Now  these  sentences  in  Isaiah  stand  in  the 
forefront  of  the  herald's  proclamation  of  the  return  of 
God  to  Sion,  always  interpreted  of  the  establishment 
of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  This  proclamation  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom  comprises  words  which  St.  Peter 
has  purposely  omitted,  and  they  contain  the  point  of 
the  quotation.  The  omitted  words  are,  "  the  Sjiirit  of 
the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it :  surely  the  people'" — i.e., 
Israel — "  is  grass."  Immediately  before  our  quotation 
went  the  words,  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  re- 
vealed, and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together  ;"  statements 
which  so  shocked  the  LXX.  translator  that  he  entirely 
omitted  verse  7,  and  changed  the  pre\'ious  verse  so  as 
to  make  some  difference  between  Jew  and  Gentile  (as 
Godet  points  out  on  Luke  iii.  6),  into  "  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,"  i.e.,  to  Israel,  "  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God."  The  comment 
of  Bishop  Lowth  on  the  original  passage  will  well 
bring  out  what  St.  Peter  means  here :  "  What  is  the 
import  of  [the  proclamation]  ?  that  the  peoiile,  the 
flesh,  is  of  a  vain  temporary  nature ;  that  all  its  glory 
fadeth,  and  is  soon  gone ;  but  that  the  Word  of  God 
cndureth  for  ever.  What  is  this  but  a  plain  opposition 
of  the  flesh  to  the  Spirit ;  of  the  carnal  Israel  to  the 
spiritual ;  of  the  temporaiy  Mosaic  economy  to  the 
eternal  Christian  dispensation  ?  "  Here,  then,  St.  Peter 
is  quoting  one  of  the  greatest  of  Messianic  proi^hecies ; 
and  his  Hebrew  readers  would  at  once  understand  the 
Hebrew  method  of  the  quotation,  and  see  that  he  was 
calling  attention  to  the  absolute  equality  of  Jew  and 
Gentile  there  proclaimed.  Generation  of  the  cor- 
niptible  seed,  physical  descent  from  Abraham,  was 
"the  glory  of  the  flesh"  (observe  that  according  to 
the  best  text  St.  Peter  does  not  follow  the  LXX.,  and 
insert  "  of  man,"  but  follows  the  Hebrew,  and  says  "  all 
the  glory  thereof,"  i.e.,  of  the  flesh).  On  tliis  "  the 
Sjm-it  of  the  Lord  "  had  breathed  (Ps.  civ.  30) ;  and 
the  merely  fleshly  glory  had  withered  like  grass.  But 
"  the  word  of  our  God,"  which,  mark  well,  St.  Peter 
pm-posely  changes  into  "  the  Word  of  the  Lord,"  i.e.,  of 
Jesus  Christ,  incidentally  shoAving  his  Hebrew  readers 
that  ho  believed  Jesus  Christ  to  be  "  our  God  " — thii| 
"abideth  for  ever."  The  engendering  by  this  is  it 
perishable,  i.e.,  involves  a  priAnlege  which  is  not, '" 
that  of  the  Jewish  blood,  transitory:  it  vriU  neve 


398 


Tl^e  Word  of  the  Lord  endureth. 


I.   PETER,  II. 


A  New  Life  in  Christ. 


glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  grass. 
The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower 
thereof  falleth  away :  (-^^  but  the  word 
of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever.  And 
this  is  the  word  which  by  the  gospel  is 
preached  unto  you. 

CHAPTEE  II.— (1)  Wherefore  laying 


o  Eph.   4. 
Col.  3.  8; 

Jag. 

6  cb.  1.  22. 

c  1  Cor.   3.  J; 
Heb.  5. 12. 

A.D.  i-lr. 

uo. 

d  rs.  M.  8. 

aside"  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  and 
hyiDOcrisies,*  and  envies,  ^hap.  ii.  i-io. 
and  all  evil  speakings,  The  idea  of  the 
<2^  as   newborn  babes,   de-  '^^^  Israel  aa 

,1  .  .,  '  ^       „  seen     in     pro- 

Sire    the   sincere    milk"    OI   phecytoberea- 

the    word,    that    ye    may  lised  by  them. 
grow    thereby:    (^'  if   so    be    ye    have 
tasted    that    the     Lord    is    gracious.*^ 


become  a  matter  of  iudifl'creucc  whether  we  have  been 
eugeudered  with  this,  as  is  the  case  now  (Gal.  vi.  15) 
with  regard  to  the  "  corruptible  seed ;  "  uo  further 
"revelation  will  ever  level  up  the  unregeuerate  to  be 
the  equals  of  the  regenerate.  And  in  this  regeneration 
"  all  Ecsh  "  share  alike.  The  teaching  of  the  Baptist, 
who  fulfilled  this  prophecy,  is  here  again  apparent. 
(See  Matt.  iii.  9.) 

(25)  The  word  which  by  the  gospel  is 
preached.— An  incorrect  rendering  of  tho  original 
tense.  It  literally  runs,  A)id  this  is  the  word  which 
was  preached  unto  yoti.  The  whole  magnificent  perora- 
tion of  this  paragraph,  as  of  the  last,  leads  up  to 
this :  that,  in  the  opinion  of  St.  Peter,  the  Gospel,  as 
delivered  by  St.  Paul  and  his  followers — the  Gospel  of 
equality,  or  rather  of  unity  between  Jew  and  Gentile 
in  Jesus  Christ — was  the  li\'ing  and  supreme  abiding 
revelation  of  the  will  of  God  !  Well  may  the  Tiibingeu 
school  wish  to  disprove  the  genuineness  of  this  Epistle  ! 

II. 

(1—10)  Exhortation  to  realise  the  Idea  of 
THE  New  Israel. — The  Apostle  bids  them  put  away 
all  elements  of  disunion,  and  to  combine  into  a  new 
Temple  founded  on  Jesus  as  the  Chi-ist,  and  into  a  new 
hierarchy  and  theocracy. 

W  Wherefore. — That  is,  Because  the  Pauline  teach- 
ing is  con-ect  which  brings  the  Gentiles  up  to  the  same 
level  with  the  Jews.  It  may  be  observed  that  this 
newly  enunciated  principle  is  called  by  St.  Peter  in  the 
preWous  verse  of  the  last  chapter,  a  "  gospel,"  or  j)iece 
of  good  news,  for  aU  parties. 

Laying  aside.— This  implies  that  before  they  had 
been  wrapped  up  in  these  sins.  There  had  been 
"malice"  (i.e.,  ill  will  put  into  action)  on  the  part 
of  these  Hebrew  Christians  against  tlieir  Gentilo 
brethren,  and  "guile,"  and  "hypocrisies."  and  "jea- 
lousies," which  are  all  instances  of  concealed  malice. 
Of  these  three,  the  first  plots,  tho  second  pretends  not 
to  plot,  and  the  third  rejoices  to  think  of  tho  plot  suc- 
ceeding. The  word  for  "  all  eAnl  speakings  "  is  literally, 
all  talkings  doivn — this  is  "  malice  "  in  loord.  Arch- 
bishop Leighton  well  says,  "  The  Apostles  sometimes 
name  some  of  these  evils,  and  sometimes  other  of 
them ;  but  they  are  inseparable,  all  one  garment,  and 
ail  comprehended  imder  that  one  word  (Eph.  iv.  22), 
'  the  old  man,'  which  the  Apostle  there  exhorts  to  put 
ofE;  and  here  it  ir  pressed  as  a  necessary  eWdenco 
of  tliis  new  birth,  and  furtherance  of  their  spiritual 
growth,  that  these  base  habits  be  thro^vn  away,  ragged 
filthy  habits,  unbeseeming  the  children  of  God."  All 
these  ^-icos  (natural  \npes  to  tho  Jewish  mind)  are  con- 
trasted with  the  "unfeigned  (literally,  ««-/i?/250CJ-i<M;rtZ) 
brotherly  kindness  "  of  cliap.  i.  22. 

(')  As  newborn  babes.— Tho  word  "  newborn  "  is. 
of  course,  newly,  lately  born,  not  born  anew,  althongh 
the  birth  meant  is  tlie'uew  birtli  of  chap.  i.  23.  Thev 
are  said  to  be  still  but  newborn  because  they  are  still 


so  far  from  maturity  in  Christ,  as  these  sins  testified. 
The  metaphor  is  said  to  bo  not  uncommon  in  Rab- 
binical writers  to  denote  proselytes.  St.  Peter  would, 
therefore,  be  describing  Jews  who  had  newly  received 
tho  word  of  God,  as  proselytes  of  tho  new  Israel. 
"  As "  means  "  in  keeping  with  your  character  of." 
(Comp.  chap.  i.  14.) 

Desire  the  sincere  milk.  —  The  word  for 
"  desire"  here  is  a  strong  word — get  an  appetite  for  it. 
Bengel  is  perhaps  right  when  he  says  on  "  newborn 
babes,"  "  It  is  their  only  occupation,  so  strong  is  their 
desu'e  for  it."  St.  Peter  here  again  seems  to  lend 
a  thought  to  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  (Heb.  v.  12 — 
14).  In  both  j)laces  Jewish  Christians  are  beginning  to 
rebel  against  the  Gospel  instructions,  and  in  both  places 
they  are  warned  that  they  have  not  yet  outgrown  tho 
need  of  the  very  simplest  elements  of  the  Gospel.  The 
epithet  "  sincere  "  should  have  been  rendered  guileless, 
as  it  contains  a  contrast  \vith  "  guile  "  in  the  verse 
before ;  perhaps  the  intention  of  tlie  epithet  may  be  to 
rebuke  tho  attempt  to  deal  deceitfully  with  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  after  the  example  of  the  Septua- 
gint  passage  quoted  above. 

Of  the  word.  —  This  translation  of  the  original 
adjective  cannot  possibly  be  right.  The  only  other 
place  in  the  New  Testament  where  it  is  used,  Rom. 
xii.  1,  will  show  clearly  enough  its  meaning  here. 
There  it  is  rendered  "  your  reasonable  service  " — i.e., 
not  "  the  service  which  may  be  reasonably  expected  of 
you,"  but  "  tlie  ritual  woi-ship  which  is  performed  by 
the  reason,  not  by  the  body."  So  here,  "  the  reasonable 
guileless  milk  "  will  mean  "  the  guileless  milk  which  is 
sucked  in,  not  by  the  lips,  but  by  the  reason."  The 
metaphor  of  milk  (though  used  by  St.  Paul,  1  Cor. 
iii.  2)  was  not  so  hackneyed  as  now;  and  the  Apostle 
wished  to  soften  it  a  little,  and  explain  it  by  calling  it 
"  mental  milk,"  just  as  (so  Huther  points  out)  ho 
explained  the  metaphor  in  chap.  i.  13,  by  adding  "  of 
your  mind."  It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  "  mental 
milk  "  would,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  be  "  the  milk  of  tho 
word,"  and  that  the  Apostle  is  pressing  his  readers  to 
cling  with  ardent  attachment  to  the  evangelical  religion 
taught  them  by  tho  Pauline  party. 

That  ye  may  grow  thereby.— All  the  best 
manuscripts  and  versions  add  "  unto  salvation,"  which 
may  confidently  be  adopted  into  tlie  text.  "  Grow  "  is, 
of  course,  said  in  reference  to  the  infant  state  of  the 
converts  as  yet,  and  the  maturity  set  before  them 
(children  long  to  be  grown  up)  is  spoken  of  as  "  salva- 
tion." When  wo  compare  this  with  chap.  i.  IS,  wo 
see  that  tho  perfect  emancipation  from  Jewish  super- 
stitions is  a  main  part  of  the  "  salvation  "  to  which 
they  are  to  grow  up. 

(•^1  If  so  be  ye  have  tasted.— The  "  if  so  bo,"  as 
elsewhere  (2  Tliess.  i.  6,  Note\  constitutes  a  strong 
appeal  to  tho  readers  to  say  whetlier  it  were  not  so. 
St.  Peter  confidently  reckons  that  it  is  so.  It  should 
rather  be  ye  tasted,  looking  back  to  a  quite  past 
time,  probably  that  of  the  first  conversion,  when  the 


399 


Lively  Stones  in 


I.  PETER,    II. 


t?ie  Spiritual  ffotise. 


(*' To  whom  cominf?, as  wiio  a  livinor  stone,  |«p9-ii8-22- 

o '  "  I  Or  be  ye  built, 

disallowed  indeed  of  men,"  but  chosen  of  ,  b  i   co'.  3.  9; 

'  Eph.  2.  21. 


God,  and  precious,  ^^^  ye  also,  as  lively- 
stones,  are  ^  built  up  a  spiritual  house,* 


taste  of  spiritual  things  is  the  most  tlelicious.  How 
sad  to  he  past  the  relisli  for  evaugclical  trutli !  The 
quotatiou,  or  rather  adaptation,  from  Ps.  xxxiv.  8  is, 
uo  doubt,  suggested  by  tlie  metaphor  of  '"  milk."  A 
curious  little  poiut  about  our  translation  here  is  that 
the  word  "  gracious "  has  been  adopted  to  suit  the 
Prayer  Book  version  of  the  Psalm.  It  is  scarcely 
suitable  to  the  Greek  woi*d,  which,  originally  signify- 
ing "  usable,"  "  serviceable,"  passes  on  to  be  used  of 
anything  mild  and  pleasant,  as.  for  instance,  in  Luke 
V.  39,  of  the  mellowness  of  old  mne.  Here,  therefore, 
the  woi'd  seems  to  be  peculiarly  used  -vvith  refei-ence 
to  the  sense  of  taste.  A  more  important  point,  doc- 
trinally,  is  that  St.  Peter  is  here  applying  to  Jesus 
Christ  (as  the  next  verse  shows)  a  jiassage  which 
otherwise  we  might  not  have  thought  of  applying 
to  Him  in  particular.  It  gives  quite  a  new  com- 
plexion to  the  34th  Psalm,  when  "we  see  that  in  St. 
Peter's  view  the  Psalmist  was  speaking  prophetically 
of  our  Lord.  We  shall  find  him  quoting  the  same 
Psalm  in  the  same  sense  again  in  chap.  iii.  10. 

W  To  whom  coming.— The  word  used  is  that 
which  gives  rise  to  the  name  of  a  "  pi'oselyte."  (Comp. 
Note  on  verse  2.)  It  is  also  strangely  used  in  some- 
thing of  the  same  sense  in  1  Tim.  vi.  3.  "  Joining 
Him  therefore  as  proselytes."  Not  that  St.  Peter  has 
any  notion  of  a  mere  external  accession.  The  Apos- 
tolic writers  do  not  contemplate  the  possibility  of  a 
difference  between  the  visible  and  invisible  Church. 
From  this  point  tlie  regeneration-idea,  which  coloured 
the  whole  of  the  preceding  portion  of  the  Epistle, 
suddenly  disappears.  The  thought  is  no  longer  that 
of  a  spiritual  seed  instead  of  a  carnal  seed,  but  of  a 
spiritual  Temple  instead  of  the  stone  temple  at  Jeru- 
salem. 

A  living  stone. — The  very  structure  and  order  of 
the  sentence  puts  Jesus  Christ  first.  Foundation  first, 
building  afterwards.  It  is  a  pity  to  insert  "  as  unto  " 
with  our  version ;  it  takes  off  from  the  striking,  attract- 
ing effect  of  the  sudden  metaphor.  St.  Peter  is  fond 
of  explaining  his  metaphors — e.g.,  "  inheritance  ...  in 
heaven,"  "  tested  genuineness  .  .  .  more  precious  than 
of  gold,"  "gird  up  .  .  .  loins  of  your  minds:"  so 
here,  "  living  stone."  It  is  more  tliau  doubtful  whether 
St.  Peter,  in  what  follows,  had  before  his  mind  the 
giving  of  his  o^vn  surname.  The  woi'd  which  he  here 
uses  is  neither  pctros,  nor  petra,  but  lithos ;  and 
indeed  the  whole  idea  of  the  relative  position  of  the 
Church  to  the  j^e^ra  and  to  the  lithos  is  quite  different. 
Neither  petrns  nor  petra  could  possibly  be  used  of  the 
squared  wrought  stone,  but  represent  the  native  rocky 
unhewn  substratum — part,  or  whole— which  pre-exists 
before  any  building  is  begun,  even  before  the  "  chief 
corner-stone"  would  be  placed.  (Comp.  Matt.  "vii.  24.) 
Here,  therefore,  the  idea  is  quite  different :  the  sub- 
stratum is  not  thought  of  at  all ;  and  Jesus  Christ  is  a 
carefully  selected  and  hewn  stone  (lithos),  specially 
laid  as  the  first  act  in  the  work  of  l)uilding.  The  only 
thing,  therefore,  v/hich  is.  in  fact,  common  to  the  two 
passages  is  the  simple  tlionglit  of  the  Christian  Church 
being  like  a  building.  Our  present  verse  gives  us  no 
direct  help  towards  finding  how  St.  Peter  understood 
the  famous  name-passage.  All  we  can  say  for  certain 
is  that  he  did  not  so  interpret  it  as  to  suppose  an 
official  connection  with  his  own  person  to  be  the  one 
essential  of  the  true  Church,  or  else  in  again   using 


the  metaphor  of  building  the  Church  (though  in  a 
different  connection)  he  could  hardly  have  omixted  all 
mention  of  himself.  He  is,  apparently,  thinking  only 
of  the  Messianic  interpretation  of  Old  Testament  say- 
ings as  expoimded  by  our  Lord — the  "  unsophisticated 
muk  of  the  word"  of  verse  2. 

Disallowed  indeed  of  men.— A  direct  reference 
to  the  passage  (Ps.  cxviii.  22),  which  is  quoted  below  in 
verse  7.  It  here  says  "  men,"  rather  than  "  builders," 
in  order  to  contrast  them  more  forcibly  with  God. 
The  word  "disallowed."  or  "rejected,"  implies  a  form 
of  trial  or  probation  which  comes  to  an  unsatisfactory 
conclusion.  The  human  builders  examine  the  stone, 
inspect  all  its  qualifications,  and  find  it  unsuited  to 
the  edifice  which  they  have  in  hand,  and  refuse  it  not 
only  the  j)lace  of  honour,  but  any  place  at  all,  in 
their  architecture.  St.  Peter  wishes  to  bring  out 
strongly  the  absolute  opposition  between  God  and  the 
Jews. 

But  chosen  of  God,  and  precious.— Literally, 
hut  ivith  God  elect,  honoured.  This  is  a  direct  allusion 
to  the  passage,  Isa.  xxviii.  16,  which  is  quoted  in  verse 
6.  While  the  human  builders  saw  the  qualities  of  the 
stone,  and  rejected  it  because  of  its  not  fitting  in  with 
their  ideal,  on  the  other  hand.  "  with  God,"  i.e.,  in  God's 
counsel  and  plan,  it  was  "  elect,"  i.e.,  choice  had  been 
laid  upon  it,  it  had  been  selected  for  God's  building 
purposes ;  and  not  only  "  elect "  (for  this  might  be 
equally  said  of  all  the  "  lining  stones ;  "  see  chap.  i.  2, 
where  the  word  has  precisely  the  same  meaning),  but 
also  "  houom'ed,"  which  is  further  explained  to  meiiu, 
singled  out  for  the  place  of  honour,  i.e.,  for  that  of 
coi'ner-stone.  The  designation  of  this  stone  as  "  elect," 
brings  out  again  what  we  have  had  in  chap.  i.  11,  20, 
viz.,  the  eternal  predestination  of  Jesus  to  the  Messiah- 
ship. 

(5)  Ye  also,  as  lively  stones,  are  built  up.— This 
is  true  enough :  they  ivere  in  process  of  building  up ; 
but  it  suits  the  hortatory  character  of  the  whole  Epistle 
better  to  take  it  (the  one  is  as  grammatical  as  the 
other)  in  the  imperative  sense  :  Be  ye  also  as  livimj 
stones  built  up.  The  rendering  "lively,"  instead  of 
"  living,"  as  in  verse  4,  is  arbitraiy,  the  Greek  being 
precisely  the  same,  and  the  intention  being  to  show 
the  comidete  conformation  of  the  believers  to  Him 
who  is  the  type  and  model  for  humanity.  '•  Built  up," 
too,  only  expresses  a  part  of  the  Greek  word,  which 
implies  "  built  up  upon  Him." 

A  spiritual  house.— The  epithet  is  supplied,  just 
as  in  "  living  stone,"  to  make  it  abundantly  clear  that 
the  language  is  figurative.  In  the  first  three  verses 
of  the  chapter  these  Hebrew  Christians  were  treated 
individually,  as  so  many  babes,  to  grow  up  into  an 
i6ca.\  freedom  of  sotd  :  here  theyai-e  ti-eated  collectively 
(of  course,  along  with  the  Gentile  Christians),  as  so 
many  stones,  incomplete  and  unmeaning  in  themselves, 
by  arrangement  and  cemented  union  to  rise  into  an  ideal 
house  of  God.  St.  Peter  does  not  distinctly  say  that 
the  "house"  is  a  temple  (for  the  word  "spiritual"  is 
only  the  opposite  of  "  material"),  but  the  context  makes 
it  plain  that  such  is  the  case.  The  tempi?  is,  however, 
regarded  not  in  its  capacity  of  a  place  for  loorship  so 
much  as  a  place  for  Divine  inhabitation.  "The  spiritual 
house,"  says  Leighton  truly,  "  is  the  palace  of  the 
Great  King.  The  Hebrew  word  ior  palace  and  temple 
is  one."     And  the  reason  for  introducing  this  figure 


400 


The  chief  Corner-stone 


I.   PETER,   II. 


laid  in  Zion. 


an  holj  priesthood,"  to  offer  up  spiritual  jaisa.6i.6;66.2i. 
sacrifices,   acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus       6isa.28.  lo.  • 


Christ.    (^>  Wherefore  also  it  is  contained 
in  the  scripture,*  Behold,  I  lay  in  Sion 


seems  to  be,  to  cousole  the  Hebrews  for  their  vanisliiiig 
privileges  iu  the  temple  at  Jerusalem.  They  are  being 
taught  to  recognise  that  they  themselves,  in  their  union 
with  one  anotlier,  and  with  Jesus  Christ,  are  the  true 
abode  of  the  Most  Higli.  The  Christian  substitution  of 
something  else  in  lieu  of  the  Jerusalem  Temple  was 
one  of  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks  to  the  Hebrews 
from  the  very  first.  (See  Mark  xiv.  58;  John  ii.  21; 
Acts  vii.  48;  xxi.  28;  compare  also  Heb.  ix.  8,  11.) 
All  history  is  the  process  of  building  up  a  "  spiritual 
palace  "  out  of  a  regenerate  humanity,  in  order  that,  in 
the  end,  the  Father  Himself  may  occujjy  it.  This 
follows  from  the  fact  that  the  Incarnate  Son  is 
described  as  a  j^f^n't  of  the  Temple.  Even  tlu-ough  the 
Incarnation — at  least  so  far  as  it  has  as  yet  taken 
effect — creation  has  not  become  so  completely  pervaded 
and  filled  with  the  Deity  as  it  is  destined  to  be  when 
the  "  palace  "  is  finished.  (See  1  Cor.  xv.  28.)  The  idea 
of  the  Eternal  Son  occupying  such  a  relation  to  the 
Father  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  humanity  and  creation 
on  the  other  hand,  is  really  the  same  as  when  He  is 
called  (by  an  entirely  diiferent  metaphor)  the  "  first- 
born of  all  creation  "  (Col.  i.  15). 

An  holy  priesthood.—"  Being  living  stones,"  says 
Bengel,  "they  can  l)o  priests  as  well."  They  not  only 
compose  the  Temple,  but  minister  in  it.  By  becoming 
Chnstians  they  are  cut  off  from  neither  Temple  nor 
hierarchy,  nor  sacrifice ;  all  are  at  hand,  and  they 
themselves  are  all.  The  old  priesthood,  like  the  old 
Temple,  has  "  had  its  day,  and  ceased  to  be."  Mark, 
though,  that  the  Apostle  is  not  dwelling  on  the  indi- 
vidual priesthood  of  each  (though  that  is  involved), 
but  on  the  hierarchical  order  of  the  whole  comj>any  of 
Christians  :  they  are  an  organised  body  or  college  of 
priests,  a  new  seed  of  Aaron  or  Levi.  (See  Isa.  lx^^.  21.) 
The  very  word  implies  that  all  Christians  have  not  an 
equal  degree  of  priesthood.  And  this  new  priesthood, 
like  tlie  old,  is  no  profane  intruding  priesthood  like 
that  of  Core  (Jude  11),  but  '"holy" — i.e.,  consecrated, 
validly  admitted  to  its  work.  Tlie  way  in  which  this 
new  metaphor  is  suddenly  introduced, — "  to  whom 
coming,  be  built  up  imo7i  Hivb  ...  to  be  an  holy 
priesthood,"  implies  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  High 
Priest  quite  as  much  as  it  implies  His  being  Comer 
Stone.  The  Incarnate  Sou  heads  the  adoration  offered 
to  the  Father  by  creation,  just  as  He  binds  creation 
into  a  palace  for  the  Father's  indwelling. 

To  offer  up  spiritual  saeriflices.— Tlie  new 
priesthood  is  not  merely  nominal :  it  is  no  sinecure. 
None  is  a  priest  who  does  not  offer  sacrifices  (Heb. 
viii.  3).  But  the  sacrifices  of  the  new  hierarchy  are 
"spiritual," — i.e., not  material,  not  sacrifices  of  bulls  and 
goats  and  lambs.  Wliat,  then,  do  the  sacrifices  consist 
of  ?  If  our  priesthood  is  modelled  on  that  of  Jesus 
Christ,  as  is  hero  implied,  it  consists  mainly  (Calvin 
points  this  out)  of  the  sacrifice  of  self,  of  the  icill ; 
tlien.  in  a  minor  degree,  of  words  and  acts  of  worship, 
tlianks  and  jiraise.  (See  Heb.  xiii.  10 — 16.)  But  iu 
order  to  constitute  a  true  priesthood  and  true  sacri- 
fices after  the  model  of  Jesus  Christ,  those  sacrifices 
are  offered  up  on  behalf  of  others.  (See  Heb.  v.  1.  and 
•1  John  iii.  16.)  The  first  notion  of  the  priesthood 
of  all  believers  is  not  that  of  a  mediatorial  system 
being  abolished,  but  of  the  miMliatorial  .system  being 
extended :  whereas,  before,  only  Aaron's  sons  were 
recognised  as  mediators  and  intercessors,  now  all  Israel, 

92  401 


all  the  spiritual  Israel,  all  men  everywhere  are  called 
to  bo  mediators  and  intercessors  between  each  other 
and  God. 

By  (or,  through)  Jesus  Christ. — The  name  again, 
not  the  title  only.  Wo  all  help  one  another  to  present 
one  another's  prayers  and  praises,  which  pass  through 
the  lips  of  many  priests ;  but  for  them  to  be  acceptable, 
they  must  be  presented  finally  tlu-ough  the  lips  of  the 
Great  High  Priest.  He,  in  His  perfect  sympathy  with 
all  inen,  must  make  the  sacrifice  His  own.  We  must 
unite  our  sacrifices  with  His — the  Advocate  with  the 
Father,  the  Propitiation  for  our  sins — or  our  sacrifice 
aWII  be  as  irregular  and  offensive  as  though  some 
Canaanite  should  have  taken  upon  himself  to  intrude 
into  the  Holy  of  Holies  on  Atonement  Day.  (See 
Heb.  X.  19 — 25,  especially  Aerse  21.) 

(0)  Wherefore  also.— The  mention  of  Jesus  Christ 
brings  the  writer  Ijack  again  to  his  theme,  viz.,  that  the 
whole  system  to  which  his  readers  belong  has  under- 
gone a  radical  change,  and  is  based  on  Jesus  and  His 
fulfilment  of  the  sufferings  and  glories  of  the  Messiah. 
The  right  reading  here  is  not  "  wherefore  also,"  but 
because — i.e.,  the  quotations  are  introduced  in  the  same 
way  as  in  chap.  i.  16  and  24,  as  justifying  the  foregoing 
expressions. 

It  is  contained,  in  the  seriptTire. — In  the 
original  the  phrase  is  a  curious  one.  "  The  scripture  " 
never  means  the  Old  Testament  as  a  whole,  which 
would  be  called  "the  Scriptures,"  but  is  always  the 
particular  book  or  passage  of  the  Old  lestament. 
Literally,  then,  our  present  phrase  runs,  because  it 
encloses  or  contains  in  that  passage.  Thus  attention 
is  drawn  to  the  context  of  the  quotation,  and  in  this 
context  we  shall  again  find  what  made  St.  Peter  quote 
the  text. 

Behold,  I  lay. — The  sentence  is  taken  from  Isa. 
xxviii.  16,  and,  like  the  last,  is  adapted  to  the  occasion 
out  of  both  Hebrew  and  LXX.  Gesenius  on  that 
passage  gives  evidence  to  show  that  the  early  Jewish 
explanation,  current  in  our  Lord's  time,  referred  it 
to  the  Messiah;  the  later  Rabbinical  expositors,  pro- 
bably by  way  of  opposition  to  the  Christians,  explained 
it  to  mean  Hezekiah.  In  order  to  gain  a  clear  con- 
cei^tiou  of  St.  Peter's  aim  in  the  quotation,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  glance  over  the  whole  section  contained  in  the 
28th  and  29tli  chapters  of  Isaiah.  "  The  projjhecy  here 
cited,"  says  Archbishop  Leighton,  "  if  we  look  upon 
it  in  its  OAvn  place,  we  shall  find  inserted  in  the  middle 
of  a  very  sad  denimciation  of  judgment  against  the 
Jews."  Besides  our  present  text,  which  is  quoted  also 
iu  Rom.  ix.  33,  our  Lord's  prophecy  of  the  destniction 
of  Jerusalem  is  an  amplification  of  Isa.  xxix.  3.  4 ;  His 
sharp  censure  of  the  con-upt  traditions  which  had 
superseded  the  law  of  God  (Matt.  xv.  7^9)  is  taken 
from  Isa.  xxix.  13 ;  St.  Paul's  image  of  the  potter 
changing  his  puq)ose  with  the  lump  of  elay  (Rom.  ix. 
21',  comes  from  lsj\.  xxix.  16.  Like  one  bright  spot  in 
tlie  sad  ])icture  ajipears  our  verse,  but  only  as  serving 
to  heighten  the  general  gloom.  St.  Peter  s  quotation 
here,  therefore,  calling  attention  as  it  does  to  the 
context,  is  at  least  as  much  intended  to  show  his 
Hebrew  readers  the  sweeping  away  of  the  carnal  Israel 
as  to  encourage  them  in  their  Christian  allegiance.  In 
the  original  passage  the  sure  fouiuLition  is  contrasted 
with  the  refuge  of  lies  which  the  Jewish  rulers  had 
constructed  for  themselves  against  Assyria,  "  scorning '' 


The  rejected  Stone 


I.   PETER,   II. 


made  Head  of  the  Coiiier. 


a  chief  corner  stone,  elect,  precious :  and 
he  that  helieveth  on  him  shall  not  be 
confoundt'd.       ('^    Unto    you    therefore 


1  Or,  an  honour. 


which  believe  he  is  precious  :  ^  but  unto 
them  which  be  disobedient,  the  stone 
which  the  builders  disallowed,  the  same 


iliis  sure  foundation  as  a  piece  of  antiquated  and  \m- 
prai'ticiil  reli<,'i()nism.  Nagelsbaoli  (in  his  new  com- 
mentary on  Isaiah)  seems  to  bo  riglit  in  interpretin<:f 
tlio  "  refuge  of  lies  "  to  mean  the  diplomatic  skill  with 
■wliicli  Aliaz  and  the  Jewish  authorities  tlattered  them- 
Belves  their  treaty  with  Egj-jit  was  drawn  u]).  and  the 
"sure  foundation"  o])posed  to  it  is  primarily  God's 
plighted  promise  to  the  house  of  David,  in  which  all 
who  trusted  would  have  uo  cause  for  Hight.  In  the 
Messianic  fulfilment,  those  promises  are  all  summed 
up  in  the  one  person  of  Jesus  Christ  (Acts  xiii.  33; 
2  Cor.  i.  20) ;  and  the  "  refuge  of  lies "  iu  which  the 
Jcwisli  rulers  had  trusted  was  the  wicked  policy  by 
which  they  had  tried  to  secure  their  "  place  and 
nation  "  against  the  Romans  (John  xi.  48). 

In  Sion. — In  Isaiah  it  means  that  the  people  have 
not  to  look  for  any  distant  external  aid,  such  as  that  of 
Pliaraoh  :  all  that  they  need  is  to  bo  found  iu  the  city 
of  David  itself.  Here,  it  seems  to  impress  upon  the 
Hebrew  Christians  that  they  ai'e  not  abandoning  their 
position  as  Hebrews  by  attaching  themselves  to  Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  they  who  are  really  clinging  to  Sion 
when  the  other  Jews  arc  abandoning  her. 

Shall  not  be  confounded  (or,  ashavied). — Our 
version  of  Isaiali  translates  the  Hebrew  original  by  the 
unintelligible  "shall  not  make  haste."  It  i-eally  means, 
shall  not  jlce.  While  all  the  Jewish  rulers,  who  had 
turned  faithless  and  trusted  in  i\\eir  finesse  with  Egyjit, 
would  have  to  flee  from  the  face  of  the  Assyrians,  those 
who  preserved  their  faith  iu  God  would  be  able  to  stand 
their  grouiul.  This,  of  course,  did  not  come  literally 
true  in  the  first  instance,  where  a  common  temporal 
overthrow  came  upon  faithful  and  faithless  alike,  from 
Babylon,  though  not  from  Assyria.  In  the  Messianic 
fultilmeut,  however,  the  faith  or  unbelief  of  the  in- 
dividual makes  all  the  difference  to  him  :  the  overthrow 
of  tlie  many  does  not  affect  tlie  few.  St.  Peter  adds 
to  "  Ijelieve  "  the  words  "  on  Him  "  or  "  on  it,"  which 
are  found  in  neither  the  Hebrew  nor  the  Greek  of 
Isaiah,  such  an  addition  being  cpiite  in  keeping  with 
the  Rabbinic  method  of  quotation,  which  frequently 
alters  words  (comp.  Matt.  ii.  6)  to  bring  out  the  con- 
cealed intention  more  fully.  The  general  quality  of 
"faith  "of  which  the  pro])liet  spoke,  i.e.,  reliance  on 
the  promises  of  God,  becom(>s  faith  in  Him  in  whom 
the  promises  are  fulfilled.  For  a  like  cause  St.  Peter 
pi'cfers  the  LXX.  "be  ashamed"  to  the  Hebrew  "flee 
away,"  there  being  (except  at  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem)  no 
opportunity  for  actual  flight.  It  comes  to  the  same 
thing  in  the  end:  "shall  not  find  his  confidence  mis- 
placed." 

(')  He  is  precious.— Rather,  JJnto  you  therefore, 
the  believers,  belongs  the  honour.  So  said  in  re- 
ference to  His  being  called  "  a  stone  elect,  honoured,'" 
taken  in  conjunction  with  "  shall  not  be  ashamed." 
Both  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  woi'd  rendered 
"  precious "  may  with  equal  propriety  be  translated 
"  honoured,"  and  this  contrasts  better  with  the  "  shame" 
just  spoken  of.  Tlius  Dr.  Lightfoot  takes  it.  The 
argument  is  this :  "  God  has  selected  Jesus  for  special 
honour,  and  has  promised  tliat  all  who  trust  in  Him, 
instead  of  scorning  Him  like  the  Jewish  rulers,  sliall 
have  no  cause  to  blush.  Now  you  do  trust  in  Him, 
therefore  to  you  belongs  the  promise,  and  the  honour 
bestowed  by  God  on  Him  reflects  on  you.     You,  like 


Him,  are  made  parts  of  the  di^^ne  imperishable  archi- 
tecture." 

Unto  them  which  be  disobedient.— The  better 
reading  is.  Unto  tJiem  loliich  disbelieve  ;  the  other  word 
being  an  ini])ortation  from  verse  8.  The  tiiie  reading 
better  preserves  the  contrast  with  "you  that  believe." 

The  stone  which  the  builders  disallowed. — 
We  should  perhaps  have  rather  expected  the  sentence 
to  run  more  like  this :  "  To  you  which  believe  belongs 
the  honour,   but  to  those  who  disbelieve  belongs  tlio 
shame  from  which  you  are  secured."     But  instead,  the 
Apostle   stops  short,  and  inserts  (by  a  quotation)  the 
liistorical  fact  which  brought  the  shame,  viz.,  the  dis- 
appointment of  their  own  design,  and  the  glorious  com- 
jjletion  of  that  which  they  opposed.     The  words  which 
follow  are  quoted  directly  from  the  LXX.,  and  properly 
represent  the  Hebrew.  Almost  all  the  best  modern  critics 
consider  the  Psalm  from  which  this  verse  is  cited  to  ha 
a  late  Psalm,  written  subsequent  to  the  return  from 
Babylon,  in  which  case  it  is  most  probable  that  the 
composer   was   directly   thinking   of   the  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  above  quoted.     The  Messianic  interpretation  of 
the  P.salm  would  be  no  novelty  to  the  Hebrews  who 
received  this  Epistle  (see  Matt.  xxi.  9),  though  probably 
they  had  not  perceived  it  in  its  fulness.     In  its  first 
apiilication  the  passage  seems  to  mean  as  follows  :  The 
speaker  is  Israel,  taken  as  a  single  person.     He  has 
been  a  despised  captive.     The   great  builders  of  the 
world — the  Babylonian  and  Persian  empires — had  re- 
cognised no  greatness  in  him,  and  had  no  intention  of 
advancing  him  ;  they  were  engaged  in  aggrandisement 
of  self  alone.     Tet,  after  all,  Israel  is  firmly  planted 
once  moi'e  in   Sion,   to  be   the   first   stone  of   a  new 
structui'e,  a  new  empire.     Thus  this  intei'pretation  at 
once  suggests  the  admission  of  the  (Tcntiles,  humanity 
at  large,  into  the  architecture.    Israel  is  the  corner-stone, 
but  corner-stones  are  not  laid  to  be  left  imbuilt  upon. 
In  the  fulfilment  Christ  takes  the  place  of  Israel,  as  is 
the  case  with  Isa.  liii.     The  builders  are  the  rulers  of 
the  Jews.     In  Acts  iv.  11  our  author  had  called  the 
Sanhedrin  to  their  face,  "  yon  buildei'S."     They,  like 
the  kings  of  Babylon,  had  been  intent  on  building  a 
fabric  of  their  own,  and  had  despised  Jesus,  yet.  with- 
out any  intention  of  so  doing,  had  been  the  means  of 
advancing  Him  (Acts  iv.  27,  28).     He  had  been  made 
the  basis  of  a  new  spiritual  structure,  in  which  faith, 
not  fleshly  lineage,  was  the  cement  and  bimd ;  and  tiio 
believing  Israelites,  united  to  Him  in  both  ways,  shared 
the  honour  of  being  corner-stone.     A  further  point  is,, 
given  to  the  quotation  if  we  suppose,  with  Hengsten- 
berg,  Delitzsch,  and  others,  that  the  remembrance  of 
Isaiah's  prophecy  of  the  "  conuM'-stone  "  was  suggested 
to  the  original  Psalmist  by  the  works  of  the  Second  j 
Temple,  then  begun,  advancing,  or  fresh  completed.    It  j 
wmU  then  fit  in  more  perfectly  with  the  description  of  | 
the  "  spiritual  house."     Leigliton  well  ])oints  out  howl 
sore  a  trial  it  was  to  the  faitii  of  Jewish  Christians  tol 
see  that  their  o^^^l  chosen  people,  even  the  most  learnedj 
of  them,  rejected  Christ,  and  adds,  "  That  they  miiyl 
know  this  makes  nothing  against  Him,  nor  ought  tol 
invalidate  their  faith  at  all,  but   rather  testifies  withj 
Christ,  and   so   serves  to  confirm  them  in   believing,! 
the  Apostle  makes  use  of  those  jjrophetical  scriptureaj 
that  foretell  the  unbelief  and  contempt  with  which  the 
most  would  entertain  Christ." 


402 


A  Stumbling  Stone 


I.  PETEE,   II. 


to  the  Disobedient. 


is  made  the  head  of  the  corner,"  ^^^  and  '"Ps  iiaK:M>itt 

,  '  L'l.  IJ;  Acts  -1.  II 

a  stone  oi   stum  bang,    and   a  rock   of 


offence,*  even  to  them,  which  stumble  at 
the  word,  beings  disobedient :  whereunto 


[S!l.  «.   14. 

e  Ivx.  19.6. 

1  i>r,     a     inir- 

chtl.^Ttl  ]H'ui}'t'. 

/  D>  III.  14.:;. 


also  they  were  appointed/  (^'  But  ye 
are  a  chosen  generation,''  a  royal  priest- 
hood,* an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar 
people;^/  that   ye  should   shew  forth 


(*^)  And  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of 
offence. — Another  quotation,  no  doubt  suggesteil  by 
tlie  word  "  a  stone,"  but  conveying  a  totally  diifercnt 
uietaplior.  Here  there  is  no  t]iouj,'-ht  whatever  of  the 
stone  as  a  material  for  buildint;^;  tlie  thouofht  is  that 
of  a  mass  of  rock  on  the  road,  on  which  the  terroi'- 
stricken  fugitives  stumble  and  fall.  Tlie  words  are 
taken  from  Isa.  viii.  li,  and  are  tran.slated  directly 
from  tlie  Hebrew.  The  LXX.  not  only  makes 
nonsense,  but  can  again  be  hardly  acquitted  of  "  guile  " 
(vei-se  1)  in  its  endeavour  to  make  out  the  best 
possible  case  for  Israel  by  deliberately  inserting 
the  word  "not"  twice  over.  We  shall  find  St.  Peter 
in  chap.  iii.  14  quoting  the  verses  which  immediately 
precede  our  present  citation,  and  again  the  point  lies 
in  the  context.  The  words  are  no  mere  phrase  liastily 
caught  up  to  serve  the  turn.  Tiiey  come  out  of 
the  great  Immanuel  section  of  l.saiah,  and  imme- 
diately involve,  like  the  (piotation  iu  verse  6,  the  sharp 
contrast  between  the  Jews  who  trust  iu  Immanuel 
(the  presence  of  God  with  Israel)  and  the  Jews  who 
do  not,  but  rely  on  "  confederacies."  To  the  one  party, 
tlie  Lord  of  Hosts  will  be  "  for  a  sanctuary ;  "  but  to 
the  other  party,  who  are  describiMl  as  "  both  houses  of 
Israel."  and  specially  as  the  "inhabitant  of  Jerusalem," 
He  will  be  "  for  a  stone  of  striking,  and  for  a  rock  of 
stumbling  over,"  and  also  "  for  a  snare."  The  "  sanc- 
tuary" does  not  seem  to  mean  a  temple  (though  this 
would  connect  it  with  the  preceding  words  of  St. 
Peter),  but  rather  such  a  "  sanctuary "  as  that  of 
Bethel  (Gen.  xxviii.  18),  a  consecrated  stone  to  which  a 
man  might  flee  as  an  asylum.  In  the  flight  of  terror 
before  the  face  of  the  Assyrians  the  very  stone  which 
afforded  right  of  sanctuary  to  those  who  recognised 
and  trusted  it,  was  a  vexatious  and  dangerous  obstacle, 
a  trap  full  in  tlie  way  to  those  who  did  not.  Once 
more,  therefore,  the  Hebrews  of  the  Dispersion,  iu 
separating  themselves  from  "  both  houses  of  Israel  " 
and  the  "  inhabitant  of  Jerusalem,"  were  obeying  the 
warnings  of  the  Immanuel  propliecy,  which  every 
Hebrew  recognised  as  Messianic.  Though  the  coupling 
of  these  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  together 
certainly  seems  to  sliow  traces  of  the  inlluence  of  St. 
Paul  (comp.  Rom.  ix.  32,  .33),  yet  St.  Pi  ter  must  have 
been  present  and  heard  "  the  Lord  of  Hosts  "  Himself 
put  them  together  (Luke  xx!  17,  18),  and  probably  St. 
Pauls  use  of  tlie  passages  is  itself  to  be  traced  back  to 
the  same  origin. 

Stumble  at  the  word,  being  disobedient. — 
It  seems  better  to  ari'ange  the  words  otherwise  :  irhich 
ntumble,  being  disubedioit  to  the  word.  The  participle 
thus  explains  the  verb.  '"A  stone  of  stumbling'  He 
is  to  tht'iu  ;  and  the  manner  of  the  stumbliui;  is  in 
being  dis()l)edient  to  tlie  gospel  preaching"  (Leightoni. 

Whereunto  also  they  were  appointed—!.'., 
onto  .stumbling.  The  jin^sent  commentator  believes 
that  when  St.  Peter  says  that  these  unhappy  Jews  were 
appointed  to  stumble,  lie  primarily  means  that  the  clear 
propliecics  of  the  Old  Testament  which  he  has  quoted 
marked  them  for  such  a  destiny.  It  was  no  unforeseen, 
accidental  consequence  of  tlie  gospel.  It  had  never 
been  expected  that  all  who  heard  the  gos])el  would 
accept  it.  Tlio.se  who  stumbled  by  disbeli(»f  were 
marked  out  in  prophecy  as  men  who  would  stumble. 


Thus  the  introduction  of  the  statement  liere  lias  the 
direct  practical  pui-jiose  of  confirming  the  faith  of  the 
readers  by  showing  the  verification  of  the  jirophecy. 
Still,  in  fairness,  wo  must  not  shirk  the  further  ques- 
ti(m  which  undoubtedly  comes  in  at  this  point.  Even 
though  the  moment  of  their  appointment  to  stumlile 
was  that  of  the  utterance  of  the  propliecy,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that,  in  a  certain  sense,  it  was  God  Himself  who 
appointed  them  to  stumble.  It  will  be  observed,  how- 
ever, from  the  outset,  that  our  present  passage  casts 
not  a  glance  at  the  ccmdition  of  the  stumbling  Jews 
after  death.  With  this  caution,  we  may  say  that  God 
puts  men  sometimes  into  positions  where,  during  this 
life,  th(»y  almost  inevitably  reject  the  truth.  This 
is  implied  iu  the  very  doctrine  of  election — e.g.,  in 
2  Thess.  ii.  13,  where,  if  God  .selects  one  man  out  of  the 
huudred  to  a  present  salvation  tlirough  Ijelief  of  truth, 
it  seems  to  follow  logically  that  the  ninety  and  nine 
are  appointed  to  have  no  share  in  that  salvation,  so  far 
as  this  life  is  concerned,  through  disbelief  of  truth. 
These  things  remain  as  a  trial  of  faith.  It  suffices 
that  we  know  for  certain  that  God  is  Love.  He  has 
'■  brought  us  forth  at  His  ovra  option  by  the  word  of 
truth,  that  we  should  be  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  His 
creatures"  (Jas.  i.  IS).  W^e  have  but  to  prize  more 
highly  our  own  present  salvation,  and  to  trust  His 
love  for  that  fuller  harvest  of  which  we  are  but  the 
firstfruits.  In  some  way  even  their  stumbling  will 
ultimately  prove  His  love,  to  them  as  well  as  to  us. 

m  But  ye.— Like  St.  Paul  in  2  Thess.  ii.  13,  St. 
Peter  turns  with  an  outburst  of  triumph  to  the  happier 
and  more  practical  and  attractive  theme.  All  the 
most  splendid  titles  of  the  old  Israel  belong  in  a  fuller 
sense  to  these  Hebrews  who  have  joined  the  new 
Israel.  In  verse  5  they  are  bidden  to  aim  at  being 
what  here  they  are  said  to  be.     iCouii).  Col.  iii.  3,  5.) 

A  chosen  generation.— Better,  a  chosen,  or  elect 
race.  As  originally  the  clan  of  Abraham  was  selected 
from  among  "  all  the  families  of  the  earth"  (Amos  iii.  2), 
so  out  of  the  clan  of  Abraham  after  the  flesh  were  these 
men  selected  to  be  a  new  dan,  or  race.  They  are  not 
merely  individuals  selected  one  by  one  and  left  in 
isolation,  but  a  tribe  consolidated,  only  the  bond  hence- 
forth is  not  merely  one  of  common  physical  descent. 

A  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation.— These 
words  are  a  direct  quotation  from  Ex.  xix.  i\  according 
to  the  LXX.  ver.sion.  The  Hebrew  has  "  a  kingdom  of 
liriests,"  as  in  Rev.  i.  6  (according  to  the  bi-st  reading); 
wliich  would  mean,  God's  organised  empire,  every 
member  of  which  is  a  priest.  Kor  is  the  thought  far 
different  here.  The  word  "royal"  does  not  seem 
intended  to  imply  that  every  Christian  is  a  king,  or  of 
royal  birtli  (though  tliat,  of  course,  may  be  sliown  from 
elsewhere ),  but  descrilies  liis  belonging  to  the  King  as  we 
might  speak  of  tlie  royal  apartments,  the  royal  Iwrough, 
tlie  royal  establisliment,  or  even  of  the  royal  servants. 
The  substitution,  therefore,  of  "royal  priesthood"  for 
"  kingdom  of  priests  "  brings  out  more  clearly  the  per- 
sonal relation  to  the  Personal  King.  But  if  the  writer 
liad  said"  royal  priests,"  the  notion  of  organisation  would 
liave  slipped  out  of  sight  altogether.  By  way  of  com- 
pensation, therefore,  it  is  restored  in  the  substitution  of 
"  priesthood  "  (see  Note  on  ver.se  5 !  instead  of  "  priests." 
This,  and  the  next  phrase,  "  an  holy  {i.e.,  consecrated) 


4o:} 


The  Holy  Nation 


I.   PETER,   11. 


atul  Peculiar  People. 


the   praises^   of  him   who  hath  called  |i  Of.  ">*»«'• 
you    out    of    darkness    into    his    mar-       "S:^ 


vellous  liglit :    <i°)   which  in  time  past 
were   not   a  people,"  but   are   now   the 


nation,"  describe  the  whole  Israelite  nation  as  they 
stood  beneath  Mount  Sinai.  This  must  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  dealin<?  with  tiie  doctrine  of  the 
Christian  ministry.  The  sacerdotal  office  was  as 
common  to  all  Israelites  under  the  Law  as  it  is  to  all 
the  new  Israel  under  the  Gospel. 

A  peculiar  people. — This  curious  phrase  is  lite- 
rally, a  2)C(>plefor  a  sjjccial  reservation.  It  is,  no  doubt, 
intended  to  represent  Ex.  xix.  5,  though  it  differs  both 
from  the  Greek  and  tlio  Hebrew,  the  variation  being 
due  to  a  recollection  of  the  Greek  of  two  other  passages 
of  the  Old  Testament  (Isa.  xliii.  21 ;  Mai.  iii.  17).  The 
word  rendered  "  peculiar "  means  properly  "  making 
over  and  above,"  and  would  bo  represented  in  Latin 
by  the  word  peculium,  which  means  a  man's  private 
pocket-money,  as,  for  instance,  the  money  a  slave 
could  make  by  working  over  hours,  or  such  as  a  wife 
might  have  apart  from  her  husband.  When  children 
speak  of  a  thing  being  their  "  very  own  "  it  exactly 
expresses  what  we  have  here.  From  this  sense  of 
"  making  over  and  above,"  by  working  out  of  hours,  the 
word  comes  in  other  places  to  mean  "  earning  by  hard 
work,"  in  such  a  way  as  to  establish  pecidiar  rights  of 
property  over  the  thing  earned.  So  in  Acts  xx.  28, 
where  St.  Paul  is  probably  thinking  of  the  passage 
of  Isaiah  above  referred  to,  both  the  hard  earning  and 
the  special  possession  are  intended  :  "  the  Church  of 
God,  which  He  won  so  hard  for  His  very  own,  by  His 
own  blood."  Here,  perhaps,  the  thought  of  "  earning  " 
is  less  obvious,  and  it  means  "a  people  to  be  His  very 
own."  Comp.  1  Thess.  v.  9,  and  Eph.  i.  7,  where 
(according  to  Dr.  Lightfoot)  it  means  "  for  a  redemption 
which  consists  of  taking  possession  of  us  for  His  own." 

That  ye  should  shew  forth  the  praises. — This 
is  an  adaptation,  tliough  not  exactly  according  to  the 
LXX.,  of  Isa.  xliii.  21,  which  passage  is  brought 
to  St.  Peter's  mind  by  the  word  rendered  "  peculiar." 
The  word  "  praises  "  is  put  liere  in  accordance  with  the 
English  version  there.  The  Greek  means  "  virtues,"  or 
"  powers,"  or  "  excellencies,"  a  rare  word  in  the  New 
Testament  (see  2  Pet.  i.  3).  And  the  word  for  "  shew 
forth,''  which  is  nowhere  else  found  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, means  by  rights  "  to  proclaim  to  those  without 
what  has  taken  place  within."  This  strict  signification 
is  very  suitable  liei-o.  St.  Peter  says  that  God  has 
taken  us  for  a  people  peculiarly  near  to  Him,  and  the 
purpose  is,  not  that  we  may  stand  within  His  courts 
and  praise  Him,  but  that  wo  may  carry  to  others  the 
tidings  of  what  wo  have  been  admitted  to  see.  This 
was  the  true  function  of  tlie  old  Israel,  "  Do  My 
proiihcla  no  harm  "  (Ps.  cv.  15).  They  were  not  elect 
for  their  own  sake,  but  to  act  as  God's  exponents  to 
tho  world.  This  function  they  abdicated  by  their 
selfish  cxclusiveucss,  and  it  has  descended  to  the  new 
Israel.     St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  are  at  one. 

Of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  dark- 
ness.— Tliis  is  to  be  understood  of  the  Father,  not  of 
Christ.  For  one  thing,  the  act  of  calling  is  almost 
always  ascribed  in  the  New  Testament  to  God  Himself ; 
and  for  another  thing,  it  is  probable  that  St.  Peter 
regards  our  Lord  as  Head  of  this  "people  of  God." 
just  as  He  is  corner-stone  of  the  Temple,  and  High 
Priest  of  the  hierarchy.  The  act  of  calling  (literally  it 
is,  who  called,  not  "  who  hath  called  ")  was  that  of 
sending  the  preachers  of  the  gosjjcl  to  them,  i.e.,  St. 
Paul  and  his  followers  (comp.  chap.  i.  12,  25).     Here 


again,  then,  we  have  St.  Peter  speaking  in  praise  of 
St.  Paul's  mission,  and,  indeed,  speaking  in  the  same 
tones  of  unbounded  admiration :  "  His  marvellous 
light."  But  could  Hebrew  Christians  be  said  to  have 
gone  through  so  great  a  change  in  becoming  believers  ? 
Had  they  been  in  "  darkness  Y  "  We  may  answer  that 
St.  Peter's  use  of  the  word  "  marvellous  "  is  no  affecta- 
tion of  sympathy.  He  himself  found  the  change  to 
be  what  he  here  describes,  therefore  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  supposing  that  other  Hebrews  should  have 
found  it  so  too.  Besides  which,  the  state  of  the  Jews 
immediately  before  Christ  and  without  Him  is  often 
described  as  "  darkness."  (See  Matt.  iv.  16;  Luke  i. 
79.)  This  very  passage  is  quoted  a  few  years  later  by 
St.  Clement  of  Rome  (chap,  xxxvi.),  as  applying  to 
himself  among  others,  and  Dr.  Lightfoot  has  clearly 
established  that  St.  Clement  was  a  Jew. 

(10)  Which  in  time  past  were  not  a  people. — 
Here  at  last,  say  some,  we  have  a  distinct  proof  that 
the  Epistle  was  written  to  the  Gentiles  only,  or,  at 
least,  to  churches  which  contained  a  very  small  pro- 
portion of  Jews.  Such,  however,  is  by  no  means  the 
case  ;  in  fact,  the  opposite.  We  have  here  an  empha- 
sised adaptation  of  Hos.  ii.  23,  "  And  I  will  have 
mercy  upon  Lo-ruhamah,  and  I  will  say  to  Lo-ammi, 
'Thou  ai-t  Ammi,'  i.e.,  My  people."  Now  who  were 
Lo-ruhamah  and  Lo-ammi  ?  Types  of  Israel  left  un- 
pitied,  and  rejected  from  their  covenant  with  God. 
And  this  unpitied  and  rejected  Israel,  after  being 
"  scattered,"  or  sowyi,  all  over  the  earth,  was  to  bo 
restored  again  to  favour,  together  with  the  increment 
of  the  Gentiles  who  joined  it  as  the  result  of  the 
"  sowing."  St.  Peter  means,  then,  that  in  his  Hebrew 
readers  and  the  brethren  from  among  the  Gentiles, 
who  by  the  gospel  of  St.  Paul  had  adhered  to  them, 
this  promise  given  by  Hosea  had  foimd  its  fulfilment. 
But,  as  usual,  the  quotation  demands  a  more  searching 
scrutiny  of  the  context  from  which  it  is  taken.  The 
name  Diaspora,  or  Dispersion,  by  which  St.  Peter,  in 
chap.  i.  1,  designates  those  to  whom  he  writes,  was 
applied  to  themselves  by  the  JeAVs  in  direct  allusion 
(as  seems  probable)  to  the  name  Jezreel,  or  God  tvill 
scatter,  in  Hos.  i.  4.  Now  mark  that  St.  Peter  does 
not  say  "  which  in  time  past  were  not  God's  people," 
but  "  were  not  a  people."  This  was  the  effect  of  the 
dispersion,  or  "  scattering."  Though  each  Jew  of  the 
dispersion  retained,  and  still  retains,  in  isolation, 
his  national  characteristics  and  aspirations,  yet  their 
unity — that  which  made  them  a  "  people  " — was,  and 
is,  for  the  time  broken.  Tlie  Hebrews  had  not  only 
ceased  to  be  in  covenant  as  "  God"s  people."  but  had 
ceased  to  be  "  a  people  "  at  all.  But  in  Christ,  that 
very  "scattering"  becomes  a  "sowing"  (Hos.  ii.  23), 
for  the  name  Jezreel  means  both  equally ;  their  very  dis- 
persion becomes  the  means  of  their  multii)lication  by 
union  with  the  Gentiles  in  Christ,  and  thus  spiritually 
they  recover  the  lost  unity,  and  liecome  once  more  a 
solid  and  well-governed  confedei'ation,  i.e.,  "  a  people," 
and  that  "  the  people  of  God."  (See  John  xi.  52,  and 
Dr.  Pusey's  notes  on  Hosea.)  It  is  a  mistake  to  take 
St.  Paul's  quotation  of  this  passage  in  Rom.  ix.  26,  as 
if  it  referred  solely  to  the  Gentiles ;  for  he  expressly 
affirms  that  the  title  "My  people  "  belongs  to  neither 
section  exclusively,  but  to  both  in  reunion — "  us  whom 
Ho  called,  not  only  of  the  Jews,  but  also  of  thoj 
Gentiles." 


401 


Exhortation  to  Vigilance 


I.   PETER,   II. 


and  Purity  of  Life. 


people  of  God :  wliicli  had.  not  ob- 
tained mercy,  but  now  have  obtained 
mercj. 

(^^^  Dearly  beloved,  I  beseech  yoti  as 
strangers "   and  pilgrims,  abstain  from 


6  Rom.    7.    23 
J  as.  4. 1. 


a  ch.  1.  ir. 

1  Or,  wherein. 


fleshly   lusts,     which    war  Chap.  ii.   ii— 
against  the  soul  ;Mi2j  having  Snt'^^^-i^Ts' 
your    conversation    honest  needs  vigilant 
among  the  Gentiles  :  that,  P^^^y  of  life, 
whereas  ^    they    speak    against  you   as 


Prudential  Rules  op  Conduct  in  Yiew  of 
THE  Hostile  Attitude  of  the  Heathen. — As 
slanders  against  the  Christian  name  are  rife,  and  bring- 
ing practical  persecution  on  the  Church,  they  are  ex- 
horted to  extreme  care  about  their  conduct,  especially 
in  regard  (1)  to  jjurity,  and  (2)  to  due  subortUnatiou, 
whether  as  subjects  to  the  officers  of  state,  or  as  slaves 
to  their  masters,  or  as  wives  io  their  husbands  (chaps, 
ii.  11— iii.  12.) 

(11)  Dearly  beloved.—"  Affectiocate  and  pressing 
exhoi-tatiou,"  says  BeLgel.  "  That  which  is  known  to 
come  from  love,"  says  Leighton,  "  cannot  readily  but 
be  so  received  too,  and  it  is  thus  expressed  for  that 
very  purpose,  that  the  request  may  be  the  more  wel- 
come. Beloved,  it  is  the  advice  of  a  friend,  one  that 
truly  loves  you,  and  aims  at  nothing  but  your  good ;  it 
is  because  I  love  you  that  I  iutreat  you,  and  intreat  you, 
as  you  love  yourselves,  to  abstain  from  fleshly  lusts." 

As  strangers  and  pilgrims.— The  exhortation 
will  be  felt  witli  the  moi'e  force  if  we  turn  to  the  Psalm 
from  wliicli  St.  Peter  draws  the  phrase  (Ps.  xxxix.  12, 
LXX.).  The  words,  especially  when  compared  with 
that  Psalm,  prepare  for  the  description  of  distress 
which  is  to  follow.  (Comp.  also  Ps.  cxix.  19.)  The 
word  "pilgrim"  (which  comes  to  us  through  the  French 
form  ^9t;Ze?'i/i,  from  the  Latin  peregrinus)  does  not 
originally,  or  in  this  j)lace,  mean  one  on  a  'pilgrimage. 
It  implies  no  journeying,  but  simply  residence  in  a 
foreign  country.  Here  it  represents  the  same  Greek 
word  which  is  rendered  "strangers"  in  chap.  i.  1,  but 
is  used  in  a  metaphorical  and  not  literal  sense.  Though 
no  longer  "  scattered,"  but  gathered  mercifully  once 
more  into  "  a  people,"  they  were  still  far  from  home — 
unprotected  residents  in  an  alien  and  hostile  world, 
which  scrutinised  their  conduct  and  was  anxious  for 
an  opportunity  to  get  rid  of  them. 

Abstain  from  fleshly  lusts.— First  prudential 
rule.  Although  all  bad  desires  might  be  described  as 
fleshly,  the  word  seems  here  to  mean  what  we  usually 
understand  by  it,  the  lusts  which  lead  to  drunkenness, 
gluttony,  and  uncleanness.  And  though  such  sins 
are  usually  characteristic  of  the  Gentile,  not  of  the 
Jew,  yet  see  our  Note  on  chap.  i.  14.  Jews  were  not 
impeccable  in  such  matters,  and  here  the  Apostle  has 
a  special  reason  for  insisting  on  the  observance  of  the 
seventh  commandment.  It  may  even  be  said  that  liis 
mode  of  insistence  recognises  that  his  readers  usually 
do  observe  it.  He  appeals  to  them  as  "  Israelites  from 
home"  to  be  on  their  guard  in  such  matters,  as  Leonidas 
might  exhort  Spartans  going  into  battle  not  to  flinch, 
or  Nelson  tell  English  sailors  that  "  England  expects 
every  man  to  do  his  duty."  There  was  special  reason 
for  these  Hebrew  Christians  to  be  more  than  over 
vigilant,  because  (see  Note  on  next  verse)  of  the 
cahimnies  wliicli  the  heathen  were  beginning  to  cir- 
culate about  the  Christians. 

Which  war  against  the  soul.— This  clause  is  no 
specifying  of  the  particular  fleshly  lusts  to  be  guarded 
against,  as  though  there  were  some  of  them  which  did 
not  war  against  the  soul ;  but  it  is  a  description  of 
the  way  in  which  all  fleshly  lusts  alike  act.  It  means 
uot  merely  a  general  antagonism    between    soul  and 


body,  but  that  the  lusts  are  on  active  service,  engaged 
in  a  definite  campaign  against  the  immortal  part  of 
the  man.  St.  Peter  has  probably  forgotten  for  the 
moment  his  metaphor  of  strangers  and  sojourners, 
and  we  are  not  to  put  the  two  things  together  too 
closely,  as  though  their  position  of  strangers  rendered 
them  more  liable  to  the  attack  of  the  hostile  lusts. 
"  Abstain  "  cannot  mean  merely  "  be  on  your  guard 
against."  It  runs  rather  thus  :  "  You  Christian  Jews 
are  dwelling  as  sojourners  in  the  midst  of  jealous 
Gentile  foreigners,  and  must,  therefore,  be  particularly 
observant  of  moral  conduct;  for  though  I  know  that 
you  usually  are  so,  yet  the  fleshly  appetites  are  actively 
engaged  against  your  soul  all  the  time;  and  if  you 
should  in  any  degree  let  them  get  the  better  of  you, 
the  heathen  neighbours  Avill  at  once  take  advantage  of 
you."  As  the  expression  might  have  l)een  dra^vn 
equally  well  from  St.  Paul  or  from  St.  James,  it  is 
perhaps  the  easiest  thing  to  suppose  that  (like  the 
metaphors  of  building  or  of  giving  milk)  it  was  part  of 
the  common  property  of  Christians,  and  not  consciously 
traceable  to  any  originator. 

(12)  Conversation.— A  favoiirite  word  with  St. 
Peter,  occurring  (substantive  and  verb)  seven  times  in 
this  Epistle,  and  thrice  in  the  second — i.e.,  as  often  as 
in  all  the  other  New  Testament  writings  piit  together. 
It  means  the  visible  conduct  of  the  daily  walk  in  life. 
This,  as  among  Gentiles — i.e.,  heathen  (the  words  are 
synonymous,  though  St.  Paul  generally  says  "those 
without"  when  he  means  heathen  as  opposed  to 
Christian) — is  to  be  "  honest."  "We  have  no  word 
adequate  to  represent  this  charming  adjective.  It  is 
rendered  "good"  immediately  below  and  in  John  x.  11 
("  the  Good  Shepherd "),  "  worthy "  in  James  ii.  7, 
"  goodly  "  in  Luke  xxi.  5.  But  it  is  the  ordinary  Greek 
word  for  "  beautiful,"  and  implies  the  attractiveness  of 
the  sight,  the  satisfaction  afforded  by  an  approach  to 
ideal  excellence. 

That  whereas. — The  marginal  version  is  more 
literal,  and  in  sense  perhaps  preferalile,  "  wherein." 
It  means  that  the  very  fact  of  the  heathen  having 
slandered  them  will  make  their  testimony  "  in  the  d:iy 
of  visitation "  all  the  more  striking,  as  (by  way  of 
illustration)  the  doubts  of  St.  Tliomas  tend  to  "the 
more  confirmation  of  the  faith."  So  in  Rom.  ii.  ], 
"  wherein  thou  judgest  another,  thou  condemnest  thy- 
self;"  or  Heb.  ii.  18  (ht.),  ''wherein  He  Himself  hath 
suffered,  being  tempted." 

They  speak  against  you  as  evildoers.— A 
significant  phrase.  St.  Peter  asseris  distinctly  that 
calumnies  were  really  rife,  about  some  particulars  of 
the  Christian  morality,  at  the  time  that  this  letter  was 
written.  It  is  a  mark  of  a  late  date,  for  at  first  the 
Christians  had  not  attracted  sufficient  notice,  as  a  body, 
to  be  talked  of  either  in  praise  or  blame.  The  heathen 
at  first  regarded  them  as  merely  a  Jewish  sect  ( At'ts 
xviii.  15;  xxv.  18—201,  and  as  such  they  received 
from  the  Roman  Government  a  contemptuous  tolera- 
tion. The  first  state  recognition  of  Christianity  as  a 
separate  religion,  with  characteristics  of  its  own,  was 
the  Persecution  of  Nero  in  the  year  64.  Now,  it  so 
happens  that  wo  have  almost  contemporary  heathen 
documents  which  bring  out  the  force  of  this  passage. 


405 


An  Exhortation  to  Ec'ddoers. 


I.    PETER,   II. 


Submission  to  A  uthoi'iti/. 


evildoers,"  they  may  by  your  good 
works,  which  they  shall  behold,  jLJ^lurify 
God  *  ill  the  day  of  visitation.  '^'^^  Submit 
vourselves  to  every  ordinance  of  man  for 


a  cli.  3.  16. 
c  Uuiu.  13 


b  .M;iU.  5.  10. 


the  Lord's  sake 

king, 

unto 


'  whether  it  be  to  the 


as    supreme ;    <^*^  or 
governors,    as    unto  f^^lorS" 
them  that  are  sent  by  him 


to 


Suetonius,  iu  liis  life  of  Nero  (chap.  16),  calls  the 
Christians  by  the  very  name  St.  Peter  uses,  "  the 
Christians,  a  kind  of  men  of  a  new  and  vudejic 
superstition."  Only  about  forty  years  later,  we  have 
Pliuy's  famous  letter  to  Trajan,  written  actually  from 
the  country  iu  which  St.  Peters  correspondents  lived, 
and  referring  to  some  of  the  veiy  persons  (probably) 
who  received  the  Epistle  as  having  apostatised  at  the 
time  of  the  persecution  under  Nero;  in  which  letter 
Phuy  asks  wliether  it  is  the  profession  of  being  a 
Cliristian  whicli  is  itself  to  be  punished,  or  "  the  crimes 
which  attadi  to  that  profession  I  "  The  Apologists  of 
the  second  ceutuiy  are  full  of  refutations  of  the  lies 
current  al)out  the  immorality  of  the  Christian  assem- 
blies. The  Christians  were  a  secret  society,  and  held 
their  meetings  before  daylight ;  and  the  heathen,  partly 
from  natural  suspicion,  pai-tly  from  consciousness  of 
what  passed  iu  their  own  secret  religious  festivals, 
imagined  all  kinds  of  hoiTors  in  connection  with  our 
mysteries.  From  what  transpired  about  the  Lord's 
Supper,  they  believed  that  the  Christians  used  to  kill 
children  and  drink  their  blood  and  eat  their  flesh. 
Here,  however,  the  context  points  to  a  different  scaudaL 
They  are  warned  against  the  fleshly  lusts,  in  order  that 
the  heathen  may  find  that  the  Christians'  great  glory 
lies  in  the  very  point  wherein  they  are  slandered. 
"  E\41doers,"  therefore,  must  mean  chiefly  offences  on 
that  score.  It  is  historically  certain  that  such  charges 
against  Christian  purity  were  extremely  common.  Even 
as  late  as  the  persecution  under  Maximin  II.,  iu  the 
year  312,  it  was  reported  that  these  meetings  before 
light  were  a  school  for  the  vilest  of  arts. 

By  your  good  works  which  they  shall 
behold. — More  literally,  they  'may,  in  consequence  of 
your  beautiful  worhs,  being  eye-witnesses  thereof. — The 
"  good  works  "  are  not  what  are  commonly  so  called — 
i.e.,  acts  of  benevolence,  ifcc.  Rather,  their  '•  works  "  ai'e 
contrasted  with  the  cuiTcnt  report,  and  mean  scarcely 
more  than  the  "  conversation  "  mentioned  already.  The 
I^resent  passage  is,  no  doubt,  a  reminiscence  of  Matt. 
v.  16,  where  the  word  has  the  same  force. 

Glorify  God  in  the  day  of  visitation. — This 
"  glorification  "  of  God  will  be  like  that  of  Achan  iu 
the  book  of  Josliua  (chap.  vii.  19).  an  acknowledg- 
ment how  far  tliey  had  been  from  the  glorious  truth. 
Some  commentators  uuderstand  the  day  of  Ansitation 
to  mean  the  day  when  the  heathen  themselves  come 
really  to  look  into  tlie  matter.  This  is  possible;  and  it 
came  true  when  Pliny  tortured  the  Christian  deaconesses 
and  acquitted  the  poor  fanatics,  as  he  thought  them, 
of  all  immoral  practices.  But  from  the  ordinary  use 
of  the  words,  it  would  more  naturally  mean  the  day 
when  God  visits.  And  this  will  not  mean  only  the 
great  last  day,  but  on  whatever  occasion  God  brings 
matters  to  a  crisis.  The  visitation  is  a  visitation  of 
the  Christians  and  the  heathen  alike,  and  it  brings 
both  grace  and  vengeance,  according  as  men  choose  to 
receive  it.     (See  Luke  xix.  It,  and  comp.  Luke  i.  78.) 

(13)  To  every  ordinance  of  man.— Second  pru- 
dential i-ule,  subordination.  Literally,  to  every  human 
creation,  i.e.,  to  every  office  or  authority  which  men 
have  established.  It  is  not  only  to  ordinances  of 
directly  Divine  institution  that  we  are  to  submit. 
Mind  that  he  does  uot  say  we  are  to  submit  to  every 


law  that  meu  may  pass.  This  passage  is  most  directly 
modelled  ou  Rom.  xiii.  1,  et  seq.,  where  the  reason 
assigned  for  submission  is  the  same  as  that  in  John 
xix.  11,  viz.,  that  vdtimately  the  authority  proceeds 
from  God  Himself.  Here,  however,  the  thought  is 
quite  different.  They  are  to  submit,  but  uot  because  of 
the  original  source  from  which  the  authority  tiows,  but 
because  of  the  practical  consequences  of  not  submitting. 
It  must  be  done  *'  for  the  Lords  "  (i.e.,  Jesus  Christ  s) 
"  sake,"  i.e.,  iu  order  uot  to  bring  discredit  upou  His 
teaching,  and  persecution  upon  His  Church.  Tliis 
difference  of  treatment,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  resem- 
blnnce,  shows  that  at  the  date  of  St.  Peter's  letter  there 
was  much  more  immediate  cause  for  laying  stress  ou 
political  subordination.  St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Roman 
Clmrch,  urges  submission  to  Claudius,  because  the 
Roman  Jews  (among  whom  the  Christians  were 
reckoned)  were  often  in  trouble  and  expelled  from  the 
city  of  Rome  (Acts  xviii.  2);  St.  Peter,  writing  in  all 
probability  from  the  Romau  Church,  urges  submission 
to  Nero  aud  the  provincial  governors  because  "igno- 
rant aud  foolish  men  "  were  beginning  to  misrepresent 
the  Christian  Church  as  a  kind  of  luteruatioualist  or 
Socialist  conspiracy. 

The  king,  as  supreme. — First  division  of  second 
prudential  rule  :  subordination  political.  Of  course  it 
means  the  emperor.  The  name  "  king,"  though  detested 
in  Latin,  was  used  ^vithout  scruple  by  the  provincial 
Greeks  to  express  the  sovereignty  of  the  Ctesars. 
Wlieu  he  is  described  here  as  *'  supreme,"  it  is  not  in- 
teuded  (as  our  English  version  would  couvey)  to 
contrast  his  supreme  power  with  the  inferior  power  of 
the  "  governors ; "  the  word  is  only  the  same  which  is 
rendered  "  higher  "  in  Rom.  xiii.  1.  Huther  rightly 
says,  "  The  emperor  was  iu  the  Roman  Empire  uot 
merely  the  highest,  but  actually  the  only  ruler;  all 
other  magistrates  were  but  the  instruments  by  whicli 
he  exercised  his  sway."  Of  course  all  Asia  Minor,  to 
which  St.  Peter  was  writing,  was  in  the  Roman  Empire  ; 
the  language  would  have  been  different  had  the  letter 
been  addressed  to.  or  perhaps  had  it  even  been  written 
from,  the  geographical  Babylon. 

(11)  Governors,  as  unto  them  that  are  sent  by 
him. — This  word  will  include  Icgati,  proconsuls,  pro- 
prsetors.  procurators,  all  officers  entrusted  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  provinces.  Of  course  the  person  "  by  " 
whom  they  are  here  said  to  bo  (from  time  to  time) 
"sent"  is  Cajsar,  not  "the  Lord."  The  persons  to 
whom  the  letter  is  addressed  would  have  very  little  to 
do  with  Cajsar  liimself  directly,  their  submission  would 
be  chietiy  shown  to  the  lieutenants.  Yet  how  personal 
was  the  Imperial  government,  even  in  details,  is  shown 
in  Pliuy's  letters  ;  the  very  letter  before  that  in  which 
he  asks  how  to  deal  with  the  Christians  of  Bithj'uia 
i-equests  Trajan's  leave  to  cover  in  an  uuhealthy  beck 
in  the  town  of  Amastris. 

For  the  punishment  of  evildoers.— St.  Peter 
credits  Roman  imperialism  (rightly  iu  the  main)  ■\yithJ 
having  as  its  aim  the  promotion  of  moral  ljeha\nourl 
among  its  subjects.  Tlie  word  for  "  punishment "  isl 
that  which  is  translated  "  vengeance  "  in  2  Thess.  i.  8,1 
and  implies  forcing  the  malefactors  to  make  satisfac-| 
tion  to  those  whom  they  had  ^\'Tonged,  the  '"  avenger  '" 
being,  of  course,  quite   disinterested.     The   "  praise 


40G 


The  True  Use  of 


I.   PETEE,   II. 


Christian  Liherf)/. 


for  the  punishment  of  evildoers,  and  for 
the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.  *^^^  For 
so  is  the  will  of  God,  that  with  well  doing 
ye  may  put  to.  silence  the  ignorance  of 


a  Gal.  5.  13. 
2  Or,  Entcim. 


foolish  men :  <^^)  as  free,  and  not  using  ^ 
yo^ir  liberty  for  a  cloke  of  maliciousness,'^ 
but  as  the  servants  of  God.  (^"^  Honour^ 
all  'men.     Love  the  brotherhood.     Fear 


which  here,  as  iu  Rom.  xiii.  3,  is  said  to  liavo  beeu 
bestowed  by  tlio  goveruiiient  on  welldoers,  must  mean 
the  solid  praise  of  preferments,  which  is  hardly  so 
marked  a  feature  of  g-uverument  as  the  foregoing.  Be 
it  observed  that  neither  St.  Peter  nor  St.  Paul  lay 
down  any  exceptions  to  the  rule  of  complete  obedience. 
They  refuse  to  contemplate,  at  least  to  formulate,  the 
occasions  when  disobedience  may  be  necessary.  Obe- 
dience is  the  first  thing  to  learn,  and  when  tiiey  liave 
learnt  it,  they  will  know  of  themselves  when  to  disobey. 
St.  Peter  himself  stands  to  all  time  as  the  type  of 
magnificent  disobedience  (Acts  iv.  ID). 

(15)  For  so  is  the  will  of  God. — This  refers  to  the 
command  contained  in  the  last  tAVO  verses,  which  then 
is  further  explained  by  the  clause  which  follows,  "  that 
with  well-doing."  See  a  very  similar  construction  in 
1  Tliess.  iv.  3.  The  '•  well-doing  "  of  this  and  the  last 
A'erse  bears  the  most  general  sense  of  good  conduct,  not 
the  special  sense  noticed  on  the  "  fair  works "  and 
"  fair  life  "  of  verse  12. 

Put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men. 
— A  very  contemptuous  expression,  the  word  for  '•  put 
to  silence  "  being  the  same  as  in  1  Cor.  ix.  9 ;  1  Tim. 
V.  18,  to  "muzzle"  or  "  gag,"  implying  that  there  is 
something  of  the  animal  about  these  "foolish  men." 
The  same  contempt  appears  in  each  word  of  the 
clause,  even  down  to  "  men,"  which  might  be  rendered 
"  people  "  or  "  creatures."  The  word  for  ''  ignorance  " 
implies  a  stolid  and  wilful  ignorance,  and  is  so  used  by 
heathen  authors,  as  well  as  very  markedly  in  the  only 
other  place  in  the  New  Testament,  1  Cor.  xv.  Si. 
"  Foolish,"  too,  contains  moral  reprobation,  Luke  xi. 
40;  xii.  20;  1  Cor.  xv.  36.  suggesting  thoughtlessness 
rather  than  senselessness.  The  definite  article  is  also  used 
in  the  Greek  (as  in  2  Thess.  iii.  2),  and  again  seems  to 
indicate  that  St.  Peter  had  some  particular  enemies  in 
view  who  had  brought  the  charges.  This  accusation 
was  evidently  one  of  a  political  nature;  and,  indeed, 
history  shows  us  that  the  hostility  of  the  empire  to  the 
faith  was  entirely  based  ou  the  corporate  nature  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Tiiey  would  not  have  minded 
the  cult  us,  but  they  could  not  tolerate  the  Church. 
Pliny  distinctly  says  in  his  letter  to  Trajan,  that  it  was 
in  consequence  of  Trajan's  issuing  an  order  against 
hetcerice  or  societies,  that  he  was  led  to  contend  with 
the  Christians  in  Bithyuia. 

(i*^!  As  free. — This  points  at  once  to  what  was  the  gist 
of  the  accusation.  The  Christiau  took  up  a  position  of 
complete  independence  within,  and  professed  himself  in 
a  certain  sense  to  be  above  the  laws,  by  ^nrtue  of  being 
a  member  of  Christ's  kingdom.  This  position  of  inde- 
pendence the  lieathen  state  resented,  and  looked  upon 
the  Christian  Church  as  a  dangerous  organisation. 
Here,  therefore,  St.  Peter  both  insists  upon,  and  defines 
that  independent  position.  "  This  the  Apostle  adds," 
says  Leighton,  "  lest  any  should  so  far  mistake  the 
nature  of  their  Christian  liberty  as  to  dream  of  an 
exemption  from  obedience  either  to  God  or  to  man 
for  His  sake,  and  according  to  His  appointment.  Their 
freedom  ho  grant.s,  but  would  have  them  understand 
aright  what  it  is." 

And  not  using. — The  word  "  as  "  in  the  Greek 
attaches  better  to  the  participle  instead  of  to  the  word 


"cloke,"  so  that  the  sentence  will  run,  As  free  (i.e.,  as 
men  who  are  really  free),  and  not  as  using  freedom  for 
a  curtain  of  vice.  In  this  way  the  true  and  the  false 
freedom  are  more  forcibly  contrasted. 

For  a  cloke  of  maliciousness.— The  uncommon 
word  here  used  means  any  kind  of  covering,  ))ut  not  in 
the  sense  of  a  garment,  so  that  we  must  not  insist  on 
the  metaphor  of  the  word  "  cloke."  The  same  Greek 
word  is  used  in  Ex.  xxvi.  14  to  express  the  second 
covering  of  the  tabernacle  there  mentioned,  i.e.,  the 
uppermost,  outermost  covering.  Grimm  quotes  a 
fragment  of  the  comic  poet  Menauder,  "  Wealth  is 
a  covering  of  many  a  bad  thing ;  "  this  helps  us  to  see 
that  what  St.  Peter  means  is  not  ordinary  Jiypocrisy. 
The  man  does  not  profess  to  be  better  than  he  is,  but 
loudly  asserts  that  he  is  not  a  slave.  Men  admire  sucli 
freedom  of  speech,  and  excuse  his  vices  just  because  of 
their  openness. 

But  as  the  servants  of  God.— Such  freedom  as 
has  been  mentioned  is  no  freedom.  It  is  moral  slavery. 
The  only  true  freedom  lies  in  being  "servants"  (or 
rather  slaves)  "  of  God,"  whose  Avill  it  is  that  you 
should  be  good  subjects  (verses  13  and  15).  For  a 
slightly  different  turn  of  thought,  see  Gal.  v.  l3. 

(17)  Sonour  all  men.—"  These  words  have  very 
briefly,  and  yet  not  obscured  by  briefness,  but  witlial 
very  plainly,  the  sum  of  our  duty  towards  God  and 
men;  to  men,  both  in  general,  honour  all  men,  and  iu 
special  relations,  iu  tlieir  Clu'istian  or  religious  relations, 
love  the  brotherhood ;  aud  in  a  chief  civil  relation, 
honour  the  king.  And  our  whole  duty  to  God,  com- 
prised under  the  name  of  His  fear,  is  set  iu  the  middle 
betwixt  these,  as  the  common  spring  of  all  duty  to  men, 
aud  of  all  due  observance  of  it.  and  the  sovereign  rule 
by  which  it  is  to  be  regulated  "  (Leighton).  St.  Paul 
had  said  that  this  honour*  was  to  be  paid  to  those  to 
whom  it  was  due ;  St.  Peter  says  that  this  includes  all 
men ;  there  is  not  one  who  can  be  entirely  despised,  not 
one  who  has  quite  lost  the  likeness  of  Christ ;  Jews  are 
not  at  liberty  to  despise  even  the  idolatrous  Gentiles. 

Love  the  brotherhood.— See  chap.  v.  9.  and  Note 
on  chap.  i.  22.  The  brotherhood  means,  of  course,  aU 
Chri.stian  men,  who  (mystically  even  now  that  the  Church 
is  diA-ided,  but  then  actually)  formed  a  single  confra- 
ternity. "  All  men,"  Christian  or  heatlien.  are  to  be 
"  honoured,"  but  there  is  a  special  sense  in  which  love 
is  only  possible  between  fellow-Christians.  For  the 
converse  proposition,  see  Matt.  v.  44. 

Fear  God. — This  enforces  reverence  for  every  law 
and  ordinance  of  God,  and  therefore  serves  fitly  to 
introduce  the  next  precept.  Rebellion  against  Nero  is 
rebellion  against  God  (Rom.  xiii.  2.  Beugel  compares 
Prov.  xxiv.  21). 

Honour  the  king.— This  is  the  climax.  Logically, 
the  foregoing  commands  have  only  beeu  inserted  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  out  tliis  last  more  clearly. 
This  was  the  point  on  which  the  Christian  religion  was 
assailed,  and  the  putting  the  readers  tlirough  their 
catechism  (as  it  were)  of  duties  in  other  respects 
awakes  their  conscience  to  receive  this  precept.  Verses 
13—16  have  insisted  on  the  duty  of  political  sub- 
mission, aud  then  the  writer  steps  back,  so  to  speak, 
for  a  final  thrust :  "  so— as  to  all  men  you  must  pay 


407 


Servants  to  he  obedient. 


I.   PETER,   II. 


Suffering  wrongfully. 


God.  Honour  tlie  king.  <^^^  Servants, 
he  subject  to  your  masters  with  all  fear;" 
not  only  to  the  good  and  gentle,  but 
also  to  the  froward.  *i'^'  For  this  is 
thankworthy,  if  a  man  for  conscience 


a  Rom.  13.  7. 


toward  God  endure  grief,  suffering 
Avrongfully.  ^-"^^  For  ^vhat  glory  is  it,  if, 
when  ye  be  buffeted  for  your  faults,  ye 
shall  take  it  patiently '?  but  if,  when  ye 
do  well,  and   suffer  for   it,  ye  take  it 


reverence ;  as  to  the  Cliristians,  love ;  as  to  God,  fear — 
80  to  the  emperor  you  must  pay  constaut  reverence." 
It  is  liartUy  rij,'ht  to  say  witli  Beugcl  that  this 
paraofraph  is  specially  writteu  because  of  the  usual 
disaffection  of  Jews  towards  the  Roman  government; 
rather  it  is  called  for  (like  the  warning  of  verses  11,  12), 
not  by  any  special  temptation  within  them,  but  by  the 
particular  circumstances  of  the  time,  i.e.,  the  calumnies 
that  ■were  afloat  against  Christians. 

(18)  Servants— Second  division  of  the  second  pru- 
dential rule  :  subordination  social.  This  word  is  not  the 
same  as  is  used  by  St.  Paul — e.g.,  Eph.  vi.  5  ;  Col.  iii. 
22 — but  is  used  only  besides  in  Luke  xvi.  13  ;  Acts  x.  7  ; 
Rom.  xiv.  -i.  It  brings  forward  the  fiutiily  or  household 
relation  of  servant  or  slave  to  master,  and  not  (as  does 
the  common  word  used  in  verse  16)  the  mere  fact  of 
ownership.  We  need  not  be  surprised  at  dii'ections  for 
household  servants,  or  slaves,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
Jcioish  Christians,  for  there  vi^ere  large  numbers  of 
Hebrews  in  this  position  both  now  and  later;  St. 
Clement,  for  example,  was  probably  both. 

Be  subject. — Rather,  being  subject,  or  submitting 
yourselves.  The  participle  joins  this  clause  loosely  to 
the  "submit  yourselves"  of  verse  13,  where  the  word 
is  the  same.     (Comp.  chap.  iii.  1.) 

With  all  fear. — "All"  implies  everything  which 
goes  to  make  up  true  fear,  every  kind  of  fear  ;  and  the 
"  fear  "  (as  when  we  speak  of  the  fear  of  God)  is  not 
intended  to  mean  any  unmanly  cowardice,  dread  of 
punishment,  or  such  terror  as  is  involved  in  having 
secrets  which  one  dreails  to  have  divulged.  One  com- 
mentator well  defines  it  as  "  the  shrinking  from  trans- 
gressing the  master's  ■wiU,  based  on  the  consciousness 
of  one's  own  inferiority." 

Masters. — This  is  the  word  wliich  pi-operly  cor- 
responds to  the  word  by  which  the  "  servants "  are 
described,  not  merely  "  owners,"  as  in  Eph.  vi.  5 ; 
Col.  iii.  22. 

The  froward. — Literally,  the  croohed.  Its  meaning 
is  made  clear  by  the  contrasted  adjectives,  "  good,"  i.e., 
kindly,  considerate  ;  and  "gentle,"  or,  rather,  reason- 
able, not  disposed  to  take  too  stern  a  view  of  matters. 
A  "  froward "  master,  then,  is  one  with  a  warped 
nature,  who  is  unreasonably  exacting,  capricious,  and 
cross-graiued ;  in  fact,  one  who  will  deal  with  his 
servants  in  the  manner  spoken  of  in  the  following 
verses. 

(19)  For  this  is  thankworthy.— "This,"  viz., 
what  goes  before,  which  is  further  explained  in  what 
follows.  Quite  literally  it  is,  for  this  is  grace,  or  else 
(for,  like  grace  in  French,  the  word  has  the  double 
signification)  this  is  ihdnks.  The  passage  has  some 
little  importance  in  controversy,  as  some  of  the  older 
Roman  Catholic  divines  pressed  it  into  the  service  of 
the  supererogation  theory.  "  This  is  gjace,"  they  said, 
means  "  this  deserves  grace  as  its  reward."  It  is  need- 
less to  point  oiit  how  shallow  a  A-iew  of  duty  is  implied 
in  the  thought  that  it  was  more  tlmn  duty  to  be  thus 
submissive.  Still  taking  the  first  translation,  others 
would  interpret.  "  this  is  a  mark  of  grace  " — i.e.,  shows 
that  you  are  Christians  indeed ;  or,  "  this  is  a  gift  of 
grace  " — i.e.,  a  supernatural  and  heroic  virtue,  such  as 


must  have  come  from  God,  and  not  from  you."  These 
two  interpretations  make  good  sense  in  themselves,  but 
they  seem  not  to  suit  the  context  ("  what  glory  is  it  ") 
quite  so  well  as  our  authorised  rendering,  and  they 
ignore  the  sayings  of  our  Lord,  which  must  certainly 
have  been  in  St.  Peter's  mind,  recorded  in  Luke  vi. 
27 — 35,  especially  verses  32 — 34,  and  again  in  Luke 
xvii.  9.  The  thought  is  that  where  duty  is  both 
ob\'ious  and  easy  (as  is  the  case  with  good  masters), 
people  do  not  lavish  gratitude  for  the  performance  of 
it.  The  best  of  masters  hardly  feels  grateful  to  the 
best  of  servants  for  doing  his  duty,  though  he  will  be 
grateful  for  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  it  is  done. 
Here  the  "  thanks  "  are  put  quite  generally,  as  in  the 
first  passage  in  St.  Luke  :  "  this  is  a  matter  for  thanks." 
It  does  not  say  as  yet  who  is  to  pay  the  thanks,  and  we 
may  naturally  conclude  that  the  master  so  served,  and 
all  who  are  cognisant  of  the  service,  are  the  persons 
meant. 

For  conscience  toward  God  endure  grief, 
suffering  wrongfully. — This  does  not  mean  "  if  a 
man  is  afflicted  for  his  religion's  sake."  Rather,  the 
conscience  toivards  God,  or,  perhaps,  rather,  conscious- 
ness of  God,  is  thrown  in  to  guard  against  any  false 
theory  that  patience  by  itself  is  a  thankworthy  thing. 
However  unjust  the  man's  treatment  may  be,  and  how- 
ever little  he  may  resent  it  in  act,  it  is  not  thankworthy 
unless  his  resignation  be  groimded  on  consciousness  of 
God's  pi'esence.  A  resignation  which  comes  from  stolid 
want  of  feeling,  or  stoical  fatalism,  or  from  the  sense 
that  it  is  no  good  to  seek  redress — such  resignation  is 
sinfully  defective.  The  two  nccessai-y  qualifications, 
before  patience  can  become  in  any  sense  meritorious, 
are  (1)  that  the  suffei'ing  should  be  undeserved,  (2) 
that  the  man  should  recognise  in  it  the  hand  of  God. 

(20)  For  what  glory  is  it. — A  poetical  and  pagan- 
sounding    word,   not    elsewhere    found    in    the    New  j 
Testament ;  in  the  Old  Testament  it  corresponds  to  the 
word  "  fame,"  in   Job  xxviii.   22,     The  sense  may  be ' 
said  to  be  slightly  humorous.    "  If  you  make  a  blunder '" 
(such  is  the  meaning  of  ''  fault"  here — it  might  include  I 
such  things  as  the  breaking  of  dishes),  "  and  receive  aJ 
buffet  for  it"  (or  a  box  on  the  eai- — a  common  punish- j 
mcnt  of   slaves  for  trifling  faults),  "and  bear  it  with' 
fortitude"  (the  mcclcness  of  patience  has  no  place  in  the  I 
word),  "  do  you  expect  to  be  made  the  subject  of  an  heroic 
or   dithyrambic   poem,  to  have  your  name  resounded 
through  the  world  and  immortalised  amongposterity  ?"  i 
The  "  for  "  at  the  beginning  of  the  clause  explains  why! 
the  writer  added  "  suffering  wrongfully  "  at  the  end  ofj 
the  last. 

When  ye  do  well,  and  suffer  for  it.— It  is  a| 
pity   that   the    translators    have    limited    St.    Peter's 
meaning  by  the  insertion  of   the  last  two  words.     It 
is  unnecessary  to  understand  the  suffering  to  be  directly! 
jjrovofcccZ  by  the  well-doing.     It  would  have  done  just 
as  well  to  say,  "  when  ye  do  well,  and  yet  are  ill-treated."! 
The  "  froward  "  master  makes  his  servants  suffer  without] 
thinking  wliat  he  makes  them  suffer  for. 

This  is  acceptable  with  God.— Timidity  about  j 
St.   Peter's  theologj"  has  caused  a  difference  between 
the  renderuisr  of  the  same  word  in  two  consecutive] 


408 


TJie  Suffering  of  Christ, 


I.   PETER,   IT. 


o^lr  Great  Example. 


patiently,  this  is  acceptable^  with  God. 
(21)  For  even  hereunto  were  ye  called  : 
because  Christ  also  suffered  for  us,^ 
leaving  us  an  example,  that  ye  should 


1  Or,  thavk. 
I        <(  John  a  46. 
b  Isa.  S3.  9. 


2  Some   read, 
you. 
c  I'll.  .T  9. 


for 


follow  his  steps :  (-'>  who  did  no  sin," 
neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  :  * 
(^3)  -vvho,  when  he  was  reviled,""  reviled  not 
again;''  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened 


verses.  It  should  l)e  translated  "  thankworthy  "  liere 
as  well  as  above,  and  must  be  taken  in  precisely  the 
same  sense.  Observe  that  tlie  Apostle  does  not  con- 
tinue, "  tliis  is  glory,"  as  we  miglit  have  expected ;  a 
Christian  is  not  supposed  to  care  for  such  trash  as 
fame.  But  a  Christian  may  well  care  to  win  the 
thanlcs  of  God  !  And  such  endurance  of  griefs  for 
God's  sake  is  now  distinctly  said  to  be  "  thankworthy 
with  God" — i.e.,  from  God's  point  of  view.  See 
2  Thess.  i.  6,  where,  as  here,  it  is  assumed  that  the 
moral  law  is  identical  for  God  and  for  us,  and  that  His 
principles  and  impulses  of  action  are  the  same  as  those 
which  He  has  implanted  iu  us.  "  He  will  thank  a  man 
for  it,"  says  Archbishop  Leightou,  not  a  divine  to 
favour  the  doctrine  of  human  merit,  but  too  honest  a 
scholar  to  shrink  from  the  meaning  of  words.  Many 
things  are  strictly  duty,  and  yet  we  do  not  expect  to 
find  them  done,  and  are  proportionably  gi-ateful  when 
we  see  that  they  are  done.  And  shall  we,  for  the  sake 
of  a  doctrinal  thesis  like  that,  "  that  man  can  deserve 
nothing  at  the  hand  of  God,"  deny  to  God  the  pos- 
sibility of  enjoying  one  of  the  happiest  exercises  of 
love,  the  sense  of  gratitude  ? 

(21)  For  even  hereunto  were  ye  called.— 
Namely,  to  the  combination  of  suffering  and  well- 
doing. To  this  they  "were  called"  by  the  Gospel 
which  St.  Paul  had  preached  to  them ;  it  ought  not  to 
be  a  surprise  to  them  when  it  comes.  (See  chap.  iv.  12.) 
It  was  a  special  point  in  St.  Paul's  preaching  to  fore- 
warn fairly  of  the  tribulations  attending  all  who 
wished  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  Comp.  1  Thess. 
iii.  3,  4,  and  Acts  xiv.  22,  which  latter  passage  refers 
to  preaching  in  the  very  homes  of  some  of  the  recipients 
of  tliis  Epistle. 

Because.  —  Tliis  justifies  the  last  assertion.  It 
appeared  on  the  veiy  face  of  the  gospel  message  that 
■we  should  all  (slave  and  freeman  alike)  have  to  do  well, 
and  at  tlie  same  time  suffer,  because  tlie  gospel  told  us 
tliat  it  was  so  with  Him,  the  subject  of  the  gospel. 
/ /Notice  what  a  fine  assumption  lies  in  this  "  because  " — 
y  \i'i.,  that  Christ's  experience  must  needs  be  that  of 
every  Christian. 

Christ  also  suffered.  —  It  is  to  be  carefully 
observed  again  that  lie  does  not  say  "  Jesus  suffered  ;  " 
the  whole  point  is  that  tliese  Hebrew  Christians  have 
given  in  their  adliesion  to  a  suffering  Me.'^siah.  (See 
Note  on  chap.  i.  11.)  And  the  true  reading  immediately 
after  is  "  for  you,  leaving  you  an  example,  that  ye 
should  follow  His  steps ;  "  not,  of  course,  that  St. 
Peter  exempts  himself  from  the  need  of  the  atone- 
ment or  the  obligation  of  following  Christ's  steps,  but 
because  it  is  his  accustomed  style  to  give  a  cluirge  (as 
it  were)  rather  than  to  tlirow  himself  in  with  tho.se 
whom  he  addresses.  (See  Note  on  diap.  i.  12.)  There 
is  one  important  point  to  be  observed.  Clirist  is  said 
to  have  suffered  "for  you,"  but  this  does  not  mean  "  in 
your  stead,"  but  "  on  your  behalf,  for  your  good." 
Christ's  atonement  for  us  is  not  represented  in  tliis 
passage  as  vicarious.  He  did  not,  according  to  St. 
Peter's  teacliing,  die  as  a  substitute  for  us,  any  more 
tlian  He  rose  again  as  our  substitute.  So  far  as  the 
words  themselves  go,  tlie  death  of  the  Messiah  "  for 
ns"  might  liave  ])een  sucli  a  death  as  tliat  of  the 
horo  who,   in  the  battle   of  Mnrgarten,  gathered   the 


Austrian  spears  like  a  sheaf  into  his  own  bosom,  "f<yr  " 
his  fellow-patriots,  clearing  the  way  for  them  to  follow. 
The  addition  "  for  you  "  conveys  the  thought  that  iu 
gratitude  we  ought  to  suffer  with,  or  even  for.  Him. 

Leaving  us  [you)  an  example.— Tliis  clause 
seems  added  as  a  kind  of  explanation  of  the  abrupt 
"  because  "  just  before.  "  You  were  called  to  suffering, 
I  said,  because  Christ,  too,  suffered  ;  for  in  so  suffering 
He  left  ("  as  something  to  survive  Him  "  is  implied  in 
the  word)  an  example  to  you."  (This  last  "  you  "  stands 
very  emphatically  iu  the  Greek).  The  curious  word  for 
"  example,"  nowhere  else  used  in  the  New  Testament, 
means  primarily  the  '•  copy  "  given  to  a  child  to  write 
from,  or  a  "  plan  "  suggested  for  carrying  out  iu  detail, 
a  sketch  to  be  filled  in.  It  is  u.sed  in  tliis  literal  sense 
in  2  Mace.  ii.  28,  29,  and  in  the  metaphorical  sense  it 
occurs  repeatedly  in  the  Epistle  of  St.  Clement ;  in  one 
passage  (chap,  xvi.)  a]ipareiitly  with  a  reminiscence  of 
this  place,  for  the  autlior  has  been  quoting  the  passage 
of  Isaiah  to  which  we  shall  come  presently,  and  then 
adds,  "  See  then,  beloved  sirs,  what  is  the  copy  which 
has  been  set  us ;  for  if  the  Lord  was  so  lowly-minded, 
what  shall  we  do  who  through  Him  have  come  under 
the  yoke  of  His  grace  ?  "  The  leaving  us  of  this  copy 
was  one  of  the  benefits  of  His  passion  implied  in 
"  suffered  for  you." 

Follow*  his  steps.— In  all  probability  St.  Peter 
used  the  word  rendered  "  example  "  without  any  sense 
of  its  containing  a  metaphor,  or  else  it  would  accord 
badly  with  the  metaphor  here.  The  word  for  "  foUow  " 
is  a  strengthened  form,  and  in  1  Tim.  v.  H)  is  rendered 
"diligently  follow;  "  in  verse  24  of  the  same  chapter 
it  is  "follow  after" — i.e.,  "dog;  "  the  only  other  place 
being  Mark  xvi.  20.  It  means  (as  in  1  Tim.  v.  24) 
rather  "  to  follow  up,"  made  still  more  vivid  by  the 
addition  of  "His  steps"  (Rom.  iv.  12;  2  Cor.  xii.  18). 
St.  Peter  could  remember  the  day  when  lie  was  called 
to  follow,  and  he  did  so  literally  (Matt.  iv.  19;  John 
xxi.  19) ;  but  the  Pontine  Christians,  who  liad  believed 
without  having  seen  (chap.  i.  8),  ccmld  only  "follow 
Him  up  "  l)y  the  footprints  which  He  had  left. 

(--)  Who  did  no  sin.— This  verse  is  not  to  be 
taken  by  itself,  but  in  the  closest  conjunction  with  the 
following.  It  is  not  the  sinlessness  of  Christ  by  itself 
that  is  here  set  as  an  example  before  the  servants,  but 
His  sinlessness  in  combination  with  His  ill-treatment, 
or  rather,  His  meekness  under  the  combination.  St. 
Peter  again  adapts  the  words  of  Isaiah  (chap.  liii.  9)  to 
liis  purpose.  Tlie  word  there  was  one  of  violent  trans- 
gression; St.  Peter  substitutes  the  simple  word  which 
he  had  used  in  verse  20,  "  fault  " — "  who  never  made 
a  fault  " — such  as  liousehold  servants  were  often  com- 
mitting^'' neither  was  guile  found  in  His  mouth  " — 
again  referring  to  wliat  was  common  with  servants — 
petty  acts  of  dishonesty,  and  petty  deceits  to  screen 
tliemselves  from  imnishment.  One  thing  which  lends 
.special  point  to  the  allusion  to  Isaiah's  proi>hecy  is 
that  Israel  is  in  that  passage  spoken  of  under  the 
title  of  God's  "servant,"  a  tliouglit  familiar  to  St.  Peter 
long  ago  iu  connection  with  Christ.  (See  Note  on 
Acts  iii.  13.) 

(-'3)  Who,  when  he  was  reviled.— This  "wlio" 
miglit  be  rendered  by  and  yd  He.  Conscious  though 
He  was  of  being   bkmeless  (^John  viii.  46),  it  did  not 


J 


409 


Christ  hare  our  tShis 


I.    PETER,   II. 


in  Ills  own  Body. 


not 


but   committed  himself^  to   him  ^  J^,;-,.aS^;"""'^'' 


that  judgeth  righteously :    '-*^  who  his 


a  IkiuKI.  II.  11' 

Hi-I..  9.  2a 
2  Or,  to. 


own   self    bare   our   sins "   in   his   own 
body  on-  the  tree,  that  we,  being  dead 


inako  Hiiu  retaliate  upon  His  accusers  by  couuti-r- 
accusatious,  true  tliougli  these  might  have  been.  The 
word  liero  translated  "  revile  "  is  the  same  which  re- 
appears in  chap.  iii.  9  as  "  railing,"  and  a  sample  of 
wiuit  it  means  is  given  in  John  ix.  28.  The  servants 
woulil  bo  particularly  liable  to  be  thus  abused,  and 
instances  are  nut  wanting  in  the  comic  poets  where 
they  lose  their  self-control  uudt-r  it,  and  openly  rate 
tlieir  owners  in  return.  The  "  suffering,"  on  the  other 
luiud,  implies  actual  bodily  maltreatuu'nt,  "  buffeting  " 
(verse  l2U)  and  the  like,  to  which  the  slaves  could  not 
J  answer  directly  l)y  striking  in  return,  but  woidd  souu'- 
/  times  take  their  revenge  by  "  tiireats  "  of  what  they 
would  do  —  run  away,  or  burn  the  house,  or  poison 
the  food,  or  do  little  acts  of  spite.  Instances  of  ouf 
Lord's  silence  or  meekness  under  "  reviling  "  may  be 
seen  in  John  vii.  20 ;  viii.  40 ;  Matt.  xii.  24,  as  well  as 
in  the  accounts  of  the  Passion.  There  are  no  recorded 
instances,  until  the  last  day  of  His  life,  of  His  "  suifer- 
ing  "  in  the  sense  here  intended;  but  the  tense  of  the 
verbs  *'  reviled,"  "  threatened,"  "  committed,"  shows 
that  the  writer  was  not  thinking  exclusively  of  any  one 
occasion,  but  of  our  Lord's  constant  habit,  though 
naturally  there  would  be  uppermost  in  St.  Peter's 
mind  the  hours  while  he  stood  warming  himself  at 
Caiai)has'  fire,  with  the  denial  on  his  lips,  and  saw  the 
Messiah  blintlfold  and  buffeted.  He  is  also  thinking 
of  Isa.  liii.  7. 

But  cominitted  himself.— This  was  His  only 
form  of  revenge.  As  the  Greek  does  not  express  the 
grammatical  object  of  the  verb,  it  is  better  not  to 
su2)ply  one  so  definite  as  "  Himself  "  or  "  His  cause," 
rather,  "  but  would  leave  it  to  Him  that  judgeth  right- 
eously." M.  Renan  [Anteclirist,  p.  117)  says  that 
this  passage  "  i-equires  it  to  be  imderstood  that  the 
incident  of  Jesus  praying  for  His  murderers  was  not 
known  by  Peter ;  "  and  other  critics  have  held  the  same 
view.  But  (1)  St.  Peter,  as  we  have  said,  is  speaking 
of  what  was  the  constant  habit  of  Jesus,  not  of  what 
He  did  on  the  day  of  His  crucifixion  only.  (2)  The 
word  does  not  necessarily  imply  any  act  or  word  of 
direct  appeal  to  (iod  to  judge  between  His  murderers 
and  Him ;  on  the  contrary,  the  leading  tliought  is 
that  of  "passing  the  matter  over"  to  Gotl  (comp. 
Rom.  xii.  19).  by  simply  refusing  to  take  any  action  in 
self-defence.  (3)  It  would  have  been  unlike  the  usual 
method  of  the  Epistles  to  make  direct  reference  to  any 
of  the  minor  details  of  our  Lord's  liistory.  (4)  Such 
a  reference  here  would  be  beyond  the  point,  for  St. 
Peter  said  nothing  in  verso  l!)  about  frayimj  for  the 
bad  masters,  and  here  ho  is  only  justifying  by  Clu'ist's 
example  the  i)osition  he  had  laid  down  there. 

To  him.  that  judgeth  righteously.— God  is 
described  in  the  aspect  whicli  is  most  reassuring  to 
men  who  are  suffering  unjustly  (2  Thess.  i.  5).  This 
looks  back  to  that  "  consciousness  of  God  "  spoken  of 
in  verse  19.  Thi>re  is  a  curious  various  r(>adiug  which 
is  adopted  by  the  Vulgate,  though  witliout  any  solid 
authority,  and  evidently  a  mere  bluiuler,  the  interpreta- 
tion of  whicli  we  may  leave  to  those  who  are  committed 
to  it:  "He  gave  Himself  over  to  him  (or,  to  one)  who 
judgeth  unrighteously."  St.  Cyprian  seems  to  liave 
understood  it  of  our  Lord's  voluntary  self-surrender  to 
Pilate. 

(24)  Who  his  own  self.— Tliis  verse,  like  the 
*'  for  you  "  in  verso  21,  is  intended  to  make  the  readers 


feel  the  claims  of  gratitude,  not  to  set  before  them 
another  point  in  which  Christ  was  to  be  imitated. 
But  at  the  same  time  it  serves  to  enforce  still  moro 
strongly  the  two  points  already  mentioned — i.e.,  sin- 
lessness  and  sulfering.  So  far  was  Christ  from  "  doing 
sins,"  that  He  actually  His  own  self  bore  ours,  and  in 
so  doing  endured  the  extremity  of  anguish  "  in  His  own 
body,"  so  that  He  could  sympathise  with  the  corporal 
chastisements  of  these  poor  servants;  and  "on  the 
tree,"  too,  the  wicked  slave's  death. 

Bare  our  sins  ...  on  the  tree.— This  brings  us 
face  to  face  with  a  great  mystery ;  and  to  add  to  tho 
difficulty  of  the  interpretation,  almost  each  word  is 
capable  of  being  taken  in  several  different  ways.  Most 
modern  scholars  are  agi'eed  to  reject  "  on  the  tree,"  in 
favour  of  the  marginal  "  to,"  the  proper  meaning  of 
the  Greek  preposition,  when  connected  (as  here)  with 
the  accusative,  being  what  is  expressed  in  colloquial 
English  by  the  useful  compound  ^' on-to  the  tree." 
It  is,  however,  not  obligatory  to  see  motion  consciously 
intended  in  this  preposition  and  accusative  everywhere. 
It  is  used,  for  instance,  Mark  iv.  38,  of  sleeping  on  tho 
pillow ;  in  2  Cor.  iii.  15,  of  the  veil  resting  tipon  their 
hearts ;  in  Rev.  iv.  4,  of  the  elders  sitting  upon  their 
thrones.  This  word,  then,  will  give  us  but  little  help 
to  discover  the  meaning  of  the  word  translated  "  bare." 

(1)  That  verb  means  literally  "  to  carry  or  take  up," 
and  is  used  thus  in  Matt.  xvii.  1,  Mark  ix.  2,  of  taking 
the  disciples  up  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration ;  and  iu 
Luke  xxiv.  51,  of  Jesus  being  carried  up  into  heaven : 
therefore  Hammond,  Grimm,  and  others  would  here 
understand  it  to  be,  "  He  carried  our  sins  up  with  Hira 
on-to  the  tree,"  there  to  expiate  them  by  His  death. 

(2)  A  much  commoner  meaning  of   the  word  is  that 
which  it  bears  in  verse  5,   "  to  offer  up  "  (so  also  iu 
Heb.  vii.  27;  xiii.  15;    Jas.  ii.  21).     The  substantive 
formed  from  it  [Anaphora)  is  still  the  liturgical  term 
for  the  sacrificial  section  of  the   Eucharistic  service. 
This  interpretation  is  somewhat  tempting,  because  the 
very  preposition  here  used,  Avith  tho  veiy  same  case, 
appears   in    Jas.    ii.    21,   and   frequently  in   the   Old 
Testament,  together  with  our   pi'csent  verb,  for  "  to 
offer  up  upon  tho  altar."     In  this  way  it  would  be, 
"  He  offered  up  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  altar 
of  the  cross."     So  Luther   and  others  take  it.     This 
would  be  perfect,  were  it  not  for  the  strangeness  of 
regarding  the  sins  themselves  as  a  sacrifice  to  be  offered 
on  the  altar.      The  only  wjvy  to  make  sense  of  it  in 
that  case  would  be  to  join  very  closely  "  our  sins  in 
His  own  body  " — i.e.,  as  contained  and  gathered  up  iu 
His  own  sinless  body,  which  might  come  to  nearly  tlie 
same  thing  as  saying  that  H(^   "offered  up  His  owu 
liody  laden  with  our  sins  "  upon  that  altar.     (3)  Both 
these   renderings,    however,   jiass   over   the    fact   tliat 
St.   Peter   is  referring   to   Isa.   liii.      In    tlio  English  i 
version  of  that  chapter,  "hath   borne,"  "shall  bear,"! 
"bare,"  appears  in  verses  4,  11.  and  12,  indifferently;! 
but  the  Hebrew  is  not  the  same  iu  eadi   case,  for  inl 
verse  11  the  word  for  '"  shall  bear  "  is  identical  with  thatj 
rightly  rendered  "  carry  "  in  verse  4,  and  has  not  tliol 
same  signification  as  that  which  appears  as  "  to  bear  "I 
in  verses  4  and  12.     The  difference  between  these  twoi 
Hebrew  roots  seems  to  be  that  the  verb  sabal  in  verse 
11  means  "  to  carry,"  as  a  poiter  carries  a  load,  or  aal 
our  Lord  carried  His  cross ;   while  the  verb  nasa',  usee' 
iu  verses  4  and  12,  means  rather  "  to  lift  or  raise,' 


410 


Sheep  gone  Astray 


I.   PETER,  11. 


Returned  to  the  Shepherd. 


to  sins,  should  live  unto  righteous- 
ness : "  by  whose  strij)es  ye  were 
healed.*       <^^^  For    ye   were    as    sheep 


c  Isa.  53.  6. 

a  Col.  1.  22. 

d  ('11.5.4;  Uoli 
la  -JO. 
b  Iga.  53.  5. 


going  astray ;''  but  are  now  returned 
unto  the  Shepherd''  and  Bishop  of 
your  souls. 


which  iiiight,  of  course,  bo  the  actiou  preparatory  to 
that  other  of  "  carrying."  Now,  the  Greek  word  which 
we  have  here  undoubtedly  better  represents  nastC  tlian 
sabal,  but  the  question  is  conipHcated  by  the  fact  that 
tlie  LXX.  uses  it  to  express  both  ahke  in  verses  11  and 
12,  observing  at  the  same  time  the  distinction  between 
"iniquities"  and  "sin,"  while  in  verse  4  (where  again 
it  reads  "  our  sins"  instead  of  "  our  griefs")  it  adopts 
a  simpler  verb ;  and  St.  Peter's  language  here  seems 
to  be  affected  by  all  three  passages.  The  expression 
"  our  sins  "  (which  comes  in  so  strangely  with  the  use 
of  "you"  all  round)  seems  a  reminiscence  of  verse  4 
(LXA.).  The  order  iu  which  the  words  occur  is 
precisely  the  order  of  verse  11,  aud  the  tense  points  to. 
vei'se  12,  as  well  as  the  parallel  use  in  Heb.  ix.  28, 
where  tlie  presence  of  the  words  "of  many"  proves 
that  the  writer  was  thinking  of  verse  12.  We  cannot 
say  for  certain,  then,  whether  St.  Peter  meant  to 
represent  nana'  or  sabal.  We  have  some  clue,  however, 
to  the  way  iu  which  the  Greek  word  was  used,  by  find- 
ing it  iu  Num.  xiv.  33,  where  the  "  whoredoms  "  of  the 
fathers  are  said  to  be  "borne"  by  their  children  (the 
Hebrew  there  being  nasa').  Many  instances  in  classical 
Greek  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  in  such  cases  it 
implies  something  being  laid  or  hiflicted  from  without 
upon  the  person  who  "  bears."  Thus,  in  Num.  xiv.  33, 
it  will  be,  "  your  children  will  have  to  bear  your  whore- 
doms," or,  "  will  have  laid  upon  them  your  whoredoms." 
Iu  Heb.  ix.  28  it  will  be,  "  Christ  was  once  for  all 
presented  (at  the  altar),  to  have  the  sius  of  mauy  laid 
upon  Him."  Here  it  will  be,  "  Who  His  own  self  had 
our  sins  laid  upon  His  body  ou  the  tree."  Then  comes 
a  further  question.  The  persons  who  hold  the  sub- 
stitute theory  of  the  Atonement  assert  that  "  our  sius" 
Jiere  stands  for  "  the  punishment  of  our  sins."  This  is, 
however,  to  use  \'iolence  \ni\\  words  ;  we  might  with 
as  good  reason  translate  verse  22,  "Who  did,  or  per- 
formed, no  punishment  for  sin."  St.  Peter  asserts  that 
Christ,  in  His  boundless  sympathy  with  fallen  man,  in 
His  imion  with  all  mankind  through  the  Incarnation 
whereby  He  became  the  second  Atlaiu,  actually  took,  as 
His  own,  our  sins,  as  well  as  everything  else  belonging 
to  us.  He  was  so  ideutified  with  us,  that  iu  the  great 
Psalm  of  the  Messianic  sacrifice.  He  calls  them  "  My 
sius  "  (Ps.  xl.  12).  sinless  as  He  was.  (See  St. Matthew's 
iuter^jretation  of  the  same  thought,  chap.  viii.  17.) 

That  we  being  dead.— Just  as  the  former  part  of 
this  verse  is  an  expansion  of  "  Chri.st  suffered  for  us," 
so  the  latter  part  is  an  expansion  of  "  that  ye  should 
follow  His  steps."  The  "  we,"  however,  is  too  em- 
phatically placed  in  the  English.  To  St.  Peter,  the 
thought  of  our  union  with  Christ  is  so  natural,  that  he 
slijts  easily  over  it,  and  passes  on  to  the  ])articular 
point  of  uniou  which  lie  has  in  view.  "  He  bore  our 
sius  ou  the  tree,  iu  order  that,  haviug  thus  become  'lost' 
to  those  sins,  we  might  live  to  righteousness."  The 
words  present,  perhaps,  a  closer  parallel  to  Col.  i.  22 
tiian  to  any  other  passage;  but  comp.  also  Rom.  vi.  2, 
8,  11,  and  2  Cor.  v.  14,  and  Notes.  St.  Peter's  word 
for  "  dying"  in  this  place  is  not  elsewhere  found  in  the 
New  'lestament.  and  is  originally  an  euphemism  for 
death ;  literally,  to  hi'  vi'issimj — i.e..  when  sin  comes  to 
seek  its  old  servants  it  finds  them  gone. 

With  whose  stripes  ye  were  healed.— Observe 
how  soou  St.  Peter  reverts  to  the  second  person,  evei; 


thougli  lie  has  to  change  the  text  he  is  quoting.  Another 
mark  of  his  style  may  well  be  noticed  here,  viz.,  hia 
fondness  for  a  number  of  co-ordinate  I'elative  sentences. 
(See  chap.  i.  8,  12 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  1,  2,  3 ;  and  his  speeches. 
Acts  iii.  13,  15  ;  iv.  10 ;  x.  38,  39.)  He  is  especially 
fond  of  finishing  off"  a  long  sentence  with  a  short  rela- 
tive clause,  as  here.  Comp.,  for  instance,  verse  8, 
2  Pet.  ii.  17,  also  Acts  iv.  12,  where  it  would  be  more 
correct  to  ti'anslate,  "  Neither  is  the  salvation  in  any 
other,  for,  indeed,  there  is  no  second  name  under 
heaven  which  is  the  appointed  name  among  men ;  in 
whom  we  must  be  saved" — i.e.,  if  we  are  saved  at  all. 
The  purpose  of  the  little  clause  seems  to  be  once  more 
to  make  the  good  and  ill-used  servauts  feel,  wheu  the 
weals  were  smai'ting  on  their  backs,  that  the  Righteous 
Servant  of  Jehovah  had  borne  the  same,  and  that  it 
had  served  a  beneficial  purpose,  as  they  knew  to  their 
everlasting  gratitude.  Of  course  the  "stripes"  (in 
the  original  singular  number,  aud  literally  weal)  do  not 
refer  merely  to  the  scourging.  The  words  form  a 
paradox. 

(25)  For  ye  were  as  sheep  going  astray.— The 
right  reading  does  not  attach  "  going  astray "  to 
"  sheep,"  but  as  predicate  of  the  sentence,  "  ye  were 
going  astray  like  sheep."  The  ''  for  "  introduces  an 
explanation  of  how  they  came  to  be  in  need  of  ''  heal- 
ing." "  I  may  well  say  that  ye  were  healed  ;  for 
Israelites  though  you  are,  your  consciences  and 
memories  tell  you  that  you  were  as  far  gone  iu  \vilf ul 
error  as  auy  Gentiles,  aud  needed  as  complete  a  con- 
version." (Comp.  verse  10.)  Jew  and  GeutUe  take 
different  ways,  but  both  alike  fulfil  the  prophecy, 
"  every  man  to  his  own  way."  The  two  metaphors,  of 
healing  and  going  astray,  do  not  match  very  well,  but 
the  fact  that  both  are  quotations  from  Isa.  liii.  makes 
their  disagreement  less  harsh.  We  must  notice  how 
deeply  that  proi)hecy  (the  interpretation  of  which  was 
probably  learned  from  the  Baptist)  had  sunk  into 
St.  Peter's  mind.     (See  chap.  i.  19.) 

But  are  now  returned. — The  tense  of  the  original 
verb  points  to  the  actual  historical  time  at  which  it 
took  place,  rather  than  the  position  now  occupied, 
"  but  now  ye  returned.''  The  word  "  now  "  is  used  in 
the  same  way  in  verse  10.  where  literally  it  is,  "  but 
now  did  obtain  mercy."  "  Returned  "  does  not  in  the 
Greek  imply  that  they  had  at  first  been  under  the 
Shepherd's  care  and  had  left  Him.  The  word  is  that 
which  is  often  rendered  '"  were  converted,"  aud  only 
indicates  that  they  tm-ued  round  and  moved  in  a  con- 
trary direction. 

The  shepherd  and  bishop  of  your  souls.— 
Undoubtedly  this  means  Christ.  The  first  of  the  two 
titles  is  of  course  suggested  by  the  simile  of  the  sheep. 
The  image  is  so  natural  and  so  frequent,  that  we  can- 
not sjiy  for  certain  that  it  proves  St.  Peter's  acquaint- 
ance with  the  parable  of  the  Good  Shepherd  in  John  x. 
More  probably,  perhajjs,  he  is  thinking  of  Ps.  xxiii.  3, 
"  He  converted  >»)/  soul"  (LXX.),  where  "the  Lord," 
as  usual,  niav  be  taken  to  mean  the  Son  of  God  rather 
tlian  the  Father;  or  else  of  Ez.  xxxiv.  IL  U>,  \yhere  the 
words  rendered  "seek  them  out"  iu  our  ver>iou  is  re- 
presented in  the  LXX.  by  that  from  which  the  uam« 
of  a  "bishop"  is  derived.  (Comp.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  23; 
xxxvii.  24;  also  Isa.  xl.  11,  which  last  citation  comes 
from  a  passage  which  has  been  iu  St.  Peter's  mind 


Siihjection  of  JVloes 


I.   PETER,   III. 


to  Hiishands. 


^,       ...  ,    ,     CHAPTER  TIL- (1) Like- 

Chap.  111.  1 — 6.        .  •  I       •  u 

Subjection    of  Wise,  ye  wives,  he  in  sub- 
wives  to  hus-  jection  to  youi*   own  hus- 
bands;" that,  if  any  obey  not 


bands. 


the  word,  they  also  may  without  the 
word  be  won  by  the  conversation  of 
the  wives ;  <-^  while  they  behold  your 
chaste  conversation  cotipled  with  fear. 


just  before,  chap.  i.  24.)  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add 
that  to  the  Hebrew  mind  the  thought  of  superintend- 
euce  and  ruling,  not  that  of  giving  food,  was  upper- 
most when  thi'y  spoke  of  shepherds,  and  tliat  the 
pastors  spoken  of  in  the  Old  Testament  are  not  the 
priests  or  givers  of  spiritual  nutriment,  but  the  kings 
and  princes.  Tluis  it  will  hero  be  nearly  synonymous 
■with  tlie  second  title  of  bishop.  Tliis  name  suggests 
in  the  first  instance  not  so  much  overseeing  as  visiting 
— i.e.,  going  carefully  into  the  different  cases  brought 
under  the  officer's  notice.  (Comp.  chap.  v.  2,  4,  and 
Acts  XX.  28.)  Both  words  were  ah-eady  familiar  as 
ecclesiastical  words  already,  and  as  sudi  were  especially 
appropriate  to  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  Church ;  ))ut 
as  they  had  not  yet  become  stereotyped  in  that  sense, 
the  writer  adds,  "  of  your  souls,"  to  show  that  it  was 
not  an  outward  sovereignty  and  protectorate  which 
the  Messiah  had  assumed  over  tliem.  "Soul"  is  a 
word  of  which  St.  Peter  is  fond  (chaps,  i.  9,  22;  ii.  11 ; 
iv.  19;  2  Pet.  ii.  s),  but  which  is,  pei-haps,  never  used 
by  St.  Paul  in  this  sense.  It  is  to  be  remarked  how 
St.  Peter  works  almost  every  section  of  the  Epistle 
round,  so  as  to  end  with  some  encouragement  to  the 
readers  to  cling  to  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  and  to  their 
Christian  state,  from  which  they  were  in  danger  of 
receding  into  Judaism.  He  makes  even  the  special 
exhortations  lead  up  to  that  which  is  the  main 
exhortation  of  the  Letter. 

III. 

(1)  Likewise  ye  wives  .  .  .— Tliird  division  of 
second  prudential  rule  :  sul)ordinatiou  conjugal.  Here, 
again,  the  form  in  the  original  is  particij)ial,  joining  this 
injunction  on  to  chajj.  ii.  13,  18,  where  the  word  is  the 
same  in  Greek,  "  wives,  in  the  same  way  submitting 
yourselves."  Whether  this  imposes  for  all  time  upon 
Christian  wives  as  complete  a  submission  towards 
their  husbands  as  is  liere  enjoined  might  perhaps  be 
questioned,  because  the  special  reason  for  the  command 
in  this  place  was  to  allay  suspicions  engendered  by  the 
boldness  with  which  Cluistianity  proclaimed  the  freedom 
of  the  individual.  St.  Peter  has  just  been  giving 
injunctions  for  absolute  submission,  even  to  injustice, 
on  the  part  of  slaves  ;  and  the  progress  of  Christianity 
has  abolished  slavery  altogether.  Tlie  measure  of  the 
Christian  wife's  submission  may  safely  bo  left  to  her 
own  enlightened  conscience,  guided  by  other  passages 
of  the  New  Testament  not  written,  like  tliis,  for  a 
special  emergency. 

Your  own  husbands. — This  does  not  order  sub- 
mission to  the  husJ)and  in  contrast  to  submission  to 
other  directors,  but  rather  gives  a  reason  for  obedience. 
•'  The  Christian  wife  that  liath  love  to  God,"  stiys 
Leighton,  "  though  her  liiisband  bo  not  so  comely,  or 
80  wise,  or  any  way  so  amiable,  as  many  others,  yet 
because  he  is  her  mon  hiisband,  and  because  of  tlie 
Lord's  command  in  the  general,  and  His  providence  in 
the  particular  disposal  of  His  own,  thereiore  she  loves 
and  obeys." 

That  if  any  obey  not  the  word.— Rather,  in 
order  that  even  sjtj^jyo.'^ing  some  (at  j^rc'^ent)  disobey  the 
word.      "  The  word "   is,   of   course,   the    Gospel,  the   i 
declaration  of    the    fulfilment   of    the    prophecies   in 
Jesus.      And    those    who    "  disobey  the   word "  are, 

41 


according  to  constant  usage,  the  Jews.  The  jiresent 
verb  is  used  of  the  Jews  in  Acts  xiv.  2 ;  xvii.  5 ;  xix.  9 ; 
Rom.  X.  21 ;  xi.  iil ;  xv.  31,  besides  St.  Peter's  own 
use  in  chap.  ii.  8;  iv.  17.  The  only  places  where  it  is 
distinctly  used  of  others  are  Rom.  ii.  8  (of  Jew  and 
Gentile  together),  Rom.  xi.  30  (where  the  Gentiles  are 
compared  with  the  Jews),  Heb.  iii.  18  (of  the  Israelites 
in  the  -nalderness),  Heb.  xi.  31  (of  the  men  of  Jericho), 
1  Pet.  iii.  20  (of  the  refractory  antediluvians).  In  any 
case  it  must  mean  a  wilful  refusal  to  submit  to  the 
Word,  in  spite  of  being  intellectually  convinced.  (See 
especially  chap.  ii.  8.)  For  every  reason,  therefore,  it 
is  more  probable  that  the  case  here  supposed  is  that 
of  Hebrew  (Chi'isiian)  women,  married  to  men  of  their 
own  race  who  reject  the  gospel. 

They  also  may  .  .  . — The  order  here  is  not  so  neat 
as  in  the  original,  and  it  spoils  the  point  to  insert  the 
definite  article  before  "  word."  It  should  run.  In 
order  that  .  .  .  throtigh  their  icives'  conversation, 
without  a  word,  they  may  (literally,  shall)  he  gained. 
There  is  something  almost  playful  in  the  substitution 
of  "their  wives"  instead  of  "you,"  and  in  the  "  with- 
out a  word "  contrasted  with  "  the  word  "  before. 
St.  Peter  seems  to  enjoy  laying  the  little  innocent 
plot.  He  was  himself,  as  the  Prayer  Book  reminds 
us,  a  married  man.  And  what  he  means  here,  is  not 
that  those  who  have  resisted  the  public  preaching  in 
the  synagogues,  should  even  without  that  public 
preaching  be  won ;  rather,  that  though  the  gospel  as 
vittered  verbally  only  provokes  them  to  opposition,  the 
gospel  as  submissively  acted  by  their  wives,  "svithout  a 
word  said  on  the  matter,  ought  to  convert  them. 
"  This  model  of  submission  and  humility,"  says 
M.  Renau,  meaning  the  Lamb  of  God,  "  is  made  by 
Peter  the  law  for  all  classes  of  Christian  society.  The 
wife  above  all,  without  setting  up  for  a  preacher  {sans 
/aire  la  prechetise),  ought,  by  the  discreet  charm  of 
her  piety,  to  be  the  great  missionary  of  the  faith." 
The  word  rendered  "  won"  keeps  up  the  playfulness  of 
that  which  goes  before ;  it  means  '"  to  turn  a  profit,'' 
and  there  is  just  enough  of  ruse  in  it  to  make  the 
enforcement  of  submission  to  a  husband  of  opposed 
religious  views  seem  an  enticing  little  speculation.  The 
tense  of  the  original  verb  indicates  that  the  scheme  is 
certain  to  succeed.  (Comp.  Matt,  x^^ii.  15;  I  Cor.  ix. 
19, 20.)  Archl)ishop  Leighton  points  out  that  in  Hebrew 
the  name  of  the  book  of  "  Ecclesiastes ;  or,  the 
Preacher,"  is  a  feminine,  and  the  same  is  the  case  in 
Ps.  Ixviii.  11,  and  elsewhere. 

(2)  While  they  behold  .  .  .—The  same  curious 
word  as  in  chap.  ii.  12,  and  the  tense,  which  is  ill-repre- 
sented by  "while  they  behold."  sets  us  at  the  moment  of 
the  triumph  of  th(>  wife's  conduct,  literally,  having  kept, 
or  when  they  have  hept  an  eye  on  your  chaste  conversa- 
tion. The  husband  is  jealously  on  the  watch  to  see 
what  his  wife  does  who  has  embraced  these  foolish 
notions;  at  last  he  breaks  down.  Jesus  must  be  the 
Messiah,  or  his  wife  could  not  have  been  so  chaste ! 
The  adjective  "  chaste  "  is  here  to  be  taken  in  a  large 
sense  ;  it  is  the  same  which  enters  into  the  verb  trans- 
Lated  "  purify  "  in  chap.  i.  22,  and  it  is  implied  that  the  , 
"  fear  "  (i.e.,  of  the  husband ;  comp.  Note  on  chap.  ii.  18) 
has  been  an  incentive  to  this  sweet  vartue;  "your  life 
so  immaculate  in  fear,"  or  even  almost   "so  timidly 


The  most  fitting 


I.  PETEK,   III. 


Adornment  of  Wives. 


(3)  Whose  adorning  let  it  not  be  that 
outward  adornincj  of  plaiting  the  hair, 
and  of  wearing  of  gold,  or  of  putting 
on  of  apparel ;"  ^^^  but  let  it  he  the  hidden 
man  of  the  heart,  in  that  which  is  not 


a  1  Tim.  2.  9. 


corruptible,  even  the  ornament  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit,  which  is  in  the  sight 
of  God  of  great  price.  ^^^  For  after  this 
manner  in  the  old  time  the  holy  women 
also,  who  trusted  in  God,  adorned  them- 


piire."  Lci<iflitoii  says,  "  It  is  a  delicate,  timorous  grace, 
afraid  of  the  least  air,  or  shadow  of  auytliiiig  that 
hath  but  a  roseinblance  of  wronging  it,  in  carriage  or 
speech,  or  apparel,  as  follows  in  the  third  and  fourth 
verses." 

(3)  Whose  adorning  let  it  not  be  .  .  .  .—The 
passage  shows  tiiat  the  Asiatic  Christians  were  not  all  of 
the  pooi'er  classes.  Many  of  tlio  wealthy  Jewesses  had 
joined  them.  The  wealth  of  tlie  Ephesiau  Christians 
about  this  time  may  be  gathered  from  1  Tim.  ii.  9,  and 
of  the  Laodiceans  from  Rev.  iii.  17.  Two  things  are 
to  be  noted  about  the  advice  here  given.  (1)  It  is  not 
intended  directly  as  a  corrective  of  vanity.  St.  Peter 
is  not  bidding  them  beware  of  love  of  dress,  althongh 
(as  Bengel  points  out)  the  three  words  of  "  jjlaiting," 
"  wearing "  (literally,  putting  round  oneself),  and 
"putting  on,"  are  intended  to  convey  the  notion  of 
elaborate  processes  in  which  time  is  wasted.  But  the 
main  thought  is,  How  are  the  husbands  to  be  attracted  ? 
Not,  says  St.  Peter,  by  any  external  prettiness  of 
adornment,  Irat  by  inward  graces.  (2)  The  Apostle  is 
not  forbidding  tlie  use  of  gold,  &c.  Leighton  (him- 
self something  of  a  precisian)  says,  "  All  regard  of 
comeliness  and  ornament  in  apparel  is  not  unlawful, 
nor  doth  the  Ajiostle's  expression  here,  rightly  con- 
sidered, fasten  that  upon  the  adorning  he  here  speaks 
of.  He  doth  no  more  universally  condemn  the  use  of 
gold  for  ornament  than  he  doth  any  other  comely 
raiment,  which  here  he  means  by  that  general  word  of 
putting  on  of  apparel,  ior  his  'not'  is  comparative; 
not  this  adorning,  but  the  ornament  of  a  meelc  spirit, 
that  rather,  and  as  much  more  comely  and  precious ; 
as  that  known  expression  (Hos.  vi.  6),  '  /  will  have 
mercy,  and  not  sacrifice.''  "  At  the  same  time  he  is,  of 
course,  speaking  of  these  things  with  studied  contempt : 
and  wo  may  be  sure  he  would  have  spoken  with 
abhorrence  of  any  adorning  which  partook  oi  the  nature 
of  lying.  Even  in  one  of  Xeiiophou's  works  there  is 
a  charming  passage  where  an  Athenian  gentleman 
expostulates  with  his  wife  on  the  folly  of  hoping  to 
attract  him  by  wearing  high -heeled  shoes  and  painting 
her  face  with  rouge  and  white. 

W  But  let  it  be  .  .  .—The  connection  of  the  clauses 
is  somewhat  difficult,  but  is  made  more  so  by  our 
translation  of  verse  3.  Literally  it  would  run,  of  whom 
let  it  not  be,  or,  to  lohom  let  there  not  belong  the  outward 
adorning,  but  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart.  If  we 
adopt  the  translation  in  the  Authorised  Version,  it 
makes  "  the  hidden  man"  an  ornament  to  be  worn  in 
preference  to  the  gold  and  braided  hair,  which  would 
be  both  illogical,  and  dishonouring  to  "  the  hidden 
man."  What  St.  Peter  says  is,  "  Do  not  rely,  for 
winning  your  husbands,  upon  ornamentation  (which  is 
but  external),  but  upon  character." 

The  hidden  man  of  the  heart.— Not  equivalent 
to  St.  Paul's  expression,  "  the  new  man"  (Epli.  iv.  24), 
but  simply  tlie  inner  self  the  true  self — i.e.,  the  genuine 
moral  character.  It  is  moi-o  like  St.  Paul's  i)hrase, 
"the  inward  man,"  aiul  may,  perhaps,  liave  been 
adapted  from  it.  (Comp.  Rom.  vii.  22 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  16 ; 
Ejih.  iii.  It).)  According  to  his  custom,  St.  Peter 
explains  by  adding  the  genitive,  "  of  the  heart."  (Comp. 
chap.  i.  13.)      At  the  same  time,  the  choice  of  that 


particular  word,  rather  than  "  soul "  or  "  mind,"  gives 
warmth  and  affection  to  what  might  otherwise  seem  a 
bare  moral  or  uK^taphysical  conception. 

In  that  which  is  not  corruptible. — The  sense 
is  somewhat  obscured  by  our  insertion  of  "even  the 
ornament."  Had  it  been  "  even  in  the  ornament,"  it 
would  have  been  clearer,  though  not  right  even  then. 
It  is  literally,  in  the  imperishableness  of  the  meek  and 
quiet  spirit,  contrasting  the  abiding  beauty  of  chai'acter 
with  the  "  perishable  "  or  "  contemptible  "  nature  of 
the  ornaments  just  spoken  of.  So  in  chap.  i.  18,  ho 
spoke  of  "  silver  and  gold  "  as  "  perishable."  The  same 
kind  of  i^hrase  is  used  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Tim.  vi.  17, 
"  trust  in  the  uncertainty  of  riches  " — i.e.,  in  riches 
which  are  but  uncertain  things.  So  here,  "in  the 
imperishableness  of  the  meek  spirit "  means  in  the  meek 
spirit,  which  is  not  (like  gold)  a  perishable  thing.  Yet 
the  preposition  "  in  "  must  not  bo  taken  as  erpiivalent 
to  "  dressed  in,"  "  adorned  -with ;  "  the  "  meek  and 
quiet  spirit  "  is  not  a  mere  decoration  of  the  "  hidden 
man."  Neither,  on  the  other  hand,  is  it  quite  "  con- 
sisting in,"  as  though  "  hidden  man "  and  "  meek 
spirit "  were  identical ;  for  "  the  hidden  man  of  the 
heart "  would  be  bad  in  bad  men,  and  good  in  good : 
see,  for  instance,  our  Lord  displaying  the  hidden  man 
of  the  Pharisee's  heart  (Matt,  xxiii.  28).  It  is  rather 
the  particular  mode  in  which  St.  Peter  wishes  the 
inward  character  to  exhibit  itself.  We  might  para- 
phrase the  whole  thus  : — "  Let  it  not  be  '.vith  you  a 
matter  of  external  ornamentation — elaboi-ate  processes, 
and  costly,  but  perishable,  decorations — but  let  it  be  a 
matter  of  the  heart,  the  character,  the  true  self, 
manifesting  itself  in  a  constant  tone  of  unassuming 
and  imperturbable  sweetness — an  imperishable  attrac- 
tion." The  woi-d  "  spirit  "  here  is  used,  not  in  its  strict 
metaphysical  sense,  but  in  the  sense  of  a  mood  or 
general  tenour  and  complexion  of  life;  as.  for  instance, 
in  Luke  ix.  55  (perhaps),  1  Cor.  iv.  21.  Gal.  vi.  1,  and 
elsewhere.  St.  Peter  assures  us  in  this  passage  that 
moral  characteristics  gained  in  this  life  remain  our 
characteristics  in  the  next. 

Which  is  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price. 
— The  antecedent  to  "  which "'  has  been  variously  taken. 
Is  it  "the  meek  and  quiet  spirit  f"  Is  it  "the  im- 
perishableness of  the  meek  and  quiet  spirit  ?  "  Or  is  it 
"  the  hidden  man  of  the  heart  exhil)iting  itself  in  such 
a  spirit?  "  Each  has  something  to  be  said  for  it.  but 
the  last  seems  nearest  to  the  truth.  The  thing  which 
is  valuable  in  the  eyes  of  God  is  the  having  such  au 
inward  character.  'Thus  we  might  put  a  stronger  stop 
at  the  word  "  spirit;  "  and  this  relanve  clause  will  bo 
another  instance  of  St.  Peter's  favourite  mode  of  speech 
noticed  on  chap.  ii.  24.  Such  a  possession  will  be  not 
only  attractive  to  tlie  husband  for  the  time,  but  lias  a 
permaiKMit  value  as  being  esteemed  by  God. 

(5)  For  after  this  raanner.— Here  we  have  not 
only  the  ground  of  the  foregoing  precepts,  l)ut  also 
of  "the  assurance  that  God  sets  a  valu(>  on  such  em- 
bellishments. It  had  been  accepted  l)y  Him  in  the 
holy  woMUMi  of  old  who  hoped  in  Him.  and  would  l)0 
accepted  again.  "  The  Apostle  enforces  his  doctrine  by 
examide," "says  Leighton:  "the  most  comi>endious  way 
of  teaching."     By  "  holv  women"  he  means,  not  only 


413 


Example  of  Sara. 


I.   PETER,   III. 


Dui>/  of  llusbatuls. 


selves,  being  in  subjection  unto  tlieir 
own  husbands :  ^^^  even  as  Sara  obeyed 
Abraham,  calling  him  lord:"  whose 
daughters'  ye  are,  as  long  as  ye  do 
well,    and   are    not    afraid*    with    any 


c  1  Cor.  7. 12 
a  Gen.  18. 12. 


amazement.     (■^^  Likewise,  ye  husbands, 
dwell   with   them''   accord- 
ing   to   knowledge,  giving  correspondJ- 
honour''  unto  the  wife,  as   duty   of    hu.s- 
unto    the    weaker    vessel. 


bauds. 


-consecrated  by  their 
our   reverence  in  Holy 


lioly  in  character,  but  "  sainted  "- 
niemories  being  recorded  for 
Writ. 

Who  trusted  in  God.^Tt  is  a  great  pity  that 
"  trusted  ''  .-should  liavo  been  substituted  for  tlie  original 
"  hoped."  The  position  of  Sara  and  the  holy  women 
of  the  Old  Testament  was  one  of  expectancy,  of  looking 
fonvarcl  to  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise ;  and  the  de- 
scription of  them  as  such  is  intended  to  make  the 
readers  of  the  letter  feel  the  difference  of  their  position. 
To  them  the  promise  to  Sara  was  accomplished.  The 
exjiression  contains  a  reference  to  the  mention  of  God 
in  the  last  verse. 

Adorned  themselves,  being  in  subjection.— 
The  imperfect  tense  of  the  verb  means  "  itsed  to  adorn 
themselves."  They  took  daily  ])ains  thus  to  adorn 
themselves,  and  spent,  perhaps,  as  long  in  the  process 
as  the  other  ladies  over  their  toilette.  The  participle 
which  is  added  explains  more  fully  the  "  after  this 
manner."     Their  subjection  was  their  ornament. 

(•i)  Even  as  Sara. — A  definite  example  of  the 
general  fact  just  alleged.  St.  Peter  seems  rather  to 
have  argiunl  from  what  every  one  would  feel  must  have 
been  the  case  than  from  explicit  records.  Sara's  usual 
subjection  is  clearly  seen  in  the  one  instance  to  which 
St.  Peter  refers  (Gen.  xviii.  12),  where  Sara,  though 
not  addressing  Abraham,  but  speaking  to  herself,  calls 
him  "  my  lord."  People  show  their  usual  habits  of 
mind  more  freely  in  speaking  to  themselves. 

Whose  daughters  ye  are. — A  very  misleading 
version,  following  the  Vulgate.  What  St.  Peter  says 
is,  whose  children  ye  became,  or  ivere  made.  There 
was  a  definite  period  in  their  past  lives  at  which  they 
came  to  be — what  they  were  not  befoi'e — children  of 
•  Sara.  Have  we  not  here,  therefore,  a  distinct  proof 
that  these  readers  of  the  Epistle  were  Gentiles  and 
not  Jewesses  ?  Not  so.  The  phrase,  "  which  hoped 
in  God,"  jjoiuting  as  it  does  to  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah,  prepares  us  to  understand  how  these  Hebrew 
women  became  Sara's  children.  It  was  only  by  enter- 
ing into  her  hope  and  attaching  themselves  to  Jesus 
Christ,  for  whose  coming  she  had  looked.  St.  Peter 
has  already  been  insisting  on  the  nothingness  of  the 
fleshly  descent,  the  "corruptible  seed."  As  has  been 
pointed  out  on  chap.  i.  24,  this  doctrine  was  not  first 
taught  by  St.  Paul,  for  St.  Peter  had  heard  it  from 
the  Baptist  (Matt.  iii.  9)  and  from  our  Lord  Himself 
(John  viii.  39).  "VVliether  persons  were  naturally  Jews 
or  Gentiles,  they  could  not  be  children  of  Aliraham 
without  volunt.arily  becoming  so  by  embracing  his 
principles — i.e.,  by  becoming  Cliristians.  The  participial 
clauses  which  follow  will  need  no  change  of  translation, 
for  they  express  not  the  act  or  process  by  which  these 
ladies  became  children  of  Sara,  Init  the  condition  on 
which  they  would  remain  lier  children.  A  very  similar 
passage  occurs  in  Heb.  iii.  14 :  "  Wo  have  become  par- 
takers of  the  Christ,  if  (for  the  future)  we  hold,"  &c. 
(Comp.  also  1  Thess.  iii.  8 ;  Heb.  iii.  6.) 

Do  well.— See  chap.  ii.  12,  15,  20.  The  word 
means,  of  course,  general  good  behaviour,  especially  in 
all  wifely  duties.  As  this  is  a  condition  of  remaining 
Sara's  children,  it  is  implied  that  it  was  n  characteristic 
of  Sara.     Some  critics  would  even  put  in  a  parenthesis 


all  the  words  from  "  even  as  "  to  "  ye  are,"  and 
attach  these  participles  (as  they  are  in  the  Greek)  to 
the  last  clause  in  verse  .5,  thus:  "adorned  themselves, 
being  in  subjection  to  tlK^ir  own  husbands  (as  Sara,  for 
instance  .  .  .  wlio.se  daughters  ye  were  made),  doing 
well,  and  not  being  afraid,"  &c.  This  is,  however, 
somewhat  cumbrous,  and  leaves  the  clause  "  whose 
daughters  ye  became  "  a  little  too  bald. 

Are  not  afraid  with  any  amazement. — Though 
this  translation  is  grammatically  possible,  it  does  not 
make  such  good  sense  as  to  translate,  are  not  afraid  of 
any  alarm.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  quotation  from  or  allusion 
to  Prov.  iii.  25,  as  Bengel  points  out,  where  "  Be  not 
afraid  of  sudden  fear  "  is  rendered  in  the  LXX.  by 
these  same  peculiar  words.  The  "  Wisdom  "  in  that 
jjassage,  which  brings  the  calmness  with  it,  is  Christ, 
and  it  is  Christ  who  must  be  understood  in  verse  26  : 
"the  Lord  shall  be  thy  confidence."  To  be  afraid  of 
sudden  alarms  and  panics  argues  a  lack  of  tnist  in 
God's  providence  and  power,  and  would,  therefore,  be 
unbecoming  the  daughters  of  Sara,  who  "  hoped  iu 
God."  The  "  alarms  "  which  they  naturally  might  fear 
are,  of  course,  quite  general,  but  especially  here,  we 
may  suppose,  dread  of  what  their  unbelieving  husbands 
might  do  to  them.     (Comp.  verse  13  et  seq.) 

(7)  Likewise,  ye  husbands. — The  subjection  is 
not  to  be  all  one-sided,  though  the  husband's  subjection 
to  the  wife  will  be  of  a  different  kind  from  the  wife's 
to  him.  We  are  hardly  to  take  this  as  a  separate 
paragraph  from  the  foregoing,  but  rather  as  a  corollary 
added  to  it,  to  correct  a  false  impression  that  might 
otherwise  have  been  conveyed. 

Dwell. — Kathev,  divelling.  The  participle  is  attached 
to  the  previous  sentences,  just  as  iu  chaps,  ii.  16,  18, 
iii.  1 ;  but  St.  Peter  does  not  like  to  say  to  the  husbands 
"  submitting  yourselves  "  (though  it  is  implied  in  the 
"  likewise "),  and  conveys  the  deference  which  the 
husbands  are  to  pay » under  other  terms :  such  as 
"  according  to  knoAvledge,"  "  giving  honour." 

With  them. — The  whole  order  of  the  sentences 
needs  re-arrangement  as  follows :  Ye  husbands,  like- 
wise,  dwelling  according  to  hnoivledge,  as  with  a  weal;er 
vessel,  with  what  is  female,  apportioning  honour  as  to 
joint  heirs  also  of  a  grace  of  life.  In  order  to  under- 
stand this  very  hard  passage,  we  must  remember  what 
is  St.  Peter's  object  all  througliout  these  instnictioiis, 
viz.,  to  commend  Christianity  to  jealous  watchers  with- 
out. Hei'e,  therefore,  we  may  well  suppose  that  he  is 
tliiiiking  cliietly  of  the  case  of  believing  husbands 
(.Jewish)  married  to  unbelieving  wives  (Jewish  also\ 
thus  ])resenting  the  counter-picture  to  that  of  verse  1. 
And  the  first  thing  is  that  they  are  to  "  dwell  with  " 
these  wives,  not  to  divorce  them,  nor  to  cease  f rom  > 
conjugal  cohabitation  witli  them ;  such  harshness  would  i 
lend  very  little  attractiveness  to  the  Christian  religion f 
among  the  Jewish  liomes  to  which  the  divorced  wife 
would  turn.  (See  1  Cor.  ^^i.  12  et  seq. — a  passage  which] 
must  almost  have  been  in  St.  Peter's  mind.) 

According  to  knowledge. — This  phrase,  which  j 
is  like  an  adverl),  such  as  "  scientifically,  intelligently,'" 
means  that  the  husband  is  to  study  to  enter  into  the! 
whole   bearings  of  the  case,  to  take  everything   into 
account.     Husband  and  wife  will  not  get  on  together] 


•lli 


The  Mutual  Duties 


I.    PETER,   III. 


of  all  Christians. 


and  as  being  lieirs  together  of  the 
grace  of  life ;  that  your  prayers  be  not 
hindered. 


]       W  rinally,    he  ye  all  of  ^Hap.  m.  3-12. 
t  one  mind,  having  coinpas-  Mutual  duties 
^  uw  drl'thii !,"  s^on  one  of  another,  love^  of  all. 


Bnioothly  at  haphazard,  witliout  pains  taken  to  unch  r- 
sttnui  the  situation.  (Sco  1  Thess.  iv.  4;  "you  should 
hioiv.") 

Unto  the  wife,  as  unto  the  weaker  vessel.— 
Or  rather,  as  vre  now  take  it,  as  ivith  a  ivealcer  vessel, 
icitli  xohat  is  female.  Tliis  explains  the  sayinj^  "  accord- 
ing to  knowlcd<je."  Tlie  thing  wliicli  the  huslmnd  is 
specially  to  understand  and  take  into  account  is  that 
he  is  dealing  with  a  thing  less  strong  than  himself. 
The  whole  of  chivalry  is  in  these  words,  and  St.  Peter 
(next  after  Christ)  may  be  considered  the  founder  of 
it.  Weakness  itself,  by  being  weakness,  has  a  claim 
upon  the  strong  man's  deference  and  self-submission. 
The  weakness  here  ascribed  to  the  female  sex  is 
primarily  that  of  the  body,  as  we  sliall  see  wlien  we 
consider  the  word  "vessel,"  though  it  may,  perhaps, 
indicate  frailty  in  other  respects  as  well.  If  the  word 
"vessel"  is  to  be  hei-e  a  description  of  a  "wife,"  as 
some  contend  on  1  Thess.  iv.  4,  in  a  sense  in  which  it 
does  not  equally  describe  a  husband,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  with  wliat  the  vessel  is  compared  and  pro- 
nounced weaker.  "  Dwell  with  the  female  as  with  a 
more  delicate  vessel  or  instrument "  than  what  ?  If 
we  answer  "  than  yourselves,"  it  becomes  clear  that  the 
husbands  are,  by  implication,  less  delicate  vessels.  And 
this  is  the  case.  In  the  Note  on  1  Thess.  iv.  4,  it  has 
been  shown  that  the  word  "  vessel"  (whether  as  recep- 
tacle or  as  instrument)  is  a  description  of  the  body,  or 
rather  of  the  self  as  manifested  in  the  body.  The  word 
in  itself  may  be  used  to  describe  anything  made  to  be 
ser'saceable — macliiuery,  tackle  and  gear,  pots  and  pans, 
and,  in  fact,  any  kind  of  apparatus  or  implement — and 
here  it  miglit  be  very  fairly  rendered,  "  as  with  a  weaker 
thing  or  object."  That  which  is  translated  "the  wife  " 
is  really  a  neuter  adjective,  and  it  is  a  question  whether 
we  are  to  supply  with  it  the  noun  "vessel" — "  with  the 
female  [vessel]  as  with  a  vessel  which  is  weaker  " — or 
whether  it  is  to  stand  absolutely,  "  the  female,"  as  we 
say  "  the  good,"  "  the  evil  " — i.e.,  "  that  which  is 
female."  The  latter  seems,  on  the  whole,  simpler  and 
more  forcible,  as  calling  closer  attention  to  the  fact  of 
weakness  being  inherent  in  the  sex. 

Giving  honour.— The  word  for ''giving"  implies 
rendering  a  portion  wliicli  is  chie.  And  what  is  here 
called  "  honour  "  is  not  to  bo  understood  only  of  the 
wife's  maintenance  (as  some  say),  though  such  is 
probably  the  interpretation  of  the  word  in  1  Tim.  v.  17, 
and  comp.  Ex.  xxi.  10 ;  nor  is  tlie  wife  only  to  l)e 
honoured  by  being  consulted  in  affaii's  of  moment  and 
put  in  charge  of  the  household.  The  "  honour  "  to  lie 
accorded  to  wives  "  as  to  joint  heirs  of  a  grace  of  life  " 
is  the  same  kind  of  "  honour  "  as  St.  Paul,  in  1  Thess. 
iv.  4,  says  must  be  accorded  to  oneself.  Indeed,  from 
the  juxtaposition  of  three  significant  words  there,  we 
can  liardly  escape  tlie  conclusion  that  St.  Peter  was 
rememl)eriiig  that  passage  of  St.  Paul,  "  that  every  one 
of  you  should  know  how  to  obtain  possession  of  the  | 
vessel  of  himself  in  sanctification  ind  honour."  It  is 
that  chaste  respect  for  the  wife  which  is  meant  in  the 
Prayer  Book  by  the  phrase,  "With  my  body  I  tlieo 
Worship."  It  means  that  the  liusband  must  not  dare 
to  take  any  liberties  with  his  wife.  Would  the  Cliristian 
husband  be  likely  to  a])prove  his  religion  to  the  un- 
believing wife  if  slie  found  that  he  took  a  coarse  view  j 
of  the  conjugal  tic  ? 

41 


And  as  being  heirs  together  of  the  grace  of 
life. — There  is  here  a  very  intricate  qiiestion  of  read- 
ings, on  which  it  depends  whether  the  "  heirs  "  are 
to  be  nominative  or  dative,  the  husbands  or  the  wives. 
The  present  annotator  prefers,  on  the  Avhole,  to  follow 
Tischendorf,  and  read  the  dative,  "  paying  respect  as 
to  persons  who  are  also  joint  heirs  (i.e.,  with  you)  of  a 
grace  of  life."  Happily,  it  comes  to  nmch  the  same 
thing,  the  only  diiference  being  that  in  the  one  case 
deference  is  ^)aid  to  the  wife  on  the  ground  of  her 
possessing  a  joint'  dignity  with  the  husband,  and  in  the 
other  case  on  the  ground  that  tlie  husband  does  not 
j)Ossess  his  dignity  except  conjointly  with  the  wife. 
That  dignity  which  they  conjointly  "inherit" — i.e., 
possess  as  a  gift  from  God — is  called  "  the  grace  (or 
l^erhaps,  a  grace)  of  life."  This  is  generally  inter- 
preted to  mean,  "  the  gracious  gift  of  everlasting  life." 
Undoubtedly,  "life"  is  often  used  absolutely  in  the 
New  Testament  to  mean  eternal  Aid— e.g..  Matt.  xWii.  8 ; 
and  it  gives  a  very  intelligible  sense,  that  the  husband 
should  reverence  the  wife  as  being  equally  with  him- 
self an  everlasting  soul.  But  this  neither  gives 
sufficient  force  to  the  conjoint  nature  of  the  possession, 
nor  does  it  take  into  account  the  possibility  of  such  a 
case  as,  in  fact,  we  suppose  to  be  here  intended,  viz.,  of 
a  belie^nng  husband  and  unbelieving  wife.  Altliough, 
in  a  sense,  "  the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  hy  the 
husband  "  (1  Cor.  vii.  14),  yet  not  in  such  a  sense  as 
for  them  to  be  called  conjoint  possessors  of  eternal 
life.  It  seems  best,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  the 
"  grace  (or  dower)  of  life  "  which  husband  and  wife 
hold,  not  only  in  common,  but  conjointly,  is  life  in  the 
natural  sense.  This  "  grace,"  this  mysteidous  and 
divine  gift — not  apart  from  one  another,  but  conjointly — 
they  are  pri\'ileged  by  the  Creator's  primeval  benedic- 
tion (Gen.  i.  28)  to  transmit.  They  have  the  power 
(no  Archangel  has  the  like)  to  bring  human  l>eings 
into  existence.  And  in  consideration  that  such  is  tlie 
dignity  and  the  intention  of  marriage,  a  man  may  well 
be  called  upon  to  revere  his  partner  in  the  great  pre- 
rogative. 

That  your  prayers  be  not  hindered— ?.e.,  the 
husl)ands'  prayers,  not  neccssaril\'  tlioir  prayers  with 
their  wives.  It  is  easy  to  feel  liow  the  consciousness 
of  having  treated  a  wife  with  less  awe  than  is  indicated 
by  the  foregoing  words  would  clog  the  man's  prayers, 
whether  for  himself  or  for  liis  wife's  conversion — the 
latter  being,  probably,  what  St.  Peter  chiefly  meant. 
Very  likely  he  had  in  view  what  St.  Paul  writes  iu 
I  Cor.  vii.  5. 

(8)  Finally,  be  ye  all. — A  return  from  the  special 
to  the  general.  St.  Peter  has  not,  however,  forgotten 
the  purpo,^e  with  which  the  former  rules  were  given ; 
his  thought  is  still  liow  to  produce  a  riglit  impression 
on  the  unlielieviug  world,  although  some  of  these  in- 
junctions touch  only  intci-nal  relations  between  mem- 
bers of  the  Church.  "By  tliis  shall  all  men,''  .'^ays 
our  Lord,  "know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have 
love  one  to  another''  (John  xiii.  35);  and.  again,  "That 
they  all  may  be  one  .  .  .  that  the  icorld  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me"  (John  xvii.  21).  Accord- 
ingly, tliis  verse,  like  verses  1  and  7.  is  attached  to 
cli,ip.  ii.  18,  and  should  lie  translated,  Fimdhj.  being  all. 

Of  one  mind. — Or.  unanimous.  Tlioughthe  Greek 
word  does  not  occur  el-^cwlierc  iji  the  New  Testament, 


Tlie  Duty  of  Kindness 


I.   PETER,   III. 


and  Forbearance. 


as  brethren,  he  pitiful,  he  courteous : 
<'*^  not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing 
for  railing  :  but  contrariwise  blessing  ; 
knowing  that  ye  are  thereunto  called, 
that  ye  should  inhei'it  a  blessing.  (^"^^  For 


0  Ps.  34. 12,  4r. 


he"  that  will  love  life,  and  see  good 
days,  let  him  refrain  his  tongue  from 
evil,  and  his  lips  that  they  speak  no 
guile :  (^^)  let  him  eschew  evil,  and  do 
good ;  let  him  seek  jDeace,  and  ensue  it. 


the  duty  is  onjoinoJ  often,  e.g.,  Rora.  xii.  16  ;  2  Cor. 
xiii.  11 ;  Phil.  ii.  2.  It  iuvolves  au  agreement  not  only 
in  doctrine  but  in  practical  aims,  the  affections  of  all 
being  in  the  same  direction.  This  unanimity  requires 
expression  to  be  conscious,  and  therefore  it  strikes  at 
the  root  of  the  reserve  by  which  Christian  people  do 
not  open  out  their  lioarts  to  each  other  in  the  matter 
of  religion.  Such  unity  of  mind  is  no  product  of  in- 
difference, which  Leighton  describes  as  ''  not  a  knitting 
together,  but  a  freezing  togetlier,  as  cold  congregates 
all  bodies  how  heterogeneous  soever,  sticks,  stones,  and 
watei'." 

Having  compassion  one  of  another. — Liter- 
ally, sympathetic.  The  word  ''  compassion  "  lias  lost 
the  meaning  which  it  once  had,  and  signifies  little 
more  than  pity.  Here  the  command  includes  the  "  re- 
joicing with  them  that  do  rejoice,"  as  much  as  the 
"weeping  with  them  that  weep"  (Rom.  xii.  26).  The 
same  word  only  occurs  again  in  Heb.  iv.  15 ;  x.  34. 

Love  as  brethren. — Again  a  single  adjective, 
fraternal,  or.  loving  the  bretliren.  For  the  meaning 
see  chap.  i.  22,  Notes. 

Be  pitiful. — Rather  (omitting  the  word  "be"), 
tender-hearted.  So  it  is  translated  in  Eph.  iv.  32,  the 
only  other  place  where  it  occurs.  It  differs  from 
"  sympathetic  "  in  being  limited  to  yearnings  over  the 
afflicted.  Strangely  enough,  in  profane  Greek,  the 
word  is  only  found  to  mean  ''  •sirong'-hearted." 

Be  courteous. — The  injunction  is  so  charming, 
and  so  appropriate  in  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter,  that 
one  is  almost  loth  to  correct  the  reading,  and  substitute 
(undoubtedly  the  right  word)  humble -minded.  This 
adjective  brings  us  back  to  that  mutual  sid)jection  and 
complaisance  which  is  the  main  subject  of  all  these 
rules.     Comp.  also  chap.  v.  5. 

(S>)  Not  rendering.— So  far  St.  Peter  has  been 
speaking  of  internal  conduct.  The  two  last  adjectives, 
however,  lead  gradually  into  the  wider  field  of  conduct, 
and  proljably  now  he  is  thinking  solely  of  relation  to 
the  adverse  world.  Among  the  Christians  surely  there 
would  be  no  "evil"  or  "railing"  to  provoke  a  retort! 
"Evil,"  in  act;  "railing,"  in  word.  (See  chap.  ii.  23, 
and  Rom.  xii.  17.) 

But  contrariwise  blessing. — Xo  doubt  a  remi- 
niscence of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matt.  v.  44). 
The  word  "blessing"  here  is  not  substantive,  but  a 
participle,  opposed  to  "  rendering  :  "  "  not  rendering 
them  evil  or  railing,  but  on  the  contrary  blessing  them." 
Though  the  word  is  chosen  as  the  exact  opposite  of  the 
bad  language  used  against  the  Christians,  "  blessing  " 
may  perhaps  involve  the  opposite  of  unkind  action  as 
well.  It  is  used  for  the  conferring  of  benefits  :  (1) 
spiritual,  in  Acts  iii.  26;  Gal.  iii.  8;  (2)  material,  in 
2  Cor.  ix.  5.  (Comp.  2  Kings  v.  15 ;  Joel  ii.  14 ;  Ha"-, 
ii.  19.)  X  o  ,  ,        „ 

Knowing  that  ye  are  hereunto  called.— Comp. 
chap.  ii.21.  It  should  ho,ivcre  c«//«7,  viz..  when  St. 
Paul  and  others  first  preached  to  you.  What,  then, 
does  he  mean  that  they  were  called  to  ?  to  the  fore- 
going, or  to  the  foUoAviiig.^  to  blessing  instead  of 
rendering  evil  and  railing?  or  to  receive  a  blessing? 
The  comparison  of  chap.  ii.  21  seems  to  support  the 


416 


former,  for  there  the  "  hereunto  "  points  to  what  pro- 
ceded.  The  argument  will  then  be  precisely  the  same 
as  in  that  passage:  "  You  ought  not  now  to  shrink  from 
so  hard  a  duty,  for  you  were  given  clearly  to  under- 
stand,  when  you  were  admitted  into  Christianity,  that 
you  would  have  to  act  thus." 

That  ye  should  inherit  a  blessing. — Rather,  in 
order  that  ye  may  inherit  a  blessing.  God  had  a 
purpose  in  calling  them  to  so  hard  a  task,  and  in  now 
requiring  of  them  the  fulfilment  of  it ;  and  that  pur- 
pose is  that  they  may  receive  a  blessing.  They  must 
not  think  it  an  arbitrary  hardship,  or  a  restriction 
which  will  not  in  the  end  be  found  gainful  to  themselves. 
God's  full  and  eternal  blessing  is  only  to  be  obtained 
through  such  a  course  of  self-suj)pression  and  of  love 
even  to  those  who  hate  us.  The  argument  thus  be- 
comes moi'e  forcible,  and  the  Cjuestiou  which  follows 
more  appropriate,  than  if  we  adopt  the  other  view, 
viz.,  "Bless,  instead  of  retorting,  for  it  is  more  suitable 
for  men  who  are  expecting  to  be  blessed." 

(10)  For. — St.  Peter  will  show  that  he  is  not  going 
beyond  his  book  when  he  says  that  the  blessing  is 
only  to  be  obtained  by  those  who  bless. 

He  that  will  love  life. — The  "  will "  here  is  not 
merely  the  future  tense,  but  "  he  that  hath  a  mind  to 
love  life."  St.  Peter's  quotation,  from  Ps.  xxxiv.  12 — 
16,  is  not  exact,  according  to  either  Septuagiut  or 
Hebrew,  but  the  divergence  is  probably  not  due  to  a 
confusion  of  memory,  but  (as  often)  designed  to  briug 
out  an  additional  significance.  The  Psalmist  had 
asked  merely,  "  Wliat  man  is  he  that  lusteth  to  live  /  " 
and  he  promises  merely  long  life  to  self-restraint.  The 
Apostle  asks.  Who  cares  to  have  a  life  worth  having,  a 
life  which  makes  a  man  glad  to  live?  This  is  the 
"  blessing  "  spoken  of  in  verse  9 — not  simply  everlast- 
ing life,  but  a  life  of  unruffled  happiness.  (Comp.  Ps. 
cxxxiii.  3.)  This  healthy  enjoyment  of  life,  the  opposite 
of  a  morbid  craving  for  death  (see  Eccles.  ii.  17),  is 
implied  to  be  competent  for  any  person  to  attain  who 
"wills." 

"  Serene  will  be  our  days,  and  bright, 
And  happy  will  our  nature  be, 
When  love  is  an  unerring  light, 
And  joy  its  own  security. 

See  good  days. — "  See  "  in  the  same  sense  as — e.g.^ 
Ps.  xxvii.  13 ;  John  iii.  3 ;  Heb.  xi.  5 — for  to  "  expe- 
rience " — consciously  to  enjoy  or  to  suffer,  as  the  case 
may  bo. 

Let  him  refrain. — Literally,  let  him,  stop.  Tlie 
evil  word  is  on  tlie  very  tip  of  his  tongue. 

No  guile. — "  Guile  "  is  often  used,  in  a  very  wide 
sense,  of  a'most  anj'thing  wrong  (see  chap.  ii.  22);  but 
here,  probably,  the  distinction  is  that  "  evil "  means 
open  railing  and  l)itter  speech,  while  "guile"  may 
mean  the  words  which  are  "  softer  than  butter,  having 
war  in  his  heart  "  (Ps.  Iv.  21). 

(1^)  Let  him  eschew  evil. — Literally,  swerve  out 
of  the  icay  from  evil.  The  two  former  clauses  dealt 
with  the  domain  of  tvord ;  these  two  with  the  domain 
of  action.  It  suits  St.  Peter's  intention  better  to  take 
the  verse,  not  as  an  exhortation  to  virtue  in  general, 
but  as  an  instruction  how  to  behave  under  provocatioi 


Exhortation  to  keep 


I.   PETER,   III. 


a  Pure  Conscience. 


(^2)  For  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over 
the  righteous,  and  his  ears  are  oyen 
unto  their  prayers :  but  the  face  of 
tjie  Lord  is  against^  them  that  do 
evil. 

(^'^'  And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you, 


1  Gr.  upon, 
a  Is.  8. 12, 13. 


if  ye  be  followers  of  that 
which  is  good  ?  (^^^  But  and 
if  ye  sulier  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  happy  are  ye  : 
and  be  not  afraid "  of  their 
terror,  neither  be  troubled ; 


Chaps,  iii.  13 — 
iv.6.  Conscious- 
ness of  inte- 
gi'ity  is  the  se- 
cret of  a  happy- 
life,  and  the  se- 
cret of  Christ's 
triumphs. 


and  in  danger.  The  "  good  "  which  the  man  is  to  do 
is  what  is  kind,  not  merely  what  is  virtuous ;  and  so, 
by  contrast,  the  "  evil "  to  be  eschewed  probably  means 
chiefly  what  is  malicious. 

Seek  peace,  and  ensue  it. — "As  much  as  in  you 
lieth,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  live  peaceably  with  all  men." 
It  is  to  bo  a  matter  of  diligent  search ;  and  if  it  seems 
to  flee  away  it  is  to  be  "  ensued  " — i.e.,  pursued.  The 
active  practical  measures  here  prescribed  confirm  the 
surmise  that  "  blessing "  in  verse  8  covered  more 
ground  than  benedictory  prayers. 

(i-^)  For. — Or,  Because.  In  the  Psalm  there  is  no 
such  connecting  particle,  but  it  is  involved  in  the  juxta- 
position. The  sense  that  the  Lord's  eyes  are  over  you 
is  a  suflBcient  reason  for  self-restraint  under  provoca- 
tion :  especially,  perhaps,  when  we  see  that  by  "  the 
Lord  "  St.  Peter  understands  Jesus  Christ.  That  this 
is  the  case  is  clear  from  his  use  of  the  same  Psalm  in 
chap.  ii.  3.  If  Christ,  the  model  of  meekness  under 
persecution  (chap.  ii.  23),  is  watching,  we  not  only  need 
no  passionate  self-defence,  but  should  be  ashamed  to 
use  it.  Was  St.  Peter  thinking  how  once,  while  he 
himself  was  cursing  and  swearing  at  those  who  accused 
him  of  being  a  Christian,  he  felt  the  eyes  of  the  Lord 
turn  upon  him  ?  The  thought  of  His  eyes  being  over 
us  is  chiefly  that  of  guardianship. 

Open  unto  their  prayers. — Rather,  are  towards 
their  prayer — i.e.,  directed  towards  it.  Here,  as  in 
chap.  ii.  3,  the  Prayer  Book  version  has  influenced  our 
translation. 

Against  them  that  do  evil. — There  is  no  differ- 
ence in  the  Greek  between  this  preposition  and  that 
just  rendered  "over."  But  the  countenance  of  the  Lord 
is  over  them  that  do  evil  things.  He  viarhs  what  they 
are  doing.  This  is  sufficient  comfort  when  men  injure 
us  (chap.  ii.  23) ;  sufficient  warning  not  to  injure  in 
return.  It  is  instructive  now  to  turn  and  see  the 
circumstances  in  whicli  this  lovely  Psalm  was  com- 
posed. The  moment  was  one  of  David's  extremest 
peril  among  an  infuriated  heathen  population.  The 
danger  and  dread  he  was  in  are  shown  in  Ps.  \vi.  Yet 
nothing  can  be  brighter  and  more  serene  than  Ps. 
xxxiv.  He  had  obtained  life  and  days ;  and  it  was  all 
through  confidence  in  God  on  the  one  hand,  and  in- 
offensive self-submission  on  the  other.  Had  he  used 
\'iolence — "  shown  spirit,"  as  we  say — like  the  "  young 
lions,"  he  would  have  come  worse  off.  It  seems  to  be 
for  this  cause  that  St.  Peter  deemed  the  Psalm  so 
appropi-iate  to  his  readers,  misjudged  and  suspiciously 
watched  (Ps.  Ivi.  5,  6)  by  unbelievers,  who  only  waited 
the  opportunity  to  shed  their  blood  {ibid.  1,  2).  But 
the  striking  change  is  that,  whereas  Da\Tid's  trust  in 
Jehovah  was  a  trust  simply  in  the  Eternal  Being  with- 
out distinction  of  Persons,  St.  Peter  bids  the  Hebrews 
of  Asia  read  that  Psalm  into  an  act  of  faith  in  Jesus. 
We  shall  see  the  same  thing  in  verse  15,  as  we  saw  it 
in  chap.  ii.  3.  The  force  of  the  change  wiU  be  felt  by 
any  one  who  reads  through  that  Psalm,  substituting 
(like  the  Rheims  version)  "  our  Lord"  for  "  the  Lord.*' 

(13-iv.  6)  Exhortation   to   keep  a  Pure  Con- 
83  41 


SCIENCE. — It  is  the  only  charm  against  persecution. 
It  is  like  Christ  to  suffer  with  a  good  conscience ;  and 
He  had  His  reward  for  it,  in  bringing  us,  and  even 
the  spirits  of  men  who  had  died  impenitent,  to  God 
thereby.  It  is  the  very  meaning  of  the  baptism  by 
which  He  saves  us.  To  feel  its  beauty  and  safety,  we 
have  but  to  consider  the  ugliness  and  danger  of  our 
former  life. 

(13)  And  who  is  he  that  shall  harm  you? — 
There  is  always  a  ring  of  scornful  as.surauce  in  an  in- 
terrogative introduced  by  "  and  :  "  "  And  who,  pray  ?  " 

If  ye  be  followers. — Rather,  if  ye  make  your- 
selves zealots.  The  phrase  looks  on  into  the  future; 
not  merely  "if  at  present  ye  be."  And  the  word 
which  means  "follower"  {i.e.,  imitator)  is  here  a  false 
reading  for  zelotes,  the  name  by  which  St.  Peter's  lesser 
namesake  among  the  Apostles  was  known,  probably 
because  of  his  enthusiastic  attachment  to  the  old  or  to 
the  new  Law.  The  same  zelotes  is  found  in  Tit.  ii.  14 
and  elsewhere.  The  translation,  "  of  Him  which  is  good," 
is  perfectly  possible,  but  does  not  quite  so  well  suit 
the  context.  Some  wi-iters  (Leighton  among  them) 
take  the  verse  to  mean,  or  at  least  to  include,  that  when 
men  see  the  goodness  and  loving-kindness  of  our  lives 
they  will  not  be  disposed  to  hurt  us.  This  thought  is, 
however,  foreign  to  the  passage.  It  means  that  men 
and  devils  may  try  their  worst,  as  they  did  on  Christ, 
and  cannot  harm  us. 

(W)  But  and  if  ye  suffer.— The  old-fasliioned 
phrase  would  read  more  intelligibly  thus :  Nay,  if  ye 
should  even  suffer.  So  far  are  men's  attempts  to 
"harm"  us  (by  acts  of  malice  to  property  or  good  name, 
&c.)  from  really  injuring  us,  that  even  if  it  should 
come  to  be  a  matter  of  "  suffering  "  we  are  to  be  con- 
gratulated. What  he  means  by  this  "  suffering,"  which 
is  so  much  more  than  being  "  harmed,"  may  be  seen 
from  chaps,  ii.  21 ;  iii.  17 ;  iv.  1,  15.  He  means  the" 
horrors  of  capital  punishment.  He  does  not  speak  of 
this  as  something  that  was  already  occurring,  nor  as 
though  it  were  something  immediately  and  certainly 
impending,  but  as  a  case  well  supposable.  There  had 
then  as  yet  been  no  martyrdoms  in  Asia.  The  letter 
is  therefore  earlier  in  date  than  the  Apocalj'pse  (Rev. 
ii.  13).  It  is  a  noticeable  point  that  in  all  St.  Paul's 
Epistles  the  word  "to  suffer"  occurs  but  seven  times, 
and  nowhere  twice  in  the  same  Epistle;  whereas  it 
comes  twelve  times  in  this  one  short  Letter  of  St.  Peter. 

For  righteousness'  sake.— Like  the  "suffering 
wrongfully  "  of  chap.  ii.  19.  It  is  not  as  suffering  that 
it  is  valuable. 

Happy  are  ye. — Quite  the  right  word :  yet  the  use 
of  it  obscures  the  obvious  reference  to  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  (Matt.  v.  10).  The  reference  to  it  is  all  the 
clearer  in  the  Greek  from  the  significant  way  iu  which 
St.  Peter  leaves  his  sentence  incomplete,  merely  giving 
the  catchword  of  the  beatitude.  We  might  represent 
it  to  ourselves  by  putting  "  Blessed ''  in  inverted 
commas,  and  a  dash  after  it.  He  makes  sure  his 
readers  will  catch  the  allusion.  There  is  no  part  of 
our  Lord's  discourses  which  seems  (irom  the  traces  in 


The  Believer  nitist  give  Reason 


I.   PETEE.   III. 


of  tlie  Hope  that  is  in  him. 


I 


(^5)  but  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your 
hearts  :  and  he  ready  always  to  give  an 


answer  to  every  man  that  asketh  you  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you  with 


flio  earliest  Christian  literature)  to  have  taken  so  rapid 
and  firm  a  hold  on  tho  Christian  conscience  as  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Be  not  afraid  of  their  terror.— Here  tho  trans- 
lators might  witli  advantage  have  kept  the  same  word, 
and  said  [a»  in  tho  original  i)assage  from  which  St. 
Peter  is  quoting.  Isa.  viii.  12),  Fear  yc  not  their  fear — 
i.e.,  the  tiling  whicli  makes  them  fear;  do  not  regard 
with  dread  the  same  object  as  they  do.  In  the  original, 
the  persons  whose  fears  Isaiah  and  the  faithful  Jews 
are  not  to  fear  are  those  who  were  in  dread  of  Syria 
and  Israel.  Here  tho  persons  are  not  named ;  but,  of 
course,  according  to  this  inteiiiretation,  "  they  "  cannot 
be'  the  enemies  who  try  to  harm  the  Christians,  but,  if 
any  one,  those  of  the  Christians  who,  for  fear  of  man, 
were  beginning  to  abandon  Christianity.  The  inten- 
tion, however,  is  not  to  press  this  clause  for  its  own 
sake,  but  to  throw  greater  force  upon  the  clause  which 
begins  the  next  verse.  It  argues  carelessness  about 
the  passage  in  Isaiah  to  interpret,  "Be  not  afraid  of 
the  fear  which  your  foes  .strike  into  you." 

(15)  But  sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts. 
— The  tense  of  this  and  the  two  preceding  imperatives 
shows  that  St.  Peter  meant  this  for  advice  to  be  acted 
upon  at  the  moment  of  being  called  on  to  suffer.  Tlie 
passage,  as  it  stands  in  Isaiah,  runs  literally,  "  Jehovah 
Sabaoth,  Him  shall  ye  sanctify,  and  He  (shall  be)  your 
fear,  and  He  your  dread."  It  becomes,  therefore,  very 
striking  when  we  find  that,  without  a  shadow  of  doubt, 
the  right  reading  here  is,  But  sanctify  the  Lord  the 
Christ  in  your  hearts.  How  is  it  possible,  except  on 
the  supposition  that  the  Catholic  docti-ine  is  really  a 
statement  of  fact,  that  a  Jew  like  St.  Peter  should  ever 
liave  come  to  apply  to  a  Man  whom  he  had  known 
familiarly,  a  Man  who  had  served  him  at  table  and  had 
■washed  his  feet,  the  words  which  Isaiah  had  said  about 
the  "  Lord  of  Hosts  ?  "  This  passage  immediately 
precedes  that  wliich  was  quoted  in  chap.  ii.  8,  and  (like 
that)  is  not  caught  up  at  random,  but  as  coming  in  the 
great  Immanuel  passage.  That  presence  of  God  Vvhich 
was  the  palladium  of  Israel  ^n  the  days  of  Hezekiali 
has  found  fulfilment  in  "  the  Christ "  now  given.  But 
what  is  meant  by  "  sanctifying  "  Him  ?  The  phrase  is 
not  elsewhere  used  in  the  New  Testament,  except  in 
the  Lord's  Prayer;  but  in  tho  Old  Testament  see  Lev. 
X.  3;  Isa.  xxix.  23;  Ezek.  xxxviii.  23.  As  to  "glorify" 
God  means  (in  word  and  deed)  to  recognise  His  glorious 
perfections  ;  as  to  "  magnify  "  Him  means  to  recognise 
His  greatness;  as  to  "justify"  Him  means  to  recognise 
His  inherent  justice ;  so  to  "  sanctify  "  Him  means  to 
recognise,  in  word  and  deed.  His  full  holiness,  and 
therefore  to  treat  Him  with  duo  awe.  This  not  only 
substitutes  the  fear  of  God  for  the  fear  of  man  (since 
they  mutually  exclude  each  other),  but  enforces  purity 
of  life,  thus  catching  up  again  "  that  which  is  good " 
and  "for  righteousness'  sake."  This,  adds  St.  Peter, 
is  to  bo  done  "  in  your  hearts."  This  does  not  mean 
simply  "  with  yoiir  hearts,"  or  "from  your  hearts"  {i.e., 
inwardly,  or,  with  all  sincerity  and  devotion),  but  it 
signifies  the  local  habitation  where  tho  Christ  is  to  be 
thus  recoo^niscd.  That  is  to  say:  St.  Peter,  like  St. 
Paul  (Epli.  iii.  17),  acknowledges  an  indioelling  of 
Christ  in  the  hearts  of  the  faithful ;  and  this  indwelling 
not  merely  subjective,  consisting  of  their  constant  re- 
collection of  him,  but  real  and  objective :  there  He  is, 
as  in  a  shrine,  and  thoy  must  pay  due  reverence  to  His 


418 


presence.  The  Apostle  does,  in  fact,  in  those  words 
"  in  your  hearts,"  purposely  call  attention  to  the  differ- 
ence between  Isaiah's  use  of  the  name  Immanuel  and 
the  Christian  meaning  of  it.  To  Isaiah,  God  dwelt  in 
the  mitlst  of  a  people  in  its  coi-porate  capacity;  St. 
Peter  knew  that,  through  the  Incarnation,  each  indi- 
vidual Christian  has  God  in  him,  united  with  him. 

And  be. — The  better  reading  omits  the  connecting 
part  icle,  so  that  we  should  put  "  being "  instead  of 
"  and  be." 

Ready  always  to  give  an  answer. — This  is  the 
consequence  of  sanctifying  Christ  within  by  the  wor- 
ship of  a  pui-e  life,  that  no  moment,  no  questioner  finds 
us  unprepared  to  speak  with  freedom  of  our  hope  in 
Him.  The  word  for  "  answer  "  here  is  apologia,  au 
apohjgy;  not,  of  course,  in  the  modem  sense  of  an 
e.vciose,  but  a  defence,  the  reply  of  an  accused  person, 
like  the  well-known  Apologia  Socratis,  or  the  great 
modern  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua,  or  the  works  from 
which  Tertullian,  Athenagoras,  St.  Justin,  and  others 
are  called  "  The  Apologists."  It  does  not  mean  that 
every  person  is  bound  to  be  able  to  state  intellectually 
the  nature  and  grounds  of  the  Christian  creed,  thouo-h 
such  a  duty  may,  perhaps,  be  fairly  deduced  from  the 
text.  It  does  not  say  that  every  Christian  ought  to 
know  why  he  is  a  Christian,  but  that  every  Christian's 
own  life  ought  to  be  so  free  from  taint,  so  conscious  of 
Christ  enshrined  within,  as  to  cause  him  no  misgiving 
in  defending  the  faith  from  the  calumnies  (see  chap, 
ii.  12)  brought  against  it.  The  constant  readiness,  or 
freedom  from  encumbrance  of  sin,  is  the  main  point, 
"  which  intimates,"  says  Leighton,  "  it  was  not  always 
to  be  do7ie  to  every  one,  but  we,  being  ready  to  do,  are 
to  consider  when,  and  to  whom,  and  how  far."  Con- 
sciousness of  impurity  of  life  shuts  a  man's  mouth 
fi'om  defending  Christian  morality. 

That  asketh  you  a  reasoii. — Rather,  that  de- 
mandcih  of  you  an  account.  It  does  not  mean  inquirers 
about  Christian  doctrine,  but  those  who  call  Christians 
to  account  for  their  profession  of  the  Gospel  hopes. 
Though  it  must  not  be  exclusively  so  taken,  St.  Peter 
c^adently  means  chiefly  the  being  called  into  the  law 
court  to  give  account.  Probably  he  is  thinking  of  our 
Lord's  charge  to  himself  and  his  co-apostles,  in  St. 
Luke  xii.  11.    (Comp.  Matt.  x.  5,  16,  19.) 

Of  the  hope  that  is  in  you. — More  literally,  with 
regard  to  the  hope  that  is  in  you:  i.e.,  with  regard  to 
the  Christianity  in  which  you  share.  It  is,  of  course, 
quite  a  modern  application  to  the  text  to  see  in  this 
anything  of  the  individual  assurance  of  salvation. 
However  fairly  it  may  be  argued  that  a  Christian 
ou^ht  to  know  why  he,  personally,  expects  to  be  saved, 
it  IS  not  the  thought  of  St.  Peter  here.  Christianity 
is  here  called  a  hope,  rather  than  a  faith,  as  in  Acts 
xxviii.  20,  Col.  i.  23,  because,  especially  in  times  of 
persecution,  so  much  of  our  creed  has  a  future  tinge. 

With  meekness  and  fear. — There  ought  certainly 
to  be  added  a  warning  But  before  these  words.     The 
readiness  of  the  Christian's   defence   of  himself  and 
the   Church  from   all  moral  aspersions  is  not  tc  be 
marred  by  any  self-exaltation  or  improper  confidence. 
Archbishop  Leighton  says,  "  Not,  therefore,  blustering  j 
and  flying   out  into  invectives  because  he  hath  the  I 
better  on  it  against  any  man  that  questions  him  touch- 
ing   this  hope,    as   some   think    themselves  certainly  1 
authorised  to  use  rough  speech  because  they  plead  for  j 


So  that  the  False  Accuser 


I.   PETEH,   111. 


may  be  put  to  Shame. 


meekness "  and  fear  :  ^  ^i**'  having  a  good 
conscience ;  that,  whereas  they  speak 
evil  of  you,  as  of  evildoers,  they  may  be 
ashamed  that  falsely  accuse  your  good 
conversation  in   Christ.      <^')  For  it   is 


a  2  Tim.  2.  2r.. 
I  Ur,  reoiicHCe. 


better,  if  the  will  of  God  be  so,  that 
ye  suffer  for  well  doing,  than  for  evil 
doing.  (1^^  For  Christ  also  hath  once 
suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  un- 
just, that  he  might  bring  us  to  God,* 


truth.  Ou  tho  contrary,  so  much  tho  rather  study 
meekness,  for  the  glory  and  advantage  of  tho  truth." 
The  "  fear  "  will  be,  in  largo  measure,  a  dread  of  over- 
stepping the  bounds  of  truth  or  modesty  in  speaking 
of  the  Christian  morals.  The  Acts  of  tho  Martyrs, 
with  all  their  splendour,  too  often  show  how  St.  Peter's 
cautious  Bat  was  needed. 

(ii^)  Having  a  good  conscience. — This  strikes  tho 
key-note  of  the  paragraph.  How  vigorously  St.  Peter 
repeats  it !  "  Zealous  for  that  which  is  good,"  "  for 
righteousness'  sake,"  "sanctify  the  Lord,"  "with  meek- 
ness and  fear,"  "  a  good  conscience,"  "  your  good  con- 
versation." 

Whereas. — The  word  means  precisely  the  same  as 
in  chap.  ii.  12,  where  see  Note. 

They  speak  evil  of  you,  as  of  evil  doers. — 
Tischendorf  follows  one  of  the  best  manuscripts  and 
the  Peschito-SjTiac  version  in  reading  whereas  ye  are 
evil  spoken  of.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  ordinaiy  read- 
ing would  come  in,  from  the  similarity  of  chap.  ii.  12 ; 
and  we  may  pretty  confidently  adopt  the  emendation. 
In  any  case,  the  words  "as  of  evil  doers  "  shoiild  be 
removed. 

They  maybe  ashamed  (or,  confounded). — When? 
St.  Peter  is  evidently  thinking  of  the  Christian  at  the 
bar  of  the  curator  or  pro-consul,  and  the  mortification 
of  the  delator,  or  spy,  who  had  given  information 
against  him. 

Falsely  accuse. — Literally,  insult,  that  is,  "odiously 
calumniate."  The  word  occurs  again  only  in  Luke 
vi.  28. 

In  Christ. — This  is  the  nearest  approach  in  St. 
Peter  to  a  use  of  this  word  as  a  proper  name.  Still, 
it  is  not  so.  Other  Hebrews,  he  reminds  them  in  this 
word,  were  safe  from  persecution  only  by  rejecting 
the  national  hope  of  a  Messiah.  It  is  simply  because 
these  men  are  "  in  Christ  "  that  the  heathens  (perhaps 
also  their  fellow  Jews)  insult  their  conversation.  Tho 
phrase  "  in  Christ,"  i.e.,  as  members  of  the  Church, 
occurs  again  in  chap.  v.  10,  14,  and  the  thought  is 
common  enough  in  St.  John  {e.g.  1  John  v.  20),  but  it 
does  not  come  in  2  Peter,  nor  in  Hebrews,  St.  James, 
or  St.  Jude.  Of  course,  St.  Paul's  Avritings  teem  with 
it.  It  contains  the  converse  side  of  tho  Incarnation 
doctrine  to  tliat  involved  in  verso  15 ;  wo  not  only 
have  the  whole  Christ  dwelling  in  us,  but  He  embraces 
\is  all ;  "  Ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you"  (John  xiv.  20). 

(i")  For  it  is  better. — There  is  a  kind  of  ironical 
suppression  in  this  comparison. 

If  the  will  of  God  be  so. — A  strikingly  reverent 
])hrase  in  the  original,  If  the  will  of  God  should  ivill  it. 
This  is,  of  course,  to  be  taken  only  with  the  word 
"  suffer,"  which  itself  means,  as  in  verse  14,  to  suffer 
capitally.  St.  Peter  is  thinking  of  tho  legal  process 
01  verses  1^,  IG,  coming  to  a  verdict  of  "guilty."  He 
was  himself  daily  expecting  such  a  death. 

For  well  doing. — Better,  perhaps,  as  well  doers. 
It  does  not  necessarily  moan,  in  the  Greek,  tliat  tho 
well  doing  was  tlie  reason  of  the  suffering,  but  simply 
that  it  accompanied  it. 

(18)  For  Christ  also. — This  gives  a  reason  for 
thinking   it   no  such   formidable  tiling  to  suffer  when 


one  is  innocent.  It  has  been  tried  before,  and  the 
precedent  is  encouraging.  "  It  is,"  says  Archbishop 
Leighton,  "  some  known  ease  to  the  mind,  in  any  dis- 
tress, to  look  upon  examples  of  the  like  or  greater 
distress  in  present  or  former  times  ...  As  the  ex- 
ample and  company  of  the  saints  in  suffering  is  very 
considerable,  so  that  of  Christ  is  more  than  any  other, 
yea,  than  all  tho  rest  together."  If  King  Messiah 
(note  that  ho  does  not  call  Him  Jesus)  could  endure  to 
be  cut  off  (but  not  for  Himself),  was  it  for  any  one 
who  clung  to  the  promises  to  shrink  from  the  like 
test  ? 

Hath  once  suflTered. — Even  if  we  retain  the  verb, 
it  should  be  suffered,  not  "  hath  suffered,"  it  is  all  past 
now;  but  much  the  l3etter  reading  is  died,  which  leaves 
no  doubt  about  the  meaning  of  "  suffering  "  in  verse 
17.  And  this  He  did  "  once."  In  this  significant 
word  St.  Peter  strikes  out  the  main  argument  of  a 
great  portion  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (Heb.  vii. 
27 ;  ix.  27 ;  x.  10).  The  thought  that  Christ  suffered 
or  died  "  once "  conveys  comfort  to  these  Christians 
for  several  reasons :  (1)  because  His  death  has,  once  for 
all,  taken  all  terror  from  an  innocent  death;  (2)  because 
no  Christian  will  have  to  die  more  than  one  death ; 
(3)  because  one  death,  so  soon  over  for  ever,  contains 
the  further  idea  of  happiness  and  peace  beyond.  The 
word  "to  die"  in  Greek  is  often  used  in  a  penal  sense — 
"  to  be  put  to  death  " — and  is  to  be  so  taken  here. 

For  sins. — When  the  Apostle  says  "  Christ  also," 
he  raises  a  comparison  between  Christ  and  the  Christian 
martyr.  Now  the  parallel  does  not  merely  consist  in 
tlie  fact  that  both  "  suffer"  or  are  put  to  death.  Both 
are  put  to  death  but  once.  Both  are  put  to  death 
innocent  :  the  martyr  "  while  well-doing,"  Christ 
acknowledged  to  be  "just."  But  this  does  not  cxliaust 
the  likeness.  The  Messiah  is  said  to  be  put  to  death 
"  for  sins."  Now  this  expression  "  for  sins  "  (literally, 
in  connection  ivith  si7is)  is  that  which  is  used  to 
mean  "  as  a  sin-offering."  (See  Rom.  viii.  3 ;  Gal.  i.  4 ; 
Heb.  X.  6,  8,  18,  26 ;  xiii.  11 ;  1  John  ii.  2 ;  iv.  10.) 
If,  therefore,  "  Christ  also  was  put  to  death  as  a  sin- 
offering,"  it  is  implied  that,  in  a  sense,  the  Christian 
martyr  is  also  a  sin-offering,  and  (though  in  an  infi- 
nitely lower  degree)  dies,  like  Him,  "  just  for  unjust." 
This  is  a  fresh  encouragement  to  St.  Peter's  first 
readers  to  meet  death  bravely.  In  what  sense  they 
can  be  saci-ifices  for  other  men's  sins  we  shall  consider 
presently. 

The  just  for  the  unjust. —  That  preposition 
"  for  "  contains  a  volume  of  theology.  Though  it  is  not 
so  weak  a  word  as  tho  one  which  occurs  in  the  plirase 
"  for  sins,"  it  does  not  express  the  notion  of  substi- 
tvtion.  (Comp.  Noto  on  chap.  ii.  21.)  It  is  simply 
"on  behalf  of."  As  a  substitute  for  the  unjust,  we 
make  bold  to  say  tliat  (according  to  Holy  Scripttiro, 
and  the  primitive  fathers,  and  the  conscience  of  man) 
neither  the  martyrs  nor  Christ  Himself  could  have 
made  atonement;  "on  behalf  of"  other  men,  the 
martjTS  could  very  easily  bo  said  to  die.  It  is,  per- 
haps, a  pity  that  the  defijiite  article  lias  been  inserted 
in  our  version.  Tliougli,  of  course,  our  Lord  is  the 
only  human  being  who  can  in  strictness  be  called  just, 


419 


Christ  suffered  I.     PETER,     III.  for  our  Sins. 

being  put   to   death   in  the  flesh,  but  I  I  quickened  by  the  Spirit :   (i^)  by  which 


St.  Peter  means  the  word  here  to  cover  others  besides 
Him  ;  "  Christ  also  died,  a  just  man  on  behalf  of  unjust 
men." 

That  he  might  bring  us  to  God.— Or,  better, 
bring  you ;  thoug^h  it  cannot  bo  stated  peremptorily  in 
this  case  that  such  is  tlie  rejuling.  (See  Note  on  chap. 
i.  12.)  Tlie  substantive  derived  from  this  vei*b  appears 
as  "  access  "  in  Rom.  v.  2 ;  Eph.  ii.  18 ;  iii.  12.  A  most 
important  doctrinal  passage.  St.  Peter  says  not  a  word 
about  tlio  Atonement  in  its  effect  upon  the  mind  of 
tlie  Father  towards  man.  Though  there  is,  no  doubt, 
some  deep  trutli  in  the  phrase  whicli  occurs  in  the 
second  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles — "suffered  ...  to 
reconcile  His  Father  to  us  " — it  is  a  side  on  which  the 
New  Testament  writers  do  not  much  dwell.  It  is 
too  high  a  mystery  for  our  minds  to  reach.  The  phrase 
is  itself  not  Scriptural.  The  New  Testament,  as  has 
been  well  pointed  oiit,  never  even  speaks  of  the  recon- 
ciliation as  muhutl.  The  quarrel  is  treated  as  one-sided, 
so  far,  at  least,  as  in  connection  with  the  Atonement. 
Wlien,  then,  our  Lord  was  put  to  death  as  a  sacrifice 
for  sins — a  righteous  man  on  behalf  of  unrighteous  men 
— St.  Peter  explains  these  terms  by  the  expression  "  in 
order  that  He  might  bring  you  to  God,"  not  "  in  order 
that  He  might  bring  God  to  you."  The  voluntary 
death  of  a  righteous  man  upon  the  cross,  in  the  calm  calcu- 
lation that  nothing  else  would  so  attract  sinful  men 
to  Himself,  and  thus  to  the  Father  who  sent  Him  (John 
xii.  32 — this  is  the  aspect  of  the  Atonement  which 
St.  Peter  sets  forth.  Perhaps  on  another  occasion  he 
might  have  set  forth  a  different  aspect ;  but  now  he  is 
still  thinking  of  the  effect  of  Christian  conduct  upon 
the  outer  world,  and  his  object  is  to  make  the  Clms- 
tians  feel  that  they  too  can,  in  their  measure,  bring  the 
unjust,  tlie  persecuting  heathens  and  Jews,  to  God  by 
innocent  and  voluntary  deaths.  Thus  their  deaths  are 
carrying  on  the  work  of  reconciliation;  and  what 
Christ  did  for  tliem  ("  died  for  you ")  they  do  for 
others.  Well  then  may  they  be  called  blessed  when 
they  suffer  (verse  14). 

Being  put  to  death  in  the  flesh,  but  quick- 
ened by  the  Spirit.— The  interpreters  of  this 
sentence  may  be  classified  in  two  groups,  according  as 
they  imderstand  the  fact  referred  to  in  the  second  clause 
to  be  (1)  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  or  (2)  something 
which  took  place  between  His  deatli  and  His  resurrec- 
tion. Now,  if  wo  could  accept  the  translation  in  the 
English  Bible,  "  by  the  Spirit,"  it  would  be  pretty 
obvious  to  accept  (1);  and  we  should  point  to  such 
passages  as  Rom.  i.  4,  viii.  11,  to  show  that  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  was  due  to  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  would  not  be  possible  to  follow  Oecumenius, 
Calvin,  Beza.  and  Leighton,  in  taking  "  the  flesh  "  to 
mean  generally  the  human  nature  of  Christ,  and  "the 
Spirit  "  l)y  whicli  Ho  was  quickened  to  mean  His  own 
divine  nature ;  for  Christ  has  a  liuman  spirit  as  truly  as 
a  human  body  and  soul,  and  it  would  be  heresy  to  call 
His  divine  nature  His  spirit,  as  though  it  occupied  in 
Him  the  position  which  is  occupied  in  men  by  the 
human  spirit.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  cannot  trans- 
late it  "  quickened  by  the  Spirit."  It  is  literally,  MUed 
indeed  in  flesh,  but  quickened  in  spirit.  Now,  how 
can  "  quickened  in  spirit "  bo  a  description  of  the  Re- 
surrection ?  It  cannot  be  answered  (with  Huther)  that 
the  "spirit"  here  means  the  resurrection  body ;  for 
though  that  is  indeed  a  spiritual  body,  yet  it  is  playing 
fast  and  loose    with   words  to    identify  "  spirit "  and 


420 


"  spiritual  body."  If  the  resurrection  body  be  only 
spirit,  where  is  the  resurrection  ?  Neither  would  the 
antithesis  bo  correct  between  "  flesh  "  and  "  spirit,"  if 
by  "  spirit "  is  meant  the  new  form  of  body  given  at 
the  Resurrection.  Or,  again,  taking  "  spirit  "  in  its  true 
sense  of  the  inward  incoi-poreal  self,  could  the  Resur- 
rection be  described  as  a  quickening  of  it  ?  True,  the 
spirit  itself  will  gain  in  some  way  by  its  re-incorpora- 
tion (2  Cor.  V.  4) ;  but  as  the  spirit  has  been  alive  all 
along,  but  tlie  flesh  lias  been  dead,  the  contrast  would 
be  vei-y  forced  to  express  death  and  resurrection  by 
"  killed  in  flesh,  butquickened  in  spirit,"  instead  of  saying 
rather  "  killed  in  flesh,  but  soon  quickened  in  the  same." 
Thus  we  are  driven  to  (2).  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  words  to  suggest  an  interval  between 
the  quickening  and  the  killing.  They  both  are  parts 
of  the  same  act,  and  both  are  used  to  explain  the  word 
"  died."  It  is  a  kind  of  apology  for  having  used  the 
word  death  at  all  (for  we  have  seen  that  St.  Peter's 
object  is  to  help  the  future  martyrs  to  despise  death, 
verse  14) :  "  Died,  do  I  say  ?  yes,  killed  in  flesh,  it  is 
true,  but  actually  quickened  to  fresh  energies  in  spirit 
by  that  very  act  of  death."  (Comp.  our  Lord's  charge 
to  the  Twelve,  Matt.  x.  28.)  But  how  can  His  death  be 
said  to  have  been  a  quickening  of  His  human  spirit  ? 
Some  take  the  word  to  mean  simply  "  preserved  alive," 
a  word  almost  identical,  being  used  apparently  in  that 
sense  in  Luke  xvii.  33,  Acts  vii.  19.  The  notion,  how- 
ever, would  be  too  weak  here ;  some  energetic  action 
seems  required  to  balance  "  being  killed."  That  St. 
Peter  is  speaking  of  something  not  altogether  peculiar 
to  Christ,  but  common  to  men,  may  still  be  inferred  from 
his  saying  "  Christ  also.^^  The  doctrine,  then,  seems  to 
be  (as  Bengel  and  others  say)  that  the  spirit,  set  free 
from  the  body,  immediately  receives  new  life,  as  it  were, 
thereby.  To  purely  spiritual  realities  it  becomes  alive 
in  a  manner  which  was  impossible  while  it  was  united 
to  the  flesh.  The  new  powers  are  exemplified  in  what 
follows  immediately.  So  long  as  Christ,  so  long  as  any 
man,  is  alive  in  the  flesh,  he  cannot  hold  converse  with 
spirits  as  such;  but  the  moment  death  severs  flesh  and 
spirit  the  spirit  can  deal  with  other  spirits,  which  Christ 
pi'oceeded  forthwith  to  do. 

(19)  By  which.— If  "  by  the  Spirit  "  had  been  right 
in  the  former  verse,  this  translation  might  have  stood 
here,  though  the  word  is  literally  in;  for  "in"  is 
often  used  to  mean  "  in  the  power  of,"  "  on  the  strength 
of  :"  e.g.,  Rom.  viii.  15.  But  as  that  former  rendering 
is  untenable,  we  must  here  keep  strictly  to  in  which — 
i.e.,  in  spirit.  This  might  mean  either  of  two  things: 
(1)  "  spiritually  speaking,"  "so  far  as  thought  and  sym- 
pathy goes,"  as,  for  instance,  I  Cor.  v.  3,  Col.  ii.  5  ;  or 
else  (2)  "  in  spirit."  as  opposed  to  "  in  the  body  " — i.e., 
"  out  of  the  body  "  (2  Cor.  xii.  2 ;  comp.  Rev.  i.  10),  as 
a  disembodied  spirit.  We  adopt  the  latter  rendering 
without  hesitation,  for  reasons  which  will  be  clearer 
in  the  next  Note. 

He  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in 
prison. — Tliere  are  two  main  ways  of  interpreting  this 
mysterious  passage.  (1)  The  spirits  are  understood  as 
being  noto  in  prison,  in  consequence  of  ha^^ng  rejected 
His  preaching  to  them  while  they  were  still  on  earth. 
Accowling  to  this  interpretation — which  has  the  support 
of  such  names  as  Pearson,  Hammond,  Barrow,  and 
Leighton  (though  he  afterwards  modified  his  opinion), 
among  ourselves,  besides  divers  great  theologians  of 
other  countries,  including  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  on  the 


He  ineached  to 


I.   PETER,   III. 


(lie  Spirits  in  Prison. 


also  lie  went  and  preaclied"  unto  the 
spirits  in  prison ;  *  ('^^^  which  sometime 
were  disobedient,  when  once  the  long- 


a  ch.  i.  a. 
b  2  Pet.  2. 1 


suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing, 
wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls  were 


one  hand  and  Bezca  on  the  other — it  was  "  in  spirit," 
i.e.,  mystically  speaking,  our  Lord  Himself  who,  in  and 
through  the  person  of  Noah,  preached  repentance  to 
the  old  world.  Thus  the  passage  is  altogether  dis- 
sociated from  the  doctrine  of  the  descent  into  hell ; 
and  the  sense  (though  not  the  Greek)  would  be  better 
expressed  by  writing.  He  had  gone  and  preached  unto 
the  spirits  \\iow)  in  priso7i.  In  this  case,  however,  it 
is  difficult  to  see  the  purpose  of  the  digression,  or  what 
could  have  brought  tiio  subject  into  St.  Peter's  mind. 
(2)  The  second  interpretation — which  is  that  of  (practi- 
cally) all  the  Fathers,  and  of  Calvin,  Luther  (finally), 
Bellarmine,  Bengel,  and  of  most  modern  scholars — 
refers  the  passage  to  what  our  Lord  did  while  His  body 
was  dead.  This  is  the  most  natural  construction  to  put 
upon  the  words  "  in  which  also "  {i.e.,  in  spirit).  It 
thus  gives  point  to  the  saying  that  He  was  "  quickened 
in  spirit,"  which  would  otherwise  be  left  very  meaning- 
less. The  "  spirits "  here  will  thus  correspond  with 
"  in  spirit "  there.  It  is  the  only  way  to  assign  any 
intelligible  meaning  to  the  words  "  He  went  and "  to 
suppose  that  He  "  went "  straight  from  His  quickening 
in  spirit — i.e.,  from  His  death.  It  is  far  the  most 
natural  thing  to  suppose  that  the  spirits  were  in  prison 
at  the  time  when  Christ  went  and  preached  to  them. 
We  take  it,  then,  to  mean  that,  directly  Christ's  human 
spirit  was  disengaged  from  the  body.  He  gave  proof 
of  the  new  powers  of  purely  spiritual  action  thus  ac- 
quired by  going  off  to  the  place,  or  state,  in  which 
other  disembodied  spirits  were  (who  would  have  been 
incapable  of  receivuig  direct  impressions  from  Him 
had  He  not  Himself  been  in  the  purely  spiritual 
condition),  and  conveyed  to  them  certain  tidings :  He 
"preached"  unto  them.  What  was  the  substance  of 
this  preaching  we  are  not  here  told,  the  word  itself 
(which  is  not  the  same  as,  e.g.,  in  chap.  i.  25)  only 
means  to  publish  or  proclaim  like  a  crier  or  herald; 
and  as  the  spirits  are  said  to  have  been  disobedient  and 
in  prison,  some  have  thought  that  Christ  went  to  pro- 
claim to  them  the  certainty  of  their  damnation !  TJie 
notion  has  but  to  be  mentioned  to  be  rejected  with 
horror;  but  it  may  bo  pointed  out  also  that  in  chap. 
iv.  6,  which  refers  back  to  this  passage,  it  is  distinctly 
called  a  "gospel;"  and  it  would  be  too  grim  to  call 
that  a  gospel  which  (in  Calvin's  words)  "  made  it  more 
clear  and  patent  to  them  that  they  were  shut  out  from 
all  salvation ! "  He  brought  good  tidings,  therefore, 
of  some  kind  to  the  "  prison "  and  the  spirits  in  it. 
And  this  "  prison  "  must  not  be  understood  (with  Bp. 
Browne,  Articles,  p.  95)  as  merely  "a  place  of  safe 
keeping,"  where  good  spirits  might  be  as  well  as  bad, 
though  etymologically  this  is  imaginable.  The  word 
occurs  thirty-eight  times  in  the  New  Testament  in  the 
undoubted  sense  of  a  "  prison,"  and  not  once  in  that  of 
a  place  of  protection,  though  twice  (Rev.  xviii.  2)  it  is 
used  in  the  derived  sense  of  "  a  cage." 

(20)  Which  sometime  were  disobedient.— The 
absence  of  the  definite  article  here  in  the  Greek  (contrary 
to  St.  Peter's  usage  in  participial  sentences — e.g.,  chap, 
i.  5,  7, 10,  17)  makes  it  possible  to  think  that  the  spirits 
mentioned  in  this  verse  are  not  co-extensive  with  those 
in  prison.  It  is,  literally,  to  men  who  once  upon  a  time 
were  disobedient.  Our  Lord  preached  to  the  whole 
class  of  spirits  in  prison,  of  all  times  and  races;  and 
then,  to  magnify  the  bounty  of  this  act,  St.  Peter  in- 


stances a  particular  group  of  them,  who  were  the  most 
marked  criminals  of  any,  and  whose  case  suggested 
a  useful  application.  He  has  a  reason  for  using  the 
word  ■'  disobedient."  It  would  not  describe  all  sinners, 
but  those  who  had  heard  and  been  convinced  by  the 
word  of  God,  but  refused  to  accept  it.  (See  Note  on 
verso  2.)  This  was  the  case  with  those  to  whom  Noah 
preached  (2  Pet.  ii.  5);  and,  in  spite  of  their  "disobe- 
dience," Christ,  after  His  innocent  and  sacrificial  death, 
went  in  spirit  and  preached  a  gospel  to  them.  Now, 
let  it  be  recollected  that  St.  Peter's  object  through  the 
whole  of  this  section  is  to  encourage  the  Hebrew 
Christians  to  be  ready,  through  a  good  conscience,  for 
a  brave  martyrdom,  if  need  be.  They  are  to  think  how 
their  deaths,  like  Christ's,  may  bring  their  pei'secutors 
to  God.  Nay — he  seems  to  imply — their  very  spirits 
going  forth  into  the  woi'ld  of  spirits  may  conceivably 
carry  a  gospel  of  some  kind  even  to  Hebrew  relatives 
who  have  passed  away,  like  those  Antediluvians,  in  the 
"  disobedience  "  which  was  characteristic  of  the  Jews. 
St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  derives  the  notion  from 
the  Shepherd  of  Hermas,  gives  his  belief  that  the 
Apostles  also,  when  they  died,  pi'eached  to  those  vho 
had  died  before  them ;  and  though  there  is  little  that 
throws  light  on  our  occupation  in  the  intermediate 
state,  it  can  hardly  be  pronounced  impossible  for  some 
spirits  to  be  allowed  to  follow  Christ's  example  there 
by  preaching  to  spirits  in  piison.  Many  expositors, 
afraid  of  the  consequences  of  admitting  that  there 
could  be  a  possible  gospel  for  men  who  died  impenitent, 
have  supposed  that  the  imprisoned  spirits  to  whom 
Christ  went  were  the  less  wicked  people  destroyed  by 
the  Flood ;  others  that  they  were  those  who  had  some 
motions  of  penitence  when  the  rain  began  to  fall ;  but 
these  ideas  are  foreign  to  the  text,  which  only  tells  us 
that  they  "  were  disobedient,"  and  adds  nothing  to 
extenuate  their  crime.  They  are  a  typical  instance  of 
men  who  died  "  as  evil  doers"  (verse  17). 

When  once  the  longsuffering  of  God  waited. 
— The  word  "  once  "  has  no  business  in  the  text,  origi- 
nating only  in  an  ingenious  but  unnecessary  guess  of 
Erasmus.  The  clause  serves  to  heighten  the  gudt  of 
the  poor  sinners  to  whom  Christ  preached  in  prison. 
Not  only  did  they  die  a  judicial  death  for  their  extreme 
sensuality  (Gen.  vi.  3,  11),  not  only  did  they  disobey 
an  isolated  call  to  repentance  from  Noah,  but  con- 
tinuously, through  all  the  time  of  the  building  of  the 
ai'k  (traditionally  120  years),  they  went  on  refusing  to 
listen.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  were  destroyed  without 
a  preacher  to  warn  them,  the  Canaanites  were  anni- 
hilated without  an  otter  of  repentance,  but  these 
abandoned  Antediluvians  sinned  in  spite  of  the  long 
ministry  of  Noah,  and  died  impenitent.  Both  their 
wickedness  and  God's  longsuffering  with  them  were 
embodied  in  Hebrew  proverbs,  which  St.  Peter's  readers 
would  know,  and  yet  Christ  had  a  gospel  for  them. 

While  the  ark.— Better,  u-hile  an  ark.  It  does 
not  merely  describe  the  period  of  the  disobedience,  but 
rather  changes  the  thought  altogether.  We  now  tiim 
from  the  destruction  of  the  majority  to  the  salvation 
of  the  few. 

Wherein. — Literally,  whereinto — i.e.,  by  getting 
into  which. 

Few,  that  is,  eight  souls  were  saved.— The 
mention  of  disobedience  calls  up  to  the  Apostle's  mind 
421 


TJie  Meaning 


I.   PETER,   III. 


of  Baptism, 


saved  by  water.      (-^^  The   like  figure 
whereunto  even  baptism  doth  also  now 


save"  us  (not  the  putting  away  of  the 
filth  of  the  fiesh,  but  the  answer  of  a 


at  once  the  vast  number  of  Hebrews  who  rejected  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  As  in  eliap.  ii.  4  et  seq.,  so  here,  he 
stablishes  the  readers  ag-ainst  the  tliought,  "  Can  I  be 
right  and  all  tlieso  people  wrong?"  by  showing  that 
from  the  beginning  it  was  always  a  small  number  who 
accepted  salvation,  and  they  should  naturally  expect  it 
to  be  so  now.  It  is  better  to  be  one  of  the  eight  in  the 
ark  than  of  the  many  disobedient  in  the  water. 

By  water. — Or,  through  ivater.  The  very  water 
which  drowned  the  disobedient  was  the  instrument  of 
saving  to  those  who  believed,  for  it  floated  their  ark. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  is  a  little  forced.  So, 
in  the  same  way,  in  chap.  ii.  8,  the  same  stone  is  to 
some  a  sanctuary,  to  some  a  stumbling-block.  This 
pregnant  woi-d  "  water"  leads  on  to  the  next  thought. 

(21)  The  like  figure  whereunto  even  baptism, 
doth  also  now  save  us.— There  ai-e  two  undoubted 
false  readings  in  this  sentence  which  must  be  cleared 
away  before  we  can  consider  the  meaning.  First,  the 
word  "whereunto"  is  a  mistake  for  the  more  difficult 
which ;  and  second,  it  should  be  you,  not "  us. "  We  may 
then  translate,  either,  Which  baptism  also,  in  antitype, 
doth  now  save  you,  or  else,  WJiich  [loater)  also,  in  anti- 
type, now  saveth  yoti — baptism.  The  first  is  less  likely, 
both  from  the  order  of  the  words  in  Greek,  and  also  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  calling  the  Flood  point-blank  a 
baptism.  According  to  the  second  translation,  the  water 
through  which  Noah  was  saved  is  said  in  the  present  day 
("now,"  as  opposed  to  "  in  the  days  of  Noe  ")  to  save 
us  (the  "  you  "  is  emphatic).  It  does  so,  in  the  same 
sense  as  we  might  say,  for  instance,  that  the  sprink- 
ling of  the  paschal  blood  saves  us :  that  is  to  say,  it 
foreshadowed  something  which  does  as  a  fact  save  us. 
Tliis  St.  Peter  expresses  by  the  adjective  which  may 
be  rendered  "  in  antitype."  The  thing  it  represented 
is  Christian  baptism.  Where,  then,  lies  tlie  likeness 
between  the  two  ?  Not  merely  in  the  identity  of  the 
element  water,  which  serves  but  to  arrest  tlie  fancy, 
and  make  one  think  of  the  deeper  resemblance.  One 
obvious  point  is  that  the  number  of  persons  accepting 
the  proffered  salvation  at  the  present  crisis  is,  as  in 
the  days  of  Noe,  very  small  compared  with  those  who 
reject  it.  The  main  thought,  however,  is  not  of  the 
Christians,  as  a  body  or  family  (like  Noe's),  being 
saved  while  others  are  lost.  For  each  individual  by 
himself  there  is  a  meaning  in  his  baptism  which  is 
prefigured  by  the  Flood;  and  the  explanation  of  baptism 
which  follows,  and  tlie  opening  of  the  next  chapter, 
show  that  the  Apostle  was  thinking  chiefly  of  this 
individual  application.  As  the  passage  of  Israel  through 
the  Red  Sea  is  described  as  a  baptism  (1  Cor.  x.  2) 
because  it  marked  their  transition  from  the  state  of 
bondage  to  a  new  national  life,  and  left  their  enemies 
destroyed  in  the  water,  so  Noe's  safe  passage  through 
the  Flood  is  a  tj-pe  of  baptism,  because  it  was  a  re- 
generation of  humanity,  it  was  a  destruction  of  the 
carnal,  sensual  element"(Gen.  vi.  3,  "he  also  is  flesh"), 
it  washed  the  human  race  from  its  pollutions,  and  man 
rose  to  a  new  and  more  spiritual  existence  for  the  time 
being,  with  the  bow  for  a  sign  of  a  perpetual  covenant 
made.  So  baptism  is  a  destruction  and  death  to  the 
flesh,  but  a  new  life  to  the  spirit.  It  must  be  observed 
how  carefully  St.  Peter  expresses  ihe  permanent  effect 
of  baptism  by  the  present  tense  "  saveth : "  not  "  saved 
you,"  nor  "hath  saved  you;"  it  is  a  living  and  ever- 
present    fact,   the    "everlasting    benediction    of    His 


422 


heavenly  washing ; "  it  washes  the  neophyte  not  from 
past  sins  only,  but  from  those  which  he  afterwards 
commits,  if  only  he  still  repents  and  believes. 

Not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the 
flesh. — The  Apostle  is  not  cautioning  his  readers 
against  the  thought  that  baptism  acted  ex  opere  ope- 
ruto,  as  a  charm,  but  he  is  telling  them,  on  the  contrary, 
that  it  is  no  external  rite.  He  was  writing  to  Jews, 
who  were  vei'y  familiar  with  ceremonial  washings,  or 
"  baptisings,"  which,  thutigh  they  symbolised  a  cleans- 
ing from  sin,  really  effected  nothing  but  to  make  the 
skin  less  dirty. 

But  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God. — An  expression  which  has  caused  almost  as 
much  difficulty  as  any  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
difficulty  lay  especially  in  two  points:  first,  that  the 
context  was  so  involved  as  to  give  little  indication  what 
to  expect ;  secondly,  that  the  Greek  word  (eperotema) 
which  is  here  rendei-ed  "  answer  "  is  so  seldom  found, 
and  might  easily  take  such  various  shades  of  meaning. 

(1)  Touching  the  word  itself,  we  may  at  once  reject 
the  translation  "  answer,"  for  it  could  only  mean  an 
"  answer "  in  that  sense  in  which  "  question "  and 
"answer  "  ai*e  identical,  both  of  them  being  "the  thing 
asked,"  the  subject  matter  of  both  being  the  same ; 
but  so  cumbersome  a  sense  is  not  in  keeping  here. 

(2)  Next  we  may  consider  the  attractive  theory  that  it 
means  a  "  contract."  The  form  in  which  a  contract 
was  made  was  as  follows:  N  says  to  M,  "Dost  thou 
promise  ?  "  and  M  answers,  "  I  promise."  Now,  in 
Byzantine  Law-Greek  such  a  contract  is  known  as  an 
eperotema,  or  "  questionment,"  from  the  question  with 
which  proceedings  began.  And,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  baptismal  covenant  has  undoul)tedly  been  entered 
upon  from  the  earliest  times  with  just  such  questions 
and  answers.  Tertullian  speaks  of  this  (De  Corona, 
chap,  iii.)  as  an  aucient  custom  in  the  end  of  the  second 
century.  There  are,  however,  three  serious  objections : 
first,  that  "  the  contract  of  a  good  conscience  "  is  a 
somewhat  vague  and  imperfect  phrase,  and  far  more 
difficult  in  Greek  than  in  English ;  secondly,  that  there 
is  no  trace  of  the  legal  term  eperotema  until  centuries 
after  the  date  of  St.  Peter,  or  of  Tertullian  either; 
thirdly,  that  had  eperotema  been  a  recognised  term  for 
a  "  contract "  in  St.  Peter's  time,  we  should  have  been 
certain  to  find  this  explanation  in  some  of  the  Greek 
Fathers.  (3)  The  usual  meaning  of  the  verb  would 
lead  us  towai'ds  a  less  unsatisfactory  conclusion.  JE^jje- 
rutdn  is  "  to  put  a  cjuestion  "  for  further  information's 
sake.  And  wc  may  remark  that  the  oi-der  of  the  Greek 
would  strongly  suggest  that  the  words  "  toward  God  " 
should  be  attached  (in  spite  of  the  analogy  of  Acts 
xxiv.  16)  not  to  "  good  conscience,"  but  to  the  word 
eperotema.  Now,  there  is  a  constant  use  of  the  verb 
eperotdn  in  the  Old  Testament  in  connection  with  the 
name  of  God.  In  Josh.  ix.  14,  Judg.  i.  ],  xviii.  5,  and 
many  other  places,  it  means  "  to  consult  God,"  "  to 
inquire  of  the  Lord,"  to  seek  to  Him  for  direction.  Or, 
with  a  slightly  different  turn,  it  is  used,  as  in  Isa.  xix. 
3,  Ixv.  1,  for  "  to  inquire  after  God,"  in  which  sense  it 
finds  its  way  into  the  New  Testament  in  Rom.  x.  20. 
Thus  baptism  would  be  said  to  be,  "  not  the  flesh's 
putting  away  of  dirt  (for  so  it  might  be  turned,  though 
it  is  somewliat  forced),  but  a  good  conscience's  inquiry 
at  the  hands  of  God,''  or  "  a  good  conscience's  inquiry 
after  God."     Observe  that  if  the  "  good  conscience  "  is 


Jesus  Christ 


I.   PETEE,   III. 


Ascended  into  Heaven. 


good   conscience  toward  God,)  by  the  I  |  hand  of  God ;   angels   and  authorities 

resiuTection  of  Jesus  Christ:  "(--*  who  is  |aciii-3:R"ni-6'«-  and  powers  being  made   subject   unto 
gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the  right       *Ei.h.  i.:i.      \^{xn.} 


the  agent  in  this  transaction,  as  liere  expressed,  St. 
Peter  would  recognise  (as  in  Luke  viii.  15)  the  man's 
happy  state  of  soul  before  baptism,  and  baptism  would 
be  the  mode  of  his  further  approach  to  God.  That 
this  is  good  doctrine  cannot  be  dcined.  (4)  There  is, 
however,  another  version  for  which  a  still  better  case 
can  be  made  out :  viz.,  "  demand."  It  is  true  that  the 
verb  eperotda  more  frequently  means  "to  ask"  a 
question  than  "  to  ask  "  a  boon,  expecting  a  verbal  re- 
sponse rather  than  a  practical  one;  but  it  is  once  iised 
in  the  New  Testament  in  the  latter  sense  (Matt.  x\'i.  1), 
and  in  the  Old  Testament  also  (as  Ps.  cxxxvii.  3).  And 
the  only  other  instance  of  the  word  eperutema  in  inspired 
literature  makes  for  this  view.  This  occurs  in  Dan. 
iv.  17,  where  the  English  has  '*  demand,"  and  the  Latin 
petitio.  There  is,  indeed,  almost  as  miich  difficulty  in 
ascertaining  the  exact  sense  there  as  here;  but,  on  the 
whole,  it  seems  to  mean  the  "demand"  for  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's degradation.  This  was  e^'idently  the  meaning 
assigned  to  our  present  passage  by  tlie  anonymous  Father 
in  the  Catena,  for,  wrongly  joining  the  words  "through 
the  resurrection  "  with  eperoteina,  he  says  :  "  It  teacheth 
also  how  we  beseech  of  Him  ;  and  how  ?  by  confessing 
the  resurrection  of  the  Lord."  Taking,  then,  the  render- 
ing "demand,"  a  further  question  arises:  Does  St.  Peter 
mean  that  baptism  is  the  demand  (made  by  God  or  the 
Church  upon  the  man) /o>- a  good  conscience  towards 
God?  or  the  demand  made  by  a  good  conscience  upon 
God,  without  specifying  the  demand?  or  finally,  the 
demand  upon  God  (made  by  the  man)/oj'  a  good  con- 
science ?  Of  these  the  second  seems  the  weakest, 
because  it  leaves  the  nature  of  the  demand  so  open,  and 
because  the  notion  of  a  good  conscience  previous  to 
baptism  is  less  suited  to  the  context.  The  first  would 
indeed  give  a  vigorous  sense.  St.  Peter  would  then  be 
saying,  "  Have  a  good  conscience  (verse  16),  for,  besides 
all  else,  it  is  your  baptismal  obligation,  and  in  defiling 
conscience  you  forfeit  your  baptismal  salvation  ;  "  but 
it  labours  imder  the  defect  of  connecting  "toward  God" 
with  "  conscience  "  instead  of  with  "  demand,"  and  it  is 
imperfect,  moreover,  in  not  demanding  a  good  con- 
science toward  men  as  well  as  toward  God.  The  last 
seems  both  the  clearest  in  itself,  the  best  antithesis  to 
the  balancing  clause,  and  the  most  in  keeping  with  the 
context.  It  will  then  be:  "Noah's  flood,  in  antitype, 
to  this  day  saves  you — that  is  to  say.  baptism,  which  is 
no  cleansing  of  the  skin  from  dirt,  but  an  application 
to  God  for  a  clear  conscience."  A  "  good  conscience," 
in  this  case,  will  not  mean  an  honest  frame  of  mind, 
but  a  consciousness  of  having  nothing  against  you, 
such  as  would  come  to  even  the  chief  of  sinners  from 
the  baptismal  remission  of  sins.  "  Conscience "  is 
nsed  in  this  retrospective  sense  four  times  in  Hebrews 
(chaps,  ix.  9,  14,  and  x.  2,  22) ;  and,  indeed,  in  verse 
16  it  meant  "  hav'ng  nothing  on  your  mind  because  of 
the  past,"  rather  than  "  being  sure  that  you  mean  well." 
And  how  well  this  suits  tlie  context !  The  Apostle, 
from  chap.  iii.  13  to  ch.ap.  iv.  6,  is  uttering  the  praises  of 
a  clear  conscience,  and  warning  from  everything  that 
could  defile  it.  "  With  this,"  he  says,  "  you  cannot  be 
harmed ;  with  this,  you  will  be  always  ready  to  defend 
the  faith  when  called  to  account.  It  was  because  He 
had  this  that  Christ  was  able  to  atone  for  you  and  bring 
you  to  God,  and  to  conduct  His  mission  to  the  dead, 
and  to   give  by  His  resurrection  an  efficacy  to  your 


baptism;  and  that  baptism  itself  only  saves  you  by 
the  fact  that  in  it  you  ask  and  receive  the  cleansing  of 
the  conscience." 

By  the  resurrection.— Eightly  joined  in  our 
version  with  "  doth  save."  Baptism  derives  all  its 
sacramental  efficacy  from  the  fact  that  Christ  has,  by 
the  Resurrection,  introduced  into  the  world  a  new  kind 
of  life,  which  in  baptism  is  imparted  to  the  believer. 
The  doctrine  here  approaches  still  nearer  to  that  of  Rom. 
vi.  than  to  that  of  chap.  i.  3.  In  the  first  chapter,  the 
Resurrection  of  Christ  was  said  to  be  the  means  and 
the  moment  of  our  regeneration,  but  baptism  (though 
of  course  implied)  was  not  mentioned,  nor  the  death 
to  sin.  But  here,  as  in  Romans,  these  two  take  a  pro- 
minent place.  As  humanity  died  to  the  flesh  in  the 
bad  Antediluvians,  and  rose  again,  washed  clean,  in  Noe, 
so  to  the  believer  there  was  in  baj)tism  a  death  to  the 
flesh,  and  he  rose  again,  with  a  conscience  washed  clean 
tlirough  the  uuion  thereby  effected  with  the  cracified 
and  risen  Christ.  Note,  again,  that  when  the  Apostle 
speaks  of  glories  he  uses  the  name  of  Jesus  :  when 
of  sufferings,  it  is  the  title  of  Christ. 

(")  Who  is  gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the 
right  hand  of  God. — This  verse  (which  partakes 
of  the  character  of  a  doxology)  serves  two  purposes. 
Fir.st,  it  carries  on  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ.  How 
carefully,  in  spite  of  what  seem  at  first  irrelevant  di- 
gressions, St.  Peter  holds  his  threads.  Chi-ist's  passion 
and  death,  activity  among  the  dead,  resurrection 
from  among  them,  ascension  into  heaven,  perpetual 
session  in  glory,  follow  one  another  in  due  order.  Tlie 
second  purpose  of  the  clause  runs  pai-allel  to  the  first. 
St.  Peter  is  teaching  the  entire  conformity  of  the  be- 
liever to  the  Lord.  If  the  believer  will  but  retain  his 
good  conscience,  he  may  hope  for  a  precisely  similar 
experience.  The  Latin  and  several  other  good  versions, 
together  with  several  Latin  Fathers,  add  a  curious 
sentence  after  the  words  "  on  the  right  hand  of  God," 
which  runs:  swallowing  tip  death,  that  xccmight  be  made 
heirs  of  eternal  life  ;  but  there  is  no  sufficient  authority 
for  the  sentence.  The  first  notion  of  being  "  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,"  taken,  probably,  from  Ps.  ex.  1,  seems 
to  be  that  of  occupying  the  highest  post  of  honour  pos- 
sible, next  after  that  of  God — i.e..  the  Father — Himself. 
It  is  not  necessary  here  to  consider  what  else  may  be 
implied  in  the  phrase  as  to  the  conditions  of  our  Lord's 
human  existence ;  but  when  we  compare  St.  Paul's 
statement,  in  Eph.  iv.  10,  about  His  now  "  filling  all 
things,"  we  feel  that  these  pictorial  words,  such  as 
"  heaven  "  and  "  right  hand  of  God,"  are  intended  to 
convey  the  notion  that  His  humanity  is  now  entirely 
without  conditions,  though  stiU  retaining  all  that  is 
tndy  essential  to  humanity.  It  may  be  observed 
that,  assuming  (as  even  most  sceptical  critics  do)  the 
genuineness  of  this  Epistle,  we  have  here  at  first  hand 
the  deliberate  evidence  of  one  who  had  been  perfectly 
familiar  with  Jesus  Christ  as  man  with  man.  By 
what  stretch  of  imagination  can  we  suppose  that  such  a 
person  could  ever  have  invented,  or  have  accepted  from 
others  this  mode  of  speaking  about  his  former  Teacher, 
had  he  not  been  conscious  of  the  resurrection  and 
ascension  of  Jesus  as  simply  historical  facts,  of  the 
same  order  as  the  fact  of  His  death  ? 

Angels  and  authorities  and  powers  being 
made  subject  unto  him.— There  can  be  no  doubt 


423 


We  are  to/oUow 


I.   PETER,  IV. 


Christie  Eocample. 


CHAPTER  IV.— (1)  Forasmuch  then 
as  Christ  hath  suffered   for  us  in  the 
flesh,"  arm  yourselves  hkewise  with  the  :"  ch..».  i& 
same  mind  :  for  he  that  hath  suffered  I 
the   flesh    hath   ceased    from   ^'-^ '<> 


in 


sin 


(2)  that  he  no  longer  should  live  the 
rest  of  his  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  <3)  For 
the  time  past  of  our  life  may  suffice  us 
to  have  wrought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles, 


that  this  whole  verse  is  coloured  by  recollection  of 
the  circular  letter  which  St.  Paul  had  sent  to  the 
Churclies  of  Asia,  which  we  call  the  Epistle  to  the 
Epliesians.  Perhaps  the  hei'esy  which  St.  Paul 
lamented  in  that  Epistle  may  still  have  lingered  in 
existence,  in  cabalistic  Jewish  circles,  among  those  same 
Churches  when  St.  Peter  thus  wrote  to  them.  He  may, 
for  the  moment,  be  glancing  away  from  his  faint-hearted 
Hebrew  brethren,  who,  in  fear  of  persecution,  were 
slinking  back  into  Judaism,  and  turning  rather  to  those 
Gnosticisiug  Jews  who  began  to  abound  in  Asia,  who 
made  "  genealogies  "  of  aeons,  and  gave  Christ  a  place 
among  them.  In  favour  of  such  an  opinion  one  might 
appeal  to  the  vivid  picture  of  licentiousness  in  the  next 
chapter,  and  the  development  of  the  same,  manifestly 
under  Gnostic  influence,  in  the  Second  Epistle  and 
in  the  Apocalypse.  From  the  expression  "  being 
made  subject,"  or,  literally,  having  been  subdued  (or, 
subjected]"  we  may  infer  that  St.  Peter  meant  evil 
spirits,  this  being  a  crowning  triumph  of  Christ,  and 
not  only  a  mark  of  His  exaltation.  We  need  not  think 
that  St.  Peter,  any  more  than  St.  Paul,  is  distinctly 
teaching  that  there  are  such  grades  of  spiritual  beings ; 
he  is  probably  only  borrowing  the  titles  from  the  heretics 
glanced  at,  and  saying  that,  whatever  unseen  powers 
there  are,  whatever  they  may  be  called,  they  are  now 
subdued  to  Christ. 

IV. 

(1)  Forasmuch  then  .  .  .—Literally,  a  participial 
phrase:  Christ,  then,  having  suffered  in  (or,  to)  the  flesh 
•—i.e.,  so  far  as  the  flesh  is  concerned.  The  reference 
is  to  the  words  "  killed  in  (or,  to)  the  flesh"  in  chap.  iii. 
18,  to  which  the  word  "  then "  takes  us  back.  It  is 
difficult  to  decide  about  the  right  of  the  words  "  for 
us  "  to  stand  in  the  text.  Tischendorf  and  Lachmann 
strike  them  out,  and  they  are  probably  right  in  doing 
so.  The  authority  for  the  reading  "  for  you  "  is  nearly 
as  strong ;  but  in  fact  neither  is  wanted  here,  as  the 
point  is  not  the  atoning  character  of  Christ's  death, 
but  the  deatli  itself. 

Arm  youjrselves  likewise  with  the  same 
mind. — Or  rather,  with  the  same  conception.  It  does 
not  mean  merely  "  put  yourselves  into  the  same  dispo- 
sition :  "  that  is,  "resolve  to  die  with  Him."  Tliough 
the  word  which  is  here  rendered  "  mind  "  may  possibly 
bear  the  meaning  "  intent "  assigned  to  it  in  Heb.  iv. 
12  (the  only  other  place  in  the  New  Testament  where 
it  occurs),  the  more  natural  and  common  sense  is  that 
of  conception,  notion,  view.  Christ  is  therefore  said 
to  have  been  "  armed "  with  a  particular  "  concep- 
tion" or  "  view,"  wliich  Ho  found  to  be  sufficient  shield 
in  the  day  of  suffering ;  and  we  are  exhorted  to  try  the 
same  defensive  armour.  The  "view"  wliich  Ciirist 
found  so  efficacious  was  the  view  Ho  took  of  tlie 
"  suffering  "  itself.  What  that  view  was  is  forthwith 
explained. 

For  he  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  .  .  .— 
Rather,  that  he  that  hath  stiffered  to  the  flesh  is  at  rest 
frmn  sin.  This  is  the  "  view  "  wliich  wo  are  to  take. 
The  thought  is  probably  derived  from  Rom.  vi.  7.  The 
death  of  the  body  puts  a  stop  (at  any  rat«,  for  the 


redeemed)  to  any  further  possibility  of  sin.  Welcome, 
death !  A  slight  difficulty  is  caused  by  the  implied 
fact  that  Christ,  too,  in  dying  "  ceased  from  sin."  But 
tlie  Greek  woi'd  for  "  hath  ceased"  literally  means  hath 
been  caused  to  rest,  St.  Peter  using  expressly  (for  the 
only  time  in  the  New  Testament)  that  jiart  of  the  verb 
which  does  not  mean  a  voluntary  cessation  from  what 
one  was  doing  before,  but  a  pause  imposed  from  with- 
out. And  tliat  Christ  looked  upon  His  death  as  a  boon 
of  rest  from  sin  (it  does  not  say  from  sinning)  is  not 
only  a  true  and  impi-essive  thought,  but  is  fully  justi- 
fied by  Rom.  vi.  10,  "  He  died  unto  sin,"  and  even  by 
His  cry,  "  It  is  finished."  Whatever  harshness  there  is 
in  the  thought  is  much  softened  by  the  fact  that  St. 
Peter  names  it  as  the  view  we  are  to  take,  not  directly 
as  the  view  He  took ;  so  that  it  admits  of  some  adjust- 
ment when  applied  to  Him. 

(2)  That  he  no  longer.— The  Greek  admits  at 
least  equally  of  the  translation.  That  ye  no  longer. 
Thus,  this  second  verse  wiU  attach  itself,  not  to  the 
clause  "  that  he  that  hath  suffered,"  but  to  the  clause 
"  arm  yourselves."  And  unless  this  be  understood,  we 
become  involved  in  the  difficulty  that  whereas,  up  to 
this  very  point,  St.  Peter  has  been  urging  the  future 
niartyi's,  by  the  example  of  Christ,  to  face  the  death  of 
the  body  bravely,  he  would  now  be  sliding  confusedly 
into  treathig  of  the  baptismal  death  to  sin,  and  indeed 
actually  saying  that  a  martyr's  death  was  a  step  to 
leading  the  rest  of  the  life  on  earth  becomingly!  But 
if  we  attach  verse  2  to  the  clause  "arm  yourselves," 
it  runs,  without  any  confusion,  thus :  "  As  Christ  suf- 
fered to  the  flesh  without  shrinking,  take  for  your 
protection  and  support  the  same  thought  which  i>roved 
a  protection  and  support  to  Him — viz.,  that  to  be  rid 
of  sin  for  ever  was  the  greatest  of  all  possible  blessings, 
and  that  this  is  only  attainable  through  the  bodily 
death ;  and  the  result  of  embracing  this  thought  will 
be,  that  for  the  rest  of  your  lives  on  earth  (so  soon, 
perhaps,  to  be  cut  violently  short)  you  may  no  longer 
live  to  men's  lusts,  but  to  God's  will." 

(3)  For  the  time  past  of  our  life. — There  are 
two  words  in  the  English  here  which  do  not  stand  in 
tlie  true  text,  and  sadly  impede  the  sense.  They  are 
"  of  our  life,"  and  "  us."  The  first  is  added  by  some 
scribe  to  point  the  contrast  with  "  the  rest  of  his  time." 
The  second — which  should  be  "you,"  if  anything  at  all 
— is  simply  put  to  fill  the  gap  after  the  word  "  suffice." 
If  "  our  life  "  and  "  us  "  were  right,  we  should  have  St. 
Peter,  quite  unlike  his  wont,  identifying  himself  with 
the  bad  life  here  described,  as  though  he  himself  had 
shared  in  it. 

May  suflBce. — It  is  the  same  word  as  in  Matt.  vi. 
34 ;  X.  25,  and  would  be,  literally.  For  sufficient  is  the 
past.  Tliere  is  an  irony  in  the  word  similar  to  that  in 
chap.  iii.  17,  "  it  is  better." 

To  have  wrought.— Rather,  to  have  perpetrated. 
The  Greek  word  denotes  the  accomplishment  of  a 
criminal  purpose,  as  in  Rom.  ii.  9j  1  Cor.  v.  3;  and 
one  passage  more  horrid  still. 

The  will  of  the  Gentiles.— Just  as,  in  verse  2, 

there  was  a  contrast  between  man's  manifold  and  con- 

[  flicting  lusts  and  God's  unity  of  wiU,  so  there  is  a 


424 


^ 


And  forsake  the 


I.   PETEE,   IV. 


Life  of  the  Gentiles. 


when  we  walked  in  lasciviousness,  lusts, 
excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings. 


and  abominable  idolatries :    (*)  wherein 
they  think  it  strange  that  ye  run  not 


contrast  now  between  God's  "  will "  and  (for  the  Greek 
word  is  quite  different)  the  heathen's  "  wish."  "  To  have 
perpetrated  the  heatlien's  wish  "  means  to  have  done 
the  bad  things  which  the  heathen  wanted  tliem  to  be 
guilty  of.  The  heathen  were  fain  to  catch  them  at 
malpractices.  (See  Note  on  chap.  ii.  12,  and  the  word 
"  speaking  evil  "  below.) 

When  we  walked. — A  participle  in  Greek,  which 
gives  no  support  to  the  use  of  "  we,"  but  means  simply 
having  proceeded.  Thus  it  does  not  directly  state  that 
tliey  }iad  so  proceeded,  for  the  participle  explains  the 
foregoing  verb :  "  The  past  is  sufficient  to  have  done 
what  the  heathen  want  you  to  have  done — viz.,  to  have 
walked." 

Lasciviousness. — It  should  be  plural,  expressing 
the  repeated  acts  of  sin.  The  word  in  Greek  means 
any  outrageous  debauchery,  so  that  it  may  be  said  to 
include  all  the  words  that  follow. 

Excess  of  wine,  in  like  manner,  should  be  plural. 
It  is  a  contemptuous  word  {wine-swillings),  and  differs 
from  the  word  translated  "  banquetings "  below,  be- 
cause the  latter  is  more  refined,  and  also  implies  com- 
pany, which  the  first  need  not.  The  "  revellings " 
might  mean  any  roysteriug  parties,  but  contains  more 
of  the  notion  of  making  a  pretext  of  a  meal  than 
"  banquetings,"  which  consist  solely  of  drinking. 

Abominable  idolatries.— It  is  not  as  idolatries 
that  they  ai*e  called  abominable,  but  because  of  the 
abominable  adjuncts  of  the  idol-festiv^als.  This  clause 
is  the  main  support  of  those  who  think  that  the  Letter 
was  written  to  converts  from  heathenism  and  not  from 
Judaism.  How,  it  is  urged,  could  St.  Peter  have  said 
to  persons  who  had  been  brought  up  as  Jews,  "  The 
time  past  is  long  enough  for  you  to  have  proceeded  in 
abominable  idolatries "  ?  The  argument  is  most  con- 
vincing as  it  stands.  If  they  had  been  living  in 
idolatry,  it  is  incredible  that  they  were  of  Hebrew  race : 
if  they  were  of  Hebrew  race,  it  is  incredible  that  they 
should  have  lived  in  idolatry.  But,  as  a  matter  of 
fact.  St.  Peter  does  not  say  that  they  ever  had  lived  in 
those  sins.  Quite  on  the  contrary,  he  says,  in  verse  4, 
that  the  heathen  found,  to  their  surprise,  that  the 
Christians  would  not  go  with  them  in  these  things ; 
and  that,  finding  it  to  be  so,  they  "blasphemed"  or 
slandered  tlicm  in  this  very  respect.  It  may,  perhaps, 
be  answered  tliat  the  Apostle  is  alluding  to  a  period 
long  past,  and  contrasting  it  with  the  present  which 
80  puzzled  the  Gentiles.  But  there  is  no  ground  for 
taking  "  the  time  past "  to  mean  the  time  up  to  the 
date  of  their  conversion  to  Christianity.  It  is  simply 
"  your  past  time  "  (i.e.,  the  whole  up  to  the  date  of  the 
Letter),  in  contrast  with  "  the  rest  of  your  time"  (verse 
2,  literally,  your  remaining  time),  i.e.,  the  whole  sub- 
sequent to  the  date  of  the  Letter;  so  that  it  cannot 
mean,  "  Tlio  heathen  think  it  strange  that  you  do  not 
join  their  profligate  courses  as  you  used  in  old  days," 
in  whicli  rase  we  should  naturally  have  expected  him 
to  say.  "  Tliey  tliink  it  strange  that  yo  no  longer  run 
witli  them."  Besides,  it  seems  plain,  from  verse  2,  that, 
whatever  maybe  meant  by  "  peqietrafing  the  wish  of 
the  G<ntiles,"  it  was  still  a  present  danger  when  St. 
Peter  wrote,  or  there  would  be  little  point  in  mention- 
ing it  at  all.  But  if  he  means  that,  up  to  the  date  of 
the  Letter,  some  of  the  recipients  of  it  had  been  living 
in  "abominable  idolatries,"  now  could  he  continue  that 
the  GentUes  were  astonished  that  they  did  not  do  so  ? 


for  if  the  idolatries  meant  were  the  lieathen's  own 
idolatries,  the  lieathen  would  have  been  aware  of  their 
joining  them,  and  it  would  have  been  no  "  slander  "  to 
say  so.  The  conclusion  is,  that  neither  before  nor  after 
their  conversion  had  they  been  really  proceeding  thus. 
St.  Peter  is,  in  fact,  only  putting  in  words  tlie  slander 
of  the  Gentiles,  at  wliich  he  had  hinted  in  chap.  ii.  12 
— 15  ;  iii.  16.  "  For  the  future,"  says  he,  "  live  to  the 
will  of  God,  not  to  the  lusts  of  men.  Tlie  past  is  long 
enough  (without  invading  the  future)  to  have  perpe- 
trated wliat  the  heathen  want  you  to  liave  perpetrated 
— viz.,  to  have  been  proceeding  in  debaucheries  and 
abominable  idolatries — slandering  you  in  tliat  very 
point  wherein  they  are  puzzled  if  you  do  not  run  with 
tliem  to  the  same  excess  of  riot."  As  an  liistorical  fact, 
these  are  the  very  calumnies  which  we  find  to  have 
been  brought  against  the  early  Christians— idolatries 
and  aU.  The  filthy  idolatry  ascribed  to  the  Christians 
by  the  heathen  may  be  found  recorded  in  TertuUian's 
Apology,  and  (so  it  is  said)  on  the  walls  of  Pompeii. 
But  what,  then,  does  St.  Peter  mean  when  he  says  that 
the  past  is  sufficient  to  have  perpetrated  what  the 
heathen  wanted?  It  certainly  implies  that  some  of 
them  had,  even  since  their  conversion,  been  doing  what 
the  malicious  heathen  would  be  glad  to  see  them  do. 
But  we  have  already  noticed  that  he  is  speaking  ironi- 
cally in  using  the  word  "sufficient,"  and  tlie  irony 
continues  through  the  rest  of  the  clause.  "Some  of 
you  have  been  living,  up  to  the  present  time,  more  or 
less  to  human  lusts  (verse  2).  You  have  done  so  quite 
long  enough  now.  You  have  quite  sufficiently  gratified 
the  Gentiles,  who  long  to  prove  that  you  are  no  better 
than  themselves."  The  argument  is  like  that  wiiich 
Nestor,  in  Homer,  addresses  to  the  wrangling  Greek 
captains : — 

"Sure  Priam  would  rejoice,  and  Priam's  sons. 
Could  they  but  learn  this  feud  betwixt  you  twain." 

We  may  observe,  further,  that  all  through  the  Epistle 
St.  Peter  appears  to  have  dread  of  a  doctrine  which  was 
fast  begiiming  to  rise  among  the  Asiatic  Christians — 
that  such  sins  as  fornication  and  idolatry,  being  but 
bodily,  were  venial,  especially  in  time  of  persecution. 
(See  chaps,  i.  14,  15;  ii.  11;  v.  8.)  Such  pernicious 
doctrine  was  probably  founded  on  a  "  wresting  "  of  St. 
Paul's  teaching  (2  Pet.  iii.  16)  on  eating  things  offered 
to  idols ;  from  which  it  was  concluded  that  the  accom- 
panying impurities  were  innocent  likewise.  This  doc- 
trine becomes  very  prominent  in  the  Second  Epistle; 
and  in  the  Apocalypse  there  is  even  some  reason  to 
connect  it  specially  with  the  Jewish  element  in  the 
Church.  (Comp.  together  2  Pet.  ii.  15;  Rev.  ii.  6,  14, 
15,  with  Rev.  ii.  9.) 

W  Wherein  they  think  it  strange.— The  word 
"  wherein  "  is  used  in  exactly  the  same  sense  as  in  cliap. 
ii.  12  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  does  not  directly  point  back  to 
the  list  of  sins  just  named,  but  the  grammatical  ante- 
cedent is  to  bo  supplied  in  tlie  participial  clause  which 
follows,  thus :  "  In  a  particular  wliere  tliey  cannot 
imagine  your  not  being  as  bad  as  themselves,  slan- 
derously affirming  that  you  are."  The  onlv  difficulty 
involved  in  tliis  view  is  one  which  does  not  show  in  tlie 
English,  viz.,  that  the  participle  is  attracted  into  the 
nominative  case  by  the  influence  of  the  finite  verb, 
instead  of  being  (as  it  strictly  should)  in  the  genitive, 
agreeing  with  "  of  the  G«ntiles."  But  we  have  seen 
before  that  St.  Peter  deals  very  freely  with  participles 


425 


The  Christian's  Life 


I.   PETEE,   IV. 


to  he  an  Example  to  Men. 


with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot, 
speaking  evil  of  you :  ^^^  who  shall  give 
account  to  him  that  is  ready  to  judge 


the  quick  and  the  dead."  (^^  For  for 
this  cause  was  the  gospel  preached  also 
to  them  that  are  dead,*  that  they  might 


in  tlie  nominative  case.  (See  chap.  ii.  12,  where 
"having"  is  nominative,  though  in  strictness  it  should 
be  accusative,  agreeing  with  "  you,  as  strangers  and 
pilgrims;  "  comp.  also  ii.  18  ;  iii.  1,  7,  9,  15,  16.)  Like 
iustancos  arc  not  wanting  in  classical  Greek. 

(5)  Who  shall  give  account.— Perhaps  said  with 
a  reference  to  chap.  iii.  15,  where  these  ver}'  persons 
call  tlie  Christians  to  give  "  account "  (the  Greek  word 
is  the  same).  The  side-purpose  of  the  clause  (as  in 
the  similar  threat,  chap.  ii.  8)  is  to  warn  the  readers 
against  sliaring  their  fate  by  sharing  their  sins. 

To  him  that  is  ready  to  judge.— This  carries 
on  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ  a  step  further  still.  The 
last  thing  was  His  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 
This  is  the  order  of  the  Apostles'  Creed.  Bengel 
wisely  remarks :  "  The  Apostles,  when  they  are  not 
expressly  treating  of  the  date  of  Christ's  advent,  set 
forth  that  advent  to  their  longing  and  devotion  as  close 
at  hand.  Hence  Peter  includes  the  slanderers  of  his 
day  among  the  living,  as  just  about  to  be  judged." 

('')  For  for  this  cause  was  the  gospel  preached 
also  to  them  that  are  dead.— This  version  is 
misleading,  and  seems  indeed  to  be  one  of  those  rare 
cases  wliere  the  original  has  been  expanded  by  the 
translators  for  doctrinal  ends.  The  Greek  is  simply. 
For  for  this  end  was  the  gospel  preached  to  the  dead 
also,  or,  still  more  literally,  to  dead  men  also.  No  one 
with  an  un-preoccupied  mind  could  doubt,  taking  this 
clause  by  itself,  that  the  persons  to  whom  this  preach- 
ing was  made  were  dead  at  the  time  of  being  preached 
to.  If  tliis  is  the  case,  then,  pretty  obviously,  St.  Peter 
is  carrying  us  back  to  his  teaching  of  chap.  iii.  19,  and 
is  explaining  fm-ther  the  purpose  of  Christ's  descent 
into  hell. 

That  they  might  be  judged  according  to 
men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  according  to  G-od 
in  the  spirit. — In  order  to  obtain  a  clear  notion  of 
this  hard  saying,  it  will  be  necessary  ouce  more  to 
sui-vey  the  course  of  the  wliole  passage.  "  It  is  better," 
the  Apostle  said,  "  to  suffer  in  well-doing  than  in  evil- 
doing."  They  must  take  their  choice,  that  is,  which 
kind  of  suffering  they  would  have.  It  was  not  indeed 
certain  that  in  case  they  chose  to  do  well  they  would 
suffer  for  it ;  and  if  they  did,  there  was  the  history  of 
Christ  to  encourage  tiiem.  But  in  case  they  chose 
to  be  evil-doers,  it  was  certain  that  they  would  suffer. 
"  And  you  had  better,"  he  says,  "  suffer  in  well-doing 
than  in  evil-doing."  He  then  gives  an  instance  of 
persons  who  suffered  in  evil-doing — the  fleshly  Ante- 
diluvians, whom  God  cut  short  iu  their  crimes  by  the 
Flood,  and  to  whom  Clirist  went  to  preach  in  their 
prison-house.  He  then  exhorts  his  readers — some  of 
wliom  had,  for  one  reason  or  another,  been  allowing 
themselves  to  fall  into  antinomian  ways — not  to  live  any 
longer  to  the  flesh,  not  to  make  true  the  slanders  of  the 
heathen,  who  tried  to  make  out  that  the  Christians  were 
as  bad  livers  as  themselves ;  for  such  e%-il-docrs  were 
doomed  to  speedy  suffering;  those  lieathens  would  soon 
be  called  to  account  by  Him  who  was  ready  to  judge 
quick  and  dead  alike  ;  "for,"  he  adds,  "the  object  of 
that  preaching  to  the  dead  also  was  that  they  may  be 
judged  according  to  men  in  flesh,  but  may  live  accord- 
ing to  God  in  spirit."  (1)  The  first  question  is,  What 
does  the  Apostle  mean  to  substantiate  by  this  last 
verse,  "for  for  this  cause  ?"     Not  the  fact  that  Christ 


will  judge  the  dead  as  well  as  the  quick,  for  that  would 
have  no  practical  bearing  upon  the  readers.  Not  tlie 
fact  that  Christ  was  now  ready  for  judgment ;  for 
although  He  will  certainly  not  come  until  the  dead  as 
well  as  the  quick  are  in  a  position  to  be  judged,  yet  we 
should  then  have  expected  something'  more  like,  "  The 
reason  why  the  dead  were  preached  to  was  that  the 
judgment  might  no  longer  be  put  off;"  instead  of 
which,  the  whole  point  of  the  verse  is  the  particular 
destiny  in  reserve  for  those  dead,  which  destiny  was  the 
intention  and  result  of  Christ's  preaching  the  gospel  to 
them.  It  must,  therefore,  be  a  further  reason  for 
warning  the  Christians  not  to  live  lives  of  e^-il-doing 
like  the  contemporaries  of  Noah  or  their  o^vn  heathen 
contemporaries.  If  it  be  necessary  to  attach  the  word 
"  for"  to  any  particular  words,  we  may  perhaps  attach 
it  to  the  words  "  they  shall  give  account ;"  and  verse  6 
would  hint  at  the  kind  of  account  they  would  have  to 
give,  as  "  giving  account  "  implies  the  settlement  which 
follows.  (2)  But  if  verse  6  clenches  the  warning  to  the 
Christians  not  to  become  antinomian,  then  we  must  un- 
derstand the  destiny  of  these  dead  to  whom  Christ 
preached  to  be  not  the  brightest,  after  all.  This  brings 
us  to  consider  what  is  meant  by  their  being  "  judged  in 
flesh"  (i.e.,  as  in  verse  1,  so  far  as  flesh  is  concerned). 
In  the  previous  verse,  Christ  is  said  to  be  quite  ready 
to  "judge"  quick  and  dead.  The  context  makes  us 
feel  tliat  St.  Peter  is  not  picturing  to  himself  that 
scene  as  one  of  calm  forensic  investigation,  with 
"  opened  books  "  or  the  like.  His  idea,  of  this  judg- 
ment is  rather  of  a  "judgment"  such  as  took  place 
in  the  days  of  Noe,  a  great  crisis  (the  Greek  word  for 
"judgment")  or  world-wide  catastrophe,  which,  of 
course,  cannot  harm  the  just,  but  only  the  unjust.  He 
shows  the  same  conception  of  the  Judgment,  and  illus- 
trates it  by  Noe's  Flood,  in  2  Pet.  ii.  5 — 9.  and  iii.  6,  7. 
Now  "  judgment "  is  a  neutral  word,  which,  in  Scrip- 
ture, takes  its  colour  from  the  surroundings,  so  that  it 
sometimes  is  a  thing  to  be  longed  for  (e.g.,  Ps.  xliii.  1, 
Ixxii.  2  ;  Heb.  x.  30);  at  other  times  a  thing  to  be 
dreaded,  as  here.  Though  we  do  not  limit  the  "  quick 
and  dead  "  here  to  mean  the  wiched  quick,  and  dead, 
yet  they  are  evidently  uppermost  in  St.  Peter's  mind, 
so  that  there  is  scarcely  any  conscious  change  in  the 
meaning  of  the  word  "judged"  when  we  pass  fron; 
verse  5  to  verse  6.  It  there  means  certainly  a  judicial 
punishment,  or  even  judicial  destruction.  Wliile  the 
word  often  denotes  a  condemnation  (as  in  English  we 
say  "to  sentence") — for  example,  in  John  xvi.  1,  2; 
Thess.  ii.  12  ;  Rev.  xix.  2 — it  seems  to  have  the  further 
notion  of  a  judicial  death  in  1  Cor.  xi.  31,  32:  "Had 
we  been  in  the  habit  of  discerning  ourselves,  we  shoidd 
not  have  been  subject  to  these  repeated  judgments 
(weakness,  sickness,  death — verse  3U);  but  now  these 
judgments  are  a  discipline  from  our  Lord,  to  save  us 
from  being  condemned  with  the  world."  And  that 
judicial  destruction  to  the  flesh  is  what  St.  Peter  means, 
he  proves  by  contrasting  "but  may  live  in  spirit"  rather 
than  "  be  saved  "  or  "  justified."  (3)  It  is  next  to  be 
considered  what  date  we  are  to  fix  for  this  judgment  of 
the  flesh.  Was  it  previous  to  Christ's  preaching  the 
gospel  to  them  in  hell,  or  was  it  to  be  subsequent? 
Taking  the  former  line,  we  should  be  able  to  paraphrase, 
"  His  object  was,  that  though  in  flesh  they  had  been 
judged,  having  been  judicially  destroyed  by  the  Flood, 


426 


Thi  approaching  End. 


I.   PETER,   IV. 


Need  of  Charity. 


be  judged  according^  to  men  in  the 
flesh,  but  live  according  to  God  in  the 
spirit." 

('')  But  the  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand: 


be  ye  therefore  sober,  and  . 

watch  unto  prayer.  (">  And  Neodotl'harity", 
above  all  things  have  fer-  jiospitaUty,and 
vent  charity  among  your-    *^""  ^' 


they  yet  might  live  hereafter  in  spirit."  But,  besides 
other  ditficulties,  it  is  far  more  than  doubtful  whether 
it  is  Greek  to  iufuse  a  past  sense  into  the  subjunctive 
mood  here  used:  i.e.,  to  render  tliis,  "  it  was  jn-eaohed 
in  order  that  they  might  have  been  judged."  Had  we 
the  words  by  themselves,  and  no  preconceived  theology 
to  hinder  us,  we  should  undoubtedly  translate,  "  To  this 
end  was  the  gospel  preached  to  dead  men  too  :  viz.,  in 
order  that  they  »ia?/  he  judged  indeed  according  to  men 
80  far  as  they  are  flesh,  but  may  live  according  to  God 
so  far  as  they  are  spirit."  The  judgment  spoken  of 
would  not  be  their  death  beneath  the  waves  of  Noe,  but 
something  still  future ;  and  this  view  would  be  con- 
firmed by  reading  what  St.  Peter  says  of  them,  and  of 
the  angels  who  (in  all  probability)  sinned  with  them,  in 
the  passages  of  the  Second  Epistle  above  referred  to. 
How,  then,  will  they  be  hereafter  condemned  to  a 
judicial  destruction  of  the  flesh,  but  a  merciful  preser- 
vation of  the  spirit  ?  The  answer,  though  it  seems 
inevitable  to  the  present  writer,  must  be  given  with 
trembling,  and  in  deference  to  the  judgment  of  the 
Church,  the  collective  Christian  consciousness,  when- 
ever that  shall  be  expi-essed  upon  the  point.  A  close 
parallel  may  be  found  in  1  Cor.  v.  5.  There  St.  Paul 
judges  to  deliver  to  Satan  (is  he  the  warder  of  the 
"  prison  "  where  such  spirits  are  confined  ?)  a  person 
who  has  foully  sinned  in  the  flesh,  "  for  annihilation  of 
the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  That  in  that  place  it  does  not  mean  a 
temporal  judgment  upon  the  bodily  life  (such  as  was 
passed  upon  the  Antediluvians  or  the  profaners  of  the 
Eucharist  at  Corinth)  is  clear,  from  the  fact  that  excom- 
munication was  not  attended  with  temporal  death. 
That  it  does  not  mean  voluntary  self-mortification  of 
the  flesh  in  this  world  seems  clear  (among  other  con- 
siderations) by  comparison  of  our  present  passage,  for 
the  opportunity  for  self-mortification  in  the  flesh  was 
long  jiasfc  for  the  spirits  to  whom  Christ  preached. 
Now  wliy,  in  tliese  two  cases,  do  tlie  writers  take  pains 
to  point  the  antithesis  between  "  flesh  "  and  "  spirit," 
if,  after  all,  the  flesh  is  to  share  the  mercy  sho^vn  to  the 
spirit  ?  Tlie  antithesis  becomes  a  false  one.  Why  did 
not  St.  Paul  say,  "  To  deliver  such  an  one  to  Satan  for 
the  destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  he  may  be  saved 
in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus  ?  "  and  St.  Peter,  "  For 
this  cause  was  tlie  gospel  preached  to  the  dead  also,  that 
though  judged  indeed  in  flesh,  they  might,  after  all,  live 
according  to  God  ?  "  And  what  is  the  point  of  tliis  dread 
warning,  if  in  the  end  these  Antediluvians  attain  to  the 
same  bliss,  "both  in  body  and  soul,"  as  other  men? 
There  is  a  whole  set  of  passages  which  seems  to  teach 
that  resurrection — i.e.,  the  permanent  restitution  of  life 
to  the  body — is  a  gift  which  does  not  belong  to  all.  To 
those  who  eat  Christ's  flesh.  He  promises,  "  I  will  raise 
him  up  at  the  last  day  "  ( Jolm  \\.  54).  St.  Paul  suffers 
the  loss  of  all  things,  "  if  by  any  moans  he  may  attain 
to  the  resurrection  of  tl>e  dead"  (Pliil.  iii.  11  ;  comp. 
2  Cor.  V.  3.  4).  Our  Lord  bids  the  Apostles  "  fear  Him 
[it  is  doubtful  whether  he  means  God,  or  Satan,  who 
acts  by  God's  permission]  who  is  able  to  destroy  both 
soul  [He  does  not  say  '  spirit ']  and  body  in  hell."  So 
it  would  bo  the  simplest  explanation  of  our  present  text 
if  we  might  believe  that  these  Antediluvians  wore  to  be 
deprived  of  resurrection  of  the  flesh  which  they  had  so 


foully  corrupted,  but  in  God's  mercy,  through  accept- 
ing the  gospel  preached  to  them  by  Christ  after  their 
death,  were  to  be  allowed  a  purely  spiritual  existence. 
They  would  thus  lie  sentenced  "  according  to  men,"  i.e., 
from  a  human  point  of  view  :  they  would  be  unable  to 
take  their  place  again  among  the  glorified  human  species 
in  a  human  life  ;  but  still  they  would  be  alive  "  accord- 
ing to  God,"  from  God's  point  of  -view — a  divine  life, 
but  "  in  the  spirit "  only.  It  was  a  gospel  that  Christ 
preached  to  them,  for  without  it  they  would  not  have 
come  to  "  live  according  to  God  "  at  all.  Yet,  on  tho 
other  hand,  it  was  a  warning  to  the  Christians.  When 
it  says  "  the  gospel  was  preached  to  tho  dead  also,"  it 
implies  a  similar  preaching  to  others,  viz.,  to  tlie  heathen 
who  were  to  "  give  account,"  and  that  the  result  of  the 
preaching  would  be  the  same.  Those  heathen  who 
through  ignorance  lived  corrupt  lives  all  around,  might 
possibly,  in  the  intermediate  state,  hope  to  receive  a 
gospel  which  would  enable  a  bare  half  of  their  humanity 
to  live  according  to  God  hereafter.  It  could  not  avert 
the  destruction  of  their  flesh.  What,  thou,  could  be  the 
hope  of  a  Christian,  one  who  had  hoard  and  embraced 
the  gospel  in  this  life,  and  had  then  surrendered  him- 
self to  the  same  corruptions  as  the  Gentiles  ? 

(7—11)  Duty  ofBenevolence  WITHIN  THE  Church 
IN  VIEW  OF  THE  Advent. — The  end  of  the  avoi'UI  is 
not  far  ofE;  let  it  find  you  not  only  sober,  but  (above  all 
else)  exei'ting  an  intense  charity  within  the  Church,  liy 
hospitality  and  generosity,  in  these  as  much  as  in 
spiritual  ministrations  seeking  not  your  own  glory,  but 
God's. 

(")  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand. — Or,  hath 
come  nigh  ;  the  same  word  (for  instance)  as  in  Matt, 
iv.  17;  xxvi.  46.  It  is  but  a  repetition  in  other  words 
of  verse  5,  inserted  again  to  give  weight  to  all  the 
exliortations  which  follow.  Probably,  if  St.  Peter  had 
thought  the  world  would  stand  twenty  centuries  more, 
he  would  have  expressed  himself  differently;  yet  see 
2  Pet.  iii.  4—10. 

Be  ye  therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto 
prayer. — These  words  sum  up  the  cautions  given  in 
verses  1 — 6,  before  passing  on  to  the  next  subject. 
The  first  verb  includes  more  than  sobriety,  and  means 
the  keeping  a  check  upon  all  the  desires.  The  usual 
notion  of  sobriety  is  more  exactly  conveyed  in  the  word 
rendered  "watch,"  which  is  the  same  as  in  chap.  i.  13 
and  chap.  v.  8.  "  Unto  prayer"  is  a  slip  for  vnto  prayers ; 
the  difference  is  that  it  does  not  mean  tliat  we  are  to 
be  always  in  frame  to  pray,  but  that  actual  prayers 
should  be  always  on  our  lips :  every  incident  in  life 
should  suggest  them.  They  would  be  especially 
necessary  if  any  moment  might  see  tlie  end  of  the 
world.  The  tense  of  the  imperatives  in  the  Greek 
carries  out  the  notion  that  the  persons  addressed  had 
slipped  into  a  careless  state,  from  which  they  needed 
an  arousal. 

(8)  And  above  all  things  have  fervent  charity 
among  yourselves.  —  The  original  is  far  more 
vigorous  :  But  before  all  thing.<i  keeping  intense  your 
charity  totoards  yourselves.  St.  Peter  assumes  that 
the  charity  is  there,  but  insists  on  its  not  being  suffered 
to  flag  in  outward  expression.    (Comp.  t\xe  same  word 


Exhortation  to 


I.   PETER,    IV. 


Hospitality/  and  Bounty. 


selves :  for  charity  shalP  cover  the  mul- 
titude of  sins.  (^^  Use  hospitality  one  to 
another  without  grudging.  *i*^^  As  every 
man  hath  received  the  gift,"  even  so 
minister  the  same  one  to  another,  as 


1  Or,  will. 


a  Rom.  12. 6—8. 


good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace 
of  God.  (^^>  If  any  man  speak,  let  him 
speak  as  the  oracles  of  God ;  if  any  man 
minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability 
which  God   giveth :  *    that   God  in  all 


in  chap.  i.   22 ;    also  in   Luke   xxii.  44 ;   Acts  xii.  5 ; 
XX vi.  7.) 

Shall  cover. — Properly,  neither  "shall"  nor  "will," 
the  right  reading  being  present,  covereth.  The  words 
are  usually  said  to  be  a  quotation  from  Prov.  x.  12, 
"  Hatred  stirreth  up  strifes,  but  love  covereth  all 
sins;"  but  they  are  widely  different  from  the  LXX. 
in  that  passage,  and  also  vary  fi-oiu  the  Hebrew ;  and 
as  precisely  the  same  variation  occurs  in  Jas.  v.  20, 
it  seems  more  probable  either  that  St.  Peter  had  the 
passage  of  St.  James  consciously  in  his  mind,  or  that 
the  proverb  was  current  and  familiar  to  both  writers 
in  the  form,  "  Love  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins."  It 
is,  therefore,  unsafe  to  argue  from  the  exact  shade  of 
meaning  which  the  words  bear  in  Prov.  x.  12.  To 
"  cover,"  in  Hebrew,  often  means  to  "  forgive,"  the 
idea  being  that  of  an  offensive  object  which  you  bury 
or  hide  by  putting  something  else  over  it;  see,  for 
examples,  Ps.  xxxii.  1 ;  Ixxxv.  2 ;  and  the  place  in 
Proverbs  seems  to  mean  that  whereas  a  bitter  enemy 
will  rake  up  every  old  grudge  again  and  again,  one 
who  loves  will  not  allow  even  himself  to  see  the  wrongs 
done  to  him  by  a  friend.  If  tliis  sense  be  accepted 
here,  it  will  imply  that  tlie  Christians  in  Asia  had  a 
good  deal  to  put  up  with  from  each  other;  but  even 
so,  the  argument  seems  a  little  strained  :  "  Keep  your 
charity  at  its  full  stretch,  because  charity  forgives, 
however  many  the  wrongs  may  be."  It  far  better  suits 
the  context  to  take  the  proverb  in  the  same  sense  as 
in  St.  James,  without  any  reference  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment passage.  In  St.  James  it  is  usually  taken  to 
mean,  "  He  shall  save  (the  convert's)  soul  from  death, 
and  shall  cover  (i.e.,  procure  for  him  the  pardon  of)  a 
multitude  of  sins ;  "  but  as  the  true  reading  there  is 
"/iis  soul,"  it  is  more  natural  to  suppose  tliat  St.  James 
is  holding  up,  as  tlie  reward  of  converting  the  sinner, 
that  the  person  who  does  so  shall  save  his  own  soul, 
and  procure  for  himself  the  pardon  of  a  multitude  of 
sins.  So  here  it  seems  obvious  that  St.  Peter  is  urging 
charity  as  something  which  will  be  found  advantageous 
when  the  "  end  of  all  things  "  comes  ;  and  the  advan- 
tage he  mentions  is,  "  because  charity  covereth  a  multi- 
tude of  sins : "  i.e.,  the  exercise  of  this  grace  makes  up 
for  a  great  many  other  shortcomings  in  the  man.  A 
very  good  case  might  be  made  out  for  a  doctrine  of 
Justitication  by  Love. 

(9)  Use  hospitality. — It  is  a  great  pity  that  again 
(as  in  cliap.  iii.  8,  and  elsewhere)  the  participial  clauses 
are  broken  up  in  our  versicm  into  separate  injunctions. 
Here  it  is,  properly,  being  hospitable.  This  is  the  first 
form  of  charity — receiving  Christians  who  came  from 
other  towns  (comp.  3  John,  verses  5,  6).  See  how  such 
hospitality  covers  (to  the  surprise  of  the  bestowers)  a 
multitude  of  sins  in  Matt.  xxv.  35 — 38. 

Without  grudging. — That  is,  without  murmuring. 
How  frequently  Christian  hospitality  is  marred  by 
grumbling  at  the  expense  and  the  trouble  which  it 
costs ! 

(10)  As  every  man  hath  received  the  gift.— 
There  is  no  definite  article  in  the  Greek,  wliich  might 
be  rendered.  According  as  every  man  was  gifted.  They 
are  reminded,  as  in  1  Cor.  iv.  7,  that  the  gift  was  received, 


and  for  the  same  purpose.  At  what  period  these  gifts 
were  received  it  is  hard  to  say,  as  in  some  instances  tlie 
gift  was  of  a  spiritual  nature,  in  others  of  a  temporal 
nature.  Each,  however,  has  a  gift  of  some  kind  for 
the  benefit  of  the  community. 

Even  so  minister. — In  the  original,  ministering. 
It  is  still  an  exhibition  of  the  "intense  charity"  of 
verse  8.  The  verb  is  the  same  as  in  chap.  i.  12,  where 
see  Note. 

As  good  stewards. — No  one  receives  these  gifts, 
spiritual  or  temporal,  as  his  own  ;  he  is  but  a  "  steward," 
and  when  he  offers  them  to  the  Church  it  is  not  as  a 
benefactor,  but  as  a  servant,  "  ministering." 

Of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.—"  Grace  "  is 
here  used,  not  in  its  theological  sense,  but,  as  in  chap, 
iii.  7,  in  the  sense  of  bountiful  giving  ;  and  the  beautiful 
word  rendered  "  manifold  "  brings  out  the  subtle  and 
picturesque  variety  with  which  God  arranges  and  dis- 
tributes His  bounty.  But  the  emphatic  word  of  the 
sentence  is  "  of  God." 

(11)  If  any  man  speak.— St.  Peter  proceeds  to 
speak  of  two  particular  forms  taken  by  this  "  manifold 
grace  of  God  ;  "  (1)  the  power  to  speak;  (2)  the  power 
to  minister.  The  speaking  is,  of  course,  public  preach- 
ing in  the  Church ;  and  the  man  who  does  so  is  to  do 
it  "  as  oracles  of  God."  The  article  is  not  added  in  the 
Greek,  so  that  it  must  not  be  pressed  to  mean  "  speak- 
ing on  the  model,  or  in  accordance  with  the  doctrines  of, 
the  Old  Testament."  Rather,  the  emphatic  word  is  "  of 
God;"  and  the  Apostle  means  that  the  preacher  is  not 
to  trust  to  his  own  natural  powers  and  wit,  or  to  seek 
applause  for  himself,  but  to  act  as  one  possessed  of 
powers  not  his  own ;  to  speak  only  that  which  God 
inspires  him  to  speak.  Tliis  clause  must  not  be  taken 
as  being  in  this  place  complete  in  itself.  It  is  apparently 
only  introduced  to  give  point  to  what  follows,  the  inten- 
tion of  the  whole  paragraph  being  to  enforce  liberality. 
It  is  easy  to  recognise  in  spiritual  things  the  pi'inciple 
of  God  being  all  in  all ;  and  St.  Peter  bids  them  apply 
the  same  principle  to  material  gifts.  "  Recollect  that 
tvhatever  you  possess,  you  possess  from  God  in  trust 
for  the  Church.  Just  as  the  man  who  preaches  is  to 
preach  as  a  mere  mouthpiece  of  God,  so  the  man  wlio 
gives  must  consider  himself  as  being  but  God's  dis- 
penser, that  in  this,  too,  God  may  have  all  the  glory." 
For  the  same  kind  of  rhetorical  effect,  see  chap.  ii.  17, 
last  Note. 

If  any  man  minister.— This  does  not  mean 
"  ministering  "  in  the  congregation,  or  spiritual  minis- 
trations of  any  sort,  but  giving  the  good  things  of  this 
life  for  the  benefit  of  tlie  poor.  The  word  rendered 
"  ability  "  not  unfrequently  expresses  (like  our  word 
"resources")  a  sufficiency  of  wealth;  and  the  word 
which  appears  as  "  giveth"  is  the  same  which  is  used 
of  supplying  material  blessings  in  2  Cor.  ix.  10.  In  a 
compound  form,  the  same  verb  occurs  in  Gal.  iii.  5,  Col. 
ii.  19,  2  Pet.  i.  5 — 11  ;  and  the  substantive  in  Eph.  iv.  16, 
Phil.  i.  19.  The  original  classical  meaning  of  the  word 
is  to  pay  the  expenses  of  putting  a  play  on  the  stage, 
which  at  Athens  was  a  public  burden  borne  by  the 
wealthier  citizens  in  turn,  like  the  shrievalty  of  an 
English    county.      Thus  the  wealthy   Christian  who 


428 


Encouragement  against 


I.   PETEE,   IV. 


Evil  Days  to  come. 


things  may  be  glorified  througli  Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom  be  praise  and  dominion 
for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

(12)  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  con- 
Chap,  iv.  12—  cerning  the  fiery  trial 
19.  Encourage-  which  is  to  try  you,  as 
STJ'evil  dly^to  though  some  strange  thing 
come.  happened  unto  you :  (^^^but 


rejoice,"  inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of 
Christ's  sufferings;  that,  when  his  glory 
shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with 
exceeding  joy.  ^i^'  If  ye  be  reproached 
for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are  ye ;  * 
for  the  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth 
upon  you :  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken 
of,  but   on   your  part   he   is   glorified. 


supports  the  Church  and  relieves  all  the  poor  is 
not  really  the  Church's  patron  :  he  is  a  responsible 
manager;  but  the  paymaster  is  God. 

That  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified.— 
How  clearly  St.  Peter  works  it  out :  "  tlie  manifold 
grace  of  Goc/,"  "  as  oi-acles  of  God,"  "  out  of  tlie  resoui-ces 
of  which  God  is  paymaster,"  "  that  God  in  all  things 
may  be  glorified."  The  "  all  things"  means  emphatically 
that  in  these  money  matters  as  much  as  in  the  spiritual 
works  God's  honour  is  concei-ued.  For  a  most  touching 
expansion  of  tliis  text,  see  the  Epistle  of  St.  Theouas, 
Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  to  the  High  Chamberlain  of 
the  Emperor  Diocletian,  an  English  translation  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  The  Persecution  of  Diocletian,  by 
the  same  hand  as  these  Notes. 

Through  Jesus  Christ.— They  see  and  feel  that, 
had  it  not  been  for  Jesus  Christ,  these  rich  men  would 
not  have  been  so  liberal ;  and  when  they  thus  thank 
Him  for  it,  they  are  in  effect  thanking  God. 

To  whom.— That  is,  to  God,  rather  than  to  Jesus 
Christ.  And  it  should  be,  " to  whom  is"  or  belongs, 
rather  than  "  to  whom  be,"  and  "  the  gloiy  and  the 
dominion,"  not  "  glory  and  dominion." 

(12-19)  Exhortation  to  Cotjeage  and  Stead- 
fastness IN  Persecution. — All  ouglit  to  be  prepared 
for  persecution.  It  is  a  blessed  and  glorious  thing  to 
have  to  bear  it.  A  criminal's  death  and  a  Christian 
martyrdom  are  the  exact  opposites  of  each  other. 
Vengeance  is  speedily  coming. 

(1-)  Beloved. — See  Note  on  chap.  ii.  11. 

Think  it  not  strange.— The  same  word  as  in 
verse  4.  It  means,  literally,  to  feel  like  people  in  a 
strange  country,  lost  and  bewildered.  It  is  further 
explained  by  the  clause  "  as  though  some  strange 
thing  were  (by  bad  luck)  happening  unto  you."  These 
Hebrew  Christians  felt  at  first  it  was  not  what  was  to 
be  expected,  that  those  who  attached  themselves  to  the 
Messiah  should  have  a  life  of  sorrow  and  persecution 
in  the  world. 

The  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you.— This 
rendering  is  not  only  slovenly,  but  conveys  a  false  im- 
pression, for  the  fiery  trial  was  not  future,  but  actually 
present.  Literally  it  nins,  Be  not  beivildered  at  the 
conflagration  among  you  taking  place  for  a  trial  to 
you.  Already,  tlien,  the  Asiatic  Christians  are  enduring 
a  fierce  persecution.  The  word  whicli  describes  it  is 
only  found  besides  in  Rev.  x\'iii.  9,  18,  "  burning." 
(Comp.  chap.  i.  7.) 

(13)  But  rejoice. — The  opposite  of  being  bewildered 
at  it,  for  "  rejoicing"  in  it  implies  a  recognition  of  its 
character  and  purpose.  The  word  rendered  "  inasmuch 
as "  (which  occurs  also  in  2  Cor.  viii.  12)  seems  to 
mean,  "  in  proportion  as  :  "  "  the  more  nearly  you  are 
made  to  share  Christ's  sufferings  the  more  you  should 
rejoice."  In  the  Acts  of  St.  Probus  (a  Cappadocian), 
when,  after  many  other  tortures,  the  judge  ordered 
them  to  heat  some  nails  and  run  them  through  his  hands, 
the  martyr  exclaims,  "  Glory  to  Thee,  Lord  Jesu  Christ, 


who  hast  even  deigned  to  let  my  hands  be  pierced  for 
Thy  name's  sake !  " 

Christ's  sufferings.- Rather,  the  sufferings  of  the 
ChrL-it.     (Comp.  Note  on  chap.  i.  11.) 

That — i.e.,  "  in  order  that.  This  is  to  be  attached 
to  "  think  it  not  strange,  but  rejoice  " — "  in  order  tliat  at 
the  revelation  of  His  glory  also  (as  now,  in  the  sharing 
of  His  sufferings)  ye  may  rejoice  (the  word  is  the  same), 
exulting."  Such  a  recognition  of  the  meaning  of  suffer- 
ing, such  a  rejoicing  in  suffering  now,  is  a  sure  means  to 
rejoicing  in  glory  also  hereafter. 

(1^)  If  ye  be  reproached.- The  form  of  speech 
denotes  that  they  icere  so  reproached. 

For  the  name  of  Christ.— Literally,  "in  the  name 
of  Christ,"  i.e.,  on  the  score  of  being  Christians  only. 
(Comp.  verse  16.)  Again,  see  how  St.  Peter  presses  the 
Messianic  title :  surely  they  wUl  not  abandon  the  hopes 
of  Israel  ! 

The  spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon 
you. — He  is  called  the  ''  Spirit  of  glory  "'  here  in  the 
same  way  as  He  is  called  the  "  Spirit  of  truth  "  John 
xiv.  17),  the  "  Spirit  of  holiness  "  (Rom  i.  4),  the  "  Spirit 
of  grace"  (Heb.  x.  29),  &c.  It  expresses  that  glory — 
i.e.,  the  triumphant  manifestation  of  perfections — is  His 
gift  and  His  distinguishing  sign  and  the  atmosphere  in 
which  He  lives.  "  Glory  "  stands  in  contrast  with 
"  reproach."  And  lest  it  should  be  doubted  who  was 
meant  by  the  splendid  phrase,  the  Ajjostlc  adds,  "  and 
of  God."  All  "  glory  "  is  His,  and  therefore  the  Spirit 
which  is  the  "  Spirit  of  glory  "  can  be  no  other  than 
the  "  Sjnrit  of  God ;  "  but  as  God  Himself  is  greater 
than  His  own  glory,  the  words  form  a  climax,  and  it 
means  more  to  call  Him  the  "  Spirit  of  God  "  than  to 
call  Him  the  "  Spirit  of  glory."  And  this  Spirit 
"  resteth  "  upon  the  persecuted  Christians.  It  means 
far  more  than  "  remaineth  "  or  "  abideth."  It  expresses 
the  complete  repose  and  satisfaction  with  which  the 
Spirit  of  glory  abides  on  men  who  have  the  hearts  of 
martyrs.  "  This  shall  be  My  rest  for  ever :  here  will 
I  dwell,  for  I  have  a  delight  therein."  It  is  the  word 
which  is  used  of  the  quiet  retreat  which  our  Lord  took 
after  John's  death  (Mark  vi.  31);  of  the  calm  relief 
which  He  offers  to  the  weary  souls  who  come  to  HLim 
(Matt.  xi.  28.  29) ;  of  the  repose  of  the  blessed  dead 
after  the  work  of  life  is  over  (Rev.  ^-i.  11;  xiv.  13).  In 
the  Old  Testament  it  is  used  of  the  Spirit  in  Num. 
xi.  25,  and  2  Kings  ii.  15 ;  but.  above  all.  in  Isa.  xi.  2, 
which  was  probaljly  in  St.  Peter's  mind.  And  the 
argument  is,  that  reproacli  for  the  name  of  the  Christ 
is  a  proof  of  glory  in  reserve,  or  rather,  already  belong- 
ing to  the  man.  Perhaps  St.  Peter  intentionally  hints 
(in  speaking  of  the  "Spirit  ")  that  all  who  make  them- 
selves partakers  of  Christ's  reproach  are  made  partakers 
of  His  chrism. 

On  their  part.— Tliese  words,  to  the  end  of  the 
verse,  are  an  undoubted  interpolation,  though  of  very 
early  date,  appearing  even  in  St.  C}-prian's  works.  The 
clause  would  bring  out  the  different  A-iew  taken  by 
believers  and  unbelievers  of  the  martyr-spirit.    Pliny 


429 


They  are  to  suffer, 


I.   PETER,  IV. 


bat  as  Christia)LS. 


(^5)  But  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  mur- 
derer, or  as  a  thief,  or  as  an  evildoer,  or 
as  a  l3usybody "  in  other  men's  matters. 
<'^)  Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian, 
let  him  not  be  ashamed;  but  let  him 


a  2Tbe8S.  a  11. 
b  Kzck.  9.  (i. 


glorify  God  on  this  behalf.  (^''^  For  the 
time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin 
at  the  house  of  God: *  and  if  it  first  begin 
at  us,  what  shall  the  end  he  of  them 
that    obey    not    the    gospel    of    God? 


says  in  his  letter  that,  whatever  Christianity  itself 
may  be,  there  can  be  no  doubt  such  obstinacy  ought  to 
be  jninishod.  Marcus  Aurelius  speaks  with  contempt 
of  the  spirit  in  which  Christians  suffered  themselves  to 
be  put  to  death  as  mere  self-will,  unlike  the  philosophi- 
cal grace  of  the  Stoics.  Gibbon  speaks  of  the  "  pious 
obstinacy  "  of  St.  Felix  of  Tibiura. 

(15)  But  let  none  of  you.— The  Greek  takes  ex- 
actly the  opposite  turn  :  "/or  let  none  of  you  suffer." 
The  connection  is  a  little  difficult,  but  it  seems  to  be 
this :  "  I  say  advisedly  that  you  are  happy,  and  that 
the  Spirit  of  glory  reposes  on  you  who  die  for  the 
faith;  for  I  am  sure  that  you  will  not  try  to  deceive 
yourselves  and  others  by  pretending  to  die  as  martyrs, 
when  in  reality  you  are  dpng  as  criminals."  In  order 
to  understand  this  caution,  we  must  recollect  how  largely 
the  first  converts  were  drawn  from  actually  criminal 
classes,  and  how  easilj^  they  were  admitted.  In  the 
Persecution  of  Diocletian,  Mensurius  of  Carthage 
found  it  necessary  to  expose  those  who  drew  persecu- 
tion upon  themselves  to  cloke  their  crimes  under 
pretence  of  Christian  fciith.  "  Some,"  he  says,  "  are 
criminals,  some  debtors,  who  take  the  opportunity  of 
persecution  to  be  rid  of  so  burdensome  a  life,  thinking 
to  atone  for  and  wash  off  their  misdeeds  thereby."  It 
is  conceivable  that  St.  Peter  may  have  had  some  such 
danger  in  view. 

As  a  mtirderer,  or  as  a  thief,  or  as  an  evil- 
doer.— The  insertion  of  "as"  in  the  two  latter  cases 
obliterates  the  distinction  between  the  class  composed 
of  those  three  words  and  that  which  follows.  It  should 
be,  as  a  murderer,  or  thief,  or  evildoer.  When  Pliny 
came  to  govern  these  men.  a  little  later,  he  found  that 
on  a  fixed  day  they  met  together  before  daylight,  "  and 
bound  themselves  by  a  sacramental  oath,  not  to  any 
crime,  but  that  they  would  not  do  or  see  done  any 
thefts,  any  robberies,  any  adulteries ;  that  they  would 
break  no  promises,  and  would  repudiate  no  liabilities 
when  called  upon."  These  words  will  partly  explain 
the  general  terra  "  evildoer."  (See  also  chaps,  ii.  12, 14; 
iii.  16.) 

Or  as  a  busybody  in  other  men's  matters.— 
M.  Kenan  writes  {Antechrist,  p.  42) : — "  Others,  through 
excess  of  zeal,  declaimed  aloud  against  the  pagans,  and 
cast  their  vices  in  their  teeth.  Their  more  sensible  breth- 
ren humorously  called  them  '  bishops,'  or  '  overseers  of 
those  who  are  witliout.'"  Such  is,  indeed,  the  meaning 
of  the  droll  word  which  St.  Peter  here  gives  :  except 
that,  instead  of  "  bishops  of  those  without,"  it  means 
"  bishops  of  other  men's  matters."  It  denotes  those 
prj'ing  and  self-important  people  who  fancy  they  can 
set  everything  to  rights,  and  that  everybody  they  come 
across  is  under  their  personal  jurisdiction.  Such  per- 
sons would  tend  to  make  Christianity  unpopular  among 
the  unbelievers,  and,  in  case  of  persecution,  would  be  the 
first  to  "  suffer"  (i.e.,  to  be  picked  out  for  martyrdom ; 
see  Note  on  chap.  iii.  14) ;  and  while  flattering  them- 
selves for  the  boldness  with  which  they  had  spoken  out, 
they  would  incur  St.  Pet«r's  censure,  and  their  martyr- 
dom would  be  reckoned  no  martyrdom  by  the  Church. 
"  Cruel  mishaps,"  continues  M.  Renan,  "  befell  them  ; 
and  the  wise  directors  of  the  community,  so  far  from 


extolling  them,  told  them  pretty  plainly  that  it  did  but 
serve  them  right." 

(16)  Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian.— St. 
Peter  purposely  uses  the  name  which  was  a  name  of  de- 
rision among  the  heathens.  It  is  not,  as  yet,  one  by  which 
the  believers  would  usually  describe  themselves.  It  only 
occurs  twice  besides  in  the  New  Testament — in  Acts 
xi.  26,  where  we  are  told  of  the  invention  of  the  nickname 
(see  Note  there),  and  in  Acts  XKvi.  28,  where  Agrippa 
catches  it  up  with  the  insolent  scorn  with  which  a 
binital  justice  would  have  used  the  word  "  Methodist "  a 
centurj'  ago.  So  contemptible  was  the  name  that,  as 
M.  Renan  says  (p.  37),  "  Well-bred  people  avoided  pro- 
nouncing the  name,  or,  when  forced  to  do  so,  made  a 
kind  of  apology."  Tacitus,  for  instance,  says :  "  Those 
who  were  vulgarly  known  by  the  name  of  Christians." 
In  fact,  it  is  quite  an  open  question  whether  we 
ought  not  here  (as  well  as  in  the  two  places  of  Acts 
above  cited)  to  read  the  nickname  in  its  barbar- 
ous form :  Chrestian.  The  Sinaitic  manuscript  has 
that  form,  and  the  Vatican  has  the  form  Chreistian ; 
and  it  is  much  harder  to  suppose  that  a  scribe 
who  commonly  called  himseK  a  Christian  would 
intentionally  alter  it  into  this  strange  form  than  to 
suppose  that  one  who  did  not  understand  the  irony  of 
saying  a  Chrestian  should  have  written  the  word  with 
which  he  was  so  familiar. 

Let  him  not  be  ashamed.— Although  the  name 
sounds  worse  to  the  world  than  "  murderer,"  or  "  thief," 
or  "  malefactor." 

On  this  behalf. — This  is  a  possible  rendering,  bat 
it  is  more  pointed  to  translate  literally,  but  let  him 
glorify  God  in  this  name — i.e.,  make  even  this  name 
of  ridicule  the  ground  of  an  act  of  glory  to  (xod. 

<i")  For  the  time  is  come.— The  "for"  (literally, 
because)  seems  to  substantiate  the  whole  of  the  former 
part  of  the  section,  from  verse  12  onwards,  but  with 
special  reference  to  the  injunction  to  glorify  God  on 
the  ground  of  bearing  the  name  of  Christians,  upon 
which  it  follows  in  much  the  same  way  as  "for  the 
spirit  of  glory  "  followed  upon  "  if  ye  be  reproached 
.  .  .  happy  are  ye."  The  judgment  is  just  about  to 
begin,  and  all  those  who  bear  the  name  of  Christians 
may  well  be  thankful  that  they  do. 

That  judgment.— It  shoidd  be,  that  the  judgment 
— i.e.,  the  great  judgment  which  we  all  expect.  The 
word  "  begin,"  however,  shows  that  in  St.  Peter's  mind 
it  would  be  a  long  process ;  and  he  probably  does  not 
distinguish  in  his  mind  between  the  "  burning  which  is 
befalling  for  a  trial"  and  the  final  judgment,  except 
that  that  "burning"  is  but  the  beginning.  (Comp. 
verse  5.) 

Begin  at  the  house  of  God.— The  phrase  con- 
tains an  obvious  reference  to  Ezek.  ix.  6  (comp.  also 
Jer.  XXV.  29).  Who  are  meant  by  the  " house  of  God" 
is  clear,  not  only  from  such  passages  as  chap.  ii.  5; 
1  Cor.  iii.  16 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  4,  but  also  from  the  imme- 
diate addition,  "and  if  first  at  us."  We  who  are 
Chrestiuni,  who  bear  the  mark  of  the  Christ's  shame 
upon  our  foreheads,  and  are  not  ashamed  of  it,  are 
quite  safe  in  this  judgment :  "  come  not  near  any  man 
upon  whom  is  the  mai-k."    The  sense  is  a  little  closely 


430 


The  Eighteous  and  the  Sinner 


I.   PETEK,   IV. 


in  (he  Judgment. 


(18)  And  if  the   righteous    scarcely  be  i 
saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the 


o  Pruv.  11.  31. 


sinner  appear  ? "    (^^^  Wherefore  let  them 
that  suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God 


packed.  It  seems  as  if  St.  Peter  meant  at  first  only  to 
siiy,  "  Thank  God  tliat  you  are  '  Christians,'  for  tlie 
judgment  is  just  about  to  begin,"  as  sometliing  whicli 
only  concerns  the  unbelievers ;  then,  as  an  after- 
thought, ho  adds,  "  and  begin,  too,  at  the  house  of 
God,"  by  way  of  makmg  the  believers  also  feel  the 
need  of  care. 

And  if  it  first  begin  at  us,  what  shall  the 
end.  be  .  .  .  ? — It  is  more  expressive  to  omit,  with  St. 
Peter,  the  verb  "  begin  "  :  wdd  if  first  at  us.  The  argu- 
ment is  :  "  If  we,  wlio  are  the  very  household  of  God, 
must  undergo  this  searching  investigation  first,  what 
•will  happen,  as  the  judgment  nears  its  climax,  to  tliose 
who,"  &c.  ?  When  he  says  "  the  end  of  those  that  obey 
not,"  he  does  not  mean  exactly  "the  final  doom  of  those 
that  obey  not,"  as  contrasted  with  "  the  end  "  of  those 
that  obey,  or  as  contrasted  with  their  o^vn  earlier 
opportunities:  rather,  "the  end"  is  the  end  of  the  great 
process  of  judgment,  as  contrasted  with  the  "  beginning 
first  at  us."  The  judging  of  the  house  of  God  has 
now  gone  on  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  but  it  has 
not  yet  touched  those  who  are  without. 

That  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God?— Rather, 
that  disobey  the  gospel  of  God  ?  The  word  is  the  same 
which  we  have  noticed  several  times  (see  Note  on  chap, 
iii.  I)  as  being  peculiarly  applied  to  the  Jews.  Now 
the  object  of  this  mysterious  threat  (which  is  made 
more  tex'rible  by  being  thrown  into  the  form  of  a  ques- 
tion) is  not  only  to  solace  the  persecuted  by  the  thought 
of  G^d  being  their  avenger,  but  to  warn  them  against 
slipping  into  the  position  of  those  thus  threatened. 
The  recipients  of  the  Letter,  wo  must  recollect,  were 
Jewish  Christians,  who  were  in  a  two-fold  danger — 
either  ofrelapsing  sullenly  into  Judaism,  or  of  plunging 
into  heathen  excesses,  like  the  Nicolaitan  school,  under 
the  notion  that  such  things  could  not  hurt  the  spiritually- 
minded.  To  meet  these  two  forms  of  danger,  the 
Apostle  hints  darkly  at  the  punishment  of  the  two 
classes  in  this  phrase  and  in  the  verse  following,  pre- 
cisely as  St.  Paul,  in  2  Thess.  i.  8  (see  Note  there), 
divides  the  wicked  to  be  punished  into  Jew  and  Gentile, 
or,  in  Rom.  ii.  9,  still  more  particulai-ly.  And  that  he 
is  thinking  specially  of  unbelieving  Jews  in  this  place 
appears  from  the  context  ia  Ezek.  ix.  6  (especially  verse 
9),  where  the  separation  to  be  effected  is  not  between 
Jew  and  Gentile,  but  between  Jew  and  Jew — those 
"  that  sigh  and  that  cry  for  all  the  abominations  "  com- 
mitted by  Israel,  and  those  that  commit  the  abomina- 
tions. As  Bengel  remarks,  "  The  persecution  of  Nero 
was  but  a  few  years  before  the  catastrophe  of  the 
Jews." 

(18)  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved. 
— This  is  a  literal  quotation,  word  for  word,  of  Prov. 
xi.  31,  according  to  the  LXX.  The  quotation  proves  to 
us  St.  Peter's  perfect  familiarity  with  both  the  Hebrew 
original  and  the  G'-eek  version.  We  have  seen  how  he 
rejects  the  LXX.  version  when  it  does  not  suit  his 
meaning  {e.g.,  chap.  ii.  8) :  hero  it  suits  him  (though 
it  diifers  from  the  Hebrew),  and  he  accepts  it.  The 
"  righteous  "  man  here  means,  apparently,  as  Loighton 
says,  "  he  that  endeavours  to  walk  uprightly  in  the 
ways  of  God,"  rather  than  the  man  who  is  then  declared 
finally  justified.  The  fact  that  they  are  "scarcely" 
saved  "  imports  not,"  according  to  Leighton,  "any  un- 
certainty or  hazard  in  the  thing  itself  to  the  end,  in 
respect  of  the  purpose  and  pei-fonnance  of  God,  but 


only  the  great  difficulties  and  hard  encounters  in  the 
way."  This  is  only  partly  true.  The  Apostle  is  rather 
tliinking  of  the  final  judgment  than  of  the  life  of  trial; 
and  he  means  that  there  was  but  little  margin  left :  a 
very  few  more  falls,  a  few  more  refusals  to  follow  the 
calls  of  grace,  and  they  would  have  been  lost.  Doubt- 
less, when  the  best  of  us  looks  back,  in  the  light  of  the 
last  day,  upon  all  that  he  has  been  through,  he  will  be 
amazed  that  he  ever  coiUd  be  saved  at  all.  Yet  Bengel 
well  calls  us  to  see  the  other  side  of  the  picture  in 
2  Pet.  i.  11. 

The  ungodly  and  the  sinner,  —  This  is  the 
Gentile  character.  "  Ungodly  "  denotes  open  irreligion 
— contemi^t  of  God  and  all  that  belongs  to  His  worship. 
"  Sinner  "  goes  more  to  the  moral  .side  of  the  nature, 
pointing  most  of  all  to  sins  of  the  flesh.  (Comp., 
for  instance,  Luke  vii.  37.)  "Sinners"  was  almost  a 
synonym  for  "  Gentiles."  (See,  e.g..  Luke  vi.  32 ; 
xxiv.  7;  Gal.  ii.  15.)  The  question  "Where  shall  he 
appear  ?  "  imagines  some  scene  such  as  that  of  Matt. 
XXV.  32 :  "  Whore  shall  we  see  him  ?  where  will  he 
have  to  stand  •'  " 

(19)  Wherefore.  —  Because  the  beginning  of  the 
judgment — the  judgment  of  the  Christians — is  so  light 
in  comparison  with  the  fearful  end  when  it  lights  on 
the  disobedient  and  wicked. 

Let  them  that  suffer  according  to  the  will 
of  God. — Our  version  omits  an  important  little  word  : 
Let  them  that  suffer  also  (or.  Let  even  them  that  suffer) 
accoi'ding  to  the  iclll  of  God.  The  stress  is  on  "suffer" 
— i.e.,  be  put  to  death.  And  the  clause,  "  according  to 
the  will  of  God,"  seems  not  intended  to  mean  "  in  a 
godly  and  uublameable  manner,"  as  opposed  to  the 
"  suffering  as  a  murderer"  (verse  15) ;  rather,  it  brings 
out  that  such  a  death  is  no  accident,  no  sudden  calamity, 
but  in  strict  accordance  with  God's  prearranged  design. 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  17 :  "  if  the  will  of  God  will  it.") 
Thus  it  harmonises  with  the  following  :  "  faithful 
Creator,"  "  commit  their  souls." 

Commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls.— The 
beautiful  verb  rendered  "  commit  the  keeping  of  "  is  a 
technical  term  for  depositing  a  deed,  or  sum  of  money, 
or  other  valuable,  with  any  one  in  trust.  In  the  litenil 
sense  it  occurs  in  Luke  xii.  48 ;  2  Tim.  i.  12 :  in  a 
metaphorical  sense,  of  doctrines  committed  in  trust  to 
the  safe  keeping  of  the  Episcopate,  in  1  Tim.  i.  l!?! ;  vi. 
20;  2  Tim.  i.  l5;  ii.  2:  of  leaving  persons  whom  you 
love  in  trust,  in  Acts  xiv.  23 ;  xx.  32.  But  the  words 
which  St.  Peter  probably  has  ringing  in  his  ears  when 
he  thus  writes  are  the  words  of  our  Lord  on  the  cross 
(where  the  same  verb  is  used)  :  "  Father,  into  Thy 
hands  I  commend  My  spirit  "  (Luke  xxiii.  46).  "  Their 
souls "  might,  perhaps,  with  still  more  propriety,  bo 
here  translated  their  lives.  The  connection  will  then 
be :  "  Consider  the  mildness  of  these  trials  compared 
with  the  terrors  overhanging  the  sinful.  Even  if  the 
worst  should  come  to  the  worst,  and  you  must  die  a 
martyr's  death,  it  is  but  the  execution  of  God's  plan 
for  you.  View  your  life  as  a  deposit:  lay  it  confidently 
in  His  hands,  to  be  returned  to  you  again  when  the 
time  comes  :  and  you  will  find  Him  faithful  to  what  a 
Creator  ousfht  to  he." 

A  faithful  Creator,— The  word  "  faithful "  is  used 
in  reference  to  the  "deposit"  placed  in  His  hands; 
and  the  title  "  Creator  "  seems  to  be  chosen  here  rather 
than  "  Father,"  or  the  like,  because  creation  of  the  scul 


431 


Exhortations 


I.   PETER,   V. 


to  the  Elders. 


commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls"  to  him 
in  well  doing,  as  unto  a  faithful  Creator. 

CHAPTER  v.— (1)  The  elders  which 
are  among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also 
an  older,  and  a  witness  of  the  sufferings 


rt  I's.  31.  5;  Luke 
■a.  4(5. 


1  Or,   ns  much  as 
in  you  is. 


of  Christ,  and  also  a  partaker  of  the 
glorythat  shall  be  revealed: 

(=^)    feed    the    flock    of    God   General"  exhorl 
which  is  among  you,^  taking  tationsandcon- 
the  oversight  thereof,  not  by 
constraint,  but  willingly ;  not  for  filthy 


incltides  not  only  the  giving  of  its  existence  but  the 
shapinjr  of  its  desiiny.  "The  will  of  God,"  in  accord- 
ance with  wliieh  tliey  "  suffer,"  is  part  of  the  act  of 
creation.  Tlio  noble  expression,  however,  contains  the 
idea  tliat  the  act  of  creation  imposes  duties  and  rcspon- 
sibihties  upon  the  Creator.  It  is  conceivable  that  some 
powerful  being  (not  our  God)  might  create,  and  be 
careless  of  the  happiness  or  of  the  moral  welfare  or  of 
the  mutual  relations  of  his  creatures.  Such  a  creator 
■would  bo  "  unfaithful :  "  we  should  have  a  right  to 
expei^t  differently  of  him.  But  God  is  a  "  faithful 
Creator."  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  tnist  Him." 
In  well  doing. — In  the  Greek  these  words  come 
emphatically  last.     (Comp.  chap.  iii.  17.) 


(1-11)  Further  Exhortations  suggested  by  the 
Crisis. — The  officers  of  the  community  are  not  to  flinch 
from  the  duties  imposed  upon  them,  nor  yet  to  perform 
them  in  any  spirit  of  self-assertion.  The  laity,  on  the 
other  baud,  are  to  observe  discipline.  Indeed,  mutual 
submission  is  the  only  safe-guard  in  the  face  of  a  com- 
mon danger.  An  unbroken  front  must  be  presented, 
and  the  sense  of  brotherhood  fostered. 

(1)  The  elders  which  are  among  you  .  .  .—The 
best  text  preserves  the  word  "  therefore  "  after  "  elders." 
In  view,  that  is,  of  these  hopes  and  threats,  of  the 
present  persecution,  and  of  the  coming  judgment,  St. 
Peter  gives  his  solemn  charge  to  those  who  shared  with 
him  the  responsibility  of  office  in  the  Church.  The 
word  rendered  "  exhort "  is  that  common  New  Testa- 
ment word  {paraTcalo),  which  we  miss  in  English,  in- 
cluding encouragement  and  entreaty,  and  even  con- 
solation, as  well  as  exhortation.  (See,  e.g.,  Acts  iv. 
36.)  The  whole  of  this  Epistle  is  an  example  of  such 
•paraclesis. 

Who  am  also  an  elder.— St.  Peter  is  giving  no 
irrcsponsil)lo  advice.  He  knows  by  experience  the 
dangers  which  beset  the  office.  The  head  Christian  of 
the  world,  and  writing  from  the  thick  of  the  persecu- 
tion already  begun  in  Rome,  the  Asiatic  elders  cannot 
set  his  advice  down  as  that  of  some  easy  layman  who  is 
untouched  by  the  difficulty.  It  can  hardly  be  said, 
therefore,  that  this  is  an  example  of  St.  Peter's  humility, 
as  though  he  recognised  in  himself  no  higher  office  than 
that  of  these  presbyters.  The  effect  is,  on  the  contrary, 
to  make  the  recipients  of  the  Letter  feel  that  he  is  using 
a  strong  argument  a  fortiori. 

And  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ.— 
The  Greek  word  calls  attention,  not  so  much  to  the  fact 
of  his  having  been  a  spectator,  an  ei/e-witness,  but 
rather  to  the  fact  of  his  bearing  testimony  to  the  suffer- 
ings. Here  again,  too,  it  is  in  Greek  "  the  sufferings  of 
the  Christ."  (See  Note  on  chap.  i.  11.)  Not  only  did 
St.  Peter  know,  by  bearing  office  himself,  what  the 
dangers  of  office  were,  but  he  was  able  to  testify  how 
the  Messiah  Himself,  tlie  Apostle  and  High  Priest  of 
our  profession,  had  suffered,  from  which  it  was  natural 
to  conclude  that  aU  Christians  also  were  destined  to 
suffer. 


And  also  a  partaker  of  the  glory  .  .  .—This 
splendid  assurance  follows  naturally  from  being  a  wit- 
ness of  the  sufferings  of  the  Christ.  "  I  am  in  as  much 
danger  as  any  of  you,"  the  Apostle  says,  "but  I  can 
testify  that  the  Christ  Himself  suffered  thus,  and  there- 
fore 1  know  that  we  who  suffer  with  Him  are  even  now 
partakers  of  the  glory,  though  a  veil  at  present  hides 
it."  St.  Peter  insists  in  the  same  way  on  our  present 
possession  of  what  will  not  be  shown  us  for  a  time  in 
chap.  i.  5. 

(2)  Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among 
^ou. — By  the  word  "  feed  "  here  is  meant,  not  merely 
the  giving  of  pasture,  but  the  whole  government.  It 
is  the  verb  used  in  John  xxi.  16,  not  that  in  the  15th 
and  1 7th  verses.  There  can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that 
St.  Peter  was  thinking  of  that  scene  when  he  issued 
these  directions.  Our  Lord  had  committed  into  his 
hands  all  His  sheep  and  lambs,  without  restriction  of 
age  or  country,  to  be  fed  and  shepherded ;  and  now  the 
time  was  appi'oachiug  when  he  would  have  to  "  put  off 
this  tabernacle  "  (2  Pet.  i.  14),  and  he  here  takes  order 
that  "  after  his  decease  "  the  charge  committed  to  him 
may  be  fulfilled.  He  still  shepherds  the  flock  by  proxy. 
Two  other  points  must  be  mentioned,  which  bring  this 
passage  into  connection  with  the  charge  given  by  St. 
Paul  to  the  Ephesian  elders  (Acts  xx.  28),  w^hich  was 
very  probably  known  to  St.  Peter.  (1)  St.  Peter  calls 
it  "  the  Mock  of  God."  Textual  critics  are  much 
divided  on  the  reading  in  Acts  xx.  28,  but,  on  the  whole, 
the  Received  reading  seems  the  best  supported :  "  the 
Church  of  God  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His  o^vn 
blood."  At  the  same  time,  St.  Peter  is  in  remembrance 
how  Christ  had  said,  "Feed  My  sheep."  It  may 
be  fairly  thought,  therefoi'e,  when  we  see  St.  Peter's 
own  theology  in  chaps,  i.  2.5,  ii.  3,  iii.  15,  that  when  he 
writes,  "  Feed  the  flock  of  God,"  his  thouglits  turn  to 
the  Second  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  rather  than  to 
the  First.  (2)  Hooker  well  points  out,  on  Acts  xx.  28, 
the  tinity  of  the  flock.  Though  there  were  many  elders 
in  Ephesus,  there  was  but  one  flock  they  fed  between 
them.  So  now,  all  over  Asia  Minor,  it  was  but  one 
flock.  St.  Peter,  to  whom  the  flock  throughout  tlie 
whole  world  was  committed,  saw  it  as  a  whole,  but  the 
elders  to  whom  he  writes  had  only  to  look  to  that  part 
of  the  one  flock  which  was  "  among  them."  The  mar- 
ginal rendering  is  against  the  order  of  the  Greek  words, 
and  does  not  suit  the  context  so  well  when  the  context 
is  rightly  understood. 

Taking  the  oversight  thereof.- It  is  exceed- 
ingly doubtful  whether  these  words  form  part  of  the 
original  text  or  not.  If  they  do,  the  translation  unduly 
limits  the  meaning,  which  would  be  better  expressed  by 
"  maintaining  (or,  exercising)  the  oversight,"  or  "  per- 
forming the  duties  of  bishops,"  for  he  is  addressing 
men  who  were  already  ordained.  By  this  time  the  word 
"  bishop  "  had  not  become  a  fixed  title  of  one  special 
office,  though  the  office  itself  was  in  existence. 

Not  by  constraint,  but  willingly.— Why  should 
this  exhortation  be  given  so  prominently  ?  It  is  hardly 
to  be  thought  that  St.  Peter  had  in  view  the  humility 
which  led    men    to   adopt  such  strange  methods 


432 


Against  Greed  and  Pride. 


I.   PETER,  V. 


Submission  of  the  Young. 


lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind ;  ^^"i  neitlier 
as  being  lords  ^  over  God's  heritage,  but 
being  en  samples  to  the  flock.  (^'>  And 
when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye 
shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth 


1  Or,  overruling. 


not  away.  (^^  Likewise,  ye  younger,  sub- 
mit yourselves  unto  the  elder.  Yea,  all 
of  you  be  subject  one  to  another,  and  be 
clothed  with  humility :  for  God  resisteth 
the   proud,   and   giveth   grace    to    the 


avoiding  the  responsibility  of  the  priesthood  as  wo 
find  resorted  to  by  Chiysostom  and  Ambrose.  Much 
more  probably  ho  is  thinking  of  the  actual  danger  to 
life  and  property  of  being  "  ringleaders  of  the  sect " 
(Acts  xxiv.  5),  which  would  lead  cowardly  bishops  to 
throw  up  their  office.  He  is  not  treating  of  the  motives 
which  should  lead  a  man  to  accept  the  position.  He 
speaks  to  persons  who  already  hold  the  office,  and 
urges  them  not  to  leave  the  flock,  like  hirelings,  when 
they  see  the  persecution  coming  on.  Several  of  the 
best  authorities  add,  "  but  willingly,  according  to  God." 
It  'Was  God,  that  is,  who  put  them  in  that  station,  and 
they  must  not  need  the  compulsion  of  their  laity,  or  of 
the  rest  of  the  episcopate,  or  of  the  Apostles,  to  keep 
them  at  their  post. 

Not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind. — 
The  opposite  vice  to  that  on  which  ho  has  just  passed 
sentence.  Some,  who  had  no  fears,  might  be  tempted 
to  retain  the  office  by  the  good  salaiy  which  the 
Church  gave,  or  might  threaten  to  resign  if  their 
salaries  were  not  raised  in  proportion  to  their  risk. 
The  "  ready  mind,"  of  which  the  Apostle  speaks,  means 
the  love  of  the  work  itself,  which  should  be  the  sole 
motive  in  seeking,  or  performing,  the  gospel  ministry. 

(3)  Neither  as  being  lords. — Rather,  nor  yet  as 
lording  it.  The  English  version  is  somewhat  too  strict 
for  the  Greek  and  for  the  sense.  There  is  a  sense  in 
which  the  heads  of  the  Church  are,  and  ought  to  be, 
lords  and  princes  over  the  rest ;  but  this  is  very  different 
from  "  lording  it,"  acting  tyrannically,  forgetting  the 
constitutional  rights  of  their  subjects. 

Over  God's  heritage. — Quite  literally,  Over  the 
lots.  The  word  first  of  all  means  (as  in  Matt,  xxvii.  35 
or  Acts  i.  26)  the  actual  scrap  of  paper  or  wood  that 
was  tos.sed.  Then  it  comes  to  mean  (like  the  word  "  lot" 
in  the  language  of  auctions)  the  piece  of  property  that 
falls  by  lot  to  any  one's  share.  Then  all  notion  of 
chance  disappears,  and  it  comes  to  mean  the  portion 
assigned  to  any  one.  So  St.  Peter  says  that  Simon  Magus 
has  "  no  share  nor  lot  in  this  thing  "  (Acts  viii.  21).  In 
Acts  xxvi.  18,  Col.  i.  12,  the  same  word  is  rendered  "  in- 
heritance." In  Acts  xvii.  4,  our  version  endeavours,  not 
very  successfully,  through  the  Latin  word  "consorted," 
to  keep  up  the  underlying  notion  of  the  Greek,  which 
literaUy  is  "  were  allotted  to  Paul  and  Silas."  Hero, 
therefore,  we  must  understand  "  the  lots,"  over  which 
the  clergy  are  not  to  lord  it,  to  be  the  different  congre- 
gations, districts,  parishes,  dioceses,  which  had  been 
allotted  to  them.  At  the  same  time  it  does  not  at  all 
imply  that  any  process  like  drawing  of  lots  had  been 
resorted  to  in  their  appointment,  as  is  seen  from  Acts 
xvii.  4,  just  cited.  It  will  be  seen  that  our  version 
is  misleading  in  substituting  singular  for  plural,  and 
in  inserting  the  word  "  God's."  The  whole  ttock  is 
God's  (verse  2),  purchased  with  His  own  blood  ;  Init  the 
"allotments"  are  the  portions  a.ssigiicd  by  Him  to  the 
different  clergy.  It  is  some  consolation  to  see,  when  wo 
groan  under  the  lives  and  characters  of  some  church 
officers  now,  that  even  in  the  Apostles'  days  cowardice, 
greed,  and  solf-a-^sertion  were  not  unknown. 

Ensamples  to  the  flock. — The  best  way  of  be- 
coming a  real  prince  and  lord  over  men  is  to  show 

94  433 


tliem  by  example  what  they  ought  to  do,  like  Chaucer's 

Parson,  who — 

"  Cristfis  lore  and  hys  Apostlis  twelve 
He  taught,  but  fyrst  hee  practys'd  it  himselve." 

Leighton  well  quotes  from  Nazianzen  :  "  Either  teach 
not,  or  teach  by  living." 

(■i)  And  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear. 
— Or,  And  at  the  cliief  She2)herd's  appearing.  The 
"  and "  treats  it  as  a  simple  natural  consequence  of 
acting  as  just  indicated.  The  beautiful  word  for 
"  chief  Shepherd  "  seems  to  have  been  invented  by 
St.  Peter,  and  it  has  been  apparently  imitated  in  Heb. 
xiii.  20.  How  could  an  office  be  more  honoured  than  by 
speaking  of  Christ  as  the  chief  bearer  of  that  office  ? 

A  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away.— 
It  might  perhaps  be  more  closely,  though  less  beauti- 
fully, represented  by  the  glorious  crown  of  amaranth, 
or  the  amaranthine  croion  of  glortj.  Amaranth  is  the 
name  of  a  flower  which,  like  our  immortelles,  does  not 
lose  its  colour  or  form.  St.  Peter  immediately  adds 
"  of  glory,"  lest  we  should  think  too  literally  of  the 
wi-eath  of  imm.ortelles. 

(5)  Likewise,  ye  younger. — SeK- submission  has 
been,  at  least  tacitly,  inculcated  upon  the  pastors  in 
verse  3;  so  the  writer  can  say  "likewise"  in  turning  to 
the  rest.  In  comparison  with  the  presbyters  or  elders, 
the  lay  people  are  styled  "  younger,"  or  "  juniors ; " 
although  in  point  of  natural  age,  or  of  baptismal 
seniority,  they  might  be  the  older.  So  our  Lord  ad- 
dresses His  disciples  (according  to  the  rabbinical  fashion) 
as  "  children,"  though  there  is  good  reason  to  suppose 
that  several  were  older  than  Himself ;  and  St.  Paul,  in 
the  same  way,  called  all  the  Corinthian  Christians  his 
"  sons."  This  seems  to  be  the  most  natural  interpreta- 
tion of  the  word ;  for  it  was  undoubtedly  in  respect  of 
the  supposed  juniority  of  the  whole  of  the  ky  people 
that  their  rulers  received  the  name  of  "  presbyters." 
Otherwise  there  is  nothing  against  the  interpretation 
which  makes  "  ye  younger  "  to  be  an  address  to  those 
who  held  inferior  offices  in  the  Church,  such  as  deacons, 
catechists,  readers,  and  the  like  (Acts  v.  6,  10).  The 
danger  of  auy  insubordination  of  the  laity  or  inferior 
clergy  against  the  priesthood  at  such  a  crisis  was  very 
obvious. 

Yea,  all  of  you.— Here  the  true  text  strikes  out 
the  words  "  be  subject  and,"  so  that  the  clause  will  run. 
Yea.  all  of  you  be  clothed  with  humility  one  to  another. 
Not  oiily  mutual  complaisance  between  rulers  on  the 
one  hand  and  ruled  on  the  other,  but  clergy  to  clergy 
and  laity  to  laity  are  to  behave  with  the  same  self- 
suppression. 

Be  clothed  with  humility. — The  Greek  verb  is  a 
rare  and  curious  one.  It  nutans  properly,  "tie  your- 
.solves  up  in  humility."  Humility  is  to  be  gathered 
tight  round  about  us  like  a  cloak,  and  tied  up  so  that 
the  wind  may  not  blow  it  back,  nor  the  rain  boat  inside 
it.  But  there  is  a  still  further  and  more  delicate  shade 
of  moaning  in  the  word.  There  was  a  peculiar  kind  of 
capo,  well  known  by  a  name  taken  from  this  verb  (we 
might  call  it  a  "tie-up'"),  and  this  kind  of  cape  was 
worn  by  slaves,  and  by  no  others.  It  was  a  badffe  of 
i  servitude.     Thus  St.  Peter  bids  them  all  gird  them- 


Exhortation  to 


I.   PETEE,   V. 


Humility  and  Sobriety. 


humble,  ^^"i  Humble  yourselves  there- 
fore under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  that 
he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time  :  ("^  easting 
all  your  care  upon  him ;  for  he  earetli 
for  you.  <^^  Be  sober,  be  vigilant ; 
because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a 
roaring    lion,   Avalketh    about,    seeking 


■whom  he  may  devour :  (^^  whom  resist 
stedfast  in  the  faith,  knowing  that  the 
same  afi&ictions  are  accomplished  in  your 
brethren  that  are  in  the  world.  ^^^^  But 
the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath  called  us 
unto  his  eternal  glory  by  Christ  Jesus, 
after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  make 


selves  for  one  another  in  a  slave's  "  tie-up  "  of  humility. 
None  are  to  bo  masters  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  And 
the  humility  is  to  bo  the  very  first  thing  noticed  about 
them,  their  outward  mark  and  sign. 

For  God  resisteth  the  proud. — The  exhortation 
to  niutual  self-submission  is  reinforced  by  a  quotation 
of  a  well-known  proverb.  The  proverb  is  based  on  the 
LXX.  translation  of  Prov.  iii.  34;  but  as  it  diffei-s 
somewhat  from  both  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  of 
that  passage,  and  is  found  word  for  word  in  Jas.  iv.  6, 
we  may  probably  give  the  same  account  of  it  as  of  the 
other  proverb  quoted  iu  chap.  iv.  8,  where  see  Note. 
A  sad  calamity  for  Christians  under  persecution, 
suddenly  to  find  God  Himself  in  array  on  the  enemy's 
side  !  (such  is  the  meaning  of  "resisteth  ");  and  this  is 
what  they  would  find,  if  they  went  against  discipline. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  they  were  submissive.  He  would 
bestow  "  grace  "  upon  them ;  here  again,  perhaps,  not 
in  the  strict  theological  sense,  but  in  that  of  "favour." 

(6)  Humble  yourselves  therefore. — This,  too, 
looks  an  amplification  of  a  proverb,  when  we  compare 
it  with  Jas.  iv.  10.  The  humility  here  recommended  is 
not  merely  a  submissive  bearing  of  the  strokes  which  it 
pleased  God  to  let  fall  upon  them,  but  it  was  to  be 
showu,  as  we  see  iu  the  former  verse,  in  their  bearing 
toward  one  another.  And  "  the  mighty  hand  of  God  " 
is  not  to  be  regarded  as  that  which  is  chastising  them, 
but  as  the  protecting  shelter  which  they  are  humbly  to 
seek. 

In  due  time. — St.  Peter  probably  means,  in  the  day 
of  jtidgment,  which  seemed  so  instant. 

(")  Casting  all  your  care  upon  him. — An  adap- 
tation of  Ps.  Iv.  22,  according  to  the  LXX.  Anxiety 
implies  not  only  some  distrust  of  God's  providence, 
but  also  some  kind  of  belief  that  we  may  be  able  to 
manage  better  for  ourselves ;  therefore  here,  as  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  wo  are  exhorted,  especially  in 
time  of  danger,  simply  to  do  what  we  know  we  ought 
to  do,  and  to  bo  unheeding  about  the  rest. 

"  Lord,  it  belon!?s  not  to  my  care 
Whether  I  die  or  live." 

The  confidence  cannot  be  misplaced,  for  God  is  not 
forgetful  of  us.  The  play  of  words  in  the  English  does 
not  represent  anything  in  the  original,  where  the  two 
words  for  "  caro  "  are  quite  different. 
■>  (8)  Be  sober,  be  vigilant.— Single  words  in  the 
Greek,  and  in  the  tense  which  bespeaks  immediate 
attention.  The  best  text  omits  the  following  "  be- 
cause." These  are  the  sudden  cries  of  warning  of  a 
shepherd  who  spies  the  lion  prowling  rotmd  the  flock 
in  the  darkness,  while  the  guardians  of  the  flock  lie 
drowsy  and  sociu'e. 

As  a  roaring  lion.— Tlie  epithet  is  not  only  added 
to  lend  terror  to  the  description,  but  the  roaringimplies 
hunger  and  determination. 

Walketh  about.— Comp.  Job  i.  7 ;  ii.  2.  St.  Peter, 
however,  is  not  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  Satan 
is  always  prowling  about,  but  he  warns  the  sleeping 
shepherds  that  he  is  especially  doing  so  now.     This 


season  of  persecution  was  just  his  time  for  picking  off 
one  here  and  another  there. 

Seeking  whom  he  may  devour.— Perhaps  still 
more  expressive  to  say,  "  seeking  which  he  may  de- 
vour." Satan  is  eyeing  all  the  Christians  in  turn  to 
see  which  he  has  the  best  chance  of,  not  merely  stalking 
forth  vaguely  to  look  for  prey. 

(9)  Whom  resist  stedfast  in  the  faith.— Tlie 
expression  is  somewhat  more  picturesque  in  the  Greek 
than  in  the  English.  "  Stand  and  face  him,"  instead 
of  running  away  from  posts  of  duty  (verse  2),  or  lying 
still  and  letting  things  take  their  course  (verse  8). 
And  the  words  for  "  stedfast  in  the  faith "  seem  to 
mean  not  only  that  each  individual  is  to  stand  firm, 
but  that  they  are  to  present  all  together  a  solid  front 
to  the  lion. 

Knowing  that  the  same  aflQictions  are  ac- 
complished in  your  brethren  that  are  in  the 
world. — The  phraseology  of  the  original  is  very 
strange.  The  sameness  of  the  sufferings  is  brought 
out  by  an  expression  which  literally  runs  "  the  same 
things  in  the  way  of  sufferings;"  the  fraternal  unity, 
by  the  use  of  the  same  abstract  word  which  we  had  in 
chap.  ii.  17.  The  verb  rendered  "  to  accomplish"  some- 
times denotes  execution  or  infliction.  So  the  whole  will 
run,  knowing  that  the  very  same  things  in  the  way  of 
sufferings  are  being  inflicted  upon  your  brotherhood 
ivhich  is  in  the  tvorld.  "  There  is  one  thing,"  says 
Archbishop  Leighton,  "  that  much  troubles  the  pa- 
tience and  weakens  the  faith  of  some  Christians ;  they 
are  ready  to  think  there  is  none,  yea,  there  was  never 
any  beloved  of  God  in  such  a  condition  as  theirs. 
Therefore  the  Apostle  St.  Paul  breaks  this  conceit 
(1  Cor.  X.  13),  '  no  temptation  hath  taken  you  but  such 
as  is  common  to  man : '  and  here  is  the  same  truth,  '  the 
same  afflictions  are  accomplished  in  your  brethren.' 
This  is  the  truth,  and,  taken  altogether,  is  a  most  com- 
fortable truth ;  the  whole  brotherhood  go  in  this  way, 
and  our  eldest  Brother  went  first."  The  addition, 
"  that  are  in  the  world,"  points  the  suffering  Christians 
indirectly  to  solace  themselves  with  the  thought  of 
that  portion  of  the  brotherhood  which  has  got  beyond 
the  infliction.  It  wotdd  be  possible  to  translate,  though 
somewhat  far-fetched  in  point  of  thought,  "  knowing" 
that  the  same  sufferings  (or,  the  identity  of  the  suffer- 
ings) is  completed  by  your  brotherhood  in  the  world  " 
— i.e.,  finds  a  consummation  in  making  closer  the  bonds 
of  brotherhood  between  you. 

(10)  Who  hath  called  us  unto  his  eternal 
glory. — The  true  reading  is,  who  called  you,  not  "us." 
The  moment  of  the  call  was  that  when  St.  Paul  and 
the  others  first  preached  there.  (See  chap.  i.  12,  25, 
and  Notes.)  The  God  who  now  bestows  all  grace,  by 
the  giving  of  that  grace  calls  us  into  glory. 

"  The  men  of  grace  have  found 
Glory  begun  below." 

By  Christ  Jesus.— On  the  whole  it  seems  best, 
with  Tischendorf,  to  drop  the  name  of  Jesus  out  of 
the  text :  the  title  "  Christ "  will  then  stand  between 


I 


434 


Glory  to  Christ  Jesus. 


I.   PETER,   Y. 


Concluding  Greeting. 


you  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle 
you.  (^^^  To  liim  he  glory  and  dominion 
for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  (^-^  By 
Silvanus,  a  faitliful  brother  unto  you, 


as  I  suppose,  I  have  written  briefly, 
exhorting,  and  testifying  that  this  is 
the  true  grace  of  God  wherein  ye 
stand.        (^^^  The     church    that     is     at 


"  the  eternal  glory,"  which  we  possess  "  in  Him  "  (not 
"  by  Christ  Jesus,"  as  our  version  has  it,  but  by  virtue 
of  our  union  with  the  Christ),  and  the  immediate 
mention  of  suffering.  In  Him  the  two  are  drawn 
inseparably  together. 

Suffered,  a  while.— The  Greek  says  distinctly,  "  a 
little  while,"  as  in  chap.  i.  6.  All  time  is  short  in  com- 
parison of  what  comes  after.  The  original  looks  as  if 
St.  Peter  meant  not  only  "  after  tliat  ye  have  suffered," 
but  also  "  by  the  fact  of  your  ha'S'ing  suffered." 

Make  you  perfect.— Strictly  these  are  futures, 
*'  shall  (or,  ivill)  make  you  perfect"  &c.  This  verb 
occurs  again  in  1  Thess.  iii.  10,  and  elsewhere.  It 
imj)lies  the  reduction  to  oi'der  and  fitness  for  work 
of  what  is  disordered  or  broken.  The  others,  which 
are  all  very  similar  in  meaning,  are  heaped  up  after 
St.  Peter's  manner.  Bengel  thus  explains  them : 
"  Make  you  pei^fect,  that  there  remain  no  defect  in 
you.  Stablish,  that  nothing  shake  you.  Strengthen, 
that  you  may  overcome  all  force  brought  against  you." 
The  word  for  "  to  settle  "  means  "  to  found,"  to  give  a 
solid  foundation.  All  this  is  to  take  place  at  the  close 
of  the  short  spell  of  suffering  which  is  the  means  to  it. 
St.  Peter  seems,  therefore,  to  contemplate  the  passing 
off  of  the  persecution  before  the  end  of  the  world ;  for 
these  verbs  could  hardly  be  so  naturally  used  to  express 
our  education  in  the  world  to  come. 

(11)  To  him  be  glory. —  "The  Apostle,"  says 
Leighton,  "  having  added  prayer  to  his  doctrine,  adds 
hei'e,  you  see,  praise  to  his  prayer."  This  is  the  true 
consolation  in  trouble,  to  extol  the  power  of  God.  If 
His  be  the  dominion,  and  He  have  called  us  to  His 
glory,  then  what  can  we  fear  ? 

(12—14)   CONCLTTDING    GREETING. — Tou    wiU     trust 

the  bearer  of  this  Letter,  and  abide  steadfastly  in  the 
faith  which  he  has  taught  you.  The  exiled  Israel  in 
this  wicked  capital  feels  for  you.  Love  and  peace  be 
among  you. 

(12)  By  Silvanus,  a  faithful  brother  unto  you, 
as  I  suppose. — There  is  not  any  reason  for  doubting 
that  this  is  the  same  as  the  Silas  of  the  Acts  and  the 
Silvanus  of  2  Cor.  i.  19 ;  1  Thess.  i.  I;  2  Thess.  i.  1. 
It  is  not  a  common  name,  and  nothing  would  suggest 
the  doubt,  except  the  acceptance  d  priori  of  the 
Tiibingen  theory,  that  the  feud  between  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  was  so  deadly  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
the  first  ginng  his  patronage  to  a  friend  of  the  second. 
We  have  already  seen  repeatedly  how  false  that  theory 
b.  That  the  bearer  of  this  Letter  was  a  personage  of 
great  consideration,  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that 
St.  Peter  speaks  of  him  as  well  known  throughout  the 
whole  Hebrew  population  of  Asia  Minor.  In  the 
original  the  testimony  is  still  more  marked  than  in  our 
version,  as  it  has  the  definite  article,  "  the,  or  that,  faith- 
ful brother  unto  you."  Silas  being  of  the  circumcision 
himself  (Acts  xv.  22),  St.  Peter  can  without  any  risk, 
writing  to  the  Jews,  call  him  "brother."  And  since 
there  was  probably  some  disaffection  towards  him 
among  the  Jewish  Christians,  for  the  way  in  which  he 
had  sided  with  St.  Paul,  St.  Peter,  the  Apostle  of  the 
circumcision,  adds  it  as  his  own  personal  conviction 
that  Silas  was  no  false  brother  to  the  Hebrew  Chris- 


tians, by  saying,  "  as  I  reckon."  The  words  "  as  I 
suppose  "  (or,  rather,  as  I  reckon)  do  not  imply  any 
uncertainty  on  St.  Peter's  part,  nor  even  that  St.  Peter's 
knowledge  of  Silas  was  less  intimate  than  that  of  the 
persons  to  whom  ho  writes.  It  means,  rather,  the  most 
complete  confidence  in  SUas,  which  the  writer  is  not 
at  all  ashamed  to  declare — "  that  faithful  brother  unto 
you,  in  my  estimation,  if  my  conviction  is  worth  any- 
thing." This  only  shows  that  St.  Peter  had  not  altered 
his  opinion  eitlier  of  Silas  or  of  the  relative  positions  of 
Jew  and  Gentile  in  the  Church,  since  that  great  councU 
in  which  he  took  so  prominent  a  part,  when  Silas  was 
selected,  no  doubt  because  of  his  uniting  liberal  Aaews 
with  steadfast  allegiance  to  the  Law,  to  bear  the  apos- 
tolic mandates  to  the  Gentile  metropolis  of  Antioch. 
The  same  qualifications  which  fitted  him  for  that  work, 
would  now  again  serve  him  in  good  stead  to  bear  to 
the  Jews  of  Asia  Minor  St.  Peter's  countersignature  to 
the  doctrine  of  St.  Paul.  At  the  same  time  the  expres- 
sion, "  that  faitliful  brother  unto  you,"  indicates  that  St. 
Silas  had  been  himself  working  in  Asia  Minor.  Of  his 
history  nothing  is  recorded  subsequent  to  his  labours 
with  St.  Paul  at  Corinth  (Acts  x^-iii.  5 ;  2  Cor.  i.  19) ; 
but  putting  together  the  fact  that  he  is  not  included  in 
the  list  of  St.  Paul's  companions  in  Acts  xx.  4,  with 
what  is  implied  by  this  present  passage,  we  might 
naturally  infer  that  he  was  left  at  Ephesus,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  evangelisation  of  the  Asiatic  provinces. 

Briefly.— So  Heb.  xiii.  22.  The  writer  hints  that 
if  this  present  Letter  is  not  enough  to  effect  its  purpose, 
it  is  not  because  there  is  any  lack  of  matter  or  weakness 
of  conviction.     (See  also  John  xx.  25.) 

Exhorting,  and  testifying  that  this  is  the  true 
grace  of  God  wherein  ye  stand.— These  words 
give  St.  Peter's  own  account  of  the  object  and  contents 
of  the  Epistle.  The  "  exhortation "  involves  all  that 
was  mentioned  in  the  Note  on  verse  1.  The  word  for 
"  testifying "  has  a  little  further  force  than  appears  in 
our  version;  it  is  "bearing  witness  thereto."  The 
fact  had  been  alleged  by  others  ;  St.  Peter  comes  in  as 
evidence  to  its  truth.  Literally  it  woidd  run :  "  tliat 
this  is  true  grace  (or,  a  true  grace)  of  God";  i.e.,  that 
the  position  which  they  now  occupy,  through  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  is  indeed  one  which  the  favour 
of  God  had  brought  them  into:  it  was  no  fictitious 
grace,  no  robbing  of  them  under  pretence  of  bringing 
them  glad  tidings.  When  he  says  "  this,"  he  seems 
to  mean  "  this  of  which  I  have  spoken,"  "  this  which 
has  formed  the  subject  of  my  Letter."  And  the  best 
text  pursues ;  "  wherein  stand  ye,"  or  "  whereupon  take 
up  your  stand."  Thus  the  very  sentence  itself  woidd 
contain  the  two  elements  of  the  Lett  r — "  exhorting  "  as 
well  as  "  testifying."  Nothing  is  to  drive  them  or 
entice  them  from  the  ground  which  the  Pauline 
preachers  have  marked  out  for  them. 

(13)  The  church  ....  elected  together  with 
you. — In  the  original  it  simply  stands  "  the  co-elect 
one  [fom.  sing.l  in  Babylon."  Some,  therefore,  seeing 
immediately  after,  "Marcus,  my  son,"'  and  knowing 
that  St.  Peter  was  a  married  man  (Matt.  ^nii.  14, 
1  Cor.  ix.  5),  have  thought  that  this  "co-elect  one" 
was  St.  Peter's  wife.  But  (1)  it  is  highly  improbable 
that  St.  Mark  was  in  that  sense  "son"  to  St.  Peter; 
(2)  quit©  as  improbable  that  she  would  have  been  put  so 


435 


Greeting  from  Babylon. 


I.    PETEE,   V. 


Conclusion. 


Babylon,  elected  together  witli  yoit, 
saluteth  you ;  and  so  doth  Marcus 
my   son.        (^^^  Greet  ye    one    another 


with  a  kiss  of  charity.  Peace  he  with 
you  all  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Amen. 


prominently  forward  in  such  an  Epistle  ;  (3)  the  word 
"co-elect"  evidently  refers  back  to  chap.  i.  2,  and 
means  "  co-elect  with  you,"  not  "  with  me."  It  was 
becoming  a  not  infrequent  mode  of  designating  a 
church,  to  jjersonify  it  under  a  female  title  (see  2  John, 
verses  1,  4,  5,  13) ;  and  it  seems  therefore  much  more 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  salutation  is  from  this 
church  of  "  Babylon "  to  her  sister  churches  in  the 
provinces  of  Asia  Minor.  The  modesty  with  which 
this  church  at  "  Babylon  "  is  spoken  of,  as  being  only 
one  of  many  "  co- elect "  ones  is  noteworthy.  She 
does  not  claim  such  a  position  among  churches  as 
{e.g.)  in  Cant.  vi.  8,  9. 

That  is  at  Babylon. — Three  places  have  claimed 
to  be  understood  under  this  name  :  (1)  A  little  pla«e 
called  Babylon  in  Egypt,  which  has  nothing  to  plead 
for  itself  except  the  unlikelihood  of  St.  Peter  ever 
being  at  the  Oriental  Babylon,  coupled  with  the 
difficulty  of  supposing  that  the  name  is  used  quite 
figuratively.  Perhaps,  also,  we  should  mention  the 
traditional  connection  of  St.  Mark  with  Egypt.  No 
one  now,  however,  maintains  this  view.  (2)  The 
literal  Babylon  in  the  East.  This  has  for  itself  the 
simple  way  in  wliich  St.  Peter  uses  the  word  without 
any  circumlocution.  But  it  has  nothing  else  for  it, 
to  set  against  all  the  overwhelming  arguments  in 
favour  of  the  third  claimant ;  besides  which  we  learn 
from  Josephus  of  a  great  expulsion  of  Jews  from 
the  Oriental  Babylon  a  few  years  before  this  date : 
these  Jews  might  of  course,  however,  have  gathered 
there  again,  as  they  did  at  Rome,  in  spite  of  frequent 
expulsions.  (3)  It  may  be  called  the  established  inter- 
pretation that  the  place  meant  is  Rome.  "We  never 
hear  of  St.  Peter  being  in  the  East,  and  the  thing  in 
itself  is  improbable,  whereas  nothing  but  Protestant 
prejudice  can  stand  against  the  historical  evidence  that 
St.  Peter  sojourned  and  died  at  Rome.  Whatever 
theological  consequences  may  flow  from  it,  it  is  as 
certain  that  St.  Peter  was  at  Rome  as  that  St.  John 
was  at  Ephesus.  Everything  in  the  Letter  also  points 
to  such  a  state  of  things  as  was  to  be  found  at  Rome 
about  the  date  when  we  believe  the  Letter  to  have  been 


written.  It  is  objected  that  St.  Peter  would  not  gravely 
speak  of  Rome  under  a  fanciful  name  when  dating  a 
letter;  but  the  symbolism  in  the  name  is  quite  in 
keeping  with  the  context.  St.  Peter  has  just  per- 
sonified the  church  of  the  place  from  which  he  writes, 
which  seems  quite  as  uuprosaic  a  use  of  language  as 
to  call  Rome  "  Babylon."  And  it  seems  pretty  clear 
that  the  name  was  quite  intelligible  to  Jewish  readers, 
for  whom  it  was  intended.  The  Apocalypse  (xvii.  18) 
is  not  the  only  place  where  Rome  is  found  spoken 
of  under  this  title.  One  of  the  first  of  living  Hebraists 
(who  will  not  allow  his  name  to  be  mentioned)  told  the 
present  writer  that  no  Hebrew  of  St.  Peters  day 
would  have  had  need  to  think  twice  what  city  was 
meant  when  "  Babylon  "  was  mentioned.  And  on  the 
mention  of  the  name,  all  the  prophecies  of  the  vengeance 
to  be  taken  on  the  city  which  had  desolated  the  Holy 
Land  would  rush  with  consolation  into  the  mind  of  the 
readers,  and  they  would  feel  that  St.  Peter,  though 
supporting  St.  Paul,  was  still  in  full  sympathy  with 
themselves.  Finally,  as  M.  Renan  suggests,  there  were 
reasons  of  prudence  for  not  speaking  too  plainly  about 
the  presence  of  a  large  Christian  society  in  Rome.  The 
police  were  still  more  vigilant  now  than  when  St.  Paul 
wrote  in  guarded  language  about  the  Roman  empire  to 
the  Thessalonians.  (See  Excursus  on  the  Man  of  Sin, 
after  2  Tliess.)  It  might  provoke  hostilities  if  the 
Epistle  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  delator,  with  names  and 
places  too  clearly  given. 

Marcus,  my  son. — The  particular  word  here  used 
does  not  occur  elsewhere  of  spiritual  relationship,  but 
the  other  thought  is  very  improbable.  We  should  have 
heard  of  it  in  other  places  laad  St.  Mark  been  his  son 
in  the  flesh.  (See  Acts  xii.  12.)  St.  Mark  was,  of 
course,  well  known  in  Asia  Minor  (Acts  xii.  25 ;  Col. 
iv.  10;  2  Tim.  iv.  11). 

(14)  Kiss  of  charity.— Not  only  does  he  wish  them 
to  receive  the  greetings  of  the  Roman  Church,  but  to 
display  their  brotherly  love  to  each  other  as  well.  On 
the  kiss  of  charity,  see  1  Thess.  v.  26.  The  "  peace  " 
which  he  wishes  to  them  includes,  though  it  is  not 
limited  to,  peace  amongst  themselves. 


.436 


INTRODUCTION 


THE     SECOND    EPISTLE    GENEEAL    OF 


PETER. 


I.  The  Authorship.— The  question  of  the  authen- 
ticity of  our  Epistle  is  one  of  well-known  difficulty. 
The  objections  to  its  genuineness  are  more  serious  than 
tliose  against  any  other  book  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  yet  are  not  so  conclusive  as  by  any  means  to  have 
silenced  those  who  defend  the  aixtlienticity.  Before  pro- 
ceeding to  a  consideration  of  the  arguments  on  each 
side,  two  remarks  seem  to  be  necessary. 

(1.)  The  Epistle  must  stand  or  fall  as  a  whole.  It  is 
impossible  to  reject  passages  which  appear  to  be  open 
to  objection  and  retain  the  rest.  The  thought  is 
eminently  consecutive  throughout,  the  style  is  uniform, 
and  the  writer  frequently  glances  back  at  what  he  has 
said  before  or  anticipates  what  is  coming.  Tlie  net- 
work of  connected  ideas  which  thus  pervades  the 
whole  cannot  be  severed  otherwise  than  violently. 
Moreover,  the  singular  want  of  agreement  among  those 
who  advocate  an  expm-gated  edition  as  to  what  portions 
should  be  struck  out  and  what  not,  is  another  reason 
for  refusing  to  disintegrate  the  Epistle.  Thus,  Grotius 
thinks  that  the  words  "Peter"  and  "Apostle,"  in  chap, 
i.  1,  and  verses  i.  18  and  iii.  15,  16,  are  interpolations. 
Bertholt  would  retain  chaps,  i.  and  iii.,  rejecting  chap.  ii. 
Lange  (in  Herzog)  would  reject  all  that  lies  between 
chaps,  i.  19  and  iii.  3,  i.e.,  from  the  words  "  knowing 
this  first"  in  chap.  i.  20  to  the  same  words  in  chap.  iii.  3. 
UUmann  surrenders  all  but  chap.  i.  Bunsen  retains 
nothing  but  the  first  eleven  verses  and  the  doxology. 

(2.)  It  is  inexpedient  to  encumber  the  discussion  with 
an  attempted  recluctio  ad  horribile  of  one  of  the  alter- 
natives. A  court  must  not  concern  itself  with  the 
consequences  of  finding  the  prisoner  guilty.  Let  us, 
therefore,  at  once  set  aside  all  such  notions  as  this ;  that 
if  the  Epistle  is  not  by  St.  Peter,  "  the  Church,  which 
for  more  than  fourteen  centuries  has  received  it,  has  been 
imposed  upon  by  what  must,  in  that  case,  be  regarded 
as  a  Satanic  device."  Satan  forging  the  Second 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter  would  indeed  be  Satan  casting  out 
Satan.  Or,  agaui,  "  If  any  book  which  she  reads  as 
the  "Word  of  God  is  not  the  Word  of  God,  but  the 
work  of  an  impostor,  tlien — with  reverence  be  it  said — 
Christ's  promise  to  His  Church  has  failed,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  not  been  given  to  guide  her  into  all 
truth  .  .  .  The  testimony  of  the  universal  Church  of 
Christ,  declaring  that  the  Epistles  which  wo  receive  as 
such  are  Epistles  of  St.  Peter  and  are  the  Word  of 
God,  is  not  her  testimony  only — it  is  the  testimony  of 
Christ."  Every  true  Christian  will  sympathise  with 
the  zeal  for  God's  Word  which  is  conspicuous  in 
these  passages ;  but  it  wiU  be  well  to  keep  apart  two 
questions  wliich  they  combine  and  almost  confuse — 
(a)  Is  this  Second  Epistle  the  work  of  St.  Peter?  (b)  Is 
it  part  of  the  Word  of  God  ?    The  second  question  is 


437 


here  taken  for  granted.  Tlie  Church  answered  it  in  the 
affirmative  fifteen  hundred  years  ago,  and  it  is  no  part  of 
the  present  work  to  question  tlic  decision.  Only  the 
first  question  wiU  be  discussed;  and  to  attempt  to  settle 
it  by  considerations  such  as  the  passages  just  quoted 
suggest,  is  neither  just,  nor  wise,  nor  in  the  deepest 
sense  reverent.  It  is  not  just ;  for  how  can  we  give  a 
fair  hearing  to  adverse  evidence  if  we  approach  it  in  a 
spirit  which  compels  us  to  regard  it  as  false  or  mis- 
leading ?  It  is  not  wise  ;  for  what  will  be  our  position 
if,  after  all,  the  adverse  evidence  is  too  strong  for  even 
our  pre-judgment  ?  It  is  not  reverent ;  for  it  virtually 
assumes  that  the  Almighty  cannot  exalt  an  Epistle  put 
forth  under  a  pretended  name  to  the  dignity  of  being 
His  Word ;  and  that  He  who  spoke  to  His  chosen 
people  by  the  lips  of  impixre  Balaam  cannot  speak  to 
us  by  the  writings  of  one  who  may  have  ill-advisedly 
assumed  the  pen  of  an  Apostle.  Hos.  i.  2,  3  and  iii.  1, 
2  may  warn  us  to  be  on  our  guard  against  pronouncing 
hastily  beforehand  as  to  what  means  and  instruments 
it  is  or  is  not  possible  for  God  to  employ  for  the 
instruction  of  His  people. 

These  remai-ks  are  not  made  with  a  view  to  sui'- 
rendering  the  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  as  a  thing  of 
no  moment,  but  only  that  we  may  be  able  to  weigh 
the  evidence  with  calmness.  The  question  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  Epistle  is  one  of  immense  interest 
and  no  small  impoi-tauce  ;  but  there  is  no  terril)le  alter- 
native before  us.  If,  after  all,  we  have  to  admit  that 
the  Epistle  is  possibly,  or  probably  or  certainly  not 
the  work  of  St.  Peter,  the  spiritual  value  oi  the 
contents,  both  in  themselves  and  in  having  received 
the  stamp  of  the  Church  as  canonical,  will  remain 
absolutely  unchanged ;  although,  possibly,  our  own  views 
of  God's  providence  in  relation  to  the  canon  of  Scripture 
may  require  re-consideration  and  re-adjustment.  Tliis, 
however,  is  but  the  common  experience  botli  of  the  in- 
dividual and  of  the  race.  Men's  views  of  God's  dealings 
with  them  are  ever  needing  re-adjustment,  as  He  liides 
and  manifests  Himself  in  history;  for  His  ways  are 
not  as  our  ways,  nor  His  thoughts  as  our  thoughts. 

The  objections  to  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle  are 
of  four  kinds:  being  drawn  (a)  from  the  history  of  the 
Epistle;  (6)  from  its  contents  in  relation  to  the  First 
Epistle;  (c)  from  the  contents  considered  in  them- 
selves ;  (d)  from  the  same  in  relation  to  the  Epistle  of 
St.  Jnde. 

In  each  case  it  will  be  most  conreniont  to  state  the 
adverse  facts  first,  and  then  what  may  be  said  on  the 
other  side. 

(o)  External  Evidence  :  The  History  of  the  Epistle.— 
Among  the  earliest  writers  there  is  a  remarkable  silence 


II.   PETER. 


with  regard  to  tliis  Epistlo.  Tlioro  is  no  montiou  of  it, 
and  no" certain  quotation  from  it  or  allusion  to  it,  in 
cither  the  first  or  second  century.  Neither  the  Apos- 
tolic Fathers  nor  Justin  Martyr  nor  Irenseus  yield 
anything  that  can  be  relied  upon  as  a  reference.  It  is 
probable  that  Irenanis  did  not  know  of  its  existence ;  it 
is  almost  certain  that  neither  TertuUian  nor  C}in-ian 
did.  About  Clement  of  Alexandria  there  is  some 
doubt,  owing  to  inconsistent  statements  of  Eusebius 
and  Cassiodorus.  But  seeing  that  in  the  large  amount 
of  Clement's  AVi-itings  now  extant  there  is  only  one 
possible,  and  not  one  probable,  reference  to  it,  and  that, 
in  quoting  1  Peter,  he  writes,  "  Peter  in  his  Epistle 
says,"  the  probability  is  that  he  did  not  know  it.  The 
Muratorian  Fragment  (circ.  A.D.  170)  omits  it.  It  is 
wanting  in  the  Peschito  or  old  Syriac  version  (and  St. 
Peter  was  personally  known  in  Syria,  especially  at 
Antioch),  and  also  in  the  old  Latin  version  which  pre- 
ceded the  Vulgate.  Thus  we  ai-e  brought  quite  into 
the  third  century  without  any  sure  trace  of  the  Epistle. 

Origen  certainly  knew  it.  In  those  of  his  works 
which  exist  only  in  the  Latin  translation  of  Rufinus  he 
quotes  it  as  the  work  of  St.  Peter.  But  Rufinus  is 
not  a  trustworthy  translator ;  and  Origen,  in  woi-ks  of 
which  the  original  Greek  is  still  extant,  either  expresses 
a  doubt  about  it  or  rejects  it  by  implication,  as  Clement 
of  Alexandria  does.  Eusebius  certainly  rejected  it ; 
Chrysostom,  Theodore,  and  Theodoret  probably  did  so ; 
and  we  learn  from  Didymus,  Jerome's  preceptor,  that 
doubts  about  it  still  survived  late  in  the  fourth  century, 
though  he  seems  to  have  overcome  them  in  himself. 
At  the  Reformation  these  doubts  revived  again,  and 
have  never  subsided  since.  At  the  present  time,  a  large 
number  of  the  best  critics  consider  the  Epistle  suspicious 
or  spurious. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  possible  allusions  to  it 
in  Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp,  Hermas,  Justin  Martp-, 
Melito,  Theophilus,  and  Hippolytus  :  and  some  even 
among  adverse  critics  consider  those  in  the  Shepherd 
of  Hermas  {circ.  a.d.  140)  to  be  certain.  Specimens  of 
these  possible  allusions  wiU  be  found  in  the  Notes  on 
passages  which  they  resemble : — Clement,  ii.  5 ;  iii.  4 ; 
Polycarp,  iii.  4;  Hermas,  ii.  13,  15,20;  iii.  5;  Justin 
Martyr,  ii.  1,  iii.  8;  Melito,  iii.  5 — 7;  Theophilus,  i.  19, 
21 ;  Hippolytus,  i.  21.  The  first  cerrtain  reference  to 
the  Epistle  as  by  St.  Peter  is  in  a  Latin  translation  of 
a  letter  by  Origen's  pupil,  Firmilian  of  Csesarea,  to 
Cyprian  (a.d.  256).  Athanasius,  Cyril  of  Jerusalem, 
Basil,  Gregory  Nazianzen,  Jerome,  Rufinus,  and  Augus- 
tine accepted  it,  although  they  knew  that  it  liad  been 
much  suspected ;  and  they,  of  course,  had  CAadence 
which  has  not  come  down  to  us.  The  Councils  of 
Laodicca  {circ.  A.D.  360)  and  of  Hippo  (a.d.  393)  for- 
mally included  it  in  the  Canon,  decisions  which  have 
never  been  reversed.  Its  omission  from  the  Muratorian 
Fragment  is  somewhat  weakened  by  the  fact  that 
1  Peter  (about  which  there  is  no  doubt)  is  omitted 
also;  and,  as  a  set-off  to  its  omission  from  the  Peschito, 
we  have  the  fact  that  Ephrem  Syrus  seems  to  have 
accepted  it. 

Thus  the  adverse  external  eAndenco,  serious  though 
it  is,  is  anything  but  conclusive.  It  can  easily  be  ex- 
plained. Communication  between  the  churches  was 
fitfiU  and  irrogidar,  sometimes  slow,  sometimes  very 
rapid.  Accidents  might  favour  the  circulation  of  the 
First  Epistle  and  delay  that  of  the  Second.  The  very 
fact  of  its  being  the  first  Letter  from  the  pen  of  the 
chief  Apostle  would  promote  the  spread  of  the  First 
Epistle ;  and  as  it  was  known  to  have  been  written 
only  a  few  years  before  the  death  of  St.  Peter,  this 


would  make  a  second  Letter  within  so  short  an  interval 
a  little  improbable.  The  marked  difference  of  style 
and  language  between  tlie  two  Letters,  which  Jerome 
tells  us  had  attracted  notice,  would  increase  the  distrust. 
Tiio  amount  of  apocryphal  literature  which  began  to 
appear  at  a  veiy  early  date,  and  flooded  the  Church 
in  the  second  and  third  centuries,  made  all  churches 
very  suspicious  about  unknown  writings ;  and  several 
of  these  apocryphal  books  bore  the  name  of  St.  Peter. 
Every  year  that  the  arrival  of  the  Epistle  at  any  par- 
ticular church  was  delayed  would  make  its  acceptance 
by  that  church  less  probable.  The  fate  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  on  account  of  its  appearing  after  the  others 
liad  obtained  full  possession  of  the  field,  is  an  illustra- 
tion of  similar  causes  and  effects.  When  we  remember 
that  many  narratives  of  Christ's  life  (Luke  i.  1,  Note) 
and  some  letters  of  St.  Paul  have  entirely  perished, 
we  need  not  be  surprised  that  a  short  Epistle  like  this, 
containing  little  that  ordinary  Christians  did  not  know, 
should  have  remained  for  more  than  a  century  quite 
unknown  to  many  churches  and  suspected  by  others. 
If  the  external  evidence  were  all,  we  might  admit  that 
the  general  and  authoritative  reception  of  the  Epistle 
in  the  fourth  century,  after  such  full  doubt  and  debate, 
is  more  than  sufficient  for  us. 

(&)  Internal  Evidence :  The  Contents  of  the  Second 
Epistle  in  relation  to  the  First.  —  Yeiy  formidable 
lists  of  points  of  difference  between  the  two  Epistles 
have  been  dra^vn  up,  but  recent  adverse  critics  have 
ceased  to  urge  many  of  these  supposed  differences ;  we 
may,  therefore,  content  ourselves  with  some  of  the  most 
telling  of  such  arguments  as  specimens,  (o)  1  Peter 
uses  Old  Testament  phraseology,  and  quotes  Old  Tes- 
tament writers ;  2  Peter,  with  two  doubtful  exceptions 
(chaps,  ii.  22 ;  iii.  8),  does  neither.  ()3)  1  Peter  is  mainly 
about  suffering  persecution;  2  Peter  is  mainly  about 
heresy.  (7)  1  Peter  speaks  of  the  Death,  Resurrection, 
and  Ascension  of  Christ;  2  Peter  mentions  none  of 
them.  (5)  1  Peter  represents  the  return  of  Christ  as 
near  (chap.  iv.  7),  and  calls  it  a  "  revelation  "  (chaps,  i. 
7,  13 ;  iv.  13) ;  2  Peter  represents  it  as  possibly  dis- 
tant (chap.  iii.  15),  and  calls  it  "  coming  "  (chaps,  i.  16 ; 
iii.  4,  12).  (e)  I  Peter  calls  our  Lord  simply  "Christ" 
or  "  Jesus  Christ ; "  2  Peter  always  adds  "  Saviour " 
(five  times ;  and  the  word  does  not  occur  once  in 
1  Peter),  or  "  Lord,"  or  both.  (0  1  Peter  insists  on 
faith ;  2  Peter  on  knowledge,  (tj)  The  Greek  of  1  Peter 
is  smooth,  with  easily-moAdng  sentences,  simply  con- 
nected ;  that  of  2  Peter  is  rough,  with  heavily-moving 
sentences,  of  which  the  construction  is  often  harsh  and, 
when  prolonged,  broken. 

To  these  and  similar  arguments  it  may  be  replied 
that  considerable  differences  between  the  two  Epistles 
are  admitted,  but  they  may  easily  be  exaggerated. 
Of  the  above,  some  are  not  strictly  true ;  in  particular, 
(o)  and  («) ,  others  tell  rather  in  favour  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  2  Peter.  Why  shoidd  a  second  letter,  written 
soon  after  the  fii'st,  on  a  very  different  subject,  repeat 
the  topics  of  the  first,  or  even  use  much  of  its  phrase- 
ology ?  Encouragement  under  persecution  and  denun- 
ciation of  corrupt  doctrine  and  conduct  require  very 
different  language.  Great  similarity  of  expression 
under  such  very  different  circumstances  would  have 
looked  like  the  careful  imitation  of  a  forger.  Jerome's 
suggestion. that  St.  Peter  used  different  "interpreters" 
in  the  two  Epistles  to  put  his  thoughts  into  Greek,  is  a 
possible  solution  of  many  differences ;  but  it  is  not 
likely  that  St.  Peter,  though  originally  an  illiterate 
fisherman,  was  still,  at  the  end  of  a  long  and  active  life, 


438 


II.   PETEE. 


unable  to  write  the  Greek  of  citlier  Epistle ;  and  both 
of  tliem  sliow  traces  of  a  writer  not  perfectly  at  homo 
in  the  language.  King's  theory,  tliat  2  Peter  is  a 
translation  from  an  Ai-auiaic  original,  is  another  pos- 
sible solution.  But  neither  tlicory  is  needed.  Both 
Epistles  are  too  short  to  sup];ly  satisfactory  materials 
for  an  argument  of  this  kind  ;  and  neither  of  them 
exhibit  any  such  marked  characteristics  as  those  found 
in  the  writings  of  St.  Luke  or  St.  Paul  or  St.  John. 
An  auonjTuous  pamphlet  on  any  subject  by  Carlyle  or 
Victor  Hugo  would  probably  be  assigned  to  the  right 
author  at  once;  but  most  writers,  even  if  known  by 
many  books,  liave  no  such  marked  style  as  would  betray 
them  in  a  few  jiages  on  a  special  subject :  and  here  wo 
are  arguing  as  to  the  authorship  of  a  tract  of  four 
pages  from  a  tract  of  six  pages  on  a  difEereut  subject. 
In  such  a  case,  similarities,  which  cannot  easily  bo  the 
result  of  imitation,  are  stronger  evidence  of  identity  of 
authorship  tlian  dissimilarities  are  of  non-identity. 
Difference  of  mood,  of  subject,  of  surroundings,  would 
prol)al)ly  account  for  all  the  dissimilarities,  did  we  but 
know  ail  the  facts.  The  First  Epistle  would  seem  to 
have  been  written  with  much  thought  and  care,  as  by 
one  who  felt  a  delicacy  about  intruding  himself  upon 
communities  which  St.  Paul  had  almost  made  his  own. 
Hence  the  earnest,  gentle  dignity  of  the  Epistle,  which 
makes  one  think  how  age  must  have  tamed  the  spirit 
of  the  impetuous  Apostle.  But  in  the  Second  Letter, 
written  probably  under  pressure,  we  see  that  the  old 
vehemence  is  still  there.  There  is  a  slight  indication 
of  it  in  the  way  in  which  he  goes  at  once  to  the  point 
(chap,  i  3 — 5) ;  as  he  nears  the  evil  which  has  so 
excited  his  fear  and  indignation,  the  construction  be- 
comes broken  (chap.  i.  17);  and  when  he  is  in  the  full 
torrent  of  his  invective,  feeling  seems  almost  to  choke 
his  utterance.  Hence  the  rugged  Greek,  from  which 
at  times  we  can  scarcely  extricate  the  construction; 
hence,  too,  the  repetitions,  which  some  have  thought  a 
sign  of  inferiority.  They  are  the  natural  results  of 
I'motion  struggling  to  express  itself  in  a  language  with 
which  it  is  not  perfectly  familiar.  Similar  harsh  con- 
structions and  tautological  repetitions  may  Ijo  found  in 
some  of  St.  Peter's  speeches  as  recorded  in  tho  Acts 
(chaps,  i.  21,  22;  iii.  13—16,  26;  iv.  9;  x.  36—40). 

Against  the  admitted  differences  may  be  set  some 
very  real  coincidences,  both  in  thought  and  language, 
between  the  two  Epistles.  Tliese  also  may  be  exagge- 
rated and  their  force  ovcr-estunated ;  but  when  soberly 
treated  they  are  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  e%-idence. 
Obvious  similarities  of  language  are  of  no  great  moment 
(see  Notes  on  chaps,  i.  14,  16 ;  ii.  7) ;  for  it  is  admitted 
by  all  that  the  writer  of  the  Second  Letter  knew  the 
I^rst.  But  subtle  coincidences  of  thought,  lying  almost 
beyond  tho  reach  of  tho  conscious  imitator,  are  worth 
considering.  (See  on  chaps,  i.  3,  5,  7 ;  ii.  18,  19.)  Tlie 
traces  of  St.  Paul's  phraseology,  which  have  been  urged 
against  tho  originality  of  2  Peter,  may,  from  this  point 
of  view,  bo  counted  in  its  favour,  for  such  traces  are 
very  strong  in  the  First  Epistle. 

The  argument?,  therefore,  to  be  drawn  from  a  com- 
parison of  the  two  Letters  do  not  give  much  support 
to  those  who  impugn  tlio  genuineness  of  the  Second 
Epistle.  A  patient  consideration  of  the  facts  may  lead 
some  to  the  conclusion  tliat,  considering  the  brevity  of 
both  Letters  and  the  different  purpose  of  each,  the 
amount  of  agreement,  both  on  and  J)elow  tlie  surface, 
throws  the  balance  in  favour  of  both  being  tho  product 
of  one  mind.  Tho  assertion  that  had  the  Second 
Epistlo  not  claimed  to  be  by  St.  Peter  no  one  would 
ever  have  dreamed  of  assigning  it  to  him,  is  easily  mado 


and  not  easily  refuted;  but  study  of  the  phenomena 
will  lead  to  its  being  doubted. 

(c)  Internal  Evidence :  The  Contents  of  the  Epistle 
considered  in  themselves. — It  is  in  this  section  of  the 
argument  that  far  the  most  serious  objections  to  tho 
autlienticity  occur.  The  following  have  been  urged  : — 
(a)  It  is  unlike  tho  simple,  practical  si)irit  of  St.  Peter 
to  enlarge  ujjon  the  manner  of  the  creation  and  of  tho 
destruction  of  the  world  (chap.  iii.  5 — 7,10 — 12).  (;8)  It 
is  unlike  an  Apostle  to  appeal  to  "  the  commandment 
of  your  Apostles  "  (chap.  iii.  2).  (7)  The  interchange 
of  future  and  pi-esent  tenses  (chaps,  ii.  1,  2,  3,  10,  12, 
13 ;  iii.  3,  5)  looks  like  a  later  writer  trying  to  write 
like  a  prophet  in  an  earlier  age,  and  at  times  forgetting 
his  assumed  j^osition.  (5)  Ideas  belonging  to  an  ago 
later  than  that  of  the  Apostles  are  introduced.  Of  tins 
there  are  four  marked  instances — (1)  The  expression 
"  the  holy  mount "  (chap.  i.  18)  betrays  an  age  which 
professes  to  know  where  the  Transfiguration  took  place 
(of  which  the  Gospels  tell  us  nothing),  and  which  has  a 
taste  for  miracles.  (2)  No  such  argument  as  that 
urged  by  the  scoffers  (chap.  iii.  4)  would  be  possible  in 
St.  Peter's  lifetime;  it  implies  that  at  least  the  first 
generation  of  Christians  has  died  out.  (3)  2  Peter  is 
addressed  (chap.  i.  1)  to  aU  Gentile  Christians,  and  at 
the  same  time  (chap.  iii.  1)  to  the  same  readers  as  those 
of  1  Peter,  which  is  addressed  (chap.  i.  1)  to  particular 
churches,  i.e.,  the  post- Apostolic  idea  that  the  letters 
of  Apostles  are  the  common  property  of  all  Christians 
is  implied.  (4)  St.  Paul's  wi'itiugs  are  spoken  of  as 
equivalent  to  Scripture  (chap.  iii.  16). 

Let  us  take  these  objections  in  order,  (o)  That  St. 
Peter  should  enlarge  upon  the  details  of  the  creation 
and  of  the  destruction  of  the  world  is  not  more  strange 
than  that  he  should  enlarge  upon  "  the  spirits  in 
prison "  (1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20 ;  iv.  6).  It  would  almost 
seem  as  if  such  mysterious  subjects  had  an  attraction 
for  him  (1  Pet.  i.  12).  At  least  it  is  more  reasonable 
to  suppose  this,  seeing  that  there  are  some  facts  to 
sujiport  us,  than  to  settle  precariously  wliat  "  tho 
simple,  practical  spirit  of  St.  Peter  "  would  or  would 
not  be  likely  to  enlarge  upon.  (6)  Let  us  grant  that 
an  Apostle  is  often  content  with  insisting  on  his  own 
autliority :  this  is  no  proof  that  he  would  never  appeal 
to  the  authority  of  another  Apostle.  In  2  Peter  the 
wi-iter  has  more  tlian  once  stated  his  personal  claim  to 
be  heard  (chap.  i.  1,  18),  and  is  then  willing  to  sink  his 
own  authority  in  that  of  the  Apostolic  body,  nay,  is 
anxious  to  do  so ;  for,  as  in  the  First  Epistle,  ho  still 
feels  a  delicacy  about  addressing  congregations  wliich, 
in  the  fii'st  instance,  belonged  to  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  so  he  not  only  ajipeals  to  that  Apostle's 
commandment,  but  points  out  that  his  commandment 
is  at  the  same  time  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  Eph.  iii. 
5  St.  Paul  makes  a  similar  appeal  to  the  authority  of 
others  ;  and  it  may  warn  us  to  bo  cautious  in  arguing 
as  to  what  an  Apostle  would  be  sure  to  do  in  certain 
cases  when  we  find  this  passage  used  to  cast  doubt  on 
the  Apostolic  origin  of  such  an  Epistlo  as  that  to  the 
Ephesians.  (7)  Tliis  plausible  argument  will  not  bear 
close  inspection.  Tlie  evils  wliich  the  writer  foretells 
are  already  present  in  the  germ.  Moreover,  the  pro- 
phetic present  as  equivalent  to  a  future  is  very  common 
in  prophecies  ;  the  future  is  so  confidently  realised  that 
it  is  spoken  of  as  present.  In  similar  prophecies  in  the 
New  Testament  there  is  a  similar  mixture  of  future  and 
present  (2  Thess.  ii.  3,  7 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1,  2.  8).  (5)  Wo 
come  now  to  tho  most  weighty  group  of  objections. 
(1)  Tho  expression  "the  holy  mount"  does  not  imply 
439 


II.    PETER. 


that  the  mount  is  known ;  and  the  theoiy  that  it  does 
is  reduced  to  an  absurdity  when  it  is  further  urged 
that  "  the  holy  mount,"  as  applied  to  a  known  spot, 
must  mean  Mount  Zion.  Would  any  sane  Christian, 
whether  of  the  hrst  or  of  tlie  second  century,  represent 
the  Transfiguration  as  taking  place  on  Mount  Zion  ? 
"  The  mount "  simply  means  the  one  spoken  of  in  the 
Grospels  in  connexion  with  this  event.  Nor  does  the 
epithet  "  holy "  indicate  a  miracle-loving  age.  Any 
Jew  would  naturally  use  it  of  a  spot  where  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  had  been  revealed  (Ex.  iii.  5;  Josh.  v.  15). 
(2)  The  force  of  this  argument  is  not  so  great  as  at 
first  sight  appears.  In  the  Epistle  of  Clement  of 
Rome  (a.d.  95 — 100)  the  same  scoffing  argument  is 
quoted  as  condemned  by  "  Scripture  "  (chap,  xxiii.). 
The  "  Scripture  "  is  probably  not  2  Peter.  But  we  hero 
have  proof  that  this  scoffing  objection  was  old  enough 
to  have  been  written  against  before  A.D.  95.  The  kin- 
dred error  of  Hymenseus  and  Philetus  was  in  existence 
in  St.  Panl's  lifetime.  Besides  which,  it  is  not  certain 
that  "  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep "  refers  to  Chris- 
tians at  all.  (See  Notes  on  chap.  iii.  4.)  The  argument 
may  be  a  piece  of  Sadducism,  which  had  found  its  way 
into  the  Christian  Church  ;  the  tone  of  it  is  not  unlike 
that  in  Mark  xii.  23.  (3)  The  premises  here  are  too 
vague  for  so  definite  a  conclusion.  To  state  the  pi-e- 
miscs  fairly  we  must  say  2  Peter  is  addressed  in  the 
main  to  all  Gentile  Christians,  and  also  in  the  tnain  to 
the  same  readers  as  1  Peter,  which  is  addi'essed  mainly 
to  five  or  six  diiferent  churches.  From  such  indefinite 
data  no  very  clean-cut  and  decided  result  can  be  ob- 
tained. Moreover,  it  is  open  to  question  whether  the 
idea  that  the  letters  of  Apostles  are  the  common 
property  of  Christians  was  not  in  existence  in  the 
Apostolic  ago.  The  phenomena  of  the  text  of  the  last 
two  chapters  of  Romans  (see  Notes  there)  tend  to  show 
that  this  idea  was  beginning  to  arise  some  years  before 
the  traditional  date  of  St.  Peter's  death.  Tlie  Epistle 
to  the  Ephesians  would  lead  us  in  the  same  direction. 
So  that  it  is  doubtful  (a)  whether  the  idea  is  implied  in 
2  Peter;  (6)  whether  it  was  not  in  existence  in  St.  Peter's 
lifetime.  (4)  No  objection,  probably,  has  had  more 
effect  than  this.  "  The  other  Scriptures,"  it  is  urged, 
may  mean  either  Old  Testament  or  New  Testament 
writings ;  in  either  case,  we  are  face  to  face  with  a 
writer  later  than  the  Apostolic  age.  If  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  are  meant,  it  is  incredible  that  St.  Peter 
would  place  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  side  by  side  with 
them  as  "  Scripture."  If  New  Testament  Scriptures 
are  meant,  this  indicates  a  date  at  which  certain 
Christian  wi'itings  had  begun  to  be  considered  equal  in 
authority  to  the  Old  Testament,  and  this  date  is  later 
than  the  death  of  St.  Peter.  In  the  Notes  (chap.  iii.  16) 
it  is  shown  that  probably  not  Old  Testament,  but 
Christian,  writings  are  meant ;  not  any  definite  col- 
lection of  writings,  but  certain  well-known  documents 
other  than  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  just  mentioned. 
We  must  remember  that  the  Greek  words  for  "  other  " 
are  sometimes  used  loosely,  and  rather  illogically,  with- 
out the  two  individuals,  or  two  classes,  being  exactly 
alike  (comp.  Luke  x.  1 ;  xxiii.  32 ;  John  xiv.  16) ;  so  that 
we  cannot  be  sure  that  the  writer  means  to  place  these 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  on  precisely  the  same  level  mth 
"  the  other  Scriptures."  And  that  "  Scripture  "  was 
used  in  the  first  century  as  rather  a  comprehensive 
term  is  shown  by  the  passage  from  Clement  of  Rome 
alluded  to  above,  where  he  quotes  (chap,  xxiii.)  as 
"  Scriptm-e  "  a  passage  not  found  either  in  the  Old  or 
New  Testaments.  Again,  the  high  authority  claimed 
by  Apostles  for  their  own  words  makes  tliis  passage, 


440 


although  unique  in  the  New  Testament,  quite  intel- 
ligible. (Comp.  Acts  XV.  28 ;  1  Cor.  v.  3,  4 ;  1  Thess. 
ii.  13. )  Perhaps  the  nearest  parallel  is  1  Pet.  i.  12,  where 
evangelists  are  placed  on  the  same  level  with  the  Old 
Testament  prophets,  a  very  remarkable  coincidence 
between  the  two  Epistles.  One  more  consideration 
must  be  urged.  The  date  of  St.  Peter's  death  is  not 
certain,  and  the  traditional  date  may  be  too  early. 
Several  of  the  objections  just  considered  would  be  still 
further  weakened  if  St.  Peter's  death  took  place  not  in 
the  third,  but  in  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  century. 

But  besides  answering  objections,  we  may  observe — 
(1)  that  the  writer  pi-ofesses  to  be  Simon  Peter  (chap. 
i.  1),  one  whose  death  Christ  foretold  (chap.  i.  14),  a 
witness  of  the  Transfiguration  (chap.  i.  16 — 18),  and 
the  writer  of  the  First  Epistle  (chap.  iii.  1) ;  (2)  that 
he  speaks  with  authority  (cliap.  i.  12,  13,  15,  16),  yet  is 
not  afraid  to  admit  the  high  authority  of  prophecy 
(chap.  i.  19);  (3)  that  there  is  some  trace  of  the  con- 
ciliatory position  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  converts 
which  St.  Peter  occupied  between  the  rigour  of  St. 
James  and  the  Uberty  of  St.  Paul  (chaps,  i.  1,  2 ;  iii.  15) ; 
(4)  that  the  expression  "  our  beloved  brother  Paul,"  so 
unlike  the  way  in  which  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius, 
Polycarp,  and  Clement  of  Alexandria  speak  of  St. 
Paul  (see  Note  on  chap.  iii.  15),  is  a  strong  mark  of  an 
Apostolic  author — a  writer  of  the  second  century  would 
scarcely  find  his  way  back  to  this;  (5)  that  some 
striking  coincidences  between  thoughts  and  expressions 
in  this  Epistle  and  passages  in  St.  Peter's  speeches  as 
reported  in  the  Acts  exist,  and  will  be  pointed  out  in 
the  Notes.     (See  Notes  on  chaps,  i.  1 ;  iii.  12.) 

On  the  other  hand,  no  weight  can  be  allowed  to  the 
argument  that  "  all  motive  for  forgery  is  absent."  It 
is  quite  true  that  "  this  Epistle  does  not  support  any 
hierarchical  pretensions  nor  bear  upon  any  of  the 
controversies  of  a  later  age."  But  a  motive  quite 
sufficient  can  be  foimd,  viz.,  to  put  down  with  the 
authority  of  an  Apostle  an  alarming  corruption,  both 
in  doctrine  and  conduct.  This  motive  might  have 
induced  excellent  men  in  the  primitive  Church  to  write 
in  the  name  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  moral  sense  of  the 
community  would  not  have  condemned  them.  Such 
personations,  purely  in  the  interests  of  religion  and 
virtue,  are  neither  impossible  nor  unknown ;  and  the 
very  words  "  forgery"  and  "impostor,"  in  reference  to 
such  acts  and  agents  in  primitive  times,  are  fallacious. 
We  must  beware  of  transferring  our  own  ideas  of 
literary  morality  to  an  age  in  wmch  they  were  abso- 
lutely non-existent. 

{d)  Internal  Evidence :  Tlie  Contents  of  the  Epistle 
in  relation  to  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jude. — This  subject  is 
discussed  in  the  Introduction  to  Jude.  The  conclusion 
there  arrived  at  is  that  the  priority  of  neither  Epistle 
can  be  proved,  but  that  the  balance  inclines  decidedly 
towards  the  priority  of  2  Peter.  If  the  priority  of  Jude 
should  ever  be  demonstrated,  then  we  have  still  more 
reason  for  placing  the  date  of  St.  Peter's  death  later 
than  A.D.  67  or  6S,  unless  the  authenticity  of  2  Peter  is 
admitted  to  be  more  than  doubtful. 

The  conclusion,  then,  to  which  this  long  discussion 
leads  us  is  this — the  objections  to  the  Epistle  are  such 
that,  had  the  duty  of  fixing  the  Canon  of  the  New 
Testament  fallen  on  us,  we  should  scarcely  have 
ventured,  on  the  existing  e\'idence,  to  include  the 
Epistle ;  they  are  not  such  as  to  warrant  us  in  re- 
versing the  decision  of  the  fourth  century,  which  had 
evidence  that  we  have  not.  If  modern  criticism  be  the 
court  of  appeal  to  which  the  judgment  of  the  fourth 


IT.    PETER. 


century  is  referred,  as  it  has  not  sufficient  reasons  for 
reversing  that  judgment  it  can  only  confirm  it.  Ad- 
ditional evidence  may  yet  be  forthcoming.  A  Hebrew 
or  Greek  text  of  the  BooJc  of  Enoch  might  settle  the 
relation  between  2  Peter  and  Jude  beyond  dispute  ;  and 
this  would  clear  the  way  not  a  little.  Meanwhile,  we 
accept  the  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  as,  to  say  the 
very  least,  quite  the  best  worhing  hypothesis. 

II.  The  Place  and  Time.— The  suggestions  as  to 
the  place  where  the  Epistle  was  written  are  mere  con- 
jectures ;  we  have  no  evidence  of  any  value.  As  to  the 
dat-e,  any  time  after  the  writing  of  the  First  Epistle 
may  be  right ;  prolnibly  not  long  before  the  Apostle's 
martyrdom.  The  fact  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem is  not  mentioned  is  reason  for  believing  that  it  had 
not  taken  place  when  the  letter  was  written.  If  it  be 
said  that  a  writer  personating  St.  Peter  would  have 
avoided  so  obvious  a  blunder,  we  may  reply  (1)  that 
these  are  just  the  pitfalls  into  which  literary  persouators 
in  an  early  age  fall ;  (2)  that  it  is  not  certain  that  it 
would  have  been  a  blunder — St.  Peter  may  have  been 
living  A.D.  70 ;  (3)  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
would  have  served  the  purpose  of  the  letter  so  well,  as 
an  argument  (more  strong  than  the  Transfiguration)  for 
Christ's  return  to  judgment,  as  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy 
on  this  subject,  and  as  a  signal  instance  of  divine 
vengeance,  that  no  explanation  of  its  omission  is  so 
satisfactory  as  that  it  had  not  yet  taken  place. 

III.  Object  and  Contents.— The  object  of  the 
Epistle  is  twofold:  (1)  warning  against  the  seductions 
of  false  doctrine  and  the  licentiousness  akin  to  it;  (2) 
exhortation  to  increase  in  the  grace  and  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  basis  for  both  is  the 
same — the  certainty  of  Christ's  return  to  judgment. 
With  true  tact,  the  writer  begins  and  ends  with 
exhortation  and  encouragement ;  the  warning  and 
denunciation  lie  in  between,  and  strongly  as  the  latter 
are  worded,  terrible  as  are  the  metaphors  and  illustra- 
tions employed,  even  here  the  gentleness  and  tenderness 
of  one  who  knew  from  experience  what  tenderness  could 
do  for  those  who  had  gone  the  length  of  "  denying  even 
the  Master  that  bought  them  "  (2  Pet.  ii.  1 ;  Luke  xxii. 
61)  continually  come  to  the  surface,  and  break  the 
flood  of  vehement  denunciation  (chaps,  ii.  5, 7 — 9;  iii.  1,2). 

The  plan  of  the  contents  is  easily  recognised,  and  the 
transitions  from  one  division  to  another  are  so  natural, 
that  (as  remarked  at  the  outset)  it  is  impossible  to 
strike  out  any  portion  as  spurious  and  retain  the  rest. 

I.— Introductory. 

Address  and  greeting  (chap.  i.  1,  2). 
n. — Hortatory  and  Argumentative. 

(1)  Exhortation  to  increase  in  spiritual  graces, 

in  order  to  gain  eternal  life  at  Christ's 
coming  (chap.  i.  3 — 11). 

(2)  Transition  to  the   argumentative  part ;  the 

purpose  of  this    Epistlo  stated  (chap.  i. 
12—1.5). 

(3)  Basis   of  the  exhortation — the  certainty  of 

Christ's  coming,  which  is  proved  : 
(a)  By  tlie  Transfiguration,  which  was  an  anti- 
cipation of  it  (chap.  i.  IG — 18). 
(6)  By  the  utterances  of  prophets,  who  have 
predicted  it  (chap.  i.  19 — 21). 
III. — Warning. 

(1)  First  Prediction  :  false  teachers  shall  have 

Eeat   success  and  certain  ruin  (chap.  ii. 
-10) ;  their  impious  practices  described 
(chap,  ii.  10—22). 


(2)  Transition    to    the    second   prediction ;    the 

purpose  of  both  Epistles    stated    (chap, 
iii.  1,  2). 

(3)  Second    Prediction  :    scoffers    shall    throw 

doubt  on   Christ's  return  (chap.  iii.  3,  4) ; 
their  argument  refuted  (chap.  iii.  5 — 9). 

(4)  Basis    of    the    warning — the    certainty    of 

Christ's  coming  (chap.  iii.  10). 
IV. — Hortatory. 

(1)  Concluding  exhortations  (chap.  iii.  11 — 18) ; 

(2)  Doxology  (chap.  iii.  18). 

lY.  The  False  Teachers  and  the  Scoffers.— 

We  are  probably  to  regard  these  as  in  the  main  iden- 
tical ;  but  in  spite  of  the  vigorous  language  in  which 
they  are  described,  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  particular 
heresy  is  indicated.  As  in  many  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophecies,  the  picture  is  painted  in  strong,  lurid 
colours  ;  but  the  outlines  are  not  sufficiently  defined 
to  enable  us  to  specify  any  distinctive  characteristics. 
The  spirit  of  heresy,  capable  of  develoj^ing  into 
endless  varieties,  rather  than  any  one  of  the  va- 
rieties themselves,  is  placed  before  us.  Cavilling, 
pride,  irreverence,  innjatience  of  restraints,  impatience 
of  mysteries — these  form  the  corrupt  atmosphere 
in  which  heresies  are  generated,  and  these  are  just 
the  qualities  that  are  depicted  here.  The  indefinite- 
ness  of  the  description  has  been  pointed  out  by  critics 
on  both  sides  of  the  question  of  authenticity.  It  is  a 
sti'ong  argument  in  favour  of  an  early  date  for  this 
Epistle.  A  writer  of  the  second  centuiy,  with  the  full- 
blown Gnosticism  of  Basilides.  Carpocrates,  Valentinus, 
and  Marcion  around  him,  could  scarcely  have  divested 
himself  of  his  experience,  and  given  us,  not  the  details 
of  what  he  saw  and  heard,  but  the  germs  that  had 
developed  into  these  after  a  growth  of  half  a  century. 
Historic  divination,  by  means  of  which  the  essentials 
of  an  earlier  age  are  discovered  and  separated  from 
what  is  merely  accidental — historic  imagination,  by 
means  of  which  these  essentials  are  put  together  in  a 
life-like  picture — are  powers  of  modern  growth.  The 
di\'ination  of  the  second  century  was  exercised  on  the 
future,  not  on  the  past ;  its  imagination  on  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  unseen  world,  not  on  the  i-ealities  of  the 
world  of  sense.  The  disagreement  of  critics  as  to  the 
time  in  the  second  century  at  which  the  letter  was  pro- 
bably written  makes  us  all  the  more  disposed  to  doubt 
whether  the  second  century  is  right  at  all.  Bleek 
suggests  A.D.  100 — 150 ;  Mayerhoff,  circ.  A.D.  150 ; 
Davidson,  circ.  170;  Scliwegler  and  Semler,  a,d. 
190—200. 

The  ^^ew  here  taken  of  the  false  teachers  and  scoffers, 
that  they  are  the  forerunners  of  the  Antiuomian  heretics 
of  the  second  century,  is  confirmed  wlieu  we  turn  to 
St.  Paul's  Epistles.  There  we  find  indications  of  these 
evils  at  a  slightly  earlier  stage.  We  see  him  contend- 
ing against  corrupt  practices,  which  were  on  their  road 
to  being  established,  inasmuch  as  some  tried  to  justify 
them  on  principles  which  were  a  caricature  of  his  own 
teaching.  His  Christian  liberty  is  stretched  to  cover 
the  detestable  maxim,  "  Let  us  do  evil  that  good  may 
come,"  participation  in  idolatrous  feasts,  incestuous 
marriages,  intemperance  at  love-feasts,  Ac.  (Rom.  iii. 
8;  1  Cor.,  passim).  A  self  satisfied  knowledge  is 
intruding  itself  (1  Cor.  A-iii.  1 — t).  The  resurrection 
of  the  dead  is  being  denied  (1  Cor.  xv.  12  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  18). 
In  2  Peter  the  corrupt  practices  and  the  corrupt  prin- 
ciples are  more  definitely  combined.  St.  Peter  pre- 
dicts that  still  greater  abominations  than  those  against 
which  St.  Paul  wrote  will  not  only  be  justified,  but 


441 


II.   PETER. 


fanj^ht  upon  principle.  Going  beyond  those  who  denied 
the  resurrection,  men  will  mock  at  the  coming  of  Clirist 
and  tlie  (Lvy  of  judgment.  Thus  the  fjil.se  teaclicrs  of 
2  Peter  are  just  a  step  nearer  to  the  systematised  Anti- 
nomianism  of  tlio  second  century  than  the  evil-doers 
denounced  by  St.  Paul.  St.  Judo  shows  us  in  active 
operation  the  mischief  of  wiiich  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter 
had  seen  tlie  beginning  and  foretold  the  development. 
Tertullian.  Irenanis,  and  Hippolytus  tell  us  to  what 
hideous  pro])()rtions  and  fantastic  variety  the  develop- 
ment eventually  progressed. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  f  ramers  of  our  Authorised 
version,  while  on  the  whole  making  an  enormous 
advance  on  previous  English  versions,  sometimes  went 
back.  In  some  instances  the  changes  they  made  in  the 
translations  on  which  they  worked  were  the  reverse  of 
improvements.  Perhaps  no  portion  of  tlie  New  Testa- 
ment is  more  full  of  cases  of  this  kind  than  the  Second 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter.  In  a  large  number  of  such  cases 
it  will  bo  found  that  the  earlier  versions  which  are 
superior  to  the  Authorised  version  are  Wiclif's  and  the 
Rhemish;  and  not  unfrequently  tliat  the  version  which 
lias  led  our  translators  astray  is  the  Genevan.  None  of 
tliese  three  versions  were  among  those  wliich  the  trans- 
lators were  instructed  to  use  ;  and  of  Wiclif's  they  pro- 
bably made  very  little  use  ;  of  the  other  two  they  made 
a  great  deal  of  use.  "Wiclif's  version  and  the  Khemish 
were  made  from  the  Latin  Vulgate,  not  from  the  Greek : 
80  that  we  have  what  at  first  sight  seems  to  be  a  startling 
fact,  that  versions  made  from  a  Latin  translation  are 


often  superior  to  the  best  version  made  from  the  Greek. 
The  explanation  is  simple.  The  Vulgate  is  a  good 
Latin  translation  of  excellent  Greek  texts ;  our  version 
is  a  good  English  translation  of  very  defective  Greek 
texts.  "  The  errors  in  the  text  of  our  English  Testa- 
ment inherited  fi-om  them  are  considerably  more 
important  than  the  existing  errors  of  translation " 
(Westcott).  The  late  Dr.  Routh,  when  asked  what 
commentary  he  considered  to  be  on  the  whole  the  best, 
is  said  to  have  answei-ed  "  The  Vulgate."  The  facts 
just  noticed  are  a  striking  illustration  of  his  meaning. 
In  the  Notes  the  rendeinngs  of  previous  versions  will 
often  be  given,  where  our  translators  seem  to  have 
adopted  an  inferior  rendering. 

[In  writing  the  Introduction  and  Notes  for  this 
Epistle,  use  has  been  made  of  the  Commentaries  of 
Alford,  Beugcl,  Bruckner's  edition  of  De  Wette,  Hof- 
mann,  Huther,  Reuss,  Schott,  and  Wordsworth,  together 
with  the  Introductions  of  Bleek  and  Davidson,  and  the 
articles  in  Smith  and  Herzog.  A  much  better  use 
might  have  been  made  of  them  had  time  permitted. 
But  it  is  only  just  to  the  editor  and  the  reader  to 
say,  that  the  commentator  on  2  Peter  and  Jude 
was  asked  to  undertake  the  work  at  A-ery  short  notice, 
and  to  complete  it  within  a  very  short  time.  If  he 
is  foimd  to  have  undertaken  a  task  beyond  his 
strength,  he  must  plead  in  excuse  the  attraction 
which  the  work  had  for  him,  and  the  wish  to  render 
help  to  a  far  abler  but  over-worked  contributor  to  this 
Commentary], 


442 


THE    SECOND    EPISTLE    GENEEAL    OF 


PETER. 


CHAPTER  I.— (^)  Simon  Peter,  a 
Chap.  i.  1,  2.  servant  and  an  apostle 
Greeting.  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  them 


that  have  obtained  like  precious  faith 
with  us  through  the  righteousness  of 
God   and   our    Saviour    Jesus    Christ : 


(1)  Simon  Peter. — The  marginal  reading  "Symeon" 
is  to  be  preferred.  "  Simon  "  has  probably  been  siib- 
stituted  as  being  more  usual.  The  Geneva  Bible,  which 
our  translators  unfortunately  sometimes  follow  when  it  is 
misleading,  has  "  Simeon."  "  Symeon,"  of  St.  Peter, 
occurs  elsewhere  only  Acts  xv.  14,  in  a  speech  of  the 
strongly  Jewish  St.  James.  As  being  the  more  Jewisli 
form  of  the  name,  it  points  to  a  Jewish  Christian  as  the 
author ;  and  as  being  unusual,  it  shows  that  the  writer,  if 
not  the  Apostle,  is  no  slavish  imitator.  As  coming  from 
St.  Peter,  the  Apostle  of  the  circumcision,  it  is  natural 
enough.  The  differences  between  this  opening  and 
that  of  1  Peter  are  instructive.  There,  as  approaching 
communities  wliicli  might  seem  to  belong  to  St.  Paul, 
he  carefully  suppresses  everything  personal ;  he  calls 
himself  merely  "  Peter,"  the  name  which  Christ  Him- 
self had  given  him  along  with  his  high  commission 
(Matt,  x-^-i.  18),  and  "  Aj)ostle,"  the  title  which  stated 
his  commission.  Here,  as  coming  a  second  time  to 
those  who  now  know  him  better  (both  through  his 
former  Epistle  and  through  Silvanus),  he  adds  personal 
designations.  There,  as  if  not  venturing  to  depart 
greatly  from  his  own  peculiar  field,  he  addresses  him- 
self mainly  to  the  Jewish  converts.  Hc:e,  with  more 
boldness,  the  natural  result  of  increased  familiarity,  he 
addresses  GentUe  converts  chiefly.  (See  Note  on  1  Pet. 
i.  1.) 

A  servant  and  an  apostle.— De  Wctte  suspects 
a  combination  of  1  Pet.  i.  1  with  Jude,  verse  1.  The 
coincidence  is  too  slight  to  argue  upon.  (See  Rom.  L  1 
and  Note  on  Jude,  verse  1.)  The  amount  of  similarity 
between  the  opening  verses  of  Jude  and  those  of  this 
Epistle  is  too  small  for  any  conclusions  as  to  the  de- 
pendence of  one  on  the  other.  Although  the  word  for 
"  servant "  strictly  means  slave,  the  English  version  is 
quite  correct.     (See  on  Rom.  i.  1.) 

To  them  that  have  obtained.— The  Greek  word 
implies  that  they  have  not  won  it  or  earned  it  for 
themselves,  but  that  it  has  been  allotted  to  them. 
Comp.  Acts  i.  17,  where  the  same  word  (rare  in  the 
New  Testament)  occurs  in  a  speech  of  St.  Peter.  (See 
Note  on  "godliness,"  verse  3.)  Another  coincidence 
to  be  noticed  is  the  way  in  which  St.  Peter  speaks  of 
the  Gentile  Christians  (Acts.  xi.  17)  when  charged  with 
having  visited  "men  uncircumcised,"  and  again  (Acts 
XV.  8 — 11)  at  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  ;  botli  remark- 
able parallels  to  this. 

Like  precious  faith  with  us.— Not  that  all  had 
an  equal  amount  of  faith,  which  would  scarcely  be  pos- 
sible; nor  tliat  their  faith  gave  all  an  equal  right  to 
salvation,  which  the  Greek  could  scarcely  mean;  but 
that  all  believed  the  same  precious  mysteries.  (Comp. 


1  Pet.  i.  7.)  It  is  delicately  implied  that  "  we  as  well 
as  you  have  had  it  allotted  to  us ;  it  is  no  credit  to  us ; 
we  are  not  superior  to  you."  "  Us"  may  mean  either 
the  Apostles,  or  (more  probably)  the  first  Christians,  as 
distinct  fi'om  those  converted  later,  i.e.,  Jewish  as  dis- 
tinct from  Gentile  Christians.  This  shows  that  Gentile 
converts  are  chiefly  addressed  in  this  Epistle,  as  Jewish 
in  the  First  Epistle.  Gentiles  would  be  more  likely  to 
be  doubters  resjiecting  Christ's  return  to  judgment, 
than  Jews  well  acquainted  with  Hebrew  prophecies  on 
the  subject.  Gentiles  also  would  be  more  likely  than 
Jews  to  fall  into  the  excesses  denounced  in  the  second 
chapter,  which  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  cata- 
logue of  heathen  vices  given  by  St.  Paul  in  Rom.  i. 
The  idea  that  Christians  ai'e  the  antitype  of  the  chosen 
people  is  prominent  in  St.  Peter's  writings.  (Comp. 
chap.  ii.  1,  and  1  Pet.  i.  10.)  Note  that  no  particular 
churches  are  mentioned.  The  Second  Epistle  is  more 
"  general "  or  "  catholic  "  in  its  address  than  the  First. 
Here  again  we  have  a  mark  of  independence.  A  wi-iter 
personating  St.  Peter,  and  referring  to  the  former 
Letter  (chap.  iii.  1),  would  probably  have  taken  care  to 
make  the  address  of  the  second  letter  tally  exactly  with 
that  of  the  fii-st. 

Through  the  righteousness.- Better,  in  the 
righteousness.  So  WicUf,  TjTidale,  and  Rheims  version. 
"  Righteousness  "  is  variously  explained.  Perhaps  the 
best  interpretation  is  "  fairness,  justice."  He  has  no 
respect  of  persons,  and  hence  has  given  to  all  Christians, 
early  or  late,  Jew  or  Gentile,  a  "  like  precious  faith." 

Of  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.— Better, 
of  our  God  and  (our)  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Here,  as 
in  Titus  ii.  13  (comp.  2  Thess.  i.  12),  we  are  somewhat 
in  doubt  as  to  whether  we  have  one  or  two  Persons  of 
the  Trinity  mentioned.  Rigid  grammar  woidd  incline 
us  to  make  "  God"  and  "Sa\'iour"  both  apply  to  Christ. 
But  rigid  grammar  alone  is  not  always  the  safest  guide 
in  interjjrcting  Scripture.  The  veiy  next  verse,  inde- 
pendently of  other  considerations,  sf^oms  to  determine 
tliat  both  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  here  mentioned. 
The  mode  of  expression  which  causes  doubt  on  the 
subject,  perhaps  indicates  the  writer's  perfect  belief  in 
the  oneness  of  the  Father  with  the  Son.  The  addition 
of  "  Saviour "  to  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  is  very 
frequent  in  this  Epistle  (verse  11,  chaps,  ii.  20;  iii.  18; 
comp.  chap.  iii.  2).  It  shows  how  completely  "  Jesus  " 
had  become  a  proper  name,  the  exact  signification  of 
wliich  was  becoming  obscured.  "  Saviour "  does  not 
occur  in  1  Pet.,  but  the  cognate  "  salvation "  docs 
(chaps,  i.  5,  9,  10;  ii.  2i.  Both  words  point  onwards 
to  safety  from  perdition  at  the  List.  (Comp.  St.  Peter's 
speech,  Acts  v.  31.) 


443 


T]te  Apostle^s  Sahdtition. 


TI.   PETER,   I. 


T/ic  Great  and  Precious  Promises. 


'-'  grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto 
you  through  the  knowledge  of  God,  and 
of  Jesus  our  Lord,  (^^  according  as  his 
Chap.  i.  3-11.  divine  power  hath  given 
Exhortation  to  uuto  US  all  things  that 
?ftulTgracel''"  Vertain  unto  life  and  godli- 


ness,  through  the  knowledge  of  him  that 
hath  called  us  to  ^  glory  and  virtue : 
(*^  whereby  are  given  unto  us  exceeding 
great  and  precious  j)romises  :  that  by 
these  ye  might  be  partakers  of  the 
divine  natui-e,  having  escaped  the  cor- 


es) Grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  unto  you.— 
Identical  with  tlio  hist  clausL'  of  1  Pot.  i.  2.  and  with 
no  otlier  greeting  in  any  Epistle.  "What  follows  here 
is  peculiar  to  this  Epistle,  which  begins  and  ends  with 
grace  and  knowledge.     (Coiup.  chap.  iii.  18.) 

Through  the  knowledge. — Better,  as  before,  in. 
Tlio  prejjosition  indicates  the  sphere  or  element  iu 
wWch  the  action  takes  place,  or  tlu;  aspect  in  which  it 
is  contemplated.  Tj'ndale  and  the  Rhemish  version  have 
"  in."  "  Knowledge  ''  is  not  quite  strong  enough.  In 
the  original  we  have  a  compound  word,  which  implies 
fuller,  ripei",  more  minute  knowledge.  But  any  of  these 
expressions  would  be  a  little  too  strong,  as  the  simjile 
word  is  a  little  too  weak.  The  same  compound  recurs 
verse  3.  It  is  rare  in  St.  Paul's  earlier  letters,  but  is 
more  common  in  the  later  ones.  This  fact,  coupled 
with  its  ajipearanco  here,  agrees  well  with  the  more 
contemplative  aspect  in  which  the  Gospel  began  gradu- 
ally to  be  presented ;  a  cliange  which  finds  its  fullest 
expression  in  the  transition  from  the  first  three  Gospels 
to  the  fourth.  The  word  is  introduced  here  with 
telling  emphasis ;  "  in  the  fuller  knowledge  of  God  " 
anticipates  the  attack  that  is  coming  upon  the  god- 
less specidations  of  the  "  false  teachers  "  in  chap.  ii. 

And  of  Jesus  our  Lord.  — Deliberately  added. 
These  false  teachers  ''  denied  the  Loi-d  that  bought 
them"  (chap.  ii.  11,  and  promised  all  kinds  of  high- 
sounding  l)enefits  to  their  followers  (chap.  ii.  18).  The 
Apostle  assures  his  readers  that  only  in  fuller  knowledge 
of  their  Lord  can  grace  and  peace  be  multiplied  to  them. 
The  condiination  "Jesus  our  Lord"  is  unusual;  else- 
where only  Rom.  iv.  24.  Another  small  indication  of 
independence  (see  first  Note).  There  should  be  a  full- 
stop  at  "  Lord; "  so  Tyndale,  Cranmer,  and  Geneva. 

(^—w)  Exhortation  to  progress  in  spiritual  graces  in 
order  to  win  eternal  life  at  Christ's  coming.  God  has 
given  us  all  we  need  for  salvation ;  let  us  profit  by  it, 
and  show  ourselves  worthy  of  it. 

(3)  According  as.— Better,  seeing  that.  This  must 
not  bo  made  to  depend  on  verse  2.  In  the  canonical 
Epistles  the  address  does  not  go  beyond  the  blessing. 
Galatians  is  tlie  only  exception ;  there  a  relative  clause 
is  added  to  the  blessing ;  but  this  is  solemnly  brought 
to  a  close  with  a  doxology,  so  that  the  exception  is  one 
that  almost  proves  the  rule.  In  Hebrews,  James, 
1  and  3  John,  there  is  no  opening  blessing;  the  remark 
holds  good  of  all  the  rest.  Verses  3  and  4  are  a  brief 
introduction  to  the  direct  exhortations  contained  5 — 11. 
The  eagerness  with  which  tlie  writer  goes  direct  to  his 
subject  is  characteristic  of  St.  Peter's  temper. 

His  divine  power.— The  pronoun  refers  to  "Jesus 
our  Lord."  The  adjective  occurs  in  the  New  Testament 
in  these  two  verses  (3  and  4)  only ;  elsewhere  we  have 
the  genitive  case,  "  of  God,"  "  of  the  Lord,"  "  of  the 
Father,"  and  the  like. 

All  things  that  pertain  unto.  — All  that  are 
necessary  for  the  attainment  of.  He  does  not  give  life 
and  godliness  in  maturity,  but  supplies  us  with  the 
means    of    winning    them    for   ourselves.      "  All "   is 


441 


emphatic  ;  nothing  that  is  requisite  is  grudged  us,  and 
nothing  is  our  own,  it  is  all  the  gift  of  God. 

Godliness. — The  Greek  word  occurs  Acts  iii.  12, 
in  a  speech  of  St.  Peter,  and  four  times  in  this  Epistle; 
elsewhere  only  in  those  to  Timothy  and  Titus.  It 
belongs  to  the  jihraseology  of  the  later  books  of  the 
New  Testament.  "Godliness"  is  the  realisation  of 
God's  abiding  presence,  the  fruits  of  which  ai-e 
reverence  and  trust :  "  Thou  God  seest  me;"  "  I  have 
set  God  always  before  me,  therefore  I  cannot  fall." 
It  is  introduced  here,  perhaps,  in  opposition  to  the 
godlessness  and  irreverence  of  the  false  teachers. 
(Comp.  2  Tim.  iii.  5.) 

Through  the  knowledge.— Through  learning  to 
know  God  as  One  who  has  called  us  to  salvation. 
(Comp.  verse  2.) 

To  glory  and  virtue. — Rather,  hy  glory  and 
virtue ;  or  perhaps,  by  His  own  glory  and  virtue, 
according  to  another  reading.  "  To"  cannot  be  correct, 
whichever  of  the  various  readings  is  the  right  one, 
Tyndale,  Cranmer,  and  Rheims  have  "  by ; "  the  error 
comes  from  Geneva,  which  has  "  unto."  "  Glory  " 
points  to  the  majesty  of  God,  "  virtue  "  to  His  activity. 
"  Virtue "  as  applied  to  God  is  unusual,  but  occurs 
1  Pet.  ii.  9  (see  Note  there),  a  coincidence  to  be  noted. 
The  word  is  rendered  there  "  praises,"  but  "virtues  "  is 
given  in  the  margin.  The  whole  verse  is  strikingly 
parallel  to  this  one,  though  very  differently  expressed. 

(4)  Whereby.— By  God's  "  glory  and  virtue ;  "  not 
by  "  all  things  that  pertain  unto  life  and  godliness," 
although  the  latter  is  possilile,  and  is  preferred  by  some. 

Are  given  unto  us. — Better,  He  hath  given  unto  us, 
viz.,  He  who  called  us,  God.  Wiclif ,  "  He  gaf ; "  Bheims, 
"  He  hath  given." 

Promises.— The  Greek  word  occurs  here  and  in 
chap.  iii.  13  only.  Its  termination  indicates  the  things 
promised  rather  than  the  act  of  promising.  They  are 
"exceeding  great,"  or  rather  "  the  greatest,"  because  they 
contain  an  earnest  of  the  completion  and  perfection  of 
the  Christian  life  ;  they  are  very  "  precious,"  because  this 
earnest  is  in  itself  something  real,  and  not  mere  empty 
words.  Not  the  promises  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
meant,  that  Christ  should  come ;  but  those  of  the  New 
Testament,  that  Clirist  should  come  again.  The  cer- 
tainty of  Christ's  return  to  reward  the  righteous  and 
punish  the  wicked  is  one  of  the  main  subjects  of  the 
Epistle. 

That  by  these. — "These"   is   variously  referred 

(1)  to  "  all  things  that  pertain  unto  life  and  godliness," 

(2)  to  "  glory  and  virtue,"  (3)  to  "  promises."  The  last 
is  most  likely,  the  second  least  likely  to  be  right.  The 
hope  expressed  in  this  verse,  and  again  iii.  13,  is 
distinctly  parallel  to  that  in  1  Pet.  i.  4. 

Ye  mightbe  partsikerB. —'Better, become  partalcers. 
Rheims,  "  Ije  made."  This  idea  of  close  relationship  to 
God  and  escape  from  corruption  is  found  in  1  Pet.  i.  23. 
The  change  from  the  first  person  plural  to  the  second 
is  easy  enough  both  in  Greek  and  English :  by  it  what 
is  true  of  all  Christians  is  appfied  specially  to  those 
whom  the  writer  is  addressing.  We  have  a  similar 
change  in  1  Pet.  i.  3,  4 ;   ii.  21,  24. 


Exhortation  to  Progress 


11.   PETER,   I. 


in  Spiritual  Graces. 


ruption  that  is  in  the  world  through 
lust.  (^^  And  beside  this,  giving  all 
diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue ;  and 
to  virtue  knowledge ;  ^^'>  and  to  know- 


ledge temperance ;  and  to  temperance 
patience ;  and  to  patience  godliness ; 
<7)  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness  ; 
and    to     brotherly    kindness     charit}'. 


Through  lust. — Rather  (as  in  versos  1,2, 13;  chap, 
ii.  3)  in  lust.  It  is  iu  lust  tliat  the  corruptiou  has  its 
root.  (Comp.  1  Pet.  i.  22.)  Tlie  word  "  escaped  "  iudi- 
cates  that  "  bondage  of  corruption  "  (Kora.  viii.  21)  from 
wliich  even  the  Christian  is  not  wholly  free,  so  long  as  ho 
is  in  the  body ;  and  in  which  others  ai'o  hopelessly  lield. 
A  comparison  of  tliis  last  clause  with  chap.  iii.  13  will 
confirm  us  in  the  view  that  "  by  these  "  refers  to  tlui 
"  promises."  We  see  there  what  the  things  promised 
are.  Instead  of  merely  '"having  escaped"  evil,  "we, 
according  to  His  promise,  look  for  "  better  things ;  for, 
from  "  the  corruption  that  is  iu  the  world  in  lust  "  wo 
turn  to  "  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwolloth 
righteousness."  There  should  bo  no  full-stop  at  the 
end  of  this  verse ;  the  sentence  continues  unbroken 
from  the  beginning  of  verse  3  to  the  end  of  verse  7. 

(5)  And.  beside  this.— Rather,  and  for  this  very 
reason.  The  Authorised  version  is  quite  indefensible, 
and  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  because  it  obscures  a 
parallel  between  this  and  1  Peter.  There  also  we  are 
exhorted  to  regulate  our  conduct  by  God's  (1  Pet.  i.  15  ; 
ii.  1,  5).  [In  the  Notes  on  vei'ses  5 — 8  use  has  been 
made  of  addresses  On  some  Traits  in  the  Christian 
Character.     Camb.  1876.] 

Giving  all  diligence.— Literally,  bringing  in  all 
diligence  to  the  side  of  God's  gifts  and  promises;  making 
your  contribution  in  answer  to  His.  He  has  made  all 
things  possible  for  you ;  but  they  are  not  yet  done, 
and  you  must  labour  diligently  to  realise  the  glorious 
possibilities  opened  out  to  you. 

Add  to  your  faith  virtue.— Rather,  in  your  faith 
supply  virtue.  The  error  comes  from  Geneva;  all  otiier 
English  versions  are  right.  The  interesting  word  in- 
adequately translated  "add"  occurs  again  in  verse  11, 
and  elsewhere  only  iu  2  Cor.  ix.  10 ;  Gal.  iii.  5 ;  Col.  ii. 
19.  Everywhere  but  here  it  is  translated  "  minister." 
Sufficient  exjjlanation  of  the  word  will  be  found  in 
Notes  on  2  Cor.  ix.  10  and  Gal.  iii.  5.  The  notion  of 
rendering  a  service  that  is  expected  of  one  iu  virtue  of 
one's  position  fits  in  admirably  here.  God  gives ;  His 
blessings  and  promises  come  from  His  free  undeserved 
bounty ;  man  renders,  supplies,  furnislies,  that  which, 
considering  the  benefits  which  ho  has  received,  is  fairly 
required  of  him.  Note  that  we  are  not  told  to  supply 
faith ;  that  comes  from  God  (Eph.  ii.  8),  and  the  Apostle 
assumes  that  his  readers  possess  it.  "Virtue  "  is  that 
which  is  recognised  by  all  men  as  excellent ;  the  excel- 
lence of  man  as  man.  Heathen  moralists  had  drawn  a 
noble  picture  of  what  man  ought  to  be ;  the  gospel  gave 
the  command  to  realise  a  yet  nobler  ideal,  and  also  gave 
the  power  by  which  it  could  be  realised. 

And  to  virtue  knowledge.— As  before,  and  in 
your  virtue  [supphj]  knowledge — i.e.,  in  the  virtue 
which  each  of  you  possesses.  Virtue  for  each  individual 
is  the  excellence  corresponding  to  the  talents  committed 
to  him.  The  word  for  "knowledge"  here  is  not  the 
compound  used  in  verses  2  and  3,  but  the  simple  sub- 
stantive. It  means,  therefore,  knowledge  that  still 
admits  of  growth,  not  yet  ripe  or  complete.  It  is 
worth  noting  that  the  word  for  absolute  knowledge, 
episteme,  does  not  occur  in  the  New  Testament.  By 
"knowledge"  here  is  probably  meant  spiritual  dis- 
cernment as  to  what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong  in  all 
things ;  the  right  object,  tne  right  way,  the  right  time. 


(6)  And  to  knowledge  temperance ;  and  to 
temperance  patience ;  and  to  patience  god- 
liness. —  And  in  your  knowledge  [supply^  self- 
control,  and  in  your  self-control,  patience,  and  in 
your  patience,  godliness.  In  otiier  words,  your  dis- 
cerning between  good  and  e^'il  must  load  to  avoid- 
ing the  evil  and  choosing  the  good — i.e.,  to  the 
control  of  your  own  lawless  propensities  ;  and  in 
restraining  tliese  you  must  endure  difficulties  patiently  ; 
and  your  patience  must  not  lie  the  stolid  defiance  of  tho 
savage,  or  the  self-reliant  and  self-satisfied  endurance 
of  tho  Stoic,  but  a  humble  and  hiving  trust  in  God. 
Virtue  and  knowledge  are  energetic  and  progressive ; 
they  are  exercised  in  developing  the  powers  implanted 
in  us.  SeK-control  and  patience  are  restrictive  and 
disciplinary ;  they  are  exercised  in  checking  and  regu- 
lating the  conflicting  claims  of  many  co-existing  powers, 
so  as  to  reduce  all  to  harmony.  There  is  special  point 
in  "self-control"  being  placed  as  the  consequence  of 
"  knowledge."  The  false  teachers  would  insist  that 
knowledge  led  to  liberty,  which  with  them  meant 
emancipation  from  all  control  whatever.  Self-mastery 
is  to  the  world  at  large  the  opposite  of  liberty ;  to  the 
Christian  it  is  another  name  for  it — that  serA^ce  which 
is  perfect  freedom.  Patience  to  the  world  is  to  accept 
loss  and  suffering;  to  the  Christian  it  is  to  win  tho 
best  of  prizes — "  in  your  patience  ye  shall  win  your 
souls." 

(7)  And  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness ;  and 
to  brotherly  kindness  charity.— ^/ifZ  in  your 
godliness  [sjiji^jZ?/]  love  of  the  brethren,  and  in  your 
love  of  the  brethren,  charity.  In  other  words,  your 
godliness  must  not  be  selfish  and  solitary,  but  social 
and  Christian ;  for  he  who  loveth  God  must  love  his 
brother  also  (1  John  iv.  20,  21).  And  though  "  charity 
begins  at  home"  with  "  them  who  ai'e  of  the  household 
of  faith,"  it  must  not  end  there,  but  reach  out  to  all 
men,  whether  Christians  or  not.  (Comp.  1  Thess.  iii.  12 ; 
Gal.  vi.  10.)  The  translation  "brotherly  kindness"  is  a 
little  to  be  regretted ;  it  obscures  the  exact  meaning  of 
the  word,  and  also  the  fact  that  the  very  same  word  is 
used  in  1  Pet.  i.  22.  "Love  of  the  brethren"  means 
love  of  Christians  as  such,  as  members  of  the  same 
great  family,  as  God's  adopted  children.  "  Charity  " 
means  love  of  men  as  such,  as  creatures  made  in  the 
likeness  of  Grod,  as  souls  for  which  Christ  died.  The 
word  for  "  charity  "  is  emphatically  Christian  love ;  not 
mere  natural  benevolence. 

Each  in  this  noble  chain  of  virtues  prepares  the  way 
for  the  next,  and  is  supplemented  and  perfected  by  it^ 
It  begins  with  faith,  and  it  ends  (lik.-  St.  Paul's  list  of 
virtues.  Col.  iii.  12 — 14)  with  charity.  But  we  must 
not  insist  too  strongly  upon  the  order  in  the  series, 
as  being  either  logically  or  chronologically  necessary. 
It  is  a  natural  order  that  is  here  given,  but  not  tho 
only  one.  These  three  verses  are  the  First  Epistle 
condensed.  Each  one  of  the  \Trtues  mentioned  hero 
is  represented  quite  distinctly  iu  1  Peter :  virtue, 
i.  13;  knowledge,  iii.  15;  self-control,  i.  14;  ii.  11; 
patience,  i.  6;  ii.  21;  godliness,  i.  15, 16;  iii.  4;  love  of 
the  brethren,  i.  22;  iii.  8;  charity,  iv.  8.  The  list  of 
virtues  given  in  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas  ii.  runs  thus  : 
— Faith,  fear,  patience,  long-suffering,  temperance, 
wisdom,  prudence,  science,  knowledge.    The  very  slight 


445 


They  nmst  give  Diligence 


II.   PETER,   I. 


to  make  their  Calling  sure. 


(8)  For  if  these  things  be  in  you,  and 
abound,  they  make  you  that  ye  shall 
neither  he  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the 
knowledge   of  our   Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

(9)  But  he  that  lacketh  these  things  is 
blind,  and  cannot  see  afar  off,  and  hath 


forgotten  that  he  was  purged  from 
his  old  sins.  (^°*  Wherefore  the  rather, 
brethren,  give  diligence  to  make  your 
calling  and  election  sure :  for  if  ye 
do  these  things,  ye  shall  never  fall : 
(^^)  for  so  an  entrance  shall  be  minis- 


amount  of  similarity  affords  no  ground  for  supposing 
that  tlio  writer  was  acquainted  with  2  Peter. 

(8)  For  if  these  things  be  in  you.— First  reason 
for  the  preceding  exhortation — the  benefit  of  having 
tliese  graces.  The  original  of  "  be  in  you  "  is  a  strong 
expression,  implying  permanent  and  not  mere  momentary 
existence. 

And  abound.— Strictly,  and  multiply  or  increase. 
(Conip.  Rom.  v.  20,  and  Note  there ;  vi.  1 ;  2  Thess.  i.  3, 
where  the  same  inadequate  translation  occurs  in  the 
Authorised  version.) 

Neither  be  barren  nor  unfruitful.— Better, 
not  idle  nor  yet  iiafniitful.  Cranmer,  Tyndale,  and 
Geneva  all  have  "  ydle."  The  Greek  word  literally 
means  "  without  work  " — i.e.,  doing  nothing,  as  "  un- 
fruitful "  means  producing  nothing.  "  That  ye  shall 
be  "  is  not  in  the  Greek,  and  is  not  needed.  The  two 
adjectives  "  idle  "  and  "  unfruitful  "  exactly  correspond 
to  the  two  verbs  "  be  in  you  "  and  "  increase."  If  these 
things  be  in  you,  you  will  be  morally  active ;  if  they 
increase,  you  will  be  morally  productive. 

In  the  knowledge.— Rather,  nnto  the  knowledge ; 
the  fuller,  more  advanced  knowledge  of  versos  2,  3,  and 
chap.  ii.  20.  This  is  the  goal  towards  which  all  these 
virtues  tend,  the  fruit  which  they  tend  to  produce — 
the  perfect  knowledge  of  Christ.  Those  who  are  the 
most  like  Christ  in  their  lives  have  the  fullest  know- 
ledge of  Him  in  this  world,  a  knowledge  to  be  perfected 
in  the  next  world,  when,  purified  from  sin,  "  we  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is."  This  clause,  without  the  negatives, 
accurately  describes  the  condition  of  the  false  teachers 
whom  the  Apostle  has  in  view.  They  were  both  "  idle 
and  unfruitful  unto  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  They  neither  did  nor  produced  anything  that 
in  any  degree  advanced  such  knowledge  either  in  them- 
selves or  others.  The  list  of  virtues  just  commended 
(verses  5 — 7)  constitutes  a  solemn  indictment  against 
them.  Practical  infidelity  leading  to  vicious  conduct;  a 
hollow  and  pretentious  philosophy  leading  to  libertinism ; 
an  impatience  of  control  loading  to  utter  godlessness; 
a  selfish  indifference  to  the  claims  of  those  nearest 
to  them  ending  in  absolute  heartlessness  towards  all 
men — such  is  the  charge  brought  against  them,  by 
implication  here,  directly  in  chap.  ii. 

(»)  But  he  that  lacketh. — Rather,  for  he  tlmt 
lacketh.  Geneva  and  Rheiras  have  '"for."  Tlie  "for" 
introduces  the  second  reason  for  the  exhortation  to 
furnisli  forth  all  these  graces — viz.,  the  evil  of  not 
having  them.  The  Greek  implies  absence  of  possession 
in  any  degree,  not  merely  absence  of  permanent  pos- 
session.    (See  first  Note  on  verse  8.) 

Is  blind. — Wo  might  have  expected  "  will  bo  idle 
and  unfruitful,  &c.,"  but  the  writer  is  not  content  with 
merely  emphasizing  what  has  just  been  said,  after 
the  manner  of  St.  John  {e.g.,  chap.  i.  3  ;  1  John  i.  5  ; 
ii.  4, 27, 28  ;  iv.  2, 3,  6) ;  he  puts  the  case  in  a  new  way, 
with  a  new  metaphor  equally  applicable  to  the  subject 
of  knowledge.  Note  that  he  does  not  say  "  will  be 
blind,"  but  "  is  blind."  The  very  fact  of  his  possessing 
none  of  these  graces  shows  that  he  has  no  eye  for  them. 
Cannot  see  afar  off.  —  The  Greek  word  means 
literally  closing  the  eyes ;  and  the  point  seems  to  be, 


not  wilful  shutting  of  the  eyes  (those  who  won't  see), 
but  involuntary  and  partial  closing,  as  m  the  case  of 
short-sighted  people ;  in  a  spiritual  sense,  those  who 
have  only  a  very  hazy  apprehension  of  the  objects  of 
belief  and  of  the  bearing  which  their  beliefs  should  have 
on  their  conduct.  There  is,  therefore,  no  anti-climax, 
a  weak  expression  following  a  strong  one,  but  a  simple 
cxi)lauation,  a  more  definite  term  following  a  general 
one  ;  it  explains  what  kind  of  blindness  is  meant.  The 
special  kind  of  short-sightedness  here  indicated  is  that 
of  one  who  just  sees  that  he  is  a  member  of  a  Christian 
community,  but  perceives  neither  the  kind  of  life  that 
one  who  has  been  pui'ged  from  heathen  enormities  is 
bound  to  lead,  nor  the  kind  of  life  which  alone  can 
win  an  entrance  into  Christ's  kingdom.  The  short- 
sightedness of  not  being  able  to  see  beyond  this  present 
world  is  probably  not  expressed  here. 

And  hath  forgotten. — Literally,  having  received 
or  incurred  forgetfulness — a  unique  expression  in  the 
New  Testament.  The  phrase  does  not  necessarily  imply 
that  the  forgetfulness  is  voluntaiy ;  it  is  the  inevitable 
result  of  wilful  neglect — the  neglect  to  cultivate  Chris- 
tian \artues.  The  forgetfulness  is  not  the  cause  of  the 
shortsightedness,  but  a  phase  of  it. 

His  old  sins. — Those  committed  before  he  was 
"  j)urged  "  in  baptism  (1  Cor.  vi.  11 ;  Eph.  v.  26 ;  1  Pet. 
iii.  21). 

(10)  "Wherefore  the  rather. — Exhortation  resumed, 
with  still  more  earnestness,  for  the  reasons  jnst  stated 
in  verses  8  and  9.  The  direct  address,  "  brethren,"  is 
a  mark  of  this  increased  earnestness,  and  also  assures 
those  addressed  that  they  are  not  included  among  the 
mere  nominal  Christians  described  in  the  preceding 
verse. 

Give  diligence.  —  Recalling  "  bringing  all  dili- 
gence "  in  verse  5. 

Calling  and  election.— By  God  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  "  Calling  "  and  "  election  "  are  two  aspects  of 
the  same  fact,  "  calling  "  referring  to  God's  invitation, 
"election"  to  the  distinction  which  this  invitation 
makes  between  those  who  are  called  and  those  who 
are  not.  "  Election  "  is  one  of  St.  Paul's  words.  One 
of  the  best  MSS.  and  several  versions  insert  "  by  means 
of  your  works,"  which  gives  the  right  sense,  although 
the  words  are  wanting  in  authority.  It  is  by  follow- 
ing the  injunctions  given  (verses  5 — 7)  that  our  election 
is  made  secure.  God  calls  us  to  salvation  (verse  3), 
selects  \i3  from  the  heathen ;  it  is  for  each  one  of  us  to 
respond  to  the  call,  and  thus  ratify  His  choice. 

If  ye  do  these  things.— Showing  that  the  making 
sure  of  our  election  is  not  a  single  act,  but  multiform, 
viz.,  the  furnishing  the  graces  commended  (verses 
5-7). 

Never  fall.— The  same  word  is  translated  "  offend" 
(Jas.  ii.  10;  iii.  2);  and  "stumble"  (Rom.  xi.  II).     It 
means  to  knock  one's  foot  and  stumble.     The  man  who  i 
has  acquired  these  graces  has  his  path  freed  from  many 
stumbUug-blocks,  and  his  vision  cleared  to  see  and  ] 
avoid  the  rest.  j 

(11)  An  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto 
you. — "  Ministered  "  is  the  passive  of  the  same  verb 
that  is  translated  "  add "  in  verse  5,  and  is  probably  < 


446 


lie  reminds  them  of  this, 


II.   PETER,   I. 


hiovjing  his  End  is  niyh. 


tered  unto  you  abundantly  into  the 
everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Clu^ist.  (^^^  Wherefore 
Chap.  i.  12—15.  I  will  not  be  negligent 
Transition  to    put     vou     always     in 

trom     exhoita-  i  i?        xi 

tion  to  argu-  remembrance  oi  these 
ment.  things,    though    ye    know 

them,  and  be  established  in  the  present 
truth.      (^^^  Yea,    I   think    it   meet,   as 


a  John  xxl.  18. 


long  as  I  am  in  this  tabernacle,  to 
stir  you  up  by  putting  you  in  remem- 
brance ;  (^^^  knowing  that  shortly  I 
must  put  off  this  my  tabernacle,  even 
as  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  shewed 
me."  (^^^  Moreover  I  will  endeavour  that 
ye  may  be  able  after  my  decease  to  have 
these  things  always  in  remembrance. 
(icj  j^or  we  have  not  followed  cunningly 


chosen  to  answer  to  verse  5.  "  Supply  these  graces, 
and  an  entrance  into  the  kingdom  shall  bo  aljuudantly 
supplied  to  you " — "  abundantly,"  i.e.,  witli  a  warm 
welcome,  as  to  a  son  coming  home  in  triumph ;  not  a 
have  grudging  admission,  as  to  a  stranger. 

Thus  ends  the  first  main  section  of  the  Epistle, 
which  contains  the  substance  of  the  wliole.  Its  gentle 
earnestness  and  obvious  harmony  with  the  First  Epistle 
have  made  some  critics  ready  to  admit  its  genuineness, 
who  throw  doubt  on  much  of  the  rest.  But  if  it 
stands  it  carries  with  it  all  the  rest.  Change  of  style 
is  amply  accounted  for  by  change  to  anew  and  exciting 
subject ;  and  the  links  between  the  parts  are  too  strong 
to  be  severed  by  any  such  considerations.  (See  opening 
observations  in  the  Introduction.) 

The  first  sections  of  the  two  Epistles  should  be 
carefully  compared.  In  both  we  find  these  thoughts 
pervading  the  opening  exhortation :  Be  earnest,  be 
active ;  for  (1)  so  much  has  been  done  for  you, 
and  (2)  there  is  such  a  rich  reward  in  store  for 
you.  (Comp.  especially  the  conclusions  of  the  two 
sections,  1  Pet.  I  13  with  2  Pet.  i.  10,  11.) 

(12—15)  Transition  from  the  exhortation  just  con- 
cluded to  the  argument  that  follows,  closely  and  natu- 
rally connected  with  both. 

(12)  I  will  not  "be  negligent. — According  to  the 
right  I'cadiug,  I  shall  be  sure  to;  because  on  your  doing 
these  things  depends  your  entrance  into  Christ's  kingdom. 

Though  ye  know  them. —  We  find  the  same 
affectionate  delicacy  in  Rom.  xv.  14,  15  (see  Notes 
there) ;  1  John  ii.  2l ;  Jude,  verse  5. 

And  be  established  in  the  present  truth. — 
Comp.  "  Tliis  is  the  true  grace  oi  God  wherein  yo 
stand"  (1  Pet.  v.  12),  to  which  it  is  not  impossible  that 
this  verse  refers  ;  the  "  always  "  here  looks  like  a  half 
apology  for  what  his  readers  might  think  needless 
repetition.  "  The  present  truth  "  is  an  instance  of  a 
translation  being  misleading  through  its  very  literal- 
ness.  Tlie  three  Greek  words  are  exactly  represented, 
but  the  sense  is  misrepresented.  The  meaning  is,  not 
the  truth  that  we  are  now  discussing,  tho  truth  before 
us,  but  the  truth  of  tho  gospel  that  is  come  unto  you 
(Col.  i.  5,  6),  and  is  present  with  you:  "the  faith  once 
for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints  "  (Jude,  verse  3). 

(13)  Yea,  I  think  it  meet.— Better,  But  I  think 
it  righ  t.  So  Rh  3im3 ;  Tpidale  and  Cranmer  liavo 
"  notwithstanding."  Tho  meaning  is,  "  but  (so  far  from 
my  writing  being  imneces.sary)  I  think  it  right,"  &c. 

In  this  tabernacle. — Tho  comparison  of  tho 
human  body  to  a  dwelling  is  common  in  all  literatures, 
and  the  temporary  nature  of  a  tent  makes  it  specially 
appropriate.     (Comp.  2  Cor.  v.  1.) 

By  putting  you  in  remembrance.— Better,  in 
ptdting  you.  The  stirring  up  consists  in  the  reminding. 
(See  verses  1,  2,  4;  also  chap.  iii.  1,  where  the  same 
phrase  occurs.) 


(1^)  Knowing  that  shortly  I  must  put  oflf  this 
my  tabernacle.— This  is  rather  wide  of  the  mark. 
Among  English  versions  Wiclif  alone  is  right.  The 
meaning  is.  Knowing  as  I  do  that  the  imt ling  off  of  my 
tabernacle  will  be  done  swiftly  (comp.  chap.  ii.  1) — i.e., 
will  soon  be  over  when  it  once  begins.  The  point  is, 
not  that  the  Avriter  believes  himself  to  be  near  his  end, 
but  that  his  end  would  be  such  as  to  allow  of  no  death- 
bed exhortations ;  what  he  has  to  say  must  be  said  in 
good  time,  for  Christ  had  told  him  that  his  death  would 
be  a  violent  one  (John  xxi.  18).  Some  of  those  who 
have  taken  the  pasisage  in  the  sense  of  the  Authorised 
version  have  supposed  a  special  revelation  to  be  im- 
plied in  the  last  half  of  the  A-erse.  But  without  any 
revelation  an  old  man  might  know  that  his  end  must 
soon  come ;  and  Christ  had  already  told  him  that  it 
should  come  when  he  began  to  be  old.  '"  The  putting 
off  of  my  tabernacle "  involves  rather  a  mixture  of 
metaphors ;  we  have  a  similar  mixture  in  Col.  v.  1 — 4. 
The  word  for  "  putting  off' "  occurs  nowhere  but  here 
and  1  Pet.  iii.  21 ;  but  the  coincidence  is  not  one  on 
which  much  stress  can  be  laid. 

Hath  shewed  me.— More  strictly,  shewed  vie.  Tho 
substitution  of  perfect  for  aorist  is  here  objectionable, 
as  it  obscures  the  reference  to  a  definite  moment  in  the 
Apostle's  life.  If  the  reference  were  to  John  xxi.  18, 
this  would  be  at  once  fatal  to  the  authenticity  of  our 
Epistle ;  for  of  course  no  part  of  St.  John's  Gospel, 
and  least  of  all  the  last  chapter,  was  written  during  the 
life  of  St.  Peter.  But  if  the  reference  be  to  the  event 
narrated  in  John  xxi.  1l>',  then  that  narrative  confirms 
what  is  said  here,  this  being  a  prior  and  independent 
allusion  to  the  same  occurrence.  In  this  case  we  have 
strong  evidence  of  the  authenticity  of  St.  Peter. 

(loj  Moreover  I  will  endeavour.— The  verse 
requires  re-arranging.  "Always"  (or  better,  at  all 
times)  belongs  to  "  may  be  able,"  not  to  "  have  in  re- 
membrance ; "  and  perhaps  "  moreover  "  is  not  quite 
right.  Better,  But  I  will  endeavour  that  ye  may  at  all 
times  also  (as  well  as  now)  have  it  in  your  poxoer  after 
my  decease  to  remember  these  things.  To  what  does 
this  declaration  point .''  The  simplest  answer  is,  to  his 
writing  this  letter,  which  they  might  keep  and  read 
whenever  they  liked.  (Comp.  verse  13.)  Other  sug- 
gestions are  —  to  his  having  copies  of  this  letter 
distributed;  or,  writing  other  letters;  or,  instructing 
St.  Mark  to  write  his  Gospel;  or,  commissioning 
"  faithful  men "  to  teach  these  things.  Tliere 
seems  to  be  nothing  either  for  or  against  these 
conjectures.  It  is  a  coincidence  worth  noting  that, 
with  the  Transfiguration  in  his  mind  (verses  IG — IS'},  he 
uses,  in  close  succession,  two  words  connected  in  St. 
Luke's  account  of  the  Transfiguration  (Luke  ix.  31,  33) 
— "  decease"  and  "  tabernacle." 

(16—21)  The   certainty  of  Christ's    coming    again  is 
the  basis  of  these  exliortations ;  and  that  certainty  is 
1   proved   (1)  by   the    Transfiguration,   which  was     au 
447 


Tlte  Ajiostle  an  Eye-wilness 


II.   PETER,   I. 


of  Christ's  Transfiguration. 


devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 
Chap.  i.  16—21.  ^^^to  you  the  power  and 
The  certainty  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
ing'^fhl^basTsTf  C'ri^t,  but  were  eyewit- 
these  exhorta-  ncs.ses  of  his  majesty, 
tions.  (17)  YoT   he    received   from 


God  the  Father  honour  and  glory, 
Avhen  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him 
from  the  excellent  glory.  This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased.  (^^^  And  this  voice  which  came 
from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were 


anticipation  of  His  comin<^  again  in  glory;   (2)  by  the 
utteraucos  of  tho  prophets  wlio  predicted  it. 

(16)  For  we  have  not  followed.— More  literally, 
For  we  did  not  follow,  or,  It  was  not  by  following  out, 
£•0.,  that.  "  For  "  introduces  the  reason  for  "  I  will 
endeavour  "  above.  The  word  for  "  follow,"  or  "  follow 
out,"  occurs  again  in  chap.  ii.  2,  15,  and  nowhere  else  in 
the  New  Testament. 

Cunningly  devised  fables,— Wo  cannot  be  sure 
that  any  in  particular  are  meant,  whether  Jieathen, 
Jewish,  or  Christian  ;  the  negative  makes  the  statement 
quite  general.  Various  things,  however,  have  been 
suggested  as  possibly  indicated — heathen  mythology, 
Jewish  theosophy,  Gnostic  systems  (as  yet  quite  in 
their  infancy  in  Simon  Magus,  St.  Peter's  adversary), 
and  Apocryphal  Gospels.  Probably  some  elements  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  false  teachers  are  alluded  to ;  some- 
thing analogous  to  tho  "  feigned  words  "  of  chap.  ii.  3. 
There  is  reason  for  believing  that  the  particular  ele- 
ments in  their  teaching  thus  incidentally  condemned 
were  of  Jewish  origin.  If  this  conjecture  be  correct, 
then  St.  Peter  is  here  dealing  with  errors  similar  to 
those  condemned  by  St.  Paul  (1  Tim.  i.  4;  2  Tim. 
iv.  4 ;  Tit.  i.  14 — the  only  other  passages  in  which  the 
word  "fables  "  occurs).  And  in  this  case  much  light  is 
thrown  on  some  of  the  marked  peculiarities  of  this  Epistle 
and  that  of  St.  Jude,  viz.,  the  fondness  of  both  writers 
for  the  oldest,  and  sometimes  the  most  obscure,  passages 
of  Old  Testament  liistory,  as  well  as  for  some  strange 
portions  of  uncanonical  and  apocryphal  tradition.  They 
were  fighting  these  seducers  with  their  own  weapons ; 
difficult  passages  of  Scripture  and  tradition,  which  these 
men  had  worked  up  into  a  system  of  pernicious  mysti- 
cism, St.  Peter  and  St.  Jude  proved  to  be  altogether  of 
a  different  meaning,  and  to  tell  against  the  veiy  doc- 
trines that  they  were  employed  to  support. 

When  we  made  known  unto  you.— It  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine  to  what  this  refers.  It  is  erroneous  to 
suppose  that  the  phrase  necessarily  implies  personal  com- 
munication by  word  of  mouth.  In  the  First  Epistle  the 
Apostle  wrote  to  congregations  not  personally  acquainted 
with  him  ;  and  we  have  no  reason  for  assuming  that  he 
had  visited  them  since.  "  When  we  made  known  "  may 
possibly  refer  to  the  First  Epistle,  against  which  sup- 
position tho  plural  "we"  is  not  conclusive.  Or  a 
written  Gospel— and,  if  so,  the  one  witli  which  St.  Peter 
is  commonly  connected,  viz.,  that  of  St.  Mark— may  bo 
m  tho  Apostle's  mind.  But  the  simplest  explanation 
IS  that  he  refers  to  the  Apostolic  teaching  generally. 

The  power  and  coming.— The  power  conferred 
upon  Christ  after  being  glorified  in  His  passion  and 
resurrection,  and  his  coming  again  to  judgment 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  4;  Matt.  xxiv.  3,  27;  1  Cor.  xv.  23; 
&c.,  &c.,  where  the  same  Greek  word  is  used.)  In  this 
power  He  will  come  again.  His  first  coming  at  tho 
Incarnation  would  neither  be  the  usual  meaning  of  the 
word  nor  would  suit  the  context. 

But  were  eyewitnesses.- More  literally,  but  by 
having  been  made  eye-ioitnessea.  "  It  was  not  bv  fol- 
lowing fables  that  we  made  known  to  you  His  power 


and  coming,  but  by  having  been  admitted  eye-witnesses." 
Tho  word  for  "eye-witness"  is  sometimes  a  technical 
term  for  one  who  was  admitted  to  the  highest  grade  of 
initiation  in  the  Eleusiniau  mysteries.  This  meaning 
would  be  very  applicable  here ;  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  St.  Peter  would  be  familiar  with  this  u.se  of 
the  word.  It  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  kindred  verb,  "  to  be  an  eye-witness,"  occui's 
in  1  Pet.  ii.  12 ;  iii.  2,  and  nowhere  else — a  coincidence 
worth  noting.  The  Avords  of  another  witness  of  the 
Transfiguration,  "And  we  beheld  His  glory,"  &c.  (John 
i.  14),  should  be  compared  with  the  passage  before  us. 

Of  his  majesty.— At  the  Transfiguration,  which 
was  a  foretaste  and  an  earnest  of  the  glory  of  His 
second  coming.  This  is  St.  Peter's  \\Q\y  of  it ;  and 
that  it  is  the  correct  one  is  perhaps  shown  by  the  Gospels 
themselves.  All  three  accounts  of  the  Transfiguration 
are  preceded  by  the  declaration,  "  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  there  be  some  standing  here,  which  shall  not  taste 
of  death,  till  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his 
kingdom,"  or  similar  words  (Matt.  xvi.  2S ;  Mark 
ix.  i  ;  Luke  ix.  27).  Ajiparently  the  Transfiguration  was 
regarded  by  Christ  Himself  as  in  some  sense  the 
coming  of  the  Son  of  man. 

(17)  For  he  received.— Literally,  For  having  re- 
ceived. The  sentence  is  unfinisiied,  owing  to  the  long 
dependent  clause,  "when there  came  .  .  .  well  pleased." 
The  natural  ending  would  be,  "  He  had  us  as  Hia 
attendants  to  hear  it,"  or  something  of  that  kind. 

Honour  and  glory.— Both  refer  to  the  voice  from 
heaven.  To  make  "honour"  refer  to  tho  voice,  and 
"  glory  "  to  the  light  shining  from  Christ's  body,  about 
which  nothing  has  been  said,  is  forced  and  unnatural. 

When  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him. — 
Better,  in  that  a  voice  was  borne  to  Him  speaking 
thus.  The  expression  "  a  voice  was  borne  to  Him  "  is 
peculiar,  and  occtirs  nowhere  else.  The  Greek  for  "tlie 
grace  that  is  to  be  brought  to  you  "  (1  Pet.  i.  13)  is 
parallel  to  it,  and  is  another  small  coincidence  worth 
noting.  Note  also  that  the  writer  has  not  slaWshly 
followed  any  of  the  thi-ee  accounts  of  tho  Transfigura- 
tion, which  a  forger  might  be  expected  to  do.  A 
genuine  witness,  knowing  that  he  is  on  firm  ground, 
can  afford  to  take  his  own  line ;  a  "  claimant "  must 
carefully  learn  and  follow  the  lines  of  others. 

From  the  excellent  glory.  —  Rather,  by  the 
excellent  j/Zory— another  unif|Uo  expression.  The  prepo- 
sition "  by"  almost  compels  us  to  reject  tho  interpretation 
that  either  the  bright  cloud  or  lieaveu  itself  is  meant. 
It  is  rather  a  periphrasis  for  God.  In  Dent,  xxxiii.  26, 
God  is  called  by  the  LXX.,  "tho  Excellent  of  the  sky." 

This  is  my  beloved  Son,  .  .  .—The  Greek  is 
almost  tho  same  as  in  St.  Matthew's  account  (chap, 
xvii.  5) ;  but  "  hear  him "  is  omitted,  and  for  "  in 
Whom  "  we  hero  have, "  unto  Whom  "  which  can  scarcely 
be  brought  into  tho  English  sentence.  The  meaning  is 
"  unto  Whom  my  good  pleasure  came  and  on  Whom  iti 
abides."  (Comp.  Matt.  xii.  18,  and  Clem.,  Horn.  III.  liii.)| 

(18)  And  this  voice  which  came  from  heaveuj 
we  heard. — Rather,  And  tJiis  voice  we  heard  bornel 
from   heaven :    We   were   ear-witnesses   of   the  voice| 


448 


Tlie  Utterances 


II.   PETER,   I. 


of  the  PropJiets. 


with  him  in  the  holy  mount.  (^^^  We 
have  also  a  more  sure  word  of  prophecy ; 
whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed, 
as  unto  a  liofht  that  shineth  in  a  dark 


place,  until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day 
star  arise  in  your  hearts :  (^o)  knowing 
this  first,  that  no  prophecy  of  the  scrip- 
ture is   of  any  private    interpretation. 


coming  from  heaven,  as  we  were  oyo-wituessos  of  His 
majesty.  It  was  no  vision,  it  was  no  hallucination.  Wo 
all  heard,  and  we  all  saw ;  so  that  I  have  the  highest 
authority  for  what  I  would  now  impress  upon  you.  A 
voice  which  I  myself  licard  l)orno  from  heaven  to  earth, 
iu  the  midst  of  glory  which  I  myseH  saw,  foretelling 
the  glory  that  is  yet  to  come. 

In  the  holy  mount.— It  is,  perhaps,  not  even 
"partly  right"  to  say  that  the  epithet  "  holy  "  indicates 
a  view  of  tlie  event  later  than  that  of  the  Evangelists, 
and  points  to  a  miracle-loving  ago.  Rather,  it  indicates 
a  view  many  centuries  older  than  the  Evangelists — that 
wherever  God  had  specially  manifested  Himself  was 
"  holy  ground "  (Ex.  iii.  6 ;  Josh.  v.  15.  Comp.  Gen. 
xxviii.  16,  17  ;  Ex.  xix.  12 ;  Acts  vii.  33.)  The  expres- 
sion would  be  natural  to  any  Jew  speaking  of  the 
Ti'ansfiguration.     (See  Introduction,  I.  c.) 

(19)  We  have  also  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy. — Rather,  And  ive  have  tlie  prophetic  word 
more  sure  (so  Rheims  alone);  or,  And  ive  have,  as  some- 
thing more  sure,  the  prophetic  loord,  as  a  second  proof 
of  the  truth  of  my  teaching  respecting  Ohiist's  coming. 
The  expression,  "  the  prophetic  word,"  occurs  nowhere 
else  in  the  New  Testament.  "  The  Scripture  "  given 
below  (Note  on  chap.  iii.  4),  as  quoted  by  Clement  of 
Rome,  is  quoted  again  in  the  so-called  Second  Epistle 
of  Clement  (chap,  xi.)  as  "  the  prophetic  word."  The 
quotation  in  both  cases  is  probably  from  some  un- 
canonical  book  of  prophecies.  Here  the  expression 
means  the  whole  body  of  prophecy  respecting  the 
subject  in  hand ;  but  the  meaning  of  the  whole  sen- 
tence is  not  quite  clear.  It  may  mean  (i.)  that  the 
Transfiguration  has  made  prophecies  more  sure,  for  we 
who  were  there  have  thus  witnessed  their  fulfilment. 
In  this  case,  however,  we  should  have  expected  some- 
thing more  than  "  and "  to  introduce  the  statement, 
such  as  "and  hence,"  "and  thus,"  "whei'oby,"  &c.  Or 
it  may  mean  (ii.)  tliat  in  the  prophetic  word  we  have 
something  more  sure  than  the  voice  from  heaven.  Here 
a  simple  "  and "  is  natural  enough  ;  and  the  ivord  of 
prophecy  is  suitably  compared  with  the  voice  from 
lieaven.  But  how  can  the  word  of  prophets  be  more 
sure  than  the  voice  of  God  ?  In  itself  it  cannot  be  so ; 
but  it  may  be  so  regarded  (1)  in  reference  to  those  who 
did  not  hear,  but  only  heard  of,  the  voice  from  heaven ; 
(2)  in  reference  to  the  subject  in  hand.  (1)  For  the 
readers  of  this  Epistle  the  many  utterances  of  a  long 
line  of  prophets,  expounded  by  a  school  of  teachers  only 
second  to  the  prophets  themselves,  might  easily  bo 
"  more  sure  "  evidence  than  the  narrative  of  a  single 
writer ;  and  "  if  they  heard  not  Moses  and  the  prophets, 
neitlier  would  they  bo  persuaded  "  by  the  report  of  a 
voice  from  heaven.  (2)  The  Transfiguration,  though 
an  earnest  of  Christ's  future  glory,  wjis  not  so  clear  a 

})romise  of  it  as  the  express  words  of  prophecy.  If  this 
atter  interpretation  bo  right,  we  have  another  mark  of 
authenticity.  A  forger  would  be  likely  to  magnify  his 
own  advantage  in  hearing  the  voice  from  heaven  over 
tho  ordinary  proofs  open  to  every  one.  In  any  ease, 
the  coincidence  with  1  Pet.  i.  10 — 12  must  not  1)0  over- 
looked. (Comp.  also  St.  Peter's  speech.  Acts  iii.  20,  21). 
Whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed.— 
Or,  and  ye  do  loell  in  giving  heed  to  it — a  gentle  mode 


of  exhortation,  by  assuming  that  the  thing  urged  is 
being  done.  The  exhortation  is  quite  in  harmony  with 
1  Pot.  i.  10.  Wo  have  a  similar  construction  in  2  Pet. 
ii.  10,  "Do  not  tremble  in  speaking  evil." 

A  light  that  shineth.— Better,  a  lamp  that  shineth. 
Prophecy,  like  the  Baptist,  is  a  "  lamp  that  is  lighted 
and  slihieth,"  preparatory  to  the  Light.  (See  Note  on 
John  V.  35.)  Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  aire.  a.d. 
170,  has  {Autolycus  II.  xiii.)  "His  word,  shining  as  a 
lamp  in  a  chamber ;  "  too  slight  a  parallel  to  this  passage 
to  bo  relied  upon  as  evidence  that  Tlieophilus  know 
our  Epistle.    (See  below,  second  Note  on  verse  21.) 

In  a  dark  place.— This  translation  is  somewhat 
dou})tful.  Tho  word  rendered  "  dark  "  occurs  hero  only 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  its  usual  meaning  is  "  dry." 
From  "  dry"  we  pass  easily  through  "  rough  "  to  "dirty," 
meanings  which  the  word  has  elsewhere  (comp.  the  Latin 
squalidus);  but  the  passage  from  "  dirty"  to  "  dark  "  is 
less  easy,  and  there  is  lack  of  authority  for  it.  "  In  a 
ivaste  place  "  woidd  perhaps  be  safer ;  and  the  image 
would  then  bo  that  pi-ophecy  is  like  camp-fires  in  tho 
desert,  which  may  keep  one  from  going  utterly  astray, 
till  sunrise  frees  one  from  difficulty.  The  "  waste  place  " 
is  either  the  wilderness  of  this  world  or  the  tangled  life 
of  the  imperfect  Christian. 

Until  the  day  dawn.— Literally,  rmtil  the  day 
heam  through  the  gloom.  Here,  again,  the  meaning 
may  be  two-fold  :  (1)  Christ's  retm-n  in  glory  to  illumine 
the  wilderness  of  this  world,  to  clear  off  its  obscurities, 
and  show  the  way  through  its  mazes ;  or  (2)  the  clearer 
vision  of  the  purified  Christian,  whose  eye  is  single  and 
his  whole  body  full  of  light.  (Comp.  1  John  ii.  8.)  No 
comma  at  dawn ;  "  in  your  hearts "  belongs  to  both 
"  dawn  "  and  "  arise,"  if  to  either. 

And  the  day  star  arise.— An  amplification  of 
"until  the  day  dawn."  "Day  star"  occurs  nowhere 
else  iu  the  New  Testament.  Christ  calls  Himself  "  tho 
bright  morning  star"  (Rev.  xxii.  16). 

In  yotir  hearts.— It  is  difficult  to  determine  to 
what  these  words  belong.  The  Greek  admits  of  three 
constructions :  (1)  with  "  take  heed  " ;  (2)  with  "  dawn  " 
and  "arise";  (3)  with  "knomng  this  first."  Tlie  last 
is  not  probable.  Perhaps  "  and  ye  do  well  in  giving 
heed  to  it  iu  your  hearts  "  is  best — i.e.,  let  it  influence 
your  lives,  not  receive  a  mere  intellectual  attention. 

(20)  Knowing  this  first.— The  participle  belongs  to 
"  take  heed  "  in  verso  19.  "  First "  means  "  first  of  all " 
(1  Tim.  ii.  1),  not  "before  I  toll  you."  In  studying 
prophecy  this  is  the  first  thing  to  l)o  bonie  in  mind. 

Is  of  any  private  interpretation.— Better,  comes 
to  be,  or  becomes  of  private  interpretation.  Tlie  word 
rendered  "interpretation"  occurs  nowhere  else  iu  tho 
New  Testament ;  but  the  cognate  verb  occurs  in  Mark 
iv.  34,  where  it  is  translated  "  expound."  (See  Noto 
there.)  There  can  bo  little  doubt  that  "  interpretation," 
or  "  solution,"  is  tho  right  rendering  here,  although 
others  have  been  suggested.  The  main  question  how- 
ever, is  tho  meaning  of  the  word  ronderod  "  private," 
which  may  also  mean  "  its  own."  Hence  tliree  explana- 
tions are  possible.  Tlie  term  may  refer  (1)  to  the  reci- 
pients of  tho  prophecies— tliat  wo  may  not  expound 
prophecy  according  to  our  o^^-n  fancy;  or  (2)  to  tlio 
utterers  of  tho  proi)hccies— that  the  prophets  had  not 


86 


449 


t 


Inspiration  of  Prophecy. 


II.   PETEE,   II. 


Fahe  Propliets  foretold. 


(21)  For  the  prophecy  came  not  in  old 
time  ^  by  the  will  of  man :  but  holy  men 
of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

CHAPTER    II.— (1)  But  there  were 


I  Or,  at  any  time. 


false  prophets  also  among  the  people, 
even  as  there  shall  be  false  chap.  ii.  1—3. 
teachers  among  you,  who  Fu-st  predic- 
privily  shall  bring  in  dam-  tethers  ehS 
nable  heresies,  even  deny-  arise, 
ing    the   Lord  that  bought  them,  and 


the  power  of  expouuding  their  owii  propliecios ;  or  (3)  to 
the  prophecies  themselves — that  no  propliecy  comes  to 
bo  01  its  o\Tu  interpretation,  i.e.,  no  prophecy  explains 
itself.  The  guide  to  the  i-ight  explanation  is  verse  21, 
which  gives  the  reason  lohy  "  no  propliecy  of  the  scrip- 
ture," &c.  This  consideration  excludes  (3) ;  for  verse  21 
yields  no  sense  as  showing  why  prophecy  does  not  in- 
terpret itself.  Either  of  the  other  two  explanations 
maybe  right.  (1)  If  prophecy  came  "by  the  wiU  of 
man,"  then  it  might  be  interpreted  according  to  man's 
fancy.  But  it  did  not  so  come ;  consequently  the  in- 
terpretation must  bo  sought  elsewhere — viz.,  at  the 
same  source  from  which  the  prophecy  itself  proceeded. 
(2)  If  the  prophets  spoke  just  as  they  pleased,  they 
would  be  the  best  exponents  of  what  they  meant.  But 
they  spoke  under  di\ano  influence,  and  therefore  need 
not  know  the  import  of  their  own  words.  Prophecy 
must  be  explained  by  pro]3hecy  and  by  history,  not  by 
the  individual  prophet.  The  whole  body  of  prophecy, 
"  the  j)rophetic  word "  (verse  19),  is  our  lamp  in  the 
wilderness,  not  the  private  dicta  of  any  one  seer.  In 
modern  phraseology,  interpretation  must  be  comparative 
and  scientific.  This  \-iew  is  strengthened  by  comparing 
1  Pet.  i.  10 — 12,  where  it  is  stated  that  the  prophets  did 
not  know  how  or  when  their  own  predictions  would  bo 
fulfilled.  Possibly  this  passage  is  meant  to  refer  to  1  Pet. 
i.  10 — 12,  and  if  so,  we  have  a  mark  of  genuineness  ;  a 
forger  would  have  made  the  reference  more  clear.  If 
the  coincidence  is  accidental,  this  also  points  in  the  same 
direction  ;  in  any  case,  the  coincidence  is  worth  noting. 

(21)  For  the  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time,— 
Rather,  For  prophecy  was  never  sent,  or  brought.  Wiclif 
and  Rheims  alone  have  "  brought" ;  all  the  rest  "  came." 
The  verb  is  the  same  as  that  used  of  the  voice  from 
heaven  (verses  17  and  18),  and  also  in  this  verse  for 
"  moved,"  so  that  there  is  a  telling  antithesis,  difficult 
to  preserve  in  English.  Prophecy  was  not  brought  in 
by  men  ;  but  men  were  brought  to  utter  it  by  the  Spirit. 
(Comp.  2  John,  verso  10.)  The  rendering  in  the  margin  is 
right-—"  not  at  any  time,"  rather  than  "  not  in  old  time." 
"  Not  at  any  time  "  =  "  never,"  which  both  Tyndale 
and  Cranmer  have  ;  Wiclif  has  "  not  ony  time."  The 
erroneous  "  in  old  time  "  comes  from  Geneva. 

But  holy  men  of  God  .  .  , — The  Greek  is  uncer- 
tain. A  reading  of  very  high  authority  would  give  us. 
But  men  spolce  from  God  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This  is  probably  to  bo  preferred.  Men  spoke  not  out 
of  their  own  hearts,  but  as  commissioned  by  God;  not 
"  by  the  will  of  man,"  but  under  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  (Comp.  St.  Peter's  speech  at  the  election 
of  Matthias,  and  again  in  Solomon's  Porch,  Acts  i.  16; 
iii.  18.)  The  word  for  "  moved  "  is  a  sti-ong  one,  meaning 
"  borne  along,"  as  a  ship  before  the  wind  (Acts  xxvii. 
16,17).  Thoophilus  of  Antioch  [Autolycus,  II.  ix.)  writes 
•'  men  of  God,  moved  {or,  filled)  by  the  Holy  (ihost,  and 
becoming  prophets,  inspired  and  made  wise  by  God 
Himself,  became  taught  of  God."  Here,  again,  the 
parallel  is  too  slight  to  be  relied  on  as  evidence  that 
Theophilus  was  acquainted  with  this  Epistle.  (See  above, 
third  Note  on  verse  19.)  The  same  may  bo  said  of  a 
passage  in  Hippolytus  {Antichrist,  ii.),  "  Tliese  fathers 
were  lumished  with  the  Spirit  and  largely  honoured  by 


450 


the  Word  Himself  ....  and  when  moved  by  Him  the 
Prophets  announced  what  God  willed.  For  they  spake 
not  of  their  own  power,  neither  did  they  declare  what 
pleased  themselves,  &c.  &c." 

Some  have  fancied  tliat  these  last  three  verses  (19 — 21) 
savour  of  Montauism,  and  are  evidence  of  the  late  origin 
of  the  Epistle.  But  what  is  said  here  of  the  gift  of 
prophecy  is  not  more  than  we  find  elsewhere  in  the 
New  Testament  (Matt.  i.  22 ;  ii.  15 ;  Acts  i.  16 ;  iii.  18) ; 
and  in  the  Old  Testament  (Num.  xi.  17,  25,  29 ;  1  Sam. 
X.  6, 10 ;  xix.  20,  23 ;  Jer.  i.  5 — 7).  Montanists  used  much 
stronger  language,  as  readers  of  TertuUian  know.  With 
them  prophecy  was  ecstasy  and  frenzy ;  prophets  ceased 
to  be  men — their  reason  left  them,  and  they  became 
mere  instruments  on  which  the  Sj)irit  played.  The 
wording  of  these  verses  points  to  an  age  previous  to 
Moutanism.  A  Montauist  woiild  have  .said  more;  an 
opponent  of  Montanism  would  have  guarded  himself 
against  Montanist  misconstruction. 

II. 

By  a  perfectly  natural  transition,  we  pass  to  an 
entirely  diifereut  subject — from  exhortation  to  show 
forth  Christian  graces  to  a  wai'uing  against  corrupt 
doctrine.  True  prophets  (chap.  i.  21)  suggest  false 
prophets,  and  false  prophets  suggest  false  teachers. 
On  the  character  of  the  false  teachers  here  attacked  see 
Introduction,  TV.  There  are  several,  prophecies  in  the 
New  Testament  similar  to  tho  one  contained  in  this 
and  the  next  chapter  (Acts  xx.  28 — 31 ;  2  Thess.  ii. 
3—7;  1  Tim.  iv.  1—7;  2  Tim.  iii.  1—9;  iv.  3,4;  comp. 
1  John  ii.  18 ;  iv.  3).  Those  in  2  Thess.  and  2  Tim. 
iii.  are  specially  worthy  of  comparison,  as  containing, 
like  the  present  chapter,  a  mixture  of  future  and  pre- 
sent. (See  Introduction,  I.  c,  y.)  The  fervour  and 
impetuosity  with  which  the  writer  attacks  the  evil 
before  him  are  thoroughly  in  harmony  with  St.  Peter's 
character.     (Comp.  Notes  on  Jude  throughout.) 

First  Prediction.:  False  teachers  shall  have  great 
success  and  cei-tain  ruin  (verses  1 — 10). 

(1)  But  there  were  false  prophets  also. — 
To  bring  out  the  contrast  between  true  and  false  pro- 
phets more  strongly,  the  clause  that  in  meaning  is 
secondary  has  been  made  primary  in  form.  The  mean- 
ing is,  "  Tliere  shall  bo  false  teachers  among  you,  as 
there  wore  false  prophets  among  the  Jews;  "  the  form 
is,  "  But  (in  contrast  to  the  true  prophets  just  men- 
tioned) there  wore  false  prophets  as  well,  even  as,"  &c. 

Shall  be  false  teachers  among  you.— We  must 
add  "  also."  With  this  view  of  Christians  as  the  anti- 
type of  the  chosen  people  comp.  1  Pet.  ii.  9.  Tlic  word 
for  "  false  teachers  "  occurs  here  only.  It  is  probably 
analogous  to  "  false  witnesses,"  and  means  those  who 
teach  what  is  false,  rather  than  to  "false  Christs,"  in 
which  case  it  would  moan  pretending  to  be  teachers 
when  they  are  not.  "  False  prophets  "  has  both  mean- 
ings— sliani  proiiliets  and  prophesying  lies.  Justin 
Martyr,  about  A.D.  145  {Trypho,  Ixxxii.),  has  "Just 
as  there  were  false  prophets  contemporaneous  with  your 
holy  prophets  "  (he  is  addressing  a  Jew),  "  so  are  there 


I 


The  Apostle  Foretells 


II.    PETER,   II. 


the  Coming  in  of  Heretics. 


bring  upon  themselves  swift  destruction. 
<2)  And  many  shall  follow  their  pernicious^ 
ways ;  by  reason  of  whom  the  way  of 
truth  shall  be  evil  spoken  of.     (^^  And 


1  Or,  lascivious 
u'lii/K,   as    sonic 
copies  read. 


through  covetousness  shall  they  with 
feigned  words  make  merchandise  of 
you :  whose  judgment  now  of  a  long 
time  lingereth  not,  and  their  damnation 


now  many  false  teacliors  amongst  us."  Another  pos- 
.sil)le  rofcreuce  to  this  Epi.stlo  in  Justin  is  given  below 
on  ehap.  iii.  8.  As  tliej-  oeeur  close  together,  tliey  seem 
to  render  it  probable  that  Justin  knew  our  Epistle. 
"  There  shall  be  false  teachers  among  you,  who  pri\aly 
shall  bring  in  heresies  of  destruction,"  is  quoted  in  a 
honuly  attributed,  on  doulitful  authority,  to  Hippolytus. 
(See  below,  on  chap.  iii.  3.) 

Privily  shall  bring  in.— Comp.  Judc,  verso  4, 
and  Gal.  ii.  4;  and  see  Notes  in  botli  places.  Comp. 
also  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas,  Sim.  VIll.  vi.  5. 

Damnable  heresies.— Rather,  parties  {fidl)  of 
destruction  (Phil.  i.  28),  "  whose  end  is  destruction " 
(Phil.  iii.  19).  Wiclif  and  Rheims  have  "  sects  of  i)er- 
dition."  "Damnable  heresies"  comes  from  Geneva — 
altogether  a  change  for  the  worse.  The  Greek  word 
hairesis  is  sometimes  translated  "  sect "  in  our  version 
(Acts  V.  17;  XV.  5;  xxiv.  5),  sometimes  "heresy"  (Acts 
xxiv.  14;  1  Cor.  xi.  19;  Gal.  v.  20).  Neither  word 
gives  quite  the  true  meaning  of  the  term  in  the  New 
Testament,  where  it  points  rather  to  di\'isions  than 
doctrines,  and  always  to  parties  inside  the  Church,  not 
to  s(>cts  that  have  separated  from  it.  The  Greek  word 
for  "  destruction  "  occurs  six  times  in  this  short  Epistle, 
according  to  the  inferior  texts  used  by  our  ti-anslators 
(in  the  best  texts  five  times),  and  is  rendered  by  them 
in  no  less  than  five  different  ways:  "  damnable "  and 
" destniction "  in  this  verse;  "pernicious  ways,"  verse 
2;  "damnation,"  verse  3;  "perdition,"  chap.  iii.  7; 
"  destruction,"  chap.  iii.  16. 

Even  denying  the  Lord  that  bought  them. 
— Bettor,  denying  even  the  Master  that  bouglit  them. 
(See  Note  on  Jude,  verse  4.)  The  phrase  is  remarkable  as 
coming  from  one  who  himself  denied  his  Master.  Woidd 
a  forger  have  A'entured  to  make  St.  Peter  write  thus  ? 

This  text  is  conclu.sive  against  Calvinistic  doctiines 
of  partial  redemption ;  the  Apostle  declares  that  these 
impious  false  teachers  were  redeemed  by  Jesus  Christ. 
(Comp.  1  Pet.  i.  18.) 

And  bring  upon  themselves.— More  literally, 
bringing  upon  themselves.  The  two  participles,  "  deny- 
ing "  and  "  bringing,"  without  any  coniuaction  to  con- 
nect them,  are  awkward,  and  show  that  the  writer's 
strong  feeling  is  already  beginning  to  ruffle  the  smooth- 
ness of  his  language. 

Swift  destruction — i.e.,  coming  suddenly  and  un- 
expectedly, so  as  to  preclude  escape;  not  necessarily 
coiuLng  soon.  (See  first  Note  on  chap.  i.  14.)  The 
reference,  probably,  is  to  Christ's  sudden  return  to 
judgment  (chap.  iii.  10),  scoffing  at  which  was  one  of 
the  ways  in  which  they  "  denied  their  Master."  By 
their  lives  they  denied  that  He  had  "  bought  them." 
He  had  bought  them  for  His  service,  and  they  served 
their  own  lusts. 

(2)  Many  shall  follow  their  pernicious  ways. 
— "  Pernicious  ways  "  is  a  translation  of  the  plural  of 
the  word  just  rendered  "  destruction."  (See  fourth 
Note  on  verso  1.)  But  here  the  reading  is  undoulitedly 
wrong.  The  margin  has  the  right  i-eading — lascivious 
icays  (or  better,  tcanton  ivays) — being  tlie  plural  of  the 
word  translated  "wantonness"  in  verse  18.  Wiclif  has 
"  lecheries ;  "  Rheims  "  riotonsnes.ses." 

The  connexion  between  false  doctrine  and  licentious- 


ness was  often  real,  and  is  so  still  in  some  cases — e.g., 
Mormonism.  But  it  was  often  asserted  and  believed 
without  foundation.  Impurity  was  the  common  charge 
to  bring  against  those  of  a  different  creed,  whether 
between  heathen  and  ChiTSian  or  between  different 
diAasions  of  Chri.stians. 

By  reason  of  whom.— The  many  who  are  led 
astray  are  meant,  rather  than  the  original  seducers. 
(Comp.  Rom.  ii.  24.) 

The  way  of  truth.— (See  Note  on  Acts  ix.  2.) 
"The  way  of  tinith "  occurs  iu  Clement  of  Alexandria 
{Cohort,  ad  Gentes,  x.),  the  only  near  approach  to  any- 
thing in  2  Peter  in  all  the  writings  oi  his  that  have 
come  doAvn  to  us.  This  is  strong  CAndence  that  he 
did  not  know  the  Epistle,  especially  as  references  are 
frequent  to  1  Peter,  which  is  sometimes  quoted  thus : 
"  Peter  in  his  Epistle  says  "  [Strom.  IV.  xx.). 

Shall  be  evil  spoken  of.— By  the  heathen,  who 
Avill  judge  of  the  way  of  truth  by  the  evil  lives  of  the 
many  who  have  really  been  seduced  from  it,  though 
they  profess  still  to  follow  it.  In  the  liomily  commonly 
called  the  Second  Epistle  of  Clement  (xiii.)  there  is  a 
remarkable  amplification  of  this  statement.  Our  EpLstle 
was  probal:)ly  known  to  the  winter  of  the  homily,  who 
to  a  considerable  extent  preaches  against  similar  e\Tls. 

(3)  And  through  covetousness.  —  Better,  In 
covetousness.  This  is  the  atmosphere  in  which  they 
live.  (See  Notes  on  verse  18  and  chap.  i.  1,  2,  4,  13.) 
Wiclif  and  Rheims  have  "  in."  Simon  Magus  offering 
St.  Peter  money,  which  no  doubt  he  was  accustomed  to 
take  himself  for  his  teaching,  may  illustrate  this  (Acts 
viii.  18;  comp.  1  Tim.  vi.  5;  Tit.  i.  10,  11).  These 
false  teachers,  like  the  Greek  Sophists,  taught  for 
money.  A  bombastic  mysticism,  promising  to  reveal 
secrets  about  the  unseen  world  and  the  future,  was  a 
very  lucrative  profession  in  the  last  days  of  Paganism, 
and  it  passed  over  to  Christianity  as  an  element  in 
various  heresies.  (Comp.  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas, 
Sim.  IX.  xix.  3.) 

Make  merchandise  of  you.— The  verb  means 
literally  to  travel,  especially  as  a  merchant  on  busi- 
ness ;  and  hence  "  to  be  a  merchant,"  "  to  trade,"  and, 
with  an  accusative,  "  to  deal  iu,"  "  make  merchandise 
of."  (Comp.  our  commercial  phrase,  "to  travel  in" 
such  and  such  goods.)  It  may  also  mean  simply  "  to 
gain,"  or  "  gain  over,"  which  would  make  good  sense 
here;  but  our  version  is  perhaps  better.  The  word 
occurs  elsewhere  only  in  Jas.  iv.  13.  "  With  feigned 
words "  possibly  refers  back  to  "  cunningly  devised 
fables  "  (chap.  i.  16). 

Lingereth  not. — Literally,  is  not  idle,  the  cognate 
verb  of  the  adjective  in  chap.  i.  8.  Tlieir  sentence  has 
long  since  been  pronounced,  is  working,  and  in  due 
time  will  strike  tnem.  Wo  have  a  similar  thought  in 
1  Pet.  iv.  17. 

Their  damnation  slumbereth  not.— Better, 
their  destruction.  (See  fourth  Note  on  verso  1.)  Wiclif 
and  Rlieims  have  "  perdition."  The  destruction  involved 
in  the  judgment  pronounced  by  God  is  awake  and  on 
its  way  to  overtake  them.  The  word  for  "  slumbereth  " 
occurs  in  Matt.  xxv.  5  only. 

We  now  pass  on  to  see  how  it  is  that  this  judgment 
"  of  a  long  time  "  has  been  working.  It  was  pronounced 
461 


Divine  Vengeance  on 


II.   PETER,   II. 


Sodom  and  Gomorrha. 


slumbereth  not.      (^^  For  if  God  spared  | 

oi-      ■■  A    ^,^   not  the  angels  that  sinned, 
Chap.  u.  4—10.    .      .  .   °.,  T  i      ! 


Their 
ruin. 


certain  but  cast  them  down  to 
hell,  and  delivered  them 
into  chains  of  darkness,  to  be  reserved 
unto  judgment ;  ^'"^  and  spared  not  the 
old  world,  but  saved  Noah  the  eighth 
person,    a    preacher    of    righteousness. 


bringing  in  the  flood  upon  the  world 
of  the  ungodly;  ^^'>  and  turning  the 
cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  into 
ashes  condemned  them  with  an  over- 
throw, making  them  an  ensample  unto 
those  that  after  should  live  ungodly; 
C^)  and  delivered  just  Lot,  vexed  with 
the  filthy  conversation  of  the  wicked: 


against    all   sinners,  such  as  they  are,  from  the  first 
beginning  of  the  world. 

(4r-8)  Three  instances  of  di^nne  vengeance,  proving 
tliat  great  \viekedness  never  goes  unpunished. 

W  For  if  God.— The  sentence  has  no  proj)er 
conclusion.  The  third  instance  of  God's  vengeance  is 
80  prolonged  by  the  addition  respecting  Lot,  that  the 
apodosis  is  wanting,  the  wi-itor  in  his  eagerness  having 
lost  the  thread  of  the  construction.  The  three  instances 
here  are  in  chronological  order  (wanton  angels.  Flood, 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha),  while  those  in  Jude  are  not 
(unbelievers  in  the  wilderness,  impure  angels,  Sodom 
and  Gomorrha).  Both  arrangements  are  natural — this 
as  being  chronological,  that  of  St.  Jude  for  reasons 
stated  in  the  Notes  there.     (See  on  verse  5.) 

The  angels  that  sinned. — Better,  the  angels  for 
their  sin :  it  gives  the  reason  why  they  were  not  sj)ared, 
and  points  to  some  definite  sin.  What  sin  is  meant  ? 
Not  that  which  preceded  the  histoiy  of  the  human 
race,  commonly  called  the  fall  of  the  angels — of  that 
there  is  no  record  in  the  Old  Testament;  and,  moreover, 
it  affords  no  close  analogy  to  the  conduct  of  the  false 
teachers.  St.  Jude  is  somewhat  more  explicit  (Jude, 
verse  6) ;  he  says  it  was  for  not  keeping  their  own 
dignity — for  deserting  their  proper  home ;  and  the 
reierence,  both  there  and  here,  is  either  to  a  common 
interpretation  of  Gen.  xi.  2  (that  by  "  the  sons  of  God  " 
are  meant  "  angels  "),  or,  more  probably,  to  distinct  and 
frequent  statements  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  that  certain 
angels  sinned  by  having  intercourse  with  women — e.g., 
chaps,  vii.  1,  2 ;  cv.  13  (Lawrence's  translation).  Not 
improbably  these  false  teachers  made  use  of  this  book, 
and  possibly  of  these  passages,  in  their  cornipt  teaching. 
Hence  St.  Peter  uses  it  as  an  argiimentum  ad  homineni 
against  them,  and  St.  Jude,  recognising  the  allusion, 
adopts  it  and  makes  it  more  plain ;  or  both  writers, 
knowing  the  Book  of  Enoch  well,  and  calculating  on 
their  readers  knowing  it  also,  used  it  to  illustrate  their 
arguments  and  exhortations,  just  as  St.  Paul  uses  the 
Jewish  belief  of  the  rock  following  the  Israelites. 
(See  Note  on  1  Cor.  x.  4.) 

Cast  them  down  to  hell.— The  Greek  word 
occurs  nowhere  else,  but  its  meaning  is  plain — to  cast 
down  to  Tartarus  ;  and  though  "  Tartarus "  occurs 
neither  in  the  Old  nor  in  the  New  Testament,  it  probably 
is  the  same  a.s  Gehenna.     (See  Note  on  Matt.  v.  22.) 

Into  chains  of  darkness.  —Critical  reasons  seem 
to  require  us  to  substitute  dens,  or  caves,  for  "  chains." 
The  Greek  words  for  "chains"  and  for  "caves"  here 
are  almost  exactly  alike ;  and  "  caves  "  may  have  been 
altered  into  "chains"  in  order  to  bring  tliis  passage 
into  closer  harmony  with  Judo,  verse  6,  although  the 
word  used  by  St.  Jude  for  "  chains  "  is  different.  (See 
Note  there.)  If  "chains  of  darkness"  be  retained, 
comp.  Wisd.  xvii.  17.  Tliero  still  remains  the  doubt 
whether  "  into  chains  of  darkness "  slionld  go  with 
"delivered"  or  with  "cast  down  into  hell."  The  former 
an-augement  seems  tho  better. 


4-52 


(5)  And  spared  not  the  old  world.— The  fact 
that  the  Flood  is  taken  as  the  second  instance  of  di\-ino 
vengeance  gives  us  no  clue  as  to  the  source  of  the  first 
instance.  In  the  Book  of  Enoch  the  Flood  follows 
closely  upon  the  sin  of  the  angels,  as  in  Gen.  vi.  upon 
that  of  the  sous  of  G^d,  so  that  in  either  case  the  first 
instance  would  naturally  suggest  the  second. 

Noah  the  eighth  person.— According  to  a  com- 
mon Greek  idiom,  this  means  Noah  and  seven  others; 
and  the  point  of  it  is  that  the  punishment  must  have 
been  signal  indeed  if  only  eight  persons  out  of  a  whole 
world  escaped.  The  coincidence  with  1  Pet.  iii.  20 
must  not  pass  unobserved,  especially  as  there  the  men- 
tion of  "  spirits  in  prison  "  immediately  precedes,  just 
as  ;here,  the  angels  in  "  caves  of  darkness."  The  sug- 
gestion that  eight  is  here  a  mystical  number  (the  sabba- 
tical seven  and  one  over)  is  quite  gratuitous;  as  also 
that  "  eighth "  may  mean  eighth  from  Euos,  which 
would  be  utterly  pointless,  there  being  neither  mention 
of  Enos  nor  the  faintest  allusion  to  him.  (Comp. 
Clement  I.  xii.  6  ;  ix.  4;  and  see  Note  on  verse  9.) 

Bringing  in  the  flood  upon  the  world.—"  In  " 
should  be  omitted.  The  phrase  is  exactly  parallel  to 
"  l)ring  upon  themselves  swift  destruction  "  in  verse  1. 
The  word  for  "  bring  "  is  the  same  in  both  cases. 

(c)  And  turning  .  .  .  . — The  construction: 
still  depends  upon  the  "  if  "  in  verse  4.  (See  Note  on  J 
Jude,  verse  7.) 

Condemned  them  with  an  overthrow.— Or, 
perhaps,  to  an  overthroic,  like  "condemn  to  death" 
in  Matt.  xx.  18.  The  veiy  word  hero  used  for  "  over- 
tlu'ow  " — catastrophe — is  used  by  the  LXX.  of  the  over- 
throw of  these  cities  (Gen.  xix.  29) ;  in  the  New 
Testament  it  occurs  in  2  Tim.  ii.  4  only. 

An   ensample    unto   those. — Literally,  an  eU' 
samjole  of  those — i.e.,  of  the  punishment  which  such] 
sinners  must  expect.     (Comp.  "Are  set  forth  for  an  I 
example,"  Jude,  verse  7.) 

(7)  And  delivered  just  Lot. — Better,  righteoiis] 
Lot;  it  is  the  same  adjective  as  occurs  twice  in  the] 
next  verse.     These  repetitions   of  the  same  word,  of  j 
which  there  are  several  examples  in  this  Epistle  ("  de- 
struction "  thrice,  chap.  ii.  1 — 3;   various  repetitions,! 
chap.  iii.  10—12;  "look  for"  thrice,  chap.  iii.  12 — 14,! 
&c.),   and   which  have  been   stigmatised  as  showing! 
poverty  of  language,  are  perfectly  natural  in  St.  Peter,] 
and  not  like  the  lalioured  efforts  of  a  writer  endeavour- 
ing to  personate  him.     A  person  writing  imder  strong! 
emotion  does  not  stop  to  pick  his  words;  houses  the  I 
same  word  over  and  over  again  if  it  expresses  what  he 
means  and  no  other  word  at  once  occurs  to  him.     Tliis 
is  .still  more  likely  to  be  the  case  when  a  person  is! 
writing  in  a  foreign  language.     The  fact  that  such  re- 
petitions are  frequent  in  the  Second  Epistle,  but  not  in! 
the  First,  is  not  only  fully  explained  by  the  circum. 
stances,  but,   as  being  so   entirely  in  harmony  with] 
them,   may  be   regarded   as  a  mark  of  genuineness. 
"  Delivered  righteous  Lot."     Here,  as  in  the  case  olj 
the   Flood   (verse  5),  the  destruction    of   the  guilt 


The  Godly  delivered 


11.    PETER,   II. 


out  of  Temptation. 


(^)  (for  that  righteous  man  dwelling 
among  them,  in  seeing  and  hearing, 
vexed  his  righteous  soul  from  day  to 
day  with  their  unlawful  deeds ;)  ^^^  the 
Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  godly 
out  of  temptations,  and  to  reserve  the 
unjust  unto  the  day  of  judgment  to  be 


I  Or,  dominion, 
a  J  udu  & 


punished :  (^"^^  but  chiefly  them  that  walk 

after  the  flesh  in  the  lust  of  ^,       ..  ,„ 

1  11-        Chap.  11. 10— 22. 

cleanness,   and    despise  Detailed  de- 


un 


government.^        Presump-  scription  of  the 
tuous"  are  they,  selfwilled,  f^l««  teachers, 
they  are  not  afraid  to  speak  evil  of  digni- 
ties.    ("^  Whereas    angels,   which    are 


suggests  the  preservation  of  the  innocent.  Is  it 
fanciful  to  think  that  these  lights  in  a  dark  picture 
are  characteristic  of  one  who  had  himself  "  denied  the 
Master  who  bought  him,"  and  yet  had  been  pre- 
served like  Noali  and  rescued  like  Lot  ?  This  brighter 
side  is  wanting  in  Jude,  so  that  in  the  strictly  his- 
torical illustrations  this  Epistle  is  more  full  than  the 
other  (see  Note  on  verse  15) ;  it  is  whei'o  apocryphal 
books  seem  to  be  alluded  to  that  St.  Jude  has  more 
detail. 

The  filthy  conversation.— Literally,  behavioiir 
in  wantonness  (comp.  verses  2  and  18) — i.e.,  licentious 
mode  of  life.  The  word  for  "  conversation,"  or  "  be- 
haviour," is  a  favourite  one  vvith  St.  Peter — six  times 
in  the  First  Epistle,  twice  in  this  (chap.  iii.  11);  else- 
where in  the  New  Testament  only  five  times. 

Of  the  wicked. — Literally,  of  the  lawless — a  word 
peculiar  to  this  Epistle ;  we  have  it  agaiu  in  chap.  iii. 
17.  The  word  translated  "  abominable  "in  1  Pet.  iv.  3 
is  closely  allied  to  it. 

The  judgment  on  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  foi-ms  a 
fitting  complement  to  that  of  tlie  Flood  as  an  instance 
of  God's  vengeance,  a  judgment  by  fire  being  regarded 
as  more  awful  than  a  judgment  by  flood,  as  is  more 
distinctly  shown  in  chap.  iii.  6,  7,  where  the  total 
destruction  of  the  world  by  fire  is  contrasted  with  the 
transformation  of  it  wi'ought  by  the  Flood. 

(8)  For  that  righteous  man.— This  epithet,  here 
thrice  given  to  Lot,  seems  at  first  sight  to  be  at  A-ariance 
with  his  willingness  to  remain,  for  the  sake  of 
worldly  advantages,  in  the  midst  of  such  wickedness. 
But  "  righteous "  is  a  relative  term ;  and  in  this 
case  we  must  look  at  Lot  both  in  comparison  with 
the  defective  morality  of  the  ago  and  also  with  the 
licentiousness  of  those  with  whom  he  is  here  contrasted. 
Moreover,  in  the  midst  of  tliis  corruption  he  preserves 
some  of  the  brighter  features  of  liis  pui'er  nomad  life, 
especially  that  "chivalrous  ho.spitality "  (Gen.  xix. 
2,  3,  8)  to  which  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  .seems  to  poiut  as  a  model :  "  Be  not  forgetful 
to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby  some  have  enter- 
tained angels  unawares"  (chap.  xiii.  2).  Add  to  this 
the  fact  of  God's  rescuing  him  and  his  family,  especially 
in  connexion  with  the  declarati<ni  tliat  ten  "  righteous  " 
people  would  have  saved  the  whole  city  (Gen.  xviii.  32), 
and  liis  ready  Ix^lief  and  obedience  when  told  to  leave 
all,  and  also  the  fact  that  Zoar  was  saved  at  his  inter- 
cession (diap.  xix.  21),  and  we  must  then  admit  that 
the  epithet  "  righteous "  as  applied  to  Lot  is  by  no 
means  without  warrant. 

(9)  The  Lord  knoweth. — This  is  the  main  sen- 
tence to  which  the  various  conditional  clauses  beginning 
verso  4  (see  Note  there)  have  l)een  leaduig.  But  the 
construction  is  disjointed,  owing  to  the  eagerness  of 
the  writer,  and  tlie  main  clause  does  not  fit  on  to  the 
introductory  clauses  vei-y  smoothly.  Even  the  main 
clause  itself  is  interrupted  by  the  insertion  of  "to 
deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptations."  What  the 
writer  specimly  wishes  to  prove  is  that  "  the  Lord 
knoweth  how  to  reserve  the  ungodly  unto  the  day  of 


judgment  under  pimishment,"  as  is  shown  by  the 
"  for  "  connecting  verse  4  with  verso  3. 

To  be  punished. — Eather,  being  punished,  or 
under  pimishment.  They  are  already  sufEering  punish- 
ment while  waiting  for  their  final  doom.  The  error  in 
our  version  is  parallel  to  that  in  Acts  ii.  47,  where 
"  such  as  should  be  saved  "  stands  instead  of  "  those 
who  were  being  saved."  The  participle  is  present,  not 
future. 

The  same  double  moral — that  God  will  save  the 
righteous  and  punish  the  ungodly — is  drawn  from  the 
same  historical  instance  by  Clement  of  Rome  {Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  xi.) :  "  For  his  hospitality  and  god- 
liness Lot  was  saved  from  Sodom,  when  all  the  countiy 
round  was  judged  by  fire  and  brimstone ;  the  Master 
having  thus  foreshown  that  He  forsaketh  not  them  who 
set  their  hope  on  Him,  but  appointeth  unto  punishment 
and  torment  them  who  swerve  aside."  A  possible,  but 
not  a  certain,  reference  to  oiu*  Epistle.  (See  Note 
below  on  chap.  iii.  4.) 

(10)  Them  that  walk  after  the  flesh.— Less  de- 
finite than  Jude,  verse  7.  Here  there  is  nothing  about 
going  away  or  astray,  nor  about  the  flesh  being 
"  other "  than  is  allowed.  This  is  natural ;  Jude's  re- 
mark applying  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities  of  the 
plain  in  particular,  this  to  sensual  persons  generally. 

In  the  lust  of  uncleanness.— Better,  in  the  hist 
of  polhdion — i.e.,  the  lust  that  causes  pollution.  The 
exact  word  occurs  nowhere  else ;  the  same  word,  all 
but  the  termination,  occurs  in  verse  20,  and  nowhere 
else. 

Despise  government. — (Comp.  "despise  do- 
minion," Jiule,  verse  8.)  Our  version  is  minutely  per- 
verse. The  word  translated  "  government "  here  and 
"  dominion  "  in  Jude  is  one  and  the  same  in  the  Greek ; 
whereas  the  words  translated  in  both  places  "  despise  " 
are  different. 

Presumptuous  are  they. — A  fresh  verse  should 
begin  here  ;  the  construction  is  entirely  changed,  and  a 
fresh  start  made.  From  "  the  unjust "  to  "  govern- 
ment "  the  reference  is  to  ungodly  and  sensual  people 
in  general ;  here  we  return  to  the  false  teachers  in 
particular.  Audacioti.f  would  bo  more  literal  than 
"  presumptuous."  The  word  is  found  here  only.  On 
the  change  to  the  present  tense,  see  Introduction,  I., 
c,  y. 

Speak  evil  of  dignities.— The  exact  meaning  of 
''dignities,"  or  "glories."  is  not  clear,  cither  here  or 
in  Jude,  verse  8.  The  context  in  both  places  seems  to 
show  that  spiritual  powers  alone  are  intended,  and  that 
earthly  powers,  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  are  not 
included,  much  less  exclusively  indicated.  The  con- 
struction hero  resembles  that  in  chap.  i.  19  :  "  Do  not 
tremble  in  (or,  while)  speaking  evil  of  dignities,"  like 
"  ye  do  well  in  taking  lieed."  These  men  deny  the 
existence  of,  or  irreverently  speak  slightingly  of.  those 
spiritual  agencies  by  means  of  which  God  conducts  the 
government  of  the  world. 

(11)  Whereas  angels.— Literally,  WTure  angeU— 
i.e.,  in  circumstances  in  which  angels.    This  verse,  if  it 


4da 


Gocils  Jvdgments  ujwn 


11.   PETER,   II. 


Railera  and  Presumpttious. 


greater  in  power  and  might,  bring  not 
railing  accusation  against  them  ^  before 
the  Lord.  <^-)  But  these,  as  natural 
brute  beasts,  made  to  be  taken  and 
destroyed,  speak  evil  of  the  things  that 


1  Rome  read, 
against  them- 
scices. 


they  understand  not ;  and  shall  utterly 
perish  in  their  O'vvn  corruption ;  (^^^  and 
shall  receive  the  reward  of  unrighteous- 
ness, as  they  that  count  it  pleasure  to 
riot  in  the  day  time.     Spots   they  are 


refers  to  the  same  incident  as  Jude,  verso  9,  seems  at 
first  sight  to  tell  somewhat  iii  favour  of  the  priority  of 
Judo  ;  for  then,  only  when  compared  with  Jude,  verse  9, 
does  it  heoomo  intelliorible.  The  inference  is  that  this 
is  an  abbre^^ation  of  Jude,  rather  than  Jude  an  ampli- 
fication of  this.  But  (1)  such  an  inference  is  at  best  only 
probable.  The  writer  of  this  Epistle  might  jjossibly 
cotmt  on  his  readers  at  once  understanding  his  allusion 
to  a  tradition  that  may  have  been  well  known,  wliile 
St.  Judo  thought  it  best  to  point  out  the  allusion  more 
plainly.  (2)  It  is  possible  that  the  contest  alluded  to  is 
not  tliat  between  Satan  and  Michael  about  the  body  of 
Moses,  but  that  between  Satan  and  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  about  Joshua  the  high  jiriest  (Zech.  iii.  1,  2). 
(3)  It  is  also  possible  that  it  does  not  refer  to  any 
contest  with  Satan  at  all,  but  merely  to  angels  not  de- 
nouncing these  false  teachers  before  God,  but  leaving 
them  to  His  judgment.  If  either  (2)  or  (3)  is  con-ect, 
the  argument  for  the  priority  of  Jude  falls  to  the 
ground.  If  (1)  is  right,  then  the  argument  really 
favours  the  priority  of  2  Peter ;  for  if  the  author  of 
2  Peter  had  Jude  before  him  (and  this  is  maintained 
by  those  who  contend  for  the  priority  of  Jude),  and 
wished  to  make  use  of  St.  Judo's  illustration,  why 
should  he  so  deface  St.  Jude's  statement  of  it  as  to 
make  it  almost  unintelligible  ?  The  reason  suggested 
is  altogether  inadequate — that  reverential  feelings  made 
him  wish  to  avoid  mentioning  Michael's  name — a  name 
that  every  Jew  was  perfectly  familiar  with  in  the  Book 
of  Daniel. 

Greater  in  power  and  might.— Tliis  is  taken 
in  two  ways — either  "greater  than  these  audacious, 
self-willed  men,"  which  is  the  simpler  and  moi'e 
natural  explanation ;  or  "  gi'oater  than  other  angels," 
as  if  it  were  a  periphrasis  for  "  archangels,"  which  is 
rather  awkwai-d  language.  But  either  exiilanation 
makes  good  sense. 

Railing  accusation  against  them.— Literally, 
a  roiling  judgment.  Wiclif  has  "doom,"  aU  the  rest 
"judgment";  both  superior  to  "  accusation."  "Against 
them,"  if  the  reference  is  either  to  the  contest  about 
the  body  of  Mo,ses  or  to  Zech.  iii.  1,  2,  must  mean 
against  "  dignities,"  and  "  dignities  "  must  here  mean 
fallen  angels,  who  are  considered  still  to  be  worthy  of 
reverence  on  account  of  their  original  glory  and  inde- 
fectible spiritual  nature.  The  position  is,  therefore, 
that  what  angels  do  not  venture  to  say  of  devils,  this, 
and  worse  than  this,  these  audacious  men  dare  to  say  of 
angels  and  other  unseen  powers.  But  "against  them" 
may  possibly  mean  "  against  the  false  teachers,"  i.e., 
they  speak  evil  of  angels,  yet  the  angels  bring  no  de- 
nunciation against  them,  but  leave  all  judgment  to 
God  (Dent,  xxxii.  ^5,  36;  Rom.  xii.  19;  Heb.  x.  30). 
This  explanation  avoids  the  awkwardness  of  making 
"  dignities  "  in  verse  10  mean  unseen  powers  generally, 
and  chiefly  good  ones ;  while  "  against  dignities "  in 
this  verse  has  to  mean  against  evil  powers  only. 

(1-)  But  these,  as  natural  brute  beasts.— Omit 
"natural."  This  verse  appears  to  tell  strongly  in 
favour  of  the  priority  of  our  Epistle.  The  literary 
form  of  Jude,  verse  10,  is  so  very  superior ;  the  anti- 
thesis (quite  wanting  here)  between  abusing  what 
they   cannot    know  and   misusing  what   they  cannot 


help  knomng  is  so  telling,  and  would  be  so  easily 
remembered,  that  it  is  improbable  that  a  writer  who 
was  willing  to  adopt  so  much  would  not  have 
adopted  in  this  respect  also ;  and  whichever  writer  is 
second,  it  is  evident  that  he  was  willing  to  adopt  his 
predecessor's  material  almost  to  any  extent.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  a  writer  who 
knew  this  verse  impro\'ing  upon  it  by  writing  Jude, 
verse  10.  The  verses,  similar  as  they  are  in  much  of 
their  wording,  are  very  different  in  their  general  drift. 
Jude,  verse  10,  is  simply  an  epigrammatic  description 
of  these  ungodly  men ;  this  verse  is  a  denunciation  of 
final  ruin  against  them. 

Made  to  be  taken  and  destroyed.— Literally, 
horn  naturally  for  capture  and  destruction.  "  Natural " 
comes  in  better  here  as  a  kind  of  adverb  tlmn  as  an  ad- 
ditional ei^ithet  to  beasts.  The  force  of  it  is  that  these 
animals  cannot  help  themselves — it  is  their  nature  to 
rush  after  what  will  prove  their  rain;  but  the  false 
teachers  volimtarily  seek  their  own  destruction  against 
nature.  This  verse  contains  one  of  the  repetitions 
noticed  above  (see  on  verse  7)  as  characteristic  of  this 
Epistle.  The  word  for  "destruction"  and  "corniption" 
is  one  and  the  same  in  the  Greek,  the  destrojang  being 
literal  in  the  fii'st  case,  moral  in  the  second.  Moreover, 
the  word  for  "  perish  "  is  from  the  same  root.  "  Like 
brutes  born  for  capture  and  destruction,  these  men 
shall  be  destroyed  in  their  destr^lction.'"  But  such  a 
translation  would  be  misleading  in  English. 

Shall  utterly  perish.  —  A  reading  of  higher 
authority  gives  us,  shall  even  perish. 

In  their  own  corruption. — "Own"  may  be 
omitted.  Their  present  evil  life  anticipates  and  con- 
tains within  itself  the  elements  of  their  final  destruc- 
tion. Tlius  they  "bring  it  upon  themselves'"  (verse  1). 
The  right  dinsion  of  the  sentences  here  cannot  be 
decided  ^vith  ceriainty  ;  the  Apostle  hurries  on.  in  the 
full  flood  of  his  denunciation,  Avithout  paying  much 
attention  to  the  precise  fonn  of  liis  language.  On  the 
whole,  it  seems  best  to  place  only  a  comma  at  the  end 
of  verse  12,  with  a  full  stop  or  colon  at  "  unrighteous- 
ness," and  to  make  what  follows  part  of  the  long 
sentence,  of  which  the  main  verb  is  "  are  gone  astray  " 
in  verse  15. 

(13)  And  shall  receive.— Literally,  about  to  re- 
ceive (as  they  are).  (Comp.  1  Pet.  i.  9;  v.  4;  see  also 
Epistle  of  Barnabas,  iv.  12.) 

As  they  that  count. — We  must  begin  a  fresh 
sentence,  and  somewhat  modify  the  translation.  "  To 
riot "-  is  too  strong ;  the  word  means  "  delicafo  fare, 
dainty  li\nng,  luxurj%"  and  if  the  exact  meaning  be 
retained,  this  wiU  necessitate  a  change  of  "in  the  day 
time."  For  though  "rioting  in  the  day  time"  makes 
good  sense — revelry  even  among  professed  pleasure- 
seekers  being  usually  confined  to  the  night  (1  Thess. 
T.  7) — "  dainty  fare  in  the  day  time  *  does  not  seem  to 
have  much  point.  Tlie  meaning  is,  perhaps,  "  for  the 
day,"  without  thought  for  the  morrow,  counting  luxury 
for  the  moment  a  pleasure — the  doctrine  of  the  Cyre- 
naics  and  the  instinct  of  "  brute  beasts."  In  the 
Shcjiherd  of  Hennas  [Sim.  VI.  iv.  4)  there  is  a  passage 
which  may  possibly  be  an  echo  of  this  :  "  The  time  of 
luxury  and  deceit  is  one  hour,  but  the  hours  of  torment 


454 


'Spots  and  Blemishes." 


11.    PETER,   II. 


"  Wells  without  Water." 


and  blemishes,  sporting  themselves 
with  their  own  deceivings  while  they 
feast  with  you;  (^^^  having  eyes  full  of 
adultery,^  and  that  cannot  cease  from 
sin ;  beguiling  unstable  souls  :  an  heart 
they  have  exercised  with  covetous 
practices;  cursed  children:  (^^>  which 
have  forsaken  the  right  way,  and  are 


1  Or.    an    aduUe- 


gone  astray,  following  the  way  of 
Balaam  the  so7i  of  Bosor,  who  loved  the 
wages  of  unrighteousness  ;  (^^^  but  was 
rebuked  for  his  iniquity :  the  dumb  ass 
speaking  with  man's  voice  forbad  the 
madness  of  the  prophet.  ^^"^^  These  are 
wells  without  water,  clouds  that  are 
carried  with  a  tempest;  to  whom  the 


have  the  power  of  thirty  days ;  if,  then,  a  man  luxuriates 
for  one  day,"  &c.  &c.  (See  below  on  verses  15,  20 ; 
chap.  iii.  5.) 

Sporting  themselves.— Tlie  word  is  a  compound 
of  the  one  just  trau.slatod  "luxury";  hence  luxuriating. 
It  is  worth  noting  that  the  words  for  ''  sj^ots  and 
blemishes  "  exactly  correspond  to  the  words  ti-auslatcd 
"  without  blemish  and  without  spot "  in  1  Pet.  i.  19. 
(See  below  on  chap.  iii.  11-.  1 

With  their  own  deceivings.— Better,  in  their 
deceits,  if  this  is  the  right  reading.  But  both  here  and 
in  Jude,  verse  12,  the  reading  is  uncertain,  authorities 
being  divided  between  agapai,  "  love-feasts,"  and 
apatai,  "deceits."  In  Jude  the  balance  on  purely 
critical  grounds  is  decidedly  in  favour  of  "  love-feasts ;" 
here  (thougli  much  less  decidedly)  in  favour  of  "  de- 
ceits." In  Jude  the  context  confirms  the  reading 
"  love-feasts ; "  here  the  context  is  neutral,  or  slightly 
inclines  to  "  love-feasts,"  to  which  "  while  they  feast 
with  you "  must  in  any  case  refer.  But  if  "  love- 
feasts  "  be  right  in  Jude  (and  this  is  so  probable  that 
we  may  almost  assume  it),  this  in  itself  is  strong  sup- 
port to  the  same  reading  here.  Wliichever  wi'iter  is 
prior,  so  strange  a  change  from  "  deceits  "  to  "  love- 
fea.sts"  would  hardly  have  been  made  deliberately; 
whereas,  in  copying  mechanically,  the  interchange 
might  easily  be  made,  the  words  being  so  similar.  The 
change  from  "spots  "  to  "  rocks,"  if  such  a  change  has 
been  deliberately  made  by  either  writer(see  on  Jude,  verse 
121,  would  not  be  parallel  to  a  change  between  "deceits" 
and  "  love-feasts."  The  one  is  a  mere  variation  of  the 
metaphor,  the  other  an  alteration  of  the  meaning.  In 
2  Thess.  ii.  10  there  is  possibly  an  intentional  play 
upon  the  similarity  of  these  two  words. 

(1^)  Of  adultery.— Literally,  o/«>i  adwZ^eress.  This 
verso  has  no  counterpart  in  Jude. 

That  cannot  cease  from  sin. — Literally,  that 
cannot  be  made  to  cease  from  sin.  (Comp.  attentively 
1  Pet.  iv.  1.)  It  was  precisely  because  these  men  refused 
to  "  suffer  in  the  flesh,"  but,  on  the  contrary,  gave  the 
flesh  aU  possi])le  licence  on  princiiile,  that  they  could 
not  "  cease  from  sin." 

Beguiling.— Strictly,  enticing  with  bait.  We  have 
the  same  word  in  verse  18,  James  i.  14,  and  nowhere 
else.  If  "  deceits  "  bo  the  riglit  reading  in  vei-se  13, 
tliis  clause  tlirows  some  light  on  it.  In  any  case,  tlio 
metaplior  from  fishing,  twice  in  tliis  Epistle  and  only 
once  elsewhere,  may  point  to  a  fisherman  of  Galilee. 
(Comp.  Matt.  xvii.  27.) 

With  covetous  practices. — Better,  in  covetous- 
ncss.  Tlie  word  is  singular,  as  in  verse  3,  according  to 
all  the  J)ost  ^ISS.  and  versions. 

Cursed  children.  —  Rjither,  children  of  maledic- 
tion. So  Rheims;  Wiclif  ha.s  "sones  of  cursyngo." 
Tliey  are  devoted  to  execration ;  malediction  has 
adopted  them  a.s  its  own.  (Comp.  "  eon  of  perdition," 
John  x\-ii.  12  ;   2  Thess.  ii.  3.) 

(15)  The  right  way.— (Comp.  Acts  xiii.  10.)  In  the 
Shepherd  oi  Heruiaa  (I.  Vis.  III.  vii.  1)  wehave  "Who 


have  believed  indeed,  but  through  their  doubting  have 
forsaken  their  true  way."  (See  Notes  on  verses  1,  3, 
13,  20;  chap.  iii.  5.) 

Are  gone  astray.— The  main  verb  of  this  long 
sentence.  Here  parallels  with  Jude  begin  again.  In 
the  historical  incident  of  Balaam,  as  in  that  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrha,  our  Epistle  is  more  detailed  than  Judo 
(see  on  verse  7).  The  past  tenses  in  this  verse  are  quite 
in  harmony  with  the  view  that  this  chapter  is  a  genuine 
prediction.  (Comp.  Gen.  xlix.  9, 15,  23,  24.)  The  future 
foretold  with  such  confidence  as  to  be  spoken  of  as 
already  past  is  a  common  form  for  prophecy  to  assume. 

Balaam  the  son  of  Bosor. — Bosor  seems  to  be  a 
dialectical  variation  from  Beor,  arising  out  of  pecidiar 
Aramaic  pronunciation — a  slight  indication  tnat  the 
Avi-iter  was  a  Jew  of  Palestine.  The  resemblance 
between  these  false  teachers  and  Balaam  consisted  in 
their  i-unning  counter  to  God's  will  for  their  own  profit, 
and  in  prostitixting  their  ofiice  to  an  infamous  purpose, 
which  brought  ruin  on  the  community.  He,  like  they, 
had  "  enticed  unstable  souls,"  and  had  "  a  heart  exer- 
cised in  covetousness."  A  comparison  of  this  passage 
A\'iUi  Rev.  ii.  14,  15,  gives  countenance  to  the  \'icw  that 
among  the  false  teachers  thus  stigmatised  the  Nico- 
laitans  may  be  included.  In  Jude,  verse  11,  these 
imgodly  men  are  compared  not  only  to  Balaam,  but  also 
to  Cain  and  Korali.  It  seems  more  likely  that  St.  Jude 
should  add  these  two  very  opprobrious  comijarisons  than 
that  the  vehement  writer  of  this  Epistle  should  reject 
material  so  suitable  to  his  invective.  If  so,  we  have 
here  another  argument  for  the  priority  of  our  Epistle. 
(See  on  ver.se  12.) 

(i<j)  But  was  rebuked  for  his  iniquity.— Lite- 
rally, Bat  had  a  conviction  of  his  oicn  transgression — 
i.e.,  was  con\-icted  of  it,  or  rebuked  for  it.  His  trans- 
gression was  that,  although  as  a  prophet  he  knew  the 
blessedness  of  Israel,  and  although  God  gave  him  leave 
to  go  only  on  condition  of  his  blessing  Israel,  he  went 
still  cherishing  a  hope  of  being  able  to  curse,  and  so 
winning  Balafc's  promised  reward. 

The  dumb  ass. — Literally,  a  dumb  beast  of  burden. 
Tlie  same  word  is  rendered  "  ass  "  in  Matt.  xxi.  5,  in  the 
phrase  "foal  of  an  ass."  In  Palestine  the  ass  was 
the  most  common  beast  of  burden,  horses  being  rare,  so 
that  in  most  cases  "  beast  of  burden  "  would  necessarily 
mean  "  ass." 

Forbad  the  madness.  —  Strictly,  hindered  the 
madness ;  and  thus  the  trivial  discrepancy  which  some 
would  urge  as  existing  between  this  passage  and  Num. 
xxii.  disappears.  It  has  boon  objected  that  not  the  ass 
but  the  angel  forbad  Balajim  from  proceeding.  But 
i<  was  <he  ass  whicli  hindered  the  infatuation  of  Balaam 
from  Imrrying  hiui  to  his  own  destruotion  (Num.  xxii. 
33).  The  word  for  "  madness  "  is  probal>ly  chosen  for 
the  sake  of  alliteration  with  "  Y>vo\}hot"—prophdou 
paraphronian.  It  is  a  very  rare  formation,  perhaps 
coined  by  the  writer  liimself. 

(17)  These  are  wells.— Or,  springs;  same  word  as 
John  iv.  6.      These  men  are  like  dried-up  watering- 


id5 


The  Miserable  Bondage 


II.   PETER,   II. 


qftlie  Wicked. 


mist  of  darkness  is  reserved  for  ever. 
(18)  Yov  when  they  sj)eak  great  swelling 
tvords  of  vanity,  they  allure  through  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh,  through  much  wanton- 
ness, those  that  Avere  clean  ^  escaped 
from  them  who  live  in  error.  (^^^  While 
they  promise  them  liberty,  they  them- 


1  Or,  for  a  utile,  oY, 
a  wliUc,  as  Bomo 
rcail. 


places  in  the  desert,  which  entice  and  mock  the  thirsty 
traveller ;  perhaps  loading  him  into  danger  also  by  draw- 
ing him  from  places  where  there  is  water.  (Comp.  Jer. 
ii.  13 ;  xiv.  3.)  The  parallel  passage,  Jude,  verses  12, 13, 
is  much  more  full  than  the  one  before  us,  and  is  more 
like  an  amplification  of  this  than  this  a  condensation 
of  that — c.(j.,  would  a  simile  so  admirably  suitable  to 
false  guides  as  "wandering  stars"  have  been  neglected 
by  the  writer  of  our  Epistle  ?  A  Hebrew  word  which 
occurs  only  twice  in  the  Old  Testament  is  translated 
by  the  LXX.  in  the  one  place  (Gen.  ii.  6)  by  the  word 
hero  used  for  "well,"  and  in  the  other  (Job  xxxvi.  27) 
by  the  word  used  in  Jude,  verse  12,  for  "  cloud."  Thus 
the  same  Hebrew  might  have  produced  "  wells  without 
water "  here  and  "  clouds  without  water "  in  Jude. 
Tliis  is  one  of  the  arguments  used  in  favour  of  a 
Hebrew  original  of  both  these  Ej)istles.  Coincidences 
of  this  kind,  which  may  easily  be  mere  accidents  of 
language,  must  be  shown  to  be  numerous  before  a  solid 
argument  can  be  based  upon  them.  Moreover,  we 
must  remember  that  the  writers  in  both  cases  were 
Jews,  writing  in  Greek,  while  thinking  probably  in 
Hebrew,  so  that  tlio  same  Hebrew  thought  might 
suggest  a  different  Greek  expression  in  the  two  cases. 
When  we  liave  deducted  all  that  might  easily  be  ac- 
counted for  in  this  way,  and  also  all  that  is  ^lerhaps 
purely  accidental,  from  the  not  very  numerous  instances 
of  a  similar  kind  that  liave  been  collected,  we  shall  not 
find  much  on  Avhich  to  build  the  hypothesis  of  these 
Epistles  being  translations  fi'om  Hebrew  originals. 
(See  Introduction  to  Jude,  II.) 

Clouds  that  are  carried,  with  a  tempest.— 
Better,  mists  driven  by  the  storm-wind.  Wiclif  has 
"  myistis."  The  words  for  "  clouds "  and  "  carried 
about"  in  Jude,  verse  12,  are  quite  different,  so  that  our 
version  creates  a  false  impression  of  great  similarity. 
The  idea  is  not  very  different  from  that  of  the  "  wells 
without  water."  These  mists  pi'omiso  refreshment  to 
the  thirsty  soil  (Gen.  ii.  6),  and  are  so  flimsy  that  they 
are  blo^vn  away  before  they  do  any  good.  So  these 
false  teachers  deceived  those  who  were  thirsting  for 
the  knowl(>dge  and  lil)erty  promised  them  by  raising 
hopes  which  they  could  not  satisf}'. 

To  whom  the  mist  of  darkness.— Better,  for 
whom  the  gloom  of  darkness.  (See  Note  on  Jude,  verse 
6.)  "For  over"  is  wanting  in  autliority;  the  words 
have  probably  been  inserted  from  the  parallel  passage 
in  Jude. 

(18)  Great  swelling  words  of  vanity.— Ex- 
aggeration, uin-cality,  boastfulncss.  and  emptiness  are 
expressed  by  this  phrase.  It  carries  on  the  same  idea 
as  the  waterless  wells  and  the  driven  mists — great  pre- 
tensions and  no  resiUts.  The  rebuke  here  is  not  unlike 
the  warning  in  1  Pet.  v.  5,  6. 

Allure.— Translated  "beguile"  in  verse  14,  where 
see  Note. 

Through  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.— Better,  in  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh  (as  in  verse  3,  and  chap.  i.  1,  2,  4,  13). 
The  preposition  "  in  "  points  to  the  sphere  in  which  the 
enticement  takes  place ;  "  through  "  should  be  resei-ved 


selves  are  the  servants  of  corruption : 
for  of  whom  a  man  is  overcome,  of  the 
same  is  he  brought  in  bondage.  <^^)  For 
if  after  they  have  escaped  the  pollutions 
of  the  world  through  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  they 
are  again  entangled  therein,  and  over- 


for  "  wantonness  "  (see  Note  on  verse  2),  which  is  the 
bait  used  to  entice. 

Were  clean  escaped.— Both  verb  and  adverb 
require  correction.  The  margin  indicates  the  right 
reading  for  the  adverb — "  for  a  little,"  or  better,  by  a 
little ;  scarcely.  The  verb  should  be  present,  not  past — 
those  who  are  scarcely  escaping,  viz.,  the  "unstable 
souls "  of  verse  14.  Wiclif  has  "  scapen  a  litil ; " 
Rhcims  "  escape  a  litle."  The  word  translated  "  scarcely" 
occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament ;  that  trans- 
lated here  "  clean,"  and  elsewhere  "  indeed,"  or  "  cer- 
tainly," is  frequent  (Mark  xi.  32 ;  Luke  xxiii.  47 ;  xxiv. 
34,  &c.  &c.).  Hence  the  change,  an  unfamiliar  word 
being,  by  a  slight  alteration,  turned  into  a  familiar  one. 
The  two  Greek  words  are  much  alike. 

(19)  Promise  them  liberty.— A  specimen  of  the 
"great  swelling  words" — loud,  high-sounding  talk 
about  liberty.  The  doctrines  of  Simon  Magus,  as  re- 
ported by  Irenseus  (I.,  chap,  xxiii.  3)  and  by  Hipi^olytus 
{BefiU.  VI.,  chap,  xiv.),  show  us  the  kind  of  liberty  that 
such  teachers  promised — being  "  freed  from  righteous- 
ness "  to  become  "  the  slaves  of  sin." 

Servants  of  corruption.— Better,  bond-se^'vants, 
or  slaves  of  corruption.  Our  translators  have  often 
done  weU  in  translating  the  Greek  word  for  "  slave  "  j 
by  "  servant "  (sec  Note  on  chap.  i.  1),  but  here  the 
full  force  of  the  ignominious  term  should  be  given. 
Tyndale,  Cranmer,  and  Geneva  have  "bond-servants;" 
Rheims  "slaves."  (Comp.  "bondage  of  corruption," 
Rom.  viii.  21.) 

Brought  in  bondage.— Or,  enslaved.  We  seem 
here  to  have  an  echo  of  John  ^^ii.  34  (see  Notes  there) : 
"  Every  one  who  continues  to  commit  sin  is  the  slave  of 
sin,"  words  which  St.  Peter  may  have  heard.  Comp. 
Rom.  vi.  16 — 20,  which  the  writer  may  also  have  had 
in  his  mind.  There  is  nothing  improbable  in  St.  Peter 
being  well  acquainted  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
during  the  last  years  of  his  life ;  the  improbability 
would  rather  be  in  supposing  that  he  did  not  know  it. 

(20)  For  if  after  they  have  escaped  the  pollu- 
tions of  the  world.^Applying  the  general  statement 
of  the  preceding  verse  to  the  case  of  these  false 
teachers.  In  the  Shepherd  of  Hernias  (I.  Vis.  IV. 
iii.  2.)  "the  black  there  is  the  world  in  which  we  dwell, 
and  the  fire-and-blood-colour  \^ indicates)  that  this  world 
must  perish  through  blood  and  fire ;  but  the  golden 
part  are  ye  who  have  escaped  this  toorld."  Another 
possible  reminiscence  of  our  Epistle.  (See  above  on 
versos  1,  3,  13,  15  ;  and  l)elow,  chap.  jii.  5.) 

Through  the  knowledge.— Better,  in  Jcnowledge, 
the  preposition  "  in  "  pointing  to  that  in  which  the 
escape  consists.  (See  on  verse  18,  and  comp.  Luke  i. 
77.)  The  knowledge  is  of  the  same  mature  and  complete 
kind  as  that  spoken  of  in  chap.  i.  2,  3,  8  (where  see 
Notes),  showing  that  these  men  were  well-instructed 
Christians. 

Entangled  therein,  and  overcome.— Or,  en- 
tangled and  overcome  thereby,  which,  from  the  latter 
pai-t  of  verse  19;  seems  to  be  the  more  probable  con- 
struction. 


466 


Tlie  Dog  returned  to  his  Vomit ; 


II.   PETEE,   III. 


the  Sow  to  her  Wallowing. 


come,  the  latter  end  is  worse  with  them 
than  the  beginning.  (^i)  ^ov  it  had 
been  better  for  them  not  to  have  known 
tlie  way  of  righteousness,  than,  after 
they  have  known  it,  to  turn  from  the 
holy  commandment  delivered  unto 
them.  (-2)  But  it  is  happened  unto  them 
according  to  the  true  proverb.  The  dog 
is  turned  to  his  own  vomit  again ;  and 


the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her  wal- 
lowing in  the  mire. 

CHAPTEE    III.— (1)  This    second 
epistle,    beloved,    I    now  ^ 

•^  .,  ,  •        7     ,7    Chap.  m.   1,  2. 

write    unto    you;    m    both  Transition     to 
which  I  stir  up  your  pure  second  predic- 
minds  by  way  of  remem-    ^^^' 
brance :  (^^  that  ye  may  be  mindful  of 


The  latter  end  is  worse  with  them  than  the 
beginning. — Most  certainly  tliis  should  be  made  to 
correspond  Avitli  Matt.  xii.  45,  of  which  it  is  almost  an 
exact  reproduction — their  last  state  is  worse  than  the 
first.  Tlio  only  difference  is  that  the  word  for  "  is  "  in 
Matt.  xii.  45  means  literally  "  becomes,"  and  here  "  has 
become."    (Comp.  the  Shepherd,  Sim.  IX.  xvii.  5.) 

(21)  It  had  been  better  for  them  not  to  have 
known. — There  are  many  things  of  which  the  well- 
knowu  lines, 

"  'Tis  better  to  have  loved  and  lost, 
Than  never  to  have  loved  at  all," 

do  not  hold  good.  To  have  loved  a  great  truth,  to 
have  loved  a  high  principle,  and  after  all  to  lose  them, 
is  what  often  causes  the  shipwreck  of  a  life.  To  have 
loved  Jesus  Christ  and  lost  Him  is  to  make  sliipwreck 
of  eternal  life. 

The  way  of  righteousness.— The  life  of  the 
Christian.  That  which  from  a  doctrhial  point  of  view 
is  "  the  way  of  truth  "  (verse  2),  from  a  moral  point  of 
view  is  "  the  way  of  righteousness."  So  also  "  the 
faith  delivered  to  the  saints  "  of  Jude,  verse  3,  is  the  doc- 
trinal equivalent  of  "  the  holy  commandment  delivered 
unto  them  "  of  this  verse. 

(22)  But  it  is  happened  unto  them  according 
to  the  true  proverb.  —  More  literally.  There  has 
happened  to  them  xohat  the  true  proverb  says ;  "  Init " 
is  of  very  doubtful  authority.  The  word  for  "proverb" 
is  the  one  used  elsewhere  only  by  St.  John  in  his 
Gospel,  and  there  translated  once  "parable"  and  thrice 
"  proverb."  "  Parable,"  or  "  allegory,"  would  have 
been  best  in  all  four  cases  (John  x.  6,  where  see  Note  ; 
xvi.  25,  29).  The  first  proverb  is  found,  Prov.  xx\i.  11, 
and  if  that  bo  the  source  of  the  quotation,  we  have  here 
an  independent  translation  of  the  Hebrew,  for  the  LXX. 
gives  an  entirely  different  rendering,  "  dog  "  being  the 
only  word  in  common  to  the  two  Greek  versions.  The 
word  for  "vomit"  here  is  possibly  formed  by  the 
"wi'itcr  himself ;  that  for  "  wallo^ving  "  is  also  a  rare 
word.  The  LXX.  adds,  "and  becomes  abominable," 
which  has  no  eqmvalent  in  the  existing  Hebrew  text ; 
and  it  ha.s  been  suggested  that  these  words  may  mis- 
represent the  Hebrew  original  of  the  second  proverlj 
here.  But  it  is  quite  possible  that  both  proverbs  come 
from  pojjular  tradition,  and  not  from  Scripture  at  all. 
If,  however,  the  Book  of  Provcr])s  be  the  source  of  tlio 
quotation,  it  is  worth  wliilo  noting  that  no  less  than 
four  times  in  as  many  chapters  does  St.  Peter  recall 
pa-ssages  from  the  Proverbs  in  the  First  Epistle  (chaps, 
i.  7 ;  ii.  17 ;  iv.  8,  18).  In  the  Greek  neither  proverb 
has  a  verb,  as  so  often  in  such  .sapngs — n  do(j  that  has 
returned  to  his  own  vomit;  a  ivashed  soio  to  ivaUoivinrf 
in  the  mire ;  just  as  we  say  "  the  dog  in  the  manger," 
"a  fool  and  his  money." 

Tlie  word  for  "  mire,"  not  a  very  common  one,  is  xised 
by  Irena3us  of  the  Gnostic  false  teachers  of  his  day, 
who  taught  that  their  fine  spiritual  natures  could  no 


more  bo  hurt  by  sensuality  than  gold  by  mire.  "  For 
in  the  same  way  as  gold  when  plunged  in  mire  does 
not  lay  aside  its  beauty,  but  preserv^es  its  own  nature, 
the  mire  having  no  power  to  injure  the  gold,  so  they 
say  that  they,  no  matter  what  kind  of  material  actions 
they  may  bo  involved  in,  cannot  suffer  any  liarm,  nor 
lose  their  spiritual  essence."  (I.  chap.  vi.  2).  But  it  is 
not  probable  that  Irenseus  knew  our  Epistle. 

III. 

(1. 2)  Just  as  the  two  halves  of  the  first  main  portion 
of  the  Epistle  are  linked  together  by  some  personal 
remarks  respecting  his  reason  for  writing  this  Epistle 
(chap.  i.  12 — 15),  so  the  two  iiredictions  which  form  the 
second  main  portion  are  connected  by  personal  remarks 
respecting  the  purpose  of  both  his  Epistles. 

(1)  This  second  epistle,  beloved,  I  now  write. 

— Rather,  This  now  second  epistle  I ivrite,  beloved;  or, 
This  epistle,  already  a  second  one — implying  that  no 
very  long  time  has  elapsed  since  his  first  letter,  and  that 
this  one  is  addressed  to  pretty  much  the  same  circle  of 
readers.  There  is  no  indication  that  the  first  two 
chapters  are  one  letter,  and  that  this  is  the  beginning 
of  another,  as  has  been  supposed.  With  this  use  of 
"now,"  or  "already,"  comp.  John  xxi.  14. 

Pure  minds. — The  word  for  "  pure  "  means  literally 
"  separated " — according  to  one  derivation,  by  being 
sifted ;  according  to  another,  by  being  held  up  to  the 
light.  Hence  it  comes  to  mean  "misuUied."  Here  it 
probably  means  untainted  by  sensuality  or,  possibly, 
deceit.  In  Phil.  i.  10,  the  only  other  place  where  it 
occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  translated  "  sincere." 
(Comp.  1  Cor.  V.  8 ;  2  Cor.  i.  12 ;  ii.  17.)  The  word  for 
"  mind "  means  "  the  faculty  of  moral  reflection  and 
moral  understanding,"  which  St.  Peter,  in  his  First 
Epistle  (chap.  i.  13),  tells  his  readers  to  brace  up  and 
keep  ready  for  constant  use.  These  very  two  words 
are  foimd  together  in  a  beautiful  passage  in  Plato's 
Phaedo,  66 A. 

By  way  of  remembrance.— We  have  the  same 
expression  in  chap.  i.  13,  and  the  translation  in  both 
cases  should  bo  the  same — stir  up  in  putting  you  in 
remembrance. 

(-)  By  the  holy  prophets.— Appealed  to  before 
in  chap.  i.  19.  (Comp.  Jude,  verse  17.)  The  coherence  of 
the  Epistle  as  a  whole  comes  out  strongly  in  this  last 
chapter:  verso  1  recalls  chap.  i.  12,  13;  chap.  iii.  17 
recalls  chap.  i.  10 — 12  ;  chap.  iii.  18  recalls  chap.  i.  5 — 8. 
In  this  verse  the  Apostle  commends  the  warnings  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament,  as  to  the 
coming  of  Christ,  to  Christians  througliout  all  ages. 

The  commandment  of  us  the  apostles  of  the 
Lord.— "Of  us"  is,  beyond  all  doubt,  a  false  reading; 
it  should  be  "  of  you,"  or  "  your."  The  Greek  is  some- 
what awkward,  owing  to  the  number  of  genitives,  but 
the  order  of  the  words  is  conclusive  as  to  the  meaning — 


467 


Exhortation  to  Faith 


11.   PETEK,   III. 


in  Christ's  Promises. 


the  words  which  were  spoken  before  by 
the  holy  prophets,  and  of  the  command- 
ment of  us  the  apostles  of  the  Lord  and 
Saviour:  <-'^  knowing  this  first,  that 
there  shall  come  in  the 
sIS>nd"pr?dic-  last  days  scoffers,  walking 
tion.  Scoffers  after  their  own  lusts,  (^^  and 
shall  arise.         saying.     Where     is     the  ^  «^- ^<'»*'*""<'' 


I  promise  of  his  coming  ?  for   since  the 
I  fathers     fell     asleep,     aU  ^hap.  iii.  3-9. 

things  continue  as  they  Answers  to  the 
were  from  the  beginning  scoffers, 
of  the  creation.  (^>  For  this  they 
willingly  are  ignorant  of,  that  by  the 
word  of  God  the  heavens  were  of  old, 
and    the    earth    standing  ^  out   of  the 


the  commandment  of  your  Apostles  (or  rather)  of  the 
Lord  and  Saviour.  The  comuianclmeut  is  at  ouce  a 
commandment  of  the  Apostles  and  of  the  Lord.  "  Tlie 
Apostles  of  the  Lord  "  must  not  be  taken  together,  as 
in  our  version.  The  expression  "  your  Apostles  "  may 
bo  taken  as  a  mark  of  geuuinencss  rather  than  of  the  con- 
trary. It  is  at  least  not  improbable  that  a  true  Aiiostlo, 
having  once  stated  his  credentials  (chap.  i.  1),  would 
sink  his  own  personality  in  the  group  of  his  colleagues 
from  a  feeling  of  humility  and  of  delicacy  towards  those 
whom  he  was  addressing,  especially  when  they  owed 
their  Cliristianity  mainly  to  other  Apostles  than  him- 
self. It  is  not  improbable  that  a  wi'iter  personating  an 
Apostle  would  have  insisted  on  his  assumed  personality 
and  personal  authority  here. 

What  commandment  is  meant  ?  Surely  not  the  whole 
Christian  law;  but  either  the  command  to  beware  of 
false  teachers  (Matt.  vii.  15 ;  xxiv.  5, 11 ;  Mark  xiii.  22 ; 
Rom.  xvi.  17 ;  Eph.  v.  6  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  3),  or,  more  pro- 
bably, Avhat  is  the  main  subject  of  this  Epistle,  to  be 
readv  for  Christ's  coming  (Matt.  xxiv.  36 — 39;  Mark 
xiii.  35—37  ;  Luke  xii.  40 ;  1  Thess.  v.  2—4). 

Skcond  Prediction  :  Scofters  shall  throw  doubt 
on  Christ's  return. 

(■•5)  In  the  last  days.— Comp.  1  Pet.  i.  20;  Heb.  i.  2; 
and  the  parallel  passage  to  this,  Jude,  verso  18.  "  Know 
this  first,  children,  that  there  shall  come  in  the  last  days 
scoffers,  walking  after  their  own  lusts  "  is  quoted  in 
a  liomily  attributed  on  doubtful  authority  to  Hipj)olytus. 
(See  above  on  chap.  ii.  1.) 

Scoffers. — The  l)est  authorities  add  "in  scoffing," 
intensifying  the  meaning  by  repetition  (as  in  Eph.  i.  3; 
Rev.  xiv.  2;  comp.  Luke  xxii.  15).  There  are  other 
repetitions  of  this  kind  in  the  New  Testament,  which 
have  been  renderiKl  by  strengthening  the  verb  in  some 
other  way  (John  iii.  29 ;  Acts  iv.  17 ;  v.  28 ;  Jas.  v.  17). 

(^)  "Where  is  the  promise  ?— Not  meaning,  of 
course,  "  In  what  passages  of  Scripture  is  any  such 
promise  to  bo  foimdp" — but,  "What  has  come  of  it? 
where  is  there  any  accomplishment  of  it?"  (Comp. 
Ps.  xiii.  3;  Ixxix.  10;    Jer.  x\-ii.  15;    Mai.  ii.  17.) 

Of  his  coming.—"  His  "  instead  of  "  the  Lord's  " 
indicates  not  merely  that  only  one  Person  could  bo 
meant,  ])ut  also  the  irreverent  Avay  in  which  these 
scoffers  spoke  of  Him. 

Since  the  fathers  fell  asleep.— Wliat  fathers  aro 
meant  ?  Four  answers  have  Ijeen  given  to  this  ques- 
tion :  (1 )  The  ancestors  of  the  human  race ;  (2)  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets ;  (3)  the  fii-st  generation  of 
Christians;  (4)  eacli  generation  of  men  in  relation  to 
those  following.  Probably  notiiing  more  definite  than 
our  remote  ancestors  is  intended.  Tlio  expression 
"fell  asleep"  is  used  of  St.  Stephen's  death  in  Acts 
vii.  60  (comp.  Matt,  xxvii.  52;  1  Cor.  vii.  39,  where  the 
woi'd  is  not  literally  translated;  xv.  6,  18,  &c.).  The 
thoroughly  Christian  term  "cemetery"  (  =  sleeping- 
place),  in  the  sense  of  a  place  of  repose  for  the  dead, 
comes  from  the  same  Greek  root. 


458 


There  is  a  passage  quoted  by  Clement  of  Rome 
{circ.  A.D.  100)  which  seems  at  first  sight  to  contain  a 
reference  to  this  verse  :  "  Far  be  from  us  this  Scripture 
where  He  saitli,  Wretched  are  the  double-minded,  who 
doubt  in  heart  and  say.  These  things  we  heard  in  the 
times  of  our  fathers  also,  hut  behold,  we  have  grown  old, 
aiul  none  of  them  has  hapijened  to  us  "  [Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  xxiii.).  But  the  remainder  of  this  "  Scrip- 
ture," as  quoted  by  Clement,  is  so  utterly  unlike  the 
verse  before  us,  that  one  suspects  some  other  source. 
And  this  suspicion  is  confirmed  when  we  find  the  same 
passage  quoted  in  the  so-called  SecondEpistle  of  Clement 
(xi.)  as  "  the  prophetic  word."  (See  on  chap.  i.  19  and  on 
chap.  ii.  9).  The  difi'erences  between  the  two  quotations 
are  such  that  the  pseudo-Clement  appears  to  be  quoting 
independently,  and  not  merely  borro^ving  from  the  true 
Clement.  In  neither  case  does  close  inspection  en- 
courage us  to  believe  that  our  present  verse  is  the 
source  of  the  quotation.  But  the  quotation  by  the 
tnie  Clement  is  important  as  a  complete  refutation  of 
the  objection  that  "the  fathers"  means  the  first  Chris- 
tians, and  consequently  no  such  scoffing  argument  as 
this  would  be  possible  in  the  lifetime  of  St.  Peter. 
This  very  argument  was  not  only  in  existence,  but 
was  condemned  in  a  document  which  Clement  before 
the  close  of  the  first  century  could  quote  as  "  Scripture." 
Comp.  Epistle  ofPolycarp,  chap.  vii. :  "  Whosoever  per- 
verts the  oracles  of  the  Lord  to  his  own  lusts,  and  says 
there  is  neither  resurrection  nor  judgment,  ho  is  the 
firstborn  of  Satan." 

All  things  continue  as  they  were.- Rather, 
as  tliey  are.  The  error  has  probably  arisen  from  a 
desire  to  get  rid  of  the  slight  difficulty  of  two  dates 
being  given :  (1)  from  the  death  of  "  the  fathers,"  and 
(2)  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation.  The  suggestion 
that  "the  fathers  "  are  the  first  progenitors  of  the  human 
race  is  another  attempt  to  get  rid  of  the  difiiculty  by 
making  the  two  dates  virtually  one  and  the  same.  But 
the  second  date  is  an  after-thought,  frequent  in  Tlmcy- 
dides,  intensifying  and  strengthening  the  first.  Since 
the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things  continue  as  they  are — 
nay,  more,  since  the  beginning  of  the  creation. 

This  sceptical  argument  is  used  with  increased  force 
as  each  generation  passes  away.  It  will  be  at  its  strongest 
just  before  the  fallacy  of  it  is  irrefragably  exposed— 
on  the  eve  of  the  day  of  judgment. 

(5)  For  this  they  willingly  are  ignorant  of.— 
Literally,  For  this  escai^cs  their  notice  of  their  own  unll. 
Tlicy  volimtarily  blind  their  eyes  to  this  fact — at  once 
an  explanation  of  their  argument,  imAJirst  answer  to  it, 
drawn  from  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  Creation. 

The  earth  standing  out  of  the  water  and  in 
the  water. — The  margin  is  nearer  the  true  meaning 
witli  "  consisting  "  for  "  standing,"  and  the  same  wore 
is  translated  "  consist "  in  Col.  i.  17.  The  notion  is  that 
of  coherence,  solidarity,  and  order,  as  distinct  from 
chaos.  "  Out  of  [the]  water "  indicates  the  material 
out  of  which  the  eai-th  was  made ;  not,  as  our  version 
leads  us  to  suppose,  that  out  of  which  the  earth  rose, 


Tlie  Steadfastness  and 


II.   PETEE,   III. 


Longsuffering  of  God. 


water  and  in  the  water :  (*')  whereby  the 
world  that  then  was,  being  overflowed 
with  water,  perished :  (''^  but  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  which  are  now,  by  the 
same  word  are  kept  in  store,  reserved 
unto  fire  against  the  day  of  judgment 
and  perdition  of  ungodly  men.     (^^  But, 


beloved,  be  not  ignorant  of  this  one 
thing,  that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as 
a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years 
as  one  day.  (^^  The  Lord  is  not  slack 
concerning  his  promise,  as  some  men 
count  slackness  ;  but  is  longsuffering  to 
US-ward,  not  willing   that   any   should 


like  an  island  from  the  oceau.  "In  the  water"  is 
wrong,  and  ao^aiu  the  error  is  probably  derived  from 
Greueva,  though  Tyndale  has  it  also.  Wo  should  render 
rather,  hy  means  of  [the]  water.  In  both  clauses  the 
article  should  perhaps  be  omitted — the  earth  consisting 
out  of  water  and  thr on gh  water.  (Comp.  Ps.  xxiv.  2; 
cxxxvi.  6.)  In  the  Clementine  Homilies  (XI.  xxiv.)  we 
have  the  idea  of  all  things  being  made  by  water.  In 
the  Greek  "  by  the  word  of  God  "  comes  last,  not  first ; 
emphasis  is  obtained  either  way.  "  By  the  word  of 
God ;  "  not  by  a  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,  not  by 
spontaneous  generation.  In  the  Shepherd  of  Hermas 
(I.  Vis.  I.  iii.  4)  we  read,  "  Behold,  the  God  of  idrtues 
(powers)  ....  by  His  mighty  word  has  fixed  the 
heaven,  and  laid  the  foimdation  of  the  earth  upon  the 
waters."  (See  above  on  ii.  1,  3,  13,  15,  20.)  In  an 
Apology  of  Melito,  Bishop  of  Sardis,  addressed  to 
Antoninus  Csesar  about  a.d.  170,  there  is  a  passage 
bearing  a  considerable  amount  of  resemblance  to  these 
verses  (5 — 7). 

(*5)  Whereby.— The  meaning  of  this  is  much  dis- 
puted. The  original  literally  signifies,  hij  means  of 
uihich  things.  But  what  things  ?  The  context  allows 
various  alternatives :  (1)  These  facts  about  the  Creation; 
(2)  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ;  (3)  the  water  out  of 
which,  and  the  water  by  means  of  which,  the  world  was 
made  ;  (4)  any  or  aU  of  these  together  with  the  word  of 
God.  There  is  good  reason  for  preferring  the  second 
of  these.  Both  the  heavens  and  the  earth  contributed 
to  the  deluge ;  for  then  "  all  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  were  broken  up,  and  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
opened"  (Gen.  vii.  11).  The  English  "whereby"  is  as 
vague  as  the  original. 

The  world  that  then  was,  .  .  .  perished.— So 
that  it  is  absurd  to  say  that  all  things  continue  un- 
changed since  the  Creation.  The  world  was  so  trans- 
formed by  the  deluge  that  the  world  previous  to  that 
catastrophe  perished,  chaos  for  the  moment  returned, 
and  a  new  world  issued  from  the  crisis.  "  The  world 
that  then  was,  perished  "  is  equivalent  to  "  He  spared 
not  the  old  world  "  in  chap.  ii.  5. 

(")  By  the  same  word.— Or,  a.s  some  first-rate 
authorities  read,  hy  His  word.  The  .sense  in  either  case 
is  that  the  universe  is  preserved  for  judgment  by  the 
same  power  that  created  it.  "  His  word  "  here  does  not 
mean  any  single  utterance  of  God  or  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, such  as  Isa.  Ixvi.  15;  Dan.  \'ii.  9,  10;  Mai.  iv.  1. 
Just  as  "  the  world  that  then  was  "  was  destroyed  by 
water,  so  the  present  world  is  being  treasured  up  to  be 
destroyed  by  fire.  Comp.  Rom.  ii.  5.  Christ  Himself, 
in  a  discourse  which  St.  Peter  heard  (Mark  xiii.  3),  had 
made  the  Flood  a  type  of  the  Judgment  (Matt.  xxiv.  37 — 
39).  (See  below  on  verse  10.)  "  Unto  fire,"  or  "  for 
fire,"  should  perhaps  be  taken  with  "  kept  in  store " 
rather  than  ^^-ith  "  reserved." 

(8)  Second  Ansn'cr  to  the  sceptical  argument : 
Time  is  the  condition  of  man's  thought  and  action, 
but  not  of  God's.  His  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts, 
nor  His  ways  as  our  ways ;  what  seems  delay  to  us  is  uouo 
to  Him. 


But,  beloved,  be  not  ignorant  of  this  one 
thing. — Although  these  scoffers  are  willingly  ignorant 
of  what  refutes  their  error,  do  not  you  be  ignorant  of 
Avhat  will  lead  you  to  the  truth. 

One  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand 
years. — This  half  of  the  saying  is  quite  original,  and 
has  no  equivalent  in  Ps.  xe.  4.  The  second  half  is  only 
partially  parallel  to  "  a  thousand  years  in  Thy  sight  are 
but  as  yesterday,  when  it  is  past."  Consequently,  we 
cannot  be  sure  that  the  Apostle  had  this  passage  from 
the  Psalms  in  his  mind,  though  it  is  probable  enough 
that  he  had.  That  God  can  punish  in  one  day  the  sins 
of  a  thousand  years  is  a  thought  which  is  neither  in 
the  text  nor  in  the  context.  What  is  insisted  on  is 
simply  this — that  distinctions  of  long  and  short  time  are 
nothing  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  delay  is  a  purely  human 
conception.  Justin  Martyr,  about  a.d.  145  (Trypho, 
Ixxxi.),  gives  "  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  as  a  thousand 
years  "  as  a  quotation,  and  in  this  form  it  is  closer 
to  2  Pet.  iii.  8  than  to  Ps.  xc.  4.  As  another  possible 
reference  to  our  Epistle  follows  in  the  next  chapter,  it 
may  be  regarded  as  not  improl^al^le  that  Justin  knew 
the  Epistle.  (See  above,  second  Note  on  chap.  ii.  1.)  But 
the  saying  may  have  been  a  favourite  one,  especially 
with  those  who  held  Millenarian  views.  In  the  Epistle 
of  Barnabas  (xv.  4)  we  read, "  For  a  day  means  ^vith  Him 
a  thousand  years,  and  He  Himself  witnesseth,  sajnng. 
Behold,  to-day  shall  be  as  a  thousand  years,"  where 
for  "  to-day  "  the  Codex  Sinaiticus  reads  "  the  day  of 
the  Lord."  Irena3us  has  "  The  day  of  the  Lord  is  as  a 
thousand  years  "  twice — (V.  xxiii.  2 ;  xx™i.  3) ;  Hij)po- 
lytus  has  it  once  {Comm.  on  Daniel,  Lagarde,  p.  153); 
Methodius  once  (in  Photius'  Bihliotheca.  cod.  235).  In 
no  case,  however,  is  the  context  at  all  similar  to  the  verses 
before  us. 

(9)  Third  Ansiocr — a  practical  one  :  Make  good  use 
of  what  to  you  seems  to  be  delay. 

The  Lord  is  not  slack. — We  are  in  doubt  whether 
"the  Lord  "means  Christ  or  God  the  Father.  In 
verse  8  "  the  Lord  "  certainly  means  God ;  and  this  is 
in  favour  of  the  same  meaning  here.  On  the  other 
hand,  "  concerning  His  promise  "  naturally  refers  to 
Christ's  promise  that  He  Avill  retiu'n.  The  same  doubt 
recurs  with  regard  to  verse  15  (see  Note  there).  By 
"  is  not  slack  "  is  meant  "  does  not  delay  beyond  the 
time  appointed.''  There  is  no  dilatoiiness ;  Ho  waits, 
but  is  never  slow,  is  never  late. 

Concerning  his  promise.— The  Greek  construc- 
tion is  peculiar,  formed  on  the  analogy  of  a  comparative 
adjective — "is  not  slower  than  his  promise."'  (Comp. 
Rom.  iii.  23.) 

But  is  longsuffering.— (Comp.  verse  15  and  1  Pet. 
iii.  20.  As  St.  Augustine  puts  it,  God  is  ji^ficns  quia 
aetcrmts — longsuffering  because  He  is  eternal.  Ho 
who  is  from  everlnstin<'  to  everlasting  can  afford  to 
wait.     (Comp.  the  Shiphcrd,  Sim.  Yitl.  xi.  1.) 

To  us-ward.— The  true  reading,  ^wyoud  all  doubt,  is 
toicards  you.  It  is  specially  natural  hero  that  St.  Peter 
should  not  include  himself  among  tlio.so  whom  he  ad- 
dresses ;  for  he  is  writing  mainly  to  Gentile  Christians 


459 


The  Final  Destruction 


II.    PETER,     III. 


of  this  World. 


perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  re- 
pentance. <^°^  But  the  clay  of  the  Lord 
Chap.  iii.  10.  ^viU  come  as  a  thief  in 
The  certainty  the  night ;  in  the  which 
of      Christ's  ^Yie    heavens     shall     pass 

coming     the  .  ^. 

basis  of  this  awaj  With  a  great  noise, 
wainiug.  and    the     elements    shall 

melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth 
also   and  the   works   that   are  therein 


1  Or,    haeting   the 
com  iiig. 


shall  be  burned  up.  (">  Seeing  then 
that  all  these  things  shall  q^  j^  -^-^^ 
be  dissolved,  what  manner  18.  Concluding 

of    Jpersons     ought     ye     to   e^ortations. 

be  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness,  (^->  looking  for  and  hasting  ^ 
unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God, 
wherein  the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall 
be  dissolved,  and    the   elements    shall 


(chap.  i.  1),  and  this  longsufferiug  of  God  had  been 
conspicuous  in  His  dealings  Avitli  the  Gentiles  (Rom. 
xi.  11—36.)     (See  second  Note  on  1  Pet.  i.  12.) 

(10)  The  certainty  and  possible  nearness  of  Christ's 
cominof  is  the  basis  of  the  preceding*  warning  and  of 
the  cxJiortations  which  follow. 

As  a  thief  in  the  night.— Suddenly  and  without 
warning.  The  words  are  an  echo  of  Matt.  xxiv.  43,  a 
saying  which  St.  Peter  certainly  heard  (Mark  xiii.  3), 
or  possibly  of  1  Thess.  v.  2,  which  may  easily  be 
included  in  the  Epistles  referred  to  below  in  verse  16. 
Tlio  words  '"  in  the  niglit "  are  here  wanting  in  authority. 

The  heavens  shall  pass  away.— Again  an  apj)a- 
rent  reminiscence  of  the  discourse  in  Matt.  xxiv.  (where 
comp.  verso  35) — the  third  such  reminiscence  in  this 
chapter  (see  preceding  Note,  and  on  verse  7).  This  re- 
peated reproduction  of  words  and  ideas  from  one  of 
the  most  impressive  of  Christ's  discourses,  which  ouly 
St.  Peter  and  three  others  seem  to  haA'e  heard,  may 
fairly  be  added  to  the  evidence  in  favour  of  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Epistle. 

With  a  great  noise. — Better,  with  a  rushing 
noise.  The  expression  occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New 
Testament,  but  some  such  idea  as  that  in  Isa.  xxxiv.  4, 
Rev.  vi.  14,  is  i)robably  indicated — not  the  roar  of 
flames  or  the  crash  of  ruins,  but  the  parting  and  rolUng 
up  of  the  heavens.     (Comp.  Rev.  xx.  11.) 

The  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat.— 
The  meaning  of  "  elements "  hero  is  much  dis- 
puted. (See  Notes  on  the  word  in  Gal.  iv.  3,  9.)  The 
difficulty  of  supposing  fire  to  be  destroyed  by  fire 
seems  to  exclude  the  four  elements  being  intended; 
moreover,  the  earth  is  mentioned  separately.  Hence, 
some  take  "  the  elements  "  to  mean  water  and  air,  the 
two  remaining  elements;  but  this  is  not  very  satis- 
factory. More  probably,  the  various  forms  of  matter 
in  the  universe  are  intended,  'svithout  any  thought  of 
indicating  what  they  are  precisely.  But  seeing  that 
Justin  Martyr  calls  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  "  heavenly 
elements  "  {Apol.  II .  v.,  Trypho,  xxiii.),  and  that  in 
predictions  of  the  last  day  frequent  mention  is  made 
of  "  signs  in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the 
stars"  (Matt.  xxiv.  29;  Mark  xiii.  24;  Luke  xxi.  25; 
Isa.  xiii.  10;  xxiv.  23;  Joel  ii.  31,  &c.),  it  is  possible 
that  the  heavenly  bodies  are  meant  here,  all  the  more 
so,  as  tlio  mention  of  these  "  elements  "  immediately 
follows  that  of  the  heavens.  Bengel  (perhaps  with 
more  poetry  than  correctness)  ingeniously  connects 
this  explanation  with  the  radical  signification  of  the 
word,  viz.,  "  letters  of  the  alphabet,  "  "  for  stars  in  the 
heaven  are  as  letters  on  a  scroll."  (Comp.  Rev.  \\.  14.) 
"  Shall  melt "  should  rather  be,  as  in  the  next  two 
verses,  shall  he  dissolved.  Wiclif  has  "dissolved," 
Eheims  "  resolved."  This  dissolution  is  the  opposite 
of  the  consistency  spoken  of  in  verse  5.  In  verse  12 
"  melt "  is  correct,  and  suits  the  heavenly  bodies  better 


460 


than  the  four  elements.  (Comp.  Tlie  Second  Epistle 
of  Clement,  xvi.  3.) 

The  earth  also  and  the  works  that  are 
therein. — Equivalent  to  "  the  earth  and  the  fulness 
thereof,"  "  works "  being  used  in  a  comprehensive 
sense  for  products  both  of  nature  and  art.  The  moral 
work  of  each  iudividual  is  not  meant;  consequently, 
a  reference  to  1  Cor.  iii.  13  is  misleading.  The  two 
passages  have  little  in  common,  and  nothing  is  gained 
by  bringing  in  the  difficulties  of  the  other  passage  here. 
In  this  passage  the  Apostle  is  stating  plainly  and  in 
detail  what  some  of  the  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament 
had  set  forth  in  general  and  sometimes  obscure  lan- 
guage— that  a  judgment  by  fire  is  in  store  for  the  world 
(Isa.  \x\\.  15,  16,  24 ;  Mai.  iii.  1—3;  iv.  1). 

Shall  be  tourned  up. — The  question  of  readings 
here  is  one  of  known  difficulty.  One  important  MS.  has 
"shall  vanish  away"  (James  iv.  14);  two  first-rate MSS. 
and  other  authorities  have  "  shall  be  found."  The  later 
Syriac  has  "  shaU  not  be  found,"  which  is  pretty  nearly 
equivalent  to  "  shall  vanish  away,"  and  is  sometimes  given 
as  exactly  equivalent  to  it.  "  Shall  be  foxmd,"  the  read- 
ing most  strongly  attested,  is  summarily  rejected  by 
some  editors  as  yielding  no  sense.  Tlie  theory  that 
it  has  grown  out  of  the  Latin  for  "  shall  be  burned 
up  " — eurethcsetai  out  of  exurentur — does  not  seem 
very  probable.  Nor  is  it  true  that  it  j-ields  no  sense. 
By  placing  a  colon  at  "also,"  and  making  what  follows 
a  question,  we  obtain — The  elements  shall  be  dissolved, 
the  earth  also  ;  and  shall  the  ivorJcs  that  are  therein  be 
found  /  Happily,  nothing  of  importance  turns  on  the 
reading;  all  the  variations  amount  practically  to  the 
same  thing — that  the  elements,  the  earth,  and  aU  that  is 
in  it,  shall  be  destroyed. 

(11)  Seeing  then  that  all  these  things  shall  be 
dissolved. — For  "  then  "  we  ought  probably  to  read 
"  thus,"  seeinr/  that  all  these  things  are  thus  to  be 
dissolved.  The  original  is  present  in  form,  but  rightly 
translated  by  the  future,  being  the  prophetic  present, 
i.e.,  the  future  prophetically  regarded  as  present. 

What  manner  of  persons.— Not  so  much  a  ques- 
tion as  an  exclamation.  In  any  case,  the  sentence  should 
run  on  to  the  end  of  verse  12.  To  put  an  interrogation 
at  "  to  bo  "  or  at  "  godliness,"  and  make  what  follows 
an  answer  to  the  question,  would  be  stiff  and  frigid, 
and  very  unlike  the  fervour  of  this  Epistle. 

Ought  ye  to  be. — We  might  fairly  translate, 
ovght  ye  to  be  found.  The  Greek  implies  tliat  the 
state  is  one  that  has  continued  for  some  time  before 
the  day  comes. 

In  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness.— 
Literally,  in  holy  behaviours  and  godlinesses.  (See 
Notes  on  chap  i.  3  and  chap.  ii.  7.)  The  plurals  indicate 
a  variety  of  acts.     Tliey  occur  in  this  passage  only. 

(12)  Hasting  unto.— There  is  no  "unto"  in  the 
Greek.  The  margin  is  probably  right,  hasting  the 
coming — i.e.,  hastening  Christ's  coming  by  holy  lives,  by 
helping  to  make  the  Gospel  known  to  all  nations  (Matt. 


Ecype  in  a  New  Heaven 


11.   PETER,   III. 


and  a  Neiv  Earth. 


melt  with  fervent  heat  ?  (i^)  Neverthe- 
less we,  according  to  his  promise, 
look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 
(14)   Wherefore,    beloved,    seeing    that 


ye  look  for  such  things,  be  diligent 
that  ye  may  be  found  of  him  in 
peace,  without  spot,  and  blame- 
less. <^5)  ^n^  account  tliat  the  long- 
suffermg    of    our    Lord    is    salvation; 


xxiv.  14),  so  as  to  "accomplish  the  number  of  the 
elect,"  aud  by  praying  "  Thy  kingdom  come."  (Comp. 
2  Tim.  iv^  8 ;  Rev.  xxii.  20.)  The  tliought  is  singularly 
parallel  to  St.  Peter's  speech  in  Solomon's  Porch  (Acts 
iii.  19 — 21,  whore  see  Notes) ;  and  as  the  thought  is 
striking  aud  unusual — perhaps  nowhere  else  in  the 
New  Testament  distinctly — this  coincidence  may  fairly 
be  admitted  as  a  note  of  genuineness. 

The  coming  of  the  day  of  God.— A  phrase 
which  occurs  here  only.  It  is  doubly  remarkable : 
(1)  "  coming,"  in  the  special  sense  indicated  by  the  par- 
ticular word  used  in  the  Greek,  is  elsewhere  used  of 
Christ  Himself,  not  of  the  day  ;  (2)  "  the  day  of  God  " 
is  a  veiy  unusual  expression. 

Wherein. — Rather,  hij  reason  of  which,  either 
"  the  day  "  or  "  the  coming  "  being  meant. 

Shall  melt. — "  Melt  "  is  hei-e  correct,  being  quite  a 
different  word  from  that  rendered  "  melt  "  in  verse  10, 
which  is  the  same  as  that  here  translated  "  be  dis- 
solved." In  the  so-called  Second  Epistle  of  Clement 
(chap,  xvi.)  we  have  a  somewhat  similar  passage — "  The 
day  of  judgment  cometh  even  now  as  a  burning  oven 
(Mai.  iv.  1),  and  [the  jtoivers']  of  the  heavens  shall  melt, 
and  all  the  earth  as  lead  melting  on  the  fii-e." 

(W)  Nevertheless  we,  according  to  his  promise. 
— "  Nevertheless  "  is  too  strong,  and  the  eiupliasis  is  on 
"new,"  not  on  "we."  Sut  neio  heavens  and  a  new 
earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness,  we  looJcfor,  ac- 
cording to  His  promise.  (Comp.  Rev.  xxi.  1.)  On  the 
repetition  of  "  look  for,"  three  times  in  three  verses, 
see  above  on  chap.  ii.  7.  The  promise  of  the  new 
heavens  and  new  earth  is  given  in  Isa.  Ixv.  17 ;  Ixvi.  22. 
There  are  two  words  for  "  new  "  in  Greek  ;  one  looks 
forward,  "  young  "  as  opposed  to  "  aged  ;  "  the  other 
looks  back,  "fresh"  as  opposed  to  "  worn  out."  It  is 
the  latter  word  that  is  used  hero  and  in  Rev.  xxi.  1,  2. 
Both  are  used  in  Matt.  ix.  17,  but  the  distinction  is  not 
marked  in  our  version — "  They  put  tiew  wine  into  fresh 
wino-.skrns." 

Wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.— Comp.  Isa. 
Ixv.  25  ;  Rev.  xxi.  27.  Righteousness  has  its  homo 
there ;  is  not  a  wanderer  and  changefid  guest,  as  on 
earth,  therefore  by  righteousness  must  ye  make  your- 
selves worthy  of  entering  therein. 

With  this  whole  verse  compare  1  Pet.  i.,  where  (verse 
4)  a  similar  thought  is  expressed  with  equal  beauty,  and 
where  (verse  13)  a  similar  conclusion  is  drawn  from  it. 
(See  next  verse.) 

(1^)  Be  found  of  him  in  peace,  without  spot, 
and  blameless. — Rather,  Be  found  sj)otlcss  and 
blameless  in  His  sight.  "  Be  found  of  Him,"  i.e.,  "  by 
Him  "  (comp.  chap.  ii.  19),  cannot  stand;  the  con.structiou 
is  parallel  to  "  be  found  unto  you  "  (2  Cor.  xii.  20),  i.e., 
"  in  your  judgment,"  or  "  in  your  sight."  The  pair  of 
epithets,  "  spotless  and  blameless,"  should  be  noticed  as 
coinciding  ^vith  1  Pet.  1.  19,  and  also  as  fonning  a 
marked  contrast  to  the  false  teachers,  who  are  called 
"spots  and  blemishes"  (2  Pet  ii.  13).  "In  peace" 
cannot  well  refer  to  differences  between  Jewish  and 
Gentile  Cliristians,  a  subject  quite  foreign  to  this 
Epistle.  It  may  possibly  refer  to  the  false  teachers 
and  the  discord  caused  by  them ;  but  more  probably  it 


has  no  special  reference.  It  expresses  at  once  the  con- 
dition and  the  consequence  of  being  "  spotless  and 
blameless."  "Tliere  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  for 
the  wicked." 

(15)  The  longsuffering  of  our  Lord.— Again,  as 
in  verse  9,  wo  are  in  doubt  as  to  whether  God  the 
Father  or  the  Lord  Josus  is  meant.  In  neither  case  is 
absolute  certainty  obtainable ;  but  here  the  balance 
seems  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  latter  meaning.  In 
verso  8  "the  Lord  "  certainly  means  God,  and  not  the 
Lord  Jesus  (comp.  cliap.  ii.  9,  11).  In  verse  18  "  our 
Lord  "  is  expi-essly  stated  to  be  Jesus  Christ.  The 
two  intermediate  verses,  9  and  15,  ai-e  open  to  dispute. 
The  fact  that  "our"  appears  in  this  A'crse  before 
"  Lord,"  as  in  verse  18,  inclines  the  balance  hero 
towards  the  meaning  in  verse  18.  Moreover,  had  God 
been  meant,  it  would  have  sufficed  to  say,  "  and  account 
that  His  long-suffering  is  salvation."  If  this  is  correct, 
and  "  our  Lord  "  means  Jesus  Christ,  "  then  through- 
out this  weighty  passage  the  Lord  Jesus  is  invested 
with  the  fuU  attributes  of  Deity."  Here,  possibly,  as 
also  in  chap.  i.  1  (see  Note),  the  expi-ession  points  to 
the  writer's  entire  belief  in  the  imity  of  the  two  Persons. 
Account  the  longsuffering  of  our  Lord  salvation  in- 
stead of  accounting  it  to  be  "slackness"  (verse  9); 
make  use  of  it  for  working  out  your  own  salvation  in 
fear  and  trembling,  instead  of  criticising  it. 

As  our  beloved  brother  Paul.— This  may  pos- 
sibly mean  something  more  than  that  St.  Paul  was  a 
fellow- Christian  aud  a  personal  friend — viz.,  tliat  he 
was  a  fellow-worker  and  brother-evangelist.  More 
than  this  it  cannot  well  mean,  though  some  interpret  it 
"  brother- Apostle."  Tychicus  is  twice  called  "  beloved 
brother  "  by  St.  Paul  (Eph.  vi.  21 ;  Col.  iv.  7),  and  the 
atldition  of  "  our  "  here  can  make  no  such  change  of 
meaning.  It  is  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  allusion 
to  the  dispute  between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  (Gal.  ii.  11), 
although  an  expression  of  marked  affection  would  be 
quite  in  place  as  evidence  that  all  such  differences  were 
now  forgotten.  In  any  case  the  familiarity  aud  equality 
which  the  expression  "  our  beloved  brother  Paul  "  im- 
plies should  be  noticed.  It  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
way  in  which  Clement  of  Rome,  Ignatius.  Polycarp.  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria  speak  of  St.  Paul,  and  iu  this 
way  is  a  decided  note  of  genuineness.  A  wi-iter  of 
the  sub- Apostolic  age  would  not  easily  Ije  able  to  free 
himself  from  the  feeluig  of  the  age  in  this  respect. 
Clement  of  Rome  {Corinthians,  xlvii.  1),  says,  "  Tsdie 
up  the  Epistle  of  the  blessed  I'aul  the  Ajyostle." 
Ignatius  (Ephcsians,  xii.  2)  calls  him  "  Paul  the  sancti- 
fied, the  martyred,  icorfhily  called  blessed."  Polycarp 
(see  next  Note)  calls  him  "  the  blessed  and  glorious 
Paul,"  or  "  the  blessed  Paid."  Clement  of  Alexandria 
commonly  says  simply  "  the  Apostle,"  but  sometimes 
'^  the  divine  Apostle,"  or  "the  noble  Apostle."  An 
imitator  in  the  second  century  would  scarcely  Imve 
attaiued  to  tho  freedom  of  "our  beloved  brother 
Paul." 

According  to  the  wisdom  given  unto  him. — 
Comp.  1  Cor.  iii.  10  ;  Gal.  ii.  9.  Polycarji.  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (.chap.  iii.  21,  says.  "Neither 
I  nor  any  one  else  like  mc  can  equal  the  wisdom  of  tho 


461 


The  Teaching  of 


II.   PETER,   III. 


Paxil's  Eiiiatlea. 


even  as  our  beloved  brother  Paul 
also  according  to  the  wisdom  given 
unto  him  hath  written  unto  you; 
(16)  as  also  in  all  his  epistles,  speaking 


in  them  of  these  things;  in  which 
are  some  things  hard  to  be  under- 
stood, which  they  that  are  unlearned 
and  unstable  wrest,  as  they  do  also  the 


blessed  ami  jflorious  Paul,  who  .  .  .  xvvote  letters  to 
yon,  iuto  which  if  ye  look  diligeutly,  &c.  &e."  This 
seems  to  show  that  St.  Paul's  letters  had  already 
become  the  common  property  of  the  churches. 

Hath  written  unto  you.— More  literally,  wrote 
to  you.  Wliat  Epistle,  or  Epistles,  are  here  meant? 
Few  points  in  this  Epistle  have  been  more  debated. 
Tlio  following  are  some  of  the  many  answers  that  have 
been  given  to  the  question  :  (1)  a  lost  Epistle  ; 
(2)  Hebrews,  because  of  chaps,  ix.  26 — 28 ;  x.  23—25, 
37  ;  (3)  Galatiaus,  Ephesians,  Colossians,  because  our 
Epistle  is  supposed  to  be  addressed  to  the  Christians 
of  A.sia  Minor  ;  (4)  Ephesians  only,  for  the  reason 
just  stated,  and  because  Colossians  and  Galatians 
contain  little  or  no  mention  of  the  day  of  judgment ; 
also  because  of  Eph.  iv.  30,  and  the  encyclical  character 
of  the  Epistle;  (5)  1  Corinthians,  because  of  chap.  i. 
7 — 9 ;  (G)  Romans,  because  of  chaps,  ii.  4  and  ix.  22.  23 ; 
(7)  1  and  2  Thessalonians,  because  of  1  Thess.  iv.  14 — 
18  ;  V.  1—11,  23,  because  2  Pet.  iii.  10  recalls  1  Thess.  v. 
2,  also  because  "  things  hard  to  be  understood  "  admir- 
ably describes  much  of  2  Thess.  ii.,  which  treats  of  the 
time  of  Christ's  coming,  the  very  subject  here  under 
discu.ssion. 

Of  these  seven  theories,  (1)  can  neither  be  proved 
nor  disproved ;  (3)  and  (4)  lose  much  of  their  weight 
when  we  consider  that  the  persons  addi-essed  in  2  Peter 
are  nowhere  defined,  excepting  that  to  some  extent 
they  are  identical  with  those  addressed  in  1  Peter.  Of 
the  remaining  four,  (7)  seems  to  be  very  probable, 
both  on  account  of  the  large  amount  of  coincidence, 
and  also  because  of  the  early  date  of  those  Epistles, 
allowing  an  interval  of  fifteen  years,  in  which  the  two 
Epi-stles  might  easily  have  become  well  known  in  other 
churches.  Still  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  passage  in  them 
about  the  longsnffering  of  God,  such  as  Rom.  ii.  4; 
ix.  22,  23.  And  when  wo  consider  that  Romans  also 
appears  to  have  been  an  Encyclical  Letter,  and  was 
written  not  so  veiy  long  after  the  Epistles  to  the  Thes- 
salonians; that  in  Rom.  iii.  8  St.  Paul  himself  teUs 
us  that  he  had  been  grossly  misunderstood ;  that  chap. 
ix.  3  might  easily  cause  serious  misunderstanding, 
and  that  Rom.  ^^.  16  seems  to  be  recalled  in  2  Pet. 
ii.  19 — it  will  perhaps  be  thought  that  on  the  whole 
Romans  best  answers  to  the  requirements  of  the 
context. 

(ifi)  As  also  in  all  his  epistles.— All  those  known 
to  the  writer.  The  expression  does  not  necessarily 
imply  that  St.  Paul  was  dead,  and  that  his  Epistles 
had  been  collected  into  one  volume.  That  each  church 
made  a  collection  of  them  as  they  became  known  to 
it,  and  that  in  the  great  centres  they  became  known 
soon  after  they  were  written,  are  conjectures  of  great 
probability. 

Speaking  in  them  of  these  things — viz.,  of  the 
return  of  Christ  and  of  the  destruction  of  the  world. 
Some,  however,  understand  the  words  as  meaning  tlie 
exhortations  to  holiness  here  given. 

Some  things  hard  to  be  understood.— Cer- 
tainly the  difficulties  with  which  2  Thess.  ii.  bristles 
are  well  described  by  this  expression,  and  they  relate 
to  the  very  i)oint  in  question— the  time  of  Chiist's 
coming.  Moreover,  scoffers  could  easily  turn  them  to 
account  by  arguing  that  "  the  man  of  sin  "  had  not  yet 


appeared,  and  that  therefore  there  was  no  likelihood  of 
the  end  of  the  world  coming  ju.st  yet.  But  in  admitting 
that  2  Thess,  ii.  is  among  the  passages  alluded  to  hero, 
we  are  not  committed  to  the  theory  that  1  and  2  Thess. 
are  alluded  to  in  ver.se  15.  Many  refer  the.se  words  to 
St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  as  wrested 
to  mean  "faith  without  works."  So,  again,  Eph.  ii.  5, 
6,  and  Col.  ii.  12  might  be  wrested  to  mean  that  "  the 
resurrection  is  past  already "  (2  Tim.  ii.  18).  (See 
Note  on  Rom.  iii.  8  respecting  perversion  of  his 
teaching.) 

Unlearned  and  unstable.— The  word  for  "un- 
learned "  here  is  not  the  same  as  that  translated 
"  unlearned  "  in  Acts  iv.  13.  (See  Note  there.)  That 
signifies  "  without  special  study ; "  this  means  "  with- 
out ordinary  instruction."  Ignorance  naturally  pro- 
duces instability ;  those  who  have  no  clear  principles  of 
Christian  doctrine  easily  fall  \'ictims  to  seductions  of 
all  kinds.     (Comp.  chap.  ii.  14.) 

Wrest. — Literally,  torture  by  means  of  the  rack; 
and  hence  "sti-ain,"  "distort."  That  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine of  Christian  liberty,  as  opposed  to  the  bondage  of 
the  Law,  was  seen  by  himself  to  be  liable  to  great 
abuse,  and  had  already  begun  to  be  abused,  we  learn  _ 
from  liis  own  writings  (1  Cor.  vi.  12 — 20;  Gal,  v.  13 —  ■ 
26  ;  whore  see  Notes.     Comp.  Rev.  ii.  20.)  " 

The  other  scriptures.— The  Old  Testament  can- 
not well  l3e  meant.  St.  Peter  would  scarcely  have  placed 
the  writings  of  a  contemporary  side  by  side  with  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  (the  canon  of  which 
had  long  since  been  closed)  without  some  intimation  of 
a  grouping  which  at  that  time  must  have  been  novel, 
and  probably  was  quite  unknown.  It  is  much  more 
probable  that  Christian  writings  of  some  kind  are  in- 
tended, but  we  can  only  conjecture  which,  any  of  the 
canonical  wi-itiugs  of  the  New  Testament  then  in  exist- 
ence, and  perhaps  some  that  are  not  canonical.  That 
an  Apostle  should  speak  of  the  writings  of  a  brother- 
Apostle  in  the  same  terms  as  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment— viz.,  as  Scripture — need  not  surprise  us,  especially 
when  we  remember  the  large  claims  made  by  St.  Paul 
for  his  own  words  (1  Thess.  ii.  13;  2  Thess.  ii.  15;  Eph. 
iii.  3—5.  Comp.  Acts  xv.  28 ;  Rev.  xxii.  18, 19).  In  1  Pet. 
i.  12,  Evangelists  are  almost  made  supei-ior  to  the  Old 
Testament  Prophets — a  statement  indicating  a  view 
which  harmonises  well  both  with  2  Pet.  i.  15 — 19  and 
with  the  view  set  forth  here;  for  in  chap,  i.  15  he 
assigns  to  tliis  Epistle  much  the  same  purpose  as  in 
chaii.  i,  19  he  assigns  to  the  Old  Testament  Prophets. 
Moreover,  we  have  seen  how  Clement  of  Rome  uses  the 
term  "  Scriptui-e  "  of  a  passage  which  comes  from  some 
uncanonical  book  (see  above  on  verse  4),  See  Intro- 
duction, I.  c.  5.  4, 

Unto  their  own  destruction. — The  Greek  is 
vci-y  emphatic  as  to  its  being  "  their  own."  (Comp. 
"Bring  upon  themselves  swift  destruction,"  chap.  ii.  1.) 
It  is  their  own  doing — St.  Paul  and  other  writers  of 
Scripture  are  not  to  blame ;  and  it  befits  them — they 
will  find  the  end  they  deserve.  This  passage  gives  no 
countenance  to  the  Roman  doctrine  that  all  Scripture 
is  hard  to  understand,  and  therefore  not  to  be  read  by 
the  people.  All  that  is  here  said  is  that  some  Scripture 
is  hard  to  understand,  and  that  bad  men  make  a  bad 
use  of  the  fact.     The  inference  drawn  from  this  by  St. 


462 


Final  Exlwrtation. 


TI.   PETER,   III. 


Conclusion. 


other  scriptures,  unto  their  own  destruc- 
tion. (17)  Ye  therefore,  beloved,  seeing 
ye  know  these  things  before,  beware 
lest  ye  also,  being  led  away  with  the 
error  of    the    wicked,   fall    from  your 


own    stedfastness.       f^^)    But   grow  in 
grace,  and   in   the   knowledge   of    our 
Lord    and    Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     To 
him  he  glory  both  now  and 
for  ever.     Amen.  Doxology. 


Peter  is  not,  "  Do  not  read  Scripture,"  nor  even  "  Pass 
over  what  seems  to  bo  hard,"  but  "Be  on  your  guard 
against  being  led  astray  by  intei-pretations  contrary  to 
the  si)irit  of  the  gospel." 

(1")  Know  these  things  before.— Seeing  that  I 
have  forewarned  you  of  the  certain  appearance,  con- 
duct, and  success  of  these  false  teachers  and  scoffers. 
"  Forewarned,  forearmed." 

Being  led  away  with.— Tlie  Greek  word  occurs 
only  thrice  in  the  Now  Testament — here,  Rom.  xii.  16, 
and  Gal.  ii.  13.  In  Rom.  xii.  16  its  moaning  is  a  good 
deal  diiferent  (see  Note  there).  In  Gal.  ii.  13  it  has 
the  same  meaning  as  here ;  and,  strangely  enough,  it  is 
of  Barnabas  being  "carried  away  with"  the  dissimula- 
tion of  Peter  and  his  associates. 

The  error  of  the  wicked.— Better,  the  error  of 
the  lawless  (chap.  ii.  7),  but  not  "the  seduction"  or 
"  deceit  of  the  lawless,"  as  some  would  render  it.  It  is 
the  same  word  as  occurs  at  the  end  of  chap.  ii.  18,  and 
it  implies  wandering  from  the  path,  but  not  leading 
otliors  astray.  The  context,  not  the  word  itself,  shows 
that  there  was  seduction.  "The  lawless"  are  the  false 
teachers  and  scoffers. 

Fall  from  your  own  stedfastness.— Refening 
back  to  chap.  i.  10 — 12,  just  as  verso  IS  refers  back  to 
chap.  i.  5 — 8 ;  showing  how  complete  is  the  coherence 
b(>tween  the  beginning  and  ending  of  the  Epistle. 
(Comp.  Gal.  v.  4.)  This  "  steadfastness  "  will  be  based 
on  belief  in  Christ's  coming,  and  on  the  hope  of  enter- 
ing into  His  kingdom,  and  thus  will  be  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  imbelief  of  the  "  unstable  "  in  verse  16. 
The  word  for  "  steadfastness  "  occurs  nowhere  else. 

The  entire  absence  of  directions — which  St.  Jude 
gives  rather  elaborately — as  to  how  these  e^^l  men  and 
their  victims  are  to  be  ti'oated  by  sound  Christians  is 
in  favour  of  the  priority  of  this  Epistle.  "When  evil 
men  begin  to  arise,  the  first  impulse  is  to  avoid  them 
and  their  ways,  and  to  this  course  St.  Peter  exhorts 
his  readers.  When  such  men  have  establi.shed  them- 
selves and  gained  proselytes,  people  begin  to  consider 
how  to  deal  mth  the  seducers  and  to  win  back  the 
seduced,  and  to  these  points  St.  Jude  dii-ects  his 
readers. 

(1**)  But  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord. — Or,  But  grow  in  the  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord — i.e.,  it  may  moan  "the  grace 
of  our  Lord"  as  well  as  "the  knowledge  of  our  Lord." 
But  the  Greek  is  not  decisive  on  this  point ;  and  the 
rendering  In  our  version  avoids  the  awkwardness  of 
coupling  a  subjective  and  objective  genitive  together 
by  "  and."  For  "  the  grace  of  our  Lord  "  must  moan 
tlie  grace  of  which  He  is  the  giver ;  while  "  tlie  know- 
ledge of  our  Lord  "  must  mean  the  knowledge  of  whicli 
He  is  the  object.  Rom.  xv.  4  and  1  Pet.  i.  2  are  not 
instances  of  such  coupling. 


The  Apostle  ends,  as  he  began,  by  exhorting  them  to 
that  sound  knowledge  which  he  sets  forth  as  the  sure 
basis  of  all  Christian  activity,  whether  the  knowledge 
be  full  and  mature,  as  in  chap.  i.  2,  3,  8 ;  ii.  20  or  to 
be  acquired  and  increased,  as  in  chap.  i.  5  and  here. 

DoxoLOGY. — Tlie  Epistle  comes  to  a  most  abrupt 
conclusion,  without  any  personal  remarks  or  greetings. 
This  is  so  unlike  the  First  Epistle,  so  unusual  in 
Apostolic  letters  generally,  that  an  imitator,  and  so 
accomplished  an  imitator  as  the  writer  of  this  Epistle 
must  have  been,  would  scarcely  have  omitted  so  usual 
and  natural  an  addition.  The  addition  would  have  been 
doubly  natural  here,  for  the  i^ersonator  (if  the  writer 
of  the  Epi.stle  be  such)  is  personating  St.  Peter  near  the 
end  of  his  life,  wi-iting  to  congregations  whom  he  is 
not  likely  either  to  see  or  address  again.  Surely  the 
circumstances  would  have  seemed  to  him  to  demand 
some  words  of  personal  greeting  and  tender  farewell ; 
and  Acts  xx.  18—35;  2  Tim.  iv.  6—18,  would  have 
supplied  him  with  models.  But  nothing  of  the  kind  is 
inserted.  Assume  that  St.  Peter  himself  is  the  writer, 
and  then  we  can  understand  how  he  came  to  disajipoint 
such  natural  expectations.  His  heart  is  too  full  of  the 
fatal  dangers  whicli  threaten  the  whole  Christian  com- 
munity to  think  of  himself  and  his  personal  friends. 
As  to  his  death,  which  cannot  be  far  off,  he  knows  that 
it  will  come  swiftly  at  the  last,  and  his  chief  fear 
is  lest  it  should  come  upon  him  before  lie  has  left 
on  record  these  words  of  warning  and  exhortation 
(chap.  i.  13 — 15).  Tlierefore,  at  the  opening  he  hurries 
to  his  subject  at  once,  and  presses  on,  without  pause  or 
break,  until  it  is  exhausted ;  and  now  that  he  has  un- 
burdened his  heart  he  cares  to  say  no  more,  but  ends  at 
once  with  a  tribute  of  pi'aise  to  the  Master  that  bought 
him. 

To  him  be  glory. -Better,  to  Him  be  the  glory— 
all  that  His  croatm-cs  have  to  render.  "Whatever  maybe 
oui-  A-iew  of  verso  15,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  this 
doxology  homage  is  paid  to  Jesus  Christ  as  true  God. 
It  is,  perhaps,  tlie  earliest  example  of  that  "  hj-mn  to 
Christ  as  God  "  which  Pliny  tells  Trajan  the  Christians 
were  accustomed  to  sing  before  daybreak. 

And  for  ever. — Literally,  and  to  the  day  of  eter- 
nity. The  phrase  is  used  by  the  LXX.  in  Ecclus.  XA-iii. 
10.  but  is  round  nowhere  else  in  the  Now  Testament. 
It  means  that  day  which  marks  the  end  of  time  and  the 
beginning  of  eternity,  the  day  which  not  only  begins 
but  is  eternity.  The  expression  is  quite  in  liarmony 
with  the  genoi-al  drift  oi  the  chapter.  "  Heaven  and 
earth  shall  pass  away,  but"  "the  day  of  God"  "shall 
not  pass  away." 

Amen. — Comp.  Jude,  verse  25.  Here  the  word  is 
of  rather  doul)tful  autliority.  Being  usual  in  doxologies, 
it  would  be  very  likely  to  be  added  by  a  copj-ist. 


463 


THE      EPISTLES      OF 

JOHN. 


96 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

THE     FIEST     EPISTLE     GENERAL    OP 

JOHN. 


I.  Wno  WAS  THE  Writer? 
II.  Who  were  the  Readers? 

III.  What  were  the  Circumstances  of  the 

Churches  ? 

IV.  Is  the  Writing  an  Epistle? 

I.  Who  was  the  Writer  ?— Three  Epistles  come 
before  us  iu  the  New  Testament  beariug  a  very  strong 
family  likeness  to  each  other  and  to  the  Fourth  Gospel. 
They  carry  no  superscription  in  their  text,  but  "the 
elder,"  or  "  the  old  man."  Whose  are  they  ?  The 
manuscripts  from  which  they  are  derived  have  always 
said  "  John's,"  and  in  some  is  added  "  the  Apostle." 

We  will  here  consider  the  First.  The  Second  and 
Tliird  will  be  treated  separately.  The  e\'idence  for 
the  First  is  as  strong  as  anything  could  bo.  It  was 
accepted  as  the  Apostle's  by  the  whole  Church. 
Eusebius,  the  historian  (born  about  a.d.  270),  places  it 
among  the  writings  "  universally  admitted  {lionnolo- 
goumena) " ;  and  Jerome  states  that  it  received  the 
sanction  of  all  members  of  the  Church.  The  only 
exceptions  were  such  sects  of  heretics  as  would  be 
likely  to  repudiate  it  as  not  harmonising  with  their 
theological  errors :  the  Alogi,  or  "  Unreasonables,"  an 
obscure  and  rather  doubtful  sect  in  the  second  century, 
who  rejected  St.  John's  Gospel  and  the  Revelation, 
and  therefore,  probably,  these  three  Epistles ;  and 
Marcion,  in  the  same  century,  who  chose  such  parts  of 
the  New  Testament  as  suited  him  best,  and  altered 
them  at  pleasure. 

The  evidence  of  quotation  and  reference  begins  early. 
Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St.  John,  became  a  Christian 
A.D.  83.  In  the  epistle  which  he  wrote  to  the  Philippians, 
occur  these  words  :  "  For  every  one  that  confesseth  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  anticlirist." 
The  likeness  to  1  John  iv.  2,  3,  is  marked ;  and  it  is  far 
more  probable  that  a  looselj  written  letter,  such  as  his, 
should  embody  a  well-known  saying  of  so  sententious 
and  closely  worded  a  treatise  as  the  First  Epistle  of  John 
than  the  other  way. 

Papias,  Bishop  of  Hierapolis,  flourished  in  the  first 
half  of  the  second  century.  Irenajus,  who  was  bom 
about  the  end  of  the  first  century,  says  that  he  was 
a  hearer  of  St.  John.  This  is  contradicted  by  Eusebius 
on  the  evidence  of  Papias'  own  writings  (H.E.  III.  39, 
1,  2) ;  but  ho  wrote  a  work  called.  An  Explanation  of 
the  Oracles  of  the  Lord,  in  which  he  bore  witness  to 
the  authenticity  of  Christian  doctrine.  The  account 
of  his  work  is  derived  from  Eusebius,  the  historian, 
who  says  that  "  he  used  testimonies  from  the  First 
Epistle  of  John."  By  balancing  the  name  of  St.  John 
in  this  sentence  with  that  of  St.  Peter,  Eusebins  evi- 
dently understood  the  Apostle. 

About  A.D.  100  was   oom  Justin  Martyr.     In  his 


467 


V.  When  was  it  written? 
VI.  Where  was  it  written? 
VII.  What  is  its  Scope? 
VIII.  Notes  on  Difficult  Passages. 
IX.  Literature. 

time  was  written  the  anonymous  epistle  to  Diognetns. 
Six  of  its  chapters  contain  indisputable  reminiscences 
of  the  First  Epistle.  The  epistle  of  the  Churches  of 
Vienne  and  Lyons  was  written  in  a.d.  177.  It  quotes 
1  John  iii.  16.  Carpocrates,  the  Gnostic,  lived  at 
Alexandi-ia  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century.  He 
tried  to  pervert  1  John  v.  19,  "  The  whole  world  lieth 
in  the  evil  one."  Irenseus  cites  three  passages  from  the 
First  Epistle,  mentioning  its  author ;  and  Eusebius  men- 
tions this  piece  of  e\ddence  in,  exactly  the  same  manner 
as  that  from  Papias.  Clement  of  Alexandria  was  bom 
about  A.D.  150.  Like  Irenseus,  he  quotes  passages  from 
the  First  Epistle,  naming  the  author.  So  Tertullian, 
born  about  the  same  time,  Origen,  and  the  succeeding 
Fathers.  About  a.d.  170,  a  Canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  drawn  up  by  some  teacher  for  the  use  oi 
catechumens.  This  is  now  known  by  the  name  of 
Muratori,  who  discovered  and  printed  it  a.d.  1740. 
(See  Tregelles'  Canon  Muratorianus,  pages  1,  81 — 89  : 
Oxford,  1867.)  "What  wonder,"  it  says,  "that  St. 
John  makes  so  many  references  to  the  Fourth  Gospel 
in  his  Epistles,  saying  of  himself,  'that  which  we 
have  seen  with  our  eyes,  and  have  heard  with  our  ears, 
and  our  hands  have  handled,  that  have  we  written '  ? 
for  thus  he  professes  himself  not  only  the  eye-witness, 
but  also  the  hearer  and  the  writer  of  all  the  wonders  of 
the  Lord  in  order."  And,  after  cataloguing  St.  Paul's 
Epistles,  it  continues  :  "  The  Epistle  of  Jude,  and  the 
two  which  bear  the  name  of  John  as  a  title,  are  con- 
sidered General."  The  writer  evidently  means  the 
Second  and  Third  Epistles,  which  might  not  have  been 
considered  general  from  their  shortness  and  slightness. 
The  Peschito,  or  Syrian  version,  of  about  the  same  date, 
gives  the  same  evidence  as  the  Muratorian  Canon.  We 
have  thus  a  consentient  voice  from  the  churches  of  East 
and  West,  of  Syria,  of  Alexandria,  of  Africa,  and  of  Gaul. 
So  strong,  so  clear,  is  the  external  proof.  On  the 
internal,  nothing  can  bo  better  than  the  words  of 
Ewald.  "  As  in  the  Gospel,  we  see  here  the  author 
retire  to  tlie  backgroimd,  unwilling  to  spcnk  of  himself, 
and  still  loss  to  support  anything  by  the  weight  of  his 
name  and  reputation,  although  the  reader  here  meets 
him,  not  as  the  calm  narrator,  but  as  an  epistolaiy 
writer,  as  exhorter  and  teacher,  as  an  Apostle,  and, 
moreover,  as  the  only  surviving  Apostle.  It  is  the  same 
delicacy  and  diffidence,  the  same  lofty  calmness  and 
composure,  and  especially  the  same  truly  Christian 
modesty,  that  cause  him  to  retire  to  the  background  as 


I.   JOHN. 


an  Apostle,  and  to  say  altogether  so  little  of  liiinsclf. 
Ho  only  desires  to  counsel  and  warn,  and  to  remind  his 
readers  of  tlio  sublime  truth  they  liave  once  acquired  ; 
and  the  higher  ho  stands  the  less  ho  is  disposed  to 
humblo    'the    brethren'   by   his    great   authority   and 
directions.     But  ho  knew  wlio  ho  was,  and  every  word 
tells  plainly  tliat  he  only  could  thus  speak,  coimsel,  and 
warn.     The  unique  consciousness  which  an  Apostle  as 
he  grew  older  could  carry  within  himself,  and  which 
ho,   onco    tlio    favourite    disciple,    had   in   a   peculiar 
measure ;  tlie  calm  superiority,  clearness,  and  decision  in 
thinking  on  Christian  subjects ;  the  rich  experience  of 
a  long  Hfe,  steeled  in  the  victorious  struggle  with  every 
unchristian  element;  and  a  glowing  language  lying  con 
coaled  under  this  calmness,  which  makesus  feel  intuitively 
that  it  does  not  in  vain   commend  to  us  love  as  the 
higliest  attainment  of    Christianity — all  this  coincides 
80  remarkably  in  this  Epistle,  that  every  reader  of  that 
period,  probably  without  any  fiu-ther  intimation,  might 
readily  determine  who  he  was.     But  where  the  connec- 
tion required    it  the  author  intimates   with   manifest 
plainness  that  he  stood  in  the  nearest  possible  relations 
to  Jesus  (chaps,  i.  1 — 3;  iv.   IG ;  v.  3— 6),  precisely  as 
lie  is  wont  to  express  himself  in  similar  circumstances 
in  the  Gospel ;  and  all  this  is  so  artless  and  simple,  so 
entirely  witliout  the  faintest  trace  of  imitation  in  either 
case,  that  nobody  can  fail  to  perceive  that  the  self-same 
author  and  Apostle  must  have  composed  both  wiitiugs" 
(Ewald,  Die  Johann.  Schriften,  i.  431). 

No  less  than  thirty-five  passages  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  are  common  to  the  First  Epistle.  These 
expressions  occur  in  twenty-three  different  places,  and 
are  used  in  a  way  of  which  only  the  author  of  the  same 
two  treatises  could  be  capable.  Considerably  more 
than  half  of  the  parallel  places  in  tlio  Gosj)el  belong 
to  the  farewell  discourses  of  John  xii. — xvii.  There 
the  tender,  lo\'ing,  receptive,  truthful,  retentive  mind 
of  the  bosom-friend  had  been  particularly  necessary  ; 
at  that  great  crisis  it  had  been,  through  the  S^iirit  of 
God,  particularly  strong;  and  the  more  faithfully  St. 
John  had  listened  to  his  Master  and  reproduced  Him, 
the  deeper  tlio  impression  was  which  the  words  made  on 
his  own  mind,  and  the  more  likely  he  was  to  dwell  on 
them  in  another  work  instead  of  on  his  own  thoughts 
and  words.  The  style  may  be  his  own  both  in  Gospels 
and  Epistles,  modified  by  that  of  our  Lord ;  the 
thoughts  are  the  thoughts  of  Jesus.  (See  Vol.  I., 
pp.  557  and  558.)  An  examination  of  the  following 
parallels  will  illustrate  this  : 


First  Epistle  of  John. 

Chap.  iii.  Iti. 
„      iii.  22. 

„      iv.  5,  6. 


First  Epistle  of  John. 

Gospel  of  John. 

Chap 

i.  1,2 

Chap 

i.  1,  2,  14. 

,, 

i.  4. 

J, 

XV.  11. 

» 

xvi.  24. 

i> 

i.  10. 

V.  38. 

i> 

u.  1,  2. 

" 

xiv.  16. 
xi.  51,  52. 

ft 

xiii.  15,  34,  35 

» 

ii.  4— 6. 

xiv.  21—24. 
XV.  10. 

» 

ii.  8. 

xiii.  34, 

» 

ii.  11. 

» 

xii.  35. 

» 

ii.  23. 

>» 

XV.  23,  24. 

V.  24. 

M 

ii.  27. 

xiv.  26. 

» 

iii.  1. 

„ 

xvii.  25. 

» 

iii.  8. 

,, 

viii.  44. 

9» 

iii.  10. 

jj 

viii.  47. 

9> 

ill  13—15. 

,, 

v.  24,  38. 

„ 

XT.  18,  19. 

iv. 

9. 

iv. 

16. 

V. 

3,4 

V 

9. 

V 

12. 

V 

13. 

V. 

14. 

111. 


XIV 

xvi 


468 


Gospel  of  John. 

Chap.     XV.  12,  13. 
ix.  31. 
„       x^-i.  23. 
„         iii.  31. 
„        XV.  19. 
„      viii.  47. 
36. 
69. 
15. 
33. 
V.  36. 
iii.  36. 
xiv.  6. 
XX.  31. 
xiv.  13,  14. 
„      xvi.  23. 

The  proof  that  the  Fourth  Gospel  was  the  work  of 
St.  John  is  given  in  the  Introduction  to  that  Gospel,  in 
the  first  volume.  On  internal  grounds  alone,  wnthout 
the  strong  external  evidence  already  sketched,  an 
unbiassed  mind  would  find  it  very  difficult  to  believe 
that  the  First  Epistle  (and  the  Second  and  Third  also) 
are  not  by  the  same  author.  Even  the  style  and  con- 
struction have  an  identity  which  could  not  easily  be 
sj)urious  or  accidental.  This  is  seen  in  the  habit  of 
thinking  in  periods  the  limbs  of  which  are  parallel  and 
co-ordinate  instead  of  progressive :  the  juncture  of 
these  by  "  and  "  instead  of  by  particles,  expi-essing  con- 
sequence or  movement :  the  peculiar  use  of  four  special 
particles  :  the  general  Aramaic  framework  of  the 
diction  :  and  the  constant  reappearance  of  special 
words  and  jdirases.  The  identity  of  ideas  in  both 
wi-itings  is  of  the  same  charactor ;  they  bear  no  sign  of 
imitation,  but  are  the  free  production  of  the  same 
spirit.  Light,  life,  darkness,  truth,  the  lie,  propitiation, 
doing  righteousness,  doing  sin,  doing  lawlessness,  life 
and  death,  loving  and  hating,  love  of  the  Father  and 
love  of  the  world,  children  of  God  and  children  of  the 
deAal,  the  spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error  :  all 
these  notions  underlie  the  thought  of  both  Gospel  and 
Epistle.  The  writer  of  each,  too,  has  the  same  charac- 
teristics :  love  of  the  background  for  himself ;  absorbing 
devotion  to  his  Lord ;  faithful  receptiveness  and  faculty 
for  sympathetic  reproduction  of  His  thoughts  and 
spirit ;  pure  unruffled,  unfaltering  movement  among 
the  very  inmost  facts  of  life  and  being;  intense  un- 
hesitating indignation  (like  thimder  from  a  clear  sky) 
for  wilful  depravers  of  spiritual  truth ;  and  the  abso- 
lute tranquillity  of  that  certainty  which  comes  from 
long  conviction  and  demonstrable  experience.  So, 
again,  the  particular  dogmatic  notes  of  each  are  the 
same  :  the  Spirit  already  marking  off  the  true  from 
false  believers,  and  so  preparing  the  way  for  the  final 
judgment ;  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God 
already  by  the  presence  of  the  Father  and  the  Son 
in  the  Spirit ;  the  actual  present  beginning  of  over- 
lasting  life,  and  the  safety  from  future  judgment ; 
the  present  existence  of  the  last  hour ;  Christ  the 
actual  Paraclete,  the  Di^-ine  Spirit  being  another.  It 
would,  indeed,  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  structural  and 
penetrating  identity  between  the  works  of  any  author 
whatever  than  there  is  between  the  Gospel  and  the 
First  Epi.stle. 

It  was  Scaliger  (1484 — 1558)  who  first  announced 
"  the  three  Epistles  of  John  are  not  by  the  Apostle  of 
that  name."  The  tradition  mentioned  by  Eusebius 
that  there  was  living  at  Ephesus  at  the  same  time  as 
St.  John  a  presbyter  of  the  same  name,  to  whom  great 


I.   JOHN. 


vreigbt  was  attributed  because  be  was  a  bearer  of  our 
Lord,  seems  to  bave  giveu  rise  to  tbe  uotiou  tbat  "  tbe 
elder  "  of  tbe  tbree  Epistles  was  tins  traditional  person. 
Tbose  wbo  take  tbis  view  are  guilty  of  tbe  fallacy  tbat 
if  tbis  man  existed  be  must  bave  bad  all  tbe  cbai'ac- 
teristics  of  tlie  Apostle  because  be  bad  bis  name  and 
was  contempoi'ary.  It  is  far  more  probable  tbat  tbo 
beginning  of  tbo  tbree  Epistles  gave  rise  among  tbo 
ignorant  to  tbe  tradition. 

In  modern  times,  S.  G.  Lange  was  tbe  first  wbo 
questioned  tbe  Epistle  on  internal  grounds.  His  argu- 
ment rests  on  tbe  assumption  tbat  it  is  destitute  of  all 
cbaracteristic  individuality  and  personality;  tbat  tbe 
affinity  of  tbe  Epistle  to  tbe  Gospel  is  an  imitation ; 
tbat  tlie  Epistle  exbibits  marks  of  senile  decay ;  and 
tbat  if  it  was  written  after  tbe  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
mention  must  bave  been  made  of  it  in  cbap.  ii.  18. 
Few  sound  critics  will  tbink  tbese  assumptions  wortb 
refutation.  Tbe  next  opponent,  Bretscbneider,  lived 
to  recant  bis  doubts.  Tbe  unreasonableness  of  Claudius, 
Horst,  and  Paulus  is  even  more  arbitrary,  imaginative, 
and  groundless  tban  tbat  of  Lange. 

Tbe  Tubingen  scbool  bave  a  preconception  of  tbeir 
own  to  support.  As,  according  to  them,  tbere  can  be 
no  miracle,  so  tbere  can  be  no  dii'eet  revelation ;  tbe 
beginning  of  Cbristianity  must  bave  been  tbe  natural 
consciousness  of  an  individual,  sucb  as  Jesus  of 
Nazaretb,  developing  gradually  tbrougb  a  mucb  longer 
j)eriod  tban  tbe  accepted  Christian  history;  they 
hold  that  Christ  only  slightly  modified  Judaism;  that 
in  tbe  bands  of  St.  Peter  and  of  St.  John  in  the 
Apocalypse,  His  teaching  took  an  Ebionite  form,  in  the 
hands  of  St.  Paul  was  adapted  to  the  Gentile  world  at 
large ;  thence  arose  contentions,  in  reconciliation  of 
which  tbe  greater  part  of  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament  were  composed,  as  party-writings  without 
strict  historical  value.  Tbe  Epistle  is  therefore  treated 
by  different  members  of  the  school  as  it  will  best  suit 
their  special  theory.  Kostlin  and  Georgii  think  tbe 
author  of  the  Gospel  tbe  same  as  of  the  Epistle  ;  Zeller 
supposes  it  possible  that  they  may  be  by  different 
bauds.  Baur  pronounces  the  Epistle  a  weak  imitation 
of  the  Gospel ;  Hilgenfeld  a  splendid  product  of  it. 
Thus  they  contradict  each  other.  Tbe  main  arguments 
of  Baur  are  five,  and  may  be  given  as  a  specimen : — 
(1)  Studious  anxiety  of  the  writer  of  tbe  Epistle  in  his 
preface  to  be  considered  the  same  as  tbe  author  of  tbe 
Gospel;  (2)  vain  attempt  at  drawing  a  distinction 
between  divine  and  human  testimony ;  ( 3)  tbe  escbato- 
logy  of  tbe  Epistle  more  material  than  that  of  tbe 
Gospel;  (4)  tbe  ideas  of  propitiation  and  Christ  the 
interceding  Paraclete  more  like  the  Epistle  to  tbe 
Hebrews  tban  tbe  Gospel ;  (5)  the  teaching  wholly 
Montanistic,  because  it  describes  Christians  as  noly  and 
sinless,  mentions  tbe  anointing,  and  draws  a  distinction 
between  venial  and  mortal  sins.  Of  tbese  it  may  be 
shortly  said  (1)  tbat  an  imitation  would  bave  been 
more  skilful,  and  tbat  the  intense  consciousness  of  tbe 
eye-witness  would  necessarily  produce  tbe  same  line  of 
thought  when  St.  John  was  prefacing  his  moral  treatise 
as  when  he  was  writing  bis  history ;  (2)  tbat  tbe  dis- 
tinction runs  throughout  tbe  Gospel ;  (3)  to  a  candid 
reader  tbe  difference  is  impossible  to  discover ;  (4)  no 
expression  could  be  more  sacrificial  tban  "  the  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  tbe  sin  of  the  world ;"  (5)  St. 
John  is  describing  tbe  ideal,  not  a  class  :  tbe  anointing 
is  most  certainly  not  that  in  baptism,  mentioned  for 
tbe  first  time  by  Tertullian,  but  tbat  of  "  pouring  out 
tbe  Spirit :  "  and  tbere  is  no  reference  whatever  to  the 
six  or  seven  deadly  sins  of  Tertulhan,  while  there  is 


a  very  distinct  similarity  between  tbe  idea  of  the 
sin  unto  death  and  tbe  sin  against  tbe  Holy  Ghost 
of  the  Gospels.  Baur,  in  fact,  as  Diisterdieck  says, 
has  taken  the  Gnostic  and  Montanistic  caricatures 
of  the  Apostobcal  teaching  as  if  they  were  its  type 
and  origin. 

Tbe  Epistle,  then,  has  abundant  historical  evidence ; 
the  internal  evidence  tbat  it  is  by  the  same  hand  as  the 
Fourth  Gospel  is  particularly  strong ;  and  tbe  attacks 
of  hostile  critics  are  peculiarly  arbitrary  and  un- 
founded. 

n.  "WTio  were  the  Readers  ?— There  is  in  St. 
Augustine's  works — and  he  often  quotes  this  Epistle 
— a  solitary  citation  of  it  as  written  to  tbe  Partbians. 
Whether  this  was  bis  own  opinion,  a  mere  current 
traditional  title,  or  a  clerical  error,  tbe  designation 
seems  to  bave  arisen  from  the  fact  mentioned  by 
Clement  of  Alexandria  that  tbe  Second  Epistle  was 
sometimes  called  "  that  to  tbe  virgins "  (the  word 
in  tbe  Greek  for  "virgin"  being  parihenos).  Tbis 
title  evidently  became  misunderstood,  and  may  bave 
been  applied  to  the  First  Epistle  in  error.  One 
critic  has  discovered  in  "  tbat  wbich  ye  beard  from  tbe 
beginning  "  a  proof  tbat  tbe  readers  were  the  inhabitants 
of  Judaea ;  another,  identifying  St.  John's  corre- 
spondent Caius  with  St.  Paul's  host  at  Corinth  (it  was 
one  of  the  commonest  of  all  classical  names),  fancies 
tbat  they  must  have  been  Corinthians ;  but  it  was 
evidently  written  to  no  church  in  particular  :  probably 
to  a  circle  of  churches  in  immediate  connection  with  St. 
John,  sucb  as  the  seven  addressed  in  the  Revelation. 
Tbe  warning  against  idolatry  may  not  unreasonably 
suggest  Gentile  Christians,  and  the  contrast  of  the 
knowledge  of  tbe  true  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  implying 
eternal  life,  with  the  dazzling  speculations  of  innovat- 
ing teachers,  harmonises  with  the  historical  notice  that 
St.  John  resided  at  Ephesus. 

III.  What  were  the  Circumstances  of  the 

Churches? — (1)  Tbere  is  no  allusion  to  persecutions. 
The  hatred  of  tbe  world,  the  victory  over  the  wicked 
one,  the  victory  over  the  world,  suggest  spiritual 
conflict  rather  than  hostile  attacks. 

(2)  The  internal  indications  point  rather  to  disunion, 
want  of  brotherly  love,  want  of  steadfastness  in  the 
fellowship  of  tbe  Father  and  tbe  Son,  tbe  seductions  of 
worldliuess,  tbe  snares  of  false  brethren,  tbe  e^ils  of  a 
time  of  peace,  when  persecution  no  longer  braces  tbe 
sinews  of  faith,  and  warning  is  needed  rather  than 
consolation ;  or  when  perversion  has  lost  tbe  moral 
shock  of  novelty  and  Christian  loyalty  tbe  fire  of 
its  indignation;  a  time  full  of  evidence  of  continued 
spiritual  ^•itality  in  old  and  young,  but  also  when  a 
recognised  leader  of  a  church  can  be  so  ambitious  as 
to  reject  tbe  authority  of  tbe  last  of  the  Apostles,  and 
when  heathen  speculation  rather  tban  Jewisu  prejudice 
is  beginning  to  corrupt  Christian  faith. 

(3)  Tbe  particular  heretics  combated  bad  a  Docetic 
tendency,  not  yet  fully  developed.  Their  theory  was 
tbat  tbo  Son  o^  God  was  a  phantom,  united  for  a  time 
with  tbe  man  Jesus.  St.  John's  contemporary,  Cerin- 
thus,  already  noticed  in  tbe  Introduction  to  bis  Gospel, 
held  tbat  Jesus  was  tbe  son  of  Joseph,  to  whom  the 
Logos  was  united  from  His  baptism  to  His  crucifixion. 
Tbe  stress  laid  on  tbe  true  knowledge  as  growth  in 
understanding  what  bad  been  revealed  from  the  begin- 
ning, points  also  to  the  beginning  of  Gnosticism,  the 
system  which  exalted  speculation  into  reUgion,  buried 
Christianity  under  a  tieterogeneous  philosophy,   and 


469 


I.   JOHN. 


substituted  intellectual  atlJetica  for  faith  working  by 
love. 

(4)  The  only  division  of  Christians  recognised  is  that 
into  mature  and  young.  All  aliko  receive  the  unction 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  John  himself  joins  in  the  con- 
fession of  sin.  He  lays  on  all  the  duty  of  trying  the 
spirits.  Ho  makes  all  aliko  responsible  directly  to  the 
Lord. 

IV.  Is  the  Writing  an  Epistle  ?— As  an  Ency- 
clical Letter,  it  would  have  no  special  dedication  nor 
salutations;  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  similarly 
without  the  one,  that  of  St.  James  without  the  other. 
"  I  write  "  occurs  seven  times,  "  I  have  written  "  six, 
"  you  "  thirty-six,  "  little  children"  ten,  "beloved"  six, 
"  fathers  "  and  "  young  men  "  twice  each,  "  brethren" 
once.  The  introduction  is  an  amplification  of  the 
ordinary  epistolary  address,  founded  on  a  reminiscence 
of  the  more  abstract  introduction  to  the  Gospel.  Bacon 
says :  "  An  Epistle  has  moi-e  natural  feeling  than  a 
treatise  ;  more  ripe  development  than  momentary  con- 
versation." Diisterdieck  says :  "  The  whole  wi-iting 
rests  as  thoroughly  on  a  living  personal  relation  be- 
tween the  author  and  his  readers,  the  application  of 
the  written  exhortation  is  so  absohitoly  personal,  that 
tliis  ground  is  enough  to  make  us  consider  the  writing 
as  a  genuine  Epistle.  This  epistolary  character 
belongs,  moreover,  to  the  whole  keeping  and  character 
of  the  short  writing.  With  all  logical  order  there 
reigns  in  it  that  easy  naturalness  and  uncoustraint  of 
statement  which  suits  the  immediate  interest  and 
hortatory  tendency  of  an  Epistle  ;  while  the  strict,  pro- 
gressive, dialectical  development,  peculiar  to  a  treatise 
or  a  homily,  is  held  back."  It  may  be  described,  then, 
as  a  circular  letter  of  St.  Jolm  to  the  churches  connected 
with  his  ministry,  embodying  a  succinct  statement  of 
his  principal  views  of  Christian  doctrine.  There  is  no 
good  reason  for  calling  it  cither  with  one  critic,  the 
"  polemical,"  or,  with  another,  the  "  practical  "  part  of 
the  Gospel;  or  ''a  homiletical  essay,  the  readers  being 
present ; "  or  "  a  summary,"  or  "  a  companion  letter  of 
the  Gospel." 

Y.  When  was  it  written?— (1)  As  it  contains 
no  reference  to  persecutions,  it  is  less  likely  to  have 
been  written  in  the  time  of  Trajan  (a.d.  98 — 117) ; 
probably  before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian, 
A.D.  96;  after  the  reign  of  Nero  and  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  A..D.  70.  Thus  we  get  the  period 
between  a.d.  70  and  96.  A  date  near  70  is  less  likely, 
because  the  breaking  up  of  the  Jewish  world  would 
have  made  some  reference  of  the  kind  probable.  "  The 
last  hour  "  is  a  note  of  spiritual,  not  material  time. 

(2)  Jewish  opposition  no  longer  troubles  the  apostolic 
horizon. 

(3)  The  life  of  individual  churches  apart  from  Jeru- 
salem seems  by  this  time  the  natural  order  of  the 
Christian  world. 

_  (4)  The  heresies  are  the  seeds  of  Docetism  and  Gnos- 
ticism :  this  points  to  the  end  of  the  first  century. 

(5)  St.  John  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Acts  after  the 
Jerusalem  Council  of  A.D.  ol.  But  he  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  at  Ephesus  when  St.  Paid  took  leave  of 
the  elders  in  a.d.  60.  (See  Vol.  I..  Introduction  to  the 
GosjK'l  p.  371.)  If  St.  Paul  died  in  a.d.  64,  St.  John 
can  hardly  have  begun  working  at  Ephesus  till  then. 
The  tone  of  the  Epistle  implies  a  long  and  ripe  pastoral 
intimacy.  St.  John  was  banished  to  Patmos  before  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Domitian,  a.d.  96.  He  died  after 
A.D.  100. 


(6)  It  must  always  be  a  matter  of  opinion  whether 
the  Gospel  or  Epistle  was  written  first.  It  may  be  that 
a  comparison  of  John  xx.  31,  "  These  things  are  written 
that  ye  might  beheve,"  with  I  John  v.  13,  "These 
things  have  I  written  unto  you  that  believe,"  indicates 
an  earlier  and  more  elementary  object  for  the  Gospel; 
but  it  cannot  be  pressed.  It  is  certainly  likely  that 
the  doctrinal  chords  struck  in  the  Narrative  should 
afterwards  receive  their  fuller  variations  in  the  Exhor- 
tation. It  may  even  be  that  some  of  the  churches  or 
their  members,  aroused  by  these  solemn  notes,  asked 
St.  John  for  a  doctrinal  writing. 

(7)  On  the  whole,  there  is  no  improbability  in  putting 
the  date  about  a.d.  90. 

VI.  Where  was  it  written  ?— On  such  a  point  as 
this  we  arc  left  to  groundless  conjecture,  which  is  use- 
less.   An  old  tradition  mentions  Ephesus. 

VII.  What  is  its  Scope  ?— That  the  joy  which 
Christians  already  had  might  not  be  dimmed  by  the 
world  or  by  error,  but  might  be  crowned  with  com- 
pleteness even  in  this  life  (1  John  i.  4),  and  that  they 
might  realise  the  assurance  of  the  actual  beginning  of 
eternal  life  within  them. 

For  this  purpose  God  is  held  up  as  Light  and  Love, 
both  through  Jesus  Christ.  By  that  exercise  of  their 
will,  which  woidd  make  them  remain  in  Christ  as  they 
knew  Him,  both  by  hearing  and  by  their  consciences, 
they  would  enjoy  the  serene  dignity  of  companionship 
with  the  Almighty  Father  and  His  Son,  and  so  secure 
these  two  grand  objects. 

Christians,  looked  at  in  the  ideal,  cannot  be  wilful 
sinners  ;  but  when  betrayed  into  sin,  they  may  recover 
through  confession  and  reconciliation.  The  proof  of 
the  Christian  life  must  be  sought  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God,  showing  itself  specially  in  true  brotherly 
love.  The  chief  dangers  are  the  world  and  the  depra- 
vation of  Christian  doctrine. 

The  light  of  God  is  shown  in  the  absolute  distinctness 
from  Him  of  everj'thing  that  is  evil. 

The  love  of  God  is  shown  in  that  sonship  of  Chris- 
tians which  is  manifested  by  personal  righteousness. 
Its  correlative  in  us  is  love  to  God,  shown  in  pure  love 
for  one  another.  The  purity  of  love  is  measured  by  the 
purity  of  faith.  And  that  faith  is  irrefragably  grounded 
in  the  witness  of  the  Old  Testament  through  the  Father, 
culminating  in  the  inauguration  of  baptism ;  in  the  wit- 
ness of  the  New  Testament  through  the  Son,  culminating 
i  in  the  blood  of  Calvary ;  and  in  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
speaking  through  our  own  consciences. 

Christians  cannot  be  reminded  too  often  that  their 
religioxas  life  is  a  matter  of  positive,  demonstrable, 
realised  facts,  to  be  completed  by  earnest  continual 
progress.  They  are  already  in  the  Father  and  in  the 
Son ;  they  have  eternal  life  begun  within  them ;  they 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life ;  they  have  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit.  If  they  are  in  doubt,  they  can  prove  the 
truth  of  their  life  by  obedience  to  God  and  love  to  the 
Jniman  family.  For  those  in  sin  or  error  they  can 
pray.  The  sight  of  the  world  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  Redeemer  make  it  finally  most  important  that 
they  should  hold  to  the  faith  in  the  utmost  simplicity, 
and  avoid  all  substitution  of  shadow  for  substance. 

St.  Paid  writes  now  in  a  storm  of  argument,  then  in 
a  liumble  strain  of  self -forgetful,  self -abasing  expostu- 
lation and  entreaty ;  now  eloquently  on  high  abstract 
truths,  now  in  exquisite  descriptions,  then  about  the 
homeliest  and  simplest  duties.  St.  John  moves  in  a 
calm   sphere   of    certainty   among   the   very  highest, 


470 


I.   JOHN. 


grandest,  and  larj^est  of  Christian  truths,  raising  tlio 
general  outlines  of  human  life  into  the  same  atmosphere 
till  they  are  illuminated  and  penetrated  by  the  clear 
rays  of  Light  and  Love.  All  is  simjjle,  broad,  clear, 
calm,  sure.  He  writes  at  once  with  the  most  command- 
ing authority,  and  the  most  loving  tenderness ;  the  pro- 
f oundest  wisdom,  and  the  most  touching  sunplicity ;  the 
most  searching  knowledge  of  the  human  lieai-t  and  its 
difficulties  and  failures,  and  the  most  elevating  and 
bracing  courage  and  confidence ;  the  gentlest  affection, 
and  the  most  pitiless  and  sternest  condemnation  of  wilful 
dejjarture  from  truth  in  practice  or  opinion. 

It  is  noticeable  that  in  a  treatise  on  the  very  inner- 
most secrets  of  religious  life,  to  all  Christian  souls  are 
attributed  the  same  duties  and  privileges,  and  no  men- 
tion is  made  of  ministerial  authority  or  responsibility ; 
and  that,  though  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son  and  the  witness  of  the  water  and  the  blood  are 
both  brought  into  prominence,  no  allusion  is  made  to 
sacraments. 

YIIL  Notes  on  Difficult  Passages. 

(1)  Propitiation. 

"  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  "  (1  John  ii.  2). 

"  Sent  His  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins  " 
(1  John  iv.  10). 

The  same  form  is  used  in  Luke  x^nii.  13 :  "  God  be 
merciful  {be  made  propitious)  to  me  a  sinner ;  "  and  in 
Heb.  ii.  17  :  "  to  make  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the 
people." 

In  classical  Greek  the  verbal  form  means  "  to  make 
a  person  favourable." 

From  these  facts  it  is  clear  that  Christ  is  regarded  as 
making  God  favourable  to  us.  The  woi-d  "reconciliation " 
introduces  another  idea,  and  should  be  kept  for  another 
Greek  word,  which  occurs  in  2  Cor.  v.  18.  19 ;  Eph.  ii. 
16  ;  Col.  i.  20.  Although  God  is  kind  to  the  unthankful 
and  the  evil,  yet  for  the  sake  of  eternal  Order  and 
Righteousness  He  is  represented  to  us  as  unable  to 
pass  over  rebellion  without  punishment,  as  a  warning 
and  a  security  as  well  as  a  discipline.  In  this  sense 
He  could  not  look  favourably  on  the  world  untU  His 
Son  had  bought  it  back  by  becoming  sin  for  us.  Thus 
He  is  the  sacrifice  on  behalf  of  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  which  enables  the  Father,  whose  name  is  Love, 
to  show  the  full  scope  of  His  favour.  Divine  love 
then  can  have  its  perfect  operation  in  reconciling 
man,  or  bringing  him  back.  Expiation  appeases  that 
wrath,  without  which  God  would  not  be  just ;  Recon- 
ciliation breaks  down  the  enmity  of  man  in  his  state 
of  sin. 

(2)  Brotherly  love. 

The  unflinching  truthfulness  and  courage  of  St.  John 
are  nowhere  more  remarkable  than  in  the  pertinacity 
with  which,  amongst  the  perversions  of  human  affection 
which  are  the  blot  of  all  societies,  and  were  especially 
flagrant  in  the  ancient  world,  he  urges  his  friends  to 
brotherly  love.  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  the 
proof  of  union  with  God,  the  sign  of  having  passed 
irom  death  unto  life,  the  great  commandment  of  Christ, 
the  outcome  of  birth  from  God,  the  witness  of  God's 
presence,  the  perfection  and  crown  of  our  love  to  Him : 
the  absence  of  it  is  the  mark  of  spiritual  death.  It  is 
that  desire  for  the  good  of  others,  temporal  and  eternal, 
without  which  self-denial  and  self-sacrifice  are  but  barren 
pride.  Like  St.  Paul,  it  knows  no  man  after  the  flesh 
— that  is,  for  mere  fancy.  plea.sure,  or  advantage — but  is 
the  instant  recognition  of  merit  and  of  God's  good  gifts 
wherever  they  may  present  themselves.  Founded  on 
faith  and  measured  by  it,  it  is  absolutely  pure  and 


unselfish;  it  would  lay  down  life  itself  for  the  good 
of  others.  And  because  it  is  that  attitude  of  the 
human  mind  towards  its  fellows  which  is  the  reflex 
of  God's  mind  towards  us,  it  embraces  and  implies  all 
human  virtues. 

(3)  The  last  hour  (chap.  ii.  18). 

This  phraseology  occurs  first  in  Gen.  xlix.  1, 
"  That  I  may  tell  you  that  which  shall  befall  you  in 
the  last  days  " ;  where  it  means  "  the  sequel  of  days," 
"  far-off  times."  So  Niun.  xxiv.  14,  "  What  this 
people  shall  do  to  thy  people  in  the  latter  days ;  "  Deut. 
iv.  30,  "  When  all  these  things  are  come  upon  thee,  even 
in  the  latter  days ; "  and  Deut.  xxxi.  29,  "  Evil  will 
befall  you  in  the  latter  days." 

In  Isa.  ii.  2,  it  has  begun  to  mean  the  new  age  of  the 
world ;  a  vague  indefinite  time,  during  which,  or  before 
Avhich,  Messiah's  kingdom  would  be  established.  "  It 
shall  come  to  pass  that  in  the  last  days  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established."  So  Micah 
iv.  1. 

In  Matt.  xii.  32,  our  Lord  distinguishes  between  this 
world  (or  rather,  age)  and  the  world  to  come.  So  "this 
time  "  is  contrasted  with  "  the  world  to  come  "  in  Mark 
X.  30  and  Luke  x^aii.  30.  In  our  Lord's  usage,  then, 
the  beginning  of  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  belonged  to 
the  present  age,  and  the  coming  age  would  not  be  tiU 
the  completion  of  that  kingdom.  So  the  day  of  resur- 
rection and  final  judgment,  the  beginning,  that  is,  of 
the  coming  age,  is  "  the  last  day  "  of  the  present  (John 
vi.  39,  40,  44,  54;  xi.  24;  xii.  48). 

St.  Paul  also  speaks  of  the  present  age  and  the 
coming,  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  and  the 
glory  that  shall  be,  and  of  things  present  and  things 
to  come  (Rom.  viii.  38).  In  Tit.  ii.  12,  13,  those  who 
live  "  in  this  present  world "  are  "  looking  for  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour." 
He  says  that  "  in  the  last  days  "  before  that  final  period 
there  "shall  come  perilous  times"  (2  Tim.  iii.  1);  and 
that  "in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the 
faith"  (1  Tim.  iv.  1).  Although  actually  in  this  present 
age,  yet,  according  to  St.  Paul,  Christians  have  more  or 
less  entered  on  the  coming  age  proportionally  to  their 
degrees  of  progress.  So  the  jjresent  age  is  regarded  as 
tainted  with  sin  and  alienated  from  God  (Rom.  xii.  2 ; 
1  Cor.  ii.  6,  8  ;  iii.  18 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  4 ;  Gal.  i.  4  ;  Eph.  ii. 
2;  2  Tim.  iv.  10).  Since  the  first  advent  of  Christ,  he 
regarded  the  present  age  as  beginning  to  draw  to  its 
close ;  "  our  admonition,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the 
world  are  come  "  (1  Cor.  x.  11). 

St.  Peter  identified  his  age  with  the  "  last  days  "  of 
the  prophets  (Acts  ii.  17),  and  considers  the  date  of  the 
first  advent  as  "in  these  last  times  "  (1  Pet.  i.  20).  But 
as  a  few  verses  before  (verse  5),  he  speaks  of  "  salvation 
ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time" ;  and  again  {2  Pet. 
iii.  3),  "There shall  come  in  the  last  days  scoffers"  (comp. 
Jude,  verse  18),  he  evidently  looked  to  a  stiU  more 
definite  close  of  the  already  closing  age. 

St.  James,  too,  looked  forward  to  such  a  period:  "Te 
have  heaped  treasure  together  for  the  last  days  "  (Jas. 
V.  3).  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  like  the  first  usage 
in  St.  Peter,  treats  the  existing  times  as  "  these  last 
days"  (Heb.  i.  1.  2);  "  now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world 
hath  He  appeared  to  put  awav  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Himself  "  (Heb.  ix.  26).  As  well  as  this,  it  looks  for- 
ward to  the  future  age  of  which  Christians  already,  in 
var>-ing  degrees,  partake :  "  Have  tasted  the  i)Owers  of 
the'world  to  come"  (Heb.  vi.  5);  "Christ  benig  como 
an  high  priest  of  good  things  to  come"  (Heb  ix.  ID 
Tliis  tasting  is  only  a  beginning,  not  an  actuaUty,  till 
the  second  coming  (Heb.  xiii.  14). 


471 


I.   JOHN. 


St.  John,  then,  lla^^ng,  like  tho  othor  Apostles,  the 
notion  that  tho  first  ago  was  drawing  to  its  close,  and 
that  tho  ktter  days  were  already  upon  the  earth,  and 
believing — or,  at  the  very  least,  firmly  hoping— that 
the  second  advent  was  not  far  off,  did  not  hesitate, 
especially  in  view  of  Matt.  xxiv.  22,  24,  to  speak  of 
tho  time  of  his  old  ago  as  "  tho  last  hour."  Of  tho 
date  of  tho  second  coming  even  tho  Sou  was  to  bo 
ignorant;  but  at  any  rate,  since  the  death  of  the  last 
of  the  Apostles,  and  the  closing  of  tho  Canon,  there 
lias  been  no  change  in  tho  Christian  dispensation,  it  has 
bceu  a  constant  repetition  of  repentance,  forgiveness, 
watching. 

(4)  Antichrist. 

"  As  ye  have  heard  that  antichrist  shall  come,  even 
now  are  there  many  antichrists  "  (1  John  ii.  18). 

"  He  is  tho  antichrist,  that  denieth  the  Father  and 
the  Son  "  (1  John  ii.  22). 

"  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  come  in  tho  flesh  is  not  of  God :  and  this  is  that 
spirit  of  antichrist,  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  it 
Buould  come:  and  even  now  abeady  is  it  in  the  world  " 
(1  John  iv.  3). 

"  For  many  deceivers  are  entered  into  the  world, 
who  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh. 
This  is  the  deceiver  and  the  antichrist "  (2  John, 
verse  7). 

Our  Lord  foretold  false  Christs  and  false  prophets, 
•who  "shall  show  great  signs  and  wonders:  insomuch 
that  if  it  were  possible  they  sliall  deceive  the  very 
elect "  (Matt.  xxiv.  11,  24 ;  Mark  xiii.  22,  23). 

St.  Paul  spoke  of  the  growth  of  the  antichristian 
"lie,"  especially  in  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  "After 
my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among 
you,  not  sparing  tho  flock.  Also  of  your  own  selves 
shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  tilings,  to  draw 
away  disciples  after  them "  (Acts  xx.  29,  30 ;  and 
2  Tim.  iii.  1 — 9).  These  would  be  but  anticipations 
of  that  concentrated  force  of  opposition  for  which  St. 
Paul  looked  immediately  before  the  second  coming. 
"  For  that  day  shall  not  come,  except  there  como  a 
falling  away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  bo  revealed, 
the  son  of  perdition,  who  opposeth  and  exalteth  him- 
seK  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped  : 
so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God, 
shewing  himself  that  he  is  God  .  .  .  Then  shall  that 
Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall  consume 
with  the  spirit  of  His  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  vdth 
the  brightness  of  His  coming  :  even  him,  whoso  coming 
is  after  tho  working  of  Satan  with  all  power  and 
signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  Avith  all  deceivableness 
of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish ;  because  they 
received  not  the  love  of  the  truth  that  they  might  be 
saved"  (2  Thess.  ii.  3—10). 

St.  John  meant  by  tho  antichrists  what  St.  Paul 
meant  by  tho  grievous  wolves ;  the  individual  manifes- 
tations of  "tho  spirit  of  antichrist,"  which  St.  Paul 
describes  as  "  he  whose  coming  is  in  them  that  perish." 
There  is  a  difference,  however,  in  the  application  of 
the  idea,  for  tlie  opposer  in  St.  Paul's  view  is  rather 
from  without,  St.  John's  principle  of  evil  rather  from 
within.  Just  as  St.  John  noticed  tho  same  tendencies 
showing  themselves  in  the  same  way  in  different  indi- 
viduals, and  called  them  spirits,  so  in  looking  forward 
to  a  more  formidable  and  final  apostasy,  ho  calls  it 
"  the  spirit  of  antichrist,"  which  has  already  declared 
itself  in  so  many  personal  antichrists.  St.  Paul's  "  man 
of  sin"  must  be  of  the  same  spiritual  character,  for  no 
human  being  could  ever  be  powerful  and  dangerous 
enough  to  answer  the  description. 


472 


(5)  The  three  witnesses  (1  John  v.  7,  8). 

The  authority  for  the  words,  "in  heaven,  the  Father, 
the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are 
one ;  and  there  are  three  who  bear  witness  in  the  earth," 
is  a  copy  made  in  tho  sixteenth  century,  of  Codex  173, 
which  dates  from  the  eleventh. 

Tho  words  are  Avanting  in  all  the  Greek  Codices, 
including  the  Codex  Sinaiticus,  and  in  all  the  ancient 
versions,  including  the  Latin,  as  late  as  the  eighth 
centuiy.  Since  then  they  are  found  in  three  variations. 
Had  they  been  known,  they  must  have  been  quoted  in 
the  controversies  about  the  Trinity ;  but  they  are  not 
cited  by  any  Greek  or  any  of  the  older  Latin  Fathers. 
A  quotation  from  TertuUian  {adv.  Prax.  25)  and  a 
IjaruUel  quotation  from  Cyprian  [Ep.  ad  Jub.),  where 
each  is  establishing  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  refer  to 
John  X.  20,  and  xvi.  5 ;  and  another  from  Cyprian  [de 
Unit.  Eccl.  -p.  79)  refers  to  1  John  v.  8,  where  the  spirit, 
the  water,  and  the  blood,  were  interpreted  patristically 
as  direct  symbols  of  the  Trinity. 

The  words  probably  crept  into  the  text  gradually 
from  Greek  notes  on  tho  passage,  and  from  the  expres- 
sion of  Cyprian,  which  would  be  placed  alongside  to 
show  how  ho  interpreted  St.  John's  meaning.  The 
second  place  in  Cyprian  riins  thus :  "  The  Lord  says, 
'  I  and  My  Father  are  one  ' ;  and  again,  concerning  the 
Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  written : 
'  And  these  tliree  are  one.'  " 

Their  first  appearance  is  in  a  work  ascribed  to 
Yigilius,  of  Tliapsus,  at  the  close  of  the  fifth  century. 
They  afterwards  occur  in  Latin  translations.  They 
first  appeared  in  print  in  the  earhest  Greek  edition,  the 
Complutensian,  published  A.D.  1522.  (See  Vol.  I., 
p.  xviu.,  and  Dr.  Scri\euer's  Introduction  to  the  Critical 
Study  of  the  New  Testament,  on  this  passage.) 

Erasmus  at  first  refused  them,  but  at  last  yielded  to 
pressure,  when  he  heard  that  they  were  in  the  Codex 
Britannicus.  But  that  manuscript  is  only  of  the 
fifteenth  or  sixteenth  century.  Steplianus,  Beza,  and 
the  Textus  Koceptus  followed  his  lead.  Luther  never 
translated  them ;  in  his  first  commentary  he  pronounced 
them  spurious,  in  his  second  he  commented  on  them. 
We  owe  them  solely  to  the  reluctant  deference  paid  by 
Erasmus  to  unlearned  current  opinion.  There  is  hardly 
a  passage  in  all  literature  more  demonstrably  spurious. 

On  the  internal  evidence,  after  such  adverse  criticism, 
it  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak,  but  it  may  be  well  to 
quote  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  After  writing  of  the  fulness 
and  strength  of  tho  argument  as  it  stands,  without  the 
inserted  words,  he  says:  "If  you  insert  the  testimony 
of  the  three  in  heaven,  you  spoil  it,  for  the  whole  design 
of  the  Apostle  being  here  to  prove  to  men  by  witness 
tlie  truth  of  Christ's  coming,  I  would  ask  how  the  testi- 
mony of  the  '  three  in  heaven  '  makes  to  this  purpose  ? 
If  their  testimony  bo  not  given  to  men,  how  does  it 
prove  to  them  the  truth  of  Christ's  coming  ?  If  it  be, 
how  is  the  testimony  in  heaven  distinguished  from  that 
on  earth  ?  It  is  the  same  Spirit  which  Avitnesses  both 
in  heaven  and  in  earth.  If  in  both  cases  it  witnesses  to 
us  men,  wherein  lies  the  difference  between  its  witness- 
ing in  heaven  and  its  witnessing  in  earth  ?  If  in  the 
first  case  it  does  not  mtness  to  them,  to  whom  does  it 
witness  ?  And  to  what  purpose  ?  And  how  docs  its 
witnessing  make  to  the  design  of  St.  John's  discourse? 
Let  them  make  good  sense  of  it  who  are  able;  for 
my  part,  I  can  make  none."     (Paraphrastic  exposition.) 

IX.  Literature.— I  am  indebted  chiefly  to  Dr. 
Kai-1  Braune,  The  Epistles  General  of  John,  in  Dr.  J.  P. 
Lange's  series  (an  English  Translation  is  published  by 


I.   JOHN. 


T.  aud  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh) ;  to  Dr.  H.  A.  Ebrard's 
Die  Bficfe  Johannes,  Kouigsbcrg,  1859  (an  English 
transhition  was  published  by  T.  and  T.  Clark  in  18G0); 
and  to  Dr.  Friedrich  Liickc's  Commentar  ilber  die 
Briefc  cles  Evancjelisten  Johannis,  Bonn,  1836  (an 
English  translation  was  pubiishod  by  T.  and  T.  Clark 
in  1837).  Perhaps  the  best  authority  of  all  is  Erich 
Hau2)t,  Der  Erde  Brief  des  Johannes,  Colberg,  1870; 
London,  Williams  and  Norgate.  There  ai-o  also  Dr. 
J.  E.  Huther's  Handbuch  iiber  die  Drei  Briefe  des 
Apostel  Johannes,  ord  Edition,  Gottingen,  1868,  in 
Meyer;  Do  Wette  in  his  Commentary  on  the  New 
Testament  ;  and  Diisterdieck's  Die  Drei  Johanneischen 
Briefe,  Gottingen,  1852—54. 

Of  the   Greek  commentaries,  those   of   Diodonis  of 
Tarsus  aud  Chrysostom  have  been  lost;    a  few  frag- 


ments remain  from  Clement  of  Alexandria,  a  few- 
more  from  Didynuis  of  Alexandria.  Catenae  have  been 
preserved  from  Oecumonius,  Theophylact,  aud  two 
Scholiasts. 

Among  Latins,  an  Expositio  remains  by  Augustine, 
and  one  by  Bede.  Tlio  epistle  was  also  commented  on  by 
Erasmus,  Luther,  Calvin,  Bcza,  Zwingli,  and  Bullinger. 
Calovius,  Grotiu8,and  Bengel  are  often  quoted  in  modern 
editions. 

Besides  the  commentaries  of  Wordswortli  and  Alford 
should  bo  mentioned  A.  Neander's,  Tlie  First  Epistle 
of  John  practically  explained,  Berlin,  1851  (translated 
by  Mrs.  Conant,  New  York,  1853),  and  F.  D.  Maurice's, 
The  Epistles  of  John  :  Lectures  on  Christian  Ethics, 
Macmillan,  1867 ;  also  the  able  but  posthumous  edition 
of  W.  E.  Jelf. 


473 


THE    FIRST    EPISTLE    GENERAL    OF 


JOHN. 


CHAPTER  L— (i>  That  which  was 
Cliap.  i.  1—4.  fi'oiii  the  begiiinmg,  which 
Exordium.  we  have  heard,  which  we 
have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we 
have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands 
have  handled,  of  the  Word  of  life ; 
<2^  (for  the  life  was  manifested,  and  we 
have   seen   it,   and   bear  witness,    and 


After  A.D.  90. 


shew  unto  you  that  eternal  life,  which 
was  with  the  Father,  and  was  mani- 
fested unto  us  ;)  '-^^  that  which  we  have 
seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you, 
that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship  with 
us  :  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 
(*^  And  these  things  write  we  unto  you. 


[1.  The  Exordium  (clmp.  i.  1 — 4). 

(1)  Object  and  Purpose  op  the  Apostolic 

Preaching:  The  setting  forth  of  the  his- 
torical Christ  for  the  spread  of  human 
fellowship  with  the  Father  aud  the  Son 
(vei'ses  1 — 3). 

(2)  Design   of   the   Epistle  :   Fulness  of  joy 

for  those  who  should  read  it  (verse  4).] 

(1)  That  which  was  from  the  beginning.— 
The  profound  emotion,  tlie  hearty  sympathy,  the  tender 
anxiety  which  St.  .Tolm  feels  as  he  begins  his  counsels 
to  liis  friends,  mark  off  tliis  introduction  very  distinctly 
from  the  parallel  passage  in  the  Gospel.  There  it  was 
calm  contemplation  of  the  height  and  depth  of  Christ's 
existence ;  here  he  vehemently  insists  on  the  personal 
relation  l)etween  the  Word  and  those  to  whom  He  had 
been  revealed. 

As  in  the  Gospel,  he  starts  with  the  grandeur  of  an 
indefiniteness  beyond  which  no  eye  can  pierce  :  At  the 
beginning  of  all  that  concerns  us,  be  it  world  or  universe 
or  all  creation,  there  was that  which  we  are  an- 
nouncing. "  That  which,"  not  "  Him  who,"  because  it 
is  not  merely  the  Person  of  Christ  which  ho  is  going 
to  declare,  b\it  also  His  Being,  all  tliat  relates  to  Him, 
His  gospel,  the  treasures  of  wisdom  that  lay  in  Him, 
His  trutli,  all  that  could  bo  known  about  Him  by 
human  ken. 

'I'ho  vilnvating  eloquence  of  the  passage  makes  the 
construction  at  first  sight  obscure.  But  take  "  that 
declare  we  unto  you"  (verso  3)  as  the  principal  verb,  set 
aside  verse  2  as  a  parenthesis,  notice  the  rising  climax 
of  verse  1  (heard,  seen,  looked  upon,  handled),  pause  at 
the  end  of  verse  1  to  sum  up  the  results  of  this  climax 
in  tlio  words  "  of  (or,  tliat  ivltlch  conccrni^)  the  Word  of 
life,"  and  at  the  beginning  of  verso  3  resume  the 
thoughts  interrupted  by  tho  parenthesis,  and  all  is  at 
once  clear. 

Which  we  have  heard.  —  All  those  gracious 
■words  which  proceedinl  out  of  Hjs  moutli,  enougli  to  fill 
countless  books  could  they  liavo  been  noted  down. 
St.  Jolm  has  given  us  more  of  tlieso  than  any  other  of 
the  Evangelists ;  and  their  effect  upon  him  was  such 
that  it  is  almost  the  same  as  if  he  liad  written  down 
nothing  at  all  of  his  own;  for  the  thouglit  and  style 
of    Him  who   had  loved   him   more    intimately   than 


others,  had  moulded  his  own  thought    and  style  into 
a  strikingly  close  resemblance.      "  We  "    includes    all      - 
the  eye-witnesses.     (Comp.  Luke  i.  2.)  ■ 

Which  we  have  seen. — All  that  is  meant  by  1 
the  Word  of  God  in  its  fullest  sense  had  })een  seen  in 
the  human  Person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  during  His 
earthly  sojourn,  aud  especially  during  the  three  years' 
ministry.  In  a  similar  sense  Jesus  Himself  said,  "  He 
that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  John  xiv.  9. 
(Comp.  chap.  iv.  14  ;  Isa.  xl.  5  ;  2  Pet.  i.  16.) 

With  our  eyes. — This  gives  the  same  force  as  "  the 
Word  was  made  flesh ; "  it  was  an  actujil  personal 
visible  revelation,  as  opposed  to  the  evolving  of  a  reli- 
gious system  out  of  the  inner  consciousness  or  re- 
flection. 

Which  we  have  looked  upon. — A  more  delibe- 
rate aud  closer  coutemjjlation  ;  for  which  John  had 
special  opportuuities,  as  one  of  the  inner  three,  and 
again  as  he  who  lay  on  Jesus'  bosom.  There  is  a  change 
of  tense  implying  emphasis  on  the  historic  fact,  "  which 
in  those  days  we  gazed  upon." 

And  our  hands  have  handled.— Comp.  Matt, 
xxvi.  49 ;  Luke  xxiv.  39 ;  John  xx.  27.  This  and  the 
foregoing  expressions  might  be  directed  against  Ce- 
rinthus  and  the  Doketists — those  that  held  that  Christ 
was  only  a  phantom. 

Of  the  Word  of  life. — All  that  coiicems  the 
Word  of  the  true  Life,  the  Reason,  or  Son,  or  Express 
Image  of  God,  in  whom  was  inherent  all  life,  material 
as  well  as  moral  or  religious.  (Comp.  John  i.  4;  v.  26 ; 
xi.  25;  Col.  i.  16,  17;  Heb.  i.  3.) 

(-)  For  the  life  was  manifested,  and  we  have 
seen  it,  and  bear  witness,  and  shew  unto  you 
that  eternal  life,  which  was  with  the  Father, 
and  was  manifested  unto  us.— The  parenthesis 
reiterates  with  redoubled  force  that  the  whole  essence 
of  the  relation  of  God  to  man  lies  in  the  audible,  visible, 
tangible,  historical  appearance  of  God  in  Jesus.  After 
the  nianner  of  St.  John,  tlie  word  "  life  "  at  the  end  of 
tlie  last  sentence  suggests  the  form  of  the  phrasing  in 
the  new  sentence :  Jesus  was  that  Eternal  Life  which 
was  at  the  side  of  the  Father,  in  communion  with  Him, 
in  equal  intercourse  with  Him  ;  that  Life  on  which  all 
other  existence,  physical  and  spiritual,  depend  (1)  for 
its  license  to  exist,  (2)  for  its  fulfilment  of  the  end 
for  which  it  was  created.     (See  Note  on  John  i.  4.) 


474 


I 


The  Purpose  of  Writing. 


I.   JOHN,   I. 


The  First  great  Messuage. 


that  your  joy  may  be  full.    (^)  This  then 
.    _    ..    is  the  messajje  which  we 

C   n  *1>T)S       1      o — 11 

28,  God  is"  Light.'  have  heard  of    him,   and 
Chap,  i   5,  The  declare  unto  vou,  that God 

leading  thought.    •     v    i  ,  -,    •      ■,  • 

is  light,  and  m  hiin  is  no 

darkness  at  all.     ^^^  If  we  say  that  we 

have    fellowship   with   him,   and    walk 


in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the 
truth :  C^  but  if  we  walk  q^  j  g  ^ 
in  the  light,  as  he  is  in  Ligiit  excludes 
the  light,  we  have  fellow-  ^^"• 
ship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 
us    from    all    sin.     <*^^  If    we   say   that 


[2.  First  Half.    God  is  Light  (chaps,  i.  5— ii.  28). 

(1)  Statement    of    the    Leading  Thought 

(verse  5). 

(2)  First    Inference  :    The    true    fellowship 

(verses  6,  7) ;  the  Christian  must  not  sin. 

(3)  Second    Inference  :     Confession    of    sins 

(verses  8 — 10) ;  the  Christian  must  not  con- 
ceal his  sin. 

(4)  Third  Inference  :  Remedy  for  sins  (chap. 

ii.  1,  2). 

(5)  Obedience    the    Sign    of   Walking   in 

Light  (verses  3 — 8). 

(6)  Especially  Brotherly  Love  (9 — 11). 

(7)  The   Things    they    must    not   Love    if 

they  walked  in  the  light  (12 — 17). 

(8)  The  Manifestations  of  Darkness  (18 — 

28). 
(a)  Signs  whereby  they  should  know  the  for  e- 

nmners  of  the  last  time  (18 — 23). 
(&)  Exhortation    to    continue    in    the    light 

(24—28).] 

(1)  (5)  This  then  is  the  message  which  we 
have  heard  of  him,  and  declare  unto  you.— 
What  the  Son  had.  received  from  the  Father,  this  the 
Apostles  were  to  report  to  the  world.  The  attention  is 
aroused,  as  by  the  silence  before  the  thunderstorm,  to 
expect  a  central  and  fundamental  notion  of  the  utmost 
importance. 

That  God  is  light.— Here  is  the  essence  of  Chris- 
tian theology,  the  truth  about  the  Deity  as  opposed  to  all 
the  iinpei-fect  conceptions  of  Him  which  had  embittered 
the  minds  of  the  \vise.  To  the  heathen.  Deity  had 
meant  angry,  malevolent  beings,  worshipped  best  by  the 
secrecy  of  outrageous  vice ;  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
forces  of  nature  transformed  into  superhuman  men  and 
women,  powerful  and  impure  ;  to  the  philosophers,  an 
abstraction  either  moral  or  physical;  to  tlie  Gnostics 
it  was  a  remote  idea,  equal  and  contending  forces  of 
good  and  evil,  recognisable  only  tlirough  less  and  less 
perfect  deputies.  All  this  John,  summing  up  what  the 
Old  Testament  and  our  Lord  had  said  about  the 
Alraiglity  Father,  sweeps  away  in  one  simple  declara- 
tion of  trutli.  Light  was  God's  garment  in  Ps.  civ.  2 ; 
to  Ezekiel  (chap.  i.  2),  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  was  brightness;  to  Habakkuk 
(chap.  iii.  3),  His  brightness  was  as  the  light ;  Christ 
had  called  tlie  sons  of  God  children  of  the  light  (John 
xii.  36),  and  announced  Himself  as  the  Light  of  the 
World  (chap.  viii.  12)  ;  in  the  Hebrews  (chap.  i.  3), 
Christ  was  the  refracted  ray  of  the  Father's  glory,  "  the 
express  image  of  His  person  ;  "  to  James,  the  Almighty 
was  the  Father  of  all  lights  (chap.  i.  17);  to  Paul,  He 
dwells  "in  the  light  that  no  man  can  approach  unto" 
(1  Tim.  vi.  16);  to  St.  Peter,  the  Christian  state  is  an 
admission  "  into  His  marvellous  light "  (1  Pet.  ii.  9). 
These  ideas  John  comprehends  :  God  is  Liglit.  Light 
physical,  because  (1)  it  was  He  who  called  everything  first 
out  of  darkness,  and  (2)  from  whom  proceeds  all  health 
and  perfection;  light  intellectual,  because  (1)  He  is  the 


source  of  all  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  (2)  in  His 
mind  exist  the  ideals  after  which  all  things  strive; 
light  moral,  because  (1)  His  perfection  shows  that  the 
difference  between  good  and  evil  is  not  merely  a 
question  of  degree,  but  fundamental  and  final,  and  (2) 
the  life  of  Christ  had  exliilnted  that  contrast  sharply : 
once  for  all.  Thus,  on  this  declaration  depends  the 
whole  doctrine  of  sin  :  sin  is  not  merely  imperfection  ; 
it  is  enmity  to  God.  There  can  be  no  shades  of  pro- 
gression, uniting  good  and  evil  :  in  Him  is  no  darkness 
at  all.  Good  and  e\-il  may  be  mixed  in  an  individual : 
in  themselves  they  are  contrary. 

(2)  (6)  If  -^e  say. — A  favourite  form  with  Jolm, 
expressing  sympathetic  delicacy. 

That  we  have  fellowship  with  him  .  .  .  .— 
Some  of  the  Gnostics  (like  the  Anabaptists)  said  that 
on  account  of  their  spiritual  knowledge  they  were  free 
to  act  as  they  liked,  without  committing  sin.  For 
walking  as  a  description  of  the  spiritual  state,  com- 
pare chap.  ii.  6  ;  2  John  vi. ;  Rom.  vi.  4,  viii.  4 ;  Eph. 
iv.  17  ;   Phil.  iii.  20. 

Darkness  would  include  any  conscious  liabit  which 
was  opposed  to  God's  example  of  perfection. 

We  lie. — We  are  a  self-contradiction,  and  we  know  it. 

And  do  not  the  truth.— The  truth  with  St.  Jolm 
is  as  much  a  matter  of  action  as  of  thought  and  word ; 
that  sphere  of  conduct  which  is  in  harmony  with  God, 
whose  nature  is  Light. 

(")  As  he  is  in  the  light. — The  effulgence  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  perfectly  good,  the  sinlessly  loving, 
the  gloriously  pure,  which,  created  by  God  and  pro- 
ceeding from  Him,  is  specially  "  His  throne."  At  the 
same  time,  wherever  such  characteristics  of  Di^ane 
Light  are  found,  there  He  is  particularly  present. 

We  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin.— The  antithesis  to  "  lying  and  doing 
not  the  truth,"  presented  under  the  twofold  aspect  of 
(1)  the  brotherly  result  of  walking  with  God,  (2)  its 
purifying  influence.  Each  human  being  that  comes 
near  us  becomes  the  object  of  our  friendly  sympathy ; 
and  the  sfvcrifice  of  Christ  has  both  put  away  the  sin  of 
the  world  and  prevents  sin  from  reigning  in  our  mortal 
bodies ;  it  obtains  forgiveness  for  us,  and  by  reminding 
us  that  it  was  sin  that  brought  Jesus  to  the  cross,  has  a 
continually  purifying  power  over  us.  through  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  and  of  the  Father.  (See  1  Cor.  vi.  11 ;  Eph. 
i.  7,  19,  20;  Heb.  ix.  14;  1  Pet.  i.  19—23.) 

(3)  (8)  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin.— 
Tlie  preceding  words  had  reminded  St.  John  that  even 
mature  Christians,  thougli  certainly  not  "  walking  in 
darkness,"  yet  liave  sinful  tendencies  in  themselves  : 
sensuous  impulses,  non-spiritual  inclinations,  lack  of 
self-knowledge,  a  lowered  standard,  principles  and 
\news  borrowed  partly  from  the  world,  wavering  of 
will,  and  hence  even  graver  faults.  Not  to  admit  tliis 
would  be  to  mislead  ourselves,  and  in  us  the  power  and 
energy   of   light,   searching   the   very  comers  of  the 


475 


Sin  and  Forgiveness. 


I.  JOHN,   II. 


The  Advocate  and  ProjntiatioH, 


no  sin,  -sve  deceive  ourselves,  | 
and   the    truth   is    not   in 
St  in?o7ces  ^^s.      '''  If  ^ve  confess  our 
confcssiou     to  sins,  he  is  faithtul  and  just 
^°^-  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and 

to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness. 
(1"^)  If  we  say  that  wo  have  not  sinned,  we 
make  him  a  liar,  and  his  word  is  not  in  us. 


we  have 


Aflor   A.D.  ao. 


CHAPTER  II.— (1)  My  little  children,     J 
these  things  -write  I  unto  ^^j^       ii    i    2      ' 
you,  that  ye  sin  not.     And  The  remedy  for 
if  any  man  sin,   we    have  ^^'^• 
an   advocate   with    the    Father,   Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous :  <-)  and  he  is  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins  :  and  not  for 
our's  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the 


heart,  would  not  be  working.     (See  Rom.  vii.  18 — 23 ; 
Gal.  V.  17.) 

(9)  If  we  confess  our  sins. — An  advance  in  the 
thou<i-ht  from  the  general  "  ha\nug  siu."  Confession 
to  God  must  recognise  and  measure  each  particular 
fault.  (Pss.  xxxii.  5  ;  li.  3 ;  Prov.  xxviii.  13  ;  Luke  xv.  21.) 

He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteous- 
ness.— He,  from  the  context,  cannot  possibly  be  any 
otlier  than  God.  Here  another  grand  progression  of 
thought  meets  us :  not  moi-ely  "  we  are  in  the  truth,"  but 
the  actual  and  glorious  result  on  God's  side ;  faithful 
and  just  on  account  of  Christ's  sacrifice  and  our  re- 
pentance. For  the  double  notion  of  forgiving  and 
cleansing,  see  Note  on  verse  7.  The  Romish  inter- 
preters, in  theu-  arbitrary  way,  limit  the  cleansing  here 
to  purgatory. 

d")  If  we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned.— 
The  argument  of  the  passage  equally  excludes  the 
interpretation  "  freedom  from  guilt  since  conversion  " 
as  "  innocence  during  the  whole  life."  St.  John  is 
hero  repeating,  in  a  more  emphatic  form,  the  thought 
of  verse  S. 

We  make  him  a  liar,  and  his  word  is  not 
in  us.— Stronger  far  than  "  we  lie,"  or  "  the  truth  is 
not  in  us."  Our  foolish  presumption  is  regarded  in 
its  worst  aspect :  an  impiety  against  God,  whose  word, 
revelation,  ajjpeal  to  our  conscience,  and  witness  by  the 
Spirit,  are  thus  blasphemously  contradicted.  Parallel 
to  "  we  do  not  the  truth  "  aiul  "  the  truth  is  not  in  us," 
the  practical  result  here  is  that  we  cannot  be  regarded 
as  having  in  any  sense  received  God's  revelation  into 
our  hearts. 

II. 

(4)  The  third  idea  that  arises  from  the  great  fact 
that  God  is  Light  has  already  been  suggested  (chap. 
i.  7),  but  now  takes  its  distinct  place  in  the  series. 
It  is  the  doctrine  of  Reconciliation  and  Redemp- 
tion. St.  John  does  not  wish  them  to  contemplate 
with  complacency  the  probability  of  sinning ;  but 
to  remember  gi'atefully,  in  spite  of  falls,  that  the 
Author  and  Restoi-er  of  Light  has  provided  a  remedy 
both  for  tlie  offence  before  God,  and  for  its  effect 
on  themselves.  First  comes  the  principle  that  we 
must  not  siu ;  secoiul,  tlu>  admission  that  we  do  sin ; 
third,  tlie  consolation  for  actual  sin  when  it  is  in  spite 
of  sincere  zeal  for  sanctification. 

(1)  My  little  children.— Six  times  in  the  letter 
occurs  tliis  diminutive  of  tender  and  caressing  love: 
chaps,  ii.  12,  28  ;  iii.  18 ;  iv.  4 ;  v.  21.  Ho  was  aged, 
lie  felt  a  fatherly  care  for  them,  he  was  their  spiritual 
progenitor.  (Comp.  Gal.  iv.  9.)  Tlie  thought  of  the 
shame  and  misery  of  sin  melted  his  heart.  "  My  child  " 
was  what  he  called  out  to  the  lapsed  youth,  according  to 
Eusebius  {H.  E.  iii.  23). 

These  things. — Ho  carries  them  on  through  the 
former  points  up  to  the  new  thought. 


That  ye  sin  not.— Another  side  of  the  object  of 
the  teaching  :  their  joy  could  not  be  full  unless  they 
were  earnest  against  sin.  And  yet  the  most  holy 
would  not  bo  perfect. 

If  any  man  sin.— See  chap.  i.  8 — 10. 

We  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous.— The  word  here  translated 
Advocate  was  translated  Comforter  in  John  xiv.  16,  25  ; 
XV.  26 ;  xvi.  7.  It  has  two  meanings ;  one,  as  in  Job 
xvi.  2,  he  who  comforts,  or  exhorts ;  the  other,  as  here, 
he  who  is  appealed  to — a  proxy,  or  attorney.  (Comp. 
Rom.  viii.  26;  Heb.  iv.  14—16;  vii.  25.)  The  Re- 
deemer, the  Word  made  flesh,  and  reascended  with  His 
human  nature,  is  that  part  of  the  Deity  which  assures 
us  of  the  ever-active  vitality  of  divine  love.  If  the 
justice  of  God  is  connected  most  with  the  Father,  the 
mercy  is  pledged  by  the  Son.  He  has  exalted  our 
nature,  undertaken  our  interests,  presents  our  prayers, 
and  will  one  day  be  surrounded  by  the  countless 
millions  of  His  human  brothers  whom  He  has 
rescued,  wearing  the  same  nature  as  Himself.  He  is 
represented  as  continuing  our  advocate,  because  other- 
wise His  work  might  appear  a  mere  sepai'ate  earthly 
manifestation ;  "  righteous,"  because  Christ,  the  only 
blameless  example  of  human  nature,  can  alone  inter- 
cede for  it  with  God  (Heb.  vii.  26  ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18  ;  John 
xvi.  8 — 10).  The  Armenian  translation  actually  adds 
"  and  blameless."  Augustine  remarks  that  St.  John 
did  not  set  forth  any  apostle  or  saint  as  intercessor 
(here,  if  anywhere,  he  would  have  done  so),  but  only 
Christ.  "  We "  is  not  the  Church  corporately,  but 
merely  another  instance  of  St.  John's  kindly  delicacy, 
as  in  chap  i.  6,  &c. 

C^)  And  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins. — 
On  the  word  "  propitiation,"  see  the  Introduction.  By 
the  satisfaction  which  the  voluntaiy  sacrifice  of  the 
Saviour  offered  to  that  divine  order  which  requires  the 
punishment  of  rebellion,  both  for  its  own  correction  and 
for  a  universal  warning,  the  whole  Deity  has  been 
rendered  propitious.  His  graciousness  has  been  called 
out,  the  righteousness  of  Rom.  iii.  16  has  been  set  in 
motion,  that  willeth  not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  and  is 
higher  than  mere  retributive  justice.  (Comp.  chap, 
iv.  10;  John  xiv.  5,  6;  1  Cor.  i.  30;  2  Cor.  v.  18,  21; 
Heb.  ii.  17,  ix.  28,  x.  20;  1  Pet.  ii.  21—24.) 

And  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world. — This  statement  must  not  be 
limited.  Its  scope  is  that  Christ's  redemption  was 
offered  for  the  whole  of  mankind,  from  Adam  to  the 
last  man.  Who  lay  hold  of  the  redemption,  must  be 
determined  on  other  considerations.  (Comp.  chap.  iv. 
14 ;  John  i.  29 ;  iv.  42.)  Multitudes  may  be  saved 
through  this  redemption  who  never  heard  of  Christ 
(Acts  X.  34,  35  ;  Rom.  ii.  14,  15).  St.  John's  object  in 
introducing  this  truth  here  is  to  rebuke  the  arrogance 
of  those  Christians  who  looked  do^vn  on  the  non- 
Christian  world  as  outside  the  Fatherhood  and  mercies 
of  God.     Such  an  error  might  be  seen,  for  example,  in 


476 


Obedience  the  Test. 


I.    JOHN,  II. 


The  Commandment,  Old  and  New. 


whole  world.  ^^'^  And  hereby  we  do 
know  that  we  know  him, 
^''^Assuran^  if  ^^  keep  his  comma.nd- 
through  obe-  ments.  <^^  He  that  saith, 
I  know  him,  and  keepeth 
commandments,  is  a  liar, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  him.  (^)  But 
Avhoso  keepeth  his  word,  in  him  verily 
is  the  love  of  God  perfected:  hereby 
know  we  that  we  are  in  him.     (^^  He 


dience 
not    his 


tlie  heated  partisanship  of  a  Crusader  or  pei'secutor  for 
a  civilisation  politically  Christian  against  one  outside  his 
own  sympathies.   (Comp.  Tit.  iii.  2 — 7 ;  Rom.  xi.  17,  18.) 

(.5)  Tlie  fourth  inference  from  the  doctrine  that  God 
is  Light  analyses  move  accurately  the  general  expres- 
sion of  chap.  i.  7,  ivalking  in  the  light.  If  Christ  is, 
as  in  verses  1,  2,  the  Paraclete  and  Propitiation  of  the 
world,  it  becomes  necessary  to  ascertain  whether  He  is 
this  to  us  ;  lest,  when  this  salvation  is  offered,  we  con- 
demn ourselves  by  rejecting  it.  The  test  is,  "  obedience 
to  the  commandments,  especially  in  brotherly  love." 

(3)  Hereby  means,  by  what  follows. 

That  we  know  him.— Rather,  have  Tcnown  Him 
(so  also  in  verse  4, 1  have  known  Him) ;  that  we  have 
not  grasped  a  shadow,  but  have  been  in  intercourse 
with  the  living  God,  who  reveals  Himself  not  through 
speculation,  but  through  a  true  inward  life  of  man. 

If  we  keep  his  commandments.— Christ's — 
because  of  the  reference  to  John  xiv.  1.5.  "  Keep  "  like 
a  precious  heirloom,  watching  them  against  the  inroads 
of  our  lower  nature.  (Comp.  Matt.  xix.  17  ;  xxviii.  20 ; 
1  Tim.  vi.  U.)  If  each  man's  conscience  was  the 
standard  of  practice,  confusion  would  again  reign  in 
morals  as  it  reigned  in  the  days  of  the  Sophists  at 
Athens.  (Compare  Plato's  Republic,  Bk.  ii.,  Jowett's 
translation.)  A  code  and  an  example  fitted  for  all  times 
and  all  circumstances  have  been  given  l)y  our  Lord. 

(t)  He  that  saith  .  .  . — In  particularising  the 
general  proposition  according  to  his  custom,  St.  John 
rejects  the  first  person  plural  as  shocking,  unreal,  and 
artificial,  and  throws  the  blasphemy  on  some  third 
person.  So  "  is  a  liar  "  is  stronger  than  "  we  lie,"  and 
"  we  deceive  ourselves ;  "  in  such  a  case  the  lie  has 
entered  thoroughly  into  the  man's  nature 

<5)  But  whoso  keepeth  his  word.— The  revela- 
tion of  the  will  of  God,  looked  at  as  a  whole. 

In  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God  perfected.— 
St.  John  has  before  his  mind  an  ideal  of  a  man  so 
filled  with  the  Spirit  that  in  all  tilings  he  embodies  the 
will  of  God ;  the  love  that  such  a  man  has  for  God  is 
indeed  complete.  But  he  knows  that  the  best  of  the 
human  race  can  only  approach  such  an  ideal  in  different 
degrees,  at  a  great  distance  ;  and  the  pei'fection  of  the 
love  which  they  bear  to  God  will  vary  in  the  same 
degree.  (Comp.  chaps,  ii.  15  ;  iii.  17 ;  iv.  12  ;  v.  3.)  "  In 
him  verily;  "  rather,  Truhj  in  him.  It  is  most  emphatic, 
and  refers  back  "  the  truth  is  not  in  him,"  in  verse  4. 

Hereby  know  we  that  we  are  in  him.— Comp. 
verse  .3  and  chap.  i.  6  ;  without  such  a  test  there  could 
be  no  happiness  in  religion.  "  In  him  "  implies  that 
we  are  saved  by  His  grace,  surrounded  by  His  love, 
inspired  by  His  thoughts,  partakers  of  His  nature, 
filled  by  His  Spirit,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  with  certain  access  to  the  di\'ine  throne  and 
certain  answer  to  prayer,  heirs  of  the  heavenly  kingdom. 


that  saith  he  abideth  in  him  ought 
himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  he 
walked.  ^"^^  Brethren,  I  write  no  new 
commandment  unto  you,  but  an  old 
commandment  which  ye  had  from  the 
beginning.  The  old  commandment  is 
the  word  which  ye  have  heard  from  the 
beginning.  (^)  Again,  a  new  command- 
ment I  write  unto  you,  which  thing  is 
true  in  him  and  in  you:  because  the 


(c)  Ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  he 
walked. — Abiding  in  Him — in  Christ — is  an  evident 
reference  to  John  xv.  4 — 11.  In  the  terms  of  verses 
3 — 5  there  is  a  double  gi-adatiou :  on  the  one  hand, 
knowing  Him,  being  in  Him,  remaining  in  Him ;  on 
the  other,  keeping  His  commandments,  keeping  His 
word,  walking  even  as  He  walked.  The  last  expi-ession 
is  the  strongest  of  the  latter  three,  as  it  views  the 
Christian  in  action.  The  walk  of  Christ  was  the  walk 
in  the  light  (comp.  chap.  i.  7) ;  divine  love  the  secret 
spring  developing  itself  in  a  new  virtue  for  every 
variety  of  circumstance.  In  verses  7 — 11  brotherly 
love  is  introduced  as  the  special  manifestation  of  this 
obedience  that  springs  from  the  walk  in  the  light.  At 
a  superficial  glance  it  might  have  been  thought  that 
the  personal  address  introduced  a  new  paragraph ;  it  is 
really  only  like  the  "  Verily,  vei-ily,"  of  our  Lord, 
breaking  in  to  emi)hasize  a  message  to  be  brought 
directly  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  readers.  The  life  of 
obedience,  the  walk  in  light,  is  nothing  else  but  the 
life  of  brotherly  love  :  "  This  is  my  commandment,  that 
ye  love  one  another "  (John  xv.  12 ;  comp.  also  chap. 
xiii.  34,  35). 

(7)  I  write  no  new  commandment  unto  you, 
but  an  old  commandment  which  ye  had  from 
the  beginning.  The  old  commandment  is  the 
word  which  ye  have  heard  from  the  be- 
ginning— i.e.,  "  I  am  preparing  to  give  you  a  special 
direction,  which  has  been  implied  already  by  the  walk 
in  light.  If  you  look  at  it  from  the  point  of  ^new  of 
your  first  entrance  into  Christ's  kingdom  it  is  old, 
because  it  was  the  chief  point  of  His  moral  teaching 
which  you  then  heard.  If  you  look  at  its  effect  in  you 
it  is  new,  because  (1)  it  had  never  been  taught  so 
forcibly  and  clearly  before  Christ ;  (2)  you  are  so 
imperfect  that  you  are  always  liable  to  forget  it ; 
(3)  your  obedience  to  the  command  can  never  bo  com- 
plete, but  will  always  require  fresh  growth ;  (4)  it  can 
never  be  permanent  without  continual  renewal  by 
Christ's  presence."  "Ye"  is  therefore  his  present 
Christian  audience ;  "from  the  beginning  "  implies  the 
time  of  their  conversion  ;  "  the  icord  "  is  here  less  wide 
than  in  verse  6.  and  means  rather  Christ's  teaching  on 
this  point.  (Comp.  2  John,  verse  5;  Lev.  xix.,  x™i.  24.) 

(8)  "Which  thing  is  true  in  him  and  in  you. — 
Tlio  commandment  might  have  hung  in  the  air  and 
remained  "  old,"  i.e.,  confined  to  the  definite  point  of 
time  of  its  promulgation,  had  it  not  been  embodied  for 
ever  (1)  in  the  living  example  of  Christ  during  His 
life  on  earth ;  (2)  in  His  active  presence  and  jwwer 
since  His  resurrection;  (3)  in  the  conduct  and  character 
of  His  people,  radically  renewed  by  His  Spirit  and  con- 
tinually growing  after  His  image.  ^Comp.  chap.  iii. 
23;  John  xiii.  .34.) 

Because  the  darkness  is  past,  and  the  true 
light    now    shineth.— Rather,    is   passing    away ; 


477 


Darknes8,  Liyht,  Hatred,  Love. 


I.   JOHN,    II. 


Mural  Results  of  Haired. 


past,  and  the  true  light 
(«)  He  that  saith  he  is  in 
the  light,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  is  in  darkness  even 
until  now.  (i">  He  that 
loveth  his  brother  abideth 
in  the  light,  and  there  is  none  occasion 


darkness  is 
now  shineth 

Chap.  L  9 — 
11.  Obodionce 
shown  in  bro- 
therly love. 


1  Gr.  seandai. 


of  stumbling^  in  him.  (^^^  But  he 
that  hateth  his  brother  is  in  dark- 
ness, and  walketh  in  darkness,  and  J 
knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth,  be-  ■ 
cause  that  darkness  hath  blinded 
his  eyes.  (^-^  I  write  unto  you, 
little   children,   because   your  sins   are 


already  shineth.  Here  he  gives  the  reason  why  ho 
announces  as  new  what  ho  says  is  already  truly  realised 
in  Christ  and  in  process  of  realisation  in  His  people. 
A  visible  change,  a  notable  renovation,  is  going  on ;  the 
gross  darkness  that  covered  the  face  of  the  earth  is 
being  rent  away  in  the  circle  of  the  apostolic  preaching ; 
the  life  of  the  Lord,  which  gleamed  forth  for  threo-and- 
thirty  years  in  the  cities  and  on  the  hill-sides  of  Judaea 
and  Samaria  and  Galileo,  is  now  bursting  far  and  wide 
into  ever-increasing  brightness  ;  wondi-ously  quick  is 
the  spread  of  the  rays  of  His  glory;  multitudes  in 
every  known  land  are  gathered  into  His  kingdom.  Old 
things  are  passing  away  as  the  Apostle  looks  round, 
and  all  things  are  becoming  new.  (Comp.  John  i.  4 
—9 ;  Rom.  xiii.  12  ;  Eph.  v.  8 ;  1  Thess.  v.  4,  5.) 

(6)  Hero  (verses  9 — 11)  is  the  chief  way  in  which  the 
old  commandment,  the  new  commandment,  the  word 
from  the  beofinning,  the  walk  in  light  would  be  mani- 
fested :  brotlierly  lovo  towards  those  with  whom  wo 
have  fellowship  in  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son.  And  as 
He.  by  being  the  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  had  declared  the  universality  of  God's  family 
and  kingdom,  so  the  sympathy  of  believers  would  ex- 
tend in  different  degrees  as  far  as  the  whole  human 
race ;  to  those  first  who  were  conscious  of  the  same 
hopes  as  themselves  ;  to  those  next  who  might  be 
brought  to  share  them;  to  those,  perhaps,  in  a  less 
degree,  who  in  every  nation  feared  God  and  worked 
righteousness  without  knowing  the  Saviour  personally ; 
and  so  on,  finally,  to  all  who  did  not  wilfully  excommu- 
nicato themselves.  But  the  brotherly  love  would  be 
chiefly  amongst  Christian  friends,  else  it  would  be 
diffused  into  nothingness. 

(9)  He  that  saith  .  .  .—The  whole  history  of 
religious  rancour  has  been  a  deplorable  illustration  of 
these  words.  Controversy  for  principles  honestly  and 
reasonably  held  is  one  thing  :  prejudice,  spite,  private 
censures  and  condemnations,  harsh  words,  suspicions, 
jealousies,  misunderstandings  and  misrepresentations 
are  the  chief  props  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness  among 
Christian  churches  and  nations.  (Comp.  John  xiii.  34; 
XV.  12  ;  1  Cor.  xiii.  2  ;  1  Pet.  i.  22  ;  2  Pet.  i.  7—9.) 

Hateth  means  not  merely  the  absence  of  love,  but  the 
presence?,  in  ever  so  small  a  degree,  of  dislike  or  any  of 
the  feelings  already  described,  or  those  kindred  to  them. 

(10)  He  that  loveth.— From  the  associations  con- 
nected with  love  in  poetry  and  romance  this  saying 
sounds  strange.  But  all  such  love  is  tinged  with 
passion,  and  the  desire  of  satisfying  some  personal 
lack ;  this  is  the  pure  disinterested  seeking  for  another's 
welfare,  of  which  Christ  was  the  great  example.  It  is 
that  which  the  modern  scientific  non-Christian  world  is 
tiying  to  make  its  religion ;  but  without  the  Christian 
motive,  and  cultivated  for  its  own  sake  instead  of  by 
the  working  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  it  seems  artificial  and 
powerless. 

Occasion  of  stumbling.  —  Stumbling  -  hloclc. 
(Comp.  Isa.  viii.  14 ;  xxviii.  16 ;  Ps.  cxix.  165  ;  John  xi. 


9,  10;  Rom.  ix.  33;  xiv.  13;  1  Cor.  i.  23;  1  Pet.  ii.  7.) 
When  love  such  as  Christ's  is  the  ruling  principle 
of  life,  then  the  stumbling-blocks  of  human  nature  are 
removed — such  as  impurity,  pride,  selfishness,  anger, 
envy,  suspicion,  unsympathetic  coldness,  censoriousness. 

(11)  But  he  that  hateth.— Verse  10  was  an  anti- 
thesis to  verse  9 ;  verse  11  is,  after  St.  John's  manner, 
an  antithesis  again  to  verse  10,  putting  the  matter  of 
verse  9  more  strongly  and  fully,  and  forcibly  coucluduig 
the  section  which  describes  the  walk  in  the  light. 

Walketh  in  darkness.— This  descrites  the  acts  of 
the  man  whose  selfishness  or  other  sins  interfere  with  his 
love.  Such  are  aU  insisting  upon  class  distinctions ;  all 
ambitious,  political,  social,  or  personal ;  everything  that 
savours  of  shrinking  from  "  in  honour  preferring  one 
another." 

Knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth.— This  refers  to 
the  "  occasion  of  stumbling  "  in  verse  10.  He  is  sure 
to  stumble  ;  is  like  a  blind  man  groping  his  way  among 
pitfalls ;  has  all  the  snares  of  human  nature  within  him. 
(Comp.  Isa.  \'i.  9  et  seq . ;  Matt.  xiii.  14  et  seq. ;  John  xii. 
40  ;  Acts  xxviii.  26 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  4.) 

Hath  blinded. — Just  as  it  is  we  ourselves  who 
make  the  gate  strait  and  the  way  narrow,  so  it  is  our 
own  fault  if  the  darkness  settles  down  on  our  eyes. 

(7)  The  Things  thet  must  not  Love  if  they 
WALKED  IN  the  Light  (verses  12—17).  —  Tlie  so- 
lemnity of  the  thoughts  of  verses  9  and  11  is  too  much 
for  the  warm  heart  of  the  Apostle.  He  cannot  bear 
even  to  seem  to  suggest  that  his  "  dear  little  children  " 
are  shrouded  in  the  gloomy  horrors  of  moral  darkness, 
haunted  by  the  faithful  memories  of  their  sins,  and 
enticed  hither  and  thither  by  the  malevolent  spirits  of 
evil.  Ho  will  warn  them  with  the  most  tender  and 
pitiful  affection  against  the  wicked  one,  the  world,  the 
flesh,  the  follies  and  vanities  of  the  human  heart ;  but 
first  he  will  show  them  frankly  what  he  thinks  of  them, 
what  he  hopes  of  them,  the  trust  he  places  in  them,  the 
grounds  which  he  takes  for  granted  in  writing  to  them. 


(12)   I  write  unto  you,  little   children.— The 

arrangement  of  these  triplets  should  be  prefaced  by 
saying  that  the  last  "  I  write,"  in  verse  13,  is,  according 
to  the  best  reading,  "  I  wrote,"  or  "  I  have  written;  * 
and  that  the  "  little  children  "  of  verso  12  is  the  same 
word  as  that  which  ho  used  in  verse  1  for  the  whole 
class  of  his  readers,  and  is  therefore  quite  general,  but 
that  the  "  little  children  "  of  verse  13  is  a  different 
word,  meaning  children  in  age.  So  we  get : — 
I  ivrite.  I  wrote. 

1.  All  readers.  1.  Children  in  age.   [Sug- 

gested, according  to 
the  perfect  simplicity 
of  St.  John's  style, 
by  the  tenn  used  in 
the  first  set  for  his 
readers  generally.] 

2.  Fathers,  2.  Fathers. 

3.  Youths.  3.  Youths. 


478 


Grounds  for  Writing. 


I.  JOHN,   II. 


Warning  against  the  World. 


forgiven  you  for  his  name's  sake.  (^^^  I 
write  unto  you,  fathers, 
His^oS'nSn^of  because  ye  have  known 
differentclasses  him  that  is  from  the 
of  his  hearers,  ^jeginning.  I  write  unto 
you,  young  men,  because  ye  have 
overcome  the  wicked  one.  I  write 
unto  you,  little  children,  because  ye 
have  known  the  Father.  <^*)  I  have 
written  unto  you,  fathers,  because  ye 
have    known     him    that    is    from    the 


beginning.  I  have  wTitten  unto  you, 
young  men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and 
the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye 
have  overcome  the  wicked  one.  ^^^  Love 
not  the  world,  neither  the  ^^j^  jj  15— ]  7 
things  that  are  in  the  The  things  con- 
world.  K  any  man  love  trarytoUght. 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father 
is  not  in  him.  (^'^^  For  all  that  is 
in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
and    the    lust   of    the   eyes,   and    the 


Reasons. 


1.  Forgiveness. 


2.  Knowledge  of  Clirist. 

3.  Victory. 


1.  Knowledge  of    tlie 
Father. 

2.  Knowledge  of  Clirist. 

3.  Strength,  perseverance, 
victory. 

Some  have  thought  the  second  triplet  an  explanatory 
note  that  has  crept  into  the  text ;  others  that  "  I  write  " 
refei's  to  what  he  is  doing  at  the  moment,  "  I  wrote  " 
the  view  they  would  take  when  they  read  what  he  had 
written.  It  seems  better,  however,  if  we  allow  the 
Gospel  to  have  been  written  first,  to  refer  "  I  am 
writing  "  to  the  Epistle ;  "  I  did  write  "  to  the  Gospel. 

Because  your  sins  are  forgiven  you  for  his 
name's  sake. — Rather,  have  been  forgiven.  Wlien 
Christ  expired  on  the  cross,  the  sins  of  all  were  for- 
given who  should  in  after-time  believe  and  carry  on 
their  repentance  towards  perfection.  The  process  is 
realised  in  the  soul  when  it  wakes  up  to  a  sense  of  love 
of  the  Saviour  through  faith. 

(13)  Fathers.— The  heads  of  families. 

Him  that  is  from  the  beginning.— Tliei-e  can 
be  little  doubt  that  this  means  the  same  Person  as  the 
subject  of  "  His  name's  sake."  (Comp.  John  i.  1 ; 
viii.  58 ;  xvii.  5 ;  Knowledge  of  Christ  is  assigned  in 
both  cases  as  the  reason  for  addressing  the  elder 
members  of  his  audience,  because  fully  to  under- 
stand the  work,  the  doctrine,  the  example  of  Christ, 
is  a  work  fitted  for  mature  thought.  (Comp.  1  Cor. 
iii.  1,  2.) 

Young  men. — They  might  be  regarded  more  as 
still  engaged  in  the  work  of  settling  their  character, 
forming  their  habits,  disciplining  their  inclinations, 
confirming  the  choice  which  all  must  make  for  them- 
selves between  good  and  evil.  (Comp.  2  Tim.  ii.  22.) 
St.  John  is  not  here  addressing  those  who  have  failed 
in  the  struggle  and  not  repented,  but  those  who  have 
got  the  better  of  such  temptations,  or  are  in  process 
of  getting  it. 

The  wicked  one.— Comp.  chaps,  iii.  12;  v.  18; 
Matt.  xiii.  19;  Eph. -s-i.  16.) 

(1^)  Because  ye  have  known.— To  those  who 
have  once  begun  to  understand  Christ,  the  topic  must 
always  be  delightful  and  interesting. 

Because  ye  are  strong.— For  the  reasons  men- 
tioned before,  young  men  have  more  special  need 
of  strength.  (Comp.  Ps.  cxix.  9.)  This  power  can 
only  come  through  the  presence  of  the  message  and 
teaching  of  God  in  their  hearts,  which  will  be  brought 
by  faith  in  Christ,  acceptance  of  His  redemption,  and 
reverential  study  of  His  example.  Wlien  Christ  has 
thus  dwelt  in  their  minds,  then  the  victory  is  won,  and 
the  spirits  of  evil  can  no  longer  entice  them. 

(15J  Love  not  the  world.— Having  thus  affection- 


479 


ately  expressed  his  hopes  about  each  class  of  them,  the 
last  of  the  Apostles  is  freer  to  express  that  warning 
which  was  suggested  to  his  mind  by  the  mounifiU 
picture  of  verse  11.  If  they  would  not  walk  in  dark- 
ness— if  they  would  be  where  the  true  Light  shineth — 
then  they  must  not  love  the  world.  Wliat  does  "  the 
world  "  mean  ?  In  Acts  xWi.  24  it  meant  the  universe ; 
in  John  i.  9,  perhaps  more  distinctly,  the  earth ;  in  1  Jolm 
ii.  2  the  simi  total  of  mankind ;  in  John  viii.  23  that 
moral  order,  to  be  found  in  this  spot  of  creation,  which 
is  antagonistic  to  God.  Thus  it  became  a  phrase  for  all 
such  inventions,  plans,  customs,  thoughts,  and  estimates 
of  mankind  as  are  not  in  hannony  with  the  will 
and  purpose  of  God.  It  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that 
St.  John  intended  to  condemn  the  love  either  of  natural 
philosophy;  or  of  the  scenery  of  that  creation  which 
God  saw  to  be  very  good,  and  which  sin  has  been 
unable  to  injure;  or  of  all  mankiud,  who  are  His 
children.  No  created  thing  is  exH.  in  itseK  ;  the  evil 
lies  in  the  use  which  man  makes  of  it.  We  must 
remember  that  our  Lord  said,  "  I  am  the  Light  of  the 
World  "  (John  viii.  12),  so  that  none  of  the  phases  of 
the  meaning  of  the  word  can  be  essentially  e\"il.  except 
where  it  implies  man's  own  imgodly  creations.  The  world 
which  is  not  to  be  loved  is  the  spliere  of  rebellion, 
caprice,  ambition,  vanity,  pride,  avarice,  forgetfulness 
of  God,  self-pleasing,  sensuous  desires  and  interests, 
conniA'ance  with  standards  of  thought  and  action  anta- 
gonistic to  the  vrill  of  God.  To  take  one  example : 
Christ  declared  aU  Christians  brothers ;  any  respect 
for  rank  and  wealth  beyond  a  conscientious  "  bowing 
in  the  house  of  Rimmon"  is  a  sign  of  the  forbidden 
affection. 

The  love  of  the  Father  is  the  true  posture  of 
the  soul  towards  God.  If  the  soul  is  evenly  balanced 
between  love  of  God  and  of  the  world  it  is  negative 
and  colourless.  If  the  balance  incline  towards  the 
things  that  distract  from  the  pure  and  simple  walk 
with  Grod,  then  the  emotion  for  Him  has  died  away ;  if 
the  balance  be  for  Him.  "  the  expulsive  power  of  the 
new  affection"  makes  the  contrary  attractions  insig- 
nificant and  increasingly  powerless. 

(16)  AU  that  is  in  the  world.— The  essence,  the 
kernel  of  this  sphere  showing  itself  in  coimtless  ways. 

The  lust  of  the  flesh— i.e.,  tliat  proceeds  from  the 
earthly  nature ;  all  desire  taking  possession  of  the  soul 
as  a  motive  for  thought  and  action  which  does  not  arise 
from  principles  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  God. 

The  lust  of  the  eyes — i.e.,  of  which  the  eyes  are 
the  seat ;  aU  delight  in  objects  living  or  inanimate 
apart  from  their  moral  and  religious  importance ; 
personal  beauty,  for  instance,  considered  otherwise  than 
as  an  index  of  a  Christ-like  soul.  (Comp.  John  vii.  24; 
viii.  15;  2  Cor.  v.  16;  Jas.  ii.  1.)  Our  Lord's  intro- 
spection was  of  moral  qualities  in  Mark  x.  21. 


TJie  Perishable  aiul  t/ie  Abiding. 


I.  JOHN,  n. 


27ie  Last  Hour  and  the  Antichrists. 


pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father, 
but  is  of  the  world.  (^'^  And  the 
world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust 
thereof:  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of 
God  abideth  for  ever.  '^'^^  Little  children, 
it  is  the  last  time :  and 
fe^i'lfeas  ye  have  heard  that 
forerunners  of  antichrist  shall  come,  even 
the  last  hour.     ^^^^  ^^.^  ^-^er^  many  anti- 


christs ;  whereby  we  know  that  it 
is  the  last  time.  (^^^  They  went  out 
from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us ; 
for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would 
no  doubt  have  continued  witli  us : 
but  they  went  out,  that  they  might 
be  made  manifest  that  they  were  not 
all  of  us.  (^*^'  But  ye  have  an  unction 
from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all 


The  pride  of  life. — The  Greek  word  is  only  used 
besides  in  the  New  Testament  in  Jas.  iv.  16.  Tlio 
pliraso  means  a  boastful,  ostentatious  attitude  in  regard 
to  tlie  good  things  of  this  life  allotted  by  God  to  be 
spent  in  His  ser\'ice.  All  living  up  to  a  supposed  social 
position  instead  of  as  the  responsible  steward  of  un- 
deserved bounties,  is  hereby  condemned.  Of  this  any 
social  organism  existing  for  pleasure  instead  of  for 
moral  or  religious  ends  might  be  considered  illusti-ative. 

(17)  The  world  passeth  away. — No  reasonable 
man  can  set  his  affections  on  what  is  in  its  very  essence 
perisjuible  ;  for  the  perishable  must  be  ever  disappoint- 
ing, and  can  in  no  sense  satisfy.  It  is  only  passion, 
and  the  madness  of  folly,  and  the  contagion  of  accu- 
mulated examples,  that  inlluence  the  soul  towards  what 
can  only  create  the  agonising  ache  of  a  growing  void. 

And  the  lust  thereof. — Of  all  the  long  succession 
of  impulses  excited  by  the  world,  nothing  remains  but 
the  injury  which  they  have  intiicted. 

But  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth 
for  ever. — Tliere  is  no  permanence  but  tliat  of  defeat 
and  failure  in  what  is  in  rebellion  to  the  Supreme 
Author  and  Ruler  of  all  things.  But  that  which  has 
continuously  derived  all  its  sustenance  fi'om  Him,  must 
have  absorbed  from  Him  the  '*  bright  shoots "  of  that 
"  everlastinguess  "  Avliich  is  His.  Everything  that  is 
good  is  a  part  of  Him,  and  can  no  more  fade  than  Ho 
can.  It  is  by  being  in  harmony  with  this  undeviating 
tendency  of  righteousness  to  victory  that  real  hajipiness 
discovers  its  own  secret.  (Comp.  John  x.  28,  29 ;  1  Cor. 
vii.  31;  Jas.  i.  10;  1  Pot.  i.  24.) 

(8)  The  Manifestations  of  Darkness  (verses 
18—28). 

(a)  Signs  toherehy  they  should  Jcnow  the  fore- 
runners of  the  last  time  (verses  18 — 23). 

(b)  Exhortation   to    continue    in    the    light 
(verses  24—28). 

After  cheering  his  readers  by  stating  the  grounds  of 
his  writing,  and  the  opinion  which  he  has  of  them,  ho 
reminds  them  of  the  momentous  epoch  at  which  they  are 
liA-ing,  of  the  discriminating  effect  which  it  has  had  on 
mere  nominal  Christians,  and  of  the  signs  by  which 
such  miglit  be  known,  introducing,  as  in  verse  12,  a 
saving  clause  to  separate  his  friends  from  the  condem- 
natory category.  The  train  of  thought  connected  with 
"the  last  hour"  is  suggested  by  verso  17,  "  the  world 
passeth  away,"  and  is  appropriate  to  the  treatment  of 
the  general  subject  of  light  as  it  brings  the  manifesta- 
tion of  its  contrary. 

(18)  The  last  time.— Rather,  hour.  Until  the  visions 
of  the  Apocalj'pse,  St.  John  naturally  thought  from 
Christ's  words,  "  If  he  tarry  till  I  come "  (John  xxi. 
22),  that  he  would  see  the  last  days  before  the  Second 
Advent.      Our   Lord,    in   Matt.    xxiv.    36,    distinctly 


480 


assorted  that  not  even  the  angels  knew  the  day  and  the 
hour;  and  on  this  subject  accordingly  the  Apostles 
were  evidently  left  to  their  own  conjectures.  St.  Paid 
expected  a  speedy  return  (2  Thess.  iv.  17) ;  so  did 
St.  Peter  (2  Pet.  iii.  12—15).  In  the  same  way  St.  John 
thought  that  he  recognised  in  the  serious  signs  of  his 
time  that  final  period  spoken  of  in  Isa.  ii.  2  ;  Mic.  iv.  1 ; 
Acts  ii.  17;  1  Tim.  iv.  1 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1 ;  and  2  Pet.  iii.  3. 
And  it  was  indeed  true  that  with  the  approaching  death 
of  the  last  living  witness  of  the  Lord's  life,  the  new 
revelation  was  being  finally  closed,  miracidous  out- 
pourings of  the  S^jirit  were  ceasing,  lieresies  and 
opponents  wei-e  growing,  and  the  lives  of  Christians 
were  beginning  to  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day. 

Antichrist. — See  Introduction.  Of  the  terrible  per- 
sonage or  power  prophesied  in  2  Thess.  ii.  1 — 12,  Rev. 
xi.,  xiii..  and  x^ai.,  the  "  liars  '  already  mentioned  in  chap, 
i.  6,  and  afterwards  in  chaps,  iv.  3,  14 ;  are  regarded 
as  forerunners.  So  might  Hymenseus  and  Philetus 
(2  Tim.  ii.  17),  Diotrephcs  (3  John,  verse  9),  the 
Nicolaitanes  (Rev.  ii.  6),  or  Simon  Magus,  Cerinthus, 
Ebiou,  any  who  opposed  the  teaching  of  Christ  from 
wnthin  or  without.  (Comp.  also  Jude,  verse  4.)  See 
Excursus  on  2  Thess.  ii.  3 — 12. 

(19)  They  went  out. — The  special  instances  in  his 
mind  were  of  men  who  had  seemed  to  belong  to  the  body 
of  Christ,  but  were  never  really  penetrated  by  His 
Spirit.  (Comp.  Matt.  xiii.  3—7,  24—30,  47—50.) 
St.  John  is  not  pronouncing  a  general  law  that  "  grace 
is  indefectible ; "  but  in  looking  back  on  each  case  of 
apostasy  he  sees  there  must  have  been  some  element  in 
the  character  not  subdued  to  Christ.  The  writer  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap.  vi.  4 — 6)  regarded 
it  as  possible  for  those  wlio  have  been  made  partakers 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  "  fall  away."  They  might  have 
partaken  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  some  degree,  and  yet 
not  have  been  wholly  Christian.  Safety  lies  in  the 
continual  appeal  to  Christ. 

(20, 21)  But  ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy 
One,  and  ye  know  all  things.  I  have  not 
written  unto  you  because  ye  know  not  the 
truth,  but  because  ye  know  it,  and  that  no 
lie  is  of  the  truth. — If  the  Antichrists  had  formerly 
any  unction  at  all  from  Christ,  the  Holy  One  (comp. 
John  XV.  26  ;  2  Cor.  iii.  17,  18 ;  Eph.  iii.  16 ;  PhU.  i 
i.  29),  they  must  have  grieved  His  Spirit.  But  St. 
John's  hearers  were  still  "  holding  the  Head,"  and  there- 1 
fore  had  the  di^-ine  instinct  which  "  guided  them  into 
all  truth."  If  they  trusted  to  the  Spirit  in  simplicity, 
questions  of  morality  and  religion,  all  that  concerned  1 
the  soul,  would  be  made  sufficiently  plain  to  them.  He! 
does  believe  this  of  them  ;  humbly  he  begs  them  not  to  | 
think  that  he  distrusts  them.  If  he  did  not  think  that 
they  had  the  eye  of  their  understanding  spirituallyj 
enlightened,  he  would  know  that  there  would  be  no  J 
response  in  their  hearts  to  his  words,  nor  interest  about  j 
them  in  their  intelligence. 


21ie  most  fatal  of  Lies. 


I.   JOHN,   II. 


The  Anointing. 


things.  (2^^  I  have  not  written  unto  you 
because  ye  know  not  the  truth,  but 
because  ye  know  it,  and  that  no  lie  is 
of  the  truth.  (-)  Who  is  a  liar  but  he 
that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 'P 
He  is  antichrist,  that  denieth  the  Father 
and  the  Son.  (-^)  Whosoever  denieth 
the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the  Father : 
\jnit]  he  that  ack)iowled(jeth  the  Son  hath 
the  Father  also.     ^^^^  Let  that  therefore 

Chat)  ii  24-28     ^^''^®     '"^     ^"^"^^    ^^^'^^^     ^^ 

Exhortation  to  li^ve  heard  from  the  be- 
continue  in  the  ginning.  If  that  which 
^^    ■  ye   have    heard  from    the 


1  Or,  it. 


beginning  shall  remain  in  you,  ye 
also  shall  continue  in  the  Son,  and 
in  the  Father.  (^)  And  this  is  the 
promise  that  he  hath  promised  us, 
even  eternal  life.  ^^'^>  These  things  have 
I  written  unto  you  concerning  them 
that  seduce  you.  <^^  But  the  anointing 
which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth 
in  you,  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man 
teach  you :  but  as  the  same  anointing 
teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and  is  truth, 
and  is  no  lie,  and  even  as  it  hath  taught 
you,  ye  shall  abide  in  liim.^  <-^^  And 
now,  little  children,  abide  in  him ;  that. 


(22)  "W'ho  is  a  liar  ?— Rather,  the  liar,  the  enemy 
of  lii^ht  tabovo  all  others.  St.  John  thrusts  home  his 
point  by  a  lively  personal  reference.  All  who  err  from 
Christ's  teaching  are  liars ;  the  greatest  of  all,  he  who 
may  be  called  actually  Antichrist,  is  he  who  denies  that 
the  Crucified  is  the  Son  of  God.  Such  a  man,  with 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  and  believing  in  the  light,  by 
refusing  to  do  so  loses  the  knowledge  of  God  in  the 
impressive  beauty  of  His  relation  as  Father  revealed  in 
Jesus.  And  a  God  who  cannot  be  revealed,  who  has 
no  Son,  who  cannot  be  heard  or  seen,  is  at  best  a  cold 
abstraction. 

(-■')  Whosoever  denieth  the  Son.  .  .  . — The 
sentence  in  italics  has  good  authority,  and  should  stand 
as  part  of  the  text.  "  Acknowledging  "  here,  as  the 
opposite  of  that  denial  which  involved  such  weighty 
consequences,  implies,  as  Bede  says,  "  the  confession 
of  the  heart,  the  mouth,  and  the  deed." 

After  this  description  of  the  manifestations  of  dark- 
ness in  their  midst,  and  of  his  trust  in  them,  he  winds 
up  ^vith  some  forcible  practical  appeals,  wea\'ing 
togetlier  with  coucenti'atcd  power  ideas  which  have 
already  been  suggested,  and  introducing  the  most 
familiar  associations  of  the  Lord's  teaching. 

(24,  25)  j^g  for  you  (omit  "  therefore  "),  that  which  ye 
heard  from  the  beginning,  let  it  remain  in  you.  If 
there  remain  in  you  that  which  ye  heard  frovi  the 
beginning,  ye  in  your  turn  shall  remain  in  the  Son 
and  in  the  Father.  And  this  is  the  promise  which 
He  Himself  promised  to  ms,  the  life  eternal. 

Ho  turns  over  in  his  mind  the  question,  "  What  shall 
I  say  to  my  dear  children  about  these  sad  apostasies 
that  shake  the  faith  and  darken  the  heart  ?  "  Well, 
there  is  nothing  new  to  tell  them ;  tliey  have  heard  it 
all,  only  let  it  remain  fixed  and  fresh  in  them  !  Then 
all  he  could  wish  will  be  theirs;  they  mil  bo  li^^ng 
and  moving  and  ha\nng  their  being  in  the  life  and 
mind  and  love  of  the  Son,  the  beloved  Lord  who  has 
ascended,  and  through  Him  not  less  in  the  Father 
Almighty  Himself.  And  the  great  promise  which  the 
Son  made  to  them  and  to  the  world  transcends  all  else, 
for  it  is  of  life  eternal. 

(24)  Let  that  therefore  abide.— An  echo  of  John 
XV.  7. 

Which  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning.— 
Since  each  individual  first  felt  the  gospel  brought 
home  to  his  heart.     Its  message  is  always  the  same. 

<25)  Eternal  life.  —  The  life  which  cannot  be 
measured  by  days  and  years,  but  is  the  enjoyment  of 
the  blessedness  of  virtue.  This  is  a  present  fact,  begun 
as  soon  as  the  believer  begins  to  bo  in  Christ,  growing 


97 


481 


more  and  more  imto  the  perfect  day  as  he  walks  more 
closely  with  God,  secured  for  ever  when  he  enters  into 
his  rest,  and  perfected  in  the  glory  of  heaven.  (Comp. 
John  V.  21—26;  x.  10,  27,  28;  xi.  25,  26;  xvii.  3.) 
Tliat  this  life,  depending  on  knowledge  of  God,  is  begun 
here,  does  not  lessen  the  reasonableness  of  its  being 
perfected  hei-eafter,  any  more  than  its  future  comple- 
tion prevents  its  present  beginning. 

(26)  These  things  have  I  written.— To  remind 
them  that  he  is  still  on  the  subject  of  the  Antichrists, 
and  to  sum  up  what  he  has  said  about  them. 

(27)  But  the  anointing.— He  reverts  to  verses 
20  and  21  as  a  favourite  ground  of  consolation  and 
encouragement.  Anointing  played  a  great  j)art  in  the 
physical  life  of  Eastern  races.  The  climate  was  dry, 
sultry,  and  enervating ;  unguents  restored  freshness, 
elasticity,  and  life  to  the  parched  and  feeble  frame. 
So,  like  dew  reviving  the  verdure  of  the  hill-side,  or 
ointment  restoring  the  vigour  of  muscles  and  sinews, 
the  healing,  sootliing,  inliuence  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
breathes  about  the  children  of  God,  unfolds  the  mean- 
ing of  what  they  have  heard,  brings  all  things  to 
their  remembrance,  and  guides  them  into  aU  truth. 
They  needed  not  the  pretended  discoveries  of  false 
teacliers ;  all  they  wanted  was  the  unction  of  God  to 
bring  home  what  they  had  heard  from  the  beginning. 

Shall  abide  in  him.— Rather,  abide  ye  in  Him 
(imperative).  Those  words  are  the  conclusion  to  tho 
four  parallel  clauses  of  the  last  half  of  verse  27.  On 
the  grounds  that  their  minds  were  visibly  alive  to 
spiritual  insight ;  that  this  insight  was  from  God.  a 
living  power,  ^vitnessed  to  by  the  life  of  Christ  and  His 
Apostles,  and  all  the  phenomena  of  Christianity;  that 
it  was  no  mere  human  theory  like  the  speculation  of 
false  teachers,  demonstrably  at  variance  with  Christ ; 
and,  lastly,  that  it  had  already  brought  home  to  their 
inmost  souls  the  priceless  lessons  of  which  they  were 
aware,  he  earnestly  charges  them,  "  Abide  ye  in  Christ  I  " 

(28)  And  now.— As  in  John  x^-ii.  5;  Acts  iii.  17; 
iv.  29 ;  vii.  34 ;  X.  5 ;  xxii.  16 ;  2  Thess.  ii.  6,  these  words 
mark  a  conclusion  arising  naturally  from  previous 
thoughts.  As  they  have  this  holy  anointing,  and  can 
exercise  the  Christian  critical  ability,  and  can  see  tlio 
truth,  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  let  their  wliole  IxMng 
rest  in  the  Son;  this  cannot  be  urged  upon  them  too 
often,  or  too  simply.  Their  safety  depends  on  the 
exercise  of  their  own  will.     (Comp.  John  xv.  1 — 6.) 

Little  children.— Tenderly,  as  in  verse  18. 

When  he  shall  appear.-  Ratlier.  if.  Compare 
verso  18  for  the  thought  of  the  possible  nearness  of 
Christ's  Second  Advent.     He  passes  to  the  first  person 


l^he  Moral  Importance  of  Hope. 


I.   JOHN,   III. 


The  Marvel  of  Divine  Love. 


when  he  shall  appear,  we  may  have 
coutidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before 
Chaps,  ii.  29-v.  him  at  his  coming.  <J®>  If 
12.  God  is  Love,  ye  know  that  he  is  right- 
cSerion  ^'f  eous,  ye  knowi  that  every 
sonship.  one  that  doeth  righteous- 

ness is  bom  of  him. 


After  A. n.  90. 


1  Or,  know  j/e. 


CHAPTER  III.— (1)  Behold,  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  Chap.  iii.  1—3. 
hath  bestowed  upon  us,  fex^^iF  * God^s 
that  we  should  be  called  love, 
the  sons  of  God :  therefore  the  world 
knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  him 
not.     (-^  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons 


plural,  to  place  himself  under  the  same  experiences, 
laws,  promises,  hopes,  fears,  as  his  friends.  It  would 
bo  foreijjn  to  his  nature  to  express  a  personal  wish  that 
he  himself  might  not  be  ashamed  on  the  score  of  their 
declension. 

So  ends  the  treatise  on  Light.  From  the  thought 
that  the  true  fellowship  excluded  sin,  he  passed  on  to 
forbid  the  concealment  of  sin,  for  sin  could  not  be 
altogether  Jmuished  ;  then  he  spoke  of  the  remedy  for 
sin  ;  then  of  the  test  of  walking  in  the  Light ;  so  he  was 
led  to  speak  of  the  chief  Christian  characteristic ;  and 
then  of  the  things  to  be  forsworn.  That  led  him  to 
think  of  nominal  Christians  who  had  been  unable  to 
forswear  them,  and  had  therefore  become  enemies  of 
Christ  and  beacons  of  warning.  His  friends  needed  no 
practical  counsel  except  reminders  of  what  they  knew, 
and  exliortations  to  exercise  their  moral  choice  by 
holding  on  to  Christ. 

[3.  Second  Half.   God  is  Love  (chaps,  ii.   29 — 
V.  12.) 

(1)  Righteousness  the  Criterion  of  Divine 

BiETH  (chap.  ii.  29). 

(2)  The    Divine    Birth    the    Outcome    of 

God's  Love  (chap.  iii.  1 — 3). 

(3)  Its  Consequence    on   Human   Conduct 

(verses  4— -lu). 

(4)  Brotherly  Love  the  necessary  Flower 

OP  THE  Divine  Birth  (verses  10 — 18). 

(5)  The  Glorious  Results  of  God's  love  in 

Sonship  (verses  19 — 24). 
(a)  Assurance  (verses  19 — 21). 
(6)  Grant  of  requests  (verse  22). 
(c)  Presence  of  God  (verse  24). 
{d)  Gift  of  the  Spirit  (verse  24). 

(6)  Necessity  of  Trying  the  Spirits  (chap.  iv. 

1—6). 

(7)  The    Perfect   Love    the    surest    Test 

(verses  7 — 21). 

(8)  Faith  the  Test  op  Love  (chap.  v.  1 — 12). 

(a)  The  power  of  faith  (verses  1 — 5). 

(b)  The  witness  of  faith  (verses  6 — 10). 

(c)  The  content  of  faith  (verses  11,  12).] 

(1)  Righteousness  the  Criterion  op  the 
Divine  Birth  (verso  29).— In  passing  on  to  think 
of  God  in  His  character  of  Love  rather  than  of  Light 
(this,  with  several  interludes,  is  the  leading  thought  up 
to  chap.  v.  12 1,  St.  John  is  led,  by  the  earnest  exhorta- 
tion of  verse  28  (with  which  he  closes  the  former 
8u!)ject),  to  pause  for  a  moment  on  the  idea  of  right- 
eousness, which,  as  it  was  the  main  object  of  the  earlier 
dispensation,  so  is  the  tinal  cause  of  Cliristianity.  This 
suggests  to  his  mind  the  new  idea,  "  The  righteous  are 
born  of  God."  "Wherever  there  was  a  spark  of  true 
righteousness,  there  was  a  birth  from  God. 

(29)  He  is  righteous.— St.  John  looks  at  the  Father 
and  the  Son  as  so  essentially  one,  that  from  liis  use  of 
the  pronoun  merely  it  would  not  be  clear  which  Person 


he  meant.  Here  "  bom  of  Him,"  shows  that  he  thinks 
of  the  Father,  or  of  the  Deity  in  its  oneness;  not 
specially  of  Christ. 

Ye  know.— Rather,  ye  perceive.  A  divine  gerjn, 
sent  by  the  will  of  God,  has  come  into  the  life,  and, 
just  as  the  body  and  spirit  grow  in  the  womb,  so  the 
new  man  is  gradually  formed  in  the  soul,  not  to  be  per- 
fected till  the  future  life. 

HL 

(2)  The  Divine  Birth  the  Outcome  of  God's 
Love  (chap,  iii.l — 3).— The  thought  of  the  new  birth 
suddenly  fires  the  Apostle's  mind  with  reverent 
amazement,  in  which  he  calls  on  his  hearers  to  join. 
He  then  sketches  some  consequences  of  the  Son- 
ship  : — 

(a)  Neglect  by  the  world,  just  as  the  world  hnew 

not  Him  who  made  them  sons. 

(b)  The  future  ylory  in  the  perfected  likeness. 

(c)  The  purifying  result  of  hope. 

Sons. — Rather,  children.  The  asserted  relationship 
is  no  mere  empty  rhetorical  title.  It  is  not  only  a  com- 
parison to  point  origin,  dependence,  sympathy,  care, 
union,  love;  it  is  a  fact.  As  our  spii-itual  life  comes 
from  God,  we  have  but  to  be  conscious  of  it,  and  to 
claim  its  privileges. 

(2  a.)  It  passes  before  St.  John's  mind  how  strange 
it  is  that  the  stream  of  the  world's  thouglit,  the  tide  of 
the  -world's  history,  should  be  going  on  as  they  liad 
been  before  Christ  came.  Of  how  small  account  was 
the  old  man,  at  Ephesus,  or  elsewhere,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  wise,  the  powerful,  the  popular !  Why  was  this  ? 
Because  God,  manifest  in  Christ,  had  been  unintelli- 
gible to  the  world  as  such,  or,  if  intelligible,  the  cause 
only  of  antagonism.  As  far  as  the  childi'cn  were  like 
their  Father,  so  far  would  the  elements  that  made  up 
their  character  be  antagonistic  to  the  elements  that 
make  up  the  character  of  the  world.  For,  as  far  as 
"  the  world  "  exists  at  all  in  the  moral  meaning  of  the 
word,  it  is  a  mixture  of  qualities  and  tendencies  which 
may  or  may  not  be  like  each  other,  but  which  all  agree 
in  being  opposed  to  true  righteousness. 

(2  b.)  We  can  imagine  some  one  saying  in  the  room 
where  St.  John  was  dictating,  or  the  thought  occurring 
to  himself,  "  If  you  say  we  are  already  sons,  what  shall 
we  be  hereafter  ?  "  We  cannot  say.  It  is  not  good 
for  us  to  know.  At  any  rate,  there  will  be  the  perfected 
sonship,  the  completed  likeness,  the  unquiet  and  rebel- 
lious children  conformed  to  the  Fathers  character. 
(Comp.  Rom.  \'iii.  17,  18;  1  Cor.  ii.  9;  Gal.  iv.  1; 
Col.  iii.  3.) 

(1)  Of  God. — Literally,  out  of  God — ^a  part  of  His 
holy  nature.  (Comp.  John  i.  12,  13;  iii.  3,  5,  6;  Rom. 
xii.  2;  Eph.  iv.  23,  24;  Tit.  iii.  5;  1  Pet.  i.  3,  23; 
2  Pet.  i.  4.) 

(2)  For  we  shall  see. — The  old  philosophical  dogm»  j 
that  if  knowledge  could  be  perfect  it  would  necessitate 
virtue,  is  true  in  this  sense :  the  more  we  see  God  in 


482 


The  Future  of  Sons/dp. 


I.   JOHN,   III. 


Its  Purifying  Power. 


of  Grod,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be :  but  we  know  that,  when 
he  shall  ajjpear,  we  shall  be  like  him ; 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  ^^^  And 
every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him 
purilieth   himself,  even  as  he  is  pure. 


(4)   Whosoever   committeth    sin    trans- 
gresseth  also  the  law :  for  ^hap.  iii.  4-io 


transijression   Moral  effects  of 
sonship. 


sm    IS    the 

of  the    law.      (^^  And    ye 

know  that  he  was  manifested  to  take 

away  our  sins  ;    and  in  him  is  no  sin. 


this  life  (provided  it  is  a  real  sight)  the  more  like  Him 
we  must  bo.  Wheu  we  are  able  to  see  Him,  by  entering 
on  the  glorified  life  hereafter,  our  likeness  will  have 
grown  complete,  and  it  will  never  again  be  able  to  be 
defaced.  (Comp.  Ps.  xvii.  15  ;  Matt.  A^  8 ;  1  Cor.  xiii. 
12;  2  Cor.  iii.  18;  Re\'.  xxii.  4.)  A  true  knowledge 
must  be  convincing;  when  we  are  permitted  to  see  the 
actual  truth  in  God  Himself,  it  will  be  impossible  for 
any  corner  of  the  soul  to  remain  unconvinced,  un- 
warmed,  iini-euewed. 

(2  c.)  St.  John,  as  usual,  turns  gently  to  the  practical 
side  of  his  thought.  If  we  really  hold  this  glorious 
hope  of  the  future  likeness,  it  cannot  help  hav'ing  a 
correlative  force  in  our  present  life.  Such  a  hope  must 
be  the  mother  of  tlie  determination  to  be  purified  here ; 
the  resolve  to  be  rid  of  all  pollution  in  body  or  soul, 
and  to  struggle  free  from  the  chains  of  sins.  The 
word  for  pui-ifyiug  is  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment— 

1.  To  wisdom  (Jas.  iii.  47) ; 

2.  To  vows  (Acts  xxi.  24,  26;  xxiv.  18); 

3.  To  the  Cliristian  walk  (2  Cor.  vi.  6 ;  1  Tim.  v. 

22 ;  Jas.  iv.  8  ;  1  Pet.  i.  22) ; 

4.  To  chastity  (2  Cor.  xi.  2;  1  Tim.  iv.  12;  v.  2; 

Tit.  ii.  5). 
Our  Lord  gives  a  list  of  things  that  defile  in  Matt.  xv. 
18.     St.  John  probably  thought  of  Matt.  v.  8  in  thus 
connecting  the  future  vision  with  present  purity. 

(3)  The  Consequence  of  the  Divine  Birth  on 
Human  Conduct  (chap.  iii.  4 — 10). — This  paragraph 
is  an  expansion  of  the  thought  of  verse  3,  which  was  the 
practical  conclusion  of  the  meditation  on  the  divine 
love  as  seen  in  the  new  birth.  In  thmking  of  the 
nature  of  righteousness,  of  the  new  birth,  and  of  purity, 
the  Ajjostle  is  led  to  dwell  on  their  opposite,  lawless- 
ness, the  synonym  and  essence  of  sin.  His  object  being 
to  bring  purity  and  rigliteousness  into  relief,  and  to 
determine  who  are  the  children  of  God  and  who  of  the 
devil,  ho  pursues  the  contrast  by  a  series  of  antitheses, 
introducing,  after  his  manner,  reflections  suggested  by 
particular  stages  of  the  thought. 

1st  Contrast :  Purity,  and  the  act  of  sin  regarded 
as  lawlessness  (abstract). 

Reflection :    Christ    manifested    to  take 
away  our  sins. 
2nd  Contrast :    Abiding    in   Christ,  we  sin  not ; 
sinning,  we  have  neither   seen  nor  known 
{practical). 
^rd  Contrast  fin  the   form   of  a  warning):    The 
rigliteous  are  like  God ;  sinners  are  of  the 
devil  (hortatory). 

Reflection :  Christ  manifested  to  destroy 
the  works  of  the  devil. 
4f A  Contrast :  Tlie  sons  of  the  devil  sin ;  the  sons 
of  God  keep  the  germ  from  Him,  and  sin 
not  (explanatory). 
5th  Contrast :  The  criterion  between  the  two  son- 
ships  is  doing   righteousness  and   (a    new 
thought  in  this  passage)  loinng  the  brother 
{the  test). 


W  Transgresseth  also  the  law.— Rather,  doeth 
lawlessness. 

The  transgression  of  the  law.— Or,  lawlessness. 
Ho  is  not  thinking  of  tiie  law  of  Moses,  but  defining 
and  analysing  the  nature  of  sin  in  general :  it  is  acting 
from  caprice  instead  of  on  principle,  disobeying  the 
conscience,  neglecting  the  will  of  God,  rebelling  against 
His  commandments. 

(5)  And  ye  know  .  .  . — The  Incarnation  is  here 
mentioned  with  the  purpose  of  strengthening  the  appeal 
to  purity.  The  veiy  object  of  Christ's  coming  was  to 
take  away  our  sins  Ijy  atonement,  and  their  power  in  us 
by  reformation.  He  is  Himself  sinless.  Those  who 
really  rest  firm  in  Him  cannot  be  habitual  sinners,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  can  habitual  sinners  be  really  in  Him. 

To  take  away  our  sins.— See  John  i.  29.  For 
the  use  of  the  word  "take  away,"  compare  John  xi.  48; 
XV.  2  ;  x^di.  15 ;  xix.  31,  38.  The  idea  of  sacrificial  sub- 
stitution was  uppermost  in  chap.  ii.  2.  Here  it  is 
rather  that  of  sanctLficatiou ;  but  the  other  is  not 
exchided.  The  two  are  always  connected  in  St.  John's 
mind.  (Comp.  chaps,  i.  7;  iv.  9,  10,  11.)  The  purpose 
of  Christ's  coming  was  not  so  much  to  teach  a  new 
doctrine  as  to  produce  a  new  life ;  the  fii'st  was  the 
means  to  the  second. 

And  in  him  is  no  sin.— The  fact  that  Christ  is 
perfectly  sinless  is  dwelt  on  because  He  is  the  vital 
element  of  the  Christian's  being,  and  if  present  in  him 
must  produce  a  result  like  Himself. 

(6)  Abideth  in  him.— See  chap.  ii.  6,  24,  and  John 
XV.  4.  The  whole  nature  must  consciously  repose  in 
Christ,  breathe  His  spiritual  atmosphere,  draw  all 
nourishment  from  Him,  have  no  principle  of  thought 
or  action  apart  from  Him.  This  intimate  union  is  re- 
garded as  the  direct  consequence  of  Christ's  manifes- 
tation, and  of  His  sinless  character  as  manifested. 

Sinneth  not. — See  Rom.  vii.  17.  Although  the 
Christian  does  not  always  do  what  is  best,  he  does  not 
wiUingly  commit  sin;  his  real  self  is  on  the  side  of 
God's  law. 

Whosoever  sinneth. — Adopts  the  lawless  disposi- 
tion deliberately.  In  the  moment  of  cou.scious  wilful 
sin,  any  former  partial  sight  or  knowledge  he  may 
have  had  of  Christ  becomes  a  thing  of  the  past,  as  if  it 
were  not,  and  proves  its  own  inadequacy.  Ignatius 
says,  "  None  who  professeth  faith  sinneth.  and  none  who 
hath  love  liateth.  They  who  profess  themselves  Chris- 
tians will  be  manifest  by  what  they  do."  (Comp.  chap, 
ii.  19,  and  Matt.  vii.  23.)  A  real  saving  sight  of  Christ 
is  when  our  mind  becomes  conscious  of  the  convincing 
truth,  beauty,  perfection,  love,  and  power  of  His 
existence.  The  corresponding  knowledge  is  wlien  that 
sight  has  become  experience,  the  soul  having  learnt  tlie 
effect  of  His  strengthening,  pxirifying  grace ;  having 
proved  the  happiness  of  spiritual  intercourse  with 
Him ;  and  having  meditated  continually  on  tlie  records 
of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  His  earthly  manifestation. 
There  may  be  here  a  reference  to  the  Gnostics,  who  said 
that  their  "  knowledge  "  was  so  great  that  they  had  no 
n<'od  to  work  righteousness:  grace  would  be  enough, 
without  works. 


483 


Sin  incompatible  with  it. 


I.   JOHN,   III. 


The  Toucltstone. 


(6)  Whosoever  abidetli  in  him  sinneth 
not:  whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen 
him,  neither  known  him.  (^^  Little 
children,  let  no  man  deceive  you:  he 
that  doeth  righteousness  is  rig-hteous, 
even  as  he  is  righteous.  (^'  He  that 
comniitteth  sin  is  of  the  devil ;  for  the 
devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning.  For 
this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  mani- 
fested, that  he  might  destroy  the  works 


of  the  devil.     (^)  Whosoever  is  born  of 

God  doth  not  commit  sin;  for  his  seed 

remaineth  in  him :   and  he  cannot  sin, 

because  he  is  born  of  God.     ^^^^  In  this 

the   children   of   God   are  Chap.  iii.  lo— 

manifest,  and  the  children  \®-    Son  ship 
„      .,         1      .1  1  shown    m   bro- 

ot    the   devil :    whosoever  therly  love, 
doeth  not  righteousness  is  not  of  God, 
neither  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother. 
(11)  For   this   is  the  message^  that   ye 


(7,  8)  By  the  solemn  appeal,  "  My  little  children,"  the 
practical  contrast  of  verse  7  is  introduced  in  the  form 
of  a  warning  in  verses  7  and  8.  The  words  "  is  of  the 
devil,"  in  the  second  branch  of  the  antithesis,  show  that 
the  words  "  is  righteous,  even  as  he  is  righteous,"  are 
meant  to  claim  for  the  true  Christian  a  likeness  of 
nature  to  Christ.  Although  there  is  no  allusion  to  it 
here,  the  teaching  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  shows 
that  the  eternal  righteousness  of  Christ  may  be  an 
object  of  faith,  even  though  His  name  and  earthly 
manifestation  be  unknown. 

(8)  Of  the  devil.— See  on  John  viii.  44.  Not  that 
the  devil  has  created  the  sinner,  but  that  the  sinner  has 
allowed  him  to  generate  his  evil  nature,  until  gradually 
the  whole  nature  may  have  become  evil,  and  therefore 
generated  by  the  devil,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  elements  of 
goodness.  By  making  the  devil  the  antithesis  to  Christ, 
yt.  John  insists  as  strongly  as  it  would  be  possible  for 
him  to  insist  on  the  moral  importance  of  remembering 
the  existence  and  kingdom  of  an  allowed  power  of 
evil.  Tlie  work  of  the  Messiah  cannot  be  fuUy  under- 
stood without  acknowledging  this  fact  of  human  con- 
sciousness. 

For  the  devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning.— 
"  For  "  states  the  reason  why  sinners  are  of  the  devil. 
By  "  from  the  beginning,"  therefore,  we  understand, 
not  the  date  of  the  devil's  existence,  or  of  the  creation 
of  the  earth  and  solar  system,  or  of  human  history,  or 
of  the  devil's  fall,  but  the  beginning  of  human  sin. 
As  soon  as  human  sin  began,  then  the  devil  was  at 
work  and  claiming  his  parentage. 

The  Son  of  God  was  manifested.— The  devil 
is  not  honoured  by  being  placed  over  against  the  whole 
Almighty  Deity,  but  is  regarded  as  the  special  an- 
tagonist of  tlie  Son.  (Compare  verse  5.)  In  taking 
away  our  sins  Christ  would  be  destroying  the  works  of 
the  devil,  which  are  evei-y  possible  variety  of  sin.  The 
consequences  of  sin — affliction,  death,  condemnation — 
are  rather  the  wholesome  discipline  of  God. 

Verse  9  repeats,  in  a  more  perfect  form  of  contrast 
to  verse  8,  the  tliought  of  verse  7.  (Comp.  chaps,  ii. 
29,  and  iii.  6.)  Wo  have  seen  that  the  birth  of  the  new 
nature  is  not  complete  till  wo  enter  into  our  rest ;  so 
also  the  freedom  from  sin  is  progressive.  His  seed  is 
the  Holy  Sjiirit :  that  influence  proceeding  from  God, 
imbued  witli  divine  vitality,  regenerating,  renewing, 
refreshing,  causing  the  nature  of  holiness  to  spring,  to 
grow,  to  bloom,  to  bear  fruit.  The  result  is  the  same 
whether  the  metai)hor  is  regarded  as  animal  or  veget- 
able. The  Christian  does  not  say,  "  I  have  the  seed  of 
God  within  me,  so  I  need  not  mind  if  I  am  betrayed 
into  sin."  That  would  alone  be  enough  to  prove  that 
the  seed  of  God  is  not  there.  If  he  is  betrayed  into 
sin,  he  trembles  lest  the  seed  of  God  should  not  be 
there.    He  struggles  to  free  his  permanent  will  from 


484 


all  participation  in  what  was  wrong.  He  claims  the 
help  of  the  Spirit  in  his  struggle  ;  and  his  sincerity 
shows  that  it  was  a  genuine  bund  fide  betrayal,  not  a 
pre-conceived  moral  choice.  "  Sinneth  not,"  therefore, 
looks  rather  to  the  Christian's  cour.se  as  a  whole.  "  He 
cannot  sin,"  means  that  if  he  is  really  born  of  God  it  is 
an  impossibility  for  him  deliberately  to  choose  evil.  If 
he  deliberately  chooses  evil  he  is  not  bom  of  God.  "  A 
child  of  God  in  this  conflict  receives  indeed  wounds 
daily,  but  never  throws  away  his  arms  or  makes  peace 
with  his  deadly  foe"  (Luther). 

Verse  10  sums  up  the  matter  in  a  terse  distinction  : 
all  mankind  are  either  children  of  God  or  children  of 
the  devil — they  who  try  to  do  good,  and  they  who 
deliberately  and  consciously  choose  evil.  It  is  not  even 
for  an  Apostle  to  jiidge  which  man  belongs  to  which 
class  ;  at  any  rate,  the  true  Christian  can  never  be  a 
wilful  rebel.  And  here,  as  the  importance  of  brotherly 
love  is  so  constantly  before  his  mind,  St.  John  allows 
the  note  which  he  struck  in  chap.  ii.  9  to  enter  again 
into  the  melody  of  his  thoughts.  Brotherly  love,  the 
most  prominent  part  of  Christian  righteousness,  may 
well  be  mentioned  in  the  contrast  between  sin  and 
holiness,  as  it  is  the  most  comprehensive  of  all  \4rtues, 

(4)  Brotherly  Love  the  necessary  flower 
OF  THE  Divine  Love  in  the  Divine  Birth  (chap, 
iii.  11 — 18). — In  verse  10  St.  John  showed  the  neces- 
sary connection  between  righteousness  and  love ;  there 
is  no  contradiction  between  the  two :  the  one  is  neces- 
sary to  the  other.  Justice  wUl  become  sternness 
without  love;  love  will  be  weakness  without  justice. 
The  two  thoughts  are  introduced  and  connected  in 
both  halves  of  the  Epistles.  (See  chap.  ii.  3 — 11.) 
Hero  the  duty  of  love  is  still  more  strongly  insisted 
on,  as  the  general  subject  is  the  love  of  God,  as  in  the 
first  half  of  the  Epistle  it  was  the  light  of  God.  We 
have  (a)  the  command  or  message  of  Christ ;  then  [h) 
the  contrast  of  Cain ;  then  (c)  the  similar  conduct  of 
the  world  (a  thought  which  had  occurred  before,  in 
verse  1);  then  (cZ)  the  comfort  of  the  connection  be- 
tween love  and  life,  as  contrasted  ^vith  hatred  and 
death ;  then  (e)  the  identification  of  the  hater  with  the 
murderer,  and  the  impossibility  of  associating  the  idea 
of  eternal  life  with  the  destroyer  of  temporal  life;  then 
(/)  the  example  of  God's  love  in  the  death  of  the  Son, 
iirging  us  even  to  the  same  extremity  of  self-sacrifice ; 
then,  [g)  as  a  minor  premiss,  the  thought  thrust  home, 
for  a  practical  conclusion,  that  the  smailler  self-sacx'ifice 
of  daily  assistance  to  others  is  an  essential  to  the 
Christian  Ufe. 

(4  fl.)  (11)  For  states  the  reason  why  brotherly  love 
was  added  to  righteousness  at  the  end  of  the  last  para- 
graph: because  it  was  the  earliest  and  most  prominent 
feature  of  Christianity  presented  to  them. 


Brotherly  Love :   Unpopularity. 


I.   JOHN,   III. 


A  Practical  Application. 


heard  from  the  beginning,  that  we 
should  love  one  another.  (^^)  Not  as 
Cain,  toJio  was  of  that  wicked  one,  and 
slew  his  brother.  And  wherefore  slew  he 
him  ?  Because  his  own  works  were  evil, 
and  his  brother's  righteous.  <^^*  Marvel 
not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you. 
(u)  y^Q  know  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the 
brethren.  He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  abideth  in  death.  (^^^  Whoso- 
ever hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer: 


and  ye  know  that  no  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  abiding  in  him.  (^^^  Hereby 
perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he 
laid  down  his  life  for  us  :  and  we  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren. 
(i*")  But  whoso  hath  this  world's  good, 
and  seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and 
shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion 
from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God 
in  him?  (i^)  My  little  children,  let  us 
not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue ; 
but   in   deed   and   in   truth.      '^'-^^  And 


Love  one  another. — Tlio  iujunctiou  is  perfectly 
genei-al,  without  tlie  restrictions  of  society;  wherever 
Cliristian  love  is  due,  there  it  must  immediately  be 
paid.     (Comp.  IPet.  i.22.) 

(4  6.)  (12)  Not  as  Cain,  who  was  of  that  .  .  .— 
Rather,  Not  as  Cain  ivas  of  that  .  .  . ;  an  abrupt 
convei'sational  form.  (Comp.  John  vi.  58.)  Cain  is 
introduced  as  the  prototype  of  envy,  jealousy,  and 
the  inward  hatred  which  the  evil  feel  at  the  good. 

(4  c.)  (13)  Tlie  conduct  of  the  world  to  Christians  is  of 
a  piece  with  this  invarialile  characteristic  of  those  who 
are  in  darkness,  exemplified  in  Cain.  (Comp.  John  xv. 
18,  19;  xvii.  14;  2  Tim.  iii.  12.) 

Marvel  not  is  equivalent  to  "Be  not  dismayed; 
be  of  good  courage." 

( t  d.)  (1*)  This  is  a  characteristic  instance  of  St.  John's 
logic.  From  the  terseness  and  pregnancy  of  his  style, 
he  does  not  give  all  the  steps  of  an  argument,  but  fre- 
quently turns  it  upside  down,  in  order  more  speedily  to 
bring  out  a  forcible  spiritual  truth.  But  for  this  he 
would  have  wi-itten,  "  We  love  the  brethren,  because 
we  have  passed  from  death  unto  life;  but  he  that 
abideth  in  death  loveth  not."  But  wishing  to  put  these 
ideas  in  the  form  of  a  direct  encouragement,  in  face  of 
a  hating  world,  he  puts  the  reason  as  the  conclusion, 
and  the  conclusion  as  the  reason.  This  unexpected 
turn  rivets  the  attention  far  more  than  a  rigid  deduc- 
tion. Another  ground  of  assurance  has  been  stated  in 
chap.  ii.  2 :  keeping  the  behests  of  Christ,  of  which  (as 
we  liave  seen)  love  is  the  most  prominent.  "The 
brothers  "  means  all  the  members  of  the  human  family: 
the  love  of  Christ  which,  in  verse  16,  we  arc  bidden  to 
imitate,  was  for  the  whole  world  of  sinners.  (Comp. 
Matt.  v.  44;  1  Cor.  iv.  12.) 

Passed  from  death  unto  life. — Tliis  dates  from 
the  begiTining  of  the  new  birth,  the  dawn  of  eternal 
life  in  the  converted  heart.  And  just  as  the  perfect 
Christian  love  embraces  all  other  Christian  virtues, 
80  not  only  does  actual  hatred,  but  the  absence  of  love, 
indicate  absolute  spiritual  deadness. 

(4  e.)  (1^)  Regarding  the  absence  of  love  as  of  one  cla.ss 
with  the  presence  of  hatred,  St.  John  here  puts  more 
prominently  forward  the  active  member  of  the  class 
than  the  quiescnt.  The  statement  is  intended  as  an 
illustration  of  the  fact  that  where  no  love  is  there  can 
neither  l)e  eternal  life.  The  full  argument  would  be 
"Where  love  is  not,  there  is  hatred;  where  hatred  is, 
there  is  murder;  where  murder  is.  there  can  be  no 
eternal  life."     (Comp.  Matt.  v.  21— 2fi.) 

(4/.)  (16)  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of 
God. — Bather,  Hereby  knoio  ice  tlie  true  Invr ;  moan- 
ing, of  course,  that  perfection  of  love  whicli  is  God 
Himself.  Christ,  the  Word  made  fl<'sh,  is  regarded  as 
identical  with  this  love,  so  only  the  pronoun  is  used. 


The  highest  proof  of  love  is  the  sacrifice  of  tliat  Avhich 
is  most  precious  :  nothing  could  be  more  precious  than 
the  life  of  the  Word  made  flesh.  (Comp.  John  x. 
11,  1.5,  17,  18;  xiii.  37,  38;  xv.  13;  Gal.  ii.  20;  Eph. 
v.  2,  25.) 

For  us.— Rather,  on  our  behalf.     (See  Rom.  v.  8.) 

And  we  ought. — Tlie  reason  of  this  consequence 
is  that  we  are  to  be  like  Christ  in  everything ;  as  our 
being  is  orbed  in  His,  so  whatever  was  His  spirit  wiU 
be  ours :  even  His  unparallelled  act  of  self-sacrifice 
must  be  reprodxiced  in  us,  at  however  great  a  distance. 
For  the  good  of  our  fellows  we  must  be  even  ready  to 
die.  (Comp.  John  xiii.  34;  xv.  12,  13;  Rom.  ix.  3; 
xvi.  3,  4.) 

(4  g.)  But  implies  a  progress  from  the  greater  duty 
to  the  less ;  if  the  less  is  neglected,  far  more  com- 
pletely is  the  command  disobeyed. 

Good. — Rather,  sustenance,  or  "  necessaries  of  life." 

World  is  not  here  used  in  a  bad  sense,  but  merely  of 
such  elements  of  existence  as  are  not  spiritual. 

The  word  "  see "  is  strong,  and  implies  calm  and 
attentive  contemplation. 

The  word  translated  "  bowels  of  compassion  "  is  used 
in  the  LXX.  (Prov.  xii.  10)  for  "  tender  mercies."  It 
is  used  in  the  New  Testament  as  we  use  "  heart,"  and 
has  nothing  to  do  with  bowels.  It  should  be  trans- 
lated "  compassion." 

How  abideth. — In  verse  15  it  was  eternal  life  ; 
here  St.  John  thinks  of  our  love  to  God  as  one  of 
the  two  chief  signs  and  products  of  eternal  life: 
eternal  life  bringing  into  activity  its  relation  to  its 
source. 

(18)  The  words  "  My  little  children,"  are,  as  usual,  a 
mark  of  a  sudden  access  of  warmth,  tenderness,  and 
earnestness.  "  Word,"  of  course,  is  antithetical  to 
"deed,"  "tongue"  to  "truth."  The  construction  of 
the  first  pair  (which  is  different  from  that  of  the 
second)  implies  merely  the  instruments  of  the  love;  that 
of  the  second  implies  its  whole  condition.  St.  John 
hints  that  there  is  some  danger  of  tliis  conventionality 
amongst  his  friends,  and  earnestly  exliorts  them  to 
genuineness.  He  forbids  all  the  traitorous  babble  of 
heartless  insincerity,  and  urges  that  just,  active, 
straightforward,  all-embracing  affection  which  was 
complete  in  Christ  alone.  (Comp.  Rom.  xii.  9 ;  Eph. 
iv.  15;  Jas.  ii.  15 — 17;  1  Pet.  i.  22;  2  Jolm,  verse  1; 
3  John,  verse  I.) 

(5)   The    Glorious    Results    of  God's   Love 

REAXISED   THROUGH    THE    SONSHIP  (verses  19—24). 

(a)  TJie  comfort  of  assurance  (verses  19—21). 

(6)  T}ie  grant  of  our  requests  (verse  22). 

(c)  Tlie  presence  of  God  (verse  23). 

\d)  The  gift  of  the  Spirit  (verse  24). 


485 


Assurance  throiijh  Conscience. 


I.   JOHN,   III. 


OtJiei'  Fruits  of  Sonship. 


hereby  we  know  that  we  are  of  the 
Chap.  iii.  19-  truth,  and  shall  assure  ^ 
21,.  Glorious  re-  our  hearts  before  him. 
aIap!'uf.T9-2i.^  C-^o)  For  if  our  heart  con- 
(a)  Assumnce.  demn  US,  God  is  greater 
than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things. 
(21)  Beloved,  if  our  heart  condemn  us 
not,  then  have  we  confidence  toward 
God.  <^>  And  whatsoever  we  ask,  we 
receive   of  him,   because  we  keep  his 


1  Gr.  persuade. 


commandments,  and  do  those  things 
that  are  pleasing  in  his  ^hap.  iii.  22. 
sight.  (-^*  And  this  is  his  (h)  Grant  of  re- 
commandment.  That  we  <i^*2sts. 
should  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  love  one  another,  as 
he  gave  us  commandment.  <-"^'  And 
he  that  keepeth  his  com-  Chap.  iii.  24.  j 
mandments  dwelleth  in  g^dTSSgift 
him,  and  he  in  him.     And  of  the  Spirit. 


Tlie  style  of  St.  John  is  so  much  the  opposite  of 
rhetorical,  that  the  transitions  are  very  gradual,  and 
tlie  -paragraphs  melt  one  into  another.  Here  the  reality 
and  sincerity  of  the  brotherly  love  which  ho  has  been 
urging  reminds  liim  of  one  happy  consequence  of  it : 
that  it  convinces  us  of  the  truth  of  our  profession  and 
of  the  deep  security  of  our  relation  to  God.  If  we 
love  as  God  loves,  then  our  hearts  need  not  fear.  This 
immediately  suggests,  by  way  of  contrast,  the  whole- 
some thought  that,  if  our  heart  does  condemn  us,  we 
ought  very  seriously  to  repent,  because  God  is  a  far 
more  accurate  and  seai-ching  judge.  Moving  on,  how- 
ever, from  the  idea  of  confidence,  St.  John  next  dwells 
on  the  happy  consecpience  of  keeping  God's  command- 
ments and  doing  what  is  pleasing  in  His  sight,  as  we 
can  do  when  we  are  really  His  sons :  and  that  is,  the 
certainty  that,  in  one  way  or  another,  according  to  His 
will,  all  our  prayers  will  be  answered.  Then,  lest  there 
should  bo  any  mistake  about  the  nature  of  God's 
commandments,  he  puts  them  in  their  simplest  form : 
belief  in  the  revealer  of  His  will  for  theory,  brotherly 
love  for  practice.  This  brings  forward  another  result 
of  being  enabled  to  keep  His  commandments :  the 
presence  of  God  in  the  Christian,  and  the  life  of  the 
Christian  in  God.  Lastly,  if  we  ask  how  we  are  to 
be  sure  of  this  presence,  we  are  led  to  what  may  be 
regartled  as  the  fourth  consequence  of  sonship  :  the 
demonstrable  transformation  of  all  our  aims  and 
thoughts  by  the  silent  working  of  the  Di^nne  Spirit. 
Thus,  although  St.  John  did  not  set  out  intending  to 
lay  down  these  four  results,  they  stand  out  evident 
from  the  rest  of  the  train  of  thought. 

(5  a.)  (1*^)  Hereby  refers  to  what  precedes  in  verse 
18.  "  And  "  is  best  omitted.  For  "  we  know  "  read 
shall  we  Icnoic. 

Are  of  the  truth. — That  we  have  our  foundation 
in,  and  draw  our  life  from,  the  truth — that  we  belong 
to  its  kingdom.  "  The  truth  "  means  all  of  the  eternal 
nature,  pui-pose,  and  will  of  God  which  it  concerns  us 
to  know — revealed  in  Christ,  brought  homo  by  the 
Spirit,  exemplified  in  Christian  lives.  "  The  heart " 
means  the  affections  (comp.  John  xiv.  1,  27;  xvi.  6,  22) ; 
the  seat  of  the  moral  feelings,  as  distinct  from  the  intel- 
lect ;  the  emotional  side  of  the  moral  nature,  of  which  the 
intellectual  side  was  called  by  St.  Paul  "the  conscience." 
(Comp.  Acts  xxiv.  16 ;  Rom.  ii.  15;  ix.  1 ;  xiii.  5 ;  1 
Cor.  viii.  7;  2  Cor.  v.  11.)  The  construction  here  is 
more  disputed  than  that  of  any  other  passage  in  the 
Epistle.     There  are  fire  ways  of  taking  it ; — 

(i.)  Shall  assure  our  hearts  before  Him  ;  because, 
if  our  heart  condemn  us,  it  is  because  God 
is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all 
things, 
(ii.)  Shall  assure  our  hearts  before  Him,  wherein- 
soever our  hearts  condemn  us;  for  God  is 
greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things. 


(iii.)  Shall  persuade  our  hearts  before  Him  that,  if 
our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater  than 
our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things. 
(iv.)  Shall  assure  oiu-  hearts  before  him ;  for,  if  our 
heart  condemn  us,  God,  since  He  is  greater 
than  our  heart,  knows  all  things. 
(v.)  As  in  the  text. 

The  fifth  makes  the  best  sense,  and  is  far  more  like       i 
St.  John's  usual  style,  with  the  statement,  the  contrast,      I 
and  the  statement  repeated  in  a  stronger  form ;  but  it      " 
is  obliged  to  consider  one  of  the  words — the  second 
"  that "  or  the  second  "  because,"  as  in  (i.) — a  redundant       . 
repetition.     The  bias  of  the  reader  will  probably  be      ■ 
turned  to  one  or  other  of  these  renderings,  according  as      i 
he  holds  "  greater''  to  mean  "more  searching"  or  "more 
merciful."      The  former  is  necessary  if  we   consider 
verse  20  a  contrast,  after  the  manner  of  St.  John.  J 

(5  h.)  The  grant  of  requests  the  second  result  of  this     ^ 
near  relation  to  God  (verses  22,  23). 

(22)  Whatsoever  we  ask. — If  this  soimds  un- 
limited, we  should  remember  that  it  is  said  of  us  in  our 
character  as  children  of  God ;  as  far  as  that  is  true  of 
us,  we  cannot  ask  anything  contraiy  to  His  will. 
(Comp.  John  xvi.  23,  24.)  Our  prayers  are  heai-d 
through  the  merits  of  Christ ;  but  if  we  do  not  keep 
the  commands  of  God,  if  (still  more  positively)  we 
make  no  attempt  to  do  what  is  pleasing  in  his  sight, 
prayer  must  be  fruitless.  The  fact  is  that,  unless  there 
is  such  a  moral  result  in  ourselves,  our  faith  has  not 
laid  hold  of  Christ's  merits,  is  dead,  and  is  no  true 
faith  at  all. 

(23)  And  this  .  .  . — The  sum  of  Good's  command- 
ments, and  the  compendium  of  the  life  that  pleases 
Him,  is  stated  shortly  in  two  spiritual  facts  indis- 
solubly  connected — [a]  belief  on  the  Name ;  (b)  brotherly 
love.  Belief  is  the  root  of  the  matter,  because  the 
recognition  of  Jesus  as  Messiah  is  the  essential  founda- 
tion of  the  Christian  fellowship.  (Comp.  Gal.  v.  6 — 
14;  audi  Tim.  i.  5.) 

(5  c.)  The  midual  indwellmg  of  the  Father  and  His 
redeemed  so7is  the  third  renult  of  the  Adoption.  (Comp. 
chaps,  i.  3;  ii.  6,  24,  28;  iv.  13.)  St.  John  is  not 
thinking  specially  of  any  Per.son  of  the  Deity. 

(5  d.)  The  sold  proof  of  the  indicelling,  and  there- 
fore the  Sonship,  is  the  demonstrable  presence  of  the 
Spirit  (end  of  verse  24). 

Hitherto  the  thoughts  have  been  chiefly  about  the 
Father  and  the  Son  where  any  direct  reference  was 
made  to  Persons  in  the  Trinity.  Here  the  Divine 
Sjiirit  comes  into  prominence ;  formerly  He  had  only 
been  alluded  to  in  the  anointing  (chap.  ii.  20,  26; 
comp.  Rom.  viii.  15;  xv.  19;  1  Cor.  ii.  4;  Gal.  iv.  6; 
1  Thess.  i.  5). 

The  mention  of  faith  in  verse  23  suggests  to  St. 
John  the  necessity  of  a  still  further  discussion  of 
truth  and  error,   lest  it   should  be  thought  that  all 


4S6 


Not  every  Spirit  is  of  God. 


I.   JOHN,   IV. 


Nature  of  tlie  False  Spirits. 


hereby  we  know  that  he  ahideth  in  us, 
bj    the    Spirit   which    he    hath   given 


us. 


CHAPTEE  lY.— (1)  Beloved,  believe 
Chap.  iv.  1-G.  "o*  every  spirit  but  try 
Duty  of  trying  the  Spirits  whether  they 
the  spirits.  .^^.q  of  Qod:  because  many 
false  prophets  are  gone  out  into  the 
world.  (''^'>  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit 
of  God :  Every  spirit  that  confesseth 
that  Jesus  Clu-ist  is  come  in  the  flesh  is 


After  AD.  90. 


of  God :  (^)  and  every  spirit  that  con- 
fesseth not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh  is  not  of  God :  and  this  is  that 
spirit  of  antichrist,  whereof  ye  have 
heard  that  it  should  come ;  and  even 
now  already  is  it  in  the  world.  ^*>  Ye 
are  of  God,  little  children,  and  have 
overcome  them :  because  greater  is  he 
that  is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the 
world.  (^^  They  are  of  the  world :  there- 
fore speak  they  of  the  world,  and  the 
world  heareth  them.    ^^^  We  are  of  God: 


roli<]^ioiis  fervour  is  of  the  truth.  The  mention  of  the 
Spirit  enables  him  to  make  tlie  transition  distinctly, 
and  he  treats  of  the  various  phases  of  religious  life, 
true  and  false,  under  the  corresponding  name  of  spirits. 

lY. 

(6)  Not  all  Spirits  are  the  Result  of  the 
SoNSHip :  Necessity  of  Examining  them  (chap. 
iv.  1—6). 

(o)  TJie  difference  among  spirits  (verse  1). 

(6)  The  measure  (verses  2,  3). 

(c)  The  encouragement  (verse  4). 

(d)  The  condemnation  (verse  5). 

(e)  Inference  and  conclusion  (verse  6). 

The  mention  of  faith  in  chap.  iii.  23  had  reminded 
St.  John  of  the  danger  of  intelleetnal.  as  well  as  of  moral 
error.  The  mention  of  God's  Spirit  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  last  paragraph  gave  him  a  form  in  -which  to 
clothe  the  di.scussion  of  truth  and  falsehood  in  its 
human  manifestations.  By  "  spirits  "  he  means  those 
tendencies  towards  good  and  evil  (here  especially  with 
regard  to  thought  and  opinion)  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  coming  from  the  supreme  power  of  God,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  from  the  inferior  power  of  the  devil, 
on  the  other.  Into  the  question  what  these  influences 
are,  whether,  like  the  Holy  Spirit,  they  are  personal  or 
not,  he  does  not  enter.  Where  one  quality,  or  opinion, 
shows  itself  in  different  individuals,  he  identifies  it 
and  calls  it  a  spirit.  Religious  fervour  might  take  a 
form  quite  antagonistic  to  the  real  will  and  law  of  God. 
For  Christians  there  was  but  one  standard  by  which  to 
measure  all  claims  on  their  religious,  allegiance  :  con- 
fession that  the  man  Christ  Jesus  was  the  Word.  AH 
that  demurred  to  that  plain  fact,  and  the  loyalty  implied 
by  it,  belonged  to  the  spirit  of  antichrist.  His  liearers, 
however,  if  lie  understood  them  rightly,  need  not  fear. 
By  virtue  of  their  adherence  to  the  truth.  God  was  in 
them.  In  Him  they  had  conquered  the  spirits  of  the 
world,  and  liad  but  to  claim  their  victory.  Tlie  false 
teacliers  might  be  known,  and  must  be  condemned  by 
the  savour  of  the  world  that  was  in  their  method  and 
their  message,  and  bv  their  popularity  with  what  was 
opposed  to  God.  Tlie  Apostles  and  those  who  tauglit 
with  them  could  confidently  before  God  put  forward 
tlie  grand  claim  that  theirs  was  the  .spirit  that  came 
from  Hiin,  because  they  had  held  undeviatingly  to  the 
truth  as  manifested  in  Jesus. 

(6  a.)  C^)  Beloved.— Whenever  St.  John  uses  this 
word,  he  lias  a  strong  and  earnest  exhortation  in  hand. 
(Corap.  cliap.  iii.  2 — 21 ;  verse  7.) 

Try  the  spirits.— Comp.  1  Cor.  x.  Ir,;  xi.  13;  xii. 
10;  Eph.  v.  10;  1  Thess.  v.  21.     It  is  most  important 


to  notice  that  this  examination  of  truth  and  error  is 
inculcated  on  all  alike,  not  merely  on  an  ordained 
and  materially  separate  class. 

Prophets,  in  the  Xew  Testament,  preach  rather 
than  predict.   (Comp.  1  Cor.  xiv.  1 — i.  2i;  Eph.  iv.  11.) 

Are  gone  out  into  the  world,  either  "  from  us," 
or  else  '•  have  appeared  in  order  to  give  their  message." 
(Comp.  John  vi.  14 ;  x^-i.  28  ;  xviii.  37. ) 

(6  b.)  Comp.  1  Cor.  xii.  3.  The  real  humanity  of 
the  Sa\'iour  is  the  truth  here  specially  emphasised. 

(2)  Jesus  Christ  is  taken  to  imply  aU  His  history. 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  23,  and  verse  6.) 

Come  is  used  of  Christ  in  St.  John's  language  for 
His  mission  and  manife.station.  (Comp.  John  v.  43 ; 
vi.  14;  A-ii.  28,  29;  viii.  42;  xvi.  28;  xviii.  37.) 

(3)  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  not.— There 
is  a  curious  old  reading  mentioned  by  Socrates,  the 
liistorian,  viz.,  "  every  spirit  that  destroyeth  "  (or, 
dissolveth)  "  Jesus  Christ."  It  is,  however,  sA-idently 
a  gloss,  written  against  the  Gnostics,  which  crept 
into  the  text.  It  is  clear  that  this  verse  presupposes 
an  evangelistic  presentation  of  Christ  before  refusal  to 
confess  His  historical  person  could  be  made.  (Comp. 
chap.  ii.  18.) 

(6  c.)  This  consoktion  is  in  the  same  manner  as 
that  in  chap.  ii.  12.  and  is  introduced  by  the  same 
endearing  phrase.  He  is  sure  they  have  held  to  the 
tnith,  and  have  the  Sonship.  (Comp.  chap.  iii.  1.  2,  13, 
14.)  God  is  in  them,  and  therefore  the  victory  is 
already  theirs.  Although  they  may  still  have  to 
struggle,  they  have  only  to  claim  Christ's  strength,  and 
they  have  won.  In  making  their  choice  between  light 
and  darkness,  love  and  hate,  good  and  evil,  God  and 
the  devil,  they  liecame  of  the  victorious  party. 

(1)  Them — i.e..  the  antichrists,  the  false  prophets, 
the  spirits  that  are  not  of  God.  (Comp.  chap.  ii.  13, 
14.) 

He  that  is  in  the  world— i.e.,  "  the  prince  of  this 
world,"  the  devil. 

(6  d.)  As  usual,  a  contrast.  Tlie  reason  of  their 
success  is  at  once  their  distinguishing  mark  and  their 
condemnation.     (Comp.  John  viii.  37,  43.  47;  xviii.  37.) 

(5)  Hearing  them.— Tliis  implies  listening  with 
attention  and  ])leasure. 

(6  e.)  (6)  We  are  of  God.— The  first  side  of  the 
antithesis  repeated,  after  St.  John's  manner,  with  a 
difference,  ire  being  substituted  for  ye.  and  meaning 
"  the  Apostles  and  those  who  taught  with  them."  St. 
John  feels  the  grave  duty,  in  condemnation  of  Cerin- 
thus  and  other  opponents,  to  assert  the  genuine  truth 
and  divine  authority  of  the  apostolic  gospel.  There 
could  be  no  spiritnal'pride  in  this ;  it  was  a  conscientious 
obligation.  God  spoke  in  them,  and  their  loyaltv  for- 
bade   alike    disclaimer  and    accommodation.     (Comp. 


487 


Broiherlij  Love  tJie  Criterion. 


I.   JOHN,   IV. 


God's  Love  for  Man. 


he  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us ;  he 
that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not  us. 
Hereby  know  we  the  spirit  of  truth,  and 
the  spirit  of  error.  ("^  Beloved,  let  us 
Chap.  iv.  7—21.  love  One  another :  for  love 
The  test  seen  in  ^      f  q^     ^nd  every  One 

love.     Ireatise    ,,     ,     V       Ii        •        r.  j? 

on  love.  that    loveth    is     born    oi 

God,  and  knoweth   God.      (S)  He  that 


loveth  not  knoweth  not  God;  for  God 
is  love.  <^)  In  this  was  manifested  the 
love  of  God  toward  us,  because  that  God 
sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the 
world,  that  we  might  live  through  him. 
(^•^^  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son 
to  he  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  ("^  Be- 


John  xviii.  37.)  When  heretics  said,  *'  Christ  ought  to 
have  said  tliis  or  that,"  the  Apostles  had  only  to  reply, 
"  But  He  did  not  say  it." 

Hereby  know  we. — The  criterion  hero  is  much 
the  t^amo  as  in  verses  2  and  3,  but  regarded  from  a 
different  point  of  view :  atti-utiou  to  false  innovators, 
or  faithful  adherence  to  the  Jesus  Christ  of  historj'. 

(7)  The  Perfect  Love  the  Surest  Test  (chap, 
iv.  7—21). 

(«)  Fraternal  love  the  necessary  product  of 
the  true  hnowleclqe  of  God,  because  God 
is  love  (verses  7,  b). 

(6)  The  grand  recent  historical  exhibition  of 
God's  love  (verses  9,  10). 

(c)    Our  consequent  duty  (verse  11). 

{d)  God's  abode  in  us,  the  perfecting  of  His 
love  in  us,  and  the  proof  of  His  presence 
through  the  Spirit,  are  the  equivalent  for 
seeing  Him  (verses  12,  13). 

(e)  All  this  is  grounded  on  the  strong,  unde- 
niable truth  of  the  Apostolic  witness  to 
Christ  (verses  14,  15,  16). 

(/)  The  fearlessness  which  is  the  result  of 
perfect  love  (verses  17,  18). 

(g)  The  cause  of  our  love  to  God,  and  the 
necessary  connection  of  that  love  with 
love  to  o%u-  fellows  (verses  19,  20,  21). 

This  may  be  considered  the  central  portion  of  the 
second  half  of  the  Epistle.  Nothing  could  be  more 
significant  of  St.  John's  teaching.  Here  many  trains 
of  thought  which  have  occurred  before  are  gathered 
together  in  one  grand  treatise  on  love,  divine  and 
human — the  complement  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
the  First  Epistlo  to  the  Corinthians.  The  thought  of 
(a)  was  suggested,  though  not  in  so  complete  and 
concise  a  form,  in  chaps,  iii.  10,  11,  23,  ii.  4,  and  iii.  6; 
that  of  [h]  in  chaps,  iii.  16,  and  ii.  2;  that  of 
(c)  also  in  chap.  iii.  16  ;  that  of  {d)  in  chaps,  ii.  5, 
and  iii.  24;  that  of  (e)  in  chap.  i.  1,  2 ;  that  of 
(/)  in  chap.  ii.  28;  that  of  {g)  m  chaps,  ii.  4,  and 
iii.  17.  The  connection  with  the  paragra])h  on  the 
trial  of  the  spirits  is  very  obvious:  "every  one  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God ; "  so  that  the  quality  and 
quantity  of  our  affection  will  bo  the  best  gauge 
whether  we  have  the  spirit  of  truth  or  of  error.  The 
absence  of  love  is  ignorance  of  God,  for  real  know- 
ledge of  Him  imparts  His  nature.  And  if  any  ask 
how  we  know  of  His  love,  the  answer  is  that  it  was 
seen  in  His  Son.  In  sending  Him.  He  loved  us  without 
any  love  on  our  part.  Our  relation  to  God  reminds  us 
that  we  must  have  the  same  love  to  each  other.  The 
fact  that  God  caimot  be  seen  is  an  additional  reason 
for  mutual  affection  among  us;  for  brotherly  love  is 
the  demonstrable  proof  of  His  presence,  and  of  the 
growing  completeness  of  the  work  wrought  by  His 
love  in  us.     The  Spirit  Himself,   through  whom  our 


488 


love  would  come,  confirms  the  reality  of  God's  in- 
dwelling. And  these  spiritual  emotions  and  develop- 
ments are  not  illusory,  for  they  are  guaranteed  by 
the  ocular  and  oral  evidence  of  the  Apostles  to  the 
historical  Person  of  Christ.  So  the  result  of  all  tliis 
will  be  perfect  and  fearless  confidence.  To  sum  up 
(verse  19):  our  love  to  God  springs  from  His  to  us; 
hatred  of  our  brother  (or  the  absence  of  love  for  him) 
is  the  denial  of  all  love  for  God ;  and  for  this  duty  we 
rest  not  on  our  own  deductions  only,  however  true,  but 
on  His  plain  command. 

(7  a.)  (7)  One  another. — As  God  loved  the  world, 
so  we  are  to  love  mankind,  not  merely  Ckristians. 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  13.) 

For  love  is  of  God. — He  who  is  truly  alive  shares 
the  life  of  God,  which  is  love.  All  true  love  is  part  of 
His  being. 

(8)  Knoweth  not. — Rather,  never  Jcnew.  Real 
knowledge  of  God  has  a  convincing  practical  effect ; 
without  such  an  effect  it  is  not  knowledge,  but  a  mere 
mental  deception. 

God  is  love.— In  the  early  part  of  the  Epistle  St. 
John  had  defined  God  as  light,  and  the  thoughts  had 
been  grouped  round  and  in  relation  to  that  central  idea. 
It  would  of  course  be  impossible  ever  to  exhaust  all 
the  definitions  of  God ;  but  just  as  our  nature  may  be 
roughly  classified  as  intellectual  and  moral,  mind  and 
heart,  thought  and  emotion,  so,  when  we  have  thought 
of  God  as  Light  (embracing  all  such  attributes  as  truth, 
knowledge,  purity,  health,  power,  and  justice),  we  shall 
not  have  traversed  in  outline  all  that  we  can  know  of  His 
nature,  or  all  that  concerns  us  to  know,  until  we  have 
also  thought  of  Him  as  Love,  the  author  and  som-ce  of 
all  true  affection,  kindness,  pity,  friendliness,  rejoicing 
in  the  creation  of  infinite  life  for  the  sake  of  its  infinite 
happiness,  and  offering  eternal  bliss  to  all  His  human 
family,  that  He  may  be  for  ever  surrounded  by  inex- 
haustible illustrations  of  the  joy  and  glory  of  perfection. 

(7  b.)  CJ)  In  this  was  manifested.— St.  John 
echoes  his  beloved  Lord  (from  John  iii.  16). 

In  us. — (Comp.  John  ix.  3.)     "  In  our  case." 

Only  begotten. — In  contrast  to  us,  His  adopted  sons. 

That  we  might  live.— Human  life  is  regarded  as 
no  true  living,  but  a  mere  existence,  until  "  Christ  be 
fornuxl  in  the  heart"  and  we  become  "partakers  of 
the  divine  nature." 

(10)  Herein  is  love.— What  love  is  this,  that,  dis- 
tasteful, uncongenial,  unloving,  unlovely  as  we  must 
have  been  in  His  sight.  He  did  this  great  thing  for  us ! 
(Comp.  John  xv.  16 ;  Rom.  v.  8.  10 ;  Tit.  iii.  4.)  On 
Propitiation,  see  chaps,  ii.  2,  and  iii.  16. 

(7  c.)  (11)  Beloved.— An  impulse  moves  St.  John's 
mind  corresponding  to  that  in  verse  7. 

We  ought. — As  God  has  bestowed  his  affection  so 
gratuitously  on  us,  and  we  benefit  by  it  in  such  an  in- 
conceivable degree,  and  can  make  Him  no  return,  we 
can  only  pay  the  debt  by  bestowing  our  poor  equivalent 


TJie  Proof  of  God's  Presence. 


I.   JOHN,   IV. 


The  Perfection  aiul  Cause  of  Love. 


loved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought 
also    to     love    one     another.      (i^)   No 

Chap.  iv.  12  13.  °^^^  hath  seen  God  at 
Equivalent' for  any  time.  If  we  love 
seeing  God.  ^j^^  another,  God  dwelleth 
in  us,  and  his  love  is  perfected  in 
us.  (^-^^  Hereby  know  we  that  we 
dwell  in  him,  and  he  in  us,  because 
he  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit. 
(1^^  And  we  have  seen  and  do  testify 
Chap.iv.it— 16.  that  the  Father  sent  the 
The  ground.  gon  to  he  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  (i^)  Whosoever  shall  confess 
that    Jesus   is   the   Son    of    God,   God 


1  Gr.  hve  with  us. 


dwelleth  in  him,  and  he  in  God. 
(^^)  And  we  have  known  and  believed 
the  love  that  God  hath  to  us.  God  is 
love ;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love 
dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him. 
(^'^  Herein  is  our  love^  made  perfect, 
that  we  may  have  boldness  q^  j^  j^ 
in  the  day  of  judgment :  18.  The  con- 
because  as  he  is,  so  are  sequence, 
we  in  this  world.  <^^*  There  is  no  fear 
in  love ;  but  perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear :  because  fear  hath  torment.  He 
that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in  love. 
(19)  -yy-Q  iQyQ  hijYi,  because  he  first  loved 


on  our  fellow  men.  Although  our  happiness  depends 
strictly  on  God,  still  He  has  allowed  us  to  be  stewards 
for  Him  in  some  small  degree  for  the  happiness  of 
those  about  us. 

(7  d.)  (1-^)  No  man  .  .  .—St.  John  quotes  his 
Gospel  (chap.  i.  18).  This  is  simply  the  general  pro- 
position, "  God  is  in\'isible,"  and  has  no  reference  to 
spiritual  sight.  (Comp.  Ex.  xxxiii.  20 ;  John  vi.  46  ; 
1  Tim.  vi.  16.)  The  appearances  of  God  to  Abraham  or 
Moses  would  be  Uke  the  Shechinah  in  the  Temple,  but 
no  material  glimpse  of  Him  who  is  a  Spirit.  St.  Johu 
mentions  the  fact  as  an  admission  of  the  limits  of 
human  nature  and  the  condition  of  faith,  but  only  in 
order  to  state  the  richness  of  the  substitute,  which  is 
the  presence  of  God  within  the  soul,  verified  and  sub- 
stantiated by  the  historical  Person  of  Christ. 

His  love  is  perfected  in  us.— Its  operation  in  us 
has  full  scope  and  sway. 

(1'*)  Hereby  know  we. — Comp.  chap.  iii.  24. 

(7  e.)  A  second  antithesis  to  the  opening  words  of 
verse  12.  The  Apostolic  witness  to  the  person  of  Christ 
is  again  and  again  insisted  on  as  the  foundation  of 
Christian  theology.  (Comp.  chap.  i.  1 — 3;  John  i.  14; 
Acts  iv.  20;  xxii.  15;  xx\-i.  16.) 

(11)  Saviour  of  the  world.— Comp.  chap.  ii.  2. 

(15)  Whosoever  shall  confess — i.e.,  receives  the 
Apostolic  witness  as  beyond  dispute.  (Comp.  chap.  ii. 
2y,  and  verse  6  ;  Rom.  x.  9.)  Tlie  noble  width  of  this 
declaration  is  most  remarkable,  in  opposition  to  human 
inventions  of  narrow  and  sectarian  communions. 

Son  of  God,  in  the  sense  of  "  only  begotten,"  as 
in  verse  9. 

(16)  And  we  have  known  and  believed.— This 
has  the  effect  of  a  reflective  repetition  of  verse  14, 
"  Yes,  we  have  known  and  believed."  This  time, 
however,  the  "we  "  includes  those  who  have  heard  and 
accepted  the  te.stimony  of  the  eye-witnesses. 

God  is  love.— In  this  meditative  recapitulation 
St.  John  cannot  help  summing  up  everything  again  in 
the  boundless  formula  of  verse  8.  Knowledge  is  here 
the  process  that  leads  to  conviction ;  belief,  the  result 
of  conviction. 

He  that  dwelleth  in  love.— St.  John's  whole 
puqio.se  is  none  other  than  to  raise  man  to  his  highest 
possible  development  by  demonstrating  the  reality  and 
nature  of  fellowship  Avith  the  Di\'ine.  Here  ho  arrives  at 
the  very  central  position  of  all :  that  as  God  is  Love  itself, 
80  he  that  allows  nothing  to  trouble  that  atmosphere  of 
pure  love  (here  neither  specially  towards  God  or  man) 
which  God  would  enable  him  to  breathe,  if  his  own 
wilfulness  did    not  turn   him  away   from  it,  will  be  ( 

489 


bathed  in  the  light  of  God,  animated  with  His  life, 
and  one  \nth.  Hun.  It  is  a  combination  of  verses  8 
and  15. 

Us  has  the  same  width  as  verse  15. 

(7/.)  (i")  Herein  is  our  love  made  perfect. — 
Rather,  In  this  love  is  perfected  with  us.  "  Love,"  as  in 
verse  16,  is  the  disposition  to  be  attracted  towards 
what  is  worthy  of  sympathy,  whether  it  be  God  or 
man. 

That  we  may  have  boldness. — The  day  of  judg- 
ment, whetlier  near  or  remote,  is  regarded  as  so  certain 
that  it  is  a  present  fact  influencing  our  conduct.  Love 
will  be  more  or  less  perfect  in  us  iii  proportion  as  it 
gives  us  more  or  less  just  and  reasonable  grounds  for 
confidence  were  we  suddenly  placed  before  the  great 
white  throne.     (Comp.  chap.  ii.  28.) 

Because  as  he  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world.— 
If  we  live  in  this  serene  atmosphere  of  pure  spnpathy 
with  God  and  man,  Christ  is  in  us  aud  we  in  Him, 
because  God  is  Love  itself.  Sharing  His  nature,  there- 
fore, we  must  be  like  Him,  and  the  more  completely  we 
allow  this  Divine  love  towards  our  Father  and  our 
brothers  to  transform  our  whole  being,  the  more  we 
shall  be  like  our  Judge,  and  the  less  cause  we  shall 
have  for  dread. 

In  this  world  merely  indicates  our  present  place 
of  habitation. 

(IS)  There  is  no  fear. — Tlie  more  perfect  this  dis- 
position of  serene  sympathy  becomes,  the  less  share 
can  any  form  of  anxiety  have  in  it.  Even  if  regarded 
as  directed  to  an  earthly  object,  if  it  be  pure  and  divine 
in  its  character,  not  even  want  of  reciprocity  can  disturb 
its  equanimity.  Where  it  is  a  well-grounded  sympathy 
with  a  perfect  being,  its  serenity  is  all  the  more  com- 
plete in  proportion  to  its  sincerity.  When  love  is 
perfect,  fear  d\vindles  to  nothing,  is  absolutely  expelled. 
Love,  seeking  to  be  perfect,  and  finding  fear  alongside 
of  it,  will  diligently  seek  out  the  cause  of  the  fear, 
Ijerfect  itself  by  getting  rid  of  the  cause,  aud  so 
get  rid  of  tlie  fear.  Fear  in  such  a  connection  implies 
some  ground  for  alarm,  and  suffers  punishment  (not 
'■  torment  ")  by  anticipation.  The  presence  of  such  a 
ground  for  alarm  would  imply  a  proportionate  imper- 
fection of  love.     (Comp.  chap.  iii.  19 — 21.) 

(7  gr.)  The  cause  of  our  love  to  God,  and  the  necessary 
connection  of  that  love  ivith  love  to  our  fellows  (verses 
19—21). 

(19)  We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us. 
— God's  loN-ing  us  made  it  possible  for  us  to  love  Him  : 
otherwise  we  should  not  have  known  Him,  or  had  the 
faculty  of  loving  Him  even  had  we  known  Him.     To 


Faith  tJie  Corrective  of  Love. 


I.   JOHN,   V. 


Faith  to  he  shown  in  Works. 


us.     (2^^  If  a  man  say,  I  love  God,  and 

hateth  Lis  brother,  he   is 

Chap.  iv.  19-  a  liar:  for  he  that  loveth 

21        i.  IIG    CUUSG 

of  love  to  not  his  brother  whom  he 
God  and  the  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love 
God  whom  he  hath  not 
seen  ?  (-^'  And  this  commandment  have 
we  from  him.  That  he  who  loveth  God 
love  his  brother  also. 

CHAPTEE    v.  — (1)  Whosoever   be- 


After  A.D.  90. 


lieveth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born 
of  God  :  and  every  one  q^  ^  ■^_^2 
that  loveth  him  that  begat   Thetest:  Power 

loveth  him  also  that  is  be-  °*'  ^'^'^^^  ^^-^^• 
gotten  of  him.  (2)  gy  -^iiig  -^e  know  that 
we  love  the  children  of  God,  when  we 
love  God,  and  keep  his  commandments. 
(•^)  For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we 
keep  his  commandments  :  and  his  com- 
mandments are  not  grievous.  <*>  For 
whatsoever  is  born  of  God  overcometh 


sujiposo  tliat  St.  John  is  putting'  a  more  case  of  grati- 
tude is  to  rob  him  of  the  dignity  and  depth  of  his 
meaning. 

(20)  Tlieso  last  three  verses  are  a  recapitulation,  in  a 
vivid  form,  of  the  truth  and  the  duty  contained  in  verses 
10,  11.  God  made  it  possible  for  us  to  love  Him,  and 
the  very  first  result  of  our  feeling  tliis  power  within  us, 
and  allowing  it  to  put  itself  into  force  will  be  seen  in 
pure  and  devout  sympathy  for  all  whom  we  can  help. 
As  usual,  hating,  and  not  loving,  are  put  as  inter- 
changeable members  of  the  class  of  malevolence.  St. 
John  argues  on  the  ground  that  it  is  much  easier  for 
human  nature  to  be  interested  by  what  comes  before 
its  eyes  than  by  that  about  wliich  it  has  to  think. 
Gregory  the  Great  says,  "  In  love  the  eyes  are  guides ;  " 
and  CEcumenius,  "  Sight  leads  on  to  love."  (Oomp. 
chaps,  ii.  4;  iii.  17;  and  verse  12.) 

(-')  However  this  may  be,  there  is  a  still  stronger 
position  :  the  simple  command  of  God  in  Christ. 
(Comp.  Luke  x.  27 ;  John  xiii.  34,  35 ;  xiv.  21 ;  xv.  9. 
10,  12.) 

V. 

(8.)  Faith  the  Test  op  Love  (chap.  v.  1 — 12), 
(rt)  Its  power  (verses  1 — 5). 
(6)  The  evidence  on  xohich  it  rests  (verses  6 — 10). 
(c)  Wliat  it  contains  (verses  11,  12). 

(8  a.)  St.  John  has  been  setting  love  in  the  supreme 

?lace  which  it  liold  in  our  Lord's  teaching  and  in  St. 
'aul's.  But  there  is  another  faculty  wliich  has  to 
regulate,  purify,  direct,  and  stir  up  our  weak  and  im- 
perfect lo\-ing  powers,  and  tliat  is,  faith.  Without 
faith  we  cannot  bo  certain  about  the  quality  of  our  love. 
He  begins  very  simply  with  a  position  already  laid 
down  :  genuine  faith  in  Christ  is  the  genuine*  birth 
from  God.  From  that  faith,  through  that  birth,  -will 
come  the  proper  love,  as  in  a  family  :  the  love  of  our 
spiritual  brotliers  and  sisters.  (This  is  specially  sym- 
pathy with  real  Cliristians  ;  but  it  does  not  exclude  the 
more  general  love  before  inculcated.)  If  we  are  doubt- 
ful about  the  quality  of  our  love,  or  are  not  sure 
wlietlier  any  earthly  elements  may  be  mingled  with  it, 
we  have  only  to  ask  ourselves  whether  we  are  loAnng 
God  and  keeping  His  commandments  :  the  true  work  of 
faith.  The  love  of  God  does,  indeed,  actually  consist 
in  keeping  His  commandments  (and  none  can 
complain  that  they  are  tyrannical,  vexatious,  or  capri- 
cious). Tlio  very  object  of  the  divine  birth  is  the 
conquest  of  all  that  is  opposed  to  God  and  to  His 
commandments,  and  the  instrument  of  tlie  conquest  is 
faith.  Tliere  can  be  no  victory  over  tlieso  elements 
that  are  opposed  to  God,  and,  consequently,  no  pure, 
true,  God-like  love,  except  through  faith. 

(8  b.)  Having  left  the  discussion  about  the  effect  of 


490 


faith  on  love  with  the  same  thought  which  began  it — • 
belief  in  Jesus  Christ — he  is  led  to  state  the  grounds 
on  which  that  faith  rests.  These  are  here  stated  to  be 
three :  water,  or  Christ's  baptism,  symbolising  the 
complete  fulfilment  of  the  Law  in  His  own  perfect 
purity,  and  thus  appealing  to  the  Old  Testament ; 
blood,  or  His  meritorious  cross  and  passion,  symbolising 
His  own  sjiecial  work  of  atonement  and  reconciliation ; 
and  the  Spirit,  embracing  all  those  demonstrable  proofs 
of  His  kingdom  which  were  from  day  to  day  forcing 
themselves  on  the  attention  of  believers.  If  we  accept 
human  testimony  on  proper  grounds,  far  more  should 
we  receive  this  divane  testimony  of  God  to  His  Son — the 
witness  of  the  Old  Testament,  of  the  work  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  Spirit.  This  witness  is  not  far  to  seek,  for 
it  is  actually  within  the  true  believer. 

(8  c.)  The  contents  of  the  record  which  God  has  thus 
given  us  are  at  once  most  simple  and  most  comprehen- 
sive :  the  gift  of  eternal  life  in  His  Son.  The  presence  of 
the  Word  of  God  in  the  heart  is  the  sole  condition  of  life. 

(8  a.)  (1)  "WTiosoever  believeth  .  .  . — What  may 
be  the  works  of  God  among  those  who  have  not  heard 
of  His  Son  we  do  not  here  inquire.  Enongh  that 
those  who  have  this  privilege  are  sons  if  they  accept 
the  message. 

Begotten. — Of  those  who  have  the  new  birth,  in  a 
general  sense  :  quite  distinct  from  "  only-begotten." 

(2)  By  this  we  know  .  .  .—Love  and  obedience  to 
God  will  assure  us  of  the  truth  of  our  love  to  others. 
In  chaps,  ii.  3  and  iv.  20,  21,  obedience  to  God  and  love 
to  our  fellows  were  the  signs  of  knowledge  of  God  and 
love  to  Him.  The  two  are  really  inseparable.  If  love 
of  God  is  absent,  then  our  love  of  our  fellows  is  not 
genuine — is  earthly,  is  a  mockeiy.  If  love  of  our 
fellows  is  absent,  then  we  have  no  love  for  God.  All 
friendship  must  be  tested  by  loyalty  to  God ;  all  love 
to  Him  must  be  tested  by  charity. 

(3)  For  this  is  .  .  .—These  words  are  introduced 
to  show  that  what  were  treated  as  two  separate  qualities 
in  the  last  verse  are  in  reality  the  same  thing. 

And  his  commandments  are  not  grievous.— 
A  transitional  thought,  introduced  for  encouragement, 
and  forming  a  bridge  to  the  next  statement.  (Comp. 
Matt.  xi.  30.)  God  has  commanded  us  nothing  for  His 
ovvn  sake,  but  everything  for  our  own  highest  profit 
and  happiness.  Were  we  perfect,  we  shoiud  not  find 
them  commands  at  all,  for  they  would  be  our  natural 
impulses.  The  more  sincerely  we  serve  God,  the  more 
enjoyment  we  shall  derive  from  them.  Only  to  thosBj 
whose  inclinations  are  distorted,  perverted,  and  cor»j 
rupted  by  sin  can  God's  laws  seem  irksome. 

(•*)  The  difficulty  experienced  by  some  in  keeping 
God's  commands  arises  from  the  influence  of  all  that  ia 
opposed  to  Him  in  our  surroundings.     But  he  who  i»j 


The  Evidence  for  Faith. 


I.   JOHN,   V. 


The  Three-fold  Witness. 


the  world :  and  this  is  the  victory  that 
overcometh  the  world,  eveyi  our  faith. 
(^)  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world, 
but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God?  (*^'  This  is  he  that  came  i 
Chap.  V.  6—10.  ^J  water  and  blood,  even 
Evidence.  Jesus  Christ ;  not  bj  water 

only,  but   by   water   and  blood.      And 
it   is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness. 


because  the  Spirit  is  truth.  <">  For 
there  are  three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost :  and  these  three  are  one. 
<^)  And  there  are  three  that  bear  wit- 
ness in  earth,  the  spirit,  and  the  water, 
and  the  blood :  and  these  three  agree 
in  one.  ^^^  If  we  receive  the  witness  of 
men,  the  witness  of  God  is  greater :  for 


born  of  God — the  true  child  o£  God — figlits  with  this 
only  as  a  conqueror,  because,  as  far  as  he  is  boru 
again,  God  is  in  him.  God  overcame  the  world  in 
Christ,  and  is  still  ever  conquering  through  Him  in 
His  sons :  so  that  to  such  the  commands  are  congenial. 
(Couip.  chaps,  iii.  9;  iv.  4;  John  xvi.  33.) 

And  this  is  the  victory  .  .  . — A  new  thought, 
suitable  to  the  tenor  of  the  passage,  which  lays  down 
that  faith  is  the  measure  of  love.  As  the  conquest  that 
is  overcoming  the  world  is  wrought  by  human  instru- 
ments, its  agent  may  be  regarded  as  our  faith,  which 
appropriates  Christ's  work,  and  carries  it  out  for  Him 
and  through  Him.  (Comp.  chaps,  ii.  13,  14,  23 ;  iv.  4 ; 
1  Cor.  XV.  55 — 57.) 

(5)  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  ?— An  appeal  to 
the  con.sciousncss  of  Christians.  If  there  be  any  besides 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  who  have  vanquished  all  that  is 
opposed  to  God,  where  are  they  ?  God  has  declared 
that  He  will  not  harshly  judge  the  Pagan  world  (Rom. 
ii.  13,  15) ;  but  salvation  by  uncovenanted  mercies  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  the  glories  of  the  illuminated 
and  victorious  Christiim  heart.  Where  are  they  ?  Not 
Socrates,  with  his  want  of  the  sense  of  sin  and  liis 
tolerance  of  e%'il ;  not  Cicero,  with  his  tormenting 
vanity ;  not  the  Gnostics,  with  their  questionable  lives  : 
only  those  in  whom  had  dawned  the  bright  and  morn- 
ing Star. 

(8  b.)  (6)  This  is  he  that  came  by  water  and 
blood,  even  Jesus  Christ. — "  Water  "  and  *'  blood  " 
are  referred  to  as  two  of  the  three  gi-eat  witnesses,  or  sets 
of  evidence,  for  Christ.  They  are  symbols,  and  look  back 
to  two  of  the  most  characteristic  and  significant  acts  of 
His  personal  history.  The  one  is  His  baptism,  the  other 
His  cross.  Why  His  bapti.sm  ?  The  baptism  of  John 
was  the  seal  of  the  Law.  It  was  the  outward  sign  by 
which  those  who  repented  at  his  preaching  showed  their 
determination  to  keep  the  Law  no  longer  in  the  letter 
only,  but  also  in  the  spirit.  Jesus,  too.  showed  this  deter- 
mination. Baptism  in  water  was  His  outward  sign  and 
seal  to  the  Old  Testament :  that  Ho  had  not  come  to 
destroy  but  to  fulfil  the  Law ;  not  to  supersede  the 
prophecies,  but  to  claim  them.  It  was  to  snow  that  in 
Him  the  righteousness  and  purification  which  the  Law 
intended  was  to  be  a  reality,  and  through  Him  to  bo 
the  law  of  His  kingdom.  Thus  it  pointed  to  all  tho 
evidence  which  the  Old  Testament  could  possibly  afford 
Him  ;  and,  through  the  Old  Testament,  it  pointed  to 
the  dispensation  of  tho  Father.  Thus,  when  this  most 
symbolic  act  was  complete,  the  Almighty  Giver  of  the 
old  Law  or  covenant  wa.s  hoard  saying.  "  This  is  My 
l>elovod  Son.  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

"  Blood."  in  the  same  wav.  refers  to  the  special  work 
of  Chri.st  Himself — the  work  of  reconciliation  and  atone- 
ment by  His  death  and  passion,  tho  realisation  of  all 
that  tho  sacrifices  and  t}'j)es  of  tho  former  state  of 
religion  had  meant.  That  He  was  the  true  sacrifice 
was  proved  by  the  perfection  of  His  life,  by  the  signs 


and  wonders  with  which  Ho  had  attracted  and  convinced 
His  followers,  by  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  by  the 
marvels  of  His  teaching,  by  the  amazing  events  which 
had  happened  at  the  tlifferent  crises  of  His  life,  by  His 
resurrection  and  ascension,  and  by  the  confession  of  all 
who  knew  Him  well  that  He  was  the  Word  made  flesh, 
full  of  grace  and  truth,  and  with  the  glory  as  of  the 
only-begotten  of  the  Father. 

Not  by  water  only. — John  the  Baptist  might 
have  been  said  to  come  by  water  only:  he  came  preach- 
ing the  washing  away  of  the  personal  results  of  sin 
through  turaiiig  again  to  the  truth  and  spirit  of  the 
Law;  Jesus  came  by  blood  also,  for  His  sacrifice  atoned 
for  sin  as  rebellion  against  God. 

And  it  is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness.— 
The  Holy  Spirit  had  descended  on  Jesus  at  His  bap- 
tism, had  proved  Him  to  be  the  Son  of  God  in  every 
word  and  act  of  His  life,  had  raised  Him  up  on  the 
third  day,  and  glorified  His  body  till  it  could  no  longer 
be  seen  on  earth.  He  had  made  new  men  of  His  dis- 
ciples on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  had  laid  far  and  wide 
the  foundations  of  the  new  kingdom,  and  was  daily 
demonstrating  Himself  in  the  renewed  life  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  (Comp.  Matt.  iii.  16;  John  i.  32,  33; 
iii.  34;  Rom.  i.  4;  1  Tim.  iii.  16 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18.) 

Because  the  Spirit  is  truth. — Rather,  the  truth; 
the  sum  and  substance  of  God's  revelation  in  all  its 
fulness,  regarded  as  personally  proceeding  from  the 
divine  throne,  teaching  the  prophets  their  message, 
accompanying  the  Son  on  His  human  pilgrimage,  and 
bringing  all  things  afterwards  to  the  remembrance  of 
His  disciples. 

(")  For  the  reasons  why  this  verse  cannot  be  retained 
in  the  text,  see  the  Introduction. 

(8)  The  text  of  this  verse  is  properly.  For  there  are 
three  that  bear  witness  ;  the  Spirit,  and  the  water,  and 
the  blood.  It  is  a  repetition  of  verse  6  for  the  purpose 
of  emphasis.  The  fact  that  the  throe  that  bear  ^vitnesa 
are  in  the  masculine  gender  boars  out  the  interpretation 
given  of  verse  6 ;  that  they  imply  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
author  of  the  Law.  and  the  author  of  Redemption. 
It  also  explains  how  verse  7  crept  in  as  a  gloss. 

And  these  three  agree  in  one. — Literally,  m^ke 
for  the  one.  The  old  dispensation,  of  which  tlie  Bap- 
tist's preaching  was  the  la.st  mos.sa^e,  had  no  other 
meaning  than  tho  preparation  for  tlio  Messiah;  the 
.sacrifice  of  Calvary  was  the  consummation  of  the 
Mossiali's  mission;  the  kingdom  of  the  Spirit,  starting 
from  that  mission,  was  the  seal  of  it.  The  three  wit- 
nesses to  Christ  have  their  coiuitorparts  in  the  Christian 
soul :  '•  baptism,  not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of 
the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God;"  "the  blood  of  Christ  purging  our  conscience 
from  dead  works  to  serso  tho  livintr  God;"  and  "the 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  witli  fire." 

<9)  If  we  receive  the  witness  of  men.— Any 
hnman  testimony,  provided  it  is  logically  binding  on 


491 


The  Witness  Internal. 


I.   JOHN,  V. 


The  Sum  of  Faith. 


this  is  the  witness  of  God  which  he  hath 
testitied  of  his  Sou.  d*^'  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the 
witness  in  himself:  he  that  believeth 
not  God  hatli  made  him  a  liar ;  because 
he  believeth  not  the  record  that  God 
gave  of  his  Sou.     ^'^^  And  this  is  the 


record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us 
eternal  life,  and  this  life  q-^  ^  ^j  12. 
is  in  his  Son.  ^^>  He  that  The  contents  of 
hath  the  Son  hath  life;  ^^^^'^• 
and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God 
hath  not  life.  (^^^  These  things  have  I 
written  unto  you  that  believe   on   the 


our  understandings,  to  establish  common  facts  or  to 
prove  opinions.  (Cumi).  Deut.  xvii.  6  ;  xix.  15;  Matt, 
xviii.  IH ;  l  Cor.  xiii.  1 ;  Heb.  x.  28,  29.) 

The  witness  of  God  is  greater. — Any  message 
(hat  clearly  comes  from  Grod  is  to  bo  accepted  by  us 
with  a  readiness  infinitely  greater  than  in  the  case  of 
mere  human  testimony.  St.  John  considers  the  three- 
fold witness  from  God  to  convey  a  certainty  which  no 
human  evidence  could  claim. 

For  this  is  the  witness  of  God  which  he 
hath  testified  of  his  Son.— Such  witness  from 
God  there  is  :  for  this  three-fold  testimony  is  what  He 
has  said  to  us  about  His  Son.  If  any  should  doubt 
whether  the  carpenter,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  was  in 
reality  God,  St.  John  would  refer  them  to  the  righteous- 
ness and  predictions  of  the  Law  and  the  prophets  all 
fulfilled,  to  the  life  and  death  of  Christ  which  spoke  for 
themselves,  and  to  manifest  inauguration  of  the  reign 
of  the  Spirit.  Under  these  three  heads  would  come 
all  possible  evidence  for  Christian  truth. 

(i'>)  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God 
hath  the  witness  in  himself.— To  the  real  believer 
the  three-fold  te.stimony  of  God  no  longer  remains 
merely  an  outward  object  of  thought  to  be  contemplated 
and  grasped :  it  has  become  part  of  his  own  nature. 
The  three  separate  messages  have  each  produced  their 
proper  result  in  him,  and  he  can  no  more  doubt  them 
than  he  can  doubt  himself.  The  water  has  assured  him 
that  he  is  no  longer  under  the  Law,  but  under  grace,  and 
has  taught  him  the  necessity  of  the  new  birth  unto 
righteousness  (John  iii.  5 ;  Tit.  iii.  5).  The  blood 
has  shown  liiin  that  he  cannot  face  God  unless  his  sins 
are  forgiven ;  and  it  has  enabled  him  to  feel  that  they 
are  forgiven,  that  he  is  being  daily  cleansed,  and  that 
he  has  in  himself  the  beginnings  of  eternal  life  (chaps. 
i.  7 ;  ii.  2 ;  John  vi.  53).  And  the  Spirit,  which  has 
had  part  in  both  these,  is  daily  making  him  grow  in 
grace  (Gal.  v.  22 ;  Eph.  v.  9). 

He  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him 
a  liar.— The  negative  contrast,  as  usual,  to  strengthen 
the  affirmative.  St.  John  regards  the  evidence  as  so 
certain,  that  he  to  whom  it  is  brought  and  who  rejects 
it  seems  as  if  he  was  boldly  asserting  that  what  God  had 
said  was  false.  The  sceptical  reply  that  the  message 
did  not  really  come  from  God  at  all  it  is  not  St.  John's 
purpose  to  consider;  his  object  is  to  warn  his  friends  of 
the  real  light  in  which  they  ought  to  regard  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  truth.  There  should  be  no  complacent 
condoning;  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Christians 
themselves,  such  unbelievers  were  throwing  the  truth 
back  in  God's  face. 

(8  c.)   What  Faith  contains  (verses  11,  12). 

(11)  This  is  the  record.— This  is  the  substance  of 
the  witness  of  God.  The  Christian  creed  is  here  re- 
duced  to  a  very  small  compass  :  the  gift  of  eternal  life 
and  the  dependance  of  that  life  upon  His  Son.  Eternal 
life  does  not  here  mean  the  mere  continuance  of  life 
after  deaMi,  whether  for  good  or  evil ;  it  is  the  expres- 
sion used  tliroughout  St.  John's  writings  for  that 
life  in  God,  thought  of  without  reference  to  time,  which 


can  have  no  end,  which  implies  heaven  and  every  possible 
variety  of  blessedness,  and  which  consists  in  believing 
in  God  the  Father  and  in  His  Son.  Its  opposite  is 
not  annihilation,  but  the  second  death :  existence  in 
exclusion  from  God.  (Comp.  chap.  ii.  25 ;  John  xvii 
3;   2  Tim.  i.  10.) 

(12)  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  Ufe.  — The 
emphatic  word  here  is  "hath."  As  this  sentence  is 
addressed  to  the  faithful,  there  is  no  need  to  say  "  the 
Son  of  God."  "  Having  the  Son  "  is  His  dweUing  in 
the  heart  by  faith  :  a  conscious  difference  to  human  life 
which  transforms  its  whole  character.  "  Ha^nng  life  " 
is  the  birth  of  the  new  man  ^vithin  which  can  never 
die. 

He  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not 
life. — As  this  is  contemplating  unbeUevers,  the  words 
"  of  God "  are  added,  to  show  them  what  they  have 
lost. 

[4.  The  Conclusion  (chap.  v.  13—21). 

(1)  Fresh   Statement   of  the  Purpose  of 

Writing,  equivalent  to  that  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Epistle,  but  differing 
from  it  (verse  13). 

(2)  What    can    be    done    for    those    who 

do  not  come  up  to  the  Standard 
assumed  throughout  the  Epistle 
(verses  14 — 17). 

(3)  Some  Practical  Points  recapitulated 

(verses  18—20). 
(a)  God's  sons  do  not  sin  (verse  18) ; 
(6)  Personal  assurance  that  we  are  God's  sons 

(verse  19) ; 
(c)  Personal  assurance  tJutt  Christ  is  come,  of 

the  gift   of  the  spiritual  sense,   and  of 

abiding  in  the   God  of   Truth   through 

His  Son  (verse  20). 

(4)  Last  Warning  (verse  21).] 

St.  John,  thinking  perhaps  of  the  close  of  his  Grospel, 
where  he  states  the  same  purpose  (John  xx.  31),  and 
reminded  by  verse  11  of  the  supreme  importance  of 
having  eternal  life,  and  of  the  necessity  of  finding  this 
in  the  Son,  sums  up  the  object  of  his  Letter  in  these 
two  ideas.  He  tells  his  friends  again  that  he  writes  to 
them  because  they  believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of 
God,  and  explains  his  wish  to  be  that,  by  the  thoughts 
whicli  lie  has  put  before  them,  they  may  feel  certain 
that  the  eternal  life  which  ought  to  be  theirs  is  theirs 
already,  and  that  their  belief  may  not  cease,  but  may  be 
really  vital.  Thinking  then  of  those  who  would  be 
deceiving  themselves  if  they  pretended  to  any  such 
hopeful  assurance,  he  reminds  the  faithful  of  the  power 
of  prayer.  Beginning  with  the  general  statement  that 
confidence  in  God  means  that  He  hears  us,  he  goes  on 
to  show  that  hearing  must  imply  that  our  petitions  are 
granted ;  and  next,  that  it  would  be  a  petition  quite  in 
accordance  wnth  God's  will,  and  therefore  likely  to  be 
lieard,  if  a  believer  were  to  pray  for  a  sinning  brother. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  recollected  that  there 


492 


re  is  I 


Tlie  ApostUs  Object. — Intercession. 


I.   JOHN,  V. 


Differences  in  Sin. 


name  of  the  Son  of  God ;  that  ye  may 
]3_  know  that  ye  have  eternal 
21.^^  The  con-  lift??  and  that  ye  may  be- 
clusion  and  re-  Heve  on  the  name  of  the 
capitulation.        g^^^   ^^  ^^^^       ,1,,  ^^^^  ^^^.^ 

is  the  confidence  that  we  have  in  him/ 
that,  if  we  ask  any  thing  according  to 
his  will,  he  heareth  us :  <^^*  and  if  we 
know  that  he  hear  us,  whatsoever  we  ask, 
we  know  that  we  have  the  petitions  that 
we  desired  of  him.    ^^^^  If  any  man  see  his 


brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not  unto 
death,  he  shall  ask,  and  he  shall  give 
him  life  for  them  that  sin  not  unto 
death.  There  is  a  sin  unto  death :  I 
do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray  for  it. 
<^'>A11  unrighteousness  is  sin:  and  there 
is  a  sin  not  unto  death.  ('^^  We  know 
1  or.^concerning^  ^^^^^  whosocver  is  bom  of  God  sinneth 
not ;  but  he  that  is  begotten  of  God 
keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked  one 
toucheth  him  not,      ^^^>  And  we  know 


such  a  state  of  wilful,  hard-hearted  rebellion  that  it 
is  past  praying  for.  Meantime  they  must  remember 
again  that  as  far  as  they  were  bom  of  God  they  could 
not  wilfully  sin ;  that  if  they  were  what  St.  John  thought 
them  they  had  ample  proofs  that  they  were  of  God, 
and  must  not  forget  that  the  whole  world  was  cor- 
rupted ;  and  that  there  could  not  be  any  doubt  that  the 
Son  of  God  was  come,  and  had  given  them  the  spiritual 
sense  necessary  to  discerning  the  true  God.  In  that 
true  God  they  were,  through  His  Son.  The  God  of 
whom  the  Son  had  spoken  was  that  true  God,  and  to 
know  Him  as  such  in  His  Son  was  eternal  life.  The 
last  request  was,  that  they  should  strictly  guard  them- 
selves against  any  appearance  or  tendency  whatsoever 
which  might  claim  their  sympathy  or  allegiance  apart 
from  God. 

(1)  Fresh  Statement  of  Purpose  (verse  13). 

(13)  Comp.  John  xx.  31.  The  expression  here  is  more 
positive  than  in  the  Gospel :  there,  "  that  ye  might 
believe,  and  that  believing  ye  might  have  life  ;  "  here, 
"  that  ye  may  know  that  ye  have."  He  wishes  to  pro- 
duce in  them  a  good  hope.  The  specific  object  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Epistle  was  the  communication  of 
joy  through  fellowship  with  the  Apostles ;  the  know- 
ledge of  possessing  eternal  life  and  the  continuance 
of  their  faith  would  be  precisely  that  joy. 

(2)  What  can  be  done  for  those  who  do  not 
come  up  to  the  Standard  assumed  (verses  14 
-17). 

(H)  And  this  is  the  confidence.— The  assurance 
intended  in  verso  13  implies  confidence,  and  confidence 
means  the  conviction  tliat  God  is  not  deaf  to  our  prayers. 
But  these  must  not  be  contrary  to  His  will.  The 
Lord's  Prayer  reminds  us  that  the  Person  referred  to 
here  is  the  Father. 

(15)  That  we  have  the  petitions.— The  goodness 
of  GcmI  jus  Light  and  Love  is  so  fully  established  that  if 
our  petitions  are  according  to  His  will  it  follows  neces- 
sarily that  He  grants  thom. 

(16)  If  any  man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin 
which  is  not  unto  death.— Here  are  meant  such 
stumblings  as  do  not  imply  anv  distinct,  wilful,  delibe- 
rate severance  from  the  faith  of  Christ.  To  divide  sins, 
on  the  authority  of  this  i)assago,  into  venial  and  mortal 
is  to  misunderstand  the  whole  argument  of  the  Epistle 
and  to  seduce  the  con.science.  St.  John  only  means  that 
though  prayer  can  do  much  for  an  erring  brother,  there 
is  a  wilfulness  against  which  it  would  Ik*  powerless: 
for  even  prayer  is  not  stronger  than  freewill.  (C< 
chap.  ii.  I;  Luko  xxii.  31,  32:  John  ivii.  9:  Heb 
25.) 

And  he  shall  give.— The  interceding  Christian  is 


omp. 
vii. 


493 


regarded  as  gaining  life  for  the  erring  brother  and 
handing  it  on  to  him. 

There  is  a  sin  unto  death.— The  limit  of  inter- 
cession is  now  given  :  such  conscious  and  determined 
sin  as  shows  a  loss  of  all  hold  on  Christ.  Such  a  stato 
would  be  a  sign  of  spiritual  death.  Hardened  obstinacy 
would  bo  invincible ;  and  as  it  would  not  be  according 
to  the  will  of  God  that  prayers,  by  the  nature  of  the 
case  in  vain,  should  be  offered  to  Him.  St.  John  thinks 
that  intercession  ought  to  stop  here.  At  the  same  time, 
he  is  careful  not  categorically  to  forbid  it ;  he  only  says 
that  in  such  cases  he  does  not  recommend  iutercessoiy 
prayer.  (Comp.  Matt.  xii.  31,  32;  Mark  iii.  29;  Heb. 
xi.  4,  6  ;  X.  26,  27.)  "  His  brother"  is  here,  of  course, 
a  nominal  Christian. 

(1")  All  unrighteousness  is  sin.— Here  St.  John 
reminds  them  that  all  Christians  might,  at  one  time 
or  another,  stand  in  need  of  intercessory  prayer,  even 
those  who,  on  the  whole,  might  be  considered  as  "  sin- 
ning not "  (because  their  permanent  will  was  against 
sin,  and  for  holiness),  because  every  declension  from  the 
perfect  righteousness  of  God  is  error  or  sin.  Nothing 
that  was  not  hopelessly  deliberate  need  be  considered  a 
sign  of  absolute  spiritual  death.     (Comp.  chap.  iii.  4.) 

(3)  Some  Practical  Points  recapitulated 
(verses  18—21). 

(a)  God's  sons  do  not  sin  (verse  18). 

St.  John  refers  back  to  "  that  ye  may  know  "  in  verse 
13,  and  sums  up  three  points  from  former  portions  of 
the  Epistle,  describing  the  true  consciousness  of  the 
Christian.     Each  begins  with  "  We  know." 

(18)  Sinneth  not. — There  is  no  reason  to  supply 
"unto  death."  (Comp.  the  Note  on  chap.  iii.  9.)  St. 
John  means  strongly  to  insist,  in  this  the  solemn  close 
of  his  Letter,  that  the  true  ideal  Christian  frame  is  the 
absence  of  wilful  sin.  Stumbles  there  may  be,  even 
such  as  need  the  prayers  of  friends,  but  intentional 
lawlessness  there  cannot  bo. 

But  he  that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  him- 
self.—Rather,  he  that  is  begotten  oj  God  keepeth  him  : 
that  is,  the  Son  of  God  preserves"  him.  (Comp.  John 
vi.  39;  X.  28;  xvii.  12.  15.) 

And  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not.— The 
last  mention  of  the  devil  was  in  chap.  iii.  10.  The 
devil  and  his  angels  attack,  but  cannot  influence  so 
long  as  tlie  Christian  abides  in  Christ.  (Comp.  1  Pet. 
v.  8;  Eph.  vi.  11;  Rov.  iii.  10.) 

(3  b.)  Personal  assurance  that  we  are  God's  sons 
(verse  19). 

Next  after  the  cardinal  point  that  righteousness  is 
tlio  characteristic  of  the  new  birth  comes  the  necessity 
that  the  Christian  should  make  up  his  mind  that  he 
has  been,  or  is  being,  born  again,  and  is  really  different 


The  Conclusion. 


I.  JOHN,   V. 


Last  Words. 


that  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world 
lieth  in  wickedness.  (^^  And  we  know 
that  the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  hath 
given  us  an  uiidorstanding,  that  we 
may  know  him   that   is    true,   and  we 


are  in  him   that   is   true,  even  in  his 

Son   Jesus  Christ.      This  is  the   true 

God,    and     eternal     life.  <2i)    Little 

children,   keep    yourselves  from  idols. 
Amen. 


from  tlio  world.     Tlie  proofs  would  be  seen   in  chaps, 
i.  G ;  ii.  .3,  5,  29;  iii.  9,  14,  19,  24;  iv.  7,  13,  15 ;  v.  1,  10. 

(19)  The  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness.— 
Rather,  the  tcickcd  one.  There  is  a  constant  danger 
lest  Christians  should  forget  this.     (Comp.  Gal.  i.  4.) 

(3  c.)  Persoudl  assurance  of  the  Incarnation,  of  the 
gift  of  the  spiritual  sense,  and  of  abiding  in  the  God  of 
Truth  through  His  Son  (verse  20). 

Tlie  series  ends  with  a  climax :  the  Son  is  indeed 
come ;  Ho  gave  us  tlie  faculty  of  seeing  the  true  God ; 
and  in  that  Almighty  Being  we  actually  are,  through 
the  Son.  The  greatest  fact  of  all  to  St.  John's  mind 
is  that  his  Friend  and  Master  of  sixty  years  ago 
was  the  very  Word  made  flesh.  (Comp.  chaps,  i.  1,  2 ; 
ii.  13,  22,  23;  iii.  5,  8,  16,  23;  iv.  2,  9,  10;  v.  1,  5, 
9,  11.) 

(20)  And  hath  given  us  an  understanding.— 
Comp.  Acts  xxvi.  18 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  12—15 ;  Eph.  i.  18. 
This  spiritual  faculty  of  discernment  was  one  of  the 
gifts  of  that  Spirit  which  Christ  was  to  send.  (Comp. 
chap.  ii.  20,  27;  John  xiv.  26;  x\a.  13.) 

Him  that  is  true.— The  personality  of  God.  Amid 
all  the  deceptions  and  fluctuations  of  the  world,  St. 
John  felt,  mth  the  most  absolute  and  penetrating  and 
thankful  conviction,  that  the  followers  of  Christ  were 
rooted  and  grounded  in  perfect,  unshakable,  unassail- 
able truth.  This  could  ru)t  bo  unless  they  were  resting 
on  the  living  Son  and  holding  fast  to  Him. 

This  is  the  true  God,  and  eternal  life.— A 
most  solemn  and  emphatic  crown  to  the  whole  Epistle. 
"  This  God,  as  seen  in  His  Son,  is  the  true  God."  If 
the  Word  had  not  been  God,  God  could  not  have  been 
seen  in  Him.  "  And  God,  seen  in  His  Son,  is  eternal 
life."   This  is  only  another  way  of  putting  John  xvii.  3. 


(Comp.  verses  11,  12,  and  13.)  To  make  "  this  is  the 
true  God"  refer  only  to  the  Son  is  equally  admissible 
by  grammar,  but  hardly  suits  the  argument  so  well. 

(4)  Last  Warning  (verse  21). 

(21)  Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from 
idols. — This  parting  word  is  suggested  by  the  thought 
of  "  the  true  God."  Every  scheme  of  thought,  every 
object  of  affection,  which  is  not  of  Him,  is  a  rival  of 
His  empire,  a  false  god,  a  delusive  appearance  only, 
without  solidity  or  truth.  Wo  cannot  conclude  better 
than  in  the  words  of  Ebrard :  "  This  idea  is  a  general 
and  very  comprehensive  one  :  it  embraces  all  things 
and  everything  which  may  be  opposed  to  the  God 
revealed  in  Christ  and  to  His  worship  in  spirit  and 
in  truth.  Pre-eminently,  therefore,  it  embraces  the 
delusive  and  vain  idols  of  the  Corinthian  Gnosticism, 
whether  ancient  or  modem ;  but  it  includes  also  the 
idols  and  false  mediators  of  superstition,  to  whom  the 
confidence  is  transferred  which  is  due  only  to  God  in 
Christ — be  their  name  Madonna,  or  saints,  or  Pope,  or 
priesthood,  or  good  works,  or  pictures,  or  office,  or  church, 
or  sacraments.     The  One  Being  in  whom  we  have  '  the 

life  eternal '   is    Christ And  this    Christ  we 

possess  through  the  Spirit  of  God,  whose  marks  and 
tokens  are  not  priestly  vestments,  but  faith  and  love. 
In  this  meaning,  the  Apostle's  cry  sounds  forth  through 
all  the  ages,  in  the  ears  of  all  Christians,  '  Little 
Children,  KEEP  yourselves  from  Idols!'  The 
holiest  things  may  become  a  snare  if  their  letter  is 
regarded  and  not  their  spirit.  Every  Christian  Church 
has  a  tendency  to  worship  its  own  brazen  serpents. 
Happy  are  they  who  have  a  Hezekiah  to  call  them 
Nehushtan!" 


4^4 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    SECOND    AND    THIRD    EPISTLES    OF 


JOHI^. 


T,  Who  wrote  them. 
II.  Date. 
III.  Character  and  Scope. 

I.  Who  ■wrote  them  ?— It  is  diflficult  to  imagine 
why  any  should  suppose  these  two  Epistles  to  be  by 
different  hands.     Was  this  authoi'  the  Apostle  ? 

(1)  External  Evidence. — This  is  not  nearly  so  strong 
as  for  the  First.  It  is  natural  that  it  should  be  so,  for 
the  two  Epistles  seem  to  have  been  regarded  as  of  far 
less  general  interest ;  and,  therefore,  there  was  less 
obvious  propriety  in  placing  them  in  a  collection  of 
important  Apostolical  literature,  and  little  reason  why 
they  should  be  quoted  at  all.  The  main  argument  for 
them  is,  indeed,  their  unaffected,  inartificial  kinship  to 
the  First.  The  oldest  authority  for  the  Second  is  the 
Muratorian  Canon,  composed  before  a.d.  170.  Origen 
speaks  of  St.  John's  Epistles  in  the  plural,  and  his 
disciple,  Dionysius,  cites  the  Third  by  name.  The 
Muratorian  Canon  speaks  of  two  Epistles  of  John, 
apparently  distinct  from  the  First.  The  Muratorian 
writer  expkius  the  principle  of  his  arrangement  of  the 
Canon  distinctly  :  saying  that  the  Epistles  of  Paul 
to  Philemon  and  Timothy,  although  addressed  only  to 
individuals,  were  placed  in  the  Canon  on  account  of 
their  character.  And  even  if  the  two  Epistles  of  John 
mentioned  were  tlie  First  and  Second,  the  fact  that 
the  Epistle  to  Philemon  has  precedence  of  those  to 
Timothy  (and  Titus),  probably  because  it  is  addressed 
also  to  Apphia  and  Archippus  and  the  church  in 
Philemon's  house,  makes  it  very  easy  to  understand 
that  the  Second  Epistle  of  John  (early  supposed  to  be 
addressed  to  a  church  under  the  symbolic  form  of  a 
lady)  would  bo  received  into  a  canon,  while  the  Third, 
addressed  to  an  unknown  individual,  and  dealing  with 
special  circumstances,  might  not  be  considered  suffi- 
ciently general  for  such  a  position.  In  early  days  there 
must  have  been  many  fugitive  writings  of  the  Apostles; 
and  the  discretion  of  the  churches  in  selecting  from 
thojn  for  an  authorised  collection  would  be  guided  pro- 
bably more  by  usage  than  by  deliberate  vahuition. 
Clement  of  Alexandria  (A.D.  190—220),  says,  "The 
Second  Epistle  of  John,  written  to  the  Virgins,  is  of 
the  simplest  character;  it  is  written  to  a  certain  Baby- 
lonian, called  Electa,  but  tliat  means  the  election  of  the 
holy  Church  "  {Opera,  p.  1011,  ed.  Potter).  Origen, 
in  addition  to  what  has  lx>en  quoted  from  him  above,  is 
alleged  by  Eusebius  (Eccl.  Hist.  vi.  25)  to  have  said, 
"Not  all  consider  the.se  Epistles  to  bo  genuine,"  without 
endorsing  the  doubt  himself.  Dionysius  of  Alexandria, 
pupil  and  successor  of  Origen,  makes  use  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Epistle  to  illustrate  St.  John's  diction ;  he 
says  that  they  were  generally  received  as  St.  John's  by 


IV.  Where  were  they  written. 
V.  Literature. 


tradition.  Irenaeus,  disciple  of  Polycarp  and  of  Papias, 
(he  died  A.D.  202)  quotes  2  John,  verse  7,  by  a  mistake  of 
memory,  as  belonging  to  the  First  Epistle ;  the  words 
of  2  John,  verse  11,  he  cites  as  by  John  the  disciple 
of  the  Lord.  Eplirem  the  Syrian  knew  both  Epistles, 
but  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  two  small  fragments  of 
such  a  private  character  were  not  translated  in  early 
days,  and  therefore  did  not  appear  in  the  Peschito 
version ;  for  that  contains  only  three  general  Epistles 
(James,  1  Peter,  1  John).  Cy|jrian  shows  that  the  Second 
Epistle  was  received  as  Apostolical  and  Canonical  in 
the  North  African  Church,  by  the  fact  that  he  mentions 
a  quotation  of  the  tenth  verse  by  Aurelius,  Bishop  of 
Chullabis.  Eusebius  by  speaking  of  St.  John's  Epistles 
in  the  plural  number  {Demonstratio  Evangelica.  iii.  5) 
shows  that  he  himself  recognised  some  other  Epistles 
as  well  as  the  First ;  but,  as  from  their  shortness  and 
small  range  there  had  been  very  slight  occasion  to  quote 
them,  he  put  them  among  the  highest  class  of  those 
writings  which  M'ere  not  placed  by  absolutely  universal 
consent  in  the  authoritative  Canon,  and  were  therefore 
called  Antilegomena.  Jerome  gives  the  "  opinion 
of  several  writers,''  not  as  his  own,  that  they  were 
by  the  traditional  John  the  Presbj-ter ;  a  view  rejected 
by  Oecumenius  and  Bede.  In  the  Middle  Ages  they 
were  received  without  question  as  the  Apostle's ; 
then  Erasmus  took  up  the  opinion  mentioned  by 
Jerome,  and  was  followed  by  Grotius.  Most  modem 
commentators  recognise  them  as  Apostolic.  Tlie 
Tiibingeu  writers  are,  of  course,  obliged  to  consider 
them  as  later,  referring  them  to  Montauistic,  or  at  any 
rate,  sub-apostolic  times. 

(2)  Internal  Ei-idence.— The  term  "elder":  Tlie 
fact  that  St.  John  does  not  give  his  name  is  in  favour 
of  authenticity.  As  in  the  Gosp'^1  and  the  First 
Epistle,  he  prefers  to  retain  a  aignified  incognito, 
intelligible  to  all  whom  it  concerned.  Even  if  the 
messengers  did  not  know  whose  letters  they  were 
carrying,  even  if  the  correspondents  did  not  know 
the  handwriting,  they  would  be  perfectly  aware  from 
the  style  and  matter,  and  the  promise  of  a  visit.  It  is 
dojibtiul  wlietlier  by  "  elder ''  he  meant  "  aged,"  or  an 
official  position.  In  classical  Greek  these  words  would 
have  a  ciifforent  form,  but  St.  John's  Greek  is  that  of  a 
man  who  had  lx?come  accustomed  to  a  jirovincial  form 
of  the  language  late  in  life,  and  quite  admits  of  slight 
irrecrularities.  If  he  means  an  office,  there  is  notlung 
to  snow  tliat  all  the  Apostles  always  used  the  apostolic 
title.      St.    Peter    called    himself    "  fellow-presbyter " 


4V> 


II.   AND  III.    JOHN. 


(1  Pet.  V.  1),  and  Eusebius  called  the  Apostles  Pres- 
byters (Eccl.  Hid.  iii.  3'J).  The  Ajjostles  and  "  Over- 
seers "  were,  in  fact,  only  a  specially  respousiblo  and 
important  branch  of  the  Presbyterate.  As  the  last 
remaining  A])o.stle,  St.  John  might  prefer  not  to  insist 
on  a  designation  now  unique;  or,  as  the  name  "elder" 
was  originally  adopted  with  reference  to  mature  age, 
he  may  have  used  it  as  a  hint  of  his  own  advanced 
years  ;  or  the  dangers  of  the  times  may  liave  made  it 
advisable  for  him,  for  his  messenger,  and  for  his  corre- 
spondents, to  drop  the  higher  title. 

The  only  authority  for  the  existence  of  another  John 
at  Ephesus,  at  the  same  time  as  the  Apostle,  called 
"  the  elder,"  and  "  the  disciple  of  the  Lord,"  is  Papias, 
quoted  by  Eusebius.  Is  it  not  possible,  that,  as  Euse- 
bius says  that  he  was  "  very  small  in  mind,"  there  may 
be  some  confusion  in  some  of  these  details  ?  May  not 
even  the  confusion  itself  have  arisen  from  these  anony- 
mous Epistles  being  misunderstood  by  the  unin- 
telligent y  But,  even  admitting  the  existence  of  such 
a  second  John,  it  is  too  much  to  ask  us  to  believe  that 
he  resembled  the  Apostle  not  only  in  name  and  history, 
but  also  in  stylo,  character,  and  thought.  And  where 
it  was  extremely  reasonable  that  the  Apostle  shoidd 
leave  out  his  name,  it  becomes  most  improbable  that 
this  alternative  John  should  have  left  it  out. 

The  Second  and  Third  Epistles  are  fidl  of  peculiar 
forms,  common  also  to  the  First.  Notice  2  John 
verse  1,  "knowing  the  truth";  verse  2,  "abide  in"; 
verse  3,  "in  truth  and  love";  verse  4,  "walking  in"; 
verse  5,  "  the  commandment  which  we  had  from  the 
beginning  "  (1  John  ii.  7) ;  verse  6,  "  this  is  love,  that"; 
"  as  ye  heard  from  the  beginning  "  (1  John  iii.  11,  23) ; 
verso  7,  "  deceivers  are  gone  forth  "  (1  John  ii.  18) ; 
"  confessing  not  Jesus  Christ  coming  in  the  flesh " 
(i  John  iv.  1,  2);  "the  antichrist";  verse  9,  "abideth 
not  in  the  doctrine,  hath  not  God"  (1  John  ii.  23); 
"  hath  the  Son  and  the  Father  " ;  verse  12,  "  that  our 
joy  may  be  full"  (1  John  i.  4) ;  3  John,  verse  1,  "in 
truth  " ;  verses  3,  4,  "  walkest  in  truth  " ;  verse  11,  "  is 
of  God,  hath  not  seen  God"  (1  John  iii.  6,  10;  iv.  8). 
There  are  five  or  six  expressions  in  the  two  Epistles 
which  do  not  occur  elsewhere  in  St.  John's  writings, 
but  it  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  absurd  to  con- 
fine any  writer  exclusively  to  the  language  used  in  a 
former  production.     Additional  reason  for  variety  here 


would  be  found  in  the  simple  colloquial  character  of 
the  writings. 

Accordingly,  while  there  is  every  reason  to  hold  that 
the  Second  and  Third  Epistles  are  by  the  author  of 
the  First,  and  the  First  by  the  Author  of  the  Gospel, 
it  is  difficult  to  find  any  valid  reason  to  the  contrary, 

II.  Date. — In  the  absence  of  all  evidence  to  the 
coutrai-y  it  seems  probable;  that  the  circumstances  and 
time  were  not  very  dissimilar  in  all  three  Epistles. 

III.  Character  and  Scope. — In  the  Second,  the 
Aj)ostle,  who  is  probably  staying  at  the  same  place  as 
some  of  his  correspondent's  children,  writes  to  a 
mother  and  her  other  childi'cn  to  express  his  sympathy 
and  delight  at  the  faith  of  the  family,  and  to  warn 
them  against  admitting  false  teachers  to  their  circle. 
It  contains  noticeable  definitions  of  love,  antichrist, 
and  of  true  and  false  believers.  It  also  has  a  general 
lesson  on  the  treatment  of  wilful  depravers  of  divine 
truth. 

In  the  Third,  he  recounts  how  some  missionaries 
had  been  badly  received  by  Diotrephes,  who  had  ambi- 
tiously obtained  for  himself  the  chief  influence  in  a 
certain  church,  but  notwithstanding  Gains  had  been 
courageous  and  kind  enough  to  entertain  them  hospit- 
ably. Gains  is  exhorted  to  help  them  still  further. 
The  Letter  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  high  importance  of 
hospitality  at  the  time  as  a  Christian  virtue ;  and 
brings  out  the  fact  that  St.  John's  authority  was  no  less 
disputed  in  certain  cases  than  St.  Pavd's.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  church  of  Diotrephes  had  not  been 
founded  by  St.  John ;  that  St.  John  had  special  claim 
to  be  obeyed ;  and  that  ecclesiastical  influence  seems  to 
have  by  this  time  become  vested  in  a  single  head. 

lY.  Where  were  they  written? — Probably  at 
Ephesus,  before  a  tour  of  inspection.  Had  they  been 
written  in  Patmos,  some  notice  of  the  captivity  might 
be  expected. 

V.  Literature. — To  the  authorities  mentioned  in 
the  First  Epistle,  add  the  Articles  in  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,  and  a  paper  by  Professor  Salmon  on  the 
Third  Epistle  in  the  Christian  Observer,  April,  1877. 
I  should  mention  again  my  obligations  to  Dr.  Karl 
Braune. 


496 


THE     SECOND     EPISTLE      OP 

JOHN. 


(1)  THE  elder  unto  the  elect  lady  and 
lier  children,  whom  I  love 
in   the  truth ;    and   not  I 
only,  but  also  all  they  that 
have  known  the  truth;  (2)  for  the  truth's 


Verses  1,  2. 
The  person  ad- 
dressed. 


After  A.D.  9a 


sake,  which  dwelleth  in  us,  and  shall 
be  with  us  for  ever.     ^^>  Grace  be  with 
you,    mercy,    and     peace,  verseS.  Greet- 
from  God  the  Father,  and  ing. 
from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of 


[1.  Address,  (verses  1 — 3). 

(a)  Character  of   the  Person  addressed  : 

her  adherence  to  tlie  truth  (verses  1,  2). 

(b)  Salutation  (verse  3). 

2.  Exhortation  (verses  4 — 11). 

(a)  Statement  about  certain  op  her  chil- 
dren (verse  4). 

(6)  Main  Message  :  Appeal  to  mutual  love 
(verse  5). 

(c)  Definition  of  Love  (verse  6). 

(d)  Fixity  op  Gospel  Teaching  (verse  6). 

(e)  The  Deceivers  and  Antichrists  (verse  7). 
(/)  Danger  (verse  8). 
Ig)  False  Progress  a  Test  (verse  9). 
{h)  Those    who    have    not    the    Cardinal 

Doctrine   of  Christianity  not  to  be 
Entertained  by  Her  (verses  10,  11). 

3.  Conclusion  (verses  12,  13). 

(a)  Purpose  op  Coming  Shortly  (verse  12). 
(6)  Message    fro^   Her   Sister's  Children 
(verse  13).] 

(1)  A  man  so  well-known  to  his  correspondent  that 
he  only  calls  himself  "the  old  man,"  or,  "the  elder," 
writes  to  a  mother,  whose  name  is  possibly  Kyria,  and 
to  her  children.  Her  sister's  children  are  in  the  same 
place  as  the  writer.  The  two  mothers  are  both  honoured 
with  the  religious  title  "elect."  The  writer  (we  assume 
from  the  introduction  that  he  is  the  Apostle  John)  loves 
the  family  with  true  Christian  love.  All  who  are  in 
the  way  of  truth  have- the  same  feelings  for  them,  for 
the  truth  is  a  bond  of  union  between  all  such.  He 
wishes  them  grace,  mercy,  and  peace  from  the  Fatlier 
and  the  Son,  in  all  their  thoughts  and  all  their  affections 
(verses  1—3). 

(1  a.)  (1)  The  elder.— The  word  is  used  with  refer- 
ence to  age  in  1  Tim.  v.  2;  1  Pet.  v.  5;  with  reference 
to  office,  Acts  xi.  3i);  xiv.  23;  xv.  4,  6,  2-};  xvi.  4;  xx. 
17  ;  1  Tim.  v.  1,  17,  19  ;  Tit.  i.  5  ;  Jas.  v.  14 ;  1  Pet. 
V.  1. 

Unto  the  elect  lady.— St.  Paul  uses  "  elect "  in 
exactly  tlie  same  way  (Rom.  xvi.  13).  (Comp.  also 
1  Pet.  i.  1.  2.)  The  use  of  the  epithet  for  the  sister  in 
verso  13  shows  that  it  is  impossible  tliat  the  word  sljould 
be  the  correspondent's  name.  Tlie  Greek  word,  how- 
ever, for  "  lady,  "  {Kiiria,  or  Kyria)  was  a  proper  name  ; 
so  that  those  who  think  that  St.  John  aildresses  "  the 
elect  Kj-ria  "  are  at  liberty  to  do  so.  Tlie  absence  of 
the  article  would  not  be  more  surprising  in  that  case 

88  497 


than  it  would  be  if  we  translate  "  lady,"  for  "  elect " 
would  evidently  be  in  such  familiar  use  that  the  article 
would  be  easily  omitted. 

If  the  name  of  the  matron  is  not  given,  it  is  not 
absurd  to  suppose  that  the  dangers  of  the  times,  or 
family  persecution,  may  have  made  it  advisable  that 
both  her  name  and  that  of  the  writer  sliould  be  with- 
held.    The  messenger  would  supply  both  deficiencies. 

The  term  "  lady  "  would  not  imply  anything  about 
her  social  station.  Epictetus  says  that  all  women  above 
fourteen  were  addressed  by  men  in  this  term. 

And  her  children. — Those  of  them  who  were  with 
their  mother.  St.  John  seems  to  have  seen  some  of  the 
family  later. 

Whom  I  love  in  the  truth.— Rather,  in  truth; 
i.e.,  with  true  Christian   love,  with  all  the    sincerity, 

?iurity,  and  respect,  wliich  the  true  love  wliich  springs 
rom  God  requires.     (See  Notes  on  1  John  iii.  18,  19.) 

And  not  I  only  .  .  . — St.  John  disclaims  any 
special  peculiai-ity  in  his  affection  for  the  family.  All 
Christians  who  had  been  brought  or  should  be  brought 
into  i-elation  with  them  would  have  the  same  feeling; 
because  the  character  of  all  of  them  was  based  on  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Ciirist.  and  moulded  on  it. 

(2>  For  the  truth's  sake,  which  dwelleth  in 
us,  and  shall  be  with  us  for  ever.— The  jiersonal 
form  of  this  sentence  irresistibly  reminds  us  of  John 
XV.  6,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  If  Christ 
is  once  in  our  hearts.  He  will  not  leave  us  unless  we 
deliberately  leave  Him.  The  expression  is  therefore 
equivalent  to  saying,  "  We  will  not  let  Him  go." 

(1  b.)  (3)  Grace  be  with  you,  mercy,  and  peace. 
— (Comp.lTim.i.2;  2Tim.i.21.^  "Grace  "is  the  favour 
of  God  convejnng  fully  every  spiritual  blessing  (Rom. 
iii.  4  ;  Eph.  ii.  4 — 10) ;  "mercy"  is  the  pitifulness  which 
sympathises  with  man,  is  longing  tfi  forgive  his  sins, 
and  is  more  ready  to  hear  than  he  to  pray  (Luke  x.  30 
— 37  ;  Ps.  ciii.  3 — 18) :  "  peace  "  is  the  result  of  the 
reception  of  these  two  gifts  in  tlie  heart,  tlie  untroubled 
calm  of  a  conscience  void  of  offence  before  God  and 
men  (John  xiv.  27 ;  Rom.  v.  1 ;  Phil.  iv.  4 ;  Col.  ill 
15). 

From  God  the  Father,  and  from  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Father.  —  The 
perfect  independence,  parallel  equality,  and  mutual  cou. 
nection  of  the  two  Persons  is  noticea^ile. 

In  truth  and  love.— To  be  joined  with  "grace 
mercy  and  peace."  Truth  was  to  absorb  and  regu- 
late all  their  intellectual  faculties;  love,  all  their 
emotional. 


The  Message  and  its  Definition. 


II.  JOHN. 


Dangers  from  Antichrists. 


the  Father,  in  truth  and  love.  (^^  I  re- 
verses 4—11.  joiced  greatly  that  I  found 
Exhortation.  of  tlij  children  walking  in 
truth,  as  we  have  received  a  command- 
ment from  the  Father.  (^^  And  now  I  be- 
seech thee,  lady,  not  as  though  I  wrote 
a  new  connnandment  unto  thee,  but  that 
which  we  had  from  the  beginning,  that 
we  love  one  another.  <*'^  And  this  is  love, 
that  we  walk  after  his  commandments. 
This  is  the  commandment,  That,  as  ye 
have    heard    from    the    beginning,   ye 


1  Or,  gained 

Some 

CO 

)le8 

read. 

wh 

ch    ye 

hace 

(ini 

tied,   but   that] 

ye 

receive, 

&c. 

should  walk  in  it.  (^)  For  many  de- 
ceivers are  entered  into  the  world,  who 
confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh.  This  is  a  deceiver  and  an 
antichrist.  '^>  Look  to  yourselves,  that 
we  lose  not  those  things  which  we  have 
wrought,^  but  that  we  receive  a  full 
reward.  (^^  Whosoever  transgresseth, 
and  abideth  not  in  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  hath  not  God.  He  that  abideth 
in  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  he  hath  both 
the  Father  and  the  Son.     (i^>  If  there 


(2)  St.  Jolin  had  lately  had  opportunity  of  observing 
how  some  of  tUo  matron's  children  proved  their  ad- 
herence to  the  tnith  by  their  daily  conduct.  Having 
congratulated  her  about  this,  ho  states  the  chief  thing 
which  he  desires  of  her  :  the  jjure  Christian  love  which 
implies  every  other  grace  and  virtue  ;  in  other  words, 
walking  after  the  divine  commandments.  That  this 
love  should  be  pure,  that  these  commandments  should 
be  unimpaired,  it  was  necessary  to  remember  that 
nothing  new  could  be  added  to  the  original  message  of 
Christ.  This  warning  was  timely,  because  many  errors 
had  already  appeared,  especially  that  greatest  error 
which  denied  the  Incarnation.  The  family  must,  there- 
fore, be  on  its  guard,  lest  it  shoidd  be  cheated  of  its 
reward.  The  test  was  very  simple  :  any  advance  beyond 
the  doctrine  of  Christ.  It  would  be  better  for  the 
family  not  to  entertain  in  their  house  any  who  had 
committed  themselves  to  these  doctrines  of  develop- 
ment (verses  4 — 11). 

(2  a.)  W  I  rejoiced  .  .  .— Comp.  Kom.  i.  8  ;  1  Cor. 
i.  4 ;  2  Cor.  i.  3;  Eph.  i.  3 ;  Phil.  i.  3 ;  Col.  i.  3. 

Of  thy  children.— Probably  those  met  at  home. 

Walking  in  truth.— Comp.  John  viii.  12  ;  1  John 
i.  6,  7  ;    ii.  6  ;  3  John,  verses  3,  4. 

As  we  have  received  a  commandment. — That 
is,  walking  according  to  the  revelation  of  God's  will  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

(26.)  (5)  Love  is  the  Christian's  moral  disposition  of 
mind,  which  embraces  all  other  virtues  and  graces.  It 
implies  faith,  because  it  is  founded  on  Christian 
principle,  and  can  only  be  tested  by  a  right  belief.  It 
implies  purity,  because  it  is  modelled  on  the  love  of 
God,  and  has  abjured  the  old  man.  It  implies  unsel- 
fishness, because  it  desires  the  good  of  the  other  for  his 
o\vn  sake  and  God's.  It  implies  humility,  because  it 
distrusts  itself,  relies  on  God,  and  thinks  more  of  the 
other  than  of  itself.  (Comp.  John  xiii.  14;  xv.  12; 
1  Cor.  xiii. ;  Eph.  v.  2 ;  1  Pet.  iv.  8 ;  1  John  iii.  11,  23 ; 
iv.  7.  21.) 

Not  as  though.— See  the  Notes  on  1  John  ii.  7,  8, 
and  iii.  11. 

(2  c.)  (C)  The  attitude  of  love  in  general,  whether 
towards  God  or  man,  is  best  defined  and  described  as 
"  walking  after  God's  commandments."  It  might  have 
been  thought  that  love  would  bo  a  vague  immeasurable 
feeling,  differing  chiefly  in  intensity ;  but  the  Christian 
disposition  which  is  described  as  love  is  that  practical 
and  enlightened  result  of  faith  which  naturally  acts  and 
expresses  itself  by  following  God's  will  in  aU  thinffs 
(Comp.  1  John  iv.  7,  16.) 

{2d.)  This  is  the  commandment.— Tlie  sum  of  all 
God's  commandments  for  us  is  this :  that  wo  should  be 
doers  of  the   word   which  wo  have  heard  since  first 


498 


Christ  began  to  fulfil  the  Law  and  the  Prophets,  and  not 
of  any  other.  All  development  from  what  He  said, 
or  from  what  we  have  repeated  from  Him  is  disobedience 
and  error.     (Comp.  1  John  ii.  24.) 

(2  e.)  The  appearance  of  deceivers  is  the  reason  for 
this  warning  against  false  progress  (verse  7). 

The  ground  of  his  love  for  the  matron  and  her 
family  was  that  they  held  to  the  truth.  He  is  pro- 
portionately anxious  that  they  should  not  go  beyond  it 
through  evil  influences. 

(7)  Deceivers. — "Those  who  cause  others  to  wander." 
(Comp.  1  John  ii.  26 ;  iv.  1—6 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  1.) 

Entered  into  the  world.— Comp.  1  John  ii.  19 ; 
iv.  1. 

Confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh. — Rather,  confess  not  Jesus  Christ  coming 
in  flesh.  The  Greek  implies  the  idea  only,  without 
reference  to  time.  (Comp.  1  John  iv.  2,  3.)  The  ex-» 
pression  would  include  both  those  who  denied  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  and  those  who,  for  Gnostic 
theories,  held  Him  to  be  only  a  phantom,  declaring  the 
Incarnation  to  be  an  impossibility. 

This  is  .  .  . — Rather,  the  deceiver,  and  the  antichrist 
— i.e.,  among  all  the  human  errors  by  which  the  influence 
of  the  Evil  One  is  manifested,  this  is  the  most  destruc- 
tive. Those  who  adopt  such  errors  are  the  most  fatal 
deceivers  and  opponents  of  Christ  and  truth. 

(2/.)  T/ie  warning  (verse  8). 

(8)  Look  to  yourselves.— Por  the  triple  "we"  in 
this  verse,  read  "  ye."  The  result  of  the  error  would  bo 
loss  of  the  fellowship  with  the  Father  and  the  Son 
in  truth  and  love.     (Comp.  Gal.  iii.  1 — 4;  iv.  11.) 

Which  we  (or,  ye)  have  wrought.— Their  faith, 
hope,  love,  and  the  growth  of  the  Christian  graces. 

A  full  reward.— The  diminution  of  the  reward 
would  be  in  proportion  to  the  gi'avity  of  the  error. 
The  reward  would  be  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth 
all  understanding,  the  blessed  stability,  firmness,  and 
joy  which  truth  and  love  communicate.  (Comp.  Col. 
iii.  24 ;  Gal.  iv.  2.) 

(2  g.)  The  test  (verse  9). 

Progression  beyond  Christ's  teaching,  a  sign  of  the 
absence  of  God;  refusal  to  go  beyond  His  lines  a 
proof  of  the  presence  of  Father  and  Son. 

(9)  Transgresseth. — Rather,  goeth  beyond.  (Comp. 
Matt.  xxi.  9;  1  Tim.  i.  18;  v.  24;  2  Tim.  iii.  7,  14; 
Tit.  i.  9.) 

The  doctrine  of  Christ.- That  which  Christ 
taught.  (Comp.  Matt.  vii.  28 ;  xvi.  12  ;  xxii.  33 ;  Mark 
i.  22  ;  iv.  2 ;  xii.  38 ;  John  viii.  31 ;  Acts  ii.  42  ;  v.  28.) 

Hath  not  God.— Comp.  1  John  ii.  23 ;  v.  12. 

(2/i.)  Practical  direction  (verses  10,  11). 

Although  it  would  be  possible  to  love  unbelievers,  in 
the  sense  of  earnestly  desiring  that  they  might  come  to 


Practical  Advice. 


II.   JOHN. 


Expectations  ami  Greeting. 


come    any  unto    you,    and    bring   not  I 

this    doctrine,    receive    him    not    into 

your    house,      neither    bid     him     God 

speed:     <")   for   he    that   biddeth   him  !'  l;[-,,„r"^''  '" 

God    speed    is    partaker    of    his    evil 

deeds.        ^^-^  Having    many    things    to 


write  unto  you,  I  would  not  write  with 
paper  and  ink :  but  I  trust  verses  12,  13. 

to     come     unto    you,     and   Conclusion. 

speak  face  to  face,^  that  our  joy  may 
be  full.  (13)  Tj^Q  children  of  thy  elect 
sister  greet  thee.     Amen. 


a  knowledge  of  the  trutli,  it  would  be  wrong — for  sincere 
Cliristiaus  it  would  bo  impossible — to  hold  out  to  them 
the  right  liand  of  fellowship.  Especially  dangerous 
would  it  be  for  the  matron  and  her  family.  (Comp. 
2  Tim.  iii.  6.) 

(10)  If  there  come. — Tlio  construction  implies  that 
it  was  the  ease.  St.  John  was  dealing  with  facts.  St. 
Paul  held  the  same  view  (Rom.  xvi.  17  ;  Gal.  i.  8,  9 ; 
Tit.  iii.  10,  11;  and,  in  regard  to  morals,  1  Cor.  v.  11; 
xvi.  22). 

This  doctrine.— See  verse  9.  He  is  not  speaking 
of  those  who  had  never  heard  or  been  instructed  in 
the  doctrine  of  Christ;  they  would  be  less  dangerous. 
He  means  those  who  deliberately  altered  the  Apostolic 
teaching.  And  his  reason  is  evidently  chiefly  the 
religious  welfare  of  the  matron  and  her  family.  The 
case  supplies  an  important  instruction  in  the  theory 
of  Christian  social  conduct. 

Receive  him  not  into  your  house,  neither 
bid  him  God  speed. — These  are  no  terms  of  ordi- 
nary politeness,  which  the  Apostle  does  not  forbid,  but 
terms  of  close  Christian  intimacy  and  spiritual  com- 
munion, the  deliberate  cultivation  of  personal  ac- 
quaintance, fraternal  intercourse.  The  highest  sort  of 
Christian  brotherly  love — love,  that  is,  in  its  fulness  and 
truth — can  only  find  reciprocity  in  the  same  atmosphere 
of  Christ,  on  the  same  basis,  and  in  the  same  charac- 
teristics.    (Comp.  2  Cor.  xi.  16.) 

(11)  Is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds.— Condones 
his  false  doctrine ;  puts  himself  in  a  position  to  accept 
it ;  shares  the  guilt  of  his  disloyalty  hj  sympathising 
with  him ;  and  in  this  way  lowers  his  whole  moral 
standard,  doing  an  injury  to  "  God,  Christ,  the  Church, 
the  trulli,  individual  communities,  and  his  own  soul." 
If  any  interpret  the  exhortations  to  love  in  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Jolin  too  liberally,  or  by  too  low  a  measure,  this 
passage  is  a  wholesome  corrective.  In  applying  this 
teaching  to  modern  times  we  should  remember  (1)  that 
St.  Jolm  is  only  speaking  of  those  who  deliberately 
deprave  the  doctrine  of  (Ulirist  in  its  great  outlines; 
(2)  that  there  may  be  much  in  ourselves,  in  our  systems, 
in  our  quarrels,  in  our  incrustations  of  divine  truth,  in 
our  want  of  the  sense  of  proportion  in  dealing  with 
divine  tilings,  which  may  have  hindered  others  from 
receiving  Christ. 

(3)  Conclusion  (verses  12,  13). 

(12)  Having  many  things  to  write  unto  you.— 
Tliis  verse  shows  that  the  Letter  to  tlie  matron  and  lior 
family  was  not  a  mere  accom]ianiment  of  a  copy  of  i\w 
First  Epistle.  His  heart  is  full  of  tilings  to  write,  but 
he  hopes  soon  to  have  unlimited  conversation. 

Paper.— The  Egyptian  impyruit. 

Ink. — A  mixture  of  soot,  water,  and  gum.     The 


papyrus-tree  grows  in  the  swamps  of  the  Nile  to  the 
heiglit  of  ten  feet  and  more.  Paper  was  prepared  from 
the  thin  coats  that  surround  the  plant.  Pliny  describes 
the  method  (xiii.  23).  The  different  pieces  were  joined 
together  by  the  turbid  Nile  water,  as  it  has  a  kind  of 
glutinous  property.  One  layer  of  papyi'us  was  laid  flat 
on  a  board,  and  a  cross  layer  put  over  it ;  these  were 
pressed,  and  afterwards  dried  in  the  sun.  The  sheets 
were  then  fastened  or  pasted  together.  There  weio 
never  more  than  twenty  of  these  sheets  fastened  to- 
gether in  a  roll;  but  of  course  the  length  could  bo 
increased  to  any  extent.  The  writing  was  in  columns, 
with  a  blank  slip  between  them ;  it  was  only  on  one 
side.  When  the  work  was  fini.shed,  it  was  rolled  on  a 
staff,  and  sometimes  wrapped  in  a  parchment  case 
(Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities, 
p.  567). 

Of  the  ink  used  by  the  Romans,  Pliny  says  that  it 
was  made  of  soot  in  various  ways,  with  burnt  resin  or 
pitch.  "For  this  purpose  they  have  built  fm-naces 
which  do  not  allow  the  smoke  to  escape.  The  kind 
most  commended  is  made  in  this  way  from  pine-wood : 
it  is  mixed  with  soot  from  the  furnaces  or  baths ;  and 
this  they  use  for  writing  on  rolls.  Some  also  make  a 
kind  of  ink  by  boiling  and  straining  the  lees  of  wine." 
The  black  matter  of  the  cuttle-fish  was  also  sometimes 
used  for  writing  (Smith,  Dictlonanj  of  Greek  and 
Roman  Antiquities,  p.  110). 

The  pen  was  a  reed,  sharpened  with  a  knife,  and 
split  like  a  quill-pen. 

The  Jews  seem  to  have  used  lamp-black  dissolved  in 
gall-juice,  or  lamp-black  and  vitriol,  for  ink.  The 
modern  scribes  "  have  an  apparatus  consisting  of  a 
metal  or  ebony  tube  for  their  reed-pens,  with  a  cup  or 
bulb  of  the  same  material  attached  to  the  ui)per  end 
for  ink.  This  they  thrust  through  the  girdle,  and  carry 
with  them  at  all  times"  (Thomson.  The  Land  and  the 
Book,  p.  131 ;  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  p.  1802). 

Speak  face  to  face.— Not  that  there  was  any  oral 
ti'adition  wliich  he  would  not  write  down.  His  Gospel 
and  First  Epistle  would  contain  the  outline  of  all  his 
teaching.  But  on  this  occasion  there  was  no  need  for 
writing.     (Comp.  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.) 

That  our  joy  may  be  full.— Comp.  1  John 
i.  4.  It  would  be  the  deep  satisfaction  of  the  inter- 
change of  spiritual  thoughts  and  aspirations  without 
the  limitations  of  a  monologue  or  of  writing  materials. 

(13)  The  children  of  thy  elect  sister.- He  may 
have  been  stajnng  at  this  second  matron's  house;  at  any 
rate,  the  family  knew  he  was  writing.  Tlie  simplicity 
of  tlie  great  Apostle,  the  personal  friend  of  tlie  risen 
Lord,  the  last  of  the  great  pillars  of  the  Church  of 
Christ — in  transmitting  this  familiar  message,  makes  a 
most  instructive  finish  to  what  is  tlu'oughout  a  beautiful 
picture. 


499 


THE     THIED     EPISTLE     OP 

JOHN". 


Verse  1. 
dreBs. 


Ad- 


(1)  THE  elder  unto   the  wellbeloved 
Gaius,    whom     I    love    in 
the  truth. ^     (^')   Beloved,   I 
wish "  above  all  things  that 
thou  mayest  prosper  and  be  in  health, 

Verses  2  —  12.    ^'^^^     ^^      ^^J     ^^ul      prOS- 

Substance    of  pereth.     '^^  For   I  rejoiced 
greatly,  when  the  brethren 


the  Epistle. 


After  A.D.  90. 


1  Or,  truly. 

2  Or,  pray. 


came  and  testified  of  the  truth  that 
is  in  thee,  even  as  thou  walkest  in 
the  truth.  (^^  I  have  no  greater  joy 
than  to  hear  that  my  children  walk  in 
truth.  (^^  Beloved,  thou  doest  faithfully 
whatsoever  thou  doest  to  the  brethren, 
and  to  strangers ;  '*'>  which  have  borne 
witness  of  thy  charity  before  the  church : 


[1.  Address  (verse  1). 

2.  Substance  (verses  2 — 12). 

(a)  Good  Wishes  for  Bodily  Health  (verse  2). 

(fc)  High  Character  of  Gaius  for  («)  Con- 
sistency (verses  3,  4) ;  (6)  Hospitality 
(verses  5,  6,  7). 

(c)  General  Duty  of  Receiving  Christian 

Travellers  (verse  8). 

(d)  Opposition  ofDioteephes  to  the  Apostle 

(verses  9,  10). 

(e)  Exhortation  to  Gaius  not  to  Follow 

SUCH  AN  Evil  Example  (verse  11). 

(/)  Genehal  Truth:  contrast  between  the  fol- 
lowers of  good  and  of  evil  (verse  12). 

(g)  Commendation  of  Demetrius,  AND  Appeal 
to  Confidence  (verse  12). 

3.  Conclusion  (verses  13,  14).] 

(1)  The  elder.— See  the  Introduction,  and  2  o  onn, 
verso  1. 

Gaius.— The  common  Roman  name  Cains.  A  Caius 
is  mentioned  in  Acts  xix.  29 ;  xx.  4 ;  Rom.  xvi.  23;  1  Cor. 
i.  14.  Tlie  difference  in  date  between  these  and  St. 
Jolin's  correspondent  would  alone  be  sufficient  reason 
against  any  attempt  at  identification.  Tliere  is  nothing 
to  sliow  wiiethor  he  was  a  presbyter  or  not. 

Whom  I  love  in  the  truth.— Or,  in  truth.  (See 
2  John,  verse  1.) 

(2  o.)  (-2)  Beloved.— St.  John's  affection  is  founded 
on  tlio  liigli  merits  of  Cains  as  a  Christian. 

Above  all  things.— Tliis  may  mean  "  in  all  things." 

Be  in  health.— An  ascetic  would  he  surprised  tliat 
one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Apostles  should  be  so  earnest 
on  such  a  ]i()int.  But  the  better  a  num's  healtli,  the 
more  thoroughly  ho  can  do  the  work  of  God.  Sickness 
nuiy  1)0  allo\V(>d  to  chasten  the  erring  or  rebellious  heart, 
but  a  Cliristian  whose  faith  is  firm  and  character  esta- 
blished, can  ill  afford  to  despise  the  inestimable  blessing 
of  a  sound  body.  Functional  and  organic  disorder 
or  enervation  proportionately  lessen  the  capacity  for 
thought,  resolution,  and  activity. 

Even  as  thy  soul  prospereth.— The  word  "pros- 
pereth  "  is  literally  natka^  good  ivan,  and  so  links  on  to 
the  idea  of  walking,  in  verses  3  and  4.  The  hcaltli  of  the 
soul  came  first  in  the  Apostle's  mind :  when  there  is 
that,  he  can  wish  for  bodily  health  to  support  it. 


500 


(2  b.)  (*)  I  rejoiced  greatly.— Compare  2  John, 
verse  4.  "  For "  introduces  the  reason  of  the  high 
praise  in  verse  2. 

The  truth  that  is  in  thee.— The  inward  presence  of 
Christ,  manifested  by  the  Chi'istian  life  and  consistency 
of  Caius. 

Even  as  thou  walkest  in  the  truth.— This  is  an 
additional  evidence  from  the  brethren  to  .show  that  the 
presence  of  the  truth  in  Caius  had  been  practically 
tested. 

Thou  is  emphatic  in  the  Greek,  showing  that  there 
were  others,  like  Diotrephes,  of  whom  this  could  not 
be  said. 

(4)  I  have  no  greater  joy. — This  is  a  general 
statement  arising  out  of  the  particular  instance.  The 
comparative  is  double — a  comparative  formed  on  a 
comparative ;  it  may  be  only  irregular,  an  evidence 
that  the  writer  was  not  a  classical  Greek  scholar,  or  it 
may  be  for  intensity.  There  is  a  similar  comparative  in 
Eph.  iii.  8,  where  the  force  is  evidently  intensive. 

My  children  means  the  members  of  the  churches 
specially  under  the  care  of  St.  John. 

(5)  Thou  doest  faithfully — t.e.,worthilyof  a  faithful 
man,  consistently  w4tli  the  Christian  character.  It  may 
be  translated,  "  Thou  doest  a  faithful  work  in  whatso- 
ever .  .   .  . " 

Whatsoever  thou  doest. — Done  from  right  mo- 
tives, as  unto  Christ.  Whatever  form  (it  is  hinted  that  the 
form  would  be  various)  the  activity  of  Caius  might  take, 
so  high  was  the  Apostle's  opinion  of  his  character,  that 
he  was  sure  it  would  be  done  wisely  and  well. 

And  to  strangers.— According  to  another  reading 
it  is,  "  And  that,  strangers,"  as  in  1  Cor.  vi.  6,  Eiih. 
ii.  8,  Phil.  i.  28.  Either  way,  the  strangers  would  be 
Christians;  but,  according  to  the  reading  in  the  text, 
the  brethren  would  bo  more  or  loss  acquaintances  of 
their  host.  Tiie  duty  of  entoi-taiuing  Christians  on 
their  travels  was  of  peculiar  importance  in  early  times, 

(1)  from  the  length  of  time  which  travelling  required, 

(2)  from  the  poverty  of  the  Christians,  (3)  from  the  kind 
of  society  they  would  meet  at  public  inns.  The  duty  is 
enforced  in  Rom.  xii.  13;  1  Tim.  iii.  2;  Tit.  i.  8;  Heb. 
xiii.  2 ;   1  Pet.  iv.  9. 

(6)  Charity  might  bo  translated  "  love." 
Before  the  church.— That  where  the  Apostle  then 

was,  and  from  which  they  had  probably  been  sent  forth  ad 


A  General  Diifi/ — Opposition. 


III.  JOHN. 


Diotrephes  and  Demetrius. 


whom  if  thou  bi'in<^  forward  on  their 
journey  after  a  godly  sort,  thou  shalt 
do  well :  *''^  because  that  for  his  name's 
sake  they  went  forth,  taking-  nothing  of 
the  Gentiles.  '^^  We  therefore  ought  to 
receive  such,  that  we  might  be  fellow- 
helpers  to  the  truth.  ^'■'^  I  wrote  unto 
the  church  :  but  Diotrephes,  who  lovetli 
to  have  the  preeminence  among  them, 
receiveth  us  not.  <^*^^  "Wherefore,  if  I 
come,  I  will  remember  his  deeds  which 


he  doeth,  prating  against  us  with  ma- 
licious words  :  and  not  content  there- 
with, neither  doth  he  himself  receive 
the  brethren,  and  forbiddeth  them  that 
would,  and  casteth  them  out  of  the 
church.  <^^^  Beloved,  follow  not  that 
which  is  evil,  but  that  which  is 
good.  He  that  doeth  good  is  of 
God :  but  he  that  doeth  evil  hath 
not  seen  God.  '^^^  Demetrius  hath 
good   report  of  all   men,    and    of    the 


missionaries,  or,  at  any  rate,  with  some  definite  religious 
object. 

Whom  if  thou  bring  forward.— Perhaps  while 
tliey  were  still  staying  with  Caius,  the  emissaries  sent 
back  a  report  to  the  cliiirch  wlience  they  came.  St.  John 
seems  to  imply  that  there  was  still  something  which 
Caius  could  do  for  them.  "  If  thou  bring  foi-ward  "  is 
in  the  Greek  in  the  past ;  "  when  thou  hast  sent  them 
on,  it  will  be  a  good  work." 

After  a  godly  sort. — Rather,  worthily  of  God. 
(Comp.  Tit.  iii.  13,  1  Cor.  xvi.  11.)  It  would  imply 
journey  money,  provisions,  love,  care,  encouragement, 
prayer,  a  humble  and  reasonable  imitation  of  God's 
providence  to  Caius,  proportional  to  his  means,  the 
occasion,  and  the  recipients. 

(7)  Because  that  for  his  name's  sake  they 
went  forth.— Their  object  was  the  highest  possible — 
the  glory  of  God's  name.  Hence  there  must  have  been 
some  kind  of  missionary  character  in  their  journey. 
(Comp.  Acts  V.  41 ;  XV.  40;   Rom.  i.  6;   Jas.  ii.  7.) 

Of  the  Gentiles.— Probably  the  heathens  among 
whom  they  were  preaching.  From  settled  churches,  or 
wealthy  Christians  of  long  standing,  there  would  be  no- 
thing inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  message  in  receiving 
material  support.  Among  those  who  were  hearing  for 
the  first  time,  it  would  be  highly  pi'ejudicial  if  there 
were  any  appearance  of  selling  the  truth.  (Comp.  1  Cor. 
ix.  18;  2  Cor.  xi.  7;  xii.  16;   1  Thess.  ii.  9.) 

(2  c.)  (8)  We  therefore.— In  contrast  to  the  heathens. 
To  receive. — In  the  original  there  is  a  play  with 
the    word    "  receiving "   in    verse   8.      (Comp.    Matt. 
X.  40.) 

That  we  might  be  fellowhelpers  to  the 
truth. — Fellow-helpers  with  them.  The  principle  of 
co-operation  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  leading  ideas  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Those  who  try  to  work  alone 
lose  the  mighty  force  of  sympathy,  are  sure  to  make 
mistakes,  cannot  help  arousing  opposition,  and  run  the 
risk  of  nursing  in  their  own  souls  an  unsuspected 
spirit  of  self-will,  self-confidence,  and  spiritual  pride. 
Those  who  do  not  care  to  help  the  good  works  of  others 
are  at  best  cold  Christians,  feeble  believers;  they  fail 
in  tlie  great  critical  testing  virtue  of  Christian  love ; 
they  limit  the  operation  of  God.  who  has  chosen  to 
work  by  human  means  ;  they  hinder  the  spread  of  the 
gospel,  and  delay  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  (Comp. 
2  Cor.  viii.  23;  Phil.  i.  27;  Col.  iv.  11  ;  1  Thess.  iii.  2.) 
(2  d.)  (9)  I  wrote  unto  the  church.— "  I  wrote  .some- 
what unto  the  Church."  This  may  either  have  been  a  copy 
of  his  Gospel  or  his  First  Epistle,  or  a  lost  letter  of  no 
special  importance.  The  Cliurcli  was  that  of  the  place 
where  Caius  and  Diotrephes  lived.  Nothing  whatever 
can  be  said  of  Diotrejjhes,  except  that  his  personal 
ambition  led  liim  into  the  grievous  sin  of  rejecting  the 
authority  of  the  bosom  friend  of  the  Saviour ;  that  he 


talked  malignantly  against  St.  John  and  his  friends ; 
that  he  reiused  to  entertain  the  emissaries  of  the 
Church  in  which  St.  John  was  residing  ;  and  that  he 
actually  went  so  far  as  to  eject  from  the  local  con- 
gregation those  who  were  willing  to  entertain  them. 
We  may  conjecture  that,  on  account  of  the  loyalty  of 
Caius  to  St.  John,  there  was  so  little  intercourse  be- 
tween him  and  Diotrephes,  that  he  would  not  even  hear 
that  St.  John  had  written;  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  people  of  the  place  adhered  for  tlie  present  to 
Diotrephes,  so  that  in  addressing  Caius  St.  John  calls 
them  "  the  church,"  and  "them  ;"  and,  from  verse  11, 
that  even  now  St.  John  did  not  think  it  superfluous  to 
urge  Caius  not  to  follow  the  example  of  Diotrephes  or 
submit  to  his  influence. 

Loveth  to  have  the  preeminence.- Makes  it 
his  evil  aim  to  have  the  whole  influence  of  the  com- 
munity in  his  own  hands. 

(10)  If  I  come.— Comp.  1  John  ii.  28.  St.  John  was 
evidently  expecting  in  both  Letters  to  set  out  on  the 
same  journey. 

Prating. — Idle  slander ;  the  moths  that  are  always 
attracted  to  "the  fierce  light  that  beats  ab^ut  a  throne." 
Xhe  intense  spiritual  affectionateness  of  the  Apostle  of 
love  might  be  easily  misunderstood  by  an  unconverted 
pretender ;  but  it  is  needless  to  imagine  the  groundless 
babble  of  a  tyrannical  upstart. 

Casteth  them  out. — Not  necessarily  formal  excom- 
munication ;  but  Diotrephes  had  so  far  succeeded  in 
his  object  that  he  was  able  to  exclude  these  better 
disposed  persons  from  the  Christian  society  of  the 
place. 

(2  e.)  (11)  Follow  not  that  which  is  evil.— One  of 
those  simple  exhortations  so  characteristic  of  St.  John, 
which  derive  an  intense  meaning  from  the  circumstances 
and  the  context.  Tiiere  was  probably  every  reason  why 
Caius  should  follow  Diotrephes :  peace,  good-fellowship, 
the  dislike  of  singularity,  pojmlar  example,  and  the 
indolent  indifference  which  ordinary  men  feel  for  truth 
and  right.  But  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong  is  eternal  and  irreconcilable.  The  conduct  of 
Diotrephes  was  of  the  devil ;  and  mighty  moral  con- 
sequences might  follow  if  Caius  gave  way  from  good- 
natured  pliability.  (Comp.  John  v.  29  ;  xviii.  23; 
Eph.  V.  1 ;  2  Thess.  iii.  7,  9 ;  Heb.  xiii.  7 ;  1  Pet. 
iii.  10.  11;  1  John  iii.  12) 

(2/.)  He  that  doeth  good  is  of  God.— Comp. 
1  John  iii.  10.  "Doeth  good  "  includes  all  practical 
virtue.     (Comp.  1  Pet.  ii.  14.  1.5,  20  ;  iii.  6.  17.) 

He  that  doeth  evil  hath  not  seen  God.— Comp. 
1  John  ii.  3;  iii.  6,  10;    iv.  2.  3.  4.  t\  S;  v.  10. 

(-g.)  ('■-)  Demetrius  may  very  likely  be  the  bearer 
of  the  Epistle. 

Good  report. — Rather,  the  icitness. 

Of  all  men.— All  Christians  who  knew  him. 


501 


Appeal — Pu  rpose. 


III.   JOHN. 


Conclusion — Greeting^ 


truth  itself:  yea,  and  we  also  bear  re- 
cord;  and  ye  know  that  our  record  is 

true.  (^^^  I  had  many 
JZTJ^:,  ^■*-  things  to  write,  but  I  wiU 

not  with  ink  and  pen  write 


Conclusion. 


unto  thee  :  ^^^^  but  T  trust  I  shall  shortly 
see  thee,  and  we  shall   speak   face   to 


face.^ 

salute 

name. 


Peace 

thee. 


he  to  thee. 
Greet    the 


Our  friends 
friends    by 


Of  the  truth  itself.— Christ  dwelling  in  him 
mauifosted  His  presence  as  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and 
the  Life  in  new  virtues  for  every  eircumstauce  that 
arose  in  tlio  career  of  Demetrius.  His  walk,  agreeing 
with  the  revealed  truth  of  God,  showed  that  God  was 
with  him.     (Comp.  Acts  iv.  13.) 

And  we  also. — St.  John  adds  his  own  independent 
testimony  as  a  third,  in  the  most  emphatic  manner 
Iiossiblo. 

And  ye  know  that  our  record  is  true.— Tliero 
is  no  arrogance  or  egotism  in  this :  it  is  solely  the 
appeal  to  the  loyal  fidelity  of  Caius — to  the  simplicity  of 
Christ's  gospel  as  set  forth  by  John  in  accordance  with 
the  other  Apostles.  The  personal  experience  of  be- 
lievers would  convince  them  of  the  truth  of  the  last  of 
the  Apostles.     (Comp.  John  xix.  25  ;  xxi.  1\.) 

(3)  (1-5)  I  had  many  things  to  write.— Rather, 
There  loere  many  things  ivhich  I  wished  to  write. 

But  I  will  not.— Comp.  2  John,  verse  12. 


(14)  Peace  be  to  thee.— The  best  wish  which  the 
Apostle  can  form,  instead  of  the  usual  Greek  ending, 
"  Be  strong,"  or  "  Farewell  !  "  It  was  our  Lord's  re- 
surrection greeting ;  the  internal  peace  of  a  good  con- 
science, the  external  peace  of  universal  friendship,  tlio 
heavenly  peace  of  future  glory  begun  even  in  this 
life.  (Comp.  John  xx.  19,  26  ;  Rom.  v.  33  ;  Gal.  vi.  16 ; 
Eph.  \i.  23  ;  2  The-ss.  iii.  16;  1  Pet.  v.  14.) 

Our  friends  salute  thee.— Bather,  The  friends. 
By  this  appellation,  uncommon  in  the  New  Testament, 
St.  John  recalls  our  Lord's  words  in  John  xv.  13, 14, 1.5. 

Greet  the  friends  by  name. — Each  friend  was 
to  receive  a  personal  message  from  the  Apostle,  and 
Caius  would  know  who  they  were  as  well  as  if  St. 
John  wrote  them  down.  In  a  short  private  Letter  it 
would  be  unsuitable  to  have  a  long  list  of  special 
messages  as  in  a  Pauline  Epistle,  especially  as  the 
Apostle  hoped  shortly  to  see  them.  John  perhaps 
thinks  of  his  Master's  ideal  in  John  x.  3. 


502. 


THE     GENERAL     EPISTLE     OF 


JUDE. 


INTRODUCTION 


THE     GENERAL     EPISTLE     OF 


JUDE. 


I.  The  Author. — Wliatever  may  be  our  opinion 
■with  regard  to  2  Peter,  sober  criticism  requires  us  to 
believe  tliat  this  Epistle  was  %vritten  by  the  man  whose 
name  it  bears.  To  suppose  that  Jude  is  an  assumed 
name  is  gratuitous.  It  remains  to  determine  who  tbo 
Jude  is  who  addresses  us. 

He  tells  us  that  he  is  a  "servant  of  Jesus  Christ" 
and  "brother  of  James."  Had  he  been  an  Apostle  he 
would  probably  have  said  so.  (Comp.  Rom.  i.  1 ;  Titus 
i.  1 ;  2  Pet.  i.  1.)  Had  he  been  an  Apostlo  he  would 
not  have  claimed  attention  by  calling  himself  "  the 
brother  of  James,"  when  he  possessed  so  very  much 
stronger  a  claim.  The  fact  that  (verse  17)  the  writer 
appeals  to  the  words  of  Apostles  proves  nothing ;  an 
Apostle  might  do  so.  But  at  least  such  an  appeal  is 
more  natural  in  one  who  is  not  an  Apostle :  there  being 
no  reason  why  he  should  keep  his  Apostleship  in  the 
background  if  he  possessed  it.  Our  Jude,  then,  is  the 
Judas  of  Matt.  xiii.  55,  and  the  Juda  of  Mark  vi.  3 ; 
not  the  Judas  of  Luke  ^'i.  16  and  Acts  i.  13,  where 
"  brother  of  James"  should  more  probably  be  "  son  of 
James."  The  author  of  this  Epistle  is  rightly  described 
as  the  brother  of  James,  "brother"  being  expressed  in 
the  Greek.  The  James  indicated  is  James  "  the  Just," 
the  brother  of  the  Lord,  and  first  Bishop  of  Jerusalem, 
who,  though  not  an  Apostle,  was  nevertheless  a  i)erson 
of  such  dignity  as  quite  to  account  for  this  writer 
thinking  it  worth  while  to  mention  his  near  relationship 
to  him.  The  present  question  is  mixed  up  with  the 
vexed  question  as  to  the  brethren  of  our  Lord.  The 
view  here  taken  is  that  they  were  not  the  sons  of 
Alphajus  — i.e.,  cousins — but  in  some  real  sense  brethren  : 
either  the  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  or  of  Joseph 
by  a  former  wife,  or  by  a  levirate  marriage,  or  by  adop- 
tion. Which  of  these  four  alternatives  is  the  right  one 
will  probably  never  be  determined.  Jerome's  theory,  that 
they  were  our  Lord's  cousins,  children  of  Alphseus,  is 
contradicted  by  John  vii.  5.  (See  Note  there  and  on 
Matt.  xii.  46.)  It  owes  its  prevalence  in  the  "West 
mainly  to  Jerome's  influence.  The  identification  of 
James  the  Lord's  brother  with  James  the  son  of 
Alpliajus,  which  it  involves,  has  never  ^irevailed  in  tlie 
Eastern  Church.  Our  author,  then,  together  with  his 
better  known  brother,  James,  were  in  some  sense  our 
Lord's  "  brethren,"  and  not  Apostles.  If  it  be  asked. 
Would  not  Jude  in  this  case  liave  a])pealed  to  liis 
telationship  to  Christ  ratlier  than  to  his  relationship 
to  James?  wo  may  securely  answer  "No."  As  the 
author  of  the  Adumhrationes  centuries  ago  remarked, 
religious  feeling  would  deter  him.  as  it  did  his  brother 
James  in  his  Epistle,  from  mentioning  this  fact.  The 
Ascension  liad  altered  all  Christ's  human  relationships, 


and  His  brethren  would  shrink  from  claiming  kinship 
after  the  flesh  with  His  glorified  Body.  This  con- 
jecture is  supported  by  facts.  Nowhere  in  primitive 
Christian  literature  is  any  authority  claimed  or  attribu- 
ted on  the  basis  of  neai-ness  of  kin  to  the  Redeemer. 
He  Himself  had  taught  Christians  that  the  lowliest 
among  them  might  rise  above  the  closest  of  such 
earthly  ties  (Luke  xi.  27,  28) ;  to  be  spiritually  "  the 
servant  of  Jesus  Christ"  was  much  more  than  being 
His  actual  brother. 

Of  this  Jude  very  little  is  known.  Unless  he  was 
an  exception  to  the  statement  in  John  vii.  5  (of  which 
there  is  no  intimation),  he  did  not  at  first  believe  on 
Christ,  but  joined  the  Apostles  after  the  convincing 
fact  of  the  Resun-ection  (Acts  i.  14).  That,  like  his 
brothers  (see  Note  on  1  Cor.  ix.  5),  he  was  married 
appears  from  Hegesippus,  who  tells  us  (Eus.  H.  E.,  III. 
XX.)  that  two  grandsons  of  Jude  were  brought  before 
Domitian  as  descendants  of  a  royal  house,  and  there- 
fore dangerous  persons ;  but  on  their  proving  their 
poverty,  and  explaining  that  Christ's  kingdom  was  not 
of  this  world,  they  were  contemptuously  dismissed. 
This  story  almost  implies  that  the  relationship  to 
Christ  was  very  close ;  for  Hegesippus  remarks,  by  way 
of  explanation,  that  Domitian  was  afraid  of  Christ,  just 
as  Herod  was.  Statements  of  St.  Jude's  preaching  in 
various  parts  of  the  world  rest  upon  late  and  untrust- 
worthy e%'idence.  That  he  was  an  Evangehst,  is  im- 
plied in  his  writing  this  Epistle  ;  but  nothing  is  known 
respecting  his  labours. 

II.  Authenticity. — Tlic  authenticity  of  the  Epistle 
has  been  questioned  by  some  from  very  early  times,  but 
without  suflBcient  reason.  The  evidence  against  it  is 
mainly  this.  External. — Tlie  Epistle  is  not  contained  in 
the  Peschito  or  ancient  Syriac  version ;  Eusebius 
classes  it  among  the  disputed  books  (III.  xxv.  3  ;  II.  xxiii. 
25) ;  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  seemr  to  have  rejected 
it;  few  references  to  it  are  found  in  early  writers. 
Internal. — It  cites  apocryi)hal  books;  has  a  suspicious 
relationship  to  Bomans  and  2  Peter ;  is  difficult  in 
style.  Against  this  we  may  urge  tliat  Ephrem 
Syrus  seems  to  have  recognised  it ;  the  Muratorian 
Fragment  (circ.  a.d.  170)  contains  it;  the  old  Latin 
version  contains  it;  Tertullian  (De  Cult.  Feni.  I.  iii.) 
accepts  it  as  genuine  and  Apostolic ;  Clement  of 
Alexandria  quotes  it  as  Scripture  (Strom.  III.  ii. ; 
Paed.  III.  viii.)  ;  Origen,  thougli  he  knew  of  doubts 
about  it  {Comm.  on  Matt.  xxii'.  23)  fully  accepted  it 
(on  Matt.  xiii.  55;  xviii.  10.  et  al);  Jerome  [Scrip. 
Eccles.  iv.)  says  that  mauv  rejected  it  because  it  quoted 
apocryi)lial   books,  but  tliat   it  ought  to  be  reckoned 


505 


JUDE. 


among'  tlio  St^ripturcs ;  tho  ConnoiLs  of  Laoflicca  (circ. 
a.d360)  audof  Hijjpo  (A.D.3t»3)  formally  incliulod  it  iu 
the  Canon.  The  (l(ml)ts  abwut  it  are  very  intellipblo  :  it 
was  not  by  an  Apostle,  and  therefore  seemed  wanting 
in  authority,  and  it  quoted  apoerj-jjhal  works.  Its 
brevity  fully  aceounts  for  its  not  being  often  quoted. 
It  is  too  insignificant  to  be  a  forgery;  a  forger  would 
have  said  more,  and  would  have  selected  some  well- 
known  name,  and  not  that  of  one  but  little  known,  to 
give  authority  to  his  production.  Respecting  the 
apocryphal  books  quoted,  see  Notes  on  verses  9  and  1-i  and 
the  Excursus.  The  difficult  style  is  natural  enough  in  a 
Jew  writing  Greek  well,  but  not  with  ease.  As  already 
stated  in  reference  to  2  Peter,  a  theory  that  these  two 
Epistles  ("2  Peter  and  Jude)  are  translations  from 
Aramaic  originals  has  recently  been  advocated  [Did 
St.  Peter  ivrite  in  Greek  ^  by  E.  G.  King,  Cambridge, 
1871).  It  would  be  presumption  on  the  part  of  one 
who  is  ignorant  of  Hebrew  to  pronounce  an  opinion  on 
the  arguments  used ;  but  the  number  of  them  seems  to 
bo  insufficient.  Mere  internal  evidence  of  this  kind 
ought  to  be  very  strong  to  counterbalance  the  entire 
absence  of  external  evidence.  Jerome  would  certainly 
give  information  on  this  point,  if  he  possessed  any, 
when  he  makes  his  own  suggestion  that  St.  Peter  used 
different  "interpreters"  to  writ«  his  two  Epistles.  (See 
Note  on  2  Pet.  ii.  17.) 

m.  The  Place  and  Time.— As  to  the  place  we 
have  no  evidence,  either  external  or  internal.  The 
Epistle  contains  some  indications  of  time.  (1)  The 
fact  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  consequent 
ruin  of  the  Jewish  nation  is  not  mentioned  among  the 
instances  of  divine  vengeance  (verses  5 — 7)  is  a  strong 
reason  for  belie^^ng  that  the  Epistle  was  written  before 
A.D.  70.  (2)  The  fact  tliat  such  libertines  as  are  here  de- 
scribed are  allowed  to  remain  members  of  the  Christian 
community  points  to  a  time  when  Church  discipline  is 
in  its  very  infancy.  The  evils  are  very  similar  to  those 
which  St.  Paul  has  to  condemn  in  the  Church  of  Corinth 
(1  Cor.  V.  1,  2 ;  vi.  8—18 ;  xi.  17—22).  (3)  It  seems  to 
be  implied  (verse  17)  that  some  of  those  addressed 
had  heard  Apostles.  As  to  the  bearing  of  the  quo- 
tation from  the  Book  of  Enoch  on  this  question,  see 
Excursus. 

IV.  Object  and  Contents,— The  object  is  plainly 
stated  (verses  3,  4j— to  urge  his  readers  to  contend 
earnestly  for  the  faith  wliich  was  being  caricatured  and 
denied  by  tho  libertinism  and  practical  infidelity  of 
certain  members  of  the  community.  In  what  Church  or 
Churches  tliis  evil  prevailed  we  are  not  told;  but  it 
would  be  more  likely  to  arise  among  converts  from 
heathenism  than  from  Judaism.  The  plan  of  the 
Epistle,  .short  as  it  is,  is  evidently  laid  with  consider- 
able care;  and  the  writer  betrays  a  fondness  for  three- 
fold divisions  which  is  quite  remarkable.  It  would 
scarcely  be  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  wherever  a 
group  of  three  is  possible  he  makes  one.  One  or  two 
of  the  triplets  may  bo  accidental,  but  the  majority  of 
them  can  hardly  be  so;  and  this  fact  may  be  worth 
remembering  in  discussing  the  question  of  priority 
between  this  Epistle  and  2  Peter.  There  are  ten  (or 
possibly  twelve)  groups  of  three  in  this  short  Epistle  of 
25  verses  :  viz.  (1  and  2)  verse  1 ;  (3)  verse  2 ;  (4)  verse 4  • 
(5)  verses  5—7;  (6)  verse  8 ;  (7)  verse  11;  (8)  verses  12— 
15,  16—18,  19;  (9)  verse  19;  (10)  verses  20,  21;  (11) 
verses  22,  23;  (12)  verse  25.  Of  these  (4)  and  (10) 
are  perhaps  doubtful;  but  there  can  be  no  question 
about  the  rest,  although  tho  last  two  are  obscured  in 


the  English  version,  owing  to  our  translators  having 
followed  a  defective  Greek  text. 

(1)  Intkoduction. 

(a)  Three-fold  address  and  three-fold  greeting 

(verses  1,  2). 

(b)  Purpose  of  the  Epistle  (verse  3). 

(c)  Occasion  of  the  Epistle  (verse  4). 

(2)  Warning  and  Denunciation. 

(a)  Three  instances  of  God's  vengeance  (verses 

5 — 7),  and  application  of  these  three 
instances  to  the  libertines  ivho  are  now 
provoking  God  (verses  8 — 10). 

(b)  Tliree  examples  of  similar  wickedness  {\QrsQ 

(c)  Three-fold  descriptioncorresponding  to  these 

three  examples  (verses  12 — 15;  16 — 18; 
19). 

(3)  Exhortation — 

(a)  To  strengthen   themselves  in  the  faith  by 

prayer,  godliness,  and  hope  (verses  20, 
21). 

(b)  To  treat  these  liberti/ies  with  discrimination, 

making  three  classes  (verses  22,  23). 

(c)  Concluding  doxology  (verses  24,  25). 

Y.  The  relation    of  Jude  to    2  Peter.— The 

similarity  both  iu  substance  and  wording  between  a 
considerable  portion  of  these  two  Epistles  is  so  great 
that  only  two  alternatives  are  possible  ;  either  one  has 
borrowed  from  the  other,  or  both  have  borrowed  from  a 
common  source.  The  second  alternative  is  rarely  if 
ever  advocated ;  it  does  not  explain  the  facts  very 
satisfactorily,  and  critics  are  agreed  in  rejecting  it. 
But  here  agreement  ends.  On  the  further  question,  as 
to  which  writer  is  prior,  there  is  very  great  diversity  of 
opinion.  One  thing,  therefore,  is  certain ;  that  wliich- 
ever  writer  has  borrowed,  he  is  no  ordinary  borrower. 
He  knows  how  to  assimilate  foreign  material  so  as  to 
make  it  thoroughly  his  own.  He  remains  original  even 
while  he  appropriates  the  words  and  thoughts  of 
another.  He  controls  them ;  not  they  him.  Were  this 
not  so,  there  would  be  little  doubt  about  the  matter. 
In  any  ordinary  case  of  appropriation,  if  both  the 
original  and  copy  are  forthcoming,  critics  do  not  doubt 
lon^  as  to  which  is  the  original.  It  is  when  the  copy 
itself  is  a  masterpiece,  as  in  the  case  of  Holbein's 
Madonna,  that  criticism  is  baffled.  Such  would  seem 
to  be  the  case  here.  The  present  writer  is  free  to 
confess  his  own  uncertainty.  A  superficial  acquaint- 
ance with  the  subject  inclined  him  to  believe  in  the 
priority  of  Jude :  furth(>r  study  disposes  him  to 
think  that  tho  balance  is  decidedly  in  favour  of  tho 
l>riority  of  2  Peter,  although  the  balance  is  considerably 
short  of  proof.  The  question  cannot  be  kept  distinct 
from  that  of  tho  authenticity  of  St.  Peter.  Every 
argument  in  favour  of  the  authenticity  of  2  Peter  is 
something  in  favour  of  its  prioi'ity,  and  vice  versa; 
although  many  arguments  bear  more  upon  one  point 
than  the  other.  If,  then,  the  genuineness  of  2  Peter  is 
accepted  as  probable,  this  will  add  additional  weight  to 
the  considerations  now  to  be  Urged  in  favour  of  the 
priority  of  2  Peter ;  and  they  in  turn  vnR  strengthen 
the  arguments  for  its  genuineness. 

This  question  as  to  the  relation  between  these  two 
Epistles  seems  to  be  one  in  which  the  old-fashioned 
view  is  not  so  far  wrong  after  all.  And  some  value 
may  fairly  be  allowed  to  the  old-fashioned  arguments 
for  it:  (1)  that  the  account  of  evil-doers  in  2  Peter  is 
in  the  main  a  prophecy,  whereas  St.  Jude  speaks  of 


.')06 


JUDE. 


them  as  present ;  the  inference  being  that  St.  Jude 
recognised  in  what  he  saw  the  mischief  which  St.  Peter 
had  foretold  ;  and  added  weight  to  his  own  denunciations 
by  framing  them  in  the  very  words  of  the  Apostle; 
(2)  that  St.  Jude's  warning,  "  remember  the  words  which 
were  spoken  before  l)y  the  Apostles  .  .  .  how  tliat  they 
told  you  there  shall  be  mockers  in  the  last  time  walking 
after  their  own  ungodly  lusts"  (verses  17,  18),  is  an  ob- 
vious reference  to  St.  Peter's  prediction,  "  there  shall 
come  in  the  last  days  scoffers,  walking  after  their  owti 
lusts  "  (2  Pet.  iii.  3).  Of  course  a  forger,  with  St.  Judo's 
words  before  him,  might  frame  his  o^vn  words  to  fit 
them ;  but  in  that  case  we  have  still  to  account  for 
St.  Jude's  warning, "  remember  the  words  which  were 
spoken  before  by  the  Apostles,"  &c.  They  may  refer  to 
such  passages  as  Acts  xx.  29 ;  2  Tim.  iii.  1;  or  (as  some 
who  insist  on  "  how  that  they  told  you,"  or  "  used  to  tell 
you,"  prefer)  to  warnings  given  orally  by  the  Apostles ; 
still  2  Pet.  iii.  3  is  the  most  obvious  reference. 

No  doubt  it  is  antecedently  more  probable  that  a  small 
Epistle  should  be  republished  with  much  additional 
matter,  than  that  one-third  of  a  longer  Epistle  should 
be  republished  with  very  little  additional  matter :  but 
what  has  been  said  above  about  2  Peter  being  a 
prophecy,  of  which  St.  Jude  saw  the  fulfilment,  is  an 
answer  to  this.  Besides  which,  we  may  urge  that  it  is 
antecedently  improbable  that  a  forger  should  take  so 
much  from  an  Epistle  that  was  not  only  known,  but 
regarded  mth  suspicion  in  some  quarters,  because  of  its 
quoting  apocryphal  books.  That  St.  Jude  is  quoted  by 
one  or  two  writers  who  seem  not  to  know  or  to  reject 
2  Peter  (Tertullian,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Origen) 
may  be  allowed  some  weight ;  but  this  could  easily  be 
accounted  for,  and  in  itself  is  not  very  convincing. 

One  argument  used  for  the  priority  of  Jude  seems  to 
the  present  writer  to  tell  strongly  for  the  priority  of 
2  Peter.  It  is  this :  that  the  evil-doers  denounced  by 
St.  Judo  are  much  more  distinctly  portrayed  than  those 


denounced  in  2  Peter.  We  know  from  history  that  the 
errors  indicated  increased  rapidly  from  the  apostolic 
age  onwards.  The  later  writer,  tlierefore,  would  liave 
the  clearer  picture  before  his  eyes.  Would  not  the 
clearer  description,  then,  be  likely  to  bo  his?  (See  above 
on  the  False  Teachers  and  Scoffers  :  Introduction  to 
2  Pet.)  In  connexion  with  this  point  it  is  worth 
considering  whether  the  careful  directions  which  St. 
Jude  gives  as  to  the  way  in  which  different  classes  of 
the  ungodly  men  are  to  be  treated  does  not  point  to  a 
later  stage  of  the  evil  (see  Notes  on  Jude,  verses  22,  23). 
Again,  the  rather  fanciful  arrangement  into  triplets, 
which  prevails  in  St.  Jude's  Epistle,  looks  more  like  a 
second  writer  working  up  old  material,  than  a  first 
writer  working  under  no  influence  from  a  predecessor. 

Of  the  numerous  minute  arguments  drawn  from  the 
wording  of  parallel  passages  only  one  or  two  specimens 
can  be  given  here  :  others  are  considered  in  the  Notes. 
Jude,  verse  6  contains  a  telling  piece  of  irony  in  the 
double  use  of  "  kept,"  which  is  wanting  in  2  Pet. 
ii.  4 ;  Jude,  verse  10  contains  a  striking  antithesis, 
very  epigrammatically  stated,  which  is  wanting  in 
2  Pet.  ii.  12 ;  Jude,  verses  12,  13  contains  some  fine 
similes,  especially  the  one  of  "  wandering  stars,"  which 
would  have  fitted  the  "  false  teachers "  admirably ; 
yet  most  of  them  are  absent  from  2  Peter.  Woidd 
a  writer  who  is  quite  willing  to  borrow  anything  that 
will  serve  his  purpose  (this  is  evident,  whichever 
is  the  borrower)  have  wilfully  rejected  all  these  good 
things?  If  they  are  improvements  added  by  St.  Jude, 
all  is  natural  enough.  It  is  worth  mentioning  in 
conclusion,  that  the  arguments  urged  for  an  Aramaic 
original  tell  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  priority  of 
2  Peter. 

Wliile  admitting,  therefore,  that  the  case  is  by  no 
means  proved,  we  may  be  content  to  retain  the  priority 
as  well  as  the  authenticity  of  2  Peter,  as  at  least  the 
best  working  hypothesis. 


50Z 


THE    GENERAL    EPISTLE    OF 

JUDE. 


(^)  JUDE,  the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Verses  1,  2.  and  brother  of  James,  to 
Greeting.  them    that    are    sanctified 

by  God   the  Father,  and  preserved  in 


Jesus  Christ,  and  called :  ^^^  mercy  unto 
you,  and  peace,  and  love,  be  multiplied. 
(2)  Beloved,  when  I  gave  all  diligence 
to    write    unto    you    of   the    common 


(1.  2)  Address  and  greeting. 

(1)  Jude. — As  to  the  Jude  who  here  addresses  us 
see  Introduction,  I. 

The  servant  of  Jesus  Christ.— Better,  a  servant 
of  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  these 
Avords  indicate  an  evaugehst,  although  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  ho  was  one :  his  writing  this  Epistle  is 
evidence  of  the  fact.  The  words  may  have  a  side  re- 
ference to  the  imgodly  men  against  whom  he  writes, 
who  are  «of  "  servants  of  Jesus  Clu'ist."  As  he  does 
not  say  that  he  is  an  Apostle,  the  inference  is  that  he 
is  not  one.  Contrast  Rom.  i.  1  (where  see  Note  on 
" servant") ;  1  Cor.  i.  1 ;  2  Cor.  i.  1 ;  Gal.  i.  1 ;  Ejih.  i. 
1;  Col.  i.  1;  1  Tim.  i.  1 ;  2  Tim.  i.  1;  1  Pet.  i.  1  (where 
"Apostle"  is  used  without  "sei-vant");  and  Tit.  i.  1; 
2  Pet.  i.  1  (where  "  Apostle  "  is  added  to  "  servant "). 
Excepting  St.  John,  whose  characteristic  reserve  ac- 
counts for  it.  Apostles  proclaim  themselves  to  be  such 
in.  stating  their  credentials.  Hebrews  and  the  Epistle 
of  St.  James  must  be  set  aside  as  doubtful,  or  be  ad- 
mitted as  illustrations  of  the  inile.  Phil.  i.  1 ;  1  Thess. 
i.  1 ;  and  2  Thess.  i.  1  are  not  exceptions :  St.  Paul  is 
there  combined  with  others  who  are  not  Apostles.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  Philem.  verse  1.  Moreover,  there 
St.  Paul  naturally  avoids  stating  credentials :  he  wishes 
to  appeal  to  Philemon's  affection  (Philem.  verses  8,  9), 
not  to  his  own  authority. 

And  brother  of  James.— This  is  added  not 
merely  to  explain  who  he  is,  but  his  claim  to  be  heard. 
It  is  almost  incredible  that  an  Apostle  should  have 
urged  such  a  claim,  and  yet  not  have  stated  the  much 
higlicr  claim  of  his  own  ofiBce  :  the  inference  again  is 
that  the  writer  is  not  an  Apostle.  Only  one  James 
can  be  meant.  After  the  death  of  James  the  brother 
of  John,  only  one  James  appears  in  the  Acts  (chaps, 
xii.  17;  XV.  13;  xxi.  18) — James  the  Just,  bi'other  of 
our  Lord  (Matt.  xiii.  15),  and  first  Bishop  of  Jerusalem. 
(See  Introduction,  I.)  The  brother  of  so  saintly  a 
man.  one  of  the  "pillars"  of  the  Church  (Gal.  ii.  9), 
and  holding  so  high  an  office,  might  claim  the  attention 
of  Christians. 

To  them  that  are  sanctified.- A  reading  of 
veiy  great  authority  compels  us  to  substitute  beloved 
for  "  sanctified  " ;  and  the  whole  should  probably  run 
thus :  to  those  who  are  called,  beloved  in  God  the 
Father,  and  preserved  for  Jesiis  Cln-ixt.  Some  prefer 
to  take  "  in  God  the  Father "  with  both  participles : 
beloved,  and  preserved  for  Jesus  Christ,  in  God  the 


Father.  The  love  is  such  as  has  existed  from  the 
beginning  and  still  continues. 

Here,  in  the  first  verse,  we  have  a  couple  of  triplets : 
a  three-fold  designation  of  the  writer  himself,  as  "  Jude, 
the  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  brother  of  James  ; " 
and  a  three-fold  designation  of  his  readers,  as  "  called, 
beloved,  preserved."  In  the  next  verse  Ave  have  another 
triplet. 

By  God  the  Father.— Better,  in  God  the  Father. 
He  is  the  sphere  in  which  the  love  is  displayed :  it  is 
in  God  that  Christians  love  and  are  loveil.  The  ex- 
pression, "  beloved  in  God,"  is  unique  in  the  New 
Testament.  St.  Paul  sometimes  writes  "  God  our 
Father  "  (Rom.  i.  7 ;  1  Cor.  i.  3,  et  al.),  and  at  first  this 
was  the  more  common  expression ;  sometimes  "  God 
the  Father"  (Gal.  i.  1,  3,  et  al). 

And  preserved  in  Jesus  Christ.— Better,  pre- 
served for  Jesus  Christ ;  i.e.,  preserved  to  be  His  in 
His  kingdom.  This  preservation  lias  gone  on  from  the 
first,  and  continues  (Jolui  xvii.  2,  12,  24). 

Called. — The  word  is  used,  in  St.  Paul's  sense,  for 
all  Christians — all  who  have  been  called  to  a  knowledge 
of  God  and  of  the  gospel.  (Comp.  Rom.  i.  7 ;  and  see 
Note  on  1  Cor.  i.  24.) 

(2)  Mercy  unto  you,  and  peace,  and  love. — 
Another  triplet,  which  possibly  looks  back  to  the  one 
just  preceding:  called  by  God's  mercy,  preserved  in 
peace,  beloved  in  love.  The  addition  ''  and  love  "  is 
peculiar  to  this  Epistle.  "  Mercy  "  and  "  peace  "  occur 
in  the  opening  greetings  of  I  and  2  Timothy,  Titus, 
and  2  John.  The  three  are  in  logical  order  here :  mercy 
from  God  to  man ;  hence  peace  between  God  and  man ; 
hence  love  of  all  towards  all. 

Be  multiplied.— By  God.  The  word,  as  used  in 
salutations,  is  peculiar  to  I  and  2  Peter,  and  Jude. 

(•■'i  4)   The  purpose  and  occasion  of  the  Letter. 

(3)  Beloved. — Yery  unusual  at  the  beginning  of  an 
Epistle;  3  John,  verso  2,  is  the  only  other  example. 
It  indicates,  possibly,  the  writer's  w'«h  to  be  brief  and 
get  to  his  subject  at  once;  and,  is  his  subject  is  a 
very  unpleasing  one.  he  hastens  to  asoiire  his  readers  of 
affection  for  them,  to  prevent  his  strong  language  from 
offending  them. 

When  I  gave  all  diligence.— Better,  in  giving 
all  diligence  :  i.e.,  in  having  it  much  at  heart.  Wiclii 
and  Rlieims  are  nearly  right.  The  expression  is  unique 
ill  the  New  Testament— 2  Pet.  i.  5  is  similar,  but  the 


508 


Exhortation  to  continue 


JUDE. 


Steadfast  in  the  Faith. 


salvation,    it    was    needful    for  me   to 

Verses     3.      4.   ^^'i*©        ^l^to        JOU,        and 

Purpose  of  the  exliort  you  that  ye  should 
Epistle.  earnestly  contend  for  the 

faith  which  was  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints.  (^)  For  there  are  certain 
men  crept  in  unawares,  who  were  before 
of  old  ordiiined  to  this  condemnation, 


ungodly  men,  turning  the  grace  of  our 

God   into   lasciviousness,    and   denying 

the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus 

Christ.     (^^  I  will  therefore  put  you  in 

remembrance,    though    ye  ^ 

1  j-i  •       1  ^-^     ^   Verses    5  —  10. 

once  knew  this,  how  that  God's   punish- 

the    Lord,    having    saved  ments  a  warn- 

the  people  out  of  the  land  ^^^  to  sinners. 


Greek  for  "  giving  "  differs  iu  verb  and  tense  from  the 
word  used  here. 

Of  the  common  salvation.— The  best  MSS.  in- 
sert "our" — of  our  common  salvation:  i.e.,  oi  those 
tilings  Avliioh  pertain  to  the  salvation  of  ns  all.  (Comp. 
Tit.  i.  4.)  Some  would  take  these  words  after  "  it  was 
needful  for  me  to  write  unto  you."  The  Authorised 
version  is  better. 

It  was  needful  for  me  to  write  unto  you. — 
Better,  1  found  it  necessary  to  write  at  once  to  you,  St. 
Jude  had  intended  to  write  on  general  grounds  ;  then  the 
circumstances  stated  in  verse  4  made  him  write  imme- 
diately for  the  special  pu-rpose  of  warning  them  against  a 
pressing  danger.  The  "  at  once  "  comes  from  the  tense, 
wliich  is  present  in  the  first  clause,  aorist  in  the  second. 
That  St.  Jude  had  intended  to  write  a  lonc/er  letter  is 
pure  conjecture,  for  which  there  is  no  evidence. 

Contend  for. — The  word  is  a  graphic  one,  im- 
plying standing  over  a  thing  to  fight  ui  its  defence. 
You  iinist  fight  as  well  as  build  (Neh.  iv.  16,  18). 

The  faith — i.e.,  that  Avhich  is  believed  by  Christians : 
not  the  expression  of  the  doctrine,  nor  the  holding  of 
it,  but  the  substance  of  it. 

Once  delivered. — Rather,  once  for  all  delivered. 
No  change  in  it  is  possible.  (Comp.  Gal.  i.  8,  9.)  By 
"  the  saints  "  are  meant  all  Christians  ;  comp.  Acts  ix. 
13  (where  see  Note),  32,  41.  The  word  is  used  ad- 
visedly here,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  libertines  now 
to  be  denounced. 

(^)  Certain  men  crept  in  unawares— viz.,  into 
the  Church.  The  "  certain"  shows  that  these  men  are 
a  decided  minority,  and  has  a  tinge  of  depi'eciation,  as 
in  Gal.  ii.  12.  "  Crept  in  unawares  "  is  analogous  to 
"  unawares  brought  in,  who  came  in  privily  "  (Gal.  ii.  4, 
where  see  Note),  and  to  "  privily  bring  in  "  (2  Pet.  ii.  1). 
It  is  this  insidious  invasion  which  constitutes  the 
necessity  for  writing  stated  in  verse  3.  Unfaithful 
Christians  are  sometimes  regarded  as  an  emergence 
from  within,  rather  than  an  invasion  from  without 
(1  John  ii.  19). 

Close  similarity  to  2  Peter  begins  liere  and  con- 
tinues down  to  verso  18 ;  the  Notes  on  the  parallel 
passages  in  2  Pet.  ii.  should  be  compared  throughout. 
In  this  Epistle  the  first  three  and  last  seven  verses  are 
the  only  portions  not  intimately  related  to  2  Peter. 

Who  were  before  of  old  ordained  to  this 
condemnation. — Literally,  xvho  have  been  of  old 
written  down  hefurehund  for  this  sentence  ;  or.  perhaps, 
"written  up";  for  the  metaphor  may  come  from  tiie 
practice  of  posting  up  the  names  of  those  wlio  liad  to 
appear  in  court  for  trial.  The  text  is  a  favourite  one 
with  Calvinists ;  but  it  gives  no  countenance  to  extreme 
predestinarian  views.  "Of  old"  cannot  refer  to  the 
eternal  purposes  of  God,  but  to  sometliing  in  history. 
On  tiie  other  hand,  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  can  refer 
to  the  recent  warnings  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  that 
false  teachers  should  arise  :  otherwise  one  would  bo 
tempted  to  refer  it  to  2  Pet.  ii.  Something  more  re-  j 
mote  from  the  writer's  own  day  seems  to  be  required 

609 


either  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  or  the  Booli  of 
Enoch,  quoted  below.  Tlie  Greek  word  here  rendered 
"  before  ordained  "  is  in  Rom.  xv.  4  rendered  "  written 
aforetime."     (Comp.  Eph.  iii.  3.) 

To  this  condemnation.— Literally,  to  this  sen- 
tence, or  judgment ;  l)ut  the  context  shows  that  the 
judgment  is  an  adverse  one.  "  This  condemnation," 
viz.,  the  one  stated  in  the  denunciations  which  follow, 
and  illustrated  by  the  fate  of  those  mentioned  iu 
verses  5 — 7.  Note  the  three-fold  description  of  the 
men  thus  written  down  for  jiidgment :  they  are  ungodly; 
they  pervert  God's  grace ;  they  deny  Christ. 

Turning  the  grace  of  our  God  into  lasci- 
viousness.— Turning  Christian  liberty  into  unchristian 
license.  "  Our  God,"  not  theirs  ;  they  are  "  without 
God  in  the  world."  "  "Wantonness  "  would  be  better 
than  "  lasci\4ousness  "  here,  as  in  2  Pet.  ii.  18.  The 
Greek  word  expresses  license  generally,  not  merely  sins 
of  impurity. 

Denying  the  only  Lord  God,  and  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. — Rather,  denying  the  only  Master,  and 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "  God  "  is  an  addition  to  the 
oi'iginal  text,  and  must  be  omitted.  "  Lord "  repre- 
sents two  words  in  the  Greek  quite  different  one  from 
the  other.  The  Genevan  version  is  right  all  but  the 
insertion  of  "  God  ;  "  the  Rhemish  quite  right — having 
"Dominator,"  however,  for  "Master."  We  are  once 
more  in  doubt  whether  one  or  two  Persons  of  the 
Trinity  ai-e  mentioned  here.  (Comp.  2  Pet.  i.  1.) 
Certainly  2  Pet.  ii.  1  countenances  our  taking  ''  the 
only  Master  "  as  meaning  Christ;  and  the  fact  that  the 
article  is  not  repeated  with  "  Lord  "  is  in  favour  of 
only  one  Person  being  meant.  But  Luke  ii.  29,  Acts 
iv.  24,  Rev.  vi.  10  countenance  our  undei-standing 
these  words  as  meaning  the  Father;  and  the  absence 
of  the  ai'ticle  before  "Lord''  is  not  conclusive.  The 
insertion  of  "  God "  is,  perhaps,  a  gloss  to  insist  on 
this  latter  interpretation.  If  it  be  right,  the  clause  is 
closely  parallel  to  1  John  ii.  22:  "He  is  Antichrist 
that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son."  Note  the  em- 
phatic insertion  of  "  our "'  once  more :  they  will  not 
have  Him  for  their  Lord;  His  divine  authority  was 
precisely  what  they  denied. 

(5—7)  "We  now  enter  upon  the  main  body  of  the 
Epistle.  Tliree  instances  of  God  s  vengeance :  the 
unbelievers  in  the  wilderness;  the  impure  angels; 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha. 

(5)  I  will  therefore  put  you  in  remembrance. 

— Or,  But  I  tcish  to  remind  you.     The  "  but  "  indicates 
opposition  to  the  impiety  of  those  just  mentioned. 

Though  ye  once  knew  this.— The  best  MSS. 
and  versions  compel  us  to  substitute  "all  things"  for 
"  this,"'  and  we  must  translate,  because  ye  have  once  for 
all  (as  in  verse  3)  knnu-n  all  things.  You  have  once 
for  all  been  taught  all  that  I  want  to  say  to  you;  so 
tliat  I  need  only  remind  you,  there  is  no  need  to 
instruct.  (Comp.  Rom.  xv.  11,  15,  where  see  Notes; 
2  Pet.  i.  12 ;  1  John  ii.  21.)      "  AU  things  "  probably 


Judgment  on  the 


JUDE. 


Rebellious  Angels. 


of  Egypt,  afterward  destroyed  them 
that  believed  not.  '^^^  And  the  angels 
which  kept  not  their  first  estate,^  but 
left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath 
reserved  in   everlasting    chains    under 


I  Or,  principality. 


darkness  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day.  (''^  Even  as  Sodom  and 
Gomorrha,  and  the  cities  about  them 
in  like  manner,  giving  themselves 
over  to     fornication,    and    going   after 


has  special  reforeucc  to  Old  Testament  history,  as  what 
follows  sfcms  to  show. 

How  that  the  Lord.—"  How  tliat "  depends  upon 
"  reniiud,"  not  upon  '•  have  known."  There  is  very 
strong  e\-idence  in  favour  of  substituting  "  Jesus  "  for 
"  the  Lord  ;  "  a  most  remarkable  reading,  showing  how, 
in  Christian  language,  the  Man  Jesus  had  become 
identified  with  the  Eternal  Son.  The  use  of  "  Christ" 
in  1  Cor.  X.  4.  though  less  striking,  is  similar. 

Having  saved  the  people.— Or,  perhaps,  having 
saved  a  people.  A  whole  nation  was  rescued.  The 
order  of  the  three  examples  of  signal  punishment  is  in 
2  Peter  chronological :  impure  angels,  flood,  Sodom 
and  Gomorrha  ;  here  not.  But  the  order  here  is  quite 
intelligible.  St.  Jude's  main  object  is  to  warn  his 
readers  against  that  party  in  the  Christian  community 
who,  by  its  abuse  of  Christian  hberty,  transfoi'med 
the  gospel  of  purity  into  a  gospel  of  wantonness,  and 
to  give  them  a  safeguard  against  such.  And  the  safe- 
guard is  this :  to  hold  fast  the  faith  once  for  all 
delivered  to  them,  and  to  remember  the  consequences 
of  Ijeiug  unbelie^'ing.  For  this  purpose,  no  warning 
could  be  more  apposite  than  the  fate  of  Jude's  own 
nation  in  the  wilderness.  This  palmary  instance  given, 
two  others  follow,  probably  suggested  by  2  Peter. 

Afterward  destroyed.  —  Better,  secondly  de- 
stroyed. Wiflif,  "the  secunde  tyme";  Rheims, 
"  secondly."  The  Lord  twice  manifested  His  power 
on  Israel:  (1)  in  mercy;  (2)  in  judgment.  The  refer- 
ence is  almost  certainly  to  Num.  xiv.  35;  Deut.  i.  35, 
&c.  Tlie  destruction  of  Jerusalem  can  scarcely  be 
meant,  whatever  date  we  assign  to  the  Epistle,  although 
the  striking  reading,  "Jesus"  for  "the  Lord,"  gives 
some  countenance  to  such  an  interpretation.  The  most 
ob\nous  meaning  is,  that  the  people  destroyed  were 
those  who,  in  the  first  instance,  were  saved.  Had  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  been  intended,  the  reference 
would  probably  have  been  more  clear. 

(6)  And  the  angels  which  kept  not.— Rather, 
because  they  Tcrpt  not.  The  construction  is  similar  to 
that  in  Matt.  xWiL  25,  "  Forasmuch  as  he  had  not  to 
pay."  (See  Note  on  verse  8.)  This  second  instance  of 
the  impure  angels  has  nothinj^  to  do  wdth  the  original 
rebellion  of  Satan,  or  "  fall  of  the  angels."  The  refer- 
ence is  either  to  Gen.  vi.  2,  or  (more  probably),  to 
passages  in  the  Book  of  Enoch.  (See  Excursus  at  the 
end  of  this  Epistle.) 

Their  first  estate.— Tlie  Greek  word  has  two 
meaninf^s  :  (1)  beg^inning,  which  our  translators  have 
adopted  here;  (2)  rule  or  power,  which  would  be 
better.  Wiclif  has  "  prinshood  ;  "  Rheims,  "  princi- 
palitie."  The  word  is  translated  "  rule  "  (1  Cor.  xv.  24) 
and  "principality"  (Rom.  \-iii.  38;  Eph.  i.  21;  iii.  10; 
vi.  12;  Col.  i.  16;  ii.  10,  15;  Titus  iii.  1).  The  term 
belongs  to  the  Jewish  classification  of  angels,  and 
here  refers  rather  to  their  power  over  things  earthly 
tluin  to  the  beginning  of  their  state.  The  two  meanings 
are  but  two  views  of  the  same  fact :  their  power  or 
diffnity  teas  their  first  estate.  Some  explain  the  word 
of  the  power  of  God  over  the  angels ;  but  both  wording 
and  context  are  against  this. 

Their  own  'ho.'bitQXion.— Their  proper  home.  By 
leaving  heaven  and  coming  down  to  earth,  they  lost 


their  power  over  the  earth.     (Comp.  Milton's  Paradise 
Lost,  Book  V.) 

He  hath  reserved.- Better,  Ke  hath  kept,  in 
ironical  contrast  to  "  which  kept  not  "  just  above  :  the 
same  Greek  word  is  used  in  both  cases.  This  ironical 
contrast  does  not  exist  in  the  parallel  passage,  2  Pet. 
ii.  4.  Would  a  writer,  quite  willing  to  copy,  have  failed 
to  copy  this  ?  On  the  other  hand,  what  more  natural 
than  that  St.  Jude  should  add  a  forcible  touch  ? 

In  everlasting  chains.— Speculations  as  to  how 
this  and  2  Pet.  ii.  4  are  to  be  reconciled  with  such 
texts  as  Luke  xxii.  31,  1  Pet.  v.  8,  which  speak  plainly 
of  the  freedom  and  activity  of  Satan,  and  Eph.  \\.  12, 
Rom.  viii.  38,  Col.  ii.  15,  which  imply  numerous  agents 
akin  to  him,  are  not  very  profitable.  The  reality  of 
powers  of  ev-il  may  be  inferred,  apart  from  Scripture, 
from  their  effects.  That  some  of  these  powers  are 
personal,  some  not,  some  free,  some  not,  and  that  all  are 
to  be  defeated  at  last,  seems  to  be*  implied  in  Scripture ; 
but  its  silence  is  a  rebuke  to  curious  sjjcculation. 
Enough  is  told  us  for  our  comfort,  warning,  and  assur- 
ance. It  consoles  us  to  know  that  much  of  the  evil  of 
which  we  are  conscious  in  ourselves  is  not  our  own, 
but  comes  from  %vithout.  It  puts  us  on  our  guard  to 
know  that  we  have  such  powers  arrayed  against  us.  It 
gives  us  confidence  to  know  that  we  have  abundant 
means  of  victory  even  over  them. 

Under  darkness.— The  Greek  word  occurs  only 
here,  verse  13,  2  Pet.  ii.  4, 17,  and  possibly  Heb.  xii.  18. 
A  separate  English  word,  such  as  "gloom,"  is  desirable 
for  these  passages. 

The  great  day. — So  called  Rev.  vi.  17  (comp. 
xvi.  14),  and  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament. 
Perhaps  it  comes  from  Joel  ii.  31 ;  Mai.  iv.  5.  St. 
John's  expression  is  the  "last  day"  (John  vi.  39.  40, 
44,  54;  xi.  24;  xii.  48;  and  nowhere  else).  "The  day 
of  judgment,"  "  that  day,"  and  "the  day  of  the  Lord," 
are  other  common  expressions. 

(7)  Even  as. — Or,  possibly,  hoiv,  like  "  how  that "  in 
verse  5,  depending  upon  "  put  you  in  remenibrance." 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha  are  typical  instances  of  di^nne 
vengeance  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testament  (Isa. 
xiii.  19;  Jer.  1.  40;  Rom.  ix.  29). 

And  the  cities  about  them. — ^Adma  and  Zeboim 
(Deut.  xxix.  23  :  Hos.  xi.  8). 

In  like  manner. — We  must  read,  in  like  manner 
to  these,  and  aiTange  the  sentence  thus :  Even  as 
Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  the  cities  about  them, 
giving  themselves  over  to  fornication  in  like  manner 
to  these.  Who  are  meant  by  "  these  "  ?  Not  the  un- 
godly men  of  verse  4,  which  would  anticipate  verse  8; 
nor  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  which 
would  bo  somewhat  clumsy  in  the  Greek ;  but  tho 
angels  of  verse  6.  The  reference  is  again  to  tho 
impurity  of  certain  angels  in  having  intercourse  with 
the  daughters  of  men,  of  which  there  is  so  much  in  the 
Book  of  Enoch.  This  sin  of  the  angels  was  strictly 
analogous  to  that  of  the  people  of  Sodom. 

Going  after  strange  flesh.— Strictly,  going  astray 
after  other  flesh — i.e.,  other  than  is  allowed;  leaving 
natural  for  unnatural  uses. 

Are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffering  the 
vengeance  of  eternal  fire. — It  would  be  possible 


510 


God^s  Judgments 

strange  1  flesh,  are  set  fortli  for  an 
example,  suffering  tlie  vengeance  of 
eternal  fire.  ^^'>  Likewise  also  these 
filthy  dreamers  defile  the  flesh,  despise 
dominion,  and  speak  evil  of  dignities. 
(9)  Yet  Michael  the  archangel,  when 
contending  with  the  devil  he  disputed 


J  UDJIj.  a  Warning  to  Sinners. 

about  the  body  of  Moses,  durst  not 
bring  against  him  a  railing  accusa- 
tion, but  said,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee." 
(^'^^  But  these  speak  evil  of  those  things 
which  they  know  not :  but  what  they 
know  naturally,  as  brute  beasts,  in 
those  things  they  corrupt   themselves. 


to  take  "  of  eternal  fire  "  after  "  example,"  thus :  are 
set  forth  as  an  example  of  eternal  fire  in  under- 
going punishment.  (Comp.  Wisd.  x.  7.)  The  pxmish- 
ment  of  the  submerged  cities  is  perpetual ;  moreover, 
there  are  appearances  as  of  volcanic  fire  under  them.  The 
Greek  for  "  undergoing  "  occurs  here  only  in  the  New 
Testament ;  but  comp.  2  Mace.  iv.  48. 

(8—10)  Application  of  these  three  instances  to  the 
libertines  who  are  now  provoking  God. 

(8)  Likewise  also. — Rather.  Yet  in  liJce  manner:  i.e., 
in  spite  of  tliose  warnings.  These  ungodly  men  were 
like  the  unbelievers  in  the  wilderness  in  denying  Christ 
and  scoffing  at  His  promises ;  they  were  like  the  impure 
angels  in  leaving  that  "constitution  which  is  in  heaven" 
(Phil.  iii.  20)  for  the  base  pleasures  of  earth  ;  they  were 
like  the  people  of  Sodom  in  seeking  even  these  base 
pleasures  by  unnatural  courses. 

These  filthy  dreamers.— We  must  add  also. 
"  Filthy "  is  not  in  the  original  Greek,  nor  in  any 
previous  English  version,  but  is  supplied  from  the 
next  clause  ;  not  rightly,  for  "  dreamers  "  goes  with  all 
three  clauses,  not  with  "  defile  the  flesh  "  only.  This 
being  admitted,  a  number  of  painful  interpretations 
are  at  once  excluded.  "  These  dreamers  also  "  means 
these  ungodly  men,  who  are  deep  in  the  slumber  of  sin 
(see  Note  on  Rom.  xiii.  11),  as  well  as  the  three  classes  of 
sinners  just  mentioned.  Excepting  in  Acts  ii.  17,  which 
is  a  quotation  from  Joel  ii.  28.  the  word  for  "  dreamer" 
occurs  nowhere  else  in  the  New  Testament,  but  is  found 
in  the  LXX.  version  of  Isa.  Ivi.  10,  of  dogs  that  dream 
and  make  a  noise  in  their  sleep.  St.  Jude  perhaps  has 
this  passage  in  his  mind.  (See  below,  second  Note  on 
verse  12.)  "  Dreamers  "  may  perhaps  refer  to  the  empty 
speculations  of  these  men. 

Defile  the  flesh. — Like  the  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  of  the  plain.  Some  of  the  earliest  forms  of 
Gnosticism,  on  its  antinomian  as  distinct  from  its 
ascetic  side,  exhibit  the  licentiousness  inveighed  against 
here ;  e.g.,  the  Simonians,  Nicolaitanes,  Cainites,  Car- 
pocratians. 

Despise  dominion.— Like  the  impure  angels. 
Insert  "  and  "  before  "  despise."  The  "  dominion,"  or 
lordship,  is  that  of  Almighty  God.  Set  aside,  or 
reject  (Mark  \\\.  9;  Luke  vii.  30;  John  xii.  48), 
would  be  better  than  "despise,"  to  mark  the  difference 
betwoon  this  and  2  Pet.  ii.  10. 

Speak  evil  oi  dignities. — Like  the  murmurers  in 
the  wilderness.  By  "  dignities,"  or  glories,  are  meant 
unseen  powers  worthy  of  reverence.  The  Greek  word 
is  rare  in  the  New  Testament ;  oidy  here,  2  Pet.  ii.  10, 
and  1  Pet.  i.  11.  Earthly  dignities,  whether  ecclesias- 
tical or  civil,  are  not  included.  (Comp.  the  doctrine  of 
Meiiander,  Irena'us.  I.  xxiii.  5.) 

*^'  Yet  Michael  the  archangel.— These  libertines 
allow  themselves  to  u.se  language  against  celestial 
beings  which  even  an  archangel  did  not  venture  to 
nse  against  Satan.  In  the  Old  Testament  Michael 
appears  as  the  guardian  augel  of  the  iK-oplc  of  Israel. 


Dan.  x.  21 ;  xii.  1 ;  in  the  New  Testament  he  is  mentioned 
only  here  and  in  Rev.  xii.  7.  In  the  Book  of  Enoch  his 
meekness  is  spoken  of  ;  he  is  "the  merciful,  the  patient, 
the  holy  Michael,"  xl.  8. 

He  disputed  about  the  body  of  Moses.— To 
be  understood  quite  literally:  to  make  "the  body  of 
Moses  "  into  a  metaphor  for  the  people  of  Israel,  or  the 
Mosaic  law,  is  most  unnatural.  This  passage  is  the 
only  evidence  extant  of  any  such  incident  or  tradition. 
The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  Targum  of  Jonathan 
on  Deut.  xxxiv.  6,  which  says  that  Micluiel  was  the 
appointed  guardian  of  Moses'  grave.  According  to 
Origen  (De  Princip.  III.  ii.  1)  the  source  of  it  is  a  book 
called  the  Ascension,  or  Assumjition  of  Moses.  'Evi- 
dently  it  is  something  supposed  to  be  well  known  to 
those  whom  St.  Jude  is  addressing,  and  it  appears  to  be 
given  as  a  fact  which  he  believes,  though  we  cannot  be 
sure  of  this.  In  any  case  it  does  not  follow  that  we 
are  to  believe  in  it  as  an  historical  fact.  Reverent,  and 
therefore  cautious,  theories  of  inspiration  need  not  ex- 
clude the  possibility  of  an  unliistorical  incident  being 
cited  as  an  illustration  or  a  warning.  St.  Paul  makes 
use  of  the  Jewish  legend  of  the  rock  following  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  as  an  illustration  (1  Cor. 
X.  4).  The  strange  question,  "  What  did  the  devil  want 
with  the  body  of  Moses  ?  "  has  been  asked,  and  an.swered 
in  more  ways  than  one: — (1)  to  make  it  an  object  of 
idolatry,  as  the  Israelites  would  be  very  likely  to  worship 
it;  (2)  to  keep  it  as  his  own,  as  that  of  a  murderer,  be- 
cause Moses  killed  the  Egyptian  (Ex.  ii.  12). 

Durst  not  .  .  . — Out  of  respect  to  Satan's  original 
angelic  nature.     (Comp.  1  Cor.  vi.  1.) 

A  railing  accusation.- More  literally,  a  sentence 
savouring  of  evil-speaking.  Wiclif.  "doom";  Tjnidale 
and  Cranmer,  "  sentence  " ;  Rlieims,  "  judgment." 
Michael  brought  no  sentence  against  the  devil,  but  left 
all  judgment  to  God. 

The  Lord  rebuke  thee.— The  same  rebuke  is 
administered  to  Satan  by  the  angel  of  Jehovah,  when 
Satan  appears  as  the  adversary  of  Joshua  the  high 
priest,  the  restorer  of  the  temple  and  of  the  daily  sacri- 
fice, and  one  of  the  Old  Testament  tyi>es  of  Christ 
(Zech.  iii,  2).  It  is  probable  that  the  tradition  here 
given  by  St.  Jude  is  derived  from  this  passage  in 
Zechariah,  or  from  a  source  common  to  both.  We  have 
another  reminiscence  of  Zech.  iii.  2  ui  verse  23. 

d'^)  But  these  .  .  .  —In  strong  contrast  to  the  scru- 
pulous reverence  of  the  archangel.  "  Fools  rush  iu 
where  angels  fear  to  tread." 

Those  things  which  they  know  not.  — Tlie 
"dignities"  of  verse  8.  This  shows  that  unseen  spiri- 
tual powers  are  there  meant  :  these  men  would  know 
earthly  rulers.  It  is  on  the  unseen  that  they  show 
tlieir  irreverence. 

What  they  know  naturally.— The  means  of 
gratifying  their  desires.  Tlie  two  halves  of  the  verse 
are  in  emphatic  contrast.  What  they  do  not  know,  and 
cannot  know,  they  abuse  by  gnxss  irreverence  :  what 
they  know,  and  cannot  help  knowing,  they  abuse  Iiy 
gross  licentiousness.    If  this  Epi^tle  is  prior  to  2  Peter 


oil 


The  Sins  of  Cain, 


JUDE. 


Balcuim,  and  Korah. 


<")  Woe  uato  tliem  !  for  they  have  gone 
_  ill  the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran 

Th""Bins~'of  greedily  after  the  error  of 
Cain,  Balaam,  Balaam  for  reward,  and 
and  Korah.        perished  in  the  gainsaying 


of  Core.  (^-^  These  are  spots  in  your  feasts 
of  charity,  when  they  feast  with  you, 
feeding  themselves  without  fear  :  clouds 
they  are  Avithout  water,  carried  about 
of  winds ;  trees  whose  fruit  withereth, 


it  is  strange  tliat  tho  author  of  tho  latter  sliould  liavo 
neglected  so  telling  an  antithesis,  and  sliould  (from  a 
literary  point  of  view)  have  so  spoiled  the  passage  by 
his  mode  of  adaptation  (chap.  ii.  12).  If  2  Peter  is 
prior  tiiere  is  nothing  strange  in  St.  Judo  improving 
wpon  the  mode  of  expression.  The  word  for  "  know  " 
is  not  tho  same  in  both  clauses.  Tho  word  used  in 
"which  they  know  not"  is  tho  most  general  and 
common  word  of  the  kind  in  Greek,  expressing  mere 
perception,  and  occurring  about  three  hundred  times  in 
the  New  Testament;  that  used  in  "what  they  know 
naturally"  is  more  definite,  and  expresses  practical 
experience  productive  of  skill  and  science  ;  it  occurs 
fourteen  times  in  the  New  Testament,  mostly  in  tho 
Acts.     (Comp,  "Paul  I  know,"  Acts  xix.  15.) 

They  corrupt  themselves.— Or,  perhajis,  they 
work  their  own  ruin.      Note  the  tense ;  not  future,  but 

ijresent.  The  corruption,  or  ruin,  is  not  a  judgment 
langiug  over  them ;  it  is  already  going  on. 

(11)  Three  examples  of  similar  wickedness :  Cain, 
Balaam,  Korah. 

■Woe  unto  them !— An  echo  of  Christ's  denuncia- 
tions in  tlie  first  three  Gospels,  whereby  the  description 
of  these  evil-doers  takes  for  the  moment  a  denunciatory 
form.  The  past  tenses  immediately  following  aro 
owing  to  tlie  writer's  placing  himself  in  thought  at  tho 
moment  when  these  men  reap  the  consequences  of  their 
sins:  their  punishment  is  so  certain,  that  he  regards  it 
as  having  come. 

In  the  way  of  Cain. — Tho  first  great  criminal ; 
the  first  to  outrage  the  laws  of  nature.  Explanations 
to  tlie  effect  tliat  these  libertines  followed  Cain  by 
murdering  men's  souls  by  their  corrupt  doctrine,  or  by 
persecuting  believers,  and  otlier  suggestions  still  more 
curious,  are  needlessly  far-fetched.  John  viii.  44,  and 
1  John  iii.  15,  are  not  strictly  apposite :  these  ungodly 
men  may  have  hated  and  persecuted  the  righteous,  but 
St.  Jude  docs  not  tell  us  so.  Sensuality  is  always 
selfish,  but  by  no  means  always  ill-natured  or  malig- 
nant. 

Ran  greedily  after  the  error  of  Balaam  for 
reward.— The  Greek  for  "ran  greedily"  literally 
means  "  they  were  poured  out  in  streams ;  "  the  Greek 
for  "  error  "  may  also  mean  "  deception."  Hence  three 
renderings  are  possible:  (1)  as  the  Authorised  version; 
(2)  "  they  ran  greedily  after  tho  deception  of  Balaam's 
reward ; "  (3)  "  they  were  undone  by  the  deception  of 
Balaam's  reward."  The  first  is  best.  "  Reward  "  in 
tho  Greek  is  the  genitive  of  irrice.  Comp.  "the 
rcwcirds  of  divination "  (Num.  xxii.  7) ;  "  they  hired 
against  thee  Balaam"  (Dent,  xxiii.  4;  Neli.  xiii.  2). 
Here,  again,  far-fetched  explanations  may  be  avoided. 
The  aliusi(m  lies  on  the  surface — running  counter  to 
God's  will  from  interested  motives.  Possibly,  there 
may  also  bo  some  allusion  to  Balaam's  causing  tho 
Isi'aelites  to  be  seduced  into  licentiousness  (Rev.  ii.  11). 

Perished  in  the  gainsaying  of  Core— ?.e., 
through  gainsaying  like  that  of  Korah;  referring  to  his 
speahing  aqaim^t  Moses  in  the  revolutionary  opposition 
which  he  headed.  These  libertines,  like  Korah  j  treated 
sacred  ordinances  mlh  contempt. 


612 


The  triplet  in  this  verse,  like  that  in  ver.se  8,  is 
parallel  to  the  three  examples  of  God's  vengeance, 
verses  5 — 7.  Cain,  like  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrha,  outraged  the  laws  of  nature ;  Balaam,  like 
the  impure  angels,  despised  the  sovereignty  of  God ; 
Korah,  like  those  who  disbelieved  the  report  of  the 
spies,  spoke  evil  of  dignities. 

(12—19)  Three-fold  description  of  the  ungodly,  cor- 
responding to  the  three  examples  just  given.  The 
divisions  are  clearly  marked,  each  section  beginning 
with  "  These  are  "(verses  12,  16,  19). 

(12—15)  Description  corresponding  to  Cain. 

(12)  These  are  spots  in  your  feasts  of  charity, 
when  they  feast  with  you. — Rather,  These  are  the 
rocks  in  your  feasts  of  charity,  banqueting  with  you 
fearlessly  (see  next  Note) ;  or.  These  are  they  who  ban- 
quet together  fearlessly,  rocks  in  your  feasts  of  charity. 
The  former  is  preferable.  But  in  any  case  we  must 
probably  read  rocks — i.e.,  that  on  which  those  who 
meet  them  at  your  love-feasts  will  be  wrecked  (see  Notes 
on  1  Cor.  xi.  20 — 22) — not  "  spots,"  which  is  borrowed 
from  2  Pet.  ii.  13.  But  it  is  just  possible  that  as 
spiloi,  St.  Peter's  word,  may  mean  either  "spots"  or 
"rocks"  (though  most  commonly  the  former),  so  St. 
Jude's  word  (spilades)  may  mean  either  "  spots "  or 
"rocks"  (though  almost  invarialily  the  latter).  In  an 
Orphic  poem  of  the  fourth  century,  S2yilades  means 
"  spots  "  ;  but  this  is  rather  late  authority  for  its  use  in 
the  first  century.  Here  "  rocks  "  is  the  safer  transla- 
tion. St.  Peter  is  dwelling  on  the  sensuality  of  these 
sinners,  and  for  him  "  spots "  is  the  more  obvious 
metaphor.  St.  Jude,  in  tracing  an  analogy  between 
them  and  Cain,  would  be  more  likely  to  select  "  rocks." 
These  libertines,  like  Cain,  turned  the  ordinances  of 
religion  into  selfishness  and  sin :  both,  like  sunken 
I'ocks,  destroyed  those  who  unsuspectingly  approached 
them.  On  the  difference  of  reading  respecting  the 
word  for  "  feasts  of  charity,"  or  "  love-feasts,"  see  Note 
on  2  Pet.  ii.  13.  Possibly  the  name  Agapce  for  such 
feasts  comes  from  this  passage.  Had  it  been  common 
when  St.  Paul  wrote  1  Cor.  xi.,  he  would  probably  have 
made  a  point  of  it ;  love-feasts  in  which  there  was  no 
love.     (Comp.  1  Pet.  v.  14.) 

Feeding  themselves  without  fear.— "  Without 
fear  "goes  better  with  "feasting  with  you";  but  tho 
Greek  admits  of  either  construction.  "  Feeding  them- 
selves "  instead  of  the  poorer  members  of  the  flock; 
whereas  feeding  the  poor  was  one  great  object  of  tho 
love-feasts.  Others  explain,  "  feeding  themselves  " 
(literally,  j)asturing  themselves)  instead  of  waiting  to 
1)0  tended  by  the  sjiepherds.  The  former  is  better,  the 
scandal  being  similar  to  that  described  in  1  Cor.  xi.  21. 
(Comp.  Isa.  Ivi.  11.  wliich  St.  Jude  mav  possibly  liave 
had  in  his  mind  ;  and  see  above,  second  Note  on  verse  8.) 

Clouds  without  water.— Comp.  Prov.  xxv.  14. 
The  meaning  is  not  thai  tliese  men  bring  much  food  to 
the  love-feasts  and  give  nothing  away:  there  is  no 
longer  any  allusion  to  the  love-feasts.  Rather,  these 
men  are  ostentatious  generally,  and  yet  do  no  good: 
inflated  and  empty.     (See  on  2  Pet.  ii.  17.) 


EiiocJis  Prophecy 


JUDE. 


of  the  Lord's  Judgment. 


without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up 
by  the  roots ;  (^^^  raging  waves  of  the 
sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame ; 
wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved 
the  bhickness  of  darkness  for  ever. 
(1^)  And  Enoch  also,  the  seventh  from 
Adam,  prophesied  of  these,  saying. 
Behold,  the  Lord  cometh  with  ten 
thousands  of  his  saints,  <^^^>  to  execute 
judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince  all 


that  are  ungodly  among  them  of  all 
their  ungodly  deeds  which  they  have 
ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their 
hard  speecJies  which  ungodly  sinners 
have  spoken  against  him.  (^^)  These 
are  nmrmurers,  complainers,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts ;  and  their  mouth 
speaketh  great  swelling  words,  having 
men's  persons  in  admiration  because  of 
advantage.     ^^'^  But,  beloved,  remember 


Carried,  about  of  winds.— Moi-o  literally,  borne 
past  (without  giving  any  rain)  by  loinds ;  or,  perhaps, 
driven  out  of  their  course  (and  so  showing  their  flimsi- 
ness)  by  ivinds. 

Trees  whose  fruit  withereth,  without  fruit. 
— There  is  uo  such  strange  contradiction  in  the  Greek, 
nor  in  any  of  tJie  earlier  English  versions.  The  mean- 
ing rather  is,  autumn  trees  (which  ouglit  to  be  full  of 
fruit,  and  yet  are)  without  fruit ;  in  allusion,  probably, 
to  the  barren  fig-ti-ee.  Others,  less  simply,  explain 
"  trees  in  late  autumn  " — i.e.,  stripped  and  bare.  But 
for  this  wo  should  expect  "  winter  trees  "  rather  than 
"  autumn  trees." 

Twice  dead.— Utterly  dead,  and  hence  "  plucked 
up  by  the  roots."  Spiritually  these  men  were  "  twice 
dead  "  in  ha^^ug  returned,  after  baptism,  to  the  death 
of  sin.  The  writer  piles  up  metaphor  on  metaphor  and 
epithet  on  epithet  in  the  effort  to  express  his  indig- 
nation and  abhorrence.  The  epithets  here  are  in  logical 
order :  in  autumn,  fruitless,  dead,  rooted  up. 

(1'^)  Foaming  out  their  own  shame.— More 
literally,  shames;  their  shameful  acts.  Isa.  Ivii.  20  is 
probably  in  St.  Jude's  mind  :  "  The  wicked  are  like  the 
troubled  sea,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt." 

Wandering  stars.— Nothing  is  gained  by  under- 
standing comets,  which  have  their  orbits,  and  do  not 
wander,  in  St.  Jude's  sense,  any  more  than  planets  do. 
Tlie  image  is  that  of  stars  leaving  their  place  in  tlie 
heavens,  where  they  are  beautiful  and  useful,  and 
wandering  away  (to  the  utter  confusion  of  eveiy  one 
who  directs  his  course  by  tliem)  into  sunless  gloom, 
where  their  light  is  extinguished,  and  whence  tliey 
cannot  return.  This  simile  suits  the  "  false  teachers  " 
of  2  Peter  better  tlian  the  "  ungodly  "  of  Jude.  "Would 
the  writer  of  2  Peter  liave  neglected  to  avail  himself 
of  it? 

(10  And  Enoch  also. — On  the  Booh  of  Enoch, 
and  this  famous  quotation  from  it,  see  Excursus  at 
tlie  end  of  the  Epistle.  The  following  passage  from 
Irenacus  (IV.  xvi.  2)  shows  that  he  was  acquainted  witli 
tlie  book,  and  tjirows  light  on  St.  Jude's  use  of  it : — 
"  Enoch  also,  pleasing  God  without  circumcision,  was 
God's  ambas.sador  to  the  angels,  although  he  was  a 
man,  and  was  raised  to  heaven,  and  is  preserved  even 
until  now  as  a  Avitness  of  the  just  judgment  of  God. 
For  the  angels  by  transgression  fell  to  earth  for  judg- 
ment, while  a  man,  l)y  pleasing  God.  was  raised  to 
heaven  for  salvation."  The  mission  of  Enoch  to  tlie 
fallen  angels  is  narrated  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  xii. — 
xvi. 

The  seventh  from  Adam. — Tliis  is  not  inserted 
without  special  meaning.  It  was  scarcely  needed  to 
distinguish  tlie  son  of  Jared  from  the  son  of  Cain ;  in 
tliat  case  it  would  liave  been  more  simple  to  say,  "  the 
son  of  Jared."  It  eitlier  points  to  the  extreme  antiquity 
of  the  prophecy,  or  else  to  tlie  mystical  and  sabbatical 

89  613 


number  seven.  Enoch  (see  preceding  Note)  was  a  type 
of  perfected  humanity,  and  hence  the  notion  of  "  divine 
completion  and  rest "  is  perhaps  suggested  here.  Thus, 
Augustine,  in  his  reply  to  Faustus  tlie  Manichajan 
(XII.  xiv.) : — "  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  pleased 
God  and  was  translated,  as  there  is  to  be  a  seventh  day 
of  rest,  in  which  all  will  be  translated  who  during  the 
sixth  day  of  the  world's  liistory  are  created  anew  by 
the  incarnate  Word."  Several  of  the  numbers  con- 
nected with  Enoch  in  Genesis  seem  to  be  symmetrical, 
and  intended  to  convey  a  meaning. 

With  ten  thousands  of  his  saints.— Or,  among 
His  holy  myriads — i.e.,  encii'cled  by  them.  (Comp. 
Deut.  xxxiii.  2 ;  Heb.  xii.  22.) 

(15)  To  execute  judgment.— The  Gi-eek  phrase 
occurs  only  here  and  John  v.  27. 

To  convince. — Better,  to  convict.  (Comp.  John 
viii.  46,  and  see  Notes  on  John  xvi.  8,  and  on  1  Cor. 
xiv.  24.)  The  words  "among  them"  must  be  omitted, 
as  wanting  in  authority. 

Hard  speeches.— Comp.  John  vi.  60,  the  only 
other  place  where  this  epithet  is  applied  to  words. 
Tlie  meaning  is  somewhat  similar  in  each  case  :  harsh, 
repulsive,  inhuman.  It  does  not  mean  "  hard  to  under- 
stand." Nabal  (I  Sara.  xxv.  3)  has  this  epithet  with  the 
LXX.,  where  the  Authorised  version  has  "  churlish." 
In  the  Ethiopic  version  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  there 
appears  to  be  nothing  to  represent  "  hard  speeches  .  .  . 
spoken  "  in  this  passage. 

(16—18)  Description  corresponding  to  Balaam. 

(16)  Complainers.  —  Literally,  discontented  with 
their  lot.  Men  who  "  shape  their  course  according  to 
their  own  lusts"  can  never  be  content,  for  (I)  the 
means  of  gi*atifying  them  are  not  always  present,  and 
(2)  the  lusts  are  insatiable.  Such  was  eminently  the 
case  with  Balaam,  in  his  cupidity  and  his  chafing 
against  the  restraints  which  ])revented  him  from  grati- 
tifying  it.  There  is  a  possible  reference  to  this  verse 
in  the  Shejjhcrd  of  Hennas  [Sim.  IX.  xix.  3). 

Great  swelling  words.— See  Note  on  2  Pet.  ii.  18. 

Having  men's  persons  in  admiration.— More 
simply,  admiring  persons  (so  the  Rlieniish  version) — • 
i.e.,  having  regard  to  people  of  distinction,  as  Balaam 
to  Balak.  These  ungodly  men  were  courtiers,  flatterers, 
and  parasites. 

Because  of  advantage.— For  the  sake  of  advan. 
tayc — I.e.,  to  gain  something  by  it :  like  "  for  reward" 
(verso  11).  Exactly  Balaam  s  case.  Note  that  each  lialf 
of  tlie  verse  falls  into  an  irregular  triplet. 

(i~)  But,  beloved.— Better,  as  in  verse  20,  But  ye, 
beloved.  "Ye"  is  emphatic  in  both  cases :  "  ve,"  in 
contrast  to  these  impious  men.  All  previous  English 
versions  insert  tlie  "ye."  While  taking  the  form  of 
an    exhortation,   the    passage   still    remains  virtually 


The  Apostle  reminds  them 


JUDE. 


of  his  previous  Wami7igs. 


ye  tlie  words  wliicli  ■were  spoken  before 
of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
(i^>  how  that  they  told  you  there  should 
be  mockers  in  the  last  time,  who  should 
walk   after    their    own   ungodly   lusts. 


<^°>  These  be  they  who  separate  them- 
selves, sensual,  having  not  the  Spirit. 
<2^'  But  ye,  beloved,  build-  y^^^^^  20-23. 
ing  up  yourselves  on  your  Final  exhorta- 
most    holy   faith,    praying  tions. 


descriptive.  "  Be  not  ye  deceived  by  their  impudent 
boasting  and  interested  i)andering'.  for  these  are  tlie 
scoffing  sensualists  against  whom  the  Apostles  warned 
you." 

Spoken  before  of  the  apostles.— The  old  use  of 
"of"  for  "by,"  like  "carried  about  of  winds"  (verse 
12).  (Comp.  2  Pet.  ii.  19.)  St.  Jude  implies  that  this 
waniing  of  the  Apostles  is  well  known  to  those  whom 
he  addresses.  This  appeal  to  the  authority  of  Apostles 
would  be  more  naturally  made  by  one  who  was  not  an 
Ajiostle,  but  cannot  be  regarded  as  decisive.  See 
Intruduction,  I.,  and  Note  on  2  Pet.  iii.  2,  to  which, 
however,  this  is  not  quite  parallel,  for  the  ^vi-iter  there 
has  already  declared  himself  to  be  an  Apostle  (2  Pet. 
i.  1).  There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  author  of  our 
Epistle  regards  the  Apostles  as  considerably  removed 
in  time  from  himself.  "  In  the  last  time  "  is  their 
expression,  not  his ;  and  by  it  they  did  not  mean  any 
age  remote  from  themselves.  (Comp.  1  John  ii.  18; 
2  Tim.  iii.  1,  2,  6 ;  Heb.  i.  2 ;  1  Pet.  i.  20.) 

(18)  How  that  they  told  you.— Or,  perhaps,  xised 
to  tell  you  :  but  we  cannot  infer  from  this  that  oral 
teaching  exc'usively  is  meant.  This,  again,  leaves  the 
question  of  the  writer's  position  open.  Had  St.  Jude 
written  "  how  that  they  told  us,"  it  would  have  been 
decisive  against  his  being  an  Apostle. 

There  should  be  mockers.— Better,  that  there 
shall  be  scoffers.  The  quotation  is  direct,  and  is  intro- 
duced formally  by  a  word  which  in  Greek  commonly 
precedes  a  direct  quotation.  This,  however,  scarcely 
amounts  to  proof  that  the  quotation  is  from  a  written 
document.  The  word  for  "  mockers  "  here  is  the  same 
as  that  translated  "  scofEei's "  in  2  Pet.  iii.  3.  The 
transhition  should  be  the  same  in  both  passages. 

In  the  last  time.— These  words  had  better  come 
first  :  that  in  the  last  time  there  shall  he  scoffers. 

Who  should  walk  after  their  own  ungodly 
lusts. — Better,  walking  according  to  their  oivn  lusts  of 
impieties.  The  force  of  the  genitive  may  be  merely 
adjectival,  as  the  Authorised  version  renders  it :  but  as 
it  may  indicate  the  things  lusted  for,  it  is  better  to 
keep  a  literal  rendering  of  it. 

(19)  Description  corresponding  to  Korah. 

(19)  These  be  they.— Better,  These  are  they— tor 
the  sake  of  making  the  openings  of  verses  12,  16,  and 
19  exactly  alike,  as  they  are  in  tlie  Greek. 

"Who  separate  themselves.— "Themselves" must 
be  omitted,  the  evidence  against  it  being  overwhelming. 
"  Wlio  separate : "  who  are  creating  a  schism,  like  Korah 
and  his  company;  claiming  to  be  the  chief  and  most 
enlightened  menil)ers  in  the  comnnmity  to  which  they 
still  profess  to  lielong,  though  they  turn  upside  down 
its  fundamental  principles.  The  context  rather  leads 
us  to  suppose  that  these  libertines  claimed  to  be  the 
only  "  spiritual "  Christians,  inasmuch  as  they  siiid 
that  to  their  exalted  .spiritual  natures  the  things  of 
sense  were  purely  indifferent,  and  might  be  indulged  in 
without  loss  or  risk ;  while  they  taunted  other  Chris- 
tians, who  regidated  their  conduct  carefully  with  regard 
to  such  things,  with  being  psychic  or  "  sensuous." 
Note  the  three-fold  di\isiou  of  the  verse. 


514 


Sensual. — The  Greek  word  is  psychic,  and  has 
no  English  equivalent ;  "  sensuous  "  would  perhaps  be 
best.  The  LXX.  do  not  use  it,  but  it  occurs  six  times 
in  the  New  Testament.  Four  times  (1  Cor.  ii.  14; 
XV.  44,  46)  it  is  translated  "  natural "  (see  Note  on 
1  Coi-.  ii.  14) ;  once  ( Jas.  iii.  15),  "  sensual,"  with 
"  natural  "  in  the  margin  ;  and  here  simply  "  sensual." 
In  1  Cor.  XV.  44,  46,  the  moral  meaning  is  in  the  back- 
ground ;  in  the  other  three  passages  the  moral  meaning 
is  prominent  and  is  distinctly  bad.  Psychic  is  the 
middle  term  of  a  triplet  of  terms,  "  carnal,  psrjchic, 
spiritual."  "  Carnal  "  and  "  spiritual "  speak  for  them- 
selves— the  one  bad,  the  other  good.  Psychic,  which 
comes  between,  is  much  closer  to  "  carnal,"  and  with 
it  is  opposed  to  "  si^iritual."  This  is  more  clearly  seen 
in  the  Latin  equivalents — carnalis,  animulis,  sinritalis. 
The  carnal  man  is  rided  by  his  passions,  and  rises  little 
above  the  level  of  the  brutes.  The  psychic  man  is 
ruled  by  human  reasoning,  and  human  affections,  and 
does  not  rise  above  the  world  of  sense.  The  spiritual 
man  is  ruled  by  his  spirit— the  noblest  part  of  his 
nature — and  this  is  ruled  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He 
rises  to  and  lives  among  those  things  which  can  only  be 
"  spiritually  discerned."  Our  Christian  psychology  is 
seriously  affected  by  the  absence  of  any  English  word 
iov psychic — the  part  of  man's  nature  which  it  repre- 
sents is  often  lost  sight  of. 

Having  not  the  Spirit. — Or,  perhaps,  hecause 
they  have  no  sjiirit.  The  Holy  Spirit  may  be  meant, 
although  the  Greek  word  has  no  article ;  but  more 
probably  spiritual  power  and  insight  is  what  is  meant. 
These  men  had  allowed  the  spiritual  part  of  their 
natm-e,  of  which  they  talked  so  much,  to  become  so 
buried  in  the  mire  of  sensual  indulgence  and  human 
self-.suf5ciency,  that  it  was  utterly  inoperative  and 
jiractically  non-existent.  The  form  of  negative  used 
in  the  Greek  seems  to  imply  tliat  their  "  ha^^ng  no 
spirit "  is  the  reason  why  they  are  justly  called 
"  sensuous." 

Each  of  these  three  descriptions  (verses  12 — 15, 16 — ■ 
18.  and  19)  is  shorter  than  the  preceding  one.  The 
wi'iter  hurries  through  an  unpalatable  subject  to  the 
more  pleasing  duty  of  exhorting  those  faithful  Chris- 
tians for  whose  sake  he  is  writing. 

(20,  21)  Exhortation  to  strengthen  themselves  in  the 
faith  by  pi'ayer,  godliness,  and  hope. 

(20)  But  ye,  beloved.— Exactly  as  in  verse  17: 
"ye"  in  emphatic  contrast  to  these  sensuous  and  un- 
spiritual  men. 

Building  up  yourselves.  —  Making  yourselves 
firm  on  the  sure  foundation  of  faith,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  those  "  who  sepai-ate,"  and  fancy  themselves 
firm  in  their  impious  conceits.  The  notion  is  not  so 
nnich  that  of  increasing  and  completing  an  edifice  as  of 
strengthening  its  foundations.  Faith  and  its  object 
are  here  ahuost  identified.  To  have  faith  as  one's 
foundation  is  the  same  as  having  Clu-ist  as  one's 
foundation.  "  Your  faith,"  that  which  has  been  "  once 
for  all  delivered  "  to  you  (verse  4).  "  Most  holy  faith," 
as  opposed  to  the  most  unholy  quicksands  of  the 
doctrines  condemned  in  this  Epistle. 


How  they  are 


JUDE. 


to  treat  Sinners. 


in  the  Holy  Gliost,  ^-^^  keep  yourselves  in 
the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the  mercy 
of  our  Loi'd  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal 
life.  <-^^  And  of  some  have  compassion, 
making  a  difference:  (^^^and  others  save 
■with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the  fire ; 
hating    even   the   garment    spotted  by 


the  flesh,  f-^)  Now  unto  him  that  is  able 
to  keep  you  from  fVilling,  verses  24,  25. 
and  to  present  yo((  faultless  Doxology. 
before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  ex- 
ceeding joy,  <-^>  to  the  only  wise  God  our 
Saviour,  be  glory  and  majesty,  dominion 
and  power,  both  now  and  ever.     Amen. 


Praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost.— Only  in  ihis  way 
can  Christians  make  firm  tlicir  fonudatiou.  The  Greek 
admits  of  '"  iu  tlie  Holy  Gliost "  being  taken  with  the 
pi'evaous  clause ;  but  our  vei'siou  is  better.  The  ex- 
pression ''praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost"  is  not  found 
elsewhere.  It  means  that  we  pray  in  His  strength  and 
wisdom  :  He  moves  our  hearts  and  dii'ects  our  petitions. 
(See  Notes  on  Rom.  viii.  26.) 

(-'1)  Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God. — 
Not  our  love  of  God,  but  His  love  of  us.  Consequently 
it  is  not  the  case  that  the  three  great  Christian  virtues 
— Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity — are  inculcated  here, 
although  at  first  sight  we  are  tempted  to  think  so. 
God's  love  is  the  region  in  which  those  who  are  built 
Tip  on  faith,  and  supported  by  prayer,  may  continually 
dwell. 

The  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. — The 
mercy  which  He  will  show  as  Judge  at  the  Last  Day. 
By  prayer  in  the  Spirit  we  are  kept  in  the  love  of  the 
Father  for  the  mercy  of  the  Son. 

Unto  eternal  life. — These  words  may  be  taken 
either  with  "  keei)  yourselves,"  or  with  "looking,"  or 
with  "  mercy  "  :  best  with  "  keep  yourselves." 

(22,  23)  Exhortation  to  treat  these  libertines  with  dis- 
crimination, making  three  classes. 

(--*  And  of  some  have  compassion,  making 
a  difference. — The  evidence  is  very  strong  iu  favour 
of  a  widely  different  reading  :  And  some  indeed  convict 
(verso  15)  ivhen  they  are  in  doubt  (Matt.  xxi.  21 ; 
Acts  X.  20  ;  xi.  12 ;  Rom.  iv.  20 ;  xiv.  23 ;  Jas.  i.  6) ;  or, 
lohen  they  contend  with  you  (verse  9  ;  Acts  xi.  2) ;  or, 
when  they  separate  from  you.  The  first  seems  best, 
though  the  second  also  makes  excellent  sense,  and  has 
verse  9  in  its  favour.  This,  then,  is  the  first  and  least 
hopeless  class — those  who  are  still  in  doubt,  though 
inclined  the  wrong  way.  They  may  still  be  remon- 
strated with,  convicted  of  error,  and  reclaimed  (Matt, 
xviii.  15;  Titus  i.  13;  Jas.  v.  20).  Some  would  make 
this  first  class  the  worst  and  most  hopeless — those 
who  are  to  be  argued  down  in  disputation,  but  without 
much  chance  of  success.  Such  interpreters  make 
tlie  third  cla.ss  the  best :  tliose  who  can  probably  be 
saved  by  gentle  means.  The  Greek  here  is  so  am- 
biguous that  We  caniu)t  be  certain  of  the  meaning. 
But  the  addition  of  "in  fear"  and  "hating  even  the 
garment  spotted  by  the  flesh"  to  the  directions  re- 
specting tlie  tliird  class,  seems  to  indicate  that  that 
class  is  the  worst. 

'-5)  And  others  save  with  fear.—"  With  fear " 
must  certainly  bo  omitted,  as  no  part  of  the  true  text. 
"  Save  "  should  perhaps  be  try  to  save.  It  is  the  present 
imperative,  not  the  aorist. 

Pulling  them  out- of  the  fire. — Better,  snatching 
fht.m  out  of  the  fire.  We  have  here  auother  reminiscence 
of  ZoctL  iii.  1 — 3:  we  had  one  in  verse  9.  (Comp.  Amos 
iv.  11.)  Tlie  fire  of  the  judgment  to  come  is  probably 
not  meant ;  rather  the  imminent  danger  (as  of  one  who 
is  asleep  iu  a  burning  house)  iu  which  the  lire  of  their 


515 


sins  keeps  them.     This  is  the  second  class  :  those  who 
can  still  be  rescued,  but  by  strong  measures. 

After  the  words  "out  of  the  fire"  we  must  insert 
another  clause  omitted  from  the  inferior  Greek  texts 
used  by  our  translators :  "  and  on  others  have  com- 
passion in  fear."  Wiclif  and  the  Rhemish  version, 
following  the  Vulgate,  have  this  clause.  This  is  the 
third  and  worst  class :  those  on  whom  profound  pity 
is  all  that  we  dare  bestow,  and  that  in  fear  and 
trembling,  lest  by  contact  with  them  we  maybe  brought 
within  the  influence  of  the  deadly  contamination  that 
clings  to  all  their  surroundings.  Abhorrence  must  be 
shown  to  the  very  externals  of  poUutiim.  (Comp.  1  Cor. 
V.  11;  1  Tim.  V.  22;  Titus  iii.  10,  11;  1  John  v.  16; 
2  John,  verses  10,  11.) 

(24,  25)  Concluding  Doxology. 

(2^)  Now  unto  him  that  is  able.— Comp.  the 
conclusion  Eom.  xvi.  25.  It  would  1)e  rash  to  infer 
from  the  similarity  that  St.  Jude  must  have  known  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans ;  although  there  is  nothing  in- 
credible in  the  supposition  that  he  was  accpiainted  with 
it.  The  Epistle  had  been  in  circulation  probably  for 
some  ten  years  before  St.  Jude  wrote.  Doxologies  no 
doubt  became  elastic  formulas  almost  from  the  first. 

To  keep  you  from  falling. — Better,  to  keep  you 
unfallcn.  From  his  own  warnings,  denunciations,  and 
exhortations,  which  have  been  severe  and  sombre 
throughout,  St.  Jude  turns  in  joyous,  exulting  con- 
fidence to  Him  who  alone  can  make  them  effectual. 
"  Keep  you,"  or,  guard  you  :  not  the  more  general 
word  translated  "  preserved  "  in  verse  1,  but  another 
more  in  harmony  with  the  present  context,  as  indicating 
protection  against  the  great  perils  just  pointed  out.  A 
reading  of  much  authority  has  "  them ''  for  "you" — 
to  Tieep  them  vnfaUen.  If  it  be  correct,  it  may  be 
explained  as  being  in  thought,  though  not  in  form, 
addressed  to  God.  so  that  those  to  whom  he  is  writing 
are  spoken  of  in  the  third  person. 

Before  the  presence  of  his  glory.— The  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed  at  the  day  of  judgment.  The 
meaning  is,  "  Who  can  bring  it  to  pass  that  you  stand 
blameless  before  the  judgment-seat "  (Col.  i.  22 ;  1  Thess. 
iii.  13). 

(25)  To  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour. — The 
coupling  of  "  Saviour  "  with  "  God  "  is  common  in  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  (1  Tim.  i.  1  ;  ii.  3;  Titus  i.  3;  ii.  10; 
iii.  4).  "Wise"  must  be  omitted  as  wanting  in 
authority.  (See  Note  on  Rom.  xvl  27.)  Doxologies 
became  well-kno^\Ti  forms  with  many  variations: 
changes  to  something  more  familiar  to  the  wpyist 
might  easily  be  made  in  transcribing. 

After  "  Saviour  "  must  be  inserted,  on  the  highest 
MS.  authority,  "  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
Wiclif  and  the  Rhemish  have  the  missing  clause. 

Glory  and  majesty,  dominion  and  power. — 
Omit  the  first  "and."  *•  Glory  "  and  "  domiiiitm  "  are 
frequent  in  the  New  Testament  doxologies :  the  Greek 
words  represented  by  "majesty"  and  "power"  occur 


JUDE. 


licro  only.  After  "  power  "  we  imist  supply,  on  over- 
wlii'lniiuf,'  antliority,  "  Ix'fore  all  time."  Conseciuently 
"is"  may  he  sul)stitutecl  for  '"bo"  before  "glory;" 
but  no  verb  is  needed. 

Both  now  and  ever. — Better,  and  now  and  to 
all  the  ages  ;  so  that  the  whole  will  run  thus  :  To 
the  only  God  our  Saviotir,  throuyh  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  (/loi~y,  majesty,  dominion,  and  poiver, 
before  all  time,  and  now,  and  to  all  the  ages. 
Thus  we  have  a  most  comprehensive  phrase  for 
eternity  —  before   time,   time,   after   time  —  and  thus 


tlie  three-fold  arrangement  runs  tlirough  to  the  vei^ 
end. 

Amen. — Common  ending  of  a  doxology.  (Rom. 
i.  25;  1  Pet.  iv.  11;  2  Pet.  iii.  18.)  These  ungodly 
men  may  "  despise  dominion,  and  speak  evil  of  dignities," 
may  utter  "  great  swelling  words  "  about  their  owu 
knowledge  and  liberty,  and  scoff  at  those  who  walk  not 
with  them ;  but  still,  ages  before  they  were  born,  and 
ages  after  they  have  ceased  to  be,  glory,  majesty,  domi- 
nion, and  power  belong  to  Him  who  saves  us,  and  would 
save  even  them,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 


EXCURSUS    Olf   NOTES   TO    JUDE. 


ON    THE    BOOK    OF    ENOCH. 


The  precise  place  In  history  to  which  this  intensely 
interesting  relic  belongs  is  a  riddle  of  which  the  answer 
is  as  yet  only  very  partially  known.  But  the  results 
of  investigations  during  the  present  century  have  shown 
that  the  attention  paid  to  the  Book  of  Enoch  in  the 
second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries  was  fully  justified. 
It  is  strange  tliat  such  a  book  should  have  been  allowed 
to  pass  out  of  sight.  The  canonical  Book  of  Revela- 
tion inspired  Christians,  just  as  the  Book  of  Daniel 
inspired  Jews,  with  a  love  of  revelations,  visions,  and 

t)rophecies,  which  was  at  times  iusatial)lo,  and  which 
las  produced  a  mass  of  literature  of  wliich  we  could 
spare  a  great  deal  in  exchange  for  something  more  solid. 
Men  wen"  so  busy  divining  the  future  that  they  foi'got  to 
record  the  present  and  tlie  past. 

And  yet  a  book  so  eminently  in  harmony  with  this 
taste  was  siift'ered  to  perish.  This  is  all  the  more 
strange  because  judgment,  hell,  and  heaven  are  among 
the  main  sul)jects  of  the  book,  and  the  end  of  the  world 
was  precisely  the  favourite  sul)ject  of  speculation 
among  Christians  from  the  fourth  to  the  tenth  century. 
Moreover,  there  was  the  passage  in  Jude,  to  say  nothing 
of  notices  in  the  Fathers,  to  keep  the  book  from  being 
forgotten.  Perliaps  the  reason  was  that  just  the  two 
data  by  which  men  expected  to  determine  the  approach 
of  the  end  of  the  world — the  downfall  of  Rome  and 
the  coming  of  Antichrist — are  not  hinted  at  in  the  Book 
of  Enoch.  Bo  this  as  it  may,  the  fact  remains  that 
from  the  fourth  to  the  eighteenth  ccutur}'-  the  book  was 
entirely  lost  in  Western  Europe.  Some  fragments  pre- 
sen-ed  in  Greek  in  the  Chronographia  of  Georgius 
Syncellus  (circ.  a.d.  800)  show  that  the  book  was  known 
in  Eastern  Christendom  much  later  than  in  the  West ; 
but  after  that  wo  lose  all  trace  of  it.  Early  in  the 
seventeenth  century  it  was  rumoured  that  an  Ethiopic 
version  of  it  existed  in  Abyssinia.  These  rumours 
ended  in  disap])()intment.  But  in  1773  James  Bruce 
brought  l)ack  f  lom  Abyssinia  three  MSS.  of  the  Ethio- 
pic version.  Silvestre  de  Sacy  publislied  a  Latin  trans- 
lation of  some  of  the  early  ciiapters  in  1800 ;  and 
in  1821  Archbishop  Lawrence  published  an  Englisli 
translation  of  the  whol(>,  followed  l)y  the  Ethiopic 
text  in  1838.  Since  then  tlie  study  of  the  book 
has  been  almost  confined  to  Germany,  where  Hof- 
mann,  Gfrorer.  Liitzelberger,  Lucke.  Dillmann.  EMald, 
Kostlin,   Hilgeufeld,  Weisse,  Volkmar,  and  PliQippi, 


616 


have  all  contributed  to  the  subject ;  Dillmann  far  the 
most.  The  i-esults  are  anything  but  harmonious ;  but 
something  has  been  ascertained  on  which  reliance  can 
be  placed. 

The  Ethiopic  is  a  translation  from  the  Greek,  and  the 
Greek  (of  which  only  the  i)ortion  preserved  by  Georgius 
Syncellus  is  known)  is  probably  a  translation  from  the 
Aramaic.  A  Heln-ew  Book  of  Enoch  was  in  existence 
as  late  as  the  thirteenth  century,  but  we  have  no  cer- 
tainty that  it  was  identical  with  the  existing  work.  A 
more  secure  ground  f.)r  believing  in  an  Aramaic  original 
is  the  fact  that  many  of  the  proper  names  come  from 
Aramaic  roots.  The  Ethiopic  ver,sion  is  both  redundant 
and  defective  :  redundant  in  containing  repetitions  which 
can  scarcely  be  intentional ;  defective  inasmuch  as  not 
even  all  that  Georgius  Syncellus  has  preserved  is  con- 
tained in  it.  The  repetitions  may  possibly  bo  the  result 
of  unintelligent  copying,  different  recensions  being 
clumsily  strung  together. 

All  are  agreed  that  the  book  is  not  all  by  one  hand. 
In  the  main  it  probably  is  so ;  but  the  aiithor  seems  to 
have  incorporated  portions  of  other  works ;  and  it  is 
suspected  that  the  volume,  as  thus  formed,  has  since 
been  interpolated.  To  distinguish  the  earlier  frag- 
ments and  the  later  additions  from  the  main  body  of 
the  work,  and  to  assign  dates  to  each,  is  the  great 
problem  that  still  remains  to  be  worked  out.  Very 
wide  differences  of  opinion  exist  on  the  subject,  but 
tliere  is  considerable  agreement  in  assigning  the 
main  body  of  tlie  book  to  B.C.  150 — ^110.  Liicke  at 
first  believed  that  the  book  was  composed  after  the 
Christian  era ;  but  in  the  second  edition  of  his  Ein- 
leitung  in  die  OJ'eubannig  Johannis  (Bonn,  1852)  he 
abandoned  this  view,  and  placed  the  first  and  last  parts 
in  the  Maccabajan  pei'iod,  and  assigned  the  central 
part — i.e.,  the  parables — to  about  B.C.  40.  Hofmann, 
Weisse,  and  Philippi  have  since  taken  up  the  theory  of 
a  post-Christian  origin,  but  it  lias  not  met  with  much 
favonr.  Volkmar  s(>ems  to  stand  alone  in  maintaining 
that  the  book  was  the  work  of  disciples  of  the  great 
Rabbi  Akiba,  and  was  written  to  incite  people  to 
join  the  standard  of  the  impostor,  Bar-Cochba,  in  his 
revolt  against  Hadrian,  A.D.  132.  Information  on  the 
subject  for  Englisli  readers  is  liest  derived  from  Law- 
rence's translation  and  preliminaiy  dissertation,  the 
article  by  Westcott  in  the  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  and 


J  {JDK 


that  by  Lipsius  in  the  Dictionary  of  Christian  Bio- 
grcqihy,  from  whicli  sourecs  much  of  tho  above  is 
takeu.  See  also  Westcott's  Introduction  to  the  Gospels, 
p.  93. 

Tlio  essentially  Jewish  character  of  ihe  whole  book  is 
manifest,  althoiigli  it  may  contain  Christian  interpola- 
tions. There  is  no  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  nothing 
distinctly  Christian.  Of  the  Incarnation,  the  name 
Jesus,  the  life  on  earth,  the  Crucifixion,  the  Itesurrection, 
the  Ascension,  of  Baptism,  and  the  Eucharist,  there  is 
not  a  trace.  The  Messiah  is  the  Son  of  Man  [passim), 
the  Son  of  woman  (Ixi.  9),  tho  Elect  {passi'tn),  whom 
the  Lord  of  spirits  seats  on  the  throne  of  His  glory  to 
judge  "  in  the  word  of  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  spirits" 
(Ix.  10,  11 ;  Ixviii.  39)  ;  but  he  is  not  the  Word,  he  is 
not  God. 

These  facts  .suffice  to  sliow  that  the  book  as  a  whole 
is  Jewish  and  not  Christian.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
absence  of  antagonism  to  Christianity  seems  to  show 
that  the  book  Avas  not  written  after  the  Christian  era. 
Volkmar's  theory,  that  it  was  written  in  the  interests 
of  the  false  Messiah,  Bar-Cochba,  is  rendered  at  once 
improbable  by  the  fact  that  constant  reference  to  the 
Booli  of  Enoch  is  made  in  the  Testaments  of  the  Twelve 
Patriarchs.  This  work  was  known  to  Origen,  and 
perhaps  to  Tertullian,  and  therefore  cannot  be  later 
than  A.D.  150 — 200.  But  it  was  probably  written 
before  A.D.  135,  i.e.,  before  that  obliteration  of  the  very 
walls  and  name  of  Jerusalem  which  was  the  im- 
mediate result  of  Bar-Cochba's  revolt.  The  author,  a 
Jewish  Christian,  attacks  the  idea  that  Jewish  ceremonial 
is  still  binding ;  and  is  perpetually  reminding  the 
Jews  that  the  Messiah  is  not  only  a  King  but  a  Priest, 
and  a  Priest  to  whom  the  Aaronic  priesthood  must 
resign.  This  idea  does  not  at  all  suit  the  half  century 
following  Hadrian's  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  for  tliat 
event  put  an  end  to  the  danger  of  Jewish  ceremonial 
overgrowing  Christianity.  Wliereas  before  that  event 
the  danger  of  a  relapse  into  Judaism  was,  for  the 
church  in  Palestine,  a  very  real  one.  The  Testaments 
of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  may  be  placed  A.D.  100 — 135  ; 
and  consequently  the  Book  of  Enoch  must  be  placed 
earlier  still.  (Comp.  Doruer's  Person  of  Christ,  i.,  pp. 
152,  417,  420.) 

It  is  well  worth  while  to  read  the  whole  of  Law- 
rence's translation.  Those  who  do  so  cannot  fail  to  be 
often  struck  with  the  dignity  and  beauty  even  of  this 
translation  of  a  translation.  Not  unfrequently  they 
will  come  upon  something  which  reminds  them  of 
2  Peter  or  Jude.  The  resemblance  is  often  of  the 
faintest — a  couple  of  words  in  altogether  different  con- 
text, or  a  similar  thought  very  differently  expressed. 
It  would  be  strange  if  all  these  resemblances  were 
purely  accidental ;  and  an  opportunity  of  forming  an 
opinion  on  this  question  is  given  in  the  following  pages, 
where  specimens  of  these  resemblances  are  tabulated. 

The  impression  which  this  fact  conveys  is  that  the 
writers  of  these  Epistles,  or  at  least  one  of  them,  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  Book  of  Enoch,  and  that  it 


suggested  sometimes  a  thought,  sometimes  a  phrase  to 
him.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  all  three  writers 
nuiy  have  derived  material  from  a  common  source. 
These  questions  can  scarcely  be  settled  finally  until  a 
Greek  copy  of  the  book  comes  to  light,  an  event  by  no 
means  to  be  despaired  of  in  an  age  in  which  so  many 
literary  treasures  have  been  i-ecovered. 

The  book  is  evidently  tlie  work  of  a  man  of  the  most 
earnest  convictions :  one  who  believes  in  God  and  fears 
Him,  and  is  ai)pallcd  at  the  practical  infidelity  and  utter 
godlessness  which  he  finds  around  him.  There  are  two 
things  on  which  he  is  never  tired  of  insisting :  (1)  that 
God's  rule  extends  everywhere,  over  men  and  angels  no 
less  than  over  winds  and  stars ;  (2)  that  this  rule  is  a 
moral  one,  for  He  bount(;ously  rewards  righteousness 
and  fearfully  punishes  sin.  Nothing,  therefore,  could 
well  be  more  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of 
St.  Jude ;  and  it  ought  not  to  surprise  us  that  he  makes 
use  of  such  a  work.  Whether  or  no  he  was  aware  of 
the  apocryphal  nature  of  the  book,  we  have  no  means 
of  determining.  Neither  alternative  need  startle  us — 
that  he  should  have  been  mistaken  on  such  a  point,  or 
should  knowingly  have  quoted  an  uncanonical  book. 
St.  Paul  was  not  afraid  to  quote  heathen  poets. 

It  may  reassure  us  in  any  case  to  remember  that,  in 
spite  of  the  quotation  in  St.  Jude,  the  mind  of  Christ's 
Church  has  never  wavered  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the 
Book  of  Enoch.  It  is  one  of  the  many  eccentricities  of 
Tertullian  that  he  upholds  its  authority ;  but  he  is  alone 
in  doing  so.  His  argument  is  so  curious  as  to  be  worth 
summarising : — "  I  am  quite  aware  that  some  reject  the 
book,  and  that  it  is  not  in  the  Jewish  canon.  I  suppose 
people  think  that  it  could  never  have  survived  the  deluge. 
But  might  not  Noah  have  heard  and  remembered  it  all  ? 
or  have  been  inspired  to  repeat  it,  just  as  Ezra  is  be- 
lieved to  have  restored  the  Je^vish  literature  lost  in  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  ?  Nothing  must  be  rejected 
which  really  concerns  us ;  and  we  read  that  every  Scrip- 
ture suitable  for  edification  is  divinely  inspired.  The 
Jews  reject  it,  as  they  reject  other  things,  because  it 
tells  of  Christ"  {De  Cultu  Fern.,  I.  iii.). 

It  is  not  quite  certain  whether  Justin  Martyr  knew 
it  or  not.  In  Apol.  II.,  v.,  he  gives  in  few  words  au 
accoimt  of  the  fall  of  the  angels,  and  the  consequences 
of  it,  very  similar  to  that  in  the  Book  of  Enoch,  vi. — xvi. 
Justin  and  the  author  of  the  book  may  have  got  this 
from  a  common  source ;  but,  in  any  case,  Justin's  ac- 
cepting the  account  is  no  proof  that  he  accepted  the 
book  as  of  any  authority.  Origen  and  Augustine  dis- 
tinctly mark  it  as  apocrj^ihal,  and  it  is  included  in  no 
list  of  the  Scriptures,  whether  Jewish  or  Christian. 

The  question  still  remains — does  St.  Jude  quote  this 
book  ?  More  than  one  critic  answers  in  the  negative, 
maintaining  that  he  merely  quotes  a  traditional  sajnng 
of  Enoch,  which  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Enoch  in- 
serted. Of  course  this  is  possible ;  but,  as  the  book  was 
in  existence  when  St.  Jude  wrote,  was  probably  well 
known,  and  contains  the  passage  quoted,  the  more 
reasonable  view  is  that  St.  Jude  quotes  from  the  book. 


617 


JUDE. 


TABULATED   SPECBIENS   OF   PARALLELS  BETWEEN  THE  BOOK    OF    ENOCH  AND  THE    SECOND 
EPISTLE  OF   ST.   PETER  AND   THE   EPISTLE   OF   ST.   JUDE. 


Enoch. 

ii.  Behold.  Ho  comes  with  ten 
thousauds  of  His  saiuts,  to  execute 
judffmcnt  upon  tliom,  and  destroy 
the. wicked  and  reprove  all  the  eariial, 
for  every  tiling  which  the  sinful  and 
ungodly  have  doue  aud  committed 
asraiust  Him. 


i.  8.  27(6  splendour  of  the  God- 
head shall  illuminate  them. 

V.  The  earth  is  scorched  up  with 
fo'vid  heat. 

vi.  4,  5.  Ton  calumniate  \_IIis] 
greatness ;  and  malignant  are  the 
words  in  your  polluted  mouths 
against  His  majesty.  Ye  untliered 
in  heart,  no  peace  shall  be  unto  you. 

■vii.  1,  2.  It  happened,  after  the 
sons  of  men  had  multiplied  in  those 
days,  that  daughters  were  born  to 
them,  elegant  aud  beautiful.  Aud 
when  the  angels,  the  sons  of  heaven, 
beheld  them,  they  became  enamoured 
of  them,  saying  to  each  other;  Come, 
let  us  select  for  ourselves  wives 
from  the  progeny  of  men,  and  let 
us  beget  children. 

X.  20.  Then  shall  the  children  of 
the  earth  he  righteous.  (Conip.  1.  5  : 
The  earth  shall  rejoice ;  the  righteous 
shall  inhabit  it,  and  the  elect  pos- 
sess it.) 

xiv.  9.  Clouds  and  a  mist  invited 
me ;  agitated  stars  .  .  .  pressed  me 
forwards. 

XV.  7.  Therefore  I  made  not 
wives  for  you  [angels],  because,  being 
spiritual,  ijour  du-elling  is  in  heaven. 

xviii.  16.  Therefore  was  He 
offended  with  them  [the  angels], 
and  bound  them,  until  the  period  of 
the  consummation  of  their  crimes  in 
the  secret  year.  (Comp.  xxi.  2,  3 : 
I  Iwheld  ...  a  desolate  spot,  pre- 
pared, and  terrific.  Tliero  too  I 
beheld  seven  stars  of  heaven  [angels] 
hound  in  it  together.  .  .  .  Tliese 
are  those  of  the  stars  u'hich  have 
transgressed  the  commandment  of 
the  most  high  God ;  and  are  hero 
bound,  until  the  infinite  number  of 
the  days  of  their  crimes  bo  com- 
pleted.    Comp.  Ixxxvii.  2,  3.) 

xl.  8.  The  merciful,  the  patient, 
the  holy  Michael. 


2  Peter. 


i.  17.     The  excellent  glory. 

ili.  10.  The  elements  shall  be 
dissolved  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth 
also. 

ii.  10.  They  are  not  afraid  to 
speak  evil  of  dignities. 


ii.  4.     For  if  God  spared  not  the 
angels  that  sinned. 


iii.  13.  We  look  for  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness. 

ii.  17.  Mists  that  are  driven  with 
the  storm-wind. 


ii.  4,  If  God  spared  not  the 
angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them 
down  to  hell,  and  delivered  them 
into  chains  of  darlcness,  to  be  re- 
served unto  judgment. 


JUDE. 

14,  15.  Behold,  the  Lord  cometli 
with  ten  thousands  of  His  saints,  to 
execute  judgment  upon  all,  and  to 
con^^uce  all  that  are  ungodly  among 
them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds 
which  they  have  ungodly  committed, 
and  of  all  their  hard  speeches  which 
ungodly  sinners  have  siioken  against 
Him. 


8.  Despise  dominion,  and  speaJe 
evil  of  dignities. 

10.  But  these  speak  evil  of  those 
things  which  they  know  not. 

12.  Without  fruit,  twice  dead, 
plucked  up  by  the  roots. 

6.  And  the  angels  which  Tcept 
not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their 
own  habitation. 


12.  Clouds  they  are  without 
water. 

13.  Wandei'ing  stars. 

6.  The  angels  which  kept  not 
their  fii-st  estate,  but  left  their  own 
habitation. 

6.  He  hath  reserved  in  everlast- 
ing chains  under  darkness  unto  the 
judgment  of  the  great  day. 


918 


9.  Michael  .  .  .  durst  not  bring 
against  him  a  railing  accusation,  but 
said,  The  Lord  rebuke  thee. 


jrinff  I 

I 


JUDE. 


Enoch. 

xli.  1.  Tlio  siuners  who  denied 
the  Lord  of  glory. 

xlv.  2.  Siuners  ivho  deny  the 
name  of  the  Lord  of  spirits.  (Comp. 
xlvii.  11 ;  Ixvi.  12.) 

xlv.  4,  5.  I  will  change  the  face 
of  heaven.  ...  I  will  also  change 
the  face  of  the  earth  ;  will  bless  it ; 
ami  cause  those  whom  I  have  elected 
to  dwell  upon  it. 

liii.  8 — 10.  All  the  waters,  which 
are  iu  the  heavens  and  above  them, 
shall  be  mixed  together.  The  water 
which  is  above  heaven  shall  be  the 
agent ;  and  the  water  which  is  under 
the  earth  shall  be  the  recipient ; 
and  all  shaU  be  destroyed  who  dwell 
upou  earth. 

Iviii.  4.  Hitherto  has  existed  the 
day  of  mercy;  and  He  has  been 
merciful  and  long-suffering  towards 
all  ivho  dwell  on  the  earth. 


Ixvi.  6.  The  valley  of  the  angels, 
who  had  been  guilty  of  seduction, 
burned  underneath  its  soil.  15.  The 
waters  will  be  changed,  and  become 
afire  which  shall  blaze  for  ever. 

Ixviii.  39.  Those  who  seduced 
them  shall  be  bound  with  chains  for 
ever. 

Ixxxii.  4 — 6.  I  saw  in  a  vision 
heaven  purifying  and  snatched  aioay. 
...  I  saw  likeivise  the  earth  ab- 
sorbed by  a  great  abyss,  and  moun- 
tains suspended  over  mountains. 
Hills  were  sinking  upon  hills,  lofty 
trees  were  gliding  off  from  their 
trunks  and  were  .  .  .  sinking  into 
the  abyss. 

xcii.  17,  18.  The  former  heaven 
shall  depart  and  pass  away ;  a  neio 
heaven  shall  appear.  .  .  .  After- 
wards likewise  sliall  there  be  many 
weeks,  which  shall  externally  exist  in 
goodness  and  righteousness.  Neither 
shall  sin  be  named  thero  for  ever. 

xcvi.  25.  To  them  there  shall  be 
no  peace ;  but  they  shall  surely  die 
suddenly. 

xc^^i.  1.  "Woe  to  them  who  act 
impiously,  who  laud  and  honour  tho 
word  of  falsehood. 

oii.  7.  You  have  been  satiated 
with  meat  and  drink,  with  human 
plunder  and  rapine,  with  sin.  ^\-ith 
the  acquisition  of  wealth,  and  with 
the  sight  of  good  days. 

cv.  13, 14.  Behold  they  committed 
crimes ;  laid  aside  their  class,  and 
intermingled  with  women.  With 
them  also  they  ti-ansgressed ;  married 
with  them,  and  begot  children.  A 
great  destruction  therefore  shall 
come  upon  the  earth  ;  a  deluge,  a 
great  destruction,  shall  take  place 
in  one  year. 


2  Petek. 

ii.   1.      Even  denying   the  Lord 
that  bouijht  tliem. 


iii.  13.  We  look  for  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  wlterein  dwelleth 
righteousness. 


iii.  5,  6.  By  the  word  of  God  tho 
heavens  were  of  old,  and  the  earth 
consisting  out  of  water  and  through 
water :  whereby  the  world  that  then 
was,  being  overflowed  with  water, 
perished. 


iii.  9.  The  Lord  is  not  slack  con- 
cerning His  promise,  as  some  men 
count  slackness ;  but  is  longsuffering 
to  US-ward,  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should 
come  to  i'ej)entance. 


ii.  4.  God  spared  not  the  angels 
that  sinned,  but  .  .  .  delivered  them 
into  chains  of  darkness. 

iii.  10.  The  heavens  shall  pass 
away  with  a  rushing  noise,  and  the 
elements  shall  be  dissolved  with 
fervent  heat,  the  earth  also ;  and 
shall  tho  works  thereof  be  found  ? 


iii.  10,  Tlie  heavens  shall  pass 
away.  13.  We  look  for  neio  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness. 


ii.  1.    Shall  bring  upon  themselves 

swift  destruction. 


ii.  13.  As  they  that  count  it 
pleasure  to  riot  in  the  day-time. 
Spots  they  ai*e  and  blemishes,  sport- 
ing themselves  with  their  ovra  de- 
eeivings  while  they  feast  with  you. 

ii,  4,  5.  God  spared  not  the  angels 
that  eiuucd.  but  cast  them  down  to 
hell,  and  delivered  them  into  chains 
of  darkness,  to  be  reserved  unto 
judgment;  and  sjmred  not  the  old 
tcorld  .  .  .  bringing  in  the  flood 
upon  tlie  world  of  the  ungodly. 


519 


JUDE. 

4.     Denying  the  only  Lord,  and 
OUi"  Lord  Jesus  Chi'ist. 


7.  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  .  .  . 
giving  themselves  over  to  fornica- 
tion, and  going  after  strange  flesh, 
are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffer- 
ing the  vengeance  of  eternal  fire. 

(3.  The  angels  which  kept  not 
their  first  estate  .  .  .  He  liath  re- 
served in  everlasting  chains. 


11.  Woo  unto  them!  for  they 
have  gone  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and 
ran  greedUy  after  the  error  of  Ba- 
Liam  for  reward. 

12.  These  are  spots  in  your 
feasts  of  charity,  when  they  feast 
with  you,  feeding  themselves  with- 
out fear.  It).  Having  men's  persons 
iu  admiration  l)ecause  of  advantage. 

tj.  The  angels  which  hept  noi 
their  fintt  estate,  but  hft  their  own 
habitation.  Ho  hath  reserved  in 
everlasting  chains. 


THE     REVELATION 

OF 

ST.    JOHN    THE    DIVINE. 


INTRODUCTION 


THE    REVELATION 


ST.    JOHN    THE    DIVINE. 


I.  The  Author. 
II.  The  Date  and  Time  of  "Writing. 
III.  Schools  and  Principles  of  Interpretation. 

I.  The  Author.—  The  general  opinion  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  has  accepted  the  Apocalypse  as  the  work  of 
John  the  Apostle,  but  this  general  opinion  has  been  called 
in  question.  Our  space  can  only  allow  us  to  lay  before 
our  readers  a  brief  resume  of  the  reasons  which  have 
been  urged  on  either  side.  For  convenience  it  will  be 
as  wcU  to  ask  the  following  questions  : — 

(1)  Was  the  Writer''s  name  John  1 — At  first  sight  it 
would  seem  that  there  could  be  but  one  answer  to  this 
question.  The  book  announces  itself  as  written  by  a 
person  whose  name  was  John.  Four  times  over  does 
the  name  occur  (Rev.  i.  1,  4,  9 ;  xxii.  8). 

Is  there  any  reason  for  questioning  the  witness  thus 
given  by  the  book  itself  ?  It  has  been  asserted  that  the 
writer  does  not  claim  to  be  John,  but  only  "  gives  a 
report  of  a  revelation  which  John  had  received " 
(Scholten).  It  is  perfectly  true  that  a  wi-iter  might 
thus  dramatically  represent  the  Apostle  Jolm  as  the 
seer  of  the  revelation  ;  but  such  possibility  is  no  proof 
that  it  was  so,  and  certainly  cannot  be  entertained  in 
the  total  absence  of  aU  proof.  The  reiteration  of  the 
name  four  times  is  out  of  harmony  with  this  conjecture  ; 
and  the  theory  would  not,  as  Gebhardt  has  remarked, 
be  applied  to  any  other  book  of  the  New  Testament. 
Would  any  serious  reply  be  "  thought  necessary  should 
it  occur  to  some  one  to  reject  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  because  from  such  passages  as  I  Cor.  i.  13, 
it  does  not  follow  that  the  author  identifies  himself  with 
Paul,  but  gives  (I  Cor.  i.  I,  2),  after  the  manner  of  an 
introduction,  a  report  of  an  Epistle  which  the  Apostle 
wrote  ?  " 

Wo  may  assume,  then,  that  the  writer's  name  was 
John, 

(2)  Was  the  Writer  John  the  Apostle. — It  is  round 
this  question  that  wo  meet  the  most  serious  conflict. 

(a  1  It  is  admitted  on  all  hands,  even  by  those  who 
oppose  the  apostolic  authorship  of  the  book,  that  the 
great  consensus  of  early  opinion  regarded  the  writer  as 
St.  John  the  Apostle.  "  From  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr 
to  that  of  Ireuaeus  and  the  great  Fathers,  the  Apoca- 
lypse was  recognised  as  a  production  of  the  Apostle." 
Such  is  the  opinion  of  Keim  (Jesu  v.  Nazara).  "  Wo 
find  the  Revelation  unliesilatingly  attributed  to  him 
(St.  John)  by  the  Fathers  from  the  middle  of  tlw  second 
century  downwards;  })y  Justin  MaHyr,  Irena-us, 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  TertuUian,  and  others"  (Bleek). 
The  opinion  of  the  third  century  was  the  same.  Origen, 
whoso  opposition  to  milleiiarianiKm  adds  value  to  his 
testimony.  Cy|irian.  Ijactantius,  and  others,  acknowledge 
the  Apocalypse  as  the  work  of  St.  John. 


IV.  General  Scope  of  the  Book. 
V.  Literature. 

Setting  aside  the  opinion  of  Marcion,  and  of  the  un- 
important sect  of  the  Alogi  (see  Introduction  to  tlie 
First  Ejjistle  to  St.  John),  doubts  respecting  the 
apostolic  authorship  seem  to  have  commenced  with 
Dionysius  of  Alexandria ;  these  doubts,  which  were 
echoed  hesitatingly  by  Eusebius,  were  based  not  cm 
historical  or  critical,  so  much  as  upon  doctrinal 
grounds  :  the  dread  of  miUeuarianism  created  a  wish 
to  discredit  the  book  which  appeared  to  lend  such 
weight  to  the  disliked  doctrine.  It  is  needless  to 
follow  the  histoiy  of  this  controversy ;  it  is  enough  to 
notice  that  the  first  breach  of  this  continuous  eaidy 
opinion  in  favour  of  the  apostohc  authorship  grew  out 
of  doctrinal  prejudice  rather  than  candid  examination. 

{b)  In  later  years,  the  controversy  has  been  fought 
from  different  bases  of  operation.  The  conflict  re- 
specting the  authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  (see 
Introduction  to  St.  John's  Gospel)  has  complicated  the 
dispute.  It  seemed  to  some  impossible  to  believe  that 
the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse  proceeded  from 
the  same  pen.  The  divergence  in  style  and  language 
was,  in  their  view,  too  great  to  admit  of  their  being 
written  by  the  same  man,  even  though  that  man  were 
an  Apostle.  If  the  Gospel  was  the  work  of  St.  Johu, 
the  Apocalypse  could  not  be.  The  generally  accepted 
opinion  that  St.  John  wrote  the  Apocalypse  was  as- 
sailed by  those  who,  in  their  wish  to  preserve  their 
faith  in  the  apostolic  authorship  of  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
were  ready  to  sacrifice  the  Book  of  Revelation.  This 
was  substantially  the  view  adopted  by  Neander, 
Liicke,  Ewald,  Bleek,  Diisterdieck,  and  others.  lu 
opposition  to  these,  others  were  ready  to  adopt  the 
other  hypothesis :  they  accepted  the  view  that  the 
two  books  could  not  have  been  the  work  of  one  and 
the  same  writer ;  but  they  preferred  to  sacrifice  the 
Grospel :  the  Apocalypse  was  the  work  of  St.  John ;  the 
Gospel,  therefore,  could  not  be.  Such  was  the  view  of 
those  who,  like  Baur,  aimed  at  discrediting  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  or  who  wished  to  support  the  theory  of  a  de- 
signed antagonism  between  the  school  of  St.  Jolm  and 
that  of  St.  Paul.  Neither  of  these  parties — those  who 
would  sacrifice  the  Apocalypse  to  the  Gospel,  and  those 
who  would  sacrifice  the  Gospel  to  the  Apocalypse — 
represent  the  most  recent  phase  of  the  controversy. 
Another  class  of  thinkers  arose  who  felt  that  the 
witness  which  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  R<>velation 
alike  gave  to  the  Person  of  Christ  was  too  strong  to  bo 
allowed  the  authority  of  an  Apostle  by  those  who  had 
formed  other  and  lower  concei)tions  of  the  Jesus  of 
the  Gospels.  They  saw  no  glimpses  of  His  heavenly 
glory  and  majesty  in  the  synoptical  Gospels.  They 
found  that  tho  Book  of  liovelatiou  was  fiill  of  them. 


523 


KEVELATION. 


Tlie  Christ  of  tlie  Apocalypse  was  tho  Word  of  God, 
the  King  of  Kings;  tbt"  Christ  of  the  Gospels  was 
One  who  came  not  to  be  ministered  to,  but  to  miuislei-. 
Tho  portrait  given  hi  the  Gospels  of  ''  tho  loving  and 
amiable  Son  of  Man,"  as  the  Divine  Son  of  God  was 

})atronisingly  styled,  was  not  to  be  found  iu  tho  Apoca- 
yj)so;  such  a  book  could  not  have  been  writteu  by 
one  who  personally  knew  the  gentle  and  self-sacrificing 
Prophet  of  Galilee — least  of  all,  perhaps,  by  the  be- 
loved disciple.  Such  is  the  view  of  more  recent  critics, 
and  advanced  with  varying  power  and  arguments  by 
Volkmar,  Hoekstra,  and  Scholteu.  The  book  was  a 
forgery,  or  at  best  the  composition  of  some  other  John 
— not  of  John  the  Apostle.  Besides,  it  was  urged, 
the.  Apostle  could  not  have  been  the  author,  for  it  is 
clear  that  the  writer  lived  iu  Asia  Minor,  whereas  tho 
Apostle  Johu  never  was  in  Asia  Minor  at  all. 

Such  is,  perhaps,  the  most  recent  phase  of  the  con- 
troversy. 

(c)  We  have  not  space  to  do  more  than  touch  but 
briefly,  and  only  upon  a  few  of  the  arguments  advanced 
against  the  apostolic  authorship  of  the  book.  It  will, 
perhaps,  be  best  to  specify  three  or  four. 

(i.)  St.  Johu  tho  Apostle,  it  is  said,  never  resided  in 
Asia  Minor;  he  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  the 
author  of  a  book  which  is  undoubtedly  the  work  of  one 
resident  there. 

It  is  proverbially  difficult  to  prove  a  negative :  it  is 
increasingly  difKcult  when  only  negative  e\'idence  can 
be  adduced,  and  this  is  all  that  can  be  appealed  to. 
The  argument,  if  argument  it  can  be  called,  runs 
thus  :  the  residence  of  St.  John  iu  Asia  Minor 
is  not  mentioned  by  those  whom  we  might  have  ex- 
pected to  mention  it :  therefore,  St.  John  did  not  reside 
there.  To  use  the  words  of  a  modern  critic  (Mr. 
Matthew  Arnold),  "  But  there  is  the  rigorous  and 
■vigorous  theory  of  Prof.  Scholteu,  that  Johu  never  Avas 
at  Ephesus  at  all.  If  he  had  been,  Papias  and  Hege- 
sippus  must  have  mentioned  it :  if  they  had  mentioned 
it,  Irenseus  and  Eusebius  must  have  quoted  them  to 
that  effect.  As  if  the  very  notoriety  of  John's  residence 
at  Ephesus  would  not  have  disproved  Irenseus  and 
Eusebius  from  advancing  formal  testimony  to  it,  and 
made  them  refer  to  it  just  in  the  way  they  do.  Here, 
again,  we  may  be  sure  that  no  one  judging  evidence  in 
a  jdain  fashion  would  ever  have  ai-rivcd  at  Dr.  Schol- 
ten's  conclusion;  above  all,  no  one  of  Dr.  Scholten's 
great  learning  and  ability"  (Contemporary  Review,  vol. 
XXV.,  p.  988). 

To  this  also  we  may  add  Gebhardt's  words : — "  No  one 
in  tho  second  century  could  Ijolieve  that  the  Apostle  John 
was  the  author  of  the  Apocalj^jse,  Avithout  at  the  same 
time  bclieA-ing  that  he  lived  in  Asia  Minor ;  and  in 
like  manner,  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Apocalypse  as 
the  Apostle's  from  the  time  of  Justin  Martyr  down- 
wards, made  prominent  by  Keim.  is  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  residence  in  Asia  Minor,  and  inferentially 
at  Ephesus." 

(ii.)  There  are,  it  is  stated,  traces  of  non-apostolic 
authorship  in  the  book.  . 

(a)  The  manner  in  which  the  Apostles  are  spoken  of 
(see  chaps,  xviii.  20  and  xxi.  14)  is  tliought  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  the  opinion  that  the  Apostle  wrote  it.  The 
Apostles  are  mentioned  with  a  degree  of  ol)jectivity, 
and  are  assigned  a  prominence  which  is  iinlikely  if  an 
Apostle  were  the  writer.  But  with  regard  to  tlie  last, 
if  St.  John  desci-ibes  the  foundations  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem  as  bearing  the  names  of  the  twelve  Apostles. 
St.  Paid  speaks  of  the  Chm-ch  being  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets  (Eph.  ii.  20). 


The  imagery  is  distinctly  apostolic;  and  if  the  Apostles 
are  mentioned  with  "objectivity"  iu  the  Apocalypse, 
ai-e  they  not  mentioned  with  an  equal,  if  not  greater, 
degree  of  objectivity  by  St.  Matthew  ?  ^Matt.  x.  2 — i.) 

03;  But.  it  is  argued,  there  is  no  hint  given  through- 
out the  book  that  the  writer  is  an  Apostle.  If  St. 
John  were  the  writer,  would  he  not  betray  himself 
somewhere  as  the  beloved  disciple  ?  Should  we  not 
have  some  allusion  to  liis  intimacy  with  his  Master, 
or  to  some  circumstance  connected  with  the  life  and 
ministry  of  Christ  ?  In  reply,  it  is  enough  to  remark 
that  the  nature  of  the  book  would  not  lead  us  to 
expect  such  allusious.  He  writes  as  a  Prophet,  not 
as  an  Apostle.  It  would  be  as  idle  to  expect  some 
allusion  to  the  circumstances  of  Milton's  political  life 
in  the  Faradise  Lost.  "The  Apocalypse  deckres 
itself  not  to  be  the  work  of  an  Apostle  in  the  san^o 
sense  as  Schiller's  poetry  declares  itself  not  to  be  the 
work  of  a  professor  at  Jena"  (Gebhardt). 

But  it  may  be  further  urged  that  there  are  not  want- 
ing certain  characteristic  allusions  which  reveal  tho 
writer.  The  allusions  to  the  piercing  of  the  SaAnour's 
side  (chap.  i.  7 ;  comp.  John  xix.  34),  and  to  the  washing, 
or  cleansing  (chaps,  i.  5 ;  vii.  13,  14 ;  xxii.  14 — see  Note 
there — John  xiii.  8 — 10),  are  not  to  be  overlooked ;  aud 
more  than  these  may  be  detected  by  a  careful  student. 

(7)  There  is  no  trace  of  Apostolic  authority. 

If  we  are  not  to  expect  personal  reminiscences,  we 
surely  should  expect  the  air  of  official  authority.  But 
the  answer  is,  Do  we  not  find  this  ?  The  language  is 
surely  that  of  oue  who  does  not  doubt  that  his  name 
will  carry  a  guarantee  with  the  book.  (Comp.  Prof. 
Davidson's  article  in  Kitto's  Biblical  Cyclopcedia.) 

(iii.)  The  Christology  of  the  book  is  described  as  non- 
apostolic.  The  picture  which  the  Apocalypse  gives  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  not  that  of  the  Gospels.  In  the  Gospels 
we  have  the  loA-iug  and  gentle  Son  of  Man ;  in  the  Apo- 
calypse we  have  the  Word  of  God,  whose  eyes  are  as  a 
flame  of  fire,  and  whose  mouth  a  sharp  swoi'd.  Sic.  Is 
not  the  whole  conception  of  the  kingly  Christ  thus 
portrayed  the  product  of  a  later  age  ?  "  The  picture 
of  Christ  which  here  comes  before  us  seems  to  i)re- 
suppose  a  conception  so  perfectly  free,  that  it  can  only 
behmg  to  a  later  Christianity "  (Scholteu).  "  The 
apotheosis  of  Christ  is  too  strong  to  be  ascribed  to 
a  contemporary  and  disciple  of  Jesus "  (quoted  iu 
Gebhardt). 

Such  objections  as  these  arise  from  a  fundamental 
misconception  of  the  character  and  work  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  Christ  of  the  Gospels  is  not  the  colourless 
creation  which  has  been  evolved  out  of  tho  thought  of 
men  living  eighteen  centuries  aftcnvards.  The  Chris- 
tology of  the  Apocaly|Jse  is  distinct  enough,  but  it  does 
not  differ  from  the  Christology  of  St.  Paul ;  and  it  is 
in  complete  harmony  with  the  lofty  and  diWne  utter- 
ances of  our  Lord  Himself  even  in  the  synoptical 
Gospels.  Time  and  space  would  fail  us  in  illustrating 
this  position  ;  it  will  suffice  to  refer  to  two  or  three 
passages,  which  might  be  multiplied :  Matt.  xxv.  31 ; 
xxvi.  13;  Luke  v.  20;  vii.  8,  9,  23,  35;  ix.  41;  x.  16 
—20. 

(iv.)  The  divergence  in  style  between  the  Revelation 
and  the  Fourth  Gospel  demands  a  few  words.  We  have 
spoken  of  those  critics,  who.  iu  their  desire  to  preserve 
the  authority  of  the  Gospel,  have  been  willing  to  throw 
overboard  the  apostolic  authorship  of  the  Apocalypse. 
Is  it  necessary  to  do  this  ?  It  has  been  shown  that  the 
external  cAidence  is  in  favotxr  of  the  apostolic  author- 
ship. In  the  language  of  Prof.  Davidson,  "  With  the  i 
limited   stock   of    early   ecclesiastical    literature    thatl 


524 


REVELATION. 


stirvives  the  wreck  of  time  we  should  despair  of 
proving  the  autheutifity  of  any  New  Tostanieut  Ijook 
by  the  liolp  of  early  witnesses  if  that  of  the  Apocalypse 
be  rejected  as  insutticiently  attested."  Is  there  any 
reason  in  the  internal  character  of  the  book  suilicicnb 
to  reverse  tliis  verdict?  Or,  in  other  words,  assumiu'jf 
(and  the  stormy  controversy  has  ratlier  increased  tlian 
diminished  the  right  to  the  assiunpt ion  ;  see  latrodact  Ion 
to  St.  Jo}ins  Gospel)  the  apostolic  authorship  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  is  there  any  ground  for  believing  that 
the  Apocalypse  could  not  have  proceeded  from  the  same 
writer  ?  There  are  no  doubt  strongly  marked  ditfer- 
euces.  We  have  not  space  to  touch  ou  the  whole 
question.  One  or  two  points  call  for  notice.  There  are 
differences  of  lauguage  ;  there  are  '"  anomalies,"  "  awk- 
ward dispositions  of  words,"  "  peculiar  constructions  ;" 
"  the  Greek  is  moulded  by  the  Hebrew  tendencies  of  the 
writer."  This  is  no  douljt  largelj'-  the  case  ;  but  there 
has  been  often  a  want  of  appreeiativeness  at  the  I'oot 
of  some  criticisms  like  these  :  some  violations  of  gram- 
matical construction  have  been  set  down  to  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  writer,  when  it  is  clear  that  they 
were  intentional.  Notably,  the  language  of  Rev.  i.  4 
is  beyond  all  doubt  designedly  ungrammatical ;  indeed, 
as  Bishop  Lightfoot  has  pointed  out,  were  it  not  so,  the 
writer  would  not  have  possessed  sufficient  literary  power 
to  construct  a  single  sentence.  Nor  has  sufficient 
weight  been  allowed  to  the  different  characters  of  the 
two  books,  or  the  interval  of  time  which  elapstMl  between 
their  writing.  The  highly  wrought  rapture  of  the  seer, 
when  beliolding  the  A'isions  of  tlie  Apocalypse  indicates 
a  mental  state  in  which  volitional  control  is  at  the 
minimum,  and  the  automatic  action  of  the  mind  is  left 
free.  At  such  a  time  the  images  and  associations  which 
have  been  originally  iml)edded  in  the  memory  are  those 
which  rise  uppermost  to  clothe  the  thoughts.  Thus  the 
strong  Hebrew  colouring  is  precisely  what  we  should 
expect  from  one  who,  of  ardent  temperament,  has  spent 
tlie  whole  of  his  earlier  life  in  Palestine,  and  among 
those  who  were  constantly  talking  over  Messianic  hopes 
and  prophecies.  (Comp.  Jolui  i.  38 — il.)  Tlie  force 
of  this  is  not  invalidated  liy  saying  that  the  seer  did 
not  write  the  visions  as  he  saw  tliem,  but  recorded 
them  afterwards.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  merely  an  as- 
sumption to  affirm  this;  in  the  next,  even  were  it  true, 
the  man  who  records  such  visions  must  recall  the  whole 
mental  condition  in  which  ho  was  at  the  time  of  vision, 
and  would  jjreserve  in  his  record  the  characteristics 
of  such  a  state  of  mind.  Nor  can  much  stress  bo 
laid  upon  the  fact  that  the  writer  was  not  young.  Tlie 
visions  of  God  ai-e  given  to  the  old  as  well  as  to  the 
young.  The  loftiest  revealings  were  given  to  Moses 
when  he  had  passed  fourscore  years :  and,  even  from  a 
merely  human  pf)int  of  view,  it  is  possible  for  a  man  of 
sixty  to  retain  the  fire  aid  warm  imagination  of  yontli. 
Even  in  modern  life,  when  the  facidties  are  too  often 
drudged  into  indx-cility  by  forced  and  ])rematuro 
development,  and  <le])rived  of  their  full  and  ultimate 
power  by  being  made  reprodtictive  wlien  they  onght 
to  be  remaining  reeeptive,  we  may  find  tiio  powers 
of  imagination  survive  the  strain  and  inces.sancy  of 
toil;  indeed,  in  .some  cases  the  imaginative  powers 
have  gatliered  force  fill  the  line  of  the  threescore 
years  has  been  nasseil.  Edmund  Burke  was  sixty 
when  ho  wrote  his  Reflections  on  the  Ilevnlution  in 
France,  and  nt)ne  will  condemn  him  for  deficiency  in 
imagination.  It  was  not  in  the  ardour  of  youth  that 
Dante  wrote  the  Divi)ie  Cumechj.  Tlie  conditions  of 
ancient  and  Eastern  life  were  prol)ably  much  more 
favourable  to  the  preservation  and  quiet  ripening  of 


the  powers  of  thought  and  imagination.  Tlie  truth  is 
that  there  is  nothing  so  deceptive  as  the  comparison 
between  the  ages  and  powers  of  different  writers; 
there  is  no  standard  which  can  be  fairly  used  as  a 
measure.  Some  men  of  sixty  are,  in  mental  force,  more 
nearly  allied  to  men  of  forty  tlian  to  those  of  their  own 
age  ;  and  the  addition  of  twenty  or  five-and-tweuty 
years  brings  them  to  the  mellow  and  quiet  autumn- 
time  of  tlieir  life. 

The  Apocalypse  may  be  "  sensuous,"  full  of  "  crea- 
tive fancy,"  "objective,"  and  "concrete;"  the  Gospel 
may  be  "  calm,"  "  mystic,"  "  spiritual,"  and  delighting 
in  "  speculative  depth"  ;  but  differences  equally  great 
may  be  found  in  the  Avorks  of  other  writers.  Litera- 
ture supplies  numberless  instances  of  such  varieties. 
"  It  is  strange,"  wrote  Lord  Macaulay,  "  It  is  strange 
that  the  Essay  on  tlie  Sublime  and  Beautiful,  and  tlio 
Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord  should  be  the  productions  of 
one  man ;  "  yet  no  one  has  been  found  to  doubt  that 
they  were  both  written  by  Edmund  Burke.  The 
writings  of  De  Quiiicey  supply  examples.  Let  any  ono 
compare  the  Aatobio(jraphic  Sketches,  or  The  Con- 
fessions of  an  Opium  Eater,  with  one  of  the  littlo 
flights  of  fancy — such  as  the  Daughter  of  Lebanon — 
written  under  different  conditions,  and  he  will  find 
how  much  diversity  may  be  found  in  the  works  of  the 
same  writer.  And,  not  to  go  beyond  the  Gospels, 
might  it  not  be  said  that  there  is  a  great  separation 
in  tone  and  thought  between  our  Lord's  discourses 
ill  Matt,  xxiii. — xxv.  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  ? 
We  have,  then,  in  the  two  books  —  the  Gospel  and 
the  Ajiocalypse  —  different  subject  -  matter,  vision 
instead  of  history;  a  wide  interval  of  time — some 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years ;  and,  with  this  interval  of 
time,  achanged  atmosphereof  associations  and  influences, 
Greek  instead  of  Hebrew :  these  in  themselves  would 
account  for  divergences  greater  even  than  we  find. 

If  we  can  thus  account  for  the  differences  we  meet 
with,  we  have  to  remember  that  there  ai-e  resemblances 
in  the  two  books  Avhich  can  scarcely  be  accidental,  and 
which,  found  in  two  independent  liooks,  would  have 
suggested  to  some  shrewd  critic  the  theory  of  a  common 
authorship.  There  is  a  strong  resemblance  in  langnago 
and  imagery :  both  books  delight  in  the  words  '"wit- 
ness" (martyr),  "  to  overcome,"  "  to  keep  "  (the  word 
of  God),  "sign"  {semcion).  "dwell,"  or  tabernacle 
(in  this  last  case  the  coincidence  is  lost  sight  of  in  the 
English  version,  because  the  word  "  dwell "  is  used 
instead  of  tabernacle,  or  "  tent "),"  true"  {alethinos), 
(John  i.  9;  xix.  35  ;  Rev.  iii.  14;  xix.  9). 

There  is  a  similarity  in  the  terms  used  to  describe 
our  Lord.  He  is  the  Word  (John  i.  1 — 3;  Rev.  xix. 
13);  the  Lamb  (John  i.  29;  Rev.  v.  6);  the  S/iqj/icrti 
(John  X.  throughout;  Rev.  vii.  17);  the  Bridegroom 
(John  iii.  i!9  ;  l^ev.  xix.  7;  xxi.  2);  similar  images  are 
used — the  Living  Water  (John  iv.  iO;  v\\.  38;  and 
Kev.  vii.  17;  xxi.  0;  xxii.  17) ;  the  Hidden  Foot/,  bread, 
or  manna  (John  vi.  32 — 58;  Rev.  ii.  17);  iho  Harvest 
'John  iv.  3J.,  38;  Rev.  xiv.  15).  The  same  incident — 
the  piercing  of  our  Lord's  side — is  referred  to;  and 
the  word  employed,  both  in  the  Gospel  and  in  tho 
A])ocalypse.  is  sinsjularly  not  the  word  used  in  the 
LXX.  version  of  tlie  prophet  Zechariah.  There  is, 
besides,  a  similar  disposition  towards  a  seven-fold 
arrangement  of  subjects  in  the  Gospel  and  the  Reve- 
lation.    (See  Lifroduction  to  St.  Johns  Gospel.) 

Further  resemblances  might  be  pointed  out.  Tlie.se, 
however,  will  suffice  to  show  that  Prof.  Davidson,  in 
his  candid,  impartial,  ami  valuable  article  (see  above), 
says  no  more  tlian  truth  when  he  writes  :  "  After  every 


£25 


EEVELATION. 


roasotiahlo  (Icfluetion,  ononpfli  remains  to  prove  that  the 
corrospomlouft's  botwoeii  tlie  Apooalpyso  aud  the 
Fourth  Gospel  are  not  aeeidcntal.  Tliey  either  betray 
one  author,  or  show  tliat  the  writer  of  the  one  was 
acrpiainted  witli  tlie  otlier.  Those  copfnate  phenomena 
have  not  been  allowed  their  full  force  by  Liicke,  Ewald, 
De  Wftte.  and  Diisterdicck." 

To  conclude.  The  author  represents  himself  as  John 
in  a  way,  aiul  at  a  time,  that  would  naturally  suggest 
that  lie  either  was  John  the  Apostle  aud  Evangelist,  or 
wished  to  pass  as  such.  The  general  consensus  of 
early  opinion  believed  that  the  Apostle  was  the  writer. 
The  doubts  grew  out  of  doctrinal  prejudice ;  there  is 
no  reasonable  ground  for  disputing  the  residence  of  the 
Apostle  in  Asia  Minor.  There  are  not  wanting  traces 
of  personal  reminiscences  such  as  the  beloved  disciple 
would  have  cherished.  The  portrait  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  in  complete  harmony  with  apostolic  teaching ;  and 
the  difficulties  which  beset  the  theory  that  there  were 
two  Johns — one  who  wrote  the  Gospel,  and  the  other 
the  Apocalypse — are  greater  than  those  which  surround 
the  theory  of  a  common  authorship. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  add  the  attesting  language  of 
various  and  independent  critics.  "The  apostolic  origin 
of  the  Apocalypse  is  as  well  attested  as  that  of  any 
other  book  in  the  New  Testament  "  (Davidson).  "  The 
testimony  has  been  pi'onounced  more  absolutely  con- 
vincing than  can  be  adduced  in  favour  of  the  apostolic 
authorship  of  any  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament " 
{Edinburgh  Review,  October,  187-i). 

II.  The  Date  and  Time  of  Writing.— The 
evidence  for  determining  the  date  of  the  Apocalypse 
is  in  many  respects  conflicting.  Any  conclusion  on 
the  matter  should  be  given  with  caution  and  hesita- 
tion, and  with  the  full  admission  that  the  arguments 
■which  can  be  brought  on  the  other  side  are  entitled  to 
consideration.  It  has  been  too  much  the  practice  among 
the  supporters  of  diiferent  theories  to  insist  with  unwise 
positiveness  upon  their  own  view.  Briefly,  there  are 
practically  only  two  opinions,  between  which  the  reader 
must  decide.  The  book  was  either  written  about  the 
year  a.d.  68  or  69,  or  about  a  cpiarter  of  a  century  later 
(a.d.  96),  in  the  reign  of  Domitiau. 

The  later  date  was  that  which  was  accepted  almost 
uniformly  by  the  older  theologians.  In  favour  of  this 
early  tradition  has  been  appealed  to.  The  most  im- 
portant witness  (in  some  respects)  is  Irenseus,  who  says 
that  "  the  Apocalypse  was  seen  not  long  ago,  but  almost 
in  our  own  age,  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Domi- 
tiau." Other  Avritcrs  have  been  claimed  as  giving  a 
support  to  this  view  by  their  mention  of  Patmos  as 
the  jjlace  of  St.  John's  banishment ;  and  it  is  plain 
from  the  way  in  which  Eusebius  cpiotes  the  mention 
of  the  Patmos  exile  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,  that  he 
associated  it  with  the  reign  of  Domitian.  On  the  other 
liand,  it  must  l)e  remembered  that  neither  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  TertuUian,  Origen,  or  Jerome,  state  that  the 
banishment  took  place  in  the  reign  of  Domitian.  Ter- 
tuUian, indeed,  represents  Domitian  as  recalling  the 
exiles ;  and  other  writers  affirm  that  the  banishment 
took  place  much  earlier.  Theophylact,  for  example, 
declares  that  the  Apostle  was  in  Patmos  thirty-two 
years  after  the  Ascension ;  and  the  preface  to  the 
Syriac  version  of  the  Apocalypse  affirms  that  the  re- 
velation was  given  to  St.  John  in  Patmos,  whither  he 
■was  banished  by  the  Emperor  Nero.  Another  tradition 
assigns  the  writing  to  the  reign  of  Trajan.  Epiphanius, 
in  a  passage  of  doubtful  value,  places  the  exile  in  the 
reign  of  Claudius. 


526 


On  the  whole,  then,  there  is  not  any  very  certain 
conclusion  to  be  dra\\Ti  from  the  external  evidence. 
The  exile  in  Patmos  receives  ample  support,  but  the 
date  of  the  exile  is  hardly  settled  l)y  early  tradition. 

Will  the  intei-nal  evidence  help  ? 

The  advocates  of  the  later  date  rely  much  upon  the 
degenerate  state  of  the  Asiatic  churches,  as  described 
in  the  Ei)istles  to  the  Seven  Churches.  The  Epistles 
to  the  Ei)hesiaus,  Colossians,  and  Philemon  were  written 
during  the  captivity  of  St.  Paul  at  Rome,  about  the  year 
A.D.  63.  If,  then,  the  Apocalypse  was  written  in  A.D.  69 
or  70,  we  have  only  an  interval  of  six  or  seven  years  to 
account  for  a  striking  change  m  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  Asiatic  churches.  Can  we  believe  that  a  Church 
which  is  so  forward  iu  love  as  that  of  Ephesus  (Eph. 
iii.  18)  can  have  in  so  short  a  time  left  its  first  love  ? 
Can  it  be  believed  that  the  Laodicean  Church — whose 
spiritual  condition  in  A.D.  63  can  be  inferred  from  that 
of  Colossse  (Col.  i.  3,  4) — can  have,  in  six  brief  years, 
forsaken  their  "  faith  iu  Christ  Jesus,  and  their  love 
to  all  the  saints,"  and  become  the  "  lukewarm  "  chui'ch 
(Rev.  iii.  15,  16)  of  the  Apocalyjjse  ? 

It  may  be  noticed,  in  passing,  that  the  above  argu- 
ment assumes  that  the  (so-called)  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  was  really  addressed  to  the  Church  at  Ephesus ; 
and  this  is  by  no  means  certain  :  the  weight  of  evidence 
appears  to  incline  the  other  way.  But  allowing  this  to 
pass,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  argument,  assuming  that 
the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians  and  Colossians  afford 
indications  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  these  and 
kindred  Asiatic  churches,  it  does  not  seem  to  the 
■wi'iter  that  the  above  argument  can  be  sustained.  The 
two  propositions  on  which  its  force  depends  are  the 
folloAving : — 

(1)  It  is  impossible  that  churches  could  change 

much  for  the  worse  in  six  years. 

(2)  A  comparison  between  the  Apocalypse  and  the 

Letters  of  St.  Paul  show  a  gi*eat  change  for 
the  worse. 

From  these  two  propositions  it  is  inferred  that  the 
interval  must  have  been  more  than  six  years :  a  gene- 
ration at  least  being  required  to  account  for  such 
degeneracy.  "  It  bespeaks  a  change  of  persons,  the 
arrival  of  a  new  generation  "  (Hengstenberg). 

It  is  believed  that  neither  of  the  two  propositions 
mentioned  above  can  be  sustained.  (1)  It  needs  no  loug 
time  for  the  first  ardour  of  young  converts'  zeal  to  cool. 
The  New  Testament  gives  us  examples  of  such  rapid 
changes :  the  "  evil  eye "  of  a  perverted  teaching 
bcmtched  the  Galatians  (Gal.  iii.  1),  so  that  the 
Apostle  marvelled  that  the  disciples  were  so  rapidly 
turning  away  to  another  gospel  (Gal.  i.  6).  Changes 
quick  and  real  soon  sweep  over  a  religious  community, 
especially  in  districts  where  the  natural  temperament 
is  warm,  imjiressible,  and  vivacious.  It  is  not  im- 
possible that  six  years  may  make  changes  iu  the 
religious  condition  of  churches. 

But  (2)  it  is  more  important  to  consider  the  second 
proposition,  and  to  ask  whether  it  is  so  certain  that  any 
such  great  change  liad  taken  place  in  the  instances  before 
us.  A  comparison  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  and 
that  to  Laodicea  rather  leads  to  an  opposite  conclusion. 
Professor  (now  Bishop)  Lightfoot  has  shown  that  the 
same  truths  need  enforcing  (comp.  Col.  i.  15 — 18,  and 
Rev.  iii.  14),  the  same  practical  duties  are  taught 
(Col.  iii.  1,  and  Rev.  iii.  21),  the  same  lukeAvarmness 
is  the  subject  of  caution  (Col.  iv.  17,  and  Rev.  iii.  19), 
the  same  denunciations  are  heard  against  the  pride 
of  life,  in  wealth  or  intellect  (Col.  ii.  8,  18,  28,  and 
Rev.   iii.   17,  18).      "  The  message  communicated  by 


EEVELATION. 


St.  John  to  Laoflicoa  prolongs  the  note  which  was 
struck  by  St.  Paul  in  the  letters  to  Colossae.  An 
interval  of  a  very  few  years  lias  not  materially  altered 
the  character  of  these  churches.  Oljviously  the  same 
temper  prevails,  the  same  errors  are  rife,  the  same 
correction  must  be  applied  "  (Bishop  Lightfoot,  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  pp.  41 — 44). 

A  similar  comparison  might  be  made  between  the 
two  Ephesian  Epistles.  The  impression  left  from  a 
perusal  of  St.  Paul's  Letter  to  the  Ephesians,  whether 
addressed  to  that  church  or  not,  is  tliat  he  was  not 
witliout  a  fear  that  the  warm  love  which  prevailed 
among  the  Christians  addressed  might  soon  change  : 
it  is  a  love  above  the  accidents  of  time  and  the  powers 
of  chauge  which  he  desires  may  be  theirs  (Eph.  vi.  24; 
Rev.  ii.  4).  The  area  of  comparison  between  this 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  and  the  Epistles  to  the  Seven 
Churches  becomes  much  wider  when  we  regard  it,  in 
harmony  with  probability,  as  a  circular  letter  addressed 
to  the  Asiatic  churches :  then  the  resemblances  become 
more  xilain,  and  the  so-called  great  change  in  spiritual 
condition  disappears.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  mention 
the  follo^^4ng:  Eph.  i.  18,  Rev.  iii.  18;  Eph.  ii.  6, 
Rev.  iii.  21 ;  Eph.  iii.  8,  Rev.  ii.  9 ;  Eph.  iii.  17—19, 
Rev.  ii.  4. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  argument 
from  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  churches  lends  little, 
or  no  support  to  the  later  date,  but  fairly  strengthens 
the  earlier. 

The  advocates  of  the  earlier  date  adduce  other  in- 
ternal evidence.  They  lay  great  weight  upon  iufei'ences 
drawn  from  chaps,  xi.,  xiii.,  and  xvii.  They  argue  that 
the  measuring  of  the  Temple  and  the  treading  down  of 
the  Holy  City,  described  in  chap.  xi.  1,  2,  is  a  token  that 
Jerusalem  had  not  yet  fallen.  Tliis  argument  does 
not  seem  to  the  present  writer  satisfactory.  The 
measuring  of  the  Temple  is  symbolical,  and  it  is 
unsafe  to  ground  an  argument  upon  it.  The  aim  of 
the  -snsion  seems  to  us  to  poiut  out  the  safety  of  the 
genn-Church  during  the  times  of  desolation.  The  ex- 
ternal framework,  the  old  Jewish  polity,  might  be  swept 
away  (chap.  xi.  2;  comp.  Heb.  viii.  13) :  the  true  spiritual 
germ  would  never  clie,  but  spring  forth  in  fuller 
and  freer  vigour.  Such  a  %'ision  might  indeed  have 
preceded  the  fall  of  Jerusalem ;  but  it  might  also 
have  been  given  as  a  consolation  and  an  instruction 
afterwards. 

Hardly  more  conviucuig  is  the  argumeiit  from  chaps, 
xiii.  and  xvii.  In  the  account  of  the  seven-headed  wild 
beast  wo  read  of  seven  kings,  five  of  wliom  are  fallen. 
The  seven  kings  are  said  to  be  the  emperors  of  Rome. 
The  five  fallen  are  Augustus,  Tiberius,  Caius,  Claudius, 
Nero;  the  one  that  is.  is  Galba.  The  force  of  this 
depends  upon  tlie  truth  of  tlie  inteqiretation.  If  the 
seer  meant  the  seven  kings  to  represent  seven  emperors 
of  Rome,  then  the  date  of  the  Apocalypse  is  fixed  to 
the  age  of  Galba ;  or  to  that  of  Nero  if  we  beghi  to 
reckon  with  Julius  Caesar.  The  former  is  tlie  most 
correct  method  of  reckoning.  To  make  the  sixth  head 
Vespasian,  as  some  would  do,  is,  as  Dr.  Davidson  has 
remarked,  quite  arbitrary.  There  is  no  reason  for 
omitting  Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius  from  the  reckoning. 
But  tlio  force  of  the  argument  for  the  date  hero 
depends  upon  the  trutli  of  the  interpretation ;  and 
the  foundation  passages  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel, 
from  which  the  Apocalyptic  seer  drew  so  much  of 
his  imagery,  describe  under  the  emblem  of  tlie  wild 
boasts,  kingdoms,  or  world-powers,  rather  than  in- 
dividual monarchs.  Still,  of  course,  it  is  possible 
that  there  may  bo  a  double  interpretation — one  more 


local,  the  other  more  general — hero  as  well  as  else- 
where. But  the  requisite  interpretation  does  not  seem 
to  be  sufficiently  clear  for  the  purpose  of  argument. 

Nor  can  the  ai-gument  from  silence  be  accepted.  There 
is  no  allusion  to  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  the  book ;  but 
it  is  scarcely  safe  to  infer  that  the  book  was  therefore 
earlier  than  that  catastrophe. 

One  other  internal  (so  called)  argument  respecting 
date  may  be  noticed  here.  Liicke  cites  chap,  xviii.  20, 
where  the  Apostles  and  prophets  are  invited  to  rejoice 
because  they  have  been  avenged  on  Babylon,  to  prove 
that  St.  John  the  Apostle  was  dead  when  the  book  was 
written.  This  is  one  of  those  prosaic  errors  into  which 
even  the  most  learned  and  trustworthy  of  literary  ex- 
perts are  betrayed  by  their  own  acuteness. 

There  yet  remains  another  class  of  evidence :  that  of 
language  and  style.  Assuming  the  common  authorship 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse  (see  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Gospel,  and  section  on  the  Author  above),  we 
shall  have  very  little  doubt  that  the  general  probability 
is  in  favour  of  the  Apocalj^se  having  been  written  first. 
Not  only  is  the  Gospel  marked  by  the  sententiousness 
of  age,  and  the  Ajiocalypse  by  the  warm  colouring  of 
earlier  life,  but  the  influence  of  Jewish  associations  is 
more  strongly  marked  in  the  latter;  while  Greek  in- 
fluences are  more  distinctly  traceable  in  the  foi-mer. 

The  e\adence  on  this  head  inclines  to  the  eai'lier 
date,  but  it  is  not  absolutely  conclusive :  the  prevalence 
of  Hebraic  influences  noticeable  in  the  Apocalypse 
might  well  fit  in  with  the  later  date.  The  influences  of 
youth  often  re-assert  themselves  with  startling  vigour 
in  declining  years :  the  provincialisms  and  accent  of  boy- 
hood have  been  resumed  by  men  in  the  evening  of  life, 
after  having  been  kejjt  long  in  abeyance  by  the  joint 
powers  of  control  and  cidture.  Illustrations  of  this  will 
occur  to  the  reader.  But,  in  the  instance  before  us,  the 
probability  seems  to  lie  the  other  way  :  in  the  Apostle's 
case  the  Hebraic  influences  did  prevail  during  the  early 
life ;  the  Greek  influences  were  present  during  his  later 
life ;  and  we  may  well  believe  that  the  Apocalyiise 
"  marks  the  Hebraic  period  of  St.  John's  life  which 
was  spent  in  the  East,  and  among  Aramaic  speaking 
popidations  " ;  and  that  the  Gospel  was  written  twenty 
or  thirty  years  afterwards,  at  the  "  close  of  the  Hel- 
lenic period  during  which  St.  John  hved  in  Ephesus, 
the  gi-eat  centre  of  Greek  civilisation."  (See  Bishop 
Lightfoot's  Article  on  "  Supernatural  Religion,"  Con- 
temporary  Revieiv,  vol.  xxv.,  p.  859.) 

To  conclude  this  brief  summary,  we  may  say  that  the 
general  weight  of  evidence  is  in  favour  of  the  earlier 
date,  and  certainly  this  supposition  fits  in  best  with  aU 
the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

III.  Schools  and  Principles  of  Interpreta- 
tion.— Before  entering  upon  the  general  meaning  of 
the  book,  it  is  desirable  to  lay  before  the  reader  a  brief 
account  of  the  different  schools  of  Apocalyptic  inter- 
pretation. 

(1)  Schools  of  Interpretation. — It  is  well  known  that 
there  are  tliree  main  systems  of  inteiiirctatiou  :  these 
are  called,  from  their  special  tendencies  of  thought,  the 
Pra^terist,  the  Futurist,  and  the  Historical. 

The  Praeterist  in  general  maintains  tliat  the  nsions 
of  the  Apocalypse  relate  to  events  and  circumstances 
which  are  past :  the  prophecies  of  the  book — at  least  in 
their  jjrimary  intention — have  been  fulfilled.  Among 
tlio  advocates  of  this  view  mav  be  reckoned  tlie  names 
of  Grotius  and  Hammond,  the  learned  and  eloquent 
Bossuet,  Eichliorn,  Ewald.  De  Wette,  Lucke.  Diister- 
dieck.  Professor  Moses  Stuart  of  America,  and  in  this 


527 


REVELATION. 


coniitry  the  late  lamented  Professor  Maurice,  Professor 
Davidson,  and  Mr.  Desprez. 

The  Futurist  is  at  tlic  opposite  pole  of  interpretation, 
and  maintains  that  the  fultilment  of  the  book  is  still 
future,  when  our  Lord  will  come  again.  Professor 
Davidson  has  separated  the  Futurists  into  two  classes 
— the  simple  Futurist  and  the  extreme  Futurist:  the 
difference  l)i>tween  these  classes  being  that  the  simple 
Futurist  believes  that  the  proijhecies  of  the  book  are 
future  in  fulfiluient,  while  the  extreme  Futurist  liolds 
that  even  the  first  three  chapters  are  prophetic.  Among 
those  who  have  nuiintained  the  more  moderate  Futurist 
view  may  be  mentioned  De  Burgh,  Maitlaud,  Benjamin 
Newton,  Todd,  and  the  devout  Isaac  Williams.  The 
extreme  Futurist  view  has  been  supported  chiefly  by 
some  Irish  expositors. 

The  Historical  school  holds  a  sort  of  middle  place 
between  the  Pra3terist  and  Futurist.  Its  advocates 
believe  that  in  the  Apocalypse  we  have  a  continuous 
prophecy,  exhibiting  to  us  the  main  features  of  the 
world's  history :  the  visions  therefoi'e  are  partly  ful- 
filled, partly  they  are  in  course  of  fulfilment,  and  a 
portion  still  remains  unfulfilled.  This  view  has  been 
sustained  by  men  of  conspicuous  ability.  It  was  the 
interpretation  which  commended  itself  to  many  of  the 
Reformers,  and  was  favoured  by  Widif,  Bullinger, 
Bale,  and  othei's.  It  was  upheld  with  more  systematic 
power  by  such  distinguished  writers  as  Mede,  Vitringa, 
Daubuz,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Whiston,  Bengel,  and 
Bishop  Newton :  more  recently  it  has  been  advocated 
by  Hengstenberg,  Ebrard,  Auberlen,  by  Elliott  and 
Faber,  by  Bishop  Wordsworth  and  the  late  Dean  Alford, 
by  Barnes,  Lord,  and  Glasgow. 

It  is,  of  course,  to  be  understood  that  there  are 
many  varieties  of  interpretation  even  among  those  who 
belong  to  th.e  same  school  of  interpreters :  but  it 
would  quite  exceed  the  limits  at  our  disposal  to  speak 
of  these  varieties. 

Against  these  three  schools  of  interpretations  it  is  not 
difficult  to  find  objections.  It  is  hard  to  believe,  with 
the  Praeterist,  that  the  counselling  voice  of  prophecy 
should  have  spoken  oidy  of  immediate  dangers,  and 
left  the  Church  for  fifteen  centuries  unwarned ;  or, 
with  the  Futurist,  to  believe  that  eighteen  centuries  of 
the  eventful  history  of  the  Church  are  passed  over  in 
silence,  and  that  the  whole  weight  of  inspired  warning 
was  reserved  for  the  few  closing  years  of  the  dispensa- 
tion. Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  we  be  thoi-oughly 
satisfied  with  the  Historical  school,  however  ably  and 
learnedly  represented.  Tliere  is  a  certain  nakedness 
about  the  interpretations  often  advocated  by  this  school: 
the  interpreter  is  too  readily  caught  by  external  re- 
semblances, and  pays  too  little  heed  to  inner  spiritual 
and  ethical  principles.  A  mistake  into  which  this 
system  falls  is  that  of  bringing  into  prominence  the 
idea  of  iiine.  According  to  them,  the  visions  of  the 
book  are  pictures  of  occurrences  to  take  place  at  a 
certain  fixed  date.  Now  it  must  never  be  forgotten 
that  the  question  of  time — the  time  when  this  or  that 
was  to  happen — was  one  which  our  Lord  steadily  put 
on  one  side.  It  was  not  for  His  disciples  to  know  the 
times  and  the  seasons.  The  knowledge  of  the  time  of 
an  event  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  knowledge 
of  the  forces,  elements,  and  laws  which  combine  to 
produce  it.  This  seems  to  be  our  Master's  teaching  to 
His  followers  all  through  time.  Our  study  is  to  know 
what  are  the  foes  we  have  to  contend  against,  what 
combinations  they  are  likely  to  make,  in  what  power 
they  are  to  be  confronted,  what  difficulties  are  likely 
to  arise,  what  certainty  there  is  that  all  difficulties  will 


be  surmounted  and  every  foe  overthrown.  It  matters 
not  for  us  to  know  when  these  things  shall  be :  it  may 
be  at  the  first  watch,  or  midnight,  or  at  the  cock- 
crowing  :  the  time  is  a  matter  of  no  ethical  importance. 
It  is  thus  St.  Peter  treats  it :  "  One  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day."  It  is  but  the  echo  of  His  Lord's  warning.  It 
may  take  a  long  time  or  a  short  time  for  the  moral 
laws  and  moral  forces  at  work  in  the  world  to  bring 
forth  a  crisis  period.  To  take  St.  Peter's  words  as  laying 
down  a  kind  of  prophetical  "  time-measure  "  is  to  fall 
into  that  fatal  source  of  error,  the  conversion  of  poetry 
into  prose.  We  are  not,  then,  to  look  for  any  indications 
of  time  in  the  visions  of  the  Apocalypse ;  and  what 
might  have  made  this  very  plain  is  the  employment  of 
proportional  numbers  to  denote  the  prophetic  epochs  in 
the  book.  These  carefully-selected  numbers,  always 
bearing  a  rclatiouship  to  one  another,  and  so  selected 
that  a  literal  interpretation  of  them  is  almost  precluded, 
are  beyond  doubt  symbolical,  and  thus  in  harmony  with 
the  whole  character  of  the  book.  "  Most  numbers  in 
the  Revelation  should  not  be  taken  ai'ithmetically,  but 
indefinitely,  because  they  are  part  of  the  poetic  costume 
borrowed  from  the  Old  Testament  "  (Davidson).  The 
anxiety  respecting  the  "  times  and  seasons "  has  led 
many  interpreters  into  voluminous  errors,  and  has 
created  a  Thessalonian  restlessness  of  spirit  in  many 
quarters.  Infinitely  more  important  is  it  to  notice  the 
moral  and  spiritual  aspects  of  the  book,  the  evil  and 
the  good  principles  which  are  described  in  conflict,  and 
the  features  which  in  different  ages  the  combat  will 
assume. 

But,  though  the  time-interpretation  of  the  book  is 
thus  to  be  placed  in  the  background,  it  must  not  bo 
so  done  as  to  imply  that  the  book  has  no  reference  to 
occurrences  which  will  happen  in  time.  If  some  of  the 
Historical  school  of  interpreters  have  so  forced  the  c|ues- 
tion  of  time  into  prominence  as  to  ignore  the  more  im- 
portant ethical  bearings  of  the  book,  it  is  no  less  true 
that  critics  on  the  other  side  have  erred  in  removing 
the  application  of  the  book  wholly  out  of  the  sphere  of 
history,  and  giving  it  only  the  force  of  a  fairy  tale 
with  a  possible  and  doubtful  moi-al.  This  is  to  set 
aside  the  value  of  the  book  to  the  Church  of  Christ 
as  she  moves  across  the  vexed  and  stormy  sea  of  this 
world's  histoi-y.  The  visions  of  the  book  do  find 
counterparts  in  the  occurrences  of  human  history : 
they  have  had  these,  and  they  yet  will  have  these, 
fulfilments  ;  and  these  fulfilments  belong  neither  wholly 
to  the  past,  nor  wholly  to  the  future  :  the  prophecies  of 
God  are  written  in  a  language  which  can  be  read  by 
more  than  one  generation :  what  was  read  here  helped 
the  early  Christian  to  whom  imperial  Rome  was  the 
great  Babylon  which  absorbed  to  herself  the  wealth, 
and  the  wickedness,  the  power  and  persecuting  spirit 
of  the  world,  to  whom  the  emperor  may  have  seemed 
as  a  wild  beast,  savage  and  relentless,  rising  out 
of  the  tumults  of  peoples  and  nations,  fickle  and  ruth- 
less as  th(^  sea.  No  less  have  the  vi.sions  of  this  book 
consoled  the  mediasval  saint  or  poet,  who  felt  that 
the  most  influential  seat  of  the  Church  had  become 
the  metropolis  of  worldliness  when  "  the  Prince  of  the 
New  Pharisees "  was  seated  in  St.  Peter's  chair,  and 
when  out  of  a  professedly  Christianised  society  had 
arisen  a  power  aspiring  to  some  religious  culture, 
but  fierce,  wild,  and  wanton  as  the  wild  beast  of 
ancient  days.  (Comp.  Dante,  Inf.  xxvii.  85 ;  and 
Rosetti's  Antipapal  Spirit  of  the  Italian  Poets-— 
passim).  Nor  is  the  force  of  the  consolation  ex- 
I   hausted :    in    the   future,   the    visions   of    this   book, 


o28 


EEVELATION. 


showing  the  certain  trium])li  of  all  tliat  is  good  and 
true,  in  the  final  consunimation  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
may  hereafter  serve  to  console  men  and  women  groan- 
ing under  a  tyranny  of  ungodliness  more  terrible  and 
more  specious  than  any  whioh  have  preceded  it,  because 
built  up  of  a  pride  which  worshi[)s  physical  laws,  while 
it  treads  under  foot  all  moral  laws,  and  spurns  con- 
temptuously all  spiritual  laws.  In  the  past,  the  book 
has  had  its  meaning :  in  the  future,  its  meaning  may 
grow  full(>r  and  clearer ;  but  in  the  present  also  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  has  its  practical  value  for  all  who 
will  reverently  and  patiently  hear  and  keep  the  sayings 
of  this  book. 

We  are  disposed  to  ^^ew  the  Apocalypse  as  the  pictorial 
unfolding  of  great  principles  in  constant  conflict,  though 
under  various  forms.  The  Praetcrist  may,  then,  be  right 
in  finding  early  fulfilments,  and  the  Futurist  in  expect- 
ing undeveloped  ones,  and  the  Historical  interpreter  is 
imquestionably  right  in  looking  for  them  along  the  whole 
line  of  history ;  for  the  words  of  God  mean  more  than 
one  man,  or  one  school  of  thought,  can  compass.  There 
are  depths  of  truth  unexplored  which  sleep  beneath  the 
simplest  sentences.  Just  as  we  are  wont  to  say  that 
liistory  repeats  itself,  so  the  predictions  of  the  Bible 
are  not  exhausted  in  one  or  even  in  many  fulfilments. 
Each  prophecy  is  a  single  key  which  unlocks  many 
doors,  and  the  grand  and  stately  drama  of  the  Apo- 
calypse has  been  played  out  perchance  in  one  age  to 
be  repeated  in  the  next.  Its  majestic  and  mysterious 
teachings  indicate  the  features  of  a  struggle  which,  be 
the  stage  the  human  soul,  with  its  fluctuations  of  doubt 
and  fear,  of  hope  and  love — or  the  pi'ogress  of  kingdoms 
— or  the  destinies  of  the  world,  is  the  same  struggle 
in  all. 

(2)  The  Principles  of  Interpretation.— li  will  have 
been  seen  that  the  writer  does  not  feel  at  home  under 
the  leadership  of  any  of  the  three  gi-eat  schools  of 
l)rophetical  interpretation.  The  Church  of  Christ  owes 
much  to  all  of  them,  though  the  cause  of  truth  has 
suli'ered  much  from  many  who  have  sought  to  be 
prophets  when  at  the  most  they  could  aspire  to  be 
interpreters;  but  the  result  even  of  the  errors  of  in- 
terpreters has  been  the  slow  fonnatiou  of  sounder  views, 
and  therefore  an  advance  towards  a  clearer,  because  a 
more  modest,  system.  There  are  certain  principles 
which  seem  to  be  now  veiy  generally  accepted  as 
essential  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  l)0()k.  It  is 
not,  indeed,  to  be  supposed  that  the  acceptance  of 
these  principles  will  enable  the  student  to  uulock  every 
mystery,  or  expound  every  symbol ;  but  it  will  certainly 
save  hira  from  following  "  wandering  fires."  Of  these 
principles  the  chief  seem  to  be  the  following  : — (1)  the 
root  passages  in  the  Old  Testament  prophecies  must  be 
considered;  (2)  the  historical  surroundings  of  the  writer 
are  to  be  remembered ;  (3)  the  fact  that  the  book  is  sym- 
bolical nnist  never  be  forgotten  ;  (4)  the  obvious  aim  of 
tlie  book  to  be  a  witness  to  the  triumph  and  coming 
ijyaroitsia)  of  Jesus  Chri.st  must  be  recognised.  These 
principles  are  simple  enough,  but  their  n(>glect  has 
been  only  too  fatally  evident.  The  difficulty,  indeed, 
lies  rather  in  the  application  of  these  principles  than  in 
their  acceptance.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  too  nnicli  to  say 
that  the  Frajterist  school  luus  been  apt  to  ignore  the 
first  of  these  principles ;  the  Historical  school  has  not 
adequately  recognised  the  second;  and  the  Futurist 
school  is  in  constant  danger  of  forgetting  the  third; 
while  partial  views  in  all  schools  have  violated  or 
weakened  the  value  of  the  last  principle. 

The  "  coming  of  Christ,"  viewed  fpom  tlie  human 
side,  is  a  phrase  which  is  not  always  to  be  held  to  one 
100  529 


meaning :  it  is,  in  this  aspect,  analogous  to  the  "  king- 
dom of  God."  "Holy  Scripture,  beyond  all  doubt, 
recognises  potential  and  si^iritual,  as  well  as  personal, 
'  comings '  of  the  Lord."  *  "  There  are  many  comings 
of  Christ.  Christ  came  in  the  flesh  as  a  mediatorial 
Presence.  Christ  came  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Christ  came,  a  spiritual  Presence,  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  given.  Christ  comes  now  in  every  signal  manifes- 
tation of  redeeming  power.  Any  great  reformation  of 
morals  and  i-eligion  is  a  coming  of  Christ.  A  great 
revolution,  like  a  thunderstorm,  violently  sweeping  away 
evil  to  make  way  for  the  good,  is  a  coming  of  Christ " 
(Robertson,  Sermons,  Fourth  Series,  j).  73).  It  is  thus 
that  the  sacred  writers  speak  as  of  Christ's  coming 
always  at  hand:  "The  judge  standeth  at  the  door;" 
"  Tlie  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh."  "  So,  also,  our 
Lord  speaks:  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless;  I  will 
come  to  you."  Thus,  viewed  from  one  aspect,  the 
"  coming  of  Christ "  has  various  applications ;  but 
viewed  from  another  aspect,  it  wnll  be  seen  to  be  a 
phrase  expressive  of  a  simple  thought,  and  free  from 
all  perplexing  ambiguity.  The  coming  of  Christ,  viewed 
from  the  divine  side,  is  as  a  single  act,  in  which  all 
subordinate  applications  are  included.  There  is  no 
Iiast  or  future  with  God.  All  that  is  being  done,  is, 
in  one  sense,,  done.  God's  dealings,  as  seen  by  human 
eyes,  are,  as  it  were,  projections  on  the  page  of  history. 
An  illustration  may  help.  A  telegraph  cable,  whether 
cut  straight  through  or  on  the  slope,  will  present  to 
view  exactly  the  same  combination  of  copper  and  iron 
wire,  gutta-percha,  and  tarred  yarn ;  but  in  the 
elliptical  section  the  elements  will  appear  in  more 
extended  order  than  in  the  circular  section :  so  the 
same  features  which  to  us  appear  separate  and  succes- 
sive, when  viewed  from  the  higher  level  of  heavenly 
thought,  may  be  seen  as  forming  parts  of  one  act. 
The  various  advents  of  Christ  may  thus  be  viewed  as 
forming  elements  in  one  Advent,  which  is  progressive 
from  one  side,  but  complete  from  another.  The  morning 
spreads  itself  in  every  direction  over  the  forehead  of  the 
sky,  and  yet  is  but  one  morning.  All  the  varying  scenes 
from  the  First  Advent  to  the  Second  are  out  the 
beatings  of  the  wings  of  God's  new  day.  "  It  is,"  as 
the  prophet  expressed  it  in  language  of  glorious  paradox, 
"  It  is  one  day,  kiioAvn  to  the  Lord,  neither  clear  nor 
dark,  but  one  day,  at  whose  eventide  it  shall  be  light." 
If  this  be  true,  there  is  no  necessity  for  leajmig  to 
the  conclusion  that,  when  the  sacred  writers  warned 
their  hearers  that  the  coining  of  the  Lord  was  near, 
they  were  mistaken,  or  that  they  sought  to  sustain  the 
fainting  hopes  of  the  early  Church  by  expectations 
which  liave  proved  false.  Doubtless  some  did  not 
imderstaud  the  full  and  deep  meauiug  of  the  words 


•  The  whole  note  from  Bishop  Waldeifrave's  Bampton  Lec- 
turcn  is  worth  quotinp.  "Holy  Scriptiu-e.  beyond  all  doubt, 
recojniisos  (1)  potential  and  spiritual,  aa  well  as  personal, 
'coniinKs'  of  the  Lord.  See,  for  p)otential  'comings.  Matt.  x. 
23;  John  xxi.  22,  23;  Rev.  ii.  5,  15,  16.  22-25;  iii.  3.  10.  .  .  . 
See,  for  spiritual  'coinintfs,'  Ps.  ci.  2  ;  John  xiv.  18,  21—24  :  Rev. 
iii.  20.  In  like  manner  Holy  Scripture  recogniises  (2)  a  potential 
and  spiritual,  as  distinct  from  a  personal,  "presence '  of  Christ 
with  Ilis  people.  See  Matt,  xviii.  20;  xxviii.  20;  Mark  xvi.  20; 
2  Tim.  iv.  17.  Now  such  potential  and  spiritual  comings  and 
presence  will  naturally,  when  translated,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
into  the  language  of  imagery,  assume  the  outwunl  appearance 
of  a  pergonal  and  visil)le  coming  and  presence-  Ann  this  fact 
will  abundantly  account  for  the  u.se  of  language  (expressive  of 
potential  and  spiritual  comings)  like  that  in  I's.  cii.  13—16;  Isa. 
xix.  1.  Ifi,  19-21:  xl.  10;  Ux.  20;  Zech.  ii.  10—12:  (expressive  of 
potential  and  spiritual  presence) like  that  in  Fs.  cxxxv.  21 ;  Isa. 
xii.  6;  xxiv.  23;  Ix.  13:  Kzek.  xxxiv.  ti,  24;  xli.  22;  xliii.  1—9; 
xliv.  1,  2  ;  Joel  ii.  27  ;  iii.  17,  20.  21 ;  Micah  iv.  7;  Zcph.  iii.  II,  15; 
Zcch.  vi.  12,  13 ;  viii.  3,  without  expecting  a  personal  reign  o£ 
Christ  upon  earth  as  its  only  adequate  counterpart." 


EEVELATION. 


omi)loyed:  doubtless  many  still  dung  to  their  carnal 
conccptious  :  but  tlio  jipostolic  languago,  whothor  from 
the  pen  of  a  St.  Paul,  St.  Peter,  or  St.  Jolm,  expresses 
tlie  \vider  and  truer  thoughts  of  the  coming  of  Christ. 
We  find  them  anxious  to  remind  those  to  whom  they 
wrote  that  the  idea  of  an  immediate  visiljlo  personal 
coming  of  Christ  must  not  be  allowed  to  gain  possession 
of  the  mind.  There  were  forces  at  work  which  must 
have  their  way  l)ef()re  the  end  would  come  :  seeds  liad 
been  planted, "and  these  must  grow:  the  sowing  and 
the  harvest  .-ire  linked  together  as  one  in  the  law  of 
growth,  and  are  yet  separate.  Thus  the  spirit  of  wil- 
fulness and  impatience  is  rebuked  when  men  grasj)  the 
true  thoughts  of  God.  Yet  it  must  uot  be  supposed 
that  the  waiting  Church  of  Christ  will  bo  disappointed 
of  her  hope,  or  that  the  heavenly  Bridegroom  will  not 
come.  He  will  come  agaiu;  and  all  the  preliminary 
and  subordinate  advents  in  judgment  and  in  comfort 
will  then  be  seen  to  have  been  earnests  of  the  fulness 
of  His  coming.  The  interpreters  are  as  men  who  staud 
upon  a  plain  to  watch  the  sunrise.  When  the  first  veil 
of  night  is  withdrawn,  and  the  starlight  is  somewhat 
paled,  the  more  ardent  than  the  rest  will  cry,  "  The 
dawn !  "  but  the  rest  answer,  "  Not  yet."  Then  when 
the  mountain  peaks  begin  to  flame,  another  will  cry, 
'•  The  dawn  !  "  and  the  I'est  will  still  I'cply,  "  Not  yet." 
And  when  tlie  landscape  around  catclies  its  true  colours, 
another  will  cry,  "The  dawnl  "  but  only  when  the  great 
and  glorious  orb  leaps  into  view  will  all  be  one  in  crying, 
"  The  dawn  !  the  dawn  I  "  So  is  the  coming  of  Christ. 
Some  look  upon  the  faint  lightening  in  the  moral 
atmosphere,  and  say,  "Christ  comes!"  Others  look 
to  the  I'eflccted  lights  of  truth  proclaimed  in  the  high 

{)laces  of  the  world,  and  say,  "  Christ  comes !  "  Others 
ook  to  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  say, 
"  Christ  comes !  "  They  are  right,  and  they  are  wrong: 
right,  for  it  is  indeed  Christ  who  is  thus  enlightening 
the  world ;  they  are  wrong,  for  then;  is  a  coming  greater 
than  tliese  when  He  will,  in  fuller  manifestation  of 
Himself,  tabernacle  witli  His  people  as  their  everlasting 
light. 

IV.  General  Scope  of  this  Book. 

(1)  Its  Aim.—^Y]\iit  is  the  aim  of  this  book?  The 
answers  given,  though  various,  have  much  in  common. 
Some  see  in  it  a  prediction  of  the  overthrow  of  Pagan- 
ism ;  others  carry  it  further,  and  see  the  destruction  of 
Papal  Rome ;  others  read  in  it  the  rise  and  fall  of  some 
future  Antichrist.  Tims  far  the  opinions  vary;  but  in 
one  respect  there  is  agreement :  the  Revelation  aims  at 
assuring  the  Church  of  the  advent  of  her  Lord  :  it  is 
the  book  of  the  Coming  One.  Every  school  of  inter- 
pretation will  admit  this.  Some  indeed  will  say  that 
the  expectation  raised  was  never  fulfilled,  but  all  appear 
to  unite  in  regarding  the  Apocalypse  as  the  book  of  the 
advent.  We  may  take  this  as  a  key  to  its  meaning :  it 
jiroclaims  Christ's  coming  and  victory.  But  is  it  the 
victory  of  Christ  over  Paganism,  or  over  degenerate 
forms  of  Christianity,  or  over  some  final  and  future 
antichrist ian  power  or  person  ?  The  true  answer 
appears  to  be,  It  is  the  victory  of  Christ  over  all  wrong- 
thoughtedness.  wrong-heartedness,  and  wrong-spirited- 
uess  ;  the  pictures  given  in  the  visions  find  their 
counterpart  not  in  one  age  only,  ])ut  gather  their 
fuU-filmout  as  the  ages  advance:  the  fall  of  Paganism 
is  included  in  the  Ansions,  as  the  downfall  of  the  world- 
power  of  Imperial  Rome  is  included  ;  but  the  picture- 
prophecy  is  not  exhausted,  and  will  not  l)e  till  eveiy 
form  of  evil  of  which  Pagan  and  Imperial  Rome,  of 
which  the  wild  beast  and  Babylon  are  types,  has  been 


630 


overthrown.  The  ages  are  seen  in  perspective;  the 
incidents  separated  from  one  another  in  historical 
sequence  are  gathered  into  one  prophetical  scene,  and 
the  Apocalypse  presents  us  with  a  variety  of  these 
pi'ophetical  scenes,  which  depict  the  salient  features  of 
the  conquest  of  evil,  the  triumph  and  advent  of  Christ 
— "  He  comas  "  is  tlu:"  key.  He  comes  when  Paganism 
falls ;  He  comes  when  brute  world  force  is  cast  down ; 
He  comes  when  worldliness  falls — He  comes,  and  His 
coming  is  .spreading  ever  over  the  world,  shining  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Clouds  may  gather, 
and  make  the  epochs  which  are  nearest  the  full  day 
darker  than  those  Avhich  preceded  them,  but  still  in 
every  epoch  leading  up  to  the  golden  day;  the  line  of 
conflict  may  advance  and  recede  from  time  to  time,  but 
it  is  a  triumphant  battle-field  which  is  pictured.  It  is 
thus  the  book  of  the  advent  and  victory  of  Christ. 

But  is  it  a  book  affording  false  hopes  ?  Is  it  an 
echo  of  the  wish  of  the  early  Chi'istian  Church,  or  is  it 
a  revelation  from  Clu-ist  to  the  Avaiting  and  perhaps 
Impatient  Church  ?  I  believe  it  is  the  latter.  So  far 
from  the  book  giving  colour  to  the  exi^ectation  of  an 
immediate  personal  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  seems 
distinctly  to  caution  the  early  Christians  against 
cherishing  mistaken  notions  :  "  that  day  shall  uot  come 
except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,"  Avas  the  caution 
of  St.  Paul ;  the  caution  of  St.  John,  though  expressed 
in  pictorial  form,  is  none  the  less  emphatic.  Let  any 
one  bear  in  mind  the  eager  impatience  of  suffering 
Christians  in  early  days,  and  let  them  then  read  the 
Apocalypse,  and  they  wiU  learn  that  its  undertone  is 
"  Not  yet,  not  yet,"  but  still  surely  is  He  coming — not 
as  you  think,  but  as  He  thinks  Avell,  so  is  He  coming. 
Let  the  seals  furni.sh  an  illustration  :  the  first  shows  an 
ideal  conqueror  ;  Christ,  or  the  gospel  of  Christ  goes 
forth  to  conquer — it  is  the  picture  of  the  Church's 
hope  ;  the  vision  tells  her  that  her  hope  is  right,  Christ 
will  conquer ;  but  it  is  the  prelude  of  visions  which  tell 
her  that  her  expectation  is  Avrong  if  she  expects  that  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  will  be  established  without  conflict, 
pain,  suffering  and  revolution.  The  succeeding  seals 
are  the  pictures  of  the  things  which  must  needs  be  : 
the  wars,  the  persecutions,  the  sorrows  which  will 
afflict  the  Avorld  because  slu;  Avill  not  accejit  her  King : 
the  parable  of  Luke  xix.  11 — 27,  and  the  emphatic 
warning  language  of  Christ  Jesus  in  Matt.  xxiv.  1 — H, 
are  not  forgotten  in  the  Apocalypse.  In  it  we  are 
bidden  to  rememl)er  that  though  the  A-ictory  is  sure,  the 
victory  is  through  suffering;  Ave  are  shoAvn  scenes  Avhicli 
betoken  the  prolonged  sorroAvs  of  the  faithful,  the 
obstinate  tenacity  of  cvdl,  its  subtle  transformations, 
and  the  concealed  poAvers  by  Avliich  it  is  sustained :  we 
are  thus,  as  it  Avere,  shoAvn  the  Avorld's  di-ama  from  a 
heaA'cnly  vicAV-point,  not  in  continuous  hi.storical  suc- 
cession, but  in  its  A'arious  essential  features,  it  is  in  this 
dramatic — that  it  does  not  tell  its  story  right  on,  but 
groups  its  episodes  round  convenient  centres,  bringing 
into  .special  prominence  successively  the  jirinciples  of 
God's  Avorld-government.  It  is  thus  an  apocalypse  un- 
folding in  sj'Uibolical  forms  the  characteristic  features 
of  the  sti'uggle  betAveen  good  and  evil,  Avhen  the  power 
of  the  gospel  enters  the  field;  it  is  the  revelation  of  the 
coming  {paronsia)  of  Christ,  because  it  shows  not  only 
that  He  Avill  come,  but  that  He  does  come ;  that  He 
who  has  been  revealed,  is  being  rcA'caled,  and  avLU  yet 
be  revealed. 

(2)  The  Form. — It  is  the  symbolical  form  which 
hinders  many  in  the  right  understanding  of  the  book. 
"  I  am  a  man  of  the  earth,"  Avi-ote  Goethe  ;  "  I  am  a 
man  of  the  earth,  earthy;  to  me  the  parables  of  the 


EEVELATION. 


unjust  steward,  the  prodigal  sou,  the  sower,  the  pearl, 
the  lost  piece  of  mouey,  &o.,  are  more  divine  (if  aught 
diviue  there  be  about  tlie  matter),  than  the  seven 
messengers,  candlesticks,  seals,  stars,  and  woes."  This 
is  only  saying  that  symbolism  employed  in  the  one  case 
was  simpler  than  that  employed  in  the  latter — simpler, 
that  is  to  say,  to  Western  minds ;  for  it  may  perhaps 
be  doubted  whether  the  symbolism  which  to  the  Teutonic 
mind  seemed  so  strange,  may  not  liave  been  simple  enough 
to  those  who  were  accustomed  to  Hebrew  symbolism. 
But  however  this  may  be,  the  general  symbols  of  the 
book  ax'e  not  so  difficult  as  might  appear.  There  is  not 
space  at  our  disposal  to  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  this 
iu  detail.  Certain  features,  however,  are  worthy  of 
uoticc.  The  geographical  imagery  needs  attention  : 
Jerusalem  stands  as  the  type  of  the  good  cause,  Baby- 
lon as  the  type  of  the  meti-opolis  of  the  Avorld-power : 
Jerusalem  is  thus  the  Church  of  Christ  (this  symbolism 
is  in  complete  harmony  with  St.  Paul  and  other  apostolic 
writers  (comp.  Gal.  iv.  2-4 — 31 ;  Heb.  xii.  22,  23.  Babylon 
is  tlie  emblem  of  Pagan  Rome,  but  not  only  of  Pagan 
Rome,  for  the  Babylon  type  remains  to  this  day :  there  are 
inspiring  powers  on  the  side  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem 
— God  is  with  her;  she  shall  not  be  moved;  the 
metropolis  of  evil  has  the  assistance  of  evil  powers  : 
the  dragon,  the  wild  beast,  and  the  false  prophet  are 
for  a  time  with  her.  The  family  of  e^nl  bears  a  marked 
parallel  to  the  family  of  good  throughout  the  book: 
there  is  a  trinity  of  evil  powers  on  the  side  of  Babylon 
the  harlot,  as  the  blessed  Trinity  are,  with  the  bride, 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  {See  Excursus  B:  The  Wild 
Beast.)  The  scenes  iu  the  great  contiict  range  them- 
selves round  the  members  of  these  families  of  good  and 
evil.  The  general  features  aud  elements  of  this  struggle 
are  depicted.  There  are  numerical  symbols :  seven  is 
the  number  of  pei-fection,  six  of  man's  worldly  per- 
fection without  God,  four  of  the  universe,  three  and  a 
half  of  a  limited  period.  There  are  seals,  trumjiets, 
an<l  vials ;  the  seals  of  the  book  which  could  only  be 
opened  by  Christ  betoken  that  the  direction  of  earth's 
history  and  its  explanation  can  be  found  only  iu  Christ; 
the  trumpets  are  the  symbols  of  God's  Avar  against  all 
forms  of  evil ;  the  vials  are  the  tokens  of  the  retri- 
bution whicJi  falls  upon  those  who  turn  not  at  the 
divine  summons  to  righteousness.  The  strong  sym- 
bolism of  the  book  has  a  two-fold  advantage :  when 
tlie  application  of  the  Aisious  are  not  to  bo  exhausted 
in  one  ago,  the  pictorial  form  is  the  most  convenient  to 
embrace  tlie  manifold  fulfilments.  Again,  the  author 
has  clothed  his  thoughts  in  tlie  "  variously  limiting,  but 
reverential  and  only  suitable  drapery  of  ancient  sacred 
language  and  .symbolism,  in  the  conviction  that  the 
reader  would  penetrate  the  veil  and  reach  tlie  sense  " 
(Gebhardt). 

(3)  The  General  Structure. — The  majority  of  critics 
see  a  seven-fold  structui'e  in  the  book.  The  commen- 
tators differ,  as  might  be  ex])ccted,  as  to  the  way  in 
which  this  seven-foldedness  of  structure  shows  itself ; 
but  most  of  them  arrange  the  different  parts  of  the 
book  iu  a  seven-fold  fashion.  This  is  worthy  of  note, 
an  the  Fourtli  Gospel  (see  Introduction  to  St.  John's 
Gospel)  has  been  shown  to  have  a  similar  seven-fold 
arrangement.  Wlien  we  notice  the  fondness  of  tho 
seer  for  such  an  arrangement  in  the  subordinate  visions, 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  tliat  the  whole  book  sliould 
fall  into  seven  groups ;  but  wo  must  be  careful  not  to 
be  carried  away  by  our  love  of  symmetry.  The  charts 
aud  maps  of  Apocaly^itic  interpretation  are  often  very 
Procrustean.  The  general  structure  of  the  book, 
however,  may  be  noted. 


Thei-e  are : — 

1.  The  Preliminary  Chapters.— Christ  and  His 

Church. 

(1)  The  Vision  of  the  Christ  (eliap.  i.). 

(2)  The  Messages  to  the  Churches  (chaps. 

ii.,  iii.). 

2.  The  Visions. 

(1)  The  Vision  of  the  Throned  One  (chap. 

iv.). 

(2)  The  Visions  of  the  Conflict,  in  two  main 

sections, 
(o)  The  conjlict  seenfrovi  the  world  side  (chaps, 
vi. — xi.) : 

(a)  The  seven  seals  (chaps.  A'i. — viii.  1). 
(/3)  The  seven  trumpets  (chaps,  viii.  2 
— xi.). 
(6)   The  conjlict   seen  from    the   heavenly  side 
(chaps,  xii. — xx.) : 

(a)  The  spixitual  foes  (chaps,  xii. — xiv.). 
(;8)  The  seveu  vials  of  retribution  (chaps. 

XV.,  xvi.). 
(7)  The  fall  of  foes  (chaps,  xvii. — xx.). 

(3)  The  Visions  of   Peace  (chaps,  xxi.,  xxii. 

1-6). 

3.  The  Epilogue  (chap.  xxii.  6 — 21). 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a  moving  onward  from 
the  more  external  to  the  deeper  and  more  spiritual 
aspects  of  earth's  story.  The  earlier  visions  (the  seals, 
for  example)  show  the  ordinary  phenomena  of  the 
world's  story — war,  famine,  death,  revolution.  The 
next  series  (the  trumpets)  show  us  that  there  is 
another,  even  a  spiritual  war,  goino'  forward  in  tlie 
world,  and  that  changes  and  revolutions  are  often 
tokens  of  the  inner  spiritual  battle  in  life.  Tlicse 
visions,  however,  are,  so  to  speak,  all  in  the  sphere  of 
earth :  in  the  next  series  we  are  shown  that  the  Avar 
carried  on  here  is  one  which  has  its  heavenly  coimter- 
part.  The  conflict  is  not  simply  between  good  men 
and  bad,  but  betAveeu  principalities  and  powers.  (See 
an  interesting  article  on  "  Tlie  Ideal  Incarnation,"  by 
Dr.  S.  Cox,  iu  the  Expositor,  Vol.  II.,  p.  405.)  There  is 
a  heavenly  view-point  of  all  things  on  earth  :  there  are 
si^iritual  forces,  the  ideal  Church,  the  unseen  strength 
of  God,  and  the  hidden  inspirations  of  CA-il.  In  this 
struggle  all  cA-il  Avill  bo  vanquished.  Tho  earthly 
mauiiestations  of  CAnl,  as  well  as  the  unearthly 
inspirations  of  it,  Avill  fall ;  the  great  and  arch-enemy 
Avill  be  overthrown;  the  true  .spiritual,  eternal  rest  bo 
reached,  and  the  golden  age  be  realised.  We  are  thus 
taught,  in  this  eA'cr-deepeuing  spirituality  of  the  book, 
to  look  beneath  the  phenomena,  to  trace  the  subtle  aud 
unmasked  principles  Avliich  are  at  work,  to  sei)arate 
between  the  false  and  the  true,  to  believe  iu  ideals 
Avhicli  are  not  mere  ideas,  but  the  true  thoughts  of 
God,  Avhich  Avill  one  day  be  made  real  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  and  Avliidi  are  e\:en  uoav  real  to  the  eye  of  faith. 
Thus  does  the  Book  of  Revelation  become  the  unfolding 
of  a  dream  Avhicli  is  from  God.  In  it  are  painted  the 
scenes  of  eartli's  history :  the  thirst  of  a  nation's  life 
and  its  passing  groan;  the  tears  and  prayers  of  the 
unrcckoned  lioly  ones  of  earth;  tho  agony  of  half- 
despair  Avliich  even  the  best  haAe  felt  iu  the  night  of 
contiict.  that  Iia.s  so  often  been  the  eve  of  triumpli ; 
the  .sustaining  faitli  which  has  transfigured  tlie  Aveak- 
ling  into  a  hero,  and  nerved  the  heart  of  solitary  saint - 
ship  to  do  battlt'  nlmic  jig.iinst  a  degenerate  Chiu-ch  or 


631 


REVELATION. 


a  persecuting  -world  ;  flie  silont  victory  of  truth,  or  the 
uuiicrceived  growtli  of  worldliuess  and  falseliood.  The 
book  is  tlius  a  help  and  stay— not  Jis  yielding  fruit  to 
curiosity.  It  is  not  a  manual  of  tiresome  details  :  it  is 
not  meant  to  be  a  treasure-house  of  marvels  for  the 
prophetical  archieologist  :  it  is  a  book  of  living  prin- 
ciples. It  exhibits  tlie  force  and  fortune  of  truth  as  it 
acts  upon  the  great  mass  of  human  society:  it  .shows 
the  revolutions  which  are  the  residt.  It  shows  the 
decay  of  the  outward  form,  the  relea.se  of  the  true 
germ,  which  will  spring  up  in  better  harvests.  It 
shows  us  how  the  corn  of  wheat  may  fall  and  die,  and 
80  bring  forth  much  fruit.  It  shows  us  how  evermore, 
from  first  to  last.  Christ  is  with  us — encouraging,  con- 
eoliiig,  Avarning,  helping,  and  leading  us  onward  through 
conflict  to  rest. 

V.  Literature  of  the  Apocalypse.— It  is  per- 
fectly hopeless  to  touch  so  vast  a  subject  as  this.  The 
mere  list  of  works  on  the  Apocalypse  given  in  Darling's 
Cyclopcedia  Bihlioyraphica,  published  in  1859,  occu- 
pies fifty-two  columns.  A  history  of  various  inter- 
pretations is  given  in  Liicke,  Einleitiing  in  die  Offen- 
bcirung  Johannis ;  a  similar  sketch  is  given  by  Bleek, 
Lectures  on  the  Apocalypse ;  and  Elliott  {Horce 
Apocahjpticce  "  vol.  iv.)  has  presented  us  with  an  ex- 
haustive and  impartial  account,  History  of  Apocalyptic 
Interpretations,  followed  by  A  Critical  Examination 
and  Refutation  of  tlie  Three  Chief  Counter-schemes  of 
Apocalyptic  Interpretation  ;  and  also  of  Dr.  Arnold's 
General  Prophetic  Counter-theoi-y.  Dean  Alford's 
article  (Greeh  Test.)  on  "Systems  of  Interpretation," 
is  lucid  and  compact. 

Of  Commentaries,  leaving  unnoticed  earlier  exposi- 
tions, those  of  Vitringa,  De  Wette,  Ewald,  Bleek, 
Heugstenberg,  Meyer,  Ebrard,  Auberlen,  and  Dlister- 
dieck ;  of  Hammond,  Bishop  Newton,  Elliott,  Alford, 
Bishop  Wordsworth,  Cimningham,  Woodhouse,  Moses 
Stuart,  De  Burgh,  I.  WiUiams,  besides  the  works  of 
Faber.  Maifland.  and  Prof.  Birks,  are  well  known; 
ttud  Dr.  Currey's  Notes  ou  Revelation,  iu  the  Christian 


Knowledge   Society's   Commentary    add   much  to  the 
value  of  a  really  useful  work. 

Of  lectures,  the  late  Professor  Maurice's  Lectures  are 
full  of  thought  and  interest ;  and  many  are  indebted  to 
Dr.  Vauglian  (now  Dean  of  Llandaft")  for  his  Lectures 
on  the  Uevelation  of  St.  John,  which  are  models  of 
what  expository  lectures  ought  to  be.  Gebhardt's 
Lehrbegriff  der  Apolcalypse,  now  accessible  to  Eng- 
lish readers  in  Clarke's  Foreign  Translation  Library — 
(Gebhardt's  Doctrine  of  the  Apocalypse)  is  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  literature  of  the  subject ;  it  contains  a 
close  and  careful  comparison  between  the  doctrine  of 
the  Apocalypse  and  that  of  the  Gospel  and  Epistles  of 
St.  John.  Of  other  books  may  be  mentioned — Rev.  S. 
Garratt's  Commentary  on  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John,  considered  as  the  Divine  Booh  of  History ; 
Prophetical  Landmarks,  by  Rev.  H.  Bonar ;  Dr. 
J.  H.  Todd's  Donnellun  Lectures ;  and  Bishop  Words- 
worth's Hulsean  Lectures.  The  Apocalypse,  by 
Rev.  Charles  B.  Waller;  The  Parousia,  a  Critical 
Inquiry  into  the  New  Testament  Doctrine  of  our 
Lord's  Second  Coming ;  The  Life  and  Writings 
of  St.  John,  by  Dr.  J.  M.  Macdonald,  of  Prince- 
town.  On  special  points  the  following  works  may 
be  noted : — On  the  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches, 
iu  addition  to  Archbishop  Trench's  indispensable 
work,  and  to  Stier's  well-known  one,  a  valuable  con- 
tribution has  been  given  by  Prof.  Plumptre.  On  the 
Millennium :  Bishop  Waldegrave's  "  New  Testament 
Millennarianism "  [Bampton  Lectures),  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Brown's  work  entitled  Christ's  Second  Coming  : 
will  it  be  pre-Millennial  ?  On  the  Babylon  of  tne 
Apocalypse :  Bishop  Wordsworth's  Rome,  the  Baby- 
lon of  the  Apocalypse.  On  the  types  and  spnbols  : 
Fairbairn's  Typology  of  Scripture  ;  Rev.  Malcolm 
White's  Symbolical  Numbers  of  Scripture  ;  and  the 
essay  on  "  The  Formal  Elements  of  Apocalyptics " 
prefixed  to  Lange's  Commentary  on  Revelation.  Of 
this  last  book,  which  has  not  been  mentioned  above,  it 
is  to  be  regretted  that,  with  much  that  is  most  valu- 
able, it  should  be  disfigui-ed  by  pedantry  of  style. 


682 


THE     REVELATION 


ST.    JOHN    THE    DIVINE. 


CHAPTER  I.— (1)  The  Eevelation  of 
Chap.  i.  1—4.  Jesus  Christ,  which  God 
Preface.  gave   uiito    him,    to   shew 

unto   his   servants  things  which   must 
shortly  come  to  pass ;  and  he  sent  and 


signified  it  by  his  angel  unto  his  servant 
John  :  (-)  who  bare  record  of  the  word 
of  God,  and  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  all  things  that  he  saw. 
(2'  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 


(1)  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.— The  book 
is  a  revohitiou  of  the  things  wliit-h  are  and  tlie  tilings 
wliich  shall  be.  "  John  is  the  writer,  but  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  author,"  says  Grotius;  and  consistently  with 
tliis  the  action  of  Christ  is  seen  throughout.  It  is 
Christ  who  bids  John  write  to  the  sev^en  churches; 
it  is  Christ  who  opens  the  seA^en  seals  (chap.  vi.  1), 
who  reveals  the  sufferings  of  the  Church  (chap.  vL  9), 
who  offers  the  prayers  of  the  saints  (chap.  viii.  3), 
and  delivei-s  the  little  book  to  John  (chap.  x.  1 — 11). 
Thus  it  is  seen  that  though  the  rise  and  fall  of  earth's 
history  is  included  in  the  revelation,  it  is  a  revelation 
also  of  a  living  person  ;  it  is  not  the  dull,  dead  onward 
flow  of  circum.stances,  but  the  lives  of  men  and 
nations  seen  in  the  light  of  Him  who  is  the  light  of 
every  man  and  the  life  of  all  history ;  and  thus  we 
leam  that  "  only  a  living  person  can  be  the  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  stai'ting-point  of  creation  and  its  final 
rest."  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  this 
prophecy,  as  of  all  others.  The  Father  gives  this  to 
the  S(m  whom  He  loves,  and  shows  Him  all  things 
that  Himself  doeth. 

Shortly. — On  this  word  much  controversy  has 
turned.  Its  force,  "  speedily,"  affords  a  groundwork, 
and,  it  must  bo  admitted,  a  plausible  one,  to  the 
praeterist  school  of  interpreters,  who  hold  that  the 
whole  range  of  Apocalji)tie  predictions  was  fulfilled 
within  a  comparatively  short  time  after  tlie  Apostle 
wrote.  The  truth,  however,  seems  to  be  that  the  words 
of  God  are  of  perpetual  fultibnent :  they  are  not  only 
to  be  fulfilled ;  they  have  not  only  been  fulfilled  ;  but 
they  have  been  and  they  are  being  fulfilled ;  and  they 
yet  will  l)e  fulfilled;  and  the  principles  which  are 
enunciated  liy  the  Prophet,  though  "  shortly  "  fulfilled, 
are  not  exhausted  in  the  immediate  fulfilment,  but 
carry  still  lessons  for  the  succeeding  generations  of 
mankind. 

John — i.e.,  the  Apostle  and  Evangelist.  Tlie  argu- 
ments in  support  of  this  identification  are  admitted 
even  by  the  most  captious  critics  to  be  conclusive. 
"  Tlie  Apocalypse,  if  any  book  can  be  traced  to  him, 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  Apostle  John"  (Siiperuufural 
Religion).  (Sco  Excursus  A.)  To  many  it  will  seem 
natural  that  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  should  be  the 
recipient  of  this  revelation.  Those  who  have  been 
nearest  to  God  learn  most  of  His  will.  Such  are 
friends,  not  servants,  for  the  servant  knoweth  not 
what    his    Lord    doeth;    and    thus,   as    in    the    Old 


Testament  to  Abraham,  the  friend  of  God,  and  to 
Daniel,  a  man  greatly  beloved,  so  in  the  New 
Testament  to  the  disciple  who  leaned  on  Jesus' 
bosom,  are  shown  the  things  which  God  was  about  to 
do.  "  Mysteries  are  revealed  unto  the  meek.  The 
pui-e  in  heart  shall  see  God.  A  pure  heart  pene- 
trateth  heaven  and  hell "  (Thomas  a-Kempis). 

"  More  bounteous  aspects  on  me  beam. 

Me  niitfhtier  transijorts  move  and  tlirill ; 
So  keep  I  fair  tliroug-li  faith  and  prayer, 
A  virgin  heart  in  work  and  will."— S'j'r  Galahad. 

(-)  Who  bare  record.— Elsewhere  as  well  as 
here.  And  he  tells  us  of  what  he  bore  record — of  the 
Word  of  God.  The  writer  declares  tliat  the  substance 
of  his  testimony  and  witness  had  been  this  Word  of 
God.  We  have  here  an  indication  of  what  the  general 
character  of  his  teaching  had  been.  It  evidently  had 
been  a  teaching  laying  stress  on  that  aspect  of  tnith 
which  is  so  forcibly  set  before  us  in  the  Fourth  Go.spel 
and  the  Epistles  beainng  the  name  of  John.  (Comp. 
chap.  xix.  11;  John  i.  1,  14;  1  John  i.  1,  et  al.  Note 
also  that  the  words  "  record,"  "  testimony,"  "  witness," 
foimd  in  this  verse,  recur  in  the  Gospel  and  Epistles. 
Conip.  John  v.  31 — 40;  xix.  35;  xxi.  lI4.) 

(3)  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth  ....  prophecy. 
— Any  declaration  of  the  principles  of  the  divine 
government,  with  indications  of  their  exemplification 
in  coming  history,  is  a  prophecy.  Sometimes  the 
history  \\Miieh  exemplifies  these  principles  is  imme- 
diate, sometimes  nioi-e  remote ;  in  other  cases  (as,  I 
venture  to  believe,  is  the  case  with  the  predictions  of 
this  book)  the  events  are  both  immediate  and  remote. 
The  prophecy  gives  us  the  rule,  with  some  typical 
application  illustrative  of  its  .method  of  working; 
aiter-history  affords  us  the  working  out  of  various 
examples.  We.  then,  as  living  actors  in  the  world, 
have  not  only  to  read  and  hear,  but  to  keep — keep  in 
mind  and  action  those  principles  which  preside  over 
the  development  of  all  human  history  (Jas.  i.  22). 
The  word  "  keep "  is  in  itself  a  jiroof  to  me  tliat 
the  whole  fulfilment  of  the  Apocalyijse  could  net  have 
been  exhausted  in  the  earliest  times,  nor  reserved  to 
the  latest  times  of  the  Church's  history,  but  that  its 
predictions  are  applicable  in  all  eras. 

The  time  is  at  hand. — In  the  apostolic  mind  this 
was  always  true,  though  the  restless  idleness  of  the 
Thessalonians  was  blamed  (2  Thess.  ii.  2,  and  iii. 
11,  12).     The  spirit  of  vigilance  and  of  ever  readiness 


0.33 


The  Salutation 


REVELATION,    I. 


to  the  Seven  Chitrclies. 


that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy, 
and  keep  those  things  which  are 
wi-itten  therein:  for  the  time  is  at 
hand. 


(^'  JOHN  to   the   seven  Chap.  i.   4- 

di  1  •   1  •      A    •        8.       Salutation 

lurches  which  are  in  Asia:  to   the    seven 

Grace    he    unto    you,    and  churches. 


Chi-ist  the  key 


peace,  from  him  which  is,"  ^f  history, 


for  both  tlio  pro\'idential  advents  and  tho  final  advent 
of  tlio  Clirist  was  enjoined.  (Conip.  Rom.  xiii.  12; 
Jas.  V.  9:  '2  Pet.  iii.  8.  9.) 

(^t  JOHN  to  the  seven  churches  (or.  congrega- 
tions) which  are  in  Asia. — It  is  needless  to  observe 
tliat  tlie  Asia  here  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  co-exten- 
sive witli  wliat  we  know  as  Asia  Minor.  It  is  the  pro- 
vince of  Asia  (coinp.  Acts  ii.  9,  10;  xvi.  6,  7),  which  was 
under  a  Roman  proconsid,  and  embraced  the  western 
portion  of  Asia  Minor.  In  St.  John's  time  it  consisted 
of  a  strip  of  sea-board,  some  100  square  miles  in  extent. 
Its  boundaries  varied  at  different  periods ;  but  roughly, 
and  for  the  present  purpose,  tliey  may  be  regarded  as 
the  Caycus  on  the  north,  the  Mieander  on  the  south,  the 
Plirygian  Hills  on  the  east,  and  the  Mediterranean  on 
the  west. 

Seven  churches. — It  has  been  maintained  by  some 
(notably  Ijy  Yitringa)  tliat  the  epistles  to  the  seA'en 
churches  are  proplietic,  and  set  forth  the  condition  of 
the  Church  in  the  successive  epochs  of  its  after-history. 
The  growth  of  error,  the  development  of  schisms,  the 
gloom  of  superstition,  the  darkness  of  mediaeval  times, 
the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  the  convulsions  of  after- 
revolutions,  have  been  discovered  in  these  brief  and 
forcible  epistles.  Such  a  view  needs  no  formal  refu- 
tation. The  anxiety  for  circumstantial  and  limited 
fulfilments  of  prophecy  has  been  at  tho  root  of  such 
attempts.  Wlien  we  read  God's  words  as  Avider  tlian 
our  thoughts  we  stand  in  no  need  of  such  desperate 
efforts  at  symmetrical  iutei-pretations ;  for  the  truth 
then  is  seen  to  be  that  words  addressed  to  one  ago 
liave  their  fitness  for  all ;  and  tliat  these  epLstles  are  the 
heritage  of  tlie  Cliurch  in  every  epoch.  In  tliis  sense 
the  churches  are  tyjies  and  representatives  of  the  whole 
family  of  God.  Every  community  may  find  its  likeness 
here.  This  much  is  admitted  by  the  best  commentators 
of  all  schools.  "  The  seven  churches,"  says  St.  Ohry- 
sostom,  "are  all  churdies  by  reason  of  the  seven 
Spirits."  "  By  the  seven,"  writes  St.  Augnstine,  ''  is 
signified  the  perfection  of  tlie  Church  universal,  and 
by  writing  to  tlie  seven  lie  shows  the  fulness  of  one." 
And  the  words,  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches."  are,  as  has 
been  well  observed,  a  direct  intimation  that  some  uni- 
versal ajiplicatiou  of  their  teaching  was  intended. 

Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace.— Three  apostles, 
St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  John,  adopt  the  same  saluta- 
tion. Not  only  is  this  a  kind  of  link  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship bet  ween  them,  but  its  adoption  by  St.  John,  after  St. 
Paul  had  first  used  it,  is  a  slight  token  that  the  Apoca- 
lypse cannot  bo  regarded  (as  some  recent  critics  would 
have  it)  as  an  anti-Pauline  treatise.  As  the  Christian 
greeting,  it  transcends  while  it  embraces  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  salutations.  There  is  no  tinge  of  the  sadness 
of  separation ;  it  is  tho  greeting  of  hope  and  repose, 
grounded  on  the  only  true  foundation  of  either,  tho 
grace  of  God,  which  is  the  well-spring  of  life  and  love. 

From  him  which  is,  and  which  was,  and 
which  is  to  come  (or,  which  cometh). — The  phrase 
presents  a  remarkable  violation  of  grammar;  but  the 
Anolation  is  clearly  intentional.  It  is  not  the  blunder 
of  an  illiterate  writer ;  it  is  the  deliberate  putting  in 
emphatic  form  the  '"  Name  of  Names."  "  Should  not," 
says  Professor  Lightfoot,  "  this  remai'kable  featm-e  be 


534 


pre.sen^ed  in  an  English  Bible  ?  If  in  Ex.  iii.  14  the 
words  run,  '  I  AM  liatli  sent  me  unto  you.'  may  we 
not  also  be  allowed  to  read  here,  from  '  He  that  is, 

AND    THAT    WAS,    AND     THAT    IS    TO    COME  ?  '  "      The 

expression  must  not  be  separated  from  what  follows. 
The  greeting  is  triple :  from  Him  which  is,  and 
which  was,  and  which  cometh ;  from  the  seven  Spirits ; 
and  from  Jesus  Christ — i.e.,  from  the  Triune  God. 
The  first  phrase  would  therefore  seem  to  designate 
God  the  Father,  the  self-existing,  eternal  One,  the 
fount  and  oi-igin  of  all  existence.  Professor  Plumptre 
suggests  that  the  phrase  used  here  may  be  used 
in  allusion  and  contrast  to  the  inscription  spoken 
of  l)y  Plutarch,  on  the  Temple  of  Isis,  at  Sais :  "  I 
am  all  that  has  come  into  being,  and  that  which  is, 
and  that  which  shall  be  ;  and  no  man  hath  lifted  my 
vail."  Tlie  heathen  inscription  identifies  God  with  the 
univer.se,  making  Him,  not  an  ever-being,  but  an  ever- 
becoming,  from  whom  personality  is  excluded :  the 
Christian  description  is  of  the  personal,  everlasting, 
self-revealing  God — who  is,  who  was,  and  who  cometh. 
We  should  have  expected  after  "  is  "  and  "  was  "  "  will 
be ; "  but  there  is  no  "  will  be  "  with  an  eternal  God. 
With  Him  all  is ;  so  the  word  "  cometh "  is  used, 
hinting  His  constant  manifestations  in  history,  and  the 
final  coming  in  judgment.  This  allusion  to  the  Second 
Coming  is  denied  by  Professor  Plumptre,  but  as  he 
admits  that  tlie  words,  "  He  that  cometh,"  used  in  the 
Gospels,  and  applied  by  the  Jews  to  the  Messiah,  may 
be  designedly  employed  here  by  the  Apostle,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  the  Advent  idea  can  be  excluded.  The 
word  appears  to  imply  that  we  are  to  be  always  looking 
for  Him  whose  "'  comings  "  recur  in  all  history  as  the 
earnests  of  the  fuller  and  final  Advent. 

From  the  seven  Spirits.— The  interpretation 
which  would  understand  these  seven  Spirits  to  be  the 
seven  chief  angels,  though  supported  by  names  of  great 
weight,  is  plainly  unten.able.  The  context  makes  it  im- 
possible to  admit  any  other  meaning  than  that  the  greet- 
ing which  comes  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  conies 
also  from  the  Holy  Spirit  sevenfold  in  His  operations, 
whose  gifts  are  diffused  among  all  the  churches,  and  who 
divides  to  every  man  severally  as  He  Avill.  For  corre- 
sponding thoughts  in  the  Old  Testament,  compare  the 
seven  lamps  and  seven  eyes  of  Zechariah  (chaps,  iii.  9 ; 
iv.  2,  10),  "the  symbols  of  eternal  light  and  all  em- 
bracing knowledge."  It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to 
note  that  Philo  speaks  of  the  number  .seven  in  its 
mystical  im^iort  as  identical  with  unity,  as  unity  de- 
veloped in  diversity,  and  yet  remaining  one.  This 
unity  iu  diversity  is  the  thought  St.  Paul  seems  anxious 
to  keep  before  the  minds  of  the  Corinthians,  lest  their 
gifts  should  become  the  source  of  diA-ision.  All 
work  that  one  and  self-same  spirit  (1  Cor.  xii.  11). 
The  after-recurrence  in  this  book  of  the  number  seven 
is.  I  think,  selected  to  support  this  thought  of  com- 
pleteness and  variety  ;  the  dramatic  unity  is  preserved, 
though  the  scenes  which  are  unfolded  are  amply 
diversified ;  and  the  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets,  and 
seven  vials,  are  not  three  successive  periods,  but  three 
aspects  of  one  complete  period  presided  over  by  that 
one  Spirit  whose  guidance  may  be  seen  iu  all  ages,  and 
in  diverse  ways.  The  Spirits  are  before  the  throne. 
This  reference  to  the  throne  gives  a  touch  of  authority 


Christ  tJie  Key  of  History. 


EEVELATION,   I. 


St.  John  in  Patrnos. 


and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come ;  and 
from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before 
his  throne ;  <^'  and  from  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  the  faithful  witness,  and  the 
first  begotten  of  the  dead,"  and  the 
prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Unto 
him  that  loved  ns,  and  Avashed  us  from 
our  sins  in  his  own  blood,*  (*'^  and  hath 
made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God 
and  his  Father ;  '^  to  him  be  glory  and 
dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 
<'•  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds  •/  and 


cZtTb.   12.   in; 
JuliU  1<J.  37. 


\a  1  Cor.  15.  20;  Col. 


b  Hl-I).  9.  11. 


il  Matt.  24.91. 


every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also 
which  pierced  him : ''  and  all  kindreds 
of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him. 
Even  so,  Amen.  ('"'  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  ending, 
saith  the  Lord,  wdjich  is,  and  which  was, 
and  which  is  to  come,  the  Almighty. 
*^^  I  John,  who  also  am  your  q^  j  g_jj 
brother,  and  companion  in  The  occasion  of 
tribulation,  and  in  the  the  vision. 
kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ, 
was  in  the  isle  that  is  called  Patmos, 


to  the  descriptiou.  The  Holy  Spirit  who  pleads  with 
men  is  the  Spirit  from  God's  Throne. 

(■^)  From  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  faithful 
witness,  and  the  first  begotten  (or,  firstborn)  of 
the  dead,  and  the  prince  (or,  ruler)  of  the  kings 
of  the  earth.— The  triple  title  applied  to  Christ  cor- 
responds to  the  three  ideas  of  this  book.  Christ  the 
Revealing  Prophet,  the  Life-gi^'iug  High  Priest,  and 
tlie  real  Rider  of  mankind. 

The  faithful  witness. — There  may  be  a  re- 
ference here,  it  has  been  suggested  by  Prof.  Pluinptre, 
to  the  bow  in  the  cloud,  which  is  described  in  Ps. 
Ixxxix.  37  as  the  faithful  witness.  The  coincidence 
of  expression  is  remarkable  :  "  I  will  make  him  my 
fu'stborn,  higher  than  the  kings  of  the  earth  ;  he  shall 
stand  fast  a.s  the  sun  before  me,  and  as  the  faitlifid 
^vitness  in  heaven."  The  idea  of  testimony  and  wit- 
ness is  a  favoiu'ite  one  with  St.  John,  who  records  its 
use  by  our  Lord  HimseK.  (Conip.  John  iii.  32  ;  v.  36 ; 
xviii.  37.  See  also  Rev.  xix.  10;  xxii.  18.  Comp.  also 
the  work  of  tlie  Only  Begotten  as  stated  in  John  i.  18.) 

The  prince  (or  ruler)  of  the  kings  of  the 
earth. — The  message  does  not  come  from  One  who 
will  be,  but  who  is  tlie  true  ruler  of  all  earihly  po- 
tentates. The  disposition  to  dwell  on  the  future  and 
more  visibly  recognised  reign  of  Christ  hereafter  has 
tended  to  obscure  the  truth  of  His  present  reign. 
It  is  instructive  to  notice  that  this  book,  which 
describes  so  vivitlly  the  manifestations  of  Christ's 
kingdom  (chaps,  xi.  15 ;  xii.  10),  claims  for  Him  at  the 
outset  the  place  of  the  real  King  of  kings.  Such  was 
the  Apostle's  faith.  "  Above  all  emperors  and  kings, 
above  all  armies  and  multitudes,  he  thouglit  of  tiie 
Crucified  as  ruling  and  directing  the  course  of  history, 
and  certain  in  His  own  duo  time  to  manifest  His 
sovereignty  "  (Prof.  Plumptre).  "  What  are  we  to  see 
in  the  simple  Anno  Domini  of  our  dates  and  super- 
scriptions, but  that  for  some  reason  the  great  world- 
history  has  been  bonding  itself  to  the  lowly  person  of 
Jesus"  (Bushnell).  "A  handfid  read  the  philosophers; 
myriads  would  die  for  Christ ;  they  in  their  popularity 
could  barely  found  a  school ;  Christ  from  His  cross 
rules  the  world  "  (Farrar,  Witness  of  History).  Such 
is  a  real  kingship. 

Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us.— In- 
sten<l  of  "washed  us,"  .sduic  MSS.  itad.  •■  loo.sed  us." 
Tliere  is  only  one  letter's  difference  in  the  two  words 
in  Greek.  The  general  tone  of  thought  would  lead  us 
to  prefer  "  washed  "  a-s  the  tnie  reading,  (^n  a  soleinn 
occasion,  which  St.  .Tohn  remembered  clearly,  our  Lord 
had  said,  "  If  I  wa.sh  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with 
Me."  The  thought  of  the  "cleansing  blood,"  in- 
tensified by  the  recollection  of  the  water  and  blood 
which  he  had  seen  flowing  from  Christ'."  pierced  side. 


often  recurred  to  his  mind  (cliap.  \i\.  13,  14;  1  John 
i.  7;  V.  6—8). 

(6)  And  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  his  Father ;  to  him  be  glory  and 
dominion  for  ever  (or,  tuito  the  aijes). — The  symbol 
of  washmg  in  the  last  ver.se  naturally  leads  on  to  the 
thought  of  consecration,  accompanied  l)y  blood-sprink- 
ling, to  the  work  of  the  priest  (Ex.  xix.  6,  10  ;  xxiv.  8; 
Heb.  ix.  21).  The  book  will  declare  the  kingship  and 
priesthood  of  the  children  of  God — a  sovereignty  over 
human  fears  and  suffering.s — their  priesthood  in  their 
lives  of  consecration,  and  their  offering  of  themselves 
even  unto  death. 

"  And  all  thy  saints  do  overcome 
By  Thy  blood  and  their  martyrdom." 

The  doxology  here  is  two-fold :  glory  and  dominion. 
The  doxologies  in  which  the  Redeemed  Church  takes 
part  gi'ow  in  strength  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  this 
book.  It  is  three-fold  in  chap.  iv.  9 — 11;  four-fold 
in  chap.  v.  13 ;  and  it  reaches  the  climax  of  seven-fold 
in  chap.  vii.  12. 

{")  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds.— Better. 
with  tlie  clouds.  The  reference  to  Christ's  words 
(Mark  xiv.  62)  is  undoubted.  In  the  '"clouds''  St. 
Augustine  sees  the  emblem  of  the  .saints  of  the  Church, 
which  is  His  body,  who  spread  as  a  vast  fertilising 
cloud  over  the  whole  world. 

Every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which 
(</ie!/ K-ere  u7if)  =  "  whosoever  "  I  pierced  him.— Here 
again  is  a  reference  to  the  incident  of  the  piercing  of 
Clirist's  side  (John  xix.  34),  recorded  only  by  St.  John. 

Shall  wail  because  of  him.— Or,  shall  xcail 
over  Him.  The  prophecy  in  Zech.  xii.  lO,  is  the 
suggesting  one  of  this.  But  the  passage  in  Zechariah 
describes  the  mourning  of  grief  over  the  dead ;  the 
passage  here  is  the  mouniing  towards  one  who  was 
tlead,  and  is  alive.  He  towards  whom  they  now  <lirect 
their  .sorrow  is  the  One  over  whom  they  shoidd  have 
wailed  when  He  was  laid  in  His  toml). 

(^)  The  beginning  and  V\e  ending. — Tliese 
words  are  of  doubtful  authority  ;  they  are  in  all  pro- 
I  l)ability  taken  from  cliai).  xxii.  13,  and  iutenwlated 
here.  The  description  of  the  verse  applies,  with  little 
doubt,  to  our  Lord,  and  the  words  are  a  strong  declara- 
tion of  His  divinity. 

The  Almighty. — The  word  thus  rendered  is,  with 
one  exception  (2  Cor.  vi.  18),  pecidiar  to  this  book  in  the 
New  Testament. 

<^)  I  John,  who  also  am  your  brother  .  .  .— 
More  literally,  /.  John,  your  broth*  r  and  fellow  partner 
in  the  tribulation  and  kiwjdom  and  patience  in  Jesns, 
....  because  of  the  iror'd  of  God  and  the  testivwny 
of  Jesus.  He  was  a  fellow-sharer  of  tribulation  with 
thera,    and    he    shares    that    patience    which    brings 


535 


Thf.  Great  Voice 


REVELATION,    I. 


as  of  a  Tmmpet. 


for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ.  <^*^^  I  was  in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  heard  be- 
hind me  a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet, 
<ii)  saying,  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  first  and  the  last:  and.  What 
thou  seest,  write  in  a  book,  and  send  it 


unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in 
!  Asia ;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto  Smyrna, 
j  and  unto  Pergamos,  and  unto  Thyatira, 
I  and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto  ^,  .  jo— on 
'  Philadelphia,     and     unto  The  vision  "of 

Laodicea.  (^-^  And  I  turned  ^fj^ggj^^^^^^^ 

to  see  the  voice  that  spake 


experii'iK-e,  because  it  is  a  patience  in  Jesus.  It  is  not 
patience  for  Christ,  like  2  Thess.  iii.  5,  nor  patience  of 
Christ,  but  rather  patience  which  draws  its  life  and 
energy  of  endurance  from  Him. 

Patmos. — Professor  Plumptre  notices  how  little 
the'  scenery  of  Patmos  colours  the  Apocalj^jse.  '•  The 
vision  that  follows  is  all  but  unaffected  by  the  external 
surrountlings  of  the  seer.  At  the  farthest,  we  can  but 
think  of  tiie  blue  waters  of  the  Mediterranean — now 
purple  as  wine,  now  green  as  emerald,  flushing  and 
flashing  in  the  liglit  as  the  hues  on  the  plumage  of  a 
dove."  The  position  of  the  Apostle  in  Patmos  was 
probably  that  of  an  exile,  free  to  roam  where  he  would 
within  the  limits  of  the  island.  There  was  at  any  rate 
no  limit  of  chains  or  guard,  as  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul 
(Acts  xxviii.  16,  2U).  He  tells  us  what  was  the  cause 
of  his  exile.  It  was  his  faithfulness  in  proclaiming, 
as  we  know  he  loved  to  do,  the  word  of  God  and  the 
testimony  of  Jesus.  "  St.  John,  proclaiming  the  Word 
of  God,  who  was  before  all  worlds,  who  had  been  made 
flesh  and  dwelt  among  men,  who  was  the  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  struck  a  blow  at  the  worship 
as  well  as  the  polity  of  the  Roman  emj)ire.  He 
opposed  the  God-man  to  the  man-god  "  {Maurice  on  the 
Bevel.,  p.  20).  The  contest  is  incessantly  the  same. 
False  creeds  ever  aim  to  deify  man.  "  Ye  shall  be  as 
gods  "  is  their  motto  and  their  bible.  "  Emmanuel," 
is  the  motto  of  the  true  faith — 

"  The  Lord  was  God,  and  came  as  man  ;  the  Pope 
Is  man,  and  comes  as  God."— Harold. 

The  cnicified,  suffering  Sa\'iour,  God  in  Christ,  veiy 
God,  and  one  with  man  in  sorrow,  was  the  stumbling- 
block  in  the  past,  and  is  the  ideal  which  offends  many 
now.  (See  Bp.  Alexander's  Bampton  Lectures,  p.  30, 
et  seq.)  The  terms  of  the  conflict  remain  unchanged 
through  the  ages.     (Comp.  chap.  vi.  9.) 

(10)  I  -yvas  (or,  I  became)  in  the  Spirit. — The  mind, 
drawn  onward  by  the  contemplation  of  things  spiritual, 
is  abstracted  from  the  immediate  consciousness  of 
outward  earthly  forms  of  life.  In  gi-eat  natures  this 
power  is  usually  strong.  Socrates  is  related  to  have  stood 
rapt  in  thought  for  hours,  and  even  days,  unconscious 
of  the  midday  heat,  or  the  mocking  wonder  of  his 
comrades.  To  liigh-souled  men.  set  upon  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  race,  this  power  of  detaching  themselves 
from  the  influence  of  the  outward  is  the  result  of 
their  earnestness;  the  things  spiritual  are  to  them 
the  real;  the  things  seen  are  temporal.  It  is  the  Holy 
Spirit  alone  which  can  give  the  power  of  this  spiritual 
abstraction ;  but  it  is  through  the  ordinary  use  of 
means  that  this  power  is  bestowed.  In  St.  John's 
case  it  was  on  the  Lord's  Day  that  this  spiritual 
rapture  was  vouchsafed. 

The  Lord's  day.— There  is  no  ground  whatever 
for  the  futurist  interpretation  that  this  t-xpression  refers 
to  the  "  Day  of  the  Lord,"  as  in  2  Thess.  ii.  2.  The 
phrase  in  this  latter  pas.siige  is  totally  different.  The 
phrase  here  is.  en  te  kuriake  hemera.  The  adjective 
is  applied  by  St.  Paul  (perhaps  coined  by  him  for  the 


536 


purj)ose)  to  the  Lord's  Supper  :  from  the  Supper  it 
came  to  be  applied  to  the  day  on  which  Christians  met 
for  the  breaking  of  bread.  The  day  is  still  called  KvpiaKij 
{kuriake)  in  the  Levant.  On  the  Lord's  Day  the  vision 
came  to  the  Apostle.  It  was  the  hour  of  sweetest, 
closest  commnniou,  when  the  memories  of  Christ  ri.sen, 
and  the  fellowship  he  had  enjoyed  at  Ephesus,  would 
work  on  his  spirit,  and  aid  in  raising  him  in  highest 
adoration,  like  St.  Paul  (2  Cor.  xii.  2 — 4).  "When  so 
rapt,  he  heard  a  voice,  strong,  clear,  and  resonant  as  a 
trumpet.  The  Apostle's  voice  could  not  be  heard 
among  his  beloved  flock  at  Ephesus ;  but  there  was  a 
voice  which  woidd  reach  from  the  exile  at  Patmos,  not 
to  Ephesus  and  its  sister  chui-ches,  but  to  all  churches 
and  throughout  all  time.  The  mouth  which  persecution 
closes  God  opens,  and  bids  it  speak  to  the  world.  So 
St.  Paul,  through  the  Epistles  of  his  Captivity,  still 
epeaks.  Luther,  by  his  translation  of  the  Bible,  spoke 
from  his  confinement  at  Wartburg ;  and  Bunyau,  by 
his  divine  allegory,  shows  how  feeble  were  the  walls 
of  his  cell  at  Bedford  to  silence  the  voice  of  God.  If 
speech  be  silvern  and  silence  golden,  it  is  also  true  in 
the  history  of  the  Church  that  from  the  captivity 
of  her  teachers  she  has  received  her  most  abiding 
treasures. 

(iiJ  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega. — In  this  verse  we 
pass  from  St.  John  to  Him  who  was  the  Word,  of 
whom  St.  John  gave  testimony.  He  who  is  the 
faithful  witness  now  speaks.  "What  thou  seest, 
write,"  &c.  The  previous  words,  "  I  am  Alijha,"  &c., 
are  not  foimd  in  the  best  MSS.  The  words  "  wliich 
are  in  Asia,"  are  also  omitted. 

The  seven  churches. — There  were  more  than 
seven  churches  in  Asia  Minor ;  but  the  number  selected 
indicates  completeness.  Thus,  though  liaA-iug  special 
reference  to  the  conditions  of  those  churches,  the 
ei>istles  may  be  regarded  as  epistles  conveying  ever 
appropriate  lessons  to  tlje  churches  of  succeeding  ages. 
Tlie  names  of  the  seven  churches  are  enumerated,  as 
they  would  naturally  be  by  a  person  writing  from 
Patmos.  "  First,  Ephesus  is  addressed,  as  the  Asiatic 
metropolis,  and  as  the  nearest  church  to  Patmos ;  then 
the  other  chm'ches  on  the  western  coast  of  Asia ;  then 
those  in  the  interior  "  (Wordsworth). 

(12)  Seven  golden  candlesticks. — Comp.  the 
\'isi(m  in  Zech.  iv.  2 — II.  It  has  been  observed  that 
there  is  a  difference  in  the  two  visions.  In  Zech.,  as 
in  Ex.  XXV.  31,  32.  the  seven  branches  are  united,  so  as  to 
form  one  candlestick;  here  there  are  said  to  be  seven 
candlesticks ;  and  from  this  supposed  difference  it  is 
argued  that  we  have  a  hint  of  the  variety  of  the 
Christian  churches,  as  distinguished  from  the  single- 
ness of  the  Jewisli  church.  But  is  it  not  more  probable 
that  wliat  St.  Jolni  saw  was  tlie  old  familiar  seven- 
branched  candlestick,  identical  in  form  with  that 
which  lias  been  rendered  familiar  to  all  by  the  Arch  of 
Titus,  but  that  as  the  mention  of  the  seven  churches 
was  then  fresh  in  his  mind,  his  eye  fell  rather  upon 
the  seven  limbs  and  seven  lights  than  on  the  whole 
candlestand,  especially  if,  as  Prof.  Pluniptre  suggests, 


TJie  Vision  of 


EEVELATION,   I. 


tJie  Creator  Himself. 


with  me.  And  being  turned,  I  saw 
seven  golden  candlesticks  ;  (^^'  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one 
like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  clothed  with 
a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt 
about  the  paps  with  a  golden  girdle. 
(^^^  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white 


like  wool,  as  white  as  snow ;  and  his 
eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire  ;  ^^^^  and  his 
feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they 
burned  in  a  furnace ;  and  his  voice  as 
the  sound  of  many  waters.  (^""^  And  he 
had  in  his  right  hand  seven  stars  :  and 
out   of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two- 


tlio  figure  of  the  Christ  concealed  part  of  tbe  main 
stem  y  Thus  to  his  view  the  sepai-ate  individuahty 
of  the  churches,  and  their  real  union  in  Him  who  was 
tlie  Light,  would  rather  be  symbolised.  Thus,  too, 
the  external  teachings  of  the  eai-lier  symbols  are  not 
disturbed :  the  new  revelation  illumines  the  tyjjes  and 
shadows  of  the  older.  "  These  symbols  were  intended 
to  raise  them  out  of  symbols ;  the  truths  were  to  throw 
light  on  the  parables,  rather  than  the  parables  on  the 
truths.  Men  were  to  study  the  A-isions  of  an  earlier 
day  by  the  revelations  of  that  day"  (Maurice, 
Apocalypse,  p.  22). 

(13)  In  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks 
(the  word  "  seven "  is  omitted  in  some  of  the  best 
MSS.)  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man. — '•  He  who 
kindled  the  liglit  to  be  a  Avitness  of  Himself  and  of 
His  own  presence  with  men  was  indeed  present." 
He  was  present  the  same  as  He  had  been  known  on 
earth,  yet  different — tlie  same,  for  He  is  seen  as  Son 
of  Man ;  the  same  as  He  had  been  seen  on  the  Resur- 
rection evening ;  the  same  as  He  appeared  to  Stephen ; 
tlie  same  Jesus,  caring  for,  helping  and  counselling 
His  people :  yet  different,  for  He  is  an-ayed  in  the 
ai)parel  of  kingly  and  priestly  dignity.  He  is  robed 
to  the  foot  with  the  long  garment  of  the  high  priest. 
St.  John  uses  the  same  word  which  is  used  in  the 
LXX.  version  of  Ex.  xxviii.  31,  to  describe  the 
robe  of  the  Ephod.  (Comp.  Zech.  iii.  4.)  It  has  been 
understood  by  some,  however,  to  indicate  the  "  ample 
robe  of  judicial  and  kingly  power."  There  is  in  the 
vision  a  combination  of  both  thoughts.  He  is  the 
King-Priest  who  is  seen  by  the  Evangelist,  the  Mel- 
chisedec  whom  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  had  so 
gloriously  set  forth  (Heb.  v.  9,  10;  \\.  20;  especially 
vii.  1 — 17).  He  is  girt  about  the  breasts  with  a  golden 
girdle.  The  girdle  is  not  around  the  loins,  as  though 
ready  for  action  and  toil  (Luke  xii.  35 ).  but  it  is  worn 
as  by  one  who  rests  from  toil  in  the  "  repose  of 
sovereignty."  So,  according  to  Josephus  {Ant.  iii.  7,  §  2), 
the  Levitical  priests  were  girdled.  The  girdle  is  of 
gold ;  not  interwoven  with  gold,  as  was  the  high 
priest's  girdle  (Ex.  xxWii.  8),  but  pure  gold,  the 
emblem  of  a  royal  presence.  (Comp.  Isa.  xi.  5 ; 
Dan.  X.  .5  ;  Eph.  vi.  14.) 

(1*)  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like 
wool,  as  white  as  snow.— Tlie  whiteness  here  is 
tliought  by  some  to  be  tlie  token  of  the  transfiguration 
in  liglit  of  the  glorified  person  of  the  Redeemer.  "  It 
is  the  glorious  white  which  is  the  colour  and  livery  of 
heaven."  Tliis  doubtless  is  true  ;  but  it  appears  to 
me  a  mistake  to  say  that  there  is  no  hint  here  of  age. 
It  is  argued  that  the  white  hair  of  age  is  a  token  of 
decay,  and  that  no  sucli  token  would  have  place  here ; 
but  surely  this  is  straining  a  point,  and  making  a  mere 
emblem  an  argument.  Age  and  youth  alike  have  their 
glories ;  the  glory  of  young  men  is  their  strength ; 
the  hoary  head,  too,  the  token  of  experience,  dignity, 
Hutliority,  is  the  glory  of  age.  Physically,  white  hair 
may  be  a  sign  of  decay ;  tj'pically  it  never  is,  else  the 
effort  to  produce  the  appearance  of  it  in  the  persons  of 


637 


monarchs  and  judges  would  never  have  been  made. 
The  white  head  is  never  in  public  sentiment  other  than 
the  venerable  sign  of  ripe  knowledge,  mature  judgment, 
and  solid  wisdom ;  and  as  such  it  well  betokens  that 
full  wisdom  and  authority  which  is  wielded  by  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  who,  though  always  the  same  in  the 
fresh  dew  of  youth,  is  yet  from  everlasting,  the 
captain  of  salvation,  perfect  through  suffering,  radiant 
in  the  glorious  youthhood  of  heaven,  venerable  in 
that  eternal  wisdom  and  gloiy  which  He  had  with 
the  Father  before  the  world.  (Comp.  Dan.  vii.  9.)  "He 
was  one,"  Saadias  Gaon  beautifully  says,  "  with  the 
appearance  of  an  old  man.  and  like  an  old  man  full  of 
mercies.  His  white  hair,  His  white  garments,  indicated 
the  pure,  kind  intentions  He  had  to  purify  His  people 
from  their  sins." 

His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire. — Comp.  chap, 
xix.  12  ;  Dan.  x.  6.  The  eyes  of  the  Lord,  which  are  in 
eveiy  place,  beholding  the  catI  and  the  good,  are  here 
described  as  like  unto  tire,  to  express  not  merely  in- 
dignation (He  had  looked  once  on  the  Jewish  rulers  in 
indignation)  against  e\\\,  but  determination  to  consume 
it ;  for  oiir  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  purging  away  sin 
from  those  who  forsake  sin,  and  consuming  in  their 
sin  those  who  refuse  to  be  separated  from  it.  (See 
chap.  XX.  9 ;  Dan.  vii.  9,  10  ;  Jude,  verse  7.) 

(15)  His  feet  like  unto  fine  brass. —  The 
feet,  like  the  feet  of  the  ministering  priests  of  Israel, 
were  bare,  and  appeared  like  chalcolibanus  (fine  brass). 
The  exact  meaning  of  this  word  (used  only  here)  is 
not  certain.  The  most  trustworthy  authors  incline  to 
take  it  as  a  hybrid  word,  half  Greek,  half  Hebrew — 
chalcos,  brass,  and  labdn,  white,  to  whiten  —  and 
understand  it  to  signify  brass  which  has  attained  in  the 
funiace  a  white  heat.  '*  Such  technical  words  were 
likely  enough  to  be  current  in  a  population  like  that  of 
Ephesus,  consisting  largely  of  workers  in  metal,  some 
of  whom — if  we  may  judge  from  the  case  of  Alexander 
the  coppersmith  (Acts  xix.  34;  2  Tim.  iv.  14)— were, 
without  doubt,  Jews.  I  believe  the  word  in  question  to 
have  belonged  to  this  technical  vocabulary.  It  is  at 
any  rate  used  by  St.  John  as  familiar  and  intelligible  to 
those  for  whom  he  wrote  "  (Prof.  Plumptre  in  the 
Epi.-^fles  to  Seven  CJnircJies,  in  loco). 

His  voice  as  the  sound  (bettor,  voice,  as  the 
same  word — phone — is  used  twice,  and  translated  first 
"  voice  "  and  then  "  sound  "  in  our  EngHsh  version) 
of  many  waters. — Daniel  described  the  voice  of  the 
Ancient  of  Days  as  the  voice  of  a  multitude  (Dan.  x.  6) ; 
but  the  voice  of  the  multitude  was  in  earlier  Hebrew 
writings  compared  to  the  sound  of  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
which  the  voice  of  the  Lord  alone  could  subdue  (Ps. 
Ixv.  7 ;  xciii.  4).  This  image  the  Evangelist  adopts  to 
describe  the  voice  of  Christ — strong  and  majestic,  amid 
the  Babel-sounds  of  earth.  That  voii-e.  wliose  word 
stilled  the  sea.  sounds  as  the  waves  of  the  sea.  which 
St.  John  heard  Him  rebuke. 

(16)  And  he  had  (or,  having)  in  his  right  hand 
seven  stars.  —  The  stars  are  explained  later  on 
(verse  20)   to  be    the   emblems  of  the  angels  of  the 


The  Apostle  receives 


EEVELATION,   I. 


his  Charge. 


edged  sword :  and  his  countenance  was 
as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength. 
'i7>  And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his 
feet   as   dead.     And  he  laid  his   right 


!  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto  me,  Fear 
« 133.41.1. i«. 6.  j^Q-f..    J   fj^iQ^   -j-tie   first   and    the    last:" 
(18)  /  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead ; 
and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore, 


sevon  olmrclios ;  they  are  described  as  stars  iu  His 
right  liaiid  ;  thoy,  perhaps,  appeared  as  a  ^\Teath,  or 
as  a  royal  and  star-adonied  diadem  in  His  haud. 
(See  Is,\.  Ixii.  3.)  It  expresses  tlieir  preeiousness 
in  Christ's  sif,'ht,  and  tlie  care  He  takes  of  them. 
A  simihir  emblem  is  used  of  Couiah  (Jer.  xxii.  24), 
where  ho  is  compared  to  the  signet  upou  God's 
riglit  hand. 

And  out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two- 
edged  sword. — There  need  be  no  doubt  about  the 
meaning  here :  the  imagery  of  the  Bible  elsewhere 
i.s  too  explicit  to  be  mistaken ;  it  is  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  even  the  word  of  God,  which  is  here 
described;  it  is  that  word  which  is  shai*per  than 
any  two-edged  sword,  and  which  lays  bare  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  .soul  (Eph.  vi.  17  ;  Heb.  iv.  12. 
Comp.  Isa.  xlix.  2 ).  This  is  the  weapon  with  which  Christ 
will  subdue  His  enemies ;  no  carnal  weaiJon  is  needed 
(2  Cor.  X.  4).  Those  that  take  any  other  sword  in  hand 
than  this  to  advance  His  kingdom  will  perish  with  the 
weapon  to  which  they  have  appealed  (chap.  xiii.  10 ; 
Matt.  xxvi.  52),  but  those  who  arm  themselves  with  this 
will  find  it  mighty  through  God.  With  this  weapon  of 
His  word  He  Himself  fights  against  His  adversaries 
(chaps,  ii.  12,  16;  xix.  15,  21) ;  Avith  this  He  lays  bare 
the  hidden  hypocrisies  of  men,  cuts  off  the  diseased 
members,  and  wounds  that  He  may  heaL 

"  The  sword  wherewith  Thou  dost  command. 
Is  in  Thy  mouth  and  not  Thy  hand." 

It  is  a  two-edged  sword ;  it  has  the  double  edge  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New;  *'the  Old  Testament, 
cutting  extenially  our  carnal;  the  New  Testament, 
internally  our  spiritual  sins  "  (Richard  of  St.  Victor). 
It  has  the  double  edge  of  its  power  to  rebuke  sin  and 
self-righteousness ;  the  evil  of  wrong-doing  and  the 
evil  motives  which  wait  on  right-doing ;  the  two  edges 
of  which  will  cut  off  sin  from  man,  or  else  man  in 
his  sin.  (Comp.  Isa.  xi.  4,  and  2  Thess.  ii.  8.)  The 
Greek  word  here  rendered  '"sword"  is  used  six  times 
in  this  book,  and  only  once  (Luke  ii.  35) elsewhere  in 
the  New  Testament. 

His  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth 
in  his  strength. — It  is  the  spiritual  truth  which 
gives  the  splendour  to  such  descriptions  as  these. 
The  dazzling  glory  of  Him  who  is  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  is  intolerable  to  human  eyes.  There 
is  no  marvel  in  this  when  we  remember  that  He 
is  the  brightness  of  His  Father's  glory,  and  that  the 
Father  dwells  "  in  that  light  which  no  man  can  approach 
unto  ;  whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can  see  "  (1  Tim.  vi. 
16).  It  is  the  lu.stre  of  holiness  and  righteousness 
which  is  here  signified,  and  which  "  the  eye  of  sinful 
man  may  not  see,"  but  of  which  saints  and  angel  mes- 
sengers may  catch  a  faint  reflection;  so  that  the  angel's 
face  may  look  hko  lightning  (Matt.  xxAnii.  3),  and  '•  the 
righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of 
their  Father  "  (Matt.  xiii.  43).  (Comp.  the  shining  of 
Moses'  face,  Ex.  xxxiv.  29.) 

(1")  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead.— At  the  sight  of 
Ham,  the  Evangelist  fell  as  one  dead.  "  Was  this  He 
whom  upon  earth  St.  John  had  known  so  familiarly  ? 
Was  this  He  in  whose  bosom  He  had  lain  at  that  Last 
Supper,  and   said,  "  Lord,  which  is  he  that  betrayeth 


Thee  ? '  When  I  saw  Him  thus  transformed,  thus 
glorified,  I  fell  at  His  feet  as  one  dead.  Well  might 
such  be  the  effect,  even  upon  the  spirit  of  a  just  man 
made  perfect — and  St.  John  was  still  iu  the  body — of 
such  an  open  revelation  of  the  risen  glory  of  Chri.st  " 
(Dr.  Vaughan).  It  was  pity,  and  the  jmng  felt  at  the 
severity  of  retribution  which  overtook  sin,  which  made 
Dante  fall  as  a  dead  body  falls  {Inferno,  v.) ;  it  is  the 
felt  consciousness  of  unworthiness  which  seems  to  have 
overcome  the  Evangelist.  This  consciousness  has  its 
witness  outside  the  Bible  as  well  as  in  it.  "  Semele 
must  iierish  if  Jupiter  reveals  himself  to  her  in  his 
glory,  being  consumed  in  the  brightness  of  that  glory." 
(Comp.  Ex.  xxxiii.  18.  20,  "  Thou  canst  not  see  Mj 
face ;  for  there  shall  no  man  see  Me  and  live.")  For 
every  man  it  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  stand  face  to  face 
with  God.  Yet  the  consciousness  of  this  uuwoi-thiness 
to  behold  God,  or  to  receive  a  near  revelation  of  His 
presence,  is  a  sign  of  faith,  and  is  welcomed  as  such. 
Of  him  who  said,  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou 
sliouldest  come  under  my  roof,"  Chri.st  said,  "  I  have 
not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel "  (Matt, 
viii.  8—10). 

He  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto 
me,  Fear  not. — The  words  '•  unto  me  "  should  bo 
omitted.  The  gestivre  is  designed  to  give  the  assur- 
ance of  comfort ;  the  hand  which  was  raised  up  to 
bless  (Luke  xxiv.  51),  which  was  reached  forth  to  heal 
the  leper,  to  raise  the  sinking  Peter  (Matt.  xiv.  31), 
and  to  touch  the  wotmded  ear  of  Malchus,  is  now 
stretched  out  to  reassure  His  servant ;  and  the  words, 
like  those  which  John  had  heard  upon  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration,  and  when  toiling  against  the  waves 
of  Galilee,  bid  him  not  to  be  afraid.  (Comp.  Dan.  x. 
10.) 

I  am  the  first  and  the  last.— The  "last "  must  not 
be  taken  here  to  mean  the  least  and  lowest,  as  though 
it  referred  to  our  Lord's  humiliation ;  the  last  points 
forwards,  as  the  Jirst  points  backwards.  He  was  before 
all  things,  and  so  the  first;  and  though  all  things 
change,  folded  up  as  a  vesture,  yet  His  years  shall  not 
fail,  and  so  He  is  the  last.  "  The  first  because  all  things 
are  from  Me ;  the  last  because  to  Me  are  all  things  " 
(Richard  of  St.  Victor).  (Comp.  Col.  i.  16—18  ;  Heb.  i. 
11,  12.)  This  pre-eminence  of  first  and  last  is  thrice 
claimed  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  in  Isaiah  (chaps,  xli.  4; 
xliv.  6;  xlviii.  12),  and  thrice  for  the  Lord  Jesus  iii 
this  book  (in  this  pas.sage,  in  chap.  ii.  8,  and  chap.  xxii. 
13). 

(18)  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead.— Better, 
aiid  the  living  One  (omit  the  words  "I  am");  and  I 
became  dead;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  (or,  lam  living) 
unto  the  ages  of  ages  (or,  for  evermore).  "Amen  "  is 
omitted  in  the  best  MSS.  This  verse  must  be  care- 
fully kept  iu  connection  with  the  preceding,  as  the  de- 
scription shoidd  go  on  without  pause.  He  is  the  living 
One — not  merely  one  who  once  was  alive,  or  is  now 
alive — but  the  One  who  has  "  life  in  Himself,  and  the 
fountain  and  source  of  life  to  others,  John  i.  4;  xiv.  6; 
the  One  who  hath  immortality,"  1  Tim.  vi.  16  (Trench). 
Yet  He  became  dead.  There  are  two  wonders  here  : 
the  li^-ing  One  becomes  dead,  and  the  dead  One  is  alive 
for  evermore.  It  is  another  form  of  the  glorious  truth 
and  paradox  of  which  the  Apostles  were  so  fond  (Phil.  ii. 


.338 


The  Seven  Candlesticks. 


EEVELATION,   II. 


The  Seven  Churches. 


Amen ;  and  have  tlie  keys  of  hell  and  of 
death.  (^'^^  Write  the  things  wliich  thou 
hast  seen,  and  the  things  which  are, 
and  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter ; 
(^)  the  mystery  of  the  seven  stars  wliich 
thou  sawest  in  my  right  hand,  and  the 
seven  golden  candlesticks.  The  seven 
stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven 
churches  :   and  the  seven   candlesticks 


which    thou     sawest    are     the    seven 
churches. 

CHAPTER  II.— (i>  Unto  the  angel 
of  the  church  of  Ephesus  ,  ••  i_- 
write;  These  things  saith  Epistle  to 
he  that  holdeth  the  seven  Church  in 
stars  in  his  right  hand,  Avho  ^  ^^siis. 
walketh  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden 


8,  9;  Hob.  ii.  9).  Coiiip.  Christ's  words,  Liiko  ix.  24, 
and  xiii.  43,  which  contain  promises  which  He  oidy 
conld  make  wlio  ooukl  say,  "I  have  the  keys  of  death 
and  of  Hades."  The  order  of  these  words  has  been 
transposed  in  our  Euglisli  version.  The  true  order  is 
tlie  more  appropriate  order,  "  For  Hades  is  tlie  vast  un- 
seen realm  into  which  men  are  ushered  by  deatli ;  dark 
and  mysterious  as  that  realm  was.  and  dreaded  as  was 
its  monarch,  our  risen  Lord  has  both  under  His  power. 
The  keys  are  the  emblems  of  His  right  and  authority." 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  7, 8.)  It  is  not  of  the  second  death  that 
He  speaks ;  oui*  Lord  is  here  seen  as  the  conqueror  of 
that  clouded  region,  and  that  resistless  foe  which  man 
dreaded.  (Comp.  John  xi.  25;  Heb.  ii.  1.5.)  Comp. 
Henry  Vaughan's  quaint  poem  "  An  Ea.ster  Hymn" — 

"  Death  and  darkness  get  you  pacldng, 
Nothing  now  to  man  is  lacking ; 
AH  your  triumphs  now  are  ended. 
And  what  Adam  marred  is  mended  ; 
Grave.s  are  beds  now  for  the  weary, 
Death  a  nap  to  wake  more  merry." 

Christ  had  s])oken  before  of  the  gates  of  hell  (Matt. 
xvi.  18),  and  of  the  keys.  (Comp.  also  1  Pet.  iii.  19.)  The 
key  of  the  grave  was  one  of  the  four  keys  which  tlie 
Eternal  King  committed  to  no  ministering  angel,  but 
reserved  for  himself  i so  Targum  and  Talmud).  The 
whole  verso  affirms  the  undying  power  and  inalienable 
authority  of  our  Master,  and  is  a  fitting  prelude  to  a 
book  which  is  to  .show  the  inherent  divine  tenacity  of 
Christianity.  The  Church  lives  on  because  Christ  its 
Head  lives  on  (John  xiv.  19).  The  resurrection  power 
wliich  the  Lord  showed  is  to  be  reflected  in  the  history 
of  His  Church.  "  The  greatest  honour  is  due  to 
Christianity,"  says  Goethe,  •'  for  continually  proving  its 
pure  and  noble  origin  by  coming  foi'th  again,  after  the 
great  aberrations  into  which  human  perversity  has  led 
it,  more  speedily  than  was  expected,  with  its  primitive 
special  charm  as  a  mission  ....  for  the  relief  of 
human  necessity." 

(i;<)  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen 
(better,  satvest). — It  is  well  to  notice  the  small  con- 
necting word  '■  then,"  which  lias  lieon  omitted  in  the 
English.  It  gives  the  practical  thought  to  the  Avhole 
of  the  previous  vision.  This  vision  is  to  be  described 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  that  she  may 
never  forget  Him  who  is  the  foundation  on  which  she 
rests;  the  true  fountain  of  her  life  ;  and  in  whom  she 
will  find  the  source  of  that  renewing  power  to  which 
the  last  Note  alludes.  In  the  history  of  the  faith  it  will 
be  always  true  that  thi-y  who  wait  on  the  Lord  shall 
renew  their  strength  (Isa.  xl.  28 — 31).  Lest,  then,  at 
any  time  the  saints  of  God  .should  bo  tempted  to  cry 
that  "their  judgmrnt  was  pas.sed  over  from  their  God." 
the  Evangelist  i.s  Indden  first  to  detail  tliis  vision  of  Him 
who  is  the  Life  and  Captain  of  His  people.  He  is  also  to 
write  the  thingx  which  are — those  et«'rnal  princi])le3 
and  truths  which  underlie  all  the  plienoniona  of  human 
history;  or  tlio  things  wliich  concern  the  present  state 
of   the    churches — and  the  things  which  arc  about  to 


he  after  these  things — those  great  and  wondrous  scenes 
of  the  fortunes  of  the  Church  and  of  the  world  which 
will  be  unfolded. 

(20)  The  mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which 
thou  sawest  in  my  right  hand.— Having  bidden 
him  write  the  meaning  of  this  mysteiy,  or  secret,  He 
gives  to  St.  John  an  explanatory  key  :  "  The  seven  stars 
are  angels  of  seven  churches  (or  congregations)  :  and 
the  seven  candlesticks"  (omit  the  words  "which  thou 
sawest  ")  "  are  .seven  churches."  The  angels  have  been 
understood  by  some  to  be  guardian  angels;  but  it  is 
difficult  to  reconcile  words  of  warning  and  reproof 
(as  in  chap.  ii.  4,  5),  and  of  promise  and  encourage- 
ment (as  in  chap.  ii.  10),  with  such  a  viev,-.  More 
probable  is  the  view  which  takes  the  angel  to  be  the 
ideal  embodiment  (so  to  speak)  of  the  Church.  The 
more  generally  adopted  view  is  that  the  angel  is  the 
chief  pastor  or  bishop  of  the  Church.  The  descrip- 
tion of  them  as  stars  favours  this  view.  Similar 
imagery  is  applied  elsewhere  to  teachei-s,  tnie  and  false 
(Dan.  xii.  3;  Jude  13.  Comp.  Rev.  viii.  10,  and  xii.  4). 
It  is  stated  that  the  woi-d  "  angel "  was  applied  to  the 
president  in  the  Jewish  synagogue.  See,  however, 
Excursus.  A. 

II. 

(1)  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  i  literally, 
in)  Ephesus. — On  the  word  "•angel,"  see  Xote  on 
chap.  i.  20,  and  Exciirsus  A.  Adopting  the  view  that 
the  angel  represents  the  chief  pastor  or  bishop  of  the 
Clinrch,  it  would  be  interesting  to  know  who  was  its' 
presiding  minister  at  this  time ;  but  this  must  he 
deternined  by  another  question,  viz.,  the  date  of  the 
Apocalj-pse.  Accepting  the  earlier  date — i.e.,  the 
reign  of  Nero,  or  (with  Gebhardt)  of  Galba — the  angel 
is  no  other  than  Timothy.  Some  striking  coincidences 
favour  this  view.  Labour,  work,  endurance,  are  what 
St.  Paul  acknowledges  in  IMmothy.  and  which  ho 
exhorts  him  to  cultivate  more  and  more  (2  Tim. 
ii.  6,  1.5;  iv.  5).  Again,  against  false  teachers  he  warns 
him  (1  Tim  i.  7).  Further,  there  is  "a  latent  tone  of 
anxiety  "  in  the  Epistles  to  Timothy.  The  nature  with 
which  lie  had  to  do  was  emotional  even  to  tears, 
ascetic,  devout ;  but  there  was  in  it  a  tendency  to  lack 
of  energy  and  sustained  enthusiasm.  "  He  urges  him 
to  stand  up.  to  rekindle  the  grace  of  God,  just  as  here 
tiiere  is  a  hint  of  a  first  love  left."  (See  Prof. 
Plumptre,  Ep.  to  Sei-eu  Churches.) 

Ephesus. "The  chief  city  of  Ionia,  and  at  this 
time  the  most  important  city  in  A.sia.  It  pns.sossed 
advantages  commercial,  geographical,  and  ecchsiastical, 
and,  in  addition,  great  Christian  privileges.  It  was  a 
wealthy  focns  for  trade;  it  reached  out  one  hand  to 
the  East,  while  with  the  other  it  grasi)ed  Greek 
culture.  Its  magnificent  temple  was  one  of  the  seven 
wonders  of  the  world ;  the  skill  of  Praxiteles  had  con- 
tributed to  its  lx>auty.  The  fragments  of  its  riohly- 
sculptured  columns,   now   to  be   seen  in  the   British 


539 


TJie  Epistle  to 


EEVELATION,   II. 


tlie  Church  at  Ephesus. 


candlesticks ;  <-)  I  know  thy  works,  and 
thy  labour,  and  thy  patience,  and  how 
thou  canst  not  bear  them  which  are  evil  : 
and  thou  hast  tried  them  which  say 
they  are  apostles,  and  are  not,  and  hast 
found  them  liars :  '■''  and  luist  borne, 
and  hast  patience,  and  for  my  name's 


sake  hast  laboured,  and  hast  not  fainted. 
(*^  Nevertheless  I  have  someivhat  against 
thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first 
love.  (^^  Remember  therefore  from 
whence  thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and 
do  the  first  works ;  or  else  I  will  come 
unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy 


Museum,  will  convoy  soiuo  idea  of  its  gigantic  propoi'- 
tions  and  splendid  decorations.  But  the  religious  tone 
induced  by  its  i)agan  worship  was  of  the  lowest  order. 
Degrading  superstitious  were  upheld  by  a  mercenary 
priestliood  ;  the  commercial  instinct  and  tlie  faiuitical 
spirit  had  joined  hands  in  sujiport  of  a  soul-enslaving 
creed,  and  iu  defence  of  a  sanctuary  which  none  but 
those  devoid  of  taste  could  contemi)lato  without  ad- 
miration. But  its  spiritual  opportunities  were  propor- 
tioned to  its  needs.  It  had  been  the  scene  of  three 
years' labour  of  St.  Paul  (Actsxx.  31),  of  the  captivating 
and  convincing  eloquence  of  Apollos  (Acts  xviii.  24), 
of  the  persistent  labours  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla 
(Acts  xviii.  26) ;  Tycliicus,  the  beloved  and  faithful, 
liad  been  minister  tliere  (Eph.  vi.  21) ;  Timothy  was  its 
chief  pastor. 

These  things  saith  he  .  .  .  . — The  titles  by  which 
Christ  is  described  at  the  opening  of  the  seven  epistles 
are  mainly  drawn  from  chap.  i.  The  vision  is  found 
to  supply  features  appropriate  to  the  needs  of  the 
several  churches.  The  message  comes  in  this  epistle 
from  One  who  "  holdeth "  firmly  in  His  grasp  (a 
stronger  word  than  "  He  that  hath  "  of  chap.  i.  16),  and 
walketli  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks. 
The  Church  at  Ephesus  needed  to  remember  their 
Ijord  as  such.  The  first  love  had  gone  out  of  their 
religion  ;  there  was  a  tendency  to  fall  into  a  mechanical 
faith,  strong  against  heresy,  but  tolerant  of  C(mveu- 
tionalism.  Their  temptations  did  not  arise  from  the 
pi-evalence  of  error,  or  the  bitterness  of  persecution, 
but  from  a  disposition  to  fall  backward  and  again  do 
the  dead  works  of  the  past.  There  was  not  so  much 
need  to  take  heed  unto  their  doctrine,  but  there  was 
great  need  that  they  should  take  heed  unto  themselves 
(1  Tim.  iv.  16).  But  when  there  is  danger  because 
earnestness  in  the  holy  cause  is  dying  oiit,  and  the  very 
decorum  of  religion  has  become  a  snare,  what  more 
fitting  than  to  be  reminded  of  Him  whose  hand  can 
strengthen  and  uphold  them,  and  who  walks  among 
the  candlesticks,  to  supply  them  with  the  oil  of  fresh 
love  ?     (Comp.  Zecli.  iv.  2,  3  ;  Matt.  xxv.  3,  4.) 

(-)  I  know  thy  works. — This  phrase  is  probably 
common  to  all  the  epistles.  See,  however,  Note  on 
vcrs('  9.  It  expresses  the  way  in  which  all  actions  are 
naked  and  open  before  the  eyes— those  flame-like  eyes 
(chap  i.  14) — of  Him  with  whom  wo  have  to  do  (Pss. 
xi.  4,  5  ;  cxxxix.  11.  12;  Hob.  iv.  13).  The  veneer  of  a 
formal  faith  might  impose  on  the  world,  but  it  would 
not  escape  His  scrutiny  (Acts  i.  24).  Ho  knows,  too, 
and  lovingly  accepts,  the  \mmarked  and  unrequited 
acts  of  true  love  (Matt.  x.  42;  xxvi.  13),  and  ap- 
preciates, amid  all  its  failures,  genuine  loyalty  to  Him 
(John  xxi.  17). 

And  thy  labour  (or,  toll),  and  thy  patience.— 
The  same  things  which  St.  Paul  had  pressed  on  Tinu)thy 
(2  Tim.  ii.  25,  26).  The  first  word  signifies  labour 
carried  on  unto  weariness.  The  "patience"  is  more  than 
passive  endurance ;  it  is,  as  Archbishop  Trench  says,  a 
beautiful  word,  expressing  the  brave  and  persistent 
eudui-auce  of  the  Christian.     But  though  thus  possessed 


oiO 


of  endurance,  He  commends  them  that  tliey  could  not 
endui-e  evil  men.  In  one  sense,  the  lingering  of  this 
grace  among  them  is  the  green  leaf  betokening  better 
things ;  they  have  not  lost  the  power  of  hating  evil. 
(Comp.  Rom.  xii.  9.)  No  man  loves  God  truly  who 
caimot  hate  evil  (Ps.  ci.  3). 

And  thou  hast  tried  (literally,  didst  try)  them 
.  .  .  and  hast  found  them  liars.— St.  Paul  had 
warned  the  Ephesian  elders  of  the  a2)pearauce  of  false 
teachers  (Acts  xx.  28 — 31).  Zeal  for  pure  docti"ine  cha- 
racterised the  Ephesian  Church.  It  is  commended  hy 
Ignatius  iu  his  epistle  {ad  Eph.  vi.).  The  false  apostles 
here  spoken  of  are  not,  I  think,  to  be  identified  ^vith 
the  Nicolaitanes  of  verse  6  ;  that  verse  is  introduced 
as  a  further  ground  of  commendation,  mitigating  the 
ceusure  of  verses  4  and  5.  The  claims  to  be  considered 
apostles,  which  the  Ephesian  Church  had  disposed  of, 
aifords  additional  evidence  of  the  early  date  of  the 
Apocalypse.  Such  a  claim  could  hardly  have  beeu  put 
forward  at  a  later  date.  But  at  the  earlier  periods 
such  troublers  of  the  Church  were  only  too  common 
(2  Cor  ii.  17  ;  xi.  14, 15  ;  Gal.  i.  7  ;  ii.  4 ;  Phil.  iii.  2,  3). 

(5)  And  hast  borne.  —  This  verse  needs  some 
chang(!  to  bring  it  into  harmony  ivith  the  best  MSS. 
It  should  stand.  And  had  (or,  hadst)  patience,  and 
didst  bear  for  My  na»i-e's  sake,  and  didst  not  %veary. 
In  this  last  word  tliere  is  a  recurrence  to  the  word 
(kopos)  translated  labour  or  toil  iu  verse  2.  They  had 
toiled  on  to  very  weariness  without  wearying  of  their 
toil  (Gal.  vi.  9),  just  as  they  could  uot  hear  the  evil  and 
yet  had  borne  reproaches  for  Christ's  sake.  ''  There  is 
toil,  and  patience,  and  abhorrence  of  e^^l,  and  discern- 
ment, and  again  patience,  and  endurance,  and  un- 
wearied exertion.  What  can  be  wanting  here  ?  "  (Dr. 
Vaughan.) 

(i)  Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat  against 
thee. — ^eitew  I  have  against  thee  tliat  thou  didst  let  go. 
This  is  the  fault,  and  it  is  no  trifle  which  is  blamed, 
as  the  word  "somewhat"  (which  is  not  to  be  found 
in  the  original)  might  be  taken  to  imply;  for  the  decay 
of  love  is  the  decay  of  tliat  mthout  which  all  other 
graces  are  as  nothing  (1  Cor.  xiii.  1 — 3),  since  "all  re-k 
ligion  is  summed  up  iu  one  word.  Love.  God  asks  this ; 
we  cannot  give  more;  He  cannot  take  less"  (Norman 
Macleod,  Life,  i.,  p.  324).  Great  as  the  fault  is,  it 
is  the  fault  which  Love  alone  would  have  detected. 
'•  Can  any  one  more  touchingly  rebuke  than  by  com- 
mencing, '  Thou  no  longer  lovest  me  enough  ?  '  "  It  is 
tlie  regretful  cry  of  the  heavenly  Bridegroom,  recalling 
the  early  days  of  His  Bride's  love,  the  kindness  of  her 
youth,  the  love  of  her  espousals  (Jer.  ii.  2.  Comp.  Hos. 
ii.  15).  It  is  impossible  not  to  see  some  reference  ii 
this  to  the  language  of  St.  Paul  (which  must  have  beei 
familiar  to  the  Ephesian  Christians)  in  Eph.  v.  23 — SZ 
where  human  love  is  made  a  type  of  the  divine. 

(5)  Remember  therefore  from  whence  thoi 
art  fallen,  .  .  .  and  do  the  first  works. — It 
argued  that  we  have  here  evidence  that  the  later,  o^ 
Domitian,  date  of  the  Apocalypse  is  the  true  one,  sine 
it  describes  a  fall  iu  spii-itual  life  which  might  havd 


Reproof  for  Backsliding. 


REVELATION,   II. 


Words  of  Encouragement. 


candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except  thou 
repent.  (''^  But  this  thou  hast,  that 
thou  hatest  the  deeds  of  the  Nicolai- 
tanes,  which  I  also  hate.  ("^  He  that 
hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit    saith    unto   the    churches ;    To 


him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to 
eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  para- 
dise of  God.  (8)  And  unto  The^EpistlT  to 
the  angel  of  the  church  the  Church  in 
in   Smyrna  write;     These  ^'''^^^'" 


occurred  in  thirty  j'oars,  but  would  hardly  have  taken 
place  in  the  few  years — ten  at  the  utmost — which 
elapsed  between  the  visit  of  St.  Paul  (Acts  xx.  29,  30) 
and  the  i-eign  of  Nero.  But  greater  changes  than  a 
decay  of  this  kind  have  passed  over  communities  in 
equally  short  periods.  We  have  seen  nations  pass 
from  imperialism  to  republicanism,  from  the  fever-heat 
of  radicalism  to  the  lethargy  of  conservatism,  in  shorter 
space.  Has  not  the  past  decade  shown  marvellously 
rapid  movements  in  the  Church  of  our  own  land! 
Tlie  change,  moreover,  in  the  Ephesian  Church  was 
not  so  great  as  the  advocates  of  the  later  apocalyptic 
date  would  describe.  There  is  at  present  little  out- 
ward sign  of  decay;  they  have  resisted  evil  and 
false  teachers ;  they  have  shown  toil  and  endurance ; 
but  the  great  Searcher  of  hearts  detects  the  ahnost 
imperccpti1)le  symptoms  of  an  incipient  decay.  He 
alone  can  tell  the  moment  when  love  of  truth  is 
passuig  into  a  noisy,  Pharisaic  zealotism ;  when  men 
are  "  settling  doAVu  into  a  lower  state  of  spiritual 
life  than  that  which  they  once  aimed  at  and  once 
knew."  Such  a  backsliding  is  "  gentle,  unmarked,  im- 
uoticed  in  its  course."  Further,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  the  Apostle  did  express  his  presentiments 
of  coming  danger,  and  specially  warned  the  elders 
(Acts  XX.  28)  to  take  heed  unto  themselves  ;  and  in  his 
Epistle  (Eph.  vi.  24)  he  gives  in  his  closing  words  the 
covert  caution  that  their  love  to  Christ  should  be 
an  incorrui>tible,  uuehaugiug  love :  "  Grace  be  with 
all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  incor- 
ruption  "  ("  sincerity,"  English  version).  The  advice 
now  given  is,  "  Repent,  and  do  the  first  works."  The 
ath-ico  is  three-fold :  remember,  repent,  reform.  Re- 
member the  love  of  the  past  peaceful  hours.  "  How 
sweet  tlieir  memory  stiU !  "  "  Tlierc  are  ever  goads," 
says  Archbishop  Trench,  "  in  the  memory  of  a  better 
and  a  nobler  past,  goading  him  who  has  taken  up 
with  meaner  things  and  lower,  and  urging  him  to 
make  what  he  lias  lost  once  more  his  own."  (Comp. 
Luke  XV.  17,  and  Heb.  x.  32.)  So  Ulysses  urges  his 
crew  to  further  exertions. 

"  Call  to  mind  from  whence  ye  spning : 
Ye  were  not  formed  to  live  as  brutes, 
liut  virtue  to  pursue  and  knowledge  high." 

—Inf.  XXV i. 

Remember,  but  also  repent,  and  repent  in  true  practical 
fashion  ;  for  Love  will  recognise  no  repentance  but  that 
wliicli  is  confirmed  in  the  doing  of  the  first  works.  It 
must  l)e  a  repentance  wliereby  we  forsake  sin.  "  Christ 
does  not  say, '  Feel  thy  first  feelings,'  but,  '  Do  the  first 
works.' "  "  An  ounce  of  reality,"  says  a  modem 
novelist,  "  is  worth  a  pound  of  romance." 

Or  else  I  will  come  .  .  .—Better,  Or  else  I  am 
coniirKj  uiilo  (iir,/nr  tlice,  in  mvay  wliich  concerns)  thee, 
and  (omit  "  quickly,"  whicli  is  wanting  in  the  oldest 
MSS.)  will  remnrc  thy  candlestick  out  of  its  place,  ttnlcsii 
thou  shall  hiirr  repented — i.e..  uidcss  the  cliange  sliall 
have  come  before  tne  day  of  \-i.sitati(m.  Tlie  "  now  they 
are  hid  from  tliiui'  ey<'s,"  is  not  yet  spoken  ff)r  Ephesus. 

C'*  But  this  thou  hast,  that  thou  hatest  the 
deeds  dwtter,  works)  of  the  Nicolaitanos.— The 
Nicolaitaues   were,  as  lias   been   expressed,   :*lio   Anti- 


641 


uomians  of  the  Asiatic  Church.  The  life  and  conduct 
were  little  thought  of,  and  the  faith  professed  was 
everything.  Some  have  thought  that  they  were  a  sect 
who  derived  their  name,  under  some  colourable  pretext, 
from  Nicolas  the  Proselyte  ;  others  hold  that  the  name 
is  i)urely  .sym))olical,  signifying  "  destroyer  of  the 
people,"  and  that  it  is  no  more  than  the  Greek  form 
of  Balaam.  (See  Notes  on  verses  14,  15,  below.)  The 
existence  of  a  sect  called  Nicolaitaues  in  the  second 
century  is  attested  by  Ireuaeus,  Tertullian,  and  Clement 
of  Alexandria. 

(7)  He  that  hath  an  ear  .  .  .—Or.  Let  him  that 
hath  an  ear,  hear.  These  words — an  echo  from  the 
Gospels — recur  in  all  the  seven  epistles.  In  tlie  first 
three,  however,  they  are  placed  before  the  promise;  in 
the  remaining  four  they  follow  it.  The  heart  which  is 
hardened  is  the  precursor  of  the  ear  that  is  deaf  ( Jer. 
vi.  10,  and  John  xii.  37 — 10 1.  The  "  spiritual  truth" 
needs  a  spiritual  organ  for  its  discernment.  These 
are  truths,  then,  only  heard 

"  When  the  sonl  seeks  to  hear;  when  all  is  hushed. 
And  the  heart  listens."— Coleridge,  Reflection. 

To  him  that  overcometh  (or,  conquereth)  will  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God.— The  reference  to 
conquering  is  a  prominent  feature  of  St.  John's  other 
writings.  The  word — used  but  once  in  the  three 
Gospels  (Luke  xi.  22),  and  but  once  by  St.  Paul  I  Rom. 
xii.  21) — is  found  in  John  xxi.  33;  1  John  ii.  13,  14; 
V.  4,  5;  and  occurs  in  all  these  epistles  to  the  churches. 
The  promise  of  the  tree  of  life  is  approi)riate  (1)  to  the 
■\  irtue  commended  :  those  who  had  not  indulged  in  the 
license  of  Nicolaitanes  shall  eat  of  the  tree  of  life ; 
(2)  to  the  special  weakness  of  the  Ephesians :  to  those 
who  had  fallen,  and  lost  the  paradise  of  first  loAiug 
comniuuion  and  fellowship  with  God  (comp.  Gen.  iii.  8, 
and  1  John  i.  3).  is  held  out  the  promise  of  a  i-estored 
paradise  and  participation  in  the  tree  of  life.  (Comp. 
chap.  xxii.  2,  14 ;  Gen.  iii.  22.)  This  boon  of  immor- 
tality is  the  gift  of  Christ^ — I  will  give.  It  is  tasted  in 
knowledge  oi  God  and  of  His  Son  (John  xvii.  3) ;  it  is 
enjoyed  in  their  presence  (chap.  xxii.  3,  4). 

(**)  Smyrna,  tlie  motlern  I.tmir,  now  possessing  a 
population  of  aixHit  150,000.  Its  mercantile  prosperity 
may  be  measured  by  its  trade.  In  18.'>2  the  export  trade 
amounted  to  11,760,653 — about  half  of  this  l)eing  with 
England.  Tlie  imports  in  the  sjime  year  were 
£'l,;i57.330.  It  has  always  been  considered  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  cities  in  Asia.  It  was  situated  in  the 
ancient  province  of  Ionia,  a  little  north  of  Ephesu.s — 
next  it,  as  Archlnshop  Trench  says,  in  natural  order, 
and  also  in  spiritual.  Its  position  was  favourable  for 
commerce.  In  olden  times,  as  now,  it  commanded  the 
trade  of  the  Levant,  besides  being  the  natural  outlet 
for  the  produce  of  the  Hermus  valley.  The  neigh- 
bourluHid  was  iH>culiarIy  fertile ;  the  vines  are  said  to 
liHve  been  so  pnKluctive  as  to  have  yielded  two  crops. 
There  are  indications  that  inteini)erance  wa.s  ver}-  i)re- 
valent  among  the  inhabitants.  Sor^-ility  and  flattery 
may  bo  added,  for  the  people  of  Smyrna  seem  to  have 
Ix'en  astutely  fickle,  and  to  have  l>een   keen   in  pre- 


The  Epistle  to  Smi/rna. 


REVELATION,   IT. 


Encouragement  tinder  Trials. 


things  saith  the  first  and  the  last,  which 
was  dead,  and  is  alive ;  (^^  I  know  thy 
works,  and  tribnlation,  and  poverty, 
(but  thou  art  rich)  and  /  hnon:  the  blas- 
phemy of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews, 
and  are  not,  but  are  the  synagogue  of 


Satan.  (^^^  Fear  none  of  those  things 
which  thou  shalt  suffer :  behold,  the 
devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison, 
that  ye  may  be  tried ;  and  ye  shall  have 
tribulation  ten  days  :  be  thou  faithful 
unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown 


serving  the  patrouago  of  the  ruling  powers.  In  one  of 
tlieir  temjiles  the  inscription  declared  Nero  to  be  "  the 
Saviour  of  the  whole  human  race."  The  city  was 
specially  famed  for  its  worship  of  Diouysos.  Games 
and  mysteries  were  held  yearly  in  his  honour.  Its 
public  buildings  were  handsome,  and  its  streets  regular. 
One  of  its  ediiices  used  as  a  museum  proclaimed,  in  its 
consecration  to  Homer,  that  Smyrna  contested  with  six 
or  seven  other  cities  the  honour  of  being  the  birthplace 
of  the  poet. 

The  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna.— We 
have  no  means  of  detei'mming  certainly  who  was 
the  person  hero  addressed.  Many  who  accept  the 
Domitian  date  of  the  Apocalyjise  argue  that  Polycarp 
was  at  this  time  the  bishop  or  presiding  minister  at 
Smyrna.  Even  on  the  supposition  that  this  is  the  true 
date,  it  seems  exceedingly  doubtful  tliat  this  was  the 
case.  It  can  only  be  ti-ue  on  the  supposition  that  the 
episcojjate  of  Polycarp  extended  over  sixty  years. 
Polycarp  was  nuvrtyred  A.D.  156.  We  know  from 
Ignatius,  who  adtbesses  him  in  A.D.  108  as  Bishop  of 
Smyrna,  that  his  ministry  lasted  nearly  fifty  years. 
It  seems  too  much  to  assume  that  his  episcopate  com- 
menced eiglit  or  ten  years  before.  Of  course,  if  we 
adopt  the  earlier  date  of  the  Apocalj7)se,  the  Epistle 
must  have  lieen  written  before  Polycarp's  conversion — 
probably  before  his  birth.  But  though  we  are  thus 
constrained  to  reject  the  identification  which  we  would 
willingly  adopt,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  Polycarp  is 
the  living  example  of  the  language  of  the  epistle,  and 
that,  as  Professor  Plumptre  has  said,  "  In  his  long 
conflict  for  the  faith,  his  stedfast  endurance,  his 
estimate  of  the  fire  that  can  never  be  quenched,  we 
find  a  character  on  which  the  promise  to  him  that 
overcometh  had  been  indelibly  stamped." 

The  first  and  the  last,  which  was  dead,  and 
is  alive.— Or  better,  loho  became  dead,  and  lived 
again.  From  chap.  i.  17,  18,  we  have  selected  the 
title  most  fitted  to  console  a  church  wliose  trial  was 
persecution.  In  all  vicissitudes,  the  unchanging  One 
(Hel).  vii.  3  and  xiii.  8),  who  had  truly  tasted  death, 
and  conquered  it  even  in  seeming  to  fail,  was  their 
Saviour  and  King.  Some  have  seen  in  these  words, 
"  dead  and  lived  again,"  an  allusion  to  the  story  of  the 
death  and  return  to  life  oi  Dionysos — a  legend,  of 
course,  familiar  to  Smyrna. 

(9)  I  know  thy  works.- Some  would  omit  the 
word  "works;"  but  the  phrase  "I  know  thy  woi-ks" 
is  admitted  to  bo  geu\iine  in  five  out  of  the  seven 
epistles;  and  it  certainly  seems  natural  to  conclude 
that  it  was  intended  to  be  common  to  all,  and  to  re- 
mind the  Christian  conmiunities  that  whatever  their 
state  it  was  known  to  Him  wlio.se  eyes  were  as  a  flame 
of  fire.  "  We  go  from  one  hour  to  another,  from  one  day 
and  year  to  another,  and  what  is  once  fairly  past  in  our 
doing  and  omitting  and  suffering  is  scarcely  regarded 
by  us  any  more  ;  it  is  like  water  that  has  flowed  away. 
But  into  the  omniscience  of  Christ  aU  things  are  taken 
up  "  (Beugel). 

Tribulation. — If  persecution  brought  upon  them 
poverty,  it  was  the  means  also  of  unfolding  to  view 


642 


their  possession  of  the  "  true  riches ; "  they  were  rich 
in  honour,  in  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer ; 
they  would  also  grow  rich  in  the  graces  which  suffer- 
ings bring  (Rom.  v.  3 — 5 ;  Jas.  i.  2 — 4). 

Blasphemy. — They  had  to  endure  re^nling  as  well 
as  tribulation  and  poverty ;  and,  harder  still,  to  hear 
some  who  blasphemed  that  worthy  name  by  which  they 
were  called. 

Jews. — The  Jews  were  foremost  in  this.  "It  was  in 
the  synagogue  that  they  heard  words  which  reproached 
them  as  Nazarenes,  Galileans,  Christians,  Discijjles  of 
the  Crucified "  (Plumj)tre).  Comp.  Jas.  ii.  7.  It  is 
interesting  to  notice  that  this  characteristic  hostility  of 
the  Jews  was  illustrated  in  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp. 
The  Jews,  "  as  was  their  wont,"  were  foremost  in 
bringing  logs  for  the  pile. 

Synagogue  of  Satan.— The  word  "  synagogue " 
is  only  once  used  to  describe  the  Christian  assembly 
(Jas.  ii.  2) ;  and  even  there  it  is  called  "  your  s}Taa- 
gogue,"  not  the  "  .synagogue  of  God."  In  all  other  in- 
stances the  "word  is  abandoned  by  the  Jews."  With 
the  "  synagogue  of  Satan  "  here,  compare  "  the  tlnx)ne  of 
Satan"  (chap.  ii.  13),  "the  depths  of  Satan"  (chap.  ii.  24). 

(W)  Fear  none  of  those  things.— Though  Christ 
proclaimed  His  yoke  to  bo  easy.  He  also  said  that  His 
followers  must  expect  tribulation  (John  xvi.  33).  He 
never  conceals  the  difficulties  or  dangers  of  His  service. 
(See  Matt.  x.  16—31;  Acts  ix.  16.)  So  here  He  pro- 
claims, "  Behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some   .    .    .    ." 

The  devil.— The  LXX.  translation  gives  this  name 
to  Satan,  regarding  him  as  the  "accuser."  (See  Job 
i.  6;  Zech.  iii.  1,  2;  and  comp.  Rev.  xii.  10,  w^here  he 
is  described  as  the  "  accuser  of  the  brethren.") 

Tried. — On  the  part  of  the  adversary,  the  iutentiou 
was  that  they  might  bo  tempted  from  their  allegiance 
to  Christ.  The  real  effect  would  be  that  they  who 
endured  would  come  forth  tested  and  approved.  The 
suffering  would  be  for  "  ten  days."  This  Ls  variously 
explained.  Some  think  it  applies  to  the  periods  of  per- 
.secution ;  others  luiderstand  it  to  mean  a  long  persecu- 
tion of  ten  years  ;  others  take  it  literally ;  others  again 
view  it  as  expressing  completeness :  the  test  woiUd  be 
thorough.  The  exhortation,  "  Be  thou  faithful  (even) 
unto  death,"  seems  to  favour  this  last ;  while  the  men- 
tion of  "ten  days  "was,  perhaps,  designed  to  remind 
them  that  the  period  of  trial  was  limited  by  Him  who 
knew  what  they  could  bear,  and  would  be  but  a  little 
while  when  compai'cd  with  the  life  with  which  they 
Avould  be  cro^^^led. 

A  crown  of  life.- Rather,  tJie  crown  of  life.  A 
crown  was  given  to  the  priest  who  presided  at  the 
Dionysiau  Mysteries,  which  were  celebrated  with  great 
pomp  at  Smyrna.  A  crown  was  also  given  at  the 
Oljnnpian  Games,  which  were  held  at  Smyrna.  If  there 
is  any  allusion  to  either  of  these,  the  latter  would  be  the 
most  natural.  Some  hold.  hoAvever,  the  crown — though 
the  word  is  Stephanos,  not  diadema — is  rather  that  of 
royalty  than  of  victory.  It  is  interesting  to  note  tliat 
the  narrative  which  tells  of  the  death  of  Polycai'p  closes 
with  words  which  it  is  difficult  not  to  believe  to  be  an 
aUusion  to  this  promise — "By  his  patience  he  over- 


The  Epistle  to  Pergamos. 


EEVELATION,  II. 


Co^xnsel  and  Reproof. 


of  life.  ("^  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches  ;  He  that  overcometh 
shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death. 
^,      ..         „   (^->  And   to   the    an^el    of 

Chap.  ii.  12— 17.    ,,  ,  i       •        t3 

The  Epistle  to  *"*?  church  in  Pergamos 
the  Church  in  Avrite ;  These  things  saith 
Pergamos.  ^^   ^j^.^j^    ^^^^^    ^^^   ^-^^^,^ 

sword  with  two  edges;"  ^^'^^ 
thy  works,  and  where  thou  dwellest, 
even  where  Satan's  seat  is  :  and 
thou  holdest  fast  my  name,  and  hast 
not    denied    my   faith,   even    in    those 


6  Niun.  24.  14  ; 
25. 1 ;  .ind  31 . 
10. 


I      know    «  Is.-..  11.   4;  49.  2; 


days  wherein  Antipas  ivas  my  faithful 
martyr,  who  was  slain  among  you,  where 
Satan  dwelleth.  (^^^  But  I  have  a  few 
things  against  thee,  because  thou  hast 
there  them  that  hold  the  doctrine  of 
Balaam,*  who  taught  Balac  to  cast  a 
stumblingblock  before  the  children  of 
Israel,  to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto 
idols,  and  to  commit  fornication.  <^^^  So 
hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Nicolaitanes,  which  thing  I 
hate,  f^*^'  Eepent ;  or  else  I  Avill  come 
unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  fight  against 


came  the  unrighteous  niler,  aud  received  the  cro^vn   of 
immortality"  {Smyrn.  Ep.). 

(11)  He  that  overcometh  (or  conqueretli)  shall 
not  be  hurt. — The  words  u.sed  are  precise,  aud  give 
certaiutj  to  the  promise. 

The  second,  death. — This  phrase  is  a  uew  one  in 
Bible  language.  It  is  said  that  Jews  woro  familiar 
with  it  through  its  use  in  the  Chaldee  Paraphrase.  It 
clearly  points  to  a  death  which  is  other  than  that  of 
the  body;  it  stands  in  contrast  with  the  crown  of  life. 
The  expressions  of  cliaps.  xx.  14,  and  xxi.  8,  exclude 
the  idea  that  a  cessation  of  conscious  existence  is  in- 
tended. The  life  of  the  spirit  is  the  knowledge  of  God 
( Joliu  xvii.  3) ;  the  death  of  the  spirit,  or  the  second 
deatli,  is  the  decay  or  ^mralysis  of  the  powers  by  which 
such  a  knowledge  was  possible,  and  the  experience  of 
the  awfulness  of  a  life  which  is  "  without  God." 

(12)  Pergamos.— Uidike  Ephesus  and  Smyrna,  Per- 
gamos was  not  distinguished  as  a  commercial  city.  Its 
importance  was  due  to  other  causes.  A  striking  cone- 
shaped  hill  rose  from  the  plain  which  bordered  the 
northern  banks  of  the  Caicus.  The  hill  was  considered 
.sacred.  Its  value  as  a  strong  natm-al  fortress  was 
eai'ly  recognised,  and  it  was  used  as  a  keep  and 
treasury  wlici'e  local  chieftains  deposited  their  wealth. 
Its  greatness  as  a  city  dated  from  Eumenes  II.,  who 
was  given  by  the  Romans  a  large  surrounding  territory, 
and  who  fixed  Pergamos  as  liis  royal  residence. 
Under  liis  auspices  a  splendid  city — rich  in  public 
buildings,  temples,  art  galleries,  and  with  a  library 
which  rivalled  tliat  of  Alexandria — rose  into  being.  It 
lias  been  described  as  a  city  of  temples,  "  a  sort  of 
uiiiou  of  a  pagan  cathedral  city,  an  university  town,  and 
a  royal  residence."  It  retained  its  splendour  even  after 
it  passed  by  liequest  to  the  Roman  Republic,  and  M'a.s 
declared  l)y  Pliny  to  be  a  city  unrivalled  in  the  pro- 
\-iiice  of  A.sia. 

Sharp  sword  with  two  edges. — See  Note  on 
chap.  i.  10.  The  appropriateness  of  this  language  to 
the  state  of  the  ciiurch  in  Pergamos  will  best  appear 
after^vards.     (See  Note  on  verses  15,  16.) 

<13)  I  know  thy  works.— Here,  as  in  verse  9, 
some  MSS.  omit  "  thy  works,"  and  read.  "  I  know 
where  thou  dwellest — even  where  Satan's  seat  is." 
The  word  is  translated  elsewhere  "  throne,"  and  should 
be  here,  ]'  Where  the  throne  of  Satan  is."  But  wliy 
sliould  this  pre-eminence  in  evil  be  assigned  to  Per- 
gamos ?  The  an.swer  is  difficult.  Some  leave  it  un- 
solyetl,  saying  that  in  tlio  absence  of  any  liistorical 
notice,  it  must  remain  one  of  the  unsolved  riddles  of 
these  epistles.  Prof.  Pluiiiptre  .suggests  that  the 
general  character  of  the  city,  its  worship  and  customs, 
m  addition  to  the  persecutions  which  the  Christians 


543 


had  encoimtered,  may  well  account  for  the  description, 
-^sculapius  was  worshipped  as  the  "  Preseiwer,"  or 
"Saviour."  The  symbol  of  the  serpent  must  have  been 
conspicuous  among  the  objects  of  adoration  in  his 
temple.  Curious  arts  were  practised;  lying  wonders 
were  claimed;  persecution  had  extended  to  death. 
Such  evil  in  such  a  city  may  have  led  to  its  being 
regarded  as  the  very  head-tpiarters  of  the  enemy. 

Hast  not  denied.— Better,  Thou  didst  not  deny 
My  faith  in  tJie  daya  in  which  Antipas  My  faithful 
v:itness,  icas  slain,  &:c. 

Antipas. — Short  for  Antipater.  (Comp.  Lucas  and 
Silas,  short  for  Lucauus  and  Silvanus.)  Nothing  is 
known  of  Antipas.  There  are  later  traditions  respect- 
ing him,  but  these  are  probably  fancy-dra^vu. 

(1^)  But  I  have  a  few  things  against  thee.— 
The  word  "  few "  is  not  to  be  taken  as  though  the 
ground  of  rebuke  was  a  trifling  one.  The  little  leaven 
might  leaven  the  whole  lump ;  and  those  who  had  been 
brave  unto  death  in  the  days  of  iiersccutiou  had  been 
less  temptation-proof  against  moi'e  seductive  influences. 
The  church  tolerated  without  remonstrance  men  holding 
[the  word  is  tlie  same  as  that  used  in  commendation 
(verse  13),  "Thou  holdest  (fast)  My  name"]  "the 
teaching  of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  put  a 
stumbling-block  before  the  sons  of  Israel ;  (namely) 
to  eat  things  sacrified  to  idols,  and  to  commit  fornica- 
tion." Israel  could  not  be  cursed,  but  they  might  be 
made  to  bring  a  curse  upon  themselves  by  yielding  to 
sin ;  so  the  counsel  of  Balaam  was  to  tempt  them 
through  the  women  of  Midian,  and  "Behold,  these 
caused  the  diildren  of  Israel  to  commit  trespass  against 
the  Lord  in  the  matter  of  Peor,  and  there  was  a  plague 
among  the  congregation  of  the  Lord"  (Num.  xxxi.  16). 
A  similar  temptation  was  endangering  the  Pcrgamcue 
Church. 

(15)  So  hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the 
doctrine  of  the  Nicolaitanes— i.e..  thou,  as  well  as 
those  of  old,  hast  such  teachers.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  this  is  the  connection  between  the  verses,  but 
opinions  are  divided  whether  we  are  on  this  accmmt  to 
identify  the  Balaamites  with  the  Nicolaitanes,  aud  to 
suppose  that  botli  names  point  to  the  same  sect.  The 
simplest  meaning  of  the  passage  seems  to  be  that  the 
temptation  to  which  the  Israelites  were  exposed,  is  used 
to  illustrate  the  temptation's  of  the  Perganiene  Cliurch, 
througli  the  teadiiug  of  the  Nicolaitanes.  Both  tempta- 
tions lead  in  the  sjime  Autinomian  direction.  Such  a 
tendency  wa.s  early  seen  (comp.  Eom.  vi.  4 ;  Gal  v. 
13  ;  Jude  4\  and  is  not  extinct  now.  "  Is  there  not," 
writes  Dr.  Yauglian,  "  a  vague,  unavowed,  unrealised 
idea  that  the  Atonement  has  made  sin  less  fatal,  that 
even  sin  indulged  aud  persisted  in,  may  yet  not  work 


Promised  Rewards 


REVELATION,   II. 


to  them  that  overcome. 


them  with  the  SAVorcl  of  my  mouth. 
(!'■>  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  mito  the 
churches ;  To  him  that  overcometli 
will  I  f^ive  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna, 
and  will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and 
in  the  stone  a  new  name  written, 
which  no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that 


receiveth  it.     ^^^^  And  unto  the  angel  of 
the    church    in    Thyatira  p,       .. 
write  ;  These  things  saith  The^EpistlT^o 

the   Son  of  God,  who  hath   the  Church  in 

his  eyes  like  unto  a  flame  '^^^y^^'^^- 
of  fire,  and  his  feet  are  like  fine  brass ; 
<''^^  I  know  thy  works,  and  charity,  and 
service,   and   faith,    and   thy   patience. 


death  ?  "  To  such  and  all  who  countenance  them  the 
warning  is,  "  Repent ;  but  if  not,  I  am  coming  for  tliee, 
and  will  war  vnih.  thee  (note  the  change  of  person  and 
uumher)  with  (literally,  in — i.e.,  armed  with)  the  sword 
of  My  mouth." 

(17)  "To  him  that  overcometh.  —  The  promise 
should  run  thus  : — To  him  that  conqiiereth  will  I  (jive 
of  the  hidden  manna,  and  I  tvill  give  him  a  white 
stone,  and  xipun  the  stone  a  new  name  graven,  which 
no  man  knoweth,  but  he  who  receiveth  it.  On  this 
promise  we  may  notice  (1)  that  it  is  appropriate  :  those 
who  refused  to  indulge  the  fleshly  appetite  are  promised 
gratifications  far  higher,  and  hidden  from  the  gaze  of 
sense;  {'2)  the  allusions  are  not  all  easy  to  imderstand. 
That  to  the  manna  is  indeed  obvious.  Israel  ate 
manna  in  the  wilderness,  and  died ;  the  Father  gives 
tlie  true  bread  from  heaven  that  a  man  may  eat  thereof 
and  not  die.  The  Son  is  that  Bread  of  Life.  He  that 
eateth  Him,  even  he  shall  live  by  Him  (John  \\.  35, 48, 57) 
— live,  even  though  like  Autipas  lie  die  ;  for  a  man's  life 
consists  not  in  the  abundance  of  things  wliich  he  pos- 
sesses, but  in  the  moral  qualities  which  go  to  make  up 
his  character ;  and  spiritual  gifts  are  the  food  of  these 
moral  qualities,  and  tliese  gifts  are  through  Christ. 
But  the  promise  is  of  hidden  manna.  Is  the  allusion 
to  the  pot  of  manna  wliich  had  been  laid  up  in  tlie  ark  ? 
There  is  no  doubt  that  tlie  Jews  long  cherished  the  belief 
that  the  ark  and  sacred  treasures  of  the  Temple  had 
not  perished.  There  was  a  fondly-held  tradition  that 
they  had  been  buried  by  Jeremiah  in  a  safe  and  secret 
spot  on  "  the  mountain  where  Moses  climbed  and  saw 
the  heritage  of  God,  uutil  the  time  that  God  shall 
gather  His  people  again  together,  and  show  them  His 
mercy"  (2  Mace.  ii.  4,  7).  This  "hidden  manna,"  so 
longed  for  l)y  an  afflicted  race,  may  have  suggested  the 
use  of  the  word  "  liidden  "  ;  but  the  sacred  wnriter  would 
become  anxious  to  bring  out  the  spiiitual  truth  that 
the  fountains  of  Christian  life  are  hidden  (Col.  iii.  3), 
the  world  knoweth  us  not.     Like  the  fire  in  the  Inter- 

!)reter's  house,  men  may  try  to  quencli  it,  but  a  hidden 
land  pours  in  secretly  the  food  of  the  fuel.  More 
difficult  is  the  meaning  of  the  white  stone,  graven  with 
the  new  name.  Some  see  in  it  an  allusion  to  the  Urim 
and  Tliummim ;  and  therefore  take  it  to  indiciite  the 
"priestly  dignity  of  the  \ictorious  Christian."  In 
favour  of  this,  it  may  bo  noted  that  it  gives  unity  to 
the  blessing.  Manna  and  the  precious  stones  Avom  by 
the  high-priest  are  botli  wilderness  and  Jemsli  illus- 
trations. Against  it,  however,  must  be  set  the  fact  that 
the  word  hero  rendered  ''  stone"  is  never  so  applied, 
a  different  word  bcuig  used  both  in  tlie  LXX.  and  in 
this  book  to  denote  a  precious  stone.  Another  sugges- 
tion, which  is.  perhaps,  less  encumbered  ^vith  difficulty, 
is  that  the  reference  is  to  the  stone  or  pebble  of  friend- 
ship, called  tessera  hospitalis,  graven  with  some  legend 
or  de^dce ;  and  which  gave  to  its  possessor  a  claim  of 
hospitality  from  him  who  gave  it.  Some  such  tickets 
admitted  those  in^-ited  into  the  heathen  temples  on 
festival  days,  when  the  meat  which  had  been  offered 


644 


as  a  sacrifice  formed  pai-t  of  the  feast.  The  stone 
is  called  ivhite ;  but  the  word  does  not  imply  that 
it  is  a  stone  of  white  colour,  but  that  it  is  sliiniug, 
glistering  wliite.  On  the  stone  is  graven  a  new  name. 
The  giving  of  new  names  is  not  uncommon  in  tho 
Bible :  for  example,  Abraham,  Israel,  Boanerges, 
Peter.  The  new  name  expressed  the  step  which  had 
been  taken  into  a  higher,  tnier  life,  and  the  change  of 
heart  and  the  elevation  of  character  consequent  upon 
it.  Such  are  knoAvn  in  the  world  by  their  daily  life, 
their  business,  their  character ;  they  are  known  above 
by  the  place  they  hold,  and  the  work  (the  real  character 
of  which  is  quite  unknown  to  the  world)  they  are  doing 
in  the  great  war  against  e^'il.  No  man  knoweth  the 
characteristics  of  the  growth  of  the  character,  the 
spiritual  conflict  in  which  the  work  is  done,  and  the 
features  of  that  change  which  has  been,  and  is  being 
wrought,  except  he  who  experiences  the  love,  the  grace, 
and  the  tribulation  by  which  his  spirit-life  has  grown. 

(18)  Thyatira  was  situated  between  Pergamos  and 
Sardis,  a  little  off  the  main  road  which  connected  these 
two  cities.  It  was  a  Macedonian  colony,  founded  by 
Alexander  the  Great  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Persian 
empire.  The  Macedonian  colonists  appear  to  have 
introduced  tlie  worship  of  Apollo,  honoured  a.s  the 
Sun-god,  under  the  name  of  Tyrimnas.  It  has  been 
thought  by  some  that  the  description  here  given  of 
Christ — "the  eyes  of  flame" — was  selected  in  allusion 
to  this  worship  of  the  Sun- god,  under  the  form  of 
some  dazzlingly  ornamented  image.  Certainly  dose 
commercial  intercourse  connected  the  daughter  colony 
with  its  mother  city.  There  seem  to  have  been  various 
mercantile  guilds  in  the  colony — bakers,  potters, 
tanners,  Aveavers,  and  dyers.  The  dye-trade  was, 
perhaps,  the  most  important.  Lydia,  the  seller  of 
purple,  was  in  all  likelihood  connected  with  the  guild 
of  dyers ;  and  her  appearance  in  Philippi  is  an  lUus- 
tratiou  of  the  trade  relations  of  Macedonia  and 
Thyatira.  To  her  the  Christian  community  at 
Thyatira  may  have  owed  its  beginning.  "  She  who 
had  gone  forth  for  a  while,  to  buy  and  sell,  and  get 
gain,  when  she  returned  home  may  have  brought  home 
with  her  richer  merchandise  than  any  she  had  looked 
to  obtain  "  (Trench).  The  population  was  of  a  mixed 
character,  and  included,  besides  Asiatics,  Macedonians, 
Italians,  and  Chaldeans.  The  message  which  is  sent 
to  the  Christians  dwelling  among  them  is  from  "  the 
Son  of  God."  This  is  noteworthy,  when  we  remember 
how  persistently  the  other  term,  "  Son  of  Man,"  is 
used  throughout  the  Book  of  Revelation,  and  that  here 
only  is  the  phrase  "  Son  of  God  "  used ;  but  it  suits, 
as  does  the  whole  description,  the  message  which 
breathes  the  language  of  sovereignty  and  righteous 
sternness.  The  "  eyes  of  flame  "  will  search  the  reins 
and  the  hearts  (verse  23)  ;  the  "  feet  of  fine  brass  " 
will  tread  down  the  enemies,  and  smooth  the  path 
before  them,  Avho  will  have  power  over  the  nations. 

(19)  Thy  works,  and  charity. — In  the  words 
of  commendation  we  find  two  pairs.     We  have  the 


The  Epistle  to  Thjatlra. 


KEVELATION,   II. 


Tlieir  Sins  ami  Punishment. 


and  thy  works  ;  and  the  last  to  he  more 
than  the  first.  (-*^^  Notwithstanding  I 
have  a  few  things  against  thee,  because 
thou  sufierest  that  woman  Jezebel," 
which  calleth  herself  a  prophetess,  to 
teach  and  to  seduce  my  servants  to 
commit  fornication,  and  to  eat  things 
sacrificed  unto  idols.  ('-^^  And  I  gave 
her  space  to  repent  of  her  fornication  ; 
and  she  repented  not.  <--^  Behold,  I 
will  cast  her  into  a  bed,  and  them  that 
commit  adultery  with  her  into  great 
tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  their 
deeds.  ^^^  And  I  will  kill  her  children 
with  death ;  and  all  the  churches  shall 
know  that  I  am  he  which    searcheth 


b  Jor.    11.    3 
aud  n.  10. 


a  1  Kings  10.  .fl  ; 
Ki>iii.:'.4;  2  IVl. 
HI.  y. 


rb.  22.  16 ; 
Num.  24.  17; 
I's.  2.(1;  Jl.itt. 
2.2;   Luke-  1. 


the  reins  and  hearts :  *  and  I  will  give 
unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your 
works.  (-^^  But  unto  you  I  say,  and 
unto  the  rest  in  Thyatira,  as  many  as 
have  not  this  doctrine,  and  which  have 
not  known  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they 
speak ;  I  will  put  upon  you  none  other 
burden.  (^^  But  that  which  ye  have 
already  hold  fast  till  I  come.  (-*^^  And 
he  that  overcometh,  and  keepeth  my 
works  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give 
power  over  the  nations  :  (^"^  and  he  shall 
rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ; '  as  the 
vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken 
to  shivers  :  even  as  I  received  of  my 
Father.     (-^^  And  I  will  give  him  the 


Chi-istiau  community  commended  for  charity  aud  service, 
the  outward  miuistrations  which  manifest  the  inner 
I)rinciple  of  love ;  tlieir  labour  of  love,  or  their  work 
aud  love  (Heb.  vi.  lU)  in  general.  In  the  second  pair, 
faith  and  patience;  the  patience  is  the  token  of  the 
faith  (Rom.  ii.  7  ;  Heb.  xi.  27). 

And  the  last  .  .  , — Read,  and  thy  last  works  more 
than,  the  first.  Besides  their  faith  and  love,  they  are 
commended  for  their  progress  in  good  works — the  last 
are  more  than  tlie  first. 

(20)  A  few  things.— The  Sinaitic  MS.  has  "  I  have 
much  against  thee ; "  but  the  reading,  I  have  against 
thee  that  thou  lettest  alone,  &c.,  is  to  he  preferred. 

Jezebel. — Some  adopt  the  reading,  "thy  wife 
Jezebel."  From  these  words  it  has  been  thought  that 
there  was  some  personal  influence  at  work  for  evil  in 
Thyatira.  Whether  in  the  household  of  the  "  angel " 
or  not  is  at  least  doubtful.  The  sin  alleged  against 
her  is  the  same  for  which  the  Nicolaitanes  are  con- 
demned— fornication,  and  the  eating  of  things  sacrificed 
to  idols.  If  the  above  \'iew  be  right,  the  leader  of  the 
exorcists  is  a  woman — regarded  by  her  followers  as  a 
prophetess,  as  one  with  a  real  message  from  God ;  but 
viewed  by  the  Lord  of  the  churches  as  a  very  Jezebel, 
teaching  and  seducing  the  servants  of  God.  For  letting 
her  alone,  for  being  timid,  paying  too  much  deference 
to  her  spiritual  pretensions,  for  failing  to  see  and  to 
show  that  the  so-called  "deep  things"  of  these  teachers 
were  depths  of  Satan,  the  chief  minister  is  rebuked. 
A  large  number  of  respectable  critics  regard  Jezebel 
as  a  name  applied  to  a  faction,  not  as  belonging  to  an 
iudi^^dual.  It  seems  best  to  view  the  name  as  sym- 
bolical, always  remembering  that  the  Jezebel  spirit  of 
proud,  self-constituted  authority,  vaunting  claims  of 
superior  holiness,  or  higher  knowledge,  linked  with  a 
disregard  of — aud  perhaps  a  proud  contempt  for — 
"legalism,"  and  foUowed  by  open  immorality,  has 
again  and  again  run  riot  in  the  churches  of  God. 

(21)  And  I  gave  her  space. — Read,  And  I  gave 
her  time  to  repent,  and  she  will  not  (or,  is  not  iviliing 
to)  repent  of  her  fornication,  or,  to  repent  out  of — i.e., 
so  as  to  forsake  her  fornication.  Here,  as  before,  we 
are  reminded  that  true  repentance  is  a  repentance 
whereby  we  forsake  sin.    (Com]),  chaps,  ii.  5  and  iii.  2.) 

(22)  I  will  cast  her  into  a  bed.— Tlie  chambor  of 
voluptuousness  Avill  become  the  chamlier  of  sickness. 
Tlie  spot  of  the  sin  .shall  1x3  the  scene  of  punishment. 
(Comp.  1  Kings  xxi.  19.) 

(23)  Her  children.— This  is  to  be  understood  of  her  i 
101  54 


followers.  The  so-called  prophetess  led  the  way  in 
looseness  of  morals,  under  the  pretence  of  some  deeper 
knowledge.  She  had  her  associates  and  their  disciples  ; 
the  evil  and  the  evil  consequences  would  grow ;  the 
disciples  outrun  their  teachers,  and  more  than  tribula- 
tion— deatli — is  their  penalty. 

(2^)  But  unto  you  I  say  (omit  "and  unto")  the 
rest,  &c. 

The  depths. — Or,  tlie  deep  things.  These  teachers, 
as  was  the  case  with  the  Gnostics,  professed  to  have  a 
deeper  insight  into  mysteries,  the  deep  things  of  God. 
They  may  have  garnished  their  speech  Avith  this  very 
phrase,  borrowed — in  sound  though  not  in  sense — from 
1  Cor.  ii.  10,  and  may  have  even  boasted  of  their 
knowledge  of  Satan.  But  such  knowledge  was  pur- 
chased too  dearly.  Better  off  were  they  who  were 
simple  concerning  eyH ;  they  have  a  burden,  but  it  is 
not  the  burden  of  judicial  tribulation  :  it  is  the  burden 
only  of  resisting  the  evils  of  those  troublers  of  the 
Church.  The  allusion  may  be  to  the  decree  of  Acts 
XV.  28  ;  the  same  word  for  "  bm-den  "  is  used.  They 
must  not  abandon  then*  duty  of  Avitnessing  for  purity, 
and  so  for  Christ ;  this  bui'den  they  must  take  up,  and 
hold  fast  till  He  come. 

(26,27)  Power  (or,  authority)  over  the  nations: 
and  he  shall  r\ile  them  (or,  she2)herd  them)  with 
a  rod  of  iron ;  as  the  vessels  of  a  potter 
shall  they  be  broken  to  shivers.- The  promise 
is  of  authority  ("  the  might  of  right,  not  the  right 
of  might  ")  to  share  in  the  shepherd-like  sovereignty 
of  tlie  anointed  King.  (Comp.  the  Messianic  prophecy 
of  Ps.  ii.)  Those  who  refused  to  stoop  to  the  customs 
around  them,  and  to  gain  influence  by  crushing 
or  ignoring  their  convictions — those  who,  like  their 
Master,  refused  to  win  power  by  doing  homage  to 
wrong  (Matt.  iv.  8 — 10),  would  share  the  nobler  sway 
which  He  now  established.  Wherever  the  Church  has 
illegitimately  gi'asped  at  power,  she  has  lost  it.  "  The 
wi-etched  power  which  she  had  wrenched  and  stolen  from 
the  nations  has  been  turned  against  her ;  she  has  been 
obliged  to  crouch  to  them,  and  bog  their  help,  aud  they 
have  justly  spunied  her.  She  has  chosen  to  exalt 
herself  like  Lucifer,  and  she  has  fallen  hke  Lucifer. 
If  she  had  tnisted  her  Lord.  He  would  have  given  her 
the  morning  star.  She  would  have  derived  from  Him 
what  she  claimed  iudei)eudently  of  Him.  She  would 
have  dispensed  light  to  the  world." 

(28)  The  morning  star.— The  pledge  of  the  coming 
day,  both  for  the  waitmg  witnesses,  and  for  the  ungodly, 


llie  Epistle  to  Sard  is. 


IIEVELATION,   III. 


Word  of  Encouragement, 


morning  star.  ^-•'^  He  that  hath  an  ear, 
let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches. 

CHAPTER   III.— ('^  And   unto    the 
angel    of    the    church    in 
The^'Ei^stll^to  Sardis  write;  These  things 
the  Chiuch  in  saith    he    that    hath    the 
Sivrdis.  gg^^gjj  Spu'its  of  God,  and 

the   seven   stars;    I  know  thy  works, 


that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou 
livest,  and  art  dead.  <->  Be  watchful, 
and  strengthen  the  things  which  re- 
main, that  are  ready  to  die  :  for  I  have 
not  found  thy  works  perfect  before 
God.  <-^^  Remember  therefore  how 
thou  hast  received  and  heard,  and 
hold  fast,  and  repent.  If  therefore 
thou  shalt  not  watch,"  I  will  come  on 
thee   as   a  thief,   and    thou   shalt  not 


who  loved  darkuess  because  their  deeds  were  evil :  the 
earliest  of  the  sovereigiity  of  light  over  darkuess, 
when  the  children  of  the  day  would  bo  manifest,  aud 
shine  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever  (Dan.  xii.  3). 

III. 

(1)  Sardis. — The  modern  Sart — now  a  mere  \nllage 
of  paltry  huts — once  the  capital  of  the  old  Lydian 
monarchy,  and  associated  with  the  names  of  Croesus, 
Cyrus,  and  Alexander.  It  Avas  the  gi*eat  entrei^ut  oi 
dyed  woollen  fabrics,  the  sheep  of  "  many-flocked  " 
Phrygia  supplying  the  raw  material.  The  art  of 
dyeing  is  said  to  have  been  invented  here ;  and  many- 
coloured  carpets  or  mats  found  in  the  houses  of  the 
wealtliy  were  manufactured  here.  The  metal  known 
as  electrum,  a  kind  of  bronze,  was  the  i)roduce  of 
Sardis  ;  aud  in  early  times  gold-dust  was  found  in  the 
sand  of  the  Pactolus,  the  little  stream  which  passed 
through  the  Agora  of  Sardis,  and  washed  the  walls  of 
the  Temple  of  Cybele.  It  is  said  that  gold  and  silver 
coins  were  first  minted  at  Sardis,  and  that  resident 
merchants  first  became  a  class  there.  An  earthquake 
laid  it  waste  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius ;  a  pestilence  fol- 
lowed, but  the  city  seems  to  have  recovered  its  pros- 
pority  before  the  date  of  this  epistle.  The  worship  of 
Cybele  was  the  prevailing  one ;  its  rites,  like  those  of 
Diouysos  and  Aidirodite,  encouraged  impurity. 

The  writer  is  described  in  words  similar  to  those  in 
chap.  i.  4,  as  the  one  who  hath  the  seven  sj^irits  of  God, 
and  the  seven  stars  ;  but  there  is  a  difference.  There 
Christ  was  seen  holding  the  stars  in  His  right  hand ; 
here  it  is  said  He  hcdh  the  seven  Spirits  and  also  the 
seven  stars.  In  this  language  it  is  difficult  to  overlook 
the  unhesitating  way  in  which  Christ  is  spoken  of  as 
owning  or  possessing  that  Holy  Spirit  who  alone  can 
make  angels  of  His  Church  to  shine  as  stars.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ  (Rom.  viii.  9,  11). 
His  promise  is,  "  I  will  send  the  Comforter  unto  you" 
(John  XV.  26),  as  possessing  all  power  in  heaven  and 
oartli.  "  He  is  able,"  to  use  the  langnage  of  Professor 
Plumptre,  "  to  bring  together  the  gifts  of  life,  and  the 
ministry  for  which  those  gifts  are  needed.  If  those 
who  minister  ar(>  without  gifts  ;  it  is  because  they  have 
not  asked  for  them."  This  the  angel  of  the  Sardian 
Church  had  not  done ;  liis  faith  and  the  faith  of  tlie 
Churcli  around  liim  liad  sunk  into  a  superficial,  though 
perhaps  ostentatious,  state.  Here,  tlien,  lies  the  ap- 
propriateness of  the  description  given  of  Christ,  as  the 
source  of  life  and  light  to  His  Church. 

A  name  that  thou  livest.— It  is  only  needful  to 
mention,  and  to  dismiss  tlio  fanciful  conjecture,  that  the 
name  of  the  angel  was  Zosimos,  or  some  parallel  name, 
signifying  life-bearing  or  living.  It  is  the  reputation 
for  piety  possessed  by  the  Church  of  Sardis  which  is 
referred  to.  Living  with  the  credit  of  superior  piety, 
it  was  easy  to  grow  satisfied  with  the  reputation,  and 


646 


to  forget  to  keep  open  the  channels  through  which 
grace  and  life  could  flow,  and  to  fail  to  realise 
that  the  adoption  of  habits  of  life  higher  than 
those  around  them,  or  those  who  lived  before  them, 
was  no  guarantee  of  real  spiiitual  life ;  for  "  the 
real  virtues  of  one  age  become  the  spurious  ones 
of  the  next  .  .  .  The  belief  of  the  Pharisees,  the 
religious  iJiactice  of  the  Pharisees,  was  an  improve- 
ment upon  the  life  of  the  sensual  and  idolatrous  Jews 
whom  the  prophets  denounced.  But  those  who  used 
both  the  doctiinal  and  moral  improvements  as  the 
fulcrum  of  a  selfish  power  and  earthly  rank,  were  the 
same  men  after  all  as  their  fathers,  only  accommodated 
to  a  new  age  "  (Mozley).  Self-satisfaction,  which  spiings 
np  when  a  certain  reputation  has  been  acquired,  is 
the  very  road  to  self-deception.  The  remedy  is  pro- 
gress— forgetting  the  things  behind,  lest  looking  with 
complacency  upon  the  past,  moral  and  spiritual  stagna- 
tion should  set  in,  and  spiritual  death  shoidd  follow. 

(2)  Be  watchful.— Rather,  feecowett)afce/«Z.  It  will 
not  do  simply  to  rouse  aud  sleepily  grasp  at  their 
spiritual  weapons,  or  even  to  stand  for  once  at  arms ; 
you  must  become  of  wakeful  habit.  Strengthen  the 
remaining  things  which  were  (when  I  roused  you) 
about  to  die ;  for  I  have  not  foimd  thy  (or,  any  of  thy) 
works  perfect — completed  or  fulfilled,  fully  done  in 
weight  and  tale  and  measure — before  my  God. 

(>^)  Remember  therefore  how  (or,  after  what 
sort)  thou  hast  received  and  heard  (or,  didst 
hear — the  tense  changes). — Remembering  that  the 
words  are  addressed  primarily  to  the  angel  himself, 
the  change  of  tense  may  have  been  designed  to  point 
him  back  to  some  particular  period  of  his  life,  such  as 
the  time  when  he  was  set  apart  to  his  ministerial  work. 
The  further  expectation  is  to  holdfast,  or  keep — i.e.,  as 
an  abiding  habit.  It  has  been  noticed  that  this  counsel 
is  identical  with  that  given  to  Timothy  to  "  keep  the 
good  thing  which  had  Tjcen  committed  to  his  charge  " 
('2  Tim.  i.  14  ;  comp.  also  2  Tim.  ii.  2).  "  Repent  "  is 
the  closing  word ;  combined  ■with  the  exhortation  to 
hold  fast,  it  reminds  us  that  formal  tenacity  of  truth 
and  a  fniitless  inactive  regi-et  are  alike  useless.  There 
must  bo  the  sorrow  for  tlio  past,  aud  a  sorrow  wliich 
shows  itself  in  action — a  repentance  whereby  sin  is  for- 
saken.    (Comp.  chap.  ii.  5,  21.) 

If  therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch. — Better, 
If  thou  shalt  not  tcatch  (or,  have  been  axoake),  I  will 
come  (omit  "  on  thee  ")  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not 
know  what  hour  I  will  come  iipon  thee.  The  warning 
is  an  echo  from  the  Gospels  (Matt.  xxiv.  42,  43 ;  Luke 
xii.  39,  40).  The  coming  of  Christ  to  judge  His 
Church  would  be  in  an  hour  unlooked  for.  What 
kind  of  hour  He  would  so  come  was  unknown ;  the 
sound  of  His  approaching  footsteps  unheard.  Shod 
with  wool,  according  to  the  ancient  proverb,  stealthily 
as  a  thief,  the  Judge  would  be  at  the  door.     Tet  they 


and  Promises  of  Reward. 


EEVELATION,   III. 


The  Epistle  to  Philadelphia. 


know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee. 
(1^)  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in 
Sardis  which  have  not  defiled  their 
garments ;  and  they  shall  walk  with 
me  in  white  :  for  they  are  worthy. 
(^^  He  that  overcometh,  the  same 
shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment ; 
and    I    will    not    blot    out    his    name 


a  ill.  IS.  S;  20.  12: 
21.  27;  I'liU.  4.3. 


out  of  the  book  of  life,"  but  I  will 
confess  his  name  before  my  Father, 
and  before  his  angels.  (^^  He  that  hath 
an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
saith  unto  the  churches. 
(7)  And  to  the  angel  of  Tiie^EpistiI?o 
the  church  in  Philadelphia  the  Church  in 
write;  These  things  saith  i^l^il^<i«lpi^i^- 


could  uot  plead  that  they  had  beeu  in  darkuess 
(1  Thess.  V.  4). 

W  The  best  MSS.  commence  this  verse  with  "  But," 
or  "Nevertheless."  The  case  of  the  Sardiau  Church  was 
bad,  yet  the  loving  eyes  of  the  faithful  Avitness  would 
uot  iguoi'e  the  good.  There  were  a  few  who  had  uot 
defiled  their  garments.  These  had  uot  succumbed  to 
the  oppressive  moral  atmosphere  around  them.  The 
words  cannot,  of  course,  be  understood  of  absolute 
purity.  Their  praise  is  that,  iu  the  deathlike,  self- 
complacent  lethargy  around,  they  had  kept  earnest  iu 
the  pursuit  of  holiness,  and  had  uot  forgotten  Him  who 
could  clcause  and  re^nve.     (Comp.  chap.  \ii.  14.) 

They  shall  walk  with  me  in  white.— This 
"  white  "  is  uot  the  white  of  the  uudefiled  robe ;  it  is  the 
lustrous  white  of  glory,  as  iu  the  promise  in  the  fol- 
lowing vei'se.     (Comp.  also  chap.  ii.  17.) 

(5)  He  that  overcometh. — The  promise  is  repeated 
to  all  who  overcome  ;  all,  not  who  have  never  fallen, 
or  failed,  but  who  conquer,  shall  be  clothed  in  glisten- 
iug  white  raiment.  On  this  glistering  appearance 
comp.  Dante's  words,  "  robed  in  hue  of  living  flame," 
and  the  description  so  frequent  in  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress — "  the  shining  ones."  Trench,  who  reminds 
us  that  this  glistening  white  is  found  in  ihe  symbolism 
of  heathen  antiquity,  says :  "  The  glorified  body, 
defecated  of  all  its  dregs  and  impurities,  what- 
ever remained  of  those  having  been  precipitated  iu 
death,  aud  now  transformed  and  transfigured  iuto  the 
likeness  of  Christ's  body  (Pliil.  iii.  31),  this,  Avith  its 
robe,  atmosphere,  aud  effluence  of  light,  is  itself,  I, 
believe,  the  white  raiment  which  Christ  here  promises 
to  His  redeemed."  Professor  Lightfoot  thinks  (see  his 
Epistle  to  Col.  p.  22)  that  there  may  be  a  reference  to 
the  purple  dyes  for  which  Sardis,  as  well  as  Thyatira, 
was  celebrated. 

I  will  not  blot  out  .  .  .—The  negative  is  emphatic, 
"  I  will  iu  no  wise  blot  out."  This  figure  of  speech — 
a  book  and  the  blottiug  out — was  ancient.  (See  Deut. 
xxxii.  32  ;  Ps.  Ixix.  21  i  Dan.  xii.  1 ;  comp.  also  Luke  x. 
20  ;  Phil.  iv.  3.)  The  name  shall  uot  bo.  erased  from  the 
roU  or  register  of  the  citizens  of  heaven.  "  A  process 
of  erasure  is  ever  going  on,  besides  the  process  of 
entering.  When  the  soul  has  finally  taken  its  choice 
for  evil,  when  Christ  is  utterly  denied  on  earth  aud 
trodden  under  foot,  when  the  defilement  of  sin  has 
become  inveterate  and  indelible,  then  the  pen  is  dra^\^l 
through  the  guilty  name,  then  the  inverted  style  smears 
the  wax  over  the  unworthy  characters ;  and  when  the 
owner  of  that  name  applies  afterwards  for  admittance, 
the  answer  is,  '  I  know  thee  not ;  depart  hence,  thou 
willing  worker  and  lover  of  iniquity '  "  (Dr.  Vaughan). 

But  I  will  confess  his  name.— Another  echo  of 
Christ's  words  on  earth  (Matt.  x.  32,  33;  Luke  xii. 
8,9). 

(')  Philadelphia.— The  tomi  of  Philadelphia  de- 
rived its  name  from  Attains  Philadelphus.  the  king 
of  Pergamos,  who  died  B.C.  138.  It  was  situated  on 
the  slopes  of  Mount  Tmolus,  in  the  midst  of  a  district 


the  soil  of  which  was  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  A'ine.  On  the  coins  of  the  towu  are  to  be  found 
the  head  of  Bacchus.  The  towu  was  buUt  on  high 
ground — upwards  of  900  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Tlie 
whole  region,  however,  was  volcanic,  aud  few  cities 
suffered  more  from  earthquakes ;  the  frequent  recur- 
rence of  these  considerably  reduced  the  j)opulatiou. 
But  its  favourable  situation  and  fertile  soil  preserved 
it  from  entii'e  desertion.  Ajid  of  all  the  seven 
churches,  it  had  the  longest  life  as  a  Christian 
city.  "  Philadelphia  alone  has  been  saved  .  .  .  ; 
among  the  Greek  colonies  aud  churches  of  Asia, 
Philadelphia  is  stUl  erect,  a  columu  iu  a  scene  of 
ruins."  Such  is  the  language  of  Gibbon,  referring  to 
its  later  history.  As  a  light  in  the  world  at  the 
present  day,  we  must  look  to  no  Eastern  Philadelphia ; 
the  hand  of  William  Penn  kindled  a  light  iu  its  great 
namesake  of  the  West. 

These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy  .  .  .  . — 
Better,  These  things  saith  the  Holy,  the  True,  He  that 
hath  the  key  of  David,  that  openeth,  and  no  man  shall 
shid,  and  He  shutteth,  and  no  one  shall  open. 

Holy. — The  main  idea  of  the  word  here  used  is 
that  of  consecration.  It  is  used  of  what  is  set  apart  to 
God ;  it  does  not  assert  the  possession  of  personal  holi- 
ness, but  it  impUes  it  as  a  duty.  It  becomes,  there- 
fore, pre-eminently  appropriate  to  Him  who  was  uot  only 
consecrate,  but  holy,  harmless,  uudefiled,  and  separate 
from  sinners.  Prof.  Plumptre  thinks  there  may  be  a 
reference  here  to  the  confession  made  by  St.  Peter 
(John  \i.  69),  where  the  i-ight  reading  is,  "  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  holy  One  of  God." 

True.  —  A  favourite  word  with  St.  John,  and 
expressing  more  than  the  opposite  of  "  false."  It 
implies  that  which  is  perfect  in  contrast  with  the 
imperfect ;  the  reality  in  contrast  vrith  the  shadow ; 
the  autitype  hi  contrast  with  the  tji^e ;  the  ideal  which 
is  the  only  real  in  contrast  with  the  real  wliich  is  only 

ideal ; — 

"  The  flower  upon  the  spiritual  side. 
Substantial,  archetypal,  all  aglow 
With  blossoming  causes  " 

in  contrast  mth  the  flower  that  fadeth  here.  Cluist, 
then,  iu  calling  Himself  the  True,  declares  that  "  aU 
titles  and  names  given  to  Him  are  realised  in  Him ; 
the  idea  aud  the  fact  iu  Him  are,  what  they  can  never 
be  in  any  other,  absolutely  commensurate  "  (Trench). 
In  some  MSS.  the  order  of  these  words,  "  the  Holy," 
"  the  True,"  is  inverted. 

The  key  of  David.— Some  early  commentators 
saw  iu  this  key  the  key  of  knowledge  which  the  scribes 
had  taken  away  (Luke  xi.  52).  and  understood  this  ex- 

{)ressiou  here  as  implpng  that  Christ  aloue  could  un- 
oosc  the  seals  of  Scrijiture.  aud  reveal  its  hidden  truth 
to  men.  In  support  of  this  they  referred  to  chap.  v. 
7—9.  The  fault  of  the  interpretation  is  that  it  is  too 
limited ;  it  is  only  a  corner  of  the  full  meaning.  He 
who  is  "the  True  "  aloue  can  imlock  the  hidden  trca.iures 
of  truth.     But  the  use  of  the  woi-d  "David,"  aud  the 


047 


Commendation  to  the 


KEVELATION,   III. 


Church  of  Philculelphia. 


he  that  is  holy,  he  that  is  true,  he  that 
hath  the  key  of  David,  he  that  opeiieth, 
and  uo  man  shutteth ;  and  shutteth, 
and  no  man  openeth  ;  (^^  I  knoAV  thy 
works :  behokl,  I  have  set  before  thee 
an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it : 
for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast 
kept  my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
name.  (^^  Behold,  I  will  make  them  of 
the  synagogue  of  Satan,  which  say  they 
are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but  do  lie ;  behold, 
I  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship 


before  thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have 
loved  thee.  <^^'  Because  thou  hast  kept 
the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will 
keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation, 
which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world,  to 
try  them  that  dwell  upon  the  earth. 
(^^^  Behold,  I  come  quickly :  hold  that 
fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take 
thy  crown.  (^^^  Him  that  overcometh 
will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of 
my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no  more  out : 
and  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of 


obvious  (lorivatiou  of  the  latter  part  of  tliis  verse  from 
Isa.  xxii.  22,  points  to  a  wider  meaning:.  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  true  Steward  of  the  house  of  David.  (Comp.  Heb. 
iii.  2,  5,  6.)  The  faulty,  self-seeking  stewards,  the 
Sheljnas  of  Jerusalem  and  Pliiladelphia,  vainly  claimed 
a  right  of  exclusion  from  s}Tiagogue  or  church,  where 
Jesus,  the  God-fixed  nail  in  the  sure  place,  iipon  which 
the  bundle  of  earth's  sorrows  and  sins  might  securely 
bo  suspended  (Isa.  xxii.  23 — 25),  the  Eliakim  of  a 
greater  Zion,  had  the  key  of  the  sacred  and  royal 
house.  In  this,  the  chamber  of  truth  was  one  treasure, 
as  the  chamber  of  holiness,  the  chamber  of  rest,  the 
chamber  of  spiritual  privileges,  were  others.  In  other 
words,  though  in  a  sense  the  keys  of  spiritual  ad- 
vantages are  in  the  hands  of  His  servants,  "  Ho  still 
retains  the  highest  administration  of  them  in  His  own 
hands."  The  power  of  the  keys  entrusted  to  Apostles 
gave  them  no  right  to  alter  the  "  essentials  of  the 
gospel,  or  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality." 
Tlio  absolution  given  by  them  can  only  be  conditional, 
unless  the  giver  of  it  possesses  the  infallible  discerning 
of  spirits.  The  reader  of  Dante  will  remember  how 
the  cases  of  Guido  di  Moutefeltro  [Inf.  xx™.)  and  of 
liis  sou  Buonconte  [Purrj.  v.)  illustrate  the  belief  winch 
sustained  so  many  illustrious  spirits  (John  Huss, 
Savanarola,  Dante),  and  in  times  of  unjust  oppression, 
tyrannical  ecclesiasticism,  and  which  tlxis  j)assago 
sanctions,  tlmt 

"  Nouglit  but  repentance  ever  can  absolve ; 
And  that  though  sins  be  horrible  ;  yet  so  wide  arms 
Hath  goodness  infinite,  that  it  receives 
All  who  turn  to  it." 

(8)  I  know  thy  works  :  behold,  I  have  set 
(better,  rjivcn)  before  thee  an  open  door  (better, 
a  door  opened). — A  reference  to  the  passages  (Acts 
xiv.  27 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  8,  9 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  12, 13 ;  Cot  iv.  3)  in 
which  a  similar  expression  is  used  remiiuls  us  that  the 
open  door  was  not  simply  a  way  of  escape  from  diffi- 
culties, but  an  opening  for  preaching  tlie  gospel,  an 
opportunity  of  doing  good,  as  well  as  an  abundant 
entrance  into  tlie  kingdom. 

For  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast 
kept  my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
name.— The  tenses  used  point  ])ack  to  some  epoch  in 
the  history  of  this  Church  when  some  heavy  trial  or 
persecution  arose,  whicli  tested  the  sincerity,  fidelity, 
or  Christian  love  of  the  faitliful.  "  The  reward  then 
of  a  little  strength  is  a  door  opened  "  (Dr.  Yauglian). 

(9)  Behold,  I  will  make.— Better.  Behold.  I  give 
some.  There  is  no  word  to  express  this  in  the  original, 
but  as  a  woi-d  must  be  supplied  to  complete  the  sense, 
it  is  better  to  adopt  "  some  "  than  the  "  them  "  of  the 
Authorised  version,  as  it  is  not  a  promise  that  all  of 
the  synagogue  of  Satan  should  come. 


548 


Of  the  synagogue  of  Satan.— We  have  here  a 
rc-appearanco  of  the  same  troubles  which  afflicted  the 
Church  of  Smyrna :  the  fixed  and  contemptuous  ex- 
clusiveness  of  the  Judaising  iiarty  was  their  trial. 
But  there  was  a  time  coming  (perhaps  the  hour  of  temp- 
tation spoken  of  in  the  next  verse)  when  these  faithful 
ones,  now  abused  and  excommunicated  by  the  fanatical 
synagogue,  would  be  courted,  acknowledged — nay,  their 
aid  invoked. 

I  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship 
before  my  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have  loved 
thee. — Some  see  in  this  a  hint  that  the  power  of  a 
large-hearted  party  to  protect  the  Judaisers  would  be 
derived  from  the  influence  of  the  Gentiles,  whose 
presence  in  the  Church  had  been  a  stumbling-block  to 
the  Jewish  party.  This  may  have  been,  and  doubtless 
was,  often  the  case.  But  the  promise  seems  to  have  a 
higher  fulfilment.  The  course  of  events  would  show 
that  the  so-called  latitudinariau  was  the  nearest  to 
Christ;  time  would  transform  the  suspected  into  the 
respected.  The  Amorites  would  come,  and  the  dis- 
inherited Jephthahs  would  be  brought  to  be  head  of 
Gilead.  In  days  of  such  trouble  their  sti-ongest  oppo- 
nents would  become  their  warmest  supporters.  An 
illustration  of  this  will  occur  to  the  mind  of  the  reader 
in  the  marvellous  support  which  has  been  given  to  the 
growth  of  Christianity  by  Jews  with  the  tongue,  with 
tlie  i)en,  with  the  harp  and  organ.  Let  the  names  of 
Neander,  Rossini,  and  Mendelssohn  stand  for  hundreds 
more. 

(10)  Because  thou  hast  kept  (better,  didst  keep) 
the  word  of  my  patience. — The  one  who  keeps 
God's  word  is  kept.  Such  is  "  the  benign  a  talis  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  as  Archbishop  Trench  calls  it.  The 
promise  does  not  mean  the  being  kei)t  av/ay  from,  but 
the  being  kept  otit  from  the  tribulation.  The  head 
should  be  kept  above  the  waters ;  they  should  not  be 
ashamed,  because  they  had  kept  the  word  of  patience. 
It  is  through  patience,  as  well  as  comfort  of  the  Scrip- 
ture that  we  have  the  hope  which  maketh  not  ashamed. 
(Comp.  Rom.  xv.  5,  and  verses  3 — 5.) 

(11)  Behold,  I  come.— Omit  "Behold."  Better, 
I  am  coming  quickly  ;  holdfast ;  continue  your  race  as 
those  tcho  are  striving  for  a  garland  (1  Cor.  ix.  24). 

(1-)  Will  I  make  a  pillar.— A  pillar,  and  an  un- 
shaken one.  There  may  be  reference  to  the  frequent 
earthquakes  which  had  shaken  down  buildings  in  their 
city.  Those  who  overcome  will  prove  real  supports 
to  the  great  Christian  temple.     (Comp.  Gal.  ii.  9.) 

Write  upon  him. — Or,  grave  upon  it.  On  the  sides 
of  tlie  four  marble  pillars  which  survive  as  ruins  of 
Philadelphia  inscriptions  are  to  be  found.  Tlie  writing 
would  be  the  name  of  God,  the  name  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem  and  (.omit  the  repetition,  "  I  wiU  write  upon 


The  Epistle  tn  the 


EEVELATION,   III. 


Church  in  Laodicea- 


my  God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my 
Grod,  which  is  new  Jerusalem,  which 
Cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from  my 
God  :  and  I  will  write  wpon  him,  my 
new  name.  ^^^^  He  that  hath  an 
ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
saith  unto  the  churches.  (^*>  And 
unto  the  anerel  of  the   church   of  the 


1  Or,  in  Lamlicea. 


Laodiceans  ^  write ;  These  things  saith 
the  Amen,  the  faithful  and  .. 

true  witness,  the  begin-  22.^Tiie'Epistl^ 
ning  of  the  creation  of  to  the  Laodi- 
God;  (i^a  know  thy  works,  '=^^^- 
that  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot :  I 
would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot.  (i")  So 
then     because     thou     art     lukewarm. 


liim")  the  new,  uukuowu  name  of  Christ  Himself. 
The  aUusion  is  to  the  gohleu  frontlet  inscribed  with 
the  name  of  Jehovah.  (Comp.  chap.  xxii.  4.)  He  will 
reflect  the  likeness  of  God  ;  and  not  only  so,  he  will 
bear  the  tokens — now  seen  in  all  clearness — of  his 
heavenly  citizenship  (Phil.  iii.  20 ;  Heb.  xii.  22,  23). 
And  a  further  promise  implies  that  in  the  day  of  the 
last  triumph,  as  there  will  be  new  revealings  of  Christ's 
power,  there  will  be  unfolded  to  the  faitliful  and 
victorious  new  and  higher  possibilities  of  purity.  Thus 
does  Scripture  refuse  to  recognise  any  finality  which  is 
not  a  beginning  as  well  as  an  end — a  landing-stage  in  the 
great  law  of  continuity.    (See  chaps,  ii.  17,  and  xix.  12.) 

(1*)  Laodicea.— Situated  half  way  between  Phila- 
delphia and  Colossse,  and  not  far  from  Hierapolis.  It 
received  its  name  from  Laodice,  wife  of  Antiochus 
the  second  king  of  Syria,  by  whom  it  was  rebuilt  and 
beautified.  It  had  borne  in  earlier  times  the  names  of 
Diospolis  and  afterwards  Rlioas.  It  shared  with 
Thyatira  and  Sardis  in  the  dye  trade;  the  woods 
grown  in  the  neighbourhood  were  famous  for  their 
quality  and  the  rich  blackness  of  their  colour.  Pros- 
pei'ity  in  trade  had  so  enriched  the  population  that 
when  their  city  suffered  in  the  great  earthquake  (a.d. 
60)  they  were  able  to  carry  on  the  work  of  rebuilding 
without  applying,  as  many  of  the  neighbouring  towns 
were  compelled  to  do,  to  the  Impei'ial  Treasury  for  aid. 
The  language  of  St.  Paul  (Col.  i.  5 — 8)  suggests  that 
the  churches  of  Colossse  and  the  neighbourhood  first 
received  Christianity  from  the  preaching  of  Epaphras, 
though  it  seems  strange  that  so  important  a  city,  lying 
hard  upon  the  great  Roman  road  from  Ephesus  to  the 
east,  should  have  been  passed  over  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
journeyings  throughout  Phrygia  (see  Acts  xvi.  6  and 
xviii.  23) ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  Phrj-gia  was  a  vague 
term,  and  the  language  of  Col.  ii.  1  is  most  generally 
understood  to  imply  that  the  Apostle  had  never  per- 
sonally visited  either  Colossa3  or  Laodicea.  (See  Note 
on  Col.  ii.  1.)  But  it  was  a  Church  in  which  St.  Paul 
took  the  deepest  possible  interest ;  the  believers  there 
were  constantly  in  his  mind.  He  knew  their  special 
temptations  to  the  worship  of  inferior  mediators,  and 
to  spiritual  paralysis  springing  from  wordly  prosperity 
and  intellectual  pride.  He  had  great  heart- conflict  for 
those  of  Laodicea  (Col.  iii.  1),  and  in  proof  of  his  earnest 
solicitude  he  adcbessed  a  letter  to  them  (Col.  iv.  61), 
in  all  probability  the  epistle  wo  call  tlie  Epistle  to  the 
Ephcsians.  From  the  Epistle  to  tlie  Colossians  wo 
may  gather  that  when  St.  Paul  wrote  tho  Christians 
at  Laodicea  assembled  for  worship  in  tho  house  of 
Nymphas  (Col.  iv.  L5)  probably  under  the  presidency 
of  Ardiippus  (verse  17). 

Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  (or,  congregation) 
of  the  Laodiceans.— Better,  in  Laodicea.  By  the 
angel  we  understand  the  presiding  pastor.  There  is 
some  ground  for  identifj-ing  him  with  Archippns.  It 
is  too  much  to  dismiss  this  as  a  ba.seless  supposition. 
(See  Note  in  Trench.)  It  is  a  well-supported  view 
whicli  understands  the  passage  (Col.  iv.  17)  to  mean 


549 


that  Archippus  was  a  minister  or  office-bearer  in  the 
Church  at  Laodicea. 

These  things  saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful 
and  true  witness.— The  •■  Amen,''  used  only  here 
as  a  personal  name.  It  is  the  Hebrew  word  for 
verily,  and  may  have  some  reference  to  Isa.  Ixv.  16; 
but  more  certainly  it  seems  chosen  to  recall  the  frequent 
use  of  it  by  our  Lord  Himself.  He  who  so  often  pre- 
faced His  solemn  utterance  by  "  Verily,  verily,"  now 
reveals  Himself  as  the  source  of  all  certainty  and  truth. 
In  Him  is  Yea,  and  in  Him  Amen  (2  Cor.  i.  20).  In 
Him  there  is  no  conjecture,  or  guess-work;  for  He 
is  (and  the  Greek  equivalents  of  the  Hebrew  Amen  are 
used  following)  the  faithful  and  true  witness,  who 
sj^eaks  what  He  knoics,  and  testifies  what  He  has  seen 
(John  iii.  11).  "Faitliful"  is  to  be  taken  here  as 
meaning  trustworthy.  The  word  sometimes  means 
trustful  (John  xx.  27  ;  Acts  xiv.  1),  at  other  times, 
trustworthy  (2  Tim.  ii.  22 ;  1  Tliess.  v.  24).  In  the 
Arian  controversy,  the  application  of  the  word  to  Clu-ist 
was  used  as  an  argument  against  His  divinity;  it  was 
enough  to  show  in  reply  that  the  same  word  was  applied 
to  God,  and  expressed  His  faithfuhiess  to  His  word 
and  promise  (1  Thess.  v.  24).  "  True  " — He  is  not  only 
trustworthy  as  a  witness,  but  He  combines  in  Himself 
all  those  qualifications  which  a  witness  ought  to  possess. 
Tlie  same  word  is  used  here  as  in  verse  7,  where  see 
Note.  Trench  suggests  the  three  things  necessary  to 
constitute  a  true  witness.  He  must  liave  been  an  eye- 
witness of  what  He  relates,  possess  competence  to 
relate  what  He  has  seen,  and  be  willing  to  do  so. 

The  beginning  (better,  the  origination)  of  the 
creation  of  God.— This  title  of  our  Lord  does 
not  occur  in  the  Epistles  to  the  other  churches,  but 
very  closely  resembles  the  language  used  by  St.  Paul 
in  ^vl•iting  to  the  Colossians  (chap.  i.  15—18).  The 
"beginning,"  not  meaning  that  Christ  was  the  first 
among  the  ci'eated,  but  that  He  was  the  origination, 
or  j)rimary  source  of  all  creation.  By  Him  were  all 
things  made  (John  i.  1 — 3  :  comp.  Cot  i.  15,  IS),  not 
icith  Him,  but  by  Him  creation  began.  In  short,  the 
word  "  beginning  "  (like  the  word  '•  faitliful ")  must 
be  understood  in  an  active  sense.  He  has  originating 
power  (Acts  iii.  14)  as  well  as  priority  of  existence. 
The  appropriateness  of  its  use  will  be  seen  when  we 
remember  that  tho  Laodicean  Church  was  exposed  to 
the  temptation  of  worshipping  inferior  principalities. 
(See  Col.  i.  16;  ii.  15,  where  the  plural  of  the  word 
here  rendt>rfd  "  beginning,"  or  origin,  is  used,  and 
is  translated  '•  principalities.") 

(15,  lu)  Neither  cold  nor  hot.— Tlie  "heat"  here 
is  tlio  glowing,  fervent  zeal  and  devotion  which  is  com- 
mended and  commanded  elsewhere  i  Rom.  xii.  11).  It  is 
not,  however,  the  self-conscious,  galvanised  earnestness 
which,  in  days  of  senile  pietism,  passes  for  zeal.  It  is 
an  earnestness  which  does  not  know  itself  earnest,  being 
aU  too  absorbed  in  its  work.  It  is  self -forgetful,  and 
so  self-sacrificing,  i-athcr  than  ambitious  of  self-sacri- 
fice.    It  is,  in  short,  kindled  of  God,  and  sustained  b^ 


The  Laodiceans  rebuked 


REVELATION,    ITT. 


and  called  to  Repentance. 


and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spue 
thee  out  of  my  mouth.  (^"^  Because 
thou  sayest,  I  am  rich,  and  increased 
with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing ; 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and 
naked :  <^^*  I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me 


a  Prov. 
Uel).  J 


gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  may  est 
be  rich  ;  and  white  raiment,  that  thou 
may  est  be  clothed,  and  that  the  shame 
of  thy  nakedness  do  not  ax3pear;  and 
anoint  thine  eyes  with  eyesalve,  that 
thou  may  est  see.  ^^'-'^  As  many  as  I 
love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten :  °  be  zealous 


converse  mtli  t)io  Divine  One  (Luko  xxiv.  32),  and 
restored  by  intei'course  ^vith  Him  (see  verse  20 ;  comp. 
1  Jolin  iv.  15 — 20).  The  "cold"  describes  the  state  of 
lliose  wlio  are  as  yet  untonehed  by  tlie  Gospel  of  Love. 
An  intermediate  state  between  tliese  is  the  "luke- 
warm".; siu'li  are  neither  earnest  for  God  nor  utterly 
indifferent  to  religion.  Tliey  are,  perliaps,  best  de- 
scribed a,s  those  wlio  take  an  interest  in  religion,  but 
wlioso  worsliip  of  their  idol  of  good  taste,  or  good 
form,  leads  tliem  to  regard  entliusiasm  as  ill-bred,  and 
disturbing;  and  wlio  liave  never  put  themselves  to  any 
incon\enience,  braved  any  reproacli,  or  abandoned  ajiy 
comfort  for  Christ's  sake,  but  hoped  to  keep  well  Avith 
tlie  -world,  while  tliey  flattered  themselves  that  tliey 
stood  well  -witli  God;  wlio  were  in  danger  of  betraying 
their  Master,  Judas-like,  with  a  kiss.  With  the  de- 
nunciation of  "  lukewarmness  "  hei*e  we  may  compare 
the  exhoi'tatiou  to  greater  ministerial  earnestness 
addressed  to  Archippns  (Col.  \\.  17). 

I  would  .  .  .  . — The  msh  is  not  that  they  might 
grow  cold  rather  than  remain  in  this  lukewarm  state, 
it  is  more  a  regret  that  they  are  among  those  who  are 
in  a  condition  which  is  so  liable  to  self-deception ;  such 
a  state  is  "  both  to  God  displeasing  and  to  His  foes." 
And  this  is  expressed  in  startling  language,  "  I  mn  about 
(such  is  the  force  of  the  words)  to  spue  thee  .  .  .  ." 

(1")  I  am.  rich. — Tlie  verse  means,  more  literally, 
Because  thou  sayest,  I  am  rich,  and  have  groum  rich, 
and  in  nothing  have  need,  and  Icnoivest  not  that  thou 
art  the  ivretched  (such  is  the  emphasis)  one,  and  the 
pitiable  one,  and  beggarly,  and  blind,  and  naked. 
Tliou  art  "  the  type,  the  eml)odiment  of  wretchedness." 
Tilt!  words  should,  I  think,  be  taken  as  an  amplifi- 
cation of  the  rea.sou  for  their  rejection.  Christ  was 
about  to  reject  them  for  being  in  that  tepid  state 
which,  beginning  with  self-satisfaction,  led  on  to  self- 
deception.  They  were  rich  in  worldly  goods  (un- 
like the  Church  in  Smyrna),  but  their  very  wealth  led 
them  into  a  quiet  unaggressive  kind  of  religion  ;  they 
were  proud  also  of  their  intellectual  wealth ;  self- 
complacent  because  in  comfortable  worldly  circum- 
stances, and  became  puffed  up  with  a  vain  philo- 
sophy, they  learned  to  be  satisfied  with  their  spiritual 
state,  and  to  believe  the  best  of  themselves,  and  then 
to  believe  in  them.selves.  Hypocrites  they  were,  wlio 
did  not  know  they  were  hypocrites.  They  thouglit 
themselves  good;  and  this  self-deception  was  their 
danger.  "  For,"  to  u.se  Prof.  Mo/.ley's  words,  "  why 
sliould  a  man  repent  of  his  goodness?  He  may 
well  repent,  indeed,  of  liis  falsehood ;  but  unhappily 
the  falsehood  of  it  is  just  the  thing  he  does  not  see,  and 
which  he  cannot  see  by  the  very  law  of  his  character. 
Tlie  Pharisee  did  not  know  he  iras  a  Pharisee.  If  he 
had  known  it,  he  would  not  have  been  a  Pharisee.  The 
victim  of  passion,  then,  may  l)c  converted — the  gay.  the 
thoughtless,  or  the  ambitious;  he  whom  human  glory 
has  intoxicated;  he  wliom  the  show  of  life  has  en- 
snared ;  lie  whom  the  pleasures  of  sense  have  capti- 
vated— they  may  be  converted  any  one  of  these;  but 
who  is  to  convert  the  hypocrite  ?     He  does  not  know 


he  is  a  hyi)ocrite;  he  cannot  upon  the  very  basis 
of  his  character ;  he  must  think  himself  sincere ;  and 
the  more  he  is  in  the  shackles  of  his  own  charactei%  i.e., 
the  greater  hypocrite  lie  is,  the  more  sincere  he  must 
think  himself"  (University  Sermons,  p.  34). 

(i«)  I  counsel  thee  to  buy.— There  is,  perhaps, 
a  touch  of  irony  liere.  How  could  the  poor  and  naked 
buy  ?  But  the  irony  has  no  sting,  for  the  counsel  but 
recalled  the  invitation  of  the  prophet  to  buy  "  without 
money  and  without  price  "  (Isa.  Iv.  1). 

Gold — i.e.,  golden  coin,  "  tried,"  or,  fired  out  of  fire, 
and  so  free  from  alloy  or  dross.  Trench  suggests  that 
"  gold  "  here  stands  for  faith.  Does  not,  however,  the 
self-deceiving  state  of  this  Church  rather  point  to 
love  as  the  missing  grace  ?  The  Laodiceans  were 
as  those  who  had  many  graces  in  appearance;  they 
were  not  unlike  one  who  had  gifts,  tongues,  under- 
standing, liberality,  but  lacked  that  fervent  love  with- 
out which  all  was  as  nothing  (1  Cor.  xiii.  1 — 3);  or,  to 
use  Trench's  own  image,  they  were  lacking  in  the  only 
gi'ace  accepted  as  currency  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"  O  merchantman  at  heaven's  mart  for  heavenly  ware, 
Love  is  the  only  coin  which  passes  there." 

But  the  possession  of  this  love  would  bring  their  zeal 
out  of  the  tepid  into  the  fervent  state.  Such  love,  pure 
and  fervent,  could  only  spring  from  God,  who  would 
shed  abroad  His  love  in  their  hearts  (Rom.  v.  5). 

"White  raiment.— The  putting  on  of  apparel  and 
the  stripping  of  it  off  were  tokens  of  honour  and 
humiliation.  (See  2  Sam.  x.  1 ;  Isa.  Ixvii.  2, 3  ;  Hos.  ii. 
3,  9;  Zech.  iii.  3—5;  Eev.  xvi.  15;  Luke  xv.  22.) 
Tlie  wedding-feast  was  at  hand.  The  unclad  woiUd 
then  be  put  to  shame  (Matt.  xxii.  11 — 13).  Let  them  be 
prepared  against  this  by  putting  on  Clu-ist  (Col.  iii. 
10 — 14)  and  His  righteousness  (Phil.  iii.  9),  that  the 
shame  of  their  nakedness  do  not  apjiear — or,  much 
better,  be  not  made  manifest, 

Eyesalve.— They  were  blind ;  they  were  proud  of 
their  intellectual  wealth ;  they  boasted  of  their  en- 
lightenment. (Comp.  Col.  ii.  8.)  Self-deceived,  they 
thought,  like  the  Pharisees,  that  they  saw.  (Comp. 
John  ix.  40,  41.)  Better  would  it  be  for  them  that 
they  should  receive  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  One 
(1  John  ii.  20),  whicli  would  teach  them  all  things, 
and  especially  reveal  to  them  their  self-ignorance. 
Tliis  anointing  might  be  painful,  but  "the  eyes  of 
tlieir  understanding  would  be  enlightened"  (such  is 
the  remarkably  parallel  thought  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians),  and  they  would  be  enabled  to  see  and 
appreciate  things  spiritual.  (Comp.  John  ix.  7,  25 ; 
I  Co'-,  ii.  10—14;   Eph.  i.  18;  v.  19.) 

(ly)  I  rebuke  and  chasten.— The  first  word  is 
that  used  in  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (John  xvi. 
8),  and  signifies  to  bring  conviction  ;  it  is  not  empty 
censure.  The  second  word  signifies  to  educate  by 
means  of  correction.  The  pi-onoun  is  emphatic,  "  I,"  and 
calls  attention  to  the  fidelity  of  Christ's  love  in  com- 
parison with  the  weak  partiality  seen  in  human  love. 
(Comp.  Hob.  xii.  6.) 


550 


The  Lord  standeth  at  the  Door. 


EE  VELATION,    IV.         Tlt^  vision  of  five  Throne  in  Heaven. 


therefore,  and  repent.  (-'^)  Behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door,  and  knock :  if  any 
man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with 
him,  and  he  with  me.  '-^^  To  him  that 
overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me 
in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame,  and 
am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne. 
(--'  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 


CHAPTEE    IV.  — (1)    After    this    I 
looked,  and,  behold,  a  door  ^,       .    ,    ,, 

^  •     ^  T    Cnap.  iv.  1 — 11. 

luas  opened  m  heaven :  and  The  vision  of 
the  first  voice  which  I  heard  the  throne  of 
was  as  it  were  of  a  trumpet  ^^^^^  ^"^^"°- 
talking  with  me ;  which  said.  Come  up 
hither,  and  I  will  shew  thee  things  which 
must  be  hereafter.  (^^  And  immediately  I 
was  in  the  spirit :  and,  behold,  a  throne 
was  set  in  heaven,  and  one  sat  on  the 


Be  zealous.— Or,  be  in  a  constant  zealous  state; 
and  now,  once  for  all,  repent. 

(20)  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock.— 
It  is  difficult  not  to  see  an  allusion  in  this  image  to 
Cant.  v.  2 — 6.  Perhaps,  also,  the  memory  of  tlie  first 
night  spent  by  St.  John  with  his  Master  and  Friend 
(John  i.  39)  may  have  been  strong  in  his  mind.  Indeed, 
the  life  of  Christ  on  earth  teems  ^vith  illustrations 
which  may  well  have  suggested  the  image  (Luke  x. 
38;  xix.  5,  6;  xxii.  11—13;  xxiv.  29,  30). 

(21)  To  him  that  overcometh  .  .  .  . — He  wiU 
share  Christ's  throne  as  Christ  shared  His  Father's 
throne.  Here  are  two  thrones  mentioned.  My  throne, 
saith  Christ :  this  is  the  condition  of  glorified  saints  who 
sit  with  Christ  in  His  throne.  "  But  My  Father's  (i.e., 
God's)  throne  is  the  power  of  divine  majesty."  Hei'ein 
none  may  sit  but  God,  and  the  God-man  Jesus  Clinst. 
The  2)romise  of  sharing  the  throne  is  the  climax  of  an 
ascending  series  of  glorious  promises,  which  carry  the 
thought  from  the  Garden  of  Eden  (chap.  ii.  7)  through 
the  wilderness  (chap.  ii.  17),  the  temple  (chap.  iii.  12), 
to  the  throne.  The  promise  bears  marked  resemblance 
to  tlie  language  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Ephesians  (chap, 
ii.  6).  This  crowning  promise  is  made  to  the  most 
unpieasiug  of  the  churches.  But  it  is  well  that  thus 
the  despondency  which  often  succeeds  the  sudden  col- 
lapse of  self-satisfied  imaginations  should  be  met  by  so 
bright  a  prospect.  Though  their  religion  has  been 
proved  an  empty  thing,  there  is  a  hope  which  may  well 
drive  away  despair.  "  The  highest  place  is  within  the 
reach  of  the  lowest ;  the  faintest  spark  of  gi'ace  may  be 
fanned  into  the  mightiest  flame  of  divine  love." 

lY. 
In  this  chapter  we  pass  from  the  suffeiings  and 
temptations  of  the  churches  below  to  the  unsulliea  glory 
above.  The  vision  of  the  Almighty  hero  described  is 
thought  to  be  interposed  here  to  remind  us  that  all 
decrees  respecting  the  future  "  rest  with  God,  and 
come  from  Him  through  Jesus  Christ."  This  is  no 
doubt  true ;  but  there  is  anotlier  reason.  From  the 
world  below,  and  the  struggling  churclies,  we  are 
])rought  to  see  the  Eternal  who  is  ruling  over  all.  A 
vision  like  this  must  dwarf  our  sense  of  life's  sorrows 
and  temptations,  and  is  a  fit  preparation  for  the  scenes 
of  conflict,  failure,  and  persecution,  wliich  are  about  to 
be  mifolded.  Wliatever  painful  sight  .s  tlie  seer  is  called 
upon  to  behold,  this  vision  of  Him  wlio  rules  "  over 
all  from  the  beginning"  will  remain  in  the  liack- 
ground  as  the  constant  Avitness  that  in  all  the  changes 
and  cliances  of  this  mortal  life,  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
the  Church's  history,  God  is  her  refuge ;  therefore  she 
will  not  be  moved  though  the  earth  be  removed. 
It  is  the  vision  of  eternal  strength  so  often  vouchsafed 
to  tlie  .sad.  As  to  Ezekiel  "  among  the  captives  by  the 
river  of  Chebar  "  (Ezek.  i.  1),  and  to  Isaiah  mourning 


over  the  gloom  which  was  settling  on  Judah  (Isa.  vi.  1) ; 
so  now  to  the  exile  in  Patmos,  and  tlirough  him  to 
all  who,  in  their  life-conflict,,  need  "  everlasting  con- 
solation and  good  hojie."  "  Ton  see  how  distress  and 
solitude  and  sorrow  favour  communications  between  a 
man  and  his  God." 

(1)  After  this  (better,  these  things)  I  looked 
(literally,  I  saw ;  not  "  I  looked,"  as  though  the  pro- 
Ijhet  turned  his  gaze  then  towards  it),  and,  behold 
a  door  was  opened  (or,  set  open)  in  heaven.— He 
did  not  look  and  see  a  door  opening ;  he  saw,  and  lo ! 
the  door  stood  open.  There  are  differences  as  well 
as  similarities  between  this  vision  and  others  where 
glimpses  into  heaven  were  given  to  prophets  and 
saints.  In  Ezekiel's  vision,  and  in  the  scene  of  Matt, 
iii.  16  (comp.  also  Acts  vii.  56,  and  x.  11)  the  heavens 
di^dde ;  in  this  a  door  stands  open.  The  way  into  the 
presence  of  God  lies  open  (Heb.  x.  19,  20);  all  who  have 
faith  may  enter ;  in  the  minds  of  such  the  thoughts  of 
the  heavenly  will  mingle  with  the  sorrows  of  the  eartlily, 
and  the  calm  of  security  will  be  theirs  (Ps.  xlvi.  5).  But 
the  scenes  of  earth's  troubles  wiU  always  be  dispiriting 
to  those  who  cannot  reach  the  heavenly  view-point. 

And  the  first  voice  (or,  behold,  the  first  voice) 
which  I  heard  was  as  it  were  of  a  trumpet 
talking  with  me ;  (even  one)  which  said,  Come 
up  hither,  and  I  will  shew  thee  {tho  things 
which  must  be  hereafter.— The  first  voice  here 
spoken  of  is  the  voice  which  the  Apostle  had  heard 
in  the  opening  vision  (chap.  i.  10) ;  he  heard,  and  re- 
cognised that  trumpet-like  voice  again.  It  is  strange 
that  any  should  have  maintained  that  this  is  not  the 
voice  of  Christ.  It  is  admitted  that  it  must  be  tho 
same  as  the  voice  of  chap.  i.  10  ;  but  it  is  said  that  the 
voice  of  Christ  is  heard  afterwards  (chap.  i.  15),  not  as 
a  trumpet,  but  as  the  voice  of  many  waters.  The 
answer  is  simple  ;  the  voice  of  Christ  has  many  tones ; 
and  the  voice  like  a  trumpet  said,  '•  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  tho  first  and  the  last."     (See  chap.  i.  10 — 13.) 

(2)  And  imxnediately  I  was  in  the  spirit.— 
Comp.  chap.  i.  10.  The  mind  and  soul  were  absorbed 
in  tlie  vision  of  things  celestial.     (See.  2  Cor.  xii.  1 — 4.) 

"  Words  may  not  tell  of  that  transhmnan  change ; 

If  I  were  only  what  Thou  didst  create. 
Then  newly.  Love  !  by  whom  tlic  heaven  is  ruled. 
Thou  know'st,  who  bj-  Thy  light  didst  bear  me  up." 
—Paradiso,  i.  68— 73w 

And,  behold,  a  throne  was  set  (i.e.,  not  that  the 
seer  saw  the  throne  being  set,  but  when  he  saw  it  was 
already  set)  in  heaven,  and  one  sat  on  the 
throne.— Comp.  Micaiah's  speech  (1  Kings  xxii.  19). 
Tlie  enthroned  One  is  not  named.  Have  we  liere  a 
touch  of  tho  Jewi.sh  reluctance  to  name  Jehovah  ?  or 
is  it  that  the  descriptive  phrase,  "  He  that  sat  on  the 
throne"  is  used  here,  and  kept  before  us  in  tlie  whole 
book  to  remind  us  that  the  great  world  drama  moves 


551 


The  Four-and-twenty  Elders. 


EEVELATION,   IV 


Tlic  Sea  of  Glass. 


throne.  <^>  And  he  that  sat  was  to  look 
upon  like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine  stone  : 
and  tlicro  vas  a  rainbow  round  about 
the  throne,  in  si<^4it  like  inito  an 
emerald.  <^'  And  round  about  the 
throne  were  four  and  twenty  seats  :  and 
upon  the  seats  I  saw  four  and  twenty 
elders  sitting,  clothed  in  white  raiment; 
and  they  had  on  their  heads  crowns  of 


gold.  '5^  And  out  of  the  throne  pro- 
ceeded lightnings  and  thunderings  and 
voices  :  and  there  were  seven  lamps  of 
fire  burning  before  the  throne,  which 
are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God.  (^^  And 
before  the  throne  there  tvas  a  sea  of 
glass  like  unto  crystal :  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about 
the  throne,  were  four  beasts  full  of  eyes 


forward  over  uudor  the  eyos  of  the  ruliug  One.  (Conip. 
chaps,  v.  1,  7  ;  vi.  15  ;  xx.  11  ;  xxi.  5.1 

(5)  And  he  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a 
jasper  and  a  sardine  stone. — lu  detenniuing  tlio 
siguificaneo  of  tliese  emblems  wo  must  bo  guided  partly 
by  tlie  analogy  of  Bible  imagery  elsewhere,  and  partly 
by  our  knowledge  of  precious  stones.  The  sardiau, 
or  sardine,  is  admitted  to  be  a  stone  of  fiei-y  red  colour ; 
the  emerald,  to  which  the  bow  round  the  throne  is 
compared,  is  almost  certainly  a  bright  green ;  the  hue 
of  tho  jasper  is  the  difficulty.  The  jasper — the  last 
stone  ill  the  liigh-priest's  breastplate,  and  first  of  the 
twelve  foundations  of  the  Now  Jerusalem  (Ex.  xxviii. 
2t>,  and  Rev.  xxi.  19) — is  described  by  the  best  autho- 
rities as  a  dark,  opaque  green.  Such  a  colour  is  quite 
in  harmony  with  the  colours  of  the  other  stones  in 
the  breastplate,  and  particularly  with  the  foundation 
stones,  which  seem  to  be  arranged  in  shades  of  colour 
(see  Notes  on  chap.  xxi.  19  et  seq.) ;  but  tho  dark 
opaquo  green  would  be  an  ill  combination  with  the 
red  sardius  and  tho  green  emerald  in  the  vision  of  the 
present  chapter.  Is  there  no  further  light  ?  We  have 
a  jasper  stone  spoken  of  in  chap.  xxi.  11,  18,  with  the 
descriptive  phrase,  "  clear  as  crystal !  "  Does  not  this 
2)oint  to  a  .stone  somewhat  different  in  appearance*  from 
that  spoken  of  simply  as  jasper  ?  Such  a  clear  crystal 
stone  would  be  tlie  most  natural  coiiipanion  to  the 
sardine,  and  the  combination  of  the  sparkling  bright- 
ness and  fiery  red  suits  tho  union  of  brightness  and 
flame  wliich  appears  elsewhere  in  the  Bil)le  (comp. 
chaps,  i.  14;  xi.  1 ;  Ezek.  i.  4  ;  viii.  2 ;  Dan.  vu.  9),  and 
is  best  understood  of  the  holiness  and  righteousness  of 
God.  The  latter  lialf  of  this  verse  shows  us  those  sur- 
rounded by  tho  emerald-coloured  l)Ow,the  evident  symbol 
of  the  divino  mercy.  The  allusion  to  the  bow  in  the 
cloud  (Gen.  ix.  12 — 16)  is  obvious  ;  the  bow  completely 
encircled  tho  throne,  as  mercy  encompassing  judgment. 
It  was  a  covenant  token,  bearing  \vitness  to  God's 
faithfulness  in  dark  times,  God's  care  for  the  ark  of 
His  Church,  and  His  mercy  shining  forth  after  storm. 

(M  And  round  about  the  throne  were  four 
and  twenty  seats  (or,  thrones),  and  upon  the 
seats  (or,  thvoups)  I  saw  four  and  twenty  elders 
sitting,  clothed  in  white  raiment;  and  they 
had  on  their  heads  crowns  of  gold.— Perhaps 
tho  wish  to  give  its  duo  pro-eminence  to  the  thought  of 
Him  who  sat  on  the  throne  caused  our  translators  to 
describe  tho  elders  as  sitting  on  seats;  but  the  same 
word  throne  is  used  of  both,  and  those  who  are  now 
seated  on  thrones  are  called  (chap.  v.  10)  kings  and 
priests.  In  tho  .similar  vision  in  Ezekiel  no  liuman 
beings  are  seen ;  their  appearance  here  is  significaut. 
They  aro  the  representatives  of  Christ's  Church  and 
people,  of  those  whom  Christ  calls  His  friends,  and 
wlio  are  admitted  to  know  what  their  Lord  doeth 
(John  XV.  15).  Various  reasons  have  been  suggested 
why  they  should  be  descri))ed  as  twenty-four  in  number ; 
they  are  the  twelve  tribes  doubled,  to  signify  the  union 


552 


of  tlie  Gentile  with  the  Jewish  Church ;  they  are  the 
two  sets  of  twelve,  to  represent  the  two  Testaments; 
they  are  the  twelve  Patriarchs  cojoined  with  the  twelve 
Apostles.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  were  all  different 
forms  of  the  same  thought,  that  the  twenty-four  elders 
represent  the  complete  Church  of  God  in  the  past  and 
in  the  future,  in  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds ;  and 
as  such  the  true  spiritual  successors,  as  priests  to  God, 
of  those  twenty-four  courses  (1  Chrou.  xxiv.  1 — 19) 
arranged  by  David,  and  which  some  have  thought  gave 
rise  to  the  use  of  the  number  twenty-four  in  this 
passage.  It  is  the  great  united  Church.  The  same 
thought  is  touched  upon  in  the  double  song  of  Moses 
and  the  Lamb  (chap.  xv.  3),  and  in  the  gates  and  foun- 
dations of  the  New  Jerusalem  (chap.  xxi.  12,  14). 

(5)  And  out  of  the  throne  proceeded  (rather, 
jiroceed ;  there  is  a  change  in  the  tense  used)  light- 
nings and  thunderings  and  voices. — These"  are 
viewed  Ijy  some  as  the  indications  of  approaching  judg- 
ments. Perhaps  it  is  better  to  view  them  as  the  tokens  of 
God's  power  of  judgment  than  as  hints  of  immediately 
approaching  judgments.  The  scene  at  Sinai  (Ex.  xix.  16) 
was  no  doubt  in  the  prophet's  mind.  There  the  clouds 
and  lightnings  were  not  so  much  tokens  of  coming  judg- 
ment as  the  symbols  of  that  righteous  power  which  can 
show  itself  in  judgment.  "  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  Him ;  righteousness  and  judgment  ai*o  the 
habitation  of  His  throne  "  (Ps.  xcvii.  2).  They  are  the 
constant  tokens  of  that  power  of  God 

"  Which  makes  the  darkness  and  the  light. 
And  dwells  not  in  the  light  alone. 
But  in  the  darkness  and  the  cloud 
As  over  Sinai's  peaks  of  old." 

And  there  were  seven  lamps  (or,  torches)  of 
fire  burning  before  the  throne,  which  are  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God.— See  chap.  iii.  1.  Tho  Spirit 
of  God  in  His  manifold  ijowers  is  thus  described  under 
emblems  of  fire.  Not  merely  as  a  fire  of  judgment. 
The  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  baptism  of  fire 
(Matt.  iii.  11.  12).  The  flannng  presence  purges  the 
spirit  from  sin.  The  Holy  Spirit  consumes  evil.  It 
is  an  uiujuenchable  fii'O  against  all  evils,  whether  in 
men's  liearts  or  in  men's  lives,  or  in  the  world.  (Comp. 
1  Cor.  iii.  13,  and  Hob.  xii.  29.)  May  there  not  be 
allusion  to  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  which  was 
ratified  by  fire  ?  Lamps,  or  torches,  of  fire  (Jamimdes 
jniros,  LXX.,  same  as  in  this  passage)  went  between  the 
divided  pieces  of  the  heifer  and  the  she-goat.  If  this 
ha  con-ect,  the  \'isiou  of  this  chapter  reminds  us 
that  God  is  ever  mindful  of  His  covenant.  The  rain- 
bow, the  token  of  the  covenant  -with  Noah ;  the  flaming 
torches,  tokens  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham  ;  and  the 
tliunderiiigs  and  lightnings,  the  tokens  of  the  covenant 
at  Sinai,  are  ever  with  Him.     (Comp.  also  Ezek.  i.  4.) 

(^J)  And  before  the  throne  there  was  a  sea 
of  glass  like  unto  crystal,— There  is  a  sea  before 
the  throne  of  God.  The  woman  apparelled  in  purple 
spleudoi\r  sits  upon  many  waters  (cliap.  xvii.  1).     The 


The  Four  Beasts. 


EEVELATTON,   IV. 


Their  Song  of  Praise. 


before  and  behind.  ('')  And  the  first 
beast  toas  like  a  lion,  and  the  second 
beast  like  a  calf,  and  the  third  beast 
had  a  face  as  a  man,  and  the  fourth 
beast  was  like  a  flying  eagle.  (^)  And 
the  four  beasts  had  each  of  them  six 
wings  about  ]ii7)% ;  and  they  tvere  full  of 
eyes  within:  and  they  rest  not^  day 
and  night,  saying,   Holy,"   holy,    holy, 


1  fir.  they  have  no 

a  ell.  i.  4.  8 ;   Isa. 
«.  3. 


Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was,  and  is, 
and  is  to  come.  (^^  And  when  those 
beasts  give  glory  and  honour  and  thanks 
to  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  who 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  (^*^)  the  four 
and  twenty  elders  fall  down  before  him 
that  sat  on  the  throne,  and  worship  him 
that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  and  cast 
their  crowns  before  the  throne,  saying. 


waters  ai'e  explaiued  (chap.  xvii.  15)  to  be  "  peoples, 
and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues."  Her 
tliroue  rests  on  the  fickle  and  stormy  sea  of  world- 
opinion,  fashion,  and  passion.  The  waters  represent 
the  unguided,  unreasoning,  and  unprincipled  thovights 
of  men.  By  analogy,  the  calm  glass-like  sea,  whicli  is 
never  in  storm,  but  only  interfused  with  flame  (chap. 
XV.  2).  represents  the  counsels  of  God,  those  purposes 
of  righteousness  and  love,  often  fathomless,  but  never 
obscui'e ;  always  tlie  same,  though  sometimes  glowing 
with  holy  anger  (chap.  xv.  1).  (Comp.  the  Psalmist's 
words,  "  Thy  judgments  are  like  the  great  deep,"  Ps. 
xxxvi.  6,  Prayer  Book  version.  See  also  Ps.  Ixxvii.  19, 
and  Pi,om.  xi.  33 — 36.)  The  position  of  the  crystal  sea 
is  analogous  to  that  of  the  molten  sea  in  front  of 
Sohmion's  Temple  (2  Chron.  iv.  9,  10). 

And  in  the  midst  of  the  throne— i.e.,  between 
the  seer*  and  the  tlirono.  The  Apostle  saw  the  crystal 
sea,  and  Ijeyond  it  the  living  creatures  encircling  the 
throne — four  living  creatures  (or,  living  beings)  full  of 
(or,  teeming  with)  eyes  before  and  behind. 

(7)  And  the  first  beast  (better,  in  each  case,  living 
being)  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second  beast 
like  a  calf  (comp.  Ezek.  i.  7,  10),  and  the  third 
beast  had  a  face  as  a  man  (or,  its  countenance  as  of 
a  man),  and  the  fourth  beast  was  like  a  flying 
eagle. — These  are  living  beings,  not  "  beasts,"  as  in  the 
Authorised  version.  Tlie  rendering  "beasts"  introduces 
confusion  of  thought,  and  violates  the  laws  of  Apoca- 
lyi)tic,  indeed  of  Bible  imagery.  The  evil  powers  are 
described  under  the  emblem  of  Avild  beasts ;  for  thus 
brute  force,  and  uni'estrained  passion,  and  self-will, 
&c.,  are  symbolised.  (See  chaps,  xi.  7 ;  xiii.  1,  2 ;  xvi. 
2  ;  xvii.  3,  7  ;  xix.  19,  20  ;  xx.  10.)  But  these  ''  living 
beings  "  do  not  represent  the  e\-il  element  in  the  world. 
They  are  representative  of  animated  nature.  They  are 
four  in  number — as  there  are  four  beings  which  hold  a 
primacy  in  the  world :  among  created  beings,  man ; 
among  birds,  the  eagle ;  among  cattle,  the  ox ;  among 
untamed  animals,  the  lion.  .  The  characteristics  of 
these  four  chiefs  of  creation'' unite  to  make  a  perfect 
picture  of  the  spirit  of  true  service,  which  should  be 
brave  as  the  lion,  patient  as  the  ox,  as]  i  -ing  as  the 
eagle,  intelligent  as  man.  It  may  here  Ije  noted  that 
the  number  "four"  in  the  Apocalypse  is  almost  always 
associated  with  the  earth.  (See  chap.  \ni.  1.)  We  need 
oidy  call  to  mind  the  four  quarters,  four  elements,  four 
seasons,  to  see  its  fitness.  (Comp.  chap.  xxi.  13, 16.)  The 
living  creatures  are  "  full  of  eyes."  This  strong  ex- 
pression is  used  again  in  the  next  verso.  Twice  used, 
its  meaning  must  l)o  significant.  The  same  idea  is 
found  in  the  later  prophets  of  tlic  Old  Testament.  Tlio 
wheels  of  Ezokiel  and  their  tires  (Ezek.  i.  18.  and  x.  12) 
were  full  of  eyes.  The  stone  of  Zechariah  liad  seven 
(the  perfect  number)  eyes  (Zecli.  iii.  9).  The  thought 
is  emphasised  again  in  chap.  v.  6,  wliere  the  Lamb  is 
said  to  have  seven  eyes.  Multiplicity  of  eyes  may 
symbolise  vitality  and  -vigilauce.     Some  have  thought, 


inappropriately  enough,  that  it  signifies  the  unceasing 
praise  of  God's  works.  A  better  interpretation  is 
given  by  Dr.  Currey.  "  Tlio  power  of  nature  is  no 
blind  force,  it  is  employed  in  the  service  of  God's 
pi'ovidence,  and  all  over  it  the  .stamp  of  reason  is 
impressed."  (See  Speaker's  Commentary  on  Ezek.  i. 
18).  May  we  not  add  that  the  foi-ce  of  nature  is 
always  observant  of  God's  will  ?  Its  myi-iad  eyes  are 
fixed  on  Him,  as  the  eyes  of  a  servant  on  his  master 
(Ps.  cxxiii.  2) ;  doing  His  commandment,  hearkening 
unto  the  voice  of  His  word  (Ps.  ciii.  20,  21)  ;  the  eyes 
too  of  all  creation  wait  on  God,  who  gives  them  meat 
in  due  season  (Ps.  civ.  27,  Prayer  Book  version) — 

"His  state 
Is  kingly  ;  thousands  at  His  bidding  speed 
And  post  o'er  land  and  ocean  ■without  rest ; 
They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait." 

(8)  And  the  four  beasts  (or,  living  beings)  had 
each  of  them  (literally,  one  by  one  of  them)  six 
wings  about  him ;  and  they  were  full  of  (or, 
teeming  tvith)  eyes. — The  last  verse  spoke  of  the 
living  beings  teeming  with  eyes ;  this  tells  us  that 
neither  the  dropping  nor  the  raising  of  their  wings 
hindered  their  view. 

And  they  rest  not  day  and  night,  saying, 
Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almightly,  which 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come. — The  resemblance  to 
Isaiah's  vision  (chap.  vi.  1 — i)  may  remind  us  that  the 
voice  of  God's  creation  has  in  every  age  proclaimed  His 
eternal  holiness.  The  word  "  holy  "  is  repeated  eight 
times  in  the  Sinaitic  version.  The  "  six  wings  "  are 
taken  to  express  reverence,  for  with  twain  (Isa.  vi.  2) 
he  covered  his  face  ;  humility,  for  with  twain  he  covered 
his  feet ;  and  obedience,  for  Anth  twain  he  did  fly. 
Some  have  understood  these  living  beings  to  betoken 
rather  the  creative  power  of  God  than  the  actual 
creation.  Tliere  is  much  to  be  said  for  this ;  but  the 
analogy  of  the  passage  suits  better  the  view  here  adopted. 
The  twenty-four  elders  represent,  not  the  regenerating 
power  of  God,  but  the  regenerate  Church.  The  new 
creation  in  Christ  Jesus  join  in  praise  with  all  created 
things.  The  doxology  in  verse  11  favours  the  inter- 
pretation, "  Thou  liast  created  all  things." 

(9. 10)  And  when  those  beasts  .  .  .—Better, 
And  whensoever  the  living  beings  sltall  give  (the  future 
is  used)  glorij  and  honoiir  and  thanls  to  Him  icho 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  to  Him  ivho  liveth  to  the  ages 
of  ages,  the  four-and-twenty  ciders  shall  (as  is  their 
\ront)  fall  down  before  Him  xvho  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
and  worship  Him  that  liveth  nnto  the  ages  of  ages,  and 
shall  (as  is  their  wont)  cast  their  croicns  before  the  throne, 
saying  ...  It  is  not  to  Him  who  sat  upon  the  throne, 
but  to  Him  who  sitteth  there,  as  lie  liveth  to  the  ages  of 
ages,  that  this  homage  is  paid.  The  future  ienso  (shall 
give  glory,  &c.)  implies  the  eternal  repetition  of  the  act. 
The  connection  between  the  praise  given  by  creation, 
and  the  consequent  homage  of  the  twenty-four  elders, 
expresses  a  truth.     Tlie   Church  of  Christ  does  not 


553 


Tlie  Vision  of  the  Book 


REVELATION,   V. 


sealed  with  Seven  Seals 


(")  Thouai-t  worthy,"  0  Lord,  to  receive 
glory  and  honour  and  power :  for  thou 
hast  created  all  things,  and  for  thy 
pleasure  they  are  and  were  created. 

CHAPTER  v.— (iJ  And  I  saw  in 
the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  on 
the     throne     a     book    written    within 


a 

ch 

5.13. 

6 

lea. 
E/.ck 

■Si.   15 

la.  4. 
A.n. 

29. 

•-'.9 

96. 

11: 

,  111; 
Dan. 

and    on    the    backside,*    sealed    with 
seven  seals.     <->  And  I  saw  ^, 

,  11-  Chaps.  V.  1 — VI. 

a   strong   angel   proclaim-  17.  The  sealed 

ing      with      a     loud     voice,   book  opened  by 

Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  *''^  ^^'''^• 
book,  and  to  k)ose   the    seals  thereof? 
(■■^^  And  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth, 
neither  under  the  earth,   was   able  to 


always  heai-  tlie  voice  of  praise  fi-oin  created  things. 
Ofti'n  tlie  creation  groauetli  and  travailcth;  but  her 
chorus  of  praise  rises  when  slie  perceives  that  "  every 
thing  tliat  liath  breatli  praisetli  the  Lord."  The  con- 
verso  of  tliis  tliought  —  the  earth  bringeth  forth  her 
fruit  wlien  the  people  i)raise  God— is  hinted  in  Ps. 
Ixvii.  5.  fi,  "  the  earth  ceases  her  travail  when  the  sons 
of  God  are  made  manifest  (Rom.  viii.  19 — 21). 

Crowns. — The  crowns  are  not  royal  crowns,  but  the 
crowns  of  conquerors.  Those  are  laid  down  before  the 
throne  by  those  who  overcame,  not  in  their  own  might, 
l)ut  through  tlie  blood  of  the  Lamb  (chap.  xii.  11 ; 
coinp.  chap.  vii.  14). 

(11)  The  doxology  is  three-fold.  (See  Note  on  chap, 
i.  6.)     It  should  nm — 

"  Worthy;  art  Thoii,  O  Lord,  and  our  God, 
To  receive  the  Klory,  and  the  liononr,  and  the  power. 
Because  Thou  didst  create  all  things, 
And  through  (or,  owina  to  -i.e.,  because  of)  Thy  will  they 
were  (not  '  are ')  and  were  created." 

The  existence  of  all  things  was  owing  to  the  will  of  God, 
a-s  also  was  the  creation  of  all  things,  which  was  the 
realisation  or  manifestation  of  that  will. 

V. 

Thk  Sealed  Roll. — Tlie  vision  of  the  previous 
chapter  remains.  The  scenery  docs  not  shift,  but  the 
attention  of  the  aeer  is  now  directed  to  one  feature — 
the  book,  or  roll,  which  was  on  the  hand  of  the  Throned 
One.  Tliis  roll  none  in  lieavcn,  earth,  or  under  the  earth 
could  open ;  but  the  Lamb  takes  the  roll  to  open  it,  or 
to  unfold  its  purport  to  the  waiting  world  and  Church ; 
the  Churcli  and  world  praise  Him  who  is  the  Light, 
revealing  to  them  all  they  need  to  know. 

(1)  And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  .  .  .—Better, 
And  I  saw  on  (not  "  in  ;"  the  roll  lay  on  the  open  palm 
of  the  hand)  the  right  hand  of  Hinn  that  sitteth  tipon 
the  throne  a  book  written  within  and  behind,  fast  sealed 
with  seven  seals.  The  book  is,  of  course,  in  the  form  of 
a  roll ;  it  lies  on  the  open  hand  of  the  Throned  One ;  it 
was  not  His  will  that  the  book  should  be  kept  from  any. 
It  is  written,  not  on  the  inside  only,  as  was  the  usual  way, 
but,  like  the  roll  of  the  book  which  Ezekiel  saw  (Ezek. 
ii.  9,  10),  it  was  written  within  and  without.  Some 
have  thouglit  that  tliore  are  two  divisions  of  predictions 
— those  written  witliin  the  roll,  and  those  written  ou 
the  out»n'  side.  Tliis  is  merely  fanciful ;  the  passage 
in  Ezekiel  which  supplies  a  guidance  to  the  meaning 
might  hare  shown  the  erroneousness  of  the  thought. 
Clearly  the  "  lamentation  and  mourning  and  woe  "  iit- 
scribed  all  over  Ezekiel's  roll  indicate  the  filling  up  of 
sorrows :  hero  the  same  overflowing  writing  indicates 
the  completeness  of  the  contents ;  there  was  no  room 
for  addition  to  that  which  was  written  therein.  But 
what  is  meant  by  the  book  ?  Numberless  interpreta- 
tions have  been  offered  :  it  is  the  Old  Testament ;  it  is 
the  whole  Bible ;  it  is  the  title-deed  of  man's  inheri- 
tance ;  it  is  the  book  containing  the  sentence  of  judg- 


554 


ment  on  the  foes  of  the  faith ;  it  is  the  Apocalypse ;  it 
is  part  of  the  Aijocalypse;  it  is  the  book  of  God's 
purposes  and  iirovidence.  There  is  a  truth  underlying 
most  of  these  interpretations,  but  most  of  them  narrow 
the  force  of  the  vision.  If  we  say  it  is  the  book  which 
unfolds  the  principles  of  God's  government — in  a  wide 
sense,  the  book  of  salvation  (comp.  Rom.  xvi.  25,  26) — 
the  intei*pretation  of  life,  which  Christ  alone  can  bestow 
(see  verses  3 — 6),  we  shall  include,  probably,  the  prac- 
tical truths  which  underlie  each  of  these  intei-pretations ; 
for  all — Old  Testament  and  New,  man's  heritage  and 
destiny,  God's  purposes  and  pro^adence — are  dark,  till 
He  who  is  the  Light  unfolds  those  truths  which  shed  a 
light  on  all.  Such  a  book  becomes  one  "  which  con- 
tains and  interprets  human  history,"  and  claims  the 
kingdoms  of  the  earth  for  God.  The  aim  of  all  lite- 
rature has  been  said  by  a  distinguished  critic  to  be 
little  more  than  the  criticism  of  life ;  the  book  which 
Christ  unfolds  is  the  key  to  the  true  meaning  of  life. 
The  roll  is  not  the  Apocalypse  so  much  as  the  book  of 
those  truths  which  are  exemplified  in  the  Apocalypse, 
as  -in  a  vast  chamber  of  imageiy.  The  roll  was  fast 
sealed,  so  that  even  those  who  wei-e  wise  and  learned 
enough  to  read  it  had  it  been  unrollod  could  not  do  so 
(See  Isa.  xxix.  11.)  There  are  things  which  are  hidden 
from  the  wise  and  prudent,  but  revealed  unto  babes. 

(2)  And  I  saw  a  strong  (better,  mighty)  angel 
proclaiming  with  (or,  in)  a  loud  voice,  Who  is 
worthy  .  .  . — Wo  must  not  let  the  word  "  worthy '' 
pass  as  though  it  were  simply  equivalent  to  "  strong 
enough."  It  seems  to  imply  moral  fitness  (comp. 
Rom.  i.  4),  which  is  the  true  .strength  in  the  heavenly 
world.  It  was  not  lack  of  intellectual  capacity  so 
much  as  the  taint  of  moral  unworthiness  which  hin- 
dered the  reading  of  the  book.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  what  we  have  noticed  before.  "  To  commune 
with  God,  there  is  need  of  no  subtle  thought,  no  foreign 
tongue,  no  newest  philosophy :  '  the  pure  in  heart  shall 
see  Him : '  and  Fox  and  Bimyan  can  more  truly  make 
Him  known  than  '  masters  of  sentences '  and  '  angelic 
doctors.' "  Those  who  are  willing  to  do  God's  will 
know  of  God's  doctrine.  This  thought  corresponds, 
too,  with  the  stress  which  is  laid  (in  verse  5)  on  the 
victory  of  Christ.  It  is  not  simply  as  divine  Son  of 
God,  but  also  as  victorious  Saviour  and  King  of  His 
people,  that  He  opens  the  book :  His  worthmess  has 
been  established  in  conflict  and  temptation  (John 
xiv.  30 ;  Heb.  ii.  9  ;  iv.  15). 

(3)  And  no  man  .  .  .  .—Or,  better,  no  one  (for  it 
is  of  more  than  mankind  that  the  Apostle  speaks) 
was  able,  in  the  heaven,  nor  on  the  earth,  nor  under 
the  earth,  nor  even  (still  less  ?)  to  look  thereon.  The 
looking  on  the  book  is  usually  understood  of  the  look 
cast  on  the  book  of  one  who  would  read  the  contents. 
If  so,  the  thought  is,  none  could  open,  still  less  read, 
the  roll.  It  may,  however,  be  that  all  who  attempted 
to  take  the  book  were  unable  to  face  the  glory  in  which 
it  lay.  When  Chiist  revealed  Himself  to  Saul  he 
could  not  see  for  the  glory  of  that  light. 


loJiich  no  Man  could  open. 


EEVELATION,   V. 


The  Lamb  as  it  had  been  Slain. 


open  the  book,  neither  to  look  thereon. 
(^^  And  I  Avept  much,  because  no  man 
was  found  Avorthy  to  open  and  to  read 
the  book,  neither  to  look  thereon. 
(^)  And  one  of  the  elders  saith  unto  me, 
Weep  not :  behold,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Juda,"  the  Root  of  David,*  hath  pre- 


a  Gon.  49. 9 ;  Heli, 


h  Isa.  11. 1, 10:  M. 
a ;  Zecll.  0.  12. 


vailed  to  open  the  book,  and  to  loose 
the  seven  seals  thereof,  c^^  And  I  be- 
held, and,  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
and  of  the  four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  elders,  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had 
been  slain,  having  seven  horns  and 
seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits 


W  And  I  wept  much,  because  no  man  (l)ettor, 
no  one)  was  found  worthy  to  open  ,  .  .  the  book 
(omit,  "  aud  to  read  "). — The  Apostle  i.s  not  ashamed  to 
call  attention  to  his  tears.  I,  indeed,  for  my  part  (the 
"  I "  is  emphatic)  wept  mnch.  It  was  not  a  faihire  of 
faith ;  it  was  tlie  outljnrst  of  an  earnest  lieart,  to  wliich 
the  knowledji^e  of  God  and  the  destinies  of  his  fellow- 
men  wei-e  very  dear.  Those  who  have  longed  to  see  the 
end  of  oppression,  fraud,  and  sori-ow  on  the  eartli,  to 
know  something  of  the  laws  which  govern  the  present, 
and  of  their  issue  in  the  future,  will  understand  these 
tears.  "  Tlio  words,  '  I  wept  much,'  can  only  be  under- 
stood by  those  who  have  lived  in  great  catastroplies  of 
the  Church,  and  entered  with  the  fullest  sympathy  into 
lier  sufferings Without  tears  the  Revela- 
tion was  not  written,  neither  can  it  without  tears  be 
understood." 

(5)  And  one  of  the  elders  .  .  .—Better,  And  one 
from  among  the  elders  saith  unto  me,  Weep  not;  behold, 
the  Lion,  lohich  is  of  the  tribe  of  Judali,  the  Root  of 
David,  conquered  {so  as)  to  open  the  roll,  and  the  seven 
seals  thereof.  The  position  of  the  word  "  conquered  " 
is  emphatic,  and  should  receive  greater  prominence. 
The  verse  has  been  translated,  "  Behold,  one  conquered, 
(even)  the  Lion  .  .  ."  The  right  to  open  the  roll  is 
tlius  made  to  turn,  as  we  noticed  before,  not  merely  on 
the  diAnne  Son  ship  of  our  Lord,  but  upon  His  victory : 
He  conquered,  and  so  opens  the  secret  purposes  of  God 
to  His  Church.  The  thought  is  exactly  parallel  with 
other  scriptures  which  give  emphasis  to  the  woi-k  of 
redemption.  It  is  "  for  the  suffering  of  death "  that 
Christ  is  clothed  "with  glory  and  honour"  (Heb.  ii.  9). 
Similarly  St.  Paul  traces  the  exaltation  of  Christ  as 
the  outcome  of  His  humiliation,  "wherefore  (i.e.,  in 
consequence  of  His  humiliation)  God  also  hath  highly 
exalted  Him "  (Phil.  ii.  9).  Thus  Chi-ist,  who  in  con- 
quest is  seen  to  be  the  power  of  God,  in  revealing  the 
true  philosophy  of  history  is  seen  to  be  the  wisdom  of 
God. 

The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda.— The  lion  was 
the  ancient  symbol  of  the  tribe  of  Judah.  Jacob 
described  his  son  as  "a  lion's  whelp"  (Gen.  xlix.  9);  the 
standard  of  Judah  in  the  Israelitish  encampment  is 
said  to  liave  been  a  lion.  It  was  the  symbol  of  strength, 
courage,  and  sovereignty. 

The  Root  of  David.— The  Lion  is  also  tlie  repre- 
sentative of  the  royal  house  of  David.  "  Christ  cometh 
of  the  seed  of  Da^dd  "  (comp.  Mark  xii.  35  with  John 
viii.  42) ;  the  pi'ophets  have  described  Him  as  the 
Branch,  which  would  spring  from  tlio  ancient  stock 
(Isa.  xi.  1 ;  Zech.  vi.  12).  But  there  seems  also  a 
reference  to  the  deeper  thought  that  He  who  is  the 
Branch  is  also  the  Root  (comp.  Isa.  xi.  10) ;  He  is  the 
one  wlio  was  David's  Lord  (Matt.  xxii.  41 — i.5),  and 
"  the  true  source  and  ground  of  all  power  "  to  David 
and  David's  tribe,  and  of  all  who  looked  to  Him,  and 
not  to  themselves,  for  strength. 

(6)  And  I  beheld,  and  lo  .  .  .— Bctt -r.  And  I  saiv 
(omit  '■  and  lo  ")  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the 
four  living  beings,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  a 


Lamb  (or,  a  little  Lamb),  standing  as  if  having  been 
slain.  The  position  of  the  Lamb  is  described  from  the 
seer's  point  of  Anew :  the  Lamb  is  not  on  the  throne, 
but  in  the  middle  front  of  it,  and  so  apparently  between 
the  living  creatures,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  circle 
formed  by  the  twenty-four  elders.  The  passage  is 
most  striking.  The  Evangelist  is  told  of  the  Lion 
which  will  open  the  seals :  he  looks,  and  lo,  it  is  a 
Lamb !  yes,  a  little  Lamb — for  the  word  is  diminutive. 
There  is  deep  significance  in  this.  When  we  read  of 
the  Lion,  we  think  of  power  and  majesty,  aiul  we  are 
right ;  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  is  Christ's,  but  it 
is  power  manifested  in  seeming  weakness.  Tlie  waters 
of  Shiloah  are  mightier  than  the  Euphrates  (Isa.  \i\\. 
6 — 8) ;  righteousness  and  purity,  meekness  and  gentle- 
ness, are  greater  than  caraal  Aveapons  (comp.  2  Cor.  \\. 
6,  7;  Eph.  vi.  11,  ei  al.);  the  Lamb  mightier  than  the 
roaring  lion  which  goeth  about  seeking  Avhom  he  may 
doA^our  (1  Pet.  v.  8).  But  it  is  a  Lanil)  as  if  it  had 
been  slain.  The  wound-marks  are  there,  but  it  is  not 
dead ;  it  is  standing,  for  it  represents  Him  who  though 
He  died  is  alive  for  cA'crmore ;  but  the  signs  of  suffering 
and  death  are  Adsible,  for  it  is  not  the  Lamb,  but  the 
suffering  Lamb,  which  is  exalted ;  it  is  not  the  Christ, 
but  the  Christ  crucified,  which  is  the  poAver  of  God; 
the  Christ  lifted  up  from  the  earth  draAvs  all  men  unto 
Him  (John  xii.  32 ;  I  Cor.  i.  23,  24) ;  the  com  of  wheat 
which  dies  brings  forth  fruit  (John  xii.  24).  As  such 
He  is  the  Avorship  of  the  Church  and  the  Avorld  which 
He  has  redeemed.  (See  verses  8,  9 ;  comp.  chap.  \'ii. 
14.)  Tlie  reference  to  earlier  Scriptures  (Ex.  xii.  46; 
Isa.  liii.  7;  John  i.  29,  36;  1  Cor.  v.  7,  8)  is  not  to 
be  overlooked.  From  the  tokens  of  suffering  the  seer 
passes  to  the  tokens  of  strength  and  wisdom  Avhich  he 
saw  in  the  Lamb.  He  describes  it  as  "  having  seven 
horns,  and  seven  eyes,  which  are  the  scA^en  spirits  of 
God  sent  forth  (or.  tvhich  are  being  sent  forth]  into  all 
the  eartli."  The  horn  is  the  strength  of  the  animal 
Avhich  carries  it.  It  is  so  used  in  the  blessing  of 
Joseph :  "  His  homs  are  like  the  horns  of  a  Avild  bull  " 
("unicorns  "  in  Anthori.sed  version);  "Avith  them  shall 
he  push  the  people  together,"  &c.  (Dent,  xxxiii.  17 ;  comp. 
Pss.  Ixxxix.  24;  cxh'iii.  14).  The  seven  honis  denote 
completeness  or  fulness  of  strength.  The  scA'cn  eyes, 
like  the  seven  lamps  (chap.  iv.  5).  represent  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  His  manifold  gifts  of  grace ;  but  as  they  are 
described  as  eyes  of  the  Lamb,  they  betoken  His 
omniscience  avIio  is  in  lieaA-en  and  yet,  by  His  Spirit, 
everywhere  (Matt,  xxviii.  2U) ;  Avhose  eye  is  on  all 
events,  great  and  small ;  Avhose  eyes  beliold  the  children 
of  men.  Note,  also,  that  the  scA^en  spirits  are  ascribed 
to  the  Son  as  well  as  to  the  Father.  (Comp.  Jolin  xi\-. 
26;  XV.  26.)  The  se\-en  spirits  are  said  to  be  "sent  "; 
the  Avord  is  from  the  same  root  as  the  Avord  "  apostle." 
There  is  an  apostolate  of  the  Spirit  as  well  as  an  apos- 
tolate  of  the  Church ;  and,  if  we  adopt  the  ver.'^ion  here 
which  gives  the  present  participle,  this  spiritual  apos- 
tolate is  being  continually  exerted;  the  scAcn  spirits 
are  in  process  of  being  sent  out  by  Him  who  says  to  this 
one  "  Go,"  aud  ho  goeth ;  to  the  twelve,  "  Go  ye  into 


655 


The  Lamb  openeth  t/ie 


EEVELATTON,   V. 


Book  with  the  Seven  Seals. 


of  God  sent  forth  into  all  the  earth. 
(7)  And  he  came  and  took  the  book  out 
of  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  upon 
tlio  throne.  <***  And  when  he  had  taken 
the  book,  the  four  beasts  and  four  and 
twenty  elders  fell  down  before  the 
Lamb,  having:  every  one  of  them  harps, 
and  pfolden  vials  full  of  odours,^  which 


I  Or,  incense. 


are  the  prayers  of  saints.  (^^  And  they 
suno;  a  new  song,  saying.  Thou  art 
worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open 
the  seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation;  (^*^^  and  hast 
made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests  : 


all  the  world,"  and  sends  His  Spirit  to  confer  on  His 
people  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of 
Clirist. 

(")  And  he  came  .  .  . — Better,  And  He  came,  and 
He  has  taken  (omit  the  words  "the  book,"  and  supply)  it 
{i.e.,  the  roll)  out  of  the  right  hand  of  Him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne.  There  is  a  change  of  tense  ("  came," 
"  has  taken  "),  which  seems  to  be  due  to  the  rapt  atten- 
tion of  tlie  seer,  whose  narrative  trembles  with  his  own 
intensity  of  feeling.  He  wept  awhile  ago;  now  he 
need  not  weep.  The  Lamb  conquered ;  He  came ;  He 
has  taken  the  roll.  He  is  the  wisdom  of  the  Church ; 
among  all  pre-eminent ;  all  things  will  be  reconciled  in 
Him ;  the  pm-pose  and  meaning  of  all  life's  mysteries 
and  sorrows  will  be  made  plain  in  Him.  (Comp.  1  Cor. 
i.  2-i;  Eph.  i.  9,  10;  Col.  i.  IS.) 

(8)  And  when  he  had  taken  .  .  .—Better,  And 
tohen  He  toolc  the  roll,  the  four  living  beings  and  the 
twenty-four  elders  fell  before  the  Lamb,  having  each  a 
harp,  and  golden  vials  (or,  censers)  full  of  incense, 
which  are  the  prayers  of  the  saints  (or,  the  holy  ones). 
It  is  not  the  Church  alone  which  is  interested  in  the 
revelation  whicli  will  throw  light  on  life's  mysteries 
and  the  delay  of  the  kingdom :  the  whole  creation 
groaneth,  waiting  for  tlu^  reign  of  righteousness ;  and 
therefore  the  four  living  beings,  who  represent  cx'eation, 
join  with  the  ciders,  who  represent  the  Church,  in  the 
adoi-ation  of  the  Lamb  wlio  holds  the  secret  of  life's 
meaning  in  His  hand.  Tlie  vials  (which  seem  to  be 
censers,  as  they  hold  tlie  incense)  and  the  harps,  it  is 
perhaps  more  natural  to  suppose,  were  in  the  hands 
of  tlie  four-and-twenty  elders,  and  not  of  the  li\'ing 
creatures.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  praises  (repre- 
sented by  the  harps),  and  the  prayers  (represented  by 
the  censers)  of  the  world-wide  and  age-long  Church 
of  Christ.  The  comparison  of  j)rayer  with  incense  is 
in  strict  accordance  with  Old  Testament  language. 
"Let  my  prayer  be  set  forth  before  Thee  as  incense" 
(Ps.  cxli.  2).  The  incense  held  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  ritual  of  the  Temple.  The  greatest  care  was  to  be 
taken  in  the  composition  of  the  incense,  and  the  same 
compound  was  not  to  be  used  anywhere  but  in  tlie  sanc- 
tuary. TJicse  precautions  suggest  its  ty|ucal  character. 
The  true  odours  are  the  heart-prayers  of  God's  children. 
"Of  these  tlireo  sweet  ingredient  perfumes,"  says 
Archbishop  Leighton,  alluding  to  the  compo.sition  of  the 
Temple-incense,  "  namely,  petition,  confession,  thanks- 
giving, is  the  incense  of  prayer,  and  by  the  divine  fire 
of  love  it  ascends  imto  God,  the  heart  and  all  with  it; 
and  when  the  hearts  of  the  saints  unite  in  johit  prayer^ 
the  pillar  of  sweet  smoke  goes  up  the  gi-eater  and  the 
fuller."  Every  prayer  which  broke  out  in  sob  from  an 
aofonising  heart,  every  sigh  of  the  solitary  and  strug- 
gling Christian,  every  groan  of  those  groping  God- 
ward,  mingles  here  with  the  songs  of  the  happy  and 
triumphant. 

(9. 10)  And  they  sung  a  new  song,  saying  .  .  .— 
Better,  And  they  sing  a  new  song,  saying.  The  use  of 
the  present  ("  sing")  is  another  example  of  that  inten- 


566 


sity  of  interest  of  which  the  change  of  tense  in  the  last 
verse  afforded  an  instance.  As  he  records  his  vision, 
he  sees  it  anew;  he  describes  the  action  as  though  it 
were  even  now  taking  place,  and  he  still  hears  the  notes 
of  pi'aise.  He  who  knows  what  it  is  to  have  the  strains 
of  some  rich  melody  haunt  him  for  days  will  under- 
stand how  the  prophet  would  hear  the  glad  chonis 
burst  forth  afresh  in  his  ears  when  he  recalled  the 
vision.     The  new  song ;  the  chorus  of  the  redeemed — 

"Worthy  art  Thou  to  take  the  roll, 
And  to  open  the  seals  thereof ; 

For  Thou  wast  slain. 
And  didst  buy  to  God  in  Thy  blood 
Out  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation. 
And  didst  make  them  a  kingdom  and  priests. 
And  they  reign  upon  the  earth." 

The  English  version,  "hast  redeemed,"  and  "hast  made," 
weakens  the  reference  to  the  completed  character  of 
Clirist's  redeeming  work.  It  is  the  great  victory  in 
suffering  and  death  which  inspires  the  song,  and  makes 
them  sing,  "  Thou  art  worthy ;  "  and  so  they  speak  of  that 
work  of  Christ  as  a  worlc  tndy  done  :  "  Thou  didst  buy 
(omit  "  us  ")  out  of  every  tribe,  &.C.,  and  didst  make 
them,"  &c.  The  suffering  Saviour  has  died,  has  broken 
the  bond  of  the  oppressor,  has  claimed,  by  right  of 
purchase,  mankind  as  His  own ;  and  the  price  was  His 
blood.  It  is  well  to  notice  the  harmony  between  this 
passage  and  the  statements  of  other  Apostles :  "  Ye 
are  not  your  o^vn;"  "bought  with  a  price."  (See 
1  Cor.  vi.  20;  vii.  23;  1  Pet.  i.  18.  19;  2  Pet.  ii.  1.) 
Observe,  also,  the  four  terms  (tribe,  tongue,  people, 
nation),  employed  as  if  to  give  emphasis  to  the  univer- 
sality of  redemption,  for  four  is  the  number  of  exten- 
sion in  all  directions.  With  this  compare  Rom.  v. 
15—19;  Col.  iii.  11;  Heb.  ii.  9.  We  have  a  right  to 
tt^ach  all  to  say,  "  He  redeemed  me  and  all  mankind." 
It  is  instructive  to  dwell  on  the  climax  "  they  reign," 
in  contrast  vrith  "  Thou  wast  shiin."  It  is  like  an 
anticipation  of  the  now  familiar  words — 

"  Thine  the  sharp  thorns,  and  mine  the  golden  crown ; 
Mine  the  life  won,  and  Thine  the  hfe  laid  down." 

"  Did.st  make  them  a  kingdom  and  priests."  (See  chap, 
i.  6.)  This  kingdom  and  reign  is  the  outcome  of 
Christ's  work.  "  Every  precept  of  Christianity  is 
quickened  by  the  power  of  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  Christ.  It  is  by  the  presence  of  this  power  that 
they  are  Christians,  and  it  is  as  Christians  that  they 
conquer  the  world"  (Westcott).  "They  reign  on  the 
earth."  Such  is  the  best  reading ;  the  tense  is  present. 
It  is  not,  I  think,  to  bo  explained  away  as  a  vivid 
realisation  of  the  future;  it  is  a  simple  statement, 
which  is  as  true  as  that  the  followers  of  Christ  are  "  a 
kingdom  and  priests."  They  reign  with  and  in  Christ, 
but  they  also  reign  on  the  earth.  Christ  gives  them  a 
kingship,  even  sovereignty  over  themselves — the  first, 
best,  and  most  philanthropic  of  all  kingships.  He 
gives  them,  too,  a  kingship  on  the  earth  among  men, 
for  they  are  exerting  those  influences,  promoting  tliose 
principles,  and  dispensing  those  laws  of  righteousness, 


AscriiJtion  of  Praise 


EEVELATIOJ^,    V. 


and  Glory  to  the  Lanib. 


and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth.  (^^)  And 
I  beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  many 
angels  round  about  the  throne  and  the 
beasts  and  the  elders :  and  the  number 
of  them  was  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand,"  and  thousands  of  thousands  ; 
(^^^  saying  with  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive 
power,   and  riches,   and    wisdom,   and 


(iDan.  7.  10;  Hcb. 


strength,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and 
blessing.  (^^)  And  every  creature  which 
is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and 
under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the 
sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I 
saying,  Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory, 
and  power,  he  unto  him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb 
for  ever   and   ever.     (^^)  And  the   four 


lioliuess,  and  peace  which  iu  reality  riilo  all  the  best  de- 
velopmouts  of  life  and  history.  AH  who  traverse  those 
laws  are  intruders,  transitory  tyrants,  exerting  only  a 
phantom  power.  They  are  not  kings :  they  may  govern, 
tliey  do  not  reign.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  iii.  21 — 23;  E^jh. 
ii.  6.) 

(11)  And  I  beheld  .  .  . — More  literally,  Ami  I  saw, 
and  I  heard  a  voice  of  many  angels  around  the  throne, 
and  the  living  beings,  and  the  elders ;  and  the  number 
of  them  teas  myriads  of  -tnyriads,  and  thousaiuls  of 
thousands.  The  choriis  of  the  redeemed  is  followed  by 
a  chorus  of  angels  ;  for  "  that  which  is  the  highest  act 
of  love,  towai'ds  whatever  persons  it  was  manifested, 
from  whatever  calamities  it  saved  them,  must  be  the 
higliest  manifestation  of  the  divine  character  and  will ; 
therefore  must  be  the  cause  of  delight  to  all  creatures, 
fallen  or  unfallen.  If  the  Revelation  is  true,  there  can 
be  no  breach  in  the  sympathies  of  any  part  of  God's 
voluntary  and  intelligent  uniA'erse."  It  is  needless  to 
observe  that  the  numbers  are  not  to  be  taken  literally ; 
they  are  simply  employed  to  express  the  countless 
tlirong  of  that  "  iumimerable  company  of  angels " 
(Heb.  xii.  22)  which  raised  the  song — 

"  Loud  as  from  numbers  without  number,  sweet 
As  from  blest  voices,  uttering  joy." 

—Paradise  Lost,  iii.  3i6,  317. 

(12)  Saying  with  a  loud  voice  .  .  .—The  second 
chorus  :  the  chorus  of  angels — 

"  Worthy  is  the  Lamb. 
That  hath  been  slain, 
To  receive  the  power. 
And  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  might, 
And  honour,  and  glory,  and  blessing." 

Tlio  doxology  is  seven-fold.  We  have  noticed  (chap.  i. 
6)  the  increasing  strength  of  the  doxologies  in  which 
the  redeemed  take  part.  This,  though  a  seven-fold  one, 
does  not  interrupt  tliat  advance  of  pi-aise;  for  in  this 
chorus  the  redeemed  do  not  take  part.  Tlie  definite 
article  is  prefixed  to  the  word  "  power  "  only ;  in  the 
doxologies  of  chaps,  iv.  11  and  ni.  12  it  stands  before 
each  word.  This  has  led  some  to  view  the  single 
article  as  prefixed  to  all  that  follows,  and  to  regard  all 
the  words  as  though  they  formed  one  word.  May  it 
not,  however, be  used  to  give  empliasis  to  the  "power"? 
None,  above  or  below,  was  "  able "  (same  word  as 
"power"  here)  to  open  the  book  (verse  3);  but  tho 
Lamb  has  conquered  to  open  it,  and  the  chorus  pro- 
claims the  Lamb  worthy  of  that  power.  Some  have 
tliought  that  the  seven  terms  of  the  doxology  refer  to 
the  seven  seals  which  the  Lamb  is  about  to  open.  This 
seems  strained.  The  notion  of  completeness  is  common 
to  this  seven-fold  blessing  and  the  seven  seals;  this  is 
the  only  connection  between  tliem. 

(13)  And  every  creature  .  .  .—The  third  chorus : 
the  chorus  of  the  imiverse.  Tlie  song  of  tlo  redeemed, 
echoed  by  the  hosts  of  angels,  is  now  merged  iu  the 
utterance  of  all.  "  Evei-y  creature  which  is  in  the  heaven. 


and  upon  the  earth,  and  beneath  the  earth,  and  upon 
the  sea,  and  aU  the  things  that  are  in  them,  heard  I 
saying — 

"  To  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
And  to  the  Lamb, 
(Be)  the  blessing,  and  the  honour, 
And  the  glory,  and  the  might. 

To  the  ages  of  the  ages." 

The  song  of  praise  rises  from  all  quarters,  and  from  all 
forms  of  creation.  The  whole  universe,  animate  and 
inanimate,  joins  in  this  glad  acclaim.  To  limit  it  to 
either  rational  or  animate  creation  is  to  enfeeble  the 
climax  which  this  third  chorus  forms  to  the  two  i)re- 
ceding  ones,  and  is  to  denude  the  passage  of  its  fulness 
and  of  its  poetiy.  The  He])rew  mind  delighted  iu 
representing  every  bird  and  every  grass-blade  as  join- 
ing in  God's  praise.  "  Moiiutains  and  all  hills,  frtiitfid 
trees  and  all  cedars,  beasts  and  all  cattle,  creeping 
things  and  flying  fowl,"  as  well  as  kings  of  the  eaitli 
and  all  people,  were  called  on  to  bless  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  Christian  poets  have  told  us  that  "  Earth  with 
her  thousand  voices  praises  God." 

"  Nature,  attend  !  join  every  living  soul. 
Beneath  the  spacious  temple  of  the  sky, 
In  adoration  join'd;  and,  ardent,  raise 
One  general  song !    To  Him,  ye  vocal  gales. 
Breathe  soft,  whose  Spirit  in  your  freshness  breathes. 
*         *         *         And  thou,  majestic  main, 
A  secret  world  of  wonders  in  thyself, 
Sound  His  stupendous  praise,  whose  greater  voice 
Or  bids  you  roar,  or  bids  your  roaring  fall. 
Soft  roll  your  incense,  herbs,  and  fruits,  and  flowers, 
In  mingled  clouds  to  Him  whose  sim  exalts. 
Whose  breath  perfiunes  you.  and  whose  pencil  paints." 
—Thomson,  Hymn  to  Seasons. 

The  Apostle  who  pictured  all  creation  as  waiting  in 
eager  expectation  for  the  full  redemption — the  re- 
demption of  "the  body"  (Rom.  viii.  23),  looked  forward 
to  the  time  when  "  the  whole  universe,  whether  animate 
or  inanimate,  would  bend  the  knee  in  homage  and  raise 
its  voice  iu  praise  "  (Phil.  ii.  10).  The  doxology  which 
thus  rises  from  the  universe  is  appropriately  four-fold : 
the  definite  article  (omitted  in  tlie  English  version) 
must  be  supplied  before  each  word  ("  The  blessing," 
&c.).  The  two  preceding  songs  were  in  honour  of  the 
Lamb;  in  this  last  the  praise  is  addressed  to  the 
Throned  One  and  to  the  Lamb.  This  linking  of 
the  Lamb  with  God  as  the  Throned  One  is  common 
thi'ougliout  the  book.  Hero  they  are  linked  in  praise ; 
in  chap.  vi.  16  they  are  linked  in  wrath ;  in  chap.  vii.  17 
they  are  linked  in  ministering  consolation ;  in  chap.  xix. 
6,  7,  tlioy  are  linked  in  triumph.  In  the  final  vision  of 
the  book  the  Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple 
(chaj).  xxi.  22)  and  the  light  (chap.  xxi.  23),  the  refresh- 
ment (cliap.  xxii.  1)  and  sovereignty  (chap.  xxii.  3),  of 
tlio  celestial  city. 

(1*)  And  the  four  beasts  .  .  . — Better,  And  the 
four  living  bcing.-^  said.  Amen  (or,  the  Amcn\  And  the 
elders  (omit  "four  and  twenty ")/e?/  down  and  icor- 
shipped.  The  remaining  words  of  this  verso  are 
wanting  in  some  of  the  best  MSS.,  and  they  spoil  the 


657 


TIlc  Vision  of  tJie  Seals. 


EEVELATION,   VI. 


TJt^  First  Seal  opened. 


beasts  said,  Amen.  And  the  four 
and  twenty  elders  fell  down  and  wor- 
shipped liiin  that  liveth  for  ever  and 
ever. 


CHAPTER  VI.— (1)  And  I  saw  when 
the  Lamb  opened  one  of  chap.  vi  i  2. 
the  seals,  and  I  heard.  The  first  seal 
as    it   were    the   noise    of  "^p^^^- 


graphic  force  of  the  description.  The  "Amen"  rises 
from  universal  nature ;  the  Church  of  Christ  falls  dovvu 
in  silent  adoration.  Thought  and  feeling  assert  them- 
selves above  all  language.  There  are  times  when  silence 
is  the  most  eloquent  applause ;  there  are  times  when  it 
is  also  the  most  real  worship.  "  Let  thy  prayers  be 
without  words,  rather  than  thy  words,  without  prayer  " 
was  a  wise  precept  of  an  old  divine.  An  English  and 
an  Italian  poet  have  given  expression  to  the  same 
feeling  of  the  weakness  of  words.  "  O  speech  !  "  sang 
Dante,  when  telling  his  final  A-isiou — 

"  How  feeble  and  how  faint  art  thou  to  give 
Conception  birtli." 

—Parad.  xxxiii. 

Thomson  takes  refuge  in  silence  from  the  overwhelming 
thoughts  of  the  divine  glory : — 

"I  lose 
Mj-self  in  Him,  in  Ught  ineffable. 
Come,  then,  expressive  silence,  muse  His  praise." 

Here  the  inspired  seer  describes  the  chorus  of  praise 
as  dying  into  a  silence  bom  of  awe  and  gratefulness 
and  love. 

YI. 

The  Vision  of  the  Seals. — The  relation  of 
Christianity  to  great  universal  e\-ils.  The  extinction  of 
war,  disease,  death,  persecution  will  not  be  immediate ; 
the  mission  of  Christianity  is  not  to  abolish  them  at 
once  and  by  compulsion,  but  to  undermine  them ;  for 
lier  work  is  not  coercion,  but  conviction,  and  is  primarily 
to  individuals,  and  only  secondarily  and  indirectly  to 
nations. 

It  is  at  this  chapter  that  our  most  dijB&cult  work 
commences.  We  now  enter  upon  the  vexed  sea  of 
midtitudinous  interpretations.  In  the  Introduction  will 
be  found  a  brief  account  of  the  principal  schools  of 
apocalyptic  iuterji rotation.  It  will  be  sufficient  here  to 
iiiflicato  the  general  view  which  appears  the  most  simple 
and  freest  from  difficulties.  The  seals  which  are  opened 
by  the  Lamb  seem  to  si)eak  a  double  message.  To  the 
world  they  say,  '•  When  the  Sou  of  Man  conieth,  shall 
He  find  fuith  on  the  earth  ?  "  To  the  Church  they  say, 
"  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation ;  but  be  of  good 
cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world."  There  are  two 
lines  of  thought  in  the  Bible,  and  these  give  rise  to  two 
apparently  contradictory  sets  of  pictures.  There  are 
the  pictures  of  what  would  be  the  state  of  the  world 
were  the  principles  of  Christ  fully  and  universally 
accepted ;  and  there  are  the  pictures  of  the  world  as  it 
will  be  because  men  do  not  fidly  accept  them.  The 
first  set  are  the  ideal,  and  include  the  abolition  of  war, 
social  injustice,  poverty,  when  the  golden  age  and 
reign  of  righteousness  shall  daAvn.  When;  however, 
we  speak  of  tliis  as  ideal,  we  do  not  imply  that  it 
is  \nsionary;  it  is  the  sober  statement  of  what 
would  actually  take  place  were  the  rule  of  Christ 
admitted  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  and  what 
will  take  place  whenever  they  do  so.  But  between 
this  grand  possibility  and  its  realisation  stands  the 
wayward,  and  tortuous,  and  weakened  human  will, 
whicli  either  rejects  or  fatally  but  half  adopts  the 
teachings  of  God.  This  will  of  man,  seen  in  a  world 
which  is  directly  hostile  to  Christ,  and  in  a  Church 


558 


which  is  but  half  faithful  to  him,  must  be  convinced 
ere  the  true  ideal  of  Christ  shall  be  attained,  and  the 
fulness  of  His  kingdom  made  manifest.  Thus  the 
ideal  pictures  are  iJostpoued,  and  the  world,  which 
might  have  been  saved  by  love  speaking  in  gentleness, 
must  be  saved  by  love  speaking  so  as  by  tire.  Now 
in  the  earlier  Christian  times  the  hope  of  an  ideal 
kingdom,  soon  to  be  reaUsed  in  the  immediate  estab- 
lishment of  Christ's  kingdom,  was  very  strong.  The 
first  disciples  yearned  to  see  it  immediately  set  up. 
"  Wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kiiigdom  '^ " 
The  golden  light  of  hope  lingered  long  in  their 
minds;  they  lived  in  the  memory  of  those  prophecies 
which  foretold  the  cessation  of  war,  sorrow,  pain, 
and  death.  They  thought,  now  that  Christ  had 
come,  the  Messianic  kingdom  in  its  utter  gladness 
must  immediately  appear.  They  forgot  the  Pi-iuce's 
visit  to  the  far  couutiy ;  they  forgot  the  citizens 
who  hated  Him,  and  rejected  His  rule;  they  forgot 
the  session  at  God's  right  hand  till  His  enemies 
were  made  His  footstool.  They  thought  the  day  of 
the  Lord,  in  the  sense  of  the  perfecting  of  His  reign, 
was  at  hand;  they  forgot  that  the  Heavenly  Bride- 
gi-oom  must  gird  His  sword  upon  His  thigh,  and  that 
His  arrows  must  be  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  King's 
enemies  (Ps.  xlv.  3,  5).  The  vision  of  these  seven 
seals  is  the  repetition  of  the  warning  against  such 
forgetfulness.  The  ideal  Kingdom  might  come  if  man- 
kind woidd  receive  it,  but  it  must  be  established  by  con- 
viction, not  by  coercion;  and  so  the  actual  history  of 
the  growth  of  the  Kingdom  would  be  different  from 
the  ideal ;  the  Church,  like  her  Master,  must  be  made 
perfect  thi'ough  sufferings  ;  where  He  was.  His  servant 
must  be  ;  through  much  tribidation  the  Kingdom  must 
be  entered.  The  seals  imfold,  then,  the  general  aspects 
of  the  world's  history  after  Christ's  ascension.  Certain 
features  woidd  continue;  war,  famine,  disease,  death 
would  remain.  They  might,  indeed,  have  been  abolished 
had  Christ's  own  received  Him ;  but  as  it  was,  the  fact 
of  the  world's  will  being  in  opposition  to  God's  will 
opposed  the  manifestation  of  the  peaceful  Kingdom. 
Thus  the  scenes  which  the  seals  unfold  are  but  the 
pictorial  statement  of  Christ's  o^vn  utterances  in  Matt, 
xxiv.  6,  7,  "  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars ;  there  shall  be 
famines  and  pestilences."  It  will  be  seen,  then,  that 
the  seals  tell  the  seer  that  these  troubles  will  exist 
till  the  times  of  the  end.  Tlie  Church  through  him 
is  warned  to  prepare  for  her  mission  of  suffering ;  and 
in  this  way  the  vision  stretches  on  till  the  close  of 
earth's  history. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  visions  of  the  book  may 
have  preliminary  applications,  because  the  principles  on 
which  they  are  constructed  are  eternal  ones.  Our 
Lord's  own  language  in  Matt.  xxiv.  is  our  guarantee  that 
we  may  look  for  such  preliminary  applications.  The 
story  of  the  overthrow  of  many  a  nation  presents  these 
features  of  war,  famine,  misery,  cou\-idsion.  The  fall 
of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Roman  empire, 
was  preceded  by  such.  On  this  principle,  other  inter- 
pretations of  the  vision  have  a  truth  in  them,  as  long 
as  they  are  confined  to  broad,  general  principles; 
the  mischievous  affection  for  tri^aal  details  has  been 
the  bane  of  more  than  one  school  of  interpreters. 


The  Firnt  and  Second 


EEVELATION,   VI. 


Seeds  opened. 


thunder,  one  of  the  four  beasts  saying, 
Come  and  see.  (-^  And  I  saw,  and  behold 
a  white  horse :  and  he  that  sat  on  him 
had  a  bow  ;  and  a  crown  was  given  unto 
him :  and  he  went  forth  conquering, 
and  to  conquer.     (^^  And  when  he  had 


a  Zccb.  1. 8 ;  6. 3. 


opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the 
second  beast  say.  Come  and  q^^  vi  3  4 
see.  ^*^  And  there  went  out  The  second 
another  horse  that  was  red : «  ^^^  opened. 
and  'power  was  given  to  him  that  sat 
thereon  to  take  peace  from  the  earth, 


It  is  perhaps  woi'thy  of  notice  tliat  these  seals  are 
uot  to  be  regarded  as  being  fulfilled  one  after  another  : 
in  point  of  tact,  the  horseman  of  war  and  the  horseman 
of  pestilence  have  often  ridden  together.  Yet  it  is  tnie 
that  there  is  a  tendency  in  one  to  produce  the  other ; 
war  does  lead  to  famine,  famine  does  produce  pesti- 
lence. There  is,  perhaps,  also  an  application  of  these 
seals  to  the  history  of  the  Church.  Her  first  era  is 
that  of  purity  and  conquest ;  her  next  is  that  of  con- 
troversy— the  war  of  opinions ;  the  age  of  controversy 
gives  rise  to  the  age  of  sinritual  scarcity,  for  men 
intent  upon  controversy  forget  the  true  Bread,  which 
came  down  from  heaven,  and  a  famine  of  the  word  of 
God  succeeds ;  and  out  of  this  there  emerges  the  pale 
horse  of  spu-itual  death,  the  parody  of  the  victorious 
rider — the  form  of  godliness  without  the  power,  the 
age  of  irreUgious  rituali'sm  :  the  hidden  ones  of  Christ 
may  then  be  revealed,  crying  "  How  long  ?  "  and  finally 
the  age  of  revolution  comes  to  overthrow  the  old  order 
and  give  birth  to  the  new. 

(1)  And  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  (the  diminutive 
form  of  Lamb  is  still  used)  .  .  . — The  words  "  and 
see  "  are  doubtful.  They  are  found  in  some  MSS.  and 
omitted  in  others :  the  authority  for  their  omission  and 
for  their  retention  is  about  equally  divided.  Under 
these  circumstances  we  may  fairly  be  guided  by  the 
context.  To  whom  is  the  summons  addressed  ?  Who 
is  bidden  to  come?  If  it  was  taken  to  be  addressed  to 
the  seer,  we  can  understand  why  some  copyist  should 
add  the  words  "  and  see."  But  are  they  addressed  to 
the  seer  ?  It  seems  difficult  to  see  the  pui-pose  of  such 
a  command.  He  was  near  already.  He  had  seen  the 
Lamb  opening  the  seal.  There  was  no  object  in  his 
drawing  near.  Are  the  words,  then,  addressed,  as 
Alford  supiioscs,  to  Christ  ?  It  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  the  living  creatiu*e  would  thus  cry  to  the  Lamb, 
who  was  opening  the  scroll.  The  simplest  way  of 
answering  the  question  is  to  ask  another :  Who  did 
come  in  obedience  to  the  voice?  There  is  but  one 
answer — the  horseman.  The  li\nng  beings  cry  "  Come," 
and  their  cry  is  responded  to  by  the  appearance  of  the 
several  riders.  What  is  the  spiritual  meaning  of  this  ? 
The  living  beings  represent,  as  wo  have  seen,  animated 
nature — that  nature  and  creation  of  God  which  groans 
and  travails  in  pain,  waiting  for  the  manifestation  of 
the  sons  of  God.  These  summon  the  emblems  of  war 
and  pestilence  to  come  on  the  scene,  for  these  things 
must  needs  be,  and  through  these  lies  the  way  for 
the  final  coming  of  God's  Christ,  for  whom  creation 
longs.  They  bid  the  pains  and  troubles  come,  because 
they  recognise  them  as  the  precursors  of  creation's  true 
King.  Thus  their  voice  has  in  it  an  undertone  which 
sighs  for  the  advent  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  who  is  to 
come. 

(2)  Conquering,  and  to  conquer.— Better,  con- 
(jueriiu/,  and  that  he  mi(jht  cunqw:r.  One  version  has, 
"and  he  conquered."  All  commentators  seem  to  be 
agreed  that  this  rider  represents  >-ictory.  Tlie  emblems 
— the  crown  and  white  horse — are  ob\-iously  those  of 
victory.    The  crown  (ste^thanos)  is  the  crown  of  triumph. 


o59 


The  horses  used  in  Roman  triumphs  were  white.  On 
the  white  horse  of  triumph  the  crowned  rider  goes 
forth  conquering,  and  that  he  might  conquer.  But 
who  or  what  is  here  represented  ?  Some  take  it  to  be 
a  mere  emblem  of  conquest,  or  victory,  as  the  next 
rider  represents  war.  There  is  then  a  harmony  of 
intei-pretation :  the  horsemen  reveal  to  the  seer  that 
the  after-historj'  will  be  marked  by  conquests,  wars, 
famines,  pestilences.  The  description,  however,  seems 
to  demand  something  more:  the  expression,  "that  he 
might  conquer,"  can-ies  our  thoughts  beyond  a  mere 
transient  conqueror.  The  vision,  moreover,  was  surely 
designed  to  convey  an  assured  happy  feeling  to  the 
mind  of  the  seer.  No  picture  of  mere  Roman  con- 
quests or  world-victory  would  have  conveyed  this.  Is 
uot  the  vision  the  reflex  of  the  hoj)es  of  early  Christian 
thought  ?  It  is  the  symbol  of  Christian  victoiy.  It 
was  thus  their  hopes  saw  Christ :  though  ascended  He 
went  forth  in  spiritual  power  conqueiiug.  They  were 
right  in  their  faith,  aud  wi'ong  in  their  expectation. 
Right  in  their  faith  :  He  went  forth  conquering,  and 
He  would  conquer.  Wrong  in  their  expectation :  the 
visions  of  war,  famine,  death  must  intervene.  It  was 
through  these  that  the  conqueror  would  be  proved 
more  than  conqueror.  It  is,  perhaps,  significant  of  this 
intei-veuing  period  of  trouble  and  suffering  that  the 
rider  is  armed  with  a  bow.  The  arrows  of  His  judg- 
ments {war,  famine)  would  be  sharp  among  those  who 
refused  the  sword  of  His  word.  For  those  who  will  uot 
tui-n  He  hath  bent  His  bow  and  made  it  ready.  His 
arrows  are  ordained  against  the  persecutors. 

(3,  i)  And  when  he  had  opened  .  .  .—Better, 
And  rvhen  he  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the 
second  living  being,  saying.  Come.  And  there  came 
forth  another  horse,  red;  and  to  him  that  sat  on 
him  urns  given  to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and 
that  they  (i.e.,  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth)  shall 
kill  one  another,  and  there  icas  given  to  him  a  great 
sword.  This  seal  is  the  distinct  and  unmistakable 
declaration  to  the  Church  that  they  must  look  for 
wai-s,  even  after  the  Prince  of  Peace  has  come.  The 
advent  of  the  highest  good  does  not  work  peace,  but 
only  because  the  hindrance  is  in  man.  Man's  resistance 
to  good  turns  the  gospel  of  peace  into  an  occasion  for 
the  sword.  So  our  Lord  declares,  "  I  came  not  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword."  Tlie  reign  of  peace,  the  beating 
of  swords  into  ploughshares,  is  not  yet.  The  vision  may 
help  to  fix  the  Christian  position  about  war.  It  is  to  be 
expected;  it  is  an  e\'il, but  often  an  iue^^table  evil. 
Those  who  take  part  in  war  are  not  condemned  :  those 
who  occa.sion  ofFouces  are.  It  is  as  much  a  mistake  to 
condemn  soldiering  as  a  profession  as  it  is  to  deny  that 
Christianity  aims  at  the  suppression  of  war.  She 
admits  tlie  soldier  to  bo  a  soldier  of  Christ,  even  while 
.she  keeps  before  her  the  ideal  age  when  nations  shall 
learn  war  no  more.  We  expect  wars,  even  while  we 
believe  that  the  day  will  come  when  war  will  be 
reckoned  as  absurd  as  duelling  is  now.  The  vision  says, 
"It  must  needs  be  that  wars  will  come;"  and  war, 
even  when  roused  by  the  passions  of  men.  is  a  judg- 
ment of  God,  for  G^'s  judgments  are  mostly  form^ 


The  Third  and  Fourth 


REVELATION,  VI. 


Seeds  opened. 


and  that  they  should  kill  one  another : 
and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great 
sword.  (^)  And  when  he  had  ojjened 
Chap  vi  5  6  ^^^^  tliird  Seal,  I  heard  the 
The  third  scai  third  beast  say,  Come  and 
opened.  g^.^^      ^^^    j  beheld,  and 

lo  a  black  horse ;  and  he  that  sat  on 
him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 
(®>  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of 
the  four  beasts    say,   A    measure  ^   of 


1  The  word  c/HEniz 
sIgnlBi'th  a  mea- 
sv;re  rontniuini.' 
one  Willi'  iiuart, 
and  till'  twelftli 
leiiT  of  a  (luart. 

a  (ii'ii.  41.49;  Li-v. 
■X.  26;  Ezek.  i. 
10,  16. 


wheat  for  a  penny,"  and  three  measures  ^oi.tohtm. 


of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and  see  thou  hurt 
not  the  oil  and  the  wine.  <^^  And  when 
he  had  opened  the  fourth  ^j^  vi  7  8 
seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  The  fourth  seal 
the  fourth  beast  say,  Come  opened, 
and  see.  (^>  And  I  looked,  and  behold 
a  pale  horse :  and  his  name  that  sat  on 
him  was  Death,  and  Hell  followed  with 
him.  And  power  was  given  unto  them- 
over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill 
with  sword,  and  with  hunger,  and  with 


out  of  man's  vices.  The  seal  puts  in  pictorial  form  the 
warniug'  of  Christ  that  wars  and  rumours  of  wars 
would  Tx!  heard  of.  How  true  the  waruiuo^  the  after 
history  shows — wars  in  the  empire,  wars  among  nations, 
controversies,  and  often  fratricidal  wars  in  the  Chuix-h 
of  Christ. 

(5,  6)  When  He  had  opened.— Better,  Wlien  he 
opened.  The  words  "  and  see  "  are  to  be  omitted  here, 
as  in  the  other  seals.  Ami  I  saio,  and  behold  a 
horse,  black,  and  he  that  sat  on  him  having  a 
balance  in  his  haiul.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  a  voice 
in  the  midst  of  tlie  four  living  beings,  saying,  A 
chcenix  of  wheat  for  a  demirius  (penny),  aiid  three 
chcenixes  of  barley  for  a  denarius  (penny),  and  the 
oil  ami  the  xvine  do  thou  not  hurt.  "Balance:"  There 
is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  a  balance,  or  pair  of  scales,  is 
intended  (the  Greek  word  also  means  a  yoke) ;  but  the 
whole  imagery  of  the  seal  harmonises  mth  the  balance, 
and  the  passage  from  Ezekiel  (Ezek.  xlv.  10),  cited  by 
Alford,  in  which  there  is  a  "  righteous  balance "  (the 
LXX.  using  the  same  Greek  word  as  here)  seems  con- 
clusive. It  is  the  emblem  of  scarcity:  food  is  not 
weighed  out  thus  in  times  of  abundance.  (Comp.  Ezek. 
iv.  l(j,  "  Behold  I  will  break  the  staff  of  bread  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  they  sliall  eat  brejid  by  weight  and  with  care.") 
Tlie  cliQinix  ("  measure "  in  English  version)  was  the 
amoimt  of  food  sufficient  to  support  a  man  for  a  day. 
"A  chcenix  is  the  daily  maintenance"  (Suidas,  quoted 
by  Alford).  The  denarius  ("penny"  of  English  version, 
here  and  in  Matt,  xviii.  28,  and  Mark  xii.  37)  amounted 
to  between  sixpence  and  sevenpence  of  our  money,  and 
was  the  usual  daily  pay  of  the  labourer,  and  of  the 
soldier.  (See  especially  Note  on  Matt.  xx.  2.)  It  is 
difficidt  to  speak  of  this  as  other  than  terril)ly  high  prices 
for  food.  The  whole  of  a  man's  pay  goes  for  food,  and 
even  the  coarser  bread  is  so  expensive  that  it  takes  a 
whole  day's  wages  to  supply  food  for  three  adults.  It  has 
been  thought  that  the  voice  calls  to  the  rider  to  check  his 
devastations,  lest  the  growing  famine  should  extermi- 
nate the  whole  human  race.  Tliis  may  be,  but  the  check 
is  at  a  point  which  has  already  wrought  the  highest 
miser)'.  The  extent  of  the  misery  may  be  imagined  by 
imagining  what  wretchedness  would  be  entailed  were  a 
man  obliged  to  pay  three  or  four  shillings  for  bread 
sufficient  to  keep  him  nourished  for  a  day.  Or  we  may 
measure  it  by  the  estimate  of  the  disciples  (Mark  vi.  37) 
that  two  hundred  pennyworth  of  bread  woidd  give  a 
shori  ineal  to  upwards  of  five  thousand  people.  At  the 
price  in  this  seal,  the  cost  of  bread  would  have  so  risen 
that  the  two  hundred  pennpvorth  of  bread  would  not 
suffice  to  feed  one  thousand.  But  what  is  meant  by 
the  words,  "  the  oil  and  wine  do  not  thou  hurt  "?  They 
were  not,  like  the  bread,  necessarj-  to  life,  but  among 
its  luxuries  and  superfluities.  There  is  a  kind  of 
irony  in  times  of  straitness,  when  the  necessaries  are 


scarcely  to  be  had,  and  the  luxuries  remain  compara- 
tively low  in  price.  The  splendours  and  comforts  of 
life  are  held  cheap,  when  hunger  is  showing  that  the 
life  is  more  than  the  dainty  meat,  and  the  body  than 
raiment.  The  seal  then  tells  the  seer  that  in  the  ages 
the  Church  of  Christ  must  expect  to  see  famines  and 
distress  in  the  world,  and  luxuries  abounding  in  the 
midst  of  straitness.  Is  it  not  true  that  the  contrast, 
which  is  so  ugly,  between  pampered  opulence  and  in- 
dolent pauperism,  is  the  result  of  the  prevalence  of 
world-principles. °  Wealth,  self-indiilgent  and  heartless, 
and  poverty,  reckless  and  self-willed,  are  sure  tokens 
that  the  golden  rule  of  Christ  is  not  understood  and 
obeyed.  There  is  a  similar  experience  in  the  history 
of  the  Church.  The  red  horse  of  controversy  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  black  horse  of  spiritual  starvation.  In 
the  heat  of  polemical  pride  and  passion  for  theological 
conquest  is  developed  that  love  of  barren  dogmatics 
which  forgets  the  milk  of  the  word  and  the  bread  of 
life,  which  are  the  needed  food  of  souls. 

(7,  8)  The  fourth  seal. — Ami  ivhen  He  opened  the 
fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  fourth  living  being, 
saying,  Come.  Aiid  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  horse,  pallid 
(or,  livid),  and  he  that  sat  %ipon  him  his  name  was 
Death,  and  Hades  ivas  following  ivith  him ;  and  there 
ivas  given  to  them  power  over  the  foxirth  part  of  the 
earth  to  kill  with  sword,  and  with  famine,  and  with 
death,  and  by  the  wild  beasts  of  tlie  earth.  The  colour 
pallid,  or  livid,  is  that  deadly  greenish  hue,  which  is  tlie 
uumistakable  token  of  the  approach  of  death.  The 
rider  is  Death — not  a  particular  fonn  of  death,  but 
Death  himself.  Attending  him,  ready  to  gather  up  the 
slain,  is  Hades.  The  fourth  seal  is  the  darkest  and 
most  teiTible.  Single  forms  of  death  (war  and  famine) 
were  revealed  in  the  earlier  seals ;  now  the  great  Khig  of 
TeiTors  himself  ai)pears,  and  in  his  hand  are  gathered 
all  forms  of  deatli — war,  famine,  pestilence  (for  tlio 
second  time  the  word  "  death "  is  used :  it  must  bo 
taken  in  a  subordinate  sense,  as  a  particular  form 
of  death,  such  as  plague,  or  pestilence  ;  wo  may 
compare  the  use  of  the  word  "  death  "  thus  applied  to 
some  special  di.seaso,  in  the  case  of  The  Death,  or  Black 
Death),  and  Avild  beasts.  These  forms  of  death  corre- 
spond with  God's  four  sore  judgments — the  sword,  and 
famine,  and  pestilence,  and  the  noisome  beasts  of 
Ezek.  xiv.  21.  The  seal,  therefore,  gathers  ixp  into  one 
all  the  awfulness  of  the  past  seals.  It  is  the  central 
seal,  and  it  is  the  darkest.  It  is  the  midnight  of 
sorrows,  where  all  seems  given  up  to  the  sovereignty  of 
death.  The  middle  things  of  life  are  often  dark. 
Midway  between  the  wicket -gate  and  golden  city 
Bunyan  placed  his  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
following  the  hint  of  the  Psalmist,  who  placed  it  mid- 
way between  the  i^asture  and  the  house  of  the  Lord 
(Ps.  xxiii.).      Dante,  perhaps  working  from  the  same 


560 


The  Opening  of 


EEVELATION,   YI. 


the  Fifth  Stal. 


death,  and  with  the  beasts  of  the  earth. 
(^^  Aiid  when  he  had  opened  the  fifth 

Chap  vi  9—11  ^^^^'  -'■  ^^"^^  under  the  altar 
The  fifth  seal  the  souls  of  them  tliat 
opened.  were  slain  for  the  word  of 

God,  and  for  the  testimony  which  they 
held : "  (^*^)  and  they  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  saying,  How  long,  O  Lord,  holy 


a  Gen.  i.  10;  Phil. 
3.  10  :  Col.  1.  24  ; 
1  Pet.  4.  13. 


and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth?  (^^^  And  white  robes  w^ere 
given  unto  every  one  of  them  ;  and  it 
was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their 
fellowservants  also  and  their  brethren, 
that    should    be   killed   as    they   were, 


hint,  foiiud  lii.s  obscure  wood  aud  wanderings  midway 
along  the  road  of  life  : — 

"  In  the  midway  of  f  liis  our  mortal  life 
I  fomid  me  in  a  gloomy  wood,  astray." 

The  darkest  periods  of  the  Church's  history  were  those 
we  call  the  Middle  Ages.  By  this,  however,  it  is  not 
meant  that  there  is  any  chronological  signification  in  the 
seal.  The  vision  deepens  in  its  central  scene,  like  the 
horror  of  darkness  in  the  dream  of  Abraham.  The 
history  of  the  Church  has  not  unfrequently  presented 
a  sort  of  parallel.  The  age  which  follows  the  ages  of 
barren  dogmatism  and  of  spiritual  starAatiou  is  often 
an  age  of  sham  spiritiial  life.  The  pale  horse  of  death 
is  the  parody  of  the  white  horse  of  victory :  the  form 
of  godliness  remains,  the  power  is  gone. 

(9-11)  The  fifth  seal  differs  from  the  four  earlier 
seals.  It  is  not  introduced  by  the  voice  of  the  living 
beings,  and  the  cry  "  Come."  The  voice  which  is  now 
heard  is  not  the  cry  of  the  groaning  world,  but  of  the 
oppressed  and  troubled  Church.  In  the  fourth  seal  the 
climax  of  world-sorrow  seemed  to  be  reached  in  the 
accumulation  of  war,  famine,  pestilence,  and  noisome 
beasts.  It  declared  to  the  evangelist  that  there  were 
evils  which  would  continue  and  even  increase  in  the 
world.  "  Te  shall  hear  of  wars  ;  nation  shall  rise  against 
nation."  Social  troubles,  war,  poverty,  and  privation 
would  still  exist ;  religious  troubles,  evil  men  and 
seducers  would  wax  worse  and  worse.  Worldly  policy, 
selfishness,  and  the  untamed  passions  of  mankind 
would  still  trouble  humanity.  Then  if  such  troubles 
and  disorders  remain,  what  has  the  Church  been 
doing  ?  "Where  is  the  promise  of  that  early  vision  of 
victory  ?  The  answer  is  given  in  the  fifth  seal.  The 
Church  has  been  following  her  Lord.  As  the  vision 
of  Bethlehem  and  the  angel-song  of  "  peace  on  earth  " 
passed,  and  made  way  for  the  agony  of  Gethsemane.  the 
cross  of  Calvary,  and  the  cry  "  My  God,  why  hast  Thou 
forsaken  Me  ?  "  so  the  glowing  dream  of  a  quick  con- 
quest over  all  e\'il  passes  away,  and  the  picture  of  an 
agonising,  persecuted  Church  takes  its  place,  and  the 
voice  of  its  anguish  is  heard,  "  How  long.  O  Lord  ! " 
The  Church  has  her  Bethlehem,  her  Nazareth,  her 
Gethsemane,  her  Calvary,  her  Easter  mom ;  for  Christ 
said,  "  Where  I  am  there  shall  also  My  servant  be  " 
(John  xii.  26).  The  seals,  then,  are  not  merely  visions 
of  war,  famine,  &c.,  they  are  the  tokens  that  the  victory 
of  Christ's  Cliurch  must,  like  her  Lord's,  be  a  victory 
through  apparent  failure  and  certain  death.  The  four 
seals  proclaim  lier  apparent  failure ;  she  has  not  brought 
peace  and  social  and  political  harmony  to  the  world. 
The  fifth  seal  shows  her  suffering,  the  witness  of  the 
servants  of  Christ  has  been  rejected ;  in  the  world  they 
have  tribulation  (John  xvi.  33). 

(^)  I  saw  under  the  altar  .  .  .—Road,  when  He 
opened,  and,  instead  of  "  were  slain,''  Ac,  had  been 
slain  because  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  (because  of)  the 
testimony  which  they  held.  The  seal  indicates  that  tlie 
mission  of  the  Christian  Church  can  only  be  carried 
out  in  suffering.  An  altar  is  seen,  aud  at  its  foot  ' 
102  56 


tokens  of  the  martyrs  who  had  laid  down  their  lives 
upon  it.  The  word  "  souls  "  is  to  be  taken  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  "lives'';  the  \nsion  tells  that  their  lives  had  been 
sacrificed.  The  blood  of  the  victims  was  in  the  temple 
service  poured  out  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  St.  Paul 
makes  use  of  the  same  imagery — "  I  am  now  ready  to  be 
poured  out"  ("offered"  in  English  version).  In  union 
with  Christ  Christians  are  called  upon  to  suffer  with 
Him,  even  to  carry  on  to  its  great  end  the  work  of  Christ 
in  tlie  world,  and  so  fill  up  that  which  is  lacking  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  (Col.  i.  2-i).  The  word  "soids"  has 
been  made  a  resting-place  for  an  argument  respecting 
the  intermediate  state.  There  is  no  ground  for  this :  it 
is  quite  beside  the  oljject  of  the  seal,  which  .simply 
exhibits  the  sufferings  of  Christ's  people  as  the  neces- 
sary accompaniment  of  the  progress  of  the  gospel, 
lliese  sufferings  are  because  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
the  testimony  which  they  held.  It  was  because  of  the 
Word  of  God  and  the  testimony  that  the  sacred  seer 
himself  suffered  (chap.  i.  91.  The  words  here  remind  us 
that  the  same  issue  which  St.  John  fought,  the  suffering 
ones  of  after  ages  would  be  fighting.  Their  witness  and 
his  was  the  God-man;  to  this  testimony  they  clung. 
They  wei-e  not  ashamed  of  Christ,  or  of  His  word.s, 
and  they  suft'ered  for  their  courage  and  fidelity. 

(1^)  How  long  .  .  .?—BeiieY.TJntil  when,  0  Master 
(the  word  is  the  correlative  of  "  servant,''  see  verse  10 1  the 
Holy  and  True,  dost  Thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood 
from  (on)  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth  ?  By  a  dramatic 
figure  the  persecuted  and  slain  ones  are  represented  as 
crying  for  retribution  on  their  oppressors.  It  is  not 
the  Christians  themselves  (Luke  xxiii.  34 ;  and  Acts 
vii.  60)  who  cry  for  vengeance,  any  more  than  it  was 
Abel  himself  who  cried  from  the  ground  to  God :  it 
was  the  blood  of  Abel  (Gen.  iv.  10),  the  earth  dis- 
closed her  blood,  and  refused  to  cover  her  slain.  The 
forgotten  or  ignored  wrongs  of  generations  come  forth 
from  oblivion  and  crj-  for  vengeance.  It  is  a  poetical 
description,  but  it  is  not  fiction.  The  righteous  blood 
shed  does  fall  upon  the  world  in  retribution  :  tlie  lav.s 
of  God  avenge  themselves,  though  the  ^^ctims  do  not 
live  to  behold  the  reward  of  the  ungodly.  On  the 
epithets  Holy  and  True,  see  Notes  on  chap.  iii.  7. 

(U)  And  white  robes  were  given  .  .  . — The 
victims,  however,  are  not  forgotten.  There  was  given 
to  them  {each)  a  white  robe.  The  white  robes,  the 
glistening  apparel  of  the  saints  (comp.  chap.  iii.  4.  5). 
sliall  bo  theirs;  each  shall  receive  it.  They  are  robes  of 
rigliteousness  (chap.  xix.  8) ;  they  are  robes  of  honour 
(cliap.  iv.  4\  for  those  who  wear  them  are  like  God, 
seeing  Him  as  He  is.  reflecting  His  image;  they  are 
acknowledged  to  be  His,  as  they  have  acknowledged 
Him  to  bo  their  God.  Persecuted  on  earth,  they  are 
honoured  in  heaven.  Tliere  is  also  a  sense  in  wliich 
a  white  robe  is  given  to  them  in  the  eyes  of  men  : 
those  whose  names  have  been  cast  out  as  evil  have 
l)een  honoured  by  a  repentant  posterity  with  the  robe 
of  tardy  praise;  after-generations  garnish  the  sepul- 
chres of  the  righteous  whom  their  fathers  slew.  Tho 
I 


Tlie  Opening  of 


EEVELATION,  VI. 


tJie  Sixth  Seal. 


should  be  fulfilled.  (i2)  And  I  beheld 
Chap  vi  12—  "^^lien  he  had  opened  the 
17.  The' sixth  sixth  seal,  and,  lo,  there 
seal  opened.  ^^^  r^  great  earthquake; 
and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth 
of  hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood ; 
(1^)  and  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the 


1  Or,  green  figf 


earth,  even  as  a  fig  tree  casteth  her  un- 
timely figs,^  when  she  is  shaken  of  a 
mighty  wind.  ^^^^  And  the  heaven 
departed  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled 
together;"  and  every  mountain  and 
island  were  moved  out  of  their  places. 
(15)  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the 


excommuiiicatod  in  ono  age  are  often  the  canonised 
of  the  next,  for  the  dull  world  learns  slowly,  and  its 
purest  honours  are  posthumous.  But  however  this 
may  bo,  for  the  suffering  saints  there  is  the  heavenly 
robe  and  the  heavenly  rest. 

It  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow- 
servants  also  and  their  brethren,  that  should 
be  killed  (better,  ivho  are  to  be  slain)  as  they  were, 
should  be  fulfilled  (or,  shall  have  fnlJlUed  their 
course). — They  are  to  "  rest."  This  does  not  mean  that 
they  are  to  cease  their  cry  for  vengeance,  for  the 
saints  have  never  cried  for  this ;  but  they  are  to  rest, 
as  the  souls  of  the  faithful  after  they  are  delivered 
from  the  burden  of  the  tlesh,  in  joy  and  felicity.  But 
this  rest  is  yet  a  waiting  for  a  little  while  till  fellow- 
servants  and  fellow-suffei'ers  have  achieved  their  work 
also.  To  every  disciple  a  work  is  given  in  service  and 
suffering,  and  till  these  have  borne  their  witness  and 
fulfilled  tlieir  course  (comp.  2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8,  and  Acts 
xiii.  25)  the  departed  must  wait  for  their  perfect  con- 
summation anil  bliss  both  in  body  and  soul. 

(12-17)  The  sixth  seal.— The  seals  follow  the 
lines  laid  down  by  our  Lord  in  Matt.  xxiv.  There  He 
tells  His  disciples  that  wars  (verse  ti),  famines  and  pes- 
tilences (verse  7),  and  pm-secutions  (verse  9)  are  to  be 
expected ;  these  are  necessary  features  in  the  liistory  of 
the  world.  But  these  features  are  described  by  our 
Master  as  preliminaiy  to  His  Coming  aiid  the  end  of  the 
world  (Matt.  xxiv.  3 ),  and  that  when  these  had  wrought 
tlieir  work  then  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  would 
take  place  (verses  29 — 31).  With  this  guide,  it  is  im- 
possible for  ns  to  deny  that  the  opening  of  this  sixth 
seal  has  reference  to  the  Coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and 
finds  its  final  and  \iltimate  fulfilment  in  the  day  when  He 
will  come  to  gather  His  elect  from  the  four  winds.  But 
it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  our  Lord  wished  us  to  re- 
gard certain  great  culminating  epochs  as  in  a  secondary 
sense  His  advents.  The  eagles  which  swept  do^vn 
upon  the  carcase  of  any  corrupt  nationality  were  proofs 
of  His  reign  and  true  shadows  of  His  coming.  TIio 
features  indicated  in  the  seals  have  a  sequence  which 
has  been  reproduced  in  the  history  of  nations  and 
churches.  The  promise  of  good  ;  the  breaking  forth 
of  the  spirit  of  violence ;  tlie  time  of  social  misery, 
want,  disease  ;  the  oppression  of  the  good  ;  revolution — 
these  have  repeated  themselves  in  Jewish,  Roman, 
French,  and  other  histories ;  and  the  prophecy  is  not 
exhausted  yet. 

(12-U)  And  I  beheld  .  .  .—Bettor.  And  I  sa^o 
when  He  opened  the  sixth  seal, and  ^omit  "lo!")  a  great 
shahing  took  place,  and  the  sun  became  black  as  sack- 
cloth of  hair,  and  the  moon  all  became  as  blood,  and 
the  stars  of  the  heaven  fell  to  the  earth,  as  a  fig-tree  casts 
its  winter  figs  ivhen  shaken  by  a  great  wind,  and  the 
heaven  departed  like  a  scroll  being  rolled  np,  and  every 
mountain  and  island  were  moved  out  of  their  places. 
It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  parallel  imagery  of  the 
Old  Testament.  The  shaking  ("  earthquake  "  is  hardly 
an  adequate  rendering,  as  the  shaking  extends  to  heaven 


as  well  as  earth)  was  spoken  of  by  Haggai :  "  Yet  once 
for  all"  (not  "once  more,"  as  in  the  English  version) 
"  shake  I  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  the  heavens.  And 
this  word  '  Once  for  all '  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken  "  (Hag.  ii.  6,  and  Hob.  xii.  26, 27). 
Sun  black  as  sackcloth  :  Joel  has  a  similar  thought 
— "  the  sun  shall  be  turned  into  dai'kness  "  (Joel  ii.  30, 
31);  and  Isaiah,  "  I  clothe  the  heavens  with  blackness, 
and  I  make  sackcloth  their  covering"  (Isa.  ].  3).  The 
moon  as  blood  is  repeated  from  Joel  ii.  30,  31.  The 
falling  of  the  stars  of  heaven  has  its  parallel  in  Isa. 
xxxiv.  3,  4,  "  All  the  host  of  heaven  shall  be  dis- 
solved." As  a  fig-tree  is  an  echo  of  Isa.  xxxiv.  4.  It 
will  be  seen  by  these  passages  how  closely  the  writer  of 
the  Apocalypse  has  kept  to  Old  Testament  imagery ;  and 
that  events,  such  as  great  calamities,  changes,  and  revo- 
lutions in  the  world's  history,  are  desci'ibed  by  emblems 
similar  to  those  used  here.  St.  Peter,  for  example, 
illustrates  the  great  spiritual  revolution  of  the  Day  of 
Pentecost  by  the  passage  from  Joel,  "  The  sun  turned 
into  darkness  and  the  moon  into  blood."  Hence  it 
seems  right  to  regard  the  language  here  as  figurative, 
and  to  bear  in  mind  that,  though  its  fullest  application, 
belongs  to  the  final  advent,  there  may  be  many  antici- 
patoi'y  advents.  The  judgment  is  often  rehearsed  before 
the  day  of  judgment ;  the  ages  of  oppression  end  in 
a  day  of  catastrophe  and  confusion  in  which  the  right- 
eous laws  of  a  righteous  King  avenge  themselves  on 
the  law  breakers  ;  the  old  lights  and  landmarks  are  for 
a  time  obliterated,  and  feeble,  but  pretentious,  religionists 
are  swept  off  as  autumn  figs  from  the  fig-tree,  and  the 
proud  and  mighty  are  dismayed ;  thino^s  come  to  a  crisis, 
and  men  "  are  proven  by  the  hour"  of  that  judgment; 
the  unripe  or  untimely  fruit  dx'ops  off,  as  those  who 
have  no  root  in  themselves  fall  away,  and  as  the  feebly- 
founded  house  fell  in  the  tempest  (Matt.  vii.  26,  27). 
If  this  be  so  in  the  minor  and  preliminary  crisis  of  the 
world,  how  much  moi'e  so  in  the  final  crisis,  which  wll 
try  all  ?  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed 
lest  ho  fall."  The  tintimcly  figs,  or  unripe  figs,  are  the 
grossos,  or  winter  figs,  which  grow  under  the  leaves, 
and  do  not  ripen  at  the  proper  season,  but  hang  upon 
the  tre(>s  till  the  winter.  They  are  a  fit  emblem  of  those 
who  have  not  used  the  opportunity  and  season  to  ripen 
for  God.  Like  the  uuAvise  virgins,  they  have  not  re- 
plenished their  lamps  with  oil ;  or,  to  use  the  unique 
expression  of  St.  Luke,  they  bring  no  fruit  to  perfec- 
tion (Luko  viii.  14).  Tho  crisis  thus  puts  the  feeble, 
timid,  and  negligent  to  the  test,  and  also  proves  the 
vanity  of  those  who  make  any  world-power  their  con- 
fidence. As  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  which  Isaiah  spoke 
was  upon  every  one  that  was  proud  and  lifted  up,  upon 
the  cedars  and  oaks,  upon  the  towers  and  fenced  walls, 
upon  the  loftiness  and  haughtiness  of  men,  so  does  the 
Ai)ocalyptic  seer  l)('liold  the  dismay  which  falls  upon 
every  form  of  vaingloriuusness,  pretence,  and  pride. 

(15—17)  And  the  kings  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  magnates,  and  the  com- 
manders of  hosts,  and  the  wealthy,  and  the  strong,  and 
every  man,  bond  and  free,  hid  themselves  {going)  into 


362 


I 


Tlie  Day  of  the  Wrath  of  the  Lamb.       REVELATION,    VII. 


Two  Assuring  Visions. 


great  men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the 
chief  captains,  and  the  mig'hty  men, 
and  every  bondman,  and  every  free  man, 
hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains  ;  (^^^  and  said  to 
the  mountains  and  rocks.  Fall  on  us," 
and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that 
sitteth  on   the   throne,    and  from   the 


A.  a  or,, 
a  Luke  :!3.  .m 


wrath  of  the  Lamb :  ^^''^  for  the  great 
day  of  his  wrath  is  come ;  and  who  shall 
be  able  to  stand? 

CHAPTER  VIL—(i)  And  after  these 
things  I  saw  four  an-  chap.vii.i— 17.  The 
gels  standing  on  the  twoassuiingvisions: 
!•  /»     ii       the  vision   or   secu- 

lour     corners    oi     the  nty  (i— S) ; 


tlie  caves  and  into  the  roclcs  of  the  mountains  ;  and  say 
to  the  mountains  and  to  the  rocks,  Fall  on  us,  and  hide 
us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  :  for  the  day,  the  great 
(day)  of  His  icrath  came  (or,  is  come) ;  and  who  is  able  to 
stand  /  In  the  list  of  the  great  ones  here  we  may  notice 
the  descending  order — kings,  magnates  or  statesmen, 
generals,  rich  men,  strong  men,  bond  and  free  men. 
The  terror  strikes  into  every  class  :  monarchs  and  their 
advisers,  the  statesmen  and  diplomatists,  the  com- 
manders of  troops,  the  merchant  princes,  the  men  of 
ability,  as  well  as  the  obscurer  orders  of  society.  Neither 
royalty,  nor  rank,  nor  force  of  arms,  nor  opulence,  nor 
talent,  nor  strength,  either  of  intellect  or  frame,  avail 
in  that  crisis ;  neither  does  insignificance  escape  in  that 
day  when  God  brings  to  light  the  hidden  things.  The 
tests  of  God  are  spiritual,  as  the  weapons  of  God's  war 
are  not  carnal.  Men  who  have  relied  upon  wealth,  rank, 
or  power,  have  prepared  themselves  against  one  form 
of  trial,  but  find  themselves  unarmed  in  the  day  of 
spiritual  testing.  Like  Macbeth,  they  are  unable  to 
fi^ht  -with  the  imexpected  shape  which  haunts  them. 
Tliey  would  rather  meet  the  bodily  foe,  "  v/ho  would  dare 
them  to  the  desert  with  a  sword." 

Tluis  in  the  final  day  of  judgment  the  revealing  of 
the  spiritual  order  of  all  life  will  confound  men  whose 
minds  have  been  blinded  by  their  -entire  absorption  in 
world-splendours-  and  world-powers.  Nor  is  it  merely 
the  unveiling  of  the  forgotten  spiritual  order  which 
will  confound  them.  The  advent  is  of  a  Person.  It  is 
more  than  the  manifestation  of  the  kingdom  of  Him 
who  all  this  while  had  been  King  on  His  throne,  and 
whom  they  had  forgotten — it  is  the  revealing  of  God's 
Son  from  heaven.  It  is  not  without  significance  that  He 
is  described  as  the  Lamb.  In  that  da}'  of  His  wrath, 
it  is  not  as  a  Judge  who  has  laid  aside  the  tokens  of  His 
humiliation  and  suffering :  it  is  as  the  Lamb.  He 
whom  they  now  shrink  from  is  He  who  came  meek  as  a 
lamb,  gentle,  pure,  and  suffering  on  their  behalf.  He 
whom  they  now  behold  with  dismay  is  He  whom  they 
treated  with  nofrlect.  and  whose  love  they  spurned. 

(17)  Who  shall  be  (or,  is)  able  to  stand?— The 
thought  is  derived  from  Mai.  iii.  2,  which  spoke  of  a 
coming  of  the  Lord.  Every  advent  of  Christ  is  the 
advent  of  One  whose  fan  is  in  His  hand,  and  who  will 
thoroughly  purge  His  floor.  Whether  it  be  His  advent  in 
the  flesh.  He  tested  men  ;  or  whether  one  of  His  advents 
in  Providence — such  as  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  over- 
throw of  Pagan  Rome,  the  conAnilsions  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  Revolution  epochs  of  history — He  still  tests 
men  whether  they  are  able  to  abide  in  faith  and  love  the 
day  of  His  coming;  and  much  more,  then,  in  the  closing 
personal  advent,  when  these  visions  will  receive  their 
fullest  illustration,  will  He  try  men.  "Who  is  able  to 
stand  ?  "  It  is  the  question  of  questicms.  Christ's  answer 
is :  "  Apart  from  Me  ye  caii  do  nothing."  "  Let  your  loins 
be  girt  about  and  your  lights  burning,  and  yo  yourselves 
like  to  men  that  wait  for  their  Lord's  coining."  And 
parallel  is  St.  Paul's  advice  :    "  Wherefore  take  unto 


you,  (not  the  weapons  on  which  men  rely,  but )  the  whole 
armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in 
the  evil  day,  and,  having  done  all,  to  stand."  This 
anxiety  that  his  converts  should  be  ready  for  the  day 
of  testing  is  continually  appearing  in  his  Epistles. 
Comp.  the  recurrence  of  "  the  day  of  Christ  "  in  Phil, 
i.  6,  10,  and  the  Apostle's  wish  that  the  Philiiipians 
might  be  sincere  and  without  offence  till  the  day  of 
Christ ;  and  St.  John's  desire  that  Christians  should 
not  "  bo  ashamed  before  Him  at  His  coming,"  and 
"may  have  boldness  in  the  daj-  of  judgment"  (1  Jolm 
ii.  28,  and  iv.  17).  "Who  is  able  to  stand?"  Tlie 
question  is  answered  in  the  next  chapter.  They  shall 
stand  who  are  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  living  God. 

The  sixth  seal  does  not  give  us  a  completed  picture. 
We  see  the  great  and  awe-inspiring  movements  which 
are  heralds  of  the  day  of  wrath.  The  whole  world  is 
stirred  and  startled  at  the  tread  of  the  approaching 
Christ,  and  then  the  vision  melts  away ;  we  see  no 
more,  but  we  have  seen  enough  to  be  sure  that  the  close 
of  the  age  is  at  hand.  Yet  we  are  auxious  to  know 
something  of  those  who  have  been  faithful,  pure,  and 
chivalrous  witnesses  for  truth  and  right,  for  Christ  and 
God.  In  that  day,  that  awful  day,  the  whole  popula- 
tion of  the  world  seems  to  be  smitten  with  dismay ;  the 
trees,  shaken  with  that  terrible  tempest,  seem  to  bo 
shedding  all  their  fruit ;  the  trembling  of  all  created 
things  seems  to  be  about  to  shake  down  every  building. 
Are  all  to  go  ?  Are  none  strong  enough  to  sur^'ive  ? 
We  heard  that  there  were  seven  seals  attached  to  the 
mystic  book  which  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  was 
opening;  but  this  sixth  seal  presents  us  with  the 
picture  of  universal  desolation :  what  is  there  left  for 
the  seventh  seal  to  tell  us  ?  The  answer  to  the^se  ques- 
tions is  given  in  the  seventh  chapter,  which  introduces 
scenes  which  may  either  be  taken  as  dissohing  views, 
presented  in  the  course  of  the  sixth  seal,  or  as  com- 
plementary visions.  And  those  scenes  show  us  in 
pictorial  form  that  the  Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the 
godly  out  of  temptation :  that  in  the  midst  of  the  time 
of  the  shaking  of  all  things,  when  all  might,  majesty, 
strength,  and  genius  of  men  is  laid  low,  and  every 
mere  earth-born  kingdom  is  overtlirown,  there  is  a 
kingdom  which  cannot  be  shaken.  The  germ  of  life 
was  indestructible,  and  ready  to  break  forth  in  fruit 
again :  an  ark.  which  sheltered  all  that  was  good,  moved 
ever  secure  over  the  desolating  floods : — 

"I  looked  :  aside  the  dust -cloud  rolled. 
The  waster  seemed  the  builder  too  ; 
UpsitrinErinir  from  the  ruined  old 
1  saw  tlie  new. 

"  'Twas  but  the  ruin  of  the  bad— 
Tiic  wHstinur  of  the  wronp  and  ill ; 
Whuteer  of  i/ood  the  old  time  had 
Jf'an  Ticing  still." 

YII. 

(i>  And  after  these  things  .  •  .—Better,  And 
after  this  I  sav:  four  angels  standing  at  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth,  holding  fast  the  four  winds  of  the  earth. 


563 


The  Yls'ion 


REVELATION,   VIT. 


of  Security. 


earth,  holding  the  four  winds  of  the  earth, 
that  the  wind  should  not  blow  on  the 
earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on  any  tree. 
(2>  And  I  saw  another  angel  ascending 
from  the  east,  having:  the  seal  of  the 


living  God :  and  he  cried  with  a  loud 
voice  to  the  four  angels,  to  whom  it  was 
given  to  hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea, 
<'^)  saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the 
sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the 


that  there  might  not  blow  a  loind  upon  the  earth,  nor 
upon  the  sea.  nor  ttpon  any  tree.  In  tho  sixtli  seal  the 
winds  had  blown,  and  had  shaken  violently  the  fi^j-treo, 
causing  its  untimely  figs  to  drop  oft' :  tho  untimely  or 
winter  figs  represented  those  whoso  religious  life  was 
unequal  to  the  sti-ain  of  trial,  and  who  failed  in  the 
crisis  to  which  they  were  exposed.  But  is  all  the  fruit 
shaken  off  ?  No ;  Christ  had  said  that  "  if  a  man  abide 
not  in  Me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch ;  "  but  that  those 
who  abode  in  Him,  purged  by  their  trials,  would  bring 
forth  more  fruit,  and  the  fruit  which  these  bore  was  not 
a  fruit  easily  shaken  off,  but  fruit  that  should  remain 
(John  XV.  6,  5,  16).  They  would  not  be  as  winter  figs, 
easily  torn  from  the  boughs,  for  their  strength  was  in 
God :  before  the  stormy  winds  of  manifold  trials  had 
blown  they  had  been  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  living 
God,  This  is  the  scene  which  is  brought  before  us  in 
this  chapter.  In  it  the  care  of  God,  who  restrains  from 
violence  the  winds,  that  they  should  not  shake  too  soon 
the  immature  fruit,  the  tokens  by  which  the  sealed  are 
known  and  the  meaning  of  their  sealing  are  set  forth. 
The  chapter,  in  fact,  answers  the  solemn  question  of  the 
last  chapter:  "  Who  is  able  to  stand .'^"  The  winds  are 
clearly  emblems  of  days  of  trouble  or  judgment;  as 
the  winds  sweep  away  the  chaff  and  clear  the  atmo- 
sphere, so  do  judgments  try  the  ungodly,  who  are  like 
the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth  away :  the  storm  of 
God's  judgments  shakes  the  mountains  and  the  wilder- 
ness, and  strips  the  oaks  of  tlie  forest.  (Coinp.  Ps.xxix.) 
These  winds  of  judgment  are  ready  to  blow  from  all 
quarters  (four  corners  of  the  earth),  but  they  are 
restrained  till  the  servants  of  God  are  sealed.  For 
passages  where  winds  are  used  as  emblems  of  judgment, 
see  especially  Jer.  xlix.  36,  37,  "  Upon  Elam  I  will 
bring  the  four  winds  from  the  four  quarters  of  heaven. 
And  I  will  bring  evil  upon  them,  even  My  fierce  anger, 
saith  the  Lord."  Comp.  also  Dan.  vii.  2,  "  I  saw  in  my 
vision  by  night,  and,  behold,  tho  four  winds  of  tho 
heaven  sti-ovo  upon  tho  great  sea."  But  those  tem- 
pests would  not  arise  or  shake  a  single  loaf  till  tho 
securing  of  God's  servants  was  accomplished. 

(2)  And  I  saw  another  angel  .  .  .—Translate, 
And  I  saw  another  angel  going  up  from,  the  rising  of 
the  Sim,  having  a  seal  of  the  living  God,  and  he  was 
crying  with  a  great  voice  to  the  four  angels  to  ivhom  it 
was  given  to  injure  the  earth  and  the  sea,  saying.  Injure 
ye  not  the  earth,  nor  the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  until  we  have 
sealed  the  servants  of  our  God  upon  their  foreheads.  Tho 
angels  appear  as  carrying  out  tho  purposes  of  God. 
This  angel  rises  into  view  from  the  door  of  tho  dawn. 
In  the  mid.st  of  the  dark  symptoms  of  coming  storm 
and  judgment  there  springs  up  a  light  for  the  right- 
eous and  joj'f  ul  gladness  for  such  as  are  true-hearted  : 
they  need  not  be  afraid  of  evil  tidings  whose  hearts  stand 
fast  believing  in  the  Lord.  This  angol  carries  a  seal  of 
the  living  God.  The  seal  is  the  emblem  of  security. 
The  seal  was  placed  on  our  Lord's  sepulchre  to  keep  tho 
tomb  safe  from  invasion ;  the  king's  seal  was,  in  the 
same  way,  placed  on  the  stone  which  was  laid  at  the 
mouth  of  the  den  in  which  Daniel  was  imprisoned  : 
"the  king  sealed  it  with  his  own  signet  "  (Dan.  vi.  17). 
The  intrusting  of  the  seal  into  the  hands  of  others  wa~s 


the  token  that  royal  authority  had  been  for  the  time 
delegated  to  man.  So  Jezebel  "  wrote  letters  in  Ahab's 
name,  and  sealed  them  with  his  seal"  (1  Kings  xxi.  8). 
Esther  obtained  tho  use  of  the  king's  seal  to  pro- 
tect her  countrymen  from  the  mischief  devised  by 
Haman :  "  for  the  writing  which  is  written  in  the  king's 
name,  and  sealed  with  the  king's  ring,  may  no  man 
reverse"  (Esth.  viii.  8).  There  is  also  a  seal  of  the 
living  God.  St.  Paul  tells  us  that  this  seal  bears  two 
legends.  "  Tho  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having 
this  seal,  '  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his,' 
and,  '  Let  evei'y  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ 
depart  from  iniquity'  "  (2  Tim.  ii.  19).  On  the  one  side, 
it  is  dependence  on  and  communion  with  God ;  on  the 
other  side,  it  is  holiness  of  life.  The  sealed  are  found 
in  Christ,  not  having  their  own  righteousness,  but  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith  (Phil.  iii.  9).  For 
this  is  the  righteousness  which  will  endure  to  the  end, 
and  which  is  found  in  them  who  are  "  sealed  with  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our 
inheritance  "  (Eph.  i.  13,  14).  God's  image  and  super- 
scription is  impressed  on  such  ;  just  as  afterwards  we 
are  told  of  all  the  servants  of  God,  "  His  name  shall  be 
in  their  foreheads  "  (chap.  xxii.  4).  This  token  is  a  true 
safe-guard  and  talisman  ;  as  the  sprinkled  blood  on  the 
hntel  protected  the  house  from  the  destroying  angel  at 
the  first  Passover.  It  is  a  token  also  of  those  who  have 
not  conformed  to  the  evil  world ;  they  are  like  those 
whom  Ezekiel  saw  in  Jerusalem,  when  the  Lord  sent 
the  man  with  the  inkhorn  "  to  set  a  mark  upon  the  fore- 
heads of  the  men  that  sigh  and  that  cry  for  all  tho 
abominations  that  be  done  "  (Ezok.  ix.  4).  There  has 
been  much  misapprehension  respecting  this  act  of  seal- 
ing. It  has  been  said  that  it  implies  security,  and 
assures  God's  servants  of  protection  in  the  coming 
judgments  :  this  is,  in  a  sense,  true;  but  the  sealing,  as 
will  have  been  seen  by  tho  passages  quoted  above,  is 
that  sealing  of  the  Spirit,  that  root  of  heavenly  life  in 
the  soul,  which  is  the  pledge  of  tho  soul's  union  with 
God ;  and  the  terms  of  the  charter  of  their  protection 
are,  Wlio  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  bo  followers  of 
that  which  is  good  ?  In  the  Bible  idea,  sin,  or  moral 
defilement,  is  tho  only  real  evil :  all  other  things  work 
together  for  good.  The  breastplate  which  turns  aside 
the  fiery  darts  is  the  breastplate  of  righteousness  :  those 
Avho,  escaping  the  corruptions  whicli  are  in  the  world 
through  lust,  become  partakers  of  the  divine  nature  are 
in  consequence  victorious  over  all  the  evil.  They  are 
not  exempt  from  the  vicissitudes  and  tribulation  of 
life :  the  winds  are  lot  loose  to  blow,  but  they  are 
sealed,  and  they  cannot  be  shaken ;  for  what  and  who 
can  separate  them  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  They  are 
sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  they  have  an  earnest  of  that 
Spirit  in  their  hearts  (Eph.  iv.  30,  and  2  Cor.  i.  22), 
and  the  pledge  of  His  power  in  their  lives.  St.  John 
gives  the  same  two-fold  test  as  St.  Paul  (2  Tim.  ii.  9) : 
(1)  "Horeliy  know  we  that  we  dwell  in  him,  and  he  in 
us,  because  ho  hath  given  us  of  his  Spirit"  (1  John  iv. 
13) ;  and  (2)  "  Hereby  we  do  know  that  we  know  him, 
if  we  keep  his  commandments  "  (1  John  ii.  3).  The 
sealing  is  on  the  forehead  :  it  is  God's  mark,  but  it  is 
where  all  may  see  it.     "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 


564 


Tlie  Sealing  of 


EEVELATION,   VII. 


the  Servants  of  God. 


servants  of  our  God  in  their  foreheads. 
(^)  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them 
which  were  sealed :  and  there  ivere  sealed 
an  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand 
of  all  the  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel.  (^^  Of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were 
sealed  twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe 
of  Reuben  were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 
Of  the  tribe  of  Gad  ivere  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  (^)  Of  the  tribe  of  Aser  loere 
sealed  twelve  thousand.    Of  the  tribe  of 


Nepthalim  %vere  sealed  twelve  thousand. 
Of  the  tribe  of  Manasses  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand.  ^"^^  Of  the  tribe  of 
Simeon  were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 
Of  the  tribe  of  Levi  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Issachar 
were  sealed  twelve  thousand.  ^^^  Of  the 
tribe  of  Zabulon  were  scaled  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  roere 
sealed  twelve  thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin  were  sealed  twelve  thousand. 


tliem."  The  cry  of  the  angel  is,  Injure  not  the  sea  nor 
the  trees.  Doubtless  the  sea  and  trees  are  mentioned 
as  these  are  the  objects  which  would  be  most  disturbed 
and  injured  by  a  storm  of  wind.  Trees  are  used  as 
emblems  of  real  and  of  pretended  religionism.  The 
true  -  hearted  in  faith  are  described  as  trees  planted 
by  the  waterside,  whose  fruit  does  not  wither ;  and  it  is 
singular  that  St.  Jude,  who  pictures  the  Antinomiau 
teachers  of  his  day  under  the  image  of  autumn  trees 
(not  trees  whose  fruit  withereth,  as  in  English  version) 
without  fruit,  immediately  adds  an  expression  which 
almost  suggests  the  sudden  uprising  of  a  testing  storm  : 
the  fruitless  trees  are  "  plucked  up  by  the  i'oots " 
(Jude,  verse  12). 

(i)  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  .  .  . — 
Translate,  Aiul  I  heard  the  mimber  of  the  sealed  : 
there  were  a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand 
sealed  out  of  every  tribe  of  the  sons  of  Israel.  There 
are  two  or  three  questions  which  these  verses  suggest. 
What  are  we  to  understand  by  the  uuml^er  twelve 
thousand  from  each  tribe  ?  Who  are  these  who  are 
drawn  from  the  tribes  of  Israel  ?  Why  is  there  a 
change  of  the  order  and  names  of  the  tribes  ?  It  may 
help  us  to  clearer  thoughts  to  take  the  second  of  these 
questions  first.  (1)  Who  are  these  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  thousand  ?  An  answer  to  this  has  been 
partly  anticipated  in  our  previous  comments ;  but  per- 
haps a  fuller  consideration  is  needed.  Some  have 
thought  that  the  sealed  ones  must  be  Jewish  Christians  : 
i.e.,  tlioy  are  disposed  to  take  the  twelve  tribes  literally. 
Tlie  scope  of  tlie  pre^•ious  verses  seems  decisive  against 
this  view.  The  time  of  judgment  and  trial  is  drawing 
near ;  we  have  seen  the  tokens  of  the  coming  storm  in 
tlio  opening  of  the  sixth  seal ;  our  wish  is  to  know  the 
lot  of  the  saints  of  God;  this  chapter  answers  this  wish: 
they  are  safe,  liaving  the  seal  of  God.  Now,  to  limit 
the  answer  to  the  Israelitish  Christians  is  to  break  in 
abruptly  upon  the  general  flow  of  thought  with  a  bold 
literalism.  The  sealed  ones  are  explained  to  be  the  ser- 
vants of  God  ;  the  description  which  follows  proclaims 
them  U>  be  the  "  Israel  of  God."  It  would  be  a  strange 
leap  away  from  the  subject  to  introduce  a  sudden  limi- 
tation of  tliought.  Nor  is  there  any  necessity  for  doing 
80.  Israelitish  and  Jewish  names  are  freely  adopted  by 
the  sacred  winters,  and  used  in  a  spiritual  sense  mtliout 
any  explanation  of  such  usage  ;  and  tlio  Apostle  most 
emphatically  laid  down  the  principle  that  "  lie  is  not  a 
Jew  wliich  is  one  outwardly,  neitlier  is  that  circumcision 
which  is  outward  in  the  flesli,  but  lie  is  a  Jew  whicli  is 
one  inwardly,  and  circumcision  is  tliat  of  tlie  heart,  in 
the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter"  (Rom.  ii.  28.  29);  and  the 
principle  he  applies  by  affirming  that  in  Christ  "  there 
is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek  "  (Gal.  iii.  28).  The  Christian 
Church  al)sorbs  the  Jewish,  inherits  hi>r  privileges,  and 
adopts,  with  wider  and  nobler  meaning,  her  phraseology. 


She  has  her  Jerusalem,  but  it  is  a  heavenly  Jenisalem 
(Heb.  xii.  22)  :  a  Jerusalem  from  above  (Gal.  iv.  26)  :  a 
new  Jerusalem  (Rev.  xxi.  2 ;  see  chap.  iii.  12) ;  and  to  that 
Jerusalem  of  God  the  true  Israel  of  God,  the  chosen 
generation  and  royal  priesthood  of  every  age,  turn  the 
eye  of  faith.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  this  Anew  does 
not  rob,  as  it  has  been  said,  the  Jew  of  God's  promises; 
it  only  intensifies  those  promises  by  showing  the  gi'owth 
of  that  Church  in  which  the  Jew  may  yet  find  the 
truest  consummation  of  his  holiest  and  highest  hopes, 
and  into  which  God  is  yet  able  to  graff  them  in  again 
(Kom.  xi.  23,  25,  26),  and  in  which  he  may  yet  play 
a  part  loftier  than  men  dream  of.  (2)  How  are  we  to 
imderstand  the  numbers  ?  As  we  cannot  adopt  the 
literal  interpretation  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  still  less 
can  we  admit  a  literal  interpretation  of  the  numbers 
here  mentioned ;  but  they  are  not  on  this  ground  to 
be  looked  upon  as  meaningless  numbers :  there  is  an 
appropriate  symbolism  in  the  numbers  of  the  Apo- 
calj'pse.  Twelve  is  used  as  the  number  of  those  who 
in  every  age  have  been  called  out  to  witness  for  some 
truth  which  the  world  needed.  Thus  the  twelve  tribes 
of  Israel  were  the  appointed  witnesses  of  a  pure  theology 
and  a  pure  morality  in  the  days  of  idolatry  and  license  ; 
and  later,  the  twelve  Apostles  became  the  inheritors  of 
a  similar,  though  higher,  spiritual  work  in  the  world. 
The  number  twelve,  then,  stands  for  a  world-witness  of 
di^nne  truth ;  and  the  fruits  of  this  world-witness  is  a 
wide  and  sustained  success :  tlie  twelve  multiplied  by 
the  twelve  a  thousand-fold — "  the  native  and  not  de- 
generate progeny  of  the  Apostles  aijostolically  multi- 
plied "  (Mede,  quoted  by  Dr.  Currey).  The  skeleton 
organisation  is  twelve,  the  college  of  the  Apostles ;  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousjind  represent  the 
growth  into  full  numbers  of  the  choice  ones  of  God. 
(3)  Does  the  change  in  the  order  and  names  of  the 
tribes  symbolise  anything  ?  The  alterations  are  not 
without  siguiticauce.  They  are  briefly  these :  The 
tribe  of  Dan  is  omitted,  and  th.^  name  of  Ephraim 
does  not  appear,  but  the  number  is  made  up  to 
twelve  by  two  representatives  of  Joseph  :  Manasseh, 
who  stands  sixth  in  order,  and  Joseph  (superseding 
the  name,  but  representing  the  tribe  of  Ephraim),  who 
is  placed  eleventh  oh  the  list.  The  nuni])er  twelve 
is  maintained  to  show  that  in  all  changes  God's  pur- 
poses stand.  The  omission  of  one  tribe  and  the  changed 
name  of  another  are  designed  to  show  that  in  the 
Cliurch,  as  in  Israel,  tlie  most  splendid  opportunities 
maybe  lost.  Dan. once  a  tribe. and  not  an  insignificant 
tribe,  which  had  reared  its  heroes,  gradually  laj)sed  into 
idolatry  and  immorality,  dwindled  in  numbers  and 
importance,  and  at  length  disappeared,  and  as  a  tribe 
became  extinct.  Its  omission  in  this  list  is  a  silent 
but  emphatic  comment  on  the  sacred  warnings:  "Let 
him  that  thiuketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 


o6o 


The  Vision  of 


EEVELATION,   VII. 


Victorious  Rest 


<9)  After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great 

^, ••  o   1-    multitude,  which  no  man 

Chap.vu.9— 17.  '  r-      n 

the  vision  of  could  number,  oi  all  na- 
victorious  rest,  tious,  and  kindreds,  and 
people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the 


throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed 
with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their 
hands ;  (^^^  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying".  Salvation  to  our  God  which 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the 


"  Bopfiii  not  to  say  wo  have  Abraham  to  our  father :  God 
is  aljle  of  those  stones  to  raise  up  chiklreu  unto  Abra- 
liain.''  Similarly,  Ephraim,  as  has  been  suggested  by  a 
thouglitful  writer,  who  exalted  himself  iu  Israel,  is  now 
lost  in  the  greater  name  of  Joseph.  (Comp.  Hos.  xiii.  1; 
X.  11 ;  Luke  xviii.  14.)  The  order  of  the  names  is  altered. 
Reul)on  no  longer  stands  first :  Judah  has  taken  the 
firstborn's  plaee ;  and  Levi,  though  named,  does  not 
occupy  the  third,  the  place  of  his  birthright,  but  the 
eiglith  place.  Here,  again,  the  changes  have  their  teach- 
ings. The  unstable  Reuben,  with  all  his  splendid  ad- 
vantages— the  firstborn,  the  excellency  of  dignity  and 
the  excellency  of  power — failed  to  hold  his  own  among 
his  brethren ;  the  fatal  instability  of  his  character  ac- 
companied his  history,  and  weakened  his  otherwise 
pre-eminent  powers  ;  yet  weak  and  erring,  the  type  of 
the  brilliant  and  vacillating,  he  is  not  an  outcast  alto- 
gether, but  finds  place,  and  high  place,  among  the 
servants  of  God.  Judah,  lion-like,  resolute,  and  strong, 
whis  the  foremost  place;  from  him  springs  the  true 
Ruler,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  to  unfold  the 
counsels  of  God,  aiul  to  rule  the  world  with  a  righteous 
sceptre.  Le^-i's  suljordinate  position  is  thought  to  bo 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Mosaic  ritual  and  Le^itical 
priesthood  are  at  an  end.  This  may  be  so ;  the  changes 
are  the  result  of  the  actual  history  of  the  tribes, 
and  illustrate  how  in  tlie  Christian  Church,  as  in  the 
Jewish,  privileges  may  l)e  lost,  opportunities  seized  or 
cast  away,  offices  and  functions  used  for  a  time,  and 
then  laid  aside  when  their  work  is  accomplished;  but 
iu  all  and  through  all  changes,  God's  unchanging  pur- 
pose runs  onward  to  its  certain  close.  The  grouping  of 
the  tribes  is,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  in  the  order  of 
clos(>st  kinship  :  "  We  find  not  one  violent  separation 
of  tlioso  who  are  naturally  united,  where  both  are  truly 
members  of  the  Israel  of  God"  (Rev.  0.  H.  Waller, 
Names  on  Gates  of  Pearl). 

(9)  After  this  "l  beheld  .  .  .—Better,  After  these 
things  I  saiv,  and  behold !  a  great  multitude  ivhich 
no  one  was  able  to  number,  out  of  every  nation, 
and  (all)  tribes,  and  peoples,  and  tongues,  standing 
before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  in 
white  robes,  and  palm  branches  in  their  hands.  "A 
great  midtitude :"  We  liave  just  had  the  picture  of  the 
sealing  of  a  nndtitude  which  could  be  numbered  :  now 
we  have  the  ])icturo  of  a  countless  throng.  Who  are 
these?  Are  they  the  same  as  the  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  thousand,  or  are  they  others  ?  Our  answer 
must  be  that  this  vision  gives  the  climax  of  the  pre- 
vious one.  The  sealing  represented  the  Passover  of 
the  Church :  tliis  vision  represents  its  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. The  sealing  assured  us  tliat  in  the  midst  of 
the  severe  times  of  testing  there  would  l)o  tliose  who, 
Avearing  God's  armour,  would  come  forth  unscathed : 
this  A-ision  shows  us  the  fruition  of  their  laliour  and  their 
rest  after  conflict.  The  sealing  assured  us  that  God's 
hidden  ones  would  be  safe  in  trouble :  this  tells  us  tliat 
they  have  come  safe  out  of  it — they  are  those  who  luive 
come  out  of  the  great  tribulation  (verse  14).  But  how 
can  the  numbered  of  the  cue  vision  be  the  same  as  the 
numberless  of  the  next.''  They  are  numbered  in  the 
first  vision,  as  it  is  one  of  the  assurances  of  their  safety. 


5G6 


In  that  vision  the  idea  of  their  security  in  trial  and 
danger  is  the  main  one.  The  servants  of  God  are  safe, 
for  they  are  sealed  and  numbered ;  they  are  among 
those  .sheep  of  Christ  whom  He  calls  by  name,  whose 
very  hairs  are  numbered  ;  they  are  those  whose  relLance 
is  not  on  self,  but  on  their  shepherd ;  and  the  sealing  is 
the  echo  of  Christ's  words,  "  they  sliall  never  perish  ;  " 
they  are  the  servants  of  God,  known  by  Him  and 
recognised  by  Him.  But  in  the  next  vision,  the  ex- 
panding prospects  of  the  Church  and  her  final  repose 
are  shown  to  us.  The  idea  of  victory  and  peace,  not  so 
much  safety  in  danger  as  freedom  from  it,  is  set  forth  ; 
and  then  countless  multitudes  are  seen ;  the  numbered 
are  found  to  be  numbei'less ;  countless  as  the  sand 
by  the  sea  and  as  the  stars  in  heaven,  they  are  yet  iu 
the  reckoning  and  knowledge  of  Him  who  '*  telleth  the 
number  of  the  stars  and  calleth  them  all  by  their 
names."  The  numbering  must  not  be  understood  to 
imply  limitation.  We  have  seen  that  it  is  a  number 
which  symbolises  expansive  energy  and  extensive  suc- 
cess ;  it  implies  the  real  security  and  wide-spread 
growth  of  the  Church  of  God ;  it  has  no  limits ;  it 
gathers  f  i-om  every  nation,  and  people  ;  it  welcomes  all ; 
where  there  is  neither  Jew,  nor  Greek,  barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond,  nor  free ;  its  gates  are  open  all  night 
and  all  day  to  every  quarter  of  the  world — 

"  From  earth's  wide  bounds,  from  ocean's  farthest  coast, 
Through  gates  of  pearl  stream  in  the  countless  host, 
Singing  to  Father,  Son,  and  Uoly  Ghost.    Alleluia." 

The  multitude  are  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  carry 
palm  branches  in  their  hands.  It  has  been  thought 
that  these  are  the  emblems  of  victory;  they  doubtless 
are  tokens  of  a  triumph :  it  is  the  sacred  rejoicing  of 
the  Israel  of  God.  The  imagery  is  drawn  from  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles :  just  as  the  sealing  reminded  us 
of  the  protecting  sign  on  the  lintels  of  tlie  houses  of 
Israel  iu  Egypt,  so  do  these  palm  branches  and  songs 
of  joy  recall  the  ceremonies  of  the  later  feast.  No 
imagery  would  bo  more  natural  to  the  sacred  seer,  and 
none  more  appropriate  to  his  subject.  The  Feast  of 
Tabernacles  commemorated  God's  care  over  them  in  the 
wilderness,  and  their  gratitude  for  the  harvest.  The 
people  forsook  the  houses,  aiul  dwelt  in  booths;  tlio 
streets  were  full  of  glad  multitudes  Avlio  carried  branches 
of  palm,  and  olive,  and  myrtle;  everywhere  the  sounds 
of  rejoicing  and  singing  were  heard ;  "  there  was  very 
great  gladness"  (Ex.  xxiii.  16;  Lev.  xxiii.  43;  Neh. 
^aii.  14—17).  The  vision  hero  shows  us  a  far  greater 
feast.  "  The  troubles  of  the  wilderness  are  ended, 
the  harvest-home  of  the  Church  is  come,"  and  God 
tabernacles  (verse  15)  among  His  servants. 

(10)  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice  .  .  .—Better, 
And  they  cry  with  a  loud  voice, saying,  The  salvation  to 
our  God  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lainb. 
Their  cry,  uttered  with  a  loud  voice,  is  the  acknowledg- 
ment that  their  salvation — the  salvation  which  they 
now  taste — is  due  not  to  themselves,  but  to  their  God 
and  to  the  Lamb.  The  salvation  here  must,  I  think,  bo 
taken  in  its  most  comprehensive  sense,  including  every 
deliverance — from  the  curse  of  law,  from  the  power  of 
sin,  and  from  the  perils  of  life.     The  explanation  in 


The  Multitude  xolio  have  come 


EEVELATION,   VII. 


out  of  great  Tribulation. 


Lamb.  <">  And  all  the  angels  stood  round 
about  the  throne,  and  about  the  elders 
and  the  four  beasts,  and  fell  before  the 
throne  on  their  faces,  and  worshipped 
God,  (1-)  saying,  Amen :  Blessing,  and 
glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving, 
and  honour,  and  power,  and  might,  he 
unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 
(^^>  And  one  of  the  elders  answered, 
saying  unto  me,  What  are  these  which 


are  arrayed  in  white  robes  9  and  whence 
came  they  ?  (^^^  And  I  said  unto  him, 
Sir,  thou  knowest.  And  he  said  to  me, 
These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great 
tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.  ^^^  Therefore  are  they 
before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve 
him  day  and  night  in  his  temple :  and 
he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell 


verse  14  coufinns  this.  (Comp.  Gal.  iii.  13;  Phil.  iii.  9.) 
Tliis  is  "  the  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation  which  is  iu 
the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous,"  when  the  Lord,  who 
is  their  strength  and  song,  "has  become  their  salvation  " 
(Ps.  cxviii.  14).  Note  the  recurrence  of  "the  Lamb." 
They  are  before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb; 
their  salvation  is  ascribed  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb. 

(11)  And  all  the  angels  .  .  .—Translate,  And  all 
the  angels  ivere  standing  round  the  throne,  and  the 
elders,  and  the  four  living  beings  .  .  .  saying,  Amen. 
The  great  concourse  of  angels — those  among  whom 
there  has  been  joy  in  heaven_when  a  sinner  has 
repented — now  add  their  "Amen"  to  the  cry  of  the  re- 
deemed, and  then  raise  the  seven-fold  ascription  of 
praise — 

"Amen ! 

The  blessing,  and  the  glory,  and  ttie  wisdom, 

And  the  thanksgiving-. 

And  the  honoiu-,  and  the  power,  and  the  strength, 

(Is)  unto  our  God 

Unto  the  ages  of  the  ages. 

Amen ! " 

The  seven-fold  form  of  the  doxology,  which  implies 
a  divine  completeness,  is  appropriate  to  this  vision, 
which  shows  us  the  close  of  the  Church's  agony,  and 
is  in  it.self  a  slight  indication  that  the  view  which 
would  limit  the  seals  to  some  short  period  of  Chui-ch 
history  is  incorrect,  as  it  is  assuredly  inadequate. 

(^'■')  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying 
unto  me. — The  seer  had  asked  no  question,  but  tlie 
elder  answers  the  wondering  thoughts  and  questionings 
wliich  till  liis  mind.  Perhaps  this  scene  was  iu  Dante's 
mind  when  he  described  himself  iu  Paradise  : 

"  Silent  was  I,  yet  desire 
Was  painted  in  my  looks ;  and  thus  I  spake 
My  wish  more  earnestly  than  language  could." 

—Paradiso,  iv.  10—12. 

Tlie  elder  asks  the  question  which  he  knows  St.  John 
would  fain  ask.  These  who  are  clothed  in  white  robes, 
wJio  are  theg,  and  whence  came  they  1  The  question 
brings  the  white  robes  into  prominence.  Is  it,  as  has 
been  suggested,  that  the  wonder  of  the  seer  is  excited 
more  by  tlie  cmlilem  of  holiness  and  innocence  than 
aiiytliing  else?  He  recognises  the  multitudes  as  men 
atid  women  out  of  every  nation  and  ir'ihe  of  sinful 
liiiniaiiity,  and  he  sees  them  clothed  in  tlie  garb  of 
lioliiuvss.  Who  are  these  countless  throngs  of  holy 
ones  H 

(•^)  And  I  said  unto  him  .  .  .—The  form  in 
wliicli  tlie  answer  of  the  seer  is  given  .shows  liow  com- 
pletely the  elder  had  anticipated  liis  thouglits  ;  for  lie 
describes  his  reply  as  instantaneous.  And  I  have  said. 
My  Lord — tlie  language  is  tliat  of  reverent  regard,  but 
not  of  worship  (see  chaps,  xix.  10  and  xxii.  8,  9) — thou 
Icnowpst — i.e.,  it  is  for  thee  to  tell  nio  :  tliy  knowledge 
and  thy  view-point  is  higlier  than  mine;  thou  kuowest : 
it  is  thine  to  .speak,  and  mine  to  hearken. 


And  he  said  to  me  .  .  . — Read,  And  he  said  to  me, 
These  are  they  wlio  come  (the  present  tense  is  used : 
tliese  are  those  coming)  out  of  the  great  tribulation. 
Tliey  are  those  who  come,  not  all  at  once,  but  gi-adually. 
The  saints  of  God  are  continually  passing  into  the  un- 
seen world,  and  taking  their  place  among  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perfect.  They  come  out  of  the  great 
tribulation.  Are  we  to  limit  the  expi*ession  to  the 
special  and  peculiar  afflictions  of  the  last  great  trial  ? 
There  is  no  doubt  about  the  emphasis  which  the  definite 
article  (unfortunately,  ignored  in  our  English  version) 
gives :  it  is  the  great  tribulation ;  but  while  there 
may  yet  be  in  store  for  the  Church  of  Christ  trials 
so  great  that  they  may  be  called,  in  comparison  with 
those  which  went  before,  the  great  tribulation,  it 
yet  seems  out  of  harmony  with  the  spu-it  of  the 
Ajjocalypse  and  the  complexion  of  this  vision  to 
limit  the  phrase  to  some  special  season  of  trial. 
Is  not  the  great  tribulation  the  tribulation  whieli 
those  must  encounter  who  are  on  the  side  of  Christ 
and  righteousness,  and  refuse  to  receive  the  mark  of 
worldliuess  and  sin  on  their  heart,  conscience,  and  life  ? 
In  all  ages  it  is  true  that  we  must  through  much  tribu- 
lation enter  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  and  tlie  vision  hero 
is  surely  not  of  those  who  will  come  safe  out  of  some 
particular  trials,  but  of  the  great  multitude  from  eveiy 
age  and  every  race  who  waged  war  against  sin.  and 
who,  in  the  midst  of  that  protracted  conflict,  endured 
the  great  tribulation  which  is  to  continue  until  Christ's 
return.  And  they  washed  (not  "have  washed."  for  the 
washing  was  done  during  their  earthly  life)  their  robes, 
and  made  them  u'hite  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The 
imagery  is  to  be  found  in  tlie  Gospel  and  in  the  Epistle 
(John  xiii.  8 — 11 ;  and  1  John  i.  7) ;  its  use  here  and  in 
chap.  i.  5  (if  the  reading  washed  is  to  be  preferred  to 
loosed)  points  to  a  common  authorship :  the  emblem  of 
the  blood  ivhich  washes  u-liite,  or  cleanses,  is  not  used 
with  such  distinctness  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  is.  in  St.  John's  lips,  but  a  following  out  of  the 
twice-repeated  words  which  he  quotes  from  John  the 
Baptist  at  the  opening  of  the  Gospel,  when  he  proclaimed 
Christ  to  be  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketii  away  the 
sin  of  the  world."  In  that  Lamb  of  God  tliose  who 
came  out  of  great  tribulation  found  the  forgiveness  and 
the  s])iritual  power  wliich  gave  Ihem  confidence  and 
hope  in  the  midst  of  life's  war  and  life's  weariness ;  for 
the  man  who  knows  tliat  he  is  forgiven  and  that  ho 
is  lieiiig  helped  to  holiness  is  the  man  who  fliinks  no 
fiery  trial  strange,  but  rejoices  in  the  knowledge  tliat 
his  salvation  is  of  God. 

(I'i)  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  .  .  . 
— Better,  On  this  account  are  fhci/  before  the  throne  of 
God — i.e..  because  they  so  washed  their  robes,  and  made 
them  wliito  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  (Comp.  cliap.  xxii. 
14,  where  a  well-su]>ported  reading  is,  "  Blessed  are  they 
that  wash  their  robes,  that  they  may  have  i-ight  to  the 


567 


The  Blessings 


EEVELATION,   VII. 


of  the  Righteous. 


among  them."  <^^>  They  shall  hunger  ^''i^^^^- 
no  more,*  neither  tlurst  any  more;  '''s^-^- 
neither  shall  the  sun  liglit  on  them, 
nor  any  heat.     <'''*  For  the  Lamb  which 


is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed 
them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living 
fountains  of  waters  :  and  God  shall  Avipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  e^'es.*^ 


troo  of  life,"  ifec.)  Tliey  arc  before  tlie  throne :  thoy  are 
like  Him,  for  thoy  see  Him  as  He  is  (1  John  iii.  2),  and 
serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple,  and  He  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne  shall  tabernacle  over  them.  The 
life  is  not  simply  one  of  joy  or  safety,  it  is  one  also  of 
service.  (Comp.  chap.  xxii.  3.)  Those  who  were  made 
priests  to  God  here  carry  on  their  ser\dco  in  His  temi^le ; 
yet  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  this  can  only  be  figura- 
tive languago,  for  in  the  heavenly  city  there  is  no  temple 
(chap.  xxi.  22).  It  sen-es  to  teach  ns  that  the  servant 
will  tiud  his  fitting  work  of  service  there  as  well  as  here. 
He  that  sitteth  npon  the  throne  shall  tabernacle  over 
them.  It  is  worth  noticing  how  persistently  St.  John 
keeps  np  the  phrase,  "  He  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  " 
(chaps,  iv.  2  ;  v.  1,  7, 13  ;  vii.  10).  Tabernacle,  or  dwell 
as  in  a  tent :  The  rendering  "  shall  dwell  "  among  them 
docs  not  do  justice  to  this  word,  and  at  the  same  time 
obscures  the  allusion  which  the  seer  has  in  his  mind.  The 
allusion  is  to  the  Shechinah,  the  symbol  of  the  Divine 
Pi'escnce,  which  rested  over  the  mercy  seat.  "  The  idea 
that  the  Slicchinah,  the  (TKy]vr\  [shene],  the  glory  which 
betokened  the  Divine  Presence  in  the  Holy  of  Holies, 
and  which  was  wanting  to  the  sacred  temple,  would  be 
restored  once  more  in  Messiah's  days  was  a  cherished 
hope  of  the  Jewish  doctors  during  and  after  the  Apos- 
tolic ages."  Tlie  expected  and  wished-for  glory  would 
be  seen  among  God's  saints.  God's  tabernacle  shall  be 
with  them  (chap.  xxi.  3),  and  with  them  so  as  to  stretch 
over  them :  Ho  will  tabernacle  over  (or,  upon)  them. 
With  this  we  may  compare  St.  Paul's  expression  in 
2  Cor.  xii.  9  ("that  the  power  of  Christ  may  tabernacle" 
— "  rest  "  in  the  English  version — "  upon  me  "),  where 
Professor  Lightfoot  (whose  words  have  just  been  quoted) 
thinks  that  there  is  a  similar  reference  to  the  symbol 
of  the  Divine  Presence  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  (Comp. 
Isa.  iv.  5,  6  ;  Ezek.  xxxvii.  27 ;  and  John  i.  14.)  There 
seems  also  to  be  a  carrying  on  of  the  imagery  derived 
from  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  :  as  there  were  the  palm 
branches  of  the  harvest  joy,  so  there  will  be  the  booth, 
or  taliernacle,  of  God's  presence  among  them.  He  shall 
bo  their  pavilion,  their  .shelter.  "  There  shall  bo  a 
tabernacle  for  a  shadow  in  the  day-time  from  the  heat, 
and  for  a  place  of  refuge  and  for  a  covert  from  storm 
and  from  rain." 

(16)  They  shall  hunger  no  more  .  .  .—Better, 
They  shall  not  hrmger  any  more,  nor  yet  thirst  any 
m,ore;  neither  at  all  shall  the  sun  light  upon  them,  nor 
any  heat.  The  negatives  are  emphatic,  and  rise  in  force 
as  the  verse  proceeds.  None  of  the  privations  which 
they  have  endured  for  Christ's  sake  shall  trouble  them  ; 
none  of  the  dissatisfactions  and  weariness  of  life  shall 
afflict  them  ;  for  hunger,  tliirst,  and  fatigue  will  bo  no 
more,  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away  (chap.  xxi. 
3,  4).  And  then.  too.  shall  that  blessed  hunger  and  thirst 
— the  hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness — be  appeased. 
Christ's  benediction  will  then  be  realised  in  its  fulness  : 
Blessed  are  they  who  so  hunger,  for  they  .shall  be  filled. 
And  as  they  will  receive  inward  strength  and  satisfac- 
tion, so  also  will  they  be  kept  from  the  outward  trials 
which  wear  down  tlio  strength  of  the  strongest.  The  sim 
shall  not  light  on  them :  The  Eastern  sun,  in  its  fierce 
and  ovei^wwering  intensity,  was  a  fit  emblem  of  those 
trials  which  diy  up  the  springs  of  strength.  The  sun, 
risen  with  a  burning  heat,  devoured  the  beauty  of  the 


flower  (Jas.  i.  11);  the  rootless  growth  on  the  stony 
gi'ound  was  scorched  when  the  sun  was  up  (Matt.  xiii. 
5,  6).  Man's  beauty  of  wealth  and  talent,  man's  reso- 
lutions of  better  things,  all  fade  away  before  the  testing 
beams  of  this  sun ;  but  the  time  of  trial  is  past,  the 
pains  and  temptations  of  life  are  over,  the  sun  in  that 
land  will  not  scorch,  for  there  is  no  longer  need  of  these 
burning  beams ;  the  city  has  no  need  of  the  sun,  for  the 
glory  of  God  lightens  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thei'eof 
(chap.  xxi.  23).  No  sun,  and  no  heat,  no  burning  hot  wind 
like  the  sirocco,  will  spread  withering  influence  there. 

(17)  For  the  Lamb  .  .  .—Translate,  Because  the 
Latnb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  tend 
them,  and  shall  lead  them  to  fountains  of  waters 
of  life  (or,  life-springs  of  loaters) ;  and  God  shall 
loipe  Kiway  every  tear  from  their  eyes.  The  Lamb 
is  described  as  "  the  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne." 
The  writer  told  in  chap.  v.  6  that  he  had  seen  a 
Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the  throne.  When  he  looked 
towards  the  throne,  he  saw  the  Lamb  as  the  central 
object  immediately  in  front  of  it.  He  who  would  draw 
near  to  the  throne  must  pass  the  Lamb.  The  position 
which  the  Lamb  held  was  one  of  significance,  and  is 
therefore  repeated  here.  The  Lamb  will  tend  His 
people  as  a  shepherd  tends  his  flock  (the  word  trans- 
lated "  feed "  has  this  force),  and  will  lead  them  to 
the  springs  of  the  water  of  life.  The  twenty-tliird 
Psalm  rises  at  once  to  our  minds.  The  Lord  who  was 
David's  shepherd  (Ps.  xxiii.  2),  who  was  the  Good 
Shepherd  who  sought  and  brought  home  the  lost  for 
whom  He  died  (Luke  xv.  4 ;  John  x.  11),  does  not 
forget  the  shepherd's  work  in  heaven.  He  who  made 
His  people  to  drink  of  the  brook  in  the  way  (Ps.  ex.  7), 
who  gave  to  those  who  came  to  Him  the  water  which 
alone  would  qiiench  their  thirst  (John  iv.  13, 14,  and  vii. 
37 — 39),  leads  them  now  to  the  springs  of  the  living 
water,  and  makes  them  drink  of  the  river  of  His  plea- 
sures (Ps.  xxxvi.  8).  Significantly  enough  the  springs  of 
this  living  water  are  in  the  throne  itself  (chap.  xxii.  1). 
Ezekiel  saw  the  stream  issuing  forth  from  the  Temple 
(Ezek.  xlviii.  1),  but  in  the  city  where  there  is  no  temple 
we  are  carried  to  the  a  cry  throne  of  God,  to  find  the 
well-spring  of  every  gladness.  In  this  emblem  of 
the  water  we  liave  another  allusion  to  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles.  Among  the  ceremonies  observed  at  the 
feast  was  that  of  the  drawing  water ;  the  priest  drew 
a  vessel  of  water  from  the  brook  of  Siloam.  and  poured 
it  out  in  the  temple-court  by  the  altar  of  burnt  ottering, 
and  the  people  sang  the  words,  "  With  joy  shall  ye 
draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation  "  (Isa.  xii.  3). 
Here  the  Lamb,  who  is  also  the  High  Priest,  leads  His 
people  to  the  springs  of  the  water  of  life.  Joy,  too, 
is  theirs ;  for  God  shall  wipe  away  every  tear  from  (or, 
out  of)  their  eyes  (Isa.  xxv.  8  ;  Rev.  xxi.  4).  In  Isaiah 
it  is  said  God  sliall  wipe  away  tears  from  off  all  faces  : 
hero  it  is  every  tear.  Thus  shall  all  sorrow  be  removed 
from  all :  no  tears  shall  gather  in  any  eye,  for  the 
sources  of  sorrow  will  be  cut  off  in  the  land  where  there 
is  no  more  sin.  None  can  weep  again  when  it  is  God 
who  wiped  away  their  tears.  Blessed  are  they  that 
mourn,  said  Christ — blessed  indeed  in  this,  that  God 
becomes  their  comforter.  Only  those  who  have  wept  can 
enjoy  this  consolation.  Who  would  not  shed  life's  tears 
to  have  God's  hand  to  wijje  them  away ! 


568 


Openmg  of 


EEVELATION,   VIII. 


the  Seventh  Seal. 


CHAPTER  VIIL— (1)  And  when  he 
Chap.  viii.  1.  had  Opened  the  seventh 
seal  opened.^      Seal,  there  was  silence  in 


heaven  about  the  space  of  Chap.  viii.  2— 

half  an  hour.      (2)    ^^^  j  6     The  vision 

,,  ,  .  ,     01     the     seven 

saw  the  seven  angels  which  trumpetangels. 


VIII. 

(1)  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal 

.  .  . — Translate,  And  ivhen  he  opened  tlie  seventh  seal 
there  took  2^l(iee  a  silence  in  heaven  as  it  ivere  for  half 
an  hour.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  this  verse 
shonld  have  been  prefixed  to  this  chapter.  The  section 
of  the  book  with  which  it  is  connected  is  that  which 
goes  before,  not  that  which  follows.  The  second  verse  of 
this  eighth  chapter  introduces  a  new  series  of  visions : 
the  first  verse  gives  the  close  of  the  visions  which 
follow  the  opening  of  the  seals.  But  what  is  the 
meaning  of  this  verse  which  describes  a  half-hour's 
silence  in  heaven  ?  It  is  a  disputed  jjoint  whether  the 
book,  or  roll,  fastened  with  the  seven  seals  (chap.  v.  1, 
2)  is  ever  really  unrolled  to  view.  Some  have  tliought 
that  as  each  seal  is  opened  a  portion  of  the  roll  is 
displayed,  unfolding  the  vision  of  the  seal :  others  have 
regarded  the  visions  as  mere  accompaniments  of  the 
openiug  of  the  seals,  and  quite  distinct  from  the 
writing  on  the  roll ;  those  who  take  this  view  are 
disposed  to  think  that  the  roU  never  is  read,  for  that 
when  the  last  seal  is  broken,  and  all  are  expecting  to 
hear  what  is  wi-itten  in  the  book,  no  reading  takes 
place,  but  only  a  silence  ensues.  It  does  not  seem  to 
me  that  this  latter  view  is  altogether  tenable.  It 
appears  a  singularly  harsh  interpretation  to  say  that  the 
contents  of  the  roll  are  never  disclosed.  The  book  of 
God's  purposes  was  seen  in  the  hand  of  Him  who  sat 
on  the  throne.  The  Evangelist  longed  to  know  some- 
thing of  its  contents ;  vain  efforts  were  made  to  open 
it ;  the  Evangelist  Avept  "svith  disappointment ;  he  was 
then  comforted  in  his  sorrow  by  hearing  that  the  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  had  conquered  to  open  the  book; 
but  then,  after  all  this,  not  a  line  or  word  of  the  book,  it 
is  said,  is  ever  revealed.  The  servant  is  waiting  to  hear 
the  divine  word ;  the  seer  is  waiting  to  record  what  is 
unfolded;  but  though  the  seals  ai'c  opened,  we  are 
told  that  the  words  he  waits  for  never  came.  St.  John 
liimseLf  gives  no  hint  of  so  disappointing  a  conclusion. 
Later  on  (chap.  x.  4)  he  is  told  not  to  record  the 
utterances  of  the  seven  thunders,  but  there  the  con- 
cealing of  the  utterances  is  clearly  commanded.  Here 
he  evidently  associates  the  visions  of  the  seals  with  the 
contents  of  the  roll.  It  is  only  a  spirit  in  bondage  to 
foolish  literalisms  which  Avill  ask  how  the  visions  can 
be  the  wi-iting  in  tlie  roll.  The  book  represents 
God's  purposes  and  principles  of  His  government  in 
relation  to  the  world  -  history ;  the  seals  show  us 
some  typical  scenes  in  that  world-histoiy,  and  if 
not  seen  on  the  ])archment  of  the  roll,  are  yet  un- 
foldings  of  principles  and  trutlis  in  the  book.  But  it 
does  not  follow  that  all  that  is  in  the  roll  is  ever 
unfoldt>d.  Such  portions  are  made  manifest  as  the 
seer  could  hear,  and  as  the  Church  of  Christ  needed  ; 
and  thus  it  may  well  be  that  the  half-liour's  silence  is 
significant  tliat  all  God's  purposes  and  revelations  are 
not  exhausted — that  there  is  .sometliing  beliind  whicli  it 
is  not  well  that  we  should  know — that  prophecy  as  well 
as  knowledge  is  partial.  But  the  stillness  of  this  half 
liour,  if  it  reminils  us  of  wliat  is  yet  untold,  yet  pro- 
claims to  us  a  time  of  deep,  unbroken  tranquillity,  when 
the  cries  and  groans  of  the  earth,  and  even  the  grateful 
doxologies  of  Jieaveu  are  liusliod  into  calm.  It  is  the 
silence   which    teUs    us    that    sorrow    is    ended,    and 


5G9 


eloquently  tells  us  of  heart  peace.  It  is  the  rest  of 
the  troul)led  on  the  breast  of  God.  All  the  earth,  with 
her  strife  of  tongues  is  still ;  all  the  cries  of  men  (chap, 
vi.  15),  of  trafficker  and  warrior,  of  .struggling  wise,  and 
suffering  good,  are  stilled ;  all  flesh  keeps  silence  before 
Him  ;  He  gives  His  people  peace . 

"  O  earth,  so  full  of  dreary  noises! 
O  men  with  wailing  in  your  voices  ! 

O  delved  gold,  the  waller's  heap  ! 
O  strife,  O  curse,  that  o'er  it  fall ! 
God  strikes  a  silence  through  you  all, 

And  giveth  His  beloved  sleep." 

Only  those  who  have  been  carried  away  by  an  over- 
refined  philosophy  or  morbid  sentimentalism  can  see 
anything  selfish  in  longing,  out  of  earth's  cares  and 
injustices,  for  such  a  rest  as  this.  It  is  stu'ely  not 
ignoble  to  pray — 

"  Vouchsafe  us  such  a  half-hour's  hush  alone. 
In  compensation  for  our  stormy  years ; 
As  heaven  has  paused  from  song,  let  earth  from  moan." 

(2)  The  Visions  inteodtjced  by  the  Sounding 
OF  Seven  Tefmpets. — The  series  of  visions  which 
is  now  introduced  extend  to  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
chapter.  There  are  some  features  which  may  be 
noticed  here.  There  is  a  marked  correspondence  of 
arrangement  between  these  and  the  visions  of  the 
seals.  As  there,  so  here,  there  are  introduced  two 
subordinate  visions  towards  the  end  of  the  series. 
The  sixth  seal  was  followed  by  the  vision  of  the 
one  hundred  and  forty- fotir  thousand  and  the  count- 
less multitude  :  the  sixth  trumpet  is  followed  by 
the  Aasion  of  the  little  book  and  the  seven  thunders 
and  the  measurement  of  the  temple  of  God  (chaps,  x. 
and  xi.  1 — 14).  The  general  intention  of  these  inter- 
posed visions  is  similar.  In  both  cases  they  seem 
designed  to  give  us  an  insight  of  the  life  within 
the  life  of  Christ's  Church.  The  main  Ansions  give 
us  more  external  aspects ;  the  interposed  visions' 
show  the  inner  and  more  spiritual  aspects.  Thus  the 
seals  show  the  great  outer  features  of  world  and  Church 
history — the  war,  controversies,  the  famine  and  barren 
dogmatism,  the  death,  and  deathlike  extornalism,  the 
persecutions  and  sorrows  and  revolutions  of  on-coming 
history;  the  interposed  visions  of  chap.  ^-ii.  show  us 
the  calm  and  strength  and  the  victorj-  of  the  children 
of  God.  So  also  witli  these  visions  of  the  trumpets. 
The  main  visions  give  us  the  tnimpet -voices  of  God's 
manifold  providences  summoning  the  world  to  surrender 
to  Him;  the  subsidiary  visions  point  to  the  witness  and 
work  of  the  true  children  of  God  in  this  world,  and  the 
more  secret  growth  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  Another 
similarity  between  the  seals  and  the  trumpets  is  to  be 
found  in  the  separation  between  the  first  four  and  the 
last  three.  The  first  four  trumpets,  like  the  first  four 
seals,  are  grouped  togetlier.  The  first  four  seals  are 
introduced  by  the  cry  •'  Come";  the  first  four  trumpets 
are  followed  by  judgments  on  natural  objects — the  earth, 
tlie  sea,  the  rivers,  tlie  lights  of  heaven — while  the  last 
tliree  liave  been  described  as  looe  trumpets,  being  intro- 
duced by  the  thrice  repeated  cry  of  "  Woe  "  (see  verse  13). 
Tliere  is  thus  a  correspondence  of  arrangement  in  the 
two  series  of  A^isions;  l)ut  their  general  imjiort  is  very 
different.  We  reach  in  the  seventh  seal  the  eternal 
quiet  of  God's  presence.  Through  a  series  of  visions  wo 
have  been  shown  tliat  the  way  to  rest  is  not  easy,  that 
we  must  be  prepared  to  see  the  great  features  of  earth's 


The  Seven  Angels 


REVELATION,   YIII. 


loith  the  Seven  Trumpets. 


stood  before  God ;  and  to  them  were 
given  seven  trumpets.  '^^  And  another 
angel   came   and    stood    at   the   altar, 


j  having    a    golden    censer ;    and    there 

was  given  unto  him  much  incense,  that 

'pm^.^rl """''*  he  should  offer  it  with  the  prayers^  of 


troubles  remain  till  the  close,  and  that  the  children  of 
God  uiust  through  tribuLitiou  and  even  persecution 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God's  peace.  The  seals 
answer  tlie  question,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time 
restore  the  kingdom?"  But  the  kingdom  will  be  re- 
stored. The  Clnirch  may  find  her  way  a  way  of  difficulty, 
delay,  danger ;  but  it  will  be  a  way  to  triumph.  The 
kingdoms  of  the  world  will  become  the  kingdoms  of 
the  Lord.  Let  the  people  of  God  go  forward;  let  their 
prayers  be  set  forth  as  incense ;  let  them  blow  the 
truuii^et.  and  summon  men  to  repentance ;  they  are  not 
alone ;  the  Lord  still  fights  for  His  Israel.  This  is  the 
assurance  which  we  gather  from  the  trumpets.  In  all 
the  wondrous  providences  which  the  histoiy  of  the 
world  discloses  we  may  hear  the  trumpet-voice  which 
heralds  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  to  which  the  Church  is 
bearing  constant  and  sufficient  witness  (chap.  xi.  3,  4). 
The  seals  close  with  peace ;  the  triimpets  close  appro- 
priately with  ^4ctory  (chap.  xi.  15).  The  visions  are 
not  scenes  of  events  which  chronologically  succeed  one 
another.  The  one  set  shows  us  the  way  through  trouble 
to  rest ;  the  other  shows  the  way  thi-ough  conflict  to 
triumph  :  the  one  set  shows  us  the  troubles  which  befall 
the  Church  because  of  the  world;  the  other  shows  us 
the  troubles  which  fall  ou  the  world  because  the  Church 
advances  to  the  conquest  of  the  world,  as  Israel  to  the 
possession  of  the  land  of  promise. 

And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  .  .  .—Better, 
And  I saiv  the  seven  angels  ivhich  stand  (not  "stood") 
before  God ;  and  there  were  given  to  them  seven 
trumpets.  "  The  seven  angels :  "  Who  are  these  ?  The 
usual  answer  is  that  they  are  seven  angels  (or,  according 
to  some,  archangels)  distinguished  among  the  myriads 
round  the  throne.  The  passages  referred  to  in  support  of 
this  xiaw  are  two — one  from  the  Apocr}i)hal  Book  of 
Tobit,  "  I  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy  angels 
which  present  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  which  go 
in  and  out  before  the  glory  of  the  Holy  One  "  (Tobit  xii. 
15) ;  the  other,  the  well-known  passage  from  St.  Luke, 
"  I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  presence  of  God  " 
(Luke  i.  19).  This  may  be  true,  and  the  emphatic 
article  {the  seven  angels)  gives  the  view  some  support, 
but  seeing  that  the  number  seven  is  to  be  taken  through- 
out the  book  as  symbolical,  and  not  literal,  it  is  perhaps 
better  to  view  the  seven  angels  as  representatiA-es  of  the 
power  of  God  over  the  world.  They  are  the  seven,  the 
complete  circle  of  God's  power  in  judgment;  for  as  we 
do  not  take  the  seven  spirits  to  be  literally  seven  spirits, 
but  symbols  of  the  complete  and  manife'st  influence  of 
tho  one  Holy  Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the  glorious 
Trinity,  so  neither  need  wo  infer  from  the  mention  of 
the  seven  angels  hero  that  they  are  literally  seven  pre- 
eminent angelic  personages,  biit  rather  regard  them  as 
symbols  of  that  complete  and  varied  messenger-force 
which  God  evermore  commands. 

Seven  trumpets.— It  will  help  our  understanding 
of  the  symbol  here  employed  to  recall  the  occasions  on 
which  the  trumpet  was  used.  It  was  used  to  summon 
the  people  together,  whether  for  worship,  or  festival,  or 
war,  "  for  the  calling  of  the  assembly,  and  for  the 
journeying  of  the  camps."  "When  they  shall  blow 
with  them  (the  tnimpets),  aU  the  assembly  shall  assemble 
themselves  to  thee  (Moses)  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle 


of  the  congregation  "  (Num.  x.  4 — 8).  For  journeying 
an  alarm  was  to  be  blown  (Num.  x.  6).  "  And  if  ye  go  to 
war  in  your  land  against  the  enemy  that  oppresseth 
you,  then  ye  shall  blow  an  alarm  ^vith  the  trumpets ; 
and  ye  shall  be  remembered  before  the  Lord  your  God, 
and  ye  shall  be  saved  from  your  enemies  "  (verse  9). 
And  as  for  war,  so  also  on  festival  days  the  trumpets 
wei'e  blown  :  "  Also  in  the  day  of  your  gladness,  and  in 
your  solemn  days,  and  in  the  beginnings  of  your 
months,  ye  shall  blow  with  the  trumpets  over  your 
burnt  oflierings,  and  over  the  sacrifices  of  your  peace 
ofBerings  ;  that  they  may  be  to  you  for  a  memorial  before 
your  God  :  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."  The  reader  will 
remember  other  illustrations.  When  the  people  were 
assembled  to  hear  the  Ten  Commandments  the  voice  of 
the  ti-umpet  sounded  long,  and  waxed  louder  and 
louder  (Ex.  xix.  19).  The  feast  held  on  the  first 
day  of  the  seventh  month  was  "  a  day  of  blowing  the 
trumpets  "  (Num.  xxix.  1)  among  the  people  who  would 
blow  up  the  trumpet  in  the  new  moon,  in  the  time 
appointed,  on  their  solemn  feast  day  (Ps.  Ixxxi.  3).  At 
the  siege  of  Jericho  seven  priests  bore  before  the  ark 
seven  trumpets  of  rams'  horns,  and  on  the  seventh  day 
the  priests  blew  with  the  trumpets  (Josh.  vi.  4,  5).  For 
assembling,  for  journeying,  for  war,  the  sound  of 
the  trumpets  was  heard.  The  judgments  which  follow 
the  blowing  of  the  trumpets  in  this  series  of  visions 
are  the  trumi)et-toned  calls  of  God,  summoning  man- 
kind to  assemble  to  the  true  tabernacle,  bidding  His 
people  go  forward,  and  announcing  the  overthrow  of 
His  adversaries.  Every  judgment,  on  earth,  or  sea,  or 
river,  by  war,  or  by  invasion,  is  a  call  which  bids  men 
listen  to  the  stiU  small  voice,  which  they  have  neglected, 
perhaps  resisted.  Every  judgment  should  rouse  the  true 
servant  to  gi-eater  \agilance  aiul  further  advance :  it  is 
an  alarm  sounded  on  the  great  battle-field  of  life. 
Miracles  have  been  called  the  alarm  bells  of  the 
universe  ;  no  less  are  the  strange  and  startling  events 
of  the  world's  history  the  alarm  notes  blown  by  God's 
angels  across  the  world,  to  remind  iis  of  the  war  in 
which  every  citadel  of  evil  must  ine^ntably  fall.  It  is 
mainly,  then,  as  an  alarm  of  war  that  these  angel- 
trumpets  are  sounded.  The  land  of  promise  is  to  1)0 
rescued  from  the  tribes  and  peoples  who  corrupt  it. 
As  the  Canaanites  of  old  were  swept  away  lest  their 
wickedness,  increasing  beyond  measure,  should  spread 
abroad  a  moral  death,  so  are  the  judgments  of  these 
trumpets  sent  to  \indermine.  purge  away,  and  finally  to 
destroy  all  evil  powers  which  destroy  the  earth  (chap, 
xi.  18).  We  may  hear,  then,  in  "  each  blast  of  the 
symbolical  trumpet  a  promise  and  instalment  of  the 
^nctory  "  for  which  the  groaning  and  travailing  creation 
yearns,  and  which  will  bo  the  banishment  of  earth's 
destroyers,  and  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God. 

(•■J)  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at 
(or.  over)  the  altar,  having  a  golden  censer. 
— The  appearance  of  this  otlier  angel  has  given  rise 
to  some  questioning,  and  some  strained  explanations. 
Some  have  thought  that  by  this  other  angel  we  are 
to  understand  Christ  Himself.  This  is  very  doubtful : 
the  designation  "  another  angel "  (see  chap.  \ii.  2) 
is  against  this  view.  There  is  really  no  need  to  ask 
who  the  several  angels  are  :  the  book  is  symbolical. 
The  angels  are  not  particular  personages,  but  symbolical 


I 


I 


The  Smoke  of  the  Incense 


EEVELATIOX,   VIII. 


ascendeth  up  be/ore  God. 


all  saints  upon  the  golden  altar  wliicli 
was  before  the  throne.  <^^  And  the 
smoke  of  the  incense,  which  came  with 
the  prayers  of  the  saints,  ascended  up 
before   God   out   of  the   angeFs   hand. 


1  Or,  upon. 


(^)  And  the  angel  took  the  censer,  and 
filled  it  with  fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast 
it  into^  the  earth:  and  there  were  voices, 
and  thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake.     ^"^^   And  the  seven  angels 


of  those  agencies — whether  personal,  or  natural,  or 
supernatural — which  are  employed  by  Him  who  sitteth 
on  the  throne.  The  angel  stood  at  the  altar.  The  altar 
mentioned  in  chap.  \\.  2  corresponded  with  the  altar  of 
burnt  sacrifice,  which  stood  in  the  open  court  in  front 
of  the  tabernacle  or  temple.  The  spnbolism  of  the 
Apocaly|)se  being  so  largely  built  up  out  of  Jewi.sh 
materials,  wo  need  not  be  sui-prised  to  find  the  altar 
of  incense  introduced  here.  This  altar  was  of  gold, 
and  was  situated  in  the  holy  place.  Here  the  priest 
was  wont  to  burn  inceuse,  while  the  people  out- 
side were  j^rayiug.  We  have  an  example  of  the 
custom  in  the  history  of  Zechai-ias  (Luke  i.  8 — 11). 
The  scene  described  lay  St.  Luke  bears  a  close  resem- 
blance to  this,  and  gives  a  key  to  the  symbolism.  The 
prayers  of  the  people  and  the  smoke  of  the  incense  are 
ascending  together.  The  angel  has  a  golden  censer. 
The  word  here  rendered  censer  is  used  sometimes  for 
the  incense,  but  the  epithet  "golden"  shows  that  it  is 
the  vessel  to  hold  the  incense  which  is  intended.  The 
.censer  is  of  gold,  as  was  the  altar,  and  as  are  so  many 
things  in  the  Apocalypse.  (See  chaps,  iv.  4 ;  v.  8 ;  xv. 
6,  7,  and  xxi.  15,  21.) 

And  there  was  given  unto  him  much  in- 
cense .  .  . — Literally,  And  there  was  given  to  him  much 
incense  that  he  viight  (not  "  offer  it  with,"  as  English 
version,  but)  give  it  to  the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  upon 
the  golden  altar  which  ivas  before  the  throne.  The  in- 
cense was  to  be  mingled  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints. 
The  incense  was  added  to  give  a  f  ragi'ance  to  the  prayers 
of  the  saints,  and  render  them  acceptable  before  God. 
The  action  of  the  angel  has  been  spoken  of  as  tliough  it 
might  give  countenance  to  the  erroneous  doctrine  of 
the  mediatorship  of  saints  and  angels.  It  is  only  when 
we  persist  in  vie^viug  symbols  as  literal  facts  that  there 
is  any  danger  of  such  an  inference.  Dogmas,  whose 
only  foimdation  is  in  the  incidental  symbolism  of  a  pro- 
phetic book,  are  ill-grounded.  It  is  a  safe  canon  that 
doctrinal  inferences  from  metaphors  are  always  to  be 
suspected.  The  angel  here  is  a  mere  symbol  of  a  divinely- 
appointed  agency.  Xo  personal  angel  actually  ever 
did  what  is  described  here  :  how  could  incense  mix  with 
prayers  ?  The  whole  is  symbolical  of  the  truth  that 
the  prayers  of  all  the  saints  need  to  be  rendered  accept- 
able by  the  infusion  of  some  divine  element.  The  best 
prayers  of  the  best  saints  are  weak,  and  polluted  and 
imperfect  at  the  best.  The  incense  which  is  added 
to  the  prayers  is  not  supplied  by  the  angel :  it 
is  first  given  to  him,  and  he  then  mingles  it  with  the 
prayers  of  all  saints.  It  is  hard  to  forget  here  Him 
whoso  offering  and  .sacrifice  became  a  savour  of  sweet 
smell  (Eph.  v.  1,  2).      The  altar  is  described  as  the 

f  olden  altar — i.e.,  the  altar  of  incense,  as  noted  above, 
t  is  well  for  us  to  remember  Dean  Alford's  caution 
that  we  must  not  attempt  to  force  the  details  of  any 
of  these  \isions  into  accordance  with  the  an-angements 
of  the  tabernacle.  "  A  general  analogy  in  the  use  and 
character  of  the  heavenly  furniture  is  all  that  wo  can 
look  for  "  ( Alford,  in  loco). 

W  And  the  smoke  of  .  .  .—Bettor,  And  there 
went  up  the  smohe  of  the  incenfie  for  (or  to,  i.e.,  designed 
for,  and  to  give  fragrance  to)  the  prayers  of  the  saints, 


out  of  the  hand  of  the  angel,  before  God.  Tlie  emblem 
of  the  rising  column  of  smoke,  in  which  incense  and 
prayer  now  mingled,  is  the  token  that  the  prayers  of 
the  saints,  now  rendered  acceptable,  and  no  longer  pre- 
mature, are  about  to  bo  answered.  These  prayers  of 
God's  people,  weak  and  imperfect  as  they  are,  are  yet 
invincible  weapons  in  the  hands  of  Christ's  soldiers, 
and  will  be  foiuid  mightier  than  any  carnal  weapons. 
As  Jericho  fell  without  Israel  needing  to  strike  a  blow, 
so  now  the  Israel  of  God  will  be  seen  to  be  omnipotent 
through  true  and  faitliful  prayer.  The  charter  of  tlie 
Churcli's  power  is  in  the  words  of  Christ :  "If  ye 
abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you  "  (John  xv.  7). 
The  judgments  that  follow  are  not  indeed  specifically 
prayed  for  by  the  Church  of  Christ,  but  they  are  the  re- 
sults of  their  prayers,  and  prove  the  might  of  all  prayer. 

(5)  And  the  angel  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the  angel 
has  taken  (or,  took)  the  censer,  and  he  filed  it  from  the 
fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  it  (i.e.,  the  fire  or  hot  ashes 
which  filled  the  censer)  uj^on  the  earth.  The  prayers 
have  gone  up,  and  the  sprinkling  of  the  ashes  earth- 
ward is  the  symbol  of  the  answer  descending  from 
heaven.  We  may  recall  the  similar  action  of  Moses 
before  Pharaoh,  when  he  took  ashes  of  the  furnace  and 
sprinkled  it  towards  heaven,  but  it  descended  towards 
earth,  as  a  symbol  of  the  plague  about  to  fall  upon  the 
laud  (Ex.  ix.  8 — 10).  The  hot  ashes  are  the  tokens 
of  the  coming  judgments.  As  in  the  parallel  ^-ision  La 
Ezekiel  (chap.  x.  2),  when  the  man  clothed  with  linen  is 
bidden  to  "go  in  between  the  wheels,  even  under  the 
cherub,  and  fiU  his  hand  with  coals  of  fire  from 
between  the  cherubims,  and  scatter  them  over  the 
doomed  city;"  so  here  the  ashes  fall — the  judgments 
are  at  hand. 

And  there  were  voices  .  .  . — Or,  And  there 
took  place  tliunders,  and  voices,  and  lightnings, 
and  an  earthquake.  Tliere  is  some  variety  among 
the  MSS.  in  the  order  of  the  words  here  used. 
Some  place  "lightnings"  before  "voices."  These 
signs  and  sounds  herald  the  approach  of  judgments. 
God  has  arisen  in  answer  to  the  cry  of  His  people. 
"  The  earth  shook  and  trembled.  Tliero  went  up 
a  smoke  and  a  fire :  coals  were  kindled  at  it.  At 
the  brightness  tliat  was  before  Him  His  thick  clouds 
passed,  hailstones  and  coals  of  firo.  The  Lord  also 
thundered  in  the  heavens,  and  the  Highest  gave  His 
voice,  hailstones  and  coals  of  fire.  Yea,  He  sent  out 
His  arrows,  and  scattered  them  :  He  shot  out  lightnings 
and  discomfited  them  .  .  .  He  delivered  me  from  my 
strong  enemy"  (Ps.  xviii.  4 — 19).  It  is  a  solemn  thonght 
that  wo  may  send  up  prayers,  and  the  answer  may  come 
down  a  judgment;  for  often  it  is  onlv  through  judg- 
ment that  true  lo\-ing-kindnes3  can  mate  lier  way. 

(6)  And  the  seven  angels  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
the  seven  angels  tcho  had  the  seven  truuijuts  prepared 
themselves  that  they  might  sound.  The  angels  raised 
their  trumpets  to  their  mouths,  ready  to  blow.  Tlio 
sounding  of  the  trumpets  introduce*!  the  series  of 
startling  events  (or  providences,  as  wo  sometunes  call 
them)  which  serve  to  arrest  men's  attention,  and  re- 
mind them  that    there  is  a  kingdom  which   cannot 


671 


The  first  Angel 


EEVELATION,  VIII. 


sounds  his  Trumpet. 


which  had  the  seven  trumpets  pre- 
pared themselves  to  sound.  ^^^  The 
Chap. viii. 7-12.  ^^^t  ang^el  sounded,  and 
The  first  group  there  followed  hail  and 
of    trumpet-  gg    mingled   with    blood, 

vi.«]ons.      Four         X     ,,      °  , 

angels  sound  and  they  were  east  upon 
their  trumpets,  ^-^q  garth:    and  the  third 


part  of  trees  was  burnt  up,  and  all 
green  grass  was  burnt  up.  (^^  And 
the  second  angel  sounded,  and  as  it 
were  a  great  mountain  burning  with 
fire  was  cast  into  the  sea :  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sea  became  blood  ; 
C-*^   and  the  third  part  of  the  creatures 


be  shaken.  Such  events  are  landing-stages  in  the  great 
advancing  progres.s  of  Christ's  kingdom.  It  may  be 
well  to  i-eniind  those  who  are  desirous  of  actual  and 
limited  historical  fulfilments  which  correspond  with 
the  features  of  the  several  ■visions,  that  the  aim  of  the 
■\nsions  seems  to  be  to  give  the  seer,  and  through  him 
the  Church  at  lai-ge,  some  idea  of  the  general  kind 
of  events  which  ever  mark  the  decay  of  the  kingdom 
of  wrong  and  the  growth  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 
It  is  to  this  consummation  the  ^-isious  of  the  trumpets 
lead  us.  We  are  to  see  the  destruction  of  those  who 
destroy  the  earth,  aiid  the  establishment  of  the  king- 
dom of  Him  who  will  reign  in  righteousness  (chap.  xi. 
1.5 — 18).  This  great  consummation  is  to  be  achieved 
by  slow  and  painful  steps.  '"  Wilt  thou  at  this  time 
restore  the  kingdom  ?"  is  the  question  answered  by  the 
seals.  ''How  wilt  thou  restore  the  kingdom  .^"  is  the 
question  answered  by  the  trumpets.  In  both  cases  the 
answer  is  similar.  These  great  results  are  not  and 
cannot  be  attained  in  the  quick  ways  human  impatience 
would  suggest.  The  liistory  of  the  world  is  not  to  be 
folded  up  in  a  hurry,  for  that  history  is  a  development 
and  a  discipline;  it  is  not  only  the  consummation  which 
is  to  be  desired  :  the  steps  to  that  end  are  salutary, 
though  painful.  Tlie  chastisement  which  is  not  joyous 
but  grievous  may  be  the  best  means  of  bringing  to  the 
world  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness ; — 

"  And  man,  unfriended,  faltering  on  the  way, 
Jlust  learn  to  weep  before  he  learns  to  pray." 

And  this  wholesome  lesson  of  tears  must  be  taught  the 
world,  in  the  slow  and  bitter  progress  of  a  human  his- 
tory marked  not  by  one  judgment  but  by  many.  The 
fulfilment,  then,  of  these  prophetic  visions  is  not  ex- 
hausted in  one  event,  however  nearly  its  features  may 
correspond  with  the  character  of  the  A-ision. 

(7)  The  first  angel  .  .  .—Better,  And  the  first 
sounded,  and  there  took  place  hail,  and  fire  mingled 
in  blood,  and  it  was  cast  upon  the  earth ;  and  the 
third  part  of  the  earth  was  burnt  tip,  and  the  third 
part  of  the  trees  was  burnt  tip,  and  all  green  grass  was 
burnt  up.  The  reference  to  the  Egyptian  plagues  is 
obAdous :  "  There  was  hail,  and  fire  mingled  with  the 
hail,  very  grievous  .  .  .  and  the  hail  smote  every  herb 
of  the  field,  and  brake  every  tree  of  the  field  "  (Ex. 
ix.  23 — 2-5).  This  resemblance  to  the  history  of  Israel 
in  Egypt  gives  us  the  hint  of  the  true  meaning.  It 
carries  us  back  to  the  past,  and  asks  us  to  remember 
the  mighty  works  of  God  in  old  times.  It  reminds  us 
that  He  who  liade  Joshua  cause  the  tnimpets  to  be 
sounded  by  the  walls  of  Jericho,  and  who  dehvered 
His  people  from  the  tyranny  of  Pharaoh,  is  the  same 
God,  mighty  to  save  His  people,  to  break  the  fetters  of 
ignorance,  and  to  cast  down  the  high  walls  of  pride  and 
sin.  But  it  is  needful  to  observe  the  variation  as  well 
as  the  resemblance.  Tliis  plague  difPors  from  the 
Eg}i)tian  in  the  introduction  of  blood.  This  variation 
carries  it  out  of  the  possibility  of  literal  interpreta- 
tions. We  begin  to  think  of  the  strongly  figurative 
language  of  Joel :  "  the  blood,  and  fixe,  and  pillars  of 


smoke "  (Joel  ii.  30) ;  and  we  call  to  mind  that  St. 
Peter  announced  that  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy 
of  Joel  commenced  with  the  Pentecostal  effusion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Then  the  war  trumpet  of  deliverance 
had  been  sounded ;  then  the  process  of  the  earth's 
emancipation  had  begun;  then  commenced  the  series 
of  sorrows  and  judgments  which  the  obstinate  love  of 
men  for  darkness  rather  than  light  would  bring  upon 
themselves ;  and  through  the  operation  of  these  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  woidd  be  established.  The  first 
jiidgment  falls  upon  the  trees  and  grass.  Beneath  its 
touch  the  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth.  Thus  the 
day  of  the  Lord  is  upon  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  that 
are  high  and  lifted  up,  and  upon  all  the  oaks  of  Bashau ; 
upon  every  one  that  is  proud  and  lofty  (Isa.  ii.  12,  13; 
and  1  Pet.  i.  24).  It  matters  little  in  what  way  this 
humbling  of  himian  pride  takes  place.  The  world  is 
full  of  illustrations.  The  loftiness  of  Jerusalem  was 
lowered  when  the  weakness  of  her  self-sufficient  re- 
ligiousness was  revealed  and  her  Pharisaic  pride  was 
exposed  ;  the  loftiness  of  Rome  was  humbled  when  the 
Gothic  invaders,  like  a  storm  of  hail  (so  they  were 
described  by  Claudian),  devastated  the  empire.  These 
are  illustrations ;  but  the  prophecy  is  for  all  time,  for 
the  day  of  the  Lord  is  upon  "  all  that  are  proud."  We 
must  not  press  the  phrase  "  the  third  part  "  too  closely : 
it  clearly  is  designed  to  remind  us  that  in  wrath  God 
remembers  mercy,  and  that  while  He  humbles  all  He 
does  not  utterly  destroy.  (Comp.  Zech.  xiii.  8.)  Is 
this  the  baptism  of  fire  which  withers  the  florid,  pre- 
tentious, but  fruitless  religions  of  mankind  ? 

(8, 9)  And  the  second  angel  .  .  .—Translate,  And 
the  second  angel  sounded,  and  as  it  were  a  great 
mountain  burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea;  and 
the  third  part  of  the  sea  became  blood ;  and  the  third 
part  of  the  creatures  that  were  in  the  sea  died,  those 
which  have  lives ;  and  the  third  part  of  the  ships  were 
destroyed.  The  sea  becoming  blood  reminds  us  again 
of  the  plagues  in  Egypt  (Ex.  A-ii.  20,  21) ;  but  we  must 
once  more  note  the  variation.  It  is  not  an  uplifted 
rod  like  that  of  Moses  which  produces  this  result  : 
it  is  the  casting  into  the  sea  of  a  huge  mass,  as  it 
were  a  great  mountain,  burning  with  fitre.  Professor 
Stuart  calls  this  image  apjiropriate  or  peculiar  to 
St.  John.  The  prophet  Jeremiah,  however,  in  a 
chapter  which  in  many  particulars  is  parallel  to  this 
and  the  following  chapter  (comp.  Rev.  xi.  18),  makes 
use  of  a  very  similar  image :  "  Behold,  I  am  against 
thee,  O  destroying  mountain,  saith  the  Lord,  which 
destroyest  all  the  earth ;  and  I  will  stretch  out  mine 
hand  upon  thee,  and  roll  thee  down  from  the  rocks,  and 
will  make  thee  a  burnt  mountain  "  ( Jer.  Ii.  25).  The 
mountain  was  the  emblem,  in  Jeremiah's  prophecy,  of  the 
strong  consolidated  power  and  institutions  of  Babylon. 
Not  only  must  the  loftiness  of  man  be  brought  low,  but 
the  mountains  which  they  made  so  strong  for  themselves. 
Tlie  power  of  God's  advancing  cause  would  hurl  the 
rooted  mountains  from  their  base.  The  power  of  faith, 
Christ  declared,  would  suffice  to  do  this  (Matt.  xxi. 
21) ;  and  it  is  at  least  a  singular  coincidence  that  this 


572 


The  sou7iding  of  the  Third 


EEYELATION,   VIII. 


and  Fourth  Trumjyets. 


whicli  were  in  the  sea,  and  had  life, 
died;  and  the  third  part  of  the  ships 
were  destroyed.  (^^)  And  the  third 
angel  sounded,  and  there  fell  a  great 
star  from  heaven,  burning  as  it  were  a 
lamp,  and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part 
of  the  rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains 
of  waters ;  <i^)  and  the  name  of  the  star 
is  called  Wormwood  :  and  the  third  part 


of  the  waters  became  wormwood ;  and 
many  men  died  of  the  waters,  because 
they  were  made  bitter,  (i-'  And  the 
fourth,  angel  sounded,  and  the  third  part 
of  the  sun  was  smitten,  and  the  third 
part  of  the  moon,  and  the  third  part 
of  the  stars ;  so  as  the  third  part  of 
them  was  darkened,  and  the  day  shone 
not  for  a  third  part  of  it,  and  the  night 


Baying  of  the  Lord's  I'especting  the  overthrow  of  a  moun- 
tain sliouhl  occur  in  His  own  comment  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  fig-tree,  just  as,  in  this  chapter,  the  vision  of 
the  moimtain  overthrown  follows  that  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  tree  and  grass  life.  Our  Lord  encourages  the 
faith  of  His  disciples :  "  Tour  power  will  not  only 
expose  the  pretentious  religionisms  of  the  world,  as  My 
word  has  shown  the  worthlessness  of  this  tree,  but  you 
will  overthrow  also  the  long  established  usages  and  ev\\ 
customs  of  nations  which  corrupt  the  world."  The 
powers  which  seemed  strong  as  the  great  mountains 
would  be  seen  to  be  but  evil  powers,  burning,  poisoning, 
destroying ;  but  its  power  to  destroy  is  checked :  it  is 
cast  into  the  sea.  Yet  no  great  institution,  or  nation- 
ality, or  evil  principle  is  overthrown  without  some  corre- 
sponding disadvantages.  The  falling  mountain  carries 
evil  even  in  its  fall,  the  sea  becomes  blood,  the  ships 
are  destroyed.  The  fall  of  a  great  nation — a  Babylon — 
is  always  fraught  with  unavoidable  miseries  to  the 
world  and  its  nations.  Doubtless,  the  interests  of 
commerce  and  shipping  suffer ;  but  this  is  not,  it 
seems  to  me,  the  point  of  the  vision.  The  symbolism 
is  only  weakened  by  supposing  an  allegorical  mountain 
to  fall  into  a  literal  sea  and  to  destroy  literal  ships. 
The  force  of  the  vision  is  that  certain  gigantic  forms  of 
evil  will  be  overthrown,  but  the  overthi'ow  will  be 
accompanied  with  the  development  of  new  evils  :  the 
advance  is  made,  but  the  step  forward  unveils  the  subtle 
force  of  evil.  Every  corrupt  institution  is  destroyed 
with  the  risk  of  the  evil  elements  difBusing  tliemselves 
elsewhere  ;  just  as  the  political  victory  of  Christianity 
was  followed  by  the  infusion  of  certain  Pagan  elements 
into  the  Church.  The  vanquished  always  manage  to 
impose  some  laws  on  the  victor.  Even  the  advance  of 
the  Church  is  accompanied  by  some  sucli  experience. 

(10)  And  the  third  angel  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
the  third  angel  sounded,  and  there  fell  out  of  the  heaven 
a  great  star  burnitig  (or,  kindled — the  light  is  not 
inherent,  but  borrowed)  as  a  torch  (or,  lamp — same 
word  as  in  chap.  iv.  5),  and  it  fell  upon  the  third  part 
of  the  rivers,  and  upon  the  springs  of  the  waters. 
The  flaming  star  seems  to  symbolise  the  fall  of  a 
potentate  ;  the  trumpot-l)last  proclaims  that  tlie  mighty 
who  have  been,  as  luminaries,  admired,  and  perhaps 
worshipped,  will  fall.  Tlie  advancing  progress  of 
Christianity  is  to  be  marked  by  many  sucli  a  fall.  The 
rulers  of  earth,  burning  witli  lust  of  conquest  or 
with  pride  of  fanaticism,  will  be  plucked  from  their  seat 
among  tlie  stars  (Obad.  verso  4);  but  their  fall  is  ac- 
companied, as  in  tlie  last  instance,  witli  miseries.  Tlie 
fountains  and  rivers  are  smitten,  the  sources  of  health 
and  joy,  the  streams  of  prosperity,  are  injured. 

(iiJ  And  the  name  of  the  star  .  .  .—Translate, 
And  the  name  of  the  star  is  called  Wormiawd  :  and  the 
third  part  of  the  waters  became  wormwood;  and  many 
of  mankind  died  from  the  waters,  because  they  were 
embittered.      The    bitter,    nauseous    plant    known    as 


wormwood  {apsinthos)  is  used  to  represent  troubles  and 
calamities.  In  Jer.  ix.  15  we  have  an  example  of  this  : 
"  Behold,  I  will  feed  them,  even  this  people,  with  worm- 
wood, and  give  them  water  of  gall  to  drink."  It  is 
worth  noticing  that  the  Israelites  are  warned  against 
idolatry  as  "  a  root  that  beareth  gall  and  wormwood  " 
(Deut.  xxix.  18) ;  and  we  may  recall  the  symbolical  act 
of  Moses,  who  ground  the  golden  calf  to  powder,  cast 
the  powder  in  the  brook,  and  made  the  children  of 
Israel  drink  (Ex.  xxxii.  20).  Some  have  thought  that 
this  falling  star  signified  some  false  teacher,  whose  evil 
influence  poisoned  the  pure  cuiTcnts  of  the  gospel,  and 
perverted  the  minds  of  men  of  original  genius,  who  are 
represented  here  as  fountains.  The  passages  cited 
above  favour  the  thought,  and  it  may  be  included  in 
the  general  meaning  of  the  vision  ;  but  the  maiu  point 
seems  to  be  to  give  us  hints  of  those  stages  which  will 
mark  the  advance  of  Christianity.  The  fall  of  the 
great  men,  the  rulers  and  leaders,  will  take  place,  and 
their  fall  will  bring  misery  to  mankind.  Doubtless 
the  appearance  of  false  teachers  in  the  Church  is  one 
of  the  evidences  and  an  unavoidable  accompaniment  of 
a  progressing  faith  (Matt.  xiii.  26).  But  all  such  false 
lights  shall  iall  before  Him  who  is  the  true  Light  and 
Morning  Star,  and  who  will  heal  all  embittered  waters 
of  life.     (Comp.  Ex.  xv.  23,  and  2  Kings  ii.  19.) 

(12)  And  the  fourth  angel  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
the  fourth  angel  sounded,  and  there  was  smitten  the 
third  part  of  the  stm,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon, 
and  the  third  part  of  the  stars ;  that  the  third  part  of 
them  might  be  darkened,  and  the  day  might  not  appear 
as  to  its  third  part,  and  the  night  in  like  manner.  The 
dimness  which  thus  falls  on  the  lights  of  heaven  carries 
us  back  to  the  plague  of  darkness  (Ex.  x.  21 — 23) ;  but 
yet  there  is  this  difference :  there  the  chUdreu  of 
Israel  had  light  in  their  dwellings  while  all  tlie  rest  of 
the  land  suffered  the  darkness  that  might  be  felt; 
here,  however,  the  dai'kness  is  only  such  as  results 
from  the  withdrawal  of  the  third  part  of  the  light  of 
the  sun  by  day,  and  of  the  moon  and  the  stars  (so  miich 
more  brilliant  and  needful  in  EasvLi-n  lands  than  in  our 
own)  by  night.  It  is  a  day  of  the  Lord  in  which  the 
light  is  not  clear  nor  dark — not  day  nor  night  (Zech. 
xiv.  6,  7).  There  will  be  periods  in  which  the  lights 
which  guide  men  will  give  forth  uncertain  glimmers  ; 
upon  the  eartli  there  will  be  distress  of  nations, 
men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking 
after  tliose  things  which  are  coming  on  the  eartli, 
for  tlie  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken  (Luke 
xxi.  25,  26).  Such  times  of  darkness  and  sorrow  must 
1)0.  It  is  through  seasons  such  as  these,  when  the 
lights  of  human  wisdom  and  of  spiritual  guifhince  seem 
alike  obscured,  that  the  Church  must  go  forward.  The 
diaos  precedes  creation,  and  it  is  through  chaos  agaiu 
tiiat  the  Church  of  Christ  must  pass  to  the  new- 
heaven  and  new  earth.  These  trumpet-\'isions.  if  read 
by  the  side  of  the  story  of   Grenesis,  seem  like  the 


573 


Tlie  Eagle  of  Warning. 


EEVELATION,   IX. 


The  fifth  Trumpet. 


likewise.  ^^^^  And  I  beheld,  and  heard 
Chap.  viii.  13.  an  ^"gel  flying  through 
The  eagle  of  the  midst  of  heaven,  saying 
■warning.  ^yj^j^   ^  2oud   voice,   Woe, 

woe,  woe,  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth 
by  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the 
trumpet  of  the  three  angels,  which  are 
yet  to  sound ! 


CHAPTER  IX.— (1)  And  the  fifth  angel 
sounded,  and  I  saw  a  star 
fall  from  heaven  unto  the 
earth :  and  to  him 
given  the  key  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit.  (-)  And  he  opened  the 
bottomless  pit ;  and  there  arose  a 
smoke  out   of  the   pit,   as  the   smoke 


Chap.    ix.     1 — 
12.      The    fifth 
■^Q,g   ti'umpet.   First 
woe. 


undoing'  of  creation  :  the  vegetation  is  smitten,  the 
earth  ami  sea  are  iutermiuglod,  the  lights  of  the  heavens 
are  dai'kened,  the  living  things  in  seas  and  streams  are 
destroyed ;  but 

"  Fresher  life  the  world  shall  draw 
From  their  decay." 

The  pulling  down  must  precede  the  building  up ;  the 
removing  of  the  degenerate  is  one  step  in  the  way  to 
the  regeneration. 

Intboduction  to  the  last  three,  or  Woe, 
Tkttmpets.  An  Eagle  utters  the  three- 
fold Woe. 

(13)  And  I  beheld  .  .  . — Better,  And  I  saw,  and  I 
heard  a  single  eagle  (not  "  angel,"  as  in  English  version) 
flying  in  viid-heaven,- saying  with  a  mighty  voice,  Woe, 
woe,  ivoe,  to  those  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  by  reason 
of  the  remaining  voices  of  the  trzimpet  of  the  three 
angels  tvho  are  about  to  sound !  The  best  MS.  authority 
is  against  the  reading  "  angel,"  and  in  favour  of  eagle. 
It  is,  then,  an  eagle,  a  solitary  eagle,  that  moves  across  the 
heaven,  and  utters  the  warning  Woe  !  It  flies  through 
the  meridian  sky,  and  is  thus  visible  to  the  very  horizon. 
It  was  an  appropriate  emblem  :  high-soaring  as  the 
spirit  of  the  seer,  the  eagle-glance  scanned  the 
borders  of  the  earth,  and  caught  sight  of  tlie  coming 
troubles,  and  gave  warning ;  swift  and  strong  as  the 
judgments  of  God,  its  very  form  gave  emphasis  to  the 
warnings  of  its  voice  (Deut.  xxviii.  49 ;  Hos.  ^aii.  1 ;  and 
Matt.  xxiv.  28).  And  yet  the  emblem  must  bring  to  the 
minds  of  God's  children  the  care  of  Him  who  led 
Israel,  instructed  him,  and  kept  him  as  the  apple  of  His 
eye,  and  cherished  him  as  "  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her 
nest,  fluttereth  over  her  young,  sprcadeth  abroad  her 
"wings,  taketh  them,  and  boaroth  them  on  her  wings  " 
(Deut.  xxxii.  11).  Is  it  not  also  a  precursor  of  tliose 
eagle-like  judgments  which  faU  upon  the  carcase  of 
dead  nations  or  a  dead  society  ? 

IX. 

Tlie  resemblance  in  arrangement  of  the  visions  of 
the  trumpets  and  the  visions  of  the  seals  has  already 
been  noticed  ;  l)ut  the  warning  cry.  Woe,  woe,  woe  !  has 
no  parallel  in  tlie  seals.  The  trumpets  whicli  follow 
are  fraught  with  woo  and  judgment  to  the  dwellers 
upon  the  earth. 

(I)  And  the  fifth  angel  .  .  .—Translate,  Ami  the 
fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a  star  out  of  the  heaven 
fallen  (not  "  fall,"  as  in  English  version ;  the  seer  saw 
not  a  falling,  but  a  fallen,  star)  upon  the  earth.  The 
emblem  of  a  fallen  star  is  used  elsewhere  in  the  Bil)lo. 
Isaiah  (chap.  xiv.  12)  speaks  of  Lucifer  fallen  from 
heaven.  Christ  described  Satan  as  liglitning  falling 
from  heaven.  Some  great  power  or  ruler  is  repre- 
sented, then,  by  this  fallen  star.  He  is,  moreover,  said 
to  have  fallen  from  heaven,  and  he  is  represented  as 
having  been  giA^en  the   key  of  the  abyss.     Does  not 


57t 


this  lead  us  to  expect  the  working  of  some  evil  spirit 
and  diabolical  agency  ?  The  11th  verse  confirms  our 
expectation.  We  may  compare  chap.  xii.  8 — 12,  where 
Satan  is  described  as  defeated,  cast  down  to  the  earth, 
and  filled  with  wrath.  To  understand  this  fallen  star 
as  the  representative  of  a  good  angel  seems  hardly 
possible. 

And  to  him  was  given  .  .  . — Literally,  and  there 
tvas  given  to  him  {i.e.,  to  the  being  represented  as  a 
fallen  star)  the  key  of  (not  "  the  bottomless  pit ")  the 
pit  of  the  abyss.  The  abyss  is  the  same  word  ren- 
dered "the  deep,"  in  Luke  viii.  31,  where  the  demons 
besought  our  Lord  not  to  send  them  into  the  abyss,  or 
deep.  It  is  the  word  which  describes  the  abode  of  the 
evil  spirits.  The  verse  before  us  suggests  tlie  picture 
of  a  vast  depth  approached  by  a  pit  or  shaft,  whose 
top,  or  mouth,  is  covered.  Dante's  Inferno,  with  its 
narrowing  circles  winding  down  to  the  central  shaft,  is 
somewhat  similar.  The  abyss  is  the  lowest  spring  of 
evil,  whence  the  worst  dangers  arise.  (Comp.  chaps, 
xi.  7;  xvii.  8;  xx.  1 — 8.) 

(2)  And  he  opened  .  .  . — Translate,  And  he  opened 
the  pit  of  the  abyss  ;  and  tlierc  ivent  up  smoke  out  of  the 
pit,  as  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace ;  and  the  sun  loas 
darkened,  and  the  air,  by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the 
pit.  The  first  result  of  the  opening  of  the  pit  is  the 
diffusion  of  such  a  dense  smoke  that  light  and  atmo- 
sphere are  darkened.  In  the  prevnious  vision  there  was 
an  obscuration  of  light  arising  from  the  smiting  of 
the  luminaries  ;  in  this  the  obscuration  arises  from 
causes  external  to  the  luminaries.  In  that  tlie  light- 
giving  power  was  enfeebled;  in  this  the  light  is  not 
enfeebled,  but  hindered.  This  must  be  remembered. 
The  interpretation  of  these  visions  is  most  difficult ;  but 
we  must  bear  in  mind  tliat  they  are  descriptive  of  that 
great  war  wliich  the  Church  is  waging  with  the  world, 
which  good  is  waging  with  evil,  but  the  end  of  which, 
we  are  assured,  is  the  victoiy  of  good.     The  kingdoms  J 

of  this  world  become  the  kingdoms  of  the  Lord,  and  \ 

of  His  Christ  (chap.  xi.  15) ;  but  during  the  progress  of 
the  war  the  issue  will  often  appear  donlitfnl  :  nay,  even 
the  triumph  may  seem  to  be  in  the  hand  of  the  enemy ; 
but  faith  disregards  the  back-flowing  waves,  for  she 
knows  the  tide  is  coming  in.  We  have  seen  that  the 
advance  of  Christianity  is  markiMl  by  the  manifestation 
of  evils  as  well  as  the  estalilishment  of  good.  Chris- 
tianity does  not  create  evils,  but  the  very  intense 
honesty  of  her  principles  reveals  the  hidden  force  of 
unsuspected  corruption.  Thus  the  faith  of  Christ  is  J 
come  to  give  liglit  unto  the  world,  but  in  her  progress  ' 
many  lights  fall — the  false  lights  of  world-power, 
world-wisdom,  false  religionism,  and  heresies.  The 
enemy,  too,  is  at  work,  and  seeks  to  oliscuro  her  light 
by  the  diffusion  of  dark  and  low-])orn  tlioughts.  The 
smoke  of  the  pit  blackens  the  light  and  confuses  the 
atmosphere.  Now,  this  obscuration  is  surely  the 
diffusion  on  earth  of  evil  thoughts  and  ideas,  the  spirit 
of  falsehood  and  hate,  hostility  to  truth,  and  enmity 
aofainst   God  and   man.      The  bi-iglit,  clear  air  made 


The  opening  of 


EEVELATION,   IX. 


the  Bottomless  Pit. 


of  a  great  furnace ;  and  the  sun  and 
the  air  were  darkened  by  reason  of 
the  smoke  of  the  pit.  (^^  And  there 
came  out  of  the  smoke  locusts  upon 
the  earth :  and  unto  them  was  given 
power,  as  the  scor2)ions  of  the  earth 
have  power.  (^^  And  it  was  com- 
manded them  that  they  should  not  hurt 
the  grass  of  the  earth,  neither  any 
green  thing,  neither  any  tree ;  but  only 


those  men  which  have  not  the  seal  of 
God  in  their  foreheads.  (^>  And  to 
them  it  was  given  that  they  should  not 
kill  them,  but  that  they  should  be  tor- 
mented five  months  :  and  their  torment 
was  as  the  torment  of  a  scorpion,  when 
he  striketh  a  man.  (^^  And  in  those 
days  shall  men  seek  death,  and  shall 
not  find  it ;  and  shall  desire  to  die,  and 
death   shall   flee   from   them.     ('^   And 


gladsome  by  the  sun  is  darkened;  "all  forms  that  once 
appeared  boantifid  become  hideous." 

(3)  And  there  came  .  .  . — Better,  And  out  of  the 
smoTce  there  came  forth  locusts  upon  the  earth ;  and 
there  was  given  to  them  power,  as  the  scorpions  of  the 
earth  (?  land-scorpions)  have  power.  The  outcome  of 
the  gloom  is  the  power  of  devastation  and  pain.  We 
still  have  reference  to  the  Egyptian  plagues — this  time 
to  the  locusts  (Ex.  x.  12 — 15) :  "  Thoy  covered  the  face 
of  the  whole  eai-th,  so  that  the  land  was  darkened." 
Similarly,  Joel  describes  the  darkening  of  the  land 
througli  the  plague  of  locusts  (Joel  ii.  3 — 10)  :  "  The 
snn  and  the  moon  shall  be  dark,  and  the  stars  shall 
withdraw  their  shining."  But  the  locusts  of  our  vision 
are  armed  with  the  power  of  scorpions,  to  sting  and  to 
torture  (verse  5) :  the  scorpions  are  called  scorjiions  of 
the  earth.  Some  have  thought  that  this  expression  is 
equivalent  to  land-scorpions,  in  contradistinction  from 
so-called  sea-scorpions.  This  hardly  seems  likely  or 
necessary.  Their  power  to  torment  men  is  the  prominent 
idea.  The  locusts  are  not  literal  locusts  :  this  scorpion- 
like power  given  to  them  is  enough  to  convince  us  of 
this,  even  if  the  next  verse  did  not  clearly  show  it. 
The  scorpion-like  power  seems  to  depict  a  malicious 
energy,  as  the  locusts  depict  a  devastating  multitude. 

W  And  it  was  com.manded  .  .  . — Translate, 
And  it  was  commanded  them  that  they  shall  not 
injure  the  grass  of  the  earth,  nor  yet  any  green  thing, 
nor  yet  any  tree  ;  but  only  (or,  except)  the  men  whoso- 
ever have  not  the  seal  of  God  on  their  foreheads.  The 
locusts  which  are  sent  not  to  injure  the  vegetation  are 
clearly  not  literal  locusts,  and  the  security  of  those  who 
have  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads  (those  who 
were  described  as  sealed,  and  so  assured  of  safety 
against  the  tempest  blast:  sec  chap.  vii.  1 — 3,  et  seq.) 
may  confinn  us  in  this  view.  Whatever  the  plague 
be,  it  is  one  which  cannot  injure  God's  children. 
"  Nothing,"  Christ  has  said,  "  shall  by  any  means  hurt 
you.  I  give  you  power  to  tread  on  serpents  and  scor- 
pions, and  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy"  (Luke 
x.  19).  It  is  interesting  and  suggestive  to  notice  that 
this  promise  of  our  Lord  was  given  immediatelv  after 
the  saying,  "  I  l)eheld  Satan  as  lightning  fall  from 
heaven,"  as  the  safety  of  the  sealed  ones  is  mentioned 
here  after  the  vision  of  the  star  fallen  from  heaven. 
The  coincidence  is  hardly  undesigned ;  at  least,  the 
sense  in  which  we  understand  the  danger  from  which 
Christ  promised  His  disciples  2>rotection  may  afford  us 
a  guiding  meaning  here.  Now,  none  liave  maintained 
that  Christ  promised  His  disciples  entir»>  freedom  from 
danger,  pain,  and  deatli.  He  said,  "  Tliey  shall  perse- 
cute you  and  kill  you  ;  ye  sliall  be  liated  of  all  men  for 
My  name's  sake,  l)ut  ]w  tliat  endureth  to  the  end  shall 
bo  saved."  No  real  injury  can  happen  to  tliem  ;  pain 
and  death  might  l)e  encountered,  but  all  things  work 
together  for  their  higher  good.    They  liave  a  joy  which 


no  pain  or  peril  can  take  away ;  they  have  a  joy  in  this 
(it  is  the  same  chapter  as  above — Luke  x.\  that  their 
"names  are  written  in  heaven."  For  such,  death  has 
no  sting,  the  grave  no  victory.  They  meet  famine  and 
nakedness,  and  peril  and  sword ;  but  in  these  they  are 
more  than  conquerors.  No  plagxie  can  hui*t  those  who 
have  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads.  A  plague 
from  which  those  whose  way  is  through  tribulation  are 
exempt  can  hardly  be  a  physical  one. 

(5)  And  to  them  .  .  . — Better,  And  it  was  given 
to  them  that  they  shoidd  not  kill  them  (i.e.,  those  who 
had  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads),  but  that  they 
shoidd  be  tortured  Jive  months.  The  general  period  of 
a  locust  plague  is  about  five  months :  "  as  the  natural 
locusts  commit  their  ravages  only  for  five  mouths,  so 
the  ravages  of  these  symbolical  ones  will  be  only  for  a 
short  period  "  (Stuart).  Their  power  is  to  inflict  tor- 
ment, and  not  death.  The  next  verse  tells  us  that  men 
would  consider  death  preferable  to  this  torment;  but 
the  relief  of  the  grave  is  denied  them. 

And  their  torment  .  .  .—Literally,  and  the 
torture  of  them  (i.e.,  the  torture  inflicted  by  them"!  is  as  the 
torture  of  a  scorpion  when  it  has  stricken  a  man.  The 
wound  of  a  scorpion  occasions  intense  suffering:  we  have 
in  it  the  symbol  of  the  malicious  cruelty  of  the  merciless. 
The  emblem  is  used  in  Ezekiel :  the  rebellious  and 
malicious  opponents  of  the  prophet  being  compared  to 
scorpions  (Ezek.  ii.  6).  We  may  compare  the  similar 
imagery  of  the  bee  for  the  Assyi-ian  power  (Isa.  vii.  18), 
and  the  Psalmist's  complaint  that  his  enemies  came 
about  him  like  bees — a  swarm,  irritating  him  with  wing 
and  sting.  The  tenth  verse  tells  us  the  way  in  which 
the  injury  was  inflicted :  there  were  stings  in  their  tails. 

(6)  And  in  those  days  .  .  . — Translate,  And  in 
those  days  men  shall  seek  death,  and  shall  not Jind  it; 
and  they  shall  yearn  to  die,  and  death  flees  from  them. 
The  change  of  tense  from  the  future  ("  shall  seek — 
shall  yearn ")  to  the  present  ("  death  flees ")  gives 
graphic  force  to  the  description.  Men  will  seek  for 
death  in  vain  ;  they  will  hmg  tc  die,  and  lo  !  death 
is  s(>eu  fleeing  from  them.  We  can  see  an  age  in 
which  death  will  be  regarded  as  a  sweet  respite  from 
the  tormenting  trials  of  life :  men  will  stretch  out 
their  hands  to  death  as  to  a  welcome  deliverer;  but 
behold  !  death  is  seeii  fleeiner  from  them.  The  word 
translated  "  desire  "  in  our  English  version  is  a  strong 
word ;  it  lias  been  rendered  vehemently  desire  :  it  is  a 
passionate  longing,  as  the  yearning  of  the  soul  after 
one  we  love.  There  have  been  ages  in  which  men  have 
thus  pined  for  death;  in  which  light  and  life  seem  but 
mockeries  to  the  miserable,  and  men  "  long  for  death, 
but  it  Cometh  not ;  and  dig  for  it  more  than  for  hid 
treasures"  (Job  iii.  20.  2l).  Such  times  are  those 
which  have  been  well  called  reigns  of  terror. 

(">  And  the  shapes  .  .  .— Translat<>.  And  the 
shapes  i^or,  forms)  of  the  locusts  were  like  horses  made 


The  Locusts  sent  forth 


EEVELATION,   IX. 


to  Torment  Men. 


the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto 
horses  prepared  unto  battle ;  and  on 
their  heads  were  as  it  were  crowns  like 
gold,  and  their  faces  were  as  the  faces 
of  men.  '^^  And  they  had  hair  as  the 
hair  of  women,  and  their  teeth  were  as 


the  teeth  of  lions,  f^*  And  they  had 
breastplates,  as  it  were  breastplates  of 
iron  ;  and  the  sound  of  their  wings  was 
as  the  sound  of  chariots  of  many  horses 
running  to  battle.  '^^^  And  they  had 
tails  like  unto  scorpions,  and  there  were 


ready  for  war.  The  resemblance  of  the  locust  to  the 
horse  (especially  iu  the  head)  has  been  remarked  u])on 
by  travellers,  and  has  found  expression  in  the  Italian 
and  German  names  cavalletta  and  heupferd.  The 
resemblance  is  more  distinct  when  the  horses  are  made 
ready  for  battle :  the  hard  shell  or  scales  of  the  locust 
having  the  appearance  of  armour.  Hence  it  has  been 
thought  that  the  sacred  writer  here  alludes  to  this 
horse-like  appearance  of  the  locust.  It  seems  a  little 
doubtful  that  this  is  the  case,  or  that  in  this  or  any  of 
the  descriptions  heie  there  is  any  reference  to  the  ana- 
tomical features  of  the  locust.    (See  Note  on  verse  10.) 

And  on  their  heads  were  as  it  were  crowns 
like  gold,  and  their  faces  were  as  the  faces  of 
men. — Here  again  there  has  been  a  desire  to  find  some 
physical  appearance  in  the  locust  to  suggest  the  crown 
of  gold :  the  antennae,  the  rugged  elevation  in  the 
middle  of  the  thoi-ax,  have  been  imagined  to  have  some 
resemblance  to  a  crown ;  and  the  face  of  the  locust,  it 
has  actually  been  said,  bears  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances a  distant  (the  adjective  is  most  needful)  resem- 
blance to  the  human  countenance. 

(8)  And  they  had  hair  .  .  . — Translate,  And  they 
had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women,  and  their  teeth  were  as 
the  teeth  of  lions,  and  they  had  breastplates  as  iron 
breastplates ;  and  the  sound  of  their  wings  was  as  the 
sound  of  chariots  of  (having,  i.e.,  drawn  by)  many 
horses,  running  to  war.  The  hair :  It  is  said  that 
some  locusts  are  haiiy,  and  the  passage  in  Jeremiah 
(chap.  li.  27)  has  been  quoted  as  evidence  (the  rough 
caterpillars  here  spoken  of  being  said  to  be  "  locusts 
bristUng  with  hair  "),  but  the  application  of  the  passage 
is  uncertain  :  the  rough  caterpillar  may  be  the  locust  in 
the  third  stage,  when  the  wings  are  still  enveloped  iu 
rough  horny  cases  which  stick  upon  their  backs.  Others 
think  the  idea  of  the  woman -like  hair  has  its  basis  in  the 
antlers  of  the  locust.  The  teeth  like  those  of  the  lion 
is  a  description  the  origin  of  which  is  found  in  the 
prophet  Joel,  in  his  prediction  of  the  locust  plague :  "  a 
nation  cometh  upon  my  land,  sfi'ong,  and  without  num- 
ber, whose  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  a  lion,  and  he  hath  the 
cheek-teeth  (or,  grinding -teeth)  of  a  great  lion."  The 
terrible  destnictiveness  of  the  locusts,  and  their  sti'ong, 
ceaseless,  and  resistless  A^oracity,  were  tlius  described. 
Their  breastplates  are  taken  as  descriptive  of  their 
thoraxes,  which  in  the  vision  seemed  strong  as  iron. 
The  comparison  of  the  sound  of  the  wings  to  the 
thunderous  sound  of  cliariots  and  horses  rushing 
into  battle  is  repeated  from  Joel  ii. 

(10)  And  they  had  tails  .  .  .—Better,  And  they 
have  tails  like  to  scorpions,  and  stings,  and  in  their 
tails  is  their  power  to  hurt  men  five  months.  In  this 
verse  the  secret  of  their  power  is  mentioned  :  they  have 
tails  like  scorpions'  tails,  and  stings  which  wound  and 
so  cause  agony  to  men.  On  the  period  of  tive  montlis, 
see  verse  5.  In  the  exposition  of  this  jiassage  it  is 
utterly  vain  to  look  for  features  of  the  ordinary  natural 
locust  corresponding  to  the  several  particulars  set  forth 
by  the  sacred  seer :  this  is  admitted  even  by  those  wlio 
seem  anxious  to  find  such  counterparts.  "  We  must 
regard  the  comparison  as  rather  belonging  to  the  super- 


natural portion  of  our  description."  The  rule  is  a 
good  one.  Like  the  description  of  the  Divine  Presence 
in  chap.  4,  most  of  the  visions  of  the  Ijook  are  in- 
capable of  pictorial  realisation  without  incongruities 
which  would  bo  grotesque  and  profane ;  nor  neecl  we  be 
surprised,  since  the  principles  and  truths  are  the  main 
points  with  the  writer.  This  general  rule  must  be  kept  in 
mind  if  we  would  avoid  the  danger  of  dwelling  too  much 
on  the  bearing  of  details.  It  is  not  in  the  locust  that  we 
shall  find  even  the  suggestive  basis  of  the  details  in  the 
description  hei-e.  The  smoke  rises  from  the  pit  of  the 
abyss ;  the  heaven  is  darkened,  and  out  of  the  smoke 
emerges  the  pitchy  cloud  of  locusts.  The  seer  then  adds 
cei'tain  characteristics  of  this  locust  plague,  partly  drawn 
from  the  earlier  prophets,  but,  as  his  custom  is,  with 
some  original  additions.  They  are  locusts,  but  they  have 
the  malice  of  scorpions  ;  they  advance  like  horse-soldiei's 
to  battle ;  they  wear  crowns  ;  they  bear  a  resemblance  to 
men ;  there  is  something  womanlike  also  in  their  appear- 
ance, and  in  their  voracity  they  are  as  lions.  The 
exigencies  of  the  symbolism  are  quite  beyond  the 
features  of  the  ordinary  locvist :  the  sacred  writer 
shows  us  a  plague  in  which  devastation,  malice,  king- 
like authority,  intelligence,  seductiveness,  fierceness, 
strength,  meet  together  under  one  directing  spirit,  to 
torment  men.  Some  parts  may  be  purely  graphic,  as 
Alford  says,  but  sui'ely  the  vision  shows  us  a  great 
symbolical  army  multitudinous  as  locusts,  malicious 
as  scorpions,  ruling  as  kings,  intelligent  as  men, 
wily  as  womanhood,  bold  and  fierce  as  lions,  resist- 
less as  those  clad  in  iron  armour.  The  symbolism  of 
course  must  not  be  pressed  too  closely,  but  its  meaning 
must  be  allowed  to  widen  as  new  elements  are  added, 
especially  when  those  elements  are  not  suggested  by 
anything  in  the  locust  itself,  but  are  additions  clearly 
designed  to  give  force  to  the  symbol  employed.  The 
locust  -  like  army  has  characteristics  partly  human, 
partly  diabolical,  partly  civilised,  partly  barbarous. 
They  have  been  variously  interpreted  :  the  liistorical 
school  have  seen  in  them  the  Saracens  under  Mohammed, 
who  gave  to  them  a  religion  which  was  "  essentially  a 
military  system ; "  others  are  inclined  to  refer  them  to 
"  the  hoi'des  of  Goths  and  others  whoso  unkempt  locks 
and  savage  ferocity"  i-esemble  this  locust  host.  There 
is  a  good  ground  for  taking  the  vision  to  prefigure  the 
hosts  of  a  fierce  invading  army.  Even  those  who  believe 
that  Joel's  prophecy  foretold  a  jilague  of  litei-al  locusts, 
yet  acknowledge  that  these  "may  in  a  subsidiary 
manner  "  represent  "  the  northern,  or  Assyrian  enemies 
of  Judah  "  (Introduction  to  Joel,  Speaker's  Commen- 
tary). But,  as  the  writer  there  says,  these  were  "  them- 
selves types  of  still  future  scourges  ;  "  so  may  we  see 
here  a  vision  which  neither  the  history  of  the  Zealots, 
nor  that  of  Gothic  hordes,  nor  of  Saracens,  have  ex- 
hausted, but  one  which  draws  our  thoughts  mainly  to 
its  spiritual  and  moral  boaring.  and  teaches  us  that 
in  the  history  of  advancing  truth  there  will  come  times 
when  confused  ideas  will  darken  simple  truth  and 
right,  and  out  of  the  darkness  Avill  emerge  strange  and 
mongrel  teachings,  with  a  certain  enforced  unity,  but 

i  without  moral  harmony,  a  medley  of  fair  and  hideous, 

76 


I 


Tlmir  King  is  the  Angel 


REVELATION,   IX. 


of  the  Bottomless  Pit. 


stings  in  their  tails  :  and  their  power 
was  to  hurt  men  five  months.  ^^''  And 
they  had  a  king  over  tliem,  which  is  the 
angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  whose  name 
in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but 


1  Tliat  Is  to    Bay. 
A  ddstroyer. 


in  the  Greek  tongue  hath  his  name 
Apollyon.i  (i-)  One  woe  is  past;  a7id, 
behold,    there    come    two  Chap.  ix.  13— 

wnps  Tnnrp  Vipvpn-ffpr     21.     The   sixth 


(^■'^  And    the    sixth    angel  cond  woe 


trumpet.       Se- 


reaflonable  and  barbarous,  dignified  and  debased,  which 
enslave  and  torment  mankind.  The  outcome  of  these 
teachings  is  oftentimes  war  and  tyrannous  oppression ; 
but  the  sacred  seer  teadies  us  distinctly  that  those 
wlio  liold  fast  by  the  seal  of  God  are  those  who  cannot 
be  injured,  for  he  would  have  us  remember  that  the 
true  sting  of  false  conceptions  is  not  in  the  havoc  of 
open  war,  but  in  the  wounded  soul  aud  conscience. 
Nor  is  it  altogether  out  of  place  to  notice  (lay  way  of 
one  example)  that  the  power  of  Mohammed  was  more 
in  a  divided  and  debased  Christendom  than  in  his  own 
creed  or  sword ;  the  smoke  of  ill-regulated  opinions 
aud  erroneous  teachings  preceded  the  scourge.  Here, 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  book,  we  may  notice  that  subtle, 
plausible  errors  pave  the  way  for  dire  troubles  aud 
often  sanguinaiy  revolutions.  Falsehoods  and  false 
worships  that  have  been  diffused  over  the  world  become 
"  the  forerunners  and  foretellers  of  a  conflict  between  the 
powers  of  good  and  evil."  Yet  as  the  trumpet  sounds 
we  know  that  every  battle  is  a  step  towards  the  end  of 
a  victorious  war. 

(11)  And  they  had  a  king  .  .  .—Better,  They  have 
over  them  as  king  (not  "  the  angel,"  as  in  English  ver- 
sion) an  angel  of  the  abyss ;  his  name  (is)  in  Hebrew 
Abaddon,  and  in  the  Greek  he  has  a  name,  Apollyon. 
There  is  more  than  one  point  in  which  the  seer  wislies 
us  to  mark  the  contrast  between  these  symbolical  and 
the  natural  locusts.  Locusts  have  no  sting ;  these  have. 
Locusts  have  no  king  (Prov.  xxx.  27) ;  these  have  a 
king.  Tlie  movements  of  the  invading  locusts  are  con- 
ducted with  wonderful  precision  aud  order,  yet  no 
presiding  monarch  arranges  their  march ;  but  here 
there  is  a  directing  and  controlling  head.  The  great 
movement  is  no  mere  undesigned  or  instinctive  one, 
but  the  offspring  of  a  hidden,  spiritual  force.  The 
great  battle  is  not  on  the  surface  only,  the  invasions, 
revolutions,  tyrannies,  which  try  and  trouble  mankind, 
involve  spiritual  principles,  and  are  but  tokens  of  the 
great  conflict  between  the  spirit  of  destruction  and 
the  spirit  of  salvation,  between  Christ  and  Belial, 
God  and  Mammon,  the  Prince  of  this  world  and  the 
Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  eai*th.  The  king  of  these 
locust  hordes  is  named  in  Hebrew  Abaddon,  or  Perdi- 
tion, a  name  sometimes  g^ven  to  the  place  or  abode  of 
destruction  (Job  xxvi.  b).  "Destruction  (Abaddon) 
hath  no  covering" — i.e.,  before  God.  (Comp.  Prov.  xv. 
31).  In  Greek  his  name  is  Apollyon,  or  Destroyer: 
The  spirit  of  the  destroyer  is  the  spirit  that  inspires 
tliese  hosts.  It  is  a  great  movement,  but  its  end  is 
destruction,  as  its  inspiring  genius  is  from  beneatli,  from 
an  angel  of  the  nether  world.  It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to 
seek  some  great  historical  personage  for  the  fulfilment 
of  tliis  portion  of  the  prophecy,  any  more  than  we 
ought  to  accept  any  great  historical  event  as  an 
exhaustive  fulfilment  of  the  vision.  The  picture  is 
vivid  aud  forcible,  and  its  full  and  certain  meaning  will 
be  plain  hereafter ;  but  it  at  least  sliould  draw  our 
minds  from  the  curiosity  which  seeks  for  historical  or 

f)ersonal  counterparts  to  the  self-vigilance  whicli  fears 
est  our  own  s))irit  should  be  injured  by  the  prevalence  of 
any  form  of  evil.  It  should  teadi  us  to  remember  always 
the  vehement,  earnest  way  in  which  the  sacred  writers 
describe  the  subtle,  venomous  power   of  all  sin,  aud 

103  57V 


the  merciless  destructiveness  of  its  work.  It  is  not 
of  any  invading  hosts,  or  signal  and  special  forms  of 
evil,  but  of  the  terrible  and  usual  influence  of  all  sin, 
that  the  Apostle  St.  Paul  writes  wlicu  he  describes 
the  world-wide  devastations  of  sin  in  language  partly 
borrowed  from  the  Old  Testament,  but  singularly  re- 
minding us  of  the  vision  before  us.  "  There  is  none 
that  doeth  good ;  no,  not  one.  Their  throat  is  an 
open  sepulchre ;  the  poison  of  asps  is  upon  their  lips ; 
their  feet  are  swift  to  shed  blood;  destruction  and 
misery  are  in  their  ways;  and  the  way  of  peace  have 
they  not  known  ;  there  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their 
eyes  "  (Rom.  iii.  12 — 18).  It  is  perhaps  well  to  notice 
that  at  this  fifth  trumpet  the  unseen  spiritual  powers  of 
darkness  appear  taking  part  in  the  conflict.  There  is  a 
time  when  the  obstinate  resistance  of  mankind  (yes, 
and  of  individual  men  and  women  also)  to  better  things 
becomes  fortified  by  an  evil  spirit,  and  they  are  no 
longer  passive  resisters  of  good,  but  they  become 
active  antagonists  of  good,  hating  aud  obscuring  the 
light  of  truth,  and  wounding  the  spirits  and  consciences 
of  men.  Alas  !  many  walk  of  whom  the  Apostle  could 
only  say  with  tears,  "  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross 
of  Christ "  (the  emblem  of  salvation),  "  and  whose  end 
is  destruction  "  (Phil.  iii.  18,  19). 

(12)  One  woe  is  passed  .  .  . — Better,  TJie  one 
woe  has  passed  ;  behold  there  cometh  (the  verb  is  in  the 
singular)  yet  two  woes  after  these  things.  Here  is  the 
patience  and  faith  of  the  saints.  The  troubles  which 
pass  only  yield  place  to  more,  the  rest  and  the  victory 
are  not  yet;  the  powers  of  evil  have  not  exhausted 
themselves,  the  iniquity  of  the  social  aud  spiritual 
Amorites  is  not  yet  full. 

(13)  The  Sixth  Trumpet— the  Second  "Woe 
Trumpet. — The  first  point  which  will  strike  the  reader 
is  that  the  plague  under  this  trumpet  resembles  the 
last,  though  it  is  one  of  much  more  aggravated  nature. 
Again  we  have  vast  hosts,  witli  the  powers  of  the  horse, 
the  lion,  aud  the  An  per,  at  command,  but  the  destruc- 
tive elements  are  increased,  the  multitudes  are  more 
numerous,  the  horses'  heads  grow  lion-like.  With  the 
mouth  breathing  forth  threatening  aud  slaughter,  as 
well  as  with  tlie  tail  armed  with  deadly  fangs,  tliey 
can  deal  forth,  not  torment  only,  as  in  tlie  last 
vision,  but  death  itself,  to  a  vast  proportion  of 
the  human  race.  To  aid  in  this  new  desolation  new 
forces  are  released :  the  four  angels  bound  near  the 
Euphrates  are  loosed.  The  next  point  to  notice  is  that, 
even  more  directly  than  before,  we  are  reminded  that 
the  moral  and  spiritual  aspect  of  these  visions  should 
claim  our  thought.  The  aim  of  the  plagium  is  to  exhibit 
tiie  deatli-workiug  power  of  false  thoughts,  false 
customs,  false  beliefs,  and  to  rouse  men  to  forsake  the 
false  worships,  worldliness.  and  self-indulgence  into 
which  they  had  fallen  (verses  2(X  21).  The  Psalmist 
lias  told  us  tlmt  great  plagues  remain  for  the  ungodly. 
Here,  whatever  special  interpretations  we  may  adopt, 
is  an  illustration  of  the  Psalmist's  words.  The  enemy 
against  whom  these  foes  are  gathered  is  the  great 
world  lost  in  false  thoughts,  luxurious  ways,  dishonest 
customs  ;  that  world  which  in  the  very  essential  genius 
of  its  nature  is  hostile  to  goodness  aud  the  God  of 


Tlie  Sixth  AiKjel 


REVELATION,   IX. 


soundeth  his  Trumpet. 


sounded,  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  tlie 
four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which 
is     before     God,     <^*^    saying     to     the 


sixth  angel  which  had  the  trumpet, 
Loose  the  four  angels  which  are 
bound    in  the   great   river   Euphrates. 


foodnoss.  But  the  hosts  which  come  against  this  sin- 
rowned  world  are  not  merely  plagues,  as  famine  and 
pestilence,  they  are  plagues  which  are  tlie  results  of 
the  world-spirit,  and  are  to  a  great  extent,  therefore,  the 
creation  of  those  who  suffer.  For  there  are  evils  which 
are  loosed  upon  the  world  by  the  natural  action  of  sin 
and  sinful  customs.  As  the  evil  spirit  mingled  for  the 
first  time  in  the  plague  of  the  fifth  trumpet,  so  from  all 
quarters  (tj-pified  by  the  four  angels)  new  powers  of 
misery  arise.  Nor  must  another  feature  be  overlooked  : 
the  historical  basis  of  the  Apocal}"i5se  is  the  past  history 
of  the  chosen  people  ;  God's  dealings  with  men  always 
follow  the  same  lines.  The  Apoeal\'pse  shows  us  the 
same  principles  working  in  higher  levels  and  in  wider 
arena.  The  Israel  of  God,  the  Church  of  Christ,  with 
its  grand  opportunities,  takes  the  place  of  the  national 
Israel.  Its  advance  is  against  the  world,  and  the 
trumpets  of  war  are  soimded.  Its  progi-ess  is,  like 
Israol's.  at  first  a  success  ;  it  gains  its  footing  in  the 
world,  but  the  world-spirit  which  infects  it  is  its  worst 
and  bitterest  foe ;  it  becomes  timid,  and  seeks  false 
alliances ;  it  has  its  Hezekiahs,  men  of  astonishing 
faith  in  hours  of  real  peril,  and  of  astonishing 
timidity  in  times  of  comparative  safety,  who  can  defy 
a  real  foe,  but  fall  before  a  protended  ally,  and  who  in 
mistaken  friendliness  lay  the  foundation  of  more 
terrible  dangers  (2  Kings  xx.  12 — 19).  The  people 
who  are  victorious  by  faith  at  Jericho  lay  themselves 
open  by  their  timid  worldliness  to  the  dangers  of  a 
Babylonish  foe.  The  plague  which  falls  on  the  spirit 
of  worldliness  does  not  spare  the  worldliness  in  the 
Church.  Tlie  overthrow  of  corrupted  systems  bearing 
the  Christian  name  is  not  a  victory  of  the  world  over 
the  Church,  but  of  the  Church  over  the  world.  He 
who  mistakes  the  husk  for  the  grain,  and  the  shell  for 
the  kernel,  will  despair  for  Christianity  when  organisa- 
tions disappear;  but  he  who  remembers  that  God  is  able 
to  raise  uj)  even  of  the  stones  children  to  Abraham,  will 
never  be  confounded  ;  he  knows  the  vision  may  linger, 
but  it  cannot  come  too  late  (Heb.  ii.  3).  With  all  this 
section   the   prophecy   of  Habakkuk   should   be  com- 

Jared,  especially  chaps,  i.  6 — 11,  14,  15;  ii.  1 — 14;  iii. 
7 — 19.     The  histon,'  of  Israel  is  in  much  the  key  to 
the  history  of  the  world. 

And  the  sixth  angel  .  .  .  .—Translate,  And 
the  sixth  anyel  sounded  :  and  I  heard  a  (single)  voice 
out  of  the  (four)  horns  of  the  golden  altar,  which  is 
before  God,  saying  to  the  sixth  angel,  him  who  had  the 
trumpet  (or,  0  thou,  who  hast  the  trumpet).  Loose  the 
four  angels  which  are  bound  nt  the  great  river 
Euphrates.  Tliere  are  one  or  two  verbal  points  worthy 
of  notice.  The  Sinaitic  MS.  omits  the  words  "  single  " 
and  "out  of  the  four  horns,"  and  thus  reads,  "I  heard 
a  voice  out  of  the  golden  altar."  It  was  the  same  altar 
from  which  the  incense  ascended  mingled  with  the 
prayers  of  the  saints.  (See  chap.  viii.  3.)  Where  the 
prayers  were,  thence  the  voice  comes.  It  reminds  us 
that  the  prayers  are  not  ineffectual,  that  still  they  are 
lieard,  though  the  way  of  answering  may  bo  in  strange 
and  painful  judgments.  The  voice  is  heard  as  a  single 
voice  out  of  the  midst  of  the  horns  of  the  altar.  It  is 
very  doubtful  whether  the  word  "  four  "  ought  to  be 
retained.  The  voice  is  represented  as  rising  from  the 
surface  of  the  altar,  at  the  corners  of  which  were  the 


578 


four  projections  known  as  horns.  The  command  is 
to  loose  the  four  angels  bound  at  the  Euphrates. 
What  are  these  ?  Their  number — four — represents 
powers  influencing  all  quarters.  They  are  angels  (that 
is,  messengers,  or  agencies)  employed  for  the  purpose. 
They  are  at  or  near  the  river  Euphrates — that  is,  the 
spot  whence  the  forces  would  arise.  What  is  meant  by 
the  Euphrates  ?  Are  we  to  understand  it  literally  ? 
This  can  hardly  be,  unless  we  are  prepared  to  take 
Babylon  and  Jerusalem  literally  also,  and  to  deny  all 
mystical  meaning ;  but  this  is  what  only  few  will  be 
disposed  to  do.  The  two  cities,  Babylon  and  Jerusalem, 
are  the  types  of  two  radically  different  sets  of  ideas, 
two  totally  antagonistic  views  of  life  ;  and  the  meaning 
and  mystical  import  of  the  River  Eiiphrates  must  be 
determined  by  its  relation  to  these  two  cities.  It  has 
been,  indeed,  argued  that  we  are  not  bound  to  take  the 
name  Euphrates  mystically  because  the  remainder  of  the 
vision  is  mystical,  since  in  Scripture  we  often  find  the 
literal  and  the  allegorical  intermingled.  For  example, 
there  is  an  allegory  in  Ps.  Ixxx.  8  and  11,  "  Thou 
hast  brought  a  vine  out  of  Egypt,"  &c.  It  is  quite 
plain  that  the  vine  is  used  mystically  to  represent 
Israel;  but  the  word  Egypt  is  not  mystical  —  it 
indicates  the  literal  fact  that  out  of  Egyj^t  Ismel  was 
brought.  This  is  no  doubt  true,  but  it  hardly  meets 
the  question  here.  No  one  vriW  dispute  that  a  distinct, 
literal  fact  or  name  may  be  introduced  in  a  passage 
othei'wise  allegorical ;  but  do  we  ever  meet  wntli  a 
passage  in  which  names  of  places  are  introduced,  somo 
of  which  were  to  be  taken  literally  and  some  mystically? 
And  such  would  be  the  case  here.  The  whole  tenor  of 
the  Apocalypse  keeps  before  us  Jerusalem,  the  temple, 
and  its  surroundings  (chap.  xi.  1,  8),  and  Babylon,  with 
its  might  and  opulence,  as  two  opposing  cities;  and  it 
is  out  of  all  scriptiiral  analogy  to  interpret  Jerusalem 
allegorically,  and  Babylon  allegorically,  and  then  to 
claim  the  privilege  of  understanding  Euphrates  lite- 
rally. In  fact,  the  inconsistency  and  arbitrariness  of 
interpreters  is  tested  by  these  three  names,  Babylon, 
Jerusalem,  Euphrates.  Some  will  liave  Jenisalem  to 
be  literal,  and  Babylon  and  Euphrates  mystical ;  others 
will  have  Babylon  mystical,  and  Jerusalem  and 
Euphrates  literal.  Surely  those  who  hold  all  three  to 
be  literal  are  more  consistent.  But  if  Babylon  bo 
mystical  and  Jerusalem  mystical,  it  is  liard  to  see 
why  Euphrates  should  not  be  so  also.  I  am  far 
from  denying  that  those  who  consistently  hold  all 
three  to  be  literal  may  not  be  right.  There  are 
not  wanting  tokens  that  a  revival  of  the  East 
may  change  the  whole  political  centre  of  gravity 
of  the  world;  but  no  such  literal  fulfilment  would 
annul  the  infinitely  more  important  mystical  aspect  of 
the  Apocalypse.  The  conflict  between  a  literal  Babylon 
and  a  literal  Jerusalem  either  in  the  pa.st  or  the  future 
can  never  vie  in  interest  with  the  prolonged  and  wide- 
spread conflict  between  the  sjiirit  of  Christ  and  the 
spirit  of  Belial,  between  God  and  Mammon,  which  is 
waged  along  the  whole  line  of  history  over  the  arena  of 
the  whole  world,  and  plants  its  battle-ground  in  eveiy 
human  heart.  In  every  man,  and  in  the  whole  world, 
the  war  is  waged,  as  the  carnal  and  spiritual  con- 
tend with  one  another.  It  is  in  this  war  between  the 
mystical  Jerusalem  and  the  mystical  Babylon  that  the 
great  river  Euphrates  is  to  play  an  imj)ortant  part. 


I 


TKe  Four  Angels  which  were 


REVELATION,   IX. 


hoinid  in  th-"  Euphrates  loosed. 


(^'^>  And  the  four  angels  were  loosed, 
■which  were  prepared  for^  an  hour, 
and  a  day,  and  a  month,  and  a  year, 
for  to  slay  the  third  part  of  men. 
<^^)  And  the  number  of  the  army  of  the 
horsemen  ivere  two   hundred   thousand 


1  Or,  at. 


thousand :  and  I  heard  the  number  of 
them.  <^"*  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses 
in  the  vision,  and  them  that  sat  on 
them,  having  breastplates  of  fire,  and 
of  jacinth,  and  brimstone :  and  the 
heads  of  the  horses  luere  as  the  heads  of 


Tmoe  (here  and  in  chap.  xvi.  12)  the  river  Euphrates 
appears,  and  each  time  in  connection  with  some  warlike 
demonstration  or  invasion.  The  basis  of  interpretation, 
as  with  Jerusalem  and  Babylon,  must  be  sought  in  the 
history  of  Judah  and  Israel.  Babylon  is  the  great  foe 
of  Israel,  and  the  Euphrates  was  the  great  river  or 
flood  which  formed  a  natural  boundary  between  them. 
"The  other  side  of  the  tlood"  [i.e.,  Euphrates)  was  the 
phrase  which  pointed  back  to  the  early  life  of  Abraham 
before  he  liad  entered  upon  the  life  of  pilgrimage  and 
faith  ;  the  Euphrates  was  the  rubicon  of  his  spiritual  his- 
tory. Tlie  Euphrates  was  the  great  military  barrier  also 
between  the  northern  and  southern  nations  ;  it  occupied 
a  place  similar  to  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube  in  modem 
history.  The  advance  of  the  EgyjJtian  army  to  the  banks 
of  the  Euphrates  threatened  the  integrity  of  the  Assyrian 
empire  (2  Kings  xxiii.  29).  The  battle  of  Carchemish 
established  the  supremacy  of  the  Chaldean  power  to 
the  west  of  the  Euphrates  (2  Kings  xxiv.  7);  such  a 
pi-eponderance  of  Babylonish  influence  threatened  the 
safety  of  Jerusalem.  The  loosing  of  the  four  angels 
(or,  powers)  bound  at  the  Euphrates  can  only  signify 
changes  analogous  to  disturbances  on  the  great  frontier 
line,  as  the  drying  up  of  the  Euphrates  signifies  the 
annihilation  of  the  protecting  boundary.  Such  a  fron- 
tier line  between  the  spiritual  city  and  the  world  city 
does  in  practice  exist.  There  is  a  vast  stretch  of  inter- 
vening territory  which  neither  the  Church  nor  the  world 
really  possesses,  but  over  which  each  desires  to  possess 
power.  There  is  a  great  neutral  zone  of  public  opinion, 
civilised  habits,  general  morality,  which  is  hardly 
Christian,  hardly  anti-Christian.  When  Cliristianised 
sentiments  prevail  in  this,  there  is  comparative  peace, 
but  when  this  becomes  saturated  with  anti-Christian 
ideas,  the  Church  suffers ;  and  it  is  out  of  this  that  the 
worst  aspects  of  trouble  and  danger  arise ;  for  out  of  it 
arise  those  forces  which  bring  into  acute  form  the  great 
war  between  the  world  spirit  and  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
The  loosing  of  these  four  angels,  then,  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  issues  at  stake  have  become  more  distinct ;  that 
the  conflict  which  has  gone  on  under  veiled  forms 
begins  to  assume  wider  proportions  and  to  be  fought  on 
clearer  issues.  The  issues  have  been  somewhat  con- 
fused :  the  world  spirit  has  crept  into  the  Church,  and 
against  the  world  spirit,  wherever  found,  the  trumpet 
blast  declares  war. 

(15)  And  the  four  angels  .  .  . — Better,  And  there 
were  loo-ted  the  four  angds  who  had  been  made  ready 
unto  {or  for,  i.e.,  ready  for)  the  (not  "  an  hour,"  but  the) 
hmir,  and  day,  and  month,  and  year,  that  they  shmdd 
slay  the  third  part  of  mankind.  The  English  version 
reads  as  though  tlie  hour,  day.  month  and  year  were  to 
be  understood  as  the  length  of  time  over  which  this 
plague  of  war  should  last.  Tliis  idea  has  been  adopt<'d 
Dy  many  of  the  historical  school  of  interpreters,  and 
great  ingenuity  has  been  exercised  to  find  some  jjcriod 
which  exactly  corresponds  with  tliis.  and  during  which 
disastrous  wars  ])revailed.  But  the  expression  ("  made 
ready  unto  the  hmir,"  &c.)  is  not  to  l>e  taken  to  imply 
tliat  such  was  tlie  duration  of  the  plague  ;  it  implies 
that  the  loosing  of  the  augeb  would  take  place  at  a 


definite  period,  the  year,  month,  day  and  hour  of  which 
were  known ;  the  expression  corresponds  somewhat 
with  our  Lord's  words,  "  Of  tliat  day  and  hour  knoweth 
no  man."  It  reminds  us  that  there  is  a  period — an 
unknown  period,  but  nevertheless  a  certain  period — at 
which  the  latent  powei-s  of  retribution  wake  and  begin 
to  avenge  themselves,  at  which  the  restraints  wliich  have 
withheld  the  long-deserved  scourges  are  removed. 
Men  and  nations  little  think  of  this.  Peace  they  cry, 
where  there  is  no  peace,  for  they  have  been  by  their  sins 
mining  the  ground  under  their  feet,  or  dwellins:  in  tliat 
abode  of  false  security  which  Bunyan  might  have 
called  the  city  of  Meanwell,  and  that  abode  is  built  ou 
the  sands;  and  when  the  angels  of  judgment  are  loosed, 
and  the  restraining  influences  of  public  opinion  broken, 
the  tempest  is  abroad,  the  frail  house  of  formal  religion 
falls,  and  the  time  of  testing  leaves  its  inmates  un- 
sheltered. Happy  only  are  tliey  who  are  ready  for  the 
hour  of  the  Lord's  return.  The  angels  are  made  ready 
that  they  should  kill  the  third  part  of  mankind.  The 
way  in  which  this  slaughter  is  to  take  place  is  explained 
in  verses  17,  18  :  it  is  a  wide  and  devastating  slaughter 
carrying  away  a  large  portion  of  the  human  race. 

(16)  And  the  number  .  .  . — Translate,  And  the 
number  of  the  urmies  of  the  cavalry  ivas  two  myriads 
of  myriads.  I  heard  the  number  of  them.  The  writer 
heard,  perhaps  from  some  herald  angel,  the  number  of 
this  vast  army  of  horsemen  ;  it  was  twice  ten-thousand 
times  ten  thousand — i.e.,  two  hundred  millions.  The 
number  is  like  an  echo  from  Ps.  lx\-iii.  17 — "  The 
chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand  [tico  myriads), 
even  thousands  (or,  thotisands  of  thousands)  of  angels." 
This  utterly  bewildering  number  might  have  been 
sufficient  to  keep  interjjreters  from  looking  for  some 
slavishly  literal  fulfilment :  it  simply  stands  for  an 
immense  host,  and  may  serve  to  point  out  the  prolific 
powers  of  retribution — the  harvest  of  sin  is  misery, 
multiplied  thirty,  sixty,  one  hundred-fold. 

(i"»  And  thus  I  saw  .  .  . — Better,  And  after  this 
manner  saw  I  the  horses  in  the  vision,  and  those  who 
sat  upon  them,  having  breastplates  Jiei-y  and  jacinth- 
like, and  brimstonedike,  and  the  heads  of  the  horses 
were  as  heads  of  lions  ;  and  out  of  their  mouths  goeth 
forth  fire  and  smoke  and  brimstone.  The  seer  proceeds 
to  describe  the  general  appearanc.^  of  the  liorses  and 
horsemen.  After  this  fashion  were  they  :  the  horses  and 
horsemen  were  armed  with  breastplates  of  triple  hue 
(corresponding  to  the  three-fold  destructive  stream 
which  goes  forth  from  their  mouth),  the  hues  of  flame, 
and  dark  puqde  (jacinth),  and  brimstime.  The  jacinth 
colour  seems  to  be  the  dark  purple  or  blue  so  often  seen 
in  smoke.  The  Poet  Laureate  uses  the  word  "  azure  "  to 
describe  tlie  colour  of  ascending  columns  of  smoke 
("azure  pillars  of  the  hearth  arise  to  thee''):  the 
colour  here  would  be  darker,  the  smoke  not  arising 
from  peaceful  dwellings,  but  generated  among  death- 
giving  elements.  The  army  is  mainly  of  horsemen,  and 
they  are  described  as  resolute  and  relentless  :  we  are 
reminded  of  somewhat  similar  features  in  the  Chaldean 
armies  spoken  of  by  Habakkuk,  "  I  raise  up  the 
Chaldeans,    that   bitter    and   hasty   nation:    they  are 


679 


T]ie  Third  Purl  of  Men  killed 


EEVELATION,   IX. 


hy  tlie  destroying  Army. 


lions ;  and  out  of  their  mouths  issued 
fire  and  smoke  and  brimstone.  '■^^^  By 
these  tliree  was  the  third  part  of  men 
killed,  by  the  fire,  and  by  the  smoke, 
and  by  the  brimstone,  which  issued  out 
of  their  mouths.  ^^''^  For  their  power 
is  in  their  mouth,  and  in  their  tails  : 
for  their  tails  ivere  like  unto  serpents, 
and  had  heads,  and  with  them  they  do 
hurt.      (2^^    And   the   rest   of  the   men 


I  Pa.  115.  4;*  135. 
15:  18.1.4(1.7;. Id- 
10.  5 ;  Uail.  5.  23.    i 


which  were  not  killed  by  these  plagues 
yet  repented  not  of  the  works  of  their 
hands,  that  they  should  not  worship 
devils,  and  idols  of  gold,"  and  silver, 
and  brass,  and  stone,  and  of  wood : 
which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
walk :  (-^^  neither  repented  they  of 
their  murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries, 
nor  of  their  fornication,  nor  of  their 
thefts. 


torrible  and  flrcatlfnl :  their  horses  also  are  swifter  than 
li'opanls,"  &r.  (Habak.  i.  6— 10\ 

(IS)  By  these  three  .  .  .—Better,  From  these  three 
phigncs  trere  the  tJiird  part  of  mankind  slain,  by  the 
lire  and  the  smoke  and  the  brimstone  wliich  goeth  forth 
out  of  their  months.  For  the  power  of  the  horse  is  in 
their  mouth,  and  in  their  tails,  for  their  tails  xoere  like 
serpents,  having  heads,  and  with  them  they  hurt  (or, 
injure).  The  destructive  power  in  this  vision  is  in 
month  and  tail,  in  the  last  trumpet-vision  it  was  in  the 
tail  only  (verse  10).  The  devastating  power  is  in- 
creased ;  the  foes  come  swift  as  horsemen,  strong  as 
lions,  venomous  as  serpents,  breathing  forth  elements 
that  blind  and  burn  with  deadly  power.  We  have,  then, 
forces  which  are  mighty,  malicious,  and  relentless,  and 
which  are  bidden  forth  against  mankind  for  their  sins  of 
worldliness.  (See  verses  20,  21.)  It  is  not  once  only  in 
the  history  of  the  world  that  such  powers  have  been  let 
loose.  The  desolations  wrought  by  invading  hordes — • 
the  force  and  ferocity  of  Turkish  power  establishing 
itself  in  Europe  and  threatening  the  power  of  Christen- 
dom— the  widespread  terror  and  slanghter  promoted  by 
the  outbreak  of  the  .sjiirit  of  unresti-ainod  violence  in 
France,  followed  by  reckless  war,  may  illustrate  such 
a  vision  as  the  present ;  but  the  main  teaching  of  it 
is  the  never- failing  truth  that  the  spirit  of  worldliness 
provokes  its  own  punishment,  wherever  it  may  exist, 
and  its  retribution  is  in  a  form  which  serves  to  reveal 
what  latent  ])ower  of  destruction  lurks  behind  evei-y 
sin,  and  what  hidden  spiritual  foes  there  ai"e  to  intensify 
human  passions  and  to  increase  human  misery. 

(20,  21)  And  the  rest  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the  rest 
of  mankind  who  were  not  slain  in  these  plagues  did 
not  even  repent  of  (or,  out  of — i.e.,  so  as  to  forsake)  the 
works  of  their  hands,  that  they  shoidd  not  worship  the 
demons  (evil  spirits),  and  the  idols  of  gold,  and  of 
silver,  and  of  brass,  and  of  stone,  and  of  ivood ;  wliich 
can  neither  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk  :  and  they  did  not 
repent  of  (or,  out  of)  their  murders,  nor  of  (or,  out  of) 
their  sorceries,  nor  out  of  their  fornication,  nor  out  of 
their  thefts.  These  verses  make  one  or  two  points 
clear.  First,  thoy  show  us  that,  whatever  the  nature  of 
the  plagues  might  be,  they  were  afflictions  designed  to 
bring  al)out  repentance,  and  to  rouse  men,  whether 
nominally  Christian  or  not,  from  the  lethargy  into 
which  long  indulged  sin  had  plunged  them.  Those 
terrible  revolutions  wliidi  are  the  growth  of  years,  and 
which  startle  men  with  their  apparent  suddenness  and 
violence,  are  the  great  appeals  of  God,  asking  men  to 
see  the  meaning  of  sin;  they  are  the  trumpet  blasts 
calling  to  repentance.  But  we  are  told  more :  the 
remainder  of  the  godless  did  not  repent.  We  are 
not,  indeed,  told  that  they  did  not  feel  terror,  or 
remorse,  or  momentary  qualms  and  misgi\-ings,  but 
that  they  did  not  show  that  which  alone  is  re- 
gai'ded    as    genuine    repeutauce,   the   rcpeutauee  out 


580 


of  sin,  the  repentance  which  turns  away  from  sin. 
We  need  always  that  wholesome  caution.  We  need  it 
most  in  times  when  hysterical  and  emotional  religionism 
is  fashionable,  and  it  is  forgotten  that  true  repentance  is 
a  repentance  whereby  we  forsake  sins.  Tliese  men  re- 
pented not  out  of  their  sin.  And  their  sins  are  enume- 
rated, and  the  enumeration  again  takes  us  back  to  the 
histoiy  of  Israel  as  to  the  historical  basis  which  the  sacred 
seer  enlarged  and  vivified;  for  the  sins  are  just  those 
against  which  Israel  was  warned  and  into  which  Israel 
fell  (Dent.  iv.  28;  Ps.  cvi.  34—40 ;  Acts  vii.  41).  The 
sins  are  demon-worship  and  idolatry:  "They  served 
idols ;  they  sacrificed  their  sous  and  their  daughters 
unto  devils."  (Comp.  1  Cor.  x.  20;  1  Tim.  iv.  1.)  It 
is  needful  to  trace  these  sins  in  the  history  of  Israel,  as 
it  has  been  argued  that  these  are  heathen  sins,  and  that 
therefore  these  plagues  must  be  plagues  which  fall  on 
those  who  are  literally  heathens.  But  if  we  bear  in 
mind  that  the  series  of  visions  describe  features  which 
will  accompany  the  advance  of  Christianity  in  the 
world,  we  shall  remember  that  it  is  against  worldliness, 
wherever  found,  idolatries,  of  whatever  kind,  murders 
and  thefts,  called  by  whatever  name,  that  the  true 
genius  of  Christianity  makes  war.  Christ  is  king,  and 
king  of  righteousness,  and  in  righteousness  does  He 
make  war,  and  the  heathenisms  which  are  called 
Christianity  are  as  much  the  objects  of  His  displeasure 
as  the  most  ob^nous  Paganism.  It  is  needful  to  re- 
member that  Jews  are  addressed  as  if  they  were 
heathen,  aye,  very  habitues  of  Sodom  (Isa.  i.  10),  and 
that  the  Christian  Church  is  warned  against  sins 
which  are  little  else  than  idolatries.  Covetousncss,  the 
very  essence  of  worldliness,  is  by  St.  Paul  twice  over 
called  idolatry  (Col.  iii.  5,  and  Eph.  v.  5).  It  seems, 
therefore,  to  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  to  try  and  limit 
these  plagues  only  to  the  non-Christian  world.  To  do 
this  is  to  get  a  narrow,  improbable  (may  we  not  say  au 
impossible  ?)  interpretation ;  for  the  greatest  strength 
of  the  world-power  would  be  left  untouched.  It  is 
true  that  the  \'isions  are  not  showing  us  the  plagues 
which  fall  on  apostasy  and  fornication  within  the 
Church  ;  but  it  is  true  that  wo  are  beholding  visions 
which  show  how  terribly  the  world-spirit  avenges  itself 
on  all  who  harbour  it,  whether  called  Christian  or  not. 
Gross  sins,  gigantic  frauds,  complacent  familiarity 
with  crime,  foHowed  by  blunted  moral  sense,  are 
heathenish,  whether  found  in  Pagan  or  Christian 
society.  Heavy  woes  must  inevitably  await  tlie  society 
which  tolerates  such  works ;  but  the  worst  omen  of  the 
coming  doom  is  seen  when  society  has  lost  the  power 
to  repent  because  it  has  lost  the  power  to  hate  evil. 
Such  an  incapacity  is  invariably  significant  of  advjinced 
moral  decay.  It  is  the  climax  in  the  growth  of  sin 
which  the  Psalmist  noticed  where  men  lose  the  sacred 
abhorrence  of  evil  (Ps.  xxx\-i.  4).  To  such  repentance 
is  becoming  impossible. 


Vision  of  the  Angel 


EEVELATION,   X. 


with  the  Little  Book. 


CHAPTER  X.— (1)  And  I  saw  another 
Chap.  X.  1—11.  mighty  angel  come  down 
The  little  book,  from  heaven,  clothed  with 
a    cloud :     and    a    rainbow   was    upon 


his  head,  and  his  face  was  as  it  were 
the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of 
fire :  (-^  and  he  had  in  his  hand  a 
little  book  open  :  and  he  set  his  right 


X. 

The  Interposed  Visions.  The  Witness 
AGAINST  Evil  (cliaps.  x.  1 — xi.  14.)  —  As  between 
tlie  opening  of  tlie  sixth  and  seventh  seals  tliere  was 
interposed  a  two-fold  vision  —  the  sealing  of  the 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  and  the  glimpse 
of  the  great  multitude  (chap,  vii.) — so  is  a  two- 
fold vision  interposed  here  between  the  sounding  of 
the  sixth  and  seventh  trumpets.  The  simiLirity  of 
situation  of  these  interposed  visions  (episodes,  as  they 
liave  not  very  accurately  been  called)  suggests  that 
there  must  be  some  corresponding  value  in  their  inter- 
pretation. This  appears  to  be  found  in  the  answer  to 
the  question  which  rises  spontaneously  as  the  visions  of 
the  seals  and  of  the  trumpets  draw  to  a  close.  We 
see  the  scenes  which  the  seals  disclose,  and  we  learn 
how  war,  pestilence,  death,  persecution,  revolution,  are 
to  continue,  and  we  ask.  What  becomes  of  the  Church, 
the  bride  of  Christ  ?  Where  are  the  true  servants  of 
God  during  these  trials  ?  We  are  answered  by  the 
interposed  visions  of  the  seventh  chapter  that  they  are 
sealed,  and  they  will  be  safe.  Similarly,  the  scenes  dis- 
closed by  the  trumpets  are  spread  before  us,  and  we  see 
the  features  which  mark  the  advance  of  Christianity  in  the 
world  ;  we  see  the  pain,  the  confusion,  the  devastations 
and  slaughters,  the  bringing  to  light  of  hidden  evils, 
which  are  the  necessary  accompaniments  of  this  pro- 
longed war ;  we  see,  as  it  were,  amid  smoke  and  flame 
and  sword,  the  advancing  and  I'ecediug  line  of  battle,  and 
we  learn  that  the  powers  of  evil  are  subtle  and  self- 
multiplying,  and,  like  the  di-agon  in  the  den  of  error, 
leap  into  new  and  multiform  life,  though  smitten  by 
the  sword  of  the  Red  Cross  Knight.  And  amid  these 
confusions  of  war  we  almost  lose  sight  of  the  Church,  or 
gain  only  a  few  hints  which  show  that  she  is  not  unharmed 
in  the  conflict ;  and  again  the  question  is  forced  from  us. 
What  becomes  of  the  Church,  the  bride  of  Christ  ? 
Where  is  her  work  and  the  tokens  of  her  advance  ? 
To  this  the  interjiosed  visions  of  the  present  section  are 
designed  to  give  an  answer ;  and  that  answer  is  again 
a  reminder  to  us  that  the  work  of  God  in  the  world  is 
not  work  on  the  surface  of  history  merely :  the  waves 
catch  the  eye,  and  men  measure  progress  by  the  force 
of  these,  but  the  ebb  of  the  tide  is  unseen.  So  also  is 
there  a  work  of  God  which  is  more  potent  than  the 
conspicuous  work  on  which  men  love  to  look.  The 
work  of  the  Church  is  not  to  bo  measured  by  results 
now.  It  does  achieve  results,  but  her  best  work  is  the 
w^ork  of  which  she  knows  not  now  but  will  know  after- 
wards ;  and  there  is  a  Church  within  the  Church 
which  is  carrying  on  this  work.  There  are  witnesses  of 
God  against  the  beast-power  and  the  world-power,  who, 
though  persecuted,  are  faithful— though  dying,  live — 
though  chastened,  are  not  killed  ;  who.  through  evil  re- 
port and  good  report,  triumph  over  faithlessness  and  fear. 

The  interposed  vision  is  two-fold.  In  the  first  part, 
contained  in  chap,  x.,  another  mighty  angel  descends 
with  a  little  book  open  in  his  liand.  This  book  the 
sacred  seer,  as  the  type  of  all  those  who  will  witness 
truly  for  God  in  the  world,  is  commanded  to  eat ;  from 
sweetness  it  turns  to  bitterness,  in  token  that  the  very 
fidelity  and  love  ho  had  to  God  would  be  the  occasion 
of  sorrow,  for  he  would   have   to   be  the   witness  of 


unpalatable  truths  to  the  potentates  of  the  earth;  but 
he  has  heard  celestial  thunders,  and  he  knows  that  the 
end  and  victory  are  near.  Such  is  the  preparation  of 
him  who  will  be  a  true  witness  for  Christ  when  many 
false  witnesses  and  false  Christs  are  abroad.  The 
second  part  expands  the  same  thought  under  different 
imagery.  There  is  a  holy  of  holies  in  the  Church, 
where  the  true  witnesses  are  lightened  with  celestial 
fire  for  their  work  of  noble  peril. 

First  Scene  of  the  Interposed  Vision. 

(1,2)  And  I  saw  .  .  .—Translate,  And  I  saw 
another  iniglity  anyel  descending  out  of  the  heaven, 
clothed  with  a  cloud,  and  the  (not  "a  ")  rainbow  2ipon  his 
head,  and  his  face  as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of 
fire,  and  having  in  his  hand  a  little  hook  (or,  roll)  open. 
Many  have  thought  that  this  angel  can  be  none  other 
than  Christ  Himself.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  description  is  such  that  we  might  well  hesitate  to 
apply  it  to  any  but  our  Lord ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  words, 
"another  mighty  angel,"  afford  serious  diflBculty.  Our 
Lord  might  indeed  appear  as  an  angel,  but  it  is  scarcely 
conceivable  that  He  would  be  called  "  another  mighij 
angel : "  an  expression  which  seems  to  associate  this  angel 
with  those  others  who  have  taken  part  in  these  visions. 
Remembering  this,  we  must  separate  from  our  thoughts 
the  idea  of  personal  angelic  beings.  Such  are  employed 
by  God,  but  in  the  mechanism  of  these  visioLS  the 
angels  are  not  necessarily  such,  any  more  than  the  stars 
are  literal  stars :  they  are  typical,  representative  angels, 
as  we  speak  of  the  Angel  of  Peace,  the  Angel  of  War ; 
so  we  have  the  Angels  of  Time,  of  Death,  of  Life,  as 
in  the  Apocalji^se.  The  angel  here,  even  if  he  does  not 
represent  Christ  Himself,  descends  with  the  evidences 
of  Christ's  power.  He  comes  to  remind  the  secret 
ones  of  God  that  Christ  is  with  them  always,  and  that 
He  will  not  hide  His  commandments  from  those  who 
are  living  as  strangers  and  jjilgrims  upon  earth  (Ps. 
cxix.  19;  1  Pet.  ii.  11) ;  for  he  bears  a  little  book  open 
in  his  hand.  The  value  of  this  vision  is  best  seen  by 
calling  to  mind  the  vision  of  the  Fifth  Trumpet.  There, 
for  the  first  time,  the  plagues  seemed  to  gather  super- 
natural power  :  the  key  of  the  abyss  was  given  to  the 
star  that  fell,  and  the  locust  host  were  led  by  the  angel 
of  the  abyss.  As  an  answer  to  this  comes  this  angel, 
bearing  the  witnesses  of  Christ's  power.  When  the 
troubles  come  that  darken  and  confuse,  the  messenger 
from  heaven  will  come  to  gi\e  light,  teaching,  and 
strength  to  the  faithful — so  does  this  angel  first  give 
assurance  of  tlie  power  of  Christ.  He  comes  clothed 
with  a  cloud,  the  token  alwavs  of  the  Divine  Presence 
(Ex.  xiii.  21;  Ezek.  i.  4;  Matt.  xvii.  5;  Acts  i.  9). 
The,  not  "a"  rainbow,  but  the  rainbow  (i.e.,  the  rainbow 
of  chap.  iv.  3),  the  token  of  covenant  and  of  love, 
glowed  round  his  head ;  his  face,  like  Moses',  had 
caught  the  unutterable  liglit,  the  .'^uu-like  lijjfht  of  Christ's 
presence  (chap.  i.  16) ;  and  his  feet  were  like  pillars  of 
fire  to  tread  the  earth,  strong  in  the  power  of  purification 
and  judgment.  Some  call  this  the  Angel  of  Time,  because 
of  his  utterance  in  verse  6;  but  is  it  not  rather  the  typical 
representative  of  the  Angel  of  the  New  Testament, 
coming  with  the  tokens  of  covenant  truth,  and  power 
and  love  ?    He  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book  open.    Our 


581 


Seven  TJauulers 


REVELATION,   X. 


utter  their  Voices. 


foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  on 
the  earth,  '^^  and  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  as  when  a  lion  roareth  :  and  when 
he  had  cried,  seven  thunders  uttered 
their  voices.     *^^  And  when   the  seven 


thunders  had  uttered  their  voices,  I 
was  about  to  write :  and  I  heard  a  voice 
from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Seal  up 
those  things  which  the  seven  thunders 
uttered,  and  write  them  not.     '^^  And 


memories  aro  carriod  back  to  tlie  other  book,  or  roll,  dis- 
jilayod  ill  eliap.  v.  1 — 5,  and  two  coutrasts  strike  us:  tliat 
roll,  or  book,  was  sealed,  ami  iioue  were  fouud  worthy 
to  open  it ;  this  book  is  opeu — that  book  was  larg'er ; 
this  one  being  described  as  a  small  book.  Do  tliese 
contrasts,  help  us  to  the  meaning?  One  thing  they 
seem  to  tell  us :  the  book  contains  none  of  those  secret 
things  which  were  the  contents  of  the  former  book. 
The  closed,  sealed  book  pointed  to  the  hidden  spi-iugs 
of  future  history;  this  points  to  what  is  open  to  all. 
That  book  was  comparatively  largo,  and  tilled  with 
writing,  as  the  visions  of  oncoming  history  were  great ; 
this  book  is  small,  and  coutains  what  all  may  mastei*. 
These  considerations  forliid  the  idea  that  the  book  is  a 
repetition  in  brief  of  what  was  in  the  sealed  book,  "  or 
that  it  was  the  revelation  of  some  remaining  pro- 
phecies," or  of  some  "  portion  or  section  of  prophecy." 
The  vision  is  a  representation  that  he  who  comes  armed 
with  the  witnesses  of  Christ's  presence  comes  also 
with  that  ever  open  proclamation  of  God's  love  and 
rigiiteousness.  The  little  opcm  book  is  that  gospel 
wliich  is  the  sword  of  the  Spiiit,  the  weapon  of  the 
Church,  that  Word  of  God  open  to  all,  hidden  only 
from  those  whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded. 
Tlie  fallen  powers  may  bear  the  key  and  let  loose 
darkening  clouds  of  confused  thought  and  unworthy 
teaching  ;  tlie  outer  courts  of  the  Cliurch  may  be  over- 
cast :  but  unto  the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  the 
darkness,  and  God's  Word  has  risen  with  new  light  and 
power  upon  the  bewilderments  and  glooms  of  the  age. 
"  Three  books  are  associated  in  the  Apocalypse.  Tlie 
fii-st  is  the  book  of  the  course  of  this  world  (chap.  v. 
1) ;  .  .  .  the  last  is  the  Book  of  Life  (chaps,  xx.  15  ;  xxi. 
27)  .  .  .  :  between  these  two  comes  "  another  book, 
which  is  the  link  between  the  other  two,  the  ever 
open  book  of  God's  promises  and  the  witness  of 
God's  righteousness  and  power.  Elliott  regarded  this 
little  roll  as  the  Bible  opened  anew  to  mankind  at  the 
period  of  the  Reformation.  The  period  affords  many 
magnificent  illustrations  of  the  vision,  but  it  does  not 
exliaust  its  truth,  since  iu  every  age  the  reverent  study 
of  the  Word  of  God  has  given  freshness  and  strength 
to  forgotten  truths,  and  has  saved  men  from  the  l)oudage 
of  traditional  notions.  From  among  such  students  have 
arisen  God's  witnesses. 

And  he  set  .  .  .—The  attitude  of  the  angel,  with 
one  fiery  foot  planted  on  the  sea  and  tlie  other  on  the 
laud,  is  that  of  a  concpieror  taking  possession  of  the 
whole  world.  There  is  a  power,  then,  by  which  tlie 
Church  and  children  of  God  may  possess  the  earth. 
It  is  not  the  power  of  pride  or  worldliness.  The  true 
weapcms  aro  not  carnal :  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  is  the 
word  of  God,  and  the  meek-spirited  (meek  to  bo  tau'i-ht 
and  meek  iu  life)  shall  possess  tlie  earth. 

(3)  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice  .  .  .—Better, 
and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  even  a.i  a  lion  roareth. 
Another  token  of  the  presence  of  Christ  with  the 
Church.  The  voice  is  the  voice  of  a  courage  and 
strength  derived  from  Him  who  is  the  "  Lion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah." 

And  when  he  had  cried  .  .  .—Translate,  and 
when  he  cried,  the  seven  thunders  (notice,  uot  "  seven 


682 


thunders,"  but  "  the  seven  thunders  ")  spake  their  own 
voices.  The  thunders  are  called  the  seven  thunders  to 
bring  them  before  us  as  another  order  of  sevens,  and 
into  harmony  with  the  seven  seals,  the  seven  trumpets, 
the  seven  vials.  Thus  we  have  four  sets  of  sevens.  It 
was  not  a  seven-fold  peal  of  thunder,  but  seven 
thunders,  which  spake  forth  distinctly  their  own  voices. 
This  marked  language  brings  the  seven  thunders, 
though  their  utterances  are  never  revealed,  into  pro- 
minence as  a  portion  of  the  Apocaly^jtic  system.  But 
what  were  these  thunders  ?  Were  they  more  terrible 
judgments  still?  and  did  the  sealing  of  them  signify 
the  shortening  of  the  days  of  judgment,  as  Christ 
had  said  (Matt,  xxi  v.  22)  ?  It  may  be  so.  One  thing 
seems  certain — the  guesses  which  have  been  hazarded 
(such  as  that  they  are  identical  with  the  trumpets ;  that 
they  are  the  seven  crusades)  can  hardly  be  admitted. 
Whatever  they  were,  they  were  perfectly  intelligible  to 
the  Evangelist.  He  was  on  the  point  of  writing  down 
their  utterances.  Will  this  fact  help  us  to  understand 
the  general  object  of  their  introduction  here  ? 

W  And  when  the  seven  .  .  .—Translate,  And 
when  the  seven  thunders  spoke,  I  was  about  to  write  : 
and  I  heard  a  voice  out  of  the  heaven,  saying.  Seal  up 
tlie  things  lohich  the  seven  thunders  spoke,  and  write 
them  not.  He  could  have  written  down  their  uttei*- 
auces.  It  was  no  mere  thunder-like  sound  he  heard : 
the  thunders  spoke ;  and  he  would  have  continued  his 
writing  as  he  had  been  commanded  (chap.  i.  II)  had 
not  the  voice  out  of  heaven  forbidden  him.  The 
utterances,  then,  are  for  those  who  hear  them;  they  aro 
not  to  be  made  generally  known.  Is  it  not  the  solemn, 
sacred,  divine  voice  not  to  be  known  by  all,  but  by 
those  who  have  ears  to  hear  when  "  the  God  of  glory 
thundereth  ?  "  "  Lo  !  He  doth  send  forth  His  voice, 
yea,  and  that  a  mighty  voice "  (Ps.  Ixviii.  33).  Man- 
kind may  hear  the  thunder ;  only  those  whose  ears 
God  has  opened  can  hear  the  utterances  and  the  in- 
spiriting messages  which  they  bring.  So  was  it  once 
in  our  Lord's  life.  The  people  said  it  thundered ;  some 
thought  an  angel  spake ;  but  there  were  articulate 
words  which  He  who  came  to  do  God's  will,  in  whoso 
heart  was  God's  law,  heard,  and  to  Him  that  tliunder- 
like  voice  promised  to  "  glorify  His  name  "  (John  xii. 
28,  29).  Similarly  here,  the  Evangelist  (who  is  in  this 
but  a  type  of  the  true  witnesses  for  God),  who  is  to 
prophecy  before  peoples  and  kings  (verse  11),  hears 
words  spoken  by  the  divine  voice  wliich  make  him 
strong  for  his  mission.  It  is  so  evermore.  Dull  ears 
there  are  who  liear  thunder,  but  never  God's  voice ; 
dim  eyes  there  aro  which  see  no  trace  of  the  divino 
craftsman  iu  all  nature,  though 

"  Earth  's  crammed  with  God, 
And  every  coiumon  bush  aglow  with  Him." 

The  thunders  are  not  to  be  wiitten  down ;  they  are  for 
those  who  have  ears  to  hear. 

(5—7)  And  the  angel  .  .  . — Translate,  And  the  angel 
whom  I  sail)  standing  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth 
lifted  his  right  hand  to  the  heaven,  and  sware  in  (or, 
by)  Him  who  liveth  unto  the  ages  of  the  ages,  who  created 
the  heaven,  and  the  things  in  it,  and  the  earth,  and  the 


I 


The  Seer  is  commanded 


EEVELATION,   X. 


to  eat  the  Little  Book. 


the  angel  wliicli  I  saw  stand  upon  the 
sea  and  upon  the  earth  lifted  up  his 
hand  to  heaven,  (''*  and  sware  by  him 
that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  who 
created  heaven,  and  the  tilings  that 
therein  are,  and  the  earth,  and  the 
things  that  therein  are,  and  the  sea, 
and  the  things  which  are  therein,  that 
there  should  be  time  no  longer :  <'^>  but 
in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound, 
the  mystery  of  God  should  be  finished, 


a  Ezek.     2. 
3.3. 


as  he  hath  declared  to  his  servants  the 
prophets.  ^'^^  And  the  voice  which  1  heard 
from  heaven  spake  unto  me  again,  and 
said.  Go  and  take  the  little  book  which  is 
open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  which 
standeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the 
earth.  (^^  And  I  went  unto  the  angel, 
and  said  unto  him.  Give  me  the  little 
book.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Take  it," 
and  eat  it  up  ;  and  it  shall  make  thy 
belly  bitter,  but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth, 
sweet  as  honey.     <^o)    And  I  took   the 


things  in  it,  and  the  sea,  and  the  things  in  it,  that  time 
{i.e.,  delay,  or  postponement)  should  no  longer  be  :  but 
in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  whenever 
he  is  about  to  sound  (his  trumpet)  was  finished  the 
mystery  of  God,  as  he  evangelised  his  servants  the 
prophets.  There  is  a  change  of  tense  which  sounds 
strange  :  he  says,  then  (not  "  will  be,"  but)  was  finished. 
In  thought  he  hurries  on  to  the  end,  and  sees  the  close 
no  longer  in  the  dim  future,  but  as,  with  the  eye  of 
God,  an  accomplished  fact.  The  certainty  is  guaran- 
teed with  an  oath.  The  gesture  of  the  uplifted  hand 
to  give  emphasis  to  the  oath  is  of  ancient  date.  Thus 
Abraham  expressed  his  resolution  to  take  none  of  the 
spoils  of  the  conquered  kings :  "  I  have  lift  up  mine 
hand  unto  the  Lord  .  .  .  that  I  will  not  take  from  a 
thread  to  a  shoelatchet "  (Gen.  xiv.  22 ;  comj).  Ex.  vi. 
8,  margin).  So,  too,  does  the  man  clothed  in  linen 
(Dan.  xii.  6 — 9,  a  passage  which,  in  much,  is  the 
foundation  of  the  one  before  us)  lift  up  both  hands 
and  sware  that  there  shall  be  a  fixed  period  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  scattering  of  the  power  of  the 
holy  people.  The  oath  in  the  passage  under  con- 
sideration is  to  the  effect  (not  that  time  should  cease 
and  eternity  begin,  but)  that  there  shall  be  no  longer 
any  delay.  The  suffering  saints  had  cried,  "  How 
long?"  (chap.  vi.  9 — 11),  and  they  had  been  bidden 
to  wait  a  little  time.  Now  the  close  of  all  such 
waiting  time  is  announced :  when  the  seventh  trumpet 
shall  have  blown  the  mystery  of  God  will  be  finished. 
" '  The  mystery  of  God '  does  not  mean  something 
which  cannot  be  understood  or  explained.  It  is  never 
applied  to  such  matters,  for  example,  as  the  origin 
of  evil,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity.  It 
does  mean  a  secret ;  but  then  a  secret  may  be  told, 
and  when  told  is  no  mystery.  The  mystery,  or  secret, 
of  God  means,  therefore,  the  whole  of  His  plan  and  of 
His  counsel  concerning  this  earth  in  its  present  state 
of  discipline  and  of  imperfection  ;  all  that  God  means 
to  do  upon  it  and  towards  it,  even  till  that  which  we 
read  of  a.s  the  time  of  the  end  (Dan.  xii.  4 — 9),  the 
close  of  this  last  dispensation,  and  the  introduction  of 
that  new  heavens  and  now  earth  wherein  dwelloth 
righteousness"  (Dr.  Vanglian).  No  wonder,  as  he 
announced  this  fast  ajjproachiug  close  of  the  ages  of 
suffering  and  trial,  he  should  add, "  According  as  He  (not 
"declared" — an  utterly  inadequate  word — but)  evange- 
lised— i.e.,  according  to  the  glad  tidings  which  He  had 
ever  proclaimed  to  and  by  His  servants  the  prophets." 

A  somewhat  remarkable  parallelism  between  this 
passage  and  1  Cor.  xv.  51,  52,  has  been  pointed  out.  In 
both  2)assages  there  is  reference  to  the  mystenj,  the 
glad  tidings,  and  the  last  (the  seventh  trumpet  is  also 
the  last)  trumpet.  This  harmony  of  reference — taken 
in  connection  with  St.  Paul's  statement,  "  We  shall  not 


all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed" — is  full  of 
interest,  if  it  were  for  nothing  more  tlian  to  notice  the 
union  of  thought  between  the  two  Apostles;  but  it 
may  also  throw  light  upon  the  teaching  respecting  the 
first  resm-rection  (chap.  xx.  5,  6  ;  but  see  Note  there). 

(8,  9)  And  the  voice  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the  voice 
which  I  heard  out  of  the  heaven  (I  heard  it)  again 
talking  with  me  (it  is  not  the  angel  that  speaks,  but  the 
voice  which  had  bidden  him  seal  up  the  thunders  is 
heard  again  speaking),  and  saying.  Go,  fulce  the  roll 
(or,  the  little  roll ;  tliere  is  a  difference  in  the  MSS.) 
which  is  opened  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  who  stands 
upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth.  And  I  went  away  to 
the  angel,  telling  him  to  give  me  the  Utile  book.  And 
he  saith  to  me,  Take  and  eat  it  up  ;  and  it  shall  make 
bitter  thy  belly,  but  in  tliy  mouth  it  shall  be  sweet  as 
honey.  The  image  of  eating  the  roll  is  derived  from 
the  Old  Testament.  We  meet  -with  it  in  Ezekiel  (chap, 
iii.  1 — 3)  and  Jeremiah  (chap.  xv.  10).  The  passage  in 
Ezekiel  is  probably  the  basis  of  the  present  passaao, 
and  the  chapter  in  which  it  occurs  gives  us  the  meaning 
of  the  sjnubol :  the  eating  of  the  roll,  or  tlie  words  of 
the  roll,  is  the  complete  mastering  of  the  contents  of 
the  book — the  digesting,  as  we  say,  its  moanirg,  till 
the  principles  and  truths  are  thoroughly  familiar  and 
loved.  "  All  my  words  "  (so  runs  the  explanatory  verse, 
Ezek.  iii.  10)  "  that  I  shall  speak  unto  thee  receive  in 
thine  heart  and  hear  with  thine  ears."  It  is  similar 
to  the  Psalmist's  practice :  "  Thy  words  have  I  hid 
within  my  heart ;  "  he  made  himseK  so  familiar  with 
them  that  they  were  no  longer  a  code  of  laws,  but  a 
constant  instinct,  a  second  nature  to  him.  Thus  pre- 
eminently should  he  be  familiar  with  his  Master's 
words  and  heart,  saturated  with  his  Master's  principles, 
who  is  to  be  a  witness  and  a  prophet  for  his  Lord. 
"  He  who  would  carry  God's  words  to  another  must 
first  be  impressed  and  penetrated  with  them  himself.  He 
must  not  only  hear.  read,  mark,  and  learn,  but  also  (ac- 
cording to  the  Scriptural  figure   luwardly  digest  them." 

(10)  And  I  took.  .  .—The  Evangelist  takes  the  roll, 
as  he  was  bidden,  out  of  the  angel's  hand,  eats  it  up,  and 
finds  it,  as  he  was  told,  "  in  his  mouth  as  honey,  sweet." 
In  this  his  experience  resembles  that  of  Ezekiel.  who 
found  the  roll  in  his  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness 
(Ezek.  iii.  3).  So  the  Psalmist  could  rejoice  in  God's 
words  and  God's  law  as  sweet,  sweeter  than  honey  and 
the  honeycomb  (Pss.  cxix.  103,  and  xix.  10).  He  who  is 
ready  to  endure  bitterness  in  his  fidelity  to  God  n)ust 
not  only  be  interpenetrated  by  divine  teaching;  ho 
must  have  also  realised  its  sweetness,  or  else,  however 
pleasant  his  words  may  sound,  they  will  lack  tlie  sweet- 
ness which  is  as  needful  to  the  words  of  the  teacher  as 
to  the  songs  of  the  poet.  But  the  after  effect  of  the 
sweet-tasting    roll    is   bitterness.     Ezekiel  makes  no 


683 


TJie  Seer  eateth  up 


REVELATION,   XI. 


the  Little  Book. 


little  book  out  of  the  anfifel's  hand,  and 
ate  it  up ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth 
sweet  as  honey :  and  as  soon  as  I 
had  eaten  it,  my  belly  was  bitter. 
<i^'  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou 
must     prophesy     again    before     many 


peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues,  and 
kings. 

CHAPTER  XI.— (1)  And  there  was 
given  me  a  reed  like  unto  chap.  li.  i— 14 
a    rod :     and     the     anffel  Tlie  witnesses. 


mention  of  this  bitterness;  yet  we  know  how  much 
his  fidelity  to  the  words  lie  loved  so  well  must  hiive 
cost  him  when  lie  was  bidden  to  arm  himself  with  a 
flinty  determination  (Ezek.  iii.  9 — 14,  and  ii.  6,  7),  and 
the  patient  courajje  of  one  whose  lot  was  among  thorns 
and  brial's  and  scorpions.  It  must  always  be  so.  The 
love  of  Christ  may  constrain  men,  but  the  very  ardour 
of  their  affections  must  bring  them  through  tribulation, 
and  may  make  them  as  outcasts,  defamed,  persecuted, 
slain.  The  flaming  zeal  to  emancipate  mankind  from 
thraldoms,  follies,  and  ruinous  suis  may  stir  the  soul 
with  a  holy  joy ;  but  there  come  moments  when  men 
are  almost  tempted  to  turn  back,  and  to  think  that  they 
have  undertaken  a  hopeless  task,  when  they  find  how 
slow  is  their  pi-ogress,  and  what  new  and  unexpected 
difficulties  arise.  Such  was  the  bitterness  which  Moses 
felt :  "  Why  is  it  that  Thou  hast  sent  me  ?  For  since  I 
came  to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  Thy  name,  he  hath  done 
evil  to  this  people;  neither  hast  Thou  delivered  thy 
people  at  all."  The  most  enthusiastic  souls  who  love 
their  fellow-men,  and  who  feel  how  sweet  and  high  is 
their  calling,  perhaps  feel  most  of  this  bitterness. 
Their  very  love  makes  all  failure  very  bitter  to  bear ; 
yet  is  it  "through  this  martyrdom  of  failui'e  that  the 
noblest  victories  are  won. 

(11)  And  he  .  .  . — Better,  And  they  (not  "  he,"  as 
in  the  English  version,  but  they  say :  an  equivalent  for 
"It  was  said,")  say  to  me,  Thou  must  again  prophesy 
concerning  (or,  with  regard  to)  peoples,  and  nations, 
and  tongues,  and  kings  many.  He  is  told  that  the 
bitterness  will  arise  in  connection  with  his  prophecies 
with  regard  to  peoples  and  kings.  This  carries  us  on 
to  the  vision  in  the  next  chapter,  where  the  two  wit- 
nesses stand  so  solitary,  and  prophesy  so  mightily,  yet 
80  vainly,  among  men.  He  will  have  to  tell  the  story 
of  churches  and  peoples,  priests  and  princes,  unmindful 
of  their  high  calling  and  their  allegiance  to  their  true 
king,  and  of  their  hatred  of  God's  mightiest  and  purest 
witnesses.  The  end,  indeed,  will  come.  The  Church 
will  be  \actorious.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  will 
become  the  kingdoms  of  Christ :  but  it  will  be  through 
persecutions,  apostacies,  judgments.  This  is  the  sad 
vision  he  must  describe.  The  interposed  visions  will 
answer  the  question,  "  What  has  the  Church  been 
doing  ?  "  but  it  will  show  how  she  has  done  that  work, 
distressed  by  heresies,  crippled  by  worldliness,  trodden 
down  by  enemies,  and,  worse  than  enemi(!s,  foes  veiled 
as  friends.  But  this  very  vision  will  lead  to  the  im- 
folding  of  the  more  truly  spiritual  aspects  of  the 
Church's  work,  and  of  that  conflict  in  which  she  con- 
tends with  the  multiform  spirit  and  power  of  evil. 
Thus  will  he  prophesy  of  peoples  and  kings  many. 

XI 

The  Second  Part  of  the  Interposed  Vision. 
The  Measuring  op  the  Temple  ;  the  Two 
Witnesses  ;  the  Earthquake. 

The  Measuring  op  the  Temple. — We  enter 
upon  the  second  part  of  the  interposed  vision.  The 
Temple  proper  is  secured.     The  measuring  signifies  its 


protection  from  profanation  ;  the  outer  court  given  to 
the  Gentiles  indicates  that  practical  heathenism  and 
corruption  have  invaded  the  Church;  against  corruptions 
and  profanities,  witnesses,  who  draw  their  strength  from 
divine  help,  are  raised  up  to  protest.  Their  power  is 
great,  though  their  witness  is  disregarded ;  for  their 
influence  outlasts  their  life,  and  their  words  avenge 
themselves  on  their  adversaries ;  rejected  reformation 
re-appears  as  revolution.  The  vision  therefore  declares 
that,  whatever  corruptions  invade  the  Church,  the  kernel 
of  the  Church  wiU  never  be  destroyed,  but  out  of  it  will 
arise  those  who  will  be  true  to  the  Mastei^'s  commission, 
and  whose  words  will  never  be  void  of  power. 

Such  seems  to  be  the  general  drift  of  this  chapter. 
It  is  stated  thus  briefly  and  simply  that  it  may  be 
kept  in  mind  as  a  leading  idea  in  the  comments 
which  follow,  and  because  the  chapter  is  generally  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  difficult  in  the  book.  On 
the  relation  between  the  allusions  to  the  Temple  in  this 
chapter  and  the  date  of  the  book,  see  Introduction. 
It  is  perhaps  well  to  remember  that,  as  we  have  taken 
Jerusalem  and  Babylon  as  symbolical  names,  and  not 
necessarily  the  literal  Jerusalem  and  the  literal  Baby- 
lon, so  the  Temple  and  the  court  of  the  Temple  are  to 
be  understood  as  symbols.  The  gospel  has  elevated 
the  history  and  places  of  the  past  into  a  grand  allegory, 
and  breathed  into  their  dead  names  the  life  of  an  ever- 
applicable  symbolism.  (See  Introduction,  On  the 
General  Meaning  and  Practical  Value  of  the  Book.) 

(1)  And  there  was  .  .  . — Translate,  And  there 
ivas  given  to  me  a  reed  like  a  rod  (we  must  omit  the 
words  "  and  the  angel  stood "),  saying.  It  is  not 
said  by  whom  the  reed  was  given,  nor  are  we  told 
who  speaks  the  command.  The  whole  transaction  is 
impersonal.  The  reed,  like  a  measuring  rod,  is  given 
him,  and  at  the  same  time  the  command  is  given  to 
arise  and  measure  the  Temple,  and  the  altar,  and  them 
that  worship  in  the  Temple.  Here,  again,  we  find  the 
basis  of  the  vision  in  the  Old  Testament.  Ezekiel  was 
brought,  in  vision,  to  a  high  mountain,  and  saw  a  man 
with  a  line  of  flax  (for  measuring  long  distances)  and  a 
measuring  line  (for  shorter  distances).  But,  .more  pro- 
bably, the  vision  of  Zechariah  was  in  the  seer's  mind 
(Zech.  ii.  I,  2),  for  the  vision  there  of  the  man  with  the 
measuring  rod  to  measure  Jerusalem  is  followed,  in  the 
fourth  chapter  (Zech.  iv.  1—6),  by  the  vision  of  the  two 
olive-trees,  which  are  distinctly'  identified  with  the  two 
witnesses  in  the  present  chapter  (see  verses  3,  4).  The 
Temple,  altar,  and  worshippers  are  to  be  measured.  The 
measuring  implies  the  protecting  of,  or  the  token  of  a 
resolve  to  i^rotect,  a  portion  of  the  sacred  enclosure 
from  desecration.  The  measuring,  like  the  sealing  of 
chap,  vii.,  is  a  sign  of  preservation  during  impending 
dangers.  To  understand  what  is  thus  measured  out  for 
protection  we  must  remember  that  there  are  two  Greek 
words  which  are  rendered  Temple  :  the  one  {hieron) 
signifies  "  the  whole  compass  of  the  sacred  enclosure, 
including  the  outer  courts,  porches,  porticoes,  and  other 
buildings  subordinated  to  the  Temple  itself;"  the  other 
{naos)  is  the  Temple  itself,  the  house  of  God,  the  Holy 


684 


lie  is  commatided 


EEVELITION,   XI. 


to  Measure  the  Temple, 


stood,  saying-,  Else,  and  measure  the 
temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and 
them  that  worship  therein.  ^"^^  But 
the  court  which  is  without  the  temple 


1  Gr.  cast  out. 


leave  out,^  and  measure  it  not ;  for  it 
is  given  unto  the  Gentiles :  and  the 
holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  foot 
forty  and  two  months.     (^^  And  I  will 


and  Holy  of  Holies.  Wheu  it  is  said  that  Christ  taught 
the  people  iu  the  Temple,  the  first  of  these  words  is 
used ;  aud  it  may  be  supposed  that  iu  one  of  the 
porches  or  courts  of  the  sanctuary  our  Lord  carried  on 
His  teaching.  But  when  Zacharias  is  described  as 
going  into  the  Temple,  the  word  is  the  second  (naos), 
for  he  went  into  the  Temple  proper,  and  left  the 
people  in  the  outer  court,  or  court  where  the  brazen 
altar  stood.  It  is  the  second  of  these  words  which  is 
used  here :  the  Temple  proper,  the  naos,  the  house  of 
God,  is  measured,  together  with  the  altar.  We  are  not 
told  which  altar  is  intended.  It  is  at  least  too  hasty  to 
say  that  it  must  be  the  altar  of  incense,  as  this  alone 
was  iu  the  Temple  proper  ;  for  the  explicit  direction  to 
measure  the  altar  sounds  like  an  extension  of  the 
measured  area,  and  may  perhai^s  mean  that  some 
portion  of  the  court  reserved  for  Israel  is  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  measurement.  The  next  verse,  however, 
seems  to  imply  that  every  spot  outside  the  Temple 
proper  was  given  up  to  the  Gentiles,  and  was  not  to  be 
measured.  It  is  perhaps  wisest,  therefore,  not  to  settle 
too  definitely.  The  gist  of  the  measurement  is  the 
preservation  of  the  true,  invisible  Church,  the  Church 
within  the  Church ;  aud  everything  necessary  to  the 
worship — Temple,  altar,  worshippers — all  are  reserved. 
There  will  always  be  the  real  and  the  conventional — the 
true  and  the  formal  Christian ;  always  those  who 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians,  and  those  who 
hold  the  faith  in  unity  of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace, 
aud  in  righteousness  of  life.  These  last  are  the  called 
and  chosen  and  faithful  (Rev.  xvii.  14),  the  sealed  who 
dwell  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  and  find 
therefore  their  safe  lodging  in  the  night  of  danger 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  (Ps.  xci.  1  ;  comp. 
also  the  whole  Psalm,  especially  verses  4,5,  and  9 — 13j. 
(2)  But  the  court  .  .  . — Translate,  And  the  court 
which  is  outside  the  Teinple  cast  out,  and  measure  not 
it ;  because  it  was  given  to  the  nations  (Gentiles) :  and 
they  shall  tread  down  the  holy  city  forty  and  two 
months.  The  outer  court — meaning,  perhaps,  all  that 
lies  outside  the  Temple  itself — is  to  be  omitted.  A 
strong  word  is  used;  the  words  "  leave  out"  are  far  too 
weak.  He  is  not  only  not  to  measure  it,  but  he  is,  in  a 
sort,  to  pass  it  over,  as  though  reckoned  profane.  The 
reason  of  this  is  that  it  was  given  to  the  Gentiles. 
Our  Lord  had  said  that  Jerusalem  should  be  trodden 
down  of  the  Gentiles  (Luke  xxi.  24);  the  sacred  seer 
catches  the  thought  and  the  deeper  significance.  There 
is  a  treading  down  worse  than  that  of  the  conqueror. 
It  i.s  the  treading  under  of  sacred  things  when  the 
beast-power,  or  the  world-power  in  men.  tramples,  like 
the  swine,  the  pearls  of  grace  under  their  feet,  and 
turns  fiercely  upon  those  who  gave  them.  Such  an 
experience  must  the  Church  of  Christ  undergo.  The 
shrine  shall  bo  safe,  but  the  spirit  of  the  nations, 
though  nominally  Christian,  will  be  the  spirit  of 
Gentilism,  worldliness,  and  even  of  violence.  In  the 
outer  court  of  Church  life  there  will  bo  "  the  ebbing 
and  flowing  mass,"  who  "  sit  in  the  way  of  knowledge," 
who  "  stand  idle  in  the  market-place,"  who  have  no  oil 
in  their  lamps,  and  who  indirectly  pave  the  way  for 
utter  worldliness  aud  practical  hoathenisni.  But  there 
is  a  limit  to  this  desecration  :  forty  and  two  months  it 
is  to  last.     The  same  length  of  time  is  expressed  in 


685 


different  forms  throughout  the  book.  Sometimes  wo 
have  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  as  in  verse  3  and 
in  chap.  xii.  6;  at  another  time  forty-two  months,  as 
here  and  iu  chap.  xiii.  5.  A  similar  period  seems  to  be 
meant  in  chap.  xii.  14,  where  a  time,  times,  and  half  a 
time  is  probably  a  way  of  expressing  three  years  and  a 
half  ;  all  three  forms  describe  periods  of  the  same 
length — not,  of  course,  necessarily  the  same  period. 
The  idea  is  taken  from  Daniel,  who  uses  such  and 
similar  expressions  (Dan.  vii.  25,  and  xii.  7,  11).  This 
incorporation  of  the  expressions  used  by  Daniel  is  one 
of  those  hints  which  remind  us  that  the  laws  and  prin- 
ciples of  God's  government  are  the  same  in  all  ages  :  so 
that  the  princiiiles  which  receive  illustration  in  one  set 
of  historical  events  are  likely  to  receive  similar  illustra- 
tions in  after  times  ;  and  that  the  prophecies  of  one  era 
may  contain  seeds  of  fulfilments  which  spring  to  fruit 
in  more  than  one  age.  Thus  the  words  of  Daniel  were 
not  exhausted  in  the  age  of  Antiochus,  nor  the  -visions 
of  the  Apocalypse  in  the  overthrow  of  any  one  nation 
or  the  corruptions  of  any  one  Church.  So  much  may 
this  constantly-recuiTiug  period  of  three  years  and  a 
half,  or  forty-two  months,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days,  teach  us.  It  is  not  needful,  then,  to  take  the 
period  as  an  exact  literal  period.  It  is  true  that  there 
have  been  some  remarkable  historical  periods  of  this 
length,  which  various  schools  of  interpreters  have 
pointed  out  as  the  fulfilment  of  these  prophecies ;  but 
there  have  been  also  remarkable  blundei-s  on  the  part  of 
those  who,  forgetful  of  Christ's  own'warning.  have  tried 
to  predict  the  year  when  certain  prophecies  will  receive 
their  accomplishments.  It  is  true,  also,  that  the  future 
may  bring  us  further  light,  and  enable  us  to  understand 
these  descriptions  of  time  better ;  but  for  the  present, 
the  period  of  forty  and  two  months,  the  equivalent  of 
three  years  and  a  half  {the  half  of  seven,  the  complete 
and  diWue  number),  is  the  symlwl  of  a  period  limited  in 
length,  and  under  the  control  of  Him  who  holds  the  seven 
stars  aud  lives  through  the  ages.  It  is  the  j)ilgrimage 
period  of  the  Church,  the  period  of  the  world's  power, 
during  which  it  seems  to  triumph;  but  the  period  of  sack- 
cloth (see  verse  3)  and  of  suffering  will  not  last  for  ever. 

(3— u)  The  Two  Witnesses. — It  is  the  opinion 
of  one  able  and  i)re-eminently  painstaking  commen- 
tator that  "  no  solution  has  ever  been  given  of  this 
portion  of  the  prophecy."  I  quote  this  that  none 
may  be  disappointed  when  no  sarisfactory  solution  is 
given  here;  further  light  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  light  of  history,  aud,  above  all.  the 
aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  may  show  what  the  real  solu- 
tion is.  At  present  it  is  best  to  lay  do^vu  the  lines 
which  seem  to  lead  in  the  direction  of  such  a  solution. 
First,  the  aim  of  the  present  vision  must  be  kept  in 
mind  ;  and  secondly,  the  vision  in  Zechariah  (chap,  iv., 
all),  on  which  this  is  professedly  built,  must  be  remem- 
bered. Now  the  aim  of  our  present  vision  seems  to  be 
to  ex])lain  that  in  the  great  progress  towards  victory 
the  Church  itself  will  suffer  through  corruptions  and 
worldliness,  but  that  the  true  Temple — the  kernel,  so  to 
8i>oak,  of  the  Church — will  be  unliarmed  and  kejit  safe 
in  her  Master's  hands.  But  the  position  of  this  hidden 
and  enshrined  Church  will  not  be  one  of  idle  security; 
in  that  Temple  will  be  reared  in  secret,  as  the  rightful 


Power  given  unto 


EEVELATION,   XI. 


tlie  Two  Witnesses. 


give  power  unto  my  two  witnesses,  and 
thej  shall  prophesy  ^  a  thousand  two 
hundred    and  threescore  days,   clothed 


1  Or  /  will  givc\  1^   sackclott.     (*)   These    are  the   two 

"±;;?//,r/;;"j;i  ollve  trees,"  and  the  two  candlesticks 

az^'Xtii?k.    standing  before  the  God  of  the  earth. 


kinjj  .Josiah  was.  tliose  who  will  witness  imdaiinted  and 
uiulcrilcd  for  llieir  Lord;  tliroughout  the  whole  of  that 
checjuored  period  of  profanation  and  pain  there  will 
never  bo  wanting  true  witnesses  for  righteousness  and 
faith.  To  as.suro  the  sacred  seer  that  this  would  be  the 
ca.se,  to  exliil)it  the  nature  of  their  work  and  its  results, 
is  the  apparent  aim  of  the  vision.  If  this  be  so,  the 
witnesses  can  scarcely  be  literal  individual  men^  though 
it  is  true  that  many  literal  individual  men  have  played 
the  part  of  these  witnesses.  '  Turning  to  the  founda- 
tion vision  in  Zechariah,  wo  find  that  the  vision  there 
is  ilcsigned  to  encourage  the  weak  and  restored  exiles  in 
their  work  of  rebuilding  the  Temple;  they  are  shown 
that,  weak  as  they  are,  there  is  a  hidden  strength,  like 
a  sacred  stream  of  oil,  which  can  make  them  triumph 
over  all  their  difficulties  :  not  by  might  or  power,  but  by 
God's  Spirit,  the  mountain  would  become  a  plain  (Zech. 
iv.  6. 7),  and  "  Grace!  Grace!"  would  be  the  triumphant 
shout  when  the  headstone  of  the  Temple  was  raised.  In 
both  visions,  then,  our  minds  are  turned  to  the  hidden 
sources  of  diviuo  strength ;  there  is  a  safe  and  secret 
place  measured  off  by  God,  where  He  gives  His 
children  strength — not  of  ordinary  might  or  power,  but 
strength  of  grace.  This  is  the  grace  which  made  Zerub- 
babel  and  Joshua  strong  to  achieve  their  work ;  this  is 
the  grace  which  can  make  the  two  witnesses  strong  to 
do  their  part  in  the  building  of  that  more  glorious 
spiritual  temple  which  is  built  on  the  foundation  of 
Apostles  and  prophets.  Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the 
chief  corner-stone.  The  witnesses,  then,  stand  as  the 
typical  representatives  of  those  who,  in  tiie  strength  of 
God,  have,  through  the  long  ages,  borne  witness  for 
Christ  against  all  wrong  and  falsehood,  against  a  world 
in  arms  or  a  Church  in  error,  or  against  a  nominal 
Christianity  in  danger  of  becoming  as  corrupt  and  as 
cruel  as  heathenism.  Such  witnesses  stand,  like  the 
two  columns  Jachiu  and  Boaz,  before  the  true  Temple 
of  God. 

(3)  And  I  will  give  .  .  .—Translate,  And  I 
will  give  (omit  "  power  ")  to  mij  two  witnesses,  and  they 
shall  .  .  .  These  are  the  words  of  God  Himself ;  the 
omission  of  the  words  "  and  the  angel  stood  ''  from  verse 
1  prevents  any  confusion  of  thouglit  on  this  point.  Two 
witnesses  were  required  for  competent  evidence  (Deut. 
xvii.  6;  xix.  15,  et  al),  and  there  has  constantly  boon  a 
sending  forth  of  God's  cho.sen  messengers  in  pairs — 
Moses  and  Aaron,  Elijah  and  Elisha,  besides  Joshua 
and  Zerubbabcl,  alluded  to  by  Zechariah ;  and  in  New 
Testament  times  our  Lord  sent  forth  His  disciples  "  two 
and  two,"  as  afterwards  Paul  and  Barnabas,  or  Paul  and 
Silas,  wont  forth  to  preach.  There  is,  besides  the  mere 
mutual  support  which  two  can  give,  a  need  for  the 
association  of  two  different  characters  in  the  same  sort 
of  work  :  the  energy  and  the  sympathy,  the  elucidator 
of  doctrines  and  tlio  messejiger  to  tlie  conscience,  the 
apologist  and  the  evangelist,  the  man  of  thought  and 
the  man  of  action,  the  Son  of  Thunder  and  the  Son  of 
Consolation;  it  is  well  that  in  a  world-wide  work  this 
duality  of  power  should  be  brought  into  play.  Tho 
witnesses  prophesy  :  the  word  prophesy  must  surely  be 
allowed  a  much  wider  meaning  than  merely  to  predict 
or  foretell  future  events.  Tiie  compass  of  their  work, 
as  described  afterwards,  embraces  much  more  than 
this  (see  verses  5—7) :    they  work  wonders,  showing 


tokens  that  remind  us  of  the  days  of  Moses  and  Aaron; 
their  words  are  mighty ;   their  life  is  a  testimony. 

Their  prophesying,  or  witnessing,  extends  over  forty 
and  two  months:  a  sjanbolical  period,  as  we  have  seen, 
but  a  period  corresponding  to  that  during  which  other 
witnesses  had  witnessed  for  God.  Thus  long  did  Elijah 
bear  witness,  under  rainless  heavens,  against  tho 
idolatries  of  Israel ;  thus  long  did  a  greater  tlian  Elijah 
offer  the  w^ater  of  life  to  the  Jews,  and  witness  against 
the  hard,  unspiritual,  worldly  religionism  of  tho 
Pharisee  and  Sadducee ;  thus,  too,  must  the  witnesses 
for  God  bear  testimony  during  the  period  that  the  world- 
power  seems  dominant.  They  are  clad  in  sackcloth — • 
the  emblem  of  mourning  (2  Kings  vi.  30  ;  Jon.  iii.  4) 
adopted  by  the  prophets,  whose  God-taught  hearts  saw 
reasons  for  mourning  where  shallower  minds  saw  nono 
(Isa.  XX.  2,  and  Zech.  xiii.  2).  Compare  the  garb  of 
Elijah  and  John  the  Baptist  (2  Kings  i.  8,  and  Matt.  in. 
4),  whose  very  apparel  and  appearance  were  designed  to 
testify  against  the  evils  they  saw.  "  The  special  wit- 
nesses of  God,  in  a  luxurious  and  self-pleasing  age,  aro 
often  marked  out  from  the  world  bj'  signs  of  seLf-deuial, 
of  austerity,  and  even  of  isolation"  (Dr.  Vaughan). 

(1)  These  are  .  .  . — Translate,  These  are  the  two  olive 
trees  and  the  two  candlesticks  ivhich  stand  before  tlie 
Lord  of  the  earth.  This  is  the  verse  which  refers  us  to 
the  vision  of  Zechariah  for  the  basis  of  our  present 
vision.  There,  as  here,  we  have  the  two  olive  trees, 
which  are  explained  to  be  '•  the  two  anointed  ones  which 
stand  before  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth."  The  ex- 
planation is  supposed  to  refer  to  Zerubbabcl  and  Joshua, 
or,  as  others  think,  to  Zechariah  and  Haggai.  At  that 
time  these  men  were  the  witnesses  for  God  in  their 
land  and  among  their  people.  But  the  answer  of  the 
angel  is  general :  "  the  olive  trees  are  the  two  anointed 
ones  which  stand,"  &c.  For  the  vision  is  general  and 
age-long ;  it  reminds  us  of  the  returned  Jewish  exiles, 
and  of  those  who  were  then  among  them,  as  anointed 
witnesses,  but  it  shows  us  that  such  witnesses  are  to  be 
found  in  more  than  one  era;  for  it  is  not  Zerubbabcl 
and  Joshua  who  can  exhaust  the  fulness  of  a  vision  which 
is  the  repi'esentation  of  the  eternal  truth  that  the  oil  of 
gladness  and  strength  from  God  will  rest  on  those  who 
rely,  not  on  might  or  power,  but  on  God's  Spirit.  Tho 
fact  that  the  witnesses  are  two  is  brought  more  promi- 
nently  forward  here  than  in  Zechariah.  There,  though 
the  olive  trees  are  two,  the  candlestick  is  but  one,  mtli 
seven  lamps ;  here  there  are  two  candlesticks  spoken  of 
as  well  as  two  olive  trees.  Tliis  amplification  of  tho 
original  vision  is,  perhaps,  designed  to  remind  us  of  the 
greater  latitude  of  diversity  in  tho  new  dispensation. 
Just  as  in  tho  early  chapters  of  this  book  we  had  seven 
golden  candlesticks,  which,  though  one  in  Christ,  yet 
are  spoken  of  as  separate,  so  here  the  double  aspect,  the 
diverse  though  united  efforts  of  the  two  mtnesses.  are 
brought  into  prominence.  It  may  serve  to  remind  us 
that  the  witnesses  are  to  be  expected  to  keep  their  indi- 
viduality and  to  use  freely  their  diverse  powers.  It  is 
not  from  one  class  or  with  one  mode  of  action  that  the 
witnesses  come :  they  may  be  of  the  statesman  class,  like 
Moses  and  Zerubbaljel;  of  tho  prophetic  or  priestly, 
like  Zechariah  and  Haggai,  like  Aaron  and  the  later 
Joshua  (Zech.  iii.  1) ;  for  men  may  witness  for  God, 
according  as  the  evils  of  their  time  and  age  require  it, 
in  the  State  as  well  as  in  the  Church.     The  work  of 


586 


They  xo'ill  he  overcome  by 


EEVELATIOX,    XL         the  Beast  out  of  the  Bottomless  Pit. 


<^^  And  if  any  man  will  hurt  tliem,  fire 
proceedetli  out  of  their  mouth,  and 
devoureth  their  enemies :  and  if  any 
man  will  hurt  them,  he  must  in  this 
manner  be  killed.  *^J  These  have  power 
to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the 
days  of  their  prophecy  :  and  have  power 
over  waters  to  turn  them  to  blood,  and 
to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues,  as 
often  as  they  will.     ^'^  And  when  they 


shall  have  finished  their  testimony,  the 
beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  shall  make  war  against  them, 
and  shall  overcome  them,  and  kill  them. 
(^>  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  ia 
the  street  of  the  great  city,  which 
spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and  Egypt, 
where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified. 
<^^  And  they  of  the  people  and  kindreds 
and  tongues  and  nations  shall  see  their 


Wilberforce.  Clarksou,  and  Howard  is  a  work  and  a 
witness  for  God  as  well  as  the  work  of  Chrysostom, 
Atliauasius,  and  Luther;  for  the  witnesses  are  raised 
up  to  speak  against  the  neglect  of  humanity  as  well 
as  against  errors  in  divinity;  against  a  heartless  as 
well  as  against  a  creedless  Christianity,  for  both  lead 
back  to  heathenism.  TJiese  witnesses  are  burning  and 
shining  lights ;  in  them  is  centred  tlie  light  of  their 
age ;  in  them  is  found  the  token  that  the  grace  of  God 
never  fails,  but  as  the  Church's  day  so  shall  her 
strength  be.  Here,  too,  we  have  the  pledge  that  from 
Him  who  is  both  Priest  and  King  the  civil  rulers  as  well 
as  the  ecclesiastical  rulers  may  draw  grace  according  to 
their  gifts  ;  and  from  Him,  too,  all  who  are  made  kings 
as  well  as  priests  to  God  may  dei'ive  the  power  to  give 
the  douljle  witness  of  a  life  anointed  by  the  Spirit  of 
consecration  and  ruled  by  the  sceptre  of  righteousness. 

(5)  And  if  any  man  .  .  .—Better,  And  if  any  one 
wills  to  injure  them,  fire  goeth  forth  out  of  their  mouths, 
and  devoureth  their  enemies :  and  if  any  one  wills  to 
injure  them,  thus  must  he  be  slain.  These  have  power 
to  shut  the  heaven  that  the  rain  may  not  moisten  (the 
earth)  during  the  days  of  their  prophesying ;  and  theij 
have  power  over  tlie  waters  to  turn  them  into  blood, 
and  to  smite  the  earth  ivith  every  plague  .as  often  as 
they  will.  Again  the  Old  Testament  basis  becomes 
evident ;  the  histories  of  Elijali  and  Moses  supply  the 
illustration.  The  fire  devouring  their  foes  seems  to  allude 
to  2  Kings  i.  10 ;  Hke  Elijah,  tliey  can  close  the  heaven 
(1  Kings  xvii.  1) ;  like  Moses,  th*  y  can  turn  water  into 
blood  and  summon  down  every  plague  (Ex.  \ii.  2(.>,  et  seq.). 
Tliese  last  characteristics  remind  us  of  tlie  spirit  and 
power  of  Moses  and  Elias,  but  wo  must  not  forget  what 
has  gone  before  :  the  witnesses  ai-e  like  olive  trees  and 
lights.  In  them  is  concentrated  grace,  light,  and  power  ; 
their  witness  recalls  the  great  features  of  various  Old 
Testament  teachers  and  leaders ;  they  display  the  light 
of  truth,  and  men  may  not  oppose  or  injure  them  with 
impunity ;  they  wield  a  power  which  it  is  not  safe  to 
provoke.  As  from  the  mouths  of  tlie  great  Sixth 
Trumpet  ho.st  there  went  forth  fire  and  smoke  and 
brimstcme  to  kill  the  third  part  of  mankind,  so  out  of 
the  mouths  of  tliese  witnesses  there  goes  forth  a  purer, 
but  iniglitier  flame.  (Comp.  Ps.  xviii.  8.)  We  may  com- 
pare the  sword  out  of  the  mouth  of  Christ  (chap.  i.  16\ 
and  the  promise  to  Jeremiah  (cliap.  v.  14),  "  Behold  I 
will  make  my  words  in  tliy  mouth  fire  and  this  people 
wood,  and  it  shall  devour  them."  The  word  wliich  is 
like  a  sword  to  lay  bare  man  to  himself  may  become  a 
consuming  fire  to  those  who  resist  or  oppose  it.  The 
witnesses  for  God  are  thus  anned  with  a  spiritual 
might ;  for  that  word  which,  when  accepted  and  lived 
by,  brings  peace,  when  rejected  causes  pain  and 
danger.  Thus  often  do  the  tilings  which  miglit  have 
been  for  men's  peace  become  an  occasion  for  falling; 
the  stuue  which,  used  and  bmlt  into  the  life,  becomes 


587 


a  precious  corner-stone  and  immovable  foundation, 
grinds  to  powder  tliose  upon  whom  it  falls.  Thus 
is  it  with  these  witnesses  :  they  come  to  witness  for 
principles  whioli  go  to  make  the  world  a  Paradise  once 
more.  The  world,  which  casts  away  their  words,  will  find 
them  come  back  with  scorching  force  ;  just  as  the  breath 
of  God  gives  life  and  beauty  to  the  world,  and  power 
to  men's  hearts  and  lives  (Ps.  civ.  30;  John  xx.  22), 
yet  with  that  same  breath  of  His  lips  does  He  slay  the 
wicked  (Isa.  xi.  4).  Some  have  thought  that  there  ^vill 
be  a  time  when  witnesses  for  God  will  be  raised  up  who 
will  work  literal  wonders  such  as  these.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  say  that  this  will  not  be  the  case  :  all  prophecy  may 
take  a  sharper  and  clearer  meaning  as  the  times  of  the 
end  draw  near ;  but,  meanwhile,  it  is  needful  for  us  to 
remember  that  the  very  power  of  truth  is  such  tliat, 
when  rejected,  it  can  and  does  avenge  itself  by  shutting 
heaven  over  our  head,  and  making  aU  the  fresh  rivulets 
of  life's  purest  pleasures  loathsome  as  blood  to  the 
sensualised  and  perverted  heart. 

(7)  And  when  .  .  . — Better,  And  when  they  shall  have 
finished  their  testimony,  tlie  tuild  beast  that  goeth  up  out 
of  the  abyss  shall  make  war  with  them,  and  conquer 
them,  and  kill  them.  Only  when  their  work  is  done  has 
the  wild  beast  power  over  them.  To  every  one  there 
are  the  sjmbolical  twelve  hours  in  which  his  life's  work 
must  be  achieved  ;  to  every  one  there  is  the  time  secured 
when  he  may  accomplish  for  God  what  God  sent  liim  to 
fulfil :  then,  but  not  till  tlien,  cometh  the  night,  when  none 
can  work.  Tlie  wild  beuit  :  We  shall  hear  much  of  this 
wild  beast  later  on.  Here  we  are  told  distinctly  that 
the  wild  beast  will  have  his  hour  of  triumph ;  he  rises 
out  of  the  abyss,  as  the  locust  horde  did  (chajj.  ix.  1,  2). 
There  is,  then,  a  beast-spirit  which  is  in  utter  hostility 
to  the  Christ-spirit.  We  sliall  be  able  to  study  the  fia- 
tures  of  this  power  in  a  future  chapter  ichap.  xiii.  1); 
here  he  is  seen  to  be  a  spirit  of  irreconcilable  antagonism 
to  Christ.  The  image  here  is  not  new ;  Daniel  made  use 
of  it  (Dan.  vii.),  though  in  a  much  more  limited  sense. 
This  beast-power  vanquishes  the  witnesses.  If  the  wit- 
nesses are  those  who  liave  taught  the  principles  of  a 
spiritual  and  social  religion,  the  death  of  the  witnesses 
following  tlieir  overthrow  signifies  the  triumph  of  op- 
posing principles,  the  silencing  of  those  who  nave  with- 
stood the  growing  current  of  evil.  Men  can  silence, 
can  conquer,  can  slay  the  witness  for  a  higlicr.  i)urer, 
nobler  life.  They  have  done  so.  The  history  of  the 
world  is  often  the  history  of  the  postponement  of  moral 
and  social  advancement  for  centuries  through  the  wild 
outbreak  of  some  brutjil,  irrational,  selfish  spirit.  The 
Reformers,  the  best  friends  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
world,  have  been  silenced  and  slain,  and  their  death 
has  often  been  little  more  than  the  triumph  of  the 
ignorance  and  selfishness  of  a  practical  heathenism. 

(8-10)  And  their  dead  bodies  .  .  .—Better.  And 
tlieir  corpse  {is)  upon  the  street  uf  the  great  city,  M,7tui 


And  after  three  days 


REVELATION,    XI.        the  spirit  of  Life  enters  them  again. 


(load  bodies  three  days  and  an  half,  and 
shall  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies  to  be 
put  in  graves.  <'"^  And  they  that  dwell 
npon  the  earth  shall  rejoice  over  them, 
and  make  merry,  and  shall  send  gifts 
one  to  another ;  because  these  two 
prophets  tormented  them  that  dwelt 
on  the  earth.  (^^^  And  after  throe  days 
and  an  half  the  Spirit  of  life  from  God 
entered  into  them,  and  they  stood  upon 


1    Gr.    nanus    of 
men. 


their  feet ;  and  great  fear  fell  npon 
them  which  saw  them.  <^-^  And  they 
heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven  saying 
unto  them,  Come  up  hither.  And  they 
ascended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud ;  and 
their  enemies  beheld  them.  (^^^  And 
the  same  hour  was  there  a  great  earth- 
quake, and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city 
fell,  and  in  the  earthquake  were  slain  of 
men  ^  seven  thousand  :  and  the  remnant 


is  called  spiritually  Sodoin  and  Egypt,  ivhere  their  Lord 
also  tirns  crucified.  And  some  from  among  the  peoples 
and  tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  look  upon  their 
corpse  three  days  and  a  half,  and  do  not  suffer  their 
corpses  to  be  put  into  a  tomb.  And  the%j  that  dwell  upon 
the  earth  rejoice  over  them,  and  make  merry,  and  shall 
send  gifts  one  to  another ;  because  these  two  prophets  tor- 
mented them  that  dwelt  upon  the  earth.  Tlieir  corpses 
remain  unburied,  while  conj^ratulations  and  rejoicings 
po  on  ;  harmony  and  concord  prevail,  as  when  Pilate  and 
Herod  were  made  friends ;  it  is  the  millennium  of  evil, 
the  paradise  of  fools  who  make  a  mock  at  sin  ;  but  the 
forms  of  the  witnesses,  though  silenced,  still  in  silence 
witness  against  evil.  At  no  time  are  they  hid  away  out 
of  sight.  Even  in  an  age  of  religious  and  social  anarchy 
the  silent  tokens  of  a  better  order  remain,  as  when  in 
mockery  and  profanation  the  harlot  was  enthroned  within 
Notre  Dame,  the  very  sanctuary  walls,  which  no  longer 
echoed  to  the  psalm  of  Christian  life,  yet  bore  silent 
testimony  to  tlie  higher  genius  of  the  past.  They 
are  said  to  lie  in  "the  street  of  the  great  city."  The  city 
is  described  as  the  great  city  (comp.  chap.  x\d.  19), 
and  also  as  Sodom,  Egyjit,  and  Jerusalem.  Do  not 
passages  like  this  sliow  conclusively  that  to  deny  the 
mystical  or  allegorical  sense  of  the  Apocalypse  is  to 
keep  the  husk  and  cast  away  the  seed  ?  The  city  is 
great,  for  it  is  all-important  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, as  pu])lic  opinion  is  all-important  to  the  weak  or 
the  worldly ;  it  is  Sodom,  for  it  is  the  place  where, 
through  pleasure  aiul  luxuriousness  (fulness  of  bread), 
the  worst  forms  of  immorality  take  root ;  it  is  Egypt, 
for  it  is  the  house  of  bondage,  where  the  wages  of  sin 
become  tyrannous;  it  is  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  apostate 
place  where  the  presence  of  Christ  is  hated.  The 
same  spirit  wliieh  slew  their  Lord  is  alive  to  persecute 
His  servants.  "  It  cannot  be  that  a  prophet  perish  out 
of  Jerusalem.  If  they  have  called  the  master  of  the 
house  Beelzebub,  how  mucli  more  them  of  his  house- 
hold ; "  and  the  reason  of  this  hatred  is  told — the  words 
of  the  witnesses '•  tormented  them."  "The  reproof  of 
their  gospel  and  the  reproof  of  their  example  .  .  .  had 
been  a  torture  to  tliem;  there  was  a  voice  in  them  which 
echoed  its  voice— the  voice  of  a  convicting  conscience, 
and  the  voice  of  an  anticipated  judgment." 

(11)  And  after  three  days  .  .  .— Better,  ^mZa/^er 
the  three  days  ami  a  half  (not  simply  "  three  days 
and  a  half,")  a  Spirit  of  life  out  of  {from)  God 
entered  into  (or,  in;  i.e.,  so  as  to  be  in)  'them,  and  they 
stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  a  great  fear  fell  upon  those 
who  beheld  them.  The  vision  of  the  dry  bones  will  be 
remembered  ;  in  part,  the  very  wording  of  it  is  employed 
here — e.g.,  "  they  stood  upon  their  feet  "  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  1 
— 10) ;  and  a  yet  more  sacred  remembrance — the  three 
days  of  our  Master's  death-sleep — will  be  traced  here. 
"  Where  I  am  there  sliall  also  My  servant  be"  (Jolm  xii. 
26).    "  If  we  suif  er  with  Him,  we  shall  also  be  glorified 


688 


together"  (Rom.  viii.  17).  Tliere  is  a  resurrection  power 
in  even  rejected  truth ;  the  strength  of  it  is  undying. 
If  it  be  of  God,  men  cannot  overthrow  it.  "  The  corn 
of  wheat  that  dies  brings  forth  much  fruit."  The 
cause  that  seemed  dead  is  found  to  be  possessed  of  a 
renewed  power  and  life.  "  There  is  an  end  of  resistance 
to  the  Papal  rule  and  religion  ;  opposers  exist  no  more  !  " 
cried  the  orator  of  the  Lateran  Council  in  1514 ;  but 
within  three  years  and  a  half  the  hand  of  Luther  nailed 
up  his  theses  at  Wittenberg.  It  is  one  illustration 
among  many. 

(12)  And  they  heard  .  .  . — Translate,  And  they 
heard  {ov,  I  heard ;  the  MS.  authority  is  di^-ided,  though 
the  balance  inclines  to  the  first)  a  great  voice  out  of  the 
heaven  saying  to  them.  Come  up  hither.  And  they  went 
up)  into  the  heaven  in  the  cloud,  and  their  enemies  beheld 
them.  The  resurrection  of  the  witnesses  is  followed  by 
their  ascension.  It  is  the  token  that  in  this  too  they 
shall  have  a  portion  with  their  Lord ;  rejected  and 
slain,  there  is  welcome  and  honour  for  them ;  they  take 
their  place  with  those  who  through  faith  and  patience 
inherit  the  promises ;  they  rest  from  their  labours.  But 
this  is  not  all.  Like  Elijah  (2  Kings  ii.  11),  they  are 
taken  up  gloriously,  but  not,  like  Elijah,  in  comparative 
secret ;  their  enemies  see  their  exaltation.  As  for  the 
witnesses  themselves  there  is  the  welcome  rest  of 
heaven,  so  there  is  the  visible  recognition  of  their  work 
and  power  on  earth ;  the  cause  which  seemed  dead  re- 
vives, and  with  its  revival  comes  the  recognition  of 
those  who  laboured  for  it ;  the  martyred  are  seen  trans- 
figured, they  become  glorious  in  the  eyes  of  men : 

"  Persecution  dragged  them  into  fame, 
And  chased  them  up  to  heaven." 

Tliey  went  up  in  the  cloud :  There  is  here,  perhaps,  a 
touch  of  recollection.  St.  John  remembers  the  cloud 
which  received  his  Lord  out  of  sight.  Since  then  the 
cloud  mingles  with  his  every  thought  of  ascension  or 
descending  from  heaven.  (Comp.  chap.  i.  7 ;  Acts  i.  9.) 
The  witnesses,  like  their  Master,  disappeared  in  the  cloud. 

(13)  And  the  same  hour  .  .  .—Better,  And  in  that 
hour  there  was  (took  place)  a  great  earthquake,  and  the 
tenth  part  of  the  city  fell,  and  there  were  slain  in  the 
earthquake  names  of  men  seven  thousand  :  and  the  rest 
became  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to  the  God  of  the 
heaven.  The  hour  of  their  triumph  is  the  hour  of  a  re- 
trilnitive  warning  on  the  city  where  they  were  slain : 
convulsion,  with  the  overthrow  of  dwellings  and  the 
death  of  seven  thousand  men.  Is  it  accidental  that  the 
number  is  the  same  as  the  number  of  those  who  had 
not  bowed  to  Baal?  (1  Kings  xix.  18.)  Rejected  refor- 
mation avenges  itself  in  revolution,  and  the  city  which 
might  have  been  purified  by  the  word  is  purged  by  the 
spirit  of  .judgment  (Isa.  iv.  4);  good  is  effected,  even 
through  fear ;  some  are  saved  though  as  by  fire ;  and, 
unlike  those  who  repented  not  (chap.  ix.  21),  they  give 


The.  Seventh  Trumpet. 


REVELATION,   XI. 


Chorus  of  the  Church. 


were  affi-iglited,  and  gave  gloiy  to 
the  God  of  heaven.  <^^^  The  second 
woe  is  past;  and,  behold,  the  third 
woe  cometh  quickly,  (^^>  And  the 
Chap.  xi.  15—  seventh  angel  sounded ; 
tmmpetfTiTird  and  there  were  great  voices 
woe.  in     heaven,     saying.    The 

kingrdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the 


kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ; 
and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 
<^^'  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders, 
which  sat  before  God  on  their  seats,  fell 
upon  their  faces,  and  worshipped  God, 
*^'^  saying.  We  give  thee  thanks,  0  Lord 
God  Almighty,  which  art,  and  wast,  and 
art  to  come;  because  thou  hast  taken  to 


glory  to  the  God  of  heaven.  The  visible  Church  of 
Christ  is  stirred ;  there  is  a  reaction  from  the  spirit  of 
worldliiiess. 

(1^)  The  second  woe  .  .  .—Translate,  Tlie  second 
woe  is  past.  (Omit  the  word  "  and,"  which  weakens  the 
proclamation.)  The  eagle  flying  in  mid-heaven  had  an- 
nounced the  three  woe  trumpets.  A  voice  now  reminds 
us  that  two  of  these  had  passed,  just  as  at  the  close 
of  the  fifth  trumpet  a  voice  proclaimed  that  the  first 
woe  was  past.  We  must  i*emember,  too,  that  the  angel 
which  descended  from  heaven  declared  that  the  end 
should  not  be  delayed  beyond  the  sounding  of  the 
seventh  trumpet ;  the  last  woe  trumpet,  therefore,  is 
the  trumpet  wliich  will  usher  in  the  closing  woe  and 
the  finishing  of  the  mystery  of  God.  Whatever  view 
we  adopt  concerning  the  interpretation  of  the  Apocalypse 
must  be  governed  by  the  plainly  declared  fact  that  the 
seventh  trumpet  brings  us  to  the  very  end.  The  next 
verse  only  serves  to  make  this  plainer. 

The  Seventh  Tetjmpet — the  last  Woe  Tkitmpet. 

(15)  And  the  seventh  angel  .  .  . — Better,  And 
the  seventh  angel  sounded;  and  there  were  great  voices 
in  the  heaven  {persons)  saying,  The  kingdom  of  the 
world  is  become  {the  possession)  of  our  Lord,  and  of 
His  Christ,  and  He  shall  reign  to  the  ages  of  ages.  The 
literal  translation  is.  The  hingdom  of  the  world  is  become 
our  Lord's,  and  of  His  Christ.  As  far  as  the  expression 
"  our  Lord's  "  is  concerned,  there  is  no  need  that  any 
word,  sucli  as  kingdom  or  possession,  should  be  supplied, 
but  the  additional  phrase  "  of  His  Christ "  creates  an 
awkwardness,  and  the  word  "  possession,"  or  inheri- 
tance, may  not  inapjjropriately  be  used  from  the  Psabn 
which  foretells  this  final  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  anointed  Messiali,  the  Christ  of  God.  "  Ask  of 
me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheri- 
tance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  pos- 
session" (Ps.  ii.  8).  It  is  the  kingdom — not,  as  in  the 
English  version,  "  the  kingdoms  " — of  the  world  which 
has  become  Christ's  possession.  The  contest  is  not  for 
the  kingdoms,  the  separate  nationalities :  the  varying 
political  systems  might  exist,  as  far  as  mere  organisa- 
tion is  concerned,  under  the  rule  of  Christ ;  the  contest 
is  for  the  kingdom  of  the  world.  Satan  was  willing  to 
surrender  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  to  our  Lord  on  con- 
dition of  a  homage  which  would  have  left  him  still  in 
possession  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  world.  But  now  the 
close  of  the  contest  is  the  overtlirow  of  the  kingdom  of 
evil,  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  good :  tliat  is,  of 
God;  and  He  shall  reign  for  ever  aiul  ever.  Dean  Alford 
pointed  out  that  our  familiarity  with  the  "  Hallelujah 
Chonis  "  tempted  us  to  put  an  emphasis  on  the  word  He 
which  is  not  sanctioned  by  the  Greek ;  it  is  tlie  reign  of 
the  Lord  whicli  is  the  prominent  thought.  The  reign 
is  unto  tlie  ages  of  ages.  Surely  this  means  alivays. 
We  are  not  told  who.se  voices  sing  this  chonis;  it  is 
just  the  tumultuous  sound  of  heavenly  voices,  growing 
into  natural  and  irresistible  chorus  as  the  trumpet 
heralds  the  approach  of  the  glorious  end. 


(16)  And  the  four  .  .  . — Translate,  And  the  four- 
and-twenty  elders,  who  before  God  were  seated  upon 
their  thrones  (not  "  seats  "),  fell  ttpon  their  faces,  and 
worshipped  God.  The  four-and-twenty  elders  represent 
the  Church  of  God  in  all  ages ;  they  sit  with  Christ 
in  heavenly  places,  even  while  they  are  toiling  and 
sorrowing  on  earth ;  every  one  of  the  true  children  of 
the  kingdom  appear  before  God,  and  their  angels  be- 
hold the  presence  of  their  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 
They  were  seated  on  thrones,  not  "  seats  "  (comp.  chap, 
iv.  4),  as  in  English  version  ;  the  word  used  is  the  same 
which  is  translated  "  throne  "  when  it  refers  to  our  Lord. 
It  is  the  same  word  which  is  rendered  "  seat "  (chaps,  ii. 
13,  and  xvi.  10)  when  it  refers  to  Satan ;  but  it  is  better 
rendered  throne  throughout,  for  by  this  variation  of 
translation,  as  "  Archbishop  Trench  has  pointed  out,  two 
great  ideas  which  run  through  this  book,  and,  indeed, 
we  may  say  through  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament, 
are  obliterated :  the  one,  that  the  true  servants  of  Christ 
are  crowned  with  Him  and  share  His  sovereignty ; 
the  other,  that  the  antagonism  of  the  Prince  of  Dark- 
ness to  the  Prince  of  Light  develops  itself  in  the  hellish 
parody  of  the  heavenly  kingdom "  (Prof.  Lightfoot, 
Revision  of  New  Testament,  p.  41).  It  is  specially  de- 
sirable that  this  thought  should  be  kept  before  us  in 
this  passage,  which  proclaims  that  the  kingdom  and 
throne  and  power  of  the  wicked  one  have  passed  away, 
and  the  hour  has  come  when  the  victorious  saints  may 
sit  down  Avith  Christ  in  His  throne  (chap.  iii.  21). 

The  Chorus  of  the  Chukch  of  God. 

(17)  Saying,  We  give  thee  thanks  .  .  .—Better, 

"  We  thank  Thee,  O  Lord, 
The  God,  the  Almighty. 
He  that  is.  and  He  that  was. 
Because  Thou  hast  taken  Thy  great  power 
and  didst  reign. 
And  the  nations  \\  ere  angry. 
And  tlien  came  Thine  anircr 
And  the  season  of  the  dead  to  be  judged. 
And  to  give  their  rewards  to  Tliy  servants  the  prophets,  and  to 
the  saints, 
And  to  them  that  fear  Thy  name,  the  small  and  the  great. 
And  to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth." 

On  the  expression  "  He  that  is  and  He  that  was,"  comp. 
chap.  i.  8  and  the  Note  there.  AVe  can  catch  the  echo  of 
the  Second  Psalm  throughout  this  chorus  of  grateful 
praise.  The  prayers  of  the  groaning  Church  (chap.  v.  10, 
and  Luke  XAnii.  7,  8)  and  the  cries  of  travailing  creation 
(Rom.  viii.  19)  have  been  heard;  though  the  heathen 
raged  and  the  people  imagined  a  vain  thing,  tlieir 
counsel  against  the  Lord  and  His  anointed.  His  Christ 
(compare  verse  16).  came  to  nought  ;  the  joy  of  their 
triumph  wa«  short-lived ;  the  kingdom  of  cAnl  was  but 
for  a  moment ;  the  kings  were  assembled,  thoy  passed 
by,  they  saw,  they  were  troubled,  they  hasted  away 
(Ps.  xlviii.  4.  5);  never  did  the  real  sovereignty  of  the 
Lord  cease  (Ps.  ii.  6) ;  but  the  nations  would  not  believe 
in  His  rule ;  they  were  not  wise  ;  tliey  turned  from  the 
kiss  of  reconciliation,  which  wjvs  life  (Ps.  ii.  10 — VI); 
then  came  His  anger,  and  the  season  of  judgment  and 
the  season  of  reward.     The  prophets,  the  saints,  and 


589 


The  Temple  of  God 


KEVELATIOX,   XTI. 


opened  in  Heaven. 


thee  tlij  great  power,  and  hast  reigned. 
('**>  And  the  nations  were  angry,  and 
thy  wratli  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the 
dead,  that  they  should  be  judged,  and 
that  thou  shouidest  give  reward  unto 
thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  to  the 
saints,  and  them  that  fear  thy  name, 
small  and  great;  and  shouidest  destroy 
them  which  destroy^  the  earth.  (^9>  And 
the  temple  of  God  was  opened  in  heaven, 


A.n.9S. 
2  Or,  sign. 


Or,  corrupt. 


and  there  was  seen  in  his  temple  the 
ark  of  his  testament :  and  there  were 
lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunderings, 
and  an  earthquake,  and  great  hail. 

CHAPTER  XII.— n)  And  there  ap- 
peared a  great  wonder  ^  in  ^^^^  ^..  ^_^ 
heaven;  a  woman  clothed  The  hostility 
with  the  sun,  and  the  of  t^^e  arcu- 
moon  under  her  feet,  and 


those  that  fear  God's  name,  tlie  small  and  the  ^reat — 
every  class  and  rank  of  the  true  servants  of  the  King  are 
included  here  ;  none  are  forgotten ;  not  a  cup  of  cold 
water,  given  in  His  name,  shall  miss  its  reward ;  for 
not  alone  the  pre-eminent  in  Christian  power  and  in 
Cliristiau  holiness,  but  the  weak,  the  struggling,  the 
obscure,  the  small  as  Avell  as  the  great,  are  remembered  : 
"  Unto  tlie  God  of  gods  appcareth  eveiy  one  of  them 
in  Zion"  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.  7;  Prayer  Book  version).  Nor  is 
the  gladness  only  for  this  blessing;  there  is  a  joy  at  the 
overthrow  of  those  who  destroy  the  earth.  The  reign 
of  evil  is  the  destruction  of  the  earth.  The  judgments 
of  God  are  in  mercy  to  stay  the  spread  of  destructive 
powers  and  principles.  The  tender  mercies  of  the 
wicked  are  cruel;  the  very  judgments  of  God  are 
merciful.     (See  Note  on  chap.  viii.  2.) 

But  where,  we  may  be  disposed  to  ask,  is  the  "  woe" 
in  all  this  ?  "We  are  led  to  expect  that  the  seventh 
trumpet  as  a  woe  tnimpet  will  bring  in  some  period  of 
pain  and  trouble,  as  the  others  have  done ;  but  all  we 
hear  is  the  cliorus  of  glad  voices  uttering  praise:  we 
see  no  token  of  woe.  The  answer  is  that  we  must  not 
overlook  all  that  this  song  of  rejoicing  implies.  The 
chorus  we  hear  is  the  thanksgiving  to  God  that  the  hour 
has  come  for  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  e\Tl,  the 
manifestation  of  tlie  sons  of  God,  and  the  acknowledg- 
ment throughout  the  world  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ.  The  overthrow  of  that  e\il 
kingdom,  which  is  now  to  take  place,  brings  with  it  woe 
to  those  who  have  supported  it;  for  the  time  of  the 
judgment  of  the  dead,  and  of  those  whose  lives  have 
marred  God's  world,  has  come.  It  is,  then,  woe  on  all 
those  who  have  misused  God's  gifts  and  those  beautiful 
tilings  wliich  He  gave  us  liberally  to  enjoy.  It  is  a  woe 
on  those  who  have  defiled  those  bodies,  which  are  the 
temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  profaned  the  earth,  which  is 
God's  footstool,  or  darkened  by  their  evil  deeds  the 
heaven,  which  is  His  throne.  Those  who  thus  defile  (or, 
destroy  :  the  word  is  so  in  the  mai-gin,  and  is  the  same 
as  that  wliich  follows)  God's  temple  anywhere,  God 
will  destroy  (1  Cor.  vi.  19,  and  iii.  17). 

(!'')  And  the  temple  of  God  .  .  .—Translate,  ^«^ 
the  temple  of  God  iva.<i  opened  in  the  heaven,  and  the 
ark  of  His  covenant  ivas  seen  in  His  temple:  and  thei-e 
were  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders,  and  an  earth- 
quake, and  a  great  hail.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
chapter  wo  noticed  the  distinction  between  the  two 
words  (nans  and  hieron)  applied  to  the  Temyde;  tlie 
Temple  building  proper  (the  naos]  was  measured  off. 
Now  this  (naos)  Temple  is  opened,  yes.  to  its  very  in- 
most recesses  ;  for  not  the  holy  place  alone  is  disclo.sed, 
but  the  holiest  of  all,  the  shrine  of  shrines,  into  which 
the  high  priest  alone — and  he  only  once  a  year — entered, 
is  opened,  as  though  anew  the  veil  of  the  Temple  had 
been  rent  in  twain,  and  there  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of 
God  is  seen.     The  meaning  of  this,  when  read  by  the 


o90 


light  of  the  measuring  of  the  Temple,  seems  to  be  that 
now  the  secret  abode  of  the  safe-guarded  children  of 
God  was  revealed.  In  the  hour  of  apostasies  and 
worldliness  the  faithful  had  found  their  strength  and 
protection  in  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty ;  they  were 
regarded  by  God  as  His  true  living  Temple,  and  in 
them  He  dwelt,  as  they,  too,  found  their  defence  in 
Him.  But  now  that  the  end  has  come  there  is  no 
need  that  these  should  be  hidden  any  more.  The  chil- 
dren of  God,  who  are  the  Temple  of  God,  are  made 
manifest ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  secret  spot  of  their 
shelter  in  troublous  days  is  made  plain,  and  in  it  is  seen 
the  token  of  that  everlasting  covenant  which  was  the 
sheet-anchor  of  their  hopes  in  the  day  of  their  trouble 
(Heb.  vi.  19).  The  ark  of  God's  covenant  is  seen; 
the  ark  which  contained  the  tables  of  the  law,  the 
rod  of  Aaron,  and  the  manna  is  unveiled ;  and  now  is 
known  whence  they  derived  that  hidden  manna,  that 
bread  of  heaven  which  strengthened  their  hearts  in  the 
days  of  temptation ;  now  is  known  how  it  was  that  the 
rod  of  Christ's  power  flourished  and  blossomed  in  spite 
of  oft-repeated  rejection  ;  now,  too,  are  known  those 
high  and  holy  principles  by  which  the  lives  of  the  saints 
of  God  wei-e  ruled,  CA'en  that  law  which  the  divine 
Spirit  had  written  in  their  hearts  (Heb.  x.  16,  and 
2  Cor.  iii.  2).  Then.  too.  with  the  ark  of  God's 
covenant,  is  brought  into  A-iew  the  mercy-seat,  that 
throne  of  grace  to  which  the  weary  and  hea^y-laden 
children  of  God  had  so  often  gone,  and  where  they 
had  never  failed  to  receive  grace  to  help  in  every  time 
of  need  (Heb.  iv.  16).  The  Temple  of  God  was  opened, 
and  the  secret  springs  of  power  which  sustained  the 
patience  and  faith  of  the  saints  are  found  to  be  in  God. 
And  out  of  the  opened  Temple,  or  round  about  it,  as 
round  the  sacred  peak  of  Sinai,  the  lightnings  are 
seen  and  voices  and  thnnders  are  heard  :  the  tokens  of 
that  holy  law  which  the  power  of  the  world  had  defied 
are  made  manifest ;  for  God's  righteousness  has  not 
lost  its  strength,  and  that  which  is  a  power  of  help 
to  those  who  seek  their  shelter  in  God  becomes  a  power 
of  destruction  to  those  who  turn  from  Him.  The  habi- 
tation of  God  is  an  open  sanctuary  to  faith  ;  it  is  a 
clouded  and  lightning-crowned  Sinai  to  faithlessness. 
(Comp.  Heb.  xii.  18—24.)  The  spirit  of  CAnl.  of  selfish- 
ness, of  luxnriousness,  of  profanity,  which  rejects  its 
birthright  of  better  thoughts  and  holy  things,  leads  to 
"  the  moimt  that  burned  with  fire,  and  unto  blackness  and 
darkness  and  tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and 
the  voice  of  words ;  "  the  Spirit  of  God  leads  to  "  the  city 
of  the  liAnngGod.the  heavenly. Temsalem.  and  to  an  innu- 
merable company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-bom  which  are  written  in  heaven." 

XII. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  third  group  of  visions  (or, 
the  fourth  section  of  the  book,  if  we  include  the  epistles 


The  Woman  and 


EEVELATION,   Xlt. 


the  Tied  Dragon, 


upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars ; 
<-'  and  she  being  with  child  cried,  travail- 
ing- in  birth,  and  pained  to  be  delivered. 


1  Or,  sign. 


(^>  And  there  appeared  another  wonder^ 
in  heaven ;  and  behold  a  great  red 
dragon,    having    seven    heads    and   ten 


I 


to  the  seven  churcbcs\  wliich  occupy  chapters  xii.,  xiii., 
and  xiv.,  and  close  with  the  sok^mn  scene  of  the  harvest 
and  the  vintage  (cliap.  xiv.  14 — 20).  The  close  of  each 
series  of  visions  is  in  harmony  with  their  general  inten- 
tion, and,  as  such,  alfords  a  key  to  their  meaning.  The 
seals  end  in  peace ;  the  trumpets  end  in  victory ;  the 
l^resent  ^^sions  end  in  liarvest.  We  have  been  sliown 
that  toil  and  trouble  shall  end  in  rest  and  conflict  in 
triumph ;  now  we  are  to  be  shown  that  there  is  to  be  a 
harvest  at  the  end  of  the  world,  when  tlie  fi'uits  of  the 
conflicting  principles  of  life  will  have  ripened,  and  when 
whatsoever  a  man  hath  sown  that  shall  he  also  reap : 
and  men  will  be  seen  as  they  are.  This  set  of  visions 
accordingly  moves  in  a  different  plane  from  the  earlier 
groups ;  starting  from  the  same  point  as  the  others,  it 
reviews  the  ground  with  a  different  purpose.  It  deals 
with  the  spiritual  conditions  of  the  great  war  between 
evil  and  good;  it  disrobes  the  false  appearances  which 
deceive  men  ;  it  makes  manifest  the  thoughts  of  men's 
hearts  ;  it  shows  that  the  great  war  is  not  merely  a  war 
between  e^'il  and  good,  but  between  an  evil  spirit  and 
the  Spirit  of  God  :  and  that,  therefore,  the  question  is 
not  only  one  between  right  and  wrong  conduct,  but  be- 
tween true  and  false  spiritual  dispositions.  Men  look 
at  the  world,  and  they  acknowledge  a  kind  of  conflict 
between  evil  and  good;  their  sympathies  are  vaguely  on 
the  side  of  good ;  they  admire  much  in  Christianity ; 
they  are  willing  to  tliink  the  martyred  witnesses  of  the 
Church  heroes ;  they  think  the  reformers  of  past  ages 
worthy  of  lionour ;  they  would  not  be  averse  to  a 
Christianity  without  Christ  or  a  Christianity  without 
spirituality.  They  do  not  realise  that  the  war  which  is 
raging  round  them  is  not  a  war  between  men  morally 
good  and  men  morally  bad,  but  between  spiritual 
powers,  and  that  wliat  tlie  Gospel  asks  is  not  merely  a 
moral  life,  but  a  life  lived  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God.  a 
life  in  which  tlie  spiritual  dispositions  are  Godward  and 
Christward.  The  Apocalypse,  in  this  set  of  visions,  un- 
veils the  spiritual  aspects  of  the  conflict,  that  we  may 
know  that  the  issue  is  not  between  Christianity  and  un- 
Christianity,  but  between  Clu'istianity  and  anti-Chris- 
tianity. Hitherto  we  liave  seen  the  more  outward 
aspects  of  the  great  war.  Now  we  are  to  see  its  hidden, 
secret,  spiritual— yes,  supernatural  aspects — that  we 
may  understand  what  immeasurably  divergent  and  anta- 
gonistic principles  are  in  conflict  under  various  and 
specious  aspects  in  tlie  history  of  the  world,  Accord- 
ingly, we  are  shown  the  child  enoountered  by  the 
dragon,  the  woman  in  conflict  with  the  dragon,  the  wild 
beast  as  the  adversai-y  of  the  lamb.  We  see  no  longer 
the  battle  under  human  forms,  as  the  struggle  for  the 
possession  of  the  Temple ;  but  we  see  clearly  and  un- 
mistakably the  real  issue  whicli  is  being  fought  out,  and 
we  see  the  real  spiritual  work  which  the  Cliurch  is  de- 
signed to  accomplish  in  the  world.  Tlie  motto  of  this 
section  miglit  well  be,  "  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against 
me  " — "  He  that  gathereth  not  witli  me  scattcreth  ;"  for 
only  those  who  are  truly  with  Christ  will  avoid  falling 
under  tlie  yoke  of  one  of  the  tliree  enemies  of  Christ — 
the  dragon  and  the  two  wild  lieasts  animated  and  In- 
spired by  him. 


0)  And  there  appeared 

sign  was  seen  in  the  heaven 


. — Better,  And  a  great 
The  word  sign  is  pre- 
ferable to  "  wonder,"  both  in  this  verse  and  in  verse  3. 


It  is  the  same  word  which  is  rendered  sign  in  chap.  xv.  1. 
It  is  a  sign  which  is  seen:  not  a  mere  wonder,  but 
something  whicli  has  a  meaning  ;  it  is  not  "  a  surpri.so 
ending  with  itself,"  but  a  signal  to  arrest  attention,  and 
possessing  significance ;  there  is  "  an  idea  concealed 
behind  it. '     (Comp.  Note  on  John  ii.  11.) 

A  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the 
moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars.— All  the  lights  of  heaven 
are  brought  together  here  for  a  description  which 
cannot  fail  to  remind  us  of  the  picture  of  the  Shulamite 
in  the  Canticles  (vi.  10) :  "  Who  is  she  that  looketh 
forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the 
sun,  and  tei-rible  as  an  army  with  banners  (or,  the 
heavenly  host)  ?  "  It  is  the  picture  of  the  bride,  the 
Church.  The  beams  of  the  divine  glory  clothe  her; 
she  has  caught — like  Moses — the  radiance  of  her  Lord, 
whose  countenance  was  as  the  sun  (chap.  i.  16) ;  the  moon 
is  beneath  her  feet ;  she  rises  superior  to  all  change,  and 
lays  all  lesser  lights  of  knowledge  under  tribute  ;  she  is 
crowned  with  a  crown  of  twelve  stars  :  the  illustrions 
members  of  the  Church  (twelve  being  the  representative 
number  in  Old  Testament  as  well  as  New  Testament 
times)  form  her  crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  Christ. 

(2)  And  she  .  .  . — 'Better,  And  being  with  child,  she 
crieth,  travailing,  and  tormented  to  bring  forth.  All 
life  dawns  in  anguish,  according  to  the  ancient  fiat  (Gen. 
iii.  16) ;  but  this  is  not  all.  There  is  an  anguish  of  the 
Church  which  Christ  laid  upon  her ;  it  is  the  law  of  her 
life  that  she  must  bi-ing  forth  Christ  to  the  world  ;  it  is 
not  simply  that  she  must  encounter  pain,  but  that  she 
cannot  work  deliverance  without  knowing  suffering. 
Thus  the  Apostles  felt :  the  love  of  Christ  constrained 
them  ;  woe  it  would  be  to  them  if  they  did  not  preach 
the  Gospel ;  necessity  was  laid  upon  them  ;  they  spoke 
of  themselves  as  travailing  in  birth  over  their  children 
till  Christ  was  formed  in  them.  This,  then,  is  the  picture, 
the  Church  fulfilling  her  destiny  even  in  pain.  The 
work  was  to  bring  forth  Christ  to  men.  and  never  to  be 
satisfied  till  Christ  was  formed  in  them,  i.e.,  till  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  the 
example  of  Christ  were  received,  loved,  and  obeyed,  and 
men  transformed  to  the  same  imago,  even  as  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord. 

But  there  was  to  be  opposition:  the  enemy  is  on  the  watch 
to  destroy  the  likeness  of  Christ  wherever  it  was  seen. 

(3)  And  there  appeared  .  .  .—Better.  And  another 
sign  ivaa  .<!een  in  th?  heax^en  ;  and  behold  a  great  red 
dragon,  Tliis.  too,  is  a  sign,  and  has  a  meaning.  The 
dragon  .stands  for  some  diead  and  hostile  power.  "  The 
dragon  is  tliat  fabulons  monster  of  whom  ancient  poets 
told,  as  large  in  size,  coiled  like  a  snake,  blood  red  in 
colour  .  .  .  insatiable  in  voracity,  and  ever  athirst  for 
human  blood  " — a  fit  emblem  of  him  whom  our  Lord 
declared  to  be  a  murderer  from  the  l>oginning  ;  for  the 
dragon  is  intended  here  to  describe  him  Avho.  in  vrrse 
9,  is  also  said  to  l>e  that  old  seriient.  call(>d  the  Devil  and 

'Satan.  The  red  colour  is  the  colour  of  flame  and  blood, 
and  the  symbol  of  destruction  and  slaughter.  The 
dragon  is  the  emblem  of  the  ov\\  spirit,  the  de\-il.  the 
perpetual  antagonist  of  good,  the  ]iersecutor  of  the 
Cliurch  in  all  ages  (comp.  Ps.  Ixxiv.  13):  just  as 
the  dragon  is  sometimes  employed  to  represent  the 
Egyptian  power,  the  ancient  foe  of  Israel  (Isa.  li.  9; 
Ezek.  xxix,  3). 


591 


The  Birth  of 


REVELATION,   XII. 


the  Woman's  Child. 


horns,  and  seven  crowns  upon  his  heads. 
<''  And  his  tail  drew  the  third  part  of 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  did  cast  them 
to  the  earth :  and  the  dragon  stood 
before  the  Avoman  which  was  ready  to 
be  dehvered,  for  to  devom-  her  child  as 
soon    as    it    was    born.     (^>    And    she 


brought  forth  a  man  child,  who  was  to 
rule  all  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and 
her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God,  and 
to  his  throne.  (^'  And  the  woman  fled 
into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a 
j)lace  prepared  of  God,  that  they  should 
feed  her  there  a  thousand  two  hundred 


Having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  seven 
crowns  (diadems)  upon  his  heads.— This  is  tlie 
further  descriptiou  of  the  dragfou.  He  is  one,  yet 
diverse^  one,  as  au  evil  spirit;  diverse,  iu  the  varieties 
of  Ills  power.  The  woman  is  but  one :  but  her  foe  is 
multiform;  she  has  one  trust  to  keep,  one  work  to  do, 
and  can  but  fulfil  it  in  her  Master's  way  :  evil  is  bound 
by  no  law,  regards  no  scruple,  and  exerts  its  power 
tlirougli  any  channel  and  by  every  means.  Is  there  not 
also  an  assumption  of  divine  similitude  here  in  the 
use  of  the  number  seven?  It  is  at  least  the  representa- 
tion of  the  great  and  world-wide  power  which  he 
exercises  as  the  prince  of  this  world,  whose  kingdom 
is  in  much  a  parody  of  the  true  kingdom.  The  whole 
description  should  be  compared  with  the  account  given 
of  the  beast  in  chap.  xvii.  3,  7,  10,  12.  There  the 
seven  heads  are  explained  as  seven  kings,  and  the  heads 
here  are  cro\viied ;  the  ten  horns  are  also  explained  as 
ten  kings.  The  sevenfold  kingsliip  and  the  tenfold 
power  of  the  world  are  thus  described  as  belonging  to 
the  dragon.  The  picture  here,  as  the  picture  of  the 
wild  beast  iu  chap,  xvii.,  represents,  as  concentrated 
into  a  single  hostile  form,  all  the  varying  forces  and 
successive  empires  which  have  opposed  or  oppressed 
the  people  of  God,  and  sought  to  destroy  their  efforts 
for  good:  for  all  evil  has  its  root  in  a  spirit  at  enmity 
with  God.  Hence  the  dragon  appears  armed  with  all 
the  insignia  of  those  sovereignties  and  powers  which 
have  been  animated  by  this  spirit. 

W  And  his  tail  .  .  . — Translate,  And  his  tail  drags 
(or,  sweeps)  away  the  third  part  of  the  stais  of  the  heaven, 
and  casts  them  to  the  earth.  Tlie  stars  are  the  light- 
bearers,  the  illustrious  of  earth,  wlio  were  given  by  God 
high  place  that  they  might  be  bui-ning  and  shining 
liglits  for  Him.  A  large  proportion  of  these  are  drawn 
away  in  the  train  of  evil ;  they  are  cast  down  from  their 
liigh  position  of  noble  opportunities  of  good  work  and 
great  work ;  they  are  dragged  down  from  the  height  of 
tlie  grandest  possibilities  of  good  to  the  low  level  of  & 
life  enslaved  to  evil. 

And  the  dragon.— Translate,  And  the  dragon 
stands  (not  "stood")  before  the  woman  who  is  about 
to  bring  forth,  that  whenever  she  has  brought 
forth  he  may  devour  her  child.  The  spirit  of  evil 
is  represented  as  ever  on  the  watch  to  destroy  the 
first  tokens  of  better  things.  Our  minds  go  back  to  the 
liatred  and  fear  of  Pliaraoh,  setting  a  watcli  for  the  off- 
spring of  Israel  and  ordering  their  destruction;  and 
even  more  are  we  reminded  of  the  jealous  hatred  of 
Herod  seeking  the  life  of  the  infant  Christ.  It 
seems  clear  tliat  it  is  on  this  last  incident  that 
the  present  vision  is  primarily  Iniilt  up  ;  but  its 
meaning  is  much  wider  than  tliis.  It  shows  us 
that  evermore,  as  Herod  waited  to  destroy  Clirist, 
the  de^^l,  the  old  spirit  whose  malignity  wrought 
through  the  fejirs  of  Pharaoh  and  of  Herod,  is  on  the 
watch  to  destroy  every  token  of  good  and  every  resem- 
blance to  Christ  in  the  world.  The  mission  of  the 
Church  is  to  bring  forth  in  her  members  this  life  of 
Clirist  before  men :  the  aim  of  the  wicked  spirit  is  to 


592 


destroy  that  life.  The  same  hostility  which  was  shown 
to  the  infant  Christ  is  active  against  His  children  :  "  If 
they  have  persecuted  Me,  they  will  also  persecute  you." 

C5)  And  she  brought  forth  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
she  brought  forth  a  man  child,  who  is  to  shepherd  all  the 
nations  with  (it  is,  literally,  in)  a  rod  of  iron.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  man  child  is  Christ.  The  com- 
bination of  features  is  too  distinct  to  admit  of  doubt. 
It  is  the  one  who  ^vill  feed  His  flock  like  a  shepherd 
(Isa.  xl.  12),  who  is  to  have,  not  His  own  peojjle,  but  all 
nations  as  His  inheritance  (Ps.  ii.  7 — 9),  and  whose  rule 
over  them  is  to  be  supreme  and  irresistible.  But  the 
fact  that  this  child  is  Christ  must  not  cause  us  to  limit 
the  meaning  of  the  vision  to  the  efforts  of  the  eWl  one  to 
destroy  the  infant  Jesus ;  for  it  is  also  the  Christ  in  the 
Church  which  the  wicked  one  hates :  and  wherever  Christ 
dwells  in  any  heart  by  faith,  and  wherever  the  preachers 
of  the  gospel  in  earnest  travail  for  their  Master,  seek  to 
lift  up  Christ,  there  will  the  foe  be  found,  like  the  fowls 
of  the  air,  ready  to  carry  away  the  good  seed.  Though  the 
basis  of  the  vision  is  in  the  historical  fact,  the  power  of 
the  vision  reaches  over  a  wider  area,  and  forcibly  reminds 
us  that  as  there  are  irreconcileable  principles  at  work  iu 
the  world,  so  all  these,  when  traced  to  their  original  forms, 
are  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  the  spirit  of  the  devil. 

And  her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God,  and 
to  his  throne.— Tlie  efforts  of  the  e^-il  one  to  destroy 
are  thwarted  ;  the  child  is  snatched  away  and  placed  out 
of  the  range  of  the  dragon's  power.  The  prince  of  tliis 
world  might  instigate  Israel  to  take  Jesus  Christ  and 
with  wicked  hands  crucify  and  kill  Him,  but  the  eternal 
divine  life  of  Him  who  had  power  to  lay  down  His  life 
and  take  it  again,  and  whose  years  were  for  ever  and 
ever,  was  beyond  the  reach  of  every  hostile  power  ;  and 
after  death  and  resurrection,  Clirist  ascended  up  where 
He  was  before.  But  the  vision  is  designed  to  assure  us 
that,  precisely  because  of  this,  so  all  life  in  Christ  is 
beyond  the  power  of  the  evil  one,  and  that  the  forces 
hostile  to  good  are  powerless  against  that  life  which  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God.  The  Church  may  be  as  a  weak, 
oppressed,  and  persecuted  woman,  but  her  faith  rises  up 
as  a  song  from  the  lips  of  its  members.  "  God  hatlv 
raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  contest  is  be- 
tween the  man  child  and  the  dragon ;  and  those  who  in 
heart  and  mind  ascend  to  where  Christ  is  know  that  the 
contest  is  not  one  of  mere  ideas,  but  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  Christ,  who  is  with  them  always,  though  He 
has  ascended,  and  all  the  powers  of  evil,  which  will  be 
smitten  down  by  the  rod  of  His  power. 

(6)  And  the  woman  fled  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the 
woman  fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  there  a 
place  prepared  from  God,  that  there  they  may  nourish 
her  for  a  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty  days.  The 
flight  of  the  woman  into  the  wilderness,  and  her  fortunes 
there,  are  more  fully  described  in  verse  13.  This  verse 
simply  tells  us  that  the  woman  fled  ;  we  read  afterwards 
that  it  was  persecution  whicli  drove  her  into  the 
wilderness.  As  long  as  the  q\\\  one  can  be  called  the 
prince  of  this  world:    as   long,  that  is,  as  the  world 


Michael's  Victory  over 


EEVELATION,   XII. 


the  Arch-enemy. 


and  threescore  days.     (^>  And  there  was 

,,,         ■   „    ir,    war    in   heaven :    Michael 
Chap.  xii.  7—12.  T       T  •  1         j:>         1  j^ 

Tue    heavenly  and     his     angels     lought 
victory  over  the  agfainst   the   draffon ;    and 

arch-eueuiy.  /i        i  r>         ii.ii,' 

the  dragon  lought  and  his 
angels,  (^^  and  prevailed  not;  neither  was 
their  place  found  any  more  in  heaven. 
<^^  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out, 


that  old  serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and 
Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole  world : 
he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth,  and  his 
angels  were  cast  out  with  him.  ^^^^  And 
I  heard  a  loud  voice  saying  in  heaven, 
Now  is  come  salvation,  and  strength, 
and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the 
power   of  his   Christ :    for  the  accuser 


refuses  to  recognise  her  true  Prince,  and  pays  homage 
to  worlilliness,  and  baseness,  and  falseness  in  heai't, 
mind,  or  life,  so  long  must  the  Church,  in  so  far  as  she 
is  faithful  to  Him  who  is  true,  dwell  as  an  exile  in  the 
wilderness.  This  feeling  it  was — not  any  liostility  to 
life  as  life,  or  to  life's  duties — which  led  the  Apostle 
to  speak  of  Christians  as  strangers  and  pilgrims, 
and  of  the  Church  as  another  Israel,  whom  a  greater 
than  Moses  or  Joshua  was  conducting  to  a  land 
of  better  promise  (Heb.  iv.  8,  9).  The  woman,  the 
representative  of  the  Church,  has  a  place  prepared  by 
God  for  her  in  the  wilderness ;  she  is  not  altogether  un- 
cared  for  ;  she  has  a  place  prepared,  and  nourishment. 
God  provides  her  with  a  tabernacle  of  safety  (Ps.  xc.  1), 
and  with  the  true  Bread  "which  came  down  from 
heaven "  (Ex.  xvi.  15 ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  24,  25 ;  John  vi. 
49,  60),  and  with  the  living  water  from  the  Rock 
(John  iv.  14,  y\\.  37—39 ;  1  Cor.  x.  3, 4).  The  time  of 
the  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  is  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty  days,  a  period  corresponding  in  length  to  the 
forty-two  months  during  which  the  witnesses  prophesied; 
it  is  the  period  of  the  Church's  witness  against  pre- 
dominant evil.  Driven  forth,  her  voice,  though  but  as 
the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  is  lifted  up 
on  behalf  of  righteousness  and  truth. 

The  Wae  in  Heaven. 

(7)  And  there  was  war  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
there  was  war  in  heaven :  Michael  and  his  angels 
to  war  with  the  dragon ;  and  the  dragon  ivarred  and 
his  angels.  This  is  oue  of  those  passages  which  has 
ever  been  regarded  as  more  or  less  perplexing.  It  has 
afforded  material  for  many  poetic  fancies,  and  has  been 
the  occasion  of  much  speculative  interpretation.  We 
shall  fail  to  catch  the  spirit  of  its  meaning  if  we  insist 
upon  detaching  the  passage  from  its  context ;  and  the 
more  so  that  the  structure  of  the  chapter  seems  to  give 
an  express  warning  against  doing  so.  The  narrative 
of  the  woman's  flight  into  the  wilderness  is  suspended 
that  this  passage  may  be  inserted.  Could  we  have  a 
clearer  indication  of  the  anxiety  of  the  sacred  writer 
to  connect  this  war  in  heaven  with  the  birth  and  rap- 
ture of  the  man  child  ?  The  man  child  is  born  ;  born  a 
conqueror.  Tlie  dragon  is  His  foe,  and  the  powers  of 
the  foe  are  not  confined  to  the  material  and  historical 
world :  he  is  a  power  in  the  world  spiritual ;  but  the 
man  child  is  to  be  entirely  a  conqueror.  His  rapture 
into  heaven  is  the  announcement  that  there,  in  the  very 
liighest.  He  is  acknowledged  victor;  and  His  >nctory 
is  won  over  the  power  of  the  dragon,  the  old  serpent, 
whose  head  is  now  bruised.  "  The  prince  of  this  world 
Cometh,"  said  Jesus  Christ,  "  and  hath  nothing  in  Me." 
"  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world  ;  now  is  the  prince 
of  this  world  cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  Me."  Do  we  need  more  ?  There  is 
myst<>ry — unexplained  mystery,  perhaps — about  this 
war  in  heaven,  but  there  need  be  none  about  tlie  general 
occasion  referred  to;  it  is  the  overthrow  of   the  evil 


104 


one  by  Christ :  the  death-blow  given  by  the  Lord  of 
Life  to  him  who  had  the  power  of  death ;  it  is  the 
victory  of  Bethlehem,  Calvary,  and  Olivet  which  is 
commemorated,  and  the  effects  of  which  are  seen  to 
transcend  the  sphere  of  the  things  seen.  But  why 
have  we  Michael  and  his  angels  introduced  ?  This  may 
be  one  of  those  unexplained  mysteries  referred  to  above. 
Some,  indeed,  think  that  this  Michael  is  a  designa- 
tion of  our  Lord  Himself,  and  of  Him  alone ;  but  a 
consideration  of  the  other  passages  in  which  Michael 
is  mentioned  (notably,  Dan.  x.  13,  where  Michael  is 
called  "one  of  the  chief  princes")  leaves  this  limited 
meaning  doubtful,  and  almost  suggests  conflict  among 
the  spiritual  hierarchies.  It  may,  however,  be  the 
case  that  the  name  Michael — the  meaning  of  which 
is,  "  who  is  like  unto  God" — is  a  general  name  applied 
to  any  who  for  the  moment  rejjreseut  the  cause  oi  God 
in  the  great  conflict  against  evil.  It  may  thus  belong, 
not  to  any  one  angel  being,  but  be  a  kind  of  type-name 
used  for  the  champion  and  prince  of  God's  people,  and 
so  employed  in  this  passage  to  denote  Him  who  is  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation. 

(8)  And  prevailed  not  .  .  .—Better,  And  their 
'power  failed  them,  and  not  even  was  place  for  them 
found  any  more  in  the  heaven.  The  result  of  the 
war  was  the  dragon's  defeat.  The  whole  power  of  the 
evil  hosts  failed  them.  There  is  an  inherent  weakness 
in  e^^l :  a  spot  which  may  be  touched  whereupon  all  its 
vaunted  strength  withers.  So  complete  was  the  over- 
throw, that  even  their  place  knew  them  no  more.  "  I 
went  by,  and,  lo !  he  was  gone ;  I  sought  him,  but  ho 
could  nowhere  be  found." 

(9)  And  the  great  dragon  .  .  .—Better,  And  he 
was  thrown  down,  the  great  dragon,  the  ancient  serpent, 
he  that  is  called  the  Devil  and  Satan :  he  who  deceives 
the  whole  world  ivas  throicn  to  the  earth,  and  his  angels 
were  thrown  with  hijn.  Tlius  the  victory  of  Christ  is 
marked  by  the  overthrow  of  the  great  adversary.  The 
stronger  than  the  strong  one  has  come,  and  taken  away 
his  armour  (Luke  xi.  21,  22).  The  death-blow  is  given. 
The  prince  of  this  world  (who  found  nothing  in  Chri.st) 
is  judged  (John  xvi.  11).  The  adversary  is  described 
as  the  dragon,  the  fierce  and  cruel  foe  who  is  ever  ready 
to  devour  (1  Pet.  v.  8).  The  ancient  serpent.  The 
serpent  was  used  as  an  emblem  of  the  evil  principle. 
(Comp.  G^n.  iii.  1).  But  the  head  of  the  ancient  foe  of 
man  is  now  bruised  :  he  is  the  devil,  the  accuser  and 
calumniator.  He  is  called  the  accuser  of  the  brethren 
in  the  next  verse ;  he  is  Satan,  the  adversary,  and  he  is 
the  seducer,  the  deceiver,  as  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father 
of  it  (John  \'iii.  44). 

(10)  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice  .  .  . — Better,  Atid 
I  heard  a  great  voice  in  the  heavetis  saying.  Now  is  cume 
the  salvation,  and  the  might,  ami  the  kingdom  of  our 
God.  and  the  power  of  his  Christ.  The  definite  article 
is  placed  before  the  words  "  salvation  "  and  "  might." 
The  words  of  this  doxologj'  are  like  an  eclio  of  the  close 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer.      The   prayer    "Thy  kingdom 


593 


Joy  in  Heaven. 


BEVELATION,   XII. 


Wrath  of  the  Dragon. 


of  our  brethren  is  cast  down,  which 
accused  them  before  our  God  day  and 
ui<^ht.  (^^^  And  they  overcame  him  by 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  by  the 
word  of  their  testimony ;  and  they 
loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death. 
<i->  Therefore  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and 
ye  that  dwell  in  them.  Woe  to  the 
inhabiters  of  the  earth  and  of  the  sea! 


for  the  devil  is  come  d^wn  unto  you, 
having  great  wrath,  because  he  knowetli 
that  he  hath  but  a  short  time.  (^^^  And 
when  the  dragon  saw  that  . 

he  was  cast  unto  the  earth,  iT.'^^i^perse^ 
he  persecuted  the  woman  cution  of   the 
which   brought    forth   the  ^^'"■°^- 
man  child,     (i*)  And  to  the  woman  were 
given  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle,  that 


come"  scorns  answered.  Now  is  come  the  kingdom. 
But  it  is  nut  the  full  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
which  is  here  described ;  it  is  rather  the  manifesta- 
tion of  it.  Since  our  Master  passed  into  the  heavens — 
and  His  ^-ictory  is  achieved,  we  know  Him  to  be  King, 
and  even  while  wo  pray  "  Thy  kingdom  come  "  we  yet 
confess  "  Tliine  is  the  kingdom " — the  salvation  so 
anxiously  looked  for  (1  Pet.  i.  10) ;  the  power  so  much 
needed  by  weak  and  sinful  men  (1  Pet.  i.  5  and  1  Cor. 
i.  24) ;  and  the  kingdom  which  cannot  be  shaken 
(Heb.  xii.  28).  The  accuser  of  the  brethren  is  cast 
down.  This  is  another  reason  for  joy  and  another 
feature  of  the  salvation.  The  habit  of  the  accuser  is 
expressed  by  the  use  of  the  present  tense.  We  should 
read  not  "  who  accused,"  but  "  who  accuseth."  Night 
and  day  ho  accused.  (Comp.  Zech.  iii.  1,  and  Job  i.  9, 
and  ii.  5.)  In  Jewish  writings,  Michael  is  called  "  the 
advocate "  {suiiegoi-),  and  stands  in  opposition  to  the 
accuser  (Icategor) ;  but  now  the  accuser  is  cast  down ; 
for  who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect, 
when  it  is  God  that  justifieth,  when  it  is  Christ  that 
died?    (Rom.  viii.  33,  3k) 

(11)  And  they  overcame  him  .  .  .—Better,  And 
they  conquered  him  (not  "  by,"  but)  on  account  of  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  on  account  of  the  word  of  their 
testimony,  &c.  They  overcame  liim — i.e.,  the  accuser, 
the  devil :  their  victory  over  him  is  "  owing  to "  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  Who  is  ho  that  condemueth,  when 
Clu-ist  liath  died  ?  Wliat  power  can  the  accusations  of 
tlie  adversary  have  wlien  the  Lamb  of  God  hath  taken 
away  the  sin  of  the  world  (John  i.  29),  and  when  we 
liave  boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus  ?  (Heb.  x.  19.)  Dean  Alford  mentions  the  tradition 
tliat  Satan  accuses  men  all  days  of  the  year  except  on 
the  Day  of  Atonement.  But  tlieir  victory  is  also  in 
virtue  of  the  ivord  of  their  testimony  :  in  virtue  of  the 
word  to  which  they  bore  witness ;  not  simply,  I  think, 
because  they  had  a  word  of  God  to  which  they  coidd 
bear  witness,  but  because  tliey  had  a  word  of  God  and 
did  bear  witness  to  it.  The  Christian  "vnctory  is  a 
victory  of  dependence  and  of  obedience  :  of  dependence 
on  Him  without  whom  tliey  can  do  nothing  ;  and  of 
obedience  to  Him :  it  is  in  keeping  of  His  command- 
ments there  is  great  reward  :  and  in  bearing  testimony 
that  the  testimony  becomes  a  power  and  a  treasure.  So 
it  was  tlie  man  who  did  Christ's  commandments  who 
was  like  the  man  whoso  house  was  founded  on  the  rock. 
Tlieorotical  religion  relaxes  the  energy  of  faith,  even 
though  it  may  brace  tlio  intolloct ;  practical  religion 
invigorates  faith,  gives  it  its  force,  and  moulds  the 
lieroisui  of  those  wlio.  in  tlieir  love  of  Clirist,  "  love  not 
tlieir  livi's  even  unto  deatli."  It  is  tliouglit  that  tlieso 
last  words  imply  that  tlio  martyred  saints  alone  are 
spoken  of.  This  seems  to  me  a  mistake.  It  is  true  that 
in  tlie  martyr  we  have  the  fullest  i)ractical  token  of 
that  si)irit  of  devotion  to  Christ  whicli  loves  Him  more 
thau  life  itself;    but  the  spirit  of  such  devotion  and 


694 


such  love  has  breathed  in  thousands  who  have  never 
died  the  martyr's  death,  but  who  have  devoted  their 
lives  to  Him  they  loved.  The  martyr  spirit  needs  not 
death  to  show  itself ;  many  lose  their  lives  for  Christ's 
sake  who  have  never  been  called  to  lay  down  their 
lives  for  Him,  and  these,  as  truly  as  those  who  have 
passed  away  in  the  shroud  of  flame,  have  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death.  "He  may  bid  us  die  for 
Him :  He  does  bid  us  live  for  Him.  If  we  do  not  the 
one— the  less — we  may  be  quite  sure  that  we  shall  never 
rise  to  the  other — the  higher  and  the  more  glorious  " 
(Dr.  Vaughan). 

(12)  Therefore  rejoice  .  .  . — Beiter,  For  this  cause 
rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye  that  tabernacle  in  them. 
The  words  "  for  this  cause  "  must  be  taken  to  refer  to 
the  overthrow  of  the  evil  one.  This  is  the  cause  of  joy 
to  the  heavens,  and  to  them  that  tabernacle  (not  "  dwell") 
in  tliem.  The  word  is  (as  in  chaps,  vii.  15,  xiii.  6,  xxi.  3) 
"  tabernacle."  This  allusion  to  the  tabernacle  where  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  mercy-seat  Avere  to  be  found,  is 
not  without  force.  The  sacred  imagery  of  the  tabernacle 
of  witness  calls  to  mind  the  safe  dwelling  which  the 
sanctuary  of  God  afforded  to  those  whose  testimony 
was  given  in  the  wilderness  of  sorrow.  Those  who 
tabernacled  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  could 
rejoice  with  joy  unsjieakable. 

Woe  to  the  inhabiters  .  .  .—Translate,  Woe  to 
the  earth  and  the  sea /(the  words  "  to  the  inhabiters  of  " 
are  not  found  in  the  best  MSS.)  because  the  devil  is 
gone  dorvn  to  yo2i,  having  great  wrath,  Icnoiving  (or, 
because  he  hnotveth :  his  knowledge  that  his  season  of 
power  is  short  is  the  reason  of  his  great  wrath)  that 
he  hath  (but)  a  short  season.  The  painful  conscious- 
ness of  defeat  has  roused  a  deeper  and  more  obstinate 
rage.  Sin,  which  blunts  the  conscience,  blinds  the 
reason,  and  drives  men  madly  to  attempt  the  impossible, 
or  to  rouse 

"theiinconqucrable  will 
And  study  of  revenue,  immortal  hate. 
And  courage  never  to  submit  or  yield." 

The  woe  to  the  sea  and  earth  is  simply  a  warning  voice 
to  all  that,  though  the  foe  is  overcome  and  death 
smitten,  yet  that  he  has  power,  quickened  by  defeat  and 
fear,  for  a  last  struggle ;  and  that  therefore  they  need 
to  be  sober  and  vigilant  agiiinst  the  adversary.  His 
season  is  short.  He  may  be  active,  sowing  tares  among 
the  wheat  and  animating  various  hostile  powers,  such  as 
the  wild  beasts  of  chap.  xiii. ;  but  he  has  only  a  season : 
there  is  a  limit  to  his  power  and  the  time  of  his  power. 
"  A  little  while  "  was  the  word  our  Lord  used  to  denote 
His  time  of  absence  (John  xvi.  16 — 22) :  "  Behold,  He 
comes  quickly!" 

(i'^)  And  when  the  dragon  .  .  .—The  wrath 
of  the  defeated  dragon  is  manifested  in  persecution  of 
the  woman.  The  present  verse  explains  the  reason  of 
the  flight  into  the  wilderness  mentioned  in  verse  6. 

(1^)  And  to  the  woman  .  .  .—Better,  And  there 


The  Woman  jjeraecuted 


REVELATION,   XII. 


by  the  Dragon. 


she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness,  into 
her  place,  where  she  is  nourished  for  a 
time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,  from  the 
face  of  the  serpent.  (^^^  And  the  serpent 
cast  out  of  his  mouth  water  as  a  flood 
after  the  woman,  that  he  might  cause 


her  to  be  carried  away  of  the  flood. 
(1^)  And  the  earth  helped  the  woman, 
and  the  earth  ojiened  her  month,  and 
swallowed  up  the  flood  which  the  dragon 
cast  out  of  his  mouth.  (^"^  And  the 
dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman,  and 


were  given  to  the  woman  {the)  two  wings  of  the  great 
eagle  (the  definite  article  is  used  before  "great  eagle  "), 
that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilder )iess,  unto  her  place, 
where  she  is  nourished  there  for  a  season,  and  seasons, 
and  half  a  season,  from  the  face  of  the  serpent.  The 
woiuau  is  persecuted  and  driven  into  the  wilderness : 
yet  it  is  with  the  eagle  \Wugs  given  her  by  her  Lord 
that  she  flies ;  the  serpent  drives  her  into  the  wilder- 
ness :  yet  it  is  in  the  wilderness  that  her  place  is 
prepai-ed  by  God.  The  way  that  seems  hard  is  the 
way  that  is  most  blest.  The  opposition  of  the  dragon 
brings  her  blessings  that  she  never  would  have  received 
except  in  persecution ;  neither  the  eagle  power  nor  the 
heavenly  sustenance  had  been  hers  without  the  serpent's 
hate.  Thus  is  the  trial  of  faith  precious  in  bi-inging  us 
to  know  the  priceless  blessings  of  heavenly  help  and 
heavenly  food.  She  is  given  eagle's  wings.  God  had 
si)oken  of  the  deliverance  of  Israel  under  a  similar 
emblem,  ''  Ye  have  seen  .  .  .  how  I  bare  you  on  eagles' 
wings  and  brought  you  unto  myself  "  (Ex.  xix.  4;  comp. 
Deut.  xxxii.  10 — 12).  There  is  a  difference  as  well  as  a 
resemblance  in  the  emblem  here.  In  Exodus  God  is 
said  to  have  borne  Israel  on  eagles'  wings :  here  the  wings 
are  given  to  the  woman.  The  strength  of  the  earlier 
dispensation  is  a  strength  often  used  for,  rather  than  in, 
the  people  of  God;  the  strength  of  the  latter  is  a 
strength  in  them :  "  They  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles  "  (I.sa.  xl.  31).  The  place  is  not  a  chance  spot :  it 
is  prepared  of  God ;  it  is  in  the  wilderness,  but  still  it 
is  the  place  God  prepared  for  her.  It  is  always  a 
delight  to  faith  to  mark  how  the  ordering  of  God  works 
in  and  tlirough  the  ^vilfulncss  and  wickedness  of  the 
enemy :  tlie  Sou  of  man  goeth,  as  it  was  written, 
though  there  is  a  "woe"  against  the  man  by  whom 
He  is  betrayed.  The  wicked  one  can  never  drive  us 
from  God's  place,  but  only  to  it,  unless  we  are  enemies 
to  ourselves.  She  is  nourished  in  the  wilderness.  (See 
Notes  on  verse  6.)  The  length  of  her  sojourn  is  here 
called  a  season,  seasons,  and  half  a  season ;  it  was  called 
twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days  in  verse  6.  The  period  is 
in  both  cases  the  same  in  length,  viz.,  three  years  and  a 
half — i.e.,  the  season  (one  year),  the  seasons  (two  years), 
and  the  half  season  (half  a  year).  This  is  the  period  of 
the  Church's  trouble  and  persecution.  It  is  not  to  be 
sought  by  any  effort  to  find  some  historical  period  of 
persecution  corre.spouduag  in  length  to  this,  lasting 
three  years  and  a  half,  or  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days  or  years.  No  such  attem]it  has  hitherto  been 
crowned  witli  success.  The  period  is  symbolical  of  the 
broken  time  (the  half  of  the  seven,  the  perfect  mimber) 
of  the  tribulation  of  God's  people.  There  may  be  some 
future  period  in  which  the  vision  may  receive  even 
more  vivid  fulfilment  than  it  lias  hitherto  received ;  but 
the  woman  has  been  unuri.'^hod  in  the  wilderness  in  the 
ages  that  are  gone,  and  her  sustenance  there  by  God  is 
an  experience  of  the  past,  and  will  Ix)  in  the  future.  It 
is  not  only  in  one  age,  but  in  every  ago,  that  God  gives 
His  children  bread  in  tlie  day  of  adversity,  during  the 
season  that  the  pit  is  being  dug  for  the  ungodly.  In  many 
an  era  the  servant  of  God  can  exclaim :  "  Tliou  pre])aredst 
a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies." 


(15)  And.  the  serpent  .  .  .—Translate,  Ayid  the  ser- 
pent cast  out  of  his  inouth  after  the  woman  water  as  a 
river,  that  he  might  make  her  to  be  carried  atcay  hy  the 
river.  The  foe  of  the  woman  was  described  as  a  dragon 
for  his  cruelty  and  fierceness — as  a  serpent  for  his 
subtlety.  The  first  attack  on  the  woman  is  pictured  as 
persecution  by  the  dragon:  from  this  she  escapes  by 
tiight ;  but  the  subtlety  of  the  enemy  finds  another  de- 
vice :  the  foe  (now  described  as  a  serpent)  pours  forth 
water  as  a  river  to  sweep  away  the  woman.  The  em- 
blem is  not  uncommon  in  the  Bible.  Invasion  is  de- 
scribed as  "  an  overflowing  flood  "  ( Jer.  xlvi.  7,  8 ;  xlvii. 
2 ;  comp.  Isa.  viii.  7,  8).  The  same  emblem  is  used 
in  Ps.  Ixxiv.  2 — 6  to  describe  the  uprising  of  a  people's 
ill-will.  The  floods,  the  rivers,  the  waves  of  the  sea, 
are  employed  to  express  popular  movements.  The 
woman  that  cannot  be  destroyed  by  positive  persecution 
may  be  swept  away  by  a  hostile  jjublic  oiiinion.  It  is 
not  the  rulers  alone  who  stand  up  against  the  Lord  and 
His  Church  :  an  infuriated  populace  may  be  stirred  up 
against  them.  The  temper  of  the  mob  occasioned  as 
much  suffering  and  as  many  deaths  in  early  Christian 
days  as  did  the  pohtical  authorities.  lU-regulated 
popular  impulses,  leading  to  violence  and  unwise  action, 
whether  nominally  for  Christianity  or  against  it,  have 
done  enough  of  the  de-vil's  work  in  the  world. 

(16)  And  the  earth  .  .  . — Translate,  And  the  earth 
helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and 
drank  up  the  river,  &c.  This  is  generally  understood  of 
some  eai-thly  power  which  is  raised  up  to  protect  the 
Church  against  persecution.  Just  as  Persia  was  raised 
up  to  aid  Israel  after  they  had  been  swept  away  by  the 
flood  of  Babylonish  conquest,  so  does  help  come  to  the 
persecuted  Church  through  the  cultured  Roman  world, 
or  through  some  other  worldly  power,  "  barbarian  and 
godless  in  its  beginning,  but  destined  in  due  time  to 
embrace,  in  name  at  least,  the  faith  once  abhorred,  and 
to  introduce  that  new  order  of  things  which  should 
make  a  nominal  Christianity  the  religion  of  states  and 
nations,  and  secure  it  for  ever  against  the  risk  of  a  re- 
petition of  bygone  persecutions  "  (Dr.  Yaughan).  The 
passage  seems  to  want  a  wider  interpretation.  By  the 
flood  or  river  we  understand  all  great  po])ular  move- 
ments against  Christianity:  the  earth  swallows  up  these ; 
they  diffuse  themselves  for  a  ;ime,  but  mother  earth 
absorbs  them  all,  for  the  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the 
fulness  thereof,  and  no  movement  hostile  to  truth  can 
permanently  succewl  :  the  eternal  laws  of  truth  and 
right  are  ultimately  found  stronger  than  all  the  half 
truths,  whole  falsehoods,  and  selfishness  which  give  force 
to  such  movements.  In  a  mysterious  way.  every  devil- 
born  flood  of  opinion,  or  ^^olence.  or  sentiment,  will  sink 
beneath  the  surface;  they  rise  like  a  river,  tliev  are 
tasted,  and  then  rejected.  Tlie  laws  of  the  earth  are 
acraiiist  tht'ir  permanent  success.  The  finest  epic  of  the 
world  might  have  for  its  motto:  "The  earth  helped  the 
woman."  Creation  is  xUtimately  a  witness  for  righteous- 
ness and  truth.  It  is  not  one  nation,  one  age,  which  is 
represented  here  ;  it  is  an  eternal  law. 

(17)  And  the  dragon  .  .  . — Translate.  And  the 
dragon  was  wroth  tcith  the  woman,  and  dtparted  (not 


o9j 


Appea/rance  of 


EEYELATION,   XIII. 


tJie  great  World-power. 


went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of 
her  seed,  which  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  have  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

CHAPTER   XIII.—  (1^  And  I  stood 


1  Or,  namet. 
A.U.  «ti. 


upon  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  saw  a 
beast  rise  up  out  of  the  chap.  xiii.  i— 
sea,  haviner    seven    heads  i^-  /f^i^  (?!■«"•* 

1,1  1  1  •      world  -power. 

and  ten  horns,  and  upon  his  'pdy  ^^.^^^  beaat- 

horns  ten  crowns,  and  upon  Hku  toe. 

his  heads  the  name  ^  of  blasphemy.  (^^And 


merely  "  went,"  hut  departed,  as  one  baffled  in  his  at- 
tempt to  carry  tlie  woman  away  by  the  river)  to  make 
war  with  the  rest  of  her  seed,  who  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  and  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Omit 
the  word. Christ.  The  attempt  to  sweep  away  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  vain.  The  wrath  of  man  has  always 
been  found  to  turn  to  God's  praise ;  the  earth  has 
always  helped  the  woman;  out  of  a  thousand  seemingc 
def(>ats  the  Church  of  Christ  has  arisen ;  the  banner  of 
the  Lord  has  been  lifted  up  over  every  flood.  But  the 
foe  will  not  give  up  his  attacks.  He  can  make  war  upon 
individual  Christians  ;  he  may  cease  to  assail  the  collec- 
tive Church  of  Christ,  but  he  can  assail  Christians  by 
a  thousand  discomforts,  by  potty  opposition,  by  under- 
mining their  morals,  by  making  them  unpopular,  not  as 
Christians,  but  as  "very  particular"  Christians:  for 
those  thus  assailed  are  they  who  "  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God  and  the  testimony  of  Jesus."  It  is  the 
old  combination  of  a  holy  life  and  a  fidelity  to  their 
Master  which  is  the  test  of  true  loyalty.  They  take 
heed  to  themselves;  they  abide  in  Christ;  they  take 
heed  to  the  teaching,  that  Christ's  word  may  abide  in 
them.  They  keep  His  word,  and  they  witness  to  Ham 
in  lip  and  life. 

XIII. 

This  chapter  describes  the  rise  of  two  foes  of  Christ 
and  His  people.  They  are  described  as  "wild  beasts"  in 
opposition  to  Him  who  is  the  Lamb.  They  are  distinct 
from  the  dragon  ;  yet  they  are  inspired,  as  it  were,  by 
him.  He  gives  them  power  (verse  4) ;  his  voice  speaks 
through  them  (verse  11).  They  are  forces  and  powers 
utilised  l)y  him  in  hostility  to  the  cause  of  righteousness 
and  truth.  On  the  whole  of  this  section  the  parallel 
vision  in  Dan.  vii.  ought  to  be  read, 

(1)  And  I  .  .  . — Better, -4«tZ/ie  (not  "I  stood,"  as  in 
English  version,  but  he,  i.e.,  the  dragon)  stood  upon  the 
sand  of  the  sea.  Some  make  this  sentence  a  separate 
verse,  and  insert  it  as  the  closing  verse  of  chap.  xii. 
It  is  truf?  that  the  sentence  has  a  connection  with  that 
cliaptor,  l)ut  it  is  also  closely  linked  with  what  follows. 
The  way  in  which  the  dragon  carries  out  his  plan  of  war 
is  described.  Like  Miltcm's  "  superior  fiend,"  ho  stands 
upon  the  shore  and  summons  his  legions  {Par.  Lost, 
Book  I.)  to  another  form  of  war.  Two  monsters,  one 
distinguished  by  more  brutal,  the  other  by  more  subtle 
power,  rise  at  his  bidding. 

And  saw  .  .  .— Translate*,  And  I  saw  a  wild 
least  rising  out  of  the  sea,  having  ten  hoi-ns  and 
seven  heads,  and  upon  his  horns  ten  diadems,  and 
upon  his  heads  names  of  blasjihemy. — The  wild  beast 
rises  out  of  the  sea.  In  the  vision  of  Daniel  (chap, 
vii.)  the  beasts  rose  out  of  the  sea  upon  which  the 
four  winds  strove.  Tlie  sea  represents  the  great, 
restless  mass  of  human  kind ;  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in 
chap.  xvii.  15,  "peoples  and  multitudes."  St.  James 
represented  an  undecided  man  as  a  wave  driven  by 
the  wind  (Jas.  i.  6).  The  individuals,  like  larger  and 
smaller  waves,  make  up  this  great  ocean-like  mass  of  men, 
swayed  by  impulse  or  passion.     Out  of  the  sea  rises  a 


696 


wild  beast.  The  word  is  not  the  same  as  that  used  in 
chap.  iv.  7  (see  Note  there),  but  is  a  word  which  im- 
plies the  predominance  of  the  beast  nature.  Whatever 
power  rises  is  one  which  rules  not  by  love  or  right,  but 
by  fear  and  wilfulness.  It  is  the  great  force  of  the 
world-power,  which  in  every  age  has  been  antagonistic 
to  the  power  of  right.  The  wild  beast  is  always  the 
figure  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world — i.e.,  the  kingdoms 
which  are  founded  on  passion  or  selfishness.  They  are 
seven  in  number,  as  the  beast  had  seven  heads.  We 
read  afterwards  of  seven  mountains.  These  world- 
powers  are  spoken  of  as  mountains  for  their  strength 
and  stability;  as  heads  of  the  wild  beast  because, 
though  separate,  they  are  inspired  by  the  dragon  spirit, 
the  spirit  of  utter  enmity  to  the  rule  of  the  Righteous 
King.  The  seven  kingdoms,  or  heads  of  the  wild  beast, 
are  more  distinctly  explained  in  chap.  x\ai.  10.  There 
we  read  that  five  are  fallen,  one  was  in  possession  of 
power,  and  the  seventh  had  not  yet  arisen.  The  key 
is  thus  placed  in  our  hands.  The  sixth  head  is  imperial 
Rome,  the  successor  of  those  great  world-powers  which 
were,  one  and  all,  founded  in  unrighteousness — i.e.,  iu 
violation  of  the  law  of  brotherly  kindness  and  faith. 
The  heads  carry  the  names  of  blasphemy.  The  spirit 
of  arrogant  self-sufficiency  characterised  all  the  world- 
powers.  Illustrations  would  be  too  numerous  for  our 
space.  It  is  enough  to  refer  to  the  spirit  in  Babylon  : 
"  Is  not  this  great  Babylon,  that  I  have  built  for  the 
house  of  the  kingdom  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and 
for  the  honour  of  my  majesty?"  The  words  were 
Nebuchadnezzar's  (Dan.  iv.  3U).  He  became  a  beast 
in  uttering  them ;  but  the  spirit  of  them  went  through 
all  the  world-powers,  from  the  days  of  Lamech  (Gen.  iv. 
23,  24)  and  Babel  (Gen.  xi.  4)  to  the  days  when  Roman 
poets  prostituted  their  pens  in  abjectflattery  of  emperors, 
and  a  degraded  people  welcomed  them  as  gods,  and  put 
those  to  death  who  refused  to  offer  frankincense  and 
wine  to  the  images  of  those  who  wore  the  purple. 

Ten  horns. — The  beast  has,  besides  seven  heads, 
ten  horns,  which  are  explained  further  on  (chap.  xvii.  12) 
as  "  the  kings  which  have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet," 
but  which,  when  they  rise,  will  draw  their  strength  from 
the  dragon  and  be  members  of  the  Avild  beast. 

(2)  And  the  beast  .  .  .—The  wild  bejist  combined 
the  features  of  three  wild  animals  :  the  leopard,  the 
bear,  the  lion.  In  Daniel's  vision  (Dan.  vii.  4)  the 
kingdoms  were  described :  the  first,  like  a  lion ;  the 
second,  like  a  bear ;  the  third,  like  a  leopard  or 
panther.  Here  all  these  features  are  combined, 
because  the  vnld  beast  is  a  repre.sentative  of  all  forms 
of  world-power,  which  have  been  swift  to  shed  blood  : 
like  a  leopard  leaping  on  the  prey,  tenacious  and  relent- 
less as  a  bear,  and  all  devouring  (their  throat  is  an 
open  sepulchre)  as  a  lion.  The  reader  will  remember 
the  wild  beasts  which  in  vision  hindered  Dante  when 
he  sought  to  ascend  the  "pleasant  mount  " — the  "cause 
and  source  of  all  delight."  The  leopard,  the  lion,  the 
wolf  were  symbols  of  luxuriousness,  cruel  ambition,  and 
hungry  and  heartless  avarice,  which  oppo.se  men  and 
nations  when  they  seek  the  Holy  Hill,  where  the  light  of 
God  ever  rests.     (,Comp.  Inferno,  i.  10 — 74) 


Worship  of  the  Beast.  EEVELATION,    XIII. 


Power  given  to  him. 


the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  unto 
a  leopard,  and  his  feet  were  as  the  feet 
of  a  beai',  and  his  mouth  as  the  mouth 
of  a  lion  :  and  the  dragon  gave  him  his 
power,  and  his  seat,  and  great  authority. 
(^)  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  it 
were  wounded  ^  to  death  ;  and  his  deadly 
wound  was  healed :  and  all  the  world 
wondered  after  the  beast.  <^>  And  they 
worshipped  the  dragon  which  gave  power 
unto  the  beast :  and  they  worshipped 
the  beast,  saying.  Who  is  like  unto  the 
beast?  who  is  able  to  make  war  with 
him?     (^^    And   there   was   given   unto 


2  Or,  to   make 
war. 


him  a  mouth  speaking  great  things  and 
blasphemies ;  and  power  was  given  unto 
him  to  continue"  forty  and  two  months. 
('^>  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blas- 
phemy against  God,  to  blaspheme  his 
name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and  them 
that  dwell  in  heaven.  (^)  And  it  was 
given  unto  him  to  make  war  with  the 
saints,  and  to  overcome  them  :  and 
power  was  given  him  over  all  kindreds, 
and  tongues,  and  nations.  <^)  And  all 
that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship 
him,  whose  names  are  not  written  in 
the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain  from 


And  the  dragon. — Read,  And  the  dragon  gave  Mtn 
his  2^<^i^^r  and  his  throne  (uot  his  "  seat,"  as  in  the 
Euglish  version ;  it  is  the  royal  seat,  the  throne,  which 
is  meant).     (See  Notes  on  chap.  xi.  16  and  chap.  iv.  4.) 

And  great  authority.— It  is  through  this  succes- 
sion of  world-powers  that  the  dragon  carries  on  his 
war.  The  wild  beast  becomes  the  vicegerent,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  prince  of  this  world. 

(^)  And  I  saw  .  .  .—Translate,  And  (I  saw)  one 
frotn  among  his  heads  as  if  having  been  slain  [the 
expression  is  the  same  as  that  applied  to  the  Lamb  in 
chap.  V.  6 :  the  wound  marks  are  there  when  the  vision 
rises]  unto  death ;  and  the  stroke  of  his  death  was 
healed.  When  the  wild  beast  rose  from  the  sea,  the  seer 
saw  the  deadly  wound  on  the  head :  the  wound  was  really 
unto  death ;  the  beast  which  had  waged  war  against  the 
true  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  faith  has  received 
his  death-blow.  This  is  the  historical  point  from  which 
the  vision  starts.  This  being  so,  the  death-blow  is  that 
which  has  just  been  dealt :  the  seed  of  the  woman  has 
bruised  the  serpent's  head.  The  blow  which  casts  down 
the  dragon  inflicts  a  deadly  wound  upon  the  wild  beast, 
which  is  his  agent.  When  Christ  overthrew  the  wicked 
one  He  gave  the  death-blow  to  the  world-power — to  all 
systems  founded  on  passion,  or  self-sufficiency,  or  inhu- 
manity. But  the  death-blow  is  apparently  healed. 
What  is  this  but  telling  the  Church  of  Christ  that  the 
fruits  of  Christ's  victory  will  not  be  seen  without  delay? 
The  world-power  is  smitten  unto  death  ;  but  the  actual 
death  does  not  follow  immediately.  The  power  of  evil, 
contrary  to  all  expectation,  rises  with  new  vigour.  This 
revived  power  showed  itself,  with  more  or  less  force, 
irj  the  way  in  which  the  spirit  of  the  wild  boast  broke 
forth  when  Christianity  seemed  to  have  put  fetters  on 
the  Roman  empire. 

(3.4)  And  all  the  world  wondered  .  .  .—Lite- 
rally, And  the  whole  earth  wondered  after  the  wild  beast, 
and  worshipped  the  dragon,  because  he  gave  the  autho- 
rity and  worshipped  the  wild  beast,  saying.  Who  is  like 
unio  the  wild  beast  f  and  who  is  able  to  war  with  him  / 
The  healing  of  the  death-blow  causes  wonder  to  all. 
Their  wonder  leads  to  worship.  The  .spirit  of  the  wild 
beast  is  adored  wherever  worldliness  prevails.  There  is 
nothing  so  successful  as  success,  and  the  homage  of  men 
is  more  often  paid  to  pow<>r  than  to  principle.  "  Wlio 
is  like  unto  the  beast?"  Tlie  words  are  a  parody,  and 
a  blas])hemou3  parody,  on  the  ascription  of  praise  to 
God  which  the  name  Michael  imj>oi-ted.  (See  chap, 
xii.  7;  comp.  Ps.  cxii.,  Mic.  vii.  18.)  "Who  is  like 
unto  God  ?  "  is  the  legen<l  of  the  saints  :  the  opposing 
cry  is,  "  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast  ?  " 


"  Can  you  not  hear  the  words  coming  across  the  centu- 
ries from  the  lips  of  two  Roman  youths  talking  with 
each  other,  as  they  lounge  together  in  the  Forum?" 
(Maurice.)  Can  we  not  hear  the  echo  of  the  words  in 
the  Champs  Elysees,  in  Piccadilly,  in  the  Broadway, 
or  Unter  Den  Linden,  from  the  lips  of  young  men 
who  have  taken  fashion,  rank,  wealth,  world-power 
in  any  shape,  as  their  god  ? 

(5)  And  there  was  given  .  .  . — Tn  these  verses  the 
words  and  the  works  of  the  wild  beast  are  described. 
The  5th  verse  tells  us  that  the  liberty  to  speak  and 
work  was  given  to  him.  There  is  consolation  in  the 
words  :  he  has  no  power  beyond  what  is  given ;  behind 
his  reckless  and  apparently  irresistible  power  there 
stands  the  veiled  but  real  power  of  God.  "  Thou 
couldest  have  no  power  "  (the  saints  may  take  up  their 
Lord's  words)  "  against  me,  except  it  were  given  thee 
from  above."  He  speaks  great  things,  and  Ijlasphemy. 
And  there  was  given  him  authority  to  act  (literally,  to 
do)  forty-two  months.  Again  the  familiar  period,  the 
limited  time  of  the  world-power. 

(6)  And  he  opened  his  mouth  .  .  . — Translate, 
And  he  opened  his  mouth  unto  blasphemies  against 
God,  to  hlai^pheme  His  name,  and  Hu<  tabernacle,  and 
them  that  tabernacle  in  the  heaven.  Much  of  the  lieauty 
of  the  thought  is  lost  by  the  translation  "  them  that 
dwell;"  the  word  is  tabtrnacle.  The  saints,  to  whom 
the  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower,  and  who  liavo 
a  tabernacle  of  witness  in  this  wilderness  world,  can  yet 
tabernacle  their  spirits  where  their  treasure  is,  in  the 
heaven,  according  to  that  word  :  "  our  citizenship  is  even 
now  in  heaven  "  ^Phil.  iii.  20).  Against  these  the  world- 
power  blasphemes:  who  has  not  taken  the  Lord  for  his 
.strength.  God  is  not  his  might;  his  might  is  his  god. 
(Comp.  Hah.  i.  11 :  "  He  passes  over  and  is  guilty,  he 
whose  might  is  his  god.") 

(<■)  And  it  was  given  .  .  .■ — Better,  He  makes  war 
until  the  saints,  and  conquers  them.  This,  too,  is  .said 
to  be  "  given  him."  The  conquest  is  not  a  conquest  of 
their  fidelity  ;  it  is  rather  that  the  beast  so  far  succeeds 
that  they  must  suffer  or  submit.  The  saints  seem  to  be 
single  handed  ;  for  there  was  given  him  authority  over 
ei'ery  tribe,  and  j^eople.  and  t<mgues,  and  natiiyiis.  Nor 
does  his  success  end  here ;  the  next  verse  shows  us  how 
completely  earth  is  at  his  feet. 

(8)  And  all  that  dwell  .  .  .-  Better,  And  all  they 
that  divell  on  the  earth  shall  iror.<hip  him  (m-ery  one) 
whose  nxime  has  not  been  written  in  the  book  of  life  of 
the  Lamb  that  has  been  ."loin  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  This  is  the  climax  of  his  trinm])h  :  he.  or  it,  is 
worshipped;  but  the  saints,  though  conquered,  conquer ; 
697 


Appearance  of  the 


REVELATION,   XITI. 


Second  Beast. 


the  foundation  of  the  world.  ^^^  If  any 
man  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear.  ^^^^  He 
that  leadeth  into  captivity  shall  go 
into  eaj)tivity  :  he  that  killeth  Avitli  the 
sword  must  be  killed  with  the  sword. 


Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith  of 
the  saints.  ^^^^  And  I  beheld  another 
beast  coming  up  out  of  chap.  xiii.  n^ 
the  earth;  and  he  had  two  18.  The  second 
horns  like  a  lamb,  and  he  ^e^st-like  foe. 


flioy  do  not  worsliip  after  tlio  fashion  of  tlie  deluded  or 
self-seeking.  A  stronger  tie  binds  tliom  to  a  better 
allegiance;  their  names  are  iu  the  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life.  Tliere  is  some  doubt  about  the  connection  of  the 
words  "  from  the  foundation  of  the  Avorld."  Some  con- 
nect them  with  the  \yord  "written":  this  would  express 
that  the  names  wore  written  "  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world  "  in  the  book.  Others  connect  them  with  the 
•word  "  slain  "  :  this  expresses  that  the  Lamb  was  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  For  the  former  view, 
the  similar  passage  in  chap.  xvii.  8  is  cited;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  phrase  "  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  "  is  connected  in  otlier  parts  of  the  Bible  with 
certain  aspects  of  the  work  of  Christ  (1  Pet.  i.  19,  20, 
and  John  xvii.  24),  and  it  seems  more  natural  to  take  the 
words  in  their  simple  order.  Whatever  view  we  take, 
the  verse  proclaims  that  the  security  of  God's  saints  is 
based  on  the  eternal  lovo  of  God.  "  An  eternal  deliverer 
is  the  only  refuge  from  this  great  world-tyranny ;  "  the 
strength  of  the  tempted  is  in  Him  who  is  the  same  in 
love  and  righteousness  througli  all  the  ages. 

(^)  Tliis  verse — an  echo  ol  his  Master's  words  from 
the  lips  of  the  beloved  disciple — calls  marked  attention 
to  the  warning  words  of  the  next  verse. 

(lOj  This  verso  may  read :  If  any  one  {is)  for  captivity , 
into  captivity  he  goeth ;  if  any  one  to  be  Icilled  by  the 
sword,  lie  sJiouldby  the  swordbe  Icilled.  If  we  read  the 
verse  thus,  it  is  generally  understood  to  be  a  caution  to 
tlie  suffering  saints  that  there  is  nothing  for  them  but 
to  endure,  just  as  Jeremiah  told  his  countrymen  that 
those  who  were  for  death  must  go  out  to  meet  it,  and 
those  who  were  for  sword  or  ciiptivity  must  face  them 
(Jer.  XV.  2).  But  is  not  this  a  warning  to  them  that  the 
way  of  the  Church's  victory  lay  through  sutt'ering 
captivity  and  meeting  sword,  and  that  the  temptation 
to  take  the  swoi'd  or  seize  the  weapons  of  their  foes 
would  be  fatal  to  their  true  success  ?  The  spirit  of 
the  words  reminds  ihem  that  their  weapons  are  the 
weapens  of  faitli  and  patience,  of  truth  and  rigliteous- 
uess ;  and  they  nmst  acci'pt  the  tribulation,  as  their 
Lord  did  His  cross,  because  thus  it  must  be.  At  the 
same  lime,  tiieir  very  doing  so  is  a  witness  to  their 
foes  that  "all  those  who  take  tlie  sword  will  perish 
with  the  sword ;  "  and  that  the  sword,  from  which  the 
saints  do  not  shrink,  will  assuredly  turn  against  those 
who  use  it.  Here  (i.e.,  in  the  enduring  of  these  per- 
secutions, and  amid  so  many  temptations,  not  seizing 
easy,  world-like  methods  of  saving  themselves)  is  the 
endurance  and  faith  of  the  saints. 

The  Appearance  of  the  Second  Wild  Beast. 

For  the  understanding  of  this  portion  of  the  vision  we 
must  notice  the  contrasts  and  resemblances  between  tliis 
and  the  former  wild  beast.  They  are  both  wild  beasts  : 
they  both  have  horns  :  they  both  have  a  dragon-like  in- 
spiration (verse  11) :  they  both  tyrannise  over  men;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  second  beast  is  less  monstrous  in 
appearance :  we  read  only  of  two  horns,  and  we  hoar 
nothing  of  seven  heads.  He  somewhat  resembles  a 
Iamb ;  he  rises  from  the  earth,  and  not  from  the  sea ;  his 
po  wer  lies  in  deception  (verses  13,  14)  as  well  as  violence; 
he  seems  to  possess  more  supernatural  power :  yet  the 


598 


whole  of  his  work  is  directed  to  magnifying  the  first 
beast  (verse  12).  Do  not  these  features  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  principles  which  the  second  wild  beast 
snppoi-ts  are  the  same  as  those  on  which  the  former  wild 
beast  acted,  but  that  he  supports  them  with  more 
subtlety,  intelligence,  and  culture  ?  But  for  all  the 
deception  he  employs,  his  work,  when  stripped  of  its 
specious  drapery  and  seen  in  its  naked  ugliness,  is  to 
promote  the  honour  of  the  first  wild  beast.  Because  of 
this  seductiveness,  and  of  his  efforts  to  support  his  mis- 
sion ■with  higher  sanctions  (verse  13),  he  is  called  in  later 
chapters  (chaps,  xvi.  13 ;  xix.  20;  xx.  10)  the  False  Pro- 
phet ;  the  force  and  appropriateness  of  this  designation 
becomes  more  apparent  when  we  notice  that  the  features 
which  are  assumed  bear  a  deceptive  resemblance  to  those 
of  a  lamb.  The  advancing  intelligence  of  the  world, 
its  increase  in  knowledge  and  wisdom,  the  wider  diffu- 
sion of  culture  and  thought,  produce  a  change  in  the 
general  fashion  of  life,  but  the  spirit  which  animates 
society  is  unchanged.  The  second  wild  beast  is  that 
change  which  is  a  change  of  mode,  but  not  of  spirit — a 
change  of  manners,  Init  not  of  heart ;  there  is  more  re- 
finement, more  civilisation,  more  mind,  but  it  is  still  the 
world-power  which  is  worshipped ;  it  is  the  self-seeking 
adoration  of  pleasures,  honours,  occupations,  infiueuces 
which  spring  from  earth  and  end  in  earth — the  pursuit 
of  powers  which  are  worldly.  Some  see  in  this  second 
wild  beast  the  Pagan  priesthood  aiding  the  imperial 
power,  the  embodiment  of  the  first  wild  beast ;  others 
see  in  it  the  Papal  sacerdotal  power,  the  heir  of  Pagan 
rites ;  others,  again,  would  combine  the  two,  and  view 
this  second  wild  beast  as  the  sacerdotal  persecuting 
power.  Pagan  and  Christian.  I  believe  that,  though 
there  is  truth  in  these  views,  they  are  too  narrow.  It  is 
true  that  i)riesthoods — Pagan  and  Christian — have  often 
devoted  their  influence  to  the  upholding  of  the  great 
world-power ;  it  is  true  that  men  called  to  be  Christian 
teachers  forgot  their  function,  and  used  their  knowledge 
and  power  to  bolster  up  the  power  of  the  beast  and  to 
make  men  worship  the  world,  as  though  there  were 
nothing  higher  for  men  to  worship  than  this  world  could 
all" ord ;  it  is  ti'ue  that  they  used,  in  later  days,  their 
powers  to  aggrandize  the  Church  rather  than  to  reform 
the  world  aiid  regenerate  men :  in  so  far  as  they  did  this 
tlu^y  acted  like  the  second  wild  beast ;  but  the  stretch 
of  the  vision  embraces  more  than  these.  All  who  use 
their  knowledge,  their  culture,  their  wisdom,  to  teach 
men  that  there  is  nothing  worthy  of  worship  save  what 
they  can  see,  and  touch,  and  taste,  are  acting  the  part  of 
the  second  wild  beast ;  and  be  they  apostles  of  science, 
or  apostles  of  culture,  or  apostles  of  logical  immorality, 
or  apostles  of  what  is  called  materialism,  if  their  teach- 
ing leads  men  to  limit  their  worship  to  the  visible  and 
the  tangible,  they  are  making  men  worship  the  beast 
who  is  the  adversary  of  the  servants  of  the  Lamb. 

(U)  And  I  beheld  .  .  .  Better,  And  I  saw  another 
rvild  beast  rising  out  of  the  earth.  Both  wild  beasts  rise 
from  beneath.  The  sea,  out  of  which  the  first  rises,  re- 
presents the  tumultuous  impulses  and  passions  of  man- 
kind ;  the  earth,  the  more  fixed  element  of  human 
thought  and  wisdom,  or  society  consolidated  and  dis- 


Power  given  to 


EEVELATION,   XITI. 


the  Sec07id  J]past. 


spake  as  a  dragon.  (^-)  And  he  exer- 
ciseth  all  the  power  of  the  first  beast 
before  him,  and  causeth  the  earth  and 
them  which  dwell  therein  to  worship 
the  first  beast,  whose  deadly  wound 
was  healed.  ('^^  And  he  doeth  great 
wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire  come 
down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  men,  (^^^  and  deceiveth  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  the  means  of 
those  miracles  which  he  had  power 
to  do  in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying 


2  Gr.  to  tjive. 


to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that 
they  should  make  an  image  to  the  beast, 
which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  and 
did  live.  C^^^  And  he  had  power  to  give 
life^  unto  the  image  of  the  beast,  that 
the  image  of  the  beast  should  both 
speak,  and  cause  that  as  many  as  would 
not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast 
should  be  killed.  (^^^  And  he  causeth 
all,  both  small  and  great,  rich  and  poor, 
free  and  bond,  to  receive-  a  mark  in 
their  right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads  : 


ciplined  by  intelligence  and  culture  :  the  wisdom,  how- 
ever, which  guides  this  wild  beast  is  not  divine  wisdom, 
but  that  wisdom  which  a  sacred  winter  described  as 
earthly,  sensual,  devilish  (Jas.  iii.  17). 

He  had  two  horns  like  {those  of)  a  lamb. — 
There  is  an  appearance  of  gentleness  about  him,  but  he 
spake  as  a  dragon ;  the  voice  betrayeth  him.  He  that 
is  of  the  earth  is  earthly,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth. 
The  spirit  of  the  adversary  is  in  him  (John  iii.  31 ; 
viii.  4i). 

(12)  And  he  exerciseth  .  .  . — Bettei-,  And  he 
works,  or  exercises  (literally,  does),  all  the  authority 
(or,  power)  of  the  first  ivild  beast  in  his  presence.  It 
will  be  seen  by  this  that  we  must  not  look  upon  the 
second  wild  beast  as  a  successor,  but  rather  as  a  sup- 
porter, of  the  first.  The  intellectual  force  of  an  earthly 
wisdom  is  practically  subservient  to  the  spirit  of  unmiti- 
gated worldliness. 

(12, 13)  And  causeth  the  earth  .  .  .—Literally, 
and  he  makes  the  earth  and  tlievi  that  dwell  in  it 
that  they  shall  worship  the  first  loild  beast,  the  stroke  of 
whose  death  xoas  healed ;  and  he  does  signs  great,  so 
that  he  evenmakesfire  to  descend  out  of  the  heaven  to  the 
earth  in  the  sight  of  men.  This  descent  of  fire  is  the 
counterpart  of  the  work  of  the  two  witnesses  (chap.  xi. 
5),  and  of  Elijah  in  Old  Testament  days.  It  is  one  of 
the  features  of  that  deceivablencss  of  unrighteousness 
which  misleads  man.  There  is  a  holy  fire  which  inspires 
the  lips  and  hearts  of  the  holy ;  there  is  an  unhallowed 
fire,  a  fire  of  mere  power,  which  the  worldly  spirit  is 
tempted  to  worship. 

(14)  And  deceiveth  them  .  .  .—Better,  And  he 
leads  astray  those  who  dwell  on  the  earth  because  of  the 
signs  which  were  given  him  to  do  in  the  presence  of  the 
wild  beast ;  saying  to  those  who  divell  on  the  earth,  to 
make  an  image  to  the  wild  beast  that  has  the  stroke 
of  the  sioord  and  lived.  He  leads  astray :  this  is  the 
key  to  his  success,  he  deifies  the  spirit  of  worldliness;  but 
ho  does  it  by  deception  and  subtlety  :  there  is  an  appear- 
ance of  wonderful  power  :  ho  can  work  lying  wonders. 
When  men  lose  the  sense  of  duty, — the  will  to  ask,  "  Is 
it  right  ?  " — they  become  an  easy  prey  to  some  specious 
deception.  This  is  the  reason  that,  both  in  the  old  and 
new  dispensations,  a  caution  against "  immoral  marvels" 
is  entered  (see  Deut.  xiii.  1 — 3 ;  Matt.  xxiv.  21 ;  and 
2  Thess.  ii.  9) ;  mere  gi'eatness,  either  of  achievement  or 
of  miracle,  is  no  guarantee  of  a  good  cause.  The  motto 
"  Might  is  right  "  is  the  motto  of  worldliness  ;  "  Right 
is  might "  is  the  motto  of  faith,  and  those  who  hold  it 
cannot  worship  the  beast,  even  thougli  the  stroke  of 
his  death-wound  is  healed.  Men  have  appealed  to  lying 
miracles  on  Ijchalf  of  a  death-woundod  creed :  the 
cleverness  of  self-interested  partizanship  is  seldom 
barren  of  imposing  expedients. 


(15)  And  he  had  power  .  .  .—Better,  And  it  was 
given  to  him  to  give  breath  to  the  image  of  the  wild  beast, 
that  the  image  of  the  wild  beast  should  both  speak,  a7id 
cause  that  as  many  as  do  not  worship  the  inwge  of  the 
ivild  beast  shall  be  slain.  The  image  to  the  wild  beast 
is  an  image  also  of  the  wild  beast :  and  the  image  of 
the  monster  is  endued  with  apparent  vitality.  Wisdom 
can  give  a  semblance  of  life  to  the  most  doomed  cause ; 
and  the  bulk  of  mankind  read  only  with  their  eyes,  and 
not  at  all  with  their  thoughts.  The  image  of  the  Roman 
emperor  was,  in  ancient  days,  made  an  object  of 
worship.  Christians  suffered  rather  than  by  such  an 
act  of  worship  prove  disloyal  to  Christ :  like  their 
spiritual  ancestors,  they  refused  to  worship  the  image 
which  the  world-power  had  set  up  ;  they  were  willing  to 
render  to  Csesar  the  things  that  were  Caesar's,  but  the 
homage  which  belonged  to  God  they  refused  to  any  but 
their  God.  These  are  but  types  of  those  who  have 
refused,  though  tempted  by  specious  eloquence  and 
sagacious  subtlety,  to  offer  homage  to  any  mere  world- 
I)ower ;  for  the  golden  image  is  ever  set  up  upon  the 
plains  of  this  world  :  its  glitter  and  its  vitality  survive 
the  storm  and  the  conflict  of  the  ages :  it  speaks,  and 
men  hear  and  adore,  for  they  walk  by  sight,  not  by 
faith  ;  and  it  needs  no  imperial  or  papal  edict  to  doom 
to  social  death  and  failure  those  who  refuse  to  shape 
their  conduct  by  considerations  of  self-interest,  and  who 
are  sure  to  be  treated  as  fanatics  because  they  foUow 
right  and  conscience  and  Christ, 

(16, 17)  And  he  causeth  .  .  .—Better,  And  he  [i.e., 
I)robably,  the  second  wild  Ijcast.  and  not  the  image,  as  in 
the  latter  clause  of  the  last  verse]  makes  all  men,  the  small 
and  the  great,  and  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  the  free 
and  the  slaves,  that  they  should  give  them  a  mark  upon 
their  right  hand  or  upmi  their  forehead  :  {and)  that  no 
one  should  be  able  to  buy  or  to  sell  but  he  icho  has  the 
mark,  the  name  of  the  wild  beast,  or  the  number  of  hia 
name.  We  have  read  of  the  s'^aling  of  the  servants  of 
God  in  their  fm-eheads  (chap.  vii.  3) :  we  shall  hear  of  it 
again  (chap.  xxii.  4);  the  power  of  evil  also  has  its  mark 
or  stamp.  As  slaves  received  a  brand  or  mark  in  their 
tlosh,  betokening  to  whom  they  belonged,  so  in  the 
s])iritual  conflict  there  is  on  the  side  of  good  and  of  evil 
a  brand  or  mark.  St.  Paul  spoke  of  such  marks  in  his 
own  body  that  proved  him  a  slave  of  Jesus  Christ  (Gal. 
vi.  17).  In  tho  same  way  the  subtle  false  proi)liet.  the 
abettor  of  world-power,  seeks  to  impress  a  mark  on  all, 
on  tho  penalty  of  complete  social  exclusion.  It  i8 
utterly  unnecessary  to  take  this  brand  of  evil  literally, 
any  more  than  we  took  the  seal  of  Christ  literally. 
Tliat  seal  wo  understood  as  spiritual,  in  the  faith  and  in 
tho  character;  this  evil  brand  wo  must  interpret  in  like 
manner.  It  surely  means  tho  acquiescence  in  character 
and  action  to  the  principles  of  this  tyrannical  world- 
$99 


Tlie  Number  of 


EEVELATION,   XIV. 


tJie  Beast. 


(17)  and  that  no  man  miglit  buy  or  sell, 
save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the  name 
of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of  his  name. 
<i8)  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him  that  hath 
understandintr  count  the  number  of  the 


beast :  for  it  is  the  number  of  a  man ; 
and  his  number  is  Six  hundred  three- 
score and  six. 

CHAPTER  XIV.— (1)  And  I  looked, 


power :  the  right  hand  is  the  symbol  of  toil  and  social 
intercourse ;  the  forehead  is  the  symbol  of  character,  as 
time  is  ever  writing  its  awful  tale  upon  men's  brows. 
There  have  been  days  when  men's  faith  has  been  read 
only  too  plainly  by  a  hostile  woi'ld,  and  when  their  simple 
trust  in  Christ  caused  Christians  to  be  suspected,  and 
when  "  men  cast  out  their  name  as  evil,"  and  when  the 
mark  of  the  beast  was  worn  and  gloried  in  everywhere. 
We  might  cite  from  the  history  of  the  past  numberless 
such  epochs.  But  are  we  sure  that  the  days  are  gone  ? 
Are  we  sure  that  it  is  easy  for  simple,  unaffected  good- 
ness and  genuine  faith  to  gain  all  it  might  gain  ?  Are 
we  sure  that  honesty,  guilelessness,  utter  and  strenuous 
truthfulness  are  not  weighted  in  the  race  of  life  ?  The 
days  of  the  future  may  bring  intenser  forms  of  this 
tyranny,  as  the  days  of  the  past  have  shown  them ;  but 
the  days  of  the  present  may  afford  us  illustrations 
of  how  readily  men  may  lose,  lose  much  and  lose 
terribly,  rather  than  succumb  to  fashions  which  vio- 
late honour  and  dishonour  Christ.  But  we  read  of 
more  than  a  mark  here :  we  read  of  a  "  name,"  and 
the  "  number  of  a  name."  What  are  we  to  understand 
by  these  ? 

(18)  Here  is  •wisdom  .  .  .—Translate,  Hither  is 
wisdom.  This  most  difficult  verse  is  introduced  by  this 
word  of  preface.  Wisdom — indeed,  the  highest  wisdom — 
is  needed  for  those  who  would  understand  it.  Two  or 
three  points  ought  to  be  noticed.  (1)  The  verse  surely 
implies  that  the  understanding  of  this  name  and  number 
is  attainable ;  it  warns  us  that  wisdom  and  understanding 
are  needed,  but  it  as  certainly  leads  us  to  believe  that 
to  wisdom  and  understanding  a  solution  of  the  problem 
will  be  granted.  (2)  There  is  a  variation  in  the  MSS. 
respecting  the  number.  Some  MSS.  read  six  hundred 
and  sixteen ;  but  the  probability  is  in  favour  of  the 
reading  six  hundred  and  sixty-six.  In  an  excursus 
{Excursus  B)  will  bo  found  a  short  account  of  the 
various  interpretations  which  have  been  given.  (3)  The 
clause  "  It  is  the  number  of  a  man,"  has  been  rendered 
"  For  number  is  of  man."  The  number,  then,  is 
the  coin])ination  of  three  sixes ;  there  is  a  wisdom 
and  understanding  which  may  grasp  its  import,  and 
that  import  is  to  be  guided  by  the  principle  that 
it  is  the  number  of  a  man,  or  that  number  is  of 
man — is,  that  is  to  say,  a  method  of  computation 
which  is  used  by  man,  and  used  by  God  in  order  to 
symbolise  something  made  thus  more  intelligible  to  man. 
Is  the  wisdom  which  is  to  solve  this,  then,  the  mere 
cleverness  which  can  guess  an  acrostic  or  an  enigma  ? 
or  is  it  rather  that  the  true  heavenly  wisdom,  which  is 
moral  rather  than  intellectual,  is  needed  to  unite  itself 
with  understanding  to  solve  the  problem  ?  Surely  the 
dignity  of  the  Apocalypse  is  sacrificed  when  we  search 
for  its  meaning  like  children  playing  with  conundrums 
rather  than  like  men  being  guided  by  its  principles. 
There  is  a  wisdom  which  brings  its  sevenfold  beam  of 
heavenly  light  to  the  children  of  men — a  wisdom  pure, 
peaceable,  gentle,  full  of  mercy,  without  partiality] 
without  hj^ocrisy — and  when  this  wisdom  rests  on 
men  in,  the  fulness  of  its  seven-fold  perfection  they  may 
read  the  number  of  the  beast,  and  see  that,  with  all  its 
Vaunted  strength,  it  is  but  weak ;  with  all  its  vaunted 
perfection,  it  is  imperfect  j  that  though  it  vaunts  itself 


as  rich,  increased  in  goods  and  needing  notiiing,  it  still 
lacks  that  "  one  needful  thing  " — faith  in  God,  or  the 
love  by  which  faith  works.  Without  this  it  will  never 
attain  even  the  appearance  of  that  perfect  heavenly 
number  symbolised  by  seven ;  it  may  multiply  itself  in 
earthly  strength — the  power  of  worldliness  into  the 
power  of  worldly  wisdom,  and  this  again  by  the  power 
of  a  hundred-fold  satanic  subtlety — but  it  will  remain 
still  short  of  the  tokens  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and 
the  number  when  read  will  be,  however  godlike  it  looks, 
but  the  number  of  a  man  after  all. 

I  am  disposed,  therefore,  to  interpret  this  "  six  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  "  as  a  symbolical  number,  expressing 
all  that  it  is  possible  for  human  wisdom,  and  human 
power,  when  directed  by  an  evil  spirit,  to  achieve,  and 
indicating  a  state  of  marvellous  earthly  perfection,  when 
the  beast-power  has  reached  its  liighest  development, 
when  culture,  civilisation,  art,  song,  science  and  reason 
have  combined  to  produce  an  age  so  nearly  resembling 
perfection — an  age  of  gold,  if  not  a  golden  age — that 
men  will  begin  to  say  that  faith  in  God  is  an  im- 
pertinence, and  the  hope  of  a  future  life  a  libel  upon 
the  happiness  of  the  present.  Then  will  the  world- 
power  have  reached  the  zenith  of  his  influence ;  then 
will  only  a  wisdom  descended  from  above  be  able  to 
detect  the  infinite  difference  between  a  world  with  faith 
and  a  world  without  faith,  and  the  great  gulf  which  the 
want  of  a  little  heaven-bom  love  can  fix  between  an 
age  and  an  age. 

At  the  same  time,  I  feel  bound  to  place  here,  as  well 
as  in  the  Excursus,  two  other  views — one  because  it  has 
recently  been  advanced  with  conspicuous  ability ;  the 
other  because  it  is  perhaps  the  most  generally  adopted, 
as  it  is  certainly  the  most  ancient,  view.  Both  these 
interpretations  are  based  upon  the  theory  that  the 
letters  of  the  name,  when  added  together,  according  to 
their  numerical  value,  will  make  up  six  hundred 
and  sixty- six.  The  fix'st  of  these  alluded  to  finds  the 
word  in  Nero  Caesar.  The  second,  and  more  ancient, 
finds  it  in  Lateinos :  this  last  was  mentioned  by  Irenaeus. 
It  will  be  seen  that  both  these  solutions  are  at  one  in 
making  the  number  point  to  the  great  Roman  Power; 
and  this  was  the  great  embodiment  of  the  terrible  spirit 
of  self-sufficiency,  tyranny,  and  utter  godless  worldli- 
ness with  which  St.  John  was  familiar.  These  inter- 
pretations are  interpretations  in  example,  and  as  such 
probably  true  ;  but  they  are  only  types,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  of  that  fuller  and  deeper  view  which  takes  the 
number  as  symbolical  of  that  power  which,  whether 
directed  by  Nero,  or  inspired  by  Emperor  or  Pope,  or 
false  teacher,  or  military  tyrant,  has  dazzled  mankind 
by  a  fictitious  glory,  a  fictitious  civilisation,  and  a 
fictitious  religion,  or  deceived  them  by  holding  out  the 
promise  of  splendour  and  happiness  without  the  know- 
ledge and  obedience  of  God,  without  law,  without  faith, 
and  therefore  without  true  joy.  (Comp.  Note  of  the 
"Three  Frogs,"  chap.  xvi.  13,  14.) 


XIV. 


terrible  foes    which 
righteousness    must 


600 


We  have   had    before   us   the 
the   cause    of    Christ    and    His 
encounter   in   the   world.     We  have   seen   the   subtle 
spirit  of    the  Evil   One   defeated,  yet  plotting  new 


The  Lamb  and 


EEVELATION,  XIV. 


His  Followers. 


and,  lo,  a  Lamb  stood  on  tlie  mount 
Chap  xiv.  1—5.  ^i^n,  and  with  him  an  hun- 
The  camp  of  dred  forty  and  four  thou- 
theLamb.  g^^^^^^  having    his  Father's 

name  written  in  their  foreheads.  (-^  And 
I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice 
of  a  great  thunder :  and  I  heard  the 
voice  of  harj)ers  harping  with  their 
harps :  <^)  and  they  sung  as  it  were  a 


1  Gr.  were  bought. 


new  song  before  the  throne,  and  before 
the  four  beasts,  ajd  the  elders  :  and  no 
man  could  learn  that  song  but  the 
hundred  and  forty  a^id  four  thousand, 
which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth. 
(i)  These  are  they  which  were  not  de- 
filed with  women  ;  for  they  are  virgins. 
These  are  they  which  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  he  goeth.  These  were 
redeemed^  from  among  men,  being  the 


I 


methods  of  assault,  and  utilising  the  powers  of  the 
world,  its  sheer  force  and  its  culture,  to  crush  holiness 
and  to  destroy  spiritual  religion.  The  whole  vision  re- 
minds us  that  our  contiict  is  not  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  the  principalities,  against  the  powers,  and 
the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness  (Eph.  vi.  12).  We 
have  seen  the  spiritual  issues  which  are  at  stake.  In 
all  the  outward  forms  which  the  conflict  may  assume 
there  is  but  one  inward  spiritual  antagonism — the  spirit 
of  evil  against  the  spirit  of  good,  the  god  of  this 
world  against  the  Christ  of  God.  We  have  seen  this 
power  of  evil  rise  to  its  blasphemous  climax.  But 
what  has  the  Church  of  Christ  been  doing  ?  The 
sealed  ones  of  God  have  suffered;  but  have  they  done 
more  than  sufter?  Has  theirs  been  only  a  passive 
endurance  of  evils  ?  Have  they  wielded  no  weapons 
against  these  foes,  and  used  no  counter-influence  for 
good  ?  The  chapter  before  us  will  answer.  In  it  the 
sacred  seer  takes  us  from  our  survey  of  the  powers  of 
evil,  and  shows  us  the  powers  of  good.  We  have  seen 
the  strength  of  the  wild  beast :  we  may  now  see  the 
followers  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  chapter  there  are 
seven  messengers,  or  agents,  employed,  who  prepare 
for  or  complete  the  harvest :  the  angel  of  good  news 
(ver.  6,  7) ;  the  angel  proclaiming  the  doom  of  the  great 
world  city  (ver.  b) ;  the  angel  who  warns  men  against 
the  mark  of  the  wild  beast  (ver.  9 — 12) ;  the  angel  of 
comfort  (ver.  13) ;  the  angel  of  tlie  wheat  harvest  (ver. 
14 — lb);  the  angel  of  the  vintage  (ver.  17 — 20);  the 
angel  of  fire  (ver.  18).  But  before  these  we  are  shown 
a  vision  of  the  servants  of  the  Lamb. 

The  Citadel  op  the  Saints  and  the 
Sekvants  op  the  Lamb. 

(1)  And  I  looked  .  .  . — Better.  A^id  I  saw,  and 
hehold,  the  Lamb  (not  "  a  Lamb  :  "  it  is  the  Lamb,  the 
true  Lamb  of  God,  against  whom  the  wild  beast  wages 
savage  and  subtle  war)  standing  on  the  Mount  Sion. 
The  Saviour,  the  Lamb,  in  whose  blood  the  saints  liave 
found  their  victory,  is  seen  standing  on  the  citadel  of 
the  heavenly  city.  Babylon  is  to  be  introduced  (verse 
8).  In  contrast,  Zion,  the  chosen  abode  of  God  (Ps. 
cxxxii.  13 — 18),  the  tyjie  of  the  spiritual  city  whoso 
citizens  are  true  to  the  King  (comp.  Ps.  ii.  6,  Ixxiv.  2 ; 
Heb.  xii.  22 — 24),  is  introduced.  There  are  to  be  seen 
tlie  Lamb,  set  as  King  upon  the  holy  hill  of  Zion,  and 
with  Him  tlie  sealed  ones.  His  faithful  soldiers  and 
servants.  They  are  doscrilied  as  144.000  in  number  :  a 
number  which  represents  the  full  growth  of  the  choice 
ones  of  God,  the  true  Israel  of  God.  (See  Note  on 
cliap.  ^^i.  4.)  These  have  their  Father's  name  on  their 
forelieads:  they  can  be  recognised  as  children  of  God, 
(Comp.  Note  on  diap.  vii.  2,  3.  and  chaj).  xxii.  4.) 

(2)  And  I  heard  a  voice  .  .  .—Translate,  And  I 
heard  a  voice  out  of  the  heaven.  The  saints  stand 
with  their  Lord,  the  Lamb,  on  Mount  Zion,  and  just  as 


of  old  a  voice  came  from  heaven  bearing  witness  to 
Christ,  so  round  the  abode  of  the  saints  heavenly  voices 
are  heard,  full  of  majesty,  terribleness,  and  sweetness, 
as  though  the  sounds  of  sea  and  thunder  blended  with 
the  music  of  heavenly  harps.  We  call  to  mind  the 
magnificent  29th  Psalm ;  there  the  saints,  secure  in 
Zion,  hear  all  around  them  the  voice  of  God  in  the 
thunder  and  in  the  sea,  while  in  His  safe  sanctuary  the 
saints  can  sing  of  His  honour. 

(3)  And  they  .  .  . — Translate,  And  they  (i.e.,  the 
heavenly  harpers)  sing  a  new  so7ig  (the  words  "  as  it 
were  "  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  omitted)  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  living  creatures,  and  the  elders  (i.e.,  in  the 
presence  of  God  Himself,  and  creation,  and  the  Church), 
and  no  one  was  able  to  learn  the  song  except  the 
hundred  and  forty-four  thousand  who  were  purchased 
from  the  earth.  It  is  a  heavenly  song,  and  no  spirit 
dulled  by  earthly  desires  can  learn  it.  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  can  open  the  dull  ear  to  hear  and  to  rejoice  in 
the  songs  of  God's  saints.  Amid  the  world-noises  of 
Babylon  men  can  neither  hear  nor  sing  aright  the 
Lord's  song  (Ps.  cxxx^'ii.  4) ;  but  the  redeemed  (the 
purchased  from  the  earth)  of  the  Lord  can  come  with 
singing  unto  Zion  (Isa.  li.  11). 

<^>  5)  These  are  they  .  .  . — The  characteristics  of 
the  servants  of  the  Lamb  are  given  in  this  verse  and 
the  following.  The  first  is  purity  :  they  are  virgins. 
The  expression  can  hardly  be  limited  to  the  un- 
married, as  the  144,000  represent  the  wide  society 
of  the  choice  ones  of  God.  They  are  those  wlio&e 
hearts  have  been  made  as  the  hearts  of  little 
children  (Matt,  xviii.  1 — 4),  who  have  that  purity  of 
heart  which  Christ  declared  to  be  blessed,  and  which 
St.  James  declared  to  be  the  first  mark  of  heavenly 
wisdom  (Matt.  v.  8,  and  Jas.  iii.  17).  Tiie  next  is  im- 
plicit obedience:  they  follow  the  Lamb  whitliersoever  Ho 
goeth.  Some,  indeed,  take  this  to  be  a  kind  of  heavenly 
reward:  they  shall  be  the  nearer  companions  of  the 
Lamb.  But  it  is  better  to  take  it  as  descrdnng  their 
complete  consecration  to  Christ.  They  are  those  who 
are  with  Christ,  who  have  tasted  the  cup  that  their  Lord 
tasted,  and  liave  taken  up  their  cross  and  followed  Him 
(Matt.  XX.  22;  Luke  xiv.  27;  John  xii.  24—26).  It  is 
well  to  weigh  these  words ;  it  is  in  the  ''  wheresoever  " 
that  we  may  test  the  reality  of  our  Christian  life. 
Here  lies  the  cross  that  Christ  bids  us  take  up.  Here 
is  the  echo  of  Christ's  words,  "  Whosoever  forsaketh 
not  all  he  hath  cannot  bo  My  discijile."  The  third 
mark  is  separation,  or  unworldliness :  tliey  were  pur- 
chased from  among  men,  as  a  firstfruit  to  God  and  to 
the  Lamb.  They  were  a  chosen  generation,  a  peculiar 
people  (Tit.  ii.  14;  1  Pet.  ii.  9).  as  the  Israel  of  God 
(Deut  vii.  6).  The  fourth  feature  is  utter  truthfulness : 
in  their  month  no  guile  or  no  falsehood.  (Comp.  Ps. 
xiv.  and  Dcut.  xxxii.  1.  2.)  The  verse  emphatically 
ends  with  "  They  are  bkmeless."     The  words  "  before 


601 


Tlie  Voices  of 


REVELATION,   XIV. 


the  Four  Angels, 


firstfruits  unto  God  and  to  the  Lamb. 
(^^  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no 
guile  :  for  they  are  without  fault  before 
the  throne  of  God.  ("^  And  I  saw  another 
Chap.  xiv.  G-  «"gel  fly  in  the  midst  of 
13.  The  four  heaven,  having  the  ever- 
celestial  voices,  lasting  gospel  to  preach 
unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  ^"^  saying  with  a  loud  voice. 
Fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him ;  for 
the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come  :  and 
worship  him  that  made  heaven,  and 
earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of 
waters."  <^^  And  there  followed  another 
angel,    saying,    Babylon    is    fallen,    is 


6  Isa,  21.  9; 
Jer.  5.  8  ;  cli. 
in.  2. 


a  Ps.  1-16.  5 ;  Acts 
14.  15. 


fallen,*  that  great  city,  because  she 
made  all  nations  drink  of  the  wine 
of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication. 
(^)  And  the  third  angel  followed  them, 
saying  with  a  loud  voice,  If  any 
man  worship  the  beast  and  his  image, 
and  receive  Ids  mark  in  his  fore- 
head, or  in  his  hand,  (^^^  the  same  shall 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  is  poured  out  without  mixture 
into  the  cup  of  his  indignation  ;  and  he 
shall  be  tormented  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  :  (^^^  and 
the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth 
up  for  ever  and  ever :  and  they  have  no 


tlie  throne  of  God"  must  be  omitted.  (Comp.  chap, 
vii.  14.  15;  Eph.  V.  27  ;  and  Col.  i.  22.) 

We  have  seen  the  servants  of  God ;  we  have  marked 
their  character ;  we  are  now  to  see  the  weapon  which  is 
to  he  employed  in  the  conflict  against  the  enemies  of 
Christ. 

(^)  And  I  saw  .  .  . — Better,  And  I  saw  another 
angel  fly  inr/  in  mid-heaven,  having  an  everlasting  gof^pel, 
to  declare  glad  tidings  over  them  that  sit  on  the  earth, 
and  over  every  nation,  and  tribe,  and  tongue,  andpeople. 
In  viow  of  the  world  the  gospel  is  proclaimed  ;  this  is 
the  good  HOWS  that  God  loves  the  world,  has  redeemed 
mankind,  that  they  belong  to  Him.  Tliis  word  of  God 
is  the  sword  of  tlie  Spirit,  and  the  weapon  (not  carnal) 
whicli  the  Church  uses  against  her  foes.  It  is  repre- 
sented as  in  the  liand  of  an  angel  rising  in  view  of  all 
nations  :  "  The  soimd  has  gone  out  unto  all  lands." 

(")  Saying  .  .  . — These  words  declare  what  ought 
to  be  tlie  effect  of  the  gospel.  Those  to  wliom  it  is 
preached  are  sitting  inactive  on  the  earth.  They  must 
bo  roused  to  fear  God  and  give  Him  gloiy.  They  miist 
not  fear  tlie  i)owers  of  evil,  the  wild  beasts,  &c.,  or  be 
afraid  of  their  terror  (1  Pet.  iii.  14,  15).  They  must 
realise  that  there  is  an  hour  of  judgment  at  hand, 
whicli  will  discriminate  between  the  worshippers  of  tlie 
world  and  of  God.  Let  them  learn  to  worship  the 
Creator  of  all,  and  to  turn  from  the  worship  of  lesser 
and  lower. 

If  we  ask  when  tliis  gospel  angel  appeared,  our  answer 
must  be  tliat  the  whole  cycle  of  the  gospel  preaching  is 
included  in  the  vision,  though  doubtless  there  have 
been  ages  wlicn  the  light  of  the  glad  tidings  of  God  has 
gone  forth  with  revived  lustre,  and  when  the  warnings 
against  easy  aequioscenco  in  evil  have  been  given  with 
unmistakable  distinctness. 

(«)  And  there  followed  .  .  .—The  gospel  angel 
is  followed  by  the  angel  tliat  proclaims  the  downfall  of 
Babylon.  Better,  A)id  another,  a  second,  angel  followed, 
saying.  Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon  the  great,  who  has 
given  all  the  nations  to  drinlc  of,  &c.  The  second  angel 
follows  on  the  first :  the  doom  of  the  world-city,  tlie 
metropolis  of  the  empire  of  the  world-power,  follows 
the  proclamation  of  tlie  gospel.  The  principles  of 
Christ's  gospel  must  undermine  the  world-power ;  the 
fall  of  some  Babylon  principle  has  almost  always  suc- 
ceeded the  age  of  spiritual  revival.  Pagan  Rome  goes 
down  before  the  gospel.  Civ\\  freedom  follows  the 
wake  of  religious  freedom,  for  Babylon  belongs  not  to 
one  age.     Pagan  Rome  was  Babylon  to  St.  Jolm ;  papal 


602 


Rome  was  often  Babylon  to  a  later  age.  Dante,  Sava- 
narola,  Tauler,  Luther,  felt  her  to  be  so  in  the  days 
when  their  eyes  were  enlightened;  but  Babylon  was  not 
on  the  Euphrates  alone  :  she  has  reared  palaces  on  the 
Seine,  and  on  the  Thames,  Tiber,  and  on  the  Bosphorus. 
She  may  yet  erect  her  power  in  more  imposing  form ; 
but  faith  in  that  gospel  which  is  the  power  of  God,  will 
cast  her  down  along  with  everything  that  exalts  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God.  The  influence  of 
Babylon  is  declared  in  this :  that  she  lias  given  all 
nations  to  drink  of  deadly  wine — the  wine  alike  of  her 
sin  and  of  her  doom,  of  her  fornication  and  of  the 
wrath  which  will  overtake  it.  Babylon,  then,  is  clearly 
an  emblem  of  some  principles  which  have  been  more  or 
less  accepted  by  all  nations,  and  which  will  more  or  less 
involve  all  in  the  consequences  of  her  fall.  (Comp. 
chaps,  xvi.  19,  and  xvii.,  where  the  features  of  this 
Babylon  are  more  fully  developed.) 

(9)  And  the  third  angel  .  .—Better,  And  another 
angel,  a  third,  followed  them,  saying  in  a  loud  voice. 
If  any  man  worship  the  wild  beast  and  his  image, 
and  a  mark  upon  his  forehead  or  upon  his  hand,  he 
also  himself  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  which  is  mingled  pure  (in  full  sti'ength,  undiluted, 
e.g.,  "  He  shall  have  judgment  without  mei'cy  that 
hath  showed  no  mercy,"  Jas.  ii.  13)  in  the  cup  of  his 
indignation,  and  shall  be  tormented  in  fire,  &c.,  &c. 
This  third  angel  naturally  follows  the  other  two,  which 
describe  tlie  powers  which  are  in  conflict :  the  word  of 
God,  and  the  Babylon  of  the  world;  the  gospel  will 
triumph ;  Babylon  is  doomed ;  hence  comes  the 
warning  that  men  should  not  identify  themselves 
with  the  city  of  worldliness,  falsehood,  and  sin.  The 
reference  to  the  wild  beast,  the  image,  and  the  mark, 
carries  us  back  to  the  last  chapter,  and  shows  us  that 
Babylon  is  only  another  aspect  of  the  work  of  God's 
enemies :  it  is  the  city  of  the  world-power.  The 
warning  not  to  receive  the  mark  is  a  declaration  that 
man,  individual  man,  is  responsible :  tliei'e  is  no 
necessity  for  his  I'eceiving  the  mark,  the  hall-mark  of  a 
cowardly  connivance  at  wrong-doing,  or  forsetting  his 
judgments  by  the  fashions  of  the  world. 

(11)  For  ever  and  ever.— Or,  tinto  ages  of  ages. 
The  imagery  of  the  smoke  going  up  reminds  us 
of  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  (Gen. 
xix.  28;  comp.  Isa.  xxxiv.  10).  They  have  not  rest 
by  day  and  by  night,  who  worship  the  ivild  beast, 
&c.  Sin,  which  is  first  embraced  as  a  deliglit, 
becomes    soon    an    inexorable    tyrant,   by    an    awful 


"  Blessed  are  the  Dead" 


EEVELATION,   XIV. 


The  final  Harvest. 


rest  day  nor  night,  wlio  worship  the 
beast  and  his  image,  and  whosoever 
receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name.  (^^^  Here 
is  the  patience  of  the  saints :  here  are 
they  that  keep  the  commandments  of 
God,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus.  ^^''^  And 
I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto 
me,  Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which 
die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea, 
saith  the  Sj^irit,^  that  they  may  rest 
from  their  labours  ;  and  their  works  do 
follow  them.  (^^>  And  I  looked,  and 
Chap.  xiv.  14—  behold  a  white  cloud,  and 
16.  The  harvest,  upon    the    cloud    one    sat 


2  Or,  drhd. 
a  J(kI3.  13. 


1  Or,  fmn  hcna- 
furth  H  itii  the 
•Spirit,  Yea. 


like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  having  on 
his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  in  his 
hand  a  sharp  sickle.  (^5)  ^^d  another 
angel  came  out  of  the  temple,  crying 
with  a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the 
cloud.  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap : 
for  the  time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap ; 
for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.-" 
(^*^)  And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust 
in  his  sickle  on  the  earth ;  and  the  earth 
was  reaped.  '^''^  And  another  angel  came 
out  of  the  temple  which  is  chap.  xiv.  17— 
in  heaven,  he  also  having  20.  The  vintage. 
a  sharp  sickle.     (^^)  And  another  angel 


retribution  compelliug  men  along  the  routine  of  the 
evil  habits  which  they  loathe  while  they  long  for, 
and  long  for  even  while  they  loathe  them  :  there  is  a 
destiny  of  unrest  in  all  sin.  "  The  wicked  are  like  the 
troubled  sea,  which  cannot  rest."  It  is  well  that  solemn 
words  like  these  sliould  be  read  by  the  light  of  the 
most  certain  of  all  truths — the  power  sin  has  of 
stamping  its  indelible  features  upon  the  human 
character,  and  giving  to  habit  the  force  of  a  destiny. 

(12)  Here  is  the  patience  .  .  .— Ti-anslate.  Here  is 
the  patience  of  the  saints  (not  "  here  are  they,"  but)  wlio 
Iceep,  &c.  In  this  readiness  to  wait,  to  endure  through 
much  tribulation  to  the  end,  is  the  patience  of  the  saints 
seen.  Tliere  is  a  jjatient  waiting  for  Christ  shown  by 
those  who  keep  God's  commandments,  who  cleave  to 
righteousness  in  spite  of  much  temptation,  and  who 
refuse  to  pay  homage  to  the  god  of  this  world  because 
fii'ui  in  the  faith  that  Jesus  is  King. 

(13)  And.  I  heard  a  voice  .  .  . — Translate,  And  I 
heard  a  voice  out  of  the  heaven,  saying,  Write,  Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth ;  Yea, 
saith  the  Spirit,  in  that  they  shall  rest  from  their  labours ; 
for  their  worJcs  follow  loith  them.  We  are  not  told 
whose  voice  speaks,  but  it  proclaiuis  a  blessing  on  (not 
only  martyrs,  but)  those  who  die  in  the  Lord,  in  happy 
union  and  fellowship  with  Him  (John  xv.  2 — 5;  1  John 
i.  3)  ;  such  are  happy,  for  they  i-est  from  toil,  and  tlu'ir 
works  of  faith  and  labours  of  love  (even  if  only  the 
giving  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  the  name  of  Christ) 
follow  wnth  them  into  the  ])resence  of  their  Lord  (Matt. 
X.  41,  42;  Heb.  vi.  10).  The  words  "from  henceforth" 
form  a  difficulty  ;  the  reason  for  their  introduction  is  to 
be  found  in  the  state  of  trouble  which  the  last  verses 
describe  :  the  righteous  are  happy  in  being  taken  away 
from  tlie  evil  to  come.  Or  may  it  be  that  tlie  words  are 
designed  to  console  the  mourners  in  an  age  wlien  dark 
unbelief  robs  away  the  sweet  resurrection  trust,  and 
writes  over  its  graves,  "  Farewell  for  ever"?  If  the 
climax  of  world-power  should  bo  bitter  scorn  of  the  idea 
of  a  life  to  come,  and  complacent  satisfaction  with  a 
portion  in  this  world,  then  words  of  faith,  proclaiming 
that  the  dead  are  happy  and  restful,  and  that  their 
work  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord,  may  find  new  force  to 
sustain  a  fainting  courage  or  a  wavering  trust. 

The  Harvest. 

(14)  And  I  looked  .  .  .—Better,  And  I  saw,  and 
behold  a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud  one  seated  like 
to  a  son  of  man,  having  upon  his  head  a  golden  croum, 
and  in  his  hand  a  slutrp  sickle.  There  can  bo  little 
doubt  that  Christ  Himself  is  hero  intended :  the  "  cloud  " 


(Matt.  xxiv.  30  ;  Acts  i.  9),  the  expression  "  Son  of  man  " 
(comp.  Jolm  V.  27  and  Dan.  vii.  13),  the  "  crown,"  the 
general  resemblance  to  the  vision  in  chap.  i.  (see 
chap.  i.  7 — 13),  indicate  as  much.  The  "  crown"  is  the 
crown  of  victory;  the  hour  of  conquest  is  at  hand. 
The  sickle  shows  that  the  harvest  has  come.  (Comp.  Joel 
iii.  12-14  and  Mark  iv.  26—29.) 

(15)  And  another  angel  .  .  .  —  Translate,  Ayid 
another  angel  came  forth  out  of  the  temple,  &.c.  It 
has  been  asked,  "  What  harvest  is  this  ?  "  It  is  the 
gathering  of  the  good  seed,  the  full  corn  in  the  car,  into 
the  celestial  garner  (Mark  iv.  26—29).  The  angel  who 
aimounces  that  the  harvest  is  ready  comes  forth  from 
the  Temple,  the  inner  shrine,  the  holy  place  which  was 
measured  off  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  faithful  (chap.  xi. 
1) ;  whereas  the  angel  who  calls  for  the  vintage  comes 
forth  from  the  altar  (verse  18). 

The  angel  cries — Put  forth  (or,  send)  thy  sickle  and 
reap,  because  the  hour  is  come  to  reap,  because  the 
harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe  (or,  dried) ;  the  wheat  stalks 
are  dry,  and  the  fields  white  for  harvest  (John  iv.  35). 
The  sickle  was  put  in  :  the  earth  was  reaped. 

The  Vintage. 

There  must  be  some  difference  between  the  vintage 
and  the  harvest.  There  is  an  autumn  gladness  about  the 
harvest :  there  are  tokens  of  judgment  in  the  vintage. 
It  is  not  the  sharp  sickle  alone  which  is  required :  the 
winepress,  the  winepress  of  Gtd's  wrath,  is  called 
into  use.  An  angel  from  the  Temple  calls  to  the  Son 
of  man  to  reap  the  harvest :  an  angel  from  the  altar  calls 
to  an  angel  from  the  Temi)le  to  gather  in  the  vintage. 
The  vintage  symbolises  a  harvest  of  judgment ;  do  not 
the  words  respecting  Babylon  (the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  her  fornication,  verse  81  come  to  the  mind  and  con- 
firm this  ?  The  angel  rises  trom  the  altar,  beneath 
which  the  murdered  saints  had  cried,  "  How  long  ?  " 
and  proclaims,  "  The  vintage,  the  hour  of  vengeance,  has 
come !  "  And  it  is  not  Avithout  significance  tl\at  the 
angel  to  whom  this  cry  is  addressed  comes  forth  out  of 
the  Temple,  the  safe  sanctuary  of  God's  faithful  ones, 
as  one  who  has  witnessed  their  secret  sorrows  and 
their  sufferings,  and  is  fitted  "to  recompense  tribula- 
tion to  th(>  triiublers  of  Israel"  (2  Thess.  i.  6). 

(1")  And  another  angel  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
another  angel,  .  .  .  having  himself  also  (as  well  as  the 
Son  of  man,  verse  14)  a  sharp  sickle. 

(If)  And  another  angel  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
another  angel,  .  .  .  he  icho  hath  authority  over  the  fire. 
The  two  scenes — one  in  chap.  \\.  9,  10  (the  souls  crjing 
beneath  the  altar),  the  other  in  chap.  viii.  5  (the  angel 


603 


Tlie  Vintage  gathered. 


REVELATION,  XY. 


The  Seven  Plagues. 


came  out  from  the  altar,  •wliicli  had 
power  over  fire ;  and  cried  with  a  loud 
cry  to  him  that  had  tlie  sharp  sickle, 
saying,  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and 
gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the 
earth ;  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 
<i^^  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle 
into  the  earth,  and  gathered  the  vine 
of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great 
winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God.  '"^"^  And 
the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the 
city,  and  blood  came  out  of  the  wine- 
press, even  unto  the  horse  bridles,  by 


the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred 
furlongs. 

CHAPTER  XY.  — (1)  And  I  saw 
another  sign  in  heaven,  chap.  xv.  1—8. 
great  and  marvellous,  seven  1*^  preparation 

^         1       1        •  ,1  tor  the  plagues, 

angels  having  the  seven  the  Temple  of 
last  plagues  ;  for  in  them  ^^^  is  closed, 
is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God.  (2)  j^^^j^j 
I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mingled 
with  fire :  and  them  that  had  gotten 
the  victory  over  the  beast,  and  over 
his  image,  and  over  his  mark,  and  over 


mingling  incense  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints) — must 
be  reniomhercd.  The  angel  who  had  charge  of  the  altar 
fire,  and  tlnng  the  ashes  betokening  judgments  towards 
the  earth,  calls  with  a  loud  cry,  Send  thy  sharp  sickle, 
and  gather  the  bunches  of  the  vine  of  the  earth,  because 
her  gropes  are  ripe. 

(19.20)  And  the  angel  .  .  .—The  vine  {i.e.,  the 
vintage  of  the  vine),  when  gathered,  is  cast  into  the 
winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God,  the  great  {wine- 
press). And  the  winepress  was  trodden  without  the 
city,  and  there  came  forth  blood  out  of  the  wine- 
press as  far  as  the  bridles  of  the  horses,  from, 
a  thousand  six  hundred  furlongs  (stadii).  The  out- 
flow of  the  blood  of  the  grapes  pressed  reached 
over  a  distance  of  sixteen  hundred  stadii.  The 
troading  of  the  winepress  was  a  figure  representing 
vengeance;  the  red  juice  of  the  grape  strongly  sug- 
gested the  shedding  of  blood.  (Comp.  Isa.  Ixiii.  2 — 4.) 
The  winepresses  stood  usually  outside  the  city  :  it  is  so 
represented  here,  not  without  an  allusion  to  those 
will)  fall  under  the  weight  of  this  judgment  because 
they  have  refused  the  defence  of  the  true  city  and 
sanctuary.  (Corap.  verse  1  and  Ps.  cxxxii.  17. 18.)  The 
distance  (sixteen  hundred  stadii),  i.e.,  four  multiplied 
into  itself  and  then  multiplied  by  a  hundred,  is  sym- 
bolical (such  seems  the  most  probable  meaning)  of  a 
judgment,  complete  and  full,  and  reaching  to  all  corners 
of  the  earth — "  the  whole  world,  of  which  Satan  is 
called  the  prince,  is  judged,  and  condemned,  and 
punished  "  (Dr.  Currey).  In  the  vintage  and  harvc^st 
is  a  piercing  discrimination  between  the  faithful  fruit- 
bearing  children  of  the  King  and  the  cowardly  or 
selfish,  whoso  hearts  are  for  self  and  not  for  Christ, 
but  who  yield  themselves  servants  to  sin. 

XV. 

W  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  {the)  heaven.— 
The  sign  is,  as  we  noticed  before  (chap.  xii.  1),  a  token, 
not  a  mere  empty  wonder.  This  sign  is  called  "  great 
and  marvellous ;  "  it  introduces  a  new  set  of  scenes ; 
the  same  characters  will  reappear,  but  we  must  start 
with  fresh  attention. 

The  seer  sees  seven  angels  (not  "  the  seven  angels ;  " 
it  is  ])i>rfectly  needless  to  ask  what  angels,  or  to  try  and 
idiMitify  them  vrith  the  trumpet  angels)  having  seven 
plagues,  the  last,  because  in  them  is  completed  the  wrath 
of  God.  Tlie  statement  that  these  are  the  last  plagues 
seems  to  show  that  the  set  of  visions  now  commencing 
carry  us  down  to  the  end  of  the  ago;  there  are  no 
otlicr  plagues  after  these:  they  are  the  last  plagues; 
the  vials,  like  the  seals  and  the  trumpets,  run  up  to  the 
final  cousummation.   They  are  plagues ;  the  word  carries 


604 


us  back  to  Egypt :  on  Egypt  fell  the  ten  plagfues  which 
showed  forth  God's  righteous  power,  and  exposed  the 
hollow  pretensions  of  the  magicians  and  their  gods;  the 
wild  beast-power  and  the  false  projjhet- power  of  that 
day  was  crippled  and  exposed.  In  like  manner  upon  the 
wild  beast-power  of  later  ages  the  plagues  of  Uod 
fall.  They  are  plagues,  because  they  are  sent  forth,  not 
like  the  trumpets  to  warn  men  to  repent,  but  upon 
those  who  have  obstinately  refused  to  return;  they  are 
not  goads  to  the  wavering,  but  they  are  strokes  upon 
the  wilful  and  hardened  ;  they  are  directed  against 
those  who  are  deliberately  hostile. 

C^)  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass 
mingled  with  fire. — The  wild  beast  rose  out  of  the 
sea  (chap.  xiii.  1);  the  evil-hearted  woman  sits  upon 
many  waters  (chap.  xvii.  1);  they  draw  strength  from 
the  wild,  and  ungoverned,  and  short-sighted  impulses 
of  human  passion ;  in  opposition  to  this  near  the 
throne  of  God  is  the  calm  and  translucent  sea  of  God's 
counsels  of  righteousness  and  love,  now  clear  as 
crystal,  now  ruddy  with  the  fire  of  righteous  indigna- 
tion, the  expression  of  His  eternal  will  against  sin. 
Such  is  the  ajjpea ranee  of  this  glass-like  sea  now  that 
the  angels  of  the  plagues  are  going  forth. 

But  the  seer  saw  more  than  this  fire-flushed  sea.  He 
saw  also  those  that  are  victorious  over  the  wild  beast. 
These  he  describes  (such  is  the  litei-al  translation)  as 
those  toho  conquer  out  of  the  wild  beast,  &c.  ;  they 
come  off  conquerors  out  of  the  struggle,  and  they  escape 
from  the  temptation  to  worship  his  image  and  wear 
the  badge  of  his  service  :  they  "  escape  victorious  from" 
his  image  and  from  his  mark.  When  he  sees  these, 
they  are  standing  upon  (i.e.,  on  the  shore  of)  the  sea  of 
glass,  holding  harps  of  God.  We  have  had  the  harps 
mentioned  previously  (chaps,  v.  8,aud  xiv.  2) ;  it  is  appro- 
priate. The  life  which  has  been  a  discord  to  the  world 
rises  into  true  music  before  God ;  those  who  Avill  make 
their  life  a  melody  must  take  it  first  as  a  conflict.  The 
harps  they  hold  are  called  harps  of  God.  not  merely 
because  they  are  dedicated  to  Him.  but  because  they 
are  truly  God's.  All  the  most  glorious  and  noble 
things  in  nature  were  named  God's  :  the  lofty  trees 
were  "  trees  of  God  " ;  the  high-piled  mountains 
were  "  mountains  of  God  " ;  so  also  the  harps  which 
strike  forth  the  richest  music  are  "  harps  of  God." 
Nor  is  this  a  mere  phrase  to  be  considered  as  equivalent 
to  very  great  or  very  glorious ;  great  and  glorious  the 
trees,  hills,  and  harjis  are,  but  only  a  pro.saic  or  a  pro- 
fane mind  can  be  satisfied  w'th  such  a  naked  equivalent. 
The  godly  saw  the  hand  of  God  in  these  things  ;  and 
St.  John  knows  that  the  noblest  melody  in  the  ears  of 
God  is  the  noble  life  of  faith,  suffering,  and  love.    The 


The  Song  of  Moses 


EEYELATION,   XV. 


and  oj  the  Lamh. 


the  number  of  his  name,  stand  on  the 
sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of  God. 
(^)  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses 
the  servant  of  God,"  and  the  song  of 
the  Lamb,  saying.  Great  and  marvellous 
are  thy  v^rorks.  Lord  God  Almighty; 
just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King 
of  saints.  (*^  Who  shall  not  fear 
thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name?* 


for  tliou  only  art  holy :  for  all  na- 
tions shall  come  and  worship  before 
thee;  for  thy  judgments  are  made 
manifest.  ^^^  And  after  that  I  looked, 
and,  behold,  the  temple  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  testimony  in  heaven  was 
opened :  ^^^  and  the  seven  angels  came 
out  of  the  temple,  having  the  seven 
plagues,    clothed    in    pure    and   white 


power  of  such  a  life  is  in  God,  not  in  itself  (John  xv.  5  ; 
Gal.  ii.  20),  and  the  music  of  such  a  life  is  music  which 
God  makes  (2  Cor.  iv.  7 — 10),  drawing  the  sweetest 
toues  from  the  strings  which  are  smitten  with  pain 
and  sorrow;  and  as  its  life's  music  is  God-taught,  so 
does  its  song  of  triumph  sound  from  a  harp  not  its 
own,  but  God's.  If  our  power  to  sing  in  trial  here 
a  song  wortliy  of  God  is  only  found  in  God,  so  will 
the  songs  of  heaven  be  sweet  only  in  Him,  for  those 
who  dwell  there  shall  be  all  taught  of  Him. 

(3)  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the 
servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb.— 
They  join  their  voices  to  the  music  of  their  harps. 
The  song  of  Moses  was  a  paean  of  \ictory  over  Pharaoh 
and  his  hosts  (Ex.  xiv.  26 — 31,  and  xv.  1 — 21).  Israel 
stood  on  the  margin  of  the  Red  Sea  and  saw  the 
tokens  of  the  overthrow  of  the  great  world-power  of 
that  day ;  so  these  saints  stand  by  the  border  of  the 
fire-blent  sea  of  glass,  and  sing  the  song  of  triumph 
over  the  doom  of  the  great  world-powers  of  every  age. 
The  cases  are  parallel,  the  songs  are  alike  ;  and  it  would 
not  be  out  of  place  were  the  words  of  that  other  song 
of  Moses,  the  man  of  God,  to  be  heard  from  those  who 
are  made  glad  according  to  the  days  of  their  affliction, 
and  who  are  clothed  with  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  their 
God  (Ps.  xc.  1,  15,  17).  They  also  sing  the  song  of  the 
Lamb.  The  Apocalypse  is  full  of  Christ;  the  Lamb 
is  the  axis  on  which  the  wofld  of  its  scenery  moves; 
He  is  the  key  of  earth's  history ;  the  victory  of  the 
saints  is  in  Him  (chap.  xii.  11) ;  their  song  of  triumph  is 
of  Him  wlio  put  a  new  song  in  their  mouth  and  in  whom 
all  things  are  reconciled  (Eph.  i.  10;  Phil.  ii.  10,  11). 

(3-  4)  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works . . . — 
The  song  is  better  thus  translated  : — 

"Great  and  marvellous  are  Thy  works, 

Lord  God  Aliiiitrhty. 
Just  and  true  are  Thy  ways, 

Thoti  Kint^  of  the  nations. 
Who  will  not  fear,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  Thy  name? 

Because  Thou  only  art  holy  : 
Because  all  the  nations  shall  come  and  worship 
in  Thy  presence  : 

Because  Thy  judgments  were  manifested." 

The  works  are  called  "  great ;"  the  "  ways  "  are  called 
just  and  true.  It  is  not  mere  marvel  which  calls  forth 
the  song  of  praise,  but  righteousness,  truth,  and  holi- 
ness. The  Almighty  is  the  righteous  ruler.  The 
English  version  has  "  King  of  saints ;"  the  reading 
should  be  "  King  of  the  nations,'^  or  else,  perhaps, 
"  King  of  the  ages."  The  latter  reading  harmonises 
well  with  the  immediate  context  and  with  the  other 
passages,  which  link  the  thought  of  "  the  ages  "  with 
the  "  righteous  dealings"  of  God.  "  Tliy  righteousness 
is  an  everlasting  righteousness,  and  thy  law  is  the 
truth"  (Ps.  cxix.  142;  comp.  also  verses  144,  151,  152, 
160).  But  the  former  is  to  be  preferred;  it  is  appro- 
priate in  a  song  which  celebrates  a  victory  over  those 
who  vatmted  theiTiselves  as  the  princes  of  this  world, 
and  which  proclaims  the  submission  of  the  nations  to 


God  ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  transplanted  here  from 
Jeremiah  (x.  7) :  "Who  would  not  fear  thee,  thou 
King  of  the  nations  ?  "  The  song  celebrates  the  noble 
acts  of  the  Lord ;  it  declares  them  to  be  great ;  but  it  is 
not  their  greatness,  it  is  their  righteousness  and  faith- 
fulness which  calls  forth  the  grateful  praise.  The  long 
days  of  oppression,  and  the  seeming  silence  of  the 
Almighty,  when  the  prayer  and  cry  "  How  long  ?"  has 
risen  from  perplexed  and  suffering  saints,  have  brouglit 
the  temptation  of  the  psalmist :  "  I  have  cleansed  my 
heart  in  vain "  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  3 — 13).  But  now  the 
righteous  acts  of  the  Lord  are  manifested ;  now  it  is 
acknowledged  that  "  verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the 
righteous;  verily  He  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the 
earth"  (Ps.  viii.  11).  Though  clouds  aud  darkness 
have  sometimes  been  round  about  Him,  it  is  now  beyond 
doubt  that  "  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habi- 
tation of  His  throne  "  (Ps.  xcvii.  2). 

(4)  Who  shaU  not  fear  .  .  .—Rather,  Who  u-ill 
not  fear,  &c.  (the  word  "  Thee  "  should  be  omitted, 
because  Thou  art  holy.  The  word  reudered  "  holy  " 
is  not  that  which  is  usually  employed  when  the  holi- 
ness of  God  is  spoken  of ;  it  is  a  word  which,  when 
applied  to  men,  denotes  one  who  reverences  the  sacred 
obligations  of  natural  and  moral  order,  apart  from  the 
thought  of  mere  law  or  custom.  1  he  word  is  ajjplied 
here,  and  in  chap.  xvi.  5,  to  God,  and  denotes  the  recog- 
nition of  those  sacred  obligations  which  the  character 
of  God,  if  I  may  say  so  with  reverence,  imposes  upon 
Himself.  It  is  the  remembrance  that  God  will,  as 
Judge  of  all  the  earth,  do  right,  and  will  vindicate  the 
expectations  of  those  who  stay  themselves  upon  His 
character,  which  generates  a  holy  fear  of  Him. 

All  nations  shall  come  and  worship  .  .  . — 
Translate,  All  the  nations  worship,  btra^ise  Thy  jodg- 
merits  (or,  righteous  arts)  are  mnnifested.  The  song  is 
one  in  anticipation.  The  angels  of  judgment  are  going 
forth  ;  the  righteous  dealings  of  God  will  Vie  seen  ;  but 
these  things  are  spoken  of  as  though  accomplished : 
their  completion  is  a  divine  certainty. 

(5)  And  after  that  .  .  .—Better,  And  after  these 
things  I  saw,  and  there  was  open-^d  the  temple  of  the 
tabernacle  of  the  testimony  (or,  witness)  in  the  heaven. 
This  temple  is  called  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  testimony;  the  expression  sounds  cumbrous,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  suitable.  St.  Stephen  spoke  of  "  the 
tabernacle  of  witness  "  in  the  wilderness,  which  was 
made  after  the  pattern  showed  in  the  mount  (Acts 
vii.  44).  The  tabernacle  was  well  called  t)ie  tal)omacle 
of  witness,  for  it  contained  the  ark  of  the  testimony 
with  the  Law  of  God,  aiui  was  a  perjietual  witness  of 
Grod's  presence  among  His  people.  Tlie  temple  of  the 
tabernacle  then  is  the  shrine,  or  inner  sanctuary,  of 
the  heavenly  true  tal)emacle.  after  the  pattern  of  which 
the  tabernacle  of  Moses  was  fashioned,  which  is  now 
opened. 

(6)  And  the  seven  angels  .  .  .—Better,  And  there 
came  out  the  seven  angeU  icho  had  the  seven  plagues 


605 


The  Seven  Angels. 


EEVELATION,   XVI. 


The  First  Vial. 


linen,  and  having  their  breasts  girded 
with  golden  girdles.  (^^  And  one  of  the 
four  beasts  gave  unto  the  seven  angels 
seven  golden  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 
(8)  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke 
from  the  glory  of  God,  and  from 
his  power;  and  no  man  was  able 
to  enter  into  the  temple,  till  the 
seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were 
fulfilled. 


CHAPTER  XVI.—  (1)  And  I  heard  a 
great  voice  out  of  the  temple  saying  to 
the  seven  angels.  Go  your  ways,  and 
pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  the  earth.  (2)  ^^d  the  first  went, 
and  poured  out  his  vial  chap.  xvi.  2. 
upon  the  earth ;  and  there  The  first  vial, 
fell  a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  upon 
the  men  which  had  the  mark  of  the 
beast,  and  ui>on  them  which  worshipped 
his  imaofe.      <^^  And  the  second 


angel 


from  the  temple,  clothed  in  linen,  pure,  glistening,  and 
girt  about  their  breasts  with  golden  girdles.  The 
templo  is  tho  inner  shrine,  or  sanctuiuy;  it  was  this 
■which  was  measured  (chap.  xi.  1);  it  was  out  of  this 
that  the  an<?el  with  the  sharp  sickle  came  for  the 
vintage  of  the  earth  (chap.  xiv.  7);  ont  of  this  now 
came  the  seven  angels  with  tlie  seven  plagues.  It 
is  well  to  remember  this,  for  these  plagues  are  not, 
like  the  judgments  of  the  trumpet,  calls  to  repentance ; 
they  are  plagues  on  those  who  have  refused  to  return, 
who  have  rejected  the  sanctuary,  the  tabernacle  of 
witness,  which  tho  Lord  pitched  among  men,  and 
who  have  refused,  like  obstinate  builders,  the  stone 
wlvich  has  become  the  head  of  the  corner.  Out  of  the 
rejected  temple  the  angels  of  wrath  come ;  it  is  ever 
true  that  out  of  rejected  mercies  the  heaviest  of  plagues 
are  forged.  The  angels  are  clad  in  a  garb  resembling 
that  of  Christ  (chap.  i.  13);  they  are  come  forth  to  do 
His  bidding ;  they  are  clothed  in  raiment  which  indi- 
cates their  righteous  errand.  (Comp.  chap.  xix.  8  ;  Acts 
i.  10,  and  x.  30.)  Instead  of  linen,  some  MSS.  have  "  a 
stone  :"  the  angels,  according  to  this,  were  "  clad  in  a 
stone,  pure,  brilliant."  There  is  a  parallel  thought  in 
Ezekiol,  who  describes  the  splendour  of  the  King  of 
Tyro:  "  Thou  hast  been  in  Eden  the  garden  of  God; 
every  precious  stone  was  thy  covering,  the  sardius, 
toi)az.  and  the  diamond,"  &c.  (chap,  xxviii.  13). 

(7)  And  one  of  the  four  .  .  . — Better,  And  one  from 
among  the  four  living  beings  gave  to  the  seven  angels 
seven  golden  vials  (or,  boivls)  full,  &c.  The  vials  are 
the  shallow  bowls  which  were  used  for  incense.  They 
are  filled  with  the  wrath  of  God,  and  that  wrath  is  now 
to  be  poured  out  "  upon  the  kingdoms  that  have  not 
called  upon  God's  name  "  (Ps.  Ixxix.  6).  These  vials 
are  given  by  one  of  the  living  creatures  who  represent 
creation ;  it  is  thus  through  creation  that  the  wrath  of 
God  can  visit  the  reliellious  ;  that  wrath  of  God  is 
simply  flic  operation  of  God's  righteous  law  against  sin. 
His  statutes  are  eternally  righteous.  He  has  given  to 
all  things  a  law  which  cannot  be  broken;  that  law  is 
adverse  to  evil,  and  will  in  tho  end  root  it  out,  for  it 
does  the  bidding  of  God,  who  lives  unto  the  ages  of  the 
ages. 

(8)  And  the  temple  .  .  .—Tr&nsMe,  And  the  temple 
(the  same  word — naos — is  used  as  in  chap.  xi.  l)rvas filled 
xvith  smoke  from  the  glory  of  God,  and  from  his  might ; 
and  no  one  ivas  able  to  enter  into  the  temple  until  the 
seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  should  be  finished. 
As  in  tho  wilderness  (Ex.  xl.  34,  35),  and  as  at  the 
dedication  of  Solomon's  temjde  (1  Kings  viii.  10,  11), 
the  tokens  of  God's  presence  filled  the  temple,  so  it  is 
now,  but  with  a  ditferonce  :  it  is  smoke,  not  cloud,  which 
is  the  symbol  of  God's  presence.  But  the  vision  which 
perhaps,  under  all  circumstances,  most  nearly  con-e- 
sponds  with  the  present  is  that  of  Isaiah  (chap,  vi.); 


there  the  prophet  beheld  the  vision  of  God.  His  train 
filled  the  templo,  and  the  house  was  filled  Avith  smoke, 
and  a  message  of  judgment  was  given  to  the  prophet ; 
that  message  declai-ed  that  the  sin  of  the  peojde  had 
reached  a  climax :  they  had  trifled  with  convictions,  and 
henceforward  tho  words  of  God's  servants  would  harden 
rather  than  awaken  them.  "  Make  the  heart  of  this 
people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their 
eyes,"  &c.  (Isa.  vi.  9,  10),  tiU  the  desolating  judgments 
had  fallen.  The  general  drift  of  the  present  vision  is 
similar;  the  days  of  warning  are  over:  the  plagues 
which  now  fall  will  fall  on  those  who  have  trifled 
with  convictions  :  tho  sanctuary  which  was  opened  as 
a  refuge  is  now  closed  :  none  can  enter  till  the  plagues 
have  descended.  The  time  has  come  when  the  judg- 
ments of  God  fail  to  stir  the  conscience  which  has  been 
deadened  by  sin  ;  the  day  when  the  gracious  influences 
towards  repentance  was  felt  has  passed.  The  word 
that  has  been  spoken  is  about  to  descend  in  judgment 
(John  vii.  48).  "  Who  shall  not  i)ray,  with  an  agony  of 
earnestness.  From  hardness  of  heart  and  contempt  of 
Thy  word  and  commandment,  good  Lord,  deliver  us  ?  " 
(Dr.  Vaughanj. 

XVI. 

The  Seven  Viai,s. 

<i)  And  I  heard  .  .  . — A  great  voice  is  heard  out 
of  the  temple ;  it  bids  the  angels  pour  out  their  vials 
"  into  the  earth  ;"  later  on  (verse  17)  tho  voice  is  heard 
saying, "  It  is  done."  Tho  voice  is  then  said  to  come  from 
the  throne ;  it  seems  likely  that  tho  voice  of  tho  first 
verse  is  the  same — the  dinno  voice  from  the  throne  itself. 

(->  And  the  first  .  .  .—Translate.  And  the  first  loent 
forth,  &c.  The  angel  which  receives  the  command 
departs  and  pours  forth  his  vial  iipon  the  earth.  All 
the  vials  are  poured  forth  "  into  the  eartli "  (verse  1) 
generally ;  the  first  angel  pours  his  vial  forth  upon  the 
earth,  tliat  is,  the  dry  land.  And  there  came  an  evil 
and  painful  sore  upon  the  men  [i.e.,  upon  that  part  of 
the  human  race)  %vho,  &c.  Tho  plague  falls  on  those  who 
carry  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  who  worship  it.  Like 
the  plagues  of  Egypt,  they  are  directed  against  those 
who  aid  the  oppressor.  The  plague  here  described 
resembles  the  sixth  of  the  Egyjitian  plagues,  the  plague 
of  boils  (comp.  Ex.  ix.  8—12 ;  Deut.  xxviii.  27).  Egypt 
is  one  type  of  the  world-power  ;  and  the  plagues 
are  used  as  tyj)es  also,  and  are  not  to  be  understood 
literally.  The  plague  of  the  "  evil  sore  "  denotes  some 
throbbing  and  hateful  sore,  perhaps  spiritual  or  mental, 
which  distracts  attention  and  disturbs  the  personal 
serenity  and  self-comi)lacency  of  the  worshippers  of  the 
world-power. 

(3)  And  the  second  angel .  .  .—Better,  And  the 
second  {angel)  poured  out  his  vial  on  the  sea, 
and  it  became  blood  as  of  a  dead  man,  and  every 


606 


The  Second,  Third, 


EEVELATION,  XVI. 


and  Fourth  Vials. 


poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea ;  and 
Chap  xvi  3  ^^  hecame  as  the  blood  of 
The  second  a  dead  mail:  and  every 
"^'^^-  living-  soul  died  in  the  sea. 

(^)  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his 
Chap.  xvi.  4— 7.  vial  upon  the  rivers  and 
The  third  vial,  fountains  of  waters  ;  and 
they  became  blood.  (^)  And  I  heard  the 
angel  of  the  waters  say,  Thou  art 
righteous,  O  Lord,  which  art,  and  wast, 


and  shalt  be,  because  thou  hast  judged 
thus,  ^^'i  For  they  have  shed  the  blood 
of  saints  and  prophets,  and  thou  hast 
given  them  blood  to  drink ;  for  they 
are  worthy.  (''^  And  I  heard  another 
out  of  the  altar  say.  Even  so,  Lord  God 
Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  thy 
judgments.  (^^  And  the  fourth  angel 
poui-ed  out  his  vial  upon  ^,  .  „  „ 

f,  T  ■•■  Chap.  XVI.  8,  9. 

the  sun;    and  power  was  The  fourth  vial. 


soul  of  life  died  {even)  the  things  that  were  in 
the  sea.  The  reference  to  the  first  of  the  Egyptian 
plagues  is  clear  (Ex.  \ai.  20;  conip.  chap.  viii.  8,9). 
It  has  been  remarked  that  "  the  Egyptian  plagues 
stood  in  a  very  close  connection  Avitli  the  natural  state 
and  circumstances  of  Egypt.  The  Nile,  which  was 
their  strength,  became  worse  than  useless  when  its 
waters  were  turned  to  blood."  There  is  a  similar  featui'e 
here.  The  sea,  out  of  which  the  wild  beast  rose,  from 
which  the  world-power  drew  strength,  is  turned  to  blood, 
the  blood  as  of  a  dead  man,  con-upt  and  loathsome.  The 
sea  represented  the  tumidtuous  impulses  and  passions 
of  the  masses;  there  is  a  certain  healthy  force  in  these, 
but  under  certain  conditions,  when  devoted  to  selfish- 
ness and  earthliuess,  they  become  corrupt  and  deadly. 
Ruled  by  God  and  by  right,  the  voice  of  multitudes  is 
melodious  as  the  voice  of  the  sea,  and  the  free  move- 
ment of  peoples,  like  the  ocean,  a  health-giving  moral 
environment  to  nations;  but  sAvayed  by  impulse,  or 
directed  by  worldliuess,  they  become  an  element  of 
corruption,  killing  every  token  of  better  life. 

(^)  And  the  third  angel  .  .  .—The  third  vial 
resembles  the  second  in  its  effects.  As  it  is  poured 
out  on  the  rivers  and  springs  of  waters,  they  become 
blood.  It  is  not  only  the  great  sea  which  becomes 
blood,  but  all  the  meriy  streams  and  babbling  brooks 
which  carry  their  triliute  of  water  seawards  also  turn 
corrupt.  And  this  plague  is  acknowledged  by  heavenly 
voices  as  a  just  retribution  (verses  5 — 7).  The  streams 
and  rivers  feed  the  sea;  they  ai'e  the  powers  and 
influences  which  go  to  the  making  up  of  the  great 
popular  sentiment ;  these  are  smitten  by  the  same 
corruption.  Men  cannot  worship  worldliness  or 
earthliness  without  degrading  even  those  who  con- 
tribute to  their  instruction,  their  recreations,  and  their 
joys,  to  the  same  level.  When  the  public  taste  grows 
corrupt,  the  literature  will,  for  example,  become  so  in  a 
more  or  less  degree ;  the  up-flowing  tide  will  colour  the 
down-coming  stream.  "  The  morality  of  a  nation's  art," 
writes  a  modern  critic,  "always  rises  to  the  level  of 
morality  in  a  nation's  manners.  Morality  takes  care  of 
itself,  and  always  revenges  any  outrage  which  art  may 
put  upon  its  laws  by  either  lowering  the  art  that  so 
oifends,  or  extinguishing  it  "  (Dallas,  Gmj  Science, 
Vol.  II.,  16).  It  is  true  in  even  a  wider  sense.  The 
loftier  powers  of  imagination,  the  range  of  poetical 
elevation,  are  cramped  and  killed  in  a  base,  world- 
worsliipping  age.  The  streajiis  of  life  grow  putrid, 
the  fresh  and  liright  gifts  of  God  are  polluted,  when 
the  ocean  of  public  thought  is  unwholesome. 

(5—7)  But  this  state  of  things  is  declared  to  bo  a 
just  retribution,  and  reasonably  so  ;  for  the  corruption 
arises  because  the  true  power  f)f  life  has  boon  rejected  : 
it  is  the  refusal  of  the  good,  the  want  of  the  life-giving 
element,  which  is  the  secret  of   all  death,  physical, 


moral,  spiritual.  "  'Tis  life  we  want  when  breath  is 
scant."  The  world-power  and  its  worshippers  have 
driven  away  goodness  and  faith,  the  elements  of  the 
higher  life  of  man ;  they  have  slain  the  just  and  the 
righteous,  who  were  the  salt  of  the  earth  ;  they  have 
rejected  Chi'ist,  who  is  the  life  of  men  ;  how  can  thoy 
reap  anything  but  decay  and  death  ?  They  slay  the 
righteous ;  the  death  of  righteousness  leaves  them 
nothing  but  the  lifeless  blood  behind;  they  can  no 
longer  drink  moral  life  from  the  good  ;  there  is  but  the 
legacy  of  death.  "  Blood  of  .«aints  and  prophets  did  they 
pour  out ;  and  blood  didst  Thou  give  them  to  diink." 

(5)  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  waters  .  .  .— 
That  is,  the  angel  who  was  set  over  the  waters,  or  the 
angel  who  is,  on  the  heavenly  side,  representative  of  the 
waters.  {See  Excursus  A  :  On  the  Angels.)  The  angel 
acknowledges  God's  righteousness.  Thou  art  righteous 
.  .  .  because  Thou  didst  judge  these  things — i.e.,  because 
of  the  righteous  law  which  these  judgments  manifested. 

<6)  For  they  have  shed  .  .  .—Better,  Because  they 
shed  (not,  "have  shed,"  but  did  shed,  or  pour  out),  and 
blood  didst  Thou  give  them  ;  they  are  worthy.  "  For  " 
is  to  be  omitted;  the  sentence  has  a  startling  force 
without  it.  They — i.e.,  those  enemies  of  all  rigliteous- 
ness — are  worthy  ;  they  receive  the  due  reward  of  their 
deeds. 

(7)  And  I  heard  .  .  .—Translate,  And  I  heard  (not 
"  another  out  of  the  altar,"  but)  the  altar  saying,  Even 
so,  Lord  God  the  Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  Thy 
judgments.  The  altar  beneath  which  the  souls  of  the 
martyrs  cried,  and  on  which  the  prayers  of  saints  were 
offered,  is  represented  as  confirming  the  testimony  to 
the  just  dealings  of  God. 

(8.  9)  And  the  fourth  .  .  .—Better,  And  the  fourth 
{angel)  poured  out  his  vial  xipon  the  sun ;  and 
it  was  given  to  it  (the  "  sun,"  not  the  "  angel ;"  the 
rendering  of  the  English  version  "  unto  him  "  is  mis- 
leading) to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And  men  (i.e., 
those  who  were  worshippers  of  Mie  wild  beast)  were 
scorched  .  .  .  and  did  not  repent  to  give  him  glory. 
The  sun.  the  great  source  of  light  and  warmth,  whose 
beams  call  forth  the  flowers  of  the  earth,  becomes  a 
power  to  blast,  not  to  bless.  This  is  another  example 
of  the  way  in  which  the  things  full  of  beneficence  are 
turned  into  powers  of  sorrow  to  those  who  follow  qyH. 
Not  only  the  pleasant  gifts  and  influences,  which,  like 
streams,  were  made  to  gladden  men,  grow  corrupt,  but 
the  very  source  of  light  and  knowledge  becomes  a  power 
to  destroy.  Wo  may  contra.st  this  influence  of  the  sim 
with  the  beneficent  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 
Christ  rose  as  tiio  light  and  sun  upon  the  world, 
because  He  diffused  the  knowledge  which  gave  fife  to 
men ;  but  here  we  have  a  light  and  sun  whicli  scorches. 
There  is  a  knowledge  which  witliers  while  it  illumines ; 
there  is  a  teaching  which  does  not  wai-m  the  heart,  but 


607 


The  Fifth  Vial. 


EEVELATION,   XVI. 


TJie  Sixth  Vial 


piven  unto  him  to  scorch  men  with 
iire.  ^^^  And  men  were  scorched  ^  with 
great  heat,  and  blasphemed  the  name 
of  God,  which  hath  power  over  these 
plagues  :  and  they  repented  not  to  give 
him  glory.  <^")  And  the  fifth  angel 
p,  .    j^    poured  out  his  vial  upon 

11.  The  fifth  tiie  seat  of  the  beast ;  and 
^'i^l-  his    kingdom    was    full   of 

darkness;  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues 
for  pain,  (^^^  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven  because  of  their  pains  and  their 


1  Or,  bunicd. 


sores,  and  repented  not  of  their  deeds. 
(!-'  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  great  river  ^hap.  xvi.  12- 
Euphrates ;  and  the  water  16.  The  sixth 
thereof  was  dried  up,  that  ''''^^• 
the  way  of  the  kings  of  the  east  might  be 
prepared.  (^'^)  And  I  saw  three  unclean 
spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
false  prophet.  (^^^  For  they  are  the 
spirits    of    devils,    working     miracles, 


drios  both  lieart  and  conscience,  and  brings  but 
pain.  Tiie  result,  painful  as  it  is,  does  not  work 
repentance.  Sult'ering,  without  grace  and  humility, 
does  not  bless  men;  they  grow  angry;  the  fire  hardens 
instead  of  purifying.  The  whole  series  of  these  judg- 
ments illustrate  the  awful  truth  that  there  is  a  stage  in 
p(»rsonal  life,  and  in  national  and  world  life  also,  in 
which  suffering  loses  its  remedial  force,  beciiuse  the 
character  has  become  set,  and  even  an  occasioual  desire 
after  higher  things  is  no  longer  felt. 

"  When  we  in  our  viciousnesg 
Grow  hard,  the  wise  f^ods  seal  our  eyes, 
In  our  own  slime  drop  our  clear  judgments. 
Make  us  adore  our  errors,  and  thus 
We  strut  to  our  destruction." 

(10)  And  the  fifth  .  .  .—Better,  The  fifth  angel 
poured  oat  his  vial  upon  the  throne  (not  "  the  seat :  "  see 
Notes  on  chaps,  iv.  10  and  xiii.  2)  of  the  wild  beast. 
Tlie  vials  of  ]  udgment  gradually  dissolve  the  integrity 
and  organisation  of  the  kingdom  of  the  wild  beast. 
The  residt  of  the  principles  on  which  it  has  been  based 
begin  to  show  themselves :  first,  moral  disea.!e  in 
iu{li\nduals;  then  a  corrupt  tone  of  national  morals 
spreading  into  the  higher  orders  of  society ;  then  the 
fierce  pride  of  vaunted  light  which  scorches.  Wliere 
these  are,  disorganisation  is  not  far  off  ;  evil  goes  out  a 
murderer  and  comes  home  a  suicide.  The  retribution 
comes  home ;  the  throne  of  the  world-power,  the  very 
head  and  centre  of  its  authority,  is  smitten. 

And  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness.— 4nci 
his  kingdom  7vas  dnrlcened.  "We  have  the  counterpart 
of  the  Egyptian  plague  (Ex.  x.  21—23) ;  there  was  a 
typical  force  in  that  ancient  plague :  the  kingdom 
which  boasted  itself  so  full  of  light  becomes  darkened. 
When  men  shut  out  the  higher  light,  the  smoke  of 
their  own  candles  will  soon  obscure  the  whole  heaven. 
When  nioral  evil  is  linkcsd  with  intellectual  light,  the 
moral  evil  will  Ix;  found  tlie  stronger ;  for  we  cannot  have 
a  sunbeam  witliout  the  sun.  "  Take  heed,"  said  Christ, 
"  that  tlie  light  that  is  in  thee  be  not  darkness."  There 
is  a  light  that  is  darkness ;  the  progress  of  evil  bringing 
about  its  own  retribution  proves  this  conclusively. 

(10.  11)  But  oven  the  failure  of  their  own  light  does 
not  work  repentance  :  they  gnawed  their  tongues  from 
their  pain.  Hero  is  remorse  and  suffering.  They  are 
"unto  themselves"  (as  the  Book  of  Wisdom  describes 
the  Egyptians)  "more  grievous  than  the  darkness" 
(Wisd.  xvii.  21)  ;  but  there  is  no  softening  or 
bumbling  of  themselves,  no  turning  to  God.  They  still 
love  what  God  hates,  and  hato  what  Ho  loves,  for 
they  blasphemed  God,  &c..  and  repented  not  of  their 
works.  Such  is  the  wretched  state  of  the  world-power 
in  the  day  when  retributive  evil  overtakes  it— darkness, 
pain,  and  inability  to  repent.     Is  it  not  a  picture  of  the 


608 


ultimate  state  of  all  sin  ?  It  is  not  a  vast  world-power 
alone  which  exhibits  pain  and  confusion  like  this.  It 
is  to  be  seen  over  and  over  again  in  men  and  nations. 
The  power  of  evil  comes  home  and  robs  men  of  their 
accustomed  guides.  They  are  brought  into  darkness 
and  trouble ;  the  throne  where  the  master-power  of 
worldliness  sat  is  cast  down  ;  the  evil  passion  which  was 
the  unifying  power  of  their  life  is  deprived  of  the  field 
of  its  power ;  then  follows  exasperation,  anger  at 
defeat,  readiness  to  accuse  others,  but  no  blame  of  self, 
no  repentance. 

(12)  And  the  sixth  .  .  .— Better,  TJie  sixth  (angel) 
poured  out  his  vial  on  the  great  river  Euphrates ;  and 
its  water  was  dried  that  the  way  of  the  kings  who  are 
froyn  the  rising  of  the  sun  might  be  prepared.  The 
symbolical  meaning  of  the  Euphrates  has  been  touched 
upon  before.  (See  Notes  on  chap.  ix.  14.)  In  the  great 
age-long  struggle  between  the  kingdoms  of  Chi'ist  and 
the  world  the  Euphrates  represents  the  great  separating 
boundary  between  the  two  kingdoms,  as  the  literal 
Euphrates  formed  the  barrier  between  Israel  and  the 
hostile  northern  and  eastern  kingdoms.  It  is  the  great 
impediment  to  war.  It  is  true  that  there  is  a  great 
interposed  boundary  of  public  opinion,  which  restrains 
evil  from  breaking  forth  in  its  ruder  and  more  violent 
forms.  Men  may  be  hostile  to  spiritual  religion, 
yet  they  scarcely  like  to  shock  public  sentiment,  or 
to  incur  the  charge  of  depraving  public  morals ; 
but  there  may  come  a  time,  after  false  principles 
have  been  taught,  corrupt  manners  tolerated,  and  tho 
light  of  better  things  darkened,  when  the  public 
sentiment  loses  all  sense  of  shame,  and  the  decorums 
of  life,  which  have  acted  as  a  breakwater  against 
the  tide  of  outrageous  evil,  are  swept  away:  then 
is  the  Euphrates  dried,  and  tlien  may  the  hostile 
powers  of  evil,  unrestrained  by  any  considerations,  un- 
checked by  the  popular  conscience,  cross  boldly  over 
and  invade  the  whole  sacred  soil  of  human  life.  There 
have  been  times  like  this  when  shameless  sin  has 
walked  forth,  secure  of  public  favour,  to  desecrate 
every  sanctuary  of  purity  and  faith — when  the  most 
barbarous  manners  and  the  most  unscrupulous  viola- 
tions of  public  faith  and  morals  have  been  not  only 
tolerated,  but  applauded.  Tho  "kings  of  the  east"  (or 
of  the  sun-rising)  represent  the  forces  of  rude  and 
open  evil  which  have  been  long  restrained.  As  the 
four  barbarian  and  tyrant  kings  (Gen.  xiv.  1 — 24) 
from  the  East  invaded  the  land  of  promise  in 
Abraham's  days,  so  the  leaders  of  open  and  violent 
hate  of  right,  purity,  and  Christ,  have  the  way  of  their 
advance  prepared.  But  certain  agencies  go  forth  to 
bring  about  this  uprising  of  rude  revolt  against  every 
sanctity  of  life. 

(13,14)  And  I  saw  .  .  .—Better,  And  I  saw  out  of  the 


Three  Unclean  Sjnrits. 


EEVELATION,  XVI. 


The  Seventh  Vial. 


which  go  forth  unto  the  kiiigs  of  the 
earth  and  of  the  whole  workl,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God  Almighty.  (^^)  Behold,  I  come  as  a 
thief."  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth, 
and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk 
naked,  and  they  see  his  shame.    (^•^^  And 


a  Matt.  21.  43. 


he  gathered  them  together  into  a  place 
called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  Arma- 
geddon.     (^^^    And   the   seventh    angel 

poured   out   his   vial   into  ^,  .  ,„ 

f  1  .  ,    , ,  Chap.  XVI.  17— 

the  air ;    and  there  came  21.  The  seventh 

a  great  voice   out   of  the  '^^^^• 

temple    of  heaven,    from    the    throne. 


mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  wild 
beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  projihet,  three 
unclean  spirits,  as  it  were  frogs.  For  tJiey  are  spirits 
of  demons,  doing  signs,  which  go  forth  upon  the  kings 
of  the  xohole  world,  to  gather  them  together  to  the  tear  of 
the  great  day  of  God  the  Ahnightij.  Some  have  thought 
that  the  kings  of  the  East  are  the  representatives  of 
the  Christian  powers,  and  that  the  drying  up  of  the 
Euphrates  is  the  preparation  for  their  entrance  into  tlie 
land  of  promise.  The  general  drift  of  the  chapter 
seems  to  me  to  be  adverse  to  this  view.  The  two  hostile 
kingdoms  are  being  brought  slowly  into  open  antagon- 
ism ;  the  great  issues  are  to  be  brought  to  a  decisive 
test ;  the  time  comes  when  a  decision  must  be  made  : 
"  If  God  be  God,  follow  Him ;  if  Baal,  then  follow 
him."  The  situation  becomes  so  strained  that  it  is 
useless  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  a  respectable 
neutrality,  for  forces  have  beeu  at  work  which  arc 
gradually  bringing  all  powers  into  tlie  conflict.  The 
forces  which  are  at  work  preparing  for  this  issue  are 
evil  forces  ;  "  unclean  spirits,"  little  frogs,  spirits  of 
demons  go  fortli  to  gather  every  world-power  to  the 
struggle.  All  this  points  to  tlie  final  mobilisation  of 
the  hosts  of  evil  for  an  attack  upon  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  Every  impediment  is  removed,  and  the 
Euphrates  is  dried.  The  kings  may  advance  :  like  the 
hosts  of  Pharaoh  they  may  enter  the  dried-up  sea  in  hot 
haste  of  their  hatred  of  all  righteousness.  Evil  is  reck- 
less now.  and  moves  to  its  destruction ;  but  it  cannot  so 
move  Arithout  working  upon  men.  Three  evil  spirits 
go  forth  for  this  purpose.  There  are  three  radical 
foes  of  Christ  and  His  righteousness :  the  dragon,  re- 
presenting the  hate  of  e\al  spirits ;  the  wild  beast, 
representing  the  hostility  of  world-power;  the  false 
prophet,  representing  the  antagonism  of  world-culture 
and  intellectualism — these  three  send  forth  each  their 
emissary,  appealing  to  the  pride  and  passions  of  men. 
What  are  we  to  understand  by  them  ?  We  must  con- 
sider their  origin.  The  woidd-power  would  have  us 
worsliip  the  things  seen.  It  sends  forth  tlie  spii'it  of 
earthliness.  the  spirit  which  works  in  the  voluptuaiy, 
the  ambitious,  and  the  avaricious,  the  spirit  wliich 
makes  earthly  things  its  end  (Phil.  iii.  19).  Tlie  world- 
culture  sends  forth  its  spirit  of  intellectualism,  which 
denies  the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  and  substitutes  taste 
and  culture  for  spirituality.  The  dragon  sends  forth 
the  spirit  of  egotism,  of  proud,  self-sufficient  inde- 
pendence, which  culminates  in  an  utter  liatred  of  tlio 
Creator.  The  three  spirits  combined  make  up  that 
wisdom  which  St.  James  described  as  earthly,  sensual 
(unspiritual,  psychical),  derilLsh  (Jas.  iii.  15).  We  may 
compare  the  three  foes  in  tlie  "Red  Cross  Knight:" 
Sansloy  (witliout  law),  Sausfoy  (without  faith),  and 
Sansjoy  (without  joy) — Spenser's  Faerie  Qaeene.  Tliey 
are  like  frogs  :  here  is  a  reference  again  to  the  Egyptian 
plagues. 

These  spirits  gatlier  all  earthly  powers  to  the  war  (not 
"  battle  ")  of  the  great  day  of  God  tlie  Almighty.  Tlie 
day  whicli  will  test  the  power  of  combimd  evil,  the  day 
which,  beginuing  in  rash  pride,  will  end  in  bitter  defeat, 

105  609 


to  this  the  evil  spirits  lure  their  followers,  as  the  false 
pro])hets  lured  Ahabto  his  overthrow  at  Ramoth-Gilead 
(1  Kings  xxii.  2U) :  such  is  one  of  the  final  aspects  of 
evil.  Tlie  voice  of  inclination  is  listened  to  as  though 
it  were  prophetic.  The  suggestions  of  sinful  desire 
are  not  only  obeyed,  but  reverenced  as  oracles.  The 
wicked  hath  an  oracle  of  trausgi-ession  in  his  heart 
(Ps.  xxxvi.  1  et  seq.). 

(15)  Behold,  I  come  .  .  .—Translate,  Behold,  I 
come  as  a  thief.  It  is  the  oft-repeated  Scripture 
warning  (chap.  iii.  3 ;  1  Thess.  v.  2,  3  ;  2  Pet.  iii.  10. 
Comj).  Luke  xii.  35 — 40).  It  reminds  us  not  only  that 
our  Lord  may  come  unexpectedly,  but  that  He  may 
even  come  and  we  be  unaware.  There  is  one  day  when 
He  will  come,  and  every  eye  will  behold  Him  ;  but  Ho 
comes  in  vai'ious  ways  and  forms  to  bless  and  to  test 
man.  Blessed  are  they  who  are  ready,  watching.  But 
vigilance  is  not  enough :  the  garments  must  be  kept. 
The  powers  of  exil  are  abroad.  Sloth  and  pleasure 
may  counsel  ease,  and  tempt  the  watcher  to  lay 
aside  his  garments  and  take  rest  and  sleep.  The 
earnest  watcher  desires,  Uke  St.  Paul,  to  be  found 
in  Christ,  clad  in  the  true  righteousness  of  faith  (Phil, 
in.  9). 

(16)  And.  he  gathered  .  .  . — Better,  He  gathered 
them  together  to  the  place  which  is  called  in  Hebrew 
Armageddon.  Armageddon  is  the  mountain  of 
Megiiido.  It  is  the  higli  table-land  surrounded  by 
hills  which  was  the  great  battle-field  of  the  Holy  Land. 
There  the  fortunes  of  djiiastics  and  kingdouis  have 
been  decided;  there  the  cause  of  liberty  has  triumphed  ; 
there  kings  fought  and  fell ;  there  Gideon  and  Barak 
were  victorious ;  there  Ahaziah  and  Josiah  were  slain. 
The  old  battle-gi-ound  becomes  the  symbol  of  the 
decisive  struggle.  It  is  raised  in  meaning :  it  is  a  t}-i)e. 
not  a  locality.  The  war  of  principles,  the  war  of 
morals,  the  war  of  fashion  culminates  in  an  Arma- 
geddon. The  progress  of  the  spiritual  struggle  in 
individual  men  must  lead  in  the  same  way  to  a 
mountain  of  decision,  where  the  long-wavering  heart 
must  take  sides,  and  the  set  of  the  character  Ije  deter- 
mined. ''There  is  no  waving  of  banners  and  no 
prancing  of  liorses'  hoofs  :  the  warfare  is  spiritual,  so 
that  there  is  in  sight  neither  camp  nor  foe."  It  is 
that  conflict  which  emerges  out  uf  various  opinions  and 
diverse  principles :  "  the  religious  tendencies  of  the 
times "  are  (as  we  have  been  reminded)  powers  mar- 
shalling themselves  for  the  battle  of  Armageddon. 
We  must  not  look,  for  great  and  startling  signs:  the 
kingdom  and  the  conflict  of  the  kingdom  is  within  and 
around  us  (Luke  xvii.  20,  21). 

(1")  And  the  seventh  .  .  .—Translate,  And  the 
seventh  {angel)  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  air,  and 
there  came  forth  a  voice  out  of  the  temple,  from  the 
throne,  sat/ing,  It  is  done.  The  results  of  the  out- 
pouring of  tiiis  vial  are  descril>ed  in  the  following 
verses  ;  but  before  these  are  seen,  the  voice  from  the 
tlirone— God's  own  voice  (see  verse  1) — proclaims,  as 
though  rejoicing  in  the  near  approach  of  the  liappy  end, 
"  It  is  done."     The  close  of  these  scenes  of  sin  and 


A  great  Earthquake, 


EEVELATION,  XVII. 


A  Plague  of  Hail. 


saying,  It  is  done,  f^^^  And  there  were 
voices,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings ; 
and  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such 
as  was  not  since  men  were  upon  the 
earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and  so 
great.  (^^^  And  the  great  city  was 
divided  into  three  parts,  and  the  cities 
of  the  nations  fell :  and  great  Babylon 
came  in  remembrance  before  God,  to 
give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of 
the  fierceness  of  his  wrath.*  (^^  And 
every  island  fled  away,  and  the  moun- 


tains were  not  found.  (-^)  And  there 
fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of 
heaven,  every  stone  about  the  weight  of 
a  talent :  and  men  blasphemed  God 
because  of  the  plague  of  the  hail ;  for 
the  plague  thereof  was  exceeding  great. 

CHAPTEE  XVIL— (DAnd  there 
came  one  of  the  seven  chap.  xvii.  i— 
anofels  which  had  the  seven  6.    The  vision 

•    1  1    J.   11      1       '11  01  the  scarlet- 

vials,  and  talked  with  me,  clad  woman, 
saying     unto     me,    Come  Babylon. 


sufEcriuf^  is  now  at  liand,  for  the  last  of  the  last  plagues 
has  been  sent  fortlu 

(IS)  And  there  were  voices  .  .  . — There  is  some 
variety  in  the  order  of  the  words  in  different  MSS. 
There  were  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders  (comp. 
chaps,  viii.  5  and  xi.  19) ;  there  was  a  great  earthquake, 
such  as  was  not  from  the  time  there  was  a  man  upon 
the  earth.  The  earthquake,  which  is  the  shaking 
down  of  the  kingdom  of  e\-il  (comj).  Heb.  xii.  26 — 29), 
completes  the  overthrow  of  which  the  earlier  judg- 
ments have  been  precursors.  The  throne  of  the  wild 
beast  has  been  A-isited,  the  centre  of  his  power  smitten ; 
now  the  metropolis  of  his  empire  is  about  to  fall.  And 
the  great  citij  (i.e.,  Babylon,  the  symbol  of  the  world- 
power's  cajiital)  became  into  three  parts.  It  lost  its 
power  of  cohesion.  The  three  evil  spirits  endeavoured 
to  unite  all  powers  in  one  grand  assault,  but  there  is  no 
natural  cohesion  among  those  whose  only  bond  is  hatred 
of  good.  The  first  convulsion  shakos  them  to  pieces, 
and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fall.  Every  subordinate 
power  in  which  the  earthly  element  was  mingled  (comp. 
Dan.  ii.  41 — l-4i  is  ovcrtlirown  in  the  earthquake,  even 
as  every  tree  which  tlie  "  Heavenly  Father  hath  not, 
planted  shall  be  rooted  up"  (Matt.  xv.  13) ;  and  great 
Babylon  was  remembered  before  God,  &c.  The  features 
of  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  are  described  more  fully 
later  on  (chaps,  xvii.,  xviii.),  where  the  various  aspects  of 
evil  in  tlio  great  metropolis  of  the  world-power  are 
dealt  \y\ih  (chaps,  xvii.  1 — 7,  and  xnii.  1 — 3).  The 
fall  of  Pagan  Rome  is  but  one  illustration  of  the  over- 
throw of  Babylon. 

(20)  And  every  island  fled.— So  wide-spread  are 
the  effects  of  tlie  earthquake  ;  the  con\'ul8ion  tests 
every  spot ;  there  is  only  one  kingdom  which  cannot 
be  shaken.     (Comp.  Dan.  ii.  U;  vi.  26;  Heb.  x.  28.) 

(21)  And  there  fell  .  .  .  —And  a  great  hail, 
as  of  a  talent  in  weight,  descends  from  the  heaven 
on  men.  There  is  again  a  reference  to  the  Egyptian 
plagues.  But  we  may  also  call  to  mind  the  great  defeat 
of  the  enemies  of  Israel  at  Beth-horon  (Josh.  x.  1—11), 
■when  "  the  Lord  cast  down  great  stones  from  heaven." 
Such  an  overthrow  awaits  every  confederacy  that  sets 
itself  in  array  against  the  kingdom  of  the  righteous 
King.  The  discomfiture  and  the  plague  works  no  repent- 
ance ;  the  men  blaspheme  God  because  of  the  hail,  for 
great  is  its  plague  exceedingly.  The  proud,  liard  spirit 
wliich  still  hates  the  good  remains :  thus  is  sin  its  o^vn 
worst  penalty.  As  an  illustration  of  tliis  hard,  unsub- 
dued spirit,  we  may  call  to  mind  Capanous.  in  Dante's 
Inferno,  and  the  words  in  which  Virgil  addresses 
him : — 


Thou  art  more  punished,  in  that  this  thy  pride 
Lives  yet  unquenched  ;  no  torment  save  thy  rage 
Were  to  thy  fury  pain  proportioned  full. 


610 


The  unrepentant  state  of  those  upon  whom  the  vials  are 
poured  is  to  be  contrasted  with  the  different  result  of 
the  earthquake  in  chap.  xi.  13,  when  men  gave  glory  to 
the  God  of  heaven. 

XVII. 

This  chapter  and  the  following  give  the  more 
minute  account  of  great  Babylon.  We  have  had 
mention  of  her  before  in  general  terms  (chaps,  xiv.  8 ; 
x^-i.  9)  as  the  metropolis  of  the  wild  beast's  empire,  the 
great  city  hostile  to  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  the  saints. 
The  Evangelist  is  now  told  more  particularly  her 
character,  crimes,  power,  and  position.  She  is  seen 
clothed  in  splendour,  intoxicated  with  her  own  power 
and  cruelty,  supported  by  the  wild  beast,  and  hostile  to 
the  cause  of  the  righteous  King ;  but  doomed  to  fall, 
amidst  the  wonder  of  the  world  and  the  rejoicing  of 
the  saints  (chap,  xviii.  17 — 21). 

(1)  And  there  came  .  .  .—One  of  the  vial -bearing 
angels  summons  the  seer,  saying.  Hither  I  will  shoio 
thee  the  judgment  of  the  great  harlot  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters  (or,  the  many  waters — comp.  verse  15). 
The  kings  of  the  earth  have  co^nmitted  fornication  with 
her,  and  they  who  inhabit  the  earth  were  made  drunken 
(lost  their  reason  and  self-control)  from  the  wine,  the 
delicious  and  delirious  draught  of  her  fornication. 
Before  we  go  further,  it  is  well  to  make  sure  of  our 
ground.  Babylon  was  the  great  city,  whose  splendour 
dazzled,  and  whose  power  destroyed  Jerusalem  (Isa. 
xxxix.  1 — 8 ;  xiii.  19 ;  xiv.  4,  13,  14 ;  xlvii.  5 — 8). 
Against  Babylon  the  voices  of  the  proj^hets  were 
lifted  up  (Isa.  xxi.  9;  Jer.  Ii.  25);  she  seemed  to 
them  the  embodiment  of  splendid  vice  and  resi-stless 
power  ;  "  the  glory  of  kingdoms,"  "  the  golden  city," 
"  who  exalted  her  throne  above  the  stars  of  God," 
"  who  sat  as  a  lady  given  to  pleasures,  and  flattering 
herself  that  she  would  see  no  sorrow."  In  her  great- 
ness and  her  hostility  to  Jerusalem  she  became  a  tj-pe 
of  later  world-powers ;  and,  in  St.  Jolm's  vision, 
Babylon,  in  her  purjile  and  her  pomp,  in  her  luxurious- 
ness  and  her  tyranny,  takes  her  place.  And  it  is  ex- 
plained in  the  vision  that  Babylon  is  no  longer  the 
literal  Babylon,  but  tlie  power  which  has  taken  her 
place  of  pride  and  empire.  That  power  was  Rome. 
Rome  was  in  St.  John's  day  just  what  Babylon  had 
been  in  the  days  of  the  prophets — "  tlie  hammer  of  the 
whole  earth,"  the  "  golden  cup  that  made  all  the  earth 
drunken "  (Jer.  1.  23 ;  Ii.  7 ;  comp.  verse  2  of  this 
cliapter).  At  the  same  time,  the  way  in  whirh  the 
Evangelist  transfers  to  the  Rome  of  liis  day  the  pro- 
phetic language  which  earlier  prophets  applied  to 
ancient  Babylon  (compare  these  chapters,  xvii.  and  xviii., 
with  Isa.  xlvii.,  Jer.  Ii.  6 — 14)  ought  to  be  sufficient 


The  Vision  of 


EEVELATION,   XVII. 


the  Scarlet  Woman. 


liither ;  I  will  shew  unto  thee  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  whore  that  sitteth 
upon  many  waters  :  (^^  with  whom  the 
kings  of  the  earth  have  committed  forni- 
cation, and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
have  been  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of 
her  fornication.  ('^^  So  he  carried  me 
away  in  the  spirit  into  the  wilderness : 
and  I  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet 
coloured  beast,  full  of  names  of  blas- 
phemy, having  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns.    (^^  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in 


1  Or,  gilded. 


Ot,  fornications. 


purple  and  scarlet  colour,  and  decked  ^ 
with  gold  and  precious  stones  and 
pearls,  having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand 
full  of  abominations  and  filthiness  of 
her  fornication  :  (^^  and  upon  her  fore- 
head was  a  name  written,  MYSTERY, 
BABYLON  THE  GEEAT,  THE 
MOTHEE  OF  HAELOTS^  AND 
ABOMINATIONS  OF  THE  EARTH. 
('^^  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  with  the 
blood   of  the   martyrs   of    Jesus  :    and 


to  warn  us  against  limited  and  local  interpretations, 
even  if  the  seven-headed  wild  beast  did  not  show  lis 
that  the  world-power,  like  the  moral  principles  of  which 
Babylon  and  Rome  were  examples,  is  not  confined  to 
one  age.  If  we  remember  this,  we  shall  see  that  the 
Babylon  of  the  Apocalj-jise,  while,  undoubtedly,  Pagan 
Rome,  cannot  be  limited  to  it.  Is  it,  then,  the  question 
must  be  asked,  Papal  Rome  ?  The  answer  is :  In  so  far 
as  Papal  Rome  has  wielded  tyrant  power,  turned  perse- 
cutor, stood  between  the  spirits  of  men  and  Christ,  de- 
praved men's  consciences,  withheld  the  truth,  connived 
at  viciousness,  sought  aggrandisement,  and  been  a 
political  engine  rather  than  a  witness  for  the  righteous 
King,  she  has  inherited  the  features  of  Babylon.  The 
recognition  of  these  features  led  Dante  to  apply  this 
very  passage  in  the  Apocalj-pse  to  Rome  under  the  rule 
of  worldly  and  tyrant  popes,  when  he  exclaimed  to  the 
shade  of  Nicholas  III.  {II  compiuto) : — 

"  Of  shepherds  like  to  you  the  Evangelist 
Was  ware,  when  her  who  sits  upon  the  waves 
With  kings  in  filthy  whoredom  ne  beheld : 
She  who  with  seven  heads  tower'd  at  her  birth, 
And  from  ten  horns  her  proof  of  glory  drew 
Long  as  her  spouse  in  virtue  took  delight. 
Of  gold  and  silver  ye  have  made  your  god, 
Differing  wherein  from  the  idolater. 
But  that  he  worships  one,  a  hundred  ye !" 

—Inferno,  Cant,  xix.,  109-117. 

(3)  So  he  carried  .  .  .  . — Better,  And  he  carried 
me  away  into  a  wilderness  in  spirit :  and  I  saw  a 
woman  sitting  upon  a  wild  beast  of  scarlet  colour, 
teeming  with  names  of  blasphenuj,  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns.  "We  recognise  the  wild  beast  as  that 
described  in  chap.  xiii.  Now  the  wild  beast  carries  the 
woman ;  for  she  draws  her  support  from  the  great 
world-power.  The  scene  is  the  wilderness.  The  con- 
trast between  the  desolation  around  her  and  the  splen- 
dour of  her  appearance  is  striking  and  suggestive.  The 
woman  clothed  with  the  sun  (chap.  xii.  1),  persecuted 
by  the  dragon,  finds  a  home  in  the  wilderness  into 
which  she  is  driven.  She  is  persecuted,  but  not  for- 
saken;  she  can  joy  in  tribulation.  The  scarlet -clad 
woman,  amid  all  her  dazzling  surroundings,  is  still  in 
a  wilderness.  The  runagates  continue  in  scarceness. 
Sansjoy  is  the  brother  of  Sansloy.  The  wild  beast 
is  scarlet  in  colour.  The  dragon  was  red  (chap.  xii.  3) ; 
the  woman  is  clothed  in  .scarlet.  Is  it  tlie  emblem 
of  lawlessness  ending  in  violence  ?  (Comp.  Isa.  i.  18). 
It  lias  also  a  show  of  sovereignty. 

Pull  of  names. — Teeming  with  names,  <(r. — Tlie 
living  creatures  (chap.  iv.  8)  teemed  (the  same  word 
as  here)  with  eyes,  the  tokens  of  ready  obedience  and 
tnie  intelligence.  The  wild  beast  teems  with  tokens 
of  lawlessness  and  self-sufficiency. 

W  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  .  .  .—Better, 
arrayed  (^or,  clad)  in  purple  (the   colour  of  the  robe   1 


which  was  in  mockery  put  on  our  Lord — John  xix.  2) 
and  scarlet,  gilded  (not  "  decked  ")  with  gold,  &c.  Her 
appearance  is  one  of  imperial  splendour.  (Comp.  the 
description  of  Tyre  in  Ezekiel,  chap,  xxviii.  1.3.) 

Having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand  .  .  .— 
Translate,  Having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand  teeming 
with  abominations  and  with  the  unclean  things  of  the 
fornication  of  the  earth.  Jeremiah  (chap.  li.  7)  called 
Babylon  a  "  golden  cup  in  the  liand  of  the  Lord."  The 
cup  had  made  all  the  earth  drunken  ;  the  cup  of  in- 
toxication, spkndid  and  attractive,  was  full  of  an  evil 
power,  which  robbed  men's  senses  and  degraded  them. 
Ihe  great  city  of  the  world  ever  holds  out  such  a 
glittering  cup,  which 

"  Most  do  taste  through  fond  intemperate  desire. 
Soon  as  the  potion  works,  their  human  coimtenance, 
Th'  express  resemblance  of  the  gods,  is  changed 

Into  some  brutish  form 

—Comus,  68—77. 

(5)  And  upon  her  forehead  .  .  .—It  was  usual 
with  harlots  to  wear  their  name  on  the  forehead ;  but 
the  name  here  is  more  than  a  name.  Like  the  name 
impressed  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  saints,  it  is  "  tho 
expression  of  her  nature  " — 

"  MYSTEET, 

BABYLON  THE  GREAT, 

THE  MOTHER  OF  THE  HARLOTS  AND  OF  THE 

ABOMINATIONS  OF  THE  EARTH." 

The  word  "  mystery  "  is,  perhaps,  part  of  the  name ;  it 
is,  at  any  rate,  a  prefix  which  tells  us  that  the  name  is 
not  literal,  but  symbolical.  Something  lies  behind, 
which  will  be  made  manifest  in  due  time.  (Comp. 
2  Thess.  ii.  7.)  She  is  mother  of  harlots.  Others,  in 
smaller  spheres,  will  follow  her  example  ;  but  she  is  the 
origin  and  type  of  all. 

c^)  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints.— It  is  said  later  (chap, 
xviii.  21)  that  in  her  was  founti  the  blood  of  prophets, 
and  saints,  and  of  all  that  have  been  slain  upon 
the  earth.  The  cruel  spirit  of  persecution  marked  old 
Pagan  Rome.  She  was  drunk  witli  their  blood.  It 
is  not  literally  true  that  "  all  the  blood  shed  on  tho 
earth  "  would  i)e  found  in  Rome,  either  Pagan  or  Papal ; 
but  it  is  spiritually  true.  Just  as  aU  tlie  blood  from 
righteous  Abel  to  Zacharias  was  required  of  Jerusalem, 
so  also  of  Babylon;  for  the  spirit  is  the  same  spirit  of 
hatred  of  holiness  and  love  of  worldliness.  To  slay  one 
is  to  slay  all,  as  to  be  guilty  in  one  point  of  the  Law  is 
to  1)6  guilty  of  all ;  for  it  is  not  to  mere  acts,  but  also 
to  the  spint  and  drift  of  men's  conduct,  that  the  Scrip- 
tures look.  It  is  the  Babylon  spirit,  whether  dominant 
in  Rome  or  in  London,  that  kills  the  good.  AMierever 
the  spu'it  of  worldliness  (in  its  widest  sense)  is  to  be 


^1 


Explanation  of 


EEVELATION,   XVII. 


the  T 


ision. 


when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with  great 
admiration.  <">  And  the  angel  said  unto 
Chap  xvii.  7-  ^16'  Wherefore  didst  thou 
17.'  The  vision  marvel  P  I  will  tell  thee 
explained.  i\^^  mystery  of  the  woman, 

and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth  her, 
which  hath  the  seven  heads  and  ten 
horns.  <^^  The  beast  that  thou  sawest 
was,  and  is  not ;  and  shall  ascend  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go  into  per- 


dition :  and  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth 
shall  wonder,  whose  names  were  not 
written  in  the  book  of  life  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  when  they 
behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
and  yet  is.  <''^  And  here  is  the  mind 
which  hath  wdsdom.  The  seven  heads 
are  seven  mountains,  on  which  the 
woman  sitteth.  <^"^  And  there  are  seven 
kings :  five  are  fallen,  and  one  is,  and 


found,  thoro  is  the  spirit  at  enmity  with  God  and  good, 
anil  there  is  tlie  Babylon  whieli  lias  slain  the  saints. 

And  when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  . .  .—Rather, 
And  I  icomlercd  iclien  I  saiv  her  ivith  great  wonder 
(not  "admiration"  in  our  modern  sense).  Why  did 
St.  John  wonder  ?  Was  it  at  the  splendour  or  the 
blasphemous  names  ?  Hardly  these ;  for  he  was 
familiar  with  tlie  fonner  in  descriptions  of  Babylon 
given  by  the  prophets,  and  with  the  latter  from  his 
omi  vision  in  chap.  xiii.  The  wonder  probably  rose 
from  the  strange  alliance  of  the  woman  with  the  wild 
beast.  It  was  not  wonderful  to  sec  the  vision  of  a 
wild  beast  or  monster  dealing  out  death  and  slaugliter, 
but  to  see  a  woman  allied  with  the  monster  and 
drunken  with  the  blood  of  tlio  holy  provoked  astonish- 
ment. The  woman,  too.  Avas  a  harlot.  Tlie  prophets 
liad  spoken  of  Israel  and  Judah  as  harlots,  where  they 
liad  allied  tliemselves  with  the  world  and  its  dark 
idolatries  (comp.  Isa.  i.  '21;  Jer.  ii.  20;  Ezek.  xvi. 
15  ;  Hos.  ii.  5).  Did  he  read  in  the  form  of  the  vision 
the  hint  tliat  in  the  lapse  of  years  the  Church  of  Christ, 
like  Israel  of  old,  might  fall  from  her  high  calling  and 
become  the  ally  of  the  world-power  ?  The  hint  of  it 
slumbered  in  the  \nsion. 

("'  And  the  angel  said  unto  me,  Wherefore 
didst  thou  marvel  ?— Better,  Wherefore  didst  thou 
wonder  f  The  angel  explains  the  mystery  or  hidden 
meaning.  In  doing  so  he  identifies  the  Avild  beast 
wliich  carries  the  woman  with  the  wild  beast  of 
chap.  xiii.  In  tliat  chapter  the  wild  beast  was  seen 
wounded  to  death;  the  .same  thought  is  expressed  in 
this  chapter.  The  wild  heasi  was  and  is  not.  It  lias 
received  its  death  wound:  the  dj-ing  and  risen  Lord 
has  given  the  death-blow  to  the  world-power,  as  He  has 
cast  down  Satan  (chap.  xii.  0),  put  limits  to  his  power 
(chap.  XX.  2).  and  destroyed  liim  that  had  tlie  power  of 
death  (Heb.  ii.  Ii).  In  the  victory  of  Christ  the  wild 
beast  that  was  {i.e.,  that  had  in  successive  ages  been 
seen  in  the  great  world-powers)  is  slain,  or,  as  the 
ang(>l  exjiresses  it,  is  not.  But  though  he  is  not,  though 
he  is  to  bo  reckoned  as  doomed,  yet  he  will  show  signs 
of  vitality:  he  will  rise  into  temporary  power.  He 
shall  come  vp  out  of  the  abyss.  But  the  march  of  his 
power  is  only  a  march  to  the  grave.  He  goes  to 
destruction.  Yet  this  transient  revival  and  apparent 
recovery  from  its  death-wound  will  be  viewed  (as  was 
said  in  chap.  xiii.  3  :  "  all  the  earth  wondered  after  the 
wild  beast ")  as  a  marvel  by  those  whoso  spirits  are  not 
heaven-taught,  and  whose  minds  are  set  upon  eartlily 
things.  They  that  divell  upon  the  earth  shall  ivonder, 
whose  name  is  not  written  on  the  book  of  life  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  seeing  the  icild  beast  that  he 
was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  be  present  {i.e.,  shall  come 
again). 

(»;  And  here  is  the  mind  .  .  .—Better,  Here 
(omit  ••  and  "j  is  the  mind,  &.c.    Attentiou  is  asked  to  the 


012 


fuller  explanation  which  follows.  It  needs  true  wisdom 
to  behold  many  incidents  of  the  world's  history  and 
not  find  stumbling-blocks  in  them  (Pss.  Ixxiii.  2,  3,  and 
cxix.  105).  The  seven  heads  are  seven  'iaountains  where 
the  woman  sitteth  upon  them.  The  description  seems 
to  be  di-awn  from  Rome,  the  seven-hilled  city.  This 
keeps  the  reference  to  Rome  before  us,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  further  explanation  (in  verse  10)  widens  our 
thoughts,  and  shows  us  that  the  literalism  on  which  the 
imagery  is  based  is  used  to  convey  a  broader  symbolical 
meaning.  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  &.C., 
and  they  (the  seven  heads ;  the  words  "  Ihere  are  seven 
kings  "  in  the  English  version  are  confusing)  are  seven 
kings  :  the  woman  rides  on  tlie  seven-headed  beast ; 
even  so  Rome  dwells  on  her  seven  hills,  and  so  also 
the  world-city,  seen  in  vision,  sits  among  the  various 
empires  which  have  risen,  like  great  mountains,  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

(WJ  And  there  are  seven  kings  .  .  .  .—Better, 
They  are  seven  kings:  Jive  (not  "are  fallen,"  but) 
fell,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not  yet  come ;  and 
ivhen  he  shall  come,  he  must  continue  a  short  time. 
It  has  been  debated  whether  these  kings  are  individual 
sovereigns,  or  forms  of  government,  or  kingdoms. 
The  last  view  is  the  one  adopted  in  this  Com- 
mentary. The  wild  beast  belongs  to  no  one  age, 
but  is  a  power  which  has  risen  in  every  age;  the 
seven  heads  represent  the  successive  culminations  of 
the  world-power.  Our  space  is  insufficient  to  discuss 
here  the  whole  question.  But  the  language  here  used 
and  the  passages  in  the  earlier  prophets,  which  may  bo 
called  the  parent  passages  of  the  jn-esent  vision,  favour 
the  interiiretation  that  great  world-kingdoms  are 
intended.  The  language  favours  this  view.  It  is  said 
that  the  "  kings  fell."  The  word  is  the  one  which  has 
been  used  for  political  catastrophe :  the  cities  of  the 
nations  fell  (chap.  xvi.  19)  ;  Babylon,  it  is  cried,  lias 
fallen  (chap.  xiv.  8).  It  suits  the  overthrow  of  cmi)ires, 
and  is  so  used  in  the  LXX. ;  to  apply  it  to  indi- 
vidual kings  is  to  ask  that  it  shall  be  equivalent  to 
"  they  died."  It  is  to  bo  noticed  that  the  four  beasts 
of  Daniel  (Dan.  vii.  3 — 8)  are  declared  to  be  four  kings 
(verse  17).  but  these  kings  are  not  individual  kings,  but 
represent  kingdoms.  (See  Dan.  vii.  23).  This  brings 
us  to  the  drift  of  the  parent  passage.  Daniel  saw 
four  wild  beasts  rise  from  the  sea;  they  represented 
the  then  great  world-power  Babj^lon.  and  its  three  suc- 
cessors, Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome.  This  is  a  guide  to 
us  here,  as  most  commentators  admit ;  but  two  great 
woi-ld-powers  had  preceded  Babylon,  viz.,  Egypt  and 
Assyria :  tliese  figure  in  the  ancient  prophecies  as 
forces  hostile  to  the  righteous  King.  St.  John,  whoso 
Ansions  took  the  range  of  the  world's  drama,  could  not 
see  the  representative  of  the  ever  rising  spirit  of 
worldly  hostility  to  God's  chosen  without  seeing  Eg)7>t 
and  Assyria  included.     The  voices  of  Moses  and  Isaiah 


Interpretation  of 


REVELATION,   XVTI. 


the  Vision, 


the  other  is  not  yet  come  ;  and  "svhen  he 
Cometh,  he  must  continue  a  short  space. 
(^^^  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
even  he  is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the 
seven,  and  goeth  into  perdition.  (^^  And 
the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  are 
ten  kings,  which  have  received  no  king- 
dom as  yet ;  but  receive  power  as  kings 
one   hour  with   the    beast.     (^^^  These 


a  1  Tim.  6. 15. 


have  one  mind,  and  shall  give  their 
power  and  strength  unto  tiie  beast. 
(U)  These  shall  make  war  with  the 
Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome 
them :  for  he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and 
King  of  kings  :"  and  they  that  are  with 
him  are  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful. 
(^^^  And  he  saith  unto  me.  The  waters 
which   thou  sawest,    where  the   whore 


called  to  him  across  the  centuries  that  in  these  tlie 
world  principle  o£  tlicir  day  found  its  clearest  and 
strongest  manifestation.  In  various  empires  the  world- 
power  showed  itself :  in  Egypt,  tlie  house  of  bondage 
(Ex.  XX.  2);  in  Assyria,  that  exalted  herself  against 
God  (Isa.  xxxvii.  23) ;  in  Babylon,  the  hammer  of  the 
whole  earth  ( Jer.  1.  23) ;  in  Persia,  and  in  Greece ;  and 
in  succession  these  kingdoms  fell,  only  to  be  succeeded 
by  another — Rome.  Five  fell ;  the  one  is.  But  what 
is  the  seventh,  the  other  who  is  not  yet  come  ?  We 
must  recall  the  appearance  of  the  wilil  beast.  It  had 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  Where  wei'e  these  ten  horns  ? 
It  seems  generally  admitted  that  they  were  all  on  tlie 
seventh  head.  The  seventh  head,  which  represents  the 
seventh  kingdom,  or  manifestation  of  the  world  principle 
which  is  described  as  not  yet  come,  then,  was  different 
in  appearance  from  the  others.  It  was  ten-horned.  It 
had  not  the  same  unity  of  appearance  as  the  others. 
Kow  the  ten  horns  are  explained  as  ten  kings  or  minor 
powers  (verse  12).  The  conclusion,  tlierefore,  is  that 
the  seventh  head  must  be  rather  an  aggregation  of 
monarchies  than  a  single  universal  empire.  Tliis 
agrees  with  Daniel's  prophecy  that  out  of  the  fourth 
kingdom,  which  corresponds,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the 
sixth  head  of  the  wild  beast  here,  ten  kings  should 
arise  (Dan.  vii.  7,  23,  24). 

Tlie  seventh  kingdom  (the  ten-homed  head)  it  is 
said  will,  when  it  arises,  continue  a  ''  short  time."  The 
short  time  is  probably  the  same  as  the  "  one  hour " 
ill  ver.  12,  where  the  ten  kingdoms,  represented  by 
tlie  ten  horns,  receive  power  one  hour  with  the  wild 
beast. 

(H)  And  the  beast.  .  . — Better.  And  the  wild  beast 
which  was,  and  is  not,  even  he  himself  is  the  eighth,  and 
i.i  of  the  seven,  and  goeth  into  destruction.  The  wild 
boast  himseK,  forming  as  it  were  an  eio^hth,  has  to  be 
reckoned  with.  There  are  seven  heads;  when  these 
fall  no  eighth  head  will  rise,  but  the  wild  beast,  whoso 
vitality  has  been  seen  in  these  successive  heads,  forms, 
as  it  were,  an  eighth,  which  is  "  out  of  the  seven  " — not 
one  of  them,  but  one  rising  out  of  them  ;  no  eighth 
empire  shall  rise,  but  tlie  wild  beast,  now  smitten  in  all 
the  seven  heads  of  his  power,  will,  in  the  convulsive 
d'ath-throo.  seem  an  oiglith  power,  in  which  the  ebbing 
life  of  all  tlie  seven  finds  expression.  The  wild  beast 
linked  itself  with  seven  great  empires  in  succession  : 
these  all  foil ;  the  wild  beast  is  left,  as  an  eiglitli  :  then 
'■  the  wild  beast  goes  into  destruction."  As  an  illustra- 
tion, we  may  recall  her  whom  the  seven  brothers  had  as 
wife ;  last  of  all  the  woman,  the  eightli.  which  was  of  the 
seven,  died  also.  It  has  boon  noticed  that  the  wild 
beast  does  not  "  fall."  like  the  others,  "  but  goes  into 
destniction  ;"  there  are  no  more  world-i)owers  like  those 
who  have  fallen,  but  tlie  wilil  boa.st  is  loft,  a  last  power 
reserved  for  dostructiim.  a  final  antichrist,  the  Liwless 
one  whom  the  Lord  will  destroy  with  the  brightness  of 
His  cooling  (2  Thess.  ii.  3).    This  fierce  and  last  flicker- 


ing up  of  the  doomed  power  of  evil  is  dwelt  on  again 
in  chap.  xx.  7 — 10. 

(i-J  And  the  ten  horns  .  .  .—The  explanation  of 
the  ten  horns.  They  are  the  kings,  not  necessarily, 
as  we  have  seen,  personal  kings,  but  rather  kingdoms 
or  nationalities,  who  received  not  a  kingdom  as  yet ; 
as  they  are  on  the  seventh  head,  the  hour  of  their 
power  is  not  yet,  but  comes  at  the  fall  of  the  sixth 
head  :  then  they  receive  power  one  hour.  (Comp.  "  short 
time  "  in  verse  10.)  But  though  these  are  sundered 
powers,  they  are  one  in  their  subjection  to  the  wild 
beast.  They  have  one  mind  or  judgment,  and  their 
power  and  authority  they  give  to  the  wild  beast.  The 
universal  empire  idea  may  disappear,  but  the  spirit 
and  principle  of  mere  earthliness  will  remain  ;  it  needs 
no  vast  power  like  Rome  to  illustrate  its  spirit.  The 
ten  horns  are  united  in  one  mind ;  they  move  as  the 
wild  beast  directs ;  their  work  and  tendency  of  their 
power  is  hostile  to  Christ.  They  shall  make  war  with 
the  Lamb ;  and  the  Lamb  shall  conquer  them  because 
He  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings.  When  do  these 
powers  make  war  with  the  Lamb  ?  The  answer  is.  they 
make  war  when  the  direction  of  their  j^olicy  and  morals 
is  in  favour  of  oppression,  wrong,  worldliness;  whenever 
nations  or  peoples  allow  the  secular  spirit  to  breathe 
through  all  they  do.  they  are  not  with  Christ,  they  are 
against  Him.  There  are  hints  that  some  "  special  out- 
break "  of  hostility  may  take  place  on  tlie  eve  of  the 
full  manifestation  of  the  righteous  King  and  His 
kingdom  (chap.  xix.  16 — 19);  busy  evil  spirits,  lawless 
utterances,  unbn.therly  federations,  unspiritual  con- 
ceptions, may  pave  the  way  for  such ;  the  groat  crisis 
will  then  come,  when  the  issue  will  be  secularity  and 
spirituality.  It  is  not  necessary  to  define  the  ten 
kings;  the  number  does  not  need  to  be  pres-sed  as 
literal ;  for  in  Hebrew,  "  when  a  whole  was  to  be 
diAnded  into  parts,  ten  was  the  number  commonly 
adopted"  (Biilir,  quoted  by  Dr.  Currey).  The  war  of 
the  ten  kings  against  the  Lamb  is  brought  out  more 
fully  in  chap.  xix.  There  the  King  of  kings  is  seen 
victorious;  in  His  victory  they  who  are  with  Him, 
the  called,  and  chosen,  andfaitiiful,  shall  share.  Tliis 
threefold  description  is  a  brief  summary  of  the 
Christian  life.  This  is  the  only  place  where  St.  John 
employs  the  word  translated  "  called."  (Comp.  Matt. 
XX.  10.*) 

(15)  And  he  said  unto  me  .  .  . — Better,  And  he 
{i.e.,  the  angel  mentioned  in  ver.  1)  saith,  dtc.  The  waters 
on  which  the  harlot  sits  are  explained  as  "  multitudes." 
We  have  thus  a  key  to  the  imagery  employod  here 
and  elsewhere  (chap.' xiii.  1 1.  The  wild  bea.st  and  the 
harlot  both  draw  much  of  their  power  from  the  people. 
The  easily-moved  passions  of  the  fickle  crowd,  its 
generous,  unreasoning  impulses,  are  used  by  subtle 
and  seductive  enemies.  "  Men  never  so  much  need  to 
be  theocratic  as  when  they  are  most  democratic,"  said 
De  Tocqueville.     They  need  to  recognise  God  as  their 


613 


The  great  City. 


EEVELATION,   XVIII. 


The  Fall  of  Babylon. 


sitteth,  are  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and 
nations,  and  tongues,  '^'^^  And  the  ten 
horns  Avhieh  thou  sawest  upon  the 
beast,  these  shall  hate  the  whore,  and 
shall  make  her  desolate  and  naked,  and 
shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with 
fire.  (^''^  For  God  hath  put  in  their 
hearts  to  fulfil  his  will,  and  to  agree, 
and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the 
beast,  until  the  words  of  God  shall 
be  fulfilled.  (^^^  And  the  woman 
which  thou  sawest  is  that  great  city, 


which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the 
earth. 

CHAPTER  XVIIL— (DAnd  after 
these  things  I  saw  another  (-,j^  ^^jj^  ^_ 
angel  come  down  from  24.  The  fail  of 
heaven,having  great  power;  l^^bylon. 
and  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his 
glory.  (2)  And  he  cried  chap,  xviii.  2 
mightily  with  a  strong  —3.  Her  de- 
voice,  saying,  Babylon  «  moraUsation. 
the   great   is   fallen,   is   fallen,   and   is 


King',  then,  most  when  their  new  discovered  strength  is 
likfly  to  be  made  the  tool  of  unscrupulous  ambition. 

(itiJ  And  the  ten  horns.  .  . — Translate,  And  the 
ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  (not,  as  in  English  version, 
"  on  the  beast,"  but),  and  the  wild  beast,  these  shall  hate 
the  harlot.  The  hai-lot  was  seen  in  splendid  apparel 
riding  on  the  wild  beast ;  now  the  wild  beast,  in  the 
day  of  the  seventh  head,  tui'ns  with  the  ten  horns  of 
his  power  upon  her,  makes  her  deserted,  strips  her  of 
her  adornments,  consumes  the  spoil — for  this  is  what  is 
meant  by  '*  eating  her  tlcsh" — and  burns  her  with  fire. 
The  woman  in  the  days  of  the  Evangelist  was  Rome 
(verse  18),  but  great  and  resistless  as  her  power 
seemed,  it  was  doomed  ;  the  day  would  come  when 
other  kingdoms  would  rise  who  would  hate  her  for  her 
tyranny,  envy  her  splendour,  and  covet  her  wealth. 
Then  the  great  Babylon  would  fall,  like  Jezebel  of  old  ; 
the  painted  cheek,  the  pencilled  eyebrow,  and  the 
amorous  glance  have  lost  their  fascination ;  those  who 
have  pandered  to  her  vices  would  turn  against  her,  and 
cast  her  out  to  be  trampled  under  foot.  So  did  the 
Babylon  of  St.  John's  day  fall — perishing  in  the  blood 
that  slio  had  spilt,  or  left  "  childless  and  crownless  in 
her  voiceless  woe." 

(17)  For  God  hath  put.  .  .—Better,  For  God  gave 
it  info  their  hearts  to  do  his  mind,  and  (to  do)  one 
mind,  and  to  give  their  kingdom,  &c.  The  kings  give 
their  kingdom  to  tlie  wild  lieast ;  their  authority  and 
might  is  used  for  him,  whether  in  making  war  upon 
tlie  Lamb  (verse  14)  or  in  casting  down  the  harlot.  In 
these  enterprises  they  act  unitedly ;  there  is  given  to 
them  to  make  "one  mind."  But  they  are  only  carrying 
out  the  righteous  will  of  God  ;  God  wills  that  the  har- 
lot shall  fall ;  and  even  in  their  war  upon  the  Lamb, 
they  are  but  preparing  for  the  crisis  wlien  the  foes  of 
the  righteous  King  shall  fall  (chap.  xix.  19).  Thus 
does  the  wrath  of  man  ever  turn  to  God's  praise. 

(i«)  And  the  woman  which  thou  sawest  .  .  . 
— Read,  And  the  woman  tchnm  thou  sawest  is  (not 
"  that,"  but)  the  great  citii.  which  has  a  kingdom  over 
the  kings  of  the  earth.  With  these  words  the  angel's 
explanation  of  "  tlio  mystery  of  the  woman  "  (see  verso 
7)  ends.  The  harlot  is  a  city;  the  Bal)ylon  of  the  past 
lives  again  in  Rome  ;  the  woman  is  Rome,  the  goddess 
of  lands  and  peoples." 

"  She  who  was  named  Eternal,  and  arrayed 
Her  warriors  but  to  coiKiuor    slic  who  veiled 
Earth  with  her  hauKlily  shadow  and  <lisplayed 
Until  the  o'er  canopied  norizon  failed 
Her  rushing  wings— Oh !  she  who  waa  Almighty  hailed." 

XVIII. 

The  Fall  op  Babylon. — In  tlio  commencement 
of  the  last  chapter  the  angel  (one  of  the  vial-bearing 


angels)  had  promised  to  show  the  seer  the  judgment  of 
tlie  harlot  (verse  1) ;  he  was  accordingly  shown  first  the 
vision  of  the  scarlet- clad  woman  seated  on  the  wild 
beast.  The  seer  was  filled  with  wonder,  and  the  angel 
entered  into  explanation  of  the  mystery  of  the  woman, 
touching  on  her  relation  to  the  beast,  and  her  ultimate 
doom,  and  revealing  to  him  who  she  was.  But  though 
the  angel  has  proclaimed  her  overthrow  in  his  explana- 
tory statement,  the  judgment  of  the  harlot  has  not  been 
seen  in  tlie  vision ;  we  must,  in  fact,  regard  the  portion 
of  the  last  chapter,  from  verse  7  to  the  end,  as  a  kind 
of  parenthesis,  a  pause  in  the  drama  of  vision,  the 
action  of  which  is  resumed  in  chap,  xviii.  Yet  though 
the  dramatic  action  is  taken  up,  we  are  not  shown  in 
vision  her  actual  overthrow  ;  but  we  gather  it  from  the 
four  agencies  which  are  put  forward — the  angel  which 
proclaims  her  moral  fall  (verses  1 — 3) ;  the  voice  from 
the  heaven  which  gives  the  vivid  description  of  her 
sudden  overthrow,  and  of  the  marvellous  sensation  it 
occasioned  (verses  4 — 20) ;  the  angel  winch  tells  the 
irremediable  character  of  her  overthrow  (verses  21 — 
24) ;  and  finally,  the  cliorus  of  the  heavenly  multitude 
rejoicing  over  her  fall  (chap.  xix.  1 — 4). 

(1)  And  after  these  things  .  .  .—Or,  better,  After 
these  things  (omit  "  aud  ")  I  saw  another  angel  coming 
down,  having  great  power  (or,  authority — entrusted  to 
him  for  the  work  against  Babylon) ;  and  the  earth  was 
illumined  by  (literally,  out  of)  his  glory.  The  light 
which  shines  from  the  heavenly  messenger  shines  like 
day  upon  the  tawdry  splendour  of  Babylon,  and  shows 
that  what  was  admired  was  but  worthless  and  coiTupt. 
In  his  brief,  but  rousing  call,  he  proclaims  it  to  be  so. 

(2)  And  he  cried  .  .  . — We  must  omit  "mightily," 
and  render,  And  he  cried  in  a  mighty  voice,  saying, 
Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon  the  great,  and  is  become  an 
habitation  of  demons,  and  a  prison  of  every  unclean 
spirit,  and  a  prison  of  every  unclean  and  hated  bird. 
Those  who  walk  in  darkness,  and  whose  eyes  the  god  of 
this  world  hath  blinded  through  their  lusts,  look  only  on 
the  material  side,  upon  prosperous  times,  large  revenues, 
rapidly  developing  resources.  The  great  city  of  the 
world  looks  fair  and  glorious  in  their  eyes,  and  even 
the  godly  are  dazzled  by  her  beaiity ;  but  wlien  the 
light  of  heaven  shines,  her  fall  is  seen  to  be  inevitable, 
for  she  is  seen  to  be  hateful ;  her  palaces  are  seen  to  be 
prisons,  her  highest  wisdom  little  more  than  low  cun- 
ning, her  most  exalted  intelligence  base-born,  her 
sweetest  songs  discordant  cries  ;  the  evil  spirit,  wel- 
comed back,  has  come  in  seven-fold  power ;  for  the  dry 
places  afford  no  rest  to  those  who  still  love  sin  and  the 
pleasures  of  sin.  The  description  in  this  verse  is  drawn 
largely  from  Isa.  xiii.  21,  22 ;  it  is  a  picture  of  desola- 
tion and  degradation,  but  it  has  its  moral  counterpart. 

614 


The  Dirge  of 


EEVELATION,   XVIII. 


Babylon's  Doom. 


become  the  habitation  of  devils,  and  the 
hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  the  cage  of 
every  unclean  and  hateful  bird.  <^^  For 
all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  w^ine  of  the 
wrath  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings 
of  the  earth  have  committed  fornication 
•with  her,  and  the  merchants  of  the 
earth  are  waxed  rich  through  the  abun- 
dance^ of  her  delicacies.  (^^  And  I  heard 
Chap,  xviii  4—  ^-iiother  voice  from  heaven, 
20.  The  dirge  of  saying.  Come  out  of  her, 
doom.  jjiy  peo2)le,  that  ye  be  not 

partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  re- 
ceive not  of  her  plagues.  (^^  For  her 
sins  have  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God 


1  Or,  pmcer. 
a  lid.  47. 


hath  remembered  her  iniquities.  («)  Re- 
ward her  even  as  she  rewarded  you, 
and  double  unto  her  double  according 
to  her  works  :  in  the  cup  which  she  hath 
filled  fill  to  her  double.  (7)  jj^.^^  much 
she  hath  glorified  herself,  and  lived  de- 
liciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow 
give  her :  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I 
sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  widow,"  and 
shall  see  no  sorrow.  (S)  Therefore  shall 
her  plagues  come  in  one  day,  death,  and 
mourning,  and  famine;  and  she  shall 
be  utterly  burned  with  fire  :  for  strong 
is  the  Lord  God  who  judgeth  her. 
(9)  And   the   kings   of  the   earth,   who 


(3)  For  all  nations  have  drunk  .  .  .—Better, 
Because  by  the  wrath  of  her  fornication  (comp.  chap, 
xiv.  8,  and  Note  there)  all  the  nations  have  clrunh  (or, 
according  to  another  reading,  have  fallen ;  the  readings 
are  akin  :  the  drinking  of  it  leads  to  their  degradation 
and  fall),  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  committed  (not 
"have  committed")  fornication  with  her,  and  the  mer- 
chants of  the  earth  ivaxed  rich  out  of  the  strength  of 
her  luxury.  She  has  been  an  enemy  to  mankind  viewed 
in  three  great  aspects :  nations,  kings,  and  merchants. 
She  has  brouglit  delirium  upon  nations ;  she  has 
reduced  kings ;  she  has  bribed  merchants  :  her  sins  ai-e 
strong  sins ;  with  both  hands  earnestly  has  she  sinned. 

(4—20)  The  voice  out  of  heaven  warns  the  faithful  to 
leave  her,  and  describes  her  fall. 

(4)  Voice  from  heaven  .  .  . — Read,  Voice  oeit  of 
heaven,  saying.  Come  forth  out  of  her,  my  peoj^le, 
that  ye  partake  not  in  her  sins,  and  that  of  her 
plagues  ye  receive  not.  The  voice  is  not  said  to 
be  that  of  another  angel.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say 
whose  voice  it  is ;  that  it  is  a  voice  of  divine  love 
giving  warning  is  enough.  The  coming  forth  is  not 
to  be  understood  of  a  bodily  exodus  from  Rome. 
It  is  rather  the  warning  which  is  so  needful  in  every 
corrupt  state  of  society,  to  have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness ;  to  practise  that  sei)ara- 
tion  from  tlie  spirit  of  tlie  world  which  is  essential  lest 
"we  should  be  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  its  sinful 
habits.  This  duty  of  sepaivition  may  sometimes  lead 
to  a  literal  exodus,  and  even  under  the  pressure  of  over- 
whelming necessity  to  secession  from  a  world-corrupted 
church ;  but  the  jeopardy  lies  in  attachment  to  the 
world-spirit  (1  John  ii.  15).  The  parallel  warnings  in 
Jer.  li.  6,  45,  and  Zech.  ii.  6,  7,  should  be  read  ;  but  the 
story  of  Lot  in  Sodom  best  illustrates  tlie  sjiirit  of  tlie 
passage  (Gen.  xix.),  for  it  is  participation  in  sin  which 
is  to  be  primarily  guarded  against. 

(5)  For  her  sins  have  reached  .  .  .—Better,  For 
her  sins  have  reached  as  far  as  licavcu.  The  idea  is  of 
a  great  heap  firmly  fastened,  and  towering,  like  another 
Babel,  as  far  as  heaven.  (Comp.  2  Clirou.  xxviii.  9,  and 
Ezra  ix.  6.)  The  idea  is  more  than  that  of  the  crj*  of 
sin  reaching  heaven,  as  in  the  case  of  Sodom  (Gen.  xviii. 
20,21);  the  sins  themselves,  many  and  imperial,  have 
touched  the  face  of  heaven.  God  hatli  remembered  her. 
(Comp.  chap.  xvi.  19).  Sometimes  the  oppressed  have 
thouglit  that  God  had  forgotten  the  voice  of  tlie  enemy 
(Ps.  Ixxiv.  10 — 23) ;  but  trie  long-sufiering  of  the  Lord 
is  salvation  (2  Pet.  iii.  8 — 15). 


615 


(6)  Reward  her  even  as  she  rewarded  .  .  . — 

The  same  voice  which  bids  the  people  of  God  come 
forth,  summons  the  agents  of  vengeance.  Chap.  xvii. 
16  tells  whence  these  may  arise.  Read,  Give  back 
to  her,  as  she  herself  also  gave  back  (the  word  "you" 
should  be  omitted ;  it  is  not  the  saints,  or  those  who 
have  suffered  from  her,  that  are  called  to  repay  her), 
and  double  (the)  double  according  to  her  works;  in  the 
cup  in  ivhich  she  mingled,  mingle  for  her  double. 
Many  Old  Testament  parallels  will  suggest  themselves 
(Jer.  li.  18;  Ps.  Ixxix.  12 ;  cxxxvii.  8  ;  and  Isa.  xl.  2). 
The  "double"  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  double 
her  sins ;  her  sins  are  themselves  called  double,  and 
her  judgment  is  according  to  her  sins.  She  is  double- 
stained  in  wickedness,  and  "the  law  of  retribution 
fiercely  works  "  in  her.  The  cup  of  her  luxuriousness 
becomes  the  cup  of  vengeance.'  (Comp.  chaji.  xiv.  8; 
xvii.  4;  and  verse  3.)  The  flowery  path  "  has  led  to  the 
broad  gate  and  the  gfi-eat  fire." 

(")  The  thought  of  retribution  is  carried  on  in  this 
verse.  It  should  not  read,  "  How  much  .  .  .,"  but, 
In  as  many  things  as  she  glorified  herself  and  luxu- 
riated, so  much  give  to  her  torment  and  grief  ;  because 
in  her  heart  she  saith  (comp.  Ps.  xlix.  11 ;  Liike  xiv.  30), 
I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  not  a  widow,  and  shall  never  see 
sorrotv.  The  words  are  echoes  of  proi>hecies  agjiinst  old 
Babylon  (Isa.  xlvii.  7 — 9)  and  Tyre    Ezek.  xxviii.  2). 

(8)  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  .  .  .— 
Read,  For  this  cattse  in  one  day  sliall  come  her  plagues, 
death  and  mourning  .  .  .  and  with  fire  shall  she  be 
bui-nt,  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God  uho  judged  her. 
God,  the  mighty  God.  lias  passed  sentence.  She  thought 
herself  strong;  she  forgot  the  strength  of  the  Almighty. 
Her  plagues  are  four-fold,  as  thougli  from  every  qujirter 
her  trouble  came:  "death  for  her  scorn  of  the  prospect 
of  widowhood  ;  mourning,  for  her  inordinate  revelling ; 
famine,  for  her  abundance ;  "  and  fire,  the  punishment 
of  her  fornication  (Lev.  xx.  14;  xxi.  9).  (Comp.  the 
series  of  contrasts  in  Isa.  iii.  24—20.) 

The  Lament  of  the  Kings  (verses  9,  10). — 
(Their  words  of  lament  are  given  in  verse  lU.) 

(9)  And  the  kings  of  the  earth  .  .  .  .—Read, 

And  there  sliall  irecp  and  moiirn  over  Iter  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  who  icith  her  cinnniitted  fornication  and  luxu- 
riated, when  they  see  the  smoke  of  her  burning,  stand' 
ing  afar  off  because  of  the  fear  of  her  torment,  saying. 
Woe,  woe,  the  great  city,  Babylon  the  strong  city ; 
because  in  one  hour  is  come  thy  judgment.  Kings, 
merchants   (verses  11—17),   shippers  (verses  17 — 19) 


The  Lamrnt  of 


REVELATION,   XVIII. 


the  Kings  of  the  Earth. 


have  committed  fornication  and  lived 
deliciously  with  her,  shall  bewail  her, 
and  lament  for  her,  Avhen  they  shall  see 
the  smoke  of  her  burning,  (^"^  standing 
afar  olf  for  the  fear  of  her  torment, 
saying,  Alas,  alas  that  great  city  Baby- 
lon, that  mighty  city !  for  in  one  hour 
is  thy  judgment  come.  <^^^  And  the 
merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep  and 
mourn  over  her;  for  no  man  buyeth 
their  merchandise    any   more :    <^^^  the 


1  Or,  sweet. 


a  Ex.  80.  23; 
Piov.  7.  17 
Cant.  4.  U. 


merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and 
precious  stones,  and  of  pearls,  and  fine 
linen,  and  purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet, 
and  all  thyine^  w^ood,  and  all  manner 
vessels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels 
of  most  precious  wood,  and  of  brass, 
and  iron,  and  marble,  ^^^^  and  cinnamon," 
and  odours,  and  ointments,  and  frank- 
incense, and  wine,  and  oil,  and  fine 
flour,  and  wheat,  and  beasts,  and  sheep, 
and  horses,  and  chariots,  and  slaves,^ 


join  in  lamenting  the  overthrow  of  the  great  city ;  all 
stand  afar  off,  as  tlioiigh  fearing  to  be  involved  in  her 
ruin;  all  cry,  "Woe"  [or,  Alas !)  at  the  beginning  of 
tlii'ir  lament;  and  at  the  close  the  words,  "in  one  hour," 
telling  the  suddenness  of  the  gi'eat  city's  overthrow, 
recur  (verses  10,  17,  19)  with  tlio  monotony  of  a  pass- 
ing l)ell  heard  at  intervals  amid  the  strains  of  sad  music. 
Tlio  parallel  passages  in  Ezek.  xxn.  15,  16;  xxvii.  35, 
should  be  compared.  The  grief  described  is  the  result 
of  fear  mingled  with  selfishness;  the  mourners  re- 
member with  a  regret,  only  tempered  with  terror,  the 
voluptuous  life,  the  quick-growing  pi'ofits,  and  the 
varied  commercial  advantages  which  they  have  lost  in 
her  ovei'throw. 

The  Lament  of  the  Merchants  (verses  11 — 17). 
— The  lament  proper,  that  is,  the  actual  words  put  in 
the  mouths  of  the  merchants,  is  contained  in  verses  16, 
17.  Tlie  immediately  preceding  verses  describe  the 
various  kinds  of  merchandise  which  were  dealt  in. 

(11-1.3)  And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  .  .  .— 

Better,  llie  merchants  of  the  earth  weep  and  mourn 
(not  "  shall  weep;  "  the  vividness  of  the  description  is 
intensified  by  the  use  of  the  present  tense)  over  her  ; 
because  their  cargo  no  one  bityeth  any  longer — the  cargo 
of  gold,  &c.  The  list  of  the  cargoes  and  merchandise 
is  not  without  arrangement.  The  various  goods  are 
placed  in  groups.  The  treasures  come  first — gold, 
silver,  precious  stones,  and  pearls.  The  soft  goods  used 
for  raiment  are  ])laced  next— fine  linen,  purple,  silk  and 
scarlet;  in  the  description  of  Dives,  clothed  in  purple 
and  fine  linen  {Byssus,  the  same  word  as  here),  we  have 
a  suggestive  resemblance.  Materials  used  in  giving 
splendour  to  the  furnishing  of  houses  come  next. 
Thyine  wood,  and  every  article  (vessel,  as  in  the 
English  ver-sion,  is  liardly  wide  enough  in  meaning) 
of  ivory,  costly  wood,  brass,  iron,  and  nuirble.  The 
thyine  wood  was  derived  probably  from  a  kind  of 
citron-tree  of  African  growth ;  the  wood  was  sweet- 
scented,  and  was  a  favourite  wood  for  doors,  panels, 
and  ceilings;  its  rich  brown  hue  was  often  relieved  by 
inlaid  ivory.  To  articles  used  in  furniture  aromatics 
succeed.  Cinnamon,  amomum  (this  is  omitted  in  the 
English  version,  but  authority  is  in  favour  of  its 
insertion),  odours,  ointments,  and  frankincense.  Cin- 
namon, on  its  use.  comp.  Ex.  xxx.  2,  3;  it  was  one  of 
the  perfumes  employed  to  enhance  the  delight  of  the 
voluptuary  (Prov.  vii.  17).  It  is  doubtfid  whether  it  is 
the  same  as  our  modern  cinnamon.  Anionuun,  a  kind 
of  sweet-scented  shrub,  yielding  an  ointment  much 
used  for  the  hair.  Odours,  employed  in  incense.  Next 
come  ai-ticles  of  food — wine,  oil,  fine  meal,  wheat, 
cattle,  and  sheep.  Then  come  the  equipages — horses 
and  chariots.     The  chariot  {rheda)  was  a  vehicle  much 


616 


used  in  Rome  by  the  wealthy  classes.  Lastly,  the  trafl&c 
in  human  beings  closes  the  list.  Slaves  (literally, 
bodies,  and  souls  of  men.  There  is  perhaps  an  allusion 
specially  to  those  slaves  who  were  attached  to  the 
chariots  or  litters  used  by  the  rich.  The  traffic  in  slaves 
("  persons  of  men  ")  is  mentioned  as  pai-t  of  the  com- 
merce of  Tyre  (Ezek.  xxvii.  13).  The  number  of  slaves 
in  Rome  was  enormous.  "  Souls  of  men."  The  climax 
of  wicked  worldliuess  is  reached  in  this  last;  it  gives 
the  finishing  touch  to  the  jjicture  of  society  wholly 
engrossed  in  pleasure  and  indolence  and  selfishness, 
which  lays  every  market  under  tribute  to  add  to  its 
luxuriousness,  and  sacrifices  not  only  the  happiness,  but 
the  lives  and  liberties  of  their  fellow-creatures,  to  their 
own  enjoyment.  It  has  been  said  that  the  general 
description  here  does  not  suit  Rome,  as  Rome  never 
was,  and  never  could  be,  a  commercial  centre;  but  the 
picture  is  designed  to  show  the  corrupt  luxury  and 
voluptuousness  of  society  in  great  Babylon,  not  neces- 
sarily the  accumulated  merchandize  of  a  great  com- 
mercial city.  The  various  wares  are  "  for  her  use  and 
consumption,"  not  for  her  to  sell.  AH  the  avenues 
from  every  distant  spot  of  the  earth  found  their  focus 
in  Rome ;  her  existence,  her  political  supi'emacy,  and 
her  luxuriousness  of  living,  created  and  sustained  all 
the  commercial  actiA-ity  here  described;  with  her  fall, 
the  hope  of  their  gains  passed  from  the  merchants 
of  the  earth.  Compare  the  language  of  Gibbon : — 
"  The  most  remote  countries  of  the  ancient  world  were 
ransacked  to  supply  the  jiomp  and  delicacy  of  Rome. 
The  forests  of  Scj-thia  afforded  some  valuable  furs; 
amber  was  brought  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  and 
the  Danube ;  and  the  barbarians  were  astonished  at 
the  price  which  they  received  for  so  useless  a  com- 
modity. There  was  a  considerable  demand  for  Baby- 
lonian carpets  and  other  manufactures  of  the  East;  but 
the  most  important  and  unpopular  branch  of  foreign 
trade  was  carried  on  with  Arabia  and  India.  Every 
year,  about  the  time  of  the  summer  solstice,  a  fleet  of  an 
hundred  and  twenty  vessels  sailed  from  Myos-hormos, 
a  port  of  Eg)7)t  on  the  Red  Sea.  The  coast  of  Malabar 
or  the  island  of  Ceylon  was  the  usual  term  of  their 
navigation,  and  it  was  in  those  markets  that  the  mer- 
chants from  the  more  remote  countries  of  Asia  expected 
their  arrival.  The  return  of  the  fleet  was  fixed  to 
the  months  of  December  or  January ;  and  as  soon  as 
their  rich  cargo  had  been  transported  on  the  backs  of 
canuds,  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Nile,  and  had  de- 
scended that  river  as  far  as  Alexandria,  it  was  poured 
without' delay  into  the  capital  of  the  Empire.  The 
oljjects  of  Oriental  traffic  were  splendid  and  trifling : 
silk,  a  pound  of  which  was  esteemed  in  value  not 
infei-ior  to  a  pound  of  gold ;  precious  stones  also, 
among  which  the  pearl  claimed  the  first  rank  after 
the  diamond,  and  a  variety  of  aromatics  that  were  con- 


Babylon  and  her 


EEVELATION,   XVIIL 


2')nst  greatness. 


and  souls  of  men.  ^^^^  And  the  fruits 
that  thy  soul  lusted  after  are  departed 
from  thee,  and  all  things  Avliich  were 
dainty  and  goodly  are  departed  from 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  find  them  no  more 
at  all.  (^-'^  The  merchants  of  these 
things,  which  were  made  rich  by  her, 
shall  stand  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her 
torment,  weeping  and  wailing.  ^^^^  And 
saying,  Alas,  alas  that  great  city,  that 
was  clothed  in  fine  linen,  and  jjurple, 
and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and 
precious  stones,  and  pearls  !  (^''^  For  in 
one   hour   so   great   riches  is  come  to 


nought.  And  every  shipmaster,  and  all 
the  company  in  ships,  and  sailors,  and 
as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood  afar  off, 
(^^^  and  cried  when  they  saw  the  smoke 
of  her  burning,  saying,  What  city  is 
like  unto  this  great  city  !  (^^J  And  they 
cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  cried, 
weeping  and  wailing,  saying,  Alas,  alas 
that  great  city,  wherein  Avere  made  rich 
all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea  by  reason 
of  her  costliness !  for  in  one  hour  is  she 
made  desolate.  ^^^^  Rejoice  over  her, 
thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and 
prophets  ;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on 


sumed  in  religious  worship  aud  the  pomp  of  funerals. 
The  labour  and  risk  of  the  voyage  was  rewarded  with 
almost  incredible  profits ;  but  the  profits  were  made 
upon  Roman  subjects,  and  a  few  individuals  were  en- 
riched at  the  expense  of  the  public  "  (Gibbon's  Decline 
and  Fall,  vol.  i.,  chap.  ii.). 

(14)  Directly  addressed  to  Babylon  herself. 

And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  .  .  .  — Eather, 
And  the  fruits  (or,  the  harvest)  of  the  desire  of  thy  soul 
(that,  namely,  which  thy  soul  lusteth  after)  departed 
(not  "  are  departed  :  "  the  word  expresses  the  thought 
that  these  things  "  departed  once  for  all '  ')fro7n  thee,  and 
all  things  that  are  rich  and  that  are  glorious  perish  from 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  not  find  them  any  inore.  The 
descriptive  passage  is  interrupted  by  this  verse,  in 
which  Babylon  herself  is  addressed.  It  is  in  harmony 
with  the  fervour  of  the  whole  chapter  that  the  descrip- 
tive tone  should  for  a  moment  give  place  to  this  apos- 
trophe. The  fruits  to  which  the  eye  of  desire  had 
looked  so  longingly  as  to  a  harvest  of  delight  departed. 
The  desire  of  the  wicked  has  perished. 

(15—17)  The  merchants  of  these  things  .  .  . — 
The  description  is  resumed.  The  merchants  stand  like 
the  kings  (see  verse  10)  afar  ofB,  because  of  the 
fear  of  her  torment,  sajnng,  "  Woe  !  woe  !  (or,  alas  ! 
alas ! )  the  great  city,  because  in  one  hour  so  great 
wealth  was  desolated."  The  words  of  this  lamentation 
are  parallel  to  the  lament  of  the  kings,  the  only  differ- 
ence is  characteristic — they  bewail  the  sudden  decay 
of  the  wealth.  On  the  fine  linen  aud  purple,  comp. 
verse  12,  and  Luke  xvi.  19. 

The  Lament  of  the  Shipmasters  (verses  17 — 
19). — On  the  whole  passage  read  Ezek.  xxvii.  32,  &c, 

(17, 18)  And  every  shipmaster  .  .  .  .—Or.  better. 
And  every  shipmaster,  and  every  one  who  sails  for  a 
place,  and  sailors,  and  all  who  work  the  .sea,  .stood  afar 
off,  and  cried  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  her  burning, 
saying.  Who  is  like  the  great  city  ?  With  this 
expression  compare  the  similar  one  applied  to  the 
beast  (chap.  xiii.  4).  It  is  the  outcry  of  those  who  call 
to  mind,  with  pain,  a  glory  tliat  was  great,  but  now  is 
gone.  It  is  not  to  be  taken  as  meaning  "what  city  has 
suffered  as  she  has?"  but  rather  is  it  the  nn'ollectiou 
of  her  former  splendour — "  how  gfreat  she  was,"  This 
lingering  of  the  mind  over  delights  now  vanished  is 
one  subtle  element  of  miseiy.  So  the  hapless  Fraucesca 
thought — 

"  There  is  no  greater  woe. 

Than  to  remember  days  of  happiness 

Amid  aflUction."— /;i/;  v.  121-3. 


(19)  And  they  cast  dust  .  .  .—Comp.  Ezek.  xxvii. 

30.  The  casting  of  dust  or  earth  on  the  head  is  a  token 
of  sorrow  and  humiliation ;  it  bears  relation  to  the 
sitting  in  the  dust.  The  one  upon  whom  the  sorrow  had 
fallen  sat  in  the  dust  or  ashes.  The  attitude  expressed 
that  he  had  been  brought  very  low,  even  to  the  ground. 
The  mourning  friends  who  came  round  him  cast  dust 
on  their  heads  to  express  that  the)'  shared  his  sorrow. 
Thus  it  is  related  of  Job :  Job  sat  in  the  ashes  (Job  ii. 
8) ;  the  friends  who  came  to  comfort  him  sprinkled 
dust  upon  their  heads  towards  heaven  (verse  12).  So 
in  this  place,  Babylon  has  been  brought  low  (comp.  Isa. 
xlvii.  1) ;  the  mourners,  whose  gaius  sink  with  her  fall, 
throw  dust  upon  their  heads. 

(19)  Alas !  alas !  that  great  city  .  .  .—The  lament 
is  parallel  with  the  laments  of  the  kings  and  the  mer. 
chants ;  the  difference  is  the  appropriate  reference  to 
the  destruction  of  the  shipping  interests.  Woe  I  woe  ! 
(or,  Alas  !  alas .')  the  great  city,  in  which  all  who  had 
their  vessels  on  the  sea  grew  rich  out  of  hei'  costliness, 
By  her  "  costliness  "  we  are  to  understand  her  extra- 
vagances of  living,  and  the  splendour  of  her  palaces, 
which  drew  materials  fi-om  all  ports  of  the  world.  Tlie 
lament  ends  with  the  repeated  cry,  '•  in  one  hour." 
Because  in  one  hour  she  was  desolated. 

The  Call  to  the  Holy  to  Rejoice. 

(20)  Rejoice  over  her  .  .  .  .—Better,  Rejoice  over 
her,  0  heaven,  and  the  saints,  and  the  apostles,  and  the 
prophets,  because  God  has  judged  your  judgment  on 
(or,  out  of)  her.  The  second  portion  of  the  cliapter 
closes  with  this  invitatitm  to  the  saints  to  rejoice  :  they 
are  summoned  to  rejoice  because  the  law  of  retribution 
has  worked  on  her.  Your  judgment  (it  is  sjiid  to  the 
saints)  is  judged  on  her.  This  does  not  mean  a  judg- 
ment which  the  saints  have  dei  ived.  but  the  judgment 
which  Babylonwrought  on  thcholy  is  now  exacted  from 
her  (comp.  verse  6.and  ciiaps.  vi.  lO.and  xiii.  10).  Heaven, 
and  every  cla.ss  of  those  wlioso  citizi'nship  has  been  iu 
lieaven,  are  bidden  by  the  heavenly  voice  to  rejoice. 
The  covetous  and  the  worldly  mourn ;  their  minds  were 
set  upon  a  material  glory,  wiiich  has  slipped  away  from 
tlieir  grasp.  All  saintly  souls,  whose  affections  have 
been  towards  rijjrhteousness  and  tlie  rijjhteous  King, 
can  rejoice;  for  the  weallli  of  holiness  is  iinperishal)le, 
and  the  fall  of  Babylon  is  the  removal  of  one  va.st 
hindrance  to  holiness.  It  lias  been  argued  that  the 
verse  represents  the  Apostles  to  be  in  heaven,  aud 
from  this  it  has  been  inferred  that  the  twelve  nnist 
have  all  died  before  the  Apocalypse  was  written,  and.  if 
so,  St.  Jolm  was  not  the  writer.     The  verse,  however. 


617 


Babyhn^s  Doom 


REVELATION,   XIX. 


shall  he  final. 


her.  ^-^)  And  a  miglity  angel  took  up  a 
„,  ...    oi  stone  like  a  ofreat  millstone, 

Chap.  xvni.   21  .      •,     •     .        -i 

—2k  Her  fall  and  cast  it  into  the  sea, 
isiinal.  Saying,  Thus  with  violence 

shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown 
down,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all. 
<--'  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  musi- 
cians, and  of  pipers,  and  trumpeters, 
shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ; 
and  no  craftsman,  of  whatsoever  craft 
he  he,  shall  be  found  any  more  in  thee; 
and  the  sound  of  a  millstone  shall  be 
hoard  no  more  at  all  in  thee ;  ^-^^  and 
the  light  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no 
more  at  all  in  thee ;  and  the  voice  of 
the  bridegroom  and  of  the  bride  shall 


be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee :  for 
thy  merchants  were  the  great  men  of 
the  earth ;  for  by  thy  sorceries  were  all 
nations  deceived.  (^^^  And  in  her  was 
found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of 
saints,  and  of  all  that  were  slain  upon 
the  earth. 

CHAPTEE    XIX.— W  And    after 
these  thinofs  I  heard  a  great  ^,         •    -,    a 

„    ='        ,  f      .       Chap.  XIX.  1—4. 

voice    OI    much    people    m  The  joy  of  the 

heaven,    saying.   Alleluia;  M^Ye""^^  °^^^" 
Salvation,  and  glory,  and 
honour,  and  power,  unto  the  Lord  our 
God :  (2^  for  true  and  righteous  are  his 
judgments :  for  he  hath  judged  the  great 


has  no  reference  whatever  to  the  question :  it  is  not 
meant  to  state  who  have  passed  into  lieaven  and  who 
liave  not :  it  is  simply  a  summons  to  all  who  have 
fought  on  the  side  of  their  Lord  to  rejoice  at  the 
removal  of  one  of  the  great  obstacles  to  the  mani- 
festation of  Christ's  kingdom.  Tims  do  all  holy  men, 
whether  on  earth  or  heaven,  joy  when  any  giant  evil  is 
swept  away. 

The   Irremediable    Overthrow    op    Babylon 
symbolically  declared. 

f-1)  And  a  mighty  angel  .  .  .— Tlie  taking  up  of 
the  stone  and  casting  it  into  the  waters  is  a  symbol 
drawn  from  Jeremiah  (chap.  li.).  Jeremiah  enjoined 
Seraiah  to  bind  the  prophetic  roll  to  a  great  stone,  and 
cast  them  together  into  the  Euphrates.  The  meaning 
of  the  act  was  explained — "  Thus  shall  Babylon  sink 
and  shall  not  rise,"  &c.  (Jer.  li.  63,  64).  The  great 
dead  mass,  sinking  helplessly  by  the  law  of  its  own 
weight,  signified  a  fall  i>ast  recovery.  So  Pharaoh  and 
his  host  sank  like  lead  in  the  mighty  waters.  It  is  the 
doom  Christ  foresliadowed  as  awaiting  those  who 
caused  His  children  to  fall  (Matt.  x\'iii.  6).  The  mighty 
angel,  strong  to  lift  the  ponderous  stone,  throws  it  into 
the  sea.  saying.  Thus  with  violence  (or,  with  a  bound) 
shall  Babylon,  the  great  city,  be  thrown,  and  shall  not 
be  found  any  more.  At  one  bound,  without  a  single 
resting-stage  in  its  downward  career,  without  chance  or 
power  of  recovery,  the  vast  world-city  would  fall.  She 
who  sat  as  a  queen  upon  many  waters,  sinks  as  a  stone  in 
the  mighty  waters.  She  will  not  be  found  any  more. 
The  woi'ds  "  any  more,"  or  "  no  more,"  are  repeated  in 
these  verses  no  less  than  six  times,  like  a  funeral  knell 
over  the  departed  greatness  which  is  described. 

(22, 23)  And  the  voice  of  harpers  .  .  .—Better, 
the  sound  .  .  .  The  sounds  of  mirth  and  triumph,  &c., 
cease  :  the  sound  of  harpers,  and  musicians,  aiid  flute- 
players,  and  trumpeters,  shall  not  he  heard  in  thee 
ANY  MORE  :  the  power  of  wealth  has  gone ;  her  own 
right  hand  has  forgotten  her  cunning  :  every  craftsman 
of  every  craft  shall  not  be  found  in  thee  ANY  more  : 
the  sound  of  grinding  the  com  is  at  an  end:  the  sound 
of  millstone  shall  not  be  heard  in  thee  any  more  :  the 
cheerful  lamps  of  homo  and  feast  are  extinguished  : 
light  of  lamjy  shall  not  shine  in  thee  ANY  more:  the 
sounds  of  domestic  joy  are  silenced  :  voice  of  bridegroom 
and  of  bride  shall  not  be  heard  in  thee  ANY  MORE.  The 
words  are  an  echo  of  earlier  prophecy :  "  I  destroy  from 
them  the  voice  of  mirth,  and  the  voice  of  gladness,  the 


618 


voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  voice  of  the  bride, 
the  sound  of  the  millstones,  and  the  light  of  the  candle." 
It  was  thus  Jeremiah  warned  Jerusalem  of  her  coming 
doom  (chap.  xxv.  10).  Now  the  same  judgments  are 
pronounced  against  the  foe  of  the  trae  Jerusalem. 

(23)  For  thy  merchants  were  the  great  .  .  . — 
The  judgment  does  not  fall  because  the  merchants  were 
great :  it  is  the  sorcery  of  the  next  clause  which  is  the 
true  cause  of  her  fall :  the  merchants  are  those  who 
traded  with  her,  as  well  as  those  who  dwelt  in  her : 
by  "her  sorceries"  we  must  understand  her  artful 
policy,  her  attractiveness,  and  the  seductions  by  which 
she  drew  into  the  meshes  of  her  worldliness  and  sin  the 
nations  around.  "  In  thy  sorcery  were  all  the  nations 
led  astray"  (chap.  xiii.  14). 

(2i)  And  in  her  was  found  .  .  .—It  is  not  by 
seductiveness  only  that  her  guilt  is  measured :  her 
hands  are  defiled  with  blood :  the  blood  of  prophets, 
who  had  witnessed  against  her :  of  saints,  whose  holy 
lives  were  a  protest  against  her  sins,  and  so  hateful  to 
her ;  and  "  of  all  who  have  been  slain  on  the  earth." 
(Comp.  chap.  xvii.  6,  and  Note  there.)  It  is  not  meant 
that  literally  all  the  blood  shed  by  violence  had  been 
shed  by  Rome,  or  any  other  single  city  of  which 
Babylon  is  type :  all  that  is  meant  is  that  Babylon, 
the  world  city,  is  founded  on  those  principles,  the 
logical  outcome  of  which  is  violence,  bloodshed,  and 
hostility  to  the  highest  right  :  those  who  die  by  her 
hands,  few  or  many,  are  the  evidence  that  the  whole 
tendency  of  her  power  is  against  holiness  and  truth. 
In  the  earthly  view,  we  are  guilty  of  the  acts  we  do : 
in  the  heavenly  view,  we  are  guilty  of  all  that  the  spirit 
and  sin  of  our  conduct  tends  to  do.  The  spirit  of  trans- 
gression is  seen  in  one  act  as  well  as  in  many,  and  as  it 
is  the  attitude  of  the  spirit  that  God  looks  upon,  so  in 
a  single  act  may  be  gathered  up  the  transgression  of 
the  whole  law.  (Comp.  chap.  xvii.  6,  and  Note  there ; 
see  also  Jas.  ii.  10).  It  is  the  fatal  failure  to  perceive 
this  which  leads  man  to  make  light  of  sin,  and  to  under- 
value the  Cross  of  Christ. 

XIX. 

The  Chorus  of  the  Heavenly  Multitude 
Rejoicing  over  Her  Fall. 

(1—3)  And  after  these  things  I  heard  .  .  . — 
Or,  I  heard,  as  it  were,  a  mighty  voice  of  a  great  mul- 
titude in  the  heaven,  saying.  The  saints  who  were 
bidden  in  the  last  chapter  to  rejoice  are  now  heard 


The  Joy  of  the 


EEVELATION,   XIX. 


Heavenly  Multitude. 


whore,  which  did  corrupt  the  earth  with 
her  fornication,  and  hath  avenged  the 
blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand. 
(^^  And  again  they  said,  Alleluia.  And 
her  smoke  rose  uj)  for  ever  and  ever. 
(■^^  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  and 
the  four  beasts  fell  down  and  worshipped 
God  that  sat  on  the  throne,  saying, 
Amen ;  Alleluia.  (^^  And  a  voice  came 
out  of  the  throne,  saying,  Praise  our 
God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that 
fear  him,  both  small  and  great.    (^^  And 


I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great 
multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty 
thunderings,  saying,  Alleluia:  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth.  ^"'  Let 
us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour 
to  him  :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb 
is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made  herself 
ready.  (^^  And  to  her  was  granted  that 
she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  linen, 
clean  and  white :  for  the  fine  linen  is 
the  righteousness  of  saints.     ^^^  And  he 


raising  their  songs  as  in  one  great  voice  of  praise.  Tlie 
song  is  as  follows  : — 

Alleluia ! 
The  salvation,  and  the  glory,  and  the  power 

Are  our  God's, 
Because  true  and  righteous  are  His  judgments. 
Because  He  judged  the  great  harlot,  who  corrupted  the 

earlh  in  her  fornication, 
And  avenged  the  blood  of  His  servants  out  of  her  hand. 
Alleluia. 

This  last "  Alleluia  "  clearly  belongs  to  the  song  or  chorus. 
It  is  separated  from  the  body  of  it  by  the  descriptive 
words  (verse  3),  And  again  they  said.  Alleluia;  or 
better,  and  a  second  time  they  have  said.  The 
Evangelist,  as  he  writes,  seems  to  hear  once  more 
the  strains  of  the  anthem :  he  writes  down  the  words, 
and,  as  the  final  "Alleluia"  bursts  forth  after  a  musical 
pause,  he  writes,  "  once  more  they  have  said  Alleluia." 
The  word  Alleluia  occurs  in  this  passage  no  less  than 
four  times  (verses  1,  3,  4,  6) :  it  is  nowhere  else  used  in 
the  New  Testament ;  but  it  is  familiar  to  us  in  tlie 
Psalms,  as  fifteen  of  them  begin  or  end  with  "  Praise 
ye  the  Lord,"  or  "Hallelujah;"  and  the  genius  of  Handel 
has  enshrined  the  word  in  imperishable  music.  The 
song  here  does  not  begin  with  ascribing  "  salvation, 
&c.,"  to  God,  as  the  English  version  suggests  :  it  rather 
affirms  the  fact :  the  salvation,  &c.,  is  God's.  It  is  the 
echo  of  the  ancient  utterance — "  Salvation  belongeth 
unto  God."  It  is  the  triumphant  affirmation  of  the 
truth  by  which  the  Church  and  children  of  God  had 
sustained  their  struggling  petitions,  as  they  closed  the 
prayer  which  Christ  Himself  had  taught  them,  saying, 
when  too  often  it  seemed  to  be  otherwise,  "  Thine  is  the 
kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory."  So  here  they 
give  a  threefold  praise:  the  salvation,  and  the  glory,  and 
tlie  power  are  all  God's.  The  manifestation  of  His 
power  is  in  the  deliverance  of  His  cliildreu  from  the 
evil,  from  the  great  harlot,  and  in  tlie  avenging  the 
blood  of  His  servants  out  of  her  hand.  "  forcing,  as  it 
were,  out  of  her  hand  tlie  price  of  their  blood." 

(■*)  And  the  four  and  twenty  .  .  .—Tlie  twenty- 
four  elders,  the  representatives  of  the  Church,  and  tlie 
four  living  beings,  the  representatives  of  nature,  fell 
down  and  worshipped  God  who  sitteth  (not  "sat."  as 
in  the  English  version)  on  the  throne.  These,  too,  join 
in  the  chonis  of  praise. 

(5—7)  And  a  voice  came. — From  the  direction  of 
the  throne  there  came  a  voice  bidding  all  God's  servants 
rejoice.  "We  are  not  told  whose  voice  it  is.  Some  have 
assumed  that  it  is  Christ's :  it  is  better  to  leave  it  inde- 
finite. In  response  to  the  bidding,  the  voice  of  praise  is 
heard  (like  the  voice  spoken  of  in  chap.  xiv.  2),  as  it 
were,  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude ;  and.  as  it  were, 
the  voice  of  many  waters ;  and.  as  it  were,  the  voice  of 
mighty  thunders.     All  nature's  tones  seem  mingled  in 


this  voice  of  praise :  it  is  human,  it  is  majestic  as  the 
sea,  and  glorious  as  the  thimder. 

The  Anthem. 

Alleluia ! 
For  the  Lord  reigned. 

The  God,  the  Almighty. 
Let  us  rejoice  and  exult. 
And  we  will  give  the  glory  to  Him, 
Because  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come. 
And  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready. 

In  this  anthem  the  word  for  "  reigneth  "  is  not  in  the 
present  tense,  as  in  the  English  version  ;  but,  though  it 
is  translated  here  "  reigned,"  we  must  not  understand 
it  of  the  past  only :  it  expresses  the  exultation  of  the 
servants  of  God  that  the  Kingship  of  their  God  is  mani- 
fested, and  A-indicated  against  those  who  denied,  or  hated 
His  rule.  His  reign  never  ceased ;  and  He  has  sliowed 
that  His  was  a  real  sovereignty.  Their  joy  rises  also  from 
the  prospect  of  the  nearer  union  between  the  Lamb  and 
His  Bride.  This  close  union  is  more  fuUy  spoken  of 
later :  here  the  glorious  close  is  for  a  moment  antici- 
pated :  the  morning  glow  announces  the  coming  day : 
it  is  near  even  at  the  doors.  The  image  of  the  marriage 
is  familiar.  It  entered  into  our  Lord's  parable  (Matt, 
xxii.  2 — 10;  XXV.  1 — 10) :  we  catch  it  in  the  Psalms  and 
in  the  Epistles  (Ps.  xlv.,  and  Eph.  v.  23,  30 ;  2  Cor. 
xi.  2.) 

(8)  And  to  her  was  granted  .  .  .—Better,  And 
it  ivas  given  to  her  that  she  should  he  clothed  in  fine 
linen,  bright,  pure ;  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteous- 
ness (or,  righteousnesses;  the  word  is  plural)  of  the 
saints.  This  verse  is  not  to  be  taken  as  part  of  the 
song.  The  song  closes  with  the  announcement  that  the 
Lamb's  wife  has  made  herself  ready.  Then  follows  tlie 
explanation  of  this  readiness :  she  is  adorned  in  fine 
linen.  Her  apparel  is  in  contrast  to  the  harlot :  it  is 
not  purjile  and  scarlet  (cliaps.  xvii.  4  and  xviii.  16\  but 
pure  white.  The  symbol  is  explained :  "  the  fine  linen 
is  the  righteousness  (or,  righteousnesses)  of  the  saints." 
The  raiment  is  that  which  strikes  the  eye :  it  has  its 
cliaracter.  and  it  indicates  the  character  of  the  wearer. 
The  harlot  attracts  by  ostentatious  colours,  the  tokens 
of  qualities  more  conspicuous  than  abiding,  more  dazzhng 
than  helpful ;  the  Lamb's  wife  is  robed  in  pure  ana 
stainless  white,  the  token  of  those  higli,  moral,  spiritual 
Qualities  by  which  she  has  l>een  known.  The  source  of 
these  righteousnesses  is  divine  :  it  is  given  to  her  to  be 
so  arrayed.  It  is  no  fictitious  righteousness  :  it  is  real, 
it  is  liers.  though  it  would  never  have  l>een  hers  but 
for  Him  witliout  whom  she  can  do  nothing  (comp.  Jolm 
XV.  4.  5,  and  Phil.  iii.  8—10):  and  it  is  through  tlie 
wearing  of  this  wliite  tlower  of  a  bLimeless  life  that  she 
has  borne  witness  for  her  Lord,  and  against  the  spirit 
of  harlotrv  and  sin  iMatt.  vii.  16 — 18). 

(9)  And  he  saith  unto  me  .  .  .—Who  is  the 


619 


The  Apostle  forbidden  to 


REVELATION,   XIX. 


worship  the  AngeL 


saith  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they 
which  are  called  unto  the  marriage  sup- 
Y>er  of  the  Lamb."  And  he  saith  unto 
me,  These  are  the  true  sayings  of  God. 
(i*^'  And  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him. 
And  he  said  unto  me.  See  thou  do  it 
not :  I  am  thy  fellowservant,  and  of  thy 
brethren  that  have  the  testimony  of 
Jesus:  worship  God:*  for  the  testimony 


of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  (i^)  And 
I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a  white 
horse;  and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called 
Faithful  and  True,  and  in  righteousness 
he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  (^^  His 
eyes  loere  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his 
head  were  many  crowns ;  and  he  had  a 
name  written,  that  no  man  knew,  but  he 
himself.     (^^^  And  he  was  clothed  -with  a 


speaker  ?  The  general  and  simplest  opinion  is  that  it 
is  tlie  angel  mentioned  in  chap.  xvii.  1  who  speaks. 
The  speaker  bids  the  seer  write :  "  Blessed  are  they 
who  are  bidden  to  the  supper  of  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb."  This  is  one  of  the  six  benedictions  of  the 
Apocalypse  (comp.  chaps,  i.  3;  xiv.  13;  xx.  6;  xxii.  7, 
14 1:  it  is  founded  on  our  Lord's  parables  (Matt.  xxii. 
1  and  XXV.  1 ;  comp.  also  chap.  iii.  20) :  the  blessing  of 
the  call  to  the  marriage  supper  is  more  clearly  realised 
now  that  the  day  of  jcjy  is  at  hand.  We  must  not  draw 
too  sharp  distinctions,  as  some  have  done,  between  the 
bride  and  the  guests  :  the  imagery  is  varied  to  give 
fulness  and  force  to  the  tnitlis  which  no  emblems  can 
adequately  express.  The  Church  of  Christ  will  rest, 
and  feast,  and  reign  with  her  Lord ;  and  in  all  the 
peace,  gladness,  and  triumph  of  that  joy-time  God's 
servants  will  share.  A  solemn  confirmation  of  this 
follows,  as  in  chaps,  xxi.  5  and  xxii.  6:  "these  words 
are  true  (savings)  of  God." 

(10;  And 'I  fell  at  his  feet  .  .  .— Tlie  impulse  to 
worship  the  messenger  who  had  unfolded  such  visions 
was  not  unnatural :  the  immediate  checking  of  it  here 
and  in  chap.  xxii.  8,  9,  on  the  part  of  the  angel,  supplies 
an  indirect  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  the  whole 
book,  and  gives  it  a  moral  tone  immeasurably  superior 
to  the  vision-books  of  pretended  revelations.  And  he 
saith  to  me.  See  (or,  take  heed)  not  (i.e.,  to  do  it) ;  I 
am  a  fellow -servant  of  thee  and  of  thy  brethren  tvho 
have  the  testimony  of  Jesus :  worship  God;  for  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  One  bond 
of  service  unites  angels  and  men :  to  be  servants  of 
God  is  the  highest  title  they  can  attain;  worship  is  for 
God  alone.  The  words  "  worship  God  "  are  most  em- 
phatic: "to  God  give  thy  worsliip,  and  not  to  me,  who 
am  but  thy  fellow -servant."  The  angel  is  his  fellow- 
servant,  and  at  that  time  ho  was  emphatically  so,  as  he 
and  the  Apostle  were  engaged  in  one  common  work — 
"  the  testimony  of  Jesus."  The  Apostle's  work  in  the 
world  was  the  testimony  of  Jesus  (chap.  i.  2,  9j,  and 
the  Spirit  of  propliecy  which  moved  (2  Pet.  i.  21)  the 
angel  was  likewise  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  One 
work  and  one  worship  belong  to  both.  He  whom 
Apostles  worshipped  unrebuked  (Matt,  xxviii.  9,  17) 
Avas  the  one  whom  all  the  angels  of  God  were  bidden 
to  worship  (Ps.  xcvii.  7;  Heb.  i.  6).  It  is  wondei-ful, 
with  this  empliatic  witness  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
any  should  have  undervalued  this  book  of  Revelation, 
as  one  which  failed  to  honour  Him. 

(11)  And  I  saw  heaven  opened  .  .  .—Better, 
And  I  saw  the  heaven  opened  (not  "  opening."  but  set 
open,  already  opened,  as  in  cliap.  iv.  1),  and  behold  a 
white  horse,  and  {behold)  one  that  sUteth  upon  him  called 
I'aithful  and  True,  and  in  righteousness  He  judgeth 
and  warreth.  Tlie  description  reminds  us  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  first  seal.  Again  we  have  the  white  horse, 
and  the  rider.  That  early  vision  of  a  conquering  Christ 
had  been  first  a  hope  and  then  a  despair,  as  age  after 
age  interposed  its  obstacles  to  the  manifestation  of 


620 


the  sons  of  God ;  but  now,  wnth  added  splendour,  the 
A-ision  is  renewed :  the  hopes  of  the  waiting  shall  not 
perish  for  ever.  Once  more  the  A-ictorious  rider 
appears,  and  His  name  dispels  all  fear,  though  the 
vision  has  been  long  in  tarrying.  At  the  end  it  speaks 
and  does  not  tarry  (Habak.  ii.  1 — 4),  for  He  .who  rides 
upon  the  heavens,  as  it  were  upon  a  horse,  has  His  name 
Faithful  and  Tme  (Heb.  x.  23,  and  36—38).  This 
name  combines  two  characteristics  :  fidelity  to  promises, 
trustworthiness;  and  the  power  to  satisfy  every  legiti- 
mate desire  which  has  been  awakened  in  the  hearts  of 
His  people ;  for  in  Him  all  hopes  find  repose,  and  every 
ideal  is  realised.  He  is  further  pictured  as  a  wamor. 
This  warrior  bridegroom  carries  us  back  to  ts.  xlv., 
where  a  similar  combination  of  marriage  joy  and 
martial  triumph  is  found.  Righteousness  marks  His 
progress  in  war,  as  faithfulness  is  manifested  towards 
those  who  trust  Him  (Isa.  xi.  4,  5).  Here  is  comfort 
on  the  threshold  of  a  vision  of  deliverance.  The  book 
has  shown  us  war,  conflict,  confusion :  the  passions  of 
men  surging  against  one  another,  and  dashing  like 
vain  waves  against  God's  immutable  laws ;  the  world- 
history  is  written  in  blood.  We  blame  men  for  these 
cruel  and  desolating  wars;  but  another  question  rises 
imperiously.  Why  does  an  all-good  ruler  allow  these 
heai't -breaking  scenes?  If  earth's  groans  pain  and 
trouble  us,  do  they  not  gi'ieve  Him  ?  Where  is  He 
that  He  permits  all  this  ?  The  answer  is,  "  In 
righteousness  He  judges  and  makes  war."  The 
worked-out  history  of  the  world  will  make  this  plain. 
The  righteousness  of  God  is  being  revealed :  all  wiU 
see  it  one  day;  but  now  the  just  must  live  by  faith  in 
Him  who  is  faithful  and  true,  and  who  preserves  the 
germ  of  all  divine  life  in  the  histoiy  of  the  world. 

(12, 13)  His  eyes  were  as  a  flarne  .  .  .—Or,  rather, 
And  His  eyes  are  (as)  a  flame  of  fire,  and  upon  His 
head  many  diadems — (He)  having  names  toritten,  and 
a  name  written  which  no  one  knows  but  He  Himself — 
and  clothed  in  a  vestxire  dipped  in  blood,  and  His 
name  is  called  The  Word  of  God.  On  the  description 
here  and  in  verse  5,  comp.  Notes  on  chap.  i.  14 — 16. 
There  is  no  doubt  who  is  before  us  in  this  A-ision. 
These/ame-/;7t*e  eyes  have  been  fixed  upon  the  moving 
scenes  of  human  life,  and  have  been  reading  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  the  true  meaning  of  all  events  and 
actions.  All  things  have  been  naked  and  open  to  the 
eyes  of  Him  with  ^\^lom  we  have  to  do"  (Heb.  iv.  13). 
He  wears  many  croivns — diadems — crowns  rather  of 
royalty  than  of  A-ictory.  Some  have  thought  that  the 
crowns  He  wears  are  crowns  taken  from  the  heads  of 
the  kings  who  have  made  war  with  Him  (chap.  xvii. 
12,  13,  and  19).  It  is  needless  to  suppose  this ;  their 
crowns  were  His  before  they  were  discrowned.  The 
diadems  He  wears  proclaim  that  not  only  over  a  world- 
wide empire  He  is  king,  but  of  all  nations  He  is  truly 
king.  He  is  not  as  an  emperor  among  kings,  the  head 
of  a  federation  of  princedoms;  but  He  is  truly  King — 
King  of  history,  King  of  life,  King  of  human  hearts, 


The  Word  of  God. 


EEVELATION,   XIX. 


The  Fowls  summoned. 


vesture  clipped  in  blood  : "  and  his  name 
is  called  The  Word  of  God.  <^^)  And  the 
armies  ivhich  were  in  heaven  followed 
him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine 
linen,  white  and  clean.  <i^)  And  out  of 
his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that 
with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations  :  and 
he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron : 
and  he  treadeth  the  winepress  of  the 
fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God. 
(i^)And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on 


a  Isn. 


03.  2. 

ch.  17.  U. 


his  thigh  a  name  written,  KING  OF 
KINGS,  AND  LOED  OF  LOEDS.* 
<'''^  And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the 
sun ;  and  he  cried  Avith  a  chap.  xix.  17— 
loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  ^i-  The  wild 
fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst  propliut  ovei^ 
of  heaven.  Come  and  gather  thrown, 
yourselves  together  unto  the  suj^per  of  the 
great  God ;  <^^^  that  ye  may  eat  the  flesh 
of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and 
the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and  the  flesh 


King  everywhere,  over  each  realm  and  over  all  realms, 
King  of  king,g,  and  Lord  of  lords.  He  has  navies 
written,  and  a  name.  The  clause  having  "  names 
written "  is  omitted  in  the  English  version.  The 
authority  for  its  insertion  is  not  entirely  satisfactory ; 
but  perhaps  the  balance  of  evidence  is  in  its  favour.  He 
has  many  names  which  may  be  understood,  besides  a 
name  which  no  one  knows.  This  is  fitting  in  One  who  is 
known  to  men  as  Sheplierd,  Redeemer,  Saviour,  Prince 
of  Life,  but  the  fulness  of  Whose  love  and  power  none 
can  exhaust,  and  the  depth  of  Whose  wisdom  none 
can  fathom.  "  He  knows  our  names.  Thanks  be  to 
God,  we  cannot  fathom  the  depths  of  His."  There  is 
more  yet  to  be  known  of  Him  in  tlie  world  to  which 
we  go.  His  vesture  is  dipped  in  blood.  The  prophet 
Isaiah  (cliap.  Ixiii.  2)  probably  supplied  the  foundation 
of  this  description.  (Comp.  verse  15.)  The  blood-red 
vesture  is  a  fit  token  of  the  work.  He  comes  to 
destroy  those  that  destroy  the  earth — to  tread  the  wine- 
press of  the  wrath  of  God ;  but  we  cannot  forget  that 
He  who  comes  for  this  came  first  to  shed  His  own 
blood.  He  is,  too,  " The  Word  of  God."  Again  we  hear 
this  name ;  it  is  a  name  which  is,  besides  other  things, 
significant  of  Christ's  mediating  work.  He  is  the  Word 
who  was  with  God,  who  was  God,  and  who  declares  God 
to  man.  (Comp.  John  i.  1 — 4 ;  iii.  13 ;  xiv.  9.)  The  title 
the  Word,  the  Word  of  God — used  here  and  in  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John  (chap,  i.  2 ;  John  i.  1 ;  1  John  i.  1) — is  a 
token  of  their  common  authorship.  (See  Introduction 
and  Excursus  A :  The  Doctrine  of  the  Word,  in  Com- 
mentai'y  on  the  Gospel.) 

(i^iAnd  the  armies  .  .  .—The  words  "which 
were "  sliould  be  omitted.  The  armies  iti  heaven 
followed  Him.  Some  would  limit  these  to  angels.  The 
apparel  whicli  they  wear — the  fine  linen  {bifssus) 
"  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints  "  (see  verse  8) — 
is  conclusive  against  this  limited  view.  The  saints  who 
have  fought  the  good  fight  here,  and  who  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death,  will  share  the  triumph  of 
their  king.  (Comp.  also  chap.  xvii.  14.)  Tlio  horses 
upcm  which  tliey  are  seated  are  white.  The  raiment 
tlicy  wear  is  white,  fure.  (Comp,  verse  8,  and  chaps, 
iii.  4;  vii.  14.)  The  Ime  of  triumph  is  here,  but  it 
is  the  triumph  of  righteousness.  (Comp.  also  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  4.) 

(15)  And  out  of  his  mouth  .  .  . — Translate,  And 
out  of  His  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  unfh 
(literally,  in)  it  He  may  smite  the  nations :  and  He 
(Himself)  shall  shepherd  them  with  (literally,  in)  a 
rod  of  iron:  and  He  {Himself)  treadeth  the  winepress 
of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  the  auger  of  God  the  All 
rider.  The  sharp  sword  is  the  same  that  wo  have  read 
of  before  (chap,  i.  16);  there  it  was  called  tlie  two- 
edged  sword.  The  omission  of  the  epithet  in  this 
passage,  which  describes  the  Word  of  God  as  the  ' 

621 


conqueror  and  the  judge,  is  not  without  significance. 
The  sword  is  now  wielded  for  but  one  W(n-k — the  word 
that  Christ  spoke  will  judge  men  at  the  last  day 
(John  xii.  48).  The  power  of  this  word  found  an  illus- 
tration in  the  falling  back  of  the  hostile  band  which 
came  to  take  Him  in  the  day  of  His  Inimiliation  (John 
xviii.  5) ;  yet  more  gloriously  will  the  power  of  His 
word  be  felt  (comp.  Isa.  xi.  4 ;  Jer.  xxiii.  29 ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  8)  when  He  will  slay  the  wicked  with  the  word  of 
His  mouth.  The  passage  in  Ps.  ii,  9  must  be  borne  in 
mind.  Christ  conies  as  King;  His  is  a  rule  in  righteous- 
ness ;  those  who  oppose  this  kingdom  of  righteousness 
find  the  shepherd's  staff  as  a  rod  of  iron ;  tlie  stono 
rejected  fails  upon  the  builders,  and  grinds  them  to 
powder.  It  is  thus  that  the  winepress  of  Grid's  ^vrath 
is  set  up,  and  the  righteous  King  appears  as  one  who 
ti-eads  it  out.  (Comp.  Isa.  Ixiii.  1 — 3.)  He  Himself 
(the  emphasis  lies  here)  treads  it.  We  have  again  the 
figure  of  the  vintage  made  use  of.  (Comp.  chap.  xiv. 
20.)  It  is  the  harvest  of  retribution;  the  wicked  are 
filled  with  the  fruit  of  their  o^vn  doings ;  so  is  the  work 
seen  to  be  the  work  of  the  All-Ruler. 

(16)  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  .  .  .—Tlie 
King  rides  at  the  head  of  His  host.  On  His  robe,  where 
it  spreads  out  from  the  waist,  His  title  is  inscribed ;  it 
proclaims  Him  to  be  the  one  who  is  the  true  supreme 
King  of  all.  Inscriptions  on  the  outer  garments  were 
sometimes  used  by  distinguished  personages.  The  title 
anticipates  the  final  victory;  His  power  is  irresistible, 
his  Kingship  is  universal. 

Overthrow  of  the  Wild  Beast  and  of  the 
False  Prophet. — The  birds  of  prey  gather  before- 
hand (verses  17,  18).  The  beast,  and  the  kings  of  tlio 
earth  hostile  to  the  King  of  kings,  gather  for  war 
(verse  20).     Their  defeat  and  fate  (verses  21,  22). 

(17, 18)  And  I  saw  an  angel  .  .  .—Better.  And  1 
saw  an  (literally,  one)  angel  standing  in  the  sun  ;  and 
he  cried  tvith  a  great  voice,  Hiiher  be  gathered  together 
to  the  great  sujiper  of  God,  that  ye  may  eat  Jlcsh  of 
kings,  and  flesh  of  captains  of  thousands,  and  flesh  of 
mighty  men.  and  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  are 
seated  on  them,  and  flesh  of  all.  of  free  and  of  bond, 
and  of  small  and  of  great.  Tlie  angel  stands  in  tlie 
sun — the  central  spot  to  summon  tlie  binls.  and  the 
spot  where  lie  stands  bathed  in  the  sunlight,  the  symbol 
of  the  divine  presence.  (Comp,  chaps,  i.  1(J ;  x.  1 ;  xiL 
1. )  The  birds  of  prey  are  assemViled  Ix>f oreliaud ;  the 
adversjiries  of  the  righteous  King  iiave  a  name  to  live, 
but  the  eagles  and  vultures  are  gathered  together  as 
though  the  carcase  liad  already  fallen  (Matt.  xxiv.  28; 
comp,  Ezek.  xxxix,  17—  20\  The  supper  or  Ijanquet  is 
the  chief  nienl  in  the  day,  the  meal  to  wliicli  guests 
would  be  iuvited.     The  banquet  or  supper  here  is  in 


Destruction  of  the  Beast 


EEVELATION,   XX. 


and  the  False  PropJiet. 


of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them, 
and  tlie  flesh  of  all  men,  both  free  and 
bond,  both  small  and  great.  ^^'•'*  And  I 
saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to 
make  war  against  him  that  sat  on  the 
horse,  and  against  his  armj.  (^^  And 
the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the 
false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles  be- 
fore him,  with  which  he  deceived  them 
that  had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast, 
and  them  that  worshipped  his  image. 


These  both  were  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of 
fire  burning  with  brimstone.  ^^^'>  And 
the  remnant  were  slain  with  the  sword 
of  him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  which 
sword  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth  : 
and  all  the  fowls  were  filled  with  their 
flesh. 

CHAPTER  XX.— (1)  And  I  saw  an 
angel  come  down  from  Chap.  xx.  1—3. 
heaven,  having-  the  key  of  '^.^^     ,^^^?^- 

,,  ',  .        ,     «=        ..  -^T         mum.  Binding 

the    bottomless   pit  and  a  of  Satan. 


contrast  with  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  (verse  9), 
and  with  the  great  supper  (Luke  xiv.  Iti — 24')  from  which 
the  invited  guests  turned  away.  All  classes — the  great 
and  small,  the  master  and  slave — are  mentioned.  Those 
who  follow  the  world-power,  and  array  themselves  iu 
hostility  to  the  true  King,  belong  not  to  one  class,  but 
may  be  found  among  all.  The  war  is  not  between  class 
and  class,  but  l)ctween  righteousness  and  unrighteous- 
ness, truth  and  falsehood,  Christ  and  Belial.  We  must 
remember  that  the  vision  is  a  great  figurative  rejire- 
sentation  of  the  defeat  of  the  anti-Christian  powers 
and  principles  in  the  world ;  this  will  save  us  from 
misapprehending  its  purjwse,  and  from  a  bondaged 
literalism. 

(19)  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  .  .  . 
— Rathei",  I  saw  the  wild  beast.  The  wild  beast  and 
the  kings  are  gathered  to  make  or  wage  not  merely 
"war,"  but  "the  war"  (the  definite  article  is  used; 
comp.  chaps,  xvi.  14;  xvii.  14)  against  the  King  of 
kings.  It  has  been  noticed  that  the  true  King  is 
followed  by  His  army — one  army,  united  by  one  bond, 
and  under  one  King.  The  wild  beast  is  supported  by 
diverse  armies,  owning  allegiance  to  diverse  kings,  and 
united  only  in  hostility  to  good. 

(20)  And  the  beast  was  taken  .  .  .—Or,  And 
the  wild  beast  rvas  taken,  and  with  him  the  false 
prophet  who  did  the  signs  in  his  presence  .  .  .  Again 
the  definite  article  ("  the  signs  "  or  "  miracles  ")  recalls 
to  our  minds  what  was  before  described  (chap.  xiii.  13); 
the  false  prophet  is  the  second  wild  beast  of  chap.  xiii. 
He  succeeded  in  deceiving  those  who  received  the 
mark.  See  Notes  on  chap,  xiii.,  where  their  work  of 
deception  is  described  ;  here  our  thoughts  are  fixed 
upon  their  doom.  Alive  they  were  cast,  the  two,  into 
the  lake  of  the  fire  which  burns  with  brimstone.  The 
two — the  wild  beast  and  the  false  prophet — who  are 
the  anti-Christian  leaders  are  cast  into  the  fiery  lake. 
These  leaders  are  not  to  be,  as  we  have  seen,  regarded 
as  particular  individuals.  It  has,  indeed,  often  hap- 
pened, and  will  doubtless  again  happen,  that  an  indi- 
vidual personage  places  himself  at  the  head  of  a  great 
anti-Christian  movement ;  yet.  in  the  eye  of  the  seer, 
such  would  be  but  subordinate  leaders.  The  wild  beast 
and  the  false  prophet,  directed  by  the  dragon,  are  the 
true  spiritual  chiefs  of  all  such  movements.  The 
world-power,  whether  coar.se,  ignorant  and  brutal,  or 
cultured  and  intellectual,  is  seized,  and  consigned  to 
the  lake  of  fire.  The  imagery  here  is  based  upon  the 
Old  Testament :  the  lake,  the  fire,  and  the  brimstone 
bring  back  the  geography  and  the  incidents  attending 
the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Goraorrha.  (Comp. 
Num.  xvi.  32—34;  Isa.  v.  14.)  The  lake  of  fire  is 
mentioned  here  for  the  first  time ;  we  hear  of  it  more 
frequently  afterwards  (^chaps.  xx.  10,  14,  15;  xxi.  8). 


The  flames  and  brimstone,  smoke,  and  other  volcanic 
forces  indicating  the  existence  of  subterranean  fire, 
might  well  lead  the  ancients  to  place  their  Tartarus 
and  Gehenna  in  the  under- world.  ( See  Note  in  Moses 
Stuart  on  Rev.  xiv.  10.)  These  supplied  the  imagery 
which  has  become  crystallised  in  the  language  of  after- 
generations. 

(21)  And  the  remnant  were  slain  .  .  .—Better, 
And  the  rest  were  slain  with  (literally,  in)  the  sword  of 
Him  who  is  seated  on  the  horse,  which  (sword)  pro- 
ceeded out  of  His  mouth  ;  and  all  the  birds  were  filled 
with  their  flesh.  The  rest  (i.e.,  the  human  beings,  the 
kings  and  the  great  and  small,  who  have  been  led  awajr 
by  the  Avorld-powers)  were  slain  with  the  sword  of  tho 
King.  No  human  being  is  described  here  as  being 
cast  into  the  lake  of  fire — only  the  two  great  leaders, 
the  ideal  representatives  of  evil  principles,  receive  that 
punishment.  The  sword  which  goes  out  of  the  King's 
mouth  (comp.  verse  15  and  chap.  i.  16)  slays  the 
human  allies  of  evil.  That  word  which  is  quick  and 
powerful  (Heb.  iv.  12),  that  word  which  Christ  spoke 
in  the  days  of  His  humiliation,  that  word  which  is 
mighty  and  life-giving  (Jas.  i.  18)  as  well  as  death- 
giving,  wins  at  the  last.  The  birds  devour  the  fle.sh. 
The  pride  and  beauty  of  men,  their  apparent  strength, 
the  confederations  and  systems  which  they  have  made 
so  strong  for  themselves,  when  their  heart  was  fat  as 
brawn,  are  proved  to  be  worthless  and  st rengthless ;  all 
the  men  whose  hands  were  mighty  find  nothing  (Ps. 
Ixxvi.  5,  6).  Thus,  while  all  flesh  is  seen  to  be  but  grass, 
and  all  the  goodliness  and  pride  of  it  but  as  the  flower 
thereof,  the  righteous  word  of  the  Lord  stands  for  ever, 
and  at  the  last  rises  up  as  a  sword  to  smite  down  and 
to  slay  its  enemies.  "  They  were  killed,"  says  Bengel, 
"  with  the  destroying  sword  of  Christ,  which  is  not  of 
steel  or  iron,  but  goes  out  of  His  mouth,  and  so  is  a 
spiritual  wejxpon  of  resistless  might," 

XX. 

The  Millennium. — Some  few  introductory  words 
on  this  most  difficult  chapter  are  needful.  The  outline 
of  incidents  described  is  very  simple.  An  angel  descends, 
lays  hold  upon  the  dragon,  binds  him,  and  imprisons 
him  in  the  abyss,  where  he  remains  for  a  thousand  years, 
after  which  he  is  loosed  for  a  short  time.  During  this 
thousand  years  the  martyrs,  and  those  who  had  not 
received  the  mark  of  the  beast,  live  and  reign  with 
Christ.  At  the  close  of  tliis  period  the  dragon  is 
loosed ;  the  nations  are  once  more  deceived ;  the  camp 
of  the  saints  is  threatened  by  the  dragon,  and  those 
whom  he  has  reduced  to  his  service ;  but  the  fire  from 
heaven  destroys  the  adversaries,  and  the  dragon  is  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.  The  general  judgment  follows. 
Simple  as  the  vision  appears,  every  intei-pretatjon  ig 


Bhiding  of  Satan 


EEYELATION,   XX. 


for  a  Thousand  Years. 


great  chain  in  his  hand.  (2)  And  he  laid 
hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent, 
which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and 
bound  him  a  thousand  years,  ^^^  and 
cast   him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and 


shut  him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon 
him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  na- 
tions no  more,  till  the  thousand  years 
should  be  fullilled :  and  after  that  he 
must  be  loosed  a  little  season.     <**  And 


beset  with  difficulties.  These  difficulties  are  too 
numerous  to  be  treated  of  here.  Our  space  will 
only  allow  us  to  indicate  the  view  adopted,  though 
with  the  greatest  hesitation,  in  this  Commentary.  (1) 
The  millennium  vision  is,  like  so  many  of  the  apostolic 
visions,  an  ideal  picture;  it  exhibits  a  state  of  things 
•which  is  possible  to  mankind  at  any  time ;  for,  to  use 
the  language  of  Hengstenberg,  "  If  the  earth  were  to 
watch  and  pray  for  a  thousand  years,  Satan  would  have 
nothing  on  it."  Like  the  vision  of  the  first  seal,  it  shows 
us  that  the  victory  of  Christ  was  a  real  victory,  and  has 
put  into  man's  hand  the  promise  of  security  against  the 
wicked  one's  devices.  The  defeat  of  Satan  (indicted  by 
redemption)  is  described  as  "a  fall  from  heaven"  (Luke 
X.  18),  as  "  a  casting  out "  (John  xii.  31),  as  "  a  judgment 
past,"  "the  Prince  of  this  world  has  been  judged" 
(John  xvi.  11).  The  ideal  picture  corresponds.  "  Satan 
is  chained  in  the  abyss,  as  the  angels  said  by  St.  Peter 
to  have  been  delivered  into  chains  of  darkness  "  (2  Pet. 
ii.  4).  (2)  But  the  rejection  of  Christ's  power  and  victory 
postpones  the  realisation  of  this  picture ;  the  sullen 
refusing  of  the  King's  Son, "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to 
reign  over  us,"  interposes  a  barrier  against  an  immediate 
fullilment  of  the  vision.  But  the  fultilment  is  not  utterly 
lost ;  the  vision  is  for  an  appointed  time  ;  it  wiU  have 
its  realisation,  though  man's  waywardness  and  unbelief 
occasion  its  delay.  (3)  The  vision  has  its  approximate 
fulfihment  as  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  the  faith  of  the 
reality  of  her  Lord's  victory,  carries  on  her  warfare 
against  the  prince  of  this  world  and  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  high  places.  That  this  approximate  fultilment 
is  not  unreal  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  Christendom 
has  replaced  heathendom,  Christ  has  taken  the  throne 
of  the  world,  the  prince  of  this  world  has  been  judged, 
the  ascendency  of  Christian  thought  and  Christian  prin- 
ciples has  marvellously  humanised  and  purified  the 
world.  To  an  Irenasus,  a  Polyearp,  a  Justin  MartjT, 
a.  Tertullian,  the  picture  of  the  world  during  the  Chris- 
tian centuries  would  have  the  aspect  of  a  millennium, 
when  contrasted  with  the  age  of  Pagan  domination  and 
Pagan  persecution.  In  their  eyes,  accustomed  to  the 
darkness  of  heathenism,  the  world  as  influenced  by  a 
widely  diffused  Christianity  would  seem  to  be  a  world 
in  which  Christ  ruled.  They  woidd  see  in  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  apostles  and  martyrs  and  confessors  the 
wondrous  resurrection  power  of  God's  truth ;  they 
■woidd  see  how  those  who  fell  for  Christ  had  stepped 
from  their  forgotten  graves  to  sit  down  with  Christ  in 
His  throne.  The  apostles,  the  marivrs,  the  faithful  do 
reign  with  Christ.  The  sovereignty  of  the  world  Ix-longs 
far  more  to  St.  Paul  and  St.  John  than  to  Nero  aiid 
Galba.  But  though  thus  the  saints  rise  and  reigu 
with  Christ  over  Christendom,  we  can  see  that  this  is 
only  an  approximate  realisation,  and  falls  short  of  the 
ideal  picture.  Christendom  established  and  In-athen- 
dom  overthrown  would  be  a  millennium  in  the  eyes  of  an 
Ignatius;  but  the  Church  of  to-day  looks  for  a  further 
and  higher  fulfilment.  Is  she  justified  in  this  expecta- 
tion ?  If  the  principles  laid  down  elsewhere  (see  Note 
on  chap,  vi.)  be  correct,  the  Church  is  justified  in  looking 
for  the  full  realisation  of  the  vision  in  a  future  age. 
She  can  accept  tlio  first-fruits  of  Gods  promises,  but 
she  will  not  mistake  them  for  the  harvest;   she  can 


623 


rejoice  in  the  growth  of  her  Lord's  kingdom,  liut  she 
looks  for  the  day  when  the  powers  of  evil  will  be  more 
effectually  curbed,  and  the  gospel  will  have  freer  course. 
Then  the  fulness  of  Christ's  victory  will  be  more  clearly- 
seen. 

The  Binding  of  Satan. 

(1)  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  .  .  .— 
Rather,  And  I  saiv  an  angel  descencUug  out  of  the 
heaven,  having  the  Tci-y  of  the  abyss,  and  a  great  chain 
on  (not  merely  in  his  hand,  but  hanging  from  it  as  it 
would  do  when  on)  ]ii<  liand.  It  is  needless  to  settle 
who  is  represented  by  this  angel.  It  is  enough  tliat  in 
the  vision  he  manifests  by  the  key  and  the  chain  which 
he  carries  that  there  is  power  in  Him,  who  has  the  keys 
of  death  and  of  Hades  (chap.  i.  18),  to  bind,  as  He  has 
death-wounded,  him  that  had  the  power  of  death.  The 
bottomless  pit  is  the  abyss,  as  we  have  had  elsewhere 
(chaps,  ix.  1 ;  xi.  7 ;  and  xvii.  8.  Comp.  Luke  viii.  31) ; 
it  is  figuratively  the  abode  of  the  devil  and  his  associate 
angels  (Matt.  xxv.  41 ). 

(^)  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon  .  .  .—Or, 
And  he  laid  hold  of  the  dragon,  the  ancient  serpent, 
ivho  is  the  devil  and  Satan,  and  bonnd  him  a  thousand 
years.  The  four  words  are  thus  used  to  describe  the  arch- 
enemy; they  are  the  same  as  those  used  for  the  same 
purpose  in  chap.  xii.  9.  Over  the  world  he  has  exercised 
in  every  quarter  his  power  as  prince  of  this  world,  and 
he  has  been  found  fierce  as  the  dragon,  subtle  as  the 
serpent,  the  slanderer  of  God  and  His  people,  and  the 
adversary  of  all  righteousness.  He  is  bound  as  Christ 
declared  (IVIatt.  xii.  29;  comp.  Col.  ii.  15).  A  thousand 
years  was  the  length  at  wliich  Rab])is  fixed  the  duration 
of  Messiah's  kingdom.  The  period  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood literally  (see  next  verse). 

(3J  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit  .  .  . 
— Rather,  and  cast  him  into  the  abyt<s  (same  word  as 
in  verse  1),  and  loched  and  sealed  (the  door  or  mouth) 
above  hiin.  that  he  may  not  deceive  the  nations  any  more 
until  the  thousand  years  shall  have  been  finished  ;  after 
these  things  he  must  be  loosed  for  a  little  time.  Tlie 
sealing  reminds  us  of  the  sealing  employed  when  the 
wicked  one  had  power  through  man's  agency  to  imprison 
God's  messengers.  (.Comp.  Dan.  vi.  17.  and  Matt,  xxvii. 
66.)  Of  the  exact  moment  when  this  binding  and  im- 
prisoning took  place  it  is  not  needful  to  inquire  too 
curiously.  That  which  in  the  vision  is  descrilx^d  as 
the  work  of  a  moment  may  in  Oie  fact  and  fultilment 
Ijc  a  very  gradual  work;  or  rather,  the  full  manifesta- 
tion of  its  accomplishment  may  be  only  gradually  made 
clear.  To  fix  it,  therefore,  to  any  incident  (for  example, 
as  Hengstenberg  is  disposed  to  do  to  the  coronaticm  of 
Chariemagne),  is  to  fall  into  tlie  "  vicious  realism  " 
against  which  he  rightly  protests.  Tiie  same  applies 
to  the  duration  of  the  imprisonment;  it  is  not  to  be 
understood  literally  any  more  than  the  otlier  numbers 
in  the  book;  it  svmbolises  a  lengthened  period.  This 
period  is  followed  by  the  loosing  again  of  the  devil  for 
a  short  time.     (See  Note  on  verse  7.) 

The  Millennial  Reign. 

(I)  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  .  .  .— 
There  is  a  prominence  given  to  the  thrones,  because 


The  Millennial  Reign. 


REVELATION,   XX. 


TJte  First  Resurrection. 


I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon 
Chap.  XX.  4-6.  tbem,  and  judgment  was 
Tlic  millenmal  given  unto  them :  and 
reign.  j  g^,(,  the    souls  of    them 

that  were  heheaded  for  the  witness 
of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  which  had  not  worshipped  the 
beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had 
received    his    mark    upon    their    fore- 


heads, or  in  their  hands ;  and  they 
lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thou- 
sand years.  (^^  But  the  rest  of  the 
dead  lived  not  again  until  the  thousand 
years  were  finished.  This  is  the  first 
resurrection.  (^>  Blessed  and  holy  is 
he  that  hath  part  in  the  first  re- 
surrection :  on  such  the  second  death 
hath  no  i)Ower,  but  they  shall  be  priests 


the  tlionjjlit  of  tlie  reign  of  the  saints  is  uppermost 
in  tlie  niind  of  the  seer.  The  thrones  are  seen,  and 
those  wlio  sat  on  tliem.  It  has  been  asked,  "  By  whom 
are  tlie  tlirouos  occupied  ?"  Tlie  answer  is  supplied  in 
the  latter  i)art  of  the  verse.  Those  who  are  in  the  latter 
part  said  to  reign  with  Christ  are  clearly  those  who  sit 
upon  tlie  thrones  which  first  cauglit  the  prophet's  eye; 
these  are  all  the  real  servants  of  God.  They  appear 
before  the  seer  in  two  great  classes: — First,  the  martyrs 
who  have  been  faithful  unto  death ;  for  he  speaks  first 
of  seeing  the  souls  of  those  who  have  been  beheaded 
(strictly,  "  slain  with  the  axe,"  but  clearly  the  special 
class  of  beheaded  martyrs  is  to  be  taken  as  representing 
all),  because  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  because  of 
the  word  of  God.  The  number  of  the  martyrs  is  now 
complete  (comp.  chap.  vi.  11) ;  these  form  the  first  class 
mentioned.  Secondly,  those  who  have  been  faithful  in 
life  occui)y  these  thrones.  The  prophet  sees  these,  even 
whosoever  did  not  worship  (during  life)  the  wild  beast, 
nor  yet  his  image,  and  did  not  receive  the  mark  (comp. 
chap.  xiii.  10)  on  their  forehead  and  upon  their  hand. 
The  triumph  and  sovereignty,  whatever  they  be,  are 
shared  liy  all  the  faithful.  These  things  are  stated  as 
constituting  their  privileges.  They  lived,  whereas  the 
rest  of  the  dead  lived  not ;  they  reigned,  and  judgment 
was  given  them.  This  last  has  been  felt  to  be  a  diffi- 
culty. Wh:it  sort  of  judgment  is  intended  ?  The 
passage  in  Daniel  (chap.  vii.  22)  is  clearly  suggestive 
of  the  present  one.  The  phrase  (judgment  was  given) 
is  not  there  to  be  understood  as  meaning  that  right 
was  done  them  (see  Note  in  Speaker  s  Commentary 
on  Daniel),  neither  must  it  be  so  understood  here. 
Judicial  powers  are  given  to  the  saints  as  to  those  who 
occupy  thrones;  "  the  chief  power  in  governing"  (Geb- 
hardt)  is  given  them  (comp.  Matt.  xix.  28,  and  1  Cor. 
vi.  2,  3) ;  they  reign,  they  judge,  they  live ;  the  true  and 
full  powers  of  life  are  seen  to  be  theirs.  And  is  not  this 
tiie  case  always?  Who,  next  to  Him  who  knows  the 
secrets  of  our  hearts,  exercises  judicial  powers  over 
men  ?  Do  not  tho.se  whose  lives,  as  we  read  them, 
rebuke  our  own  ?  Truly,  those  who  lived  for  God,  and 
refused  tlie  mark  of  cartliliness,  reign  and  judge  us  in 
our  worldliucss  and  weakness.  This  is  their  sovereign 
lionnur  here,  besides  the  glad  reign  in  the  unseen 
world. 

(5)  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again 
.  .  . — Rather.  The  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  (we  must 
omit  the  word  "again  )  until  the  thousand  years  be 
finished.  This  is  the  first  resurrection.  In  those  words 
we  meet  one  of  the  keys  to  the  controversy  respecting 
the  millennium.  Wliat  is  this  resurrection  .''  Is  it  the 
resurrection  at  which  the  saints  shall  assume  the  glori- 
fied bodies,  and  their  perfect  consummation  and  bliss  ? 
It  has  been  argued  that  the  word  must  be  understood 
literally  as  of  a  bodily  resurrection.  It  is  further  said 
that  the  contrasting  words  (•'  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived 
not")  necessitate  this  literal  interpretation.  But  there 
is  no  reason  for  restricting  the  word  Resurrection  to  a 


literal  meaning.  The  sacred  writers  frequently  use  the 
idea  figuratively.  They  speak  of  a  resurrection  which  is 
spiritual;  the  dead  in  sin  are  summoned  to  rise  from 
the  dead  that  Christ  might  give  them  light  (comp.  Ej^h. 
ii.  1,  and  v.  14) ;  indeed,  the  figure  often  underlies  the 
language  and  arguments  of  New  Testament  writers 
( Jolm  V.  24,  25 ;  Rom.  ^^.  5 ;  2  Cor.  v.  15  ;  Col.  ii.  12). 
But  do  the  words,  "  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not," 
force  upon  us  so  shai-p  a  contrast  that  we  must  under- 
stand the  first  resurrection  literally  ?  Undoubtedly 
the  words  are  in  contrast.  If  the  words  "  lived  not " 
necessarily  mean  that  the  rest  of  the  dead  did  not  enjoy 
physical  life  on  earth,  then  the  living  with  Christ  of  the 
saints  and  the  first  resurrection  must  be  understood  as 
giving  physical  life  on  earth  to  the  saints.  But  are  we 
bound  to  thus  understand  literally  the  "lived"  of  verse  4 
and  the  '•  lived  not "  of  verse  5  ?  There  are  two  or  three 
considerations  which  will  be  enough  to  show  that  they 
need  not  be  understood  thus.  (1)  The  word  "  to  live  " 
is  used  about  sixteen  times  in  the  Apocalypse.  On  nine 
of  these  it  is  applied  to  the  eternal  life  of  God  the 
Father  or  God  the  Son ;  it  is  t\rice  used  in  the  passage 
before  us  (verses  4,  5).  Of  the  remaining  five  occasions 
where  the  word  is  used,  it  is  four  times  employed  in 
what  can  scarcely  be  other  than  a  figurative  sense 
(chaps,  iii.  1;  A'ii.  17;  xiii.  14  ;  xix.  20 — some  might  doubt 
the  figurative  use  in  this  last  passage),  but  only  once  is 
it  employed  in  a  sense  which  can  fairly  be  defended  as 
literal  (cliaiJ.  xvi.  3).  (2)  There  will  be  faithless  people 
during  the  millennium — the  nations  tobe  deceived  i  verse 
8).  Are  we  then  to  picture  saints  with  glorified  resurrec- 
tion bodies  living  on  the  eai'th,  which  at  the  same  time 
is  tenanted  by  men  and  women  still  in  the  natural  body  ? 
(3)  There  is  a  resurrection,  which  surely  is  the  second 
resuiTection,  described  in  A'erses  12,  13 :  this  last  is  a 
general  resurrection  of  the  dead,  small  and  great.  There 
seems  no  adequate  reason  to  afiirm  that  this  first  resur- 
rection, then,  must  be  physical.  Our  notions  of  life  and 
death  are  so  circumscrilied  by  the  geography  of  earth, 
that  we  seldom  give  to  the  word  "  life"  in  our  thoughts 
its  tnie  richness  and  fulness  of  meaning.  We  fail  to 
remember  that  the  faithful  ones  who  live,  because 
Christ  lives,  have  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is, 
as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come ;  we  forget  that  God  is 
not  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living. 

(6)  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  .  .  .  . — 
This  is  one  of  the  benediction^  of  the  Apocalypse. 
The  blessing  on  those  who  have  part  or  share  in  the 
first  resuri'ection  has  tliis  definite  feature.  On  these 
the  second  death  has  not  power  (or  authority).  The 
second  death  stands  in  contrast  Math  the  first  resur- 
rection. The  second  death  is  not  the  mere  physical 
dying ;  it  is  rather  that  more  aAvful  death  which  lies 
outside  the  region  of  the  things  seen  and  temporal. 
Whatever  it  means,  and  whatever  the  conditions  which 
surround  it,  it  is  spiritual  rather  than  physical.  It  is 
not  the  life  of  the  body  which  pi-otects  the  life  of  the 
i  spirit;  it  is  the  living  and  believing  in  God  which 
624 


Satan  loosed 


EEVELATION,   XX. 


out  of  his  Prison, 


of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  shall  reign 
with  him  a  thousand  yeai's.  ^^'And 
Chap.  XX.  7— 10.  when  the  thousand  years 
The  loosing  ^^^  expired,  Satan  shall  be 

and  nnal  over-   ,  -^        i        n    ^  • 

throw  of  Satan,  loosed  out  01  his  prison, 
(^^  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the 
nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters 


a  Ezek.  38. 2 : 


of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,"  to  gather 
them  together  to  battle :  the  number  of 
whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  (^'  And 
they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the 
earth,  and  compassed  the  camp  of 
the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city  : 
and  fire  came  down  from   God  out  of 


protects  from  the  second  death ;  according  to  Christ's 
word  of  such,  "  they  shall  never  die  "  (John  xi.  26 ; 
comp.  John  x.  27,  28).  Blessed,  too,  are  snch  in  being 
priests  and  kings  (they  shall  reign).  Theirs  is  the 
priesthood  of  life  who  have  offered  themselves  a  living 
sacrifice  to  Gk)d  (Rom.  xii.  1).  The  kingship  of  life 
is  theirs,  who  have  overcome  the  world-powers  in  the 
word  of  God  and  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  these  truly 
reign.     (Comp.  Note  on  chap.  v.  10.) 

The  Loosing  of  Satan  and  his  Final 
Overthrow. 

(7)  And  when  the  thousand  years  are  ex- 
pired.— Rather,  And  ivhen  the  thousand  years  have 
been  finished.  The  binding  of  Satan  implied  restraint 
put  upon  his  power  and  freedom  of  action ;  the 
loosing  means  the  removing  of  these  restraints.  The 
reign  of  Christ  with  His  saints  has  been  a  witness  to 
the  power  of  our  Master  over  the  wicked  one.  This 
witness  has  been  an  opportunity  also  to  the  world.  It 
was  the  earthly  approximation  to  the  ideal  picture.  It 
testified  how  completely  "  all  power  in  heaven  and  in 
earth  was  given  to  Christ,"  and  how  there  lay,  there- 
fore, within  the  reach  of  men  the  power  of  Him  who 
would  tread  down  their  true  enemies,  and  turn  His 
hand  against  their  adversaries  (Ps.  Ixxxi.  13,  14).  But 
the  time  of  opportunity  must  end.  "  O  that  Israel 
would  have  hearkened,"  is  a  cry  that  might  have  its 
counterpart  over  the  history  of  earth's  lost  oppor- 
tunities. Christendom  is  planted  in  the  world  to  be  a 
framework  of  regenerating  power  to  mankind,  just  as 
the  Law  and  its  adjuncts  wei-e  designed  to  be  in  Israel. 
But,  as  there  the  old  idolatrous  influences  broke  in 
upon  the  nile  of  God's  covenant,  so  here  do  we  find 
the  vision  picturing  to  us  how  Christendom  will  be 
invaded  by  the  influences  of  the  evil  one,  when  man- 
kind has  let  slip  this  splendid  opportunity  of  a  really 
golden  age. 

(^)  And  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations.— 
Perhaps  better,  sltall  come  out,  as  the  earth  is  the 
Anew-point.  Tlie  nations  deceived  and  led  astray  are 
designated  as  Gog  and  Magog.  Tlio  names  are 
derived  from  Ezekiel  (chaps,  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.).  In 
rabbinical  books  the  names  were  used  to  describe 
the  nations  who  would  rise  against  the  reign  of  the 
Messiah.  The  names  are  to  be  understood  figuratively. 
No  particular  nation  could  he  well  spoken  of  as  "  the 
nations  in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth."  The  origin 
of  the  figure  is  not  difficult.  In  Ezekiel,  Gog  is  called 
the  chief  prince  of  Meshech  and  Tubal;  or.  adopting 
another  rendering,  the  prince  of  Ro.sh.  Mesliecli,  and 
Tubal.  Magog  is  mentioned  in  Gen.  x.  2  as  one  of  the 
sons  of  Ja])hetli.  The  name  is  there  associated  with 
Gomer,  Madai.  and  Meshech.  Gomer  is  thought  to 
correspond  witli  the  Cimmerians.  Madai  with  the 
Medes.  and  Meshech  with  the  Muscovites.  Mr.  Smith, 
in  his  history  of  As.surbanii»ul  from  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions, tliinks  that  a  certain  chief  of  the  Saka  (Scythians), 
named  Gajigi,  is  the  same  a-s  Gog.  Tlie  sons  of  this 
Gaiigi  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  Birighudri,  a 
106  626 


chief  of  Madai  (Medes).  Josephus  also  identifies 
Magog  with  the  Scythians.  The  remembrance  of  the 
Scythian  invasion  lingered  long  in  the  minds  of  Asiatic 
nations ;  and  the  names  of  those  northern  nations  were 
adopted  as  representative  of  the  great  and  undefined 
enemies  who  would  in  after  ages  assail  the  Messiah's 
kingdom,  or  wage  unprovoked  war  against  the  time 
Israel  of  God.  Ezekiel's  language  in  chap,  xxxviii.  17 
seems  to  imply  as  much.  The  Evangelist  here  accepts  , 
the  names  employed  by  the  earlier  jjrophet.  Gog  and 
Magog  stand  for  the  great  hosts  of  the  nations,  and 
their  leaders,  who  would  break  forth  into  uncalled-for 
hostility  against  the  people  of  the  Lord.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  imagery  is  derived  from  the 
history  of  Israel.  Jerusalem,  the  beloved  city  of  the 
true  Israel  of  God,  looks  out  upon  her  foes.  They  are 
Babylon,  Egypt,  or  they  may  come  from  tlie  far 
northern  regions,  the  abode  of  Gog  and  M;igog,  whence 
the  wild  and  relentless  invaders  had  poured  upon  tho 
land.  Gog  and  Magog  are  thus  used  as  typical  names. 
Under  the  auspices  of  such,  the  great  gathering  of 
turbulent  and  reckless  enemies  of  the  faith  would  take 
place.  The  hosts  of  the  foes  of  Jerusalem  are  described 
as  innumerable  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  This  great 
concourse  of  countless  hosts  is  moved  by  hostility  to 
the  faith  of  Christ.  The  nations,  thus  multitudinous, 
have  been  restrained  during  the  millennial  reign.  Evil 
and  unbelief  liaA-e  been  held  in  check,  but  they  have 
not  been  extinguished.  The  millennial  reign  is  clearly, 
therefore,  not  a  jjeriod  in  which  the  rule  of  Christ  is 
universally  and  sincerely  accepted.  There  are  powers 
at  work  which  compete  for  human  affections  and 
interests ;  but  the  general  acceptance  of  Christian 
principles  keeps  the  evil  forces  in  abeyance,  and  the 
gracious  strength  of  God  limits  the  power  of  the  arch- 
enemy. But  when  the  restraints  are  removed,  tho 
long- suppressed  evil  breaks  forth,  and  the  ri'luctantly 
submissive  nations  are  gathered  together  to  the  icar — • 
not  to  battle,  as  in  our  version,  but  to  the  war — i.e.,  to 
the  war  which  has  been  before  spoken  of  in  chaps, 
xvi.  and  xix.  All  the  restraints  which  Christ  and 
Christian  teaching  had  supplied  to  the  world  are 
gradually  removed.  The  Euphrates  is  dried,  the 
Devil  is  loosed,  the  unclean  spirits  have  gone  forth, 
the  last  phase  of  the  long  war  It  ween  good  and  evil, 
between  Christ  and  Belial,  has  been  entered. 

('■>)  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the 
earth. — The  hostile  multitudes  spread  like  swarms 
over  the  earth,  and  surrounded  the  camp  of  the  sjiints 
and  tho  Ix'loved  city.  Jerusalem  is  the  iH'loved  city — 
in  it  was  the  M(umt  Zion  which  God  loved  (Ps.  Ixxviii. 
68).  It  is  tho  figure  of  the  true  spiritual  Zion  and 
Jerusalem  which  has  been  faithful  to  her  king.  The 
beloved  city  has  its  camp;  it  is  ready  for  war.  It  has 
waged  its  spiritual  warfare  against  all  forms  of  evil. 
Its  citizens,  like  the  returned  exiles  (Neh.  iv.  17.  18), 
could  never  lay  down  the  sword  (comp.  Eph.  vi.  10; 
John  ii.  14;  v.  4);  but  the  hostile  demonstration  is 
arrested  by  divine  intervention.  There  came  down 
fire  out  of  the  Jieaven  (the  words  "  from  God  "  are  of 


Satan  overthrown. 


EEVELATION,   XX. 


The  Judgment. 


heaven,  and  devoured  them.  (^^^And 
the  devil  that  deceived  them  was  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where 
the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and 
shall  be  tormented  day  and  iii<,'ht  for 
ever  and  ever.  (I'^And  I  saw  a  great 
Chap.  XX.  11-  white  throne,  and  him  that 
Thi-  ju.lsf-  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face 
^^^^  the  earth  and  the  heaven 


15 

niont 
world 


of 


fled  away;  and  there  was  found  no  place 
for  them.  '^^->  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small 
and  great,  stand  before  God ;  and  the 
books  were  oj)ened  :  and  another  book" 
was  opened,  which  is  Uie  hook  of  life  :  and 
the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things 
which  were  written  in  the  books,  accord- 
ing to  their  works.  ^^^^  And  the  sea  gave 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  it ;  and  death 


donbtful  authority)  a>uZ  d-voured  them.  The  Shechinah 
light  taheriuu'kHl  over  tho  holy  city.  Its  light  was 
also  a  tlaiiu'  ready  to  break  forth  upon  the  wicked. 
(Comp.  chaps,  i.  H ;  vii.  15,  Kote ;  Heb.  xii.  29 ; 
2  Tliess.  i.  6—10.)  There  may  be  allusiou  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  cities  of  the  plaius  (Gen.  xix.  2-i),  but 
other  incidents  may  have  been  in  the  prophet's  mind : 
tho  fire  which  fell' from  heaven  up  m  the  enemies  of 
an  earlier  prophet,  Elijah  (2  Kings  i.  9— 1-i),  and  the 
fire  which  broke  forth  from  the  tabernacle  in  the 
wilderness  upon  those  who  defied  the  laws  of  the  God 
of  Israel  (Num.  xn.  16,  17,  33 ;  Lev.  x.  1,  2).  It  must 
bo  remembered  that,  in  the  passage  before  us,  tho 
prophet  is  using  the  incidents  and  actions  of  the  past 
as  imagery,  and  that  the  present  vision  is  figurative, 
though  of  course  not  mere  empty  figure :  for  Christ  will 
thoroughly  purge  His  floor  (Matt.  iii.  12). 

(lo;  And  the  devil  that  deceived  them  .  .  .— 
Better,  And  the  d.vil  that  deceiveth  them,  or  was 
deceiving  them,  ivas  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
stone, where  are  also  the  wild  beasts  and  the  false 
prophet ;  aiid  they  shall  be  tormented  by  day  and  by 
night  unto  the  ages  of  the  ages.  Tho  de\'il  cast  from 
heaven  (chap.  xii.  9),  bound  in  the  abyss  (chap.  xx.  3), 
is  now  flung  into  tho  flaming  lake.  There  they  {i.e., 
the  devil,  the  wild  beast,  and  the  false  prophet)  are 
tormented  unto  the  ages  of  ages.  (Comp.  chap.  xiv. 
10,  11 ;  and  Xote  on  chap.  xix.  20.) 

The  Judgment  op  the  "World. — Tlie  three 
enemies  have  been  overthrown  and  driven  forth  from 
the  earth  which  they  have  sought  to  destroy  (chap.  xi. 
18).    The  judgment  of  human  oeings  must  follow. 

(11)  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne  .  .  . — 
Or,  And  I  saic  a  great  ichite  throne,  and  Him  that  was 
seated  thereon,  from  ivhose  face  fled  the  earth  and  the 
heaven,  ami  place  iv  is  not  found  for  them.  The  throne 
is  described  as  great  and  white,  to  set  it  in  strong 
contrast  to  other  thrones  mentioned  in  tho  book,  e.g., 
chaps,  iv.  4  and  xx.  4.  It  is  a  white  throne,  in  token 
of  the  purity  of  the  judgment  which  follows.  He 
who  sits  upon  it  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity.  It  is  asked.  WIkj  is  He  that  is  seated  here  ? 
Throughout  the  boi)k  God  is  called  "  Him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne"  (chaps,  iv.  3  and  v.  1);  but  we  must 
not  understand  this  as  excluding  the  Son  of  God,  who 
Bits  with  His  Father  ou  His  tlirone  (chap.  iii.  21),  and 
who,  as  Son  of  Man,  declared  tliat  He  would  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  His  glory  and  divide  "  all  the  nations  "  as  a 
6hei)herd  divideth  the  sheep  from  tlu'  goats  ( Matt.  xxv. 
31,32;  comp.  also  chaps,  vi.  16  and  xi.  15 — 18!.  At 
the  face  of  Him  who  sits  upon  the  tlirone  tlie  heaven 
and  earth  flee.  Hengstenberg  inter])rets  this  of  the 
putting  out  of  the  way  '"all  of  the  irrational  creation 
which  had  been  pressed  iut(j  tho  service  of  sin." 
Geblmrdt  interprets  it  of  "  the  dcsfriiction  of  the  whole 
present  visible  world."     A  conipanson,  however,  of  the 


imagerj'  employed  in  chaps,  vi.  12  — 14  and  xvi.  19,  20, 
should  make  us  cautious  of  asserting  that  any  great 
physical  catastrophe  is  described  here.  Doubtless  re- 
volution must  precede  renewal  (chap.  xxi.  1)  ;  but  it  is 
never  safe  to  ground  our  expectations  of  the  nature  of 
such  changes  upon  langiiage  which  is  confessedly 
poetical  in  form.  Some  physical  revolutions  do  in  all 
probability  await  our  earth,  but  the  eye  of  the  prophet 
looks  more  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  regeneration 
of  the  world — more  to  the  spii-itual  well-being  of  man- 
kind, than  to  any  physical  changes  which  may  S)Tichro- 
nise  with  the  culmination  of  the  world's  moral  history. 
(12, 13)  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great 
.  .  . — Or  rather,  And  I  saio  the  dead,  the  great  and  tlie 
small,  standing  before  (not  "  God,"  as  in  text,  but)  the 
tlirone,  and  boohs  (or,  rolls)  were  opened  ;  and  another 
booh  (or,  roll)  was  opened,  which  is  (the  book)  of  life ; 
and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  the  things  which  had 
been  written  in  tlie  books  (or,  rolls)  according  to  their 
works.  And  the  sea  gave  forth  the  dead  that  were  in 
it;  and  death  and  Hades  gave  forth  the  dead  who 
were  in  them ;  and  tliey  were  judged  each  according  to 
their  works.  The  latter  of  these  verses  is  added  to 
assure  us  that  the  dead,  in  whatever  quarter,  mnst  appear 
before  the  judgment  throne.  Death  and  Hades — "the 
grave  world,"  and  "  the  great  watery  gi-ave  " — the  sea, 
"the  imiversal  hidden  region  of  the  dead,"  give  up 
its  prey  ;  for  there  is  One  who  sits  upon  the  throne  who 
has  the  keys  of  death  and  Hades  (chap.  i.  18).  It  has 
been  said  by  some  that  the  dead  here  spoken  of  as 
coming  forth  from  the  grave  are  not  all  tho  dead,  but 
only  "  the  rest  of  the  dead  "  mentioned  in  chap.  xx.  5. 
Those  who  believe  that  the  fij-st  resurrection  there 
mentioned  is  a  literal  physical  resurrection  are  com- 
pelled to  limit  the  resurrection  here  to  tho  resurrection 
only  of  the  remainder  of  the  dead.  But  the  verses 
before  us  suggest  no  limitiition,  and  the  language  most 
assuredly  tends  to  the  idea  that  saints  and  faithful 
servants  of  God  take  part  in  this  later  resurrection. 
If  all  the  saints  and  righteous  men  of  old  are  raised 
prior  to  the  millennium,  and  take  no  part  in  this  last 
judgment  scene,  then  only  the  faithless  and  wicked^ are 
left  to  bo  judged  before  the  great  white  throne,  and 
as  none  of  these  can  be  found  written  in  the  book  of 
life,  the  bringing  forth  of  that  book  becomes  meaning- 
less. This  is  one  result  of  vicious  literalism  of  inter- 
pretations. The  real  significance  of  the  scene  lies  in 
the  vivid  picturing  of  that  great  and  solemn  truth  that 
we  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ, 
and  that  before  Him  there  is  nothing  hidden  which 
shall  not  be  revealed  (Matt.  x.  26  ;  comp.  1  Cor.  iv.  5). 
Then  shall  every  human  life  appear  in  its  true  light, 
stripped  of  all  the  deceptive  adornments  which  have 
given  a  fictitious  respectability  to  ingenious  fraud,  and 
a  fatal  popularity  to  adroit  wickeclness  and  splendid 
vice.  Then  shall  men  be  judged,  not  by  rank,  or 
success,  or  achievement,  but  according  to  their  works, 
as  it  is  t^vice  stated  here,  and  according  to  whether 


626 


The  Second  Death 


REVELATION,  XXT. 


in  the  Lake  of  Tire. 


and  helP  delivered  up  the  dead  wliich  \ox,tugra.re. 
were  in  them :    and  they  were  judged 
every   man   according   to  their   works, 
(i"*)  And  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the 
lake  of  fii'e.     This  is  the  second  death. 


(i-5>  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written 
in  the  book  of  life  was  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire. 

CHAPTEE  XXL— (')  And   I  saw  a 


thoy  liavo  any  life  tovranls  God.  The  woi'ks  and  tho 
life  towards  God  must  be  combined.  A  man  may  have, 
from  tlio  activities  of  liis  Christian  works,  a  name  to 
live,  and  yet  be  dead :  the  life-book  and  the  work- 
book coml)ine  to  mark  tho  real  servant  of  Christ.  If 
he  labours  more  abundantly  than  all,  it  is  Christ  who 
■woi'ks  in  him,  for  his  life  is  a  life  by  the  faith  of  the 
Son  of  God.  (Comp.  Gal.  ii.  20 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  lU ;  Jas.  ii. 
14— 2(j.) 

(14. 15)  And  death,  and  hell  were  cast  .  .  .— 
Better,  And  death  and  Hades  were  cast  into  tite  lake  of 
Jive.  The  latter  part  of  the  verse  contains,  according 
to  the  best  MS.  authority,  the  additional  words 
"  the  lake  of  fire."  We  then  road,  not  '*  This  is  tho 
second  death  " — as  thougli  the  reference  were  to  what 
wont  before — but,  This  is  the  second  death,  the  lake  of 
fire.  The  last  verse  then  follows.  And  if  any  was  not 
found  written  in  the  book  (or,  roll)  of  life,  he  was  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire.  Thus,  three  times  in  these  two 
short  verses,  like  a  refrain  at  the  close  of  each  clause, 
we  have  the  terrible  words  "  the  lake  of  fire."  Into 
this  lake  of  fire  Death  and  Hades  are  thrown.  It  is 
clearly  figurative  language,  implying  that  Death,  the 
last  enemy  (i  Cor.  xv.  2'o)  is  destroyed,  together  with 
Hades,  who  was  personified  as  Death's  escort  (chap.  vi. 
8).  So  we  read  in  the  next  chapter  (chap.  xxi.  4) 
"  there  shall  be  no  more  death."  The  lake  of  fire  into 
■which  Death  is  throAvn  is  the  second  death  !  We  have 
read  of  this  before  in  this  book  (chaps,  ii.  11 ;  xx.  6). 
It  is  a  death  of  which  the  first  death — the  physical 
death,  now  destroyed — was  but  a  faint  figure.  It  is  a 
condition  which  needs  no  coarse  exaggeration,  or  vulgar 
literalisation  of  the  prophetic  imagery,  to  heighten  the 
horror  of.  Very  awful  is  that  spiritual  death,  which 
knows  not  and  loves  not  God,  and  from  whicli  Christ 
has  come  to  arouse  us ;  more  awful  uuist  be  that 
second  death,  in  which  the  spirit,  no  longer  the  sinning 
\nctira  of  hereditary  evil,  has  ])ecome  the  vie  i  n  of 
habitual  choice  of  wrong,  loving  darkness  rather  thau 
light,  and  choosing  ali(Miation  rather  tlian  reconciliation 
— tho  husks  of  the  swine  rather  than  the  Father's  h(niso. 
Of  the  full  meaning  of  the  words  in  their  true  and 
fntureiorce  we  can  have  little  concepticm.  It  is  enough 
for  us  to  remeiiibf-r  two  things  :  tliey  are  figurative, 
but  they  are  figurative  of  something. 

XXI. 

The  Final  Regeneration. — All  xniNGS  new  : 
NEW  Heavens;  new  Earth ;  new  Jerusa- 
LE3I  (chaps,  xxi.  1 — xxii.  5). 

The  new  Heavens  and  new  Earth. 

n)  And  I  flaw  a  new  heaven  .  .  .—The  hope  of 
the  renewal  and  roslitution  of  all  things  had  b(>en  long 
cherished.  Earlier  propliets  had  sanctioned  the  liope  : 
Isjiiah  ha'l  told  of  new  hravens  and  new  earth  (Isa.  Ixv. 
17);  Ezekiel  had  closi-d  his  projthecy  with  the  s))lendid 
vision  of  a  remwcd  laud  of  promise  (Ezek.  xl. — xlviii.); 
Christ  Himself  had  s))oki'n  of  the  era  wlii<'h  He  iu- 
.MU'.rurated  as  the  r>generati(m  (J.Iatt.  xix.  2S);  His 
foUdwei's  sof>u  cantrht  the  truth  that  the  outcome  of 
the  gospel  age  would   be  the  realisation  of  all  those 


627 


marvellous  visions  with  which  prophets  had  sustained 
the  fainting  hopes  of  the  people  of  G(jd.  The  hoiic  was 
not  to  b(j  for  ever  receding  as  new  height  after  height 
was  surmounted.  It  will  not  always  be  said,  "  The 
days  are  prolonged,  and  every  vision  faileth"  (Ezek. 
xii.  22).  The  fulfilment  may  seem  to  tany ;  the 
unbelioA-ing  might  dou])t  or  scoif  (Matt,  xxi  v.  43; 
1  Thcss.  V.  2;  2  Pet.  iii.  4);  but  those  who  felt  that 
tho  giispel  was  a  power  of  spiritual  regen- i-ation, 
making  all  things  n<!W  (2  Cor.  v.  17),  learned  to  look 
forward  to  the  widest  and  fullest  restoration,  end  to 
expect  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwclleth 
righteousness  (2  Pet.  iii.  13).  The  characteristic  wn-d 
which  runs  thnmghout  the  description  is  the  word 
"  new."  All  things  are  to  be  made  new  :  the  heavens 
and  earth  are  new  ;  the  Jerusalem  is  neio.  There  a'  e 
two  words  which  are  translated  new  in  our  T  ^:  sh 
version:  one  of  those  (neos)  relates  to  time ;  tL^"  -'.l-ir 
{kuinos)  relates  to  quality.  Tlie  one  would  be  applied 
to  what  had  recently  come  into  existence;  the  other  to 
what  showed  fresh  features.  Tlie  tomb,  for  example, 
in  which  our  Lord's  body  was  laid  was  new,  not  in  the 
sense  that  it  had  been  recently  hewn  out  of  the  rock, 
but  in  the  sense  that  it  had  never  been  used  before;  it 
may  have  been  long  made,  but  it  was  one  wherein 
never  man  was  yet  laid.  To  describe  it  the  second  word 
(kainos)  is  used  (Matt.  xxAni.  60  and  John  xix.  41).  In 
the  same  way,  the  wine-skins  (called  "  bottles  "  in  our 
English  version)  required  for  the  new  \vine  were  not 
necessarily  wineskins  only  just  prepared  for  service, 
but  they  were  skins  which  had  not  gi-own  withered,  but 
retained  their  freshness  and  elasticity.  Here,  again, 
tlie  second  word  {kainos)  is  employed  to  describe  them. 
Now,  it  is  this  latter  word  which  is  used  throiighout 
this  chapter,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  book  of 
Revelation.  Tho  newness  which  is  pictured  is  the  new- 
ness of  freshness :  the  old,  decaying.  enfee])ling,  and 
corrupting  elements  are  swept  away.  The  aspec's  and 
features  which  will  surround  the  inhabitants  of  that 
new  earth  will  bo  full  of  novelty  to  satisfy  the  pro- 
gressive instincts  of  our  nature;  but  the  imagery  no 
less  conveys  the  assurance  that  the  conservative  in- 
stinct, which  clings  to  what  is  old,  and  finds  i^anctity  in 
the  past,  will  not  be  disregarded.  All  things  may  bo 
new,  full  of  fresh  aiul  fair  beauty;  but  all  things  will 
not  be  strange;  there  nmst  be  some  corrcspontlency 
between  the  old  and  the  new,  when  the  new  things  are 
called  new  heavens,  new  earth,  new  Jrrusahm.  Tho 
description  is  figurative,  but  the  spirit  of  it  implies  that 
in  the  restitution  age  the  sweetiioss  of  things  loved  and 
famili;ir  will  blend  with  the  charm  of  all  ihit  is  fresh 
and  new. 

And  there  was  no  more  sea. — Or,  bettor.  And 
the  sea  is  (exists),  not  any  more.  Among  the  nioro 
detailed  features  of  tho  new  earth,  this  obliteration  of 
the  s(>a  stands  first.  It  is  strange  that  so  many  com- 
mentators should  vacillate  between  literal  and  figura- 
tive interpretatiims  of  the  chapter;  the  ornaments  and 
decorations  of  the  new  Jerusalem  (verses  1(' — 21)  are 
treated  as  symbolical;  the  annihilation  of  the  sea  is 
considered  as  literal.  It  is  wiser  to  leave  the  litend 
meaning  to  the  future,  ami  to  grasp  the  spiritual  teach- 
ings, wliich  are  of  infinite  and  present  interest.      The 


Tlie.  New  ITeaven 


REVELATIO:^,   XXI. 


and  the  Nevj  Earlhr 


new  heaven  and  a  new  earth : "  for  the 
Chap.  xxi.  1—  first  heaven  and  the  first 
hoav'^ls'  III  earth  were  passed  away; 
now  earth.  and  there  Avas  no  more 
sea.  <2^  And  I  Jt)hn  saw  the  holy  city, 
now  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from  God 
out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  <2^  And  I 
^,  .  „  .    heard  a  great  voice  out  of 

Chap.  XII.  3, 4.  &    ,  r>   1     n     ,  1 

Th.j  voice  from  lieaven  saying,  Uehold,  the 
thetiuone.  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
men,   and    he    will   dwell   with    them, 


•alsa.as.  ir;2Pet. 
3.  13. 


c  2  Cor.  5. 17. 


and  they  shall  be  his  people,  and  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  he 
their  God.  <*)  And  God  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  *  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  soitow, 
nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any 
more  pain  :  for  the  former  things  are 
passed  away.  (^)  And  he  that  sat  upon 
the  throne  said,  Behold,  I  Qj^^^p  ^^j  ^__ 
make  all  things  new.*^  And  8.  The  voice 
he  said  unto   me.   Write:  from  Him  who 

_  T    ^'^     seateci     on 

tor  these  words  are  true  and  the  throne. 


sen  has  played  an  important  part  in  the  symbolism  of 
tho  l)()()k  :  out  of  the  sea  rose  the  wihl  beast  (ciiap.  xiii. 
1)  ;  tlie  pnrple-chid  Bal)ylon  sat  enthroned  upon  many 
waters  (cliap.  xvii.  1);  the  restless,  tumultuous  ocean, 
now  discorilant  with  its  clamorous  waves,  now  flooding 
the  earth  in  confederate  force ;  the  troul)led  sea  of  evil, 
whidi  cannot  rest,  and  casts  up  but  mire  and  dirt  (Isa. 
\\\\.  '1\),  is  no  more  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  that  earth, 
or  n<'ar  that  ciry  whose  peace  is  as  a  river,  and  whose 
righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea  (Isa.  xhdii.  18), 
and  whose  inhalntants  are  delivered  from  "  the  waves 
of  this  troublesome  world." 

(2)  And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city  .  .  .—Better, 
And  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  I  saw  coming  down 
out  of  the  heaven  from  God,  prepared  .  .  .  The  name 
John  is  omitted  in  the  best  MSS.  The  new  Jerusalem 
is  more  fully  described  lat«r  on  (verso  10  et  seq.).  The 
city  is  also  the  bride  (conip.  verses  9, 10).  Both  images 
— the  "city"  and  the  "bride" — are  familiar  to  the 
Biljle  student.  The  sacred  city  appears  linked  to  God 
l)y  a  sacred  bond.  (Comp.  Ps.  xlv.  13,  14;  Isa.  Ixi. 
10 ;  Ixii.  4,  5 ;  Gal.  iv.  2(3 ;  Epli.  v.  25—27.)  The  city- 
bride  is  now  adorned  for  lier  Husband.  We  know 
Avliat  her  ornaments  are,  now  that  He  is  about  to  pre- 
sent her  to  Himself  a  glorious  Church :  the  meekness 
and  gentleness  of  Clirist,  and  lier  loving  obedience  to 
Him  (1  Pet.  iii.  4),  are  her  jewels.  She  is  seen,  not 
rising  from  earth  or  sea,  like  the  foes  of  righteousness 
(chap.  xiii.  1,  11),  but  coming  down  from  heaven.  The 
M'orld  will  never  evolve  a  golden  age  or  ideal  state. 
The  new  Jerusahnn  must  descend  from  God.  The  true 
pattern,  which  alone  will  realise  man's  highest  wishes, 
is  the  pattern  in  the  mount  of  Gt)d  (Acts  vii.  44). 

The  First  Voice.— The  voice  out  of  the  throne 
(verses  3,  4.) 

C^)  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  hea- 
ven .  .  .  .—According  to  tlie  best  MSS.  the  voice  now 
heard  was  heard  "  out  of  the  throne,"  saying,  Behold, 
the  tdbenmcle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  He  will  taber- 
nacle with  them.  Here,  as  in  chap.  vii.  15,  the  transla- 
tion, "  shall  dwell,"  weakens  the  force  of  tlie  allusion. 
The  tent,  or  taliernaclo,  is  in  the  seer's  mind.  There 
is  a  difference  iji  tlio  prepositions  used  here  and  in 
chap.  vii. :  in  the  latter,  God  was  spoken  of  as  taber- 
nacling over  them;  here  He  tal)emacles  with  them. 
He  not  only  stretches  His  cloud-shelter  over  them,  but 
He  is  with  them.  They  shall  be  His  people,  and  He 
shall  be  God  tvith  them,  their  God.  The  introduction 
of  the  words  in  italics  ("and  be")  in  our  version  is  a 
weakness;  tlio  force  of  the  thouglit  is  spoiled.  Thry 
are  God's  people,  and  He  is  their  Emmanuel — God  with 
them,  their  God.    The  prophet  Ezekiel  supplies  parallel 


628 


thoughts  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  27,  28 ;  comp.  also  Lev.  xxvi. 
11,  12). 

(^)  And  God  shalT.  wipe  away  all  tears  .  .  . — 
Instead  of  "  all  tears "  we  should  translate  "  every 
tear,"  and  so  possess  the  promise  in  its  true  and  tender 
form.  The  first,  or  former,  things  are  passed  away : 
death  shall  not  be  any  longer ;  neither  shall  mourning, 
nor  crying,  nor  pain,  be  any  longer.  The  splendid 
array  of  negatives  come  as  heralds  of  the  positive  peace 
of  the  new  Jerusalem :  no  sea,  no  tears,  no  death,  no 
mourning,  no  crying,  no  pain ;  with  the  former  things 
these  six  shadows  pass  away  from  life.  "  The  mourning 
is  that  grief  which  so  takes  possession  of  the  w^hole 
being  that  it  cannot  be  hid  "  (Abp.  Trench).  It  is  the 
same  word  that  is  rendered  "  wailing  "  in  our  English 
version  (chai>.  xviii.  15).  It  is  used  of  mourning  for 
the  dead.  Crying  is  the  voice  of  despair  and  dismay, 
as  well  as  sorrow ;  it  is  the  loud  outcry  which  is  the 
witness  that  "  the  times  are  out  of  joint."  Paiii  in- 
cludes painful  labour  and  weariness.  With  the  passing 
away  of  these  there  must  depart  the  ground  for  the 
often-repeated  cry  of  "  Vanity  of  vanities ! "  The  sad 
minor  of  the  poet's  song  will  cease,  for — 

"  Time  with  a  gift  of  tears, 
Grief  with  a  glass  that  ran," 

together  with  "travail  and  heavy  sorrow,"  shall  be  no 
more.     On  the  whole  passage,  comp.  Isa.  xxv.  8 ;  Ixv.  19. 

The  Second  Voice. — The  voice  of  Him  who  sitteth 
on  the  Throne  (verses  5 — 8). 

(5)  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  .  .  . — 

Better,  And  he  who  sitteth  on  the  throne  said,  Behold, 
I  am  making  all  thi7igs  new.  And  he  saith  (the  words 
"  unto  me  "  should  be  omitted)  lorite ;  because  these 
words  are  faithful  and  true.  It  is  the  Throned  one, 
the  One  who  rules  over  all  things  from  the  beginning, 
and  who  has  presided  over  all  the  changing  scenes 
of  earth's  history,  who  speaks;  it  is  He  who  makes 
even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,  and  who  causes 
all  things  to  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
Him,  who  gives  this  heart-helping  assurance.  "  I  am 
making  all  things  new."  In  spite  of  the  moral  dis- 
order, the  pain  and  grief,  the  dark  shadows  of  life  and 
history,  the  new  creation  is  being  prepared,  and  will 
rise,  like  the  early  creation,  out  of  chaos.  The  analogy 
between  the  old  and  new  creation  is  the  reascm  why  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis  and  the  earlier  verses  of  this 
chapter  are  appointed  as  the  morning  lessons  for  Sep- 
tuagesima  Sunday  ;  as  out  of  an  earth  without  form  and 
void  rose  the  world  of  order  and  beauty,  which  God 
pronounced  very  good,  so  cmt  of  the  world,  so  full  of 
distress  and  tears,  and  overshadowed  by  so  many  clouds 


TU  Water  of  Life. 


EEVELATION,  XXI. 


Doom  of  the  Wicked. 


fiiithful.  (6)  And  he  said  unto  me,  It  is 
done.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omeg-a,  the 
beginning  and  the  end."  I  will  give 
XLwio  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain 
of  the  water  of  life  freely.*  C^^i  He  that 
overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things;  and 
I  will  be  his  (Jod,  and  he  shall  be  my 


a  clL  1.  8;  ! 
b  Isa.  65.  1. 


son.  (^'  But  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving, 
and  the  abominable,  and  murderers,  and 
whoremongers,  and  sorcerers,  and  idola- 
ters, and  all  liars,  shall  have  their  part 
in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and 
brimstone :  which  is  the  second  death. 
<^'  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the 


of  sin,  will  emerge  the  glad  now  world,  wherein 
dwelletli  righteousness.  Tlie  closing  words  of  the 
verse,  perhaps  an  instruction  from  the  angel,  but  more 
probably  still  the  voice  of  Him  that  sits  on  tiio 
throne,  adds  the  further  assurance,  "  These  words  are 
true  and  faithful." 

I**)  And  he  said  unto  me,  It  is  done.— Or, 
rather,  They  (the  things  promised)  have  come  to  pass. 
He  spake,  and  it  was  done.  The  assurance  is  made 
trebly  sure.  "  I  am  making  all  things  new."  "  Those 
words  are  true."  '*  They  are  fulfilled."  "  Twice,"  says 
Bongol,  "  twice  it  is  said  in  this  book  '  It  is  done.' 
First  at  the  completion  of  the  wrath  of  God  in  chap, 
xvi.  17,  and  here  again  at  the  making  of  all  things 
now." 

I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and 
the  end  .  .  . — Tlie  definite  article  must  be  placed  be- 
fore Alpha  and  Omega.  I  am  the  Alpha  and  tlie 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  He  is  the  Alpha 
and  Omega,  whose  words  are  faithful  and  true,  and  He 
is  the  beginning  and  the  end,  who  is  before  all  things 
and  by  Avhom  all  things  consist  (Col.  i.  17  ;  John  i. 
I).  He  fuiislies  as  well  as  begins.  He  who  begins  the 
good  work  will  perform  it  (Phil.  i.  6 ;  Col.  i.  20) ;  all  grace 
flows  from  Him;  and  all  love  flows  back  to  Him, 
who  is  Love,  who  is  the  cause  and  end  of  all,  who  first 
makes  us,  and  lastly  makes  us  rest  in  Him.  All  the  un- 
satisfied yeanlings  of  the  lieart  may  find  satisfaction 
in  Him.  Hence,  perhaps,  this  promise,  /  to  him  that 
thirsteth  will  give  out  of  the  spring  of  the  water  of  life 
freely.  No  promise  sliall  fail — the  needy  and  thirsty 
so  often  invited  to  Him  may  find  fresh  springs  of 
life  in  Him.  (Comp.  Isa.  Iv.  1 ;  John  iv.  10—14  ;  vii. 
37,  38.)  The  blessing  is  promised  freely,  as  an  un- 
bought  gift,  without  money  and  without  price.  This  is 
the  genius  of  the  good  news  of  God — the  gift  is  free 
to  all.  H(^  who  understands  this  will  not  be  afraid  to 
say,  "  Nothing  in  my  liand  I  bring  ;  "  and  he  who  says 
this  will  be  he  who  will  also  say,  "  What  things  were 
gain  to  me,  those  I  counted  loss  for  Christ,"  so  that 
he  who  brings  everything  brings  nothing;  and  lie  who 
brings  nothing  brings  everything,  knowing  that  all  is 
nothing. 

(V)  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all 
things  .  .  . — Kather,  He  that  conqucrdh  shall  inherit 
these  things  ;  and  I  will  be  to  him  God.  and  he  shall 
be  to  me  a  son.  Tlie  general  promise  of  verse  3  is  in 
part  repeated,  and  this  time  more  indindually.  Again 
wo  catch,  as  it  were,  the  echo  of  the  promist>s  to  the 
Seven  Churches,  the  blessing  is  for  liim  that  con- 
quereth.  Tlie  idea  of  the  war  and  the  conquest  is  a 
favourite  one  with  St.  John.  (John  xvi.  33,  and  1  John 
ii.  13,  14;  V.  4.  5;  see  also  Note  on  chap.  ii.  7.)  The 
source  and  weapon  of  victory  have  Ix-en  before  stated  : 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  the  word  of  their  testimony 
(chap.  xii.  11).  and  tlie  victory  of  faith  (1  John  v.  4). 

(8)  But  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and 
the  abominable  .  .  .—Better,  But  for  the  coivardly 
and  vnfavihful  {or,  unbelieiung)  and  di  filed  with  abomi- 
nations, and  murderers,  and  fornicators,  and  sorcerers, 


and  idolaters,  ami  for  all  the  false,  their  part  [is]  in  tlie 
lake  that  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone  ;  which  thing 
i-f  the  second  death.  Tlie  list  here  given  points  to  those 
classes  of  character  which  cannot  find  a  place  in  tlie  Holy 
City.  Nothing  that  dofileth  shall  enter  in.  The  less 
glaring  faults  stand  first,  the  cowardly  and  unbelieving. 
There  is  a  high  aTid  holy  fear  in  which  the  Christian 
passes  the  time  of  his  sojourn  here  (1  Pet.  i.  17) ;  but 
there  is  a  base  and  selfish  fear,  a  fear  of  man.  which 
brings  a  snare  ;  those  who  have  faith  entor  Ijoldly  the 
strife,  following  the  Lamb  whithersoever  Hi'  gooth,  and 
conquering  by  faith.  The  cowardly  sink  into  com- 
panionship with  the  faithless  and  unbelieving,  with  the 
workers  of  iniquity.  The  abominations  spoken  of  here 
have  reference  to  those  mentioned  in  chap.  xvii.  4.  The 
characters,  it  has  been  thought,  form  four  pairs.  Fear 
and  unbelief  go  hand  in  hand  (Dent.  xx.  1—8;  Matt 
viii.  26) ;  the  workers  of  abomination  and  the  murderers, 
the  fornicators  and  the  sorcerers  are  united  as  those 
who  sin  in  secret ;  the  idolaters  and  the  false,  as  those 
who  change  God's  truth  into  a  lie.  (Comp.  Eph.  v.  5  ; 
Col.  iii.  5  ;  Phil.  iii.  19.)  These  who  are  thus  shut  out 
from  the  heavenly  city  stand  in  contrast  to  those  who 
are  admitted  ;  yet  among  those  admitted  are  such  who 
have  sinned  through  foar,  faithlessness,  and  fleshliness. 
Sin  indeed  excludes  from  the  city,  but  it  is  sin  loved, 
sin  unrepented  of,  which  alone  can  close  the  gate  of 
the  city  whose  gates  lie  open  day  and  night. 

The  Heavenly  Jebttsalem  described  (9— xxii. 
5). — Before  entering  upon  this  section  it  is  wise  to 
recall  once  more  that  the  descriptions  here  given  are 
figurative,  and  are  not  to  be  understood  literally.  "  There 
is  nothing  in  it  as  it  seems  saving  the  King."  This 
remark  may  well  be  thought  needless;  but  tlie  miscon- 
ceptions aiid  misrepresentations  of  the  Christian's  hope 
have  been  many  and  reckless  ;  and,  oven  were  this  not 
the  case,  there  is  always  a  certain  proporticni  of  people 
who  seem  incapable  of  understanding  figurative  lan- 
guage. Half  the  errors  of  the  Clmrcli  have  be.ni  due 
to  prosaic-minded  men  wlio  could  not  disccni  the  dif- 
ference between  figure  and  fact  ;  and  men  of  nnpoetical 
and  vehement  teniperamont  have  blundt>red  over  these 
descriptions,  and  their  blunders  have  discredited  the 
whole  Apocalypse  in  the  eyes  of  some.  Tlie  following 
are  the  features  of  the  heave.ily  city,  wliich  the  descrip- 
tion seems  designed  to  enforce  upon  our  thoughts. 
The  great  and  holy  community  will  bo  one  which  draws 
its  glory  from  God  (chap.s.  xxi.  11,23:  xxii.  6).  Its 
lilessings  are  not  for  a  few,  but  open  to  all.  for  its  gates 
lie  open  to  all  quarters  (chap.  xxi.  12,  13l  The 
heavenly  and  the  earthly  will  be  at  one;  angels, 
apostles,  and  patriarchs  are  tliere  (chap.  xxi.  12.  14). 
Diverse  characters  will  find  entrance  there;  the  gates 
bear  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes.  The  door  of  ad- 
mis.sion  is  alike  for  all.  though  diverse  characters  from 
diverse  (piarters  will  eiit.T  in  (chap.  xxi.  21).  It  will  bo 
the  abode  of  all  that  is  fair  and  good,  anil  no  dispropor- 
tions  will  mar  its  loveliness  (chap.  xxi.  17,  18 1.  The 
ancient  truths,  spoken  by  various  lips,  will  bo  found 


629 


Description  of 


EEVELATION,   XXI. 


the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 


seven  angels  wliicli  had  tlie  seven  vials 
Chaps,  ixi.  9—  full  of  the  seven  last  plagues, 
xxii.  5.  The  and  talked  with  me,  saying, 
"^^  do'-  Come  hither,  I  will  shew 
scribed.  thee  the  bride,  the  Lamb's 

wife.  (^•'^  And  he  carried  me  away  in 
the  spirit  to  a  great  and  high  mountain, 
and  shewed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy 
Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven 
from  God,  f")  having  the  glory  of 
God:    and   her   light   was   like    unto  a 


stone  most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal ;  ^^^^  and  had  a 
wall  great  and  high,  and  had  twelve 
gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve  angeLs, 
and  names  written  thereon,  which  are 
the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the 
children  of  Israel :  <^^^  on  the  east  three 
gates ;  on  the  north  three  gates ;  on 
the  south  three  gates ;  and  on  the  west 
three  gates.  '^^^  And  the  wall  of  the 
city  had  twelve  foundations,  and  in  them 


to  be  otonial  tnitlis.  full  of  varied  but  consistent  beauty 
(chap.  xxi.  14,  lit.  2U).  The  forms  and  lielps  which  were 
needful  here  will  not  be  needful  there  (chap.  xxi.  22, 
23);  all  that  the  servants  of  God  have  righteously 
hungered  and  thirsted  for  here  will  be  supplied  tiiere 
(chap.  xxii.  1,  2).  There  will  be  blessings,  various,  cou- 
tinuDUS,  eternal ;  new  fields  of  labour  and  new  possi- 
bilities of  service  will  be  opened  there  (chap.  xxii.  3,  4). 

<^)  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven 
angels  .  .  . — The  words '•uuto  me  "should  be  omitted. 
One  of  the  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven  vials  of 
Avrath  had  shown  to  the  seer  the  scarlet-clad  harlot,  the 
great  and  guilty  Babylon  :  so  here  docs  one  of  the  same 
com])iuiy  of  angels  show  him  the  pure  Bride  of  the 
Lamb,  the  new  and  holy  Jerus;ilom. 

(it>)  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit 
.  .  . — Better,  He  carried  me  aicay  in  sjyirit  on  to  a 
mountain,  great  and  high.  It  is  not  merely  that  the 
lieight  gives  a  fine  view-ground,  the  .symbolism  carries 
us  further.  The  glimpse  of  God's  coming  glories  is 
best  gained  from  the  consecrated  heights  of  self-sur- 
render and  prayer.  On  a  mountain  apart — the  mountain 
of  supplication  and  separation  from  the  world — is  the 
liglit  and  glory  of  God  best  seen.  There  are  Beuluh 
heights  and  transfiguration  heights  from  which  we 
may  gain  glimpses  of  the  city  and  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  of  tlie  city.  (Comp.  Matt.  xvii.  1 — i.)  Tlie 
angel  carried  away  the  seer  to  a  mountain  gi-eat  and 
liigh,  and  showed  him  (not  "  that  great  city,"  but)  tlie 
holy  city  Jerusalem  descending  out  of  the  heaven  from 
(having  its  origin  from)  God.  Tlie  tempter  showed  to 
our  Lord  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of 
them ;  the  comforting  angel  shows  to  our  Lord's  jjrophet 
the  city  that  hath  the  foundations,  and  the  glory  of  it — 
the  city  that  is  of  God,  its  builder  and  maker.  (Comp. 
Heb.  xi.  lU.  where  the  right  i-endering  is  not  "a  city," 
but  the  city  u-]tirh  hath  tlie  foundations.) 

dU  Having  the  glory  *of  God  .  .  .—Tlie  glory 
of  God  is  the  glorious  presence  of  God,  the  true  She- 
cliinah,  of  which  wo  have  read  before  fehap.  xv.  8,  and 
see  verse  23).  The  light  of  the  city  is  d(>scribed  :  And 
her  light  (or,  brightness  :  it  is  the  light  which  she  gives ; 
the  same  word  is  used  as  that  employed  in  the  LXX., 
Gen.  i.  17,  for  the  heavenly  bodies)  i's  like  a  stone  most 
precious,  as  it  were  a  jasper  .sto)ie  crystallising.  On 
the  meaning  and  appearance  of  this  stone,  see  Note  on 
chap.  iv.  3.  It  is  in  all  probability  a  stone  transparent 
and  clear  as  the  crystal,  })ut  retaining  the  greenish  hue 
belonging  to  the  jasper.  The  general  brightness  of  the 
city  wius  lustrous  as  the  diamond,  lint  shot  with  the 
green  tint  of  the  emerald  bow  which  swept  the  throne. 
(Comp.  chap.  iv.  3.) 

(12, 1  i)  And  had  a  wall  great  and  high  .  .  .— 
Or,  better  [iov  the  coustructiou  is  coutiiiued),  Having  a 


630 


wall  great  and  high,  and  having  twelve  gate-towers,  and 
at  the  gate-towers  twelve  angels,  and  names  inscribed 
ichich  are  (names)  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  sons  of 
Israel :  from  the  sun-rising  (i.e.,  facing  east)  three  gate- 
toivers ;  from  the  north  three  gate-toivers,  from  the 
south  three  gate-towers  ;  from  the  sun-setting  three  gate- 
totvers.  On  this  arrangement  of  gates  Num.  ii.,  Ezek. 
xlviii.,  and  Rev.  vii.  should  be  compared.  In  the  en- 
campment in  the  wilderness  (Num.  ii.)  the  tribes  were 
arranged  as  follows  :  on  the  east,  Judah.  Issachar,  Zebu- 
lun ;  on  the  south,  Reuben,  Simeon,  Gad  ;  on  the  we^5t, 
Ephraim,  Manasseh,  Benjamin ;  on  the  north,  Dan, 
Asher,  Naplitali.  There  is  perhaps  allusion  in  the  pre- 
sent passage  to  this  wilderness  encampment,  and  to  the 
re-adjustment  of  the  order  of  the  tribes  in  Ezekiel 
(cliap.  xlviii.) ;  but  there  is  more  than  order  here  :  the 
gates  lie  open  to  all  quarters ;  there  is  no  refusal  of 
admission  To  any  people.  The  representatives  of  all 
nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  are 
(chap.  vii.  9)  in  the  city  of  Christ;  in  Him  there  is 
neither  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free,  but  all  are 
one.  The  diversities  of  human  nationality  and  charac- 
ter, of  age  and  race,  and  climate,  are  brought  into  ono 
communion  and  fellowship.  (Comp.  Note  on  chap.  vii. 
4.)  "  The  wall  great  and  high  "  is  mentioned  to  assure 
us  of  tlie  security  and  peace  of  that  city  where  no  foe 
"  or  thief  approaclieth  "  (Lsa.  xxvi.  1  ;  Zech.  ii.  5). 

(1^)  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  .  .  .—  Or, 
rather.  Ami  the  wall  of  the  city  having  tivelve  founda- 
tions, and  on  them  twelve  names  oftht  twelve  Apostles  of 
the  Lamb.  There  were  twelve  large  stones  forming  the 
ba.sement  of  the  wall,  the  names  of  the  Apostles  were 
inscribed  on  these.  The  whole  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment Church  is  represented  in  the  appearance  of  the 
city;  but  the  work  of  the  Ajjostles  receives  its  special 
recognition ;  it  is  ou  their  teaching  and  witness  for 
Christ  that  the  great  spiritual  Jerusalem  is  built.  There 
is  complete  harmony  of  thought  liere  between  St. 
Paul  and  St.  John.  St.  Paul  descrilied  the  Church  as 
built  U])on  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone  (Eph. 
ii.  20).  We  may  compare  the  same  illustration  used  by 
our  Lord  (Matt.  xvi.  18)  and  afterwards  by  St.  Peter 
(1  Pet.  ii.  4 — 6).  The  argument  that  St.  John  could 
not  be  the  ^vriter  of  the  Apocal}i)se  because  he  speaks 
of  the  Apostles  (and  so  includes  himself)  as  the  founda- 
tion-stones of  the  celestial  city,  miglit  be  applied  ^^^tll 
equal  wisdom  against  the  Pauline  authorship  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians;  it  is.  moreover,  a  class  of 
argument  which  betrays  a  tendency  to  confusion  of 
thought,  and  to  misapprehension  of  the  meaning  and 
value  of  symbols.  Historically  and  docti-inally  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  built  upon  the  foimdations  here 
described  ;  our  creeds  declare  an  acknowledgment  of  a 
catholic  and  apostolic  Chui-ch.     Note  the  recurrence 


Measurement  of  the  City. 


EEVELATION,   XXT. 


TJie  Stones  of  the  Wall. 


the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lamb.  (^^'  And  he  that  talked  with 
Chap.  xxi.  15—  me  had  a  golden  reed  to 

surement'Tf  "^^^^'^^^  ^he  citv,  and  the 
the  city.  gates  thereof,  and  the  wall 

thereof.  (i«>  And  the  city  lieth  four- 
square, and  the  length  is  as  large  as  the 
breadth  :  and  he  measured  the  city  with 
the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs.  The 
lenofth  and  the  breadth  and  the  heifjlit 
of  it  are  equal.     (^"^  And  he  measured 


the  wall  thereof,  an  hundred  and  forty 

and  four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure 

of  a  man,  that  is,  of  the  angel.    C^^'*  And 

the   building   of    the    wall  ^,  .  ,„ 

o    •■  /'    •  -,    Chap.  XXI.  18 — 

01   it  Avas    oj  jasper  :    and  21.     The  pre- 

the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  ^^^^^  stones. 
unto  clear  glass.  (^'''  And  the  founda- 
tions of  the  wall  of  the  city  were 
garnished  with  all  manner  of  precious 
stones.  The  first  foundation  was  jasper; 
the    second,    sajjphire ;     the    third,    a 


of  the  name,  the  Lamb,  to  describe  our  Lord.  He  is 
still  the  Lamb ;  the  writer  lins^ers  over  the  well  aud 
early  known  image.     (Comp.  John  i.  29,  3G.) 

The  Measurement  op  the  City. 

(15)  And  he  that  talked  with  me  .  .  .—Or, 
better.  And  he  icho  was  talking  loith  me  had  a  golden 
reed  .  .  .  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  angel  mentioned  in 
Ezekiel  (Ezek.  xv.  o)  ;  the  reed,  or  measuring  rod,  is  of 
gold,  that  used  in  ehap.  xi.  1  was  not  said  to  be  of  gold; 
the  nieasuremeut  there  was  the  symbol  of  preservation 
amid  imjiending  danger ;  tlie  measuring  here  is  more 
glorious — it  is  measuring  which  exliibits  tlie  beauty  aud 
proportion  of  the  city  wliich  is  now  dwelling  at  peace. 
Gold  is  one  of  the  features  of  the  city ;  the  street  is 
gold  (A'erses  18,  21);  it  may  stand  as  a  token  of  the 
wealth  (Ps.  Ixxii.  15 ;  1  Kings  x.  14 — 21)  of  the  royal 
city;  but  the  wealth  of  that  city  is  love.  (Comp.  Note 
on  chap.  iii.  IS.) 

(1"^)  And  the  city  lieth  foursquare  .  .  .—The 
city  is  foursquare,  l)ccause  the  length  and  breadth  are 
equal ;  but  it  is  added  that  the  height  also  is  equal  to 
the  length  and  breadth,  the  city  thus  presents  the 
symbol  of  perfect  symmetry  ;  this  is  all  that  is  needed. 
Many  interpreters  are  nervously  anxious  about  the 
monstrous  appearance  of  a  city  whose  walls  measured 
three  tliousand  stadii  (the  word  rendered  ''furlongs"  is 
properly  dadii) ;  but  tliere  is  no  need  to  be  nervous 
about  the  symbols ;  the  city  is  not  designed,  any  more 
than  the  virion  of  chap,  iv.,  or  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  (chap, 
i.)  to  be  represented  by  painting  to  the  eye :  the  at- 
tempt to  do  so  only  ends  in  the  production  of  grotesque 
aud  profane  pictures.  It  is  not  needful,  however,  in 
this  case  to  suppose  the  actual  wall  to  have  been  3,000 
stadii  in  height ;  tlie  city  is  placed  on  a  hill,  the  foun- 
dations are  upon  the  lioly  nill.  and  the  deep  strong 
mountain  foundations  may  be  included  in  the  measure- 
ment. The  main  thought,  liowever,  is  to  realise  the  j 
liarmony  and  proportion  of  that  community,  in  which  ' 
l)road  and  low  and  higli  will  meet,  and  in  which  no 
truth  will  l)e  exaggerated  or  distorted ;  in  which  no  | 
disproportioned  adjustments  will  mar  its  social  order ; 
in  which  all  those  who  are  inbuilt  as  living  stones  will 
be  measured,  not  by  the  false  estimates  of  worldly 
thoughts  (comp.  Jas.  ii.  4),  but  by  tlio  golden  reed  of  j 
the  sanctuary.  | 

(17)  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof  .  .  .— 
Better,  And  he  measured  itn  wall  by  an  hundred  and 
forty-four  cubits  (i.e.,  in  heighti,  man's  measure,  which 
is  angeVs.  The  measurement  is  in  man's  measure,  but 
the  reed  was  liandled  l)y  an  ang(d  ;  the  measure  is  true 
for  men  and  true  for  angels;  it  may  mean  that  the 
angel  used  the  ordinary  liuman  measure,  l)ut  may  it 
not  imply  that  the  vision  is  true  for  aU,  for  the  earthly 

'g31 


and  for  the  heavenly  ?  it  is  man's  measure,  it  is  angel's 
measure  ;  the  human  will  not  find  the  pictui-e  untrue, 
though  the  city  is  not  literal :  it  is  figurative,  but  not 
more  figure.  The  recurrence  of  the  number  Imndrcd 
and  forty-four  recalls  us  to  the  figurative  cliaracter  of 
the  description.     (Comp.  Note  on  claap.  vii.  4.) 

The  Building  or  Material  of  the  City. 

(18)  And  the  building  of  the  wall .  .  .—Or,  And 
the  huilding-wovh  (or,  the  masonry,  so  Alford)  of  the 
wall  of  it  was  ja.'iper,  and  tlie  city  was  pure  gold,  like 
j)ure  glass.  The  general  aspect  of  the  city  was  jasper- 
like,  because  the  material  of  the  wall  was  of  tlie  jasper 
stone.  On  this  stone,  see  Note  on  chap.  iv.  3.  and  on 
A'erse  11  above.  The  city  was  gold.  On  the  meaning 
of  the  gold  see  Note  on  verse  15  and  on  chap.  iii.  18. 
To  what  has  been  Siiid  may  be  added  the  folloAving  : — • 
"  Gold  has  an  inalienable  reference  to  the  sun  itself, 
consequently,  to  the  symbol  of  the  face  of  God,  or 
Christ,  i.e.,  to  the  manifestation  of  God's  love"  (^Lange). 

The  wealth  of  heaven  is  love ;  love  is  the  circulating 
medium  of  all  holy  activity  and  of  aU  holy  work  :  all 
who  dwell  within  the  heavenly  city  are  encompassed 
by  it;  aU  who  tread  the  streets  of  that  city  move  along 
the  ways  of  love  ;  no  dimness  or  obscuring  motives  of 
self-interest  mar  its  lustre — the  gold  is  clear  as  puro 
glass. 

(19)  And  the  foundations  of  the  wall  .  .  .— 
Better,  Tlie  foundations  of  the  wall  of  the  city  (icere) 
adorned  loith  evei'y  j^redous  stone.  We  may  compare 
the  adornment  of  the  harlot  (chap.  xvii.  4).  Her  robo 
was  decked  with  gold,  and  precious  stones,  aud  pearls. 
The  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  has  lier  beautiful  orna- 
ments, richer  and  rarer  than  those  which  adorned  tlie 
world-mistress.  The  comparison  reminds  us,  in  a  vivid 
and  figurative  way.  of  our  Ma.ster's  often -repeated  teach- 
ing. He  that  saveth  his  life,  loseth  it ;  he  that  loseth, 
sjiveth  it ;  he  that  is  content  to  pass  by  the  dazzling 
attractions  of  the  world,  refusing  splendour  from  the 
outstretched  hand  of  Babylon,  will  win  the  true  siuritual 
riches.  There  is  no  man  that  has  turned  away  for 
Christ's  Siike  from  the  attractions  of  the  world-spirit, 
that  hath  foi-saken  houses  and  lands  for  Clirisfs  sake 
and  the  gospel,,  but  shall  receive  manifold  more,  &c. 
(Mark  x.  28— ;31).  The  "jewels  of  right  celestiid 
worth  "  are  part  of  the  heritage  of  him  who  can  nobly 
hold  cheap  the  degrading  hire  of  the  world.  (Comp. 
Isa.  liv.  12.) 

Tlie  foundations  are  various.  Tliere  were  in  the 
foiindati(m  of  tlie  Church  diversitii-s  of  gifts  and 
administrations,  but  the  same  Lord  and  the  some 
spirit.  In  the  heavenly  city  we  have  harmony,  not 
monotony;  variety,  not  sameness;  unity,  not  uni- 
formity.    The  stones  are  not  arranged  in  the  order  of 


2Vt€  twelve  Gatus. 


REVELATION,   XXI. 


The  Liijht  of  live.  City. 


chalcedony;  the  fourth,  an  emerald; 
(-'J>  the  fifth,  sardonyx ;  the  sixtli, 
sardius ;  the  seventh,  chrysolyte ;  the 
ei<,'hth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  a  topaz  ;  the 
tenth,  a  ehrysoj^rasus ;  the  eleventh,  a 
jacinth ;  the  twelfth,  an  amethyst. 
"(-'>  And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve 
pearls ;  every  several  gate  was  of  one 
pearl :  and  the  street  of  the  city  was 
pure     gold,    as     it    wei-e     transparent 


glass.  (--)  And  I  saw  no  temple  there- 
in: for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and 
the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 
(23)  ^11(1  the  city  had  no  need  of  the 
sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in 
it : "  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it, 
and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof. 
(^^^  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are 
saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it :  *  and 
the  kinffs  of  the  earth  do  brinff  their 


tho  liigli  pi-iest's  breastplato,  Init  according  to  their 
various  shades  of  coloiu*,  begiuuiug  from  tho  fouuda- 
tion. 

1.  Janpis,  dark  opaque  green. 

2.  Sapphlrus,  Lapis-lazuli,  opaque  Wue. 

3.  Clidlceclnn,  an  Emerald  of  a  greenish  hue. 

4.  Smaragilus,  bright  transparent  green. 

5.  Sardonyx,  white  and  red. 

6.  Sardiua,  bright  red. 

7.  Chrysolite,  our  Topaz,  bright  yellow. 

8.  Beryl,  bhiish  green. 

9.  Topazion,  or  Peridot,  yellowish  green. 

10.  Chrysoprasiis,   a  darker   shade   of    the   same 

colour. 

11.  Hyacinthus,  Sapphire,  sky  blue. 

12.  Amethystus,  violet. 

"  Chrysoprasus  is  probably  an  error  for  Chrysopaston, 
a  dark  blue  stone,  studded  \nth  gold,  by  wliich  substi- 
tution all  tlio  sliades  of  blue  will  follow  each  other." 
(See  King,  On  Gems.) 

With  this  blended  harmony  of  colour  the  foundation- 
stones  would  encircle  the  heavenly  city  as  with  a 
rainbow  belt.  In  the  seer's  view  the  light  of  tho 
heavenly  city  would  shine  witli  hues  tliat  betoken  the 
advent  of  the  morning.  Tho  varying  tints  would  glow 
like  pledges  of  a  dayspring  from  on  high. 

"  Aloti'?'  the  tinsrling'  desert  of  the  sky, 
Ucyond  the  circle  of  the  conscious  hills 
Were  laid  in  jasper-stone  as  clear  as  j^lass 
Tho  lirst  foundations  of  that  new,  near  Day, 
Which  should  be  builded  out  of  heaven  to    iod. 

Jasper  lirst,  I  said  ; 

And  second,  sapphire  ;  third,  chalcedony ; 
The  rest  in  order ;— last,  an  amethyst." 

Tlie  foitnilation-stones  are  twelve.  "  As  twelve,  they 
inilieate  their  numerical  completeness  (chaps,  vii.  and 
xiv.);  as  sliining  witli  a  common  lustre,  their  unity;  as 
stones  of  different  Inies,  tlieir  manifoldness  ;  as  brilliant 
stones,  the  glorification  of  this  earthly  life  through  the 
liglit  of  Heaven  "  (Lange). 

(-"  And  the  twelve  gates  .  .  .—Or,  gnte-tnwers. 
Each  gate  was  of  one  pearl — i.e.,  made  out  of  one  pearl. 
Tlie  foundations  are  diverse;  the  gates  are  alike. 
There  is  one  way,  thcnigh  tliere  are  many  roads  ;  one 
mode  of  entrance,  through  twelve  gates.  All  find  en- 
trance tlironi]fh  one  new  and  living  Way  (John  xiv.  6; 
Acts  ir.  11.  12;  1  Cor.  iii.  11;  Heb.  x.  20».  The  pearl 
was  esteemed  of  the  greatest  value  among  the  ancients; 
it  is  an  appropriate  embhnn  of  tlie  higliest  truth,  and 
so  of  Him  who  is  the  Trutli  as  well  as  tlie  Way  of  Life. 
Lord  Bacon  compared  truth  to  a  pearl  "  that  showeth 
best  by  day."  Another  feature  may  bo  added.  It  is 
tlie  only  pr(>cious  .stone  which  the  art  and  skill  of  man 
cannot  improve.  Tlio  tools  of  the  artificer  may  give 
fresh  bistro  to  the  emerald  and  the  sap]»hiro ;  but  he 
must  lift  no  tool  upon  the  pearl.     So  is  it  with  the 


632 


truth,  which  sets  men  free  (1  Cor.  iii.  10).  Through 
truth,  and  Him  who  is  Truth,  we  enter  the  city ;  and 
the  street  of  the  city  was  gold,  pure  as  transparent 
glass.     (See  Note  on  verse  18.) 

(-2)  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  .  .  . — 
Rather,  And  temjile  I  saw  not  in  it,  for  the  Lord 
God  the  Almighty  is  her  temple,  and  the  Lamb.  In 
Ezekiel's  vision  the  vast  and  splendid  proportions  of 
the  Temple  formed  a  conspicuous  part :  its  gigantic  pro- 
portions declared  it  to  be  figurative  (Ezek.  xlviii.  8 — 20); 
but  the  present  vision  passes  on  to  a  higher  state  of 
things.  "  I  saw  no  temple  :  "  Ezekiel's  vision  declared 
that  the  literal  temple  would  be  replaced  by  a  far  more 
glorious  spiritual  temple.  The  age  of  the  Christian 
Church  succeeds  the  age  of  the  Jewish  temple-worship  ; 
the  age  of  the  Church  triumphing  will  succeed  tho  age 
of  the  Church  toiling ;  and  there  the  external  organi- 
sations, helps,  and  instrumentalities  required  for  the 
etlifying  of  the  body  of  Christ  will  no  longer  be 
needed.  Tongues,  prophecies,  knowledge,  may  pass 
away  (1  Cor.  xiii.  9;  Eph.  iv.  11 — 13);  churches  will  dis- 
appear, absorbed  in  the  one  glorious  Church  ;  ministries, 
missionary  organisations,  helps,  governments,  may 
cease.  There  God  is  all.  Tlie  Lord  is  there — tlie 
temple,  tlie  sanctuary,  the  dwelling-place  of  His  people. 
(Comp.  Ezek.  xlviii.  35.)  Every  merely  local  aspect  of 
worship  is  at  an  end  (John  iv.  21 — 24). 

(23)  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun  .  .  . 
— Rather,  And  the  city  hath  not  need  of  the  sun,  nor  of 
the  moon  that  they  should  shine  on  {or,  for)  her ;  for 
the  glory  of  God  enlightened  her,  and  her  lamp  is  the 
Lamb.  Tho  Shechinah  is  again  alluded  to.  Light  is  the 
emblem  of  knowledge  and  holiness.  God  is  light,  and 
in  Him  is  no  dai-kness  at  all  (1  John  i.  5).  Christ  the 
Lamb,  came  as  the  Light  of  the  World.  Now  in  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem  is  the  light  seen  as  a  lamp  tliafc 
burnetii.  Tho  imagery  is  drawn  from  Isaiah.  "  The 
sun  shall  be  no  more  thy  light  by  day ;  neither  for 
brightness  shall  the  moon  give  light  unto  thee;  but 
tho  Lord  shall  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting  light,  and 
thy  God  thy  glory"  (Isa.  Ix.  19).  No  more  will  there 
be  needed  subsidiary  or  intermediate  luminaries.  He 
wlio  makes  the  righteous  to  shine  like  stars,  and  causes 
His  churches  to  sjiine  like  lights  in  tho  world,  Avill  be 
Himself  the  Light  and  Sun  of  His  people  :  they  shall 
see  Him  as  He  is.  It  is  again  to  be  noticed  that  the 
emblem  of  the  Lamb  is  used  to  describe  our  Lord  in 
this  verse,  and  in  tho  last,  as  it  was  also  in  verse  14. 
Tho  memory  of  Christ's  work  on  eartli  is  never  oblite- 
rated :  still  in  tho  intense  splendour  and  joy  of  that 
city  of  light  the  remembrance  of  Him  who  was  led 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter  gives  depth  and  fulness  to 
its  joy. 

(2t)  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved 
.  .  . — We  must  omit,  with  the  best  MSS.,  the  words 
"  of  them  whicli  are  saved,"  and  read.  And  the  nations 
shall  walk  by  means  of  its  light,  and  the  kings  of  the 


The  Wiched  shut  out. 


REVELATION,   XXII. 


The  River  of  the  Water  of  Life. 


glory  and  honoui-  into  it.  (-^*  And  the 
gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by 
day  : "  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there. 
^-^^  And  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and 
honour  of  the  nations  into  it.  ^^^  And 
there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any 
thing  that  defileth,  neither  wliatsoever 
worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie  : 
hut  they  which  are  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life. 


CHAPTEE  XXIL— (1)  And  he  shewed 
me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as 
crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb.  (2)  j^  ^^^  midst 
of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of 
the  river,  ivas  there  the  tree  of  life, 
which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and 
yielded  her  fruit  every  month  :  and  the 
leaves  of  the  tree  ivere  for  the  healing 
of  the  nations.     (^^  And  there  shall  be 


earth  carry  their  glory  into  her.  The  outlook  of  tlio 
prophet  is  from  the  loneliuess  aud  depression  of  the 
theu  persecuted  aud  despised  churches;  but  in  the 
vision  he  sees  lier  beautiful  and  enlarged  and  honoured. 
All  nations  and  peoples  Hock  within  the  walls  :  it  is  the 
echo  of  the  ancient  prophecies.  "  All  kings  sliall  fall 
down  before  Him :  all  nations  shall  serve  Him."  The 
Cliurch  and  kingdom  of  Christ  increase  without  end ; 
and  all  will  cast  their  gloi-y  at  His  feet,  aud  call  Him 
blessed  in  whom  all  have  been  blessed  (Ps.  Ixxii. 
11,  17). 

(25,  26)  And  the  gates  of  it  .  .  .—Better,  And  the 
gates  (or,  gate-toivers]  shall  never  be  shut  by  day,  for 
night  shall  not  be  there.  The  gates  shall  never  be 
shut :  all  day  they  shall  be  open,  and  that  day  shall  be 
for  ever,  for  tliei-e  shall  be  no  night  there.  All  that 
darkens — the  sin  that  brings  night  on  the  soul ;  the 
sorrow  that  brings  night  on  tlie  heart — shall  be 
banished  for  ever.  In  peace  by  day,  the  city  gates  will 
be  open ;  nor  can  there  be  night  when  God  the 
Almighty  is  the  Sun.  (Comp.  Isa.  Ix.  11 ;  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  11.)  Thi'ough  its  open  gates  they  (i.e.,  men) 
will  bring  the  glory  and  honour  of  the  nations  into  her. 
As  men  tind  that  every  good  gift  and  every  perfect 
gift  is  from  above,  and  that  their  strength  is  in  Christ, 
without  whom  they  can  do  nothing,  so  will  their  lives 
bring  back  to  Him  the  lustre  of  all  their  achievements. 

(27)  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into 
.  .  . — Better,  And  there  shall  never  enter  into  her  any- 
thing imclean,  and  he  that  ivorketh  abomination  and 
falsehood,  but  only  (or,  except)  they  that  hive  been 
written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb.  The  gates 
stand  open  always,  but  no  evil  thing  may  find  a  home 
there.  The  emphatic  repetition  here  (see  verse  8)  of 
the  idea  that  all  sin  is  excluded,  is  in  liarmimy  with  all 
other  Scripture  :  no  unholiness  can  dwell  in  the  presence 
of  Gi  d.  Tlio  allusion  is  to  the  care  of  the  Jews  to 
exclude  all  things  unclean  from  the  precincts  of  the 
sanctuary.  The  legal  and  ceremonial  defilement  had 
its  spiritual  significance,  which  the  Apostles  utilised 
elsewliere.  (C<mip.  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18;  vii.  1;  Rev. 
xviii.  4.     On  the  "book  of  life,"  see  chap.  xx.  12.) 

XXII. 

The  Kestored  Par.vdise  (verses  1—5). — Tlioso 
five  ver.ses  complete  the  description  of  the  new 
lieavens  and  new  earth.  The  features  of  this  last 
section  reH(>ct  tliose  of  the  first  and  forfeited  jjaradise  : 
the  tree  of  life  and  the  river  tliat  flows  by  the  tret^ 
are  liere,  and  the  hajipy  and  willing  scnice  of  God  is 
restored  (verses  3,  i),  and  tlie  curse  luis  disappeared. 

(1)  And  he  shewed  me  a  pure  river  .  .  .— 
The  adjective  "  pure  "  must  be  omitted,  as  it  is  wanting 
in  tlie  best  MSS.  Tlie  river  is  full  of  water,  and  that 
water  is  the  emblem  of  life :  it  is  the  beautiful  sjnnbol 
of  life  in  its  gladness,  purity,  activity,  and  fulness. 


The  garden  of  Eden  (Gen.  ii.  10)  had  its  river.  Even 
in  tlie  wilderness  Israel  had  from  the  smitten  rock  the 
water  which  gushed  out  like  a  river  (Ps.  cv.  41).  Pro- 
phets, in  their  pictures  of  the  ages  of  blessing,  almost 
invariably  introduced  the  river,  or  broad  stream.  Joel 
saw  a  fountain  out  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  (Joel  iiL 
18).  Zechariah  spoke  of  living  waters  from  Jeru- 
salem (Zech.  xiv.  8);  but  Ezekiel  had  the  fullest  vision 
when  he  beheld  the  stream  which  deepened  and 
broadened  in  its  onward  progress  from  under  the 
threshold  of  the  house  of  God,  and  carried  life  in  its 
train:  everything  lived  whither  the  water  came  (Ezek. 
xhai.  9) ;  thus  did  all  prophets  speak  of  the  river  of 
God's  pleasures  (Ps.  xxxvi.  8).  The  teaching  of  our 
Lord  threw  new  light  on  the  prophetic  imagery ;  the 
pure  delights  of  spiritual  joy  and  communion  with 
God  were  vouchsafed  to  men  by  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Giver  of  Life.  In  the  bestowal  of  that 
sjjirit  of  life  did  Christ  give  true  satisfaction  to  the 
thirsting  souls  of  men.  (Comp.  John  iv.  10 — 14;  vii. 
37 — 39.)  The  source  of  the  river  is  in  the  throne. 
Ezekiel's  river  took  rise  in  the  temple;  but  in  our 
vision  there  is  no  temple  (chap.  xxi.  22).  We  are 
brought  nearer,  even  to  the  throne:  it  is  the  throne 
(not  "thrones") — one  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 
(Comp.  chap.  iii.  21.) 

(2)  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it  .  .  .—Or 
rather.  In  the  midst  of  the  strett  of  it,  and  of  the  river, 
on  one  side  and  on  the  other  (was)  a  tree  of  life, 
yielding  twelve  fruits,  according  to  each  month  giving 
its  fntit ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  for  healing  of 
the  natioyis.  The  hunger  as  well  as  the  thirst  of  the 
spirit  is  to  be  satisfied  (Matt.  v.  6).  The  tree  of  life,  as 
well  as  the  river  of  life,  is  to  be  found  in  the  new  and 
better  Eden  (Gen.  ii.  9 ;  iii.  22).  The  vision  of  Ezekiel 
is  exactly  parallel  to  the  present :  "  On  the  border  of 
the  river  there  was  wood  very  much,  on  both  sides: 
every  kind  of  tree  ;  its  leaf  withers  not.  and  its  fruit 
ceases  not ;  all  months  does  it  ripen  ;  its  fruit  serves 
for  food,  and  its  leaf  for  healing  "  (Ezek.  xlvii.  7 — 12). 
The  twelve  manner  of  fruit :  The  recurrence  of  tlie 
numl)er — twelve — is  to  be  uoiiced,  for  here,  too,  as 
well  as  in  the  foundations  aud  gates  of  the  city,  we 
have  variety  aUied  with  unity.  Liverse  and  sea>^onable 
fruits,  and  yet  one  tree  of  life.  Thus  does  the 
Almighty  wisdom  feed  His  people  witli  food  con- 
venient for  them  (Prov.  xxx.  8i,  tliougli,  in  one  sense, 
there  is  but  one  food  for  all  (Jolin  vi.  31);  for  true 
divine  wisdom  is  a  tree  of  life  to  tliem  that  lay  hold 
upon  her  (Prov.  iii.  18'.  That  wisdom  is  not  the  mere 
knowledge  of  tilings  (tlio  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil  has  no  i)]ace  in  new  Eden);  but  it  is  ratlier 
the  knowledge  of  life  which  makes  the  knowledge  of 
things  available  to  tlie  highest  good.  (Comp.  1  Cor.  i. 
22—24,  30;   Jas.  iii.  17;   Prov.  viii.l 

(^)  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse  .  .  .— 
Better,  And  every  curse,  or  accursed  tiling,  shall  not  be 


633 


The  Lord  God  is  the  Liijht. 


PtEVELATIOX,   XXII. 


Words  of  Confirmation. 


no  more  curse  :  but  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it ;  and  his 
servants  shall  serve  him  :  <^^  and  they 
shall  see  his  face  ;  and  his  name  shall 
he  in  their  foreheads.  <^>  And  there 
shall  be  no  niglit  there ;  and  they  need 
no  candle,  neither  Hght  of  the  sun ; " 
for  the   Lord  God  giveth  them  light : 


and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 
<^^  And  he  said  unto  me,  These  sayings 
are  faithful  and  true :  and  ^^  ^^jj  q__ 
the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  15.  Words  of 
prophets  sent  his  angel  confirmation, 
to  shew  unto  his  servants  the  things 
which  must  shortly  be  done.  ^^^  Behold, 
I   come    quickly :     blessed    is    he    that 


any  longer.  Tliere  may  be  an  allusion  to  Josh.  vii.  12  ; 
tliere  is  cortiiinly  a  borrowing  of  language  from 
Zechariah  (Zoi-h.  xiv.  111.  All  accursed  tilings  are  re- 
moved, aud  with  them  passes  the  curse.  The  blessing 
of  God's  presence,  and  the  blessing  of  God's  rule  take 
the  place  of  the  ascendancy  of  evil  over  the  groaning 
creation  (Rom.  viii.  •I'l).  "The  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  shall  be  in  it."  Tlie  song  of  tlie  Psalmist 
receives  uew  force  :  "  the  Lord  reigneth  :  let  the  earth 
rejoice;  let  the  multitudes  of  the  isles  bo  glad  thereof;  " 
the  accursed  things,  even  all  things  that  offend,  are 
gathered  out  of  the  kingdom  (Matt.  xiii.  4l). 

( '.  i)  And  his  servants  shall  serve  him  .  .  . — 
We  turn  from  the  city  to  the  inhabitants.  They  are 
described  as  serving  Him.  seeing  Him,  and  resembling 
Him.  They  shall  serve  Him  :  they  shall  offer  Him  the 
service  of  the  priesthood — the  word  employed  is  that 
used  of  temple  service.  The  word  translated  "  servants  " 
is  the  word  which  the  Apostles  used  when  they  spoke 
of  tliemselvcs  as  slaves  of  Jesus  Christ,  owned  as  well 
as  employed  l)y  Him  (Phil.  i.  1 ;  2  Pet.  ii.  1;  Judo, 
verse  1).  Their  service  liere  was  discharged  in  the 
midst  of  discouragements  and  in  ditficulty;  and  they 
walked  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  Now  the  servants  shall 
serve  without  hindrance  or  opposition,  and  they  shall 
be  encouraged  by  His  immediate  presence.  ''They  shall 
see  his  face;"  tliey  shall  know  even  as  they  are  kuo\vn 
(1  Cor.  xiii.  12);  they  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.  No 
wonder,  then,  tliat  he  should  add  (and  observe  that  the 
thouglit  is  exactly  thatwliich  occurs  in  the  First  Epistle 
of  St.  John  (1  John  iii.  2) :  "  His  name  shall  be  in  (or, 
on)  their  foreheads."  The  name  stands  for  what  God 
is  in  lioliness  and  righteousness,  purity  and  love.  The 
name  on  the  forehead  indicates  their  resemblance  to 
their  Master.  On  earth  the  servants  of  God  are 
changed  from  glory  to  glory  into  the  same  image 
(2  Cor.  iii.  18).  They  aim  to  be  perfect,  as  their  Father 
in  lieaveu  is  perfiK't  (Matt.  v.  48);  but  when  they  see 
God  as  He  is  they  sliall  be  like  Him.  His  name  is  on 
tlieir  foreheads,  for  they  l)ehold  His  face  :  they  wake  up 
after  His  hkeness,  and  tliey  are  satisfied  (Ps.  xvii.  15). 
Tliere  is  a  divine  paradox  in  the  double  ti-uth  :  those 
who  are  like  God  see  Him,  and  those  who  see  Him  are 
like  Him  (Matt.  v.  8).  "There  will  come  a  time  when 
the  service  of  God  shall  be  the  beholding  of  Him ;  and 
though  in  tliese  stormy  seas,  where  we  ai-e  now  driven 
up  and  down.  His  Spirit  is  dimly  seen  on  the  face  of  the 
waters,  and  we  are  left  to  cast  anchors  out  of  the  stern 
and  wish  for  the  day,  that  day  will  come,  when,  with 
the  evangelist  on  tlie  crystal  and  stable  sea,  all  the 
creatures  of  God  shall  be  full  of  eyes  witliin,  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  curse.  l)ut  His  servants  shall  serve 
Him,  and  shall  see  His  face  "  (Ruskin). 

(5)  And  there  shall  be  no  night  there  .  .  . — 
Ratlier,  And  night  shidl  nut  he  any  more,  and  {they 
sliall  not  have)  need  of  the  light  of  lamp,  and  of  light 
of  sitn,  because  the  Lord  God  shall  give  light  upon 
them,  and  they  shall  reignvnto  tlie  ages  of  ages.  There 
shall  be  no  night.     Twice  is  it  said  (^chap.  xxi.  25)  that 


631 


all  darkness  shall  cease;  the  darkness  in  which  the 
i-aints  and  sorrowing  walked  shall  be  dispelled,  when 
God  gives  them  light.  No  artificial  light  is  needed, 
since  He  who  is  Light  is  their  light.  Those  who  were 
children  of  light  now  dwell  in  the  light  of  God's  coun- 
tenance; and  they  reign  who  were  made  kings  and 
priests  to  God  (chap.  i.  6).  With  this  utterance  tlia 
visions  of  the  Apocalji^se  close.  The  samts  of  God 
have  been  seen  in  the  bitterness  and  toilfulness  of  their 
struggle  aud  pilgrimage  towartls  the  Holy  City ;  but 
from  point  to  point  they  have  made  progress.  They 
have  gone  fx'om  strength  to  strength,  unto  the  God  of 
gods  appeareth  every  one  of  them  in  Zion.  The 
Lord  God  is  their  sun  and  shield.  He  has  given  grace ; 
He  now  gives  glory.  No  good  thing  has  been  with- 
held ;  light,  life,  and  love  are  theirs.  "  O  Lord  God  of 
Hosts,  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  Thee " 
(Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11,  12). 

(6—21)  These  verses  contain  the  concluding  words. 
It  is  the  EijUogue  of  the  Book ;  it  deals  with  practical 
exhortations,  warnings,  and  blessings. 

Words  of  Confirmation  and  Warning. 

(6)  And  he  said  unto  me  .  .  .—It  is  the  angel  who 
sjieaks.  (Comp.  chap.  xxi.  aud  verse  9  of  this  chapter.) 
In  verse  7  we  hear  the  words  of  Christ  Himself.  The^e 
sayings  (^or,  words)  are  faithful  and  true.  The  reference 
is  to  the  whole  book.  The  book  contains  the  Revelatiim 
of  the  faithful  and  true  witness  (chap.  iii.  14),  who.so 
words  are  faithful,  trustworthy,  and  fulfilling  the 
desire  of  them  that  fear  Him.  Nor  is  there  reason  to 
doubt  this  ;  for  "  tlie  Lord,  the  God  of  the  sj>irits  of 
the  Prophets — the  God  whose  spirit  moved  the  holy 
men  of  old  to  speak  (2  Pet.  i.  21) — sent  His  angel  to 
shoiv  to  His  servants  things  ivhich  must  come  to  pass 
shortly."     (Conip.  Note  on  chap.  i.  1.) 

(7)  Behold,  I  come  quickly.— The  words  of 
Christ  Himself  follow  (perhaps  quoted  by  the  angel),  to 
confirm  the  d(>clarati(m  of  the  last  verse.  These  confirm- 
ing words  are  an  embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  the  whole 
Apocalyi^so.  And  behold  I  am  coming  (piickly  !  The 
Apocalyjise  is  tlie  revelation  of  the  coming  One ;  it 
reveals  the  dealings  of  Him  who  came,  who  comes,  and 
is  to  come.  (Comp.  Note  on  chap.  i.  4.)  Tlie  blessing 
given  in  chap.  i.  3  is  in  part  repeated  here,  but  it  is  a 
l)enediction  emphatically  on  those  who  keep  the  words 
of  the  book.  Blessed  is  he  ivho  lieepeth  the  words  of 
the  prophecy  of  this  booh.  It  is  not  in  reading,  or 
wondering,  or  talking,  but  in  keeping,  that  the  blessing 
comes.  He  that  loves  Christ  a\tI1  keep  His  command- 
ments (John  xiv.  15),  even  as  Christ  loved  His  Father, 
and  kept  His  commandments  (John  xv.  10).  Tlur.se 
who  so  keep  the  sayings  or  words  of  Christ  in  this 
book  Avill  stand  firm  as  those  who  have  built  tipon  the 
rock  (Matt.  \'ii.  24,  25).  The  blessing  of  Christ  to 
such  was  victory  over  death.  "  If  a  mnn  keep  My 
saying,  he  shall  never  see  death"  (John  viii.  51). 


The  Apostle  is/m'bidden 


RETOLATION,   XXII. 


to  ivorship  the  Angel. 


keepeth  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book.  <*'*  And  I  John  saw  these 
things,  and  heard  them.  And  when  I 
had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down  to 
worship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel 
which  shewed  me  these  things.  (^)  Then 
saith  he  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not : " 
for  I  am  thy  fellow  servant,  and  of  thy 
brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them 
■which  keep  the  sayings  of  tbis  book : 
■worship  God.  (^'^'>  And  he  saith  unto 
me,  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy 


c  Isn.  41.  4; 
44.6. 


of  this  book  :  for  the  time  is  at  hand. 
^^')  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust 
still :  and  he  which  is  Hlthy,  let  him  be 
filthy  still :  and  he  that  is  righteous,  let 
him  be  righteous  still :  and  he  that  is 
holy,  let  him  be  holy  still,  (i^)  And, 
behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and  my  reward 
is  with  me,  to  give  every  man  according 
as  his  work  shall  be.*  ^^^^  I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end, 
the  first  and  the  last.''  <^'^  Blessed  are 
they  that  do  his  commandments,  that 


(«)  And  I  John  saw  these  things  .  .  .—Or 
ratlier,  And  I  Jolm  am  lie  ivho  hears  and  sees  these 
things.  The  words  of  tlie  angel  are  coufirmed  by  the 
Avords  of  Christ.  Now  we  liave  the  confirmatory 
testimony  of  tlie  seer  to  the  truth  of  the  \dsion.  The 
dcohiratiou  reminds  us  of  the  opening  of  the  Epistle 
of  St.  Jolm  :  "  That  whicli  we  have  seen  and  heard 
declare  we  unto  you"  (1  John  i.  1 — 3).  It  is  no  mere 
dream  or  ingenious  fanoy  of  his  own  that  he  has 
recorded  ;  it  is  a  veritable  revelation. 

And  when  I  had  heard  .  .  .—Or  better,  When 
I  heard  and  saw,  I  fell  down  to  ivorship  before  the 
feet  of  the  angel  who  was  showing  vie  these  things. 
Wonder  and  awe  took  possession  of  the  seer,  and  for 
the  second  time  lie  was  about  to  offer  imlawful  homage 
to  the  angel-minister.  (Comp.  chap.  xix.  10.)  This 
twice  offered  and  twice  refused  worship  is  full  of 
teaching.  To  render  to  all  their  due  is  wise  and  seemly 
and  Christlike ;  to  offer  exaggerated  homage  to  any  is 
to  invert  God's  order,  and  to  degrade  by  pretending  to 
exalt  man,  whose  true  glory  is  that  he  is  God's  creation. 

(9)  Then  saith  he  unto  me  .  .  . — Better,  And  he 
saith  to  vie,  See  (or,  Take  heed)  not.  lam  a  fellow 
servant  of  thee  and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and 
of  those  toho  keep  the  words  of  this  book ;  worship  God 
(or,  to  God  give  worship).  This  rebuke  is  similar  to  that 
given  in  chap.  xix.  It  is  a  wide  affirmation  of  the  truth 
that  all — whether  angels,  or  prophets,  or  simple  faithful 
followers  of  Christ — are  united  in  a  grand  bond  of 
common  devotion  and  common  service  to  the  same  Lord, 

(I'O  And  he  saith  to  me  .  .  .—The  angel,  in  con- 
trast to  the  injunctions  given  to  Daniel  (Dan.  xii.  9 — 13), 
bids  the  pro2)het  "  Seal  not  the  words  of  the  prophecy": 
the  reason  is  added,  "  for  the  time  is  near."  "Such  is 
ever  the  difference  between  the  prophecy  of  the  old, 
and  the  prophecy  of  the  new  dispensation.  The  one 
belonged  to  a  preliminary  and  prefatory  state ;  the 
other  to  a  completive  and  final  condition.  However 
long  the  gospel  ago  may  have  lasted,  or  may  yet  con- 
tinue, it  is  tlie  last  time  (1  John  ii.  18)  :  after  it  there 
is  none  other :  then  shall  the  end  come  "  (Matt.  xxiv.  14), 
(Dean  Vaughan). 

(11)  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  .  .  . — 
Better,  Let  him  that  is  unjust,  do  injustice  still;  and 
let  the  foul  pollute  Jiimself  still;  ami  let  the  righteous 
do  righteousness  still ;  and  let  the  holy  sanctify  himself 
sfiU.  Two  pairs  are  selected  to  stand  as  representatives 
of  the  good  and  of  the  l)ad :  in  these  four  are  included 
all  classes  of  godly  and  ungodly:  those  who  sin  against 
society,  and  those  who  sin  against  themselves :  those 
who  act  honourably,  and  those  who  keep  tliemselves 
pure.  But  wliat  does  the  verse  m(>an  ?  Does  it  mean 
that  the  time  is  so  short  that  it  is  hardly  sufficient  to 
allow  of  men  reforming  theuisclvos,  so  as  to  b«  ready 


for  their  Lord,  and  that  therefore  the  lesson  is,  let  those 
who  would  be  ready  for  Him  renjember  that  now  is  tho 
day  of  salvation?  This  is  the  view  adopted  by  some  : 
it  contains  a  truth,  but  the  meaning  of  the  verse  seems 
more  general.  Is  it  not  the  declaration  of  the  ever 
terrible  truth,  that  men  are  building  up  their  destiny 
by  the  actions  and  habits  of  their  lives  ?  "  Sow  an  act 
— reap  a  habit :  sow  a  habit — reap  a  character  :  sow 
a  character — reap  a  destiny."  The  righteous  become 
righteous  :  the  godly  become  godly. 

"  Thus,  all  characters 
Must  shrink  or  widen,  as  our  wine-skins  do. 
For  more  or  less  that  we  can  pass  in  them : 
And  added  years  give  ever  a  uew  key 
To  fixed  prediction." 

So,  slowly,  but  surely,  may  the  power  of  being  masters 
of  our  fate  pass  out  of  our  hands.  It  is  in  this  law  of 
our  nature  that  the  key  to  many  of  the  darkest  problems 
of  the  future  may  lie ;  and  not  without  a  solemn  decla- 
ration of  this  law  does  the  Book  of  Revelation  close. 

(1-)  And,  behold,  I  come  quickly  .  .  .—Rather, 
Behold,  lam  coming  quickly,  and  My  reward  is  loitli  Me 
to  give  back  to  each  one  as  his  ivork  is.  To  give  back 
to  each  :  here  we  have  the  truth  declared  by  St.  Paul 
uttered  in  words  borrowed  from  Isaiah  (Isa.  xl.  10). 
"  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reaj)." 
wrote  St.  Paul  (Gal.  A-i.  7,  8) :  "  God  gives  back  to  each 
one  his  work,"  says  St.  Jolm. 

(13)  I  am  Alpha  .  .  .-Here  (as  in  chap.  xxi.  6)  we 
should  render,  I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  tlie  Jirst 
and  the  last,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  (See  Note  as 
above,  and  comp.  John  i.  1 ;  Isa.  xliv.  t>.)  The  repetition 
of  those  glorious  titles  is  not  a  mere  idle  repetition,  or 
designed  to  give  a  rhetorical  fuhiess  to  the  ]>eroration  of 
the  book  :  it  is  closely  allied  with  the  preceding  thought. 
The  warning  hivs  been  given  that  men  V)y  continuing  in 
sin  (verse  11)  are  inviting  against  themselves  the  law  by 
which  act  ripens  to  habit,  and  habit  makes  character, 
and  character  forms  destiny.  Ti.e  moral  laws  set  going 
by  sin  work  thus : — Retribution  is  no  dream :  it  is  a 
terrible  fact:  it  is  written  large  over  nature.  But  tho 
eternal  laws  of  (iod,  thougli  righteously  ordered,  are 
not  God:  the  refuge  from  the  eternal  laws  whicli  wo 
invoke  against  ourselves  by  our  sin  is  to  Ik-  found  in  the 
Eternal  God:  "I  am  the  Aljtha  and  the  Omega,  the 
first  and  the  la.st,  the  Ix'ginning  and  the  end."  For 
those  hunted  by  the  wickedness  of  their  own  doings, 
God  himself  provides  a  refuge  :  underneath  all  laws 
are  the  everla.sting  arms  (Dent,  xxxiii.  '2~\  Tiie  next 
verses  set  the  way  of  refuge  aiul  safety  before  tis. 

(10  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  command- 
raents  .  .  . — The  rejiding  of  two  of  the  best  MSl^. 
is,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  wash  their  rol)«\s."  If 
we  adopt,  as  we  probably  ought,  this  reading,  the  Hue 


(i-6b 


The  Final  Invitation. 


REVELATION,   XXTI. 


The  Final  Warning. 


tliey  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates 
into  the  city.  ^^^^  For  without  are  dogs, 
and  sorcerers,  and  whoremongers,  and 
murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whosoever 
loveth  and  maketh  a  lie.  ^'^^^  I  Jesus 
have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify  unto 
you  these  things  in  the  churches.  I  am 
the  root  and  the  offspring  of  David,  and 
the  bright  and  morning  star.  <^''^  And 
Chap.  xxii.  17.  t^e  Spirit  and  the  bride 
Till-  Hiial  iuvi-  say,  Conie.  And  let  him 
tation.  ^jjjj^^    heareth    say.    Come. 

And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.     And 


6  Dent. 4. 2; 
Pro V.  30.  6. 


whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely."  <^^^  For  I  testify 
unto  everyman  that  heareth  ^^  ^^jj  jg 
the  words  of  the  projjhecy  i9.  The  final 
of  this  book.  If  any  man  ■'^a-rning. 
shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall 
add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are 
written  in  this  book :  *  '^'^^  and  if  any 
man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of 
the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall 
take  away  his  j)art  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from 
the  things  which  are  written  in  this 
book.      <^*^^  He    which    testifieth    these 


of  thoiiglit  suggested  above  is  helped  forward :  there 
is  in  Him  who  is  the  First  and  the  Last,  refuge  from 
the  power  of  sin  and  hiw  against  whicli  sucli  solemn 
warning  lias  been  given.  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
oleanseth  from  all  sin  :  the  best  who  have  striven  and 
coiKjnered  were  victors  not  by  their  own  might,  but 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  (chap.  xii.  11).  If,  how- 
ever, we  follow  the  Received  text,  we  have  a  bene- 
diction which  echoes  the  blessing  promised  to  obedience 
in  versos  7,  9 :  this  echoing  of  promises  from  point  to 
point  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  whole  epilogue. 
(Comp.  verses  7,  9 ;  and  7,  12.)  The  special  blessing 
held  out  to  tlioso  who  wash  their  robes  (or  do  His 
CDinmandments)  is  the  right  or  authority  over  the  tree 
of  life.  Blessed  are  they  .  .  .  that  they  may  have  (and 
continue  to  have)  authority  over  the  tree  of  life,  and 
that  they  may  enter  in  by  the  gates  into  the  city. 
Admission  into  the  city  by  the  gate,  which  is  of  one 
pearl,  and  the  continuous  access  to  the  tree  of  life,  are 
till?  privileges  of  the  faithful ;  and  these  privileges  are 
free  to  all,  for  warnings  do  not  forfeit  px'ivileges,  but 
rather  do  they  urge  us  to  use  them. 

(IS)  For  without  are  dogs  and  sorcerers  .  .  . — 
Better,  Outside  are  the  do(j-<,  and  the  sorcerers,  and 
the  fornicators,  and  the  murderers,  and  the  idolators, 
and  every  one  loving  and  doing  falsehood.  The  lan- 
guage is  again  an  echo  of  earlier  words.  (See  chap. 
xxi.  8.)  The  allusion  to  the  dogs  outside  the  city  is 
hardly  appreciated  by  Westerns,  In  the  Ejist,  however, 
"  troops  of  hungry  and  semi-wild  dogs  used  to  wander 
about  the  tields  and  straetsof  the  cities,  devouring  dead 
bodies  and  other  offal  (1  Kings  xiv.  11  ;  xvi.  4  ;  xxi.  19; 
xxii.  38;  2  Kings  ix.  10,  66 ;  Jer.  xv.  3;  Ps.  lix.  6), 
and  thus  became  such  objects  of  dislike  that  fierce  and 
cruel  enemies  are  poetically  styled  d>gs  in  Ps.  xxii. 
16,  20."  The  dog,  moreover,  was  an  unclean  animal; 
dogs,  therefore,  are  represented  as  outside  the  city, 
because  notliing  unclean  is  allowed  to  enter.  The  sins 
enumerated  here  are  similar  to  those  mentioned  in  the 
last  chapter  (verse  8);  it  is  the  reiteration,  therefore,  of 
the  warning  that  those  who  would  enter  in  must  break 
off  their  sins  by  rigliteousness. 

(I'J)  I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  .  .  .—The 
warning  is  followed  by  the  voice  of  our  Lord  Himself 
testifying  to  the  truth  of  the  revelation  made,  I  Jesus 
sent  (not  "  have  sent,"  as  in  the  English  version)  ynij 
angel  to  testify  to  you  these  things  to  the  churches.  But 
it  is  not  merely  a  message,  or  the  confirmation  of  a 
message  tliat  we  have — we  have  also  stated  what  Christ 
is — the  root  and  pledge  of  hope  to  all.  I  am  the  root 
and  offspring  of  David,  and  the  star,  the  bright,  the 
morning  {star).     He  is  David's  Lord  and  DaWd'a  Son, 


636 


possessing  David's  throne  (Matt.  xxii.  42 — 45 ;  Luke 
i.  32) ;  He  is  the  bright  star  which  leads  up  the  dawn 
of  everlasting  day  (Mai.  iv.  2 ;  2  Pet.  i.  19). 

(17)  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come 
.  .  , — The  cry  of  all  creation  is  for  its  true  Lord  ;  the 
cry  of  the  Spirit  in  prophecies  and  in  the  hearts  of 
God's  people  is  for  the  coming  Lord — the  bride  waiting 
for  the  bridegroom  cries  "  Come."  The  Apocalypse  is 
the  book  of  the  coming  One ;  it  ends  with  the  cry  that 
the  coming  One  would  come  (comp.  verse  20) ;  but  let 
those  who  thirst  for  His  coming  come  to  Him.  Wo 
may  draw  near  to  Him,  who  is  drawing  near  to  us  : 
let  him  that  thirsteth,  come;  let  him  that  will  take  the 
water  of  life  freely.  (Comp.  John  ^^i.  37.)  "  The  power 
of  the  whole  gospel,"  says  Bengel,  "  concentrates  itself 
in  this,  that  one  should  be  aide  to  respond  to  this  Come, 
and  repeat  it  from  the  heart." 

(18-19)  I  testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth. — 
Omit  "  For,"  and  read.  I  testify  to  every  one  that  hears 
.  .  .  The  "  I "  is  emphatic ;  it  introduces  the  final 
warning  ;  the  revelation  must  not  be  tampered  with. 
Jf  any  one  shall  have  added  to  them,  God  shall  add  to 
him  the  plagues  ivhich  are  written  in  this  book ;  and  if 
any  one  shall  have  taken  aioay  from  the  words  of  the  book 
of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  portion  from 
the  tree  of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city  which  are  lorit- 
ten  (or  printed)  in  this  book.  We  may  compare  Dent, 
iv.  2,  and  xii.  32.  The  words  are  a  solemn  protest 
against  the  spirit  which  handles  rashly  or  deceitfully 
the  word  of  God ;  which  adds  its  own  thoughts,  or 
makes  its  wishes  the  parent  of  its  interpretations ; 
whicli  dilutes  the  force  of  its  warnings,  or  impoverishes 
the  fulness  of  its  promises.  The  right  of  continual 
access  to  the  tree  of  life  was  the  promise  of  verse  14 ; 
this  right  or  freedom  is  forfeited  by  those  who  deal 
falsely  or  faithlessly  by  the  words  of  Christ  here.  In  a 
minor  degree,  ii:  is  true  that  those  who  leave  this  book 
unstudied  and  unprayed  over,  lose  much  spiritual  sus- 
tenance and  comfort.  How  much  more  do  they  lose 
who  trifle  with  it,  ignore  its  spiritual  teachings,  and 
sin  against  the  laws  of  that  kingdom  whose  progress  it 
so  vividly  portrays. 

(20)  He  which  testifieth  these  things  .  .  .— 
Better,  He  saith,  who  testifieth  these  things.  Yea,  I  am 
coming  quickly.  We  have  here  the  final  witness  ;  it  is 
in  the  words  of  the  faithful  and  true  witness  Himself. 
It  is  the  answer  to  the  repeated  cry,  "Come;"  it  is 
the  warning  to  those  who  forget  Him  ;  it  is  introduced 
with  the  emphatic  yea !  "  Yea,  I  am  coming  quickly." 
The  answer  breaks  forth  in  prayer  from  the  prophet's 
lips — Amen.  (We  must  omit  "even  so")  Come,  Lord 
Jesus.     The  prophet  is  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Church; 


The  ^nal  Witness. 


EEVELATION,   XXII. 


The  filial  Blessinj. 


Chap.  xxii.  20.  tM",^f  ^^^*^>  Surely  I  come 
The  final  wit-  quickly.  Aineii.  Even  so, 
"^^^'  come,  Lord  Jesus.     *-^)  The 


errace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  ^^^P•  ^^",- 2^• 
^l  •  ,  7  -.i  11  Tho  final  bles- 
Cbrist    06    Willi    you    all. 

Amen. 


sing. 


liis  desire  is  one  with  the  desire  of  all  who  love  Christ's 
appearing. 

(-1)  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  .  .  . — 
There  is  some  variety  of  reading  among  the  MSS.  We 
ought  probably  to  read,  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  he  ivith  all  (or  else,  following  the  Siuaitic  MS., 
be  with  the  saints).  Amen.  In  any  ca.se,  it  is  the  grace 
or  free  pardon  of  the  Lord  Jesus  which  is  the  last 
word  left  in  our  ears.  It  reminds  us  that  whatever 
1)0  the  dangers  or  difficulties,  tlie  afflictions  or  per- 
secutions which  have  been  pictured  in  the  book,  there 
is  strength  and  love  in  the  Lord ;  it  reminds  us  that 
wliether  we  are  readers  or  interpreters  of  this  book, 
or  wliether  we  are  trying  to  carry  out  its  teachings 
practically  in  daily  life,  our  power  and  wisdom  must 
come  from  Him.  The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit 
of  prophecy.  Without  Him  it  had  not  been  written ; 
without  Him  it  cannot  be  understood ;  without  Him  it 
cannot  be  obeyed.  T  his  grace  of  Christ  our  Lord,  for 
mind  and  heart  and  life,  the  writer  prays  may  rest 
with  those  who  read  this  Commentary,  that  they  may 
be  led  into  deeper  knowledge  of  Him  who  is  our  life. 


The  writer  asks  the  reader  to  pray  that  this  grace  of 
Christ  may  rest  in  forgiveness  and  love  upon  hiin 
who  has  now  fini.shed  his  task  of  commenting  on  tliis 
book,  whose  hidden  meanings  must  far  transcend  our 
knowledge  and  our  expectations.  May  He  (He  alone 
can)  open  our  eyes  to  see  the  shijiing  towers  of  tho 
Heaveidy  Jerusalem  ;  may  He  unseal  our  ears  to  hear 
the  heavenly  music  to  which  it  is  being  built ;  may  He 
bind  us  by  His  love  to  that  sweet  service  and  citizen- 
ship which  is  perfect  freedom,  and  bring  us  to  that 
spiritual  city  which  is  full  of  divine  enchantments — 

"  For  there  is  nothing  in  it  as  it  seems 
Saving  the  King;  though  sonic  tliere  be  that  hold 
The  King  a  shadow,  and  the  city  real ; 
Yet  take  thou  heed  of  Him,  for,  so  thou  pass 
Beneath  this  archway,  then  wilt  thou  become 
A  thrall  to  His  enchantments,  for  the  King 
Will  bind  thee  by  such  vows  as  is  a  shame 
A  man  should  not  be  bound  by,  j-et  the  which 
No  man  can  keep ;  but  so  thou  dread  to  swear. 
Pass  not  beneath  this  gateway,  but  abide 
Without  among  the  cattle  of  the  field. 
For,  an  ye  heard  a  music,  like  enow 
They  are  building  still,  seeing  the  city  is  built 
To  music,  therefore  never  built  at  all, 
And  therefore  built  for  ever." 


637 


EXCURSUS   ON    NOTES   TO   REVELATION. 


EXCURSUS  A:  THE  ANGELS  OF  THE  CHURCHES. 


The  most  nsnal  intoi-pretation  regards  the  angels  of  the 
c'liurc'hos.as  the  cliiof  ministers  or  presiding  elders  of  tlie 
cougregations.  This  interpretation  is  so  very  widely 
a  loptod  tliat  it  has  been  mentioned  in  tlie  Notes;  but 
the  reader  will  have  perceived  that  it  is  not  a  view 
Avhieh  eau  be  con^sidered  altogether  satisfactory.  In 
i  he  fii-st  place,  whatever  date  wo  accept  for  the  Apoca- 
lypse, it  is  at  least  strange  to  find  the  titles, "  elders  "  or 
'■  l)ish()ps,"  which  were  in  common  use  exchanged  for  the 
doubtful  one  of  "angel."  A  cor-^non  explanaticm  is 
tliat  the  term  is  derived  from  the  synagogue  staff,  where 
the  messenger  or  "angel  of  the  synagogue"'  was  a 
lecoguisrd  office ;  but  the  transference  of  such  a  title  to 
any  office  iu  the  Christian  Church  is  at  least  doubtful, 
and  as  the  officer  so  styled  was  only  a  subordinate  in 
the  synagogue,  a  "  clerk  "  or  "  precentor "  to  conduct 
tlie  devotions  of  the  worshippers,  it  becomes  very  im- 
probiiljle  that  such  a  term  or  title  would  have  been  em- 
]>loyed  to  describe  the  presiding  elder  of  a  Christian 
Church.  Turning  to  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  true  that 
the  word  "angel"  is  used  in  a  higher  sense  (Hagg.  i.  13  ; 
IMal.  ii.  7),  b(>ing  employed  to  descrilie  the  messen- 
gers of  God;  but  the  usage  here  is  different.  "It  is 
conceivable,  indeed,  that  a  bishop  or  chief  pastor  should 
be  called  an  angel,  or  messenger  of  God,  or  of  Christ, 
lint  he  would  hardly  be  styled  an  angel  of  the  church 
over  which  he  pri^^ides."  (Lightfoot,  Epistle  to  the 
VhUlppianx,  p.  197,  note.)  Thus  the  interpretation 
under  consideration  appears  scarcely  satisfactory. 

Others  have  thought  the  word  "  angel "  is  not  to 
be  applied  to  the  indivi'lual  presiding  elder,  but  to 
tlie  M^iolo  ministry  of  the  Cluirch,  treated  as  one. 
Tiiis  view,  though  iu  some  senses  approaching  nearer 
to  tlie  truth,  can  hardly  be  sustained  without  con- 
siderable modification.  Others,  again,  fall  back  U])on 
Jewish  authorities,  and  see  in  the  angels  the  guar- 
dian angels  of  the  churches.  "  In  Daniel  every  nation 
has  its  ruling  angel;  and,  acccn-ding  to  the  Rab- 
bins, an  angel  is  placed  over  every  people."  The 
angel,  then,  would  be  a  literal,  real  angel,  who  has  the 
guardianship  of  the  church  in  question.  In  popular 
t bought,  then,  the  angel  would  be  one  of  the  good 
angelic  beings  wlios-^  special  duty  it  was  to  bear  up  the 
church  during  its  trials,  by  such  j)rovidential  ministries 
as  were  needed  and  ordered.  There  are  some  difficul- 
ties in  accej)ting  this  interpretation.  In  particidar  the 
language  of  rebuke  which  is  addressed  directly  to  the 
angel  himself — the  threatening  to  remove  his  candle- 
stick, for  example — sounds  meaningless. 

But  here  it  is  that  we  may  imjuire  Avhether  the  angel 
of  a  particular  community,  nation,  or  people  is  to  be 
understood  always  of  a  good  and  powerful  being  sent 
forth  by  the  Almighty  to  love  and  watch  over  it.  It  is 
believed  that  this  view  does  not  satisfy  the  case.  It  is 
certain  that  Daniel  represents  the  guardian  angels  of 
nations  as  oi)posed  to  each  other,  and  not  co-operating 
always  for  the  same  great  and  good  end.   "  The  prince 


{guardian  angel)  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia  "withBtood 
me,"  is  the  language  addressed  to  Daniel  by  him  whoso 
face  was  like  lightning  (Dan.  x.  13).  (Compare  also 
verses  20,  21,  and  Dr.  Currey's  Notes  in  the  Speaker's 
Commentary  on  the.se  passages.)  Such  passages  seem 
to  suggest  that  the  '"  angels "  are  the  powers  in  the 
spiritual  sphere  corresponding  to  the  peoples  or  commu- 
nities iu  thci  earthly  ;  and  these  may  be  on  the  side  of 
evil  or  of  good.  Next,  it  may  be  noticed  that  the 
action  of  these  aTigels  in  the  sijiritual  sphere  seems  to 
be  the  retlection  of  the  action  of  the  commtmity  or 
])eoplo  in  the  earthly.  If  the  church  at  Ephesus  has 
left  its  first  love,  the  angel  is  spoken  of  as  sharing  the 
same  fault.  The  iufliiences  seen  on  the  spiritual  side 
correspond  with  those  at  work  in  the  actual  earthly 
community.  The  angel  of  the  church  or  of  tJie  individual 
thus  becomes  their  manifestation  iu  the  heavenly  sphere. 
For  all  our  life  is  thus  double  ;  our  actions  have  an 
earthly  meaning,  and  also  a  heavenly;  what  they  touch 
of  worldly  iutei-ests  gives  them  their  earthly  meaning, 
what  they  touch  of  spiritual  welfare  is  their  heavenly 
meaning.  Like  the  planets,  we  lie  half  iu  shadow 
and  half  in  light  :  from  the  earthly  side  the  world- 
meaning  of  our  actions  lies  in  the  light,  and  their 
spiritual  value  or  force  is  only  dimly  seen,  as  it  lies  in 
at  least  partial  shadow;  but  seen  from  the  heavenly 
side  the  position  is  reversed,  the  worldly  significance  of 
human  actions  is  cast  into  comparative  shade,  the 
actual  spiritual  influences  of  them  are  brought  into 
clear  light ;  and  it  is  the  spiritual  significance  of  our 
actions  which  reveals  what  we  are ;  in  this  is  concen- 
trated the  true  force  which  we  are  exerting.  Seen 
from  the  heaveidy  side,  the  angel  of  our  life  mingles  iu 
the  gi-eat  spiritual  war,  and  takes  its  part  as  a  com- 
batant th(M'e  ;  while,  on  the  earthly  side,  we  are  seen 
caiTying  on  our  daily  occupations.  Mea.sured  on  tho 
eartldy  side  the  balance  is  not  struck ;  there  is  in- 
consistency in  us  ;  we  are  partly  good  and  partly  bad, 
sometimes  heljnng,  sometimes  hindering  the  work  of 
God  on  earth,  as  we  judge ;  but  the  actual  resultant  of 
these  inconsistent  powers  is  seen  in  the  heavenly 
sphere,  either  helping  or  thwarting  the  cause  of  good. 
Thus  are  we  double  combatants — iu  the  world,  for  our 
livelihood,  for  our  ease,  for  our  advancement ;  iu  tho 
lu^avenly,  for  good  or  for  evil.  And  it  is  on  the  spiritual 
side  that  we  lie  open  to  spiritual  influences ;  here, 
where  our  true  self  is  seen  more  clearly  than  anywhere 
else,  are  the  appeals  to  our  better  nature,  as  we  say, 
most  powerful ;  here.  He  who  holds  the  stars  iu  His 
right  hand,  makes  His  voice  to  be  lieard  when  He 
addresses,  not  merely  the  church  or  the  iiulividual,  but 
the  angel  of  the  church ;  here,  He  calls  them  to  see 
that  there  is  a  war  iu  lieaven,  in  which  all  are  com- 
batants, but  in  which  He  is  the  Captain  of  our 
sah-ation.  Here  too,  on  the  heavenly  side,  are  the 
wounds  of  the  spiritual  and  better  uatui-e  more  plainly 
seen ;   the  offence  or  blow  given  to  the  little  one  of 


638 


REVELATION. 


Ohrist  is  not  noticed  on  tlio  eavtlily  side,  but  the  inner 
nature  is  wounded,  and  tlio  wound  is  seen  in  its  real 
dimensions  in  the  presence  of  God,  for  the  aujji'cl 
nature  beholds  God's  face.  It  is  this  thouglit  which 
gives  force  and  solemnity  to  our  Lord's  warning  (Matt. 
xviii  10). 

The  angel  of  the  chui'ch,  then,  would  bo  the  spiritual 
personification  of  the  church  ;  but  it  must  not  be  con- 
cluded from  tills,  as  Ziillig  does,  that  tliese  angels  are 
in  "the  mind  of  tlie  poet  himself  nothing  nnn'e  than  ima- 
ginai-y  existences,"  or  reduce  the  angel  to  be  "  just  the 
community  or  church  itself."  It  is  no  more  the  church 
itself  than  the  "  star  "  is  the  same  as  the  candlestick. 
"  The  star  is  the  supra-sensual  counterpart,  the  heavenly 
representative ;  the  lamp,  the  earthly  realisation,  tlie 
outward  embodiment  "  (Lightfoot,  Epistle  to  the  Phi- 
Iqypiims,  p.  198).  The  angtd  is  tho  church  seeu  in  its 
heavenly  ropresenlative,  and  seen,  therefore,  in  tho 
light  of  those  splendid  possibilities  which  are  hers  if 
she  holds  fast  by  Him  who  holds  fast  tho  seven  stars. 

Space  for])ids  any  treatment  of  the  wider  questicms 
on  the  ministry  of  angels,  or  the  nature  of  angelic 
beings.  That  such  are  recognised  in  Scripture  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  and  nothing  written  above  is  dosigued 
to  militate  against  such  a  belief ;  but  it  seems  well  to 
rememljer  that  where  we  are  dealing  Avith  a  symbolical 
book,  it  is  more  in  harmony  with  its  character  to  treat 
symbols  as  symbols.     The  forces  of  nature  are  God's 


messengers,  and  we  may  roga^'d  tliem  as  truly  such, 
and  feel  that  the  expressions  '•  the  angel  of  the  waters," 
"  the  angel  of  fire,"  "  the  angel  of  the  abyss,"  and 
so  forth,  are  designed  to  remind  us  that  all  things 
si"rve  Him,  and  are  the  ministers  of  Him.  to  do  His 
pleasure  ;  we  may  even  believe  that  the  various  forces 
of  nature,  so  little  really  understood  by  us,  are  under  tho 
guardianship  of  special  personal  messengers  of  God;  but 
there  is  nothing  in  the  imagery  of  the  book  which  ne- 
cessarily demands  such  a  belief.  It  is,  moreover,  sui-ely 
not  inappropriate  in  our  own  day  to  reassert  with  some 
p(>rtinacity  the  lofty  thouglits  of  ancient  belief  that 
winds  and  storms,  ocean  and  fire,  do  in  ti-uth  belong  to 
Him  round  whom  are  the  clouds  and  darkness,  whose 
is  the  sea,  and  whose  hands  prepared  the  dry  land. 

On  tlie  literatui'e  of  this  subject  see  Godet's  Studies 
on  the  New  Testament ;  iichsx&.  History  of  tlie  Apostolic 
Church ;  Lightfoot's  article  on  "  Tho  Christian  Minis- 
try "  in  the  Epistle  to  tlie  Philippiuns,  pp.  193 — 199 ; 
Heugstenb.-rg's  lengthy  note  on  Rev.  i.  20 ;  Professor 
Milligan's  article,  '"  The  Candlestick  and  the  Star," 
in  tho  Expositor  of  September,  1878 ;  Gebhardt,  Der 
Lehrbegriff  der  Apolcahjpse,  article  "  Die  Engcl,"  p.  37, 
or  p.  36  in  the  English  translation  ( Tlie  Doctrine  of  the 
Apocalypse)  published  by  Messrs.  Clark  in  the  Foreign 
Theological  Library.  Also  "Excursus  on  Angelology " 
in  the  Speaher^s  Commentanj  on  Daniel,  p.  348 ;  article 
"  Angids  "  in  Smith's  Dictionary. 


EXCURSUS    B:    THE    WILD    BEAST. 


It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  interpretation  of  the 
whole  Apocalypse  is  coloured  by  the  intei-pretation 
given  to  the  wild  beast.  The  book,  as  we  have  seeu 
(see  Introduction),  is  one  of  hope,  but  it  is  also  one  of 
warning;  not  without  a  struggle  would  the  foe  be 
diiven  from  the  earth  where  he  had  usurped  power 
for  so  long.  The  devil  is  cast  down — in  the  higher, 
heavenly  sphere  he  is  regarded  as  a  fallen  and  defeated 
enemy ;  but  this  conflict  has  its  counterpart  on  the 
ai"ena  of  the  world.  The  Apocalypse  gives  us  in 
symbol  some  features  of  this  conflict.  It  shows  four 
powers  of  evil :  the  dragon,  tho  first  and  second  wild 
beasts,  and  Bal)ylon  the  harlot.  It  is  with  the  beast 
that  we  are  now  concerned,  but  one  or  two  remarks  on 
this  family  of  evil  will  not  bo  out  of  place. 

I.  The  Family  of  Evil. 

(1)  The  four  antagonists  of  good  are  related  to  one 
another.  The  resemblance  between  tho  dragon  and 
the  wild  beast  (comp.  Rev.  xii.  3 ;  xiii.  1 ;  XAii. 
3,  7,  10)  is  too  obvious  to  be  passed  over;  it  seems 
designed  to  show  us  that  the  same  principle  and  spirit 
of  evil  is  at  work  in  both.  Again,  tlie  way  in  which 
the  first  wild  beast  gives  place  to  the  second  wild  beast, 
or  false  prophet  (comp.  chaps,  xiii.  11,  12;  xvi.  13;  xix. 
20;  XX.  10),  and  yet  retains  its  ascendency  (comp.  chap, 
xiii.  14 — 17)  makes  plain  the  close  connection  between 
them  ;  and,  lastly,  the  appearance  of  tiie  liarlot,  riding 
on  the  scarlet-cdhmred  beast  (chap.  xvii.  3),  completes 
the  chain  of  associatiim  between  tliem.  Tho  same  prin- 
ciples and  spirit  of  evil  make  themselves  manifest  in 
different  splieres. 

(2)  The  four  antagonists  of  good  are  arranged  (o 
meet  the  f(nir  corresponding  manifestatiims  of  good. 
For  every  power  of  good  there  is  an  analogous  power 
of  evil.  If  on  tlie  .side  of  good  we  liave  the  three  Per- 
sons of  the  blessed  Trinity — the  Throned  One,  the  Lamb, 


and  the  Holy  Spirit — besides  the  Chin*ch,  the  bride,  the 
Lamb's  wife,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem ;  we  have  on  the 
side  of  e\al— the  dragon,  the  beast,  the  false  prophet,  as 
a  sort  of  trinity  of  evil — besides  the  harlot,  Babylon. 
The  dragon  being  a  kind  of  anti-God ;  the  wild  beast,  an 
anti-Christ ;  the  false  prophet,  an  anti-Spirit ;  the  Baby- 
lon, an  auti-Cliurcli.  The  minor  features  in  tlie  same  way 
correspond :  the  true  Christ  died  and  rose  again ;  tlio 
anti-Christ,  the  wild  beast,  was  wounded  unto  death,  but 
his  deadly  wound  was  healed.  The  crucified  Clirist 
was  exalted  to  be  Prince  and  Saviour,  and  tlie  out- 
poured Spirit  upon  the  Church  glorified  Him  by  taking 
of  the  thin"-s  of  Christ  and  showing  them  to  tho 
disciples,  and  by  convincing  the  world  of  sin  because 
Christ  went  to  the  Father;  the  second  beast,  or  false 
prophet,  works  wonders,  causes  an  image  of  the  first 
wild  boast  to  be  made  and  worshijiped.  Tlie  followers 
of  the  Lamb  are  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Promise; 
the  worshippers  of  the  v^ild  beast  receive  from  the 
false  jirophet  the  mark  of  the  Ijcast.  (See  chap.  xiii. 
throughout.)  It  is  desirable  to  keep  those  lines  of 
parody  and  correspondent  antagonism  in  mind. 

II.  The  Wild  Beast— or  Antichrist.— It  is  with 
the  beast  that  we  are  concerned  in  tliis  Excursus ; 
but  we  cannot  altogether  dis.soeiate  the  firet  beast  from 
the  second,  though  their  work  is  diverse. 

(1)  The  first  wild  beast  is  clearly  to  be  connected 
with  tho  vision  of  Dan.  vii.  2 — 7;  tlie  identification 
of  tlie  beast  described  by  Daniel  witli  four  great 
emjiires  is  unquestionable :  it  is  hardly  our  pui-pose  to 
inquire  wheth(>r  the  four  empires  are  Baliylonia.  Medo- 
Pcrsia,  Macedonia,  and  Rome ;  or  Bal)ylonia.  Media, 
Pei"sia.  and  Greece :  the  former,  which  is  the  more 
ancient  opinion,  apjiears  the  more  probable;  but  it  is 
cnougli  to  reineml)er  that  tliese  f(mr  beasts  represent 
four  great  world-powers.     St.  John  saw  rising  out  of 


C39 


REVELATION. 


fhe  sea  (comp.  Dan.  v\\.  2).  not  seven  diverse  beasts, 
but  one  sevt-n-headecl  bcabt.  Now  it  is  iierfectly  true 
that  to  the  early  Christians  Pagan  and  Imperial  Rome 
wa«  tlie  one  great  world-puwer  whose  shadow  darkened 
tile  earth,  and  that  a  seven-headed  monster  might  well 
depict  this  Pagan  Rome,  as  a  four-headed  beast  had 
represented  to  Daniel  an  earlier  empire  (Greece  or 
Persia);  and  the  wild  beast  of  Rev.  xiii.  from  one 
aspect  undoubtedly  represents  this  great  tyrant  power; 
but  it  seems  to  the  present  writer  that  tiie  genius  of 
the  Apocalypse  is  concentration ;  that  which  to  earlier 
propiiets  was  seen  in  detail  is  to  the  Christian  seer 
grouped.  Daniel  saw  four  beasts  rising  one  after 
another;  St.  John  saw  one  wild  beast,  uniting  in  him- 
self all  the  early,  present,  and  future  manifestations  of 
that  world-empire  which  has  ever  been  hostile  to  the 
spiritual  kingdom.  Two  reasons  may  be  noticed  ;  one 
from  tlie  Book  of  Daniel,  the  other  from  Revelation. 
This  eoncentrati(m  of  different  world-powers  into  one 
representative  body  was  not  foreign  to  the  thought  of  the 
earlier  prophet.  Daniel  relates  the  vision  in  which  the 
diverse  monarchies  of  the  world  were  represented  as 
one  huge  human  figure  cast  out  of  gold,  silver,  brass, 
and  iron  ( Dan  ii.  31 — i9 ) ;  the  diverse  powers  were  thus 
seen  as  one,  and  the  little  stone,  which  represented  the 
true  spiritual  kingdom,  in  smiting  ujion  one,  caused  the 
whole  image  to  fall.  The  world-kingdoms  were  thus 
seen  in  prophetic  vision  as  one  great  age-long  world- 
})ower,  which  must  be  smitten  by  Christ's  kingdom. 
The  Book  of  Revelation  also  gives  us  a  hint  that  the 
seven-fold  aspect  of  the  wild  beast  must  not  be  given 
too  limited  or  too  local  an  interpretation.  The  wild  beast, 
with  seven  heads  and  ten  crowns,  is  in  these  features 
reproducing  the  appearance  of  the  red  dragon,  who  is 
also  represented  as  having  seven  heads  and  ten  crowns. 
(Corap.  Rev.  xii.  'S ;  xiii.  1.)  Now  the  dragon  is  surely  the 
tyye  of  the  great  arch-enemy  the  De^-il — the  Anti-God; 
the  seven  heads  and  ten  crowns  denote  that  he  is  the 
prince  of  this  world,  who  has  more  or  less  animated 
the  successive  great  world-powers  by  hostility  to 
righteousness ;  the  empires  of  the  world  have  been  his 
in  so  far  as  they  have  been  founded  on  force,  or  fraud, 
op])re8sion,  or  imholiness.  When,  then,  the  seven-headed 
wild  beast  rises  from  the  sea,  must  we  not  see  in  the 
seven  heads  the  counterpart  of  those  which  the  dragon 
bore  ?  The  dragon  carries  tliose  seven  heads  as  he  is 
the  great  spiritual  prince  of  this  world,  the  one 
who  is  practically  worshipped  in  all  mere  world-made 
empires.  The  wild  beast  carries  these  seven  heads 
because  he  is  the  great  representative  of  all  these 
world-powers  themselves,  and  what  may  give  almost 
certainty  to  this  interpretation  is  the  fact  tlrnt  the  wild 
beast  unites  in  liimself  the  appearances  of  leopard,  bear, 
and  lion,  which  were  the  emblems  employed  by  Daniel 
to  represent  earlier  monarchies.  Actually  at  the  mo- 
ment St.  John  saw  the  vision  the  wild  beast  was  to 
him  Rome,  because  through  Rome  the  great  world- 
empire  was  then  working.  The  seven  heads  might 
also  look  like  types  of  successive  emperors ;  but  the 
more  important,  because  age-long  reading  of  the  vision 
sets  before  us  the  concentration  in  one  great  monstrous 
wild  beast  of  all  those  powers.  Powers  which  were 
diverse  and  even  politically  hostile  were  yet  ethically 
one  power  opposed  to  the  fundamental  principles  of 
righteousness  and  peace,  of  purity  and  true  godliness. 
Tlie  first  wild  beast,  then.  Ijecomes  the  symbol  of  con- 
federated and  age-long  world-powers. 

(2)  The  second  wild  beast  is  allied  with  the  first.  His 
origin  is  not  of  God,  he  is  of  the  earth :  he  is  more 
peaceable  in  his  appearance  than  the  first  beast,  but 


his  speech  bewrays  him ;  the  dragon-voice  is  his,  and 
he  reWves  the  worship  of  the  first  wild  beast.  In  him. 
therefore,  are  combined  the  powers  of  the  dragon  and 
tlu!  first  wild  beast.  Yet  he  yields  homage  to  existing 
order :  unlike  the  first  wild  beast,  which  rises  out  of  an 
ocean  of  disorder  and  tumult,  he  springs  out  of  the  earth. 
He  assumes  in  part,  also,  a  Christian  appearance  :  he  is  as 
a  lamb.  These  features  would  lead  us  to  expect  a  power 
not  wholly  irreligious — indeed,  in  some  features  Chris- 
tian, yet  practically  Pagan :  obsei-ving  order,  yet  arro- 
gant; a  second  power  resembling  the  first,  yet  possessing 
a  more  sjjecious  appearance  to  mankind.  It  is  on  this 
second  wild  beast  that  the  seer  bids  us  fasten  our  more 
marked  attention.  It  is  this  second  wild  beast  who 
deceives  by  false  wonders  and  false  worship,  and  intro- 
duces a  great  and  grinding  tyranny.  It  is  this  second 
wild  beast  to  whom  is  attributed  the  mysterious  numlier 
666.  It  is  well  now  to  turn  back  to  earlier  writings. 
In  Dan.  \'ii.  we  read  of  a  "little  horn,"  and  in  the 
description  there  we  find  much  that  is  parallel  with  the 
description  here.  (Comp.  Dan.  A-ii.  8  with  Rev.  xiii.  5 ; 
Dan.  \ni.  21  with  Rev.  xiii.  7.)  This  "little  horn"  of 
Daniel  has  been  identified  (comp.  Excursus  on  Inter- 
pretation of  2  Thess.  ii.  3 — 12)  with  the  "  Man  of  Sin  " 
spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  (2  Thess.  ii.  3).  Some  think 
that  the  little  horn  of  Dan.  vii.  is  identical  with  the 
horn  of  chap.  Anii.  Into  this  question  we  have  not 
space  to  enter :  it  will  be  enough  here  to  keep  in  mind 
that  St.  Paul  looked  for  the  manifestation  of  an  Anti- 
christ, a  Man  of  Sin,  whose  type  in  all  likelihood  he 
found  in  the  little  horn  of  Dan.  vii. ;  and  tluit  the 
picture  of  the  Antichrist  painted  by  St.  Paul  is  that  of 
a  power  not  professedly  irreligious,  but  yet  claiming 
from  mankind  the  homage  due  to  God  (2  Thess.  ii.  4). 
This  seems  quite  in  haniKmy  with  the  characteristics  of 
the  second  wild  beast,  who,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  is 
described  (Rev.  x^-i.  13;  xix.  20;  xx.  10)  as  the  "false 
prophet."  We  may,  then,  take  the  second  wild  beast 
as  the  picture  of  a  power,  cultured,  quasi-religious, 
borrowing  much  from  Christianity,  yet  built  ujiou  anti- 
Christian  principles,  and  animated  by  an  anti- Christian 
si)irit. 

(3)  The  identification  of  the  Wild  Beast,  False  Pro- 
phet, or  Antichrist. — "  Te  have  heard  that  Autichrijt 
shall  come"  (1  John  ii.  18).  This  is  St.  John's  acknow- 
ledgment of  the  wide-spread  belief  that  a  great  falling 
away  should  precede  the  coming  of  Christ.  Here  he  is 
at  one  with  St.  Paul,  but  (it  is  consistent  with  the  spirit 
of  St.  John's  thought  that  he  should  remind  his  hearers 
that  the  spirit  of  Antichrist  was  abroad  already,  and 
that  in  a  present  antagonism  to  this  spirit  lay  true 
Christian  duty  :  accordingly,  he  indicates  in  more  than 
one  place  what  were  some  features  of  the  anti-Christian 
spirit  (1  John  ii.  22;  iv.  1 — 3).  It  is  also  significant 
that  he  uses  the  phrase  "  false  prophet,"  reminding  us 
of  the  Ai)ocalypse,  which  identifies,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  wild  beast,  or  Antichrist,  with  the  false  prophet. 
St.  John  thus  appears  to  regard  the  spirits  and  false 
prophets  abroad  in  his  day  as  at  least  anticipations 
of  the  great  future  Antichrist  and  false  prophet. 
Actually  there  were  Antichrists  then  in  the  world ; 
but  in  the  prophetic  ideal  all  these  were  as  07ie  great 
Antichrist.  In  the  Apocalyptic  vision  the  scattered 
spirits  grew  into  one  great  representative  opponent— 
the  wild  beast,  the  false  prophet.  Is  there,  then,  no 
personal  Antichi-ist  ?  It  has  been  ably  argued  (see 
Excursus  on  Prophecy  of  2  Thess.  ii.)  that  the  Man  of 
Sin  must  be  an  individual.  There  are  certain  expressions 
which  seem  to  point  to  a  single  person — notably  the 
remarkable  use  of  the  masculine  gender  when  the  wild 
640 


EEVELATION. 


beast  is  referred  to  (see  Rev.  xiii.  o) :  but  it  seems  more 
consonant  with  the  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse  to  re- 
gard the  wild  beast  as  the  fiofui-ative  embodiment  of  the 
fivlse,  seductive,  auti-Christian  principle  and  spirit.which 
belongs  to  more  ages  than  one,  Avhich  reveals  itself  in 
diverse  aspects,  and  yet  always  manifests  the  same  hos- 
tility to  the  Divine  Spirit.  It  must  not,  however,  be  sup- 
posed that  this  view  denies  a  personal  Antichrist.  Ou 
the  contrary,  it  is  perfectly  in  harmony  with  this  view  to 
note  that  the  wild-beast  spirit  has  often  culminated  in 
an  individual :  the  tj-jncal  forecasts  of  Antichrist  have 
often  been  individuals.  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  Herod, 
Nero,  might  fairly  bo  regarded  as  the  incarnation  of 
the  ungodly  spirit.  Similarly,  in  later  ages,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  holy,  Christ-taught  men,  groan- 
ing for  the  sorrows  of  the  world  and  the  corruptions  of 
Christianity,  saw  in  many  who  occupied  the  Papal  chair 
the  very  representatives  of  the  false  prophet,  the 
Antichrist.  Not  more  need  it  sui-prise  lis  to  find  the 
same  thought  passing  through  men's  minds  when  pre- 
tensions, which  would  be  ridiculous  if  they  were  not 
blasphemous,  have  been  advanced  ou  behalf  of  the 
Roman  pontiif ,  till  the  Church  becomes  a  parody  rather 
than  a  witness  of  divine  truths.  It  follows  that  the 
view  here  maintained  does  not  exclude  the  possibility 
of  a  future  personal  Antichrist,  in  whom  the  typical 
features  shall  yet  find  clearer  and  fuller  manifestation 
than  in  any  previous  age.  But  though  all  this  may  be, 
and  though  godly  men  teU  us  that  all  these  things 
mnst  bo,  it  appears  to  the  writer  infinitely  more  impor- 
tant to  notice  tlie  principles  which  may  constitute  the 
Antichrist  in  every  age :  the  denial  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son  (1  John  ii.  22),  the  denial  of  the  Mediator  and 
Incarnate  God  (1  John  iv.  2,  3),  the  aiTOgant  claim  of 
divine  honours,  the  specious  resemblance  to  Him  who 
is  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  disregard  of  sacred  ties 
(2  Thess.  ii.  10 ;  1  Tim.  iv.  3),  the  possession  of  won- 
derful power  and  culture  (Rev.  xiii.  11^-14).      The 


spirit  which  is  depicted  is  one  which  might  well  develop 
out  of  the  elements  around  us.  It  woidd  not  be  im- 
possible to  imagine  the  rankest  materialism  allying  itself 
with  a  gorgeous  ritual — to  see  the  high  priests  of  scieiieo 
acquiescing  in  the  most  elaborate  of  ecclesiasticisms, 
and  the  aguostic  in  creed  becoming  a  ceremouialist  in 
worship,  till  the  satire  shoidd  bo  only  too  sadly  true, 
"  I  found  plenty  of  worsliippers,  but  no  God."  "NVo 
should  then  liavo  every  element  in  human  nature 
allowed  its  nutriment — for  the  nnnd,  science ;  for  the 
emotions,  worship ;  for  the  conduct,  direction.  The 
tripartite  nature  of  man  would  be  thus  proWded  for, 
but  the  unity  of  his  manhood  would  Ix?  at  an  end — for 
the  worship  would  be  unintelligent,  the  moral  tono 
lifeless,  because  deprived  of  the  vital  sense  of  personal 
responsibility,  and  the  intellect  uninspired,  because 
godless.  Such  an  age  would  be  the  reign  of  that  climax 
of  auti- Christian  spirit  which  is  the  perfection  of  man'.s 
powers  without  God,  foreshadowed  by  the  mysterious 
mmiber  666,  which  is  seeming  exaltation  of  all  human 
powers,  but  which  is  in  truth  their  degradation  and 
their  discord. 

III.  The  Number  of  the  Beast.— It  would  serve 
but  little  purpose  to  recapitulate  the  various  solutions 
of  the  number  of  the  Beast.  An  account  of  them  will 
be  found  in  Elliott  (vol.  iii.).  The  chief  solutions  are 
those  mentioned  iu  the  Notes.  The  most  ancient,  and 
perhaps  most  general,  solution  sees  iu  the  number  the 
equivalent  of  Lateinos.  Others  see  in  it  the  numerical 
equivalent  of  one  of  the  Roman  emperors :  Nero,  advo- 
cated by  Renan ;  Otho,  advocated  by  an  Italian  writer, 
who  accounts  for  the  reading,  •'  616  "  instead  of  "  Q'd'o'^ 
by  the  alteration  made  by  a  copyist  to  suit  the  name 
of  another  emperor,  Caligula :  Taios  Kaia-ap  =  616.  None 
of  these  numerical  solutions  appears  to  the  writer  ade- 
quate to  the  whole  depth  of  the  seer's  meaning,  thouoh 
they  may  be  mcluded  in  the  sigiuficance  of  the  symbol.  ' 


Cassell   Petter  &  Galpin,  Belle  Sacvaoe  Works,  London,  E.C. 

641 


107 


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Date  Due 


